Thales could not describe the atmosphere at that moment.
But he clearly saw the different reactions of the guards prisoners: Bree seemed to be struck by lightning, shaking slightly and whimpering, Taldin closed his eyes bitterly, with a sad expression, Cannon and Nai's eyes were dull, as if they had been there for a long time.
There are expectations.
But little Barney stared blankly at the ground, motionless.
"So you finally said it."
Samir sneered, as if his long-standing resentment had been expressed.
"Sacher, you."
Sackel remained silent.
"No..." Belletti raised the weapon in his hand several times and put it down several times, as if he couldn't believe it:
"Really, really you, sir?"
His eyebrows were knotted together, his expression was indignant, and he wanted to ask every companion for help.
Naki stared back at him blankly, shaking his head subconsciously.
Kuaisheng seemed to be frightened too. He muttered to Thales in a low voice: "Oh my god... they are right, you Star People have so many thoughts..."
"The White Blade Guards don't have so much trouble..."
Thales stiffly twitched the corners of his mouth and ignored him.
"Obviously, when I questioned him earlier, he was not in the right state."
Samir interjected coldly, with an inexplicable sourness in his tone:
"And now..."
"Does anyone still have any doubts?"
The guard prisoners were silent for a while.
Looking at all this, Thales suddenly understood.
As early as when Little Barney and others were released by Quick Rope, the seven guard prisoners had discovered the imposter "Waiya".
But these seven ruthless characters did not choose to kill this lame liar right away, because the clever Kuaisheng also provided another piece of information that was even more informative:
Sak'el is hunting down the prince.
Ironically, to a certain extent, it was Kuaisheng's talkativeness that saved his own life.
Therefore, the seven guards prisoners followed the fast rope with a different mentality, not only to fulfill their oath and protect the bloodline of Bright Star.
It was to confirm their suspicions.
Confirm whether the nightmare that has tortured them for more than ten years is in Sak'el's body.
Now, they finally got their wish.
Nye's mean voice sounded:
"Surrender yourself, Sak'el."
"No matter what your reason is, come with us to His Majesty - no matter who you are, surrender to them."
The logistics officer seemed to be trying very hard to restrain himself, and his face darkened when he said the word "Your Majesty":
"Go and clarify the truth and clear up the grievances of the Guard brothers who have been stigmatized for eighteen years - whether they are alive or not."
"Then receive your judgment..."
"And punishment."
He bit out the last word hard.
As the focus of the scene, the Punishment Knight himself looked extremely calm.
After hearing Nai's words, he paused for a moment before speaking silently.
"I can not."
The expressions of the guards changed.
Some people even subconsciously touched weapons.
Sak'el's face was immersed in darkness and could not be seen clearly. Only the sinner's mark on his forehead was exposed in the firelight, which was very strange.
His eyes reflected the faint light of fire, and he looked at Thales, making the latter feel uncomfortable for a while:
"As I said, I must finish the unfinished business."
Unfinished business.
Samir snorted softly:
"It seems that the solution still needs violence."
But Sak'el didn't move at all.
It was as if he had sunk into a bottomless abyss, unable to hear or answer.
This made Thales, who was already worried, even more uneasy.
Tardin, who kept his head down, seemed like he couldn't stand it anymore. He took a step forward and roared:
"Bullshit unfinished business!"
"Watchman Sak'el!"
Tardin's roar echoed through the passage.
Facing such a calm punishment knight, Tardin seemed to be irritated, and he was particularly irritable:
"Do you really know what you're doing?"
"Did you already go crazy eighteen years ago?"
Sak'el moved slightly.
Eighteen years ago...were you already crazy?
He raised his head, revealing a face as calm as water in the light, and his eyes drifted into the empty void.
"Maybe."
He raised the corners of his mouth, half-smiling but not smiling, as if he was talking to someone he couldn't see.
I have to do this.
must.
When Tardin saw this, he became even more angry:
"You bastard..."
