"Master Putilai asked me to add some firewood to you, Your Highness." Recruit Willow Ken brought a bundle of firewood and respectfully walked to Thales, who was sitting beside the fire.
Thales nodded numbly, thinking over and over again about King Nunn's proposal.
This was their last stop before entering Longxiao City.
Behind them, under the supervision of Putilai, Huaiya and Rolf, including the veterans of Xingchen, were nervously inspecting their equipment.
The Black Sand soldiers who had set up camp were busy, while the White Blade Guards were still guarding them like prison guards, all of them with alert eyes and unkind expressions.
It seemed as if he really had a life-and-death grudge against them.
"Willow," just as the recruits were about to leave and return to the team, the second prince spoke softly: "Have you ever been scared or at least nervous since our journey began?"
Willow put down the firewood respectfully and was stunned for a moment.
"You know," Thales said slowly, "I struggle with inexplicable dangers every day, worried about the cold, the battle, the enemy, and everything."
Willow was stunned for a moment, as if he didn't expect that His Highness the Prince would ask him this.
The recruit turned his head and thought carefully before replying: "I was very nervous just before the battle. After all, I'm not as calm as Uncle Genard, who was cut on the head with a knife."
"But I don't feel scared," Willow frowned, thinking carefully, even forgetting his respectful tone: "Although it is very dangerous, I think it is much easier..."
"Simple?" Thales asked.
"I mean, on the battlefield, everything is very fast: I poke the gun out, and there are only two outcomes: life or death. This is good." Willow's eyes fell silent, and his expression became a little desolate: "At least you tried hard.
When the time comes, there will be rewards, and you know what the results will be - then there is no need to be afraid.”
Thales stared at the recruit's face carefully.
"Willow, who taught you how to use two guns? Your parents and elders?" Thales put his hands on the fire to keep warm, and asked with an indistinct expression: "Or some veteran who can use two guns?"
Willow touched the two guns tied behind his back and scratched his face in confusion.
"No one taught me, Your Highness." After confirming that His Highness was indeed just chatting, the recruit slowly shook his head: "As for my parents, they passed away eleven or two years ago."
Twelve years ago.
Thales kept this number in mind.
"So..." Thales said slowly.
"You know, the military disaster in the North..." Willow shrugged, expressionless: "There is no food in the village. My parents followed the people in the village and took their only belongings to the nearest village or town to exchange for food, but they couldn't
did not return."
Thales raised his gaze.
"But I heard from the old people in the village that no matter whether they encounter the Exeter people or our army of stars, there will be no good end - the winner will demand tribute, and the loser will directly plunder." Willow said lonelyly: "
It was very chaotic back then.”
The two were silent for a few seconds.
"Then how did you survive?" Thales said silently.
"A gift from the mountains," Willow sighed: "Although adults say it is a gift from the gods, only travelers can enjoy it."
"But my sister and I were both crazy from hunger." The recruit's face showed regret: "And we were not the only ones who did this. At the end of that winter, even the most remote treetops were robbed."
Post-war famine in the north... Thales thought of Duke Arend's hysteria in the Renaissance Palace.
"But after spring came, there was still not enough food. Your Highness. My sister was so hungry that she bit her fingers..." Willow stared at the fire in fascination, struggling in his memory: "Fortunately, the Mu River flows through our village, so I
Follow everyone in the village and do your best to fish."
"We didn't know how to make nets, and we couldn't borrow fishing nets at that time, and we couldn't find places with fish."
"So I can only rely on the technique of spearing fish when I was a child, and stay by the river every day... I always failed at the beginning and could not find the fish. It was other adults who shared the fish caught with us. Whenever I brought
My sister will be very happy when she comes home with a fish..."
"I go out in the morning and look at my sister's smiling face, but I don't know if I will gain enough today," Willow said in a low voice, "Many times your efforts are in vain."
Thales exhaled: "But you still survived."
"Later I gradually became more proficient and could find fish schools," Willow looked down at his hands and frowned: "In winter, when the river freezes, we can catch more fish, and the fish schools are too cold.
Huddled together..."
"When you grow up, you can no longer just eat, but you also have to catch more fish and exchange them at the market. Sometimes you can even get copper coins back."
"I started trying to spear fish with two hands. After a long time, I could even stab through the ice with one hand - so on the battlefield, I always like to have an extra gun."
So that’s it, Thales sighed:
"But you responded to the call this time," the second prince said calmly: "What about your sister? Stay at home?"
Willow's face darkened.
"No." The recruit tried his best to smile, but in the end, he could only show a bitter expression.
