hunting light

"Father told me everything." Leon buried his face on Ian's back, like a koala clinging to the tree he depended on for a living.

"His past, his relationship with Dad, and his... agreement with you."

Ian let go of a stone in his heart.He was right.The Duke had indeed always regarded Leon as his true heir.

"I'm sorry..." Leon said with a thick nasal voice, "Ian, I'm sorry...I said that to you..."

"That's not your fault." Ian put his palm on the back of the boy's slightly trembling hand, "You were controlled by hormones at that time, and you were not yourself. And I know you, Leon. Therefore, I never put those Take it to heart."

"But I can't forgive myself." Leon couldn't help sniffling and humming, tears streaming out uncontrollably, all rubbing against the priest's shirt.

"Can being manipulated by hormones do things that hurt you? I'm a human, not an animal. I swore it, Ian. I swore I would never hurt you."

"You just said a few angry words." Ian pulled Leon's hand away, turned around, and cupped his face, "It's over, Leon. Hey, look at me, boy. It's all like this If you grow up and cry, other children will laugh at you."

"This is the last time." Leon wiped his face vigorously, his red eyes and nose were so cute, "Coleman's warriors only shed blood and sweat, never tears!"

"I know." Ian felt even more sad, "Sometimes I really hope that you don't grow up, you can always be innocent and carefree."

"But I wish I could grow into an adult overnight." Leon whispered, "Anyway, being a child has a lot of troubles, so why not be an adult who is at least more independent and has more power?"

Ian was speechless.

The sea gently washes against the reef.The sky is so low that the stars seem to fall into the sea at any moment.

Ian and Leon sat side by side on a fallen tree trunk, took off their shoes, and soaked their feet in the cool water.

Leon sat next to Ian, half resting his head on his shoulder.This gesture of attachment was so pious that Ian was reluctant to push him away.

"Ian, aren't you angry that Bishop Carol plotted against you like this?" Leon asked.

"All setbacks are the Holy Lord's test for me." Yi'an replied calmly.

Leon glanced down at the priest's hand on his lap, where there was a new commandment ring, brass-colored and even more inconspicuous.

"They all say that you are the most devout believer who has been tested. Because only the most devout call will be answered by the Holy Lord." Leon said, "I remembered what you said to me at the statue of the sun god .Indeed, if the Holy Lord's apparitions are all for saving people, then if he doesn't appear, it still means peace."

Ian turned the precept ring and asked with a smile, "Are you afraid when you are trapped at the bottom of the sea?"

"I'm not afraid!" the boy blurted out.But meeting the priest's clear gaze, he bent his straight words: "A little... a little... I'm afraid, I'll never see you again."

Ian held his hand: "I was also very scared. I was afraid that there was no way to save you. Fortunately, the Holy Lord heard my prayer. He made a miracle happen. I regret that I passed out at that time. I heard that You were handsome back then, mech warrior?"

Leon curled his lips smugly: "It's fine. The mecha is broken, and it fell apart as soon as it landed. Well, what did you pray for?"

Ian said: "I promise to dedicate myself, my whole body, my whole soul, to God, and to serve only one Him throughout my life."

Leon was stunned, and slowly turned his head to look at Ian's peaceful profile: "That is to say, you will be a priest forever?"

"Yes." Ian said, "I swear to never give up my faith and to protect the Holy Light for life."

"Why!" Leon exclaimed excitedly, "This is too much!"

"This is a deal between me and the Holy Lord." Ian looked calm, "We can't ask God unconditionally, but we have to exchange what we care about. I exchange my absolute loyalty to the Holy Lord for yours." Life. I think this deal is too good."

"But..." Leon's heart was burning with smoke, "Your life is so long, you can't change it anymore? In case you have other thoughts and want to take off this robe..."

"Then I will be condemned by the Holy Lord and be severely punished." Ian said, "If my belief is not firm, I will break my oath."

The young man trembled all over: "But you also told me that as people grow up and experience more, people's ideas and concepts will change."

"Then I will continue to strengthen my beliefs."

"Are you brainwashing yourself?"

"Leon!" Ian was a little displeased.

