* Thud! *
Before the man's astonished expression could show on his face, he was lifted into the air by the burly Lampard.
Watching everything outside the window, Thales and Little Rascal were both shocked.
"Why did he …" Little Rascal shrank back in fear.
"Quiet, continue watching." Thales observed the situation calmly and stopped Little Rascal from speaking.
The strange man was suddenly in danger. He reacted quickly and extended both his hands. A dagger and an awl appeared in his hands in an instant, and he thrust them towards Lampard.
However, his arms were only extended halfway before they were firmly clamped by another person from behind.
One of the Five War Generals of Eckstedt who had escorted Thales all the way to Dragon Clouds City, Black Sand Region's Fire Knight, Lord Tolja, appeared behind the strange man. With a cold expression, he held the man's struggling arms.
Lampard continued to choke him, his face expressionless.
"You!" The man, who was having difficulty breathing, widened his eyes. He wanted to say something, but he could not.
In the next second, Tolja twisted his hands.
* Crack! *
The sound of muscles dislocating was heard.
The man shuddered violently, closed his eyes, and moaned in pain.
Tolja loosened his grip. The man's arms hung limply behind him, and the dagger and awl fell to the ground simultaneously.
* Clang! *
"I gave you a chance," Lampard said coldly.
"What?" The man broke out in a cold sweat and uttered with difficulty.
"Have you ever heard of this saying?" Lampard said coldly, "If you treat others like fools, you must be prepared to be treated like fools."
The man mumbled desperately.
Lampard loosened his grip slightly.
"Traitor!" Getting a hard-won breath of air, the man gritted his teeth and said with a ferocious expression, "We've arranged so much for you, but you —"
But before he could continue, Lampard tightened his grip on his neck again!
"I've had enough." The Archduke of Black Sand Region's expression was as cold as ice that had been frozen for ten thousand years, but his eyes were filled with murderous intent. "Charleton was the one who made the move, Camus Union was the one who pulled the strings, the gangs contributed their strength, Black Sand Region was the one who gambled everything, and my troops were the ones who controlled the situation. The top-secret information and cover, including the most crucial calamity, were all thanks to those people from the south!"
"Other than moving your lips, you bastards haven't done anything at all!"
Calamity.
The group of people in the south.
When he heard the key words, Thales sucked in a breath in a daze.
Outside the carriage, everything was still going on. Lampard strangled the man's neck while Lord Tolja stood behind the man, watching with cold eyes.
"You're clearly unwilling to pay anything, but you're fanning the flames and adding fuel to the fire, yet you still want to sit back and enjoy the fruits of others' labor." Lampard's voice contained a chilling murderous intent.
"And you still dare to threaten me?" The Grand Duke raised his eyes slightly, his tone suddenly rising. "What gives you such confidence? Those hidden arrows in the sewers? A varmint that cannot be exposed to the light? A scumbag that feeds on garbage? "
The man struggled with all his might, but he could not say a word.
Thales, who was in the carriage, took two deep breaths. He threw his messy thoughts aside, raised his head, and continued to look outside.
Lampard's expression began to change gradually. He gritted his teeth, and his eyebrows furrowed.
"You think you're very smart? With your pervasive intelligence infiltration, despicable and sinister conspiracies, you happily toyed with the high and mighty nobles, and arrogantly toyed with the country's long-established political power. You even boast of yourself, and enjoy the fun of playing chess behind the scenes?
"But you're neither the Secret Intelligence Department nor the Secret Room." Lampard raised the man higher, his eyes filled with hatred. "You're just a rat's nest that has been fleeing from place to place for hundreds of years. You're worse than calamities.
"You think I'm like that idiot Poffret? That I'm at your mercy? " The Archduke of Black Sand Region's tone changed from an unceremonious coldness to a furious interrogation. However, his tone was strangely calm and indifferent. "Do you really think I'm so magnanimous that I'll tolerate you sticking your hands into my army and planting spies in my territory?"
Lampard narrowed his eyes slightly. "Controlling my Mystic Gun Unit and toying with my officers in the palm of your hands is very fun, isn't it?"
The man widened his eyes in bewilderment and fear. His arms hung limply by his side.
The Archduke of Black Sand Region continued to speak in a terrifyingly calm tone, saying fiercely, "When I found you, contacted you, and negotiated with you, didn't I want to tear you into a thousand pieces and destroy you all at every moment?"
Tolja seemed to have sensed Thales' gaze. He turned his head abruptly and looked at the prince.
Little Rascal could not stand his gaze. Frightened, she shrank back into her seat.
Thales was slightly startled, but he still gritted his teeth. Under the Fire Knight's extremely oppressive gaze, he observed the scene outside the carriage.
"And don't think that I don't know. You may be saying nice things, but you're still secretly infiltrating my forces," the archduke said coldly. "You're just a bunch of trash who only know how to eat trash in the gutter.
"Constellation chased all of you out of the country because Kessel was too merciful." Lampard gritted his teeth. The wrinkles on his face formed a frightening outline. "If it were me, I would dig out every filthy rat like you from the darkest pit, regardless of the cost, regardless of the price, and regardless of the sacrifice."
The man seemed to have forgotten to breathe. He stared at Lampard in a daze. Even his struggles had lessened.
The archduke continued to speak. Even Thales, who was in the distance, could not help but feel a chill in his heart.
"I will send a noose to every noble who secretly contacted or had illicit dealings with you. I will tear every despicable person who has an affair with you into pieces. Wherever my flag goes, I will make sure that none of you can hide, escape, or live.
"I will drain the air you breathe, empty the nutrients you absorb, and crush the nests you live in. I will bury all of you, the rats in the gutter, in Northland until everything about you is eradicated.
"No pest can survive on my land." Lampard gently loosened his grip on the man's throat. His eyes shone with a light that was both dignified and murderous. "Whether you believe it or not, I will find each and every one of you, inch by inch, family by family. Then, from top to bottom, I will exterminate every single one of you."
The archduke closed his mouth gently. His gaze was still piercingly cold.
The man's lips trembled, and he uttered a sentence.
"The Master of Shadows … The Master of Shadows will not let you go …"
When Lampard heard that, the corners of his lips curled up slightly, revealing a fierce and profound smile. "Do you think that I will let him go?
"He's in Dragon Clouds City, in Spear District, isn't he?"
The man was stunned.
Thales adjusted his breathing and memorized everything he saw and heard just now.
Assassination.
Charleton.
Calamity.
The group of people in the south.
Poffret, Mystic Gun.
And … the Master of Shadows.
Lampard suddenly let go of the man who was lifted in midair.
The man fell to the ground, panting non-stop.
"And you …" The archduke slowly squatted down. Under the man's wary gaze, he revealed a smile that was almost non-existent.
"Hey …
"Do it, we all have our wills …" The man closed his eyes as if he had resigned himself to his fate, revealing an expression that showed that he was unafraid of death.
"Shadow does not die, forever follows the form."
When he heard this strange sentence, Thales exhaled softly and confirmed his thoughts.
But in the next second, there was a dramatic change in the scene.
Lampard suddenly stretched out his hand and grabbed the man's dislocated left arm.
Then, he pressed the man's shoulder firmly!
* Crack! *
As the man screamed, Lampard let out a low chuckle.
Thales widened his eyes.
One second.
Two seconds.
The man, who was drenched in cold sweat, opened his eyes.
He realized that he was still alive.
He was stunned.
The man breathed in a daze. He exercised his left arm, which had just been reattached. Then, he looked stunned.
"Don't be too nervous, Stake." The archduke patted the man's shoulder and said softly in a calm and flat voice, "I was just joking with you just now.
After all, we are partners, aren't we? "
The man named Stake widened his eyes in disbelief. He turned around and glanced at Lord Tolja behind him.
However, the latter was still expressionless.
"You should look at your face." Lampard laughed. "You'll laugh at yourself."
Stake turned his head abruptly and stared at Lampard in disbelief.
"You, you … just now … why?!" He gasped in surprise.
"It's okay. Report all this to your master." Archduke Lampard patted his face again. His face was filled with a chilling smile. "Then, he will understand my attitude."
The man stared at Lampard in a daze, as if he no longer recognized this suzerain.
"Be a good boy and reattach your right arm." Archduke Lampard stood up and looked down at him. "I'll be taking the boy with me. When your master comes around …"
The man did not move. He seemed to be stunned.
"Also, don't hold a grudge against me." Lampard turned around and said calmly, "You know, I joke too much."
Lampard turned around and lowered his head slightly. His eyes shone with a strange light.
"There will always be a time when I take it seriously."
The man clenched his teeth and lowered his head.
In the next second, Lampard strode away without looking back.
Tolja followed him without a word.
The man panted slightly behind him.
It was as if the dangerous conversation just now had never happened.
Thales watched the scene in shock and bewilderment. He watched Lampard and Tolja walk towards the carriage.
The conversation between the archduke and his subordinate traveled into his ears again.
"With the help from that side, we successfully took down the last gatehouse in front of Heroic Spirit Palace." The Fire Knight's voice was steady and simple. "Heroic Spirit Palace has been isolated by us."
Lampard nodded faintly.
"Our rumors are very effective. The garrison officer and the people from the Public Order Office have already sent troops into Shield District. Prime Minister Lisban has also begun to work hard to control the spread of the news. This will help us a lot before we are exposed," Tolja said faintly.
"According to your plan, we still have three hours."
"Very good." The archduke's expression did not change. He quietly expressed his approval. "But your expression is not right … Is there anything else I need to know?"
"There was an accident." Lord Tolja nodded slightly and said in a low voice, "We took down Gleeward, but Nicholas escaped."
Lampard furrowed his brows.
When he heard the news, Thales was also stunned.
'The Star Killer, Nicholas.
He's still alive … '
"I remember that you brought the Rising Sun Saber?" the archduke asked in a low voice without stopping.
"Yes, but someone accidentally broke into the battlefield." Tolja's voice did not change, as if he was not troubled by the failure of the mission. "Although we tried our best to kill him and left him a lot of souvenirs, the intruder still broke out of the encirclement with Nicholas."
Years of tacit understanding made Lampard stop asking questions. He only asked one simple word.
"Who?"
Tolja's answer stunned Thales once again.
"An ordinary-looking man with great skills," the Fire Knight said softly, "with a strange black sword."
Thales' gaze froze on the carriage door.
The Sin of Hell's River flowed away like a receding tide. While it took away his extraordinary hearing, it also left him exhausted.
The next moment, Archduke Lampard opened the carriage door and boarded the carriage under Little Rascal's fearful gaze.
Thales rubbed his aching head to ease the aftereffects of the Sin of Hell's River. He adjusted his thoughts, which had become increasingly chaotic due to the information he had just eavesdropped on.
He exhaled and whispered to Lampard, who was sitting in the carriage with a cold expression on his face.
"I thought you wanted to sell me."
Lampard turned his head and looked straight at Thales.
"You're more valuable than I thought," the archduke said calmly. "The buyer has to go back and discuss the price."
Thales sneered in a mocking manner.
"Those who brought disaster to you," the second prince asked deliberately, "Do they know how you plan to deal with me?"
In the face of Thales' probing, Lampard only snorted softly, turned his head back, and did not answer.
"Alright." Looking at Lampard, who did not reveal anything, Thales sighed.
"What are you going to do next?"
Hearing this, Lampard narrowed his eyes.
"Next?"
The archduke sighed softly. His eyes seemed to be burning. "I'm going to save this country."
Thales was stunned.
The carriage moved again.
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