"Throw away the nonsense," Nicolai tilted his head intentionally or unintentionally, revealing the handle of the knife behind his back, with a fierce look in his eyes, and his words were as cold as frost: "Or do you like to joke?"
Cohen narrowed his eyes.
Even the little slippery man shook his head.
Thales raised his eyebrows and smiled awkwardly: "But I am serious..."
He looked at the unkind and doubtful looks of everyone, and felt a thump in his heart.
The prince finally had no choice but to shake his head: "Okay, let's get to the topic..."
"From King Nunn's assassination to now, I have collected a lot of intelligence during my escape," Thales sighed, "There are many details about Lumba's plan."
Putilai and Raphael looked at each other, secretly surprised.
Miranda frowned slightly: "On the run, collecting intelligence?"
Thales shrugged: "You can't just panic and run for your life."
Nicolai's eyes focused: "For example?"
"For example, the real purpose of Lombard," Thales' breathing slowly slowed down: "Whether it is the troops he did not bring or the appearance of himself, it has far exceeded what is needed to 'counterattack Nunn to protect himself'"
category."
"We talked about this in the cell," Miranda said sharply: "Do you have an answer?"
In everyone's sight, Thales lowered his head slightly.
He recalled the stressful conversation in the carriage.
"When King Nun died and I fell into Lumba's hands, he said something to me," the second prince said in a daze, recreating the scene in his mind: "That sentence has always bothered me.
, until just now.”
Raphael unconsciously leaned forward slightly and narrowed his eyes.
"Charmaine Lombard's original words were," Thales said in a rough voice, imitating the hero's tone: "'Next step?'"
"'Go and save this country'."
Except for the little slippery man, everyone was stunned.
There was another few seconds of silence.
"What?" This was the confused Putilai.
Raphael and Miranda lowered their heads in thought.
"Huh," Nicolai shook his head and exchanged glances with Michael: "The self-justification of a shameless person, the cunning words of a regicide."
But Thales shook his head solemnly.
"No, I can feel it," the prince breathed out, his eyes full of solemnity: "He is serious: Lombard really thinks that what he is doing is saving Exeter."
The meteorite's expression slowly solidified.
Cohen scratched his head: "Maybe we should stop this guessing game and go straight to the point and say something I can understand?"
"There's something wrong with this sentence," Putilai took a puff of cigarette, with an undercurrent surging in his eyes: "What does this country need to be saved?"
"Maybe it refers to the overthrow of King Nunn?" Miranda crossed her arms and thought carefully: "And as far as I know, the rule of King Nunn for thirty years made the grand dukes both respected and afraid."
"For Lumba, Nunn's death is the rebirth of the country. Can they finally get rid of the oppression of Walton and Dragon Sky City?"
Michael sighed.
But the prince still shook his head.
Thales took a breath and said silently: "The biggest reason why Lomba wants to overthrow King Nun is that he is afraid of King Nun's revenge on the Black Sand Territory, and it is to protect himself."
"But this problem has been solved." Thales raised his head and combined every element in his mind: "King Nun is dead and will not crawl out of the prison river to find him again."
Raphael said nothing, but suddenly smiled.
"According to Lombard's original sentence," the young man from the secret department showed a scrutinizing gaze: "He is about to 'go' to save the country - King Nun is already dead at this time. From a chronological point of view, it is wrong."
Thales nodded in ecstasy.
"Unless Lumba has never taken a grammar class, he can't even tell the difference between present and future tenses." Thales said lightly.
"Otherwise, what he said about saving the country..."
Thales raised his head, his eyes extremely solemn: "It's definitely not just about overthrowing King Nun, it's not just about getting rid of the oppression of Longxiao City, it's not just about changing the king."
"He wanted more."
"He wants unprecedented change."
"I want to 'save this country' in the most thorough way."
Everyone fell silent.
"I bet," Thales breathed out, his tone serious and serious: "This is why Lumba brought the army to Longxiao City, and why he is going to the Palace of Heroes at this moment - it is also the key to our counterattack."
"If you bring the army to the Palace of Heroes, you can save the country?" Cohen asked doubtfully: "What is he going to do? Kill all the nobles in Longxiao City from the Grand Duke to the Earl?"
