"Heimos, and the Army of Aaron Landis?"
Opada looked at the countless cavalry soldiers who suddenly appeared on the hill in amazement, and he was a little confused.
"Why are they here? Didn't they already go to the Northland battlefield?"
His voice was not loud, but it was very clear in the place where there was silence because of the appearance of the Aaron Landis cavalry.
Many people heard his words, but no one answered.
There was a look of uncontrollable surprise on the Tasda man's face. Although they are ready for the last person to die in battle, the desire to survive is human instinct, and if there is hope, they also want to live.
"Hold!"
Looking at the mighty Aaron Landis cavalry standing on the hill in a stunned manner, the leader of the horse thief cursed with a swear word.
His fierce little eyes stared viciously at the Tastar man beside him who hired them to kill.
"You bastard, how dare you slander me!"
It was said that there were less than one hundred Tastar infantrymen, so what happened to the terrible Aaron Landis cavalry now—
It must be the baby prince who is right, this insidious Tusda has no intention of letting his group live! So I deliberately plotted against him!
Stoke completely ignored the leader of the horse thieves who was staring fiercely at him.
He looked at the prince of Aaron Landis, straight, fixed, his fingers clenched tightly on the reins.
Garlan was looking at the black eagle that fell on his arm, stroking its feathers, probably noticing Stoke's gaze, he raised his eyes and met Stoke's fixed gaze on him.
Then, he smiled at Stoke.
There is no intimidating force, no imposing manner, and even a smile that can be described by the soft wind in early spring.
However, the more this is the case, the more difficult it is for Stoke to accept.
From the very beginning, he never put this prince in his eyes.
'Wise'
It was only the halo that the weak found out after racking their brains and put on themselves.
This world is a world where the strong eat the weak. Only strength can make others surrender and admire, and only strength can decide everything!
Stoke has always been so convinced.
But now, he thinks that he is a strong man above everyone, but he is defeated by the weak man in his eyes.
He couldn't take it—even losing to Kejos would make him feel a little better.
No matter how violently Stoke was hit, after Garlan smiled at him, he turned his gaze to the horse thief on one side.
The sturdy leader of the horse thieves sometimes stared at Stoke angrily, and sometimes nervously glanced at the mighty Aaron Landis cavalry not far away, sweat oozing from his forehead. And the people under him were even more unbearable, looking at the faces of the cavalry with obvious fear, the riots spread among the horse thieves, and they couldn't stop.
It can be seen that the moment the Aaron Landis cavalry appeared from behind, the fighting intent of the Sivari bandit was extinguished in an instant, and the tense atmosphere spread among the crowd.
In any case, no matter how vicious they were, they were just a band of bandits, and even if they had the guts, they would not dare to fight against the regular army with a small difference in numbers—especially the world-famous Aaron Landis cavalry.
That's just killing yourself.
"Are you still going to continue?"
Garlan's words made the nervous horse thief leader stunned for a while. He turned his head and looked at the beautiful blond boy who once made him feel sorry for killing him for a moment, as well as the cute looking boy he showed to himself. Smiling, the corners of his mouth couldn't help twitching, as if he felt a toothache.
Immediately afterwards, he stared at Garlan.
"I'm not afraid! I can take you as a hostage! It's a big deal, we will all die together! It's not a loss to have a prince die with us!"
He roared, his face crossed, posing as if the fish had died and the net had been broken.
But it can be seen that this person is obviously stern.
"Well, I know, but I don't want to die with you."
Garland nodded.
He said, "So let's go."
"Don't scare Lao Tzu, Lao Tzu will cut off more heads than your little baby can eat. Lao Tzu is not afraid of you... What?"
The leader of the horse thief was still speaking ruthlessly and pretending to be fierce to cover up his fear of the army. Halfway through, he was choked by a word from Garland.
A mouthful of saliva stuck in his throat almost choked him.
He stared at Garlan in disbelief, suspecting that he was hallucinating.
"You... no, you... what did you just say?"
"I said, you can go with your people now."
Garlan raised his eyebrows and said, "Or you guys don't plan to leave and want to fight with my Guards for this Tasda?"
"No no no—how dare we?"
The horse thief leader waved his hands hastily.
The fact that the group of cavalrymen revealed from Garlan's mouth was the king's bodyguard, and he was even more shocked for a while.
His face that was brutal and fierce just a second ago changed to a flattering look in an instant.
He flattered and said to Garlan: "O merciful prince, thank you for being so generous and forgiving me and other lowly people."
The horse thief leader had never been to school. He was a real blind eye, and he could only come up with such a few clumsy words of flattery.
After speaking so dryly, he didn't even wait for Garlan to reply, for fear that the other party would regret it, he simply turned around and waved his hand.
"let's go!"
Before he finished speaking, he rushed out immediately.
The horse thieves who looked at the mighty and majestic heavy-armored cavalry army heard what the boss said, and they all agreed and followed the boss's galloping footsteps without hesitation.
