Everyone is cleaning the city, some are putting out fires, some are cleaning up corpses, and some are looking for and rescuing survivors.
Prince Smerkel asked his men: "Has the body been found?"
The subordinate replied: "Not found."
"There were too many bodies and many were damaged."
Smerkel: "Keep looking."
The subordinate was a little embarrassed: "Your Highness, it's not that I can't find the reason, but there are too many corpses and I can't tell them apart at all."
"Many of the bodies were burned and charred, and we don't know who they belong to anymore."
"These savages are extremely cruel."
In the end, Smerkel could only say: "Look as hard as you can, if you can't find it..."
"forget about it."
The people are already dead, so what’s the point of retrieving the bodies?
Smerkel sat on the steps of the City Lord's Mansion in Moonlight City, looking at the remains and black ashes left behind after the fire burned.
The remaining people on the street came out like zombies.
When Smerkel came here, he heard his teacher say something.
In times of peace, sons bury their fathers; but in times of war, it is fathers who bury their sons.
And what is the scene he is seeing now?
Corpses piled up like mountains, including father, mother, son, wife, and children all left here.
The entire family, the entire bloodline, the entire city, all died in one day and night, although their deaths ended the war and brought stability in the future.
But who wants to be the victim?
Who is qualified to make them victims?
"Is it me?"
"Is it the king's duty to choose who to sacrifice and who to die?"
Smerkel sat on the steps, thinking about this question over and over again.
Next to him was Lu Qi's head. Lu Qi looked at Smerkel with wide eyes. He remembered what he had said at the beginning, asking Lu Qi to hold on until he came back.
Smerkel involuntarily covered his face and lowered his head.
"Hehehehe~"
"I really mean it's easy!"
Everything that happened in Moonlight City kept repeating in Smerkle's mind. The more Smerkel thought about it, the more angry he became, and the more he thought about it, the more scared he became.
How could he say such cruel words at that time, considering that not long ago he was just a prince who had never seen anyone killed in the palace.
War can change a country, and it can also change countless people, and he himself is among them.
The fate of an entire country, the lives and deaths of countless people, and the choices of victory and defeat are enough to make a person undergo huge changes and make a person crazy.
The moment you step into the battlefield.
Whether he is a citizen, a soldier, a general, or a commander-in-chief, no one can control his own destiny.
Everyone becomes a member on the wheel of war and inevitably becomes a crazy person.
"Ha ha ha ha."
"so."
"The king chose to sacrifice some people to save others; to let one group of people die and then let another group of people live?"
Smerkel yelled at the top of his lungs: "This is completely different from what I imagined. This is completely different from what I imagined."
"Father, you never told me."
He was an idealistic young man, but at this moment his perfect ideals and expectations completely collapsed.
Smerkel's gaffe frightened many people present.
Many people thought that Prince Smerkel was crazy. This was normal. Many people were as calm and calm as gods of war on the battlefield, but they went crazy after retreating from the battlefield.
It wasn't until the next day that Smerkel calmed down, but the whole person became taciturn.
------------------
A grand welcome ceremony was held in the Fire Guard City, and everyone came to welcome the returning army, as well as Prince Smerkel, who led the army to victory.
"Have you heard? This time His Highness the Prince killed at least tens of thousands of people and captured tens of thousands more." Civilians have no idea of the true cruelty of war. They only feel shock and excitement, and death is in their senses.
Just a number.
"So many people? Are all the young barbarians from the animal herding tribe dying?" Some people were so shocked that they really couldn't imagine the death of so many people.
"Those savages may be alive. There are so many of them, and they won't be able to die even if they die ten times more." Some people still feel that the killing is too little, and they wish they could kill more.
Seeing the troops walking in from the city gate, the crowd began to push forward.
Everyone wants to get close to these heroes on the battlefield, to see the warriors who have returned victoriously, and to see the commander who can lead them to this glorious war.
His Royal Highness Smerkel, the prince of the Suinhor city-state, is standing on a chariot pulled by a ground dragon.
He was wearing armor in the sun, with a bloody cloak trailing behind him.
"Prince Smerkel." Groups of young people cheered, and the idea of worshiping the strong existed deep in everyone's bones and blood.
