Thales, who was drenched in sweat, coughed while he sucked in mouthfuls of air as if he was cherishing the water in the desert. His entire body trembled.
But Gleeward did not let him go. It was still difficult for him to break free.
"Really, whether it's a thousand or two thousand gold coins, I'll give you double." Thales regained some of his rationality. He panted and sweated non-stop, feeling weak. "The Jadestar Royal Family is very rich, and so is Constellation … The Secret Intelligence Department's assets in Dragon Clouds City alone are worth more than a hundred thousand …"
Gleeward raised an eyebrow.
"Very well …"
"Wait." But a second later, the man's expression darkened. "You mean, you want to go to Constellation to get it?"
"The Secret Intelligence Department, the Secret Intelligence Department will do." Thales, who had just recovered from the stars in his vision, blinked hard. "They will definitely give —"
The next moment, he felt a heavy pressure on his neck, and his windpipe was blocked again!
"Shut up, do you really think I'm an idiot?" This was Gleeward's exasperated voice. "Listen, I only accept cash!"
Thales sucked in his last breath of air with great difficulty.
'Damn it … This bastard …
'Do I look like I have cash on me?!'
"If you … hand me over …" Thales tried his best to fight for a chance.
"The City of Faraway Prayers … is at war with the Alliance of Freedom, and Constellation —"
Gleeward cut him off impatiently, "Shut up, I don't understand politics!"
Thales, who was seeing stars again, felt exasperated.
'What kind of person is this?!'
"Forget it, let's go look for Dead Face. It's safer there …"
Gleeward mumbled. He increased his strength, trying to knock Thales out.
Thales knew that things were not going well. He racked his brain, fighting against the air and his enemy while he desperately shouted that one word.
"Shield District!"
A few seconds after the word left his mouth, Gleeward's arm loosened again.
"What?" he asked with a frown.
Thales took the opportunity to take a few deep breaths to clear his mind.
'Yes.
Shield District.
"I heard … your conversation just now," the prince said painfully, shifting the back of his head slightly away from Gleeward's chest.
Just now, no matter how insulted and despised he was, Gleeward did not move.
But when the enemy started using Shield District and his brothers and sisters to threaten him …
"This is Shield District, right?"
Thales panted, and his words gradually became smoother. "And you are probably the person in charge of this place … Look around you, it's already dilapidated … One or two thousand gold coins is not enough to rebuild it. You need more, not just money …"
Gleeward remained silent for a long time.
But in the end, he still coldly snorted and shook his head, "Shut up, I am very content, I have no interest in causing trouble."
When he saw that Gleeward was about to strangle him again, Thales quickly spoke.
"And, I heard it!"
"The people who died in Shield District six years ago were your subordinates and brothers, right?"
When he said this, Thales felt Gleeward shudder behind him.
"During these six years, their surviving family members also need to be compensated for their financial losses. They need to live. You should be very worried, right? I guess Dragon Clouds City doesn't have a disaster emergency fund to compensate for Shield District's losses …"
Thales spoke fluently in an invincible manner while he racked his brains for a way to escape.
Gleeward let out a dull, displeased sound.
"Shut up!"
This time, there was a hint of displeasure in the veteran's words.
But then he was stunned, "Disaster … Gold, what's that? Can it compensate for Shield District's losses? "
Thales thought of something. He felt that he had found a way out.
"That's not important. What's important is …" The prince inhaled again, gritted his teeth, and said, "As the boss, you bear a lot of responsibilities. You can't watch Shield District, watch your brothers, and your territory fall into poverty and threats …"
Gleeward's breathing slowly quickened.
"Shut up." Gleeward's voice became exceptionally cold. "Don't point fingers at other people's homes."
But Thales did not notice his tone. He had been tortured enough by what happened that night. "But now, I, the rich prince of a country with a lot of money, can help you. You have a chance to save Shield District, which no one cares about. You can rebuild it, and not just extort a large sum of money from the Star Killer, as long as you give me —"
Gleeward let out a low growl.
"Shut up!" he said through gritted teeth.
Thales greedily inhaled the next mouthful of air. He wanted to drag it out first, so that he could scoop out all the information related to Shield District and the place that the wheelchair warrior cared about.
"Six years ago, when the calamity descended, I was there. I saw … the people in Shield District. They were so innocent, but they had to go through such a calamity …"
Gleeward did not speak, but he began to tremble slightly.
Thales felt that there was hope. He could not help but speak faster, "You don't seem like a cold-blooded and selfish person, Gleeward. The chance is right before your eyes. You can't give up on Shield District just because you find it troublesome. You can't just stand by and watch them suffer, so that the dead cannot rest in peace …"
'Rest in peace …'
When he heard this, Gleeward's body swayed violently.
"Shut up." His voice began to tremble, and there was a warmth in it that was difficult to ignore. "Brat."
