Outside Longxiao City, a small house in a village.
"Five years of absence, Cohen, and dear Miranda, did the tower send you here?" In the dim room, the short-haired girl on the wooden bed, Chloe Melk, showed a complicated expression to them.
But he smiled peacefully: "Seeing you now is really the best comfort."
"Thank you, Uncle Kaslan." The short-haired girl expressed her gratitude to Kaslan who was standing aside.
Miranda frowned tightly.
Even a careless person like Cohen couldn't help but notice that the Northland girl Crow Ash had changed dramatically during the same period of their past.
Compared to the high-spirited Kroesh Melk when she left at the Tower of the End five years ago, she is not only much thinner, but also much darker. The perseverance that was once engraved on her round face like a seal has disappeared.
It has turned into bitterness and loss.
Cohen's eyes shifted to her hands, and his breath suddenly stopped.
This girl who had a resolute face when she was in the tower, trained hard, and never gave up easily...
Her right hand holding the sword...
It is being wrapped tightly in bandages.
"Chloë Ash..." Cohen tried his best to look away from her right hand, forced out an ugly smile, and said carefully and slowly: "Are you still... okay?"
Are you ok?
As soon as the words came out of his mouth, Cohen had the urge to slap himself.
Chloe looked at him slowly, her eyes unwavering.
"It's okay," the girl's empty eyes made Cohen feel pain in his heart: "It's just that my right hand... can no longer touch the weapon."
silence.
Cohen was embarrassed and didn't know how to answer: Damn it, it would be great if Raphael was here at this time. Comforting people has always been the strong point of the boy in white.
Sure enough, Miranda stepped forward and gave Cohen a blank look.
Then, like countless times in the past, she gave the innocent-looking Cohen a hard kick.
"hiss--"
Just when Cohen was grinning in pain, Miranda sat on the edge of Croash's bed. Her expression remained unchanged and she said decisively: "Who did it?"
Any comfort at this moment is pale - Miranda thought to herself: It's better to get straight to the point and let her stop thinking about those unnecessary things.
Kaslan on the side coughed.
Facing Croaich, the old leader of the former White Blade Guards didn't say much.
He has seen this kind of situation happen to too many retired soldiers.
Kaslan sighed deeply in his heart.
And they, those soldiers, never know how lucky they are to be injured and retired.
Chloe came back to her senses and smiled uglyly.
"I think you all should know some of the causes and consequences," Croash's tone calmed down, not sounding like a swordsman who had just lost hope of using his sword: "An officer named Hardy is lurking in the army of the Black Sand Territory.
, and almost assassinated your prince with a magic gun under the fortress."
Cohen nodded.
"I saw that scene on the Broken Dragon Fortress, but I couldn't see it clearly. I thought it was just a test firing for a demonstration." Miranda answered silently.
"By the way, Miranda, you are now in the Kingdom of Stars and are the capable general of the Flower of the Fortress, right?" Chloe smiled at her former colleague, then glanced at her right hand, and her face darkened.
, spit out a few words:
"congratulations."
Miranda's expression was calm and she didn't speak. She just silently stretched out her hand and squeezed Chloe's left hand.
Feeling the warmth of Miranda's hand, Chloe trembled slightly.
"that!"
Cohen was scratching his head and was about to speak, but Miranda gave him an expressionless elbow, knocking back all his words.
With a look of grief and indignation, Cohen continued to bar his teeth silently and continued to protest at Miranda with his eyes.
Does it have to be this way?
Chloe burst out laughing.
This scene reminded her of her past scenes in the Tower of the End.
Kaslan, who was holding his arms at the side, looked at Miranda with approval - such a careful and considerate girl, which unknowingly lifted Croash's mood.
The girl from the Allende family just looks too cold. It would be better if she could smile more.
"Following the Archduke's instructions, we tracked down the arms contact of Officer Hardy," Croache continued, maintaining a smile that finally rose: "They replaced Hardy from the army, and the demons that were supposed to be destroyed were
The gun parts were sold to the South and the West. Hardy used this in exchange for more funds, and then used the funds back for troop training and human relations."
"In a few years, His Excellency the Grand Duke's magic gun team may be under the control of those people. Fortunately, we discovered it early and intercepted his underground arms dealer."
"That officer...what information did you find about him?" Miranda said softly.
"Not much." Crowley said calmly:
"Hardy comes from a small village further north, which is the territory of Archduke Lecco in the garrison city. He was an eyewitness to the war between Exeter and the Stars eleven or two years ago. He fought in the tragic attack and defense of Broken Dragon Fortress.
He survived the battle, but lost one hand and half of his face to the bombardment of the magic gun."
Miranda's face turned pale.
It was the war twelve years ago again.