"She got typhoid last year. We had no money and no place to buy medicine - medicine that is only available in big towns." Willow said tremblingly: "I can only feed her hot water over and over again."
Thales frowned.
Colia - the little girl with typhoid fever appeared in front of her.
"Finally, my sister said she wanted to eat fish."
"But when I come back..."
Willow fell silent and stared at the fire.
Thales didn't speak either.
After several seconds, the two could only hear the sounds of people around them and the explosion of the fire.
Until Willow, who looked lonely, spoke again:
"I buried her by the river."
The recruit blinked hard, as if some foreign object had invaded, and he only heard him whisper:
"I really hope there are fish in the prison river, Your Highness."
Willow silently made a less than standard salute, turned and left.
At this moment, Thales stopped the recruits.
"Willow."
"There are fish in the prison river." The traveler looked at Willow who turned around and smiled: "I read it in a book."
————
"Are you worried about what's coming?" Putilai stood beside Thales and looked at the backs of the departing recruits.
Thales, who was sitting by the fire, raised his head.
"You know, Putilai," Thales said in a daze: "The recruit just said that he thinks life is very simple now."
Putilai raised his eyebrows.
"Put the gun out. There are only two consequences: life or death. That's good. That's what he said." Thales turned around and said.
"But my life is very complicated," Thales' eyes darkened, "It's so complicated that it makes me feel tired."
"I originally thought that the politics in the Star Country were complicated enough, but I didn't expect that Exeter, who is known for his rough and heroic character, would be no less sophisticated."
A grand duke with ulterior motives, a king bent on revenge, and a subject with sharp words.
Everything was not in line with his imagination of Northland and Exeter.
That cheerful country where people drink and drink amid the falling snow and cold wind.
"It's only the people from the North who are rough and heroic," Putilai also sat down, took out his pipe, shook his head and said, "But what you are facing are those nobles, those rulers, those who hold power."
Thales frowned: "King Nuen, the Grand Duke of Lombard, and the five Grand Dukes I am about to meet, they are all from the North."
"They are another kind of creature." Putilai lit his pipe and said silently: "Ordinary people live on food and air, but they live on power."
"The new recruit just now is also from the North. Although he is very humble, at least he doesn't have to live in fear and caution every step of the way." Thales said dullly: "As for those nobles and lords, don't you think that living like this Is it sad?"
"You occupy a more prominent position, and every move you make has wide implications and far-reaching influence," Putilai exhaled a puff of smoke: "And this is the price and sacrifice of power."
"God, how long did it take for me to regain my identity as a prince," the seven-year-old prince sighed like a little adult at this moment: "But I am already a little tired of this kind of life."
Maybe I'm just not used to it.
He said silently.
Maybe this kind of life can last a little longer, maybe this kind of experience can last a little longer...
Can I just...?
"The life you are tired of is what many people dream of," Putilai frowned and replied to the previous contemptuous address: "Little prince, go and see the lives of common people and see those **** who live for three meals." Busy people, think about this sentence again."
"Think about the village before we entered the northern border...the bumbling baron and his subjects."
Thinking of Willow's experience, Thales hummed softly.
"Of course," Thales smiled bitterly: "I hope I will have such an opportunity to see the whole world and contact different people, whether it is two continents or countless islands."
"Then you have to make preparations early. Some places require..." At this point, Putilai, who was shaking his head, suddenly became speechless.
He remembered the identity of the child in front of him.
I'm afraid... He sighed silently in his heart: As the heir to the Throne of Stars, you...
Thales also realized his mistake.
"Ha, traveling around the world..." He smiled bitterly: "I'm afraid I won't have such an opportunity in this life, right?"
Fight for the stars.
Die for the stars.
Born for the stars.
The two were silent for a moment beside the fire.
"You know," Thales said silently, "His Majesty Kessel is always very happy when he mentions his Uncle John."
"I suddenly knew why," Thales exhaled hot breath into his hand and said, "John is like his eyes, going to corners he can't reach and traveling around the world."
Putilai breathed out softly.
"Don't be depressed."
"You will eventually be king," the thin deputy envoy said calmly: "At that time, you will have a panoramic view of the vast world from another height and from an angle that we cannot imagine."
Thales didn't speak, just stared at the fire blankly, and suddenly laughed out loud.
"It sounds boring," the time traveler shook his head: "I mean, being a king - how could my grandfather last so long?"
Putilai looked at Thales without moving his eyes for a long time.
"Kings can also have a wonderful life," Putilai observed Thales's expression and spoke slowly: "Each of the thirty-nine kings of the stars is unique."