Putilai sneered.
"In the past few decades of my life, I have learned one thing," Mr. Deputy Envoy exhaled a puff of smoke and said quietly: "Violence is the shortest, simplest, and least effective of all ways to solve problems.
—Best as a last resort.”
Thales sighed, all the clues becoming clearer and clearer in his mind.
"During that impressive journey, I heard another detail."
Everyone's eyes were once again attracted to the prince.
"Shadow Shield told Lumba," Thales said silently: "When Thaliton assassinated King Nunn, he spent a long time looking for traces of the king."
Putilai raised his head suddenly!
It's like I thought of something.
Raphael also opened his mouth in surprise.
Thales lowered his head:
Thanks Kaslan…
Thank you for giving me Gu’s hiding place...
otherwise……
Otherwise, I probably wouldn't have seen the scene where Lumba and Shadow Shield met.
He thought silently.
Huaiya raised his eyebrows: "Is there anything wrong?"
"It's very inappropriate," Putilai frowned and said nervously: "Arrange an assassination, but you can't determine the location of the target and the time of the assassination..."
The thin man's eyes were serious: "For an assassination operation that requires advance planning and thorough preparation, this is one of the most fatal and unforgivable mistakes."
"This means... that the assassination of Shadow Shield and Sariton happened unexpectedly."
"Oh," Cohen on the side suddenly clapped his head, then raised his thumb and said sincerely: "It seems that you have a lot of experience, uncle."
At that moment, Putilai's eyes darkened.
Thales took a deep breath and raised his head.
"The Locust Blade jumped down from the Cliff of the Sky to assassinate the king," the prince said solemnly, "He had been hiding on the Cliff of the Sky before."
Even Asheida and Black Sword didn't notice him.
Thales clenched his fists and sorted things out while thinking.
"How did he get up?" Nicolai doubted: "Even at night, it is impossible for Sariton to climb up the cliff of the sky without being noticed."
Thales shook his head.
"It does not matter."
"The important thing is," the second prince's pupils narrowed: "There is only one place connected to Sky Cliff."
Lord Michael, who has been a king and official for many years, his eyes trembled and he said the answer: "The Palace of Heroes."
No one said anything, everyone knew what it meant.
"That is to say," Thales nodded slightly: "Bananet Sariton originally planned to enter the Palace of Heroes from the Sky Cliff and assassinate King Nunn."
"The Palace of Heroes is the place where King Nun died in their original plan."
Raphael showed a strange smile and looked at the prince quietly.
"Everything makes sense," Thales thought in a trance: "After Nunn was assassinated, Lombard showed up unreasonably with his army, and even tried to silence us - but he shouldn't have done something like this to invite suspicion.
Unwise move.”
Snapped!
Thales punched his palm into his hand, his eyes shining brightly.
"Now I understand that Lombard and the army will appear there," he breathed out: "It is because of an accident in the assassination plan: King Nun should not die in the Shield Zone, but should die in the Palace of Heroes - just like Dragon Blood
It’s just like any unexpected surprise in the plan.”
Raphael sneered silently.
"Sariton couldn't find the king in the Palace of Heroes, so Lombard had to send troops into the shield area to search for traces of Nunn." Thales clenched his fists: "After confirming that Sariton's assassination was successful, he
The first thing that comes to mind is to kill the witnesses to silence them.”
But Nicolai's face turned blue and his eyes showed pain.
"Your Majesty Nun," Meteorite said bitterly: "When he was fighting against the disaster, he should have stayed safely in the Palace of Heroes, but he chose to set off with the White Blade Guards and come outside the palace."
"He said he believed that the place where the White Blade Guards are located is the safest place in the world."
Michael lowered his head and said in a hoarse voice: "We have all failed in our responsibilities."
Thales' eyes darkened: "Choosing to leave the palace, although the tragedy of assassination is inevitable, may be the wisest decision the old king made before his death."
"Leaved a glimmer of hope for us."
The vigilance officer raised his hand.
"What does this mean?" Cohen waved his hands and thought hard: "Lomba doesn't want people outside the palace to know that Nunn is dead?"
