The second prince of the stars looked at the old king with surprise.
"But I am here now," King Nuen turned to look at him, his tone was calm but his eyes were complicated: "I bet my family's future on a star prince like you."
Thales suppressed the anxiety in his heart and let out a long sigh.
"My two sons," King Nun said with a gloomy face, "their fates, or rather their misfortunes, are surprisingly similar - but I still have to stand here, fiddle with the chips, and win a future for Walton.
"
After hearing King Nunn's words, Thales shook his head secretly: "Nobles and rulers are another kind of creatures, living by power - this is what Putilai told me."
"So you'd better get used to it as soon as possible," King Nun put away his sad expression and showed his tough and cold face again: "For your own good."
Thales closed his eyes gently.
King Nuen suddenly changed his expression.
He narrowed his eyes and looked at Thales mysteriously.
"Speaking of which, they didn't tell you, right?" The old king clasped his hands: "The... truth about your 'bloody year'?"
Thales opened his eyes in surprise and looked at King Nun.
What he recalled from his mind was first the hysteria of Queen Keya, and secondly the names Tharidon and Shadow Shield.
Finally, there is the Bright Star Tomb in Fuxing Palace.
The second prince shook his head slowly: "They didn't say much."
King Nuen snorted softly.
"Then maybe I shouldn't talk too much." King Nun turned his head back: "It's best not to interfere with the education of the Bright Star family."
You haven't intervened too much - Thales secretly cursed.
but.
The Kingdom of Exeter was a direct participant in the Year of Blood - these invaders from the north.
Thales thought to himself: Maybe he knows something?
"Do you have any special news for me, Your Majesty?" Thales carefully used honorifics and shrugged: "Well, if you really regard me as your future grandson-in-law..."
Upon hearing his title and words, King Nun showed an intriguing look, and then the old king laughed a few times.
"Look," the old king winked at him: "Actually, you can adapt to it very quickly."
Thales responded with an ugly smile.
"Everything else, you will know from your instructors, from the kingdom of stars, and from your father," King Nun stretched his elbows with a subtle expression: "But I can tell you one thing - as a bonus
One of the bargaining chips for allies."
"Things that even your kingdom's secrets don't know about."
Thales' expression changed.
Don’t you know the secret science?
His breathing began to quicken.
"Who do you think would be the person who would kill the Bright Star royal family like this?" King Nuen smiled mysteriously: "The real murderer behind the scenes."
Thales had doubts in his heart.
The real...murderer?
That mysterious assassin organization, the "Shadow Shield" that just appeared in Perfit's mouth?
Gilbert once mentioned the possibility to him, but only said that King Kessel V had "avenged all the revenge he could."
Thales shook his head slowly.
"The truth is actually very simple, so simple that you won't believe it," King Nuen looked at him steadily: "Members of the Bright Star royal family suffered carefully planned assassinations at almost the same time, except for one person."
"I may not be sure about the others, but if the plan goes well, it seems that he is the one who will benefit from the Year of Blood?" King Nun said in a strange tone.
Members of the Bright Star royal family, except one person?
Thales was moved in his heart, but he reacted immediately.
"You are not the first person to accuse my father in front of me and try to sow discord between us." Thales snorted.
King Nun just continued to stare at him, with strange colors in his eyes.
Staring at him made his heart tremble.
"Use your brain, the future 'Dragon Sky City Protector'," King Nuen said sarcastically after a few seconds: "I'm not referring to your father."
Thales frowned and sneered through his nose: "Then who else are you referring to? Twelve years ago, all the bright stars were..."
Suddenly, Thales was shocked and froze.
etc.
Besides Kessel, there is indeed another shining star...
Not killed by murder...
The bright star who did not die due to assassination...
Thales recalled Gilbert's words.
In the tragedy of the Year of Blood, only one prince did not die directly from an assassination.
Nope.
Thales felt his heartbeat begin to accelerate.
The pale prince raised his head and looked at King Nun in disbelief.
"Twelve years ago, after we broke through the Broken Dragon Fortress, we captured Rudolf Nantrist." King Nun pressed his hand on the 'Triumph' and said silently.
Rudolf Nantrist?
Information related to him immediately appeared in Thales's mind, and that was...
"He was the Duke of Cliffland at that time," King Nunn rubbed his ring and said calmly: "That guy is very tough, but the people in the North disdain him for refusing to send troops in the fortress and just sit back and watch Prince Horace's destruction.
A cowardly act.”
Thales recalled the conversation between Putilai and him when he paid homage to the former second prince, Horace Brightstar, at Lyman Pass.
One of the commanders of Broken Dragon Fortress, the previous Duke of Cliffland who watched the second prince’s destruction under the fortress, was also the brother of the ‘One-Eyed Dragon’ Duke Coste de Nantry.
According to Putilai, he was captured by Exeter and later died in prison.
"We left him in the dungeon and ignored him, waiting for the spring to continue south to the hinterland of the stars." Sure enough, King Nun's narrative was similar to Putilai's.
Until the king's next words.
"But after the news of the assassination of the Bright Star royal family came, Rudolf, who was still half alive, struggled to see me." King Nunn's expression became more and more solemn: "In the fortress, he
With tears shed, he brought me a secret that was beyond my expectation."