Cohen sighed, stepped forward, carefully avoiding Miranda's unarmed attack range, and asked slowly: "The Kingdom of Exeter, the Grand Duke of the Guard City, one of the two Grand Dukes in the north? The Lecco family
?So Grand Duke Lecco was the person behind the plot to murder the Prince of Stars with the help of a magic gun?"
Croash shook his head: "It's not that simple. Hardy came to the Black Sand Territory after the war and has been living there ever since. He has not had any contact with anyone related to the Guard City - so it cannot be confirmed that it is him."
"But there's one thing that makes us very suspicious."
"We interrogated Hardy's arms dealer and found that Hardy accidentally mentioned once that he had a daughter named Lucy."
Cohen's eyes lit up: "Have you found his daughter? Is there something wrong with her?"
"It's not just a problem." Crowley pursed his lips and shook his head:
"But there is no such person at all."
"There is no... this person?" Cohen asked doubtfully.
"Hardy has been single for more than 40 years. We confirmed this from his neighbors - he doesn't even have a wife or lover, let alone children." Crowley said quietly.
"We traced the name Lucy... and found that he mentioned the name Lucy to more than one person."
"From the arms black market in the Black Sand Territory to the transportation team in the Welland Territory, when the clues were traced to Longxiao City, we encountered an interception." The short-haired girl raised her head with a scary look on her face: "A group of strange swordsmen appeared.
.”
Miranda frowned: "Sword of Disaster?"
Chloe lowered her eyelids and nodded.
"What are they like? How many are there?" Cohen's expression changed. Ignoring Miranda's dissatisfied expression, he took a step forward and asked anxiously: "What kind of terminating power was used? How to identify them as disasters?"
Sword?"
Kaslan frowned as he listened quietly.
"There are many of them, their heads and faces are covered, and it's dark, so we can't see their figures and faces clearly. But their finishing power... is just like what Teacher Chattier described," Croaich said calmly.
: "Indifference, violence, and the power of ending are surging and never ending."
"I'm the only one who escaped."
Cohen was stunned.
But he immediately reacted: "Is there any more information? When and where did they appear? For example, how did they draw their swords..."
"I have told Uncle Kaslan the specific information about their appearance," but Croash just gritted his teeth and shook his head with bitter eyes: "Go and complete your mission, whether it is for the Terminator Tower or for you.
The Prince of the Stars."
Cohen wanted to ask again, but Miranda took his arm and shook her head.
"I'm tired." Chloe said slowly, slowly turning over and facing the wall: "I want to rest for a while."
Cohen and Miranda looked at each other, then at Croash, and finally said goodbye and left under Kaslan's eyes.
"Cohen."
Before leaving, Croash suddenly stopped the Xingchen security officer.
Cohen looked back in astonishment.
I saw her turning her head and raising her eyes, with an indescribable complex expression in her eyes: "You..."
"Be careful."
Cohen was stunned for a moment, and then Kaslan pulled him out of the room.
"You have seen her appearance... To be honest, based on my observation, I don't think she is really injured and can no longer use the sword, but it is the obstacle in her heart that prevents her from continuing to use the sword." Cass.
Lan said calmly.
"What do you mean? Obstacles in your heart?" Miranda asked with a frown.
"Kroaish is the daughter of my old subordinate in the White Blade Guards." Following the two young men outside the house, Kaslan looked at Longxiao City in the distance and shook his head: "She you met in the Terminator Tower,
Then you should know that she is very high-spirited - I guess it is also due to the indoctrination of you Star People..."
"Hey!" Cohen protested: "What is the indoctrination of 'we star people'? Croache has always been..."
Kaslan ignored him and said to himself:
"She has been strong since she was a child and always wanted to become a legendary female knight like Loren in the Heart of the Rain."
"Loran, 'Heart in the Rain', I heard that Master Shao was at the same time as you?" Cohen asked curiously: "That flag-leader mercenary in the Eastern Luhan Bull Succession War?"
"Well," Kaslan seemed to be reminded of the past. He paused in the memory, then smiled and said, "There are always some women you dare not mess with in your life."
Immediately, the shaken old man Kaslan sighed: "After experiencing the training in the Terminator Tower, Kroesi became even more ambitious. When he came back, he even recommended himself to take the assessment of the White Blade Guards and wanted to join the White Blade Guards...
"
Miranda raised her head with burning eyes: "But she didn't succeed?"
Kaslan raised his eyebrows: "The White Blade Guards rejected her - this was a big blow to her."
Miranda showed doubts: "Strike? As far as I know, the selection standards of the White Blade Guards are very high..."
"It wasn't the rejection that hit her," Kaslan interrupted, turning around: "It was the reason for the rejection."
