In the dark hall, Samuel listened blankly to Barney's words. His eyes swept over every corpse in the prison, but there was only emptiness and confusion in his eyes, like a prodigal son who had been away for many years and returned to a place where he had nothing.
s home.
"Seven..." he murmured.
For some reason, Thales felt empty and uncomfortable while listening to their conversation.
In the crowd, Dozi coughed slightly, walked quickly to Ricky, and pointed to the top of his head:
"Up above, my people can't control it for too long, and we have to prevent possible accidents..."
Ricky ignored him, but the drill attracted the attention of the prisoners.
"Samir, those people who came with you, who are they?"
Little Barney got close to the fence, put away his sad expression, squinted at the Swords of Disaster in the distance, and said warily:
"They don't look like official people. None of them look like nobles in charge, and none of them look like soldiers in the Blade Tooth Camp. Rather, they look like... mercenaries?"
Ricky frowned and reached out to wave away the drill, signaling him to calm down.
Belletti in another cell also became alert: "It's not like he's escorting you down to capture the fugitive and bring him to justice."
Belletti thought of something and grimaced:
"How did you get down here, Samir?"
Samir frowned slightly, hesitating how to answer.
In another cell, Cannon, who had been shivering with his head in his hands, looked at so many people outside the cell, suddenly trembled, and leaned against the wall and groaned in pain.
"They are helpers," Samir finally spoke, and he calmly faced the scrutinizing eyes of his former colleagues:
"The only person who was willing to lend a helping hand to me when I was desperate."
Samir glanced at the Swords of Disaster with a calm expression.
"Like us, they are also a group of poor people who have their own wants and needs."
Clay snorted softly and patted Josh next to him.
"They are also a group of people who do not want to be ruthlessly forgotten by ruthless history."
Ricky remained motionless.
"Destiny has brought us together," Samir turned back and stared at the imprisoned little Barney, his words were slightly meaningful:
"We were able to resist it."
But obviously, perhaps because he had endured too much torture, his former companions did not respond positively to him.
Little Barney tilted his chin, squinted his eyes, and looked at Samir with a rather unkind gesture:
"Why are you here, Samir?"
"What identity did you come back with, and how did you get into the Prison of Bones?"
"Exiled prisoner? Prison robber? Rescuer?"
As Little Barney spoke, his eyes shifted to the people behind Samuel and began to size up this group of uninvited guests.
"I don't often see the light, and my eyesight has deteriorated a lot, but I can at least see... a group of vicious men with various weapons. They don't look like they are coming with invitations."
"As for the few who didn't hold weapons...they were the people kidnapped by them, right?"
Taking advantage of Samir's momentary loss of words, Barney spoke calmly, his tone becoming more and more suspicious:
"Furthermore, who is that boy? Why do you put so many people around him while everyone around him, whether it is the hood or the dress, subconsciously look at him?"
Little Barney suddenly raised his chin and looked at Thales indifferently, making the prince tense up.
The driller and Russell who were mentioned by him were slightly startled, and had to ask their men to stay away from Thales under Ricky's gaze.
But just when Thales thought of something, his shoulders suddenly felt heavy and his legs felt cold.
"Dare to say something unnecessary, kid," Marina pressed his back shoulder, rubbing the blade against Thales' pants, and said coldly:
"You're gone down there."
Thales felt a chill attack his spinal cord, and he no longer dared to speak.
"No, it doesn't look like protection." On the other side, Belletti in the cell also looked at Thales, his brows frowning deeper and deeper:
"I can see that that young man was also kidnapped."
Ricky's face turned solemn: these defeated members of the royal guard exceeded his expectations. They had struggled in captivity for so many years, but when they saw the light again, they could see the key to the situation at a glance.
Samir's face looked a little ugly, and he looked away from Thales:
"Little Barney, Belletti, is worthy of being a pioneer officer and a punishment officer, and his observation skills are still amazing."
Little Barney snorted coldly and stared at Thales closely:
"What is he..."
"correct!"
At this moment, the drill suddenly interrupted their conversation.
"Dear Crassus, your plan is to help this former royal guard reminisce about the past?"
Ricky's brows moved slightly.
The driller and his two men walked forward with smiles on their faces, blocking the former royal guards' conversation about Thales, and at the same time slowly approached the prince.
"For many reasons, I don't think it's a good idea for your men to have a heart-to-heart with these gentlemen," the driller winked at Ricky, "Maybe I can escort our sensitive cargo back first..."
Thales looked at the driller's extended hand and felt wary.
Until a long, hollow sword stopped in front of the drill like lightning.
