Realm of Power

The May night was not cold, and the carriages were walking through the empty streets of the Normandy capital.

"This may be the most luxurious prison car!"

Angelio sat in a luxurious carriage decorated with the coat of arms of the Duke of Rosende, enjoying the highest level of honor that a principal minister could enjoy. He smiled bitterly. This was once the busiest street in Rosende.

There is a huge flow of people and busy traffic,

Even at night, this is the only place where the nobles in the city go to the banquet. But now, there is no light on both sides of the place. Only the lonely sound of the carriage's wheels touching the stones, and there is a sense of lethargy in the air. It was depressingly cold. Several escort knights wearing the red cloaks of the Praetorian Guards walked slowly beside the car. Horse hooves trampled on the empty black streets. It seemed to be protection in name, but in fact it was more like escorting.

"Why do Lord Angelio think so? The Duke sent his own carriage to pick up the Lord, which proves his trust in the Lord!" the Duke's attendant sitting opposite him said calmly.

"Trust? What a joke, you know better than me how weak the Duke's trust in me is."

Angelio looked away from the deserted street with complicated eyes, pretending to be loyal, and said slowly, "I have already looked away anyway. The person who dominates this country is not the Duke, but that A woman from Kyoto! No matter how the Duke treats me, I will have no complaints."

The Duke's attendant sitting opposite was startled by these words. He looked at the guarding knights outside in panic, and realized that he had not heard the conversation between the two. He breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Lord Angelio." , Be careful what you say! Although I can't explain it, this time, the Duke really trusts you!'

"Really, that's really unexpected!" Angelio looked stunned. After falling silent, the carriage walked through the dark long street in front, facing the majestic Duke's Palace. The footsteps of the patrol passed by the carriage, and the carriage stopped in front of the gate of the Duke's Palace.

"Please, the Duke is still waiting for you!" The attendant opened the carriage, and Angelio got out of the carriage with some surprise. It turned out to be the Duke's Palace. Shouldn't he be directly put into prison and then subjected to a series of cruel punishments? ?

"Is it because I'm too worried?" Angelio walked up the steps of the Duke's Palace in confusion. There were guards along the way, and the defense was tight. The light of the torches reflected on the Mia marble column, dyeing the entire column scarlet. Approaching this majestic building, between the gorgeous column decorations, the sound of footsteps echoing in the wide corridors,

The wind blew across the steps, and Angelio seemed to smell a smell of killing and blood, and his steps couldn't help but slow down. When the Royal Guards raided the Duke's Palace, it was here that the Duke's Guards and the Royal Guards fought together on these white marble steps. It was the key point of the battle between the two armies. At the beginning, the Guards were severely damaged by the elite guards of the Duke's Palace. Hundreds of people were killed and injured but they were unable to break through the steps. Then, at the same place, a large number of Imperial Guards counterattacked. Kill the entire Duke's palace guard and then execute every one of them.

It was that woman who was as beautiful as a peach and a plum and as hearty as a snake who ordered all the family members of the guard to be imprisoned in the cellar and starved to death, or thrown into the fire. All the families most trusted by the former Duke were purged. The first time he went to the Duke's Palace, Angelio always felt very uncomfortable. Too many people died here, including many of his familiar friends. They fought bloody battles and refused to back down. They proved their loyalty with their lives, and he , but still lingering on,

At the top of the steps, two rows of Guardsmen stood in awe holding torches. An old man wearing a formal dress and a slight hunchback was waiting by the door. The light from the torch shone on the old man's haggard face and his expressionless expression. Face. The two rows of Guards soldiers next to him were holding spears in one hand and torches in the other, with stern faces. Seeing Angelio's arrival, the old man waved to the attendant who came with Angelio and said expressionlessly

"The Duke is inside, Lord Angelio, please come in."

Angelio's face became more and more serious. This old man's name was Tang De. He was an old servant brought by the new Duke from Kyoto. He was very loyal. Under normal circumstances, Tang De would rarely appear in places like the meeting hall. Angelio didn't have time to think too much. The door slowly opened in front of Angelio, revealing the bright hall of the Duke's Palace lit by candles.

Angelio straightened his collar, stopped his head full of random thoughts, and walked into the meeting hall along the gorgeous red carpet. He noticed that there were much fewer guards in the Duke's Palace today than usual. In the past, the entire hall would stand in silence. Guards soldiers holding sharp weapons were guarding, and then there was the Duke with a gloomy face. But at this moment, the entire hall was empty, cold, gloomy, and quiet, with only the sound of his heavy footsteps echoing,

"Creak" the door behind you closes

"Angelio, I thought you didn't dare to come! Didn't your master from the northwest coast send someone to pick you up?"

In the meeting hall, Duke Locke was drunk and his eyes were full of madness and viciousness. He was sitting on the Duke's bench inlaid with hundreds of gems. He was holding a red wine glass in his hand. He seemed to have drank a lot. , he was the only one in the whole hall,

The swaying firelight and the shadows make people shudder. Although nearly three hundred large candles illuminate the entire hall, the coldness comes from people's hearts.

