There was only a solitary eternal lamp, barely illuminating the mottled and old earthen walls on both sides, which looked as if they were about to collapse at any time.
A young man sat silently next to this eternal lamp, looking at a dagger in his hand.
The narrow passage can only accommodate two people. It looks like a gap between two walls. The dirt floor is covered with dust. It looks like no one has been there for a long time.
This is an underground passage hidden under the cellar of the chess and card room.
It's a shame they can fix it.
The young man said in his heart.
However, I come here to play chess every month. Why didn’t the Grand Duke’s personal guards responsible for searching and clearing the place discover this place?
Moreover... when this place was selected, Nicolai must have already checked the details of this place, right?
Ta,ta,ta...
The sound of footsteps came to my ears.
The young man stopped what he was doing, slowly put the daggers into their sheaths, and buckled them back into his belt.
A line of words on the sheath flashed by under the uncertain light:
Kings are not respected by blood.
Ta,ta,ta...
The footsteps are getting closer.
Thales sighed and turned to look at the other end of the dim passage.
There is no light there, only darkness.
As the footsteps stopped, a figure loomed in the darkness.
"You should take a good rest, Your Highness, to regain your strength," the visitor said calmly and in a brisk voice, "It will be a while yet."
The young prince snorted.
He stood up silently and dusted himself off: "This is different from what we agreed."
Thales looked at the familiar face of the visitor and those special pair of dark red eyes, and said coldly:
"Raphael Lindbergh."
Following Thales' words, Raphael, a cadre of the kingdom's secret service whom he had not seen for six years, stepped out of the dark passage and revealed his entire figure in front of the eternal lamp.
Thales looked at Raphael carefully.
Six years did not seem to have brought many vicissitudes to this desolate skeleton man who lived in darkness.
He was still wearing a white robe, with a handsome posture and a calm demeanor. Only when he saw the flickering lights did he frown slightly subconsciously.
"really."
"So this is not the perfect escape we imagined, it's even extremely risky."
Raphael's dark red eyes glanced at Thales, who was already a young man, with a calm expression: "But your noble highness, whose fault do you think this is?"
Thales' expression changed: "Whose fault is it?"
"Don't act stupid, Raphael, you know what I'm talking about."
"Five thousand cavalry marched from the desert to Qiyuan City to support the Freedom Alliance," the prince said in a cold voice, "It gave the Northlanders a big surprise, didn't it."
"And do you know how many people told me in advance, told their hostage about the prince?"
Raphael raised his eyebrows.
Thales twitched the corners of his mouth, shook his fingers vigorously in the air, mockingly pointed out a number, and said word by word: "Zero."
"Zero! None of them!"
"This is what dozens of stupid, ferocious-looking strong men from the North came together to sue me for!"
Raphael looked above his head thoughtfully.
"Five thousand cavalry?"
He moved slightly: "Is this the intelligence of the Northlanders?"
The indifferent attitude of the secret man made Thales very angry.
"Why, are you going to tell me that the cavalry and the cross-star flag that almost killed me are fake and were impersonated by others?"
The prince shrugged and hummed dissatisfied: "And the kingdom didn't send any troops at all?"
In the flickering light, Raphael looked at him silently for a few times, and then sighed slightly.
"Those armies are indeed real and were sent out by the stars."
"But those who set out from the Western Wilderness, from the Blade Ya Camp, and head west into the desert, will end up with at most one or two thousand cavalry."
"As for the others, they are probably infantry or illusions created," Raphael laughed:
"Five thousand cavalry? Ha, that cost is enough to drain half of the kingdom."
The Barren Skeleton Man spread his hands, his sleeves still long and firmly covering his wrists.
He is laughing.
He didn't care at all.
Thales told himself this with his eyes widened.
The prince's unhappiness slowly rose.
"That's not the point, and it's not funny."
Thales narrowed his eyes, raised his finger, and his tone became increasingly serious: "You know, as the target of venting, I was almost torn to pieces by the angry Northlanders in the Hall of Heroes."
