In the darkness, Thales followed the fleeing people, walking uneasily.
The soldiers of the White Blade Guards have been divided into three teams. One team is moving forward to search for danger, and the other team is behind to guard against possible pursuers.
The last group was guarding them.
Nicolai walked at the front of the group and sighed deeply in the darkness.
"When did it happen?" he said hoarsely.
No one answered him.
Until Miranda's voice came from the side.
"If I had to guess," the female swordsman said calmly, "it has been from the beginning."
Nicolai was silent for a second.
"It's possible that he was just deceived," the current commander of the White Blade Guards asked emotionally. "You know, the Black Sand Collar forged information about the Sword of Disaster and then passed it on to Kaslan..."
Thales let out a breath and felt that mental fatigue began to invade him again.
No matter what lies ahead...
Please...
End it quickly.
"Come on." The one who answered the fallen star was the impatient Cohen. He was walking behind the team and his voice was a little loud.
"Your hypocritical former boss showed up in person to deal with us," the security officer mocked: "Hiding among the soldiers in the Black Sand Territory - he knocked me down with two punches."
"Then you should feel honored," Nikolai suddenly raised his head, suppressed his anger, and said coldly in the darkness: "Not everyone is qualified to withstand Kaslan's two punches."
Cohen frowned and was about to retort, but Raphael interrupted him.
"We were able to persuade Shake the Earth to help," Raphael narrowed his eyes: "Now we know how they tricked the city gates into opening quietly and without any blood."
Nicolai lowered his head and said nothing.
No one saw that his eyes were full of complicated meanings at this moment.
Thales's heart moved.
"Wait a minute, if Kaslan knew about this secret passage from the beginning," the prince muttered in the team, "then how come you still have a chance to sneak in?"
Nicolai raised his head.
But it was Cohen who answered.
"Perhaps I want to wait until all the White Blade Guards have arrived," the vigilance officer gritted his teeth and said, "Solve it again."
No one else spoke.
The atmosphere became very depressing.
"Look, they guarded us, first they waited for the Secret Division, and then they waited for the White Blade Guards," Cohen said before he finished speaking, and he said angrily: "Surrounding the point for reinforcements - is there any more vivid tactical case than this?
"
Nicolai punched the wall hard.
"Bang!" There was a muffled sound.
Even in the dark, everyone looked sideways.
The Fallen Star raised his head and exhaled.
Nicolai's eyes became cold again.
"Fuck you, Kaslan." The Fallen Star said coldly.
Raphael hummed softly, but the meaning was unclear.
At this moment.
"Well, maybe, outside of the argument..." Thales' voice suddenly interrupted, with a sense of fatigue in his words.
"What should we think about?"
The second prince said silently: "If the secret passage has only one exit."
Nicolai clenched his fist lightly.
The Fallen Star suddenly laughed.
"We have no choice," he said softly, "right?"
As a result, a group of people could only continue to walk nervously on the secret path in a strange atmosphere.
Dangerous unknowns await on the road ahead.
Head towards the equally mysterious exit.
Thales sighed slightly, but at this moment he could only abandon all distracting thoughts and concentrate on following the team forward.
The figure of another child moved next to him.
A soft voice whispered in his ear: "Tales."
"I can't escape, can I?"
Little Slippery's expression couldn't be seen clearly in the darkness, but Thales could hear that her voice was full of sadness and despair.
Thales sighed.
He was already feeling very annoyed, but now he really wasn't in the mood to comfort the little girl.
"Don't worry," Thales said absentmindedly: "Even if there is an ambush ahead, we will definitely have a way to escape..."
But Little Slippery's voice suddenly became louder.
"No!"
She seemed a little excited.
Thales was slightly startled.
"That's not what I'm talking about," she gasped in the darkness, her voice frightened, "I mean... they, they all found me, found me..."
"I, I can't escape, and I can't leave!"
The little naughty boy's reaction even made Nicolai and others who were talking on the other side couldn't help but look sideways.
Only then did Thales react and vaguely understood what the little slippery man was talking about.
What she means is...
Thales got close to Little Slippery,
The second prince tightened his breathing and felt Little Slippery's body rising and falling slightly beside him.
"They, they called me...Miss Walton..." Little Slippery spoke quietly in a breathy voice, trying his best to keep his body steady, but Thales could still feel the fear in her heart.
Thales' mood darkened.
"They won't let me go..." Little Slippery had already started to cry a little without realizing it.
That's right.
It was agreed in the butcher's shop: This little maid originally planned to sneak away quietly after escaping from danger.
but now……
Thales raised his head and glanced in the direction of Nikolai and the others.
The White Blades found her, the Scarlet Witch recognized her, and Rumba knew her.
King Nun left her not only a ring, an identity, but also a curse.
A curse that once you join, you cannot exit the game.
The prince felt sad in his heart.
