On the northern border, it is now late at night, and the fortress stands on the snow field that has turned white, like a towering mountain guarding the northern border.
The cold wind whistled high in the sky, and large flakes of snow fell from the night sky and landed on the white ground.
One of the guards braved the cold wind to quickly cross the corridor and came to the prison in the corner of the fortress.
In such a cold weather, in the middle of the night, the guards still braved the wind and snow to guard in front of the prison, dutifully blocking people at the gate.
The personal guard showed the guard the warrant, and the guard allowed him to enter the prison.
After a while, he came out of the gate of the prison, and another person followed behind him.
A man who spent more than half a month in prison.
After being informed by the personal guards outside the door, Soo quickly walked in.
As soon as he entered the door, he looked up and met those golden red eyes. Suojia was shocked, he lowered his head and knelt down.
"Your Highness..."
He opened his mouth and shouted, and the rest of the words were choked in his throat, and he didn't know what to say for a while.
Not long ago, it happened that he had arbitrarily concealed the information of Prince Gallan from the royal city. At that time, Heimos looked at him, his eyes were deep, and there was a faint surging in his eyes.
Then, Prince Heimos, who didn't say a word, threw him directly into the prison.
On the grounds of delays in the military situation.
Originally, Suojia, who was thrown into the prison, was still very unconvinced, thinking in his heart how to persuade His Highness the next time he saw Heimos, so that Heimos understood his good intentions.
However, not long after he was thrown into the prison, a shocking news came suddenly, like a thunderbolt, and the entire Northland fortress fell into a dead silence.
This terrible news also made Suojia sluggish on the spot.
His mind went blank, and he was completely stunned.
King Camos he... he...
The invincible god of war in the hearts of all Aaron Landis people - including Soga also subconsciously think so.
It never occurred to him that King Camos would actually—
actually...
This year, the winter in the north of Aaron Landis was exceptionally cold.
Kneeling down on the ground, Suojia thought silently.
Not long ago, he was still trying to incite His Highness Heimos to fight against King Camos, but when he suddenly received the news of King's death, his chest seemed to be empty in an instant.
It was empty and empty, only the cold wind from the north was blowing cold air, which was bone-chilling.
…
Perhaps the vast majority of Aaron Landis feel the same way he does today.
grief.
Hesitant.
disturbed.
And confused...
The earth of Aaron Landis fell.
The solid ground beneath their feet collapsed.
"Suojia, I want to return to the royal city, you stay here, and my army is handed over to you."
Standing in front of Soga, Heimos looked down at the priest of the night god kneeling at his feet.
He said, "Assist the cavalry coach Heya and defend the northern border."
Suojia was shocked and raised his head suddenly.
"Your Highness! No way!"
The golden red eyes seemed to be dyed by the cold wind of winter, and they became colder and colder.
Heimos stared at Soga and said, "The army of the Gasdadians has marched towards the royal city."
His voice was not loud, very calm.
But it was that calm, so that Suojia instantly understood that no one could change Heimos's decision.
Because the wounded Prince Gallan was in the royal city at the moment.
"His Royal Highness, I can understand your mood. The person I love is also in the royal city at the moment."
Taking a deep breath, Suojia said.
At this moment, his eyes that had been a little confused these days became clear again.
The calmness belonging to the night returned to the priest of the night god once again.
"I feel your concern for Prince Gallan."
He calmly persuaded Heimos.
"But, Your Highness, for the sake of Aaron Landis, please..."
Before Suojia's words were finished, Heimos suddenly let out a low laugh, interrupting his words.
…
…
The night passed and it was dawn, but the light was still on in the commander's room in the Northland fortress.
Hea stayed up all night again.
At this moment, this handsome horseman with a strong and sturdy body has dark blue eyes under his eyes. In the past, his forehead, which was always neatly combed, was scattered in front of his eyes.
The man who stayed up for another night was sitting at the table with his head lowered and one hand on his forehead.
Only when he was alone in the room did Heya dare to show a bit of exhaustion.
The news of King Kamos's death in battle was nothing short of earth-shattering for him and the soldiers in the North.
Just when everyone was still immersed in grief and anger, the Geshu army, who had been repelled by them not long ago, suddenly made a comeback.
