"Your Highness! You are really loved among them - the people have not forgotten that it is the Kingdom of Stars and the Royal Family of Bright Star that guarantees them such a prosperous life."
The speaker was Baron Limo. As the lord of four local villages, his castle stands at the center of the four villages. To the south, you can see the Fuxing Avenue filled with yellow fallen leaves in the central area. To the north, you can see the
The birch forest unique to the environment has a panoramic view.
This is the fourth morning of their journey north to Exeter. They stopped several times for supplies along the way. If everything goes well, they will be able to enter the northern border this afternoon and reach Broken Dragon Fortress tomorrow night.
Although Baron Limo is only in his thirties, his obesity is comparable to that of the old Duke Cullen. The Baron smiled so hard that he couldn't even see his eyes. He was surrounded by smiling people of all sizes.
The second prince of the Kingdom of Stars, His Highness Thales Bright Star, said enthusiastically:
"The subjects are all looking forward to your arrival and feel very honored. The renewal of the Bright Star Royal Family is really the love of the sunset goddess," Baron Limo stroked his belly and said with a smile: "I believe that the stars of the future are in your highness's hands."
Under your rule, we will definitely be richer and happier than before!"
"After all, we are descendants of the empire!"
Thales walked in the village which was spotless and spotless, even the snow stains had been swept away. He maintained a basic smile and waved to the surrounding citizens who were all brightly dressed.
Beside him, Wyar, Jorah and five private soldiers of Bright Star nervously separated him from the crowd, followed by Ada who could tell from his walking posture that he was listless.
"We'd better leave right away, Your Highness," Jorah, the leader of the Bright Star private soldiers, said seriously: "This is really not a good idea."
"Indeed," Wyatt stopped a squire, "your mission is to be an envoy, not to inspect - you are just passing through here."
Thales nodded, and in an inadvertent moment, he made a few gestures in the distance that no one could understand.
【how?】
Huaiya looked at the prince's gesture and frowned.
He looked displeased in the other direction of the village, and sure enough, Rolf's figure appeared in a secluded place in the distance at the right time. After racking his brains, he made two gestures back towards Thales.
【Back, fake, everything.】
Fake.
well.
Thales felt depressed and looked at the nearest seven or eight-year-old child.
About the same age as him.
The child had dark skin and was skinny. He was wrapped in a set of thick clothes that obviously didn't fit. His small hands were in the sleeves and couldn't be taken out at all. His eyes were full of fear and shrinking, but he forced himself to show his falsehood.
smile.
The middle-aged man with numb eyes struggled to wave his rough and deformed hands.
A timid woman wearing a headscarf, wearing completely mismatched tops and bottoms, the tops were obviously closer to the popular styles in the royal capital.
An old man who was nearly sixty years old, wearing a funny cloak that looked like a noble's shelter from the rain, and a pair of thin single trousers, was shivering with cold in a corner where others could not see.
And...the spotless village, welcomed by all the people - Thales sighed and looked at Baron Limo with a smile.
Do you think he is a fool?
It turns out that there is also a Potemkin Village in this world.
"The supplies should be completed," Thales made another gesture to Rolf in the distance that others could not understand, shook his head, and whispered to Wyatt and Jorah: "Let's go."
Huaiya also glared at Rolf, who had a deep face in the distance, and followed Thales with Jorah.
He is obviously the second prince's attendant.
With Baron Limo's reluctance to stay and his grateful farewell, the Kingdom of Stars headed north to Exeter's missionary convoy, ready to gear up and set off.
"I thought you enjoyed the feeling of being supported by everyone."
The deputy envoy of the mission, Lord Putilai, took out a pipe from somewhere, lit up a thick smoke that was unpleasant to look at, inhaled and exhaled, and looked at the second prince mockingly.
"No."
"I would rather enjoy the kind of sincere, unpretentious, but sincere support," Thales smiled and took the water from the guard: "Rather than watch them being forced by the lord to dress up and prepare in advance.
They put on the most deliberate smiles and told lies about a happy life. In the village that had been cleaned early, they unreasonably welcomed a prince they didn't really like."