"Touch him, Dagger," Clay grabbed the dark light sword, stopped Dagger from getting close to Thales, and said in a bad tone:
"Don't want that hand of yours."
The man's smile froze.
Russell coughed awkwardly and had to come out to smooth things over.
"Everyone, I think the drill's suggestion is: it's time for us to speed up the progress," the man from the North pushed the drill back silently, and motioned to the two assassins beside the drill to put away their weapons.
He took out the weapon and solemnly reminded:
"Accidents can happen at any time, don't forget our situation."
Ricky turned his eyes away from them and snorted.
"certainly."
"Semir," the leader of the Sword of Disaster spoke softly:
"Focus on the mission."
Samir nodded.
"As for you," Ricky looked at the drill and said dissatisfied, "we need time."
The driller raised his brows slightly, as if he was thinking about something.
But he finally raised a smile and backed away slowly: "Very good, of course."
"Then I'd better wait for you outside. Anyway, I'm very concerned about the situation above and need to confirm."
Zhuozi raised his hands, took two steps back, and then walked out of the hall with his men amid the glaring Sword of Disaster.
Russell gave Ricky an apologetic smile:
"They can get impatient sometimes."
The mercenaries who had unknowingly surrounded Shadow Shield released their sword hilts and put away their murderous eyes.
On the other side of the hall, the prisoners and Samir watched the small conflict in silence.
Samir took a breath and seemed to be adjusting his emotions.
"Little Barney, I'm glad to see..."
But little Barney rolled his eyes.
"Who is that?"
The prisoner in the cell looked at the driller's back from a distance: "That man in the hood? He didn't give me a good feeling."
"And that dress," from another cell, Nye stared directly at Russell and gritted his teeth:
"The damn Northland accent is definitely not from around Coldcastle, but from further north: from Exeter."
Russell was immediately stunned.
Looking at his two doubtful colleagues, Samir sighed:
"It does not matter……"
But a panicked shout suddenly broke the oppressive atmosphere!
"No!"
Everyone's nerves were tense, and their first reaction was to hold onto their weapons, and then they came to their senses: it was the people in the prison shouting.
"No, no, no! Barney!"
Little Barney frowned and turned his head.
In another cell, Cannon, who had previously reminded the prisoners that the Iron Curtain was open, was still cowering on the ground with his head in his hands, but he couldn't stop shaking, twitching, and shouting in pain:
"Little Barney, I can, I can hear it, just like what I see in my dreams every day..."
His roommate, the previously lazy Naki quickly stepped forward with great experience, put his arm around Cannon's shoulders, and comforted him in a low voice:
"It's okay, Cannon, it's all in the past, it's in the past, everything is fine, everything will be fine, those terrible pasts don't exist, we are fine, that's it..." Naki said, and he also appeared.
Lost his mind, looking at the ground blankly.
But Cannon was still struggling desperately, with his eyes closed tightly, and he shouted frantically:
"Their steps, pressing the balls of their feet, tiptoeing, are like cats... Those steps, those voices, those people who only appear in the dark... are like, just like those... people! Those people!"
Samuel looked at Cannon's attack with a sad expression, while Barney frowned deeply.
"They're coming, Barney, they're coming!" Cannon yelled in pain, shaking his dirty hair around:
"They're coming to kill them!"
"Just like they used to..."
Cannon's screams of pain lasted for nearly a minute. It was not until Naki began to hum a little song softly as he had done to comfort Nye before that Cannon finally calmed down.
Samuel exhaled silently, looked at Cannon, whose eyes were wide open, in shock, and his chest was heaving, and he lamented:
"When did he become like this?"
Little Barney shook his head sarcastically, but his eyes were full of doubts:
"have no idea."
Samir was silent for a while.
"Listen, little Barney, you shouldn't be here," Samir gritted his teeth and looked firmly:
"You are all respectable warriors, strong fighters, fearless warriors, and sharp knives. You should not be silent here and die in depression..."
Little Barney slowly raised his eyes, causing Samil, who was originally slightly excited, to pause for a moment.
"Follow me, join us, I can give you your freedom, and maybe enough power," but Samir still insisted on speaking out his proposal, and looked at the others hopefully:
"To make up for the mistakes of the past."
"Even change this fucking world."
Samir's tone contains intensity:
"How about it?"
As soon as these words came out, the prisoners were silent for a moment.
Little Barney looked at Samuel indifferently, Tardin and Bree frowned, Naki was still comforting the trembling Cannon, and Belletti and Nez showed no reaction.
"Freedom, freedom?"
