On this day, as the person who temporarily sat in the king's city on behalf of King Camos, Heimos listened absently to the group of senior ministers in the side hall for a day.
At this moment, he is on his way back to the palace.
The setting sun on the horizon was like fire, igniting the billowing clouds of fire in the sky.
Looking at the crimson clouds like flames, Heimos only felt his chest tighten for no reason, and the dream that was dyed red by the flames that night suddenly appeared in his mind.
Also, Garland surrounded by flames in a dream...
He shook his head vigorously to shake the ominous omen out of his mind.
At this moment, a long cry suddenly came from the sky.
It was a chirping sound that Heimos was very familiar with.
Heimos raised his head sharply.
A black shadow slammed down on him in the air, and he reached out and caught it.
The black eagle with messy feathers lay in his arms, motionless and exhausted, and even the dark feathers became messy and lost their luster.
Braving the wind and rain, it rushed back day and night without eating or drinking, and after it got here, it couldn't bear it any longer and fell down.
At this moment, its breath is a little weaker.
Annu
How could Anu, who should be following Garlan in Tozes City, suddenly fly back
He handed Anu to the attendants beside him and asked them to take them to the veterinarian immediately. He quickly opened the copper pipe that Anu brought back.
The next moment, Heimos' pupils contracted violently.
A thin piece of cloth, but as heavy as a thousand catties.
Heimos's hand clenched tightly against the cloth and was even shaken by the terrifying weight.
The dark sky in my dream...
Burning crimson flames...
The figure of the boy turned to ashes in the fire...
…
The vision in the dream kept shaking in his mind, making his heart beat wildly at this moment.
Heimos could even hear his own rapid heartbeat.
He took a deep breath and suppressed the sound of his heartbeat that was almost driving him crazy.
He gritted his teeth and gave orders to his attendants.
"Send it out immediately, and let all the ministers and all the people from the military affairs department rush to the palace for me within half an hour!"
Before long, dozens of heralds rushed out of the palace gates.
They scattered and sped away in every direction.
…
…
In the wooden farm on the side of Tozes City, after the slaves were full, they finally found that a group of people came here at some point.
All the slaves have already crowded here because the wooden cart that distributes food is here. When they raised their heads, they saw a young man surrounded by the crowd on the high platform.
The sky was not yet completely dark, and the afterglow of the setting sun came from the horizon.
The boy had blonde hair as bright as the sun.
Some slaves knew Seth, and the captain, Lord Seth, respectfully bowed his head and followed behind the boy. Although they didn't know who the boy was, they started to feel anxious.
The slaves whispered to each other, stared at the blond boy on the high platform, and asked each other who it was. The scene was messy for a while, and there were buzzing voices everywhere.
The city guards who maintained order all around frowned and scolded sharply.
"A bunch of rude guys! Immediately kneel down and salute!"
They rebuked the slaves who whispered and aimed at the juvenile.
"Kneel down, bow your head and—"
"Do you know who you are offending?"
"This is the prince of Aaron Landis!"
prince? !
All of the slaves panicked and hurriedly leaned over. Most of them were so frightened that their entire upper body almost fell to their knees on the ground.
They fell to the ground, their hands pressed to the ground, their foreheads pressed against the ground, and their bodies were tensed by the excessive fright.
The most noble adults these slaves have ever seen in their lives are probably only the consuls of Tozes.
In their opinion, the consul was already unattainable, and at this moment, a prince who was even more unattainable than the consul suddenly appeared in front of them.
Prince of Aaron Landis.
It was the descendant of the legendary gods of Aaron Landis.
There are rumors that he came to the world as the favored son of the sun god Shamash.
If it offends him, it offends the gods, it offends Shamash, and the dead soul will go to hell to be tortured—
Thinking of this, some timid slaves even shivered.
Inexplicably, they felt that there was an invisible and terrifying force in the air oppressing them.
Everyone fell on the ground, holding their breath, not daring to take a breath.
The whole place was eerily silent for a while.
Garlan stood on the high platform, and his subordinates such as Seth and Kaihos had bowed their heads and retreated a few steps behind him.
He looked down at the black slaves who were lying on the ground, and seeing how stiff and even people were shaking, he couldn't help raising his hand and scratching his head.
Am I so scary
He was a little puzzled.
