Kingdom’s Bloodline

As Thales received more and more people, in just one afternoon, various good news came one after another about maritime trade, markets, debts, public security, noble affairs...

The various ministries and industries in the Emerald City, which had once been on the verge of death, began to show signs of gradual resurrection, which surprised D.D (who secretly came from the kitchen to treat everyone with a dining cart).

"Emerald City is not dead in the first place. To be precise, it is pretending to be dead to protect itself."

In the evening, after the prince saw off the last group of guests from the Grain Merchant Guild and returned to his bedroom to take a nap, the little silly lion standing guard at the door of the room—Paul Bozdorf, to be precise—tried not to look at the dining car. He stepped into the steaming heat and explained coldly:

"How about resurrection?"

"If they pretend to be dead for too long, they will become real dead," on the other side, Morgan, who was guarding the door of Zhan's room, said coldly, staring at the dining car intently and touching his empty stomach, "Whenever there is a chance,... Can’t you get up early and resurrect?”

"His Royal Highness wanted to arrest the murderer and close the case, but he encountered a slight setback at Miss Hilley's side." The Conmuto guard guarding Federico's door used his words more politely than the other two, looking like someone who had experienced it before. "People - Especially the officials and powerful businessmen at all levels in the Emerald City feel that His Highness must be very angry, and are afraid that he will overturn the table and smash the pot in his anger... So of course they have to work hard to behave better..."

"But is it really just because of this?"

Waiya, who was leaning against the door of Thales' room, was holding a note and biting the end of the pen, puzzled:

"These people summoned by His Highness, from nobles to officials, from merchants to ship owners, some of them didn't even say a few words. Has the Emerald City turned around? Whether it's shipping routes, markets, public security, debts, administration, especially It’s those big forces…”

“Turnarounds don’t just happen.”

A familiar voice sounded - Mallos, who had returned from seeing off his guests, appeared in front of the guards.

"There's always a reason for it to appear."

Everyone standing guard couldn't help but tense up, and turned from boredom to solemnity.

Only D.D quietly moved his steps and blocked the dining car behind him.

"The important point is not how many people your Highness summoned or how many words he said." Maris glanced at everyone. Wherever he looked, everyone was in high spirits. "But who did your Highness meet first, who did he meet last, and who did he meet later?" Who you met and what you got out of it.”

Everyone looked at each other, still confused and confused. They could only praise from the bottom of their hearts and sincerely:

"I see, Lord, you understand His Highness!"

"As expected of the guard guard..."

"As expected of His Highness, he is your favorite captain of the bodyguard..."

"There really is a lot going on here..."

"The best way to defeat the enemy is to attack the heart..."

"The terrifying blade deserves its reputation..."

D.D tried his best to arch his butt back and hide the dining car behind the curtain:

"In that case, that little brat, I mean, why didn't His Highness summon these people earlier? Knock those who deserve, scold those who deserve, praise those who deserve, and kill those who deserve. Then wouldn't we just nip the trouble in the bud and everyone will be happy? - - Hiss, so hot - the Emerald City will not be reduced to..."

Mallos smiled slightly and was about to answer when he heard a knock on the door.

"If you don't have a handy weapon, little D.D."

The Duke of Star Lake himself yawned and walked out of the room. He naturally bypassed D.D. He opened the curtains in full view of everyone and dragged out the dining car at the back. (Marios looked at the dining car that shouldn't be here, his smile disappeared, and he looked numb. D.D cast a death stare), opened one of the lids, and snatched away a piece of pastry without mercy.

"Then you'd better choose your time carefully and face your opponent later - well, it tastes good, my god, my waist is almost broken after a day of sitting."

Mallos couldn't help but frowned when he saw Thales devouring the pastries without testing the poison.

"What are you doing standing still? You've been standing there all day, and you still have to act so fierce and indifferent. It's so pitiful. Eat quickly, don't wait for others, don't go to the dining room, let alone wait for the meal - oh "Let Zhan wait a little longer. It's not time for dinner yet." Thales' mouth was full of food and his speech was unclear.

Obviously, facing His Royal Highness the Prince's natural and guilt-free expression, the watchman could only obey the order even though he was dissatisfied.

D.D on the side reacted even more quickly. He dragged the dining cart to the center of the corridor openly and opened three dinner plates for Thales with a swish of movement, which was so fast that it was dizzying.

So a group of people, who had been hungry for a long time, looked at each other in confusion, automatically realized themselves, crowded around the dining car, and started eating regardless of their manners.

Only Waiya refused the food offered by D.D. He held his little notebook and remained thoughtful.

"Who do you meet first and who do you meet later... So, Your Highness, the 'handy weapon' you mentioned was the one you confiscated from the two Kevin Deeres during the previous meeting alone?"

As soon as these words came out, everyone with mouths full of food turned their heads.

Thales rejected the dinner scarf Doyle so kindly sent him, turned back in surprise, and couldn't help but look at the attendant with admiration.

"Not bad, Waiya."

He exclaimed and patted Huaiya's chest, then slapped half a piece of bread into the latter's hand as a reward.

Huaiya was shocked, took the prince and bit into the remaining bread, neither eating nor eating, with an embarrassed look on his face.

"But it's not just that." But Taylor's expression changed. He swallowed a mouthful of beef, picked up a bowl of oatmeal scooped up by D.D, and changed the topic, "I made this weapon myself before meeting them, no, it was made by myself. Robbed."

Huaiya blinked, confused.

Just like everyone else.

Only Marius narrowed his eyes.

"Well, Your Highness, you have been busy all day and summoned so many people. You must be exhausted, right? I specially ordered the chef to prepare this in advance..." Upon seeing this, D.D quickly interrupted the topic and put the other two plates of meat with a diligent look on his face. Serve on top of food cart.

"Yeah, it's quite tiring."