Thales clenched his fists and listened quietly to the king's narration.
"During the days when Rudolf and Horace were guarding the Broken Dragon Fortress, your Duke of Cliffland discovered something that made him sleepless and sleepless."
King Nun's eyes became more and more sharp.
"Horace Bright Star, the second prince of the Kingdom of Stars, the light-tracing sword that you are so proud of, once secretly recruited, organized, and trained a special mercenary team from various countries and regions—
—Because it is outside the establishment of the Royal Guards and the Bright Star private army, and Prince Horace has always liked to make friends with masters and brave men of all kinds, there is no way for the stars to detect it for many years."
"It wasn't until the day when Horace officially activated the team," King Nunn said softly, "that Rudolph discovered some clues."
Thales couldn't help but become nervous.
"Rudolph discovered that that team was assigned a mission that year," King Nunn's tone became very cold, and he spoke out one sentence word by word: "How can you not be aware of it?"
Ground, latent, hidden, infiltrated and even invaded, a fortress with the most airtight layout, the most heavily guarded, the most perfect defense, and the least likely to be broken through."
"Ah?" Thales said in surprise.
fortress?
The doubts in his heart deepened.
"When Horace risked his troops to attack and disturb our supply lines," King Nunn nodded, his eyebrows gloomy as water: "Rudolf Nantrist, who had long been suspected, was found in Prince Horace's bedroom.
Lots of stuff - from coded communications to secret ledgers."
King Nun pulled over his robe, pulled out a folded piece of thick cardboard from the inner pocket, and said coldly: "There is also this thing."
Thales looked at King Nunn in surprise: "You...have been ready for a long time?"
King Nuen did not speak, but shook the stack of thick paper in his hand.
Thales took a deep breath, suppressed his trembling hands, took the folded thick paper, and unfolded it flat.
This paper is made of fine materials, feels smooth and hard, and seems to last a long time.
It was more than two meters wide, so Thales had to lay it flat on the ground and spread his hands before he could start observing.
Drawn on the paper is a map.
On the map is a square building, with plan top and side views.
Soon, Thales could see that this map was very detailed. It used different colors and markings to clearly mark the thick walls, ubiquitous sentry towers, terrifying defensive crossbows, a few narrow entrances, and
Important entrances, exits, passages, rooms in the building...
Thales's pupils shrank suddenly!
Is this... could it be...
With a face full of shock, Thales put his face close to the map, staring at every inch of it, not missing every detail.
The map is also marked with dense numbers, patterns, and action arrows - from the front door of the building to the interior.
He read the words above in disbelief,
Guard shifts, number of guards, places to hide, available entrances, patrol times for front and back doors, evacuation routes...
Thales was stunned.
No.
No way.
A few minutes later.
The second prince of the stars gently climbed up from the map, the astonishment and shock on his face not dissipating yet.
King Nun took in his expression.
"In view of the war with the stars at that time... I hid this secret and sent Rudolph back to Longxiao City for secret custody - until he was on death row." King Nun, who had just revealed the shocking secret, sighed.
"You can use this news as a bargaining chip and use it when necessary," King Nunn said softly to Thales: "The coward who has always been reviled by others, the Duke of Cliffland who refuses to save anyone, Rudolf Nan
Trist has been misunderstood for too long..."
"He is the one who is truly loyal to Eddie II from beginning to end."
Thales rolled up the map in his hand and squeezed it tighter and tighter while frowning.
Horace Bright Star.
Mercenary squad.
Rudolf Nantrist.
How can it be?
"Even your father probably doesn't know this news," King Nunn sighed: "In a sense, we Exeter have helped you get rid of the murderer - maybe you should go to Nicolai
thank."
Thales breathed erratically, recalling the Bright Star Tomb in Fuxing Palace, Eddie II's large stone jar, and the few small stone urns next to it.
It took him a while to recover from his confusion.
"I don't think this map was forged by you, right?" Thales said in a daze.
"What do you think?" King Nuen said disdainfully, and then drank all the wine in the glass.
"That mercenary team formed by Horace," Thales raised his head and murmured, "Who are they?"
"I don't know, Rudolf didn't go into details," King Nunn looked at his empty cup: "He only mentioned that the leader of the mercenary group has strange skills..."
"He also carries a strange long sword."
Thales sat blankly on the steps, panting unconsciously.
He was so shocked by this secret that he was almost speechless.
"Why did he do this?" After a while, the second prince said unconsciously.
"I think he has his own reasons," King Nuen shook his head slightly, his eyes filled with confusion: "And that reason is very good."
"What do you mean? Your own reasons?" Thales raised his head.
"You will know, your father will tell you," King Nunn sneered, but to Thales' ears, the sneer contained more sadness than ridicule: "The cause of the Bloody Year."
"Disaster of the Bright Star."
Thales frowned and slowly clenched his fists.
After a few seconds, he slowly let go.
Thales lowered his head, exhaled sharply, and returned the paper in his hand to King Nun angrily.
