A Tale of Strategies For the Throne

Chapter 245

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Garland is a little silly.

He stared blankly at Heimos, who lowered his head and covered the lower half of his face with one hand, and looked at the red ears that could not be covered by the other's hand, with a very unreal feeling.

… and many more.

Did he do nothing

Isn't it just taking the initiative to kiss Heimos

Even he himself felt that it was more like a bump, not a kiss at all...

It was like a huge black wolf that was cold and terrifying. It was fierce in the first second, as if it was about to choose someone to devour it. After being kissed, it dropped its ears and bowed its tail obediently, waving its tail like a puppy. whine.

A second ago was the big black wolf who was going to eat people.

In the next second, he became a humming little puppy.

The contrast between these two utterly extremes is truly jaw-dropping.

Probably knowing that he was embarrassed like this, Heimos suddenly got up.

"… I will go to bed."

After speaking vaguely, he hurriedly turned around, walked to the cot next to him, and lay down on his side.

He lay down so quickly that the cot made an overwhelmed creak.

As for the direction in which he turned sideways, of course, his back was facing Garlan.

However, even if he turned his back, the reddish tips of his ears from the jet-black hair were still exposed.

Looking at the tip of the red ear, Garlan couldn't help but want to laugh, but he couldn't help but laugh out loud.

He also lay down.

Probably because the embarrassed person became Heimos, his mood was relieved.

Looking at Heimos, who was motionless with his back to him, rather than falling asleep, but froze, Garlan grinned and closed his eyes.

This time, he quickly sank into a dream.

In the sky, the crescent moon hangs high, casting clear light on the earth.

The fine moonlight fell on the tall man standing outside the tent, illuminating the dark blond hair.

He had been hiding his breath and stood quietly outside the tent, paying attention to the knights inside listening to the sound coming from inside.

A steady breathing, a slightly chaotic breathing.

He shook his head, the expression on his face was both angry and funny, quite complicated.

He turned away.

Just after taking two steps, he turned back with a sullen face, and deliberately released his breath in a certain direction.

Use this to warn someone not to act rashly.

Then, he left with satisfaction and went to perform his duty of vigil.

Some people have a good night's sleep, some have a sleepless night.

After Garlan had a good night's sleep, when he woke up in the morning, he found that the person sleeping in his tent had been replaced by his guardian knight at some point.

"Didn't you stay vigil last night?"

"Your Majesty Heimos had insomnia, so he went out to find me in the middle of the night and exchanged with me."

Kaihos, who had already gotten up and tidied up his clothes, responded calmly to Garlan's question.

Uh…

That guy Heimos is really... Really...

Garland didn't know what to say.

He quickly changed into a light cyan outfit, and his long golden hair was casually bundled behind him.

The belt was snapped by a guy yesterday, so he had to put on a new white belt, and Kaijos helped him buckle the thin moon-white cloak over his shoulders.

After taking care of everything, as soon as Garlan lifted the curtain and walked out of the tent, his eyes met Heimos, who happened to be walking towards him.

If it were yesterday, Garlan would definitely turn his head to avoid it.

But at this moment, it was replaced by Heimos, who immediately turned his head to avoid the gazes of the two after being stunned for a moment.

He walked quickly to the side and talked to a knight, as if he was instructing the other party to do something, but the behavior was deliberate.

Kaihos, who was watching from the sidelines, snorted in his heart and looked away.

On the other hand, Garlan was stunned for a while, and looked at the back of Heimos who was leaving sideways, and the corners of his lips couldn't stop rising.

For some reason, he suddenly found it interesting to bully Heimos, and felt a little unable to stop.

no.

To be restrained.

Although the big black wolf is very good in front of him, it is still very dangerous to tease him too much.

Time passed in the rush of Garlan and his party.

A few days later, led by the young knight of Canal, they came to a secluded place.

It was a valley, deep in the mountains, right at the junction of Canal and Aaron Landis.

The rolling hills and the deep forests separate the two countries. There are few people here, and there are no towns nearby.

If someone hadn't led the way, almost no one would come to such a place.

In order not to frighten the snakes, after the knight of Kanal said that there was still more than half a day's ride away from the stronghold of the religion of all things, Garlan told everyone to stop moving and found a hidden place to camp.