Thales sighed, stirred the hot porridge with a spoon, and watched the storm in the bowl, oh, no, it was the soup rising from the porridge.

"But compared to the physical fatigue..."

After a busy day, they were tired and hungry. Everyone was eating hard and chewing vigorously around the dining car, and no one spoke to the prince.

Only Marius took away the clear spring drink from D.D's hand without any doubt:

"Your Highness?"

"In order to compete with me, everyone, everyone does not hesitate to show that they don't care about their own interests and take the overall situation into consideration, but in their words and deeds, they only see their own interests," Thales looked at the scattered wheat porridge in the bowl. Opening up and coming together again, "like countless chess pieces scattered in all directions, mindless, and running amok on a chessboard."

Thales shook the porridge in his hand and his eyes solidified:

"And I, holding the entire chessboard in my hand, have to sift them in one direction by shaking, tilting, knocking, shaking them off, etc."

At the other end of the dining car, Nixi swallowed a mouthful of food with difficulty:

"Then you can't...can't stretch out your hand and lift each chess piece accurately one by one?"

"Of course I want to," Thales shook his head, "but compared to the delicate and delicate chessboard, my fingers are too rough."

Everyone secretly raised their eyes while eating and looked at each other.

Thales carefully scooped up a spoonful of porridge, put it into his mouth, and took a long time to swallow it.

Well, it's a little hot.

But the cook is very good, and the porridge is seasoned just right and delicious.

"At first, if I wanted to grab this chess piece, I would have to knock that chess piece over. If I wanted to move a chess piece to a new position, I would have to move the old chess piece above it first... In the end, I found that I couldn't just move it accurately. For the few chess pieces I like, I can only gently and carefully shake the entire chessboard to let the chess pieces slide naturally.”

Thales became more and more fascinated as he spoke:

"But soon I discovered that it was not just natural sliding - in fact, every time my finger shook, the entire chessboard would shake, and all the chess pieces on it would be affected, shaking and beating in various complicated trajectories. ”

He sighed:

"Only a small number of chess pieces close to my palm will slide to where I want as I shake them, but not many."

At this time, except for a few inexperienced people who were still bowing their heads and eating, everyone realized that the prince was confiding his troubles and lamenting about life, and could not help but listen solemnly.

Thales paused for a while, took another sip of porridge, and continued to sigh:

"As for the chess pieces placed in various postures in other corners of the chessboard... No matter how intentional and cautious I shake the chessboard, they will be vibrated unevenly and will slide in different directions. But I If I shake the chessboard in the opposite direction and try to shake the distant chess pieces back, the chess pieces that were originally close to me will start to slide to uncontrollable places..."

Everyone was silent for a while. Seeing that His Highness had no more instructions or reprimands, they cautiously resumed eating.

"Holding the entire chessboard and shaking countless pieces, you illustrate the difficulties of a career in politics."

Paul bites a piece of pastry with the air of an aristocratic son, if you ignore the crumbs around his mouth.

"What's the chessboard? Do you need to shake it to play chess?" D.D came back from his soup bowl with a confused look on his face.

Conmuto rolled his eyes and shared the plate with others:

"But you don't just have one pair of hands, Your Highness: the chess pieces are all on the same chessboard. They will also collide with each other and change direction. If you can use the collision between the chess pieces to achieve your goal..."

"So it is particularly important to choose the chess pieces - this is mine, take your own," Paul said coldly, knocking away D.D's hand that wanted to help him wipe away the pieces from his mouth, "It's because you can't be precise. To control every chess piece, you must focus on those key pieces that are easy to move, and use the minimum effort to slide the maximum distance to capture the most chess pieces and miss the fewest pieces to achieve the highest efficiency.”

"It's too troublesome. If you ask me, you'd have to dent the chessboard - no, just take it back to the furnace, melt it and recast it to make a big pot." Morgan snorted coldly, drank all the porridge in the bowl, and then With a rough stroke on his lips, "As soon as all the chess pieces are put in, won't they all slide to the bottom and gather together obediently?"

Thales frowned and said nothing.

On the other side, the bronze-skinned guard Custa smiled disdainfully:

"Melting and recasting? Please, polite Morgan, do you know how long it takes to rebuild a chessboard and how expensive it is?"

"But before putting it back into the furnace, you have to take out the chess pieces first. Can't you just put them back into the furnace and melt them together?" Conmuto thought thoughtfully.

At this time, Huaiya, who had been taking notes, suddenly spoke and joined the conversation:

"In that case, which chess pieces do we have to take out? Which ones don't have to be taken out? Also, which ones can be put back after they are taken out, and which ones should be thrown away?"

He raised his gaze, causing everyone to lower their heads:

"After you build the pot and put the chess pieces back, how much will be left?"

After hearing this, Thales stopped eating his porridge.

On the other side, veteran Gennard, who had been silent all this time, suddenly spoke:

"A chessboard with no chess pieces left is still a chessboard. Can you still play chess?"

"Why play chess?" Morgan said disdainfully, "The chessboard is replaced by a big pot, isn't it just to make the chess pieces pile up and not shake or make noise? Who the hell cares about playing chess?"

Everyone was stunned, some were thoughtful, and some were confused.

Huaiya scratched his head and thought:

"Okay, let's not play chess or not... Let's assume that the pot has been built and the chess pieces are safe and sound, but what if, what if this recast pot has been used for a long time, weathered, corroded, and been weighed down by countless chess pieces? What should I do if I flatten it and turn it back into a smooth chessboard that is not easy to shake?"

Nexi frowned:

"Melting it again?"

"Perhaps, what we see now is a chessboard with uneven stress due to its flatness on all four sides..."

Paul sighed, crossed his arms, and rested his chin on his hands - he finally found the debris around his mouth, and tried to wipe them away calmly and naturally in a way that did not affect his image:

"When it was freshly baked, was it also a high-quality cauldron?"

