"Answer me! Stoke—"
The roar of the blond knight echoed in the dark night.
But the object of his questioning did not answer, but showed a wary look when he saw him, and there was still a bit of puzzlement hidden in that vigilance.
"you are still alive?"
Stoke asked.
He had his own correspondent in the mission of Tarsdar, so he knew about the prince of Aaron Landis and the affairs of Caijos in this mission.
The only person among these people who can make him feel dreaded is this knight whom he once regarded as a friend.
Therefore, tonight, his nephews took the initiative to ask to be on duty at night and killed the other Tasdars who were on duty at night. Then, after letting the Vasily horse thieves quietly break into the camp and set fire to them, they directly shot the crossbow at Kejo. s tent.
No matter how powerful the knights are, they will be shot to death by crossbow arrows in their sleep.
He thought that Kaihos was dead. After all, when he entered the camp, the tent where Kaihos slept was silent, and blood was seeping from it.
Kaihos sneered.
"never mind."
He said, suddenly raised his hand and threw the silver pistol at Stoke.
The sharp silver spear whizzed towards Stoke like lightning.
Stoke suddenly raised the black iron gun in his hand, blocking the silver gun that was trying to penetrate his throat.
The violent impact made the iron gun in his hand vibrate and hum.
The blocked silver spear fell to the ground with a snap, and the one-eyed knight on the opposite side had already drawn out the great sword on his waist, and the snow-white blade reflected the flaming flames behind him.
He stared at Stoke, and the fire seemed to ignite the deepest part of his eyes.
Although his marksmanship is also good, what he is best at and used to is the great sword he carries with him.
When fighting evenly matched opponents, one omission can lead to a total rout.
Therefore, if you want to fight hard, you must use your most skilled weapons.
Stoke and Kaihos looked at each other, which was different from treating Garlan like a cat-and-mouse juggling, and also different from treating Opada's arrogance. He watched Kaihos's eyes with full vigilance. He watched Kejos's every move intently.
He clenched the iron gun in his hand, and he could clearly see that the muscles on his upper arms had bulged slightly and were tensed to the extreme.
Kaihos's aura had already been suppressed, and the aura gushing out from his body also greeted him.
The courage of the two is evenly matched, and neither can suppress the other.
The blond knight moved the great sword in his hand.
The brown-haired Tasdar man shot his jet-black iron gun in one fell swoop.
Almost at the same moment, the two of them mobilized their horses at the same time and sprinted forward like arrows from the strings.
With a loud bang, the two knights slammed into each other, like two fierce wild bears roaring and slamming into each other, and the terrifying force seemed to shake the ground.
The great sword and the iron spear separated, and then collided again.
Week by week.
One after another, the visible sparks that exploded when the iron blade collided continued to splash in the dark night, showing how intense the battle between the two was.
"Opada!"
Hearing someone calling his name, Opada turned his head and saw his comrades who were still alive running towards him in a hurry.
There were also several Aaron Landis knights who were subordinates of Kaihos and came along with them while resisting the attack of the horse thieves.
"How do you..."
"Your Excellency Kaihos brought us here to kill."
Said the slightly old head of the mission, who was protected by the Tasdar soldiers.
Just when they were trying to kill them to join Opada, the blond knight suddenly appeared, took some of his subordinate cavalry to help them resist the horse thieves, and then led them to kill a bloody road and rushed here.
He looked at the Tasdar man who was fighting Kaijos with a solemn expression.
"… Stoke."
He whispered the name, looking at Stoke's eyes with a complex and sad look.
He is a sideline of the Tasda royal family, and he knows what happened back then.
"He finally refused to repent of his sins... I don't know what he did wrong."
he said, with a low sigh.
The head of the envoy sighed in a complicated mood, while the other Tasda warriors were very straightforward, all staring at this fellow who colluded with outsiders to slaughter their own compatriots with hostility or hatred.