Although the Northland Legion with grief and indignation succeeded in repelling the enemy once again, the Geshu army, who had obviously heard the news of the death of King Kamos, was stationed on the border.
Clearly, the Geshus were waiting for an opportunity.
Misfortunes do not come singly.
The day before yesterday, news came again that the Gasdadians used the captured city of Judas as their stronghold, and an army of hundreds of thousands began to march towards the royal city.
In the royal city, only half of the Third Army was guarding it.
The king's city is in jeopardy.
The crown prince, who was seriously injured and not healed in the royal city, was in danger.
Heya gritted his teeth, his fists on the table were clenched tightly, and his nails pierced deeply into his palms.
However, the Northern Army could not move.
They could not go south to rescue the royal city.
Geshu's army was just across the frontier, eyeing Aaron Landis.
As soon as they move, the northern border will probably fall immediately.
The Gaishu army will attack the northern border and go south all the way.
In this way, Aaron Landis is really finished.
Not only the northern border, Heya can think of it without guessing, the eastern border is probably the same, and the country will never miss this great opportunity.
The Fourth Army of the Eastern Territory must also be unable to move, unable to rescue the royal city.
The dim light shone on Heya's side face, and he closed his eyes in pain and let out a long sigh of relief after he made the difficult decision of 'not to rescue the royal city'.
At this moment, there was a sudden sound of rapid footsteps outside the door.
In the next second, the door of the room was pushed open heavily without notification, and the anxious shouts of the incoming person sounded in the room.
"Your Excellency! His Highness Heimos is going to break out of the city gate!"
Hea stood up abruptly.
…
When Heya rushed to the city gate, he saw Prince Heimos who was confronting the defenders of the fortress gate, and the guards behind him.
At dawn, Heimos stood on horseback in front of the city gate, and white snowflakes fell on his head, dyeing the jet-black hair a little white.
He stood quietly, his expression was indifferent, and he didn't act too violently. It didn't look like he wanted to break out of the city gate, but more like he was waiting for Heya's arrival.
Layer after layer of soldiers stopped at the city gate, watching him nervously.
Everyone in the Northland knew the reputation of this 'Black Knight' and knew in their hearts that no one could stop him here.
But they must obey the orders of their superiors, and even if they die, they cannot let Heimos out of the city.
Heya rushed over on horseback, and stopped sideways in front of Heimos' horse.
"His Royal Highness Heimos!"
he snapped.
"What do you want to do!"
Facing Heya, who looked stern, Heimos looked extremely calm.
"Return to the royal city."
He said, an understatement.
Heya was choked up by the light and cloudy words. He was about to get angry, but looking at Heimos's eyes looking at him lightly, the anger in his heart was emptied in an instant for some reason. .
He smiled wryly.
"Your Highness, you should understand the current situation."
Heya's tone also became calm.
He looked at Heimos and said, "King Camos died in battle, the army of Gasdad has attacked the royal city, the Prince of Garland is sick in bed, unable to support the overall situation, and we are even more powerless to rescue the royal city. "
"Once..."
Once the city falls.
Hea paused for a while, but in the end he couldn't say the words.
"Prince Heimos, if things turn out like that, you are the only one who can support Aaron Landis, so you must stay here."
He said, "For the future of Aaron Landis..."
Wang Cheng didn't know if he could hold on.
And once the royal city falls, the crown prince in the city will surely die.
If so, Prince Heimos is the only hope.
He could not allow the last heir to the throne of Aaron Landis to return to that dangerous place in the royal city.
As if he didn't hear Heya's hard persuasion at all, Heimos spoke lightly again.
"Open the gate."
He said, and the horse took two steps forward again.
Heya stopped in front of Heimos on horseback, and the group of soldiers behind him also stopped in front of the city gate.
He looked at Heimos.
"Unless you step over my body."
He said unequivocally.
"Unless you kill all the Aaron Landis soldiers behind me, otherwise, Your Highness, we will not let you step out of the city gate!"
Heimos raised his eyes and looked at Heya with golden red eyes.
He raised his hand, showed the scroll he had been holding in his hand, and threw the paper away in the air.
On the underside of the parchment, the familiar fiery red coat of arms appeared in front of Hea's eyes.
