In the meeting hall of the Palace of Heroes, everyone from the several grand dukes to the king's ministers, even the White Blade Guards and the ordinary guards of the Palace of Heroes, stared at Grand Duke Perfit.
Among them, the look from King Nunn was particularly terrifying.
Like the legendary evil dragon that chooses people to devour.
The followers behind Grand Duke Perfitt all turned pale, and many of them raised their heads, as if they were meeting for the first time. Their eyes were full of shock and astonishment, looking at their lord in disbelief.
Thales, who was watching all this, sighed slightly: "Sometimes, it's not a good thing to go too fast."
Faced with all this, the young Archduke Perfit just pursed his lips and said nothing.
"Not only that," the commander of the White Blade Guards behind him, Nikolai the Fallen Star, looked at the Grand Duke coldly, with disdain in his eyes: "When our men at the city gate stopped them...
"
"These people from Fengzhao City have no intention of responding at all, but just draw their swords," Nicolai's voice became softer and softer, and became more and more disturbing: "Until I personally killed them
The most extreme guy among them."
All the followers in Fengzhao City looked at each other with ugly faces, gritted their teeth and lowered their heads.
"Conkli? You?" Grand Duke Olesiu looked at Grand Duke Perfitt blankly: "I thought that Fengzhao City is the closest and has always been Longxiao City's most trusted assistant..."
"Obviously, the facts are different from our conjectures." Trudida beside him exhaled helplessly: "Guess, how will tonight end?"
The king's voice sounded at the right time:
"The end?" Nun VII sneered horribly, his eyes fixed on the silent Perfit: "Believe me, everyone..."
"The ending tonight will be very bad..."
No one answered the call.
Grand Duke Perfit still lowered his head and said nothing.
"boom!"
Archduke Ronnie, with a stern look on his face, slapped the table hard, and the sound echoed in the hall.
"We are from the North," Ronnie raised his head and looked at each of the Grand Dukes, his voice full of disappointment and resentment: "Not those Southern Empire people who feed on conspiracies and assassinations!"
"Uh," Thales curled his lips and whispered, "Thanks for the compliment."
"Speaking of this, I was really surprised." Grand Duke Trudida's eyes showed cunning and playfulness: "Our little guest from the stars...are you really only seven years old?"
"A little poisonous snake," Olesiu stared at Thales coldly and said, "has a special sense of conspiracy."
Thales took a deep breath.
Conspiracy? No.
He said secretly in his heart.
From the assassination of the Exter Mission, to the war between the stars and the dragon, to the battle for the Broken Dragon Fortress, to the magic gun fired at him, to Rumba, to Perfitt... everything is connected.
That wave of fluctuations surged into his brain in a timely manner, making Thales' thinking faster and clearer. Just like in the past, different elements and events were clearly laid out in front of him.
"This is not a simple conspiracy." Thales heard himself say.
"At the end of this year, a lot of things happened." The second prince of the stars closed his eyes and sorted out the things one by one in his mind. "And for Exeter, nothing is more important than the assassination of Prince Morar in the stars."
."
"However, this is not an isolated incident, but a whole set of terrifying conspiracy chains, spanning the two most powerful countries in the Western Continent."
Scenes from the past reappeared before my eyes.
The ferocious expression of the Duke of the North.
King Kessel's uncontrollable roar.
The various gazes of the princes of the stars.
The emotionless eyes of the Grand Duke of Black Sand.
The despair of Nun VII.
And now, the Exeters in the Palace of Heroes.
Thales opened his eyes gently, his eyes full of solemnity:
"This plan cleverly takes advantage of the long-standing conflict and hatred between the two countries, which was amplified by the "Fortress Peace Treaty" and has accumulated for more than ten years."
"The executors of the plan turned it into a sharp knife that stabbed each other's countries, trying to reshape each other's structure in the turmoil and reshape the situation in the Western Continent."
Everyone in the Hall of Heroes fixed their gazes firmly on Prince of Stars, and even their breathing slowed down.
Only the star deputy behind Thales, Lord Putilai Niman, frowned slightly, as if he was worried about something.
"First, he killed Prince Morar in the Star Territory, and then provoked a war between the Star and Exeter. Both sides of the Bright Star royal family suffered in the internal fight with the domestic nobles. King Kessel abdicated sadly in the defeat and denunciation, and the North
With the support of everyone, Val Arend, the Duke of the Guardian of the Realm, took over the authority and crown of the High King of the Stars with the glory of fighting against Exeter."
