Kingdom’s Bloodline

In Yongxing City, the enthusiasm caused by the return of the prince has been reduced (or it is just to restrain the backlog and wait for the next outbreak). At least the Mindis Hall, which is closed to thank guests, is no longer as crowded as before. Thales rarely enjoyed a rare period of time. of clean time.

But that doesn't mean he's at ease from now on.

From the second day on, before His Highness Thales had time to fully enjoy the power brought by the great status of "Master of Mindis Hall", the royal teaching group headed by Gilbert ("Royal Little Fresh Meat" "Packaging Company"—the Duke's irritated words) drove into the Mindis Hall in an orderly manner.

First of all, the teacher of the grammar class, including the ancient imperial script and the common Elvish script, is the prestigious Bona University Bachelor in the Royal Grammar School.

Being able to invite him must be said to be of good quality and low price.

On the one hand, the bald head of Bachelor Bona, which is so smooth that it can reflect the light, saved Mindis Hall a lot of lamp oil and resources.

On the other hand, his soft, low-pitched, staccato ("you're going to be sick"- mean d.d who can't speak louder anymore) voice forces the entire Mindis Hall to remain absolutely silent during class hours, for the benefit of the environment;

Third, his profound knowledge and wide range of fields almost condensed the prince's five subjects (grammar, logic, rhetoric, ancient imperial language and elf language) together, allowing Thales to appreciate the answers to the following questions:

How much change will the grammar bring to those languages ​​​​that even have a word order such as "subject-verb-object" that is completely different from Common Language (such as the troublesome Ancient Empire and the damn Common Elvish)? How will it affect the principles and expressions of logic? What rhetorical challenges does this pose? How did they affect the current language and way of speaking respectively? And then change people's thinking habits? In the end, how did they ruthlessly eat away at the precious sleep time of Prince Thales?

("Your Highness, you, you say you, you can't finish memorizing? Then, it's late, go to bed later... Anyway, you young people are lying when they say that you go to bed early, and you can do everything in bed without sleeping... What, bad head, hair? Oh, that's not important...Your Highness, do you know about wigs, who in the court doesn't wear wigs and fake breasts...What, don't you grow taller when you sleep late? Hey, Your Highness, you wear a crown, Isn’t it tall enough…” ——Bachelor Bona, trembling, whose words made the prince’s expression change three times)

The history class was taught by Gilbert himself. Compared with the citations and long-term vision of Bachelor Bona, the foreign minister's goal is simple and clear: to turn Prince Thales into a human form in two months. The Kingdom: An Encyclopedia of General History for Two Thousand Years.

("'Index'! Your Highness, I must correct your joke. It's just an 'index' of the Encyclopedia. Use it to bluff... Ahem, showing your erudition is enough." - Serious Gilbert )

As for the mathematics class, this may be one of the few courses that can bring comfort to His Excellency the Duke of Star Lake. Bachelor Julio was quite surprised by Thales' level of geometry and algebra, especially the prince's performance in "Exeter, Birds Don't Lay Eggs". Under the premise of wasting six years in vain.

But Thales has a headache, as Julio's confidence level in him is getting higher and higher. , Hey, these naughty little formulas are so beautiful and cute, don’t they seem to be smiling at you?” ——Scholar Julio who keeps waving his orchid fingers) and the excited former is expanding enthusiastically and rapidly their syllabus.

For example, one day, Bachelor Julio finally combined algebra and geometry, and began to plan for Thales to use algebraic equations to measure the trajectory and changes of celestial bodies.

("These basic equations don't match up, right? The movement of the stars is too weird... And you know, is it possible for us to grasp these immeasurable movements? Some scholars from the Dragon Kiss Academy imagined that as long as Divide this movement process into different parts, and then divide it all the time to get the answer. Let me show you the calculation formulas proposed by them... Eh Your Highness? What's wrong with you, Your Highness? Wake up,

Wake up, Your Highness! You finish the questions first before getting dizzy! ”——Young and promising bachelor Julio)

The course materials they use have expanded from the math problems in ancient books to the actual figures of the national conditions and people's livelihood. On several occasions, Julio suggested that we might as well try to estimate the future revenue from the previous national revenue, or from the population growth received by the central government. Estimate the data of All Stars. Thales had reason to suspect that if he didn't act stupid and slow down the course, it would really only be a matter of time before a terrible bell curve and the series of concepts that followed appeared in the books.

