A Tale of Strategies For the Throne

The bright moon hangs high in the sky, casting soft moonlight on the earth.

The night was supposed to be peaceful, but the city of Vinal this night was a little more chaotic amidst the tranquility.

Because there is a war going on in the city by night.

Under the leadership of the dignitaries in the city, those believers of Wanwu Cult who were lurking in the city secretly opened the city gate to welcome their companions who had already been squatting outside the city, and prepared to fight aggressively in the city.

Rushing into the homes of residents in the city, robbing finances, taking away women and children, the ignorant guys solve it on the spot, and listen to the wailing of the weak.

These bloodthirsty lunatics masquerading as thieves are gearing up for their feast of the night—

However, before their carnival even started, they were strangled in the cradle.

They even just entered the city, and before they had time to kick open the gate of a household, they found that their group was surrounded by a group of heavily armed cavalry.

Needless to say, these fanatics were defeated when they met the regular army, especially the elite guards who followed King Kamos's battles.

The fanatics of the All Things Cult wearing black robes were all killed by the knights mercilessly, while the subordinates of the powerful and powerful were pressed to identify their masters. All the corrupt officials in the country were dug out of the mud!

While many officials were still asleep, they were arrested by the knights who rushed through the gate.

The citizens of Vinal City didn't even know that such a terrible war had taken place outside their gates, and they were immersed in their dreams without knowing it.

I'm afraid they will have to wait until the next morning before they know about it, and then they will be terrified.

King Aaron Landis, with brown hair like a lion's mane, was riding a horse in the night, and the black horse under him stood proudly on the ground with its head held high.

Except for the running sound of horseshoes around, there is no other sound. These specially trained war horses will not easily neigh when they are in war.

King Kamos was looking around, watching his knights carry out his orders in an orderly manner, and deal with complicated matters one by one.There were nearly a hundred knights riding quietly behind him, waiting for his next order.

He thought about it for a while, and felt that there was nothing to add for the time being, so he got off the horse and planned to torture the captive himself.However, he walked a few steps, and before he reached the captives, the grass under his feet suddenly moved, and a small black figure sprang out from it, squeaking at him.

Seeing the familiar little black mouse, Kamos subconsciously frowned.

Generally speaking, if there is no emergency, the knight will not release the little black mouse to report to him.

He reached out to grab the little black mouse, removed the copper pipe tied around its neck, and opened the letter hidden inside to read.

Before looking at it, Kamos frowned slightly, but in the next second, his expression suddenly changed.

Heymos was originally standing on the captive's side, but when King Kamos stopped halfway and saw the little black mouse, he suddenly had a bad feeling.

He remembered that the little black mouse was domesticated by the remaining knight. Was it because something happened in Ayr Town that he sent the letter so late?

Thinking of this, he subconsciously walked over to King Kamos.

As soon as he came here, he saw that King Kamos' face changed after reading the letter. He couldn't care about anything else, so he walked over quickly and asked directly.

"What happened to Garlan?"

King Kamos didn't say anything, he just stuffed the note into Heymos' hand.

Then, he turned around and quickly walked back to the black horse, and got on the horse.

He swept away the less than a hundred knights who were still around him, and turned his head again, his eyes fell on a middle-aged knight commander who was giving orders not far away.

"Will!"

He shouted the name of the knight commander who was known for his stability, and said, "You will handle the rest of the city of Vinal!"

After clicking on the person in charge here, Kamos pulled the reins, turned his head and shouted to the knight behind him.

"Rebellion in Ayrtown! Everyone here follow me!"

Before he finished speaking, the pitch-black steed under him rushed into the night with his thoughts like an arrow leaving the string.

And the second after Kamos rushed out with his horse, another steed was almost rear-footed, carrying Heymos into the night.

…………

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

Contrary to the quiet city of Vinal, the town of Ayr, which had been filled with all kinds of noisy sounds in the first half of the night, was strangely quiet at this moment.Only on the edge of the town, the houses that were set on fire on the road out of the town were still burning, making crackling noises, and the flames burned the night sky red.