Miranda raised her head, her eyes filled with coldness.
"If King Nun died inexplicably in the Palace of Heroes according to Lumba's original plan," the female swordsman asked coldly: "What will happen then?"
Putilai shook his head: "It's not what the situation will be like..."
Thales hummed, and several different high-ranking figures appeared in his mind, and he took over the words of the deputy envoy in a deep voice: "It was four friendly and amiable old friends who were also in the Palace of Heroes at that time..."
"What will happen to them."
Thales suddenly raised his eyes and looked at everyone.
"Let's go." He said firmly.
"Where to go?" Nicolai narrowed his eyes.
Thales smiled.
"Go and verify my final guess," the prince said softly: "Find Rumba's weakness."
————
At the same time, in the Hall of Heroes of the Palace of Heroes, the conversation between the five Grand Dukes became increasingly tense.
"About His Majesty's misfortune..."
Charmaine Lombard looked at the four grand dukes in front of him with a cold expression: "It seems that you have something to say?"
Ronnie from Qiyuan City snorted coldly:
"Don't treat your peers like fools."
I heard Archduke Ronny say coldly: "We are not those aristocratic backgrounds in knight novels that only serve to set off the protagonist and give him his daughter for nothing."
Lumba narrowed his eyes.
"As His Majesty's biggest enemy, Charmaine," the bearded Olesiu raised his chin, crossed his arms, and said with a serious expression, "but you knew the news of his death so much earlier than the rest of us. It's really not good.
It’s simple.”
Duke Heisha snorted softly.
"And not too early or too late, just appeared shortly after His Majesty was assassinated?" Grand Duke Trudida hid half of his face in the shadows that could not be illuminated by the brazier, touched his beard, and said in a sinister way: "It seems that the black sand collar
The horse is so fast, it can almost catch up with the dragon - how about selling me some?"
Grand Duke Lombard raised the corners of his mouth slightly.
"I thought," the mature and steady Grand Duke Lecco shook his head to make his bald head more conspicuous, and a pair of eyes occasionally showed a sparkle: "If you just come to talk to a few of us... you are outside the door.
Isn't it too much to bring an 'entourage'?"
Charmaine Lombard raised his head and glanced at the stone carving of Dragon Spear in the Cloud above his head.
His hand held down the old sword at his waist.
The next second, he nodded slowly.
But on Lumba's unsmiling face, his eyes became colder and colder.
"I didn't know you were starting to learn to act in stage plays," Duke Heisha lowered his head and hummed, looking around at the four of them:
"One line per person?"
boom!
Grand Duke Ronny punched the rectangular table hard, his eyes turned cold.
"Stop talking nonsense," Grand Duke Qiyuancheng said fiercely: "What are you thinking in that big head that has been blown by the wind and sand in the south for forty years?"
"Kill the king and destroy our greatest rule and tacit understanding in more than 600 years?"
"Do you think you can escape?"
The princes looked at Lombard coldly and did not answer.
Lumba also frowned and faced Ronnie's question.
A few seconds later.
"I thought you would be very happy," Lumba said softly, his voice a little hoarse: "After all, he is dead and you can finally get rid of that tyrant."
"Get rid of his officials."
"Get rid of his unreasonable demands."
"Free from his increasingly greedy desires."
"Get rid of his growing power."
"Get rid of his unreasonable dictation on the affairs of your respective territories."
Charmaine Lombard glanced at the grand dukes coldly: "Isn't it?"
At that moment, different colors flashed in the eyes of the four Grand Dukes.
There was silence for a moment.
The Grand Duke of Welland, Lebien Alessio, stepped forward.
The corners of the bearded Duke's mouth curled up, and he said in a cold tone: "But that's not how this game is played."
"You can't overturn the chessboard just because of a momentary disadvantage."
He narrowed his eyes: "You act like a desperate gambler, which makes us very nervous."
Lumba snorted coldly, seeming to be disdainful.
"nervous?"
He stretched out his palm, patted his chest, and said solemnly: "Ask yourselves, my great dukes."