Not only that.
Thales then thought of the present after the death of King Nunn.
There was chaos in Longxiao City.
Walton's future is at stake, and Dragon Spear in the Cloud may no longer be able to rule the city.
Exeter—the dragon kingdom that has been inherited for six hundred years is about to fall into an unknown whirlpool, with an uncertain future and uncertain fortunes.
Also, Lombard is leading his army and vassals to frame the crime of assassinating the king on Thales (although as a star prince, he is not completely innocent), and continues to carry out his actions in secret without anyone knowing.
conspiracy.
What does that hero want to do?
Where will he take Longxiao City, Exeter, and the two major powers in the Western Continent?
And these...
Thales turned his head and roughly made out the outline of the little maid in the darkness.
Can these things really be carried by this little girl who suffered huge changes overnight, experienced life and death, and sobbed softly in the dark?
Thales sighed softly and touched Little Slippery's hand in the darkness.
They were small hands covered with dust, trembling and cold.
Little Slippery's hand shrank slightly.
"Are you scared?" Thales said softly in his softest tone.
Little Hua Tou's sobs paused slightly.
"Well," she nodded in the darkness where no one could see her: "I'm sorry, but I'm really..."
"It's okay to be afraid." Thales said calmly.
Little Hua Tou's breathing suddenly stopped.
"I'm as scared as you are." Thales' voice rang in her ears.
The little slippery boy was stunned.
"So we have to remember it," the prince's eyes flashed to that night on Red Square Street, and he couldn't help but clench his fist slightly: "Remember this fear of being able to be slaughtered by others and not being able to make your own choices."
"I hate this feeling," Thales murmured, "This disgust is even greater than the fear I feel."
Little Slippery didn't speak, she listened quietly to Thales' words.
"So, try to hate it, hate this situation where you can't help yourself, hate the situation where you have to become a Walton." Thales gently shook her hand: "You will no longer be right.
'Being a Walton' feels scary."
The little slipper said softly: "Disgusted?"
Thales pressed her hand.
"right."
"It is precisely because of our aversion to it - in order to be free from this fear and to be able to choose freely one day that we will become stronger," he said without a doubt: "No matter who you want to be, there is no need to be afraid."
"When you can face the future without fear..." The prince took a deep breath.
For some reason, at that moment, the figure of Ms. Ji Ni appeared in front of his eyes.
It was that day when she wore high-heeled boots, stepped forward bravely, and walked into the Hall of Stars alone and proudly behind the king.
It was her unique demeanor that turned a blind eye to the countless glances beside her.
Thales's pupils narrowed slightly: "At that time, you will definitely not be influenced by anything and you will be able to make your choice freely."
The little slipper sniffed and fell silent.
Thales was lost in his own thoughts and remained silent.
Soon, the first group of White Blade Guards who explored the path came back to join them.
When the sound of their footsteps came, Cohen and the others unsheathed their swords nervously.
However, the other party brought some strange news.
"What?"
"not found?"
Nicolai frowned.
"No," a leading guard shook his head in the darkness and answered his superior's question: "Whether it's a secret ambush, a trap, a trap, or an overt manpower, we didn't find anything - we'll be here soon.
Exported."
The Meteorite frowned lightly.
"Is this normal?" Raphael's voice came from behind.
Nicolai shook his head.
"It shouldn't be like this," the commander of the White Blade Guards mused, "Kaslan should know this secret passage."
Cohen's voice also came from behind: "Is it possible that he doesn't know what's going on here?"
"It's possible," Miranda said softly, "Maybe he was delayed by something."
"Maybe they are ambushing outside the exit," Huaiya raised his eyebrows, his voice full of worry: "Waiting to catch us all."
Thales blew out a breath from his nose and interrupted them.
"Okay," the second prince felt a headache: "It's useless no matter how much we talk."
"No matter what is waiting ahead," Thales said dejectedly: "We have only one answer, right?"
They can only move forward.
There is no way out.
Just like he did on the battlefield in front of the fortress.
You can only move forward.
Everyone in the darkness fell silent again.
With unspeakable tension, everyone set off on the road again.
For several minutes, only the sound of hurried footsteps could be heard in the darkness of the secret passage.
The blinding darkness, the dull and monotonous rhythm, and the unsettling fear in my heart made the atmosphere more and more solemn.
For this reason, Thales could only count the steps secretly in his mind to relieve his increasingly depressed mental state.
Finally, when Thales counted to the 728th or 827th step, a faint reflected light began to appear on the walls on both sides in front of him.
Everyone was in high spirits.
But the nerves that had just been relaxed and relieved also became tense.
"That's the exit." Nicolai put his hand on the handle of the knife and whispered to the person behind him:
"careful."
The group of people immediately became quiet.
Cohen exhaled, shook his shoulders, and slowed down.