Thales lowered his head and spoke calmly, as if he was describing something that had nothing to do with him.
"Just like the two wings of a butterfly, this is just the one in the country of stars. As for the one in Exeter..."
Archduke Perfitt's fists clenched unconsciously.
Thales's voice continued to sound faintly:
"The death of Prince Morar deprived the Walton family of their hope of choosing a king, and King Nunn's anger became the fuel of the war. The Grand Duke of Lombard brazenly sent out troops in the name of revenge for the king. In the chaos, with the cooperation of the internal forces,
We will conquer the Northern Territory of the Stars and gain unprecedented prestige and benefits. In the end, the Duke of the Black Sand Territory will return with the glory of the battlefield and successfully elect the king with overwhelming fame."
"After the plan is completed, the stars and dragons will change their masters amid mutual hatred and be reborn from the ashes."
Thales paused and concluded softly:
"A delicate, grand, adventurous, ambitious, terrifying plan that is both creative and courageous."
The five Grand Dukes have different expressions.
Ronnie's expression was heavy, Olesio was thinking in shock, Trudida glanced sideways at the other people in the hall, and the bald old Lecco blinked, unable to distinguish his emotions.
Archduke Perfitt's breathing gradually became heavier.
"Young man, you think too much and are ambitious," Grand Duke Lecco's cloudy eyes moved slightly, and asked Perfitt: "However, by assassinating the Prince of Stars in a unnecessary way, you exposed yourself?"
Perfit didn't answer him, he just stared at the ground in trance, as if everything around him didn't exist at all.
"I think this is not unnecessary - he had to do it." Thales raised his eyebrows: "I just figured this out: the scene of assassinating me in front of the fortress was to completely destroy Lombard."
Archduke Lecco turned to him.
"According to the original plan, Lombard will ascend the throne and become King Charman - I don't know how many generations this name is." Thales turned to Perfit:
"And you, His Excellency Grand Duke Perfit, are his most secret collaborator in Exeter."
Finally, Perfit raised his head, but didn't look at anyone.
"But the problem is, this plan failed in the first step." Thales sighed.
"Prince Morar was assassinated, but Xingchen's internal response failed - my appearance prevented the Duke of the North from provoking a war as planned." He frowned, thinking of everything in the Fuxing Palace, and of the things in the fortress.
Sonia and Alaka, "Lomba also failed to unite the power of the three southern archdukes to invade the stars, let alone capture the Broken Dragon Fortress - the war between the stars and the dragons cannot begin at all!"
"The Grand Duke of Lombard cannot take the glory of conquering the North of the Stars to get the crown he is determined to win."
Archduke Perfitt exhaled gently, letting out a deep gasp.
"The worse thing is... with the failure of Val Arend in the stars, Charmaine Lombard's conspiracy was exposed," Thales smiled bitterly: "The angry King Nun will come to seek his revenge, so that
Lombardy and Black Sand collar pay the price."
"Ah," behind the long table, King Nunn stroked the black ring on his hand and added casually, "Isn't it true?"
Several princes exchanged glances.
"So," Thales nodded: "Rumba is doomed. Neither His Majesty Nunn nor Longxiao City will let him go."
Under the gazes of the grand dukes, he nodded to the expressionless Perfit.
"In this case, if Lomba is really forced into a desperate situation - how can Lomba's collaborators survive alone? According to Lomba's temperament, he will definitely drag his collaborators to hell," Thales shook his head:
"For his own survival, Archduke Perfit must take the first step to completely eliminate his past collaborators and future threats..."
The long-haired Grand Duke Ronnie snorted coldly.
"Once the Star Prince dies in the Black Sand Territory, Lumba is stained with the blood of the Star Prince..." Thales walked back to Putilai and sneered: "For the throne of the Stars, even before His Majesty Nunn takes action,
The Dukes of the Stars will come in waves and tear Lumba and the Black Sand Territory into pieces - I think the other Grand Dukes will also be happy to see this happen."
"You will be completely safe."
Prince of Stars finished speaking.
In the hall, many people sighed with different intentions, some were playful, some were regretful, some were sad, some were unhappy, and some were angry.