"Look, it's Your Highness." The girl guarding the Fire City screamed.
"He looks like King Alpanz! King Alpanz many years ago." When some old people saw him, they seemed to see the young King Alpanz. When they were young, these old people also fought with Alpanz.
Pass.
Prince Smerkel watched the people welcome him with admiration and admiration. The crowd cheered and shouted, and the movements of kneeling and kowtowing made him feel like a god descending to the world to accept the worship of believers.
They talked loudly about their achievements and how many enemies they had killed.
No one knows the decision Smerkel made that day, and no one remembers the dead Lucci.
History will not record this. Everyone only knows that the cruel and tyrannical beast-herding tribe barbarians killed the civilians of Moonlight City, and their prince avenged them.
He stared at the faces.
He had seen his father riding a chariot through the streets again and again, inspecting his territory and country.
He has longed for countless times to be like his father, perform great feats that will be recorded in history, and become a warrior and hero that people truly admire.
However, when he actually did it now, he had a completely different mentality.
He arrived at the palace, where his father, King Alpanz, was waiting.
Alpans stepped forward and hugged his son with his strong arms, looking at Smerkel with gratified eyes: "Congratulations, my son."
"This is a brilliant victory."
Smerkel did not speak. As usual, he would be excited to express his joy to Alpans.
It's like a child showing off his achievements with his father.
But at this moment.
Smerkel just lowered his head.
Alpans looked at Smerkel: "You don't seem happy."
Smerkel's eyes were bloodshot and he had not slept for many nights.
He first looked at his father, the king of the gods who established the city-state of Suinhor, and then looked away.
He looked at the high throne and said slowly.
"Father."
"I finally understand how to become a king."
"You can only become this king by stepping on everyone's blood. This throne is made of corpses and flesh!"
"Not only the flesh and blood of our enemies, but also the flesh and blood of our companions and brothers."
Smerkel said in the style taught to him by his teacher: "The battlefield is filled with crazy killings without realizing it, and there is no peace when you dream back at midnight."
Smerkel looked at his father and asked suddenly.
"my father."
"Great King of Gods, have you never had nightmares?"
Alpans told Smerkel: "Sacrifice is necessary, only in this way can victory be won."
Smerkel suddenly shouted: "I can't do it."
"I'm not so cold-blooded."
Smerkel's pupils dilated for an instant, and his expression seemed to exude a big doubt. He was doubting himself and the nature of the king.
"Perhaps for a moment, my blood ran cold."
"But whenever I think about what I did over and over again, I feel sick."
"I'm so sick that I want to vomit."
Smerkle's voice changed: "I know I have no choice, I know I have to do this, but just because I know it makes me feel even more crazy."
"When you sit in the position of king, you don't even need an excuse to sacrifice others. It's because of destiny, because of mission, and because of responsibility."
"They will force you to sacrifice others, but you can justly let others die and let everyone die."
"I told Lucci."
"I need to sacrifice his hometown people, I need to sacrifice people in an entire city, and I watch helplessly as he leads everyone to death."
"With just one word from me, Lu Qi, his family, and everyone in Moonlight City will die."
"I will do whatever it takes to win, and I will do anything to become the king."
"I sacrificed them."
Smerkel roared loudly, his whole person seemed extremely crazy, but at the same time extremely helpless.
Alpans and Smerkel are two kinds of people. The former was born to blaze a trail in the wilderness. He was born in an era of chaos and was a person who grew up and emerged from blood and fire.
And Smerkel grew up in the palace. He was the only son of Alpans, and his teacher was a famous scholar.
Alpanz could understand why his son said such things, but he could not fully understand his son's mood.
"you are tired."
"You should go back and take a rest."
Alpanz asked his son to go back and have a good sleep, and Smerkel also turned and left.
When Alpans sent someone to look for Smerkel the next day, they found that Smerkle had left and was completely missing.
He just left a letter.
It says.
"I don't have the courage of a king, nor do I have the courage to sacrifice everyone to step onto the throne."
The palace guards were so panicked that they quickly delivered the letter to Alpens.
Alpanz was accompanied by the prime minister of Suinhor City State, who was also a little panicked.
"king!"
"This is how to do ah!"
