The first to react was Tolja.
The Fire Knight's hand tightened slightly. Thales felt the coldness on the side of his neck deepen — the back of the golden saber was directly pressed against his skin.
The second prince did not dare to move, fearing that Tolja would turn his hand around and turn his neck red.
"A strange, black longsword?" Tolja narrowed his eyes. "A man with almost no special characteristics?"
Thales could only nod.
"Interesting." The corners of Tolja's lips curled up slightly. His eyes were filled with a strong desire to fight. "An acquaintance."
Raphael frowned and looked at Thales with a very complicated gaze.
"Black Sword?"
Calshan gently clasped her hands together. "Are you talking about Black Street Brotherhood's Black Sword?"
Kohen was momentarily stunned when he heard the news.
'Brotherhood?
Why would Constellation's Black Street Brotherhood … '
"I don't know." Thales opened his mouth carefully with widened eyes, afraid that his throat would come into contact with Tolja's blade when he moved. "Probably."
Calshan stared at him quietly.
"The Secret Intelligence Department gave the Staff of Constellation to Black Sword?" the Red Witch said softly.
Raphael did not say a word. He only stared at Thales in silence, even ignoring Kohen's action of cupping him from behind.
Thales forced an awkward and ugly smile to show his tacit agreement.
'Please.
Who the hell knows about the Staff of Constellation?
And that Raphael has no intention of speaking at all. '
Thales thought fearfully, 'Mister Black Sword, I'll have to use you as a shield. You shouldn't mind. It's not like you'll lose a piece of flesh anyway.'
However, a few seconds later, the old woman suddenly laughed out loud.
"Hahaha." Calshan smiled and shook her head. Her eyes were filled with helplessness and amusement, as if she was watching a child fight. "Morat must be very troubled by you.
"Liar."
Thales' eyes widened slightly. "Huh?"
The Red Witch sighed.
"How do you think I knew about the Secret Intelligence Department's plan in advance?" Calshan raised her wrinkled eyes. There was a deep chill in her gaze. "Did I know that they wanted to use the calamities to launch a conspiracy?"
Thales was slightly startled.
"When you were still on your way to Dragon Clouds City, Prince Thales …"
"An old friend from the Black Street Brotherhood used a messenger crow to ask us for help." Calshan swept her gaze across the people in the field. Her gaze lingered on Raphael for a moment. "He is being forced to the north by the Blood Bottle Gang and has no choice but to rely on your diplomat group."
Thales took a few seconds to understand the meaning of this sentence. Then, he shuddered a little. In an instant, a chord was opened in his brain.
His brain. His brain of a string.
At that moment, he did not even care about the blade on his neck anymore. "Are you talking about Ramon?"
Thales asked.
"Him?"
Raphael's expression was still calm and he did not say a word.
On the other hand, Wya and Ralf looked at each other in astonishment.
"I see. Ramon didn't ask me to use a messenger crow to contact Black Street Brotherhood." Thales came to a realization and mumbled absentmindedly, "He wanted to contact all of you."
The Red Witch sighed softly. There was a profound look in her eyes.
"Ramon is very quick-witted. He guessed that his predicament was the work of the Secret Intelligence Department," Calshan said calmly. "So he contacted the Secret Room directly.
"And I know Morat too well. He must be planning something."
Raphael sighed when he heard this.
The person from the Secret Intelligence Department looked at Thales with a strange expression. "Why was a doctor of unknown origin allowed to use the diplomat group or Black Sand Region's messenger crow?
"And you didn't notice where he sent the message?"
Thales was slightly stunned. He immediately recalled the history of his contact with Ramon. He could not help but feel awkward.
He could not possibly say that Ramon told him about the relevant knowledge of magic and they exchanged it, could he?
But this was not what he needed to worry about the most at the moment.
"The people from the Brotherhood knew about the Secret Intelligence Department's conspiracy." The Red Witch walked past a few figures and shook her head slowly at him. "But you said that the Secret Intelligence Department colluded with the Brotherhood and even gave the Staff of Constellation to the Brotherhood's leader?"