"The reason for rejection?" Miranda looked at him steadily.
"What is it?"
Kaslan took a breath and didn't answer.
"I know." Just when Miranda was about to speak out, it was Cohen who answered.
The security officer sighed: "Because she is a woman, right?"
Kaslan glanced at Miranda thoughtfully and nodded: "Not bad."
"Because she is a woman."
Miranda clenched her teeth unconsciously.
"Although many people say that we Northlanders are very tough. When we get fierce, even women and children can pick up weapons." Kaslan sneered: "But according to my mother-in-law, most Northlanders still think that
, Territory, politics, war, aristocratic inheritance, these are all men's affairs, and women should stay at home and wait for their husbands to return."
"In this way, Croesi brought her sword to various lords, but encountered obstacles everywhere - a woman who had gone through complete training in the Tower of the End, a super swordsman, but could not obtain a position with even a count.
…”
"There are a few viscounts and barons who are willing to take her in, on the condition that she will marry them after the term is over... No doubt, it's all because of her father's membership in the White Blade Guards."
Miranda gently grasped the hilt of the sword at her waist.
Compared to the smooth sailing he had in the stars, his father's care, Sonia's care... Is this what Croache faced in the North, what happened in Exeter?
"I heard from her father... Croash even considered going to the southwest, to the Thornlands or the Dragon's Kiss Basin, or even the Great Desert, to become a mercenary."
"But in the end she went to the Black Sand Territory, and used her father's name to go to my useless nephew, a Viscount named Cambida, and got a job in his territory." Kaslan sighed:
"I suspect this is one of Charmaine Lombard's tactics to win over me, but looking at Croash's look..."
"Plus this time..."
Kaslan shook his head.
"So you know why, little girl of Arend," the old man raised his gaze and looked at Miranda: "To be honest, dressing like you is really eye-catching in the North."
Miranda said nothing, just stared at Longxiao City in the distance.
"When I was on the Western Front, there was an occasional shortage of soldiers, so there were some female soldiers there." Cohen said slowly:
"They enlisted in the army for various reasons such as being unable to survive, ranging from suicide squads to serving in the military. Most of them are female mercenaries from the southwestern countries, but they... are often not popular," Cohen said with twinkling eyes:
"Naturally smaller than men in strength and weight, special requirements for the upper body armor style, and an absolute disadvantage in height - this is often fatal when facing orcs, because you have to jump up to attack their vital points."
"Of course there's also the monthly one...you know."
"Their status in the military camp is very low. Sometimes, they often have to rely on..." Cohen lowered his head and frowned: "...to please their superiors and colleagues."
"And once they fall into the hands of the enemy, especially the Desolate Skeleton Man... their fate is often much worse than that of men."
"So even I tend to avoid female soldiers when the commando team chooses soldiers."
Miranda still said nothing.
"I guess this is also the consideration of the White Blade Guards," Kaslan sighed: "Learning swords in the Tower of the End is one thing, but... women are not naturally suitable for the battlefield."
"Excuse."
Miranda raised her head suddenly and snorted: "You guys only see the disadvantages of female soldiers on the battlefield and deliberately ignore their advantages."
"Advantage?" Kaslan frowned.
Cohen raised his eyebrows helplessly and spread his hands towards Kaslan from an angle that Miranda could not see.
"Less consumption than men, far greater endurance than men, unimaginable flexibility and flexibility, fine and keen observation, and calmness in times of crisis, these are the advantages of women," Miranda said angrily: "Even if
It’s a comparison of strength and height - take the Fury of the Kingdom as an example, I have witnessed with my own eyes that both his height and strength are inferior to Your Excellency Sonia! What’s more, we still have the power of termination!”
"And I am also a woman," Miranda said coldly: "In the Tower of the End, I am stronger than you, better than you, better than Raphael, better than Misadun, better than every one of you in the same period."
"Not to mention, there are Valkyrie legends like the Knight of Lorraine in 'Heart in the Rain' thirty years ago!"
Cohen coughed awkwardly.
"Uncle also said just now that the battlefield is another matter...and you can't compare it with some special people," the security officer spread his hands helplessly: "'Heart in the Rain' is a special case among special cases. Lord Sonia
You are also a legend under the Duke of Star Lake. And Miranda, you are the daughter of the Arlende family, and you were born to be trained as a warrior, lord and commander..."
As soon as Cohen finished saying these words, Miranda's murderous eyes came straight at him, stabbing him to the core.
The second half of his sentence was also cut off in his throat.
"I think both the Western Wilderness and the Northern Land are special," Kaslan chuckled: "The Western Wilderness is the front line of war and chaos all year round, and the people of the Northern Territory have a long-standing view of women..."