But a steady command interrupted everyone's thoughts:
"Quiet."
It's Barney Jr.
The guards turned around, either indignantly, tiredly, or in pain, waiting for their chief vanguard to speak.
The latter's eyes were blurred, looking numbly and blankly at the ground, motionless.
Only the rising and falling of his chest proved that he was awake.
"Sak'el," little Barney slowly raised his head, but his voice was numb and hollow:
"Do you still remember how the old captain died in the Hall of Stars?"
Sak'el's breath paused slightly.
Old captain...
Upon hearing this name, everyone in the guard, including Samir, was strangely silent.
Thales smelled a faint sadness from it.
"Do you remember how Tony died of exhaustion..."
"You remember my father, remember how he faced multiple enemies..."
Little Barney paused for a moment and seemed unable to continue.
Sak'el was silent for a long time, and his heavy breathing could be heard clearly.
A few seconds later, little Barney hoarsely said:
"There are other people, many, many people, those who lived and died with us and thought they could entrust their lives and property to us, all died that year."
"Death by your betrayal."
Thacker gently let go of the ax handle, and the ax hit the ground heavily.
"Boom!"
He leaned his entire weight on the axe, his chest rising and falling slightly.
"Of course, I remember."
The punishment knight's shoulders trembled slightly:
"I remember it all."
Little Barney looked at him blankly, slowly twisting his cheeks.
"you remember."
He looked at Sak'el in disbelief:
"And you simply admitted: 'Betrayer, Sak'el'?"
Little Barney's voice was trembling, but as the words progressed, a smile appeared on his lips:
"Sunset, your look... seems to be saying, 'Yes, I stole your lunch.'"
Thacker opened his mouth to speak.
But little Barney bent down deeply as he spoke, as if he thought of something interesting, and laughed out loud: "'Stealing your lunch'..."
"Hahahahaha..."
The laughter was unpleasant and harsh, echoing through the surrounding walls.
But Sak'el didn't laugh.
None of the guards laughed.
"Hahaha……"
Thales could feel that the atmosphere surrounding him at this moment was just like Barney's smile: extremely bitter.
Little Barney finally had enough laughter.
He slowly straightened up, the smile that seemed to have been pinched out still hung on his face:
"You look like this, you make me feel - God, it seems like the eighteen years we spent in prison, it seems like the thirty-seven deceased Guard brothers, even Samuel, as if the pain and torture they have endured are all gone.
Meaningless."
The guards had sad expressions, and Naji even covered his forehead in pain.
Little Barney's smile became chilling:
"Because to you, this is just a casual mention after a full meal, right?"
Thacker pursed his lips.
Little Barney took a step forward, his smile still there, but there was deep sadness in his words:
"Master punishment and protect inheritance. You should be our role model, Sak'el."
"How many young people in the Guard regard you as their idol and spread your deeds from word to mouth. How many people want to chase you, defeat you, and surpass you?"
Belletti looked at Sak'el sadly and shook his head slowly.
The punishment knight's expression was dazed for a moment, and his face became increasingly pale.
Little Barney forced the heat back into his eyes and began to speak aggressively:
"You should have been the target of every Imperial Guard."
He punched his chest hard:
"including me!"
including me.
Little Barney trembled, and his smile turned into frost:
"And you chose such an ending to bid farewell to your career as a guard and repay your oath as a guard?"
Sacher took a deep breath and closed his eyes tightly.
He seems to be afraid of what he will see when he opens his eyes.
"not only that……"
Little Barney stepped forward, his voice fierce:
"You pushed His Majesty into the trap of death, and he will never be reborn."
"Push the kingdom into the abyss of chaos, and it cannot afford to sink."
"Push your companions into the dark filth, and there will be no recovery."
"You have trampled on the solemnity of your feet the oath of guard that we have engraved for our entire lives, and abandoned it like a pair of worn-out shoes."
Thales watched the confrontation between the two highest-ranking members of the Guard with a complicated expression.