Back then, Stoke was fervently admired by countless Tasdar people, and even if he disappeared for many years, there were still many of his admirers. And what he is doing now has completely shattered the admiration of these people for him.
traitor.
This is the only name they now call Stoke.
There was another sharp clash of swords in the air.
The two horses passed by, and the two tall bodies separated again in the dark night.
Kaihos turned the horse's head, turned and tried to rush up.
But when his eyes turned, he stopped in place.
Because on the opposite side of him, behind Stoke, dozens of Tasda stood behind Stoke, with their bows and crossbows aimed at him, as well as Garlan beside him.
"So far."
Stock said.
"Kaijos, I don't have time to continue to entangle with you."
At the same time, in addition to his subordinates, those horse thieves also surrounded him.
Kaihos clenched the great sword in his hand, making no sound, but turned a little and got off the horse, blocking the figure of Garlan.
At this moment, his subordinates, together with the surviving Tasda people, were already less than sixty.
However, there were nearly a thousand horse thieves surrounding the camp, and the crossbows in the hands of the people on Stoke's side were already aimed at them.
No matter how you look at it, their side has no chance of winning.
But no one surrendered, neither Aaron Landis nor Tarstar.
Even if the last person is killed in battle, the Tustars will never surrender to the betrayer.
All Tastars swear so.
"This is the starting point for Tasda to thrive."
Stoke stood on horseback on the ground, and the firelight flushed his face, illuminating his gray pupils, making his pupils seem to be burning brightly.
His gaze was unusually firm and decisive.
An old voice answered Stoke's words.
"Do not."
The envoy, with a deep wrinkle on his forehead, stared at the ambitious young man, sighing, and answering in his vicissitudes of life.
"Stoke, what you have brought to Tastar is not glory, but destruction."
"I won't be as cowardly as you."
Stoke replied.
"Tastard needs a strong leader, one who can bring the entire continent under its feet."
He looked down at the old man proudly.
"You are old, whether it is King Tasda or my father, you are all old and have lost the strength to move forward."
"You are old, you should leave everything to me."
"War, expansion, power, this is the path the great Tasda should take, and only I can lead Tasdar to a prosperous future—"
"wrong!"
Opada, who was standing in front of the old man, interrupted his brother.
He looked at Stoke and shook his head.
"No, it shouldn't be like this, you're doing it wrong."
He said, "Maybe I'm not as smart as you, big brother... But I know that if you do this, big brother, you will make Tustard into an endless war."
"War is the glory of Tarsdar."
"No, the Tasda people don't fear war and death, but that doesn't mean we don't care about death!"
Opada retorted categorically.
"Big brother, ambition and greed have blinded your eyes and mind. Now I finally know why my father said that..."
"He said big brother, you shouldn't be born in Tasda, you have that kind of ambition, but Tasda doesn't have that kind of power, and you will forcibly drag Tasda into hell because of your ambition—"
"enough!"
Stoke's gray pupils lit up with anger.
But soon he calmed down and sighed softly.
"Opada, it seems that you still can't understand me after all."
Yes, he knows.
What he is going to do, many people will not understand.
But he doesn't care.
Because after he does it, he will become a great being remembered and sung by everyone in history.
Ignoring his compatriots, Stoke turned his eyes to the other side.
His eyes flicked over the blond Prince Aaron Landis, and then fell on Cayhoes.
"Is this the master you chose?"
he said, shaking his head.
"Kaihos, your vision is far worse than your strength."
"Although I think all races other than the Tastar are trash, I admire you very much. I asked you to help me, but you refused. Now, you have chosen such a weak and incompetent prince as yourself. The loyal monarch, let himself end up in this field."
He said, "Kayhorth, I will now give you one more chance. As long as you swear allegiance to me now, I will forgive you and grant you the right to follow me once more."
"You shouldn't continue to waste your talent and life on this weak little prince who is about to die."
Kaihos opened his mouth, and before he had time to answer, a voice came from behind him.
"Enough is enough."
It was the boy's voice.
"I don't say a word, you just keep talking, do you really think I don't exist?"
