Exter, on the road leading to Longxiao City from the Black Sand Territory.

"I hereby advise Your Highness to put away those two flags...especially the cross and double-star star flag." Among the groups of Northland soldiers marching, Viscount Cambida held the reins and rode until he was heavily surrounded.

Thales stood beside him, ignoring the extremely poor expressions of Putilai and Huaiya next to him, and said to the second prince of the stars:

"Although we have two thousand well-trained elite soldiers from the North, many of whom are standing troops around the Grand Duke, but letting everyone along the way know that the Star Prince is here is obviously not the best choice."

Thales had no intention of paying attention to the snowy scenery on both sides of the road, the looming mountains in the distance ahead, and the occasional smoke. The reason why he missed the magnificent scenery of the snow-covered mountains in the North was partly because he was still thinking about two things.

The other part of what Ramon said a few days ago was the horse underneath him.

At this moment, he was riding alone, carefully controlling the horse under him to prevent it from shaking his back from time to time. Rolf followed nervously beside him, ready to use the wind to lift his little employer at any time.

.

Although Jinnie and Gilbert had taught him almost every trick of horseback riding in the Mindis Hall for more than a month, Thales seemed to be born with a conflict with horses, no matter in the Mindis Hall.

The colt was lent by the Grand Duke of Lombard. It was usually docile and obedient, and was specially equipped with a children's saddle. It was a horse bred by a noble family in the North, but it obviously repelled his riding or even getting close to it.

By the way, the saddle... didn't Ramon say that this was also invented by the mages?

So, magic can be said to be the science of this world? Mages are a group of people who are determined to study and discover the truth?

What happened to the magic power? How did the magic disappear?

Unfortunately, the conversation that day was quickly interrupted by Cambida, and it seemed that he would have to find another opportunity next time.

Thales watched nervously as the horse under him crossed an uneven snow pit and breathed a sigh of relief.

"I thought it should be an international practice for a mission to show its flag and reveal its identity." Thales turned his head and looked helplessly at Cambida while carefully paying attention to the dissatisfied mount under him, "Besides, two thousand people

The army stretches nearly hundreds of meters in front and back. With such a big movement, even if I don’t raise the flag, don’t people know that Prince of the Stars has set foot on Exter’s territory?”

"Or maybe the Grand Duke of Lombard feels that there is no benefit in showing too close to Prince of Stars at this time?"

Cambida smiled: "Your Highness, please believe in the Grand Duke..."

But Putilai interrupted him.

"We had to send two thousand men to ensure that the prince would not die in his own territory, and at the same time, he had to show his hostility to the stars to his countrymen." Putilai slowly smoked his pipe and sneered: "Rumba

The Archduke's situation is actually very difficult... He mobilized his territory regardless of the cost, but failed to capture the Broken Dragon Fortress, which is really a stretch."

Cambida's face turned a little ugly.

It hadn't been reflected when he was traveling and fighting before, but Thales had a feeling that once he started to come into contact with people, deputy envoy Putilai seemed to return to the battlefield where he was most comfortable. Cambida came to Tai several times on the way.

When he was around Charles, he deliberately raised political topics, but he pushed back with words that were sometimes humorous and sometimes embarrassing.

"No matter what the purpose of the Grand Duke of Black Sand is, whether it is beneficial to you or not - you should talk directly to King Nun, not an adviser under the Grand Duke of Black Sand." This was Putilai's calm explanation in private.

Lombard officially withdrew its troops two days ago, and the mission set out at the same time.

Amid the jolts of their horses, today they will walk out of the northern plains and enter the Hills of Sighs. The southwest of the hills is still within the Black Sand Territory, but the northeast of the hills is the Archduke of Exter's Reconstruction Tower, Trudy.

The territory under the jurisdiction of the Da family.

Although he did not hesitate to reject his overtures and alliance proposals in front of the other party, the Grand Duke of Lombard still generously allocated two thousand people. The standing army of these people will protect Thales on the road, and the levy troops will

On the way, they gradually dispersed and returned home.

Thales didn't know whether this was the Duke's generosity or hypocrisy, or both.

At this moment, a gray-helmeted knight in front separated from the infantry formation and rode up to them.

Thales could feel that Ada, who was riding on the horse behind him, was slowly changing from a bored and relaxed state to a tense state - in fact, after being infiltrated by that wave of fluctuations, Thales's various senses seemed to have some tension.

A subtle but real improvement.

It seems that that wave is not only something he can rely on in emergencies, but its existence is also slowly changing Thales' body... But this is exactly what Thales is most worried about.

He didn't quite remember what happened when Serena choked him and "died", or when he briefly lost consciousness. But Thales always felt that he had experienced something important, and when he woke up

, that wave of fluctuation appeared.

"Ahead is the Lyman Pass." The gray-helmeted knight coming from the front was the extreme master who had faced off against Alaka on the battlefield, the Fire Knight Tuleha. He seriously reined in his horse's head and walked in the same direction as Thales.