Miranda and Raphael remained silent, seeming to have a tacit understanding.
Thales didn't dare to speak out loud, for fear of disturbing something unknown.
But as the vision became brighter, their progress became faster and faster.
As they gradually approached the exit, the light in front became brighter and brighter.
Until the exit clearly appeared in front of us - the end of the deep tunnel, a hole with dazzling white light.
Nicolai sighed.
Everyone's nerves also relaxed.
It's not because of safety, but because after being in a dark and depressing environment for a long time, even the spirit becomes abnormal.
So the moment I saw the exit, it felt like something I had been waiting for anxiously had finally come to fruition.
although.
This result is not very good.
A figure stood quietly at the exit.
Thales' heart sank.
"Is it the person who responded?" he asked softly.
"Of course not," Nicolai shook his head and no longer lowered his voice: "He is not stupid enough to stand directly at the entrance of the cave."
The meteorite's expression became very calm, as if he was somewhat - relieved?
Cohen sighed.
The White Blade Guards spread out quietly to protect the surroundings of the little slippery man.
Miranda pressed the hilt of the sword and lightly opened her lips: "Are you ready to fight?"
Raphael narrowed his eyes: "Did you see who that was?"
"I can't tell what he looks like," Miranda said with a slight curl of the corners of her mouth, "but that figure... is too familiar."
Cohen frowned: "Familiar? You mean, Chloe?"
Nicolai ignored the subsequent argument.
He made a gesture to the people behind him, and then strode forward alone.
Walk towards the figure.
The figure turned his head slightly, and the light shone on his face.
Everyone was shocked when they saw the appearance of the person coming.
That's not 'shaking the ground', it's not Kaslan.
"We meet again," Nicolai walked ten steps away from the visitor and sighed softly:
"Ms. Cassian."
In front of him, the Scarlet Witch smiled slightly and nodded kindly as always.
Thales looked at the Scarlet Witch who reappeared in front of him in disbelief. He turned his head to look behind him, and then back to look at Cassian.
How could she... so quickly?
"As expected, Kaslan told you this secret passage." Nikolai said coldly.
The Scarlet Witch smiled faintly.
"I just found out, don't blame him," the old woman observed Nicolai's position, then raised her eyebrows slightly: "It's close enough, Lord Nicolai."
The Fallen Star stopped.
His hand was still on the Soul-Destroying Blade.
"Where is he?" Nicolai had to squint his eyes because of the backlight - he couldn't see clearly what was going on outside the cave.
Kashan looked at his appearance and sighed: "He won't show up."
Nicolai tightened his grip on the handle of his knife.
"Humph," Nicolai looked away, his voice full of disdain: "Coward."
Behind him, Thales frowned: "They stood too far away...and couldn't hear anything."
He tried to activate the Sin of the Hell River, but the loss of the power of the end when he was searching for a path in the secret passage was too great. He called several times, but the Sin of the Hell River showed no response.
Miranda looked strange: "Why is there only the Scarlet Witch?"
"Maybe it's an old trick." Cohen blocked Thales' side tightly and looked around suspiciously. "The big guy with the knife might be nesting in some gutter, planning to jump out suddenly like last time.
come out."
"Alert," Raphael said calmly: "This time, we have no backup."
"Oh," Huaiya said softly, "When will they start fighting?"
Thales looked at the two people talking, his heart heavy: "We will know."
Nicolai's eyes returned to Kashan.
"Where are you, and where is Tuleha?" The Faller looked at Kashan, estimated the distance between the two, and said coldly: "Where is your ambush?"
The Scarlet Witch sighed slowly.
"Outside," Kashan nodded and bowed slightly: "Crossbowmen you can't imagine are lurking in the most tricky corners - they are all masters of sniping and assassination in the darkroom."
"As for the Black Sand Territory... I am not prepared to let them participate in this hunt."
Nicolai's pupils narrowed slightly.
He hates this feeling.
On the battlefield, the feeling of being locked tightly.
His eyes gradually adapted to the light, and he saw the scene outside through the hole - it was still empty.
Nicolai looked back at the Scarlet Witch's eyes, his pale face moved slightly: "Aren't you afraid that I will hold you hostage again?"
Kashan showed a friendly smile: "Oh, I'm prepared this time, I'm afraid it won't be so easy for you."
The uneasiness in Nicolai's heart became more and more serious. He looked at the old woman steadily and said nothing.
"Then what are you waiting for," Meteorite said coldly: "Let's do it - or do you think that as long as we are blocked here, we will surrender obediently?"
But to his surprise, Kashan shook her head: "Of course not."
"I do have all the advantages," the Scarlet Witch said calmly: "But that's not what I want. Needless violence and death will not help."
"We haven't finished talking yet."
"It only belongs to the White Blade Guards and the dark room, and it only belongs to the conversation between Blade and Wing."