Thales could only smile bitterly.
"I'm not as good as Morat," Calshan said flatly. "But I can still tell when it's a lie."
Thales felt his scalp prickle as he met her gaze.
'This is bad.'
Calshan snorted with a smile and looked at Raphael again.
"Don't beat around the bush, little friend." The Red Witch's gaze became serious. "You may not have it with you … but I know you have a way to get it immediately."
Raphael frowned slightly.
Cohen and Miranda could not help but look at the young man from the Secret Intelligence Department.
"The Secret Intelligence Department of Constellation has mastered a mysterious transmission ability since a long time ago." The corners of Calshan's mouth curled up slightly.
The Red Witch's eyes were filled with great interest. "From small voice messages to large weapons and even living people, you can ignore distance and transport them to your destination in an instant."
Thales was stunned.
'Transmission ability.
'Voice …
'Ignore distance.'
Cohen's expression changed. Miranda also frowned. Wya, on the other hand, looked suspicious.
'That black hole on Raphael's arm earlier that looked like the mouth of some creature …'
Raphael did not speak. He still looked at the Red Witch with a calm expression.
It was as if he was not even here.
"Give me the Staff of Constellation." The leader of the Secret Room's expression was still gentle and amiable, but her words were getting more and more serious. "If you don't want to see your prince meet with any misfortune."
Thales' face immediately turned pale.
Tolja snorted coldly in dissatisfaction.
At this moment, a soft voice that no one had heard for a long time rang weakly from the corner of the prison cell.
It was filled with grievance and dejection.
"From a long time ago, a long time ago …"
"Is that all you know?"
Everyone was slightly stunned. They then looked towards the corner where the voice came from.
Thales could not turn his head because the back of the knife was pressed against his neck. But he was also shocked because he recognized the owner of the voice.
The neglected little girl, Little Rascal, was leaning against the wall. Her face was pale as she trembled and looked at Calshan.
"Aren't you from the Secret Room?" Little Rascal bit her lower lip tightly. Her eyes were filled with pain and fear.
"The Secret Room is the shadow cast by the dragon's wings," Little Rascal murmured. "But why …"
Little Rascal's expression changed, as if she had recalled the most unbearable memory.
"Why didn't you report to His Majesty?" Little Rascal's eyes were filled with tears and her entire body was trembling. "You just waited for the calamity, waited for the calamity … watched them in Dragon Clouds City, watched everyone …"
Thales furrowed his brows.
He remembered the people who ran for their lives, the people who suffocated in the air, the people who were separated from their flesh and blood, and the completely destroyed Shield District.
Calshan seemed a little surprised. She stared at the dirty little girl in the corner with a complicated expression.
A few seconds later, she sighed deeply.
"I'm very sorry." To everyone's surprise, the Red Witch bowed slightly in Little Rascal's direction. "Lady Alex Walton."
Kohen's eyes widened abruptly. He stared at Little Rascal in disbelief.
Miranda raised her eyebrows.
Hearing this name, Little Rascal seemed to be startled. She looked at Thales with a panicked expression.
But Thales still had the back of the knife pressed against his neck. He could not see her expression at all.
"Even if we know that Morat is behind this …" the Red Witch's voice rang.
"The Secret Room is still at a loss," Calshan said sincerely and sadly. "The Secret Intelligence Department has concealed the news and their whereabouts too well."
The Red Witch straightened her body and shook her head.
"It's too late.
"The Blood Mystic arrived in Dragon Clouds City a long time ago. We didn't know the Secret Intelligence Department's plan, and we had no way to defend ourselves." Calshan's voice was low and her gaze was bleak. "We could only watch the diplomat group get closer and closer."
Little Rascal snapped out of her shock and fear. She clenched her fists and raised her trembling head.