Nearly a thousand rioting refugees have gathered in the center of the town at this moment, around a mansion, and they who were still shouting passionately a moment ago have inexplicably quieted down.

Holding torches, they silently surrounded the house, watching everything that was happening in the small courtyard.

Looking at the past from a distance, his gaze flitted over the blazing fire from the edge of the town. When Garlan withdrew his gaze, he had already walked up to Keli and the old man, the refugee leader named Gia. in front of you.

As long as the man stretched out his hand, he could easily grab the little child.

"...Aren't you afraid that I'll take you hostage?"

Looking at Prince Garlan walking in front of him, the man was silent for a few seconds, and then asked.

Surrounded by thousands of people, could he still grow wings and fly out?

These commoners believe in the gods, but based on his experience as the so-called beloved of the gods, Garlan knows very well that it is impossible for the so-called Aaron Landis gods to reach out to humans, nor can they Show miracles on earth.

Otherwise, the so-called Son of Destiny wouldn’t have died four times, okay——

Of course, it was impossible for Garlan to say the above-mentioned complaints about the gods in public.

Garlan stood there, with a calm expression on his face, and said calmly.

"If you have such a plan, it doesn't make any difference whether I stand there or stand here."

This seemingly understatement sentence, not surprisingly, won the admiration of the crowd, "You are worthy of being a prince".

Even the leader of the refugees was no exception. He took a deep look at Garlan, and his eyes became more and more complicated.

Then, he bent down, knelt down on one knee, and knelt in front of Garlan.

"Your Highness," Gia said, "under the witness of the gods, I swear to you that what I say next is absolutely true."

"If I tell a lie to the gods and you, even if it is just one sentence, my body will be cut into pieces, and my soul will be burned by fire after death, and I will never rest in peace."

The kneeling man uttered an oath that everyone was shocked to hear, causing a small commotion among the surrounding refugees.

The little girl on the side grabbed Grandpa's hand nervously, and the old man sighed softly and said nothing.

"it is good."

Garlan looked at the man kneeling in front of him and answered him.

"I will listen to what you said, and then tell Brother Kamos what you said."

"...Yes, Your Highness."

Gia took a deep breath, then raised her head and looked at Garlan.

"I am a native of Vinal, since I was born. I am a mercenary. I have been employed by caravans with my companions for a long time, responsible for escorting caravans in various cities. My wife and children are Living in the city of Vinal, spending a short time with my wife and children every month is my greatest joy."

He raised his hand and pointed to the people behind him.

"These people are just like me, they are ordinary people from Vinal City. We have been living our lives honestly and dutifully. Although life is difficult, as long as we can live peacefully with our families, We're already content."

Gia said, the words that were originally full of nostalgia suddenly changed at this moment, and the tone became sharper, with anger and hatred.

"But all of this was destroyed! More than a month ago! On the day when the flood broke out in the city of Vinal—"

After that day, countless ordinary but peaceful families were destroyed.

Countless people have lost their loved ones and friends, and watched their important people die.

On that day, the city of Vinal was like hell.

"If it's really a natural disaster, if it's really just a punishment from the gods to us ungodly people, then we'll admit it." He gritted his teeth and said, "But that's not the case! It's not a natural disaster, nor is it a punishment from God! The Vinal River shouldn't have burst its banks, our cities shouldn't have been flooded, our loved ones shouldn't have died—"

His voice suddenly became high-pitched, and there was deep hatred in his eyes.

"The Vinal River has not been repaired since the second half of last year! The embankment has not been maintained for more than half a year! How can it not break the embankment?"

"During this period of time, we went to the governing hall many times together, asking the consul to repair the embankment as soon as possible, but every time we were kicked out. The old people have always been very disturbed, and we have discussed whether to advance the embankment during the flood season. I avoided it, but I didn’t expect that the flood season of the Vinal River was earlier this time, so the embankment burst and flooded the city. My wife and children were washed away by the flood at that time, and until now I can’t even find the bones -"

Speaking of this, this strong man who can lead the refugees to attack Ayer Town can't help but his eyes are red, and his voice is choked up.

