Under the clear sky, Thales and Kurtz stood outside a wild cabin, watching the two saddled packhorses grazing leisurely in front of them.
"Are you sure you don't need me to send you off again?" Kurtz, leaning on a branch, asked, scratching his head.
"Although the search in Longxiao City is limited to the city, all major checkpoints must have been notified..."
Thales took a breath and looked at the cabin in front of him with a light heart.
This was an out-of-city hiding place for Grievault and his brothers.
These mud-legged people in the shield area had already arranged their subsequent escape method by transporting necessities and dung (thinking of this, Thales's face darkened again): two pack horses, eating like this
grass, while looking at them meekly.
Perhaps the adventures in the dark path were too colorful. For a moment after escaping, Thales almost forgot the primary purpose of their trip.
But when he thought about it, he had mixed feelings in his heart.
Thales breathed in the grass-scented air of the wild, looked at the tenacious weeds under his feet, the unique coniferous forests and a few evergreen trees in the North in the distance, and sighed:
Six years.
He walked out of Longxiao City.
From time to time, the prince looked back at the distant peak, imagining the bustling and chaotic streets on the other side of the mountain, as well as the rough and majestic palace.
He shook his head and closed the past with a smile.
"And do you know where you are going?" Kurtz frowned.
"Yes, I know the direction, and I also know which places have checkpoints and cannot go." Thales recalled the map and thought of the route that Raphael had pointed out to him, and found that it was quite clear. "Don't worry, there will be a road ahead."
Someone picked me up."
and……
Thales stepped on the ground and felt the strange pulse coming from under his feet.
He whispered: "I know the way."
Kurtz put his hands on his hips and stared at him intently.’
It seemed like I knew some of his secrets.
This made Thales feel uneasy.
"Okay," after a while, the seamstress spread her hands: "If you get to the place, let go of the reins..."
"This is the Falon family's old horse. It knows how to go home on its own."
Speaking of which...
Thales looked at the horse with a sad face.
He remained on full alert, holding on to the reins tentatively, always ready to dodge the opponent's flying hooves.
But he was stunned immediately.
"What's wrong?" Keziqi asked.
"It's nothing." Thales pulled the reins in surprise, watching the old horse being pulled to him obediently, and tentatively stretched out his hand to touch its head: "I just...I didn't have much conversation with animals before.
Come on...horses are one of them, but today..."
The old horse from the Falon family looked at him docilely, and even stuck out his tongue and licked Thales' palm, showing an affectionate attitude.
Thales suddenly felt a sense of accomplishment.
What's going on today?
Welfare for single dogs? Even animals are obedient?
He blinked, feeling that the world was so wonderful, and then recalled Nicolai's riding instruction in his memory, and neatly mounted the saddle.
Kurtz looked at the obedient old horse, and then looked at him with disdain: "Tsk, looking at the way you are familiar with the road, you must have been on many good horses, right?"
Thales raised his eyebrows helplessly and was about to leave.
"etc."
Kurtz suddenly spoke, showing a strange smile:
"Let me give you a gift at last. Come over here."
"Let me tell you a little secret from Grivet."
Thales responded in shock.
But relying on the friendship he had gained from living together and escaping from the cave, he still rode his horse forward obediently, leaned over and put his ear close to it.
Grivet’s little secret?
Could it be...
Unexpectedly, as soon as he leaned down on the horse, Kurtz grabbed him by the neck, showing a wicked smile that seemed to have succeeded.
Thales was shocked.
The next second, Kurtz gently tiptoed forward and approached Thales' cheek affectionately...
"Bo."
Kissed Thales on the lips.
Thales was stunned for a moment.
The next second, his jaw dropped in shock!
"you you you!"
"What are you doing!"
With a look of horror on his face, Thales reacted exaggeratedly and pulled the reins back, wiping his lips!
Still wet!
She actually licked it!
Licking it!
He felt the touch on his lips and pointed at Kurtz who was smiling evilly in disbelief: "You, you, you"
"Hahahaha!" Kurtz leaned on a branch and laughed loudly, bending down at the waist: "Little brat, this reaction is really interesting...,"
Thales looked at him blankly and realized that Kurtz only thought that this action was...a prank?
Did she take this... as a prank?
"Is there any mistake?"
Thales forced himself to put on a disgusted face, and while wiping his lips, he said angrily: "Hey, hey, this joke isn't funny at all, is it?"
"who do you think You Are……"
"Oh, not interesting?"