Garland said angrily.
"Speaking ill of others in front of others, is this your etiquette?"
Stoke looked down at Garlan and didn't answer, there was a trace of contempt in his eyes.
Only the strong are qualified to talk to him, and this young man, whom he regards as a mouse who can play tricks at will, is too weak, too weak to enter his eyes.
"The successor of Tasda who hooked up with my guardian knight in front of me and was exiled by his father himself, don't say it in such a high-sounding manner."
Garlan walked out from behind Kaihos and stood in front of everyone.
Opposite him were dozens of crossbows aimed at him, but he didn't seem to see it at all, and there was no fear on his face.
"Let me summarize for you, what you are doing now is to use the lives of your brothers and compatriots in exchange for the opportunity to return to the decision-making level of Tasda, which has nothing to do with the prosperity of Tasda... It really has nothing to do with it. , it's purely for your personal gain."
"Simply put, you're climbing up on your brother's corpse—"
The young man smiled.
"Look, it's easy to understand, isn't it?"
The boy's words hit the nail on the head, and he easily peeled off Stoke's gorgeous appearance, revealing the bloody reality hidden in it.
The sharp words made Stoke's face change instantly, and he looked at Garlan's eyes more and more badly.
"Sharp teeth and sharp mouths, you only have such a worthless saving grace."
"Don't look down on the mouthpiece... No, I mean, don't look down on the power of language, you know, sometimes, the so-called 'language' can be worth 10,000 troops."
Stoke sneered.
"I don't have time to continue listening to your nonsense."
Then, he glanced at Kaihos with a look of regret.
"Kaihos, my former friend, because of your wrong choice, it seems that you can only stop here."
After he finished speaking, he waved his hand, and under his signal, the horse thieves approached.
"and many more."
Garlan raised his hand and made a wait gesture.
"You are the Sivari Bandit?"
"Um?"
The head of the horse thief showed a hideous smile, and the horse approached.
"What? My dear prince, do you want to beg me for mercy?"
He looked at Garlan, with a look of pity in his eyes, and shook his head.
"Unfortunately, to use people's money to help people out of disasters, our victim said that we wouldn't leave a living room, otherwise..."
"Yeah, I won't leave you alive. For your victim, the killing of your brother is a huge stain. Then, do you think that after we get rid of us, the rest of the people who know about it can continue Live safely?"
"… What's the meaning?"
"You know about his murder of his fellow citizens, do you really think he will let you live after the fact?"
"shut up!"
Stoker suddenly interrupted Garlan's words.
He turned to the leader of the horse thieves and said, "Don't believe his words. If you solve them, you will get the property I promised immediately. And there are less than 100 people on our side, and you have thousands of people. What do you think I can do to you? ?"
"Oh, by the way, Stoke, do you really think a chest of gold and silver treasures is enough to keep their mouths shut?"
Garland turned to Stoke.
"You know, these guys are gangsters and greedy guys. If they hold you as a handle, they will ask you for money every once in a while, will you give it or not?"
Stoke's face stiffened for a moment.
He didn't worry about it at all.
Because he made this plan from the beginning, he didn't plan to let the Sivari Bandits survive for long.
"Fart, our Sivari bandits are also reputable! Not that kind of person!"
The horse thief leader, who had looked at Stoke suspiciously, immediately retorted with his neck strangled, but the expression on his face showed a hint of guilt.
How did this little baby prince reveal his innermost plans
Chief Sivari muttered in his heart.
Garlan clapped his hands, turned his eyes away from Stoke, and smiled at the chief of Sivari.
"If you grabbed his handle and asked him for property one after another, and it was you, would you try your best to kill the person who blackmailed you?"
"… "
The expression on the face of the chief Shivari, which was mostly covered by the beard, also changed.
Will.
He thought to himself, but still retorted unconvinced.
"We took our belongings and left, and ran far away. This is the territory of Aaron Landis. Would he dare to bring the Tastar army in?"