"The decree written by King Camos himself, he ordered me to return to the royal city immediately."
As Heimos said that, he threw the scroll to Hea.
Heya caught it, looking at the familiar handwriting on the parchment, his eyes widened suddenly.
This is the handwritten letter written by King Camos more than half a month ago...that is, in the days before he passed away.
Holding the parchment scroll, Heya didn't know what to do for a while.
Wang Ling is absolute.
However, the current situation...
Just when Heya hesitated, a voice suddenly came from the opposite side.
"Lord Heya, do you mean that because King Kamos has passed away, you are going to disobey his orders?"
One sentence made Hea furious.
"How dare you so slander my loyalty to the king!"
He glared angrily at the blue-clothed priest who said the words just now behind Heimos.
"Then, please express your loyalty, obey the will of King Camos, and let His Highness Heimos return to the royal city."
"… "
During this period of time, Heya was a little exhausted from the disasters that followed, and he had no time to rest for a long time in the past few days. When he saw the hand letter just now, he was confused for a while, and then Suojia caught the talk.
He was sullen and did not speak.
Seeing Heya standing there on horseback, watching the scroll in his hand motionless.
Suojia said again: "Your Excellency Heya, please follow the will of King Camos."
decree.
Heya felt a pain in his heart.
Even if the king has passed away, he cannot go against the king's will.
He lowered his eyes, backed his horse to the side, made way for the road, and raised his hand to signal to the soldiers on the city wall to open the city gate.
The heavy winch turned slowly, raising the gate of the North Fortress. A group of cavalry rushed out of the gate, and led by the black armored knight, galloped away on the white snow field.
Reflecting the early morning sun, their figures gradually disappeared on the horizon, and only a series of horseshoe prints on the snowy land indicated their departure.
Then, those horseshoe prints were quickly buried by falling snow.
Standing on the high city wall, Suojia looked at the direction that Heimos was leaving.
He remembered the conversation between them last night again.
…
"Your Highness, I feel the same way about your anxiety, but for the future of Aaron Landis..."
A low laugh interrupted him.
"Feel the same?"
Suddenly, Suojia felt a terrifying shudder.
That terrifying feeling made his neck numb for a while, making it hard to breathe.
It was unclear whether it was the gaze of the person above, or the trembling caused by that person's inexplicable voice.
"If he's not here..."
The extremely calm voice that made him chill from the bottom of his heart came from above.
"Then, everything in this world is meaningless."
He heard Prince Heimos say.
"…including Aaron Landis."
…
Suojia chose to help his master leave the Northland and head for the imperial city that was about to fall into danger.
Because he was afraid.
If Prince Garlan really disappears from this world...
He didn't dare to think about what His Highness Heimos would become and what terrible things he would do.
His Highness Heimos is powerful.
Unparalleled power.
Everyone thinks so.
But Suojia suddenly realized at this moment that maybe... Prince Heimos is actually more vulnerable than anyone else.
Because as long as one person, that one person, can completely collapse it.
…
…
Judas City.
Gasdad's army had been gone for several days, and the whole city became quieter and quieter.
And perhaps because of the departure of the Gasdad army, the Gasdadians who stayed in the city to guard the stronghold became more and more harsh to the Aaronlandis.
They ruled by repression and controlled the city with extreme rigor, keeping the people of Aaron Landis obediently obeying their commands.
As long as they show a little dissatisfaction with the Gasdadians, or disobey the orders of the Gasdadians, they will be arrested immediately, and even executed on the spot.
The soldiers of Gasdad can do whatever they want in the city, they can break into anyone's house arbitrarily, and plunder what they want, and if the city people dare to resist, they will be beaten or killed directly.
They controlled the city of Judas with this terrifying and brutal way of domination.
These days, the residents of the city are all tense whether they are talking or walking, and they dare not take a breath.
They lived in fear and trembling under the brutal rule of the Gasdadians.
They don't even sleep well every night, and they worry about Gasdad soldiers breaking into their homes, humiliating their wives and daughters, robbing their belongings, and even taking their own lives.
Precarious.
These hard and humiliating days made the discontent of the Aaron Landeans like a greased fire, intensifying.
However, no matter how much they hated the Gasthards, they had no ability to resist and could only continue to endure the bullying of the other party.