Although the young knight was desperate to save his prince, he knew that haste is not enough, so he could only endure his anxiety and waited eagerly for Gallan's order.

To be honest, King Garlan actually came to rescue their prince himself, which surprised the young knight and was grateful for it.

At noon, Cayhors, who received the summons, walked into Garland's tent.

He said: "A thousand cavalry have been transferred from our nearest garrison and will arrive around tomorrow evening."

When he came in, Heimos was standing at a table with a rudimentary map.

The map was hand-painted by Heimos.

The day before yesterday, Heimos led a few knights to infiltrate near the stronghold of the religion of all things in the deep mountain valley.

It took him a day to investigate that stronghold.

After returning, he directly hand-painted a simple map for Garland and Kaihos to see. According to Heimos' estimation, there are about 600 followers of the religion in the stronghold.

As for how many of them are combat capable, it is difficult to determine.

It stands to reason that with the more than 100 elite knights brought by Garlan, plus two knights with the highest level of force in the continent, there is no problem in sweeping the base of the cult of all things with only more than 600 people.

However, considering that the religion of all things has special drugs that can stimulate the potential of human beings, people are infinitely powerful and have no pain, and they are not afraid of death. The Stadd cavalry were defeated by these monstrous fanatics.

Not wanting these elite knights under his command to suffer unnecessary losses, Garlan chose to wait for a few days, and transferred a thousand cavalry from the nearest garrison, intending to solve the opponent directly with the overturning trend.

The strategy is roughly set.

After all, it was just a stronghold of the religion of all things. It was similar to the thief cottage entrenched in the deep mountains. Any one of Heimos and Kaihos could bring the cavalry to crush it directly.

There is just one more trouble to save people.

The final decision was that Gallan and Heimos killed them head-on, attracting the believers of the religion of all things to their place.

And Kaihos is leading a small team of knights, under the leadership of Canal knights, sneaked into the prison from the side when the stronghold was in chaos, and rescued the Prince of West Asia.

After discussing the offensive strategy for tomorrow night, Heimos looked towards Garlan.

"Although it is to save the prince of Kanal, this is just a stronghold of the religion of all things. Why do you have to come here?"

Garland smiled.

"I've been in the palace for more than a year, and it's not easy to find such an opportunity to take a breath. Of course, I can't let it go."

He shrugged and said,

"Always stay on the throne and don't move, hands and feet are about to be abolished."

Heimos took a deep look at the brightly-smiling boy without saying anything, and returned his gaze to the hand-drawn map on the table.

never mind.

No matter what Garlan was thinking, with himself by his side, there was nothing to worry about.

Garlan turned his head and looked over the curtain raised at the entrance of the tent to the sky in the distance.

There was a dazed look in his eyes.

... In fact, he doesn't know why he came...

He just had a feeling.

This time, he has to come.

Maybe it was just an illusion, and he couldn't explain it himself...

The night he returned to the palace from the training camp, he had a strange dream.

In the dream, a dark valley forest...

Also, the bright red Rune of the Omniscient that flashed by in the dream...

The blood-red moonlight shrouded the valley, rendering the entire world blood-colored...

what... waiting for him here...

Time flies, day and night rush by.

It was late at night, the clouds were thick this night, the crescent moon was hidden in the depths of the clouds, and even the starlight was much dimmer than usual.

It is the night when the night is dark and windy and suitable for night attack.

Along the forest path that Heimos had identified in advance, Gallan led a cavalry army of more than 2,000 to quickly cross the low mountain, cross the border, and enter the huge valley that belongs to the Karnar country.

When I crossed the low mountain, I didn't realize anything, it was just an ordinary forest scene, just like other mountains and forests.

After entering the deep valley, the atmosphere suddenly changed.

It was clearly in the same mountain forest and under the same sky, but as soon as I stepped into the depths of the valley, there was a gust of gloomy wind.

It was a hot summer day, but the wind blowing from the dark forest was icy cold, with a strange chill.

The dense canopy swayed slightly in the gusts of gloomy wind, and the shadows crisscrossed, accompanied by the whirring of the wind, as if countless souls were imprisoned in the staggered branches, unable to struggle and wailing.

Even if these knights are all iron-blooded soldiers who have been on the battlefield all the year round, they can't help but catch their breath when they look at the strange scene in front of them.