"How is that possible? It's my great honor to be summoned by the Duke!" Seeing this scene, Angelio felt relieved. When the luck was gone, he inspired the courage in his heart.

He looked at the side doors on both sides of the hall and knew that behind the doors, there should be murderous guards. As long as Duke Locke coughed or hinted, these guards would rush in and chop him into pieces. ,

His hand grasped the hilt of the sword on his waist without hesitation,

"Aren't you afraid of death? As long as you beg for mercy, I may let you continue to be the Minister of the Interior and make you rich and prosperous for the rest of your life!" Duke Locke was sitting on his seat, looking at his hand holding the hilt of the sword with interest. A hint of surprise flashed in his eyes,

"Minister of the Interior? What a joke, do you really think I care about this dirty position?" Angelio let go of the hilt of his sword and said with a calm smile. He looked at Duke Locke on the throne and said slowly. "You are already a puppet. Do you think that someone would care about a puppet?"

"You!" Duke Locke's eyes were so red that they almost bulged out. The wine glass in his hand broke into pieces, and red wine mixed with blood flowed from the clenched fingers.

"If you want to kill me, just do it." Angelio raised his head and looked at Duke Locke's fire-breathing gaze without fear.

"Are you really not afraid of death?" This time, Duke Locke stopped the wine glass in his hand, and his surprised eyes began to become solemn, and it seemed that he even breathed out a little thicker.

He still remembered the flattering and shameless look on Angelio's face when he brought his brother's head to see him. If someone had told me at that time that this guy would be an unyielding warrior who would laugh even his big teeth off,

How could such a dog have the bones of a warrior!

It was precisely because of this that I was convinced that what this guy brought back was indeed his brother's head, but now it seems that I was wrong, and very wrong.

This guy's acting skills are absolutely top-notch. He abandoned his self-esteem but retained the most terrifying thing. He not only deceived himself. Even that woman was deceived. If I hadn’t privately felt that the troop dispatch to the northwest coast was suspicious and sent someone to secretly investigate, I don’t know how long this guy would have kept it hidden.

"Do you know how you were discovered?" Duke Locke calmed down his anger. He looked at Angelio with cold eyes, who was determined to die.

"It should be Sidney, I know you took him away this morning!" Angelio took a deep breath and said with an ugly face, "I know your methods. As long as you are willing, even if you are a stone, you can still speak. ! I am the mastermind in this matter! Sidney doesn’t know many things.”

"It's indeed Sidney!" Duke Locke picked up a new wine glass and said slowly with a cold expression. "But unfortunately, he didn't speak. He was stronger than I expected, even until I ordered him to be stripped off." He persisted in his shamelessness until he finally breathed his last an hour ago.

"Sidney!" Angelio clenched his fists and closed his eyes in pain. Sidney's young and energetic face flashed in his mind. Such a young man should have become the pillar of the principality, but now he is withering away. dark torture chamber,

"He is buying time for you to escape. He is a warrior, but because of this, it proves that there must be a problem between you and him." Duke Locke choked down the wine in his hand and said slowly, his face turned red to blood. "He is A proud person with a sense of justice If a person does not admire someone very much, he will never endure the most cruel punishment and favor someone who is scolded as a traitor. Therefore, I summoned you alone just to know. , is he wrong, or am I wrong! "

"Maybe it's because he knows that death is too insignificant compared to living alone and betraying one's faith!" Angelio suddenly opened his eyes, his eyes swept across the surrounding pillars like lightning, his voice stopped, and he suddenly said in a condensed voice.

"Faith?" Duke Locke's tone sounded a little disdainful.

"For the sake of the principality, be prepared to give up all your faith!" Angelio said. "Does the Duke still remember the guards of the Duke's Palace who fought to the last man?"

"Of course I remember them!" Duke Locke was stunned for a moment and said coldly, "If we don't talk about their positions, they are the best young people in Rasend! Unfortunately, they are too ignorant of current affairs."

"Yes, they are the best in Rosende. Many of them are Rosende's outstanding officers and my friends! They fight to the death because they are fulfilling their oath to the principality. When When the principality needed them, they sacrificed everything, including their lives and honors. In the end, there were less than a hundred people, but they stayed here for two full days," Angelio said slowly with the luster of memories flashing in his eyes.

"This is indeed the place where they fought for the last time, but how did you know?" A trace of surprise flashed across Duke Locke's face, and he stopped shaking the wine glass between his fingers and said, "If I remember correctly, regarding the original attack on the Duke's Mansion, The Imperial Guards have already issued the order to keep silent! "

"It's easy, because I was there at the time." Angelio smiled bitterly. "I am the Duke's attendant. How could I not be here? Because of their desperate delay, I had the opportunity to take the Duke's young son who was hiding here." When I escaped from the secret passage, I told myself that if I had the chance , I will come back to the place where they last died and be with them! That time I was a deserter, but this time, I can't fulfill my promise! Let them come in, I will fight here. Until the blood flows into the stone bricks under your feet! Let the soul turn into the wind whistling through!

"I see, I should have thought of it. It seems that the head is also fake!"