On this day, the day passed in a hurry, and now it was late at night.
The road is calm and quiet, and there are very few people to be seen.
Suddenly, there was a loud noise from the street.
On the way home, a young girl wearing an old cloth scarf and holding a bamboo basket in her hand was entangled by several passing Gastard soldiers.
She panicked and begged the soldiers to let them go home.
Of course, her pleas had no effect.
As soon as she gritted her teeth, she took advantage of the other party's defense and kicked the soldier who was holding her hand. The basket in her hand fell to the ground, and the dry biscuits were scattered all over the floor.
In the dark, she ran forward desperately.
The sound of chasing footsteps and the screams of soldiers coming from behind were like the footsteps of a devil, approaching her little by little.
The miserable fate of her neighbors and friends at the hands of these devil-like soldiers emerged in her mind. She gritted her teeth and ran forward desperately.
She held back the tears that were about to flow.
There's no use crying now, and if she's caught up, she'll have no choice but to die—
Seeing that the soldier who was catching up reached out and grabbed the girl's hair, suddenly a stone was kicked over in the dark, and it blocked the soldier's feet without a trace.
The soldier at the front stumbled and fell to the ground with a thud, blocking the two companions behind him.
The girl who didn't know she had escaped turned a corner in front, but rushed in, only to find that she ran into a dead end.
She looked at the wall in front of her with a pale face. The footsteps of those people were getting closer and closer, making her face look desperate.
Suddenly, a hand came down from the roof of the neighboring house.
"catch me."
Like someone about to drown suddenly seeing a driftwood, the girl grabbed that hand desperately.
The next second, she was dragged up to the roof by that hand.
In the dark night, she couldn't see who rescued her, and she hurriedly fled here with the person in panic.
The man led her down from the other side of the roof, turned several corners, and came to a remote and safe place.
She was still in a state of shock, but now that she was safe, the fear that she had been suppressing just now suddenly flooded into her heart.
She squatted on the ground, buried her head in her skirt, and held her arms trembling.
The fear of what happened just now, and the fearful life she had been living ever since the Gasdadians occupied the city of Judas, made this young girl finally unable to hold back at this moment, sobbing in her voice. up.
After crying for a few minutes, she finally remembered something.
"Thank... Thank you for saving me."
She wiped her tears and looked up to thank the person in front of her.
As soon as she looked up, the moonlit face made her stay for a moment.
Such a beautiful boy.
She had never seen such a beautiful person.
"That, that... I really feel very grateful, thank you... "
In front of such a good-looking young man, she was a little embarrassed when she remembered how dusty and dirty she was at the moment, blushed and lowered her head and stammered her thanks.
The boy looked at her and smiled at her.
"During this period of time, it is best not to go out alone so late at night, it is not safe."
he said, then leaned over and reached out to her, as if trying to pull her off the ground.
Looking at the slender and fair-fingered hand in front of her, and her rough hand full of mud, the girl shook her head in panic.
She didn't dare to grab the beautiful hand in front of her, she lowered her head, and she didn't dare to look at the young man, she spoke in a panic.
"I'm sorry for causing you trouble... Actually, I don't want to go home so late, but I can't... "
Her mind went blank at this moment, and under the gaze of this beautiful young man, she didn't even know what she was talking about.
Maybe it's because those amber eyes are so reassuring that they let down all their defenses without realizing it.
Perhaps it was because the young man's smile felt too warm, filling his chest, as if it was about to overflow.
"I'm terrified of those Gasthards too..."
she stammered.
"But I can't go to work... Dad is sick... I have to go out to make money... "
"Obviously it used to be like this... Obviously we used to have a good time, before those Gasdadians came... Even if Dad was sick, we had a good time, but... "
A few words were said out of place and incoherent.
The corners of her eyes were sore that she couldn't control it any longer, and big tears fell suddenly.
She had endured it for a long, long time.
Overnight, the world was turned upside down, and her world suddenly changed.
"Uh...uh...I don't want this kind of life, if I could go back to the past...to the time when I didn't have to be afraid..."
Her hands on the ground were clenched tightly, and her face was stained with tears that fell.
She whimpered twice, and when she suddenly realized that there was someone in front of her, she quickly raised her hand and wiped away the tears that kept falling.