"Then you should report this to His Majesty!" The girl gritted her teeth hard. Tears could not stop flowing from her eyes. "That's the king of all Eckstedtians! So many people died in Dragon Clouds City … He can definitely prevent these things from happening! "
The Red Witch raised her head abruptly. Her eyes suddenly lit up and she looked at Little Rascal solemnly.
"Our king?" Madam Calshan murmured softly and uttered the king's name.
"Nuven Raikaru Cadian Walton?"
The person in charge of the Secret Room smiled faintly.
"Believe me, for the past thirty years, I've respected him immensely." She nodded. Her eyes were filled with respect and nostalgia. "At least, during most of his reign, he was a good king. I'm already prepared to report this to him."
Calshan's expression changed and she uttered the next sentence.
"If he didn't hide it from me and plan to sell Dragon Clouds City to Constellation and betray Eckstedt in order to continue his family …"
Everyone's expression changed.
"What?" the shocked Kohen could not help but ask.
Little Rascal's face was pale. She stared blankly at Calshan.
"Yes, my dear lady." The Red Witch sighed softly. "I intercepted King Nuven's messenger crow to the Supreme King of Constellation.
"He wants to rely on the power of the Nine-Pointed Star to save the Cloud Dragon Spear that is in danger. He wants to use the marriage between you and the young prince to intimidate the new king." Calshan's gaze became extremely fierce. "For this reason, he did not hesitate to let Constellation obtain a bargaining chip to meddle in Eckstedt's affairs.
"In the future, he even let an heir with Jadestar's blood take over the First Territory of Eckstedt."
Apart from Raphael and Thales, almost everyone widened their eyes.
Even Tolja could not help but turn his head to look.
Everyone's gazes simultaneously shifted to Little Rascal, then to Calshan, and finally to the second prince who was being held hostage.
At that moment, Thales only felt complicated.
The scene of King Nuven passing the ring to Little Rascal appeared before his eyes.
"My God." Kohen's mouth formed an 'O' shape. He stared straight at Thales. "Is this the truth behind King Nuven wanting to form an alliance with us, Your Highness?
To let the descendants of the Jadestar Royal Family and the Walton Family inherit the Archduke of Dragon Clouds City?
As the King of Eckstedt, "the Red Witch shook her head slowly." He shouldn't have done that.
"There was only one thing I could do for Eckstedt."
Raphael raised his head. A strange light flashed in his red eyes.
"So you went to find Lampard," he said softly.
Calshan did not speak. She only looked at the enemies before her with a calm expression.
Thales stared at the Red Witch in a daze.
His mind was in a mess.
"This is the biggest joke," the second prince muttered subconsciously. "So … your betrayal was not an accident.
"Because of this … you want King Nuven's life."
Thales closed his eyes and sighed deeply. He felt physically and mentally exhausted.
"The Secret Intelligence Department and the Secret Room both want his life. You're practically working together …
"Under these circumstances, even if King Nuven has the army of Dragon Clouds City as his backing and the White Blade Guards as a barrier …"
Thales silently uttered the next sentence in his heart. 'How can he not die?'
At that moment, he really felt very annoyed.
Calshan snorted softly. Her expression was subtle.
"It has been hundreds of years, but the Secret Intelligence Department has always been silent. They quietly weave a night of shocking thunder in the deep clouds." The Red Witch's eyes were filled with a strange color, like a chess player who had just won. "In contrast, the passive Secret Room can only lay eggs in the Secret Intelligence Department's nest, borrow the thunder and lightning of the Secret Intelligence Department to break all obstacles in Eckstedt."
"You want to see the Eckstedtian vassals fight like beasts, bleeding non-stop?" Calshan smiled slightly. "Then we'll let the fight end in the first round."
Raphael could not help but clench his fists as he listened.
The Red Witch tucked her hands into her sleeves again. "You want both sides to fight to the death with equal strength. Then we'll push the situation completely towards one side."
Kohen and Miranda exchanged a look. They saw the surprise in each other's eyes.