Alpanz was very calm: "It's nothing."
"Let's just say that my son went to inspect various cities in the city-state. After all, he is the heir of Suinhor City-state."
"It is normal to go and see what various places in your country are like before you ascend the throne."
Prime Minister: "But what if His Highness never comes back?"
The prime minister thought for a while and said: "We still have to send people to find him. We must find His Highness Smerkel."
Alpanz stared at the throne in the palace with deep eyes.
"He will eventually understand his responsibilities."
"He does not become the king by stepping on everyone's corpses and blood, but because too many people have sacrificed, he must become the king."
"Only by becoming king can he make these sacrifices worthwhile."
-----------------------
The former ferryman Ivar walked through the world, he walked in the wilderness, he visited one village after another, and he was hidden in the corners of the city.
He has poor sensitivity to time, and several years have passed by inadvertently.
And he just felt that he was just walking down a long street. He would stop occasionally and think about the pictures he saw.
He came to a jungle, holding a lamp without fire in his hand.
The only way to light this lamp is the emotions and desires in his heart.
However.
To this day, he has not experienced the emotions and desires he wants.
He also failed to complete the task assigned to him by the Creator Yinsai, but this itself was a task that took time.
Yinsai God is not in a hurry, as a myth, he also has enough time.
He lit a fire in the jungle and surrounded it.
The flames illuminated Ivar's shadow, alone and swaying in the light.
He suddenly remembered the pair of mortals he met when he first came to the world, and the words he asked them.
"Are we happy together?"
The answer to the conversation was so affirmative that it seemed like there was no need to think about it at all.
"certainly."
the other side.
A young musician also came to this jungle. He was also alone, but he was enjoying himself singing the poems he had written.
He holds a harp and sings wherever he goes.
But it's strange that what he sang were not those famous poems, nor were he praising kings, heroes or ancient myths.
Rather, they are about some rural ditties, the love between shepherdess and peasants, and the scandals of nobles.
And some bizarre stories.
Sing whatever comes to mind.
The young musician was none other than Prince Smerkle. He left the Fire Guard City and became a minor figure incognito.
When he was imprisoned in the palace, he once saw wandering musicians singing loudly outside the palace walls. They told their rich experiences and bizarre stories.
The ancestors of these wandering musicians were usually palace musicians. After losing their livelihood, they began to walk around various cities and villages. They generally have rich knowledge and experience, and are a very interesting group of people.
He once thought that if he was not a king, becoming a wandering musician would be a good choice.
then.
He really took his favorite musical instrument and traveled around the world just like he had dreamed of when he was a child, singing his favorite stories as he walked.
Late at night.
He hasn't found a place to stay yet, and the next city and village are still far away, so he plans to rest here.
However, at this time, he happened to see the fire in the distance.
The moonlight in the jungle shone through the cracks on Smerkel's body, and the firelight reflected Ivar's company.
The two people turned to look at each other, and their eyes happened to collide.
A wise demigod who still hasn't found a way to plant prayers in people's hearts, and a prince who is confused and doesn't know where to go, met by chance.
The moment he saw the person, Ivar stood up and prepared to leave.
Because he knows what will happen next.
As usual, most people must be frightened and uneasy when they see his true appearance.
However, the musician holding the harp in front of him said.
"Why are you leaving?"
"It's our fate that we met. There are only two of us in the wilderness, so why not chat together!"
I saw Ivar's appearance which was completely different from that of the snake man, as well as his gorgeous blouse and tailless figure.
The prince was not afraid, but sat directly next to him.
Smerkel smiled and greeted him: "Hello."
Ivar responded: "Hello."
This is the intersection of fate.
Smerkel got closer to the flame and looked at Ivar's appearance. His face did not have the characteristics of a Cheng country person, nor did it look like someone from the animal herding tribe.
For Smerkel, it is full of exotic or alien style.
If you want to say who she looks like, she looks a bit like the god called the Scarlet Witch in the temple, the ruler of the Kingdom of Blood in the Deep Sea.
It exudes an ancient atmosphere.
Smokel told him his name, and it was his real name: "My name is Smokel."
Ivar: "My name is Ivar."
Smerkel brought a leather kettle with him. He shook it, then took a sip and handed it to Ivar.