Thales only felt that Gleeward's arm was becoming looser.
'I should be getting closer and closer to Gleeward's pain point.' When he thought of this, he could not help but feel refreshed.
"After the calamity, the people of Shield District suffered greatly. They relied on you. They can't continue living like this! You have the responsibility to do everything in your power to protect them, help them, and save them … "
Gleeward's breathing became more rapid.
Thales suddenly raised his voice. "Gleeward! You can't run away! Your inaction not only makes it impossible for the dead to rest in peace, to those who are still living and suffering, this is no different from murdering them with your own hands … "
The moment the word 'murder' came out of his mouth, Thales suddenly felt the hands around his neck tremble violently!
His ears trembled, and Gleeward's shout, which he had never heard before, traveled into his ears.
"Shut up, shut up, shut up!"
The shocked Thales only felt that his ears were still ringing. Before he could relax, Gleeward's arm tightened around his neck again!
'So what now?'
Thales struggled in pain again, but this time, Gleeward's grip did not hold back at all.
It was as if he wanted to strangle him to death!
For some reason, Gleeward seemed to have descended into rage and madness. His voice also became increasingly terrifying.
"Listen up, brat. Who the f * ck do you think you are? Don't you dare lecture me …"
His arm was trembling, but he did not loosen his grip at all. It was a clear sign that his master had practiced the art of 'killing' hundreds of times and had rich experience.
"Don't you dare lecture me on how to protect Shield District …"
Gleeward was agitated, as if he was on the verge of breaking down.
"Six years ago, with the Soul Slayer Pike in hand, I stood here, in Shield District, in the midst of endless blood and death. I fought against the damned, damned blood … Blood Calamity with my life …
"Fought …"
Gleeward panted, but he paused a few times.
"Fought …"
Thales felt that at that moment, the teeth of this warrior, who was still strong and optimistic in the face of a group of opponents, were actually … chattering?
It was as if he had remembered his deepest nightmare.
The next moment, Gleeward gritted his teeth and roared like a volcano eruption.
"… When we fought to the death!"
Under the moonlight, the veteran in the wheelchair roared in pain and anger, "You were still wearing diapers, drinking milk in your grandmother's arms!"
Thales could not care less about his ears, which were about to go deaf.
His vision began to blur again.
'Sh * t.
This is a …
Perverted sadist. '
Thales half-closed his eyes and felt the torment of his empty lungs, as well as his desire to breathe and live.
His consciousness gradually faded.
But at the same time, a strange feeling surged through his body. The Sin of Hell's River began to boil on its own again.
It was like a restless and agitated beast.
It was waiting for the moment to rush out of the cage.
At least, it allowed the dizzy Thales to maintain his last bit of clarity.
Under the double torture, the exhausted Thales trembled all over. With his last breath, he spat out a word, "No …"
At that moment …
* Thump, thump, thump … *
The sudden sounds of horse hooves and wheels rattling could be heard in the empty and empty ruins of Shield District.
A carriage arrived not too far away from them.
"Chief Gleeward, I, your guest, have already …" A lively and cheerful young voice rose into the air.
The voice paused for a moment.
With a ferocious expression, Gleeward raised his head and met the owner of the voice.
He could not help but loosen his grip on Thales as he tried his best to restrain him.
The purple-faced Thales breathed in air again. He coughed madly. He had inhaled quite a lot of saliva during the fight just now.
The increasingly restless Sin of Hell's River in his body gradually calmed down.
The next moment …
"Waaaah! Chief, I-I-I-I'm sorry, I was wrong!
"No, no, no, I mean I shouldn't, I can't, I can't, no, no, no, I mean I won't, I won't tell anyone, no, no, no, I mean I didn't see anything, I don't know anything, I just came for a stroll tonight, no, no, no, I mean I didn't even come to Shield District tonight …"
Gleeward shook his head and tried to clear his mind.
He looked at the carriage and its driver.
'Is that … Kevin?'
On a uncovered freight carriage, a young coachman covered his eyes and shouted something in a frenzy.
A hunchbacked figure was sitting in the cargo hold at the back of the carriage. He was coughing slightly.
Gleeward was stunned.
Tonight was different for Kevin, the poor boy from Shield District.
He was supposed to drive this shabby, low-quality carriage and bring Chief Gleeward's guest to a special and remote place in Shield District.
Kevin did not know why Chief Gleeward had carefully chosen this place to meet, but as long as it was the chief's order, he had to do it.
That was Drew Gleeward, the man who single-handedly protected Dragon Clouds City during the legendary disasters of the calamities and hydra, Kilika!
'Yes, Kevin still remembers those years and those disasters …
'It's like a nightmare.
'But …'
When Kevin arrived at his destination and met the chief, he could not believe what he saw.
'What is that?'