"And one of them has the most special experience...probably the most legendary star king in life since Tormund I."
"Oh?" Thales' interest was piqued: "Who is it?"
"Are you interested in hearing me sing a bard, Your Highness the Prince?" Putilai took a puff of his pipe and said slowly.
"Of course," Thales' eyes lit up: "Gilbert said you were once a bard? Traveled to many places?"
Troubadours...these people who travel around and make a living by singing poems and doing various small businesses.
But even in Yongxing City, Thales had only seen him twice, and both times were in the big market.
"Ah, barding... that is one of the talents I am most proud of," Putilai knocked on his pipe and said calmly: "Next, what I want to sing is - "When the Dawn Rises", a section
The story of three friends’ adventures together.”
Thales made a "please" gesture.
He first cleared his throat, hummed a few tunes, and found the right note.
Then, Mr. Deputy Ambassador beat the rhythm and slowly sang a melodious and lively song:
"When the sun rises again, dawn rises."
"The three of them walked together in a hurry."
"We have known each other for many years and have a tacit understanding."
"Sword and axe, staff and lamp, faith and promise, righteousness and grace."
“Brothers are like one person, and their limbs are of the same mind.”
"Step through the village, bathe in the moonlight, enter the castle, and cross the mountains."
"The secret place of elves, the hometown of dwarves, the lair of demons, and the territory of monsters."
"I have escaped death, experienced disasters, faced terror, and have never had despair."
"Adventures are ahead of us, and experiences tell the story of the past."
"Until the sun rises again."
"Until dawn rises."
Putilai's singing gradually spread, attracting many soldiers to stop.
Marquis Slice walked towards them gently, while Nicolai in the distance frowned and looked at the fire.
Even Ada on the side raised her head.
Thales thought about the content of the poem, and the general idea was that the three friends had a deep friendship and experienced many adventures and legends.
At this moment, Putilai's beat and tone suddenly changed, becoming low and deep, disturbing:
"On a blood-red night, the sea is full of waves, and the enemy is hidden in the waves."
"The bloodthirsty king, the invincible commander, the nightwings in the sky, the undead legions, the armies in the wild, and the coveted eyes."
"The terrifying black shadow covers the sky and the sun, coming fiercely, and the fierce enemies are shadowy and endless."
"The enemy in the east is ferocious and ferocious, plundering territory and destroying cities wherever it goes."
"The troops marching in the Western Land are marching forward one after another. At dusk, the only sound heard is the sound of crows on the battlefield."
"The north wind is bitter and cold, the king's sword is broken. The mountains mourn, the knight's spear is broken."
"The blade is broken, the shield is wounded, the dragon bows its head, the stars are dim."
"Chaos and sorrow, despair and disaster."
"The fear is endless, the trembling is endless, and death never ceases."
"Hope has been lost, the light has died, and all that is left is to survive."
"The sun cannot rise, and darkness swallows the earth."
"Dawn does not rise, blood spreads across the sky."
Putilai's tune finally sank to its deepest level.
The listener's mood also dropped to its lowest point.
Thales began to think about the meaning behind poetry.
Night wing, east, north wind, mountains, dragons, stars, those words... should all have exact origins.
He narrowed his eyes slightly and checked the numbers one by one in his mind.
Putilai's tone began to slowly rise
"When the beauty is about to pass away."
"When the future is no longer bright."
"In this darkest hour, in that midnight hour."
"The three brothers finally set out on their journey."
"Their adventure has become history, and the legend of the heroes is now."
"No hesitation and no turning back."
"Until the sun rises again."
"Until dawn rises."
The next moment, Putilai's tone suddenly became impassioned, as if the scene in the poem had changed its style:
"The ground is filled with blood, washing the prince's crown, once a promise is made, he is generous and sincere."
"Midir already has the sword and shield in hand."
"The night is deep, testing the vision of the prophet, and the road astray is the only one who holds the light."
"Kai Peng walks with a smile and a stick in hand."
"Endless sacrifices sharpen the soul of a hero. He is alone and swore an alliance with his blood."
"Sarah's horn sounds all night long."
"Until the sun rises again."
"Until dawn rises."
More and more soldiers gathered around Putilai and Thales.
Even Elf Ada slowly walked to their side.
When Thales heard a few keywords, his brain suddenly became clear.
He knew what scene the hymn was singing.
Just listen to Putilai continue singing:
"Three people working together are worthy of being a king against the enemy. Brothers working together can compete with death."