Kurtz rolled his eyes, stuck out his tongue and licked his lips lightly, and winked slyly at him on the horse: "What, do you want to go further?"
Frightened, Thales picked up the reins again and took a step back.
Thales was in a confused mood, feeling that the whole world was full of malice. He really didn't know what expression to use to face this rude and violent her.
"Tch," looking at his reaction, Kurtz said disdainfully:
"It can't be the first kiss, right? How shameless!"
Thales' expression darkened, and the pride in his heart made him feel that he could not show weakness.
"Hmph, you self-righteous woman!" Thales put on a disdainful expression: "My first kiss was much more beautiful than yours!"
But he is a pervert who kills without blinking an eye.
Kurtz laughed loudly in response.
Thales, who was asking for trouble, shook his head and was about to leave.
"Thank you, kid."
Kurtz's voice came slowly.
Somewhat low.
Thales turned back in confusion.
"Remember."
"When you grow up, you must be a good man," Kurtz's face looked a little sad at this moment: "The kind who can take responsibility and can be entrusted to others' shoulders."
"Even in the deepest darkness."
She was lost in thought and looked lonely.
Don't know what to think.
Tails paused, feeling slightly sour.
"Thank you, Kurtz." He said silently.
But Kurtz chuckled and shook his head.
"Kurz is a nickname, not my official name."
Thales looked puzzled.
"The lame man has a big tongue. He thinks my name is too long, so... after so many years, I have become accustomed to 'Kuz'." Kurtz inserted his right hand into his forehead, shook his head back, and removed the messy hair.
Comb smoothly to the back of your head.
Coupled with shaking her head and stretching her waist, Kurtz's movements are smooth, natural, chic and neat. Coupled with her graceful figure, it actually has a strange sense of beauty.
At that moment, Thales suddenly had an idea that made him slightly ashamed:
The gruff-voiced woman in front of me... seems to be quite attractive?
Thales coughed lowly and quickly shook his head to drive away the boring thoughts and the strange feeling on his lips that had just returned.
"Christina," Kurtz smiled beautifully:
"Cristina Ramon, that's my name."
Thales shrugged: "Okay, Miss Ramon..."
But he was stunned immediately.
"Ramon..." Thales chewed on this last name and his face changed slightly.
The way he looked at Kurtz was different.
"I heard from Grivet that your father is a military doctor?"
Kurtz frowned: "Yeah, a madman who was not normal before he disappeared."
"And my biggest gain from being by his side is that I learned how to sew whether it's dead or alive."
She shook her head disdainfully, obviously disapproving of her father.
"Really?" Thales was in a strange mood at this moment, and it was hard to describe the feeling: "How did you come to Longxiao City and the Shield Zone?"
Kurtz paused slightly.
"More than twenty years ago, my father threw me into the hands of his old colleagues and disappeared," Kurtz shrugged: "I met a few bastards and a bunch of bullshit in the military camp...and then I met
Cripple, he brought me out."
A few seconds later.
Thales said with difficulty: "Your missing father, what is his name? Maybe I can help you find him."
Kurtz fell silent.
"Cobb, or Cobo? I can't remember clearly," she waved her hand indifferently: "It doesn't matter, I always thought he was dead anyway..."
Kurtz snorted lightly: "I never counted on him."
But she immediately noticed that Thales trembled slightly.
The prince looked hesitant and his expression was extremely heavy.
He lowered his eyes.
It was as if he didn't dare to face her.
"What's wrong?" Kurtz asked doubtfully, and then she deliberately showed a shy smile, raised the corners of her mouth, and teased in the same trick: "Oh, are you reluctant to let me go? Do you want to marry me back to the castle?"
But Thales had no intention of teasing.
He didn't pay attention to Kurtz's words at all, and just nodded anxiously.
"Kurz, I will pay attention," the prince's voice was a little low, and he turned the horse's head: "If I can find him."
"Find your father."
He said sadly: "And, thank you."
"Miss Ramon."
Kurtz looked at him strangely, but in the end he didn't say anything. He just snorted slightly and waved to him with a slightly condensed expression.
"Take care of yourself."
"Little brat prince."
Thales never dared to look back.
The next second, he raised his horse's reins and rode away in the direction he remembered.
Put Longxiao City together with the memories there...
stay behind.
The sun sets in the west.
Thales rode carefully in the wilderness outside Longxiao City, neither fast nor slow.
He still remembered that Longxiao City, the rendezvous point marked by Raphael on the map, was still under lock and key. The security and search were still inside the city, and he was very close to the rendezvous point. As long as he could get out of the city smoothly, he could get there in less than a day.
arrive.