His words resonated with the refugees around him who were affected by the disaster like him, and even some refugees who also lost their relatives couldn't help sobbing in a low voice.

Thinking of her aunt and brother who had no bones left, Keli also rubbed her red eyes vigorously.The old man turned his head sideways, unable to bear to see his son in pain.

Gia took a deep breath and suppressed his excitement.

He calmed down for a while, then suppressed his grief and continued.

"More than that, it's clear that the powerful people in the city caused this disaster, but instead of reflecting on it, they intensified it and even swallowed the relief food and life-saving medicine for us displaced refugees."

"They unceremoniously treated us who had lost our home as garbage and drove them out of Vinal."

"We have lost everything and left our country, but that is not enough. They will also let their soldiers pretend to be thieves, take our wives, and put our children as sacrifices on the altar."

Speaking of this, he stared at Garlan with red eyes, and every word he said seemed to be torn apart.

"Your Highness, in the eyes of those dignitaries, have you ever cared about our lives?!"

Listening to Gianna's bloody and tearful accusation, Garlan remained silent for a long time.

He looked around, seeing the sad and angry eyes of the refugees, and the people who couldn't help crying, his mood was very heavy for a while.

Those officials and dignitaries in the city of Vinal...the so-called bone-sucking marrow, I am afraid that is the case.

In their eyes, civilians are like worthless things, at most they are herds in captivity.

Their endless greed like a bottomless pit turned them, who were supposed to protect the people, into blood-sucking insects that made the people turn their faces.For the sake of their own wealth, they can't wait to squeeze out the last drop of blood and the last bit of bone marrow of these civilians, and suck them up alive.

"I have heard your accusation, and I have also found out most of what the officials and nobles in the city of Vinal have done."

Garlan took a deep breath and replied.

"Brother Wang is on his way to Vinal City, and he will arrive soon. By then, he will make a fair judgment, and those people will also get the punishment they deserve."

The prestige of King Kamos caused a commotion. Countless people's eyes lit up when they heard that King Kamos was about to visit the city of Vener.

However, after this moment, those bright eyes turned into panic and fear one by one.

They hit Ayrtown, they're mobs now, they're rebels.

The just King Kamos will definitely execute those corrupt officials, but these rebels will also be executed, and at the same time, their wives, children and relatives will be implicated.

Everyone who thought of this panicked.

However, no matter how frightened they were, no one thought of confronting King Kamos.

For them, the king is the incarnation of God in the world.

Fighting King Kamos is tantamount to fighting a god—that is absolutely impossible.

Everyone cast their panicked eyes on their leader, the kneeling man.

Gallan also looked at Gia, and he knew very well that Gia hadn't finished speaking, or should say, the next words were what Gia really wanted to say.

Under the gaze of everyone, Gia spoke.

"King Kamos...will he come in person?"

"Yes, if there are no accidents, he will come here tomorrow."

Garlan saw Gia's hand clenched tightly, and after a while, it slowly loosened.

"Your Highness, how will you treat us?"

"..."

Garlan looked at him without answering.

"We did attack the town of Ayr. According to the law, we have become rebels..."

Gia knelt on the ground, raised her head, and looked at Garlan with burning eyes.

"But you should know that we were forced! Under the persecution of those corrupt officials and nobles, we had no choice but to do such a thing in order to survive!"

He said hurriedly, "Even if we attacked you, we didn't know that you were a prince, or it was a misunderstanding caused by your subordinates taking away those children. It's not our fault!"

"In that flood, countless relatives died, and then our wives and children were taken away one by one. Many people are still alive and dead...We have experienced so much suffering, You...does King Kamos want to execute us who have suffered so much?"

Garlan was silent for a while, then spoke.

"Gia, are you asking me to forgive you now?"

"Yes." Gia looked at him eagerly, "We didn't intend to rebel against Aaron Landis, we were just rebelling against those officials and nobles who oppressed us, we are not rebels, are we?"

"No one gives us justice, we can only find justice by ourselves, and punish those wicked people by ourselves, don't we—"

This is the purpose of Gia.

He wanted to get a promise from Garlan that the prince of Aaron Landis would personally promise not to hold them refugees accountable.

He believes that they are the victims, they are the party of justice, they are just resisting those evil dignitaries, they are innocent.

Behind, the knight who lost one eye clenched his teeth.

Half of his face was covered in blood, and the eye sockets were still in severe pain.He hugged his dead Tongze and knelt on the ground, looking down.His good friend closed his eyes, made no sound, and died in front of his eyes in order to help him block the arrows shot by the refugees.

This mighty knight did not die on the battlefield, but in a place like this——

And now, those who killed him demanded their absolution.

He was not reconciled.

He was very unwilling.

But he also knew that the prince should agree to the request of those refugees, because if they refused, those people felt that they were about to die, and they would simply give up, and they and the prince would be in danger again.

Therefore, it is indeed the most sensible thing to do at this moment to agree to exonerate those civilians from the crime of rebellion.

……

But even if he understood this in his heart - he still felt extremely uncomfortable in his heart, as if something was digging his heart open.

He suffered terribly.

Because those who killed his Tongze will be forgiven and will not be punished, and his Tongze will die in vain, at the hands of the people of Aaron Landis who they once guarded desperately together.

Just when the knight closed his only remaining eye in pain and lowered his head, he suddenly felt someone standing in front of him.

He raised his head subconsciously, and what caught his eyes was Prince Garlan standing in front of him at some point.

When Gia made that request, Garlan did not answer immediately. After staring at Gia for a while, he turned around and walked in front of the knight.

Under the watchful eyes of the knight, under the astonished eyes of the knight, he stretched out his hand and touched the knight's blood-stained cheek.

"Does it hurt?"

asked the little prince softly.

The knight was astonished and terrified.

"King...Prince, I..."

"I'm talking nonsense, how could it not hurt."

Before he could finish his stammering speech, Garlan answered to himself.

Then, he looked down at the dead knight who was being held by the one-eyed knight.

He looked at it for a while, then bent down.

Under the silent moonlight, the dead knight's forehead was covered with blood and dust, but the little prince bowed his head and kissed his forehead.

"...Thank you for your loyalty, the gods will take your soul to the kingdom of gods."

Kiss the forehead of the dead, mourn for them, bless them.

That was a ritual unique to Aaron Landis.

It was a ceremony that could only be obtained by knights who died in battle with honor.

What's more, this was done by the prince of Aaron Landis himself, and it is the highest honor for knights like them who are loyal to the royal family.

The one-eyed knight stared blankly at this scene, feeling some inexplicable comfort in his uncomfortable heart.

He spoke silently to his friend from the bottom of his heart.

Garner, if your soul is still guarding the prince here, you must be very happy to see this scene...

After finishing all this under the watchful eyes of everyone, Garlan turned his head.

He looked at the people behind him.

"Do you know who the knight you killed was?"

He asked, obviously a child, but his eyes suddenly sharpened.

Gia froze for a moment and replied.

"I know, this Lord Knight must be a nobleman, but..."

"No, I don't mean his identity, I don't mean his birth."

Garlan interrupted Gia's words.

"A few years ago, the enemy countries joined forces to attack Aaron Landis. Brother Wang led 90 troops to the border and defended for more than [-] days. Only then did he save Aaron Landis."

"Less than half of the [-] army was left. They all died in the battle to protect Aaron Landis. If it weren't for those soldiers, you standing here would have been ruined and taken away as slaves of other countries."

Everyone looked at Garlan in confusion, not knowing why the prince suddenly brought up this matter.