In the blink of an eye, the group of horse thieves disappeared, leaving only the dust that was raised by the horses' hooves running on the desert.
Stoke did not stop.
He knew that he couldn't stop him. He and the horse thief had an interest relationship, and it was impossible for the other party to work hard for him.
If he wanted to stop the horse thieves from escaping, I am afraid that the horse thieves would turn their faces and kill him immediately.
So, he stood there on horseback, quietly watching his accomplices desert him, leaving only him and his dozens of confidants around him.
He still looked fixedly at the young man who dismissed thousands of horse thieves in just a few words.
"All this..." He paused for a while before continuing unwillingly, "Is it all arranged by you?"
He asked, "You know I'm going to attack the mission?"
He repeated, "Why did you know I was going to attack the mission?"
Stoke didn't understand.
Even his closest friends and relatives were concealed by him.
For this day, this moment, he planned for more than a year, and even Opada came to Aaron Landis with the mission was the result of his secret impetus.
No one knows his purpose except his die-hard henchman here at the moment.
He really didn't understand why this Prince Aaron Landis, who had never even met him, could see through his conspiracy
The boy saw through him, but he knew nothing about it.
Garlan looked at Stoke and smiled without saying a word.
He stood there with a calm smile and an indifferent expression, as if everything was under his control, which made people feel heartbroken for some reason.
The young man's golden eyes that reflected the firelight were clear and deep, as if he could see through everything in this world.
…
Actually, it was because I read the guide beforehand.
Open the predictable plug-in.
Of course, at this moment, the boy who smiled without saying a word and put on a pretentious posture that did everything I expected would never say these words.
Garland didn't answer Stoke's words, Stoke had heard it, and there were countless hooves coming from behind him.
Aaron Landis' cavalry was closing in on them, spreading out in an arc and encircling them.
Stoke made no attempt to escape.
He knew that Gallan temporarily let the bandits go in order to avoid greater casualties, but Aaron Landis would never let go of himself who tried to frame them.
The cavalry had surrounded them.
In the next second, more and more people came out.
In the firelight, he could see the man's face clearly.
It was the young man who was standing on the hill not long ago with a strong bow and an arrow almost shot through his back.
After he disappeared from the battlefield in the Northland, the young man who suddenly rose to fame and overshadowed his prestige and reputation, and was called the 'Black Knight' by everyone.
The two people who met for the first time looked at each other for a second.
Then, almost at the same instant, the two of them galloped and charged.
The jet-black iron spear and the snow-white long sword collided heavily.
Stoke's confidant and subordinates naturally rushed forward, but they were immediately intercepted by a team of guards. It didn't take long for them to die or be injured and fall into the hands of the guards.
At this moment, in addition to the crackling of the gradually burning flames in the camp, there was only the sound of the collision of the swords when Stoke and Heimos were fighting.
Hit hard, both of them fought hard together.
The sparks splattered everywhere where the blade hit, and it was extremely intense.
It can be seen that the two are evenly matched, and no one can suppress the other in a short period of time. In the shadows of swords and spears, ordinary people simply can't get involved in such a fierce battle.
"Kaihos, go and help."
Garlan's words made Kaihos hesitate for a moment.
"Prince, this is detrimental to the name of the knight..."
The young man blinked.
He asked, "The name of the knight is more important, or is it my order?"
"… "
The one-eyed knight raised his sword and rushed into the stalemate without saying a word.
And Heimos glanced at Garlan from the corner of his eyes, as if he was a little helpless, and with a touch of connivance, he opened the space and let Kaihos join the battle.
If it wasn't for Garland to speak up, he didn't want to wipe Garland's face in front of everyone. With Heimos' arrogance, he would never let Kaihos help him.
Whether it is Kaijos or Heimos, Stoke is evenly matched against any one.
Now the two of them are together, and they will immediately crush Stoke to death.
When the two powerful knights joined forces, the storm-like attack made him almost breathless. Although he was still stubbornly resisting, he was only trying his best to support him.
You can easily beat and beat this guy to death, why do you have to fight one-on-one
Garlan, who was watching, thought.
And at the next moment, under the siege of Heimos and Kaihos, Stoke, who was almost exhausted, avoided the big sword that Kaihos slashed from the front. come out.
The sharp blade pierced through the Tasda man's chest fiercely.
His pupils dilated for a moment, and he fell off the horse, and the blood spurting from his chest stained the sand beneath him.
"Big brother!"
Opada, who had been clenching his teeth and watching what was happening in front of him, couldn't bear it any longer, and rushed up with a shout.
He knelt down beside Stoke with a puff, his eyes reddened as he looked at Stoke, whose clothes on his chest had been dyed red, his lips wriggled a few times, and in the end he only spit out two words.
"… Big Brother… "
… … ended.
Stoke lay on his back on the sand, staring at the endless night sky.