"No, why do you like pot so much?" Cuesta was puzzled. "Isn't the chessboard just for playing chess? If you don't want to play chess and don't want to hear the chess pieces clicking, just throw away the whole chessboard and waste the time. "You're making a pot?"

"You guys are so weird."

A voice suddenly sounded, and everyone turned around and found that D.D was struggling with a hard old steak:

"Why, why, why do you insist on making all the chess pieces slide in one direction?"

What?

Everyone, including Thales, was stunned.

D.D finally took a bite of the steak and chewed it with satisfaction.

"Isn't the reason why there are so many grids and so many routes on the chessboard just to allow more chess pieces and different chess pieces to have a place to stand and a place to go?"

Doyle enjoyed the steak with a heartless expression on his face:

"As long as there are no chess pieces falling or crushing the board, then let them slide freely in all directions and make noise. Isn't it a very bad thing?"

Everyone looked at each other, stunned for a second before they realized what was happening. They all waved their hands in disdain.

"I don't have any common sense about chess..."

"What a mess..."

"So you are ignorant..."

"If the chess pieces can move on their own, what's the point of playing chess?"

"Yes, what's the use of the chess player? Isn't it worthless, worse than a chess piece?"

"If there is no one to play chess, wouldn't it be a matter of time before the chess pieces fall off the chessboard?"

"The chessboard will be destroyed!"

"The chess pieces all have their own ideas and are going in different directions, so how can we unite to capture the opponent's pieces and win the chess game?"

D.D was confused and said:

"But, what opponent? Why should we capture our opponent's pieces?"

"When playing chess, there must be more than one side, more than one player, and there must be opponents!"

D.D is not convinced:

"Wait a minute, as I just said, if the chess players are useless and worthless, then of course there will be no so-called opponents. Then how can we defeat the opponent?"

"Because it must be so," Morgan shook his head: "Because if we don't capture the opponent's pieces first, then the opponent will capture our pieces."

But D.D still doesn’t understand:

"Why? Why would our opponent capture our pieces?"

Conmuto was taken aback for a moment and then answered bravely:

"Because...because they want to occupy our chessboard?"

"Aren't our chessboards the same and connected together?"

Nixi had an idea:

"It's true that it's the same chessboard, but there are boundaries. This side is ours, and that side is theirs!"

"Then why not let them come?"

"You're crazy! Let their chess pieces come over and occupy our place, then where will our chess pieces go?"

"Go to their place! Each chess piece is free to go wherever it wants..."

Cuesta felt irritated and made the final decision:

"Oh, why do you care so much? When playing chess, there are players and opponents. These are the rules! Why are you glaring at me? I didn't make the rules!"

D.D has a mouth full of food and cannot speak clearly:

"Then why do you have to comply?"

Cuesta was startled:

"Why should I...Why don't I obey?"

"Okay, who makes the rules?"

D.D's question made everyone stunned.

"who?"

"It's a convention..."

"Always like this……"

"Since ancient times..."

"Um, the person who invented the game of chess?"

"The best chess player?"

"Um...the first person to play chess?"

"Still the first obedient chess piece?"

"The first chessboard with grid lines?"

Thales listened silently to their chat after tea and dinner without saying a word.

"Then, no matter who made the decision," Huaiya suddenly said in a daze, "can we change the rules?"

"us?"

Paul finally wiped away the debris around his mouth. He held his arms for a while to make the action of wiping his mouth less abrupt, then let go and snorted:

"I can't change it anyway."

D.D scratched his head.

However, Waiya still has questions:

"But, if Your Highness succeeds, and countless chess pieces are moving in the same direction and gathered in one place, wouldn't the chessboard be unbalanced? Will it fall over?"

Conmuto chuckled:

"How is that possible? That is a chessboard that can support every chess piece! The foundation must be the strongest, for example, it is firmly nailed to the stone table and will not fall over!"

"Wait a minute, if it is firmly nailed, how will His Highness shake the chessboard and gather the pieces?"

"So His Highness is very strong..."

"No, Your Highness can shake the chessboard precisely because its foundation is not firmly fixed..."

Morgan's eyes moved:

"In other words, as long as you have enough strength, you can lift the stone table, shake the chessboard - and even recast a pot."

"You must," Paul said firmly, "You must have enough strength to lift the stone table and shake the chessboard."

"Then we must carefully select the most perfect center," Huaiya said thoughtfully. "When the chess pieces gather towards it, the stress on all sides will be even. In this way, the chessboard will not tip over."

"Isn't that what I said, recast the pot..."

"Wait a minute, where is the perfect center of the chessboard, or who determines the center of the chessboard?"

Commuto looked to his left and then to his right, feeling that his mind was filled with questions:

"How do I know - Hey, does this topic bother you?"

"Maybe there's no answer."

Thales's voice suddenly sounded, attracting everyone's attention.

“Whether it’s a chessboard or a chess piece, it’s shaking, it’s sliding, it’s gathering, it’s scattering, it’s fixed, it’s loose, it’s rules, it’s chaos, there’s actually no inevitable end or eternal answer, there’s just continuance. The moving chess pieces and the moving and stilling chessboard only have the process and history formed through their interaction," the prince sighed, "Perhaps this is the essence of the chess game."

What's the essence?

Although some people still didn't understand or were dissatisfied, no one dared to ask, let alone refute His Highness the Prince.

Only Mallos, who had been silent for a long time, snorted coldly and turned to look out the window:

"It sounds like we're back to square one, solving nothing and making no sense."

"In the eyes of chess players, and even the gods above the chessboard, this may indeed be meaningless." Thales nodded, slightly lost in thought, "But once you feel, perceive, and wake up to these things, it is the chess pieces that are playing chess with their heads down. itself……"

He took a deep breath:

"The meaning is beyond everything."