As for the nature lessons, thank God, the well-informed Lord Monton was often funny and fascinating when he talked about astronomy, geography, humanities and customs-if the prince didn't interrupt and embarrass him from time to time.

("Why is the best star in the east? What is the composition of the pitch mine? If the whales are killed one day, will we have no eternal oil? Are werewolves and vampires really cursed monsters? Are wolves and bats related? Dragon’s Kiss is a basin, so isn’t its climate a bit strange? Are the thick fog and whirlpools in the Misty Sea really formed naturally? There are so many witnesses to the legend of sea monsters in the Devil’s Sea. No one has doubted it? Why can the belief of the setting sun and the moon coexist with their temple church? Piranhas are like giant dragons, how to deal with their energy consumption? Under the eyes of the end sea is really the capital of triumph and the homeland of the empire ?How do the blood clans of Feast Leader rule? There must be different topography and climate in the desert, right? Is the desert city of Caligri real? Why didn’t the mighty force that created the Great Crack form a vortex and suck the two continents into it? Where did the plague of the Lost Sea Three Kingdoms start to erupt? Why is the interval between the two eruptions of the Sangla volcano so short? Is it because of the direction of ocean currents that the speeds from different ports to the east land are different? "——His Royal Highness "A Hundred Thousand Whys".)

In the art class, after seeing and listening to the paintings carefully prepared by the Duke of Xinghu and the lute performance, the prestigious master Uhlan told Thales gently: To learn art, you don’t have to be an art creator. , you can also be an art appreciator, I think, Duke, you are very suitable to be an appreciator with a long history, especially suitable for...

In short, this week's no-breathing prince training class made Thales miss the life in the Palace of Heroes even more - except for the dead face.

Why, why didn't the little slippery boy come to class with him at the beginning.

Thales, who felt his body being hollowed out every day, thought silently with tears.

It would be better to let him go back to the desert.

At least the orcs won't force him to memorize the seven forms of speech, three parts of speech, four tenses, three voices, four personal pronouns, five word orders and eighteen kinds of words that can change each other according to the situation. Different sentence patterns, including complex pronunciation rules--by comparison, the modern imperial language spoken by General Rao Shizi in Heijing is really too simple.

Or the twenty-two inflections of Common Elvish—god, that would be a vocal lesson.

In the Mendis Hall, Thales felt so much pressure that he even forgot the banquet he would make his debut two months later, not to mention the power vortex in the Fuxing Palace.

Even some "special" courses that should be a little easier are the same.

Like now.

"Did you feel it, Your Highness Thales?"

"As your weapon, it's so firm, straight, tough, yet resilient and elastic..."

A gentle and easy-going voice sounded from the side of his left ear, and slowly went around to the right ear, tickling.

"But it is also so impulsive, wild. It has unlimited desires, can't hold back, longs to release itself, to run wild, to conquer... But you can't easily obey, you have to control it, don't let this wild horse go out of the gate easily... ..."

Thales' cheeks were flushed, his breathing was rapid, and he had no time to pay attention to the voice in his ear.

"Strengthen your waist, hold your hands steady, yes, just like this, keep this posture and direction, try to be as straight as possible, don't tremble..."

Sweat ran down Thales' cheeks, and he suddenly trembled.

Oops!

The voice grew harsh:

"I know it's hard, but you have to hold on! Tighten! Straighten! Lift! Don't let it fall..."

But Thales felt that he had already...

No.

An uncontrollable numbness spread all over his body.

Bad, bad.

He, he couldn't hold on anymore...

Thales felt dizzy.

he's about to...

about to...

ah!

Finally, with a dull blunt sound, the practice sword in Thales' hand fell to the sand along with the load wheels hanging on the sword.

The Duke of Xinghu was breathing heavily, his arms were numb for a while, and his gloves were full of sweat.

Footsteps sounded, and Mallos came from behind him, staring at the sword on the ground thoughtfully.

"Time... a bit short?"

Thales shook his sore arm in frustration, and stomped his feet in the temporarily vacated training ground in the courtyard to relieve the numbness.