Garlan looked deeply at Gia, at the people who threw stones at these knights not long ago.

His gaze, at this moment, was so calm that it made one's heart tremble.

He said: "The knight who desperately guarded Aaron Landis and you also guarded you, but now, here, you killed him with your own hands."

Gia's pupils shrank violently at this moment.

At this moment, he was dumbfounded on the spot and almost forgot to breathe.

"Now, do you still want to ask me to forgive your sins?"

The child's voice remained calm.

But it was this kind of calm that made Giya's heart ache sharply.

Countless people lowered their heads, and some even knelt down, facing the direction of the dead knight.

The faces of those who once threw stones at these knights who guarded them were full of annoyance and remorse.

It was eerily quiet in the dark night, no one spoke, and everyone's throats seemed to be pinched by invisible big hands, and they couldn't make a sound.

In the near-death silence at this moment, the one-eyed knight lowered his head, unable to explain why, his eyes were so sour at this moment, who was called a member of the iron-blooded army who had never shed blood or tears.

He opened his eyes wide, gritted his teeth, and tried his best to hold back the moisture in his eyes.

The child's voice continued to ring out in the quiet night.

"Gia, look at that flame."

Garlan looked up, looking at the fire that was still burning on the edge of the town.

He said: "The ones you set ablaze are the homes of the officials and dignitaries who persecuted you?"

"..."

Gia opened her mouth, but couldn't answer.

The ones that will be on the edge of the road in the town are just the homes of ordinary residents.

"You attacked the town, took down the houses of the townspeople, and the executive house... Tell me, have all the officials in Ayer Town bullied you?"

"........."

"Those officials who have never oppressed you, such as the governor who has been working hard to rescue you and even mobilized food and grass in Ayer Town, have you let go?"

"........."

The man's breathing became a little rough.

"Even if you don't talk about officials, they are just servants and maids who work in the ruling house or the families of the lower nobles. These common people like you, did you let them go when you attacked the house?"

"........."

Every time Garlan asked a question, Gia's face turned gray.

He looked at Garlan with a pale face, opened his mouth but couldn't speak.

How can you let it go?

When raging this town, when the crowd was furious and everyone lost their minds, how could they let go of any enemy in their eyes?

Even if the servants of the nobles and the clerks of the governing house are civilians like them, they are lackeys of officials and nobles, so they should be damned——

At that time, they thought so, and killed the civilian slaves like that.

Giya was kneeling with her back straight, like a rooted pine tree, even facing the prince, her back never bent at all.

But at this moment, his body swayed a bit, and he who had a resolute face seemed to be unsteady on his knees at this moment, and he was on the verge of falling.

"No... this is..."

He hesitated to refute something, but opened his mouth but found that he couldn't refute anything.

He finally came to his senses, why, why would he do such a cruel thing?

Why would he do the same thing as those nobles he hated?

"I sympathize with what happened to you, Gia, but I will not forgive your sins."

"You are not justice, you are just doing crimes like venting hatred to those innocent people under the banner of justice."

"Especially rebels like you who personally killed those innocent people of Aaron Landis will never be forgiven."

Garlan said, word by word, categorically, with no room for change.

"You are victims, but it does not mean that you will be forgiven for doing something wrong. Rebels will be punished, and those who killed innocent people will be executed. This is a national law that must be implemented."

"The law of the country will not forgive."

He said, "The only thing I can promise you is that your relatives who did not participate in this rebellion will not be implicated, and your innocent wives and children will be properly resettled."

Giya's pale face was confused for a while, and suddenly he gritted his teeth, and he stood up abruptly when he was kneeling, and approached Garlan.

"Prince, please promise to forgive me from our sins!"

"No, I won't promise."

"Prince, I will die on the left and right. Instead of being executed as a rebel, it is better to take you as a hostage and escape from here."

The man seemed to have completely broken his can, and began to threaten Garlan.

What he said made everyone around him look surprised, and the old man rushed over anxiously.

"Gia, you bastard, how could you—"

"No! Gia, how can this be?"

"In that case, don't we become thieves?"

Once they become thieves, their descendants will be filthy thieves despised by others and expelled by the country for generations.

"can not be like this--"

Gia pushed the old man away, and shouted with a distorted expression: "If we don't do that, we will only die! Do you want to die!"

He turned his head and stared straight at Garlan.

"Prince, people are forced to do anything. If you don't forgive our sins... Then, even if we will be wiped out by King Kamos in the end, but before that, use your noble life, Prince It’s worth it to us as a backstop!”

He moved forward, approaching Garlan again.

"Please forgive our sins!"

The child's small body stood in front of the man who was almost twice as tall as him.

He looked up.

He looked at the man without any fear in his eyes.

He said: "Aaron Landis' national law shall not be trampled upon."

His voice is resounding.

It was a moment when the air almost held its breath.

The atmosphere was tense like a taut string, and it would break completely in the next second.

The confrontation between the intimidating tall man and the unflinching little child, at this moment, makes people so nervous that they can't breathe.

However, in the next second, the tense air suddenly melted away.

The man's twisted face suddenly stretched out.

He looked at the little prince who was confronting him with his head up, and smiled in relief out of the blue.

Then, he took two steps back.

He smiled and said: "If you agree to my request, Prince... I think, I probably won't believe your promise, and I will choose to take them and our family to escape from this place."

Gia said so, then bent down and knelt down.

This time, he knelt on the ground with both knees, put his hands on the ground, and bowed his head deeply to the little prince.

"Prince of Aaron Landis, future king, we sinners are willing to accept your judgment."

His forehead was pressed tightly against the soil, as devout as a prayer.

"However, you prince who is as wise as a god, please use your benevolence to forgive our sinners and those innocent relatives."

During the moment of silence, the others also moved.

Like his son, the old man knelt down with tears, and the girl beside him also knelt down with red eyes.

The refugees were all silent, or sobbing in a low voice, bowed their heads, bent over, and knelt on the ground.

Like Gia, they bowed their heads deeply and pressed their foreheads to the dirt.

One by one, they knelt down, and all present knelt down, bowing their heads deeply to the young blond prince.

That is the most solemn etiquette.

That is also the most devout worship.

They will submit to Prince Garlan's trial for their crimes.

…………

A ray of morning sun jumped out from the horizon and shone on the people galloping on horses.

After running around without sleep in the middle of the night, King Kamos and his party finally arrived at the top of a small hill next to the town of Ayer just as the sun was about to rise.

After descending this small hill, you will arrive at the town of Ayr.

Kamos was about to continue running down the mountain when suddenly he saw something, and a look of astonishment flashed across his face.Then, he raised his hand and stopped the cavalry behind him.

He didn't speak, just riding his horse and standing on the top of the hill, quietly looking down at the town of Ayr not far below.

Seeing that Kamos stopped suddenly, Huimos, who was so anxious, stepped forward immediately, wanting to speak.

King Kamos glanced at him, then pointed down.

Heymos looked in the direction he pointed, and was stunned for a moment.

In the center of the small town at the foot of the mountain, all the black crowd knelt down on the ground, bowed their heads deeply, and turned in one direction.

The first ray of morning sun fell, illuminating the earth.

Countless people knelt down on the ground illuminated by the rising sun.

And in that place, only the young prince stood on the ground in front of countless people kneeling in front of him.

The night is about to leave, and the day is about to descend upon the earth.

The golden hair of the young prince reflected the first ray of sunlight in the morning, as bright as the newborn sun.

……

………………

According to historical records, in the long history of Aaron Landis, there was a young king who was famous for his wise and just judgments, cared for the people and was loyally loved by all Aaron Landis people.

It is recorded in ancient history books that when this King Aaron Landis, who was honored as the "Wise King", was a young prince, he made the rioting rebels submit to him with a fair trial for the first time. Great deeds.