Mallos frowned:

"What's the use? Even if you notice it, what can the chess pieces do?"

Thales looked at the watchman and smiled slightly:

"That's another topic."

Next to the dining car, D.D poked Cuesta next to him:

"Strange, how did we get to this boring topic and still keep talking?"

"You're still asking me?"

"Your Highness is a man of culture after all..."

"Maybe," Huaiya, who had been working hard to take notes and had no time to eat, mused, "maybe because this topic is not boring, and it even concerns everyone."

D.D and Cuesta looked at each other and rolled their eyes.

Huaiya felt something and suddenly looked up in surprise:

"Where are you going, Your Highness?"

Everyone also looked up, and then realized that Thales was already ten steps away.

"I've been sitting for a day, and my head is getting big. Let's go for a walk." The prince waved the sausage on his hand towards the back, leaving them with a handsome back.

Huaiya was stunned. He looked at his notes, then at the half piece of bread on the dining car, and murmured:

"Of course, Your Highness..."

Mallos, who looked serious, sighed and put down the soup in his hand.

"What are you doing standing still?"

He ordered coldly:

"Follow me!"

————

Where is he?

Lausanne II woke up slowly, his vision was pitch black, and his nose was filled with the stench of rot and urine.

Dim.

dirty.

moist.

silence.

Never seen the light of day.

These thoughts passed by in a flash, and the pain came as expected.

"Well……"

Lausanne II groaned in pain.

Waves of itching and severe pain came from his broken arm, and the wounds on his chest and abdomen were not to be outdone.

seriously injured.

Near death.

Lausanne II gritted his teeth, and the muscles and blood vessels of the wounds on his body immediately "came to life", stretching out tiny granules, struggling like earthworms, trying to use the vampire's ability to mend and recover, but there was no choice...

【Blood! ! ! 】

A tremor spread from the depths of his soul, shaking him for a moment!

【Shut up! 】

Lausanne II first roared in his heart, and then sneered.

Sure enough, the monster inside me was never absent and came as promised.

As for him, after being seriously injured, his physical strength and recovery ability were almost exhausted.

It does require—blood.

Lots of blood.

Excellent blood.

The next second, Lausanne II resisted the nausea and discomfort, the severe pain and blood thirst, took a deep breath, and tried to struggle up from the ground, but found that he was lying on the ground, his whole body was heavy and motionless.

strangeness.

Lausanne II's eyes were blood red, his muscles tightened, and he launched with all his strength!

Bang!

The vampire struggled with all his strength, but it only caused an unpleasant sound of metal friction.

The killer immediately understood what was on him.

Chains.

shackles.

shackles.

The most familiar friend who has been with him for most of his life.

"Hahahahaha..."

With sad self-mockery, Lausanne II ironed it back and sneered.

He no longer struggled vigorously, but turned his head vigorously and looked around in a narrow field of vision.

His vampire senses slowly took effect:

This is a very typical dungeon, with thick layers of stone on all sides and only a small hole half a person's height behind it as the entrance and exit.

The ground was full of sewage, the air was full of stench, and cockroaches were crawling not far away.

There was only a small candle in the corner, which could hardly illuminate even a few feet around.

As for him, his limbs—perhaps only three limbs—are fastened by an extremely heavy black mechanical stone lock with complicated patterns. Four thick chains extend from the lock and are fixed at the four corners of the dungeon.

Unable to move.

"He's awake."

A steady voice came from the direction of one of the four iron chains:

"Be on alert."

Lausanne II tried his best to turn his head, but unfortunately his field of vision was narrow and the lights were dim. He couldn't see the other person's appearance clearly. He could only feel that the man was full of blood, and even his outline was glowing red.

but……

Lausanne II carefully receives feedback from other senses:

The person breathes evenly.

Heartbeat steady.

A sword rests on his lap.

He behaves calmly and gracefully.

Or a master.

Or he is a pretending master.

Wait, he seems to have heard this man's voice.

Lausanne II's eyes moved.

He was one of the people who hunted him that day.

"I say, he should give him another blow on the head to save trouble - or at least change the silver locks."

A rough voice came from the direction of the other chain, with a disdainful tone.

The second guard had his weapon on him and smelled faintly of blood.

Recently injured.

"Miss Heeley said that he will be interrogated later," the first person's voice came. "He has been seriously injured. Although I don't know how good the vampire's physique is, I can't be careless..."

A third voice broke in, panicking:

"So I said, how long do you have to keep guard? Although the reward is very high, it stinks here... I said, you are not kidnapping, right... Don't get me wrong, I, I, I, I don't have any opinion, I am very Supportive…”

The third guard was short of breath and had weak hands and feet. He was an ordinary person, no, even weaker than ordinary people.

Lausanne II silently counted the number of people.

"Shut up, just sit down if you don't want to die." Another voice came, interrupting the third person, who immediately fell silent.

Fourth, women.

The voice was cold, the tone was cautious, and there was a faint smell of blood on his body.

one two three four……

Lausanne II finished his observation and took a deep breath.

four people.

Watch over him.

There was also a woman among them, a coward who couldn't speak a word clearly.

Lausanne II narrowed his eyes and began to explore the range of movement with his remaining left hand, slowly touching the black shackles on his body.

This also underestimates him.

Even if he is seriously injured and dying.

Those vampires at the beginning locked him in a heavily guarded blood-forbidden prison, guarded by all kinds of terrifying old zombies and unheard of magical curses.

【Blood! Blood! Blood! 】

Lausanne II turned a deaf ear to the desire in his body and snorted secretly.

They will pay the price for their underestimation.

"I am seriously injured," Lausanne II said hoarsely, having no choice but to obey the desire in his body, "Without blood, I will die."

Escape first...

The guards remained motionless and deaf.

"If I die, your mistress will lose even her last bargaining chip." Lausanne II felt the pain and fatigue. "What can she use to blackmail Polaris?"