"It's okay," the prince said resentfully:

"I'm just not used to it."

"Northlanders don't teach that way. They tend to ... confrontation training."

Mallos snorted softly:

"Then maybe...you should go back to the Northland?"

Thales choked for a moment.

The setting sun fell on the courtyard of Mindis Hall, elongating the figures of Mallos and Thales on the ground.

Behind them, Doyle stood under the colonnade, talking to Glover beside him.

"Obviously, our prince has not undergone systematic training."

Doyle shook his head:

"It seems that the northerners who are good at fighting have limited abilities."

Glover pursed his lips.

That's right.

At this moment, Thales is listlessly taking the "martial arts class" personally taught by Lord Mallos. Obviously, after a whole day of brain torture, the Duke is not very interested in the stance-style lectures given by the captain of the personal guard. .

But Mallos seems content.

"Sword pose and sword frame are an important part of the training of ancient knights," said the watchman with a polite smile on his face, not bothered by the prince's failure and attitude at all:

"Especially the 'Seventeen Swords of the Knight', which is a classical and orthodox knight skill, which has been handed down to the court since the empire."

"After the establishment of the country by the stars, it has undergone careful research by countless masters, and it has the appearance it is today."

Under the watchful eyes of several accompanying members of the royal guard, Mallos walked into the arena and gracefully picked up the prince's metal practice sword. He hesitated for a moment, but did not pick up the load wheels.

"Every movement and posture has undergone careful consideration and countless verifications," Mallos turned the blade upside down and handed it out, gentle and elegant, without a trace of impatience:

"And you need to concentrate on it, carry it through to the end, make them to the extreme, let them be deeply burned into your body, and become instinct."

Thales, whose mind was still full of word order declension and arithmetic, sighed, and took the sword from Marioti.

But when Thales drew it, the long sword didn't move at all!

Thales was taken aback and recovered from his listless state.

He raised his head and found that the blade of the sword was being firmly held in the palm of Mallos, and he did not let go.

"So that at any moment of the battle, you can return to the most familiar and safest posture."

Mallos stared at him deeply and became serious:

"For example, every time you attack with a sword, no matter what the outcome of the battle, you must instinctively return to defense quickly and remain vigilant."

The next second, Mallos suddenly let go, and Thales swayed out of inertia before standing still.

Facing this unfriendly "reminder", Thales forced a smile, and skillfully swung the sword flower:

"Even when the enemy is dead?"

But Mallos looked cold:

"Even when the enemy is dead."

Thales shuddered.

Mallos continued:

"I guess, the Northlanders didn't teach you the word 'rear strike'?"

"Even if you cut off the opponent's head, his torso still has inertia, and he can continue to complete the moves before death in the second after death-for example, cut off your head as well."

Thales paused for a while.

"Actually, the northerners taught."

The young Duke rolled his eyes and found that D.D and Glover were watching from a distance, and the former yawned unceremoniously.

"It's just, you know, what they have to face is the near-death counterattack of the orcs," Thales shrugged, and decided to gamble on this topic, and hurriedly completed today's share:

"If you let a counterattack of that magnitude come out, no matter whether you block it or not, whether it's a strong sword or a weak sword, it's basically a one-shot thing, and it doesn't make much sense to return to defense."

"That's why they focus on offense as defense, advocating the suppression of the situation and the pursuit of victory..."

"I think the most perfect battle is to make the opponent helpless from the beginning to the end."

Thales shook his head: Meteorite Nicolai, Flame Knight Tuleha, Death Raven Monty...

Well, it seems that there are not many masters in the North that he has encountered who are particularly good at defense.

On the contrary, on the Star Kingdom side, from the flower of the fortress to the legendary wing, and even the punishment knight in the prison of bones...

As for Kingdom Wrath...

Well, that is a different kind of existence that even people in the Northland fear.

But Mallos looked at him deeply, then took two steps forward, pressed Thales' shoulder, and moved closer to his ear.

"Then you'd better remember that your life is worth more than most people."

"What you need is to survive, Your Highness, not just die a moment later than your opponent."

"Survive."

Mallos' tone was vigilant and mysterious, with the atmosphere of a ghost story, which made Thales tremble subconsciously.