"Come and taste it."
Ivar asked him: "What is this?"
Smoker: "Sweet wine."
"I bought these precious things that can bring happiness to people with great difficulty."
"It can make you forget your troubles, and it can also remind you of happy past events."
Sweet wine is a wine brewed from rolled balls, with a strong sweetness. It is currently popular in some big cities in the city-state of Suinhor. This kind of item is also used in temples in many cities to offer sacrifices.
gods.
When Ivar heard what he said, he immediately became interested.
He first looked into the leather kettle, and then smelled it.
He took a sip and then looked puzzled.
"But, I don't feel happy?"
Smerkel smiled: "You must be a person who has no worries and no happiness."
Ivar said to him: "How do you know?"
"I've talked to a lot of people, and I've asked a lot of people."
"But in the end I couldn't figure out why they were troubled and why they were happy."
Smerkel: "When your heart is connected with others, you can truly understand other people's emotions and understand other people's hearts."
Ivar said: "I can clearly see the hearts of other people, and the power of wisdom can see everything in the human heart."
Smerkel couldn't help it, and laughed so hard that he punched the ground: "Seeing other people's hearts and being able to understand other people's hearts are two different things."
"Other people's happiness is other people's happiness, and other people's joy is only other people's joy."
"Only if you have experienced the same joy yourself can you truly understand the emotions of others."
Ivar still doesn't quite understand.
Smerkle looked at Ivar and found that he really didn't seem to understand.
This somewhat strange "person" does not seem to belong to the human world. He comes from an isolated place and is incompatible with everything in the world.
At this time Smerkel suggested: "Let's do this!"
"Let's play a game."
Smerkle suggested that both of them put their hands on the fire together, and whoever could hold it back first would lose.
"What's the point of this?" Ivar asked.
"Some things don't make sense, but they are interesting." Smerkel said.
Smerkel stretched out his hand. He was a symbiosis of the power of life, and his body was not afraid of ordinary flames.
He planned to scare Ivar, tease him, and let him know how people get along with each other.
But Ivar stretched out his hand, and Smerkel's eyes widened.
His hands are made of vine tendrils intertwined together.
and.
As soon as Ivar put his hand on the flame, it was immediately ignited.
The two stared at each other, Smerkel opened his mouth wide, but Ivar didn't make any move.
After a while, Smerkel suddenly shouted.
"Oh no."
"It's on fire, it's burning."
Smerkel hurriedly kicked the bonfire away and looked for something to put out the fire.
At this time, he immediately noticed the kettle in his hand.
Then he poured the precious sweet wine on Ivar's hand and slapped it again, extinguishing the flames on Ivar's arm.
After a while of busy work, Smerkel's face was covered with black ash.
And Ivar had half of his arm singed, and he was holding it high as if he were holding a charcoal stick.
Smerkel couldn't help laughing at first: "Hahahaha!"
Then Ivar looked at Smerkel's face and then at his arms.
He seemed to be infected by some kind of emotion and couldn't help but laugh along with him.
The two people laughed loudly.
Laughing unbridled.
The smile was uncovered.
Laughing forward and backward.
Ivar suddenly understood something, something that originally had no meaning at all, something that seemed extremely stupid.
As long as you have someone to do it with you, it will suddenly become different.
Smerkel gathered the firewood again and lit it.
"The one just now doesn't count."
"Next."
"Let's tell a story!"
Ivar: "I know how to tell stories."
Ivar knows many stories, he knows many secrets that do not belong to the world.
Smerkel sat by the campfire without any pretense, leaned against the tree and played music. He thought of his father.
King Alpans, the legendary king of gods.
Compared to Smerkel himself, his father is full of courage and responsibility.
He ignores all difficulties and dares to challenge the peak.
While playing the harp, he sang his own story and poem about Alpans ascending the mountain of the origin of life.
"..."
"King Alpans~"
"He came to the kingdom of blood at the bottom of the deep sea. He is the king of gods and knows all the secrets of the world."
"He knows the height of the mountain where life originated, and he knows the mystery of the temple of the Mother of Life."
"..."
With the last toggle, Smerkle stopped.
Smerkel closed his eyes, still recalling the charm and melody.