They can move forward bravely on the battlefield, not afraid of life and death, but in the face of this strange situation, they are more or less anxious.

Heimos's eyes narrowed slightly, and his golden red eyes stared ahead, gradually churning out a suffocating aura.

The front is obviously just an ordinary valley, but it lurks in the dark, making a whining sound when the wind blows.

It's like there's a terrifying and invisible monster hiding in the darkness ahead, making people feel terrified.

The winding path sank deep into the dark valley, like the giant mouth of the monster hidden in the darkness.

Gives an illusion.

They seem to be throwing themselves into the mouth of the monster, and soon, their flesh and soul will be swallowed up by it.

Just when everyone could not help but feel an inexplicable fear of the darkness ahead.

Suddenly, there was a bang.

It was the crisp cry of the sharp sword.

In the dark night, a snow-white sword light shone into everyone's eyes.

Everyone subconsciously looked at the young king holding the sword, and the fear in their hearts suddenly dissipated.

Garland.

Son of the gods.

Shamash's glory is by his side.

The gloomy wind is still there, but it can no longer blow away the fear in people's hearts.

The night was silent and silent, only the snow-white sword light seemed to guide everyone in the direction of the light.

In the depths of the valley, on a flat ground in the bottom of the valley, several crimson bonfires were burning in the dark night.

Countless small stone houses criss-cross the middle of the valley.

Looking down from the air, you will find that these small stone houses are built in a strange trend, forming a mysterious and eccentric line in a random pattern.

The one surrounded by them in the middle is the altar of this stronghold.

The torches were burning all around, and huge black-cyan slates were spread out on the ground, and complex runes were carved on them. The lines of the runes revealed a mysterious atmosphere. Inexplicably gives a creepy feeling.

It seems that there is some terrifying and gloomy existence lurking in the depths, and it will roar out anytime and anywhere, devouring everything.

A series of shallow grooves meander around the black cyan slate, and the jet-black liquid flows in it, exuding a pungent breath.

A huge cage stands in the corner of the altar, and countless children are locked in it.

The noise of the children could not be heard, and the long-term torture of fear and hunger made most of the children on the verge of death and had no strength to cry.

A child has already been taken out of the cage by a believer of the Church of Everything like a poultry.

At the same time, another believer standing on the edge of the black cyan slate threw the torch in his hand into the ditch under his feet.

When the torch touched the pitch-black liquid in the ditch, there was a bang, the flames suddenly rose, and then quickly spread along the winding shallow ditch all around.

In an instant, a fence of flames lit up around the altar of black cyan slate.

The firelight illuminated the faces of the surrounding believers, making the expressions in their eyes even more frenzied.

The priest of the religion of all things in black robes stood in front of the child who had lost his mind.

The child's neck, hands and feet have been painted with dense and strange patterns with bright red paint.

The black-robed priest raised the dagger in his hand.

Under the crimson firelight, this dagger, which had drunk many children's blood, exuded a gloomy aura, with deep greed, as if it couldn't wait to devour fresh flesh and blood.

The priest made a high-pitched chant that sounded like a song and a cry.

The surrounding believers knelt down reverently on the ground, holding their breath, daring not to make a sound, excitedly and quietly waiting for the start of this sacrifice.

The crescent moon has been hidden in the clouds, and the world is plunged into darkness.

The dagger in the black-robed priest's hand fell—

Suddenly, a loud noise came from outside, breaking the solemnity and silence on the altar.

The priest, awakened from the frenzy by the noise, looked out angrily.

However, before he could open his mouth and ask, someone hurried in and shouted in panic.

"No, Aaron Landis' cavalry has come in!"

"Aaron Landis?"

A gloomy look appeared on the black-robed priest's face.

He looked sideways.

The cry of killing has come from afar, and it is quickly approaching this place.

The flames in the shallow grooves around the altar were still burning fiercely in the pitch-black liquid, and the flames reflected on the cold and emotionless side of the priest.

Aaron Landis' cavalry was world famous for its offensive power.

The violent sound of hoofs resounded throughout the valley.

Completely destructive, Aaron Landis' cavalry was like a violent surging ocean wave, just a shock, completely overwhelmed the defense line of this stronghold.

The believers of the religion of all things simply cannot resist.