"So have you forgotten? If we die here now, Tastard will definitely lead his troops into Aaron Landis for revenge, and your victim may be one of the commanders. At that time, he will bring the army a little bit. Take a detour and exterminate your bandits, who can say that he is wrong?"
The more the horse thief leader heard, the more frightened he became.
He couldn't help but say, "You—"
"enough!"
Stoke, whose face became more and more ugly, interrupted Garlan again.
"What the hell do you want to do?"
The horse thief leader also shouted.
"That's right, boy, what do you mean by so much?"
"Can't you see it? I think I did it very clearly."
Garlan was a little surprised by the two simultaneous inquiries.
Then he answered both of them very honestly and with a smile.
"I'm sowing discord."
Stoke: "..."
Horse Thief Leader: "..."
puff.
In this tense atmosphere, the blond knight next to him let out an inappropriate sneer.
Stoke was choked up by the calm and natural look on the boy's face, but he didn't know how to reply.
He began to feel bad, and vaguely, the atmosphere here was actually controlled by this weak person he despised.
He frowned and quickly calmed down.
Can't continue to waste time here.
He glanced at the leader of the horse thief beside him, and the leader of the horse thief also glanced at him secretly, with suspicion in his eyes.
Although Gallan confessed that he was trying to sow discord, the words of the young man were very reasonable, and he couldn't help but believe them.
Obviously, the horse thief has begun to have suspicions about him, and I am afraid that he will not be as obedient as before.
Hmph, he originally didn't want to do it himself and stain his hands with the blood of his compatriots, but now there is no other way.
Stoke raised his hand and gestured with his fingers.
Do it, kill the enemy.
He gave such an order to the subordinate Tasda who was holding a crossbow behind him with a gesture.
His raised hand fell from the air, pointing in the direction where Garland and the others were.
The string of the crossbow has been taut, and the arrow is ready to go.
As soon as Stoke's finger fell, all arrows shot through everything.
Suddenly, there was a buzzing sound.
It was a humming sound from the wind.
That inexplicable and strong aura of danger, like a hurricane, fiercely struck behind Stoke—
Before the hand pointing forward could fall, Stoke turned sharply.
The iron gun in his hand was raised high.
Keng!
The sharp arrow that rushed towards Stoke's back vest like a hungry wolf slammed into the black iron's gun barrel, making a crisp crashing sound.
There was a long hawk cry in the night sky, which was reddened by the flames.
Stoke's pupils, who blocked the arrow, suddenly dilated at this moment.
In the crimson fire, under the bright moonlight, he saw a young man with a strong bow riding a horse and standing on a hill not far away.
The moonlight danced in the dark hair of the young man, and the night wind howled, making the cloak behind his shoulders fly in the dark night.
A flag, like a burning flame, was raised on the hillside.
In just an instant, countless black armored knights appeared under the banner of the red lion.
Aaron Landis' most powerful iron-blooded cavalry army stood silently on the hills and in the desert.
They rode silently on the ground without making a sound.
But they were just standing there, and the terrifying aura they exuded had deeply suppressed everyone's breathing.
Why
This guard should be on its way to the North, why is it here now? !
Looking at the scene in front of him, Stoke couldn't suppress his rapid breathing.
He didn't understand why things had turned out this way.
Suddenly, something flashed through my mind. He turned his head sharply and looked at the soft boy who seemed harmless to humans and animals.
Unlike the Tastarians who were stunned and surprised, the boy's expression seemed calm.
Is it...
Stoke's pupils contracted violently as he stared at Garlan.
Could it all be this prince of Aaron Landis at all—
There was another eagle call in the night sky, especially loud in the silent earth.
The black eagle circling in the sky spread its wings and descended from the sky.
Garland held out his hand.
The firelight illuminated the young prince's white cheeks and bright golden eyes.
The black eagle, which was sent by Garland to deliver a letter to Heimos not long ago, gently landed on Garland's forearm, and gave him a pleasant and short chirping.