The next second, the young Archduke, Perfit, finally slowly turned his head, looked back and forth at Thales with his indifferent eyes that were no longer gentle and friendly, and then looked again at Nunn at the other end of the long table in front of him.
Seven generations.
"Pah, pah, pah..."
A slow and rhythmic round of applause sounded from the other end of the long table.
King Nun clapped his hands expressionlessly.
But no one answered him.
"This is worthy of applause," the old king clapped while using an unsettling rhythm and tone: "For our star guests..."
Thales rolled his eyes helplessly - he could feel that the eyes looking at him in the hall were full of deep thoughts and worries.
"And for you, the ally of the Walton family, the leader of the Perfitt family, and my most trusted Grand Duke of Fengzhao City, Conkley Perfitt."
The eyes of the Gongzhu King and the Grand Duke of Fengzhao City finally met in the air.
One side is complex and angry, the other side is numbness and indifference.
"Say something, Conkli," King Nunn's voice became dull and depressed, echoing in the fire-lit conference hall, giving people an inexplicable sense of suffocation: "Before you can no longer speak.
"
"At least, you can try to choose your own way of death?"
Archduke Perfitt suddenly raised the corners of his mouth, revealing a sinister and terrifying smile.
"How to die?" he murmured.
Behind Perfit, a disarmed attendant whispered with worry: "Sir, maybe we should..."
The next moment, Perfit turned his face and said coldly to his subordinates with an angry face:
"Shut up."
The attendant stopped talking and sighed and stopped talking.
Perfit turned back, his facial muscles twitched, he gritted his teeth, and his expression kept changing between dissatisfaction and annoyance.
"Humph." The young Grand Duke sneered.
"You want me to say something..." The young archduke's laughter grew longer and longer.
Thales frowned.
King Nun's expression did not change.
"Hahaha," Perfitt shook his head mockingly, "What else can I say?"
The next moment, he turned around suddenly, his eyes like a hawk, scanning the whole place sharply.
"I don't know what you are talking about." Perfit's cold words made everyone's expressions change.
"I received an invitation from His Majesty to come to Longxiao City to discuss major matters related to the relationship between the two countries." Perfit looked around with a sneer and extended his hand to Thales: "Then, I respect you the most and cannot resist.
To raise the king together, unite with an enemy prince who has a blood feud with him, and accuse me of being the murderer of Prince Morar?"
"And what's the reason?" Perfit turned his head suddenly with a ferocious look on his face, which startled Thales.
"Because I want to leave the banquet early? Because I want to rush back to the territory early? Because my people had unnecessary conflicts with the White Blade Guards at night? And even sacrificed an extreme guard!"
Perfit gasped and beat his chest hard.
"This is a shameless slander!"
"Fuck you, Perfit!" A subordinate next to the king snorted disdainfully: "A coward's self-defense!"
"Ah, ah, ah," Grand Duke Trudida squinted his eyes and chuckled, "This is really not the little Conkli I know - what a surprise."
"We have all heard the child's words and seen your reaction. Even now, do you still want to quibble?" Olesiu frowned, "Don't forget, you are a Northlander."
"Sophistry?" Perfit asked loudly, his eyes widened, as if he was crazy.
"From the beginning to now, this damn kid has been talking nonsense all by himself!" Perfit pointed at Thales and roared loudly:
"And you idiots are being fooled by him alone, by a prince of the stars and a remnant of an empire!"
Thales shrugged helplessly and looked at Putilai behind him.
Next to him, Marquis Slyth whispered with a smile on his face: "Wow - seeing this scene in the Exeter Palace is really worth the travel expenses."
Perfit turned around and looked at King Nun angrily.
"I murdered Prince Morar?"
"Me and Rumba?"
"I took the lead in assassinating this brat?"
The Grand Duke shouted angrily with a distorted face
"Is there any evidence?"
"Everyone knows that Morar and I are about the same age and have a close friendship. What reason do I have to murder him?" The young Grand Duke's words made others frown and whisper to each other: "As you said, Grand Duke Olesio,
The Perfitt family is the most powerful supporter of the Walton family!"
King Nun looked at Grand Duke Perfitt's actions without saying a word, but his eyes became colder.
"And you, the great and foolish His Majesty Nunn VII, are you going to execute me here?" Perfit shouted at everyone: "Only with this ridiculous and ridiculous charge? Just because I want to return to the territory as soon as possible.