"In the past thirty years, the past sixty years, and the past ninety years," Lomba said, his expression as ice-like and his words as sword-like, "Is it me or those people named Walton who have used all kinds of means and menacing methods?
The king, who is almost suffocating you due to the general situation, is making you even more nervous?"
The Grand Dukes did not speak. Years of experience have long made them accustomed to keeping their emotions and anger hidden - not everyone is as young as Perfit.
Lumba stepped forward and walked towards the rectangular table.
"Of course, Nunn and Walton are very good at playing this game. He has kept his chessboard in good order," Lombard said coldly: "Look at that throne, it has been placed in Longxiao City.
Almost a hundred years ago!”
The Grand Duke of Black Sand waved his hand and pointed at the position of King Nuen, with cold eyes: "Don't you think it's strange?"
Archduke Olesiu sighed loudly.
"This has nothing to do with us," the Grand Duke of Wellandland walked up to him and faced Lombard without flinching: "But you have indeed broken the oath of co-ruling - His Majesty is still your co-king.
"
Boom!
Lumba took a sudden step forward!
His forehead was almost touching Olesio's.
But Olesiu did not flinch, his eyes were fierce.
The atmosphere between the two Grand Dukes was becoming increasingly tense.
"Then you should know," the Grand Duke of Lombard narrowed his eyes, and he bit the words one by one, which sounded particularly scary: "If he is still alive, in two months, my head will be put in a box.
, for you all to visit.”
"How do you know that the next head in the box won't be one of you?"
"Stop talking nonsense," the eldest Grand Duke Lecco raised his head rarely, with very serious eyes: "Trying to make us believe that it was the Prince of the Stars who killed the king is not a good idea to shift the focus."
"The people of the North have their own way of the North," Grand Duke Ronnie took up his words and said in a deep voice, "Just follow it."
Grand Duke Lombard narrowed his eyes and seemed quite dissatisfied.
The Grand Duke of Trudida clapped his hands.
"I don't think he wants to follow the way of the North." The Grand Duke of the Rebuilding Tower, who is famous for his cunning, tilted his head: "Look at the bunch of stupid soldiers outside the door."
Grand Duke Ronny snorted coldly: "Why, are you still planning to wipe us all out here?"
The Grand Duke of Lombard looked at the four Grand Dukes, his expression getting colder and colder.
He clenched his fists.
But the four princes in front of him showed no intention of backing down. They were sitting or standing, staring coldly at Lombard without any compromise.
After a while.
Lumba unclenched his fists, lowered his chest, and slowly exhaled.
"I'm not here to threaten you." Grand Duke Heisha said solemnly, "I don't mean to do you any harm."
Grand Duke Lecco narrowed his eyes and seemed to be deep in thought.
Lumba suddenly raised his head: "I am here today because of Exeter."
Grand Duke Olesiu and Grand Duke Ronny looked at each other and sneered at the same time.
"Come on," Ronny shook his head: "The regicide wants to make terms?"
"For the future of Exeter," Lombard said solemnly, "I have an important proposal to make to you."
Duke Heisha raised his head, his face was cold, but his eyes were burning with fire.
Fire in the ice.
"Longxiao City has no recent direct heirs," he said calmly: "I think that whether it is the selfish Walton family or the Grand Duke's territory that has dragged down Exeter for more than six hundred years...
"
"It should no longer exist."
Trudida looked puzzled.
Grand Duke Lecco's expression changed.
Olesiu pursed his lips, his eyes slightly surprised.
Ronnie's smile froze on his face.
But Lumba's words continued.
"The western territory of Longxiao City can belong to Qiyuan City," he said calmly, as if he was talking about the little things about the winter hunting last year:
"We might as well let the garrison city take care of the north."
"The remaining parts," Lumba narrowed his eyes and looked at Olesio and Trudida, "will be handed over to Wellandland and Reconstruction Tower respectively."
The Grand Duke closed his mouth and waited quietly for a response.
No one spoke.
It seemed like the air was frozen.
Until the incredible voice of Archduke Lecco sounded tremblingly:
"What did you say?"
Lumba turned to him.
"Did you hear what I said?" Lumba's eyes opened slightly, and he said in a deep voice: "We are here to jointly manage this land..."