He thought about it and asked, "Are you full?"
On the ground where needles could be heard, Garlan's voice was very clear.
But after he finished asking, the entire venue became even more silent.
The slaves who were kneeling with their heads bowed were a little stunned for a while.
Not only them, Seth and the city guards who were standing awe-inspiringly waiting for the prince's words were also stunned.
Only the blond knight turned his head, did not hold back a puff, and then quickly raised his hand to cover his mouth, pretending to cough slightly.
Everyone suspected that they were hallucinating.
However, the boy who made them think he had a strange hallucination saw no answer and repeated his question again.
"Are you full?"
This time, he even raised his voice.
So, the sentence "Are you full?" reverberated and reverberated in the sky above the entire Kiba.
Everyone: "..."
The slaves raised their heads slightly, looked at each other, and looked at each other, for a while they didn't know how to answer, and they didn't dare to answer.
After a long time, a thin young man who was still very young and looked underage secretly raised his head, glanced at Garlan on the stage, remembered the bowl of fragrant rice porridge just now, he swallowed, and finally, hunger conquered fear, He was heartbroken and answered Garlan's words.
"His Royal Highness, no..." He gritted his teeth and said, "I'm not full!"
Half the size is the best time to eat, a bowl of rice porridge and a cake can only provide a base for the stomach.
Now that he has opened his mouth, he will give up.
"That... the great, noble, kind prince..."
He clumsily patted Garlan's ass, and carefully looked at Garlan's face.
"Can you give us some more food? We'll be grateful to you."
Looking at the emaciated and nervous look of the thin young slave looking at him, Garlan smiled.
"Okay," he said. "When I'm done talking, I'll give you something to eat until you're full."
The young slave stayed for a moment.
The prince smiled very nicely.
he thought to himself.
He was still uneasy in his heart, but looking at that smile, his mood was inexplicably calmed down.
Someone who can smile so beautifully must be a good person.
He thought so.
Seeing that Garlan and the young slave finished talking with a smile, it wasn't scary, plus they promised to give them more food, the other slaves were overjoyed, and all of them suddenly became less nervous.
Listening to the prince's tone, there is something to say to them.
Many slaves thought about it.
Slaves with humble status like them, even commoners look down on them, what would the noble prince have to say to them
"Do you want to be free from slavery?"
Garlan's next sentence made many of the slaves who had just relaxed their hearts tighten again, their heads lowered, and they pressed against the ground tightly.
"I know if some of you are saying that while the pirates are attacking the city and the army has no time to take care of this side, you can resist together and run away, so that you are no longer low-status slaves."
The prince's words made all the slaves tremble even more, and their breathing became quicker.
"But, you can't escape." Garlan said, "Not only you, but also me, and other people in Tozes City, all of them can't escape."
"Tozes City has been surrounded by pirates. Do you think that if the pirates come in, they will let you go?"
Won't.
All slaves knew in their hearts the cruelty of those pirates.
"When Tozes fell, no one, no matter who they were, could escape the fate of being killed."
"This is a crisis, but at the same time, it is also an opportunity for you as slaves."
The boy on the high platform said, golden eyes looking down at everyone.
"Now, there are not enough troops to defend the city, and we need manpower."
A dry slave's heart is tight.
Is this what it means to make them go to battle and fight pirates desperately
Fears of battle and death began to grow within them.
"I know that to let you fight against pirates on the battlefield is to sacrifice your life, and you will not be willing."
Garland said,
"So I don't force you. Those who don't want to go to the battlefield can don't go."
The nervous slaves breathed a sigh of relief.
"But as the price of the man willing to give his life to protect this city - any slave, no matter what his past is, as long as he has not violated the laws of Aaron Landis."
The boy took a deep breath and raised his voice.
"Any slave, as long as he kills a pirate, I will abolish his status as a slave and give him a free man."
The moment Garlan's words fell, Kiba fell silent.
It was as if time stood still at this moment.
Then, with a bang, like a volcano erupting violently, the entire Kiba blew up.
Once you become a slave, you will be a slave all your life.
Not only himself, but also his children, grandchildren, and descendants are all slaves to mermaids.
They will always be the lowest and the most humble in this country, like a mustard-like existence.