Tardin shook his head, making him look like a clown in the circus. He dramatically raised his hands, waved them in the air, curved the corners of his mouth in an exaggerated arc, and laughed: "Big guy"
Son, he said, he will give us freedom!"
"Hahahahaha..."
His smile was exaggerated, even a little fake.
Samir looked at his former colleagues without knowing why.
"What's wrong?"
No one answered him, only Barney shook his head and exhaled slightly.
"You know, Samir."
"Back then, each of us insisted that we were innocent," little Barney lowered his head and said in a cautious tone: "We refused to admit guilt, so we were sent here."
Samir's breathing changed slightly.
"Unfair treatment and trial," he nodded, showing a look of unwillingness: "This is what they imposed on us that day..."
But little Barney looked up suddenly!
"No, listen to me, Samir!"
"We have made mistakes, we have neglected our duty, Your Majesty and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, they died under our care... But we did not collaborate with the enemy, we are not traitors, the royal guards did not betray the late king... I have always believed that at this point, we are
innocent."
Little Barney pressed against the fence, almost touching the dangerous magical creation.
But he still stared and looked nervously at Samir outside the cell: "Everyone, including me, firmly believes in this, so we grit our teeth and never let go no matter how we endure torture."
"So we are strong-willed, carrying the accusations and slander, but still walk into the prison with our backs straight, like a tough guy."
"Because if we didn't do it, we didn't do it. If we're not guilty, we're not guilty."
Samir stared back at him blankly, confused in his heart.
Until Barney Jr.'s next words.
"Until you, Samuel," Little Barney's face suddenly twisted, he stood up suddenly, gritting his teeth bitterly: "Until you escape the escort team and disappear outside our 'firm belief'."
Samir's brows rose and fell, and he clenched his fists:
"Little Barney..."
Little Barney suddenly jumped forward and grabbed the fence with both hands!
Everyone, including Samir, was startled, and Samir subconsciously took a step back.
"Barney, you..."
"Tell me, Samir," little Barney was seen clinging to the fence, his fingers trembling, as if he was enduring great pain, but he still stared at Samir angrily: "Back then, why did you do this?
Escape?"
"Leave all your colleagues, all your brothers?"
Snapped!
With a flash of light on the fence, little Barney let out a cry of pain and sat back on the ground.
But he didn't care, he just raised his smoking hands and stared at Samir coldly: "Why do you use cowardly actions to deepen our sins?"
"Confirm our guilt?"
Samuel looked at Barney's behavior in disbelief. He turned to look at the other prisoners, only to find that they all looked at him with strange expressions.
Convicted...
Samir looked at the countless corpses and closed his eyes in pain.
"I……"
He hesitated for a while, stopped talking, and said in hesitation and hesitation: "I'm sorry."
"You know, Barney, you know."
Samir lowered his head tremblingly.
"Eighteen years ago... I could bear all the costs of that tragedy, whether it was demotion, punishment, torture, exile, or even death."
"But this?"
Samir opened his eyes suddenly, raised the torch, and lit up the surrounding area.
Bones, cells, dust.
"Stink, rot, forget in the bottomless dungeon, and then remain silent here forever, without even a splash of water?"
"Let our shame and shame be buried forever in the ground, never to be remedied?"
Samir's expression became more and more distorted, like a drowning man struggling in the water. It took him a long time before he bit out the next word from his twitching teeth:
"No."
"I reject."
He said categorically, staring straight at little Barney, his eyes full of pain and resentment.
"Like you said, we didn't do it because we didn't do it. We shouldn't have to bear such torture. This is the reason."
Unexpectedly, little Barney smiled.
Smiling happily.
"Really? You just said 'I refuse' and simply ran away. But now you are back to rob the prison."
"So where is your pride, dignity, and honor as a royal guard?" Little Barney raised his hand, shook his shoulders, and said sarcastically:
"Where is the blood you once poured into the Oath of the Ancient Guard?"
Samir was silent again for a moment.
After a long while, he spoke slowly.
"I stopped being a royal guard a long time ago," this time, Samir's voice was low and sad, as if he was telling a shame:
"After our dignity and honor were trampled down to nothing by the superior new king and nobles on that day."
Samir clenched his fists and tensed his arm muscles.
"Cather, he was just a playboy before he ascended the throne. He can't push the entire royal guard into the abyss with just a hasty trial. He can't push the once loyal people into the abyss just by relying on the so-called 'collaboration'."
If everyone is labeled as traitors, he is not qualified to deprive us of our right to personally clear up our grievances."
When Thales heard the familiar name, his heart felt gloomy.
Samir was breathing rapidly:
"He didn't."