"The news spread all over the world, and people regained their confidence and gathered under the banner."
"Courage is the bone, hope is the body."
"We are brothers and sisters, working together as one heart."
"Sarah's ax cuts open the future, and Midir's sword and shield protect it."
"Kai Peng's vision penetrated everything and led them to the final battlefield."
"The bloodthirsty king is watching with eager eyes, and the swarms of evil spirits in the wild night are all over the mountains and plains."
"The flames of war are ignited, the war horn is sounding, and the final battle begins."
"Until the sun rises again."
"Until dawn rises."
The singing stopped suddenly.
Putilai slowly closed his mouth.
Thales raised his head suddenly.
"Why did you stop?" he asked in confusion.
"The lower part is too long," Putilai shook his head helplessly and relit his extinguished pipe: "And my voice is not as good as before."
Moreover, the following story is not very pleasant - Putilai said secretly.
Marquis Slys, who had arrived at his side at some point, slowly clapped his hands.
Gradually, one or two soldiers who stopped to listen also applauded.
"Wonderful singing, beautiful singing voice," Shless smiled: "Even in the Dragon Kiss Academy of the Principality of Anrenzo, I'm afraid there are not many bards like this!"
Putilai bowed slightly to express his gratitude.
"Go back to your post!" An inappropriate voice interrupted midway. Nikolai the Fallen Star strode over, loudly scolding the soldiers in a bad tone: "Is the singing of the Star People so good? People in the Black Sand Territory are like this. Like art?”
Many soldiers shouted dissatisfiedly, but most of them dispersed.
"Do you have to attract so much attention before you start?" After the soldiers dispersed, Nicolai stared at them with an ugly expression.
"Isn't this what you want?" Thales shook his head: "Should you act like you want to kill us?"
Nicolai took a step forward unceremoniously.
Ada, who came out of nowhere, stopped in front of him.
"Don't be like this, kid," the elf said lazily, "I don't want to beat you."
"Okay, okay," Marquis Schles stepped in between them with a smile. From a distance, it looked like Camus's envoy had stopped another conflict: "It's just a hymn...and...
What he sings is a legend that our three countries are proud of, isn't it?"
Nicolai stared at Slash with dissatisfaction.
"A legend that the three countries are proud of?" Thales' eyes lit up.
"Putilai, among the three people you sang," Thales said with a clear look, "one of them is my ancestor, right?"
"Yes," Putilai took a deep breath, took another puff of tobacco, and smiled: "You must have seen his portrait in Mindis Hall."
Thales narrowed his eyes.
In front of his eyes, the figure on the left in "Three Kings of the Stars" in the Mindis Hall appeared, standing in front of the towering tree, wearing a crown and a strong sword and shield warrior.
Putilai said calmly:
"The 'Oath Keepers' of the Kingdom of Stars."
"The 23rd High King."
"Midir Bright Star, the fourth King Midir in your family."
Thales suddenly realized: "The Midir copper coin... refers to him?"
Among the standard currencies of Stars, the back of the gold coin is engraved with the portrait of the founding monarch, Tormund I, while the silver coin is engraved with the "Wise Lord" Mindis III, and the portrait on the copper coin is that of Midir IV.
They happen to be the Three Kings of the Stars.
Putilai nodded: "The poem tells his legend."
"It's not just him," Marquis Slys reminded with a smile: "Although he is also great, the Oathkeeper is only one of the three."
Putilai chuckled.
"All right."
Under Thales' curious gaze, he added:
"Before becoming king, Prince Midir and his two friends, Sarah from Exeter and Kaipen from Camas, spent ten years adventuring together."
"Adventure?" Thales said in surprise.
A future king going on an adventure?
"Yes," Putilai said with emotion: "Their steadfast friendship and wonderful life are always talked about by future generations."
“‘Hero’ Sarah, Western humans call him ‘hero’. For thousands of years, only the hero of the End War, the founder of the country of Exeter, Nekaru Ex was the only one who has received this honor.”
"'Prophet' Kaipen Nehra, a military advisor who knows things like a god. It is said that his wisdom makes even the gods jealous. He can even read people's hearts wherever he looks."
"'Oath Keeper' Midir Shining Star, the noble prince, the fearless Highness, a human role model who is willing to give up his throne for the sake of friendship and oaths."
Thales' heart trembled.
He couldn't help but notice that in front of these three names, Marquis Slys remained silent, and even Nicolai looked serious.
Even Ada, who didn't care about anything, lowered her head in silence.
Putilai breathed out softly.
"These are the legendary three heroes of the Western Continent."