"Don't move around, madam," Nicolai said coldly to Kashan in front of him: "I am very nervous and afraid that you will come up with some special alchemy ball - so I am prepared.
Open your throat at any time."
He tapped the back of the knife with his index finger.
The Scarlet Witch lowered her shoulders and fell silent.
Thales looked at Nikolai who suddenly appeared in surprise, and then looked at the other White Blade Guards.
"Nicholai?"
He looked at the Faller holding Scarlet Witch hostage in confusion: "Why would you..."
But Thales could not continue what he said - Tuleha's hand on his shoulder suddenly tightened, and Thales hissed in pain.
When Huaiya saw the prince's condition, he tightened his sword in anger.
Tuleha dragged the back of his knife around Thales' neck, forcing Thales to raise his head as high as possible.
Thales painfully observed the situation inside the venue: Tuleha and him were standing on the inner floor of the cell, with Little Slicker still behind them.
Everyone in Xingchen stood in front of them, nervously looking at the kidnapped prince.
And Nicolai was holding the Scarlet Witch and standing behind the people of the stars.
Behind Nicolai were the White-Blade Guards, who stood firmly against the thick door and stared at the soldiers outside the door vigilantly.
"Nice move, Fallen Star," the Fire Knight of the Black Sand Territory said calmly to Nicolai: "But don't forget, I hold a more important bargaining chip."
The Faller tilted his head and glanced at Tuleha with disdain.
"Then take action and kill this prince," Nicolai snorted lightly: "Anyway, I have disliked him for a long time."
Thales' eyes widened.
Wh-what?
Tuleha frowned.
"After you finish it," Nikolai waved the Soul-Destroying Blade on Cassian's neck slightly, reflecting the light of the immortal lamp, and he smiled slightly: "Maybe they can give you something different.
Nicknames, such as..."
The Meteorite's gaze swept across Thales, and he gently grinned at the Fire Knight:
"Meteor II?"
Tulha stared at Nikolai fiercely, almost with fire in his eyes.
"That's our prince," Cohen observed the stalemate, exchanged a worried look with Wyatt, and whispered, "Just looking at it?"
"Otherwise?" Miranda looked at Raphael next to Nicolai, at Tuleha and Thales behind, and then glanced at the confronting White Blade Guards and enemies, sighing slightly: "This is no longer the case.
Our fight is over.”
At this moment, the kidnapped Scarlet Witch spoke.
"The White Blade Guards, Exeter's Dragon Guards." She said softly.
"You are on the wrong side," Kashan didn't seem to have the slightest awareness of having a blade pressed against her carotid artery. She just smiled naturally and smoothly and said: "Your opponents are those behind you, those Imperial people.
"
Nicolai raised his eyebrows slightly.
The Scarlet Witch sighed softly, as if she was extremely regretful: "It was their secret department that planned all of this - such as disasters and the death of the king."
The faces of the stars, including Thales, also changed.
Okay...Kassan was right - Thales thought anxiously.
The second prince glanced worriedly at the white-blade guards present, but their expressions were all hidden behind their scarves, leaving only a pair of cold eyes exposed.
Raphael, who was standing next to Nicolai, sighed slightly: "Oh, this question - it's very complicated to talk about."
"But now..." He walked up to the two of them, looked at Nikolai seriously, and looked at the blade in his hand that was forcing Kashan: "Should we find a way to escape first?"
Nicolai suddenly turned to look at the young man from the secret department, his eyes cold.
Raphael accepted the dagger-like look and showed a fake smile: "You know, Walton's heir is also here."
"Maybe it's not a good time to chat - especially with the Scarlet Witch who has told so many lies."
Nicolai looked towards the innermost part of the cell.
The little slipper was stunned for a moment, and then he realized that it was him who was talking, and his face turned pale.
"If you really want to help, boy from the secret department," Nicolai's eyes radiated cold light and his words were serious: "Don't block my way."
Raphael sighed slightly.
"Otherwise," the Faller continued with sharp words: "Do you want to be trapped here? Maybe they will bury your ashes under the city gate."
Raphael was silent for a second. He looked at Tuleha and Thales behind him, then at Nicolai and the Scarlet Witch in front of him, and raised his eyebrows slightly: "I understand."