Thales sighed softly: "Guess, how many of them have smiles on their faces, but in their hearts they are full of hatred for me, the prince who came suddenly?"
"Not one," unexpectedly, Putilai denied what he said: "If I insist on saying it, it's probably just the fat baron."
Thales raised his eyebrows.
"Don't take yourself too seriously, Your Majesty the future King," Putilai exhaled a breath of smoke disdainfully: "In the eyes of many people, the weight of a nine-pointed star is not as heavy as an ear of wheat."
"The ears of wheat can feed them, but what can the nine-pointed star do? Oh, there are still benefits," Putilai chuckled, "For example, the lord can feed them a full meal and give them some unwanted clothes to show their dignity.
To welcome a passing heir to the nine-pointed star."
Thales' face was heavy. Before getting on the carriage, he took one last look at the village at the junction of the Northern Territory and the Central Territory. He couldn't help but said: "This is the intersection of Fuxing Avenue and the birch forest. It is the specialty of the Northern Territory and the merchants of the Central Territory."
All goods pass through here, and there is no shortage of land or hunting forests, but the people here are still so poor—is it excessive deductions, land issues, or heavy taxes?"
"Change the word!"
"Baron Limo is one of the vassals of Count Talon, delivering taxes to the latter and responding to the call. The Talon family are distant relatives and supporters of the Bright Star royal family. Why are the villagers here so poor? To be precise,"
Putilai snorted with tears in his eyes and said sarcastically: "It's because the rulers of the territory are too loyal and patriotic."
Thales was silent for ten seconds until Wyatt interrupted his contemplation.
"Your Highness, that veteran has refused to leave and is still following us." Huaiya pointed to a staggering figure behind and sighed:
"We have already passed the Talen family's Glacier City. I think the dry food and supplies he has on him are not enough to support his return trip to Yongxing - and he has no clothing to keep out the cold. The further north he goes..."
"If you ask me, we can hand him over to that baron," Jorah touched his red hair, "then we don't have to worry about him starving to death or dying on the road."
"You have seen his appearance. I guess that veteran is not very good at dealing with nobles, and the baron will probably throw him directly into the dungeon." Thales shook his head and looked at the stubborn figure of Gennard in the distance.
:
"And after all, he is... the bodyguard of the late Duke John, and he is of the same lineage as Canxing."
Thales' eyes flickered, remembering the young brother of the late king in the tomb.
[Starry God of War, Liberator of Sodara, Duke of Star Lake, John L.K. Bright Star, 613-660]
"Then take him with you."
Thales looked at his deputy in confusion.
Lord Putilai was annoyed to find that his pipe had been extinguished by the cold again, and he hurriedly touched his pockets. However, Wyatt sighed, took out the flint and stepped forward.
"If you ask me, if you have such perseverance and follow us on foot for three days and three nights - thank you, you can be considered as saving my life - if you are not the most loyal subordinate, you are the most dangerous enemy."
Putilai lit his pipe, looked at the carriage carrying a coffin at the end of the motorcade, and said disdainfully:
"No matter which one, you have a reason to bring him in and put him under your observation and control - anyway, you have everything in this messy motorcade, right?"
Thales frowned and pretended not to hear Putilai complaining to him about his vampire traveling companions: "Loyal subordinates and dangerous enemies - I don't want to take a chance on either possibility."
"It's hard to say," Putilai took a deep breath of smoke and closed his eyes comfortably: "Sometimes, it's both possible."
Thales rolled his eyes helplessly.
"Your Highness, that veteran?" Huaiya asked tentatively.
Thales pondered for a while, then suddenly walked towards the veteran of the Star Legion. Rolf followed quietly behind him.
Huaiya was stunned for a moment, and quickly caught up with the second prince. At the same time, he glanced at Sui Feng Gui displeasedly. After passing him, he unconsciously took a step forward and became the person closest to the prince.
Huaiya felt that his status as a squire was being seriously threatened by this silver-faced man who needed prosthetics to walk.
For example, the kind of sign language that only he and the prince can understand.
"Veteran!" Thales said from afar: "What's your name?"
