The prince and the duke were silent for a while.
"So that's what you're here for today."
Thales pulled out the dagger stuck on the bedside, threw a flower in the air, and accurately grasped the handle while the blade flipped over. After experiencing countless fights, this action became more and more skillful and simple.
Seeing the prince's actions, Cyril narrowed his eyes slightly.
Thales raised the tip of the blade and pondered for a while:
"Do you want to win me over to join you and become the third party outside the two camps? Between the iron whip of the driver and the galloping hooves of the horse, you can pull the carriage of the stars faster and faster?"
third party.
At that moment, it was as if the clouds on the horizon blocked the sunlight and the room became dark.
Duke Xihuang pressed his hands on the crutch again and again.
"A fierce horse will not succumb to the iron whip, and the driver will not give up the whip," he said with sharp eyes:
"And no one on the carriage, no matter who they are, can sit there and wait for it to fall apart."
Thales gently flicked the blade between his fingers.
"so."
Thales snorted lightly and pointed the tip of the blade at the Duke very impolitely:
"All of this, including your inexplicable appearance, drawing a sword to threaten and scaremongering, and being extremely angry with your words, are just for this moment?"
Thales stared at Cyril with a half-smiling expression.
Cyril looked at him for a while and hummed softly.
"Do you think I would just pick up a fourteen-year-old kid on the street and tell him this?"
Cyril said coldly:
"If I can't first confirm what kind of person you are, if you are just an incompetent softie who has high ambitions and low ambitions, who is greedy and afraid of death, if you are just an impulsive little kid who has been raised by the Yankees with brains full of muscles, if you are just a relying on
An idiot who thinks he knows the truth of the universe after reading a few catalogs of history books..."
Thales raised his eyebrows.
The Duke looked at him sideways and said disdainfully:
"Then you are not worthy of my words."
The young man was slightly stunned.
Thales exhaled and stuffed the dagger back under his pillow:
"You know, if you're going to win me over by complimenting me, you could actually use some better words."
I saw the Duke of Xihuang open his lips as if a piece of flesh was missing, and let out a sinister laugh, just like a mummy opening its mouth.
"Don't worry, there will be no shortage of beautiful words in your ears. The prince's return is a top priority that will shake the stars, and countless eyes will be focused on you."
Cyril narrowed his eyes:
"But you have to be more careful and vigilant."
"The powerful noble lords will rush to find you, win over the prince who has not returned home for a long time, and use all means to win you to their side, turning you into a vanguard against the Fuxing Palace."
Falkenholz's tone changed:
"Before accepting their kindness, please remember: they are only against your father, but they are not sincerely loyal to you."
Thales was silent.
He suddenly remembered what Kuai Sheng said.
How can he achieve... a different way of living?
Thinking of this, Thales took a deep breath and raised his head:
"They won't succeed."
But Cyril shook his head disdainfully:
"When I say 'courting,' I don't mean just knocking on doors and giving gifts."
Thales frowned and retorted:
"Of course, maybe it also involves drawing a sword and threatening me, and then telling me, 'The carriage must not fall apart'?"
This time it was Cyril's turn to be silent.
After a few seconds, the Duke said quietly:
"You know, some words can only be nonsense to the vast majority of people in the world."
Taylor was immediately confused.
Cyril hummed:
"Remember my words today."
He stretched out his finger and waved it near his mouth:
"all."
Cyril's eyes glowed coldly:
"In case you can use it one day."
He paused for a second and curled his lips rather evilly:
"all."
Thales stared at the Duke like this, feeling uncomfortable in his heart.
But Cyril quickly changed the subject:
"Compared with these, you have to be more careful about your father."
Father.
Thales' nerves slowly became tense.
The strong figure in his mind reappeared, reminding him of the suffocation he felt when facing the other person.
The Duke's voice echoed in his ears, carrying a different meaning:
"As you grow older, maybe he will realize that you are no longer that pitiful child. Maybe he will also try to win over you as a father and control you with the power of a king."
"but……"
Falkenhauser's tone changed again, but he suddenly fell silent, and the surroundings seemed to have become cloudy in an instant, with no rain left.
He stared closely at Thales, his terrifying face and cold eyes making the latter feel nervous.
"When the news of the drastic changes in Exeter, the death of Nun VII and the political reshuffle in the North reached the stars six years ago, everyone was shocked."
The Duke's tone and rhythm became heavy and slow, reminding Thales of Putilai when he was narrating the bard:
"Who would have thought that just a few months ago, we old guys would still be in panic all day long, fearing that the unruly Yankees would go south again."
Cyril exhaled slightly and pointed at Thales:
"But there are people, there are people who, with just one click, have riddled the extremely tyrannical and aggressive dragon kingdom with so many holes that they have no time to take care of themselves."
"Do you know what that means?"
Unparalleledly tyrannical and aggressive...