Samir raised his head and looked at his colleagues who were beyond recognition, with sallow faces and thin muscles, with an expression of dissatisfaction on his face:
"He is even less qualified to turn us...to turn you...into what you are now."
The Swords of Disaster looked at each other, and Clay was about to interrupt, but was stopped by Ricky again.
The silence in the cell lasted for a long time.
Until little Barney chuckled.
"Like this?"
Little Barney stood up, took a few steps back with a sad smile, and spread his hands as if to show off his home.
"Hahaha, you know shit."
With a chilling smile, he said slowly: "Fart."
Samir was startled: "What?"
Little Barney snorted coldly:
"You have no idea what kind of life we live here."
Little Barney took a step forward and spoke with hatred: "You have never endured the endless silence and darkness, you have never heard everyone's desperate wailing and crying, and you have never seen your companions die one by one in a dark cell without food.
I’ve never seen rotten cockroaches crawling out of dead bodies, and I’ve never tasted drinking water that smells like shit.”
Every time he said something, the prisoners reacted differently, gritting their teeth, clenching their fists, twitching, or beating the wall in pain.
Little Barney stared at Samir angrily, pointing to the corpses piled neatly in several cells: "You have never tried, as a vanguard officer, as the highest-ranking member of the guard in the prison, standing here, across the fence,
One after another, they gave farewell speeches to their deceased comrades."
Little Barney almost broke his teeth:
"Exactly thirty-seven times."
The prisoners all looked at Samir with dead eyes without any emotion.
Make him look pale.
"At the end, when I was sending away the last few people, I had nothing to say." Little Barney turned sideways, exposing several "graves" with only bones left in front of Samir's eyes:
"Not only because of my lack of words, but also because I have become numb. Their voices and smiles in the past, still under the sun, have gradually blurred and faded away. All that remains in my mind are their deathbed cries and absent-minded cries.
.”
"I can't, can't see the next person sinking in this boundless hell."
Little Barney stood there blankly.
Thales lowered his head and sighed silently.
"And you," Little Barney looked up blankly, the confusion in his eyes slowly turning into hatred:
"You? You are a coward who ran away halfway and made us even more indefensible."
"What qualifications do you have to come here to 'save' us as a savior?"
Samir seemed to have been punched hard, and he took a step back with a dazed expression.
He breathed heavily.
"Little Barney, all I can say is, I'm sorry."
"And I can still make up for it now..."
But little Barney suddenly roared: "No!"
"No, Samir," looking at the dazed Samir, little Barney put away his voice, shook his head slowly and said:
"It has been more than ten years. I have been thinking about it for a long time and finally figured out something. And just now, you reminded me of something."
As he spoke, he walked to the wall absentmindedly.
"Eighteen years ago, that trial may have been unfair to some people, but it was not without reason..."
Samir frowned slightly:
"What do you mean, Barney?"
Little Barney snorted with a half-smile, his face full of lifeless indifference.
"Cannon may have gone crazy. He has become sensitive, suspicious, crazy, and bipolar. He is noisy all day long and makes us unable to sleep well. He is very fucked up."
Little Barney pointed at Cannon and Nucky's cells.
"But it's not his fault. For eighteen years, almost every time he dreams, he can dream of that day... The assassins tore off their disguises and jumped out of the crowd. The killers invaded the palace, exposed their ferocious blades, and fought with us.
Together……"
Little Barney said calmly: "It's like a shadow."
"shadow."
Following his words, Cannon shrank again, Nye scratched his hair in pain, and Brie made an unhappy "Woo" sound, and was stopped by Tardin, leaving only Naki and Belletti.
Be silent and listen quietly.
"Little Barney, you..."
Little Barney shook his head slightly, interrupting the confused Samuel.
"In the boundless darkness, Cannon has been dreaming for eighteen years." Little Barney leaned against the wall and sighed aimlessly: "He was originally a scout, with sharp ears and eyesight. After eighteen years in the darkness, his eyesight...
Maybe he has deteriorated and his mind is so sensitive that it explodes at the slightest touch, but his hearing may not be the same."
As he spoke, Little Barney suddenly turned his head, his eyes radiating sharply: "And I believe that he can recognize the steps of those murderers in his dreams."
Cannon hid in the palm of his hand and let out a cry that sounded like a howl.
Samir seemed to have figured something out. He looked at Barney blankly.
"Now, tell me, Samuel," little Barney supported the wall and stood up straight again:
"Why are you talking to that hooded guy..."
He raised his head coldly, walked to the front, and when there was only a fence between him and Samuel, he slowly stretched out his hand and pointed at the Swords of Disaster in the distance.
"...Hang around with a despicable assassin from Shadow Shield?"