Leon whispered: "You did this to save me."

"No." Ian pulled Leon over to sit down, "This is my choice, Leon. I am happy, you don't have to worry about me. I will pray and pray for you all my life. I am willing to be your guardian , grow up with you."

The boy's trembling gradually subsided.He lowered his head, soaking his face in the night: "Will you always guard me?"

"Of course." Ian wrapped his hands in his palms, "Of course I will be by your side. I also want to watch you achieve success and go to the throne of victory. Your well-being, your future, will always be controlled by me Take it to heart."

Leon was silent for a long time.

Ian patted him on the shoulder: "You already know about my cooperation with your father, and our relationship will become closer and closer in the future. We can continue to be friends for a long time, Leon."

The boy let out a long breath, and he didn't seem to be completely relieved, but he chose to compromise for the time being.He's really growing fast.The most obvious manifestation of growing up is to learn to compromise with reality.

"By the way." Leon took out two crumpled letters from his pocket, "I sent this to you specially."

One is a birthday party invitation.Master Leonard Coleman will turn 22 on the 13nd of this month. The Duke of Oran decided to hold a birthday party for his eldest son at the Parthenon Manor to celebrate.

"Father said that when I grow up, he will find a way to get me a title, baron or something." Leon didn't care much, "In short, this is a family and friends banquet, so don't prepare too grandly."

"I will carefully choose a birthday present for you, my young master." Ian smiled brightly, and opened the second letter, "Dear classmate, we are honored to inform you to become Huadu Public School..."

Ian swiped and stood up, his face full of ecstasy: "You have been admitted!"

"Yes." Leon didn't care, stretched his waist, "If I knew Huadu is so easy to take the exam, I should have applied for 'Chloe Public School' in the first place."

"Hey, it's almost enough." Ian said, and couldn't help cheering, "I must prepare a super gift for you, I swear! Congratulations on your successful awakening, turning 13, and being admitted to a prestigious school with your own abilities !"

Ian couldn't help holding the boy's face, and kissed him heavily on the forehead.

Leon was shaken all over and dared not move.

"You are the most beautiful masterpiece of God, Leon!" Ian laughed happily, "I'm so proud of you!"

Leon kicked the waves, watched the priest turn on the flashlight on his wristband and read the admission notice carefully, while letting the cool sea breeze take away the heat from his body.

"By the way, how did you find out about the matter between you and Kent?" Ian suddenly remembered.

"We made peace," Leon said.

In fact, General Hughes personally took the whole family to visit the Parthenon Manor to express his gratitude to Leon who saved his eldest son.The two teenagers shook hands and made peace under the witness of their parents.

"Thank you, buddy." Kent patted Leon on the shoulder generously, "To be honest, it was quite fun when we two killed those monsters together later."

Leon's handsome face was tense for a while, and finally he couldn't hold it anymore, he laughed and said, "Yes, it's pretty cool."

Kent leaned into Leon's ear again and said, "If you like my sister, I can help you create some opportunities."

"Thank you." Leon said politely, "But Sangxia and I are just friends. By the way, if you bully her again..."

"I've educated Luke, he knows the importance." Kent is almost an adult, so naturally he won't bother with the young concubine, "In short, after you enter school, join the fraternity. Many of my friends want to know you. "

"Is it good to make new friends?" Ian laughed.

"It's not bad." Leon snorted, "Father also wants me to swear, this time I have to graduate from Huadu no matter what, otherwise he will really break my leg."

"My father will have a lot of troubles and troubles in the future. You'd better study obediently and don't trouble him."

"I know." Leon said, and asked again, "Ian, does the emperor really think my father is a threat?"

Ian sat back beside the boy, hugging his shoulders, trying to use his thin chest to give him a sense of security.

"Every handover of power is accompanied by bloody killings. Sometimes it's not that we can survive inadvertently. It's that we have been pushed into the ring, and we must fight and kill each other in order to survive .”

"Then is my father in danger?"

Ian hugged Lou Leon tightly: "The Duke is a cautious and smart person. I will do my best to help him. And you, Leon, I will protect you at all costs."

But I'd rather not.The boy said silently in his heart.