"I'm sorry, I'm really sorry, I suddenly said these nonsense words to you, I didn't mean it, I just..."
The boy who had been standing silently in front of her leaned over.
He bent his knees and squatted in front of the girl.
He stretched out his hands and gently held the hand that the girl was trying to wipe away her tears.
Rough, dirt-stained hands, which he took carelessly.
"No need to apologize, you did nothing wrong."
he said softly,
"It's the people who put you in this situation who should apologize."
Holding hands, the girl stared blankly at the boy in front of her.
Under the moonlight, those eyes that were as clear as amber reflected her shadow.
That gaze seemed to contain her whole body in the warm golden sunlight.
"You did a great job and were strong."
She couldn't tell why, but the boy's sweet voice seemed to have a kind of magic that penetrated the heart, soothing her heart.
"Soon, everything will go back to the way it was, I promise you."
It's obviously impossible, but what she said from the boy's mouth somehow made her feel like she wanted to trust.
She had a strange feeling.
The boy looked at her as if he was guarding her.
That gave her, who had been in a state of panic these days, a feeling of peace and tranquility at this moment.
"Now, go back first, back to the father who is waiting for you, okay?"
"Um… "
…
At this moment, the blond knight hiding on the side watched the scene not far away.
Looking at Garlan's shallow smile at the girl, his heart that had been quite uneasy these days finally relaxed at this moment.
"fine… "
He looked at the prince.
Fortunately, the prince is still the same as before.
"…No change."
"Are you worried about the prince?"
A sturdy man appeared beside him.
"Vata, did you solve it on your side?"
"Well, those guys left when they couldn't find anyone."
Vata said.
Not long ago, he just kicked the stone secretly and tripped the soldier.
More than half a month ago, Judas City fell into a melee at night, and Vata, who was extremely sensitive to danger, was one of the few people who escaped Judas City.
After evading the pursuers, after a few days, he discovered the code of Kaihos, and followed the code to find Prince Gallan and Kaihos who were hiding in the deep forest.
Then, he sneaked into the city of Judas according to the prince's order, and mixed into the slaves in the city. He had old slave tattoos on his body, which made people not doubt his slave status at all.
Tonight, he came out to meet the prince secretly in the alley, mainly to report the current situation.
But unexpectedly, he accidentally bumped into the Aaron Landis girl who was being chased by the soldiers of Gastade.
"Your Majesty Kejos, I don't think you need to worry about the prince."
"...His Royal Highness has experienced a very cruel thing. He witnessed the death of King Camos with his own eyes. He must be very distressed in his heart. I am worried..."
"You are worried that the prince will be provoked by that incident and will change his temperament, isn't it?"
"… "
Cayhoes didn't speak, but silence was acquiescence.
In just half a month, the prince grew up rapidly.
After that day, he didn't shed a single tear, and he rarely showed pain.
These days, he has been planning everything calmly and calmly.
Kaihos is very worried, because the death of King Camos will make the prince's temperament indifferent and paranoid.
But at this moment, the knight finally breathed a sigh of relief.
The prince has not changed.
Although his eyes began to sharpen.
But his gentleness and brilliance are the same as ever.
"When I was a slave, I saw a lot of people whose temperaments changed drastically because they suddenly became slaves."
Vata said,
"They are too fragile. The sudden change in the surrounding environment makes them unbearable, and they instinctively want to escape, so their temperament changes greatly."
He suddenly changed the subject.
"Your Excellency Kaihos, more than ten years ago, King Camos witnessed the death of the previous king by poisoning. This is extremely cruel to him. So, has his temperament changed greatly because of this?"
Kaijos did not speak, turning to look at Vatar.
"I'm just a reckless slave who came from a slave. I don't understand many things. But I know that a real strong man will not change himself because of anything."
"Because of their strength they can take on everything."
Vata said,
"King Camos is so, and now, so is the prince."
Looking up, Vatar looked at Garlan not far away.
"Lord Kaihos, the prince doesn't need your worries, nor anyone else's."
"He is very strong, very strong... And this kind of power is stronger than you and me, more than anyone."
"King Camos chose the prince."
Vata said,
"Because Prince Gallan is the only person in this world who is strong enough to inherit the will of the Lion King."