"You want Eckstedt to descend into a chaotic situation of endless disputes over the throne and endless suspicions over power after Nuven?"
The leader of the Secret Room shook her head slightly.
"Then we'll give you Chapman Lampard."
Raphael pursed his lips, closed his eyes, and sighed.
"So, Nuven lost his sight and ears, and was powerless to fight back against the calamity and Lampard." He stared at the ground in a daze. "Our backup plans all failed."
"I lost," Raphael said dejectedly.
Calshan snorted softly, and her expression became amiable again.
"I know what you're thinking, little friend." The Red Witch nodded slightly and looked at Little Rascal, who was on the verge of tears. "Since things can't be done, then capture a Walton descendant and bring him back to Constellation as a bargaining chip, right?
"What a pity …"
Calshan seemed to shake her head regretfully.
The next moment, her expression became solemn.
"Morat, why is he in such a hurry?" The Red Witch raised her head, and her eyes shone brightly. "He even let a young boy like you do such a thing?
"Why is he in such a hurry to groom you like how he groom his heir?"
The silent Raphael still did not speak.
Miranda thought of something and was shocked.
Calshan, who did not get an answer, flashed a confident smile. She then spoke softly, her voice filled with exhaustion and dejection.
"He doesn't have much time left, does he?"
As soon as she said this, all the Constellatiates were slightly stunned.
Raphael furrowed his brows even more.
"Tell me, how much longer can he hold on?" the Red Witch said faintly. There was a hint of worry in her tone.
"Five years, or ten years?"
Raphael pursed his lips.
Thales stared at Calshan in a daze. Morat's figure appeared in his mind.
'The old man who could force Gilbert and Jines to retreat with just a word, the old man who could see through lies with his eyes.
'He actually …'
In the next second, Calshan took a deep breath, as though she wanted to suck away all her emotions.
"Forget it, let's not talk about him." The corners of her mouth curled up slightly. "Let's get back to the main topic."
The Red Witch clapped her hands.
As she clapped, many people walked in through the thick door.
There were soldiers of Black Sand Region dressed in patrol uniforms, as well as ordinary people dressed in different uniforms. There were men and women, and they looked like commoners.
But they all looked at the people in the prison cell with unfriendly expressions.
The soldiers of Black Sand Region held their weapons and walked into the prison cell, arriving before the Constellatiates.
The "commoners" walked quietly behind Calshan, not saying a word.
Thales sighed.
Tolja chuckled.
Seeing the scene around her, Miranda's expression changed. Kohen lowered his head in pain.
"What do we do now?" the police officer gritted his teeth and said softly, troubled.
"Stay calm," Raphael replied in a low voice.
The Red Witch smiled faintly. "If you still refuse to hand over the Staff of Constellation, you know … the prince is not the only one I can use to threaten you.
"There are also your companions."
Raphael stared coldly at Calshan.
The Red Witch bowed slightly and nodded at him, revealing her usual kind smile.
Thales looked at the numerous soldiers in the field, watching them stand in formation and block the exit. His heart turned cold.
'It's over.
Now … 'He felt the chill on his neck and glanced at the indifferent Tolja.' What should I do? '
But at this moment …
* Boom! *
A deafening roar rang out.
Calshan raised her head abruptly!
Gravel and dust came crashing down from above her head again, stirring up a cloud of dust in the prison cell!
The soldiers of Black Sand Region unsheathed their weapons subconsciously.
Before anyone could react, a few figures suddenly descended from the sky.
Just like Tolja before this.
The Fire Knight realized that something was wrong. He quickly reacted. Thales felt his arm tighten. Tolja grabbed his right hand tightly and controlled it in front of him.
The dust was so strong that Thales could not open his eyes. He could only rely on his hearing to discern the situation in the field.
As the figures flashed, countless sounds of fighting could be heard in the dust. The clashing of metal and the angry shouts of the soldiers rose and fell!
* Swoosh! *
* Bang! *
* Clang! *
"Quick, defend!"
"Be careful!"
"Retreat!"
"Protect … Urk!"
In a short ten seconds, accompanied by the sound of a few bodies falling to the ground, the chaotic sounds disappeared and the field gradually quieted down.
The dust finally dispersed.
Thales was still held tightly by Tolja, the blade never leaving his neck. The Fire Knight furrowed his brows and coldly observed the situation in the prison cell.
The prince saw everything in front of him clearly.
He was shocked.
There was a big hole in the ceiling where the Red Witch had been standing just now.
The soldiers of Black Sand Region, including the people from the Secret Room, all retreated to the position of the thick door. They looked at the uninvited guests in front of them with nervous and surprised expressions — the invaders who had descended from the sky.
They were more than ten valiant warriors. Their gazes were fierce and their movements were agile. They were dressed in light gray armor and had machetes covering their faces.
Some of them were even equipped with excellent arm shields and crossbows.
At this moment, the invaders were in formation. They stood in front of the soldiers of Black Sand Region, separating them from the Constellatiates and Tolja in the prison cell.
Beside these warriors who had suddenly appeared, many enemies had already fallen. Behind the defense line, the Red Witch stood in front of Raphael and the others with an unpleasant expression. She was far away from the protection of her own people.
Calshan's situation was very bad. There was a white longsword with a strange curve in front of her neck, and her right arm was tightly clamped.
The hostage-taker behind her said coldly to the soldiers of Black Sand Region, "Everyone, back off, for the sake of this lady's carotid artery."
Kohen stared at the invaders in a daze. He exchanged glances with Miranda and Wya, unable to hide the shock and bewilderment in his heart.
Everyone was caught off guard by the sudden turn of events.
"Who are these people?" the police officer asked in a low voice.
Miranda shook her head and looked at Raphael, who was still silent.
Looking at the warriors who had suddenly appeared, Thales' pupils shrank.
'Wait a minute.
'This attire …'
He carefully looked at the warriors' equipment, and then his mouth fell open in shock.
Thales recognized these people.
The silent confrontation lasted for a few seconds.
Then, the Red Witch, who was being held hostage, sighed.
"So, the rumors are true."
She retracted her gaze from the blade in front of her neck and said to the hostage-taker behind her,
"As expected, you built an emergency secret passage in the gatehouse?"
The Red Witch narrowed her eyes. She glanced at the invaders around her, and then at her subordinates — who had been forced to retreat outside the thick door — and said in a low voice, "You can even hide from the Secret Room … I have really underestimated you."
A low laugh came from behind her.
"Snow Blade and Dragon Wings — since the day Eckstedt was founded, we have been mutually reinforcing and restraining each other."
The hostage-taker revealed a pale face and leaned over to whisper into Calshan's ear, "Being wary of the Secret Room's every move: this is what we should do."
Raphael saw the newcomer's face, and he frowned.
Under Miranda's and Kohen's surprised gazes, Raphael walked forward with an unfriendly expression and arrived beside Calshan and the invaders.
"You're late!"
The young man from the Secret Intelligence Department said coldly to the newcomer, "You almost got us killed!"
The newcomer raised his eyebrows, and his pale face moved slightly.
"It takes some time to gather our scattered brothers." The newcomer's gaze went past Raphael.
He looked at Tolja, who was holding Thales hostage, and fearlessly cast a provocative glance at the Fire Knight. "Hey, Tolja, it's all thanks to the noise you made. Otherwise, we would have had to search for you for a long time."
Tolja frowned and let out a low, unfriendly growl from his throat.
Thales stared blankly at the pale-faced man and could not help but breathe a sigh of relief.
The newcomer raised his eyebrows, and his gaze lingered on Little Rascal in the corner.
"Also, you better be polite." The pale-faced man shook the blade in front of Calshan's neck. "After all, I'm saving your life.
"The Barren Bone kid from the Secret Intelligence Department."
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