"I'm from the North too!" Miranda retorted with a cold face.
The old man Kaslan led them towards the stable, and the two men who looked like soldiers bowed to him.
"You are a Northlander from the Stars and an Arend. You even allow women to inherit. As far as I remember, you even gave birth to a queen hundreds of years ago."
"And the North," Kaslan sighed, "is far away from accepting a female knight, a female lord, or even a queen..."
"It's still far away."
No, even in the stars, female lords are still despised - Miranda said silently in her heart: Hundreds of years ago, the queen of the stars did not end well.
"There will be a day," Miranda raised her head with firm eyes: "On that day, female warriors, female swordsmen, female lords, and even queens will no longer be in the minority. We will prove to the world that men can do it.
.”
"Women can do it too."
Kaslan shrugged and walked into the stable.
Cohen stuck out his tongue, thinking of the two devilish sisters in his family, and sighed helplessly.
Miranda...how could Raphael like her?
But when he thought of Raphael, his current position and the power of ending in him, Cohen felt heavy again.
"The army of the Black Sand Territory is stationed in the village near Longxiao City to escort the prince. They will take Croaish back." Kaslan led the two horses and looked at the two young nobles with swords.
Shi: "The next task will be left to you."
"You're not going?" Cohen raised his eyebrows.
"My appearance is not a good idea," Kaslan's face darkened: "It will alarm too many people."
"Fortunately, I still know some people in Longxiao City, some old acquaintances, they can provide you with information, but when it comes to specific investigation and inquiry, identify the Sword of Disaster from the Sword of Ending," Kaslan
He handed the reins to the hands of the two men: "No one is more expert than you, or the seeds of the Tower of the End, whether it is the innate insight of the nobles, the super-level combat power adapted to the battlefield, or the induction of the Sword of Disaster.
.”
"Know some people in Longxiao City?" Cohen showed a suspicious expression: "Uncle, haven't you opened a tavern in Heishaling for 20 years?"
"Ah, this," Kaslan rubbed his white hair awkwardly: "I have lived in Longxiao City for many years."
"Will human hands still be usable twenty years from now?" Cohen frowned.
"I've been maintaining contact..." Kaslan looked around, then chuckled: "And all along, many of the old subordinates of the White Blade Guards have stayed in Longxiao City after retiring. When they were struggling to make ends meet, I helped them a little.
…”
"Asking for a living? Help?" Cohen's doubts increased.
"Well, when some retired soldiers are not easy to get along with, I will help them find some jobs... to find some jobs." Kaslan coughed unnaturally: "You know, there are always some jobs that require people who can fight.
Go do it..."
"You just tell them to introduce them to gangs," Miranda said with a look of disdain on her face, "It's easier for us to understand."
Kaslan coughed loudly, covering up Miranda's words: "In the past ten years, the gangs and fraternities in your star have been very violent, and even brought their business here. Some old friends always
They are short of manpower and want me to introduce them to them, so..."
"What?" Cohen's eyes widened: "After doing this for a long time, uncle, you are actually the gang contact and introducer of Longxiao City?"
Kaslan's coughing became louder and louder. Under the suspicious eyes of the two young people, he raised his head righteously and patted their shoulders: "In short, regardless of the mission of the Tower of the End, it is still for Croash."
An explanation, or the truth about the assassination of your star prince, will be left to you!"
Miranda and Cohen, one showed contempt and the other shook his head.
"Remember, your mission is only to investigate, not to die for an unconfirmed news," before leaving, Kaslan became serious: "But you all have the ability to come into contact with the Sword of Disaster, and even survive from their hands.
.”
"As long as you don't meet an extreme swordsman... I believe in your strength."
The two looked at each other and nodded seriously.
"My people will help you... But if things get too big, remember to hide yourself... Although your prince is on a mission to Exeter, the tension between the two countries has been greatly reduced by his arrival.
Yes, but it is not a good thing for Star people, especially the dependents of Star nobles, to have their identities exposed rashly here."
"In addition, what you need to care about and worry about is not just the sword on the surface," Kaslan narrowed his eyes: "The Sword of Disaster is likely to be in conflict with a Lord of Exeter-such as a certain
Cooperate with the Grand Duke, no matter what, deliberately unite the lords, and do things like assassinate the Star Prince, their purpose is probably not simple."
"I understand," Cohen took a breath and stood up: "We will find out their details and the truth, whether they are plotting to assassinate the prince or intending to be detrimental to the Tower of the End."
Miranda didn't say much, nodded lightly, and rode away directly.
Cohen followed.
Kaslan looked at the two people leaving, and then looked at Longxiao City in the distance, with a trace of nostalgia in his eyes.
Back then, I also entered Longxiao City from here.