The doubts in my heart only increased.
Sak'el's shoulders were getting lower and lower, and Thales could even see that his eyebrows were twitching, as if he was experiencing a nightmare.
Little Barney looked at him with disgust:
"Tell me, Sak'el, how do you fall asleep every night?"
"Especially when your hands are stained with the blood of your companions, your shoulders bear the blood debt of the master, and your mind is filled with the blood of that year..."
"Every time you breathe, don't you feel the fishy smell on your body is pungent?"
Finally, upon hearing these words, the pale-faced Sak'el opened his eyes as if awakened from a nightmare!
He could no longer hold up his body and knelt down on one knee with a fighting ax in his hand!
"Ahhhh——"
The punishment knight roared in pain.
"I know!"
He held the ax handle tightly with his right hand and pressed his forehead firmly with his left hand. The twitching between his eyebrows became more and more violent, as if he was engaged in the most intense struggle.
Everyone looked at Sak'el like this in silence, and no one made a sound.
Thales sighed in his heart, knowing that the punishment knight's spirit was actually not stable.
He's afraid...
I've seen "another world" again.
But everything has a cause. I don’t know why his other world came into existence and how it manifested itself?
Thinking of this, Thales's heart suddenly moved.
etc.
Maybe... this is a breakthrough?
"I know……"
After a few seconds, Sak'el's tone became humble, more like pleading.
"But I have to do it..."
"It must be done..."
He opened his eyes, stroked his head, and kept repeating this sentence, and his mood gradually calmed down:
"must……"
But the next moment, a gleaming sword blade struck from the air!
Thales was immediately shocked.
Wait a minute, he still has something to ask!
Just listen to Naji's voiceless words:
"No, Barney!"
At the critical moment, Sak'el, who was in pain, seemed to be a beast that had invaded his territory, and subconsciously swung the ax blade!
"clang!"
During the clash of steel, he took two steps back, but he fended off the fatal attack just in time!
The Punishment Knight gasped and looked at Barney, who was shaking with his sword and looking equally emotional, with red eyes.
No.
Thales frowned.
The situation cannot be allowed to develop like this - the hatred and anger between them will overwhelm reason.
What's more...
There are still things he wants to know.
Thinking of this, Thales suddenly said: "Sak'el!"
"What do you 'have' to do?"
The prince's interruption caused Barney's sword to pause.
Naki couldn't help but look back at him.
Thales ignored the gazes of others and spoke to himself.
"What reason do you have to betray?"
To get Sak'el to speak... now, while he is emotionally unstable and mentally unstable, this is the only chance.
Just listen to Thales' cold voice:
"You 'have' to do that?"
"Is it because of the 'Dragon Breaker'? Is it because of the weapon that the two emperors are afraid of?"
As early as when the guards prisoners were questioning them, Thales was already vaguely aware of their problems.
Year of Blood.
For a long time, this piece of past history has shrouded Thales's life like a haze, as if there was a line in the dark that controlled his destiny from afar.
Every moment, it brought him the panic and fear of drifting like a boat across the sea, alone and out of control.
Then, out of nowhere, an eagerness and impulse to find out the truth about the Year of Blood arose spontaneously.
They came like a tide, grabbing Thales' brain irresistibly and making his heart burn.
What exactly happened in the Year of Blood?
What does the death of the members of the Canxing royal family mean?
With the Dragon Breaker, with the Purifying Edge, with the Disaster...
What does it have to do with my unborn self at that time?
Dragonbreaker...
Sak'el seemed to think of something when he heard this, but he just looked at Thales dreamingly and did not answer.
Seeing this, Thales could only grit his teeth and recall the scene when he first met Sak'el.
This is the only chance.
A chance to dig out the truth!
"Remember those rotten faces with maggots and flies, Sak'el!" Thales said coldly.
Shameless?
This sentence is very baffling.
But little Barney was surprised to see: after hearing the other party's words, the steel-like Sacher suddenly shook!