"You can keep it, that thing is too ominous," the old king of Exeter shook his head, pushed back his hand, and said lightly: "Moreover,"
"That's you after all..."
"Map of Fuxing Palace."
————
Longxiao City, 4:30 in the morning.
Under the dark night, in a shop on Xichi Avenue.
"Just pretend that the doctor you are looking for is really in the Palace of Heroes - God knows how he can sneak in." Under the illumination of a weak eternal lamp, Gu, the butcher shop owner from the Far East, looked gloomy.
Di said to the man in front of him: "But do you understand the cost of saving people from the Palace of Heroes?"
But the man in front of him just lowered his head, carefully, conscientiously, and almost nit-pickingly, wiping the strange long sword with a strange shape and completely black body on his leg for the last time.
Gu exhaled, and in his common dialect with the northern retroflex, he patiently emphasized to the man in front of him: "You have to climb all the way up, avoid the night watch officers and patrols on the street, and go up.
The two private soldiers guarded the aristocratic district tightly, and then passed through the numerous towers and sentries. Before they were discovered and shot through with crossbows and hard bows, or hacked to death by hundreds of people with swords and axes, they rushed to separate the city from the Palace of Heroes.
The gate..."
The man stood up, dropped the rag used to clean the weapon, raised the strange black sword in his hand, and pointed it directly at the ceiling.
Gu's words continued: "Then climb over the ten-meter-high gate..."
"Tonight is the banquet night at the Palace of Heroes." The man raised his head and squinted his eyes at his sword, as if observing the arc of the sword. His featureless voice reached Gu's ears: "That gate opened in the early morning.
It will open, I don’t have to climb the wall, and the chances are greater than usual.”
"How to do it? From inside and outside the gate, even between the palace guards on the gate, under the moonlight and firelight, and under their eyes that are bigger than their fists, walk past?" Gu suppressed his breathing, but couldn't help but raise his voice.
Up volume:
"Even if you break through the gate, you will still have to face countless patrolling groups of Palace of Heroes guards - all of them are carefully selected from the local conscripts and trained by the instructors of the White Blade Guards. They are fierce and loyal.
Brave, alert, sharp-eyed..."
The man hung the cleaned strange sword back on the sword belt around his waist, and tightened the weapon wrapped in cloth behind his back.
But Gu is still trying to stop him.
"We assume that you can avoid alerting them, but what happens after you sneak into the Palace of Heroes? What you have to face is the White Blade Guards, the Dragon Guards! There may only be two or three hundred people on duty, scattered throughout the palace, but everyone inside
All of them are veterans with rich frontline experience, there are countless super-level masters, and there are even those who have the 'Soul-Breaking Blade' like the Fallen Star..."
The man moved his joints, turned around and walked towards the door.
Gu followed him and spoke deeply: "Do you know what a 'veteran' is? It's not as simple as having fought in a war and seen blood. According to Exeter's standards... once you get entangled with one of them...
…”
The man didn't listen to Gu's words. He pressed his hand on the door, and a strange power surged up.
In an instant, the man understood everything on the street outside his door, from the patrol in the distance to the hounds nearby.
"Even if it is you, you actually want to sneak into a heavily guarded and impeccable palace alone without any support... and you have to fish someone out..." Gu, who had been talking for a long time, sighed deeply and stroked himself.
forehead: "You are really crazy."
The man didn't answer. He stood up, looked at the frowning Gu, and nodded.
"Gu," he said calmly: "Next time if you want to lie to me, find some other reason - at least don't use a sensory magician."
Gu was stunned for a moment, showing a puzzled expression.
"Um?"
Only Gu himself knew that there was already a storm in his heart at this moment.
"What did you say?" The Far Easterner used what he thought was a flawless reaction and asked with doubt on his face: "What's the reason?"
The man patted Gu on the shoulder.
Gu frowned.
"I don't understand the sensory magician," the man showed a stiff smile: "But I understand you, Gu."
Gu Wei was startled.
"You are good at hiding all kinds of emotions, but I can recognize them..." The man pressed his black sword and shook his head gently: "People who live with masks also live with pain."
He put it under his sleeves and silently clenched his fists.
"And," the man turned around, opened the door, and left his last words:
"Send hello to Morat for me - I haven't seen him for twelve years and I really miss him."
At that moment, Gu's smile froze on his face.
Gu Dai froze on the spot, watching the man disappear outside the door and disappear into the deep darkness.
Just like him in the past.
The next minute, a man's figure appeared on the roof of a low house.
In the vast sky full of falling snow, he raised his head and looked at the dim moon shrouded in clouds and mist in the sky.
Then, he looked far past the various districts of Longxiao City that stretched up the mountainside, past several city gates, all the way to the majestic palace at the top.
That is the Walton family, the residence of the Dukes of Longxiao City for generations.
It is also the seat of the current co-king of Exeter.
Palace of Heroes.
The man remembered what Gu had just said:
Overcome numerous guards and sneak into a heavily guarded and impeccable palace?
He gently patted the strange black sword on his waist, with a smile on his face.
well.
In this regard, I can be regarded as... The man closed his eyes gently.
You've got a lot of experience.
The next moment, the man's figure disappeared into the snow.