Arcane splendor begins with the throne

Chapter 89 Talking in the forest

In fact, Artes is very fond of the oak forest in Thorn Castle.

Especially in the daytime, it is more like a bright and sunny garden, the shadows of tall oak trees cast into the stream, the birds sing in their hidden forest nests, and the air is filled with the fragrance of flowers.

At night, the bright moonlight casts silver light all over the place, and the whole forest is filled with a piece of silver frost, shining brightly with the breeze.

Artes, who is familiar with the terrain of the oak forest, quietly hid on a thick oak tree, gently pushed aside the dense branches and leaves, and looked down at the place where the light source flickered.

He saw his father and Brian standing in a pavilion made of vines, the only source of light was the bright light of a berry on the vine.

By gods, Artes bet all his fortune.

This green fruit was by no means as magical as what he saw. It was just a sour and astringent fruit, a fruit that even dogs would dislike when thrown on the ground.

The reason why it can emit such a bright light is that it fills the entire gazebo.

There is no doubt that it must have been done by the half-elf Brian who puts equal emphasis on swordsmanship and magic.

With the help of the bright magic light, Artes could easily see every move of the two of them.

He saw Brian with a stern face, standing upright like a halberd, staring at his father without turning his eyes.

His right hand is casually placed on the belt with a silver-plated buckle. This posture is purely for convenience in the eyes of outsiders, but for a person like him who has experienced adventures.

Brian's posture was not that simple. The angle of his right arm was just right for him to draw out the sharp sword quickly and slash it obliquely in an instant.

Artes couldn't help but wonder why he was allowed to bring a weapon to the talks.

However, if you think about it carefully, it seems superfluous to collect weapons, because he is not only an adventurer with superb sword skills, but also a wizard.

For some reason, Artes had an illusion. He faintly felt a few green vines drooping above Brian's head, as if he was reaching out to greet the half-elf.

Obviously, under the cool moonlight, there was no breeze, but the vines above Brian's head always "waved" to him from time to time.

Artes turned his eyes to his father when he couldn't figure it out.

He had never looked at his father carefully under such circumstances.

Although his father is over 50 years old, in his opinion, he is as strong as a young man in his 20s.

Even sitting, he still appears tall, with broad shoulders and thin but muscular arms.

In fact, Artes prefers to see the silhouette of his Duke father standing up.

Because his profile is very royal, it always reminds him of the profile of the royal family on the golden griffin coins.

A foolish servant once joked that his father's profile was very similar to the first king of West West - who was said to be alive, but in the deepest dungeon.

Artes stopped thinking about it and began to listen to the conversation between the two.

It was not so much a conversation between the two of them as it was his Duke father who kept talking, and Brian kept his eyes on him.

Fortunately, his father's voice was strong and commanding, allowing him to hear every word clearly.

Artes heard that the two seemed to be talking about druids.

He also found that his father spoke surprisingly politely to Brian.

"It's forbidden to step into Blackman? Brian, do you know? Your tone of voice is almost the same as that of a druid." Duke Swift looked up at him, and said in a calm tone:
"I once saw the human Druids living in the wild mountains in Deep Stream Harbor. In my opinion, they are a group of stubborn, silent, cold and weird hermits.

They are extremely fanatical about the protection of nature. They have petitioned me so many times that I can't bear it anymore. They don't hunt, don't cut down trees, don't pour sewage into the river... and many other similar nonsense .The most stupid one was the association representative they sent, an old druid with a parasitic ring around his neck, half of his body was about to fall into the ground. "

"What kind of wish do they want?" Artes suddenly asked curiously when he saw Brian, who had been silent from beginning to end.

"As an adventurer who has traveled the world, I think you should know that most of the commoners in Deep Stream Harbor live by fishing. This naive druid actually asked me to order that only fish with a specified mesh size be used. Fishing nets, and severely punishing those who fished with fine nets, my jaw dropped in shock. The primitive plague should take away this primitive nature.

Then the old guy with the parasitic ring around his neck explained to me in all seriousness that limiting the mesh size is the only way to keep fish stocks from going extinct. "

"Then how did you explain it?" Brian asked with interest.