Jennard, who was trembling with his arms folded in the cold, raised his head and saw the nine-pointed star embroidered on Thales's body, and his eyes lit up.
He recalled the scene when the lazy middle-aged Duke walked out of the barracks for the first time and bumped heads with him.
Duke.
"J-Jenard," he trembled.
"Still unwilling to give up, are you?" Thales narrowed his eyes: "But you know, I can't let you follow us - you were sent by Jann Kelvindill, and I don't believe him
.”
Jenard was stunned and quickly defended: "I am not the same as them, I was caught by them... I don't know why they sent me here..."
"But it's been three days, why are you following me?" Thales interrupted, staring directly at Jenard's face: "Give me a reason to believe you."
Jenard looked at Thales blankly.
So is it.
He is not a duke after all.
He won't believe me.
If it were the Duke, he would probably smile mysteriously, then pat him on the shoulder, generously ask him to get a piece of food, and then say "I'll keep an eye on you" and leave with peace of mind.
But it is precisely the Duke's character that can...be able to...
The veteran in his thirties gritted his teeth and raised his head:
"On my way here, I heard what those who were imprisoning me said, Your Highness - Your Highness, are you going to Exeter? Use your own life to quell the anger and hatred of the Northlanders?"
Thales stared at him without saying a word.
Jenard crossed his arms and said tremblingly: "Please let me follow you, follow the nine-pointed star."
Thales said nothing.
When Genard was feeling uneasy, His Highness the Second Prince slowly spoke.
"I heard," Thales breathed out: "You were once a member of the Star Legion and a personal guard of Duke John, my father's uncle?"
Jennard's eyes darkened.
"Yes."
And I failed him.
"If it is for the loyalty of your colleagues in the Star Legion," Thales said coldly: "You can continue to return to the royal capital and serve my father and King Kessel."
"I have been working for him in the royal capital for twelve years," the dusty-looking Jenard gasped and looked at Thales: "And now, I have nowhere to go."
yes.
When the Star Legion was disbanded, most of them followed the captain to Dragon Broken Fortress and fought three bloody battles with the Exeters. After the "Peace Treaty" was signed, they continued to guard the border of the stars in the bitter cold.
But he didn't go.
He wanted to stay and continue to serve the Nine-Pointed Star and the Bright Star Family in the Royal Capital.
To atone for oneself.
but……
That Kessel...
Gennard smiled sadly as he thought of his twelve years of indifferent career as a city defense force.
Thales looked at him and sighed deeply.
"Go to Jorah, the red-haired one." Under Jenard's surprised eyes, Thales pursed his lips: "Since you are a veteran, let him assign you a position - the mission cannot stay.
Useless people."
Gennard trembled and turned toward Thales.
He was so excited that two lines of hot tears flowed out uncontrollably.
Thales was startled. He couldn't stand such a scene the most, so he quickly turned around and left.
This time, Wyatt followed closely, not forgetting to glance at Rolf.
But Rolf looked at the veteran with tears in his eyes.
Another lost person?
Just like me.
Thales walked farther and farther.
If he was John's personal guard, if he participated in those wars.
Thales thought to himself: Then he must have personally experienced the truth behind the Year of Blood.
The truths I want to know.
The second prince boarded the carriage without saying a word, and the convoy continued its journey, exiting Fuxing Avenue and entering the unique birch forest in the north.
When the convoy with crossed and double-star flags finally arrived at the edge of the birch forest on the evening of the next day, heavy snow began to fall continuously, and everything around them began to turn silvery white.
"Please pay attention to the temperature, Your Highness. From now on," when they stopped to rest, Huaiya lit a torch in the fire built by the guards and approached Thales, who was rubbing his hands in the cold: "With the king,
The difference is that the snow that never melts will become the norm."
"Have you been here?" Thales took the warm torch gratefully and exhaled a breath of hot breath.
"Not only have I been here before," Huaiya chuckled: "The Tower of the End is located southwest of the junction of Exeter and Camus Alliance, in the mountains to the north of the great desert - the desert war was fierce at that time.
, the road to the Western Wasteland is impassable, so I can only detour from the northern border to Exeter and report to the Terminus Tower."