He opened his eyes and looked at Ivar.
This time.
It's the other person's turn.
Listening to Smerkel's hymns, Ivar suddenly remembered another story, a story related to himself.
Ivar's story has no music and no accompanying poetry.
The story he told was simple and unpretentious, but the story was equally shocking.
This is a story between two brothers.
"A long time ago, an ancient king died."
"The descendants of several of his children established four kingdoms. The names of the kingdoms are derived from the names of the children of the first king. They are named after volcanoes, starlight, sea water, and desert. They possess the power of destruction given by God.
, possesses the power to destroy everything.”
"It represents inheritance and also contains the prayers of the first generation of kings for them."
"The origin of everything comes from the two children of the royal family of the Volcano Kingdom."
"One of them is called Weiss."
"And the other one."
"It's called Henir."
Smerkel was fascinated by what he heard. The endless conquests of the four kingdoms made him fearful. Just hearing about the power of destruction made people feel terrifying.
He heard that Weiss Hotson was killed by Henir, and heard that Henir killed the entire Hotson family of royal blood. He did not understand why Henir did this at all.
However, after listening to it, I gradually understood it again.
Only by ending the remnants of the previous era can we create a new future.
He heard that Henir destroyed all the royal blood families, and the saints with bright hearts banished the power of destruction and ushered in the new era.
Henir finally ascended the throne and became the king who unified the world.
Although the gods and trolls in the story are very vague, and the gods never officially appear, the omnipotent power, as well as the faith and dependence of mortals can be heard in the story.
"at last."
"The nightmare flower that swallowed up Weiss Horsen became Henir's final outcome."
"Wish Horsen and his half-brother Henir started massacres and fights for the royal power. After their deaths, they became entangled in nightmares together, and finally disappeared together."
"Your beginning determines your end."
"Life is like a maze. You stop and go, but in the end you find that where you start is the exit to the end."
Ivar finished telling his story, and Smerkel was so shocked that he was dumbfounded.
In this story, there is God who does not appear but is omnipresent, kings who have different images, and saints who are initially confused but are always on the road to redemption.
There are people who hold on to power and refuse to let go, there are people who are trapped in chaos and sacrificed by innocent people, there are people who risk everything for their goals, and there are people who sacrifice themselves for redemption.
All kinds of colors come together into an epic picture that makes people's hearts swell.
Everyone is in the painting, everyone is running around, and everyone is facing a choice.
Everyone has their own desires and pursuits, and things that they cannot let go of even if they die.
There is no truly perfect person. Only when you face a real moment of choice can you truly understand what you are truly chasing and wanting in your heart.
Smokel: "Is this true?"
This story is so real that Smerkel can hardly believe it is just a story.
"Or."
"Are there other countries and city-states in this world?"
Ivar told him: "Nowhere else but at your feet."
Ivar said calmly: "This used to be another kingdom. They were born here and died here."
The giant island of Ruhe is everything that the Sanye people once had, and everything they have is left here.
"This is true for all civilizations and ethnic groups. They were born here and they disappeared here."
"everything."
"They are all destined to be turned into the dust of history and the bubbles of dreams. Only the sea of stars in the Kingdom of God remembers them."
The two stood on the earth, looking up at the stars in the sky.
When you raise your head, you suddenly feel that the world and yourself are so small, and the sky and stars are rotating, and you are gradually lost in this rotating feeling.
Lost in the sea of stars, lost in a drop in the ocean.
Smerkel asked Ivar: "People after death."
"Will they all return to the sea of stars in the Kingdom of God?"
Iva replied: "All the troubles and resentments, everyone's birth to death, will eventually return to eternal peace, turn into the dream of life, and be forever engraved in the dreamy sea of stars."
Smerkel suddenly thought of the dead Lu Qi and his dead comrades.
There are also those who died in Moonlight City, those who died in the war.
They last.
Have they all returned to the sea of stars in the sky?
Have they all turned into existences like stars?
Smerkel stared at the sea of stars, and his mind had already flown to the kingdom of God.
"If possible, I would really like to go and see it."
"Go and take a look."
"What does the sea of stars in the dream look like? What does the boundless Milky Way look like filled with dreams of life?"