At this moment, Thales raised his eyebrows.
He saw Rolf making a hidden sign language gesture towards him.
【Back.】
Thales was slightly startled.
"For the sake of His Majesty the Late King, Lord Nicolai," the Scarlet Witch said slowly, "Don't do anything stupid."
Nicolai glanced around the entire audience, his eyes resting on Raphael and the Scarlet Witch for a second each.
"You don't have to tell us what to do, Ms. Kashan," the Fallen Star snorted coldly, with a fierce glint in his eyes: "The humiliation of the blade can only be washed away with blood."
In the hands of the White Blade Guards, the friction sound of palms and handles could be heard invariably.
Kashan's eyes were sharp and she shouted: "Then what are you doing now?"
There was a rare hint of cruelty in the words of the Scarlet Witch: "After the king's unfortunate death, Exeter experienced a rare disaster - you should stand on the side of the kingdom and the Northlanders!"
"Instead of colluding with our enemies and fighting like dogs!"
Cassian's words echoed in the cell.
Thales exhaled fearfully under Tuleha's knife.
Nicolai suddenly laughed.
His laugh was cold and ironic.
"Exeter's disaster? Our enemy?" The Fallen Star gritted his teeth, his eyes filled with coldness: "Don't pretend to be righteous, you hypocritical old woman."
"You betrayed him from the moment your people began to falsely spread the news about the so-called Sword of Disaster and began to draw His Majesty's attention for Lumba's actions!"
The Scarlet Witch narrowed her eyes.
"You and your eyes and ears, you joined forces with His Majesty's enemies, you acted deaf and dumb to the actions of the Black Sand Territory, until His Majesty died in a shameful assassination, until they stood here," Nikolai said coldly in Kashan
whispered in his ear: "Who do you think these brothers of the White Blade Guards escaped their lives at the hands of?"
tread!
The soldiers of the White Blade Guards all changed their steps and turned sideways to face the enemy. The sudden movements made the soldiers of the Black Sand Territory even more nervous.
Cassian sighed.
"About this, if you are willing," the Scarlet Witch looked at the blade in front of her neck and said calmly: "I swear in the name of the darkroom, I can explain."
Nicolai made a nasal sound of unknown meaning.
"Why don't you go and explain to His Majesty," Meteorite narrowed his eyes:
"Oh, I forgot - he was killed by you and Rumba."
As soon as these words came out, the atmosphere in the cell became even more tense.
"Don't be so narrow-minded, Lord Nicolai," the Scarlet Witch showed a sad expression, her eyes glanced at Tuleha and Thales: "The White Blade Guard has never been one person's private weapon, you should be loyal to the entire Aix.
Special, loyal to the North..."
Nicolai interrupted her.
"I am not a narrow-minded person."
Meteor's tone was cold: "If you and your darkroom, if you can't even be loyal to one person..."
"Don't falsely claim that you are loyal to Exeter."
Ms. Kashan frowned slightly: "You..."
At this moment, a sudden change occurred!
I saw Nicolai's left hand pressing down on Kashan's back - pushing her out!
Tuleha's pupils suddenly tightened.
how……
Raphael, who was standing in the middle, suddenly raised his hands and pushed Miranda, Cohen, Wyatt and others away, just in time to avoid the path of the Scarlet Witch!
The shocked Scarlet Witch was pushed to Tuleha and Thales on the innermost floor.
Thales looked at Ms. Cassan who was staggering towards them, and at the Star People who were avoiding both sides, and a sudden realization came to his mind: he remembered the conversation between Raphael and Nicolai just now.
That was the planned exchange between the two of them: [If you really want to help...just stay out of my way.]
Tuleha watched in surprise as the figures of the Star People separated, and watched as the figure of the Scarlet Witch got closer and closer.
He hesitated for a moment.
Until the cold-faced Nikolai appeared behind Kashan.
"call--"
The meteorite's weapon blew up the wind of the blade, without any restraint, and struck the Scarlet Witch's head from top to bottom!
It was as if her life was being taken away right here.
Tuleha did not hesitate any longer.
He still held Thales tightly and headed towards Nicolai and the Scarlet Witch.
"clang!"
The Fire Knight's left hand held Thales tightly, and his right hand blocked the Fallen Star's fatal knife attack on the Scarlet Witch.