Xing Xing solemnly said: "There is a village there where we can rest and eat, and then continue our journey in the afternoon. At the same time, let the scouts go to investigate... After all, we will soon be under the jurisdiction of Grand Duke Zai Zaota."

Thales keenly noticed that after Tuleha finished talking about "Lyman Pass", Putilai and Huaiya's expressions sank slightly, while Kambida raised the corners of his mouth.

"What do you think, Your Highness?" Before anyone else could speak, Cambida smiled at Thales and said, "Whether it is due to practical needs or personal reasons, I suggest that you stop for a while at Leman Pass.

In order to repair or pay homage to it."

Personal reasons?

Condolences?

When Thales was confused, Putilai rode up to him and sighed deeply:

"Lyman Pass is the starting point on the southwest side of the Sighing Hills, and it is also the only way to enter the hills from the northern plains." The thin deputy put out his pipe and frowned, while Wyatt next to him turned his head.

"But that was also the place where the former second prince of the stars, His Royal Highness Horace, finally met his death during the Year of Blood." Putilai said with hesitation on his face.

Thales' expression changed, and he understood why the others' expressions changed.

Apparently, Cambida found a topic that Thales had to respond to.

It happens to be about the war between Exeter and the stars.

As the prince of the stars, Thales lowered his eyelids at the right time and sighed: "Of course, Horace is also my blood relative."

Cambida smiled and nodded.

However, Thales was also muttering silently in his heart.

Did the genius terminator swordsman whom Kessel spoke of and the royal general who Sonia spoke of with ruthless military discipline die here?

But this is also an opportunity to learn more about the truth about the Year of Blood.

He turned to Putilai.

"The cause of the prince's death?"

"At the end of the Year of Blood, that winter was surprisingly warm. King Nun gathered an army of nearly 100,000 people from seven archdukes, with sufficient food and equipment, and besieged the weak fortress." Faced with Thales' question, Putilai

Sighing, he was the first to answer.

"At that time, the southwest battlefield in the country of Stars reached the final decisive moment - Duke John held the last main force of the rebels in the gap. Victory in the counter-insurgency battle was expected, but this also meant that they could not go north to rescue and break the dragon.

The backup for the fortress is far away," Putilai shook his head, put away his pipe, and said with complicated eyes:

"Trebuchets, siege crossbows, magic guns, and countless troops ascending the city. Faced with an uninterrupted and uncompromising onslaught, Prince Horace believed that it was only a matter of time before the Broken Dragon Fortress was breached, so he took the risk to attack, bringing

A small number of troops secretly crossed the Great Needle and broke into the rear of Exeter's supply line."

Wyatt sighed deeply.

The next person to answer was the Exeter commander.

"That was a risky choice," Cambida said with a chuckle: "Obviously, it was a miscalculation of the stars, and Horace lost the bet and paid the price for it..."

Waiya looked at him angrily.

"That's a good choice, at least it goes straight to your vital points." Putilai replied with a cold snort.

Thales frowned, not knowing how to answer for a moment.

Given his status, it was best not to say anything at this time.

He had heard Gilbert's story about the royal tragedy of the Year of Blood. In his story, Horace had fallen into the trap of the Exeters.

Gilbert's statement that he was "unarmed and helpless for three hours" seemed to imply that Horace's death was exactly the same as that of other royal members: he was framed.

But from what Putilai and Cambida said, it seems that Horace himself took the risk and brought the blame on himself?

And in a place so far away from the border of stars, isn't it normal to be "without troops and no support for three hours"?

He needs to know more.

Tuleha, who was beside them, spoke out at this moment:

"That was indeed a wise decision."

When Cambida heard this, he looked at the flaming knight with an unhappy expression.

Tuleha's solemn voice made Thales frown:

"Horace was half successful. He burned nearly a quarter of our supplies - our supply line was too long and too fragile. This move at least bought a lot of time for Broken Dragon Fortress," Tuleha said solemnly,

It sounds like he is complaining about Horace:

"If we hadn't noticed it early, King Nun would have stopped attacking the city, pulled back the main force on the front line, and set up an ambush on the way back to the fortress..."

"Yes, we blocked Horace's way back from the Great Needle and forced him to the plains," Viscount Cambida snorted, seemingly dissatisfied: "It's like rounding up a fox."

Putilai's face darkened, Thales was also embarrassed, and Huaiya had a look of injustice on his face.

Any Starman should not be happy to hear an Exterian talk about how they strangled the Star Prince.

"It's not fair to say that. After all, he only has more than a thousand people," but Lord Tuleha spoke again and heard him say solemnly:

"We used nearly twenty times the army to surround Horace on the plains, but his warriors were elites rarely seen in a hundred battles, and their will was as tenacious as the Northlanders. Under their counterattack,
To be continued...