Even after discovering the Aaron Landis cavalry, many believers swallowed the medicine frantically and became so powerful that they did not feel pain, and rushed towards the cavalry without fear of death.

However, with a single charge, the cavalry can chop off their heads with a sharp blade in their hands.

Even if these believers can turn into painless monsters, but their heads are cut off, they can only fall to the ground.

The horses galloped, and in the dark night, countless cavalrymen rushed into the central altar of the valley stronghold.

Countless cult followers fell under their hooves, unbelievably and unwillingly.

Heimos led the charge around the altar, then dismounted, and leaped onto the altar from a gap in the flame fence.

Under his feet, on the black-blue slate, the dense blood-stained carving lines recalled a very unpleasant memory he had many years ago.

In the dark night, under the firelight.

A familiar scene, a familiar scene.

Black-robed priest holding a dagger.

The blood of a young child runs on the lines of the black-cyan slate.

That disgusting memory made a trace of hostility in the golden red eyes.

With a wave of his hand, the sword in Heimos's hand fell.

The force was so ruthless that it cut the black-robed priest who was standing in front of him motionless for some reason into two pieces.

The splattered blood stained his clothes and splattered on his cheek.

The black-robed priest who was cut in half lay on the ground, as if feeling no pain, neither shouting nor screaming.

He wasn't dead yet, and his upper body was lying in the pool of blood gushing from his body, staring at Heimos with his head sideways.

That look was extremely strange.

The flames flickered in his face, and he stared at Heimos,

When Garlan dismounted and stepped into the altar, what he saw was this strange scene.

He stayed for a while.

The black-robed priest, who had been staring at Heimos, seemed to notice his arrival, turned his eyes and landed on him.

Suddenly, that gloomy, blood-stained face gave Garlan a creepy smile.

Garlan felt a chill on his back.

The next second, click.

Heimos slashed the neck of the black-robed priest with a sword.

The head rolled a few times, fell into the burning fire ditch next to it, and burned.

However, that face was still facing Garlan's direction with a weird smile.

Heimos kicked away the half of his body that was blocking his way, and walked towards Garlan.

"How's it going over there in Kejos?"

"I have just received the news from him that he has successfully rescued Prince Xia."

Garland replied.

Everything is going smooth.

They successfully broke through the lair of the religion of all things, rescued the children who had not been killed, and surrounded and suppressed the cult here.

Kaihos also successfully rescued Prince Xia.

… so smooth.

Garland always felt that something was wrong.

He shook his head, shaking off the uneasy feeling in his heart, and raised his head to walk towards Heimos.

Suddenly, a gust of wind blew.

The thick clouds in the sky were suddenly blown away.

The moon, which had been hidden behind the clouds, was exposed.

In an instant, the blood-red moonlight shrouded the entire valley.

Garland raised his head sharply.

The scene in the dream suddenly appeared in front of his eyes.

This valley shrouded in ominous blood-red moonlight—

Just as he looked up, the ground beneath his feet suddenly shook violently.

No, it's not that the earth is shaking.

It was the altar under his feet that was shaking.

A crack suddenly appeared on the black-blue slate, followed by the second and third. In the blink of an eye, the huge slate was densely covered like a spider web.

Click, click.

In the violent shaking, the black-blue stone slabs under Garlan's feet shattered one after another.

The huge altar burst and collapsed in an instant.

"Gallan!"

Someone was calling his name, and Garlan turned his head.

He saw Heimos, who was also on the altar, pounce on him, his hands reaching out to him with all his strength, desperately trying to catch him.

Subconsciously, he also stretched out his hand in the direction of Heimos.

In the rumbling sound of the altar collapsing, two hands of different skin colors crossed.

They caught each other empty.

The rumbling sound of the collapse was incessant.

Along with the falling rock, they fell together.

The world fell into darkness.

After an unknown period of time, the occasional sound of rubble rolling down awakened the man lying in a pile of rubble.

Heimos opened his eyes, his vision a little blurry.

He closed his eyes for a while, then stood up slowly, and when he opened his eyes again, everything in front of him finally became clear.

When he looked up to see what was in front of him at the moment, his breath paused.

What appeared in front of him was an extremely huge temple.

Giant stone pillars carved with complex and mysterious lines rise from the ground, supporting this huge stone hall that has been quietly hidden underground for countless years.