At this time, the frowning Scarlet Witch managed to stand firm beside him.
But the next moment, Nicolai's eyes suddenly burst into an unprecedented look!
"Ah!" The Fallen Star roared angrily, with tremendous power pouring out of his hands.
The golden saber of the Burning Knight immediately made a sharp sound of metal friction!
Tuleha's face changed as he defended himself against the enemy with one hand.
At that second, he decisively let go of Thales, held the handle of the knife with both hands, and resisted the huge force exploded by Nikolai.
Thales, who was out of control, ignored him and followed the signal given to him by Rolf just now. He gritted his teeth, closed his eyes, and rolled back!
He bumped into the little slipper behind him who came to help him, and the two of them hit the wall together.
Thales, who was in a sorry state, did not go to check on the situation in the field. He was thinking about the conversation between Raphael and Nicolai just now.
They didn't just say that.
【Do you want to get stuck here?】
Stuck here?
The moment this idea came up, Thales felt a tremor in his body!
"What's wrong?" Little Huitou hugged him and asked in surprise.
He didn't know how to answer.
No chance to answer.
"boom!"
There was another loud sound of earth and rock exploding.
The ground beneath Thales and Little Slippery suddenly sank, and then suddenly cracked.
Do it again?
This thought came to Thales' mind.
The next second, they both fell into the cracked underground.
I don't know whether it was Rolf's superpower or the impact of the explosion, but the air in the room began to roar again, the dust rose, and the sight was fascinating.
Thales hugged the little slipper tightly and closed his eyes tightly.
"boom!"
He only felt a pain in his butt, and then he and Little Slippery fell into a pile of soft sand.
There was darkness all around.
Thales struggled to hold himself up, and beside him, the coughing sounds of Little Slippery kept coming.
Overhead - the sound of fierce fighting came from the cell where they had just been staying.
They were not the only ones who also fell.
"Your Highness!" A figure pulled him up, and Huaiya's voice came anxiously: "Are you okay?"
Before Thales had time to answer, a dozen more figures fell from the sky and hit the sand.
In the dust, Thales tightly covered his mouth and nose, endured the severe pain in his butt and pulled up his little slider, feeling depressed: Why do these people like to play this so much!
"As planned, let's go!"
Nicolai's voice came from the darkness: "There will be someone at the end of the secret passage to answer you!"
"Our people are here to cut off the queen!"
Before Thales had time to complain, he and Little Slippery were picked up by a tall, muscular figure holding each other in their arms.
Little Hua Tou exclaimed.
"Damn it!"
Cohen's furious voice sounded above Thales' head: "It's too dark, I can't see the road clearly!"
In the chaos, the sound of falling bodies and the fierce clash of weapons could be heard overhead.
Soon, these sounds got closer and closer.
"Meteor!"
With another loud crash, the angry roar of the Fire Knight Tuleha came from behind: "Stop them!"
A fierce metal clash sounded.
"Throw down a few torches!" This was the voice of the Scarlet Witch. After experiencing such a big accident, she still calmly ordered: "Before this - anyone who wants to move is an enemy!"
Thales felt a chill in his heart: The pursuers are coming.
"Follow the mute with the mask!" In the darkness and chaos, Nicolai roared while fighting the enemy in the darkness: "He can feel the direction of the wind at the exit!"
"The mute?"
The security officer took two steps and said impatiently: "I can't even see where he is!"
In the darkness, Thales felt that Cohen's arm was about to strangle him and pass him out.
His sins of Hell River were launched without warning.
Waves surged into Thales's eyes, and a strange color suddenly appeared around him.
"Shut up, big guy!" Thales gritted his teeth and knocked Cohen's arm angrily: "Listen to me!"
The security officer holding him immediately paused.
Thales forced himself to calm down. In the cluttered field of vision, he found Rolf, the figure with cyan light, and then said to Cohen: "Five steps forward - no, you said it was two steps."
—and turn left!"
"Let's go!" Thales didn't feel any movement, so he urged anxiously: "Don't be in a daze!"
Cohen seemed to have come to his senses and followed Thales's steps.
"Wow," the security officer took a cautious step. Feeling the solidity under his feet, he asked in surprise: "You - can you see it?"
