The night was sinking like water, the windows were open, the curtains were dancing like ghosts, the candles were extinguished at some point, and the moonlight poured into the house like silver.
"Do you believe her?" Sidney asked after a long silence.
Brando was silent: "She didn't tell lies."
But that's all. Not telling lies does not mean that you have good intentions, and lies do not mean that you have sinister intentions. There can also be fatal traps hidden behind the truth.
Neither of them are rookies, and they both understand this truth.
"So, what are you going to do?"
"Our plan is about to change." Brando replied: "I'm going to call Charles and Morpheus. Ms. Sidney, please inform the ladies."
The statue of the Virgin in the Lion Palace nods.
Outside the window, the giant shadow of the imperial capital loomed.
However, it is not the prosperous soil that thrives under the shadow. Since the beginning of the civil war, the aura of prosperity has long faded from this thousand-year-old city, leaving only unspoken trauma.
The people living here do not understand why the empire is fighting. Most of them have not even heard of the name Maldos, although there are missionaries distributing leaflets on the streets every day and they also need to attend forced services every week.
will promote Her Majesty’s justice and so-called history.
But that's too far away.
They don't understand why they are involved in this whirlpool for an illusory goal. The sages are wrong? How is that possible?
The pride of the people of the Queen of Fire is based on the stand of justice. How could they inherit the dark empire of the past?
What are the qualifications?
They don't understand why they are killing each other over all this.
This is an imperial civil war, and the blood of the Cruz people is all flowing.
People die every day, be it their wife's husband, their parents' children, their children's father, other people's close relatives and friends.
More people disappeared on the battlefield and there was no news.
Some people's relatives died at the hands of the lion men of Jorgendigon and Toquinin, but the queen did not give them corresponding honors, but instead called them traitors.
For this reason, many people were secretly grateful to the eldest son of the emperor and the earl from Eruin whom they had never met before, because these two avenged them.
Later, these people were picked out by the witches and put on the gallows because they collaborated with the enemy and treason.
Life has become more and more difficult.
Many people miss the old days, when this empire capital had inexhaustible supplies, everyone lived well, were proud to be imperial people, and did not have to bear the pain of loss.
But now, the glory is no longer. The supplies delivered to the imperial capital every day have to be given priority to supply His Majesty's celebration.
The aristocratic circles are still talking about the upcoming engagement ceremony of the countess, but at the bottom of the empire, the enthusiasm is fading day by day.
Until one day, all voices were silent.
Only silent expressions remain in the darkness.
The road leads to the eyes.
As soon as eight o'clock passed, various figures began to appear on the dark and dark streets.
They wore different colors, some were poor people, some were tailors, some were candlemakers, cobblers or butchers, and even low-level officials and soldiers.
But the only thing they have in common is that they remain silent.
Like a group of ghosts.
The two city guard soldiers on duty looked at this scene and felt as if they had seen a legendary ghost, and shuddered.
"There are more people today..." one of the soldiers whispered uneasily.
"Where is the patrolling cavalry? Why doesn't anyone come to take care of it...?"
"Don't be kidding, do they dare to take care of it? Those soft-legged shrimps only dare to bully their own people."
"But Captain..."
"Shh, keep your voice down, have you forgotten the city gate guard?"
The soldier who opened his mouth felt a chill on his back and subconsciously stopped talking.
Of course he remembered that man. He was still a young man. He was not very gregarious. He just dispersed the gathering of these people. His body was found in the woods outside the city a week ago.
Because the murderer could not be traced, the case was eventually left unsolved.
He also heard that there were more missing guards recently. Although the news was only circulated privately, the occasional words revealed still made a low-level soldier like him feel uneasy.
"Besides," the captain spoke again, with an angry tone: "What's the point of us caring so much? My brother died in Anzeruta, what happened to him? Your Majesty called them traitors, and I never believe that he would betray us.
, it’s good now, that damn palace manager still wants to investigate me on this basis, don’t I know that he just wants to arrange a position for his nephew? "
He spat angrily.
The soldier was silent.
He wanted to refute, but he didn't know what to say. Could it be that the captain was wrong? What was happening now was exactly the truth.
He even thought that maybe it would be better if he lost this job. The atmosphere in the city was getting weirder day by day, and he might lose his head because of it that day.
But if he loses this job, what should he do? Life is getting harder day by day, and people in the slums have begun to starve to death. If he loses his job, what should he do to support his family?
It's like an inextricable knot, so oppressive that it's suffocating.
Why is this so.
What happened to the empire?
"The empire is sick..." A man in a robe with his head hidden passed by the two of them. He turned back and glanced at them. His snake-like pupils made them shudder. The other man seemed to be very satisfied with the resentment in the soldier's eyes, leaving behind such
After a word, he walked away.
"Madman!" the captain cursed.
The soldiers quickly grabbed him.
"You don't need to pull me, I won't be the same as this kind of person," the captain said angrily: "Don't believe what he says. Although life is very fucked right now, these guys who hide their heads and show their tails are even less trustworthy."
The soldier watched silently in the direction the man left.
Is the Empire really sick?
But if the empire had no disease, how could everything have turned out like this?
"Seti!"
The candlemaker's daughter heard someone whispering her name in the crowd, turned around, and saw Arce's figure. He was a handsome young man, the man she fell in love with.
"Al!"
Only then did Seti come back to her senses from her confusion. She really wanted to ask Al if the empire was really sick, otherwise why would her brother die in the south.
Why is there a war?
But she understood that Al didn't like to discuss these things with her. He actually hated those believers, but he hated them all even more.
"The ceremony is about to begin." Al waved to her: "This way."
Seti nodded quickly, pushed through the crowd and followed.
…
"Today...we here...are going to end..."