Perhaps there will be a few lucky slaves with outstanding natural force who are favored by their masters and abolished as slaves. But such slaves are few and far between, and only a few have appeared in thousands of years.
Born slaves because they were born sinful.
Being abolished as a slave is something that slaves dare not even dream of.
In this group of slaves, there are also a few calm and knowledgeable people.
At first, when the other slaves were up and down with Garlan's words, they all just knelt on the ground with their heads down, motionless, and their faces didn't change much.
Most of these people are quite prestigious among the slaves and have the power to summon.
And at this moment, their faces couldn't help showing shocked expressions, they raised their heads suddenly, and looked at the prince above with disbelief.
Their eyes were unbelievable, but there was a hint of deep longing in them.
Perhaps there are also slaves who have been enslaved to the point of numbness and even unwilling to regain their freedom, but for these self-aware people, as long as there is a little possibility, they will hold on like a life-saving straw. .
They yearn to get rid of this humble identity.
Garland continued to speak.
"If you can kill more pirates, you can exchange this credit for your relatives and friends to become free people, and you can exchange it for food and money. As long as you have enough battle credits, you can even exchange it for Tozes's house and land."
The humming in Kiba grew louder this time.
Among the slaves whispering, there was a strong, dark-skinned, aged slave who looked up at the prince above.
His appearance looked very honest and honest.
Before that, no matter what Gallan said, he just lowered his eyes, kept silent, his eyes were quiet, like a pool of stagnant water, and there was no clue.
But now, he looked at Garlan with an unprecedented look in his eyes.
The muscles all over his body were tense, his fists were clenched tightly, and the veins on the back of his hands burst out.
"His Royal Highness Prince!"
He suddenly shouted loudly.
His voice was unusually loud and deafening.
"As long as you kill the pirates, you can abolish the status of slaves, do you mean what you say!"
The words of this prime-aged slave shocked the surrounding city guards and scolded them angrily.
"You arrogant guy!"
"How dare you question His Royal Highness—"
"Damn things!"
There was even a city guard who turned his head angrily and said directly to Garland.
"Your Highness, please allow me to punish this slave who dared to offend you!"
The slave did not speak, and stared straight at Garlan with a pair of eyes.
At this moment, he seemed to have forgotten where he was, and there was only Garlan in his eyes.
This person has always been a powerful and appealing person among slaves. His loud shout made the buzzing Kiba suddenly quiet.
At this moment, tens of thousands of pairs of eyes all turned to the high platform in front of them.
Quietly, anxiously, and with unquenchable hope, they waited for the prince's answer.
On this silent land, Garlan stretched out his hand.
He stretched his right hand out in front of him.
"At this moment, what I say will be witnessed by Shamash under the watchful eye."
At the moment when the boy spoke, it seemed that Shamash, the sun god, heard his voice.
The fiery red afterglow of the sunset fell on him, as if a layer of golden red flames shrouded him.
Looking down at the slaves kneeling below, Garlan's right hand stretched out to the front and slowly clenched into a fist under the gaze of everyone, reflecting the afterglow of the setting sun.
That was the act of Aaron Landis making an oath to Shamash, the god of oaths.
"Any slave who has not violated the laws of Aaron Landis, as long as he has made military exploits in the defense of the city, I will pardon his slave status."
He says,
"In the name of Prince Aaron Landis, I hereby make this covenant with you—"
The boy's loud voice echoed over the empty Kiba.
The aged slave took a deep breath.
Then, he leaned over again.
Like all the slaves around him who had already bowed their heads, he pressed his hands to the ground, lowered his head deeply, and pressed his forehead to the ground.
This time, from the heart, he bent down to the young prince.
He will remember this moment for the rest of his life.
…
…
[The Oath of Tozes].
The event is so called in history.
It was the first mass emancipation of Aaron Landis.
It is also the starting point for slavery to be shaken.
According to historical records, in the history of Aaron Landis, during the reign of the young king known as the 'Wise King', countless slaves of Aaron Landis were freed.
Although he failed to completely abolish slavery, his actions shook the cornerstone of slavery, which was the mainstream at that time, and accelerated the demise of slavery.
This is one of the reasons why he was called 'Sage King' by later generations.
…
And, this is also the beginning of the general who devoted his life to following King Xianming faithfully and made illustrious military exploits, and was known as the 'slave general' because of his slave background.