There was silence in the dungeon.

It wasn't until a few seconds later that a cold female voice spoke:

"Wait."

Boom!

There was a muffled sound, and a soft object was thrown to Lausanne II's mouth.

Seeing the target clearly, Lausanne II's eyes widened.

It was a dead rat.

Smelly.

fishy.

stiff.

It also had a strange smell of disgusting rot.

What?

Lausanne II frowned.

"That's it?"

"What, isn't the blood of a rat blood?" the female guard said coldly, "Can't it support your recovery from your injuries?"

There was a surge of anger in Lausanne II's chest.

Of course.

Unless you work day and night, don’t move and don’t consume, and eat hundreds or thousands of them continuously...

"At least give me fresh ones."

In order to get out of trouble, he swallowed his anger.

"Farewell, the rats here are very powerful," the male guard on the other side said sarcastically, "I'm afraid you can't beat them like this."

Lausanne II clenched his fists.

[Blood, blood! Want blood! 】

Lausanne II closed his eyes.

All right.

damn it.

This is to escape.

At least, at least it wasn't human blood.

Not...the blood of innocents.

Feeling the bloody smell of the dead rat, Lausanne II forced himself to hold back his nausea and revulsion, opened his mouth tremblingly, showed his teeth, and bit through the rat's corpse.

Pfft.

The hairy and stiff texture gradually solidified, and the slightly rotten and foul-smelling cold blood splashed out from the mouse's veins and entered his mouth.

It made him feel sick and bitter.

[Blood...really...stinks...]

【Shut up! 】

Lausanne II closed his eyes and swallowed the unpleasant blood in pain.

Although it was slow, but surely, the dying blood in his body began to stir.

Resume again.

"Look, why don't you just eat it," the male guard said disdainfully, "Why are you so particular..."

The next second, Lausanne II, who had recovered some physical strength, suddenly opened his eyes, his eyes blood red!

His left hand turned and turned into sharp claws.

brush!

The fire was radiating, and his sharp claws went straight to the locks on his body, making a harsh and unpleasant friction sound!

Suddenly, the ordinary man screamed in fright, and the other three people immediately stood up, weapons in hand, ready for battle!

"arms!"

"He's picking the locks!"

"I said he is a restless scourge," the first rough and rich voice said viciously, "He should--"

"Calm down," Cassian, who was obviously the leader, said calmly, letting his nervous companions relax, "look, he can't break free."

At the center of everyone's attention, Lausanne II was stunned.

Lying on the ground, he struggled to raise his head:

The black stone locks under the sharp claws were motionless, leaving not even a scratch.

On the contrary, his vampire claws were emitting a faint green smoke due to the violent friction just now.

This lock...can't be opened?

"But he tried," the female guard stood behind him, observing him carefully, the tip of her sword always facing her opponent, "and he will try again."

Lausanne II was still stunned, wondering why his sharpest and most hated vampire claws were ineffective.

Cassian frowned.

He held the candle and slowly approached Lausanne II.

"Don't work in vain," Cassian carefully observed Lausanne II's movements, watching the sharp claws on the latter's hands gradually shrink, "I know you are an extreme master, but you can't break free of this lock."

Lausanne II sneered and did not answer.

What nonsense is there to talk about with dead people?

"Of course he can't break free," the first male guard with a rich voice drew out his sword and approached him, gritting his teeth, "If both hands are gone, I'll see what he can use to break free..."

But Cassian reached out decisively and held down the male guard.

He looked at the latter and shook his head:

"He is a prisoner and should be treated as he deserves as long as his safety is not affected."

The male guard snorted angrily and shook off Cassian's hand:

"pedantic."

Cassian was not upset, but just looked at the prisoner silently.

"You know, the day before I graduated and left the Tower of Termination, Kuradel from the 'Rose' lineage told me a story."

Knight Cassian said quietly.

Lausanne II was thinking about another way to break free from the chains, and frowned when he heard this.

"He said that a long time ago, the legendary mages did many, many bad things," Cassian said with longing in his eyes. "One of them was to measure the limits of what the human body can achieve - speed, reaction, strength, Flexibility, durability, injury tolerance, and even the power of termination were still called extraordinary powers at that time - and a large number of experiments were conducted on living subjects, ranging from the elderly, children, women, men, soldiers, craftsmen to..."

The other guards all frowned, and Cassian seemed to realize something and smiled slightly.

"I won't say what they have done, but through complex experiments and formula calculations, the mages have indeed measured the limits of the human body and summarized a whole set of theories - I'm afraid you won't believe how exaggerated this limit is, and how trivial it is. What an incredible thing a mortal can do with only his flesh and blood and the power of the end."

Lausanne II snorted disdainfully.

"So people at that time agreed that this was the limit of mortals, and called it..."

Cassian looked at his sword and shook his head:

"Extreme realm."

Cassian sighed softly.

"No matter how powerful or powerful a person is, they say that this is the highest critical point that a person can reach, and beyond that, it is beyond the reach of human beings. In order to break through this critical point, one must transcend the human body. To break through the shackles of flesh and blood, mages have done even worse things..."

Lausanne II remained unmoved and was still trying to find the shackles on his body.

"But on the other side, another group of people who have always had a bad relationship with the mages - the knights, are not convinced."

Cassian raised his head, his eyes clear:

"After years of wielding swords, they know that the body has limits and that flesh and blood has an end, but they never believe in human power, or in other words, they do not believe that the knight's will and spirit have their limits."

brush!

The fire flashed, and the others became nervous.

“Bah, fuck your spirit!”

Lausanne II, who failed to open the lock again, cursed loudly, and his sharp claws even drew blood.

"They scorned the mage's theory that the highest human being is the 'extreme realm'." Cassian looked at the killer's struggle calmly, "calling it a 'false realm'."