The corners of Duke Locke's mouth suddenly grinned unexpectedly, showing a bit of sadness, and said to himself, "To be honest, I have always hated that I have the blood of northwest people flowing in my body, but at this moment, I feel it for the first time. In fact, as a Northwester, I am not as humble as I thought! There is something noble and humble here that I can’t forget, but it’s just my own heart!” Duke Locke sighed with a complicated look, just as Angelio looked confused. At that moment, I stretched out my hands and clapped them together hard,

The loud clap of palms echoed in the empty meeting hall, and the front door of the meeting hall was opened. No murderous guards were seen, only the Duke's old servant Tang De was seen guarding the building.

"Angelio, pack up, we are leaving Rosende!" Duke Locke stood up from his seat.

"Leave...!" Angelio stood there completely dumbfounded. What's the situation? Don't you want to kill yourself? How is this possible?

"I just received a battle report. The Northwest Allied Forces of Vecchia Falcon defeated the 180,000 crusaders in one fell swoop at the Sona River. I believe this news will soon make the entire northwest excited. Those local governors who were helpless will soon Open the door to the northwest coast unconditionally!" Duke Locke said from his old age! The servant took over a blue cloak. "According to the order. All the guards will choose to evacuate tomorrow, and so will we, go to the southwest! Then go to Gaul Kyoto. The number of people I can take away is very limited, and only I was given Of the two places, apart from Old Tang De, I’ve decided that it’s you!”

"Me? Why? Aren't you afraid of me, a spy from the northwest?" Angelio looked stunned, having no idea what Duke Locke was going crazy about.

"I am going to escape, and as a duke who is being persecuted in the northwest, I will go to Kyoto on behalf of all the northwest lords to accuse the atrocities of the Vekia Falcon on the northwest coast!" Duke Locke smiled bitterly, looking up at the luxurious and beautiful proceedings above his head. On the ceiling of the hall, tears flowed down unconsciously, and he said, "It's funny, isn't it? I am a puppet. I have to do what others say, but even a puppet has his own thoughts and feelings!"

"Thoughts and feelings?" Angelio asked with a dull tone and confusion.

Duke Locke's eyes turned to him, and a cold light flashed through his eyes, "This is my hometown. When I returned to Rasonde, I realized that compared to the illusory prosperity of Kyoto, I prefer the mountains and trees here. Here, I am the Duke, but in Kyoto, I am not even worthy of being a watchdog! All Kyoto needs is a man named Locke! The Duke's slave, they promised me to be the general of the northwest, but turned around and gave it to someone else. I once wanted to take revenge, but unfortunately I didn't know what to do? I was just a puppet in their hands, with no soldiers and no power, but I saw you, a puppet and a spy. Don’t you think this revenge combination is interesting?”

"Aren't you afraid that I can't help but kill you on the way?" Angelio looked at Duke Locke in disbelief, gritted his teeth and said coldly, "My friends and relatives all died because of you!"

"Whatever you want!" Duke Locke stretched out his hand, patted his shoulder heavily, and smiled coldly, "I was already dead when I stepped out of this country. I live only for revenge. I want to make the Gauls Take a look, I am in the northwest. I am not just a dog that surrenders under their power. I can help I have a message for the Vecchia Falcon. As long as I can defeat the Gauls, I can give up my life at any time. I know that you will definitely have a way to bring this sentence to you!" After saying this! , Duke Locke had already stepped out of the door of the chamber, leaving Angelio standing there in a daze.

"What's going on!" Five minutes later, Angelio came back to his senses and shook his head with a wry smile.

He could not tell whether Duke Locke was genuine or not. After returning, he sent his servants to mix with the fleeing refugees that night, and handed the general situation to the Falcon Army outside the city. Hu Keqi, who was responsible for besieging the capital of Rasend, was unable If you dare to delay, report this information to Fatty soon.

The next day, the sky became clear, and 5,000 Royal Guards began to evacuate more than 20,000 Rosonde people from the city. Because they did not receive Fatty’s order to intercept, 30,000 Falcon Army cavalry could only watch and mix in. Refugees of the Praetorian Guards to the South Moving, Hu Keqili sent 10,000 cavalry to follow. As soon as he received the order, he would launch a full-scale attack. But time passed slowly, and the order for the attack by His Majesty Falcon was never given. Two days later, these guards crossed the road leading to Southwest boundary line,

Standing on the top of the slope of the border mountains, Angelio on horseback looked back at his hometown of Rosende for a long time.

The order from the Vekia Falcon has been sent to him. Regardless of whether Duke Locke is true or not, Angelio can accompany him to the Gaul Kyoto. This is an excellent opportunity to break into the Gaul Kyoto. The Vekia Falcon has sent People go to Kyoto to help themselves,

There, I will become an eye that enters the heart of the Gauls.

Of course, before that, I have a small task, which is to tell that woman about the poor quality military rations provided by the Southwest Army!

After hearing the news of the Duke's escape, the various regions of Nosend quickly chose to annex the Northwest Coast. In less than five days, all the thousands of miles of Nosend land were planted with the Falcon Army Flag of the Northwest Coast (To be continued..)