It’s riddled with holes and has no time to take care of itself…
What does it mean?
Thales couldn't help but think of the nightmare night in Longxiao City.
Dragon blood.
He looked at Cyril who was pointing at him and cleared his throat unnaturally:
"You think too highly of me."
The prince sighed:
"Six years ago, it was just an accident, and it was a tragedy, and I had no credit for it..."
Cyril interrupted him coldly: "I didn't say it was your fault."
"Stop being so sentimental."
Thales choked at these words and his face became quite ugly.
The unpopular Duke snorted:
"As I said, from the end of the war to the bloody year, Falkenholz has followed the shining star since ancient times."
He pointed to the ancient Imperial sword leaning against the wall.
"In the past seven hundred years, the Warners have witnessed a lot of history," Cyril said solemnly:
"More than you think."
Thales felt Cyril's cold gaze, and an ominous premonition came over him.
"So I know."
Just listen to the Duke whisper:
"The so-called 'disaster' in Longxiao City is definitely not an accident or a rare coincidence."
Disaster comes to the world.
It's not an accident.
At that moment, Thales held his thigh tightly.
Fortunately, Cyril didn't look at him again.
The Duke walked to the window and looked at the camp quietly:
"Although every time they appear, they will be cleverly covered up and blurred, exaggerated and whitewashed, and then over time, they will eventually become hearsay and bedtime stories for passers-by..."
"But I know they exist and they are real."
Exists and is real.
Thales breathed a sigh of relief.
He took a deep breath to cover up his emotional changes.
Cyril's voice became sharper and more urgent:
"And every time they appear, they are inseparable from our world."
The next moment, the Guardian Duke of the Western Wilderness turned around suddenly and stared directly at Thales with his eyes like lightning!
"No matter what happened in Longxiao City, it was your father who did it."
He said categorically:
"He and that old viper Morat, in a certain way."
It was your father who did it.
Thales looked back at the other party quietly, enduring the bloody memories rolling back and forth in his mind.
But no matter how much he ignored it, he couldn't help but think of those scenes:
The blue light in Asheida's eyes, the purple lines on Giza's face, the tears on Little Slippery's cheeks, the scarred body of the black sword, and the weird big mouth on Raphael's arm.
as well as……
The fallen head of King Nun.
"Your father's chessboard is ruthless, and you don't know what his next move will be."
"Ignoring the rules or overturning the chessboard."
At this time, the Duke's face was serious and his tone was cold:
"Kid, be strong."
"Don't become a chess piece to be manipulated and sacrificed at will."
Arrange at will.
Sacrifice at will.
Feeling the other party's obvious provocation, Thales took a deep breath and let it out slowly.
"I am his heir and my interests are aligned with his."
The prince's tone was quite rejecting.
"My safety is related to the stability of his rule."
"And he is my father."
But this just ushered in another taunt from Cyril:
"Who knows."
Duke Falkenhaus said coldly:
"Four hundred years ago, 'King of Climb' Elan Brightstar I killed his son to sacrifice to the gods in order to pray for victory."
Kill your son to sacrifice to the gods.
Thales' breathing stagnated and he clenched his fists.
The Duke looked into the distance and spoke in a long tone:
"And every day, your father is making new history."
Thales closed his eyes.
"Your father and his enemies..."
"Six years ago, because of your appearance, the outcome of the first round was decided."
"But six years later, from the day you return to China, the second round begins."
The Duke's tone was a little scary:
"And it never gets easier."
The room fell silent again.
Until Thales slowly opened his eyes.
"Therefore, Your Excellency, the Duke, neither belongs to the nobility nor is he a third party loyal to the royal power."
Cyril's eyes narrowed slightly, and he could feel that there was something different about the prince at this moment.
"If that day really comes," Thales looked at him straightly:
"Can I count on your strength?"
The two were silent for a while.
It was as if they all knew what such a moment meant.
After a few seconds, the Duke spoke slowly without a smile on his face:
"If I were a one-eyed dragon on the cliff, I would say 'yes'."
Thales snorted softly in his nose:
"But you're not."
The Duke nodded slowly, then shook his head:
"I'm not."
The prince sighed softly.
certainly.
He got it.
But Thales then remembered something and burst into laughter.
"You know, Northlanders don't ask if they can."
The prince's tone was quite nostalgic:
"They just asked, 'Do you want to do it or not?'"
The Duke couldn't help but be startled.
But after a few seconds, Falkenholz chuckled:
"Sometimes I'm quite grateful that no matter how stupid the people in the North are, they at least raised an interesting prince for us."
Thales also laughed:
"This is the third time you've scolded them. Why do you hate the Northlanders so much?"
Duke Cyril paused for a moment, with a complicated expression on his face.
"Because my mother-in-law is from the North."
Thales was stunned for a moment.