Of course, Kevin was not referring to the corpses and blood all over the ground. As the manliest man in Dragon Clouds City, Chief Gleeward, who could command the wind and clouds, would not cause a storm of blood wherever he went?
It was a teenager.
'Yes.
A delicate-looking but thin teenager. '
Under the moonlight, the delicate-looking teenager sat in the chief's arms. He looked excited and in pain.
The teenager placed his hands behind his back and placed them on Chief Gleeward's knees. They trembled slightly, as if he was touching and rubbing against something.
His face was flushed and his lips opened and closed. He looked agitated and excited as he twisted his waist and moved up and down.
When he saw this, Kevin's heart froze.
'No way.
'What about Chief Gleeward, who has always been open-minded and heroic?'
Kevin narrowed his eyes and tried to take a closer look.
At that moment, the dignified chief of Shield District in his heart, the hero of the people, Gleeward, was sitting in a wheelchair, doing …
Gleeward's rough and powerful left hand, which was missing two fingers, was intimately hugging the teenager's upper body from behind, pressing him tightly into his embrace. Gleeward's right hand was stretched towards the teenager's lower body, where Kevin could not see. It was also trembling slightly as the teenager moved.
'What?'
Kevin widened his eyes. His jaw almost dropped.
That was not all. Chief Gleeward, who usually did heavy work with ease, was panting violently at that moment. His iron-like body rose and fell in sync with the teenager's suspicious rhythm. He moved to the left and right, up and down, and moved back and forth in a timely manner.
The chief's face was contorted, and he was agitated. He even stuck close to the teenager's ear and gritted his teeth as he shouted some words whose meaning was unclear.
It was as if he was venting something.
'Venting?'
Kevin's heart skipped a beat.
'This, this, this …'
Kevin's face turned paler and paler as he watched the two people moving excitedly on the wheelchair. He watched the teenager and the chief's bodies pressed against each other as they forgot themselves in pain and happiness.
The old man in Shield District had told him that for a long time, there had been all sorts of girls and women living in Shield District. No matter how good, how beautiful, how good they were at managing their families and having children, the prestigious Chief Gleeward had never taken a fancy to any of them.
The old man sighed and said to Kevin, "There's a reason.
'A reason?'
Kevin, who had goosebumps in his heart, felt that he had just found the reason why the chief was single.
The young, poor boy did not dare continue thinking about it. With complicated emotions, he instinctively wanted to raise his whip and steer the carriage away.
But at that moment, the ferocious-looking Gleeward raised his head.
He met Kevin's gaze under the moonlight.
Kevin was instantly stunned.
'It's over.
'I found out …
'The chief's secret …
'I … I will be killed, right?'
Kevin's pained screams not only pierced through the air, but also made Gleeward wake up slightly.
Thales gasped laboriously. He had already given up on negotiating with Gleeward. He was probably a lunatic.
There was no way to talk to him.
"… Boss, boss, boss, since I've never been to Shield District, that means …" Poor Kevin buried his face in his hands desperately and shouted desperately, "No, no, no, Chief Gleeward, I swear I didn't see anything …"
Gleeward frowned. He first cast a glance at the prince who was held hostage in his arms before he turned to the carriage impatiently.
"Kevin!"
The chief of Shield District roared furiously, "Shut up!"
Under Gleeward's might, Kevin's voice came to an abrupt halt, as if he had been choked in an instant.
"How many years has it been?" Another voice traveled slowly from the carriage. It was filled with endless emotions.
"Old friend."
Gleeward shuddered slightly.
'This voice …'
Thales was stunned as well.
'Isn't … isn't that …'
In the dark, a wooden walking stick was extended out of the carriage shakily, followed by two frail and old legs.
"I'm sorry, I came a little later than the appointed time." The person who came over with a hunched back got down from the carriage. When he saw the mess around him, he subconsciously frowned and covered his nose. "Oh, looks like you're still doing your old job."
Gleeward stared at the person with a dumbfounded expression. He did not even notice that Thales was no longer struggling in his arms.
"What the f * ck." Gleeward opened his mouth wide and stared blankly at the visitor on the carriage. His expression was as if he had seen the dog next door laying eggs.
"Damn it, I was wondering which immoral bastard sent the invitation. I didn't expect it to be you."
The person chuckled softly. "Are you surprised?"
"Tsk, you're not dead yet." Gleeward snorted softly. His emotions were complicated.
"The Old Crow."
When he heard the familiar nickname, Thales struggled to turn his head and saw the person who came over.
It was an old man with deep wrinkles and an ancient face.
He was a scholar from Dragon Kiss Academy who had no proof of his qualifications. He was Gilbert and Putray's teacher, and also Thales and Saroma's teacher.
The Old Crow, Meryl Hicks.
At that moment, he was standing under the moonlight and nodding at Thales with a smile.
'It's him.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