"It's very simple. I found one of the bravest sailors in Shenliu Harbor, and took him from the Moon Floating Sea, sailing westward for two months, and was forced to return when there was insufficient fresh water. After returning, I asked him , have you found any land? In such a vast ocean, is it really possible for fish to become extinct?" A playful smile appeared on the corner of Duke Swift's mouth:

"Of course it is possible!" The Druid replied confidently. He said solemnly: Although marine fisheries can exist for a long time as a direct means of obtaining food from nature, one day the fish will be exhausted, and human beings will also face Famine. So it is absolutely necessary to use large mesh nets for fishing, so that only mature fish are caught, and small fry are spared.

When I heard about the Age of Famine, I asked the druids when, in their opinion, the terrible age of famine would come.The old guy said that according to estimates, it will be about 5000 years later.So I said goodbye to him politely and told him to come back to me in 2000 and I will use this time to think seriously.The old guy with the mistletoe ring couldn't understand my joke and started protesting, so I asked the guards to drive him out of Deep Flow Harbor..."

"Duke Sweet, I've been driving all day, and I didn't even take a good rest, so you called me here." Artes saw Brian interrupt the Duke's joke, and said coldly:
"I didn't come here to stand here and listen to you tell me these childish jokes. I think our small talk should stop here. You know what I need, so I don't need to say more. "

"It's absolutely impossible!" Duke Swift put back the smile on his face, stood up abruptly from the stone chair, stared at Brian with calm eyes, and said:

"Don't try to scare me with force. You can't threaten me. We drove the elves into the forest, the dwarves into the mountains and valleys, and even massacred the orcs into the extremely cold places. We have done this. What's more, it's a Blackman, a group of elves that are just surviving.

Even if we can't, our children and our children's children can, it's only a matter of time, even if it makes the forest red with blood, that's my job.Remember this, Brian, life is a battle, and the annals of humanity are written by countless lives. "

Father is he crazy?

Artes looked down at Duke Swift in disbelief through the gaps in the leaves.

He really didn't expect that he could say such a thing.

Doesn't he know about the Andairs and Tasha people in the southern part of the kingdom?
In his opinion, the elves have already retreated on their own initiative, and what they need to do most is to also withdraw from this conflict and focus their energy on other places instead of wasting it meaninglessly here.

After all, the Andairians and Tasha are the real deadly threat. The small number of elves is at most just a small fight, and it can't hurt the root at all.

Brian shook his head, combed his messy black long hair back with his fingers, and said unhurriedly: "I told you before, I didn't come here to talk nonsense with you, because any words are is superfluous."

After finishing speaking, his wrist rested lightly on the hilt of the sword.

"You are playing with fire!" Duke Swift was unmoved, but issued a warning coldly.

"Your tone of voice...like a drunk orc." Brian said sarcastically in a playful tone.

Artes, who was hiding on the oak tree, looked startled. He saw his Duke father take a deep breath, his huge chest swelled high, but his expression looked very calm.

Most importantly, he also followed Brian's example and put his wrist on the hilt of the sword.

Immediately afterwards, he saw the flames of rage flickering in Duke Swift's eyes, "It seems that I need to teach you, an illegitimate bastard, how to lower your proud head and speak to an elder .”

Looking at his father's dangerous eyes, Artes felt a burst of exhaustion, even if he was not discovered, he instinctively wanted to dodge.

He saw Brian move forward again, brazenly keeping the dangerous Duke of Swift within his attack range.

He even saw the knuckles of the other party's fingers gripping the hilt of the sword turned white from tightly gripping the hilt.

Brian, don't be impulsive, even if you are a wizard, you are definitely not my father's opponent, Artes shouted in his heart.

He really wanted to go out and stop this conflict, but meeting his father's dangerous eyes, a kind of fear that seemed to be suppressed by blood, made it difficult for him to move his body.

He could only hold tightly to the branches of the oak tree, so as not to let himself tremble and fall to the ground.

Suddenly, an explosive roar shook the leaves, and the familiar fear almost made Artes fall from the tree.

Duke Sweet swoops in with incredible speed and agility and blasts an elbow to Bryan's face.

Brian dodged hastily, but in this small space, he was hit on the shoulder by the sudden explosion.

He immediately fell backwards and stood up again in a corner not far from the gazebo. The sharp blade of the sword appeared in his hand with a cold moonlight.

Duke Sweet also drew his broadsword, and struck without fear.