?”
"Because of this damn brat's bullshit?"
"If I die here," Grand Duke Perfitt gasped, raised his right index finger, and gritted his teeth: "Perfitt will not forget, Fengzhao City will not forget..."
"Northland will never forget!"
Amid everyone's frowns, Perfit roared crazily:
"Everyone will know that the king who has lost his heirs and Walton who has reached a desperate situation has gone crazy! He favors traitors and enemies, persecutes loyal ministers and friends, and accuses me without reason, without evidence, and without reason.
And openly slaughtered the Grand Duke in Longxiao City!"
"Everyone will know that this violates Nekaru's oath of co-governance!"
The other princes watched his performance silently, with sadness in their eyes.
Perfit adjusted his breathing, and there was a threat in his words: "When I die, my brother will inherit the position of Grand Duke, and the Perfit family will attack Longxiao City..."
But at this moment, King Nunn’s applause sounded again.
Interrupting Perfitt's words made him slightly startled.
"Nice try," King Nuen's old and thick voice contained a deep chill: "Thankfully, I always thought you were a polite sissy."
"I underestimated you. It seems that you are still a good actor - you should go to Dragon Kiss Academy or Mingye Temple, not here."
"Bah, this is simply your deliberate plan to kill me and weaken the grand dukes," Grand Duke Perfitt said fiercely to his king: "Besides speculation and slander, do you have any evidence?"
King Nuen sneered.
"Of course, maybe you have lost your mind a long time ago. You don't care about the evidence or who the murderer is. You just want to weaken us grand dukes!"
Perfit raised his hands, exposed his chest, gritted his teeth and stared at the king: "Then what are you waiting for? Come on, kill me!"
"Let the Exeters see what kind of king they have!"
"I will tell Moral when we get to the prison river," Perfit gritted his teeth and said word by word: "His father went crazy after his death - Walton died in this generation.
!”
"Boom!"
Hearing the name of his dead son, King Nun slammed his fist on the table.
Perfit ignored him.
"And you, sit back and watch this trial without evidence, you who sit and watch all this," Perfit turned around and glanced at each of the Grand Dukes, with anger in his eyes: "You are next!"
Grand Duke Ronny shook his head disdainfully, with disgust in his eyes.
Jarhead's Trudida gave him a friendly smile, showing eight teeth.
Olesio looked back at the young archduke without saying a word.
Grand Duke Lecco didn't even raise his head, seeming to be particularly interested in the long table in front of him.
The ministers and advisors around the king all showed thoughtful expressions.
They are not the only ones aware of the problem.
Thales, who was watching, also frowned slightly: Although Perfitt seemed to be using quibbles as a last ditch effort, he was not unreasonable.
A grand duke came to Longxiao City, but was executed by the king...
What will the people think? How will Fengzhao City react? Are the princes really indifferent?
and.
Although everyone knew it was him, Perfit.
But there is really no evidence.
Unless Lombard comes forward and identifies Perfitt while admitting his guilt.
Thales' worried eyes kept going back and forth between the tense-faced Perfit and the stern-faced old king.
What should we do?
The king would really go to any lengths and execute...
While everyone was thinking, King Nun finally spoke.
"evidence?"
The old king raised his head, opened his mouth and laughed.
"Ha ha ha ha……"
Perfit was slightly startled, and the princes looked at him in confusion.
"When did I need evidence?" Nunn VII's tone slowly rose: "I only need reasons, I only need the truth."
Perfit exhaled from his nose and sneered.
"Humph, a typical tyrant, Nekaru will be ashamed of you," he squinted his eyes: "The bad habits of the empire have reappeared in you - maybe this is..."
"Nikaru?"
King Nun did not let him continue.
"When Nekaru Ax was dying," the old king squeezed his right fist and chuckled:
"His nephew and heir, later Nun Walton I, swore an oath to the heroes of mankind as his successor in front of his bed, witnessed by the Sky Queen."
"The last words in his oath later became Walton, the clan language of the Dragonlance family."
"Yes," under the gaze of everyone in the audience, Nun VII lowered his voice and said slowly and solemnly: "As a son of Northland, I travel the way of Northland, (son_of_northland,_way_of_northland)."
Grand Duke Perfitt was slightly startled, showing doubts.