His Excellency the Duke looked at Thales and waved his fingers in a serious manner: "I'll give you a piece of advice..."
"Don't imitate me."
After saying this, without waiting for the stunned Thales to react, the Duke of Xihuang laughed out loud.
Amidst the other party's sharp and mean laughter, Thales's face gradually turned cold.
"How can I be sure?"
The Duke's laughter stopped abruptly.
The prince stared at Cyril closely, and his words were full of caution:
"As a third party, although your words are fantastic, how do I know that you don't just want to push me to the forefront of the struggle and use me as a shield and battering ram?"
The room was quiet for a moment.
Until Falkenhauser let out a long breath, as if he had figured something out.
He sneered and looked at Thales again:
"A year ago, when you were still playing with building snowmen in Longxiao City..."
"Your father sent a secret letter asking us to mobilize the army to rescue his heir to the throne and return home."
Thales thought slightly:
a year ago?
When the prince returns home, how long has this chess game been planned?
Cyril seemed to be lost in thought and continued:
"The princes of the Western Wilderness and my vassals thought they had seized a rare opportunity. They were hot-headed and took the opportunity to make things difficult and blackmail them. They wanted to return to the Blade Tooth Camp from the royal family's 'escrow', and Your Majesty readily agreed.
.”
Having said this, Duke Falkenhauser's eyes flashed:
"But one of my courtiers dissuaded me from sending troops. He thought it was a trap with malicious intent."
Thales frowned.
The Duke looked coldly at the Blade Fang camp under the window and suddenly turned around.
"But Falkenhauser still sent troops."
"Even if I know there's something wrong with it."
"Do you know why?"
Thales looked at him silently for a few seconds and looked away.
"You said it."
The prince looked away, slightly sarcastically:
"In the face of vassals, you don't want to be the one who replaces the king and hinders the princes from regaining their power, and falls down from two sides."
He sarcastically said:
"For example, now, aren't you being pushed out by them to regain your position? A third party?"
This time, Falkenholz looked at him for a long time.
"No."
The Duke spoke slowly
"because……"
"From the ruthless King to the fanatical princes of the Western Wilderness, among the participants in this power game, I am the only one."
The only one?
Thales was slightly stunned.
"When the Wings of Legend and my vassals are all staring at the Blade Fang camp, no one cares about the business in the desert, and no one cares about the heir to the kingdom who should be the protagonist..."
Cyril slowly became serious:
"I'm the only one who believes..."
"I believe that compared to the ownership of the Blade Tooth Camp, compared to the power and position of the nobles, compared to the success or failure of His Majesty..."
The Duke bent his back, almost putting his head on the crutch, squinting at Thales from a distance, and his right hand on the crutch pointed directly at the second prince:
"Rescue you, rescue Prince Thales and return to China safely."
"That's the number one priority that everyone should really care about."
Thales looked at Falkenholz blankly, with mixed emotions.
Cyril straightened up, hiding his old and haggard appearance.
His eyes were very sharp, as if they could penetrate everything.
"All right."
Thales spoke with difficulty:
"You're not bad at speaking beautiful words..."
But the Duke spoke again and interrupted him!
"so!"
"I prevented some lords from secretly leaking information to Exeter and obstructing your return to the country."
Cyril raised his voice.
Thales was stunned.
The Duke's tone became melodious, greatly reducing the sharpness of his voice:
"That's why Baron Guz led the most efficient Crow Whistle Qingqian, violated the orders of his immediate superiors, and spared no effort to search for you, even the orcs."
Thales didn't react for a moment.
But he soon realized something was wrong.
Baron Gouz.
Crow Whistle Qingqi.
The familiar noun made Thales raise his head suddenly!
"who?"
He stared at Cyril:
"Who are you talking about?"
But Falkenhauser just looked at him with interest.
Two seconds later, the Duke seemed to have had enough of admiring Thales's expression, and then said slowly and authentically:
"so……"
"You and your caravan, after you parted ways with the erratic Kandar Nushan in the desert, you could have a smooth journey and reach the Blade Tooth Camp without any hindrance."
Thales' thinking paused for a moment.
Caravan.
Kandar Nushan.
Smooth journey, no obstacles...
impossible.
Thales looked blankly at the indifferent Duke:
"how do you know"
But Thales lowered his head and bitten off the next words.
He remembered.
"Baron Guz."
Thales said subconsciously:
"The commander I met in the desert, who was chasing the orcs with the freak team..."
Thales raised his head and looked directly at Cyril, but he could not hide the surprise in his tone:
"Is he yours?"
Cyril chuckled, confident and relaxed.
"Before he was granted the title of Baron of Emery Town under the Croma family, Van Cleef Coutts was once my courtier."
The room was quiet for a few seconds.
Until Thales breathed out with difficulty.