His eyes were empty at this moment, as if there was nothing.
He could feel the blood gushing out of his chest, and he could feel his life passing by quickly.
His ambitions, his beliefs, he should have a glorious future...
will end at this moment.
"… Big Brother… "
The familiar murmur woke him from his trance, and he saw Opada kneeling beside him with red eyes.
"Why are you crying?"
He scolds, just like he scolds the little child who was taught martial arts by his hand when he was very young a long time ago.
"Tasda people, even if they shed their blood, they can't shed a single tear."
Opada, who was reprimanded, pursed his lips and didn't say a word, and the water mist that had seeped out of his eyes was forced back by him.
Stoker looked at his younger brother, the younger brother he was determined to kill, with complexities in his eyes.
He has no regrets.
But it's a winner and a loser.
Whatever the outcome, he will not regret it.
But maybe it was the death of a person, he looked at the only relative by his side, and his mood was full of flavors at this moment.
After a while, he suddenly whispered something.
"Beware of the North..."
He said in a faint voice, and then looked away from Opada and fell on the blond prince not far away.
His lips moved, making a faint sound.
"Prince Garland... I admit... I underestimated you and ended up like this..."
He said, the breath gradually weakened, and the voice became intermittent.
"...I lost to you."
Suddenly, his words changed.
"I lost... but, you may not be the last victor..."
He said, blood dripping from the corners of his mouth.
His gray pupils stared at Garlan, revealing a strange smile.
"You think I've done something stupid...how do you know...you won't end up like me in the future..."
"Aaron Landis... two princes... only one throne..."
Stoke's voice was soft, low, but heart-wrenching.
"One day...you'll either do the same thing as me...or, be..."
"... I saw... 'his' eyes, with the same thing as mine... "
He saw it.
In the eyes of the black-haired prince, the same thing as him.
Ambition, desire, thirst for the power to control everything.
"One day..."
The corners of his eyes raised a mocking arc.
His words were like a curse.
"One day...you will be like me..."
Heimos rode on his horse, the long sword in his hand still dripping blood.
His right hand was gripping the hilt of the sword, and the back of his hand was already full of blue veins.
He stared at the Tasda man who was still talking intermittently, his eyes full of evil spirits.
If he could, he would have cut off the guy's head with a sword.
But he couldn't do it. If he did, he would really fall for that guy's trick, and let others, even Garlan, think he was guilty of a thief, and then kill him.
The blond knight on the other side stared at Stoke coldly, and also resisted moving.
At this moment, the earth was very quiet, only Stoke's intermittent voice echoed.
Closer, the eyes of those who heard these words subconsciously turned to Garlan.
Garlan didn't know when he had come over and crouched beside the dying Stoke.
"...you learn so fast."
He says,
"Such a blatant act of sowing discord."
Stoker smiled at Garlan while coughing blood.
"Learn from you...you speak...ahem, the...power of language."
Even if he died, he would sow the seeds of discord between the two princes of Aaron Landis.
For Tasda.
Garlan squatted beside him, looking at him with bright golden eyes.
"There won't be such a day."
the boy said.
Stoke smiled and said nothing.
He was so sure that one day would come.
The two princes will face each other one day.
For the throne.
The confident expression on the face of the dying Tasdar, and the expression of "I have seen through you already" made Garlan very upset, very upset.
This guy is going to disgust him when he is dying.
…
Although what this guy said is actually... I should say... It really happened before.
But Stoke's half-smiling look at him made Garlan's stubborn temper suddenly rise.
If it goes on like this, Stoke will die contentedly with the satisfaction of having achieved it.
In that case, he would be suffocated to death.
No, this guy has to die suffocatingly.
He thought so, and suddenly a good idea came to him, and his eyes flashed.
"There will never be such a day."
The boy repeated again.
Stoker looked at him mockingly, disbelief in his eyes.
Only the gray pupils began to dilate, a sign of imminent death.
Garlan lowered his head and leaned closer to his ear, speaking in an inaudible voice that only Stoke could hear.
"No matter what happens, I won't hurt Heimos."
he said softly,
"He's my favorite."
Stoke's eyes widened suddenly, showing a look of astonishment.
He seemed to want to say something, but in the next second, his pupils were dilated.
He just opened his lips like this, stared straight at Garlan, and swallowed his last breath unwillingly.
He opened his eyes and died with the regret of not being able to.
…
The voice of Garlan leaning into Stoke's ear was too low and too soft, even Opada, who was kneeling beside him, couldn't hear it.
No one knows what he said.
But no one noticed that when Garlan spoke, the hand of Heimos, who was riding on one side, holding the reins, suddenly shook.
Many people know that Heimos is a talented person, so he can become one of the strong men on this continent.
He is very talented.
But few people know that when his attention is fully focused... he can clearly hear the tiniest sound within tens of meters around him.
[He is my favorite person.]