"They firmly believe that as long as certain conditions are met - hard work, sweat, perseverance, will, determination, methods, or anything else, mere mortals can surpass their limits."

"To reach the 'real realm'."

“This is the origin of the terms ‘extreme realm’ and ‘true world’ above the extraordinary—at least it’s one of the terms.”

None of the other guards in the dungeon spoke.

Cassian came to his senses.

"And the lock on your body is an ancient magic lock that Kevin Dill got from the Corleone family. It is said that they asked the mages to forge it according to the theory of 'Extreme Realm' a long time ago to ensure that even the locked captives He is a master who has pushed all his abilities to the peak, and he cannot escape."

The knight looked at the black stone lock on the prisoner's body with sad eyes.

"Yes, the meaning of this lock is to lock the ultimate master."

It also locks the limits of human beings.

A sign of one's own weakness.

Lausanne II frowned upon hearing this.

"It depends on what kind of expert he is," the seriously injured killer gasped more and more violently, but he said harshly, "What if he is someone who specializes in unlocking?"

Cassian shook his head:

"I've never seen it broken in my entire life."

In fact, he had seen it once.

But the other party doesn’t need to know, right?

"So it would be a good idea," Cassian sighed, "to stop trying to take advantage of it and make it easier for both of us?"

Lausanne II was silent.

He didn't reply, but he stopped trying to pick the lock.

"You said before that when you were young, you saw my contest between generals," the killer suddenly changed the subject, "What did you see?"

Knight Cassian's eyes moved.

He looked at the killer lingering on the ground and thought of the high-spirited knight apprentice who was his former general.

"I saw that you have excellent swordsmanship. One of the battles was against a master of the 'Rose' lineage. When faced with his backhand attack, you were always able to..."

Lausanne II snorted disdainfully:

"You know what I'm asking."

"You and Prince Horace finally faced off, and they were inextricably matched. At one point, they even had the upper hand."

Cassian paused and exhaled.

"But at the last moment, he caught the flaw..."

"If I said that I had a chance to kill him, would you believe it?" Lausanne II interrupted him coldly.

Knight Cassian smiled and was slightly surprised when he heard this. He was about to speak, but his expression suddenly changed!

"you do not……"

He stood up suddenly, but his body swayed, his eyes blurred, and he fell down softly.

thump!

Three muffled sounds were heard, and Cassian and the guards fell down.

Hit.

Done.

Lausanne II looked at them coldly and concentrated on unlocking it.

It's so annoying.

If you want to kill, kill him, if you want to cut him, cut him into pieces. You have to force Lai Lai to give up his struggle.

Great, now let’s take a look at this broken lock——

Um?

Lausanne II suddenly remembered something.

There were only three sounds of falling to the ground just now?

"Ahhhhhhh! Help ahhhhh!"

The deafening cry for help came, and the killer couldn't help but be surprised!

He tried to turn his head, only to find that the ordinary guard, who spoke tremblingly, acted timidly, and was a bit bloated and clumsy, not only did not fall, but was still shouting in panic.

how come……

Before Lausanne II had time to be surprised why his powers were ineffective, he saw the stupid guard rushing towards Cassian who fell to the ground, shaking desperately:

"It's coming, it's coming! Knight! Lord Knight! Wake up, wake up, wake up!"

Oops!

But before he could curse, Cassian, who was knocked down by "Evil Whispering", slowly woke up and turned around, pressing his forehead in pain.

The other two guards, a man and a woman, slowly woke up, one gritting his teeth and the other silent.

"Do you think we locked you here without making preparations in advance? Especially for your superpowers?"

Knight Cassian stood up with an unhappy expression and thanked the fat guard who shook him awake.

Lausanne II looked puzzled at the guard who instantly changed from crying to smiling because of the knight's thanks:

"How, how could..."

"This guy's name is Slimani. He used to be a defense attorney," the male guard said coldly, explaining his confusion, "until he went crazy."

What?

Lausanne II looked intently.

Only then did he realize that apart from his shabby clothes and his stupid expression and strange behavior, the fat and shouting guard actually looked familiar.

"It can't be called crazy... It should be said that his brain is messed up and he can't distinguish between the past and the present, memory and reality." The female guard sighed, "Yes, it coincides with your superpower. In other words, this superpower It won’t work on him.”

What?

Lausanne II tried his best to raise his neck, stared at Slimani with wide eyes.

When I saw him, the former great defender suddenly became gentle and kind. He sat on the ground full of sewage without any scruples, and counted his fingers with satisfaction:

"One, two, three... Bobo told me that after doing this job, he can earn a little money and make a new set of clothes for his wife..."

Lausanne II was in disbelief.

He stared motionless at Slimani, his once target, now a shackle that held him helpless.

"I advise you not to take advantage of him." Knight Cassian saw that he kept staring at Slimani and couldn't help but warn him.

Perhaps because he had just been tricked, his attitude towards the killer was no longer gentle.

"I forgot to tell you that each of the four of us has a mechanism in his hand," the female guard said coldly. She raised a simple wooden handle in her hand with a tight rope attached to it, "Once All four of them lost consciousness and let go, triggering the mechanism..."

organ?

Lausanne II's expression changed slightly.

Just listen to the female guard whisper:

"Directly above you is a skylight that leads directly to a ground drain."

Lausanne II frowned deeply.

What?

The male guard on the other side suddenly said: "What time is it now? One o'clock? Two o'clock? Is it afternoon?"

The female guard shrugged:

"open to take a look?"

Open?

Lausanne II’s eyes narrowed!

The next second, there was a muffled sound of wood above the killer's head!

Wow!

At that moment, the dungeon suddenly burst into light!

Light.

Light?

Light!

Lausanne II's eyes widened and he watched in disbelief as the bright light from above shone into the dark dungeon, piercing the darkness and filling his vision!

No, no, no!