At that moment, the punishment knight was trembling all over and dripping with cold sweat.
He widened his eyes and looked at Thales in disbelief.
Thales suppressed the unbearable feeling in his heart and continued to add ingredients from the ‘other world’:
"Yes, think about it. There are countless heads stuck on the tips of spears and covering the ground. Think about what they say to you every night."
Thales spoke faster, hoping that the other party would give in as soon as possible:
"Are those the Guard brothers you killed?"
Under everyone's disbelieving eyes, following Thales' words, the terrifying punishment knight seemed to have returned to a nightmare, subconsciously taking a step back and staring into the dark void with horror and fear on his face.
Except for Samuel, everyone who saw Sakel like this for the first time was shocked.
"And the hanging corpses that hang all over the ceiling, with tongues stretched out, eyes rolled open, and constantly shaking on your head... and the baby crying all the time, never ending, have you seen all of this, have you heard it?
"
"Clang!"
Thacker's ax fell to the ground.
Everyone was surprised to see him holding his head in his hands, his face was ashen, and he was kneeling on the ground panting.
"Tell me, Sak'el, what happened eighteen years ago?"
Thales said bravely:
"You have to betray the trust of the late king, you have to slaughter the blood of the Canning Star, you have to kill your colleagues, you have to sacrifice innocent blood, you have to tarnish your honor, to feel this kind of face and head that you have to face every day and every night
, the terrible days of hanging corpses and endless weeping babies?”
The next moment, Sak'el seemed like he couldn't stand it anymore. He covered his head fiercely and roared in pain:
"Ahhh!"
Everyone was startled.
"You don't understand!"
Sak'el put down his right hand and beat the ground in pain:
"I have to do this..."
He twisted his face and looked into the void with panic in his eyes: "This must be done!"
Thales clenched his fists and took a decisive step forward regardless of the obstruction of the fast rope:
"Why?"
The prince shouted angrily:
"Why, why, Sak'el? Why betrayal?"
He exclaimed:
"As the last Brilliant Star bloodline, in the name of the deceased Brilliant Stars, Thales Brilliant Star hereby orders you - tell me!"
Thales was a little excited, and his voice echoed around him.
All the former royal guards were all surprised and began to look at this strange young man again with rare eyes.
Moss·Bright Star.
Hearing the familiar last name, Sak'el, who was on the verge of a nervous breakdown, trembled violently, raised his head blankly, and looked at Thales.
The helpless and lonely look in his eyes made Thales feel uncomfortable.
But the boy's strategy seemed to be working.
"I have to do this," Sak'el said dreamily:
"It's because of the late King Eddie."
At this moment, everyone present, including the royal guards, Thales, and Quick Rope, were all stunned.
What?
"The late king?"
The late king...
Eddie II?
Thales, who was astonished, felt that he had caught something, and asked tentatively:
"What you did... was the late king giving you an order?"
Sak'el shook violently again.
"No, because the late king..."
I saw him shaking his head in despair:
"Because the late king is no longer the late king..."
Thales was startled for a moment.
This sentence is still confusing and puzzling.
"What's the meaning?"
Little Barney looked at Sak'el, who was obviously in an abnormal state, suspiciously:
"What crazy nonsense are you talking about?"
A few seconds passed, and Sak'el's breathing slowly subsided, and the pain and madness in his eyes slowly returned.
After experiencing the storm of madness just now, Sacher stood up with some difficulty, shook his head, and regained his composure.
The punishment knight who woke up was stunned for a moment.
Soon, Sak'el looked at Thales with complicated eyes:
"you……"
Judging from his expression, he seemed to realize what he had just said.
But Thales had no intention of showing weakness.
The prince took a deep breath and continued:
"What do you mean, Sak'el? Why is the late king no longer the late king?"
Sak'el looked at Thales quietly.
Unknowingly, the young man who had been standing awkwardly among the guards' prisoners a moment ago had changed from a hostage to a protected person.