"So……"
He asked in disbelief:
"Then no matter when I met the army in the desert or when I entered the Blade Tooth Camp, you always... knew?"
and.
If that baron is one of his people, then he heard it in my tavern...
The Duke let out an unsettling chuckle.
"More than that."
At that moment, Cyril's sinister sneer sounded very scary:
"I also know that the Blade Fang camp that is within easy reach is full of ominousness. I know that there must be something fishy about the movements of the royal standing army. I know that Williams' mercenary henchmen are ready to make moves. I also know that the orcs Guz met in the desert are by no means a coincidence.
.”
The Duke's words were like a steel knife, reflecting sharp cold light.
what did he say?
Thales breathed in confusion.
The Bladefang camp is full of ominous things.
Movements of the Standing Army.
The mercenary thugs are ready to make a move.
Orcs are no coincidence.
This information, this intelligence...
This means...
Thales frowned and looked at the Duke:
"You know everything...but you didn't show up, you didn't come to me, and you didn't intervene in the struggle in the camp. When the Wings of Legend retook the camp, you didn't help the West Wasteland lords. You just, just..."
Cyril exhaled a sigh of relief:
"I just asked Guz to flee far away after ensuring that you entered the camp. I just asked the Falkenhaus family's skull guards to rotate out early, away from the center of the whirlpool, and away from this trap of catching a turtle in an urn."
"Let that bastard Williams finish his hunt."
Thales couldn't help but ask:
"Why?"
"Before everything started, you clearly had the intelligence and ability to reverse the situation, but you sat back and watched the conflict between the royal family and Xihuang, and your vassals... suffered heavy losses?"
Duke Xihuang smiled.
"Because this conflict is necessary, and it can only have this ending."
Cyril looked at the Blade Tooth Camp outside the window, seeming to be deep in thought:
"The princes of the Western Wilderness lost this round and lost their men, horses and prestige, and were disgraced; your Majesty won this round and saved the Blade Ya camp and beat the opponent."
"Both sides are just returning to the previous situation."
Thales thought about it and suddenly figured it out.
Sure enough, Cyril turned back:
"But imagine, if I successfully interfered with Your Majesty's convenient chess game, forced away the royal standing army, saved the princes from losses, and helped them regain control of the western front... Then what will happen to the Western Wilderness next?
What are the consequences?"
Thales sighed.
The Duke continued:
"My stupid vassals, while they are enjoying themselves, will they be satisfied and accept what is good, or will they push themselves further and make things worse?"
"And will a person like your father accept the reality and give up, or will he look at me and Xihuang's strength and attitude with admiration..."
Cyril's tone became terrifying:
"Go all out and pay back a hundredfold?"
The Duke sneered.
"Then the problem comes..."
Falkenholz’s ugly face revealed deep grooves:
"Will Desolate Ruins become the next Cold Castle or the next Longxiao City?"
"Sometimes, doing nothing is the best choice."
Thales leaned against the wall helplessly.
The Duke's words were very light, but they gave him a feeling of overwhelming weight.
He had just returned from the North, and he was used to the Yankees' style of fighting and intimidating and intimidating, at least for the nobles.
But after today, he suddenly understood a lot.
The Kingdom of Stars implements a different set of game rules.
Another... shackles of power.
The prince's eyes darkened.
"Now, is this enough proof?"
Cyril said coldly:
"I am neither the nobleman you think of, nor am I your father."
"It's the true third party in the life-and-death arena of the stars."
third party.
Thales closed his eyes tightly.
The silence lasted for almost thirty seconds.
Until Cyril spoke slowly:
"Well, Williams is probably coming back from patrol. I don't want to run into him. He can't defeat him."
Thales opened his eyes and watched the Duke bow slightly to him:
"Have a good conversation. You can continue with your lunch."
Thales, who had complicated thoughts, sighed and returned the favor.
Boom, boom, boom.
While the leather robe was floating, the Duke of Xihuang turned around with a mysterious smile and walked towards the door.
But Thales saw something.
"My Lord Duke, you forgot your sword!"
The prince frowned and pointed at the gracefully curved ancient imperial sword Warner leaning against the wall.
Boom.
The Duke's crutch struck the ground.
But beyond Thales's expectation, another word came out of Cyril's mouth.
"No!"
Duke Xihuang turned around and said coldly:
"You forgot your sword."
Thales was stunned for a while.
Cyril narrowed his eyes and pointed at the ancient imperial sword on the wall:
"From this moment on, the Warner is yours."
Thales was stunned.
"Hold on to it, hold on to your sword."
I heard Cyril Falkenhausz, the Guardian Duke of the West Wasteland and the Four-Eyed Skull Family, seeming to say with profound meaning:
"Don't lose it."
After saying this, the Duke turned around and walked out of the door.
His last words were heard outside the room:
"Also, say hello to the Cato boy for me, if he's not dead yet."