"all of these……"
The voice of shouting came intermittently.
The crowd gathered more and more, some guys in black robes were giving impassioned speeches, and the commotion rippled along the crowd like ripples on the water.
Brando and his group crossed the street and watched all this silently.
There were five of them, Charles, Brando, Morpheus and Andrigue, followed by Faina. They all wore long cloaks and pulled up their hoods, and they looked like they were giving a speech.
Those people have similar approaches but similar approaches.
In fact, they had been mistaken for those people many times along the way. The surrounding citizens treated them with respect, which was an unexpected coincidence.
"This is the capital of the empire, it's great," Ciel exclaimed, "It's really well-deserved. Those guys are really good at inspiring people. They're about to catch up with my charm magic."
"It wasn't like this before..." Faina didn't look good. Although she was born in Mehotofen, she studied and grew up in this city. Now that this proud city of the empire has become like this, in her heart
It doesn't feel good either.
"I'm afraid something is going to happen." Charles couldn't help but shook his head.
Brando also felt something in his heart. But he was a little strange as to why the city guards and patrol cavalry were indifferent. Could it be that the Silver Queen couldn't even control her under her own nose?
Doesn't she have a witch working for her?
"kill him……"
"This Queen's lackey!"
A burst of noise came from the street in front.
Brando and others were slightly shocked, but found that the crowd in front of them had gathered together. There seemed to be people in the middle, and they were being punched and kicked by the people around them.
"Char, separate them."
"Lord, there is no need for us to create extraneous matters."
"They are blocking the way we must pass." Brando replied angrily.
Charles shrugged, stretched out his five fingers forward and recited a mantra. An invisible force spread out from the center of his palm, causing the citizens to separate left and right involuntarily.
Reveal the two people surrounded in the center and look at their clothes. They should be patrolling cavalry.
One of the people was in good condition, while the other was lying on the ground, dying.
After being separated by Charles, the red-eyed citizens wanted to gather around them again, but they stopped involuntarily after spotting Brando's group.
"By the way, who chose this outfit?" Charles couldn't help but admire him: "It's unexpectedly correct."
"Didn't you say that you don't look like a good person in this robe?"
"Ah," Charles suddenly said: "Lord, this turns out to be your idea."
Brando didn't bother to pay attention to him. He came to the identity of the two people. The injured patrol knight struggled to stand up and roared at them:
"You damn cultists, I don't need your mercy. You killed Ciel. Kill me if you can!"
"Pfft," Faina couldn't help laughing even though she was always in a hesitant mood.
"This unlucky guy has the same name as you." Brando also joked.
"Shut your crow mouth——" Charles felt that he was completely humiliated and said angrily to the knight: "Your friend is not dead yet."
"What did you say?"
"I said your friend is still alive," Charles said angrily: "If you don't want him to die, take him and get him to a doctor!"
The knight's expression changed, and he no longer cared about scolding Brando and others. Although he glanced at Ciel with some doubts, he still chose to believe what the other party said, and quickly picked up his companions and limped away.
.
Brando looked at the backs of the two people, then at the puzzled looks around him, as well as the faces of those people distorted by hatred, and couldn't help but shake his head.
Faina was right, the imperial capital was not originally like this. He had also been here before, in another world.
At that time, this was a prosperous place. Although it was a prosperous place, it was not as lifeless as it is now.
What exactly brought about all this?
He suddenly felt a little depressed.
"Ciel, why do you think we are fighting?"
"Of course we are fighting for Eruin." Ciel replied matter-of-factly: "Is there anything wrong with that?"
"The Silver Queen also has her own ideas," Brando replied: "What she did may not be wrong, but what?"
"The facts prove that what she did was wrong," Charles replied: "Isn't everything in front of me the best proof?"
"However, when we fight for Eruin, we also bring war to Eruin." Brando looked back at the subordinate who was the first to follow him and asked: "We have never been short of arms and legs in the war.
But some people lost everything in the war, for them, is what we did right?"
"Well..."
"This question is really ridiculous," Andrique couldn't help but interrupt at such times. She taunted Brando with great disdain: "Someone puts a knife on your neck, and you still have time to discuss the war with him.
Is it right or wrong?”
"There is only victory or defeat, life or death."
War for resistance and survival is indeed just.
However, Eruin's destruction may be a historical necessity, but he chose to do so at the cost of making many people pay for it.
Is everything I have done really tenable?
Brando couldn't help but echo this question repeatedly in his heart.
"Brando," Faina said at this time: "There is the best answer to this question right now."
Brando looked at the young lady in confusion.
"You will understand when you look at these people. What has everything you done brought to the people who benefited from it? What has everything the Queen done brought to them?" Faina replied: "It is clear at a glance.
.”
"My teacher once taught me that the progress of history and the progress of civilization are for the pursuit of happiness."
"In order to protect everything like this, people never hesitate to sacrifice."
Brando suddenly realized something in his heart.
This may be the true meaning of the Golden Flame Way.
The original intention of resistance is not to kill and hate, but to pursue and protect better things.
Fir Ling, Tony Geer, and Eruin——
Is he confident that he can make this country a better place?
Yes.
He has confidence.
That being the case, it's time to move forward.
At that moment, Brando suddenly saw a double image before his eyes, and he suddenly saw the scene he had seen in Valhalla.
In the light, Martha put her hand on his shoulder, pointed at his forehead, and said to him:
"I will give you wings made of light, so that I can designate you as king."
"One day, I will be honored because of you."
This is glory——
He raised his head, completely understanding the belief carried by the Flame Sword in his heart.
"Let's go," Brando replied: "The front is Hanlu Manor."
"Let's go meet Her Majesty—"
...(To be continued, please search Piaotian Literature, the novels will be better and updated faster!