In the dim vision, Raphael shook his head with a half-smile: "They won't do that..."
But Thales ignored his interruption at all. Instead, he shook his fingers and suppressed his anger and continued: "Or was he kidnapped to Qiyuan City, tied up in front of the two armies and forced to retreat?"
The volume of the prince's final voice was a little loud, which was quite harsh in the narrow passage.
Raphael looked at the prince steadily and slowly calmed his expression.
"Your Highness, everything we have done is to rescue you safely and return to your country..."
"Yes, the way is to let the Northlanders hang me first, and then you come and collect the body," Thales sneered, full of irony: "It's very safe."
Raphael's expression changed.
"Please believe me, the secret department has its own appropriate means and arrangements," his tone gradually became serious: "But I can say with certainty that it will never be in the crude, direct and forced way now."
The secret expert said coldly: "As I just said: Your Highness, whose fault do you think this is?"
Thales didn't pay attention to the other party's rhetorical questions at all. He sneered repeatedly:
"'Appropriate means and arrangements'? It's really exciting, just like Dragon's Blood six years ago, right?"
Raphael hesitated slightly when he heard the operation code name that had not appeared for a long time.
The prince leaned against the wall, turned his head to the side, and roared angrily: "God damn the secret of the kingdom."
Raphael was silent for a long time.
Until he took a breath and spoke slowly:
"You are accusing us of concealing information, Your Highness. You think this accident is the fault of the secret department."
Thales snorted lightly.
"But on the other hand," Raphael's red eyes flashed with a strange light, "you treat us..."
"Just so unreserved?"
Thales was stunned for a moment and slowly turned around.
Raphael stared at him with chilling eyes.
"As of noon today, we thought everything was going well... It wasn't until the news came that we knew about the good things you and Lumba did in the palace."
Raphael's voice also carried a sharp accusation: "Until I receive the news that you are leaving the palace."
"We were caught off guard and had to take emergency action and adopt the worst backup plan: risking our lives to rescue you!"
Thales said nothing.
Raphael took a step forward slightly, his eyes stern.
"For more than two months, ever since you boarded the carriage in the Black Sand Territory, you have always known that Lumba has been lurking in the city, and you even secretly reached an agreement with him to jointly interfere in the internal affairs of Longxiao City and Exeter.
Until finally you were transferred to the Black Sand Territory."
Thales felt a chill in his heart and suddenly felt something was not good.
The Desolate Skeleton Man said calmly:
"About these, about the conspiracy between you and Lomba, and about the reason why you were forced to cooperate with him, Your Highness..."
"How much more did you tell us?"
Looking at Raphael's eyes, Thales suddenly felt a little palpitated.
Damn it.
That's right, the secret meeting between Lumba and I, the plan for the little slicker, these things, including the identity of the Grand Duchess...
How could I possibly tell you?
Thales took a deep breath and let it out slowly.
He forced himself to calm down: "What happened between me and Black Sand Leader was an accident."
Raphael's eyebrows moved: "Accident?"
Thales pursed his lips and nodded angrily:
"Yes, your accident first caused my accident! Okay?"
"If you hadn't brought those five thousand or two thousand cavalry and turned the whole situation upside down, the Grand Duchess would not have been forced into desperation, and I would not have been forced to ask Lombard for help!"
The prince snorted coldly and tried to change the subject.
No.
He said silently in his heart.
He knows.
To be precise, Thales had made a record very early: in the Hall of Heroes, their and Ian's plan would probably encounter an accident and fail.
For the little cunning guy, Rumba is the trump card he must turn over when he is cornered.
And once this trump card is revealed, the secret department will definitely know.
The secret department will not sit back and watch, they will definitely take action.
Thales patted the belongings he had packed in his arms and sighed in his heart: He had already been prepared for the rescue of the Secret Department.
This time, Raphael stared at him for a long time.
As if to discover some secret.
Thales just turned his head angrily, acting like a sulking teenager.
Finally, Raphael put away his scrutinizing eyes.