Thales was slightly startled.
"Go straight ahead - just eat more animal livers and fruits," Thales lied without changing his expression in the sight of Hell River Sin:
"You can also find light in the darkness!"
In the darkness, Cohen nodded doubtfully.
In a state of surprise, Cohen followed the path pointed out by Thales and ran after Rolf.
The sound of fighting behind him became more and more intense.
In Thales' field of vision, a dozen of them followed Rolf and ran into a narrow tunnel in the dark.
"Nicolai!" Tuleha's roar came again: "Don't even think about it!"
The next moment, a bright light suddenly shot out from behind, illuminating their surroundings clearly.
Thales squinted his eyes and saw his surroundings clearly.
The tunnel they were in was very narrow, full of dust, and even the ground was an uneven dirt road.
Rolf took the lead, his posture was like the wind, Thales and Little Slippery were caught in Cohen's hands, Miranda and Wyatt followed closely beside him, everyone was running nervously.
The White Blade Guards were closely guarding behind them.
Only Fallen Star and Raphael were missing.
The light behind him is getting brighter and brighter.
Thales couldn't help but grab Cohen's arm and look back.
Then he froze.
There is nothing behind them.
There was only a blazing fire.
It was as if an invisible huge fire snake rushed into this small earth and stone tunnel and engulfed them.
The surrounding temperature suddenly increased.
"This is the Saber of the Rising Sun!" The Fallen Starman's roar came from behind, "Damn it, Occult One, if you don't want to be roasted, just get out of the way!"
In the light of the fire, two figures appeared in Thales' eyes that had been transformed by the Sin of Hell River.
One of the figures had rays of light scattered in all directions like countless needle pricks.
He pushed away another gray figure.
Then, the hedgehog-like figure—probably Nikolai—swung a knife toward the back of the tunnel.
The next moment, the fire snake seemed to have hit an invisible barrier and was blocked in front of the two people.
Like a vertical wall of fire.
This reminded Thales of the air wall of the Air Magician.
But he could see clearly in his field of vision: what blocked those flames was another strange invisible barrier that glowed yellow.
Connected to Nikolai's soul-severing blade that also glows yellow.
"You can't run away!" came the angry roar of the Fire Knight from behind the flames.
"Are there any alchemy balls? The explosive ones?"
Before the fire, the gray figure turned around and asked Nicolai beside him: "How long can you hold back, they will catch up sooner or later!"
Thales recognized it: that was Raphael.
"Just now is the last inventory of the Guard, use one less!" In the sight of Hell River Sin, Nikolai, who looked like a glowing hedgehog, held up the Soul-Severing Blade, firmly blocking the growing firelight.
"Really?" Raphael's voice came.
"Do you think that's a snowball that you rolled out?" Nicolai turned his head and said angrily to the person in the secret department: "You can just take one out?"
Raphael said nothing.
He turned around suddenly and raised his left hand in the direction of the fire.
A ball was thrown out by him.
"Damn!" Seeing the ball, Nicolai shouted angrily: "You should have said it earlier!"
Then he and Raphael both turned around and ran wildly to save them.
The moment the meteorite turned around, the raging flames seemed to have lost the barrier and surged in fiercely.
The next second.
"boom!"
Following the violent explosion, Thales felt his vision suddenly shake!
There was another burst of dust.
Everyone couldn't help coughing, and their steps were unsteady.
"boom--"
Rumbling explosions, accompanied by the sound of countless earth and rocks pouring, kept coming.
Everyone couldn't help but stop and turn their heads to look behind them.
The fire gradually became smaller and smaller until it completely disappeared.
Then, those two figures disappeared.
Thales squinted his eyes and opened his mouth in surprise. He knew: the tunnel behind him collapsed.
The surroundings returned to darkness and silence.
Only the gasps of the crowd were left, one after another.
"Oh My God!"
This is Huaiya's panicked voice: "They... they..."
"Don't stop, no matter what happens next, don't stop." This was a strange voice, probably a certain white-blade guard, and his words contained long-repressed anger.
"You go!"
Miranda's decisive voice sounded in the darkness: "I'm going to find them!"
Cohen was stunned: "But-"
The next second, Miranda's light footsteps had disappeared.
"Don't be stunned!"