Dazzling light fell from the sky, illuminating the surroundings and even his whole body.

No!

Lausanne II's eyes were horrified, and the monster in his body cried out in despair along with him.

【No! 】

Exposed to the sun, his bloodline instinct made him tremble and tremble uncontrollably, struggling for his life!

No! !

The shackles were pulled wildly and shook wildly, non-stop.

No! ! !

But the vampire killer struggled for several seconds before realizing that the expected pain and burning sensation did not appear.

He was neither burned to ashes nor scalded until his flesh and blood blistered.

Um?

Lausanne II looked at the silver light on his body in confusion, and the struggle disappeared instantly.

This is……

It's moonlight.

The killer let out a breath.

Gentle, quiet, safe...

Moonlight.

Lausanne II stared blankly at the bright moon outside the sky window.

The next second, his whole body relaxed as if he was exhausted, and the back of his head hit the ground with a thud.

"It's around eight o'clock in the evening, huh, you're lucky," the male guard said in a cold voice, as if he was feeling pity, "Pull it up."

The female guard snorted, and the three picked up the discarded handle again, and at the same time thrust the other handle back into Slimani's hand.

The skylight closed and the moonlight disappeared.

But Lausanne II still leaned his head on the ground, his face dull.

Light.

moonlight.

It’s just moonlight…

But why.

Why……

Why has it taken so many years...

He is still like this...

Lausanne II felt his eyes were sore and his chest was heavy.

He lay on the ground, shaking slightly involuntarily.

Why?

Uncomfortable, humiliating, painful, numb, sad, desperate...

Countless emotions hit him instantly, making him unbearable.

Flooding the Vampire's mind, which was already experiencing great emotional fluctuations.

"Are you crying now? Humph, wasn't he very impressive before?" the male guard said disdainfully.

The female guard narrowed her eyes:

"This light...is that scary?"

Lausanne II said nothing, just stared blankly at the dim ceiling.

"No, he is not afraid, but hates."

Cassian, who had been observing for a long time, took back the wooden handle and wrapped the rope around it.

"And it's not the light he hates."

Cassian looked sadly at the swordsman and the most powerful enemy lying on the ground, remembering the panic and fear in his eyes when he was hiding from the sun, and understood something:

"It's him."

The male and female guards were thoughtful.

"Fuck you." Lausanne II came back to his senses, twisted his head in pain, blinked hard to wipe away tears, and said harshly.

Just then, the dungeon door opened.

"what happens?"

Amid the footsteps, another young female voice came, rather impatiently:

"I could hear Manny yelling from all the way away."

Knight Cassian turned around and saluted:

"Miss."

"It's nothing," the female guard responded calmly, "Our guest is restless, just give him a small treat."

Slimani's eyes lit up when he saw the new girl:

"Miss, kind lady, I did everything you said. I screamed as soon as they fell asleep... is the reward..."

"Yeah, I know, good job, Manny. By the way, Bobo is looking for you."

Slimani wanted to say something more, but he was pushed out of the dungeon by the male and female guards.

The newcomer refused to be accompanied by Knight Cassian and walked slowly towards Lausanne II.

The rightful owner has arrived.

Lausanne II took a deep breath, forgetting the pain and despair just now, and hardened his heart to face the new girl.

"Congratulations, little girl from the Kevin Deere family," the killer said coldly, without showing any signs of weakness, "You have caught the most terrifying murderer in the Emerald City."

"Terrible? Huh, you are just a little wave in the big wind and waves of the Emerald City."

A young female voice came to him and responded lightly:

"Whether it's Kathleen from the Blood Bottle Gang or Feisuo from the Brotherhood, I believe they will be happy to accept you."

"But you won't do that."

Lausanne II struggled to turn his head from a few angles so that he could face the opponent.

"You still want to use me as a bargaining chip to blackmail Polaris, negotiate terms, and save your brother from trouble," the killer sneered. "You need my existence, and even more my cooperation, in order to survive in the Emerald City at this moment. The most powerful people compete against each other.”

The owner of the dungeon - Cecilia Kevin Dill was silent for a long time.

"He has a lot of power," Miss Iris said disdainfully. "Let alone being powerless and poor, no one in this city takes him seriously."

"Maybe," Lausanne II said solemnly, "But because of this, little girl, you are the unwise person."

Xi Lai's eyes moved.

"Originally, the matter was about to end: Prince Thales caught the murderer, and prepared a trial, a confession, and an explanation to the world... Who owned the Emerald City at that time, and whether the Duke was Federico or Zhan, were all decided. He has the final say. It’s a matter of tossing a coin and choosing one.”

Lausanne II chuckled:

"But you stepped in, grabbed the tiger's mouth, slapped him in front of the whole city, making him look cowardly and incompetent, losing face, and unable to close the case..."

Xi Lai remembered something, she crossed her arms and sneered as well.

"I know, but that's kind of cool, right?"

"In order to save your brother, you turned yourself into a benchmark for the Emerald City's resistance to the prince," Lausanne II ignored her cold humor, "and also drove Polaris to a dead end."

Lausanne II struggled hard, causing the chains in the dungeon to rattle.

Cassian frowned and was about to step forward, but Heeley reached out to stop him.

"Now, if he chooses Zhan En, he will be forced to compromise, condescending, humiliating his status, and bringing disgrace to the royal family..."

I could feel Lausanne II gritting his teeth, and there was an inexplicable light joy between the lines:

"If he chooses Federico, he will be stubborn to the end, seize power by force, and dig his own grave in the face of the ridicule and opposition of the whole city..."

Lausanne II sneered:

"His remaining choice is to completely oppose you until death."

Hilley was silent.

"Now, he must first find you, recapture you as a prisoner, sanction you, punish you, let the whole world see that he has regained the power and dignity he lost from you, and restore the influence, before he can end everything in Emerald City."

A hint of stubbornness flashed in Xi Lai's eyes.