"Since we are people from the North," King Nun clenched his fists and projected anger in his eyes, but suppressed his emotions and continued solemnly:
"You should follow the way of the North."
Everyone's expressions changed simultaneously.
Thales thought of a possibility and his face turned pale.
King Nun clapped his hands.
Two footsteps came slowly from outside the hall.
Everyone's eyes were attracted by the two new figures.
Thales saw the person coming clearly, frowned, and looked at Putilai.
Putilai narrowed his eyes and shook his head slightly at him.
Perfit stared blankly at the visitor.
"Come meet our dear intelligence chief," King Nunn raised his hand and introduced the newcomer:
"Mrs. Cassian."
Under Thales' solemn gaze, an old woman he had met before smiled gently and bowed slightly to the Grand Dukes.
The arrival of the owner of the darkroom, the Scarlet Witch, made the princes frown.
what does that mean?
Regardless of everyone's expressions, the king pointed to a woman wearing a silver-white robe, her face shrouded in a veil, and continued in a cold voice: "There is also the chief priest of the Bright Moon Temple, Jewel Home."
Thales was stunned.
He saw the mark on the other person's body: a pair of moons set together, a curved crescent moon and a full waxing moon.
The chief priest of Haoyue Temple?
Priest Holm didn't express anything, as if everything around her had nothing to do with her.
But neither the princes nor the king showed any sullen expression, as if they should be that way.
This reminded Thales of the Sunset Temple in the Star Kingdom, the chief priest Li Xiya.
gods.
What role does it play in this world?
"What does this mean?" Perfit looked gloomy and stared at the king.
"What do you mean?" The old King Nuen sneered and slapped his palm on the long table: "His Excellency, the High Priest of Holm, is naturally here to witness... It is night now, and it is best for the goddess of the moon to witness."
Perfit seemed to have guessed something. The young Archduke felt his throat was dry and heard him hoarsely: "Witness...witness what?"
"Witness what?"
The old king showed an angry smile, and then turned to the prince of the stars: "Little Thales, take a good look..."
Thales was startled and came back from his thoughts.
Just listen to King Nuen saying calmly:
"The ancient rituals of the North are not something that can be proposed casually - it requires a sufficient number of witnesses, a sufficiently sacred ritual, and an arbiter of sufficient status to witness it in order to be effective."
An ancient ritual from the North?
Thales stared blankly at the old Nunn VII, and was extremely shocked for a moment.
No way?
Could it be that……
The looks of the princes and ministers were equally surprised, and many even had panic and panic in their eyes.
"Your Majesty?" A nobleman who looked like a political officer beside the king frowned and asked.
But Nun VII didn't give them any chance to ask.
The next moment, King Nuen vibrated his right palm and slapped it on the seat!
"boom!"
Everyone was shocked.
I saw Exeter, an old king who was nearly seventy years old, suddenly stood up, his face full of hatred and murderous intent, and with a thunderous old voice, he uttered the following words:
"I, Nun Nekaru Kadion Walton, am the seventh Nun in the genealogy of kings.
The king of dragonriders and hero Nekaru, the successor of hero Sarah.
The co-leader of the Northerners in the Western Continent and the vigilante of the glacier defense line.
Defender of mankind in the north, conqueror of the White Mountains.
The arbiter of the Golden Corridor and the conqueror of Broken Dragon Fortress.
The thirty-fifth joint king of the Kingdom of Exeter and the Quegur Glacier, the Grand Duke of Longxiao City."
"Under the witness of the spokesperson of the goddess Haoyue, in the imperial meeting, in the presence of the Grand Duke Weilanling, the Grand Duke Zaizhuota, the Grand Duke Qiyuan City, the Grand Duke Jieshou City, and the only royal heir of the Kingdom of Stars;"
Thales stared blankly at the king's actions, at a loss.
Also shocked were the Grand Dukes, including Perfit himself.
The king continued to speak, with chilling anger and pain:
"For my son, the last heir of the Walton family and Longxiao City, Moral Bertram Nunn Walton, and for the despicable assassination he suffered."
"In the glorious tradition of the North, in the name of blood revenge."
"To you, Conkley Perfitt of Beacon City..."
"Issuing a sacred challenge to a duel."
The old king spoke firmly, looked at the stunned young grand duke, and uttered the last words: