A Tale of Strategies For the Throne

On the northern border, it was already late at night, and the fortress stood on the white snow field, like a towering mountain guarding the northern border.

The bitter cold wind howled high in the sky, and large flakes of snowflakes fell from the night sky and landed on the white ground.

A personal guard braved the cold wind and walked quickly through the corridor, and came to the prison in a corner of the fortress.

In such a cold weather, in the middle of the night, the guards still braved the wind and snow to stand in front of the prison, dutifully blocking the incoming people at the gate.

The guard showed the warrant to the guard, and the guard allowed him to enter the prison.

Not long after, he came out from the prison gate, and one more person followed behind him.

A person who has been in prison for more than half a month.

After being informed by the guards outside the door, Suo quickly walked in.

As soon as he entered the door, he raised his head and met those golden red eyes. Suo Jia was shocked. He lowered his head and knelt down.

"Your Highness..."

He opened his mouth to shout, and the rest of the words were choked in his throat, and he didn't know what to say for a while.

Not long ago, it became known that he had concealed the information of Prince Garlan from the royal city without authorization. At that time, Heymos looked at him with deep eyes, and there was a faint surge of hostility in his eyes.

Then, Prince Heymos, who didn't say a word, directly threw him into prison.

On the grounds of delaying the military situation.

Originally, Suo Jia, who was thrown into prison, was still very unconvinced, thinking in his heart how to persuade His Highness the next time he saw Heymos, so that Heymos could understand his good intentions.

However, shortly after he was thrown into prison, a piece of earth-shattering news came suddenly, like a thunderbolt, the entire Northland Fortress fell into deathly silence.

This terrible news also made Suo Jia stunned on the spot.

His mind went blank, and he was completely stunned.

King Kamos, he...he...

The undefeated God of War in the minds of all Aaron Landis—including Suo Jia also subconsciously think so.

He never thought that King Kamos would actually—

actually...

This year, the winter in the northern region of Aaron Landis was extremely cold.

Kneeling on the ground with his head bowed, Suo Jia thought silently.

Not long ago, he was still trying to encourage His Highness Heymos to fight against King Kamos, but when he suddenly received the news of the king's death, his chest seemed to be empty for an instant.

It was empty there, only the cold wind from the north was blowing cold air, it was bone-chillingly cold.

……

Perhaps the vast majority of Aaron Landis people feel the same way as him now.

grief.

Hesitant.

disturbed.

Still confused...

The land of Aaron Landis collapsed.

The solid ground beneath their feet collapsed.

"Suojia, I want to return to the royal city, you stay here, and my army will be handed over to you."

Standing in front of Soga, Heymos looked down at the priest of the God of the Night kneeling at his feet.

He said, "Assist the cavalry commander Heya to defend the northern border."

Suo Jia's heart was shocked, and he suddenly raised his head.

"Your Highness! No way!"

The golden-red eyes seemed to be dyed by the cold winter wind, making them even colder to the bone.

Heymos stared at Suojia and said, "The Garstad army has already marched towards the royal city."

His voice was not loud, very calm.

But it was that kind of calm that made Suo Jia understand in an instant that no one could change Heymos' decision.

Prince Garlan, who has not recovered from his injuries, is currently in the royal city.

"Your Highness, I can understand your feelings. The person I love is also in the royal city right now."

Taking a deep breath, Suo Jia said.

At this moment, his eyes that had been somewhat confused these days became clear again.

The calm that belonged to the night returned to the priest of the night god once again.

"I empathize with your concerns about Prince Garlan."

He calmly persuaded Heymos.

"However, Your Highness, for the sake of Aaron Landis, please..."

Before Suo Jia finished speaking, Heymos suddenly let out a low laugh, interrupting his words.

…………

………………

The night passed and it was dawn, but the commander's room in the Northland Fortress was still lit.

Hea stayed up all night again.

At this moment, this rider, who has always been strong and tough, has black eyes under his eyes, and his forehead hair, which was always neatly combed in the past, is scattered in front of his eyes.

The man who stayed up all night sat at the table with his head lowered and one hand on his forehead.

Only when he was alone in the room, He Ya dared to show a bit of fatigue.

The news of Kamos King's death in battle was tantamount to a catastrophe for him and the soldiers of the Northland.

While the crowd was still immersed in grief and anger, the Geshu army that had been repelled by them not long ago suddenly made a comeback.

Although the Northland Legion with a heart of grief and indignation successfully repelled the enemy again, the Geshu army, who had obviously heard the news of King Kamos' death in battle, was stationed on the border.

Obviously, the Geshu people wanted to wait for the opportunity to move.

Misfortune never comes singly.

The news came again the day before yesterday that the Garstad people took the captured Judas City as their base, and an army of 10,000+ began to march towards the royal city.

In the royal city, only half of the Third Legion guarded it.

The royal city is in jeopardy.

The crown prince who was seriously injured in the royal city was in danger.

Heya gritted his teeth, his fist on the table was clenched tightly, and his nails pierced deeply into his palm.

However, the Northland Army could not move.

They can't go south to rescue Wangcheng.

Geshu's army is just across the border, eyeing Aaron Landis.

If they move, the northern border will probably fall immediately.

Gaishu's army will attack the northern border and head south all the way.

In this way, Aaron Landis is really over.

Not only the northern border, Heya can imagine it without guessing, and the eastern border may also be the same. ISIS will never let go of this great opportunity.

The Fourth Army in the Eastern Region must also be unable to move, unable to rescue Wangcheng.

The dim light shone on Heya's side face. Having made the difficult decision of 'not going to rescue Wangcheng', he closed his eyes in pain and let out a long breath.

At this moment, hurried footsteps suddenly came from outside the door.

In the next second, the door was pushed open heavily without notification, and anxious shouts of someone came from the room.

"Your Excellency! His Royal Highness Heymos is going to break through the city gate!"

Hea stood up abruptly.

…………

When Heya hurried to the city gate, what he saw was Prince Heymos who was confronting the defenders of the fortress gate, and the guards following him.

At dawn, Heymos stood before the city gate on horseback. White snowflakes fell on his head, dyeing his pitch-black hair a little white.

He stood quietly, with a calm expression, and did not act too violently. It didn't look like he wanted to break out of the city gate, but more like he was waiting for Heya's arrival.

Layer after layer of soldiers stopped at the gate of the city, watching him nervously.

Everyone in the Northland knew the prestige of this 'Black Knight', and they all knew that no one here could stop him.

But they must obey the orders of their superiors, even if they die, they cannot let Heymos out of the city.

Heya rushed over on his horse and stopped Heymos' horse sideways.

"His Royal Highness Heymos!"

he snapped.

"What do you want to do!"

Facing the stern Hea, Heymos looked extremely calm.

"Back to the royal city."

He said, an understatement.

That bland sentence made Heya choke. He was just about to get angry, but seeing Heymos looking at him indifferently, for some reason, the anger in his heart was drained in an instant. .

He smiled wryly.

"Your Highness, you should understand the current situation."

Hea's tone also became calmer.

He looked at Heymos and said, "King Kamos died in battle, the Garstad army has already attacked the Royal City, Prince Garlan is sick in bed, it is difficult to support the overall situation, and we are even more powerless to rescue the Royal City. "

"once……"

Once the royal city falls.

Hya paused, but in the end he couldn't say this sentence.

"Prince Heymos, if things turn out like that, you are the only one who can support Aaron Landis, so you must stay here."

He said, "For the future of Aaron Landis..."

Wang Cheng didn't know if he could hold on.

And once Wangcheng falls, the crown prince in the city will undoubtedly die.

If so, Prince Heymos is the only hope.

No matter what, he couldn't let the last heir to the throne of Aaron Landis return to the dangerous place in the royal city.

As if he didn't hear Heya's persuasion at all, Heymos spoke again indifferently.

"Open the gate."

He said, and the galloped horse took two steps forward again.

Heya stopped Heymos on horseback, and the groups of soldiers behind him also stopped in front of the city gate.

He stared at Heymos.

"Unless you step over my dead body."

He said, categorically.

"Unless you kill all the Aaron Landis soldiers behind me, otherwise, Your Highness, we will not let you step out of the city gate!"

Heymos raised his eyes, and his golden-red eyes looked at Heya.

He raised his hand, showed the scroll he had been holding in his hand, and threw the paper away in the air.

On the lower side of the parchment, the familiar fiery red coat of arms appeared in front of Heya.

"The letter written by King Kamos himself, he ordered me to return to the royal city immediately."

Heymos said while throwing the scroll to Gea.

He Ya caught it, and seeing the familiar handwriting on the parchment, he suddenly opened his eyes wide.

This is an edict written by King Kamos himself more than half a month ago...that is, in the past few days.

Holding the scroll of parchment, Heya didn't know what to do for a while.

Wang Ling is absolute.

However, the current situation...

Just when Heya was hesitating, a voice suddenly came from the opposite side.

"Your Excellency Heya, do you mean that because King Kamos has passed away, are you going to disobey his orders?"

One sentence made Heya furious.

"How dare you slander my loyalty to the king like this!"

He glared at the priest in blue who said the words just now behind Heymos.

"Then, please express your loyalty, obey the will of King Kamos, and let His Royal Highness Heymos return to the royal city."

"........."

During this period of time, Heya was physically and mentally exhausted because of the disasters that followed, and he had no time to rest for a long time in the past few days. When he saw the handbook with his own eyes just now, he was distracted for a while, and Suo Jia caught the conversation.

He was sullen and didn't speak.

Seeing Heya standing there on horseback, the scroll in his hand remained motionless.

Soga said again: "Your Excellency Heya, please obey King Kamos' will."

Will.

He Ya felt a sudden pain in his heart.

Even if the king has passed away, he cannot violate the will of the king.

He lowered his eyes, rode his horse back to get out of the way, and raised his hand to signal the soldiers on the wall to open the gate.

The heavy winch turned slowly, raising the gate of the Northland Fortress.A group of cavalry rushed out of the gate, and galloped across the white snow field under the leadership of the black armored knight.

Reflecting the morning sun, their figures gradually disappeared on the horizon, only the series of horseshoe prints on the snowy field showed their departure.

Then, those horseshoe prints were quickly buried by falling snowflakes.

Standing on the high city wall, Soga looked at the direction Heymos was leaving.

He thought again of their conversation last night.

……

"Your Highness, I sympathize with your anxiety, but for the future of Aaron Landis..."

A low laugh interrupted him.

"Empathy?"

Suddenly, Suo Jia felt a terrifying sense of trembling.

The creepy feeling made the back of his neck numb for a while, making it difficult to breathe.

I couldn't tell whether it was the gaze of the person above, or the trembling sensation caused by that person's indescribable voice.

"If he's not here..."

That extremely calm voice came from above that made him feel chills from the bottom of his heart.

"Then, everything in this world is meaningless."

he heard Prince Heymos say.

"...including Aaron Landis."

…………

Soga chose to help his master leave the Northland and go to the impending danger to the royal city.

Because he felt fear.

If Prince Garlan really disappears into this world...

He didn't dare to think about what His Royal Highness Heymos would become and what terrible things he would do.

Lord Heymos is mighty.

Incomparably powerful.

Everyone thinks so.

But Suo Jia suddenly realized at this moment, maybe...Prince Heymos is actually more fragile than anyone else.

Because as long as one person, that one person, can make it completely collapse.

…………

........................

Judas City.

Gastard's army has been away for several days, and the whole city has become more and more quiet, quiet.

And perhaps because of the departure of the Gastad army, the Gastad people who stayed in the city and were in charge of guarding this stronghold treated the Aaron Landis people more and more harshly.

They adopted a high-handed rule and used extremely strict methods to control the city, so that the Aaron Landis people obeyed their orders obediently.

As long as they show their dissatisfaction with the Gastadians, or disobey the orders of the Gastadians, they will be arrested immediately and even executed on the spot.

The soldiers of Gastad can do whatever they want in the city. They can break into anyone's house and plunder what they want. If the city residents dare to resist, they will be beaten or killed directly.

They use this horrible and brutal way of ruling to control the city of Judas.

These days, the residents of the city tensed their nerves whether they were talking or walking, and they dared not take a breath.

Under the brutal rule of the Gastadians, they lived in fear and trembling.

They can't even sleep well every night, worrying that Gasdad soldiers will break into their homes anytime, anywhere, abuse their wives and daughters, rob their property, and even take their lives.

Precarious.

This kind of difficult and humiliating day made the dissatisfaction of the Aaron Landis more intense like a flame sprinkled with grease.

However, no matter how much they hated the Gastadians, they could only continue to endure each other's bullying without the ability to resist.

On this day, the day passed by in a hurry, and it was already late at night.

The road is calm and quiet, and people are rarely seen.

Suddenly, there was a loud noise in the street.

On the way home, a girl wearing an old cloth scarf and holding a bamboo basket was entangled by several Gastard soldiers passing by.

She panicked and begged the soldiers to let her go home.

Of course, her entreaties had no effect.

Gritting her teeth, she took advantage of the other party's unpreparedness and kicked the soldier who was holding her hand. The basket in her hand fell to the ground, and the dry biscuits scattered all over the floor.

In the dark night, she ran forward desperately.

The sound of chasing footsteps and soldiers shouting and cursing from behind was like the footsteps of devils, approaching her little by little.

The miserable fate of her neighbors and friends at the hands of these devil-like soldiers emerged in her mind, she gritted her teeth and ran forward desperately.

She held back the tears that were about to flow.

There is no use crying now, if she is caught up and caught, she will only have a dead end——

Seeing that the soldiers who were chasing up were about to grab the girl's hair with their hands, suddenly a stone was kicked over in the darkness, blocking the soldiers' feet without a trace.

The soldier at the front tripped and fell to the ground with a plop, blocking the two companions behind him.

The girl who didn't know that she had escaped unharmed made a turn in front, but rushed in, only to realize that she had run into a dead end.

She looked at the wall in front of her with a pale face, and the sound of those people's footsteps getting closer made her look desperate.

Suddenly, a hand stretched down from the roof of the nearby dwelling.

"catch me."

Like a person about to drown suddenly seeing a piece of driftwood, the girl desperately grabbed that hand.

In the next second, she was forcefully pulled up to the roof by that hand.

In the dark night, she couldn't see who the person who rescued her was, so she hurriedly fled here with him in panic.

The man led her to jump off the other side of the roof, turned several turns, and came to a remote and safe place.

She was still in shock, but seeing that she was safe now, the fear that had been suppressed just now suddenly surged into her heart.

She squatted on the ground, buried her head in her skirt, and trembled with her arms holding her.

The fear of what happened just now, and the fearful life she has been living since the Gastadians occupied Judas City, made the young girl finally couldn't bear it anymore at this moment, sobbing with her voice suppressed. up.

After crying for a few minutes, she finally remembered something.

"Thank... thank you for saving me."

She wiped her tears and looked up to thank the person in front of her.

As soon as she looked up, the face under the moonlight made her stunned for a moment.

What a beautiful boy.

She had never seen such a good-looking person.

"That, that... I really appreciate, thank you..."

In front of such a good-looking young man, thinking of her dusty and dirty appearance at the moment, she was a little embarrassed, blushed, lowered her head and stammered to thank you.

The boy looked at her and smiled at her.

"During this time, it's best not to go out so late alone, it's not safe."

He said, then leaned over and reached out to her, as if trying to pull her up from the ground.

Looking at the hand with slender and white fingers in front of her, and her rough hand covered with mud, the girl shook her head in panic.

Not daring to grab the pretty hand in front of her, she lowered her head, not to mention looking at the boy, and spoke in a panic.

"I'm sorry to trouble you... Actually, I don't want to go home so late, but there's no way..."

Her mind went blank at this moment, and under the gaze of this beautiful young man, she didn't even know what she was talking about.

Maybe it's because those amber eyes are so reassuring that people let go of all their defenses unconsciously.

Perhaps it was because the boy's smile felt too warm, filling his chest, as if it was about to overflow.

"I'm also afraid of those Gastardians..."

she stammered.

"But I can't go to work... Dad is sick... I have to go out to earn money..."

"Obviously it was the same before...Obviously we used to live well, before those Gastadians came...Even if Dad was sick, we lived well, but..."

A few words were spoken upside down and incoherent.

The corners of her eyes were so sore that she couldn't control it anymore, and big tears fell out of nowhere.

She has endured it for a long, long time.

Overnight, the world was turned upside down, and her world suddenly changed.

"Woo...uh...I don't want this kind of life, if I can go back...to the time when I don't have to be afraid..."

She clenched her hands tightly on the ground, and the tears falling down her face were stained in a mess.

She whimpered twice, and when she suddenly realized that there was someone in front of her, she quickly raised her hand and vigorously wiped away the tears that kept falling.

"I'm sorry, I'm really sorry, I suddenly said these nonsense words to you, I didn't mean it, I just..."

The boy who had been standing quietly in front of her bent down.

He bent his knees and squatted in front of the girl.

He stretched out his hands and gently held the girl's hand that was wiping tears away.

Rough, muddy hands, he held them indifferently.

"No need to apologize, you did nothing wrong."

He said softly,

"It is the people who put you in this situation who should apologize."

Being held by hand, the girl stared blankly at the boy in front of her.

Under the moonlight, her shadow was reflected in those eyes that were as clear as amber.

That gaze seemed to envelop her whole body in the warm golden sunlight.

"You're doing well and being strong."

For some reason, the sweet voice of the young man seemed to have a magical power that penetrated the hearts of the people, soothing her heart.

"Soon, everything will be back to how it was before, I promise you."

It was obviously impossible, but when the young man said it, it inexplicably gave her a feeling of wanting to trust her.

She has a strange feeling.

The boy looked at her as if he was guarding her.

That gave her, who had been in panic these days, a sense of peace and peace at this moment.

"Now, go back first, go back to your father who is waiting for you, okay?"

"Um……"

…………

At this moment, the blond knight hiding aside looked at the scene not far away.

Seeing Garlan's faint smile towards the girl, his heart that had been quite restless these days finally relaxed at this moment.

"fine……"

He looked at the prince.

Fortunately, the prince is still the same as before.

"...No change."

"Are you worried about the prince?"

A burly man appeared beside him.

"Wata, did you solve it?"

"Well, those guys couldn't find anyone, so they left."

Vata said.

Not long ago, he was the one who kicked the stone secretly and tripped the soldier.

More than half a month ago, the city of Judas fell into melee at night, and Vata, who was extremely sensitive to danger, was one of the few people who escaped from the city of Judas.

After evading the pursuers, a few days later, he discovered Kaihos' code, and followed the code to find Prince Garlan and Kaihos hiding in the deep mountain forest.

Then, following the prince's order, he sneaked into the city of Judas and mixed in with the slaves in the city. He had old slave tattoos on his body, which made it impossible for anyone to doubt his slave status.

Tonight, he came out to meet the prince secretly in the alley, mainly to report the current situation.

It's just that I didn't expect that I accidentally bumped into the Aaron Landis girl who was being chased by Gasdard soldiers.

"Your Excellency, I don't think you need to worry about the prince."

"...Your Highness has experienced very cruel things. He witnessed the death of King Kamos with his own eyes, and his heart must be very painful. I am worried..."

"You are worried that the prince will be stimulated by that incident and his temperament will change drastically, aren't you?"

"..."

Keyhors didn't speak, but silence was tacit consent.

In just half a month, the prince grew up rapidly.

After that day, he didn't shed a single tear, and he rarely showed pain.

These days, he has been calmly and calmly planning everything.

Kyhos was very worried, because the death of King Kamos would make the prince cold and paranoid.

But at this moment, the knight finally breathed a sigh of relief.

The prince hasn't changed.

Although his eyes began to sharpen.

But his tenderness and light are the same as before.

"When I was a slave, I saw a lot of people whose temperaments changed drastically because they were suddenly slaves."

Vata said,

"They are too fragile, and the sudden change in the surrounding environment makes them unbearable, and they instinctively want to escape, so their temperament changes drastically."

He suddenly changed the subject.

"Your Excellency Kaihors, more than ten years ago, King Kamos witnessed the poisoning and death of his predecessor. This was an extremely cruel thing for him. So, has his temperament changed drastically because of this?"

Kaihos didn't speak, but turned to look at Vata.

"I'm just a reckless man who was born as a slave. I don't understand many things. But I know that a real strong man will not change himself because of anything he encounters."

"Because their strength allows them to take on everything."

Vata said,

"King Kamos is like this, and now, so is the prince."

Looking up, Vata looked at Garlan not far away.

"Lord Kehoes, the prince does not need your worries, nor anyone else's."

"He is very strong, very strong...and this kind of power is stronger than you and me, better than anyone else."

"King Kamos chose the prince."

Vata said,

"Because Prince Garlan is the only person in this world who is strong enough to inherit the will of the Lion King."