Sometimes, I would rather you not be so nice to me...

"Look at the starry sky, it's as beautiful as a dream." Ian looked up at the sky and smiled softly, "The starlight reflected in our eyes tonight may have come from millions of years ago. There is even a light from our home planet Earth. This How rare. Perhaps at the moment of this light refraction, ancient humans were still living peacefully on the earth, and never thought that they would migrate away. And the starlight refracted by Fryer Star will also, on a certain night, Light up the eyes of someone on a planet."

Ian looked at Leon with stars shining in his eyes: "So, don't be too obsessed with the difficulties in front of you, your future is shining brightly ahead."

Leon sent Ian back to the dormitory, watched the lights in his room turn on, and then drove the shuttle back to the manor.

The shuttle drove up to the high ground, Leon stopped, turned around and looked back, his blond hair was blown by the sea breeze, revealing his square and full forehead.

The waves in the bay are like a silver moon, and the priest's dormitory is like a star on the tip of the moon.The window that was lit was the light that could penetrate the misty sea fog and guide him in the vast night.

"You really can't give up your god?" Leon murmured, his handsome facial features twitched in pain, "How can I prevent you from being disappointed in me..."

A few days ago, after Leon completed Alpha's awakening and regained his physical strength, the Duke of Oran took him to the bottom of the Parthenon Manor—his private training room.

Leon has lived in the manor for several years, and has long known that there is such a room, but he has never been able to sneak in successfully.

The training room occupies an entire floor and is divided into several rooms, each with different functions.The Duke cannot have a high-intelligence mech, but he can have a thermal weapon.

So, there is also a large room filled with the duke's exclusive collection.Everything from knives to guns to small handheld blasters, chemical munitions to energy clips.The model of the gun isn't even out of date.

At that time, Leon finally understood why the fire protection measures at home were so strict.Because once the fire spreads and this room explodes, the entire Parthenon Manor will be blown up to the sky.

And the Duke didn't beat him to death because he sounded the alarm, obviously still thinking that he was his own...

"I know you have always been curious about this place." The Duke said, "From now on, you have permission to enter here. Also from today, you will start to receive more rigorous training. I will hire you a more professional coach, And will strictly demand you. If you think you can't accept it, you can tell me in advance."

"I can do it, father!" Leon said immediately.

The Duke nodded: "You already know a lot about the royal family, but there is one thing you still need to know."

The Duke tore away a piece of red cloth from the wall, revealing a huge ancient sword.

It turned out to be an epee used by mechs, it was two meters long.The broken hilt and the notched blade show the flames it has experienced.The glory belongs to the past days, but the murderous aura has soaked its sword soul, and the long river that has passed through the years is still coming.

Leon looked at the giant sword for a moment, and felt the hairs on his skin stand up, and couldn't help but want to bark his teeth, instinctively giving birth to resistance.

"This is a relic of our Coleman ancestors." The Duke of Oran held a soft handkerchief and carefully wiped the ancient sword. "It was inherited by successive Coleman emperors and is one of the symbols of imperial power. But now it is placed on the incense stick. The ancient sword in the Xie Palace Museum of Treasures is a fake. The one in front of you is the real one."

"..." Leon was speechless for a while, "I applaud your courage, father."

The Duke said: "I show it to you so that you can see the motto on it."

There is indeed a motto branded on the mottled sword.

It is an ancient language, and the spelling of the words and sentence grammar are slightly different from the modern language.But having received the hell training from Father Ian, Leon could easily recognize the meaning of this sentence.

"Coleman's warriors, to meet the lost light, to defend freedom with iron and blood."

"I've heard that," Leon said.

"Yes." The Duke nodded. "There is a slogan that has been passed down in the royal family for thousands of years. Many people know it, but no one understands its meaning—the real mission of the Coleman family."

"It's not about opening up territories, it's not about ruling this country. It's about the mission that our family was given from the very beginning, and it's a mission waiting for our warriors to complete."

The Duke took down a sharp machete with a barb from the knife holder below, twisted a blade, and handed it to his son.

Leon held the heavy sword and asked, "What is it?"

The Duke said, "Kill God."