A white-blade guard said coldly: "We are not out of danger yet!"
Cohen exhaled reluctantly, and Thales could feel him turning his head to stare at the darkness behind him.
"If you are worried," Thales sighed: "Then go and have a look."
Thales felt Cohen's arm tighten.
"Let me take His Highness," Huaiya gasped, "He can't get stuck here."
Cohen was slightly shocked.
A few seconds later.
"Fuck!" A curse word came out of the vigilance officer's mouth.
The next second, Cohen stamped his foot hard, then turned around and stepped forward.
The group of people followed Rolf and walked on in silence.
They keep running.
In a seemingly endless tunnel.
In seemingly endless danger.
In the bottomless darkness.
Run towards the only way to survive.
Thales stared blankly at the darkness behind him, and the sins of the Hell River continued to gather in his eyes.
Several minutes passed.
Finally, Thales's eyes moved.
In the deep darkness behind him, a luminous figure like a hedgehog appeared.
Then there was a gray figure.
And a figure emitting white light.
"Because there is only one, of course you have to be careful," Raphael's voice came faintly from the darkness: "I am not in the habit of carrying an alchemy ball around."
Nicolai, Raphael and Miranda followed.
"Oh my God! Oh!" Cohen heard Raphael's voice. He turned his head and didn't even care that his feet stumbled: "I thought you were really buried in it!"
Beside Raphael, the Fallen Starman murmured something in a low voice.
His voice came clearly to Thales's ears amid the chaotic footsteps - like a "stingy man".
Thales breathed a sigh of relief.
They escaped.
"Okay," Nicolai's words came, much calmer than before: "There should be no danger."
"We are in a secret passage after all."
A group of people probably knew they were escaping danger, so their pace slowed down and turned into walking.
Tails and Little Slippery were let down.
Thales held onto the wall and slapped his chest subconsciously. His mind was empty and he just felt that he had passed another level.
"By the way..." Cohen's doubtful voice came from the darkness.
"Why don't you light a fire?"
The security officer said impatiently: "Do you have to run away like a blind man?"
"The vents here are not very well made," Nicolai said lightly, "If you want to suffocate to death, of course you can."
Cohen suddenly fell silent.
"By the way," in the darkness, Huaiya held on to the wall and panted slightly: "Isn't this city gate a defense line to protect the Palace of Heroes... How can there be... a secret passage that can be sneaked in?"
The tunnel was quiet for a moment.
"The Third Continental War," Nicolai's voice came slowly: "The Nightwing King occupied other urban areas, leaving only the Ax District, and there is also the Palace of Heroes here."
"With the Palace of Heroes isolated and helpless, blocked from all sides, and supplies cut off - this is the last chance of survival dug out by the Northlanders."
"Huh," Cohen breathed out, his tone full of joy at escaping the disaster:
"Thank you Lord Nightwing - you are so great."
Everyone was silent.
Even though he couldn't see clearly, Cohen felt the murderous gazes of the people in the North at that moment.
The sound of Miranda's elbow came from the darkness.
And Cohen’s cries of pain.
"Uh, I'll just..." A few seconds later, the security officer's embarrassed voice sounded: "Are you kidding?"
"After the war, this secret passage became a top secret, and even the darkroom had to be kept secret," Nicolai snorted disdainfully, "Only the commanders of the White Blade Guards in the past know about it."
In the darkness, the footsteps of the Star People suddenly stopped in unison.
Even the steps of the White Blade Guards stopped.
Thales was stunned.
"etc!"
The prince raised his head and looked at the needle-like figure in his field of vision, his tone full of surprise: "You mean, the commanders of the White Blade Guards in the past?"
Nicolai said nonchalantly: "Yes, what's wrong?"
Cohen gasped.
Miranda sighed.
"Commanders of past generations, commanders of past generations," Thales exhaled painfully: "Is the one before you also considered as 'commander of past generations'?"
Nicolai's breathing suddenly stagnated: "Huh?"
Raphael felt something was wrong, and his questioning voice sounded behind him:
"Any questions?"
Thales turned his head and looked at the front of this tunnel in the field of vision given to him by the Sin of the Prison River.
The dark and endless front.
As their only way to survive.
"have."
In the darkness, I could only hear Thales weakly saying: "And..."