Yongxing City, Evening Star District.

"Dian——Huaiya, please wait!"

Glover avoided an oncoming mule cart and hurriedly caught up with Thales, who was walking in front of him.

"Excuse me, but have you decided what to do?"

Cohen followed him closely. Perhaps he knew that his work was meaningful. At this moment, the security officer was in a good mood:

"Don't worry, that's Tai-Huaiya. Just like in Exeter, he has his own ideas. We just need to obey them-"

"I didn't think about it." Thales suddenly said.

Cohen suddenly choked.

Thales didn't look back, he just moved forward:

"By the way, I didn't think much of it when I was at Exeter."

Cohen blinked and looked at the prince's back in confusion.

Glover sighed.

"Your Highness, with all due respect," he caught up with the young man and said:

"No matter what we are going to do, we might as well follow Lord Mallos' suggestion and inform Ms. Jinni first..."

Mallos.

Thales thought of something and stopped walking.

Glover and Cohen stopped abruptly, but at least they didn't hit the boy's back.

Only then did they realize that they were standing at a crossroads at the corner of the street, facing Fuxing Avenue, which ran through the north and south of the kingdom and was filled with people.

Turn right to go back to Mindis Hall. As for turning left...

"Zombie," Thales said:

"Commuto said before that Mallos made arrangements before entering the palace to find a reason to send you out of the Mindis Hall and come to pick me up outside the palace?"

Cohen raised his head in confusion:

"Marios - oh, that big brother we met last time at Mindis Hall?"

Glover ignored him and nodded without hesitation:

"My Lord said that what happened at the banquet is no small matter. After you enter the palace, any accident is possible."

"He must consider the worst-case scenario and leave available manpower for you, lest you be left alone and helpless, while we are leaderless and at a loss."

Thales was startled at first, and then smiled.

"That guy, even though he fights against me every day, he still has some merits, right?"

Glover nodded cautiously.

"Before becoming a watchman, the Lord was the herald of the command wing. He was responsible for delivering the orders of Captain Adrian to each wing. Many times, what he said was what the captain of the guard meant."

Thales snorted softly.

"Yeah, that guy looks like... he knows a little bit of everything, but he also hides a little bit of everything."

He is indeed a watchman.

Thales sighed secretly in his heart.

"Zombie, how long have you been in the royal guard?"

Glover was stunned for a moment, but instinctively replied:

"My qualifications are still relatively young, Your Highness, less than six years."

With complicated emotions, Thales looked through the passing cars and pedestrians, looking through the gaps between their figures towards the end of the avenue.

Under the setting sun, the majestic and heavy dark pyramid stood silently, like a giant lock falling from the sky, firmly pressing the heart of Yongxing City and even the entire Star Kingdom.

"What about Mallos?"

Glover looked solemn:

"Lord Marius was the first guard to be reorganized into the royal guard after His Majesty Kessel's coronation. Over the past ten years, there have been many changes in the guard, but the Lord has always been there."

Thales nodded thoughtfully:

"So, eighteen years."

"So, he has been serving around the Fuxing Palace and beside the throne for eighteen years, so he can be so skilled, so indifferent, so calm, so - thoughtful."

Under the hood, Thales stared at the dark and deep ancient palace:

"Whether it's preventing me from showing up when I enter the city, dealing with it at a royal banquet, or making arrangements before a disaster strikes."

"It seems that this is his instinct of action and his normal life - he has seen through it, adapted to it, and is used to it. He sees every trick and accepts it."

Just like a senior actor who is accustomed to a stage and a play, repeating similar lines countless times.

Cohen, who was not in a state of boredom, looked at the Fuxing Palace at the end of the avenue and yawned unabashedly:

"Well, it's already evening..."

Thales suddenly spoke and interrupted him:

"Do you know what we're facing now?"

Glover frowned.

Thales pondered his thoughts:

"Wire."

Glover and Cohen were both stunned:

"Wire?"

Thales nodded:

"Yes, just like in a puppet show, the string on the idol has two ends."

"One over there, one over here."

"It involves me, Marius, and everyone's every move."

Thales stared at the heavy pyramid in the distance.

When I was young, the palace was like the clouds floating in the sky. Although it was untouchable, people always looked up and stared at it.

Now, when I can really touch it...

Thales slowly stretched out his left hand, bent the tiger's mouth, and slowly captured the Fuxing Palace in the distance between his fingers.

At that moment, it seemed exquisite and under control.

However, no matter how he tightened his fingers, all Thales could feel was the rustling autumn wind blowing across his palms, leaving no trace but a chill.

"Just like in Longxiao City, as well as in Blade Fang Camp and Bone Prison," the young man frowned:

"In everything that happens, there is always a thread that pulls everything together, and eventually converges into a torrent, rolling forward."

Cohen listened in confusion and confusion, but finally caught a term he understood:

"What? Have you been to the Prison of Bones? That place that is only accessible and cannot be exited?"

Following Thales' movements, Glover looked at the Fuxing Palace in the distance and became alert:

"Pull the thread - are you saying that whether it was the accident at the banquet or today's turmoil, you were in other people's threads and were used and manipulated?"

Cohen glanced at the zombie and became equally alert:

"What banquet? What accident? What disturbance?"

Thales shook his head slightly:

"No."

"According to past experience, every time, as long as I understand where the thread is, see through it, grab it, and split it, I can see the exit of the maze - even if there is another maze behind the exit."

But Thales's expression became even deeper.

"But this time," the young man said solemnly:

"This time it's a little more special."

He looked at the small Fuxing Palace between his fingers and felt that it was becoming more and more unreal and distant.

Glover listened carefully and said nothing.

The next second, the golden sunset passed through Thales's fingers, illuminating the scars on his palms that had become indelible due to multiple cuts.

Thinking of this, a dull pain came from the palm of my hand, replacing the ethereal chill.

"It's not that clear, it's not that specific, it's not that direct - the thread on the other end isn't even a person."

"Sometimes, I even feel that maybe everything is just my illusion and there is no line at all."
To be continued...