Despite this, he still acted cautiously, trying to find places like hills and bushes, preferring to take long detours to ensure safety, staying away from checkpoints and villages, and any inhabited places, and using his "hell sense" every time he went to a new place.
Observe your surroundings.
Even though he was very tired, he tried not to stop and rest as much as possible, and ate his hunger on the horse with the dry food and water prepared by Kurtz.
Thanks to Nicolai for teaching him the riding skills, he circled around for a long time, trying his best to avoid some farmers and woodcutters working in the field, and praying that they did not notice this suspicious pedestrian. Finally, he arrived at dusk.
Designated meeting point.
Thales saw the coniferous forest that Raphael had told him about. He checked the surrounding iconic hills and confirmed that it was right in front of him. He couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
According to the plan, the first wave of Secret Service personnel will wait for him here, escorting him across the boundaries of Stone Tomb, Muxue River and Spear City, to the junction of Qiyuan City and Longxiao City in the wasteland.
Thales used his hell sense to try to feel the movement in the woods. After confirming that there were only ordinary birds chirping and small animals running back and forth, he breathed a sigh of relief.
He rode into the woods, dismounted in front of a tall cedar tree, and patted the old horse's neck gratefully.
The old horse snorted in response, and then happily ate the weeds under the tree. Although the pace was not fast, his temper was much better than Miss Jenny in the stables of the Palace of Heroes.
Thales turned around, took another deep breath of the wild air, and looked with satisfaction at this small coniferous forest that was usually inaccessible and therefore was chosen as the rendezvous location by the secret department.
He sat down against the tree, took out his water bag, and poured a sip of water into his dry lips to relieve the pain in his limbs caused by climbing the black trail and the friction damage on his inner thighs.
The first step has been completed.
Thales said silently, drawing a small circle in the soil with his finger: The most difficult stage has passed, and Longxiao City is already behind him.
He drew a large circle to the west.
He was in Stone Ridge, one of the largest fiefdoms under Longxiao City, in a certain western area under the rule of the aging Count Nazer. From the forest, walking southwest, you would pass a tributary of the Duxue River.
Thales continued to draw a line downward.
After crossing the river, he can reach Spear City, which is under the jurisdiction of Longxiao City, and then go to the barren rocky land, which is the boundary of Qiyuan City. From the barren rocky land to the south, the vast desert is right in front of him.
Entering the desert, there is the army of the Kingdom of Stars.
Thales thought in trance.
At this moment, he suddenly heard a strange bird call.
Um?
Has the promised manpower arrived?
Thales stood up curiously, wanting to search in the dusk jungle
"boom!"
Just after taking a breath, almost the moment he heard the loud noise, Thales felt a pain in his back!
He lost his balance under the huge force from behind.
He fell to the ground with a plop!
The pain in his jaw had just begun, and before Thales' nerves had time to feedback normal information, he felt a tightness in his back!
boom!
Heavy pressure comes.
Only then did Thales realize in shock that his hands were being held tightly!
how
Thales subconsciously wanted to struggle, but only then did he react: he was pinned to the ground, his hands were cut behind his back, and he couldn't move. He didn't even react to the crime of the Hell River!
Snapped!
Only then did his water bag fall, dripping water feebly into the soil.
"Wow," a somewhat familiar male voice came, like the sound of a gong, and laughed: "Look what I caught?"
"A big, lively fish!"
When Thales heard this voice, he suddenly turned pale when he thought of something!
The prince gritted his teeth, raised his head as hard as he could, and looked behind him with a muddy face: "It's you!"
Thales exclaimed sadly and angrily:
"Death Crow!"
As the prince shouted angrily, a flock of birds fled from the bushes.
Under the setting sun, among the golden trees, I saw Ned Monty, the forerunner of the Qiyuan City Mission and one of the five generals in the war, kneeling on Thales' back, pressing down on him. He couldn't help but struggle with his hands.
With a malicious smile, the Death Crow slowly leaned behind Thales's ear:
"Hush...little prince."
"For each other's convenience, let's be gentle... okay?"
Thales could only see the other person's brown hair from the corner of his eye.
But he felt that Monty's method of suppressing him was very professional. Whether he was turning over or kicking, he was in the worst position and couldn't exert any force at all!
Not to mention that Thales had consumed most of his physical energy due to the black path.
The prince's heart sank.
he……
How could it be him?
Why is he here?