Thacker closed his eyes and finally sighed.
After all, he is a shining star.
Just like them.
He chuckled softly, seeming to let go of something deep in his heart.
Under the suspicion and vigilance of everyone, Sak'el opened his eyes and spoke leisurely:
"As you know, after Queen Natalie died in childbirth, the devoted Majesty Eddie was single for many years."
"Until that day."
Listening to the old story that only the old people in Xingchen knew, Thales didn't react for a moment.
Little Barney, on the other hand, frowned slightly:
"That day?"
Sak'el sneered, but rather bitterly: "That day."
"That day, His Majesty Eddie met an old friend outside the palace whom he had not seen for many years."
Old friend?
Thales still looked doubtful, but the expressions of some former royal guards had changed.
The punishment knight's eyes were sad as he recalled the unforgettable past:
"In spite of the objections of his ministers and His Highnesses, His Majesty insisted on bringing the lady into the Fuxing Palace and marrying her as his new queen."
Taldin, who was standing in front of Thales, reacted and his eyes suddenly widened:
"you are right……"
Sak'el nodded silently.
His boring voice echoed in the cold and dark underground, full of a sense of dilapidation and vicissitudes of life.
"In this way, after an extremely hasty and controversial wedding, we welcomed the new mistress of the Renaissance Palace, His Majesty Eddie's second queen."
"New queen? Queen Fiosa?" Little Barney pondered, recalling.
Fiosa?
Why have you never heard of it?
This unfamiliar name puzzled Thales for a moment. He looked at Quick Rope, who also had a "who is she?" expression on his face.
strangeness.
Thales clearly remembered that six years ago, he had not seen this name in the tomb of the Bright Star Royal Family.
Hearing this, Samir couldn't help but interrupt:
"What does this have to do with her?"
Sak'el picked up his axe, turned around, glanced at Samir, and repeated mockingly:
"What does it have to do with her?"
At that moment, the punishment knight's expression suddenly turned serious.
"She is the origin of all misfortune," his voice made people shudder, with a chilling feeling of autumn frost:
"But neither the old captain nor Big Barney, not even Lord Hansen noticed."
Little Barney and Belletti exchanged glances, and an ominous feeling arose in each other's hearts.
As Sak'el talked, he seemed to be immersed in his own memories:
"But what I should have noticed, as the guard guard in charge of the inherited classics... I should have noticed a long time ago."
He slowly tightened the weapon in his hand and tensed his cheeks:
"I should have warned him, I should have admonished him."
"But I failed in my duty."
The knight showed unwilling anger and pain.
Thales felt increasingly uneasy:
"What do you mean? What did you notice?"
Sacher didn't answer right away.
He raised his eyes faintly and stared at Thales, making the latter even more nervous.
"One day, among the vast inheritance scrolls of the Royal Guards, I found it by accident."
Unknowingly, everyone present was holding their breath and staring.
Waiting for the Punishment Knight's answer.
Sak'el stared at Thales closely for three seconds.
"I discovered that our much-questioned Queen, His Majesty Eddie's second wife, is not called 'Fiosa' at all, let alone a so-called descendant of a declining noble as recorded in the Canning Star family tree.
.”
Sak'el's boring voice sounded again, but it was full of hatred and anger:
"In fact, she has lived longer than all of us in the Royal Guard combined..."
"As early as thousands of years ago, before the empire collapsed, she was famous for her ability to manipulate people's hearts and create illusions."
At that second, the onlookers were moved.
What?
Thousands of years ago?
Manipulating people's hearts?
Thales was stunned.
I heard the punishment knight hissing with deep fear and inexplicable awe:
"And at least six hundred years ago, Xingchen's ancestors called her by another name."
"A forbidden name that I can only find in the Elder Scrolls."
A taboo name?
For a moment, everyone's nerves were tense.
The next second, Sak'el viciously bit out the name that made many people blush: