A Tale of Strategies For the Throne

The sun has long since risen, the long night has passed, and the sun shines on the land of Judas City again.

Just overnight, the entire city of Judas changed its appearance.

The shouts of killing at night made the people in the city huddle in their houses all night in fear.

After one night, when the city finally quieted down, some daring people sneaked out their heads to look, only to find that the Gasdad soldiers who used to flaunt their power in the city and wantonly bullied the Aaron Landis were gone. .

Under the early morning sun, Aaron Landis cavalry in black and red leather armor can be seen everywhere on the streets of the city.

The familiar soldier's attire brought tears to the eyes of the people of Judas City.

The hearts that had been restless all night finally let go at this moment. They looked at their soldiers excitedly, and the familiar black and red colors made them feel extremely at ease.

……

In the gorgeous castle in the center of the city, in a room above the high tower, Juta stood in front of the tall French windows, looking down at the countless Aaron Landis soldiers who had surrounded the castle.

He was only wearing a shirt on his upper body, and his right shoulder was wrapped in a thick bandage, and the bandage at the shoulder blade was still oozing bright red blood.

He was very pale.

I don't know if it was from the arrow wound in the shoulder that was throbbing with pain, or from the soldiers surrounding the castle below, or both.

Last night, he was rescued by his own soldiers after being shot by an arrow, and fled back to the castle.

After he forced himself to send someone to convey the news of the fall of the East City Gate to the Gastades who were suppressing the slaves, he lost consciousness and passed out.

Who knows, when I wake up, everything has been turned upside down.

He had thought that the powerful Gastadians were defeated in an instant.

And the glorious future he had imagined countless times also disappeared overnight.

As he once said.

The winner is king.

But now he has become a loser.

... As both a betrayer and a loser, he will be nailed to the pillar of shame forever, and there is no possibility of turning over.

why?

Uta gritted his teeth.

The veins on the back of his fist pressed against the wall bulged.

Why did things turn out this way?

His clenched teeth rattled.

Why did he fail?

This is not how it should be!

shouldn't-

At this moment when Juta was gnashing his teeth in hatred, he suddenly saw the young man standing on a horse in front of the gate below the castle, and the blond hair shining brightly in the sun.

Suddenly, he remembered the flying blond hair that was etched in his memory last night.

The arrow wound on his right shoulder suddenly ached sharply.

the crown prince.

He stared fixedly at the blond boy.

It turned out that it was the crown prince.

"My lord, what should we do now?"

The disturbed voice of his subordinate came from behind.

Pressing the bandage on his right shoulder with one hand, Juta closed his eyes, and a strand of forehead hair fell weakly from Juta's eyes.

His eye sockets were shrouded in shadows, and his face was full of ashes.

"Open the door."

He said dejectedly.

"...surrender to the crown prince."

…………

Aaron Landis's army stood quietly in front of the castle. They stood upright, motionless, tall and straight like a large pine forest.

Before the gate of the castle, Garlan stood on a horse.

Kehos and Xinyas also rode behind him.

After waiting for a while, Xinyas became a little impatient. He looked at the gate of the castle, thought about it for a while, and then leaned over to talk to Garlan in a low voice.

"Brother, I can smash that kind of gate with a few hammers, so why not..."

He was just halfway through speaking when there was a sudden creaking sound. Xin Yas raised his head and was surprised to find that the gate of the castle opened by itself from the inside.

A pale-faced general came out of the gate with a dozen of his subordinates, their hands and bodies were empty, without any weapons.

They knelt down before Garlan and bowed their heads deeply.

Seeing this scene, the soldiers in the castle who were still holding on to their spears and swords were stunned for a moment, but then, many people showed relief expressions on their faces.

The next moment, they threw down their weapons and knelt down together with their generals to surrender.

It seemed that he did not see Juta and the others kneeling in front of the horse, nor did he see the surrendered soldiers kneeling on the ground. Garlan rode straight forward on the horse, his golden pupils staring straight at the open door ahead.

The young man kept his eyes fixed.

The steed beneath him trotted past the kneeling Juta as if he wasn't even there.

Keyhos and others followed behind him without stopping, and rode past the kneeling group of people.

Juta knelt on the ground, bowing his head deeply.

He watched the horseshoes pass by him one by one.

The surrounding area was terribly quiet, only the sound of pattering horseshoes kept ringing beside him.

No one spoke to him, not even scolding and cursing.

Everyone turned a blind eye to him, as if he didn't exist at all.

It was obvious that he had already planned to howl and beg for mercy to the crown prince, and to confide in the words of his last resort, but at this moment, Juta was unable to speak a single word.

His heart seemed to be tightly grasped by an invisible big hand, which almost made him suffocate.

The arrow wound on his shoulder suddenly hurt sharply, causing his body to tremble slightly.

After riding his horse through the wide vestibule and before the gate of the castle, Garlan got off his horse and walked into the castle.

The hall was very quiet. Both the soldiers and the servants knelt on both sides. They knelt down, bowed their heads deeply, and humbly pressed their foreheads to the ground.

At this moment, only the footsteps of Garlan and the others echoed in the hall.

Garlan didn't stop for a single step. He walked quickly, led by a soldier who sneaked into the castle disguised as a slave, walked straight through the hall, crossed the courtyard behind, and came to a huge cold storage at the back of the castle. Before.

The door was opened, and a large cloud of white mist gushed out.

The boy kept walking, and plunged headlong into the icy white mist.

Walking to the depths of the room, an ice coffin came into Garlan's eyes.

The familiar stalwart body lay there quietly.

Because of their admiration for the bravery of the Lion King, the Gastadians rarely restrained the body of King Kamos.

The slightly curly short golden brown hair is scattered on the ice and snow, and the Lion King is lying quietly, as if he is just sleeping.

The dilapidated black-red armor that was still stained with blood that could not be wiped off covered the tall body with dark brown skin, and the strong and powerful arms were placed on the chest.

The sleeping face was still tough and well-defined, with a high nose and deep eyes, and a short stubble on the chin.

It's like the day when a little child and a man first met.

From that day on, men always have just a little stubble on their chins.

Time seemed to never pass.

Standing next to the ice platform, Garlan bent over, his long golden hair fell from his shoulders and fell on the cheek of the sleeping Lion King.

He lowered his head and kissed that cold forehead.

Just like in the past, many times, when the night came and the darkness fell, his brother Wang would kiss his forehead, as if guarding him in the dark.

my brother.

my father.

King of Aaron Landis.

The glorious and immortal lion.

The gods crown you.

You have been honored and returned to the kingdom of the gods.

But I believe.

Standing in the hands of the gods, you will still look down on the land of Aaron Landis that you guard.

You are in the kingdom of the gods, and you will still watch... the me you guard.

……

Garlan raised his head, and his eyes fell on the sleeping King Kamos.

Amidst the brown curls, a crown of lapis lazuli gold intertwined with laurel leaves crowned the Lion King.

The sky-like lapis lazuli gemstone was stained with a drop of blood, and that blood seemed to seep into the gemstone. For some reason, after so long, it was still as bright red as it had just flowed out.

That drop of blood.

The bright red is about to drip, and it will not flow.

Garlan reached out and took off the lapis lazuli gold crown from King Kamos's head.

He knelt on one knee before the sleeping Lion King.

The blood-stained cloak was scattered at his feet.

Close your eyes.

Those cheeks with soft lines are more tenacious than anything at this moment.

Bow down.

White hands held up the golden crown.

The boy put the lapis lazuli crown that seemed to be dotted with blood beads on his head.

……

Kaihos stood at the door, did not go in, and blocked Xinyas who wanted to go in with Garlan.

Prince Garlan certainly didn't want others to see his frail, crying appearance.

Keyhors thought.

Even if it is myself as a guardian knight.

The sun shone down, illuminating the area brightly, but it couldn't illuminate the heavy heart of the blond knight guarding the door.

He stood silently at the door and waited.

Time passed by minute by minute, just a quarter of an hour was extremely long for him, and every second made him feel like he was tormenting in the fire.

Just when Keyhors could hardly wait any longer, there was a creak, and the door opened again.

Garlan's figure emerged from the gushing white mist, and stood in front of everyone again.

The wind blowing from in front of him lifted the light blue cloak behind him high at that moment, and then gently draped it on his back again.

The icy white mist slowly dissipated around him, as if the boy was walking from the ice and snow.

Kyhoes' pupils shrank suddenly.

He saw the golden crown of lapis lazuli and laurel leaves on the prince's golden hair.

Crown of King Kamos.

A crown of lapis lazuli gold glistens brightly in the sun.

After a night of melee, Garlan's fair cheeks were stained with dust, and his body was still stained with blood.

The long sword at his waist reflected a chilling light.

The boy's figure was as tall as usual, slightly slender, with a beautiful face.

But at this moment, as the boy stood there, an unexplainable aura oozes from him.

That kind of momentum actually gives people a faint sense of oppression.

That made Keyhos lose his mind for a moment at this moment.

majesty.

That invisible sense of oppression is called majesty.

Although it was still very faint, as if it had just sprouted, but at this moment, he could truly feel the aura from the young prince that he had only felt from King Kamos in the past.

——That is the majesty of a king——

Came back from the momentary trance, Kyhos looked at the prince who had already stepped forward.

The golden crown and the golden hair complement each other, brighter than the sun in the sky.

The only remaining green pupils reflected the clusters of golden light, and a bright smile appeared in the knight's eyes, and he quickly caught up with Garlan's pace.

That is his king.

A king who is stronger and tougher than anyone else.

……

………………

At noon, the entire city of Judas is very lively.

The city has been silent for too long, as if dead.

Now, it's finally alive again.

The townspeople flocked to the center of the city with excitement, before the castle that they had once avoided.

At this moment, the alleys were empty, and the surroundings of the castle were densely packed with people.

Although they are all human beings, the land is extremely quiet.

Everyone concentrated and held their breath, raised their heads, and stared at the scene in front of them with wide eyes.

On the castle, the white flag symbolizing Gastard fell from the flagpole.

It was discarded at random, lost in the depths of the jungle.

Then, under the watchful eyes of everyone, the lion flag with red background and gold pattern fluttered in the sun, and slowly rose into the sky.

At last the fiery banner flew once more over the castle, over the city of Judas.

In the red flame that seemed to be burning high in the sky, the golden lion seemed to be roaring towards the sky and the earth.

Everyone looked at the fluttering red flag excitedly, and the next second, enthusiastic cheers almost toppled the roof of the castle.

Everyone raised their hands and howled and cheered wantonly.

They yelled like they were going crazy, with tears in their eyes, as if they wanted to vent all the pain and fear they had endured this month at this moment.

Among the cheering crowd, an old woman was supported by her son.

She stood tremblingly, raised her head, her eyes were fixed on the familiar fiery red lion flag, and her eyes showed a look of peace of mind.

Her son supported her by the side, looking excited.

"I said, nothing will happen, nothing will happen!"

He shouted to his mother at the top of his voice amidst the deafening cheers all around him.

"The crown prince is here! He will protect Aaron Landis, protect us, just like King Kamos—"

He yelled and looked up.

"Look, the crown prince is right there!"

On the open-air balcony of the castle, the young Dauphin stood there.

Maybe his figure doesn't look as burly as the Lion King, but at this moment, as long as he stands there, everyone feels extremely at ease.

They cheered and shouted for the crown prince.

For Aaron Landis.

…………

On the other side of the cheering crowd, a girl in sackcloth covered her mouth in disbelief.

That is--

She looked at the young man standing on the high platform, and recognized the familiar figure at a glance.

Crown Prince?

The person who saved her that night was the crown prince?

The girl's mind was blank at the moment.

This astonishing event temporarily stopped her thinking.

She just covered her mouth, staring blankly at the beautiful blond boy in her memory.

Yes.

She was right.

it's him.

Although she couldn't see her face clearly from too far away, the figure was just as she remembered, which made people feel at ease.

That golden hair is like the sunshine that can warm everything.

It turns out...he is the crown prince...

The Dauphin who saved the city.

Unable to explain why, suddenly, a tear fell from the corner of the girl's eyes covering her mouth.

【do not be afraid. 】

She suddenly remembered the warm smile the boy showed her that night.

That reassuring voice seemed to ring in her ears again.

【I promise you that. 】

The girl closed her eyes, tears rolled down her cheeks, soaking the back of her hands.

[Everything will go back to the way it was before. 】

She didn't know why she was crying so hard all of a sudden.

But the corners of the sore eyes were crying uncontrollably.

She cried uncontrollably.

……

Do not be afraid.

My people.

I assure you, everything will go back to how it was before.

I would bring Aaron Landis back to the old days.