"Very good, I'm just waiting for him to come to me."

"He will," Lausanne II laughed. "He has been to this sewer, he knows it! He will mobilize the power of the whole city to find me, or in other words, find you!"

Hilley frowned upon hearing this and turned to Cassian.

"Did you tell him where this was?"

Cassian hesitated for a moment and spoke awkwardly:

"We showed him the skylight."

Hilley looked unhappy:

"It's unnecessary."

Cassian bowed his head in apology.

"And when he comes next time, he will neither be alone nor unarmed," Lausanne II's smile became more exaggerated, "and he won't be easily blackmailed by you and let you go because he is worried about the public eye like last time. ”

Hilley did not respond.

"Because of you, the script that was written suddenly got out of control, and everything was in chaos," Lausanne II said with sharp eyes. "Unless you decide the winner, the Emerald City will not end well, and no one will be able to survive alone."

The killer glanced at Miss Kevin Dill with evil intentions:

"are you ready?"

Xi Lai frowned slightly, but showed no sign of weakness:

“Worry about yourself first, prisoner—did you drink the blood today?”

Lausanne II smiled, not caring about the other party's sarcasm.

"You are very confident. You think he will not kill you, or even do harm to you," he shook his head and tutted, "You are a girl who is carried away by love."

Hilley remained motionless and expressionless.

"Next time I want to show him the skylight, Cassian," Miss Kevin Dill said calmly, "Choose during the day."

Cassian raised his eyebrows and nodded.

But Lausanne II seemed to have seen through his fate a long time ago and was not afraid.

"Believe me, I've dealt with people like him - so-called 'good guys' in positions of power."

The vampire killer's eyes were ethereal, filled with both nostalgia and pain.

"Compared to killing people, they have many ways to use the most noble and compassionate way to make people's lives worse than death."

Facing them, you will only be filled with grievances and resentment.

But he couldn't find the hatred and anger that he could happily vent.

But there is always something wrong behind this charm that makes people "willingly" die for it.

wrong.

Lausanne II clenched his fists.

"So you're surrendering now?" Heeley said suddenly.

Lausanne II was stunned.

"What?"

"I know, it's an old trick. It uses your past and your persistence to confuse you: life is hopeless, life has no solution, the end is tragic, and the only meaningful thing is to resort to instinct and exhaust all efforts. Anger, venting hatred, to prove that he existed."

Hilley crossed his arms and rubbed his gloves with disdain in his eyes.

What?

Lausanne II thought of something and his expression slowly changed.

"And you surrendered, bowed your head, and allowed it to wreak havoc in your mind, taking and asking for everything." Hilley clicked his tongue and shook his head, "Tsk, tsk, how pitiful."

Appeal to instinct, use up all your anger, vent your hatred...

Surrender, bow your head, take whatever you want...

"Who, who are you talking about?"

The killer found himself shaking slightly.

"You know who it is," Hilley said with a cold face. "That monster is full of evil taste and loves to see people's beliefs accumulated over decades collapse overnight and turn into madness."

Cassian closed his eyes behind his back and turned his head, as if he couldn't bear to look anymore.

Collapse overnight and enter madness?

Lausanne II's eyes widened and his breathing quickened:

"You, you and that, that...how, how did it become...and how did you know that I used to be..."

"It doesn't know anything at all, and it can't change any real person," Hilley interrupted him coldly, "But you know that, don't you? Only you know your past."

you know.

only you know.

Lausanne II was stunned.

"Look, people are often defeated not by their opponents," Heeley couldn't help but sigh, "but by themselves."

"But……"

boom.

The dungeon door opened again.

"Did he recruit?"

Lausanne II recovered from the shock just now and collected his thoughts.

This new voice is special and different from the previous guards.

It's a new guest.

In order to hide under the nose of Kongming Palace, she must have taken great pains and contacted many helpers.

Lausanne II closed his eyes, feeling gloomy.

"He's about to recruit."

Xi Lai sighed, turned around, and said in a bad tone, as if he was annoyed at being interrupted: "If I hadn't been interrupted by you."

"That's good," the new guest walked slowly, approaching the prisoner, "lest you try the prisoner privately behind my back and reap the benefits."

Um?

strangeness.

Lausanne II noticed something was wrong and opened his eyes suddenly!

how come……

"You, you...why are you here?"

The killer looked at the new guest in disbelief.

The new guest frowned:

"That's really weird to say. Why can't I be here?"

Lausanne II was stunned.

etc.

That means...

He subconsciously looked at Xi Lai, wanting an answer.

"As you can see, I kept my promise," the new guest stood next to Miss Kevin Dill and stretched out his hand with a nonchalant expression, "Now, can you return the pledge to me?"

Xi Lai glanced at him and snorted coldly, seeming to be disdainful.

A second later, the girl from the Kevin Deere family reluctantly pulled something out of her waist.

At that moment, Lausanne II's eyes widened!

dagger.

That's a dagger.

A sharp dagger that gleams with cold light and cuts iron like clay.

And he recognized the dagger.

He has seen it.

More than once.

The most recent time was the day I was arrested. The young lady in front of me put it on her neck and left peacefully...

The last time, and the last time after that, was...

Lausanne II was stunned.

impossible.

"You guys, when did you..."

impossible……

Lausanne II looked at the other party in disbelief, suddenly figured out something, and his eyelids opened wide!

"No, could it be said that as early as the night when I was hunted and captured, you, you two..."

The vampire killer looked at the new guest standing next to Xi Lai and said in a daze:

"Are we all in the same group?"

No one answered.

In the dungeon, they saw Polar Star, the second prince, the Duke of Star Lake, and the temporary regent of Kongming Palace. Thales Canxing naturally took the JC dagger handed back by Hilley Kevindir.

The wind is light and the clouds are calm, and the waves are calm. (End of chapter)