The top of the stone pillar was submerged into the darkness, and people could not see the sky at the top of the stone hall even when they looked up.

This huge stone hall located deep in the ground has a majestic aura that makes people look up, and it is so grand that everyone who sees it is shocked.

And, a feeling of palpitation.

Because here is dead silence.

Time and space seem to stand still here.

Not the slightest bit of vitality and breath.

Heimos looked around and suddenly widened his eyes.

In the center of the magnificent stone hall, on the altar surrounded by numerous high and low black-blue stone pillars, the sleeping teenager lay quietly on it.

The long golden hair fell from the edge of the icy altar.

The young man's skin was as white as almost transparent, reflecting the faint firelight on the stone pillar.

The slender eyelashes hanging on his cheeks were shimmering, as if there was fluorescence flowing in the bottom of his eyes, and that face was so beautiful at the moment that anyone who saw him could hardly breathe.

However, in that incredible beauty, there is a strange breath.

Heart tensed, Heimos ran over quickly.

The dark altar was really strange. He didn't think much about it, he directly took Garlan down from the top, left the surrounding black-cyan stone pillar, and carried him to another place.

"Gallan... Gallan, wake up!"

In Heimos' anxious shout, Garlan slowly opened his eyes.

At first, he was still dumbfounded and looked a little dull, but after seeing Heimos, his eyes lit up little by little.

"… Heimos?"

Garlan looked at him and shouted softly.

Heimos hummed, his eyes swept across Garland nervously.

"Did you get hurt when you fell just now?"

Garlan leaned on Heimos's arms well, and he didn't even have a single scar on his body, but his expression was still a little dazed.

He looked at everything around him in confusion, as if he still couldn't recover from the current situation.

"Do you remember what happened after you fell?"

Heimos wanted to figure out why Garlan appeared on that altar.

"… do not know… "

Garlan held his head down, showing a pained look.

"Uncomfortable..."

He shrank into Heimos's arms, and let out a low moan in a gesture of extreme attachment to him.

"Heimos... I'm sick..."

Heimos frowned, he hugged the teenager who was indented in his arms, and looked down.

His dark hair covered his eye sockets, and his lips pursed slightly.

"where is this place?"

After a while, the boy in his arms asked him again.

"I just woke up too, not very clear."

"We fell, can we go out?"

"I'll take you out."

Garlan raised his head, his long golden hair scattered on his arms.

"Heimos."

The young man tilted his head to look at him, his unbelievably fair skin, under the soft slender light-colored eyelashes, the cat-like golden eyes reflected his face.

The pale pink lips were gently opened and closed, and the lips were a little shimmering, which was extremely seductive.

He looked at Heimos softly and attached, and said, "You'll protect me, won't you?"

Staring at those golden pupils, the corners of Heimos's lips lifted.

"Um."

He said softly, "I will protect you, Garlan."

Garlan laughed happily after receiving the answer.

Then, he raised his head, took the initiative to come over, and kissed Heimos.

Heimos was stunned for a moment, and then his eyes narrowed slightly, so the raised corners of his eyes became more and more narrow.

Holding the person in his arms tightly, he turned his back on the guest and kissed back hard.

The boy's lips were pale pink, like petals dipped in sugar, alluring and sweet, making it irresistible.

Heimos kissed the lips of the person in his arms gently, one after another, and gently licked the other's cold lips.

Garlan leaned into his arms in an unprecedentedly docile posture, stretched out his left hand around his neck, opened his lips, and accepted his kiss without refusing.

The golden red eyes reflected the face of the person in his arms, and Heimos looked at Garlan with deep affection.

In the silent hall, the two figures cuddled tightly together, their lips and teeth intertwined.

It seems extremely intimate.

The faint firelight in the underground stone hall was shaking, reflecting the cold light of the blade.

The sharp dagger was held in Garlan's hand, and in the kiss, he stabbed Heimos's chest with force—

A hand reached out and grabbed the boy's wrist.

The tip of the sword, which shone with cold light, stopped abruptly a second before it sank into Heimos's chest.

The jet-black forehead hair slipped from the corner of his eyes, revealing sharp eyes.

Looking at 'Gallan' with his eyes wide open, Heimos smiled, and this smile was extremely cold.