"Besides, most of the opponents you will encounter in the future—if any—will be human beings," Mallos let go of Thales' shoulders expressionlessly, "Facing their 'back attack', timely and Smart back-to-defense stances are incredibly important."

Mallos' smile has long since disappeared:

"After all, you are learning swordsmanship, not suicide."

Thales frowned, feeling the other party's unpleasant emotions: It seems that I offended him by being careless just now?

Mallos walked out of the field and said coldly:

"Go back to the sword-giving posture just now, and put on the weight."

"Try to hold on for another half hour and let the body get used to it."

half an hour?

Thales instantly turned into a bitter face.

From six o'clock in the morning to now, he has just experienced a full twelve hours...

Does he still have dinner?

Mallos never looked back:

"I know, this process is very boring, very empty, very hard, no opponents and no goals."

"Only you."

There is an underlying chill in the watchman's words:

"There is only loneliness, loneliness, forbearance, and perseverance, and there is no helper or enemy."

Thales exhaled.

"In fact, your worst enemy is living within your own will."

Mallos turned around abruptly, his tone extremely firm:

"Kill it."

"Take back your will."

Thales couldn't help raising his eyebrows again.

real?

In a training session, why did the lines look so much like an inspirational story...

But slander belongs to slander, Thales can only do it obediently, pull out the standard knight's sword-granting posture, and try to make his body meet the requirements.

It's just that I'm a little flustered mentally.

Thales thought helplessly.

Soon, no more than ten minutes later ("Shouldn't it be almost time?" - Thales, who was sweating profusely and looking forward to it), his sword tip began to tremble, his movements gradually deformed, and he couldn't bear it - Muscle strength has never been Thales' strong suit.

But this time, Thales secretly called out the most familiar comrades in arms.

Soon, the wave of habit came subtly and obediently, spreading to his right arm, relieving the soreness and load of the muscles, and continuously injecting new energy.

Thales gritted his teeth and exhaled: Yes, he feels much better.

The trembling of the sword tip gradually subsided.

He tried to stretch his body and returned to the most standard knight's sword-giving posture.

Off the court, Mallos, who was observing carefully, had his eyes lit up and began to nod.

Even Glover and Doyle were attracted attention.

"Wow, I underestimated him earlier."

Doyle scratched his head:

"Northern people still have some skills."

Although he didn't enter the senses of hell, his sense of hearing was more or less enhanced, and he faithfully conveyed these words to Thales' ears.

The prince curled his lips.

"good……"

Mallos walked into the arena with great interest.

"Very good, Your Highness."

"In fact, far beyond my estimation."

Thales couldn't help but straighten the line from his arm to the tip of the sword.

Until Mallos nodded clearly, smiled mysteriously, and said:

"It's really nice..."

The watchman glanced at Thales' steady arm and standard posture, and in his most gentle and elegant voice, he admired:

"...the power of the end."

At that moment, Thales, who was devoting himself to maintaining the sword posture, was shocked!

what did he say?

The tip of his sword trembled slightly.

On the other side, Glover and Doyle looked at each other with doubts.

Mallos smiled lightly.

But suddenly reached out and grabbed Thales' sword hilt!

All of a sudden, the crime of prison river that was already active surged up, causing Thales to subconsciously pull back his wrist!

With the huge force coming, Mallos first changed his face, then raised the corners of his mouth and let go of the hilt.

As if found something.

Thales took two steps back out of inertia, and looked at Mallos in surprise.

Boom!

There was another muffled bang, and the road wheel slid off the blade again, rolling hopelessly one last time on the sand.

The captain of the personal guard moved his hands unhurriedly, and nodded slowly, as if he was still reminiscing about the wrestling with the prince just now.

But his expression calmed down, as if he had realized the truth.

Thales understood something, and it became more and more unbelievable.

Since six years ago...

Since the first time the strange power called Hell River's crime awakened from his body...

Except for the black sword with the same power, no one has ever actively discovered his secret in the past six years.

Whether it is the enemy of the Northland and the desert, or the old friend of the old place of the stars.

And Thales is also willing to hide himself and keep his hole cards—whether he is facing the Meteorite and the Death Raven, or facing the Shadow Shield, his hole card that he turned out at the end has played a good role.

but……

Thales stared blankly at Mallos.

Today, the crime of prison river...

finally……

was found.