Raphael said calmly: "Then maybe you shouldn't be so involved in the government affairs of Longxiao City?"
He looked at the prince with a different expression and said with disdain: "Even if you and the Grand Duchess have an indescribable relationship, Your Highness the Romance."
Thales was startled for a moment, and then he was speechless: "Me, the Grand Duchess and I..."
But he was so angry that he quickly found a way to fight back and change the subject: "Fengliu?"
"Hey, six years ago, I wasn't the one who kissed Miss Arend in public for one minute at the Palace of Heroes!"
Raphael's expression changed.
He frowned and coughed, shaking off some dust from his head.
The two were quiet for a while.
Thales gasped silently, hoping that this would cover up the other party's questioning.
"Anyway."
Raphael sighed sarcastically: "If you could be a little more merciful, open your mouth a little more respectfully, and tell us lowly servants who broke their legs in the Secret Service about Lumba in advance..."
"Then maybe we can respond earlier and things won't be so bad?"
Thales raised his eyebrows, opened his hands, and looked like "I have nothing to say to you."
"Very good," the prince made a sign of rest, and said as if he was giving up on himself: "I understand, there will be no results if this continues."
"The discussion is over, that's it."
He turned around, leaned against the wall, shook his head and crossed his arms.
Raphael said nothing.
Until Thales broke his silence again:
"Hey, that guy in black robe with two swords."
"When I escaped into the chess and card room, I saw him surrounded by the guards," the prince said silently without looking back, "Is he okay?"
No.
Thales said in his heart: The former White Blade Guards under Nicolai are not easy to mess with.
That person, in order to create an opportunity for himself to secretly escape to the chess and card room underground, has probably...
Raphael frowned slightly but said nothing.
It wasn't until Thales looked at him impatiently that Raphael snorted: "You didn't recognize him?"
Thales was stunned: "Who? That black robe?"
Raphael squinted his eyes and grinned: "Very good, if you don't even recognize his disguise..."
"Don't worry, he will be safe."
Thales paused lightly.
camouflage?
so……
That man in black robe, is he someone I know?
Could it be...
Thales shook his head and eliminated the masked figure in his mind: Impossible. That man in black robe is slender and holding two thin swords. It can't be him.
At this time, Thales suddenly remembered something, and he raised his head: "Is the attack on the inn where Lumba is located also a way for you to attract attention?"
Having said this, Raphael's expression turned cold.
"Yes, a suicide attack that is unlikely to succeed," his voice was a little quiet: "We have considered any means that can reduce the strength of the guards around you."
Teresa paused.
The light moved slightly, lengthening the figures of the two people on the wall.
After a while, the prince exhaled: "How many casualties are there?"
Raphael shook his head and said nothing.
Thales's face also turned cold.
Silence returned to the passage.
"I'm sorry." It took the prince a long time to hold back these words.
Raphael closed his eyes and shook his head.
"They all know what they are going to do," the person from the Secret Branch said in a sad voice: "For this operation, the Secret Branch even gave up its headquarters in Longxiao City and sacrificed most of its intelligence lines."
Thales was confused: "Headquarters?"
Raphael nuzzled his chin, stretched out his fingers and knocked on the irregular earth wall beside him: "This is it."
Thales was stunned.
He looked around and looked at the dim passage.
Wang Ziqi said: "But here... isn't this the basement of the chess and card room in Mao District where I come every month?"
In reply, Raphael nodded with deep understanding, his expression returning to its previous calmness.
"Wait, you mean," Thales stared with disbelief and looked around: "The chess and card room above us, where I come to play chess every month, is the headquarters of the Kingdom's Secret Department, Longxiao City?"
"In the Spear District? Just a few steps away from the Palace of Heroes?"
Raphael smiled.
He knocked on the dilapidated earth wall next to him again:
"You wouldn't think that the owner of the chess and card room was just bored and built this tunnel under the cellar."
"You don't think that after you made your request for Longxiao City and the Grand Duke agreed, the official from the Department of Order who was responsible for the site selection just happened to report this newly opened chess and card room to Lisban, right?"