What about people from the esoteric science?
etc!
Doesn't that mean...
Monty's smile was a little scary, with the excitement of catching prey, and he said softly: "Are you looking for someone from the Kingdom's secret department?"
At that moment, Thales' pupils suddenly shrank!
His heart skipped a beat.
"Sorry, they are very busy now..."
Monty's words made Thales feel cold inside.
They are all "busy"...
Thales looked around in disbelief: the quiet jungle, the silent air, and a lack of life.
Yes, the people from the secret department should have been waiting for me here.
but……
No movement at all...
what happened?
"The kind of 'busy' that you don't want to do, do you understand?" Death's crow chuckled, chilling people's hearts for no reason: "So I volunteered, generously, and 'actively' to take over from them. I’m done with this job.”
He licked his lips, looked at Thales, who was turning his head and looking miserable, and sneered with the pleasure of playing with prey: "I'm here to greet you."
"What, are you unhappy?"
The sins of the Hell River flooded into his brain, and Thales forced himself to calm down.
How did he know this place?
Isn't this a rendezvous place that only the secret science knows?
Is there a traitor in the secret department?
Is it an intelligence leak?
Or was it simply the secret plan, their plan?
Like six years ago?
Thinking of this, Tails suddenly broke into a cold sweat.
"How did you get out? I remember that the Fallen Stars had clearly sealed off the entire Longxiao City, and most of the dignitaries were among them, especially the Qiyuan City envoy whose interests are closely related to mine!"
The other party just sneered: "Ah ha, the relationship between me and Thorny is much more complicated than you think!"
Thales took a deep breath, and his nose was filled with the smell of soil.
hateful!
"You want, you want to kidnap me to Qiyuan City?" The prince turned his head and said with difficulty.
Monty's heart-stopping laughter came out sinisterly again:
"Hehehehehehe, don't you think this is a good choice?"
"Don't you and Ian get along very well?" An inexplicably enthusiastic and satisfied smile appeared on his face, like a madman.
"He has always asked me to 'treat' you well if I have the chance to meet you..."
Monty's hand suddenly became stronger, and Thales let out a cry of pain.
But he didn't have time to worry about that.
In the Hall of Heroes, at the end of the day of listening to the government, the ferocious faces and cruel words of Viscount Windy City, Ian Roney, appeared in front of Thales at the same time.
The cold wind of dusk blew by, and Thales felt chilled all over.
The soil beneath me was also chilly to the bones.
Oops.
He quickly recalled everything he knew about Monty.
Ned Monty.
Death Crow.
A scout who participated in the war against the Freedom Alliance and White Mountain.
Five generals, former White Blade Guards, Nikolai's old colleagues and subordinates
Now, he is the Lord of Qiyuan City and the first officer of the mission.
He is absurd and unrestrained, speaks without restraint, and has a scary smile.
"Wait a minute!"
Thales stopped thinking and gritted his teeth.
Monty's terrible laughter paused slightly.
"You might as well think about it." Although Thales described himself as embarrassed and was threatened with his life, he still tried his best to maintain his tone and said coldly: "Prince of the Stars has disappeared in Longxiao City."
"But a month later, I appeared strangely in Qiyuan City..."
"Do you know what this means?"
Monty stopped smiling, but his light eyes stared at Thales motionlessly.
The coldness in his eyes was frightening.
"You should also know that I am the key to the war between Qiyuan City and the Freedom Alliance," Thales sneered: "And if I propose to Grand Duke Ronnie that the stars can help them, the condition is..."
At this moment, the Dead Crow suddenly burst out laughing!
"Hahahahahaha!"
Thales was slightly stunned when he was interrupted.
"Ahhh!" Monty looked very happy, with excitement on his face. The arc of his smile was wider than before. He glared at Thales, looking quite scary: "I remembered, there are professionals You told me..."
"Tiles Canxing is not big, but he is very troublesome..."
"So there you have it: the necessary rules for dealing with the little prince."
Thales was slightly startled: "What?"
To deal with me...
Necessary criteria?
Monty's expression darkened and he laughed softly twice.
For some reason, Thales felt panicked. He subconsciously felt that something was wrong!
"Principle number one..."
The Death Crow's smile melted, as if the ice turned into ice water, but it was still freezing to the heart:
"Shut him up."
The next second, Monty's face turned serious, and his right elbow hit the boy on the back of the head like a thunderbolt!
"Boom!"
There was a heavy muffled sound.
This was the last sound Thales heard before he lost consciousness.