With a forceful backhand, he grabbed the dagger, pinned the boy to the ground, and looked down at the other party with cold eyes.

The dagger also rested on the opponent's throat.

who are you

Just as he was about to press the other person like this, his golden-red pupils contracted violently.

Heimos was stunned to see the dagger in his hand disappearing, as if it had melted away.

And the young man who was almost identical to Garlan was also disappearing, starting from the blond hair scattered on the ground, little by little, his body dissipated like a cloud.

The boy looked at him motionless.

Those eyes were extremely indifferent, like a lifeless puppet, without any turbulence, and could not see the slightest emotion that belongs to human beings.

until the whole person dissipated.

Looking at the empty hands, Heimos stood up.

The huge stone hall is endless, as if there is no end in sight.

The light was getting dimmer, so blurry that it was impossible to see anything.

The gray mist surged on the ground, as if oozing out from the deepest abyss, and slowly wrapped around his feet.

Suddenly, the bluestone slab on the ground cracked, and the viscous pitch-black liquid gushed out from the crack, carrying the special pungent smell that was branded deep in his memory.

Clang.

The fire plate on the giant stone pillar fell.

When the brazier was stained with a viscous black liquid, with a bang, a crimson flame rose to the ground.

The raging flames burned, surrounding him.

The fire wave rushed towards his face, passing by his side, burning his cheeks with a dull pain.

Heimos stood where he was, staring deeply at the stone hall that suddenly burst into flames.

The crimson flames danced wildly around him, but behind the extremely hot flames, there was a faint black shadow.

The flames surrounded him in all directions.

The body was aching faintly, extending from the palms and arms to the body, as if most of his body had been caught in a sea of flames, and the flames were burning alive, which made people feel unbearable pain.

…have to get out of here.

be quick.

… hurry up and find… must hurry up and find that person…

Looking at the raging fire in front of him, Heimos looked grim, and then he stepped into the red flames.

Let the flames spread over his clothes, his hair, and lick his skin.

He endured the pain that was almost gouging out his heart, and broke into the endless sea of fire like this, letting the flames burn his body.

Garland…

In the sea of fire, there was only one thought in his mind at the moment.

Go to Garland!

Just when Heimos just rushed into the sea of fire, there was a bang.

Suddenly, everything burst apart.

Everything in front of him, the huge boundless stone hall, and the crimson flames that were burning frantically, all shattered in an instant.

The world in front of him collapsed.

pat.

Cold water dripped down and landed on the brown arm.

In the next second, the finger suddenly moved, and the man lying in the pile of rubble opened his eyes, and a sharp golden red color peeked out from his jet-black hair.

He raised his head, and as soon as his forehead moved, small rubble rolled from his hair to the ground.

Most of Heimos's face was dusted with dust.

There were several bruises on his arms, and several scuffs on his clothes in areas of his body that were not covered by the armor.

He stood up slowly and looked at where he was with a puzzled look.

Although the place where he is at this moment is still deep underground, it is not a magnificent stone hall, but a dilapidated ruin.

It seems to be a stone house on the edge of this underground stone hall, a little narrow.

Water flowed down from the high stump and fell into the pool on the ground.

Just now Heimos was lying beside the pool with the pile of fallen gravel, so the water droplets splashed by the water falling from a height would land on his hands.

This small ruin has two floors up and down, and the broken stone pillars support the broken stone wall from bottom to top.

The stone steps covered with moss meander upwards, leading to the upper pavilion, and then sinking into the darkness, no one knows where the stone door of the upper pavilion leads to the ground.

Heimos looked at his hands.

There were no traces of fire burns on his body.

Everything just now... Garland who wanted to kill him... The sea of fire... was all his dream

"You actually woke up..."

Suddenly, a deep and low voice sounded in the ruins.

Heimos raised his head vigilantly, and after surrounding him, his heart tightened.

Because there is no one else in the ruins except him.

The voice didn't come from one place, but seemed to come from all directions.

Even with his hearing, he couldn't tell where the voice came from.

The echo of the low voice reverberated in the ruins, and the laughter was hoarse, exuding a strange aura, which made one's hair stand on end.

"Heh, this is the first time I've met someone who can break free from the [Dream of Death]... who didn't die in the dream..."