Thales looked at Raphael blankly: "So..."
Raphael's eyes flashed and he nodded affirmatively: "Yes, the safest place is right under the eyes of the enemy."
"For example, the 'Dragon's Blood' six years ago, from the beginning of the operation, to modifications, decisions, plans, and even to the final allocation of manpower and intelligence, forging Lombard's warrant, entering the enemy-occupied city gate, and fishing for someone who made his own decisions.
The unlucky prince came out and arranged for the evacuation, all of which were communicated and prepared here."
Raphael glanced at him meaningfully, hummed and shook his head.
Thales automatically ignored the other party's words of "a certain unlucky prince" and silently looked around: the mottled earth walls, the deep passages, and the lonely eternal lamp.
I see.
It turns out that all the secret communications I sent to the secret department in the past six years were here...
"But Nicolai should have checked this place carefully, right? Nothing was found?"
The prince frowned and said: "Even when I come every month, the guards have to turn everything upside down. How could they miss this tunnel?"
Raphael smiled again.
"This was not a chess and card room before."
"This place, as the headquarters of the Secret Service in Longxiao City, has a history of supporting countless espionage operations and sheltering countless star spies in the underground war between stars and dragons for more than 160 years."
Thales was slightly surprised.
Speaking of this, the desolate bone portrait of the secret department was filled with emotion: "During this period, no matter how big the action was, it was never moved or exposed."
"If the Fallen Stars really want to find out something, they have to go through the reconstruction records of the Longxiao City Spear District more than a hundred years ago. It was built by an architect from the Principality of Anrenzo whose niece was married to the Star People. Of course, the records
It was accidentally lost many years ago."
"As for why they couldn't find the tunnel where we are, it's the last escape route. It was dug decades ago, leaving the last layer of soil unexcavated." Raphael brought his thoughts back to the present.
Eyes tightened:
"This morning, when we learned that there was an accident in the palace, I decided to clear it up."
"really……"
Raphael paused and said no more.
The headquarters has not been touched for more than a hundred years...
Thales looked at him silently, feeling extremely sad in his heart.
He frowned and asked: "So, this 'headquarters'... is connected in all directions?"
Raphael chuckled.
The Desolate Skeleton Man looked at the second prince with disdain and sneered: "Why, do you think that the tunnel is so easy to dig, but all the previous Grand Dukes of Longxiao City and all the leaders of the dark rooms, including the current Fallen Starman and his people, are idiots?
"
"Back then, in order not to arouse suspicion, this tunnel was dug intermittently for several years, and it was almost discovered several times..."
"Otherwise, we want to connect it to the secret passage in the city gate. Then we can even sneak into the Palace of Heroes and assassinate a grand duke or something..."
Thales took a breath and laughed.
Raphael snorted.
But he then shook his head and sighed with deep emotion:
"However, because of this operation, the headquarters here must be decommissioned."
Thales' eyes flashed: Retirement?
Raphael seemed to understand his gaze and said calmly:
"You disappeared nearby. Although no one noticed it for a while, the Fallen Starman and his former White Blade Guards will come back to investigate sooner or later until they discover something strange here. Not to mention the darkroom and other forces who heard the news.
If these people put aside their fights for you, it won't take long for them to find out the truth."
"The headquarters will be exposed sooner or later."
Thales frowned.
"If the headquarters is to be decommissioned, then it will also be retired along with everyone, things, objects, channels, locations, and almost everything that has been involved with the headquarters for more than a hundred years," Rafi
Your eyes are dim and your voice is hoarse:
"There is no doubt that Longxiao City will undergo a wave of purges after this incident."
"And the 160-year-old Longxiao City headquarters, and everything that the Kingdom's Secret Department has been operating here for more than 100 years, will probably disappear."
Raphael hummed with unknown emotion: "Because of this hasty and stupid plan."
"To save you."
Listening to the other party's words, Thales lowered his head silently, unable to say anything.