Thales, whose interest and curiosity was aroused, was about to ask further when Putilai came over.
"This year is colder than usual, and Broken Dragon Fortress will only be colder than here." Lord Putilai picked up a handful of thin snow on the ground and his face became serious: "It is both good news and bad news."
"How do you say that?" Thales, who didn't know much about the Northern Territory or Exeter, humbly asked the deputy envoy who was obviously well-informed but never treated him hypocritically.
"The good news is that the special 'extremely cold' weather in the north will come earlier than before. No matter how good the Exeters are at fighting in winter, they will not be able to mobilize a large number of troops to form a formation or besiege in the weather where water turns to ice.
The fortress—their supply lines will collapse from the cold."
"The bad news is," Putilai mused: "If Lumba wants to take the Broken Dragon Fortress, these two days are the last chance."
Thales was shocked.
"Yes, my prince, Broken Dragon Fortress is not far away - if you still want to put an end to the war, not just travel around," Putilai said at the ugly faces of Huaiya and Rolf.
, unceremoniously snatched Thales's torch and extinguished it in the snow: "Better hurry up!"
At this moment, the cloaked woman and the secret guard, Ada, who had been sluggish all this time, suddenly got excited and sat up!
"That - someone -" Ada stammered while patting the snow on her body.
But she was immediately interrupted.
"Enemy attack!"
In the distance, a voice shouted angrily!
It was the voice of the veteran-Jenard.
Thales stood up abruptly. Waiya and Rolf beside him were faster than him. One drew his sharp blade out of its sheath, and the other blocked him firmly behind him!
"Jorah!" Putilai shouted calmly.
"Formation!" Jorah roared, and thirty Brilliant Star private soldiers shouted. Their swords were unsheathed, their shields formed a wall, and they surrounded Thales, forming the famous star formation.
However, Thales - he was tightly protected by two people, the attendant and the ghost of Sui Feng - looked around suspiciously, looking at the birch forest in the evening.
Where is the enemy?
The next moment, he no longer had to wonder.
The shadowy figure suddenly and eerily appeared behind almost every tree in the surrounding area.
There are at least twenty.
Thales was shocked.
He has seen this kind of sudden appearance.
Like - animation skipping frames.
The guards of Canxing lit up torches as if they were facing a powerful enemy and teleported them to several key points of the circular formation to provide lighting.
The firelight illuminated the surrounding area.
Figures dressed in rich clothes and armor (both of which actually appeared on everyone at the same time) emerged from the dim woods one by one. There were men and women, each of them tall and handsome.
But everyone had sharp eyes and looked at them coldly.
It's like looking at a mortal prey.
"Who is coming!" Putilai also drew out a sword, held a torch, and shouted calmly.
Under the astonished gazes of all the Star People, a graceful and graceful figure slowly stepped forward in a dignified and quiet manner.
That's a woman.
A breathtakingly beautiful woman whom Thales met for the first time after traveling through time.
How do you say that - breathtakingly beautiful?
She was wearing a well-tailored black dress that accentuated her figure just right. She had a soft face, silver hair, and a pair of lovable purple eyes that seemed to sparkle with tears.
If it were placed in Hongfang Street, it would definitely be a Duke-level nobleman who could only see it.
Just listen to this lovely beauty whose age cannot be discerned, slowly opening her mouth.
She obviously has a lovely face, but at this moment, she is like a robot, coldly saying:
"Everyone, stay well."
"Down here..."
"Caterina Van Corleone."
"My enemies all like to call me - the weeper."
Everyone's breathing stopped for a moment.
Thales immediately looked behind him at the carriage carrying the black coffin, feeling surprised and uncertain.
Corleone?
Cortrina?
A weeper?
that is not……
But everything in front of me is still going on.
I saw this beauty in black with a cute and innocent appearance, with watery eyes flashing, but her tone was like a cold wind hitting the bones, and she said slowly:
"I order you now."
"Hand over my sister."
"And then all..."
Her eyes were stern and she pressed her hands on her abdomen.
"Sleep here forever."
——
The next chapter is on the shelves.
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