The generous broad sword danced a series of feints, and then slashed the head. The sword's momentum was like a strong wind sweeping leaves.

Brian, unable to dodge in time, put the long sword on top of his head, and locked the Thundering Broadsword according to the momentum of the sword.

Even so, his legs nearly bowed to his knees.

Duke Sweet springs back for a second strike.

Brian took advantage of the situation to pursue, and the sharp blade swept across Duke Swift's cheek like lightning.

Artes looked startled. He saw his father staggered back a step, wiped away a trace of blood on his cheek with the back of his hand, and then swung the broadsword violently again, rushing forward with an unstoppable momentum.

However, Brian's movements were too nimble, he dodged the blow with a side step, and the stone table beside him exploded with a roar.

His figure took the opportunity to move to the broadsword that the Duke had not yet raised, and a strong arm tightly clasped the hilt of the broadsword, making it unable to move at all.

Duke Swift withdrew a hand from the hilt of his sword, grabbed Brian's chest clothes with great speed, easily lifted him from the ground over his head, and then smashed him to the ground.

The moment Brian landed, he rotated his body in an incredible movement, and then took the opportunity to kick his right foot to the ground, using his strength to bounce his body up.

Immediately after turning around flexibly, he appeared behind Duke Swift.

Under Artus's shocked eyes, the half-elf, who was obviously smaller than his father, grabbed the hair on the back of his head and yanked it backwards.

The Duke lost his balance and fell to the ground like a felled tree.

While groaning, Duke Swift tried to turn over and stand up, but Brian turned the long sword upside down, and the hilt slammed into the Duke's chin, and blood flowed from the corner of his mouth in an instant.

Immediately afterwards, he mercilessly raised his right foot and stepped on his chest, pointing the sharp blade at his throat.

Artes was about to rescue him, but Brian gave him a cold glance, which frightened him into silence, not daring to move.

There is no doubt that the other party has probably discovered his existence long ago.

He was so worried about his impulsiveness that it cost his father his life.

He could only pray secretly in his heart that Brian would not kill his father on impulse.

Otherwise, the members of the Swift family would even fight the entire Blackman, this barren mountain, at all costs.

Fortunately, Artes did not see murderous intent in Brian's eyes, which made him heave a sigh of relief.

"Duke Sweet, deep down in your heart, I think you still have a spark of dignity. Behind your hatred, there must be a sense of honor that has not been completely wiped out." Brian looked down at Shi Shi. The Duke of Witt said meaningfully:
"As a child's father, in the deepest part of your heart, I think you can't forget the son you lost in Blackman."

The duke who was lying on the ground struggling suddenly turned pale as paper.

"Look at this. After reading it, we should be able to calm down and have a good talk."

Brian withdrew his foot from the chest, and put the long sword back into the scabbard.

Then he took out a small cylindrical leather case and threw it in front of Duke Swift, then sat on a bench leaning against the pillars of the gazebo and closed his eyes to meditate.

Artes, who was hiding in the treetops, stared blankly at his father. He found that he was struggling to open the small leather case with a pair of trembling hands. old.

The profile, which is quite royal, has also become like a twilight old man
For a moment, Artes really wanted to jump down and see what was left on the note in the leather case.

But he knew that his father wanted to be strong, so in order to preserve a little dignity for him, he finally forcibly held back.

I just vaguely heard him muttering in a low voice: Life is as gorgeous as summer flowers, and death is as quiet and beautiful as autumn leaves.

I don't know how long it took, Artes, who was hiding in the treetops, even felt sore all over his body.

He finally saw his Duke father wipe off the blood from the corners of his mouth and cheeks, regained his composure, and began to seriously discuss important matters with Brian.

To his regret, the voices of the two were deliberately lowered during this conversation.

He only vaguely heard about the division of Griffin Mountains and Blackman, and about the royal family of West.

Speaking of the West royal family, Artes couldn't help but recall the old king in his mind.

The old king lost his heir two years ago. Half a year ago, his only daughter had been vaguely mentioned by Wizard Morele as if she had been cursed by a devil from hell, and she is still in a coma.

It was these two heavy blows that made the already elderly king even worse, and he had no intention of governing this precarious kingdom.

The seemingly peaceful Griffin Kingdom was probably on the brink of extinction at the moment of the old king's death, Artes couldn't help but worry.

…………

(End of this chapter)