Dragon Clouds City, Shield District, dawn.
The golden morning sun had just dyed the sky red, slightly dispersing the chill of the night. The dark streets gradually became clear.
Shield District, which seemed to be empty, finally gained some life. At the very least, there were more people walking the streets.
This street in Shield District was the center of the disaster. The houses were scattered, the terrain was empty, and there was almost no cover. There were even rumors of ghosts being haunted at night.
"Look at how listless and cowardly they are." Gleeward hid behind a low fence and stuck his head out to look at a small patrol sentry post in the distance. He stroked his wheelchair in dissatisfaction. "Do they think they can catch the prince like this?
Does that dead face know that his orders are being carried out like this? "
At the center of the street, a few soldiers from Dragon Clouds City's patrol unit leaned against the eaves of an abandoned house. They yawned and extinguished the fire, waiting for their comrades to come and take over their shift. Occasionally, they would glance at the passersby around them and greet those they knew.
"Because this is Shield District. The sentry posts leading to the city gate and gatehouse are not like this. They can't wait to search the girls' private parts." The neatly dressed seamstress, Kurtz, was on the other side of the low fence with Gleeward. She bit a blade of grass in her mouth and said in annoyance.
"And isn't this a good thing? It makes our plan easier. "Kurtz crossed her arms and turned to a teenager beside her in displeasure.
"By the way, are you really not going to consider dressing up as a girl?"
The handsome teenager dressed in sackcloth beside her blushed and shook his head vigorously.
"I've said it a few hundred times …"
Thales, who was leaning against the low fence, blushed. "We only have one night. Even if we put on the best makeup, the girls' expressions, habits, behavior, and mentality are all developed step by step over a long period of time. They're carved into their bones. Without enough training and habits, how can I succeed?"
Kurtz looked disappointed. The blade of grass in her mouth swayed up and down.
Yes, in the end, under Thales' fierce objection …
Last night in Kurtz's house, the 'suggestion' about him disguising himself as a girl was left unsettled.
"Let's think about it again …"
Kurtz did not seem to be willing to give up on her last shred of hope. Even though it was just a few minutes before the operation, she still propped her arms up and stuck her head out. She looked at Thales with an expectant expression. "My father used to be a coroner, and I grew up among piles of corpses. I'm very good at putting makeup on the dead …"
"Stop!" Thales firmly stretched out his hand and firmly pushed the seamstress' cheek away from his chest. He stopped her senseless act of using the blade of grass to scratch his ear.
"I don't have the habit of selling myself to satisfy your bad taste."
Kurtz stared resentfully at the young prince who refused to obey her orders.
"Besides …"
The vigilant Thales gritted his teeth. "Didn't we try on our makeup last night? It wouldn't work! You can't even see yourself in a mirror! "
"Instead of pretending to be a 'boy' who will reveal his true form after taking two steps …"
I've tried on my makeup …
When he remembered what happened last night, Gleeward could not help but let out a low cough. He and Kurtz looked elsewhere as if nothing had happened, but their shoulders trembled, as if they were trying hard to hold back their laughter.
Thales, who could not get rid of his hostility, was still immersed in his own world. He was troubled by the nightmare he experienced last night, and when he saw their reactions, he became even more embarrassed and angry.
He tugged at his fringe in exasperation. "And my hair … Look, I just cut it messily last night …
"And what about my voice?"
Thales deliberately crossed his arms over his chest and twisted his waist. With a croaky voice, he pinched his voice and said a few times, "'I'm sorry, I might have a hoarse voice, but that's a problem I got from mining when I was young. I'm actually a girl.' What kind of joke is this?!"
When he said this, the prince's expression changed drastically. He looked at the two people beside him, who had strange expressions on their faces, with righteous indignation.
Gleeward rubbed his nose awkwardly. On the other side, Kurtz shook her head slightly and clicked her tongue.
"If someone told you that a man who has never received any training and has no daily experience can perfectly disguise himself as a woman, and not only will no one recognize him, but he will also be incredibly charming and charming, making those of the same gender extremely jealous, and those of the opposite gender fall head over heels for him …" Thales looked enraged.
"Then he must have read too many crappy knight novels, or he hasn't had a girlfriend for too long!"
Gleeward, who was in the wheelchair, and Kurtz, who was sitting cross-legged, leaned back in their original positions with flagging interest.
Thales was left behind, panting with rage as he digested his grievances alone.
In the distance, a patrol team of ten people walked over slowly. They completed their morning shift with the inspection sentry post that was temporarily set up.
Gleeward and Kurtz exchanged glances and nodded.
The veteran regained his serious expression. "Brothers, are you ready?"
"Yes, I called over twenty people from the blacksmith shop to the farm. They're all people who can't leave the city for the time being because of the lockdown." Kurtz rubbed her hands together with an expression that said, "Don't worry, they think this is a trap to deal with those bastards in the market."
"Actually, that's not wrong." When he remembered last night, Gleeward exhaled harshly through his nose in indignation. "Once this is over, I want to …"
"Alright, alright …"
"When it's time, there will be a fight here." Kurtz looked at the situation around her and interrupted Gleeward. There was a cautious look on her face, which was rarely seen on her face. "Drag that sentry post into it as well."
"Hey, you." Gleeward gestured at Thales with his chin. "And we'll take advantage of the chaos to go to the Black Track."
Thales cast a glance into the distance and swept his gaze over the sentry post that was not very tightly guarded. He nodded.
He suddenly noticed that their destination was the Cliff of the Sky, which was located at the bottom of a row of cliffs in the distance.
It was the place where King Nuven died.
When he thought of this, Thales' mood suddenly turned cold.
"After this matter is over, there will be quite a number of people who will be locked up." Kurtz sighed.
"Haven't they been locked up many times before?" Gleeward licked his lips. His eyes sparkled. "It's a good chance for them to avoid the limelight."
"Understood." Kurtz shrugged. She glanced at Thales and clicked her tongue in resignation.
"What a pity."
Thales, who was anxious, glared back at her fiercely.
He was certain that compared to not being able to see the "male princess of Constellation", the seamstress did not feel pity for the group of people who were about to be locked up in prison.
Thales looked in the direction of the cliff and asked curiously, "What is the Black Track you've been talking about?"
Kurtz snorted softly. The grass in her mouth flipped over. "That's the only way for you to escape from Dragon Clouds City."
"Why is it called that?"
Gleeward turned his face around. "It's been called that since my grandfather's generation. He said that his grandfather also called it that way. As you can see, one of the entrances is at the bottom of the Cliff of the Sky. The path is complicated, and people who are not familiar with it will not be able to find it.
"We used to use it to transport contraband, but it's too narrow, and the efficiency is very low."
At the bottom of the cliff.
Thales frowned as he stared at the familiar-looking cliff. His gaze followed the outline of the mountain and moved upwards. Unsurprisingly, he saw Raikaru's huge statue.
'Six years ago, it was there …'
"So, the Black Track is a … small path that passes through the belly of the mountain? It leads out of the city? "
Thales narrowed his eyes, trying to get a clearer look. "Is it natural, or is it man-made?"
"God knows."
Kurtz looked at him disdainfully. "To dig a tunnel that goes through the Cliff of the Sky and connects the inside and outside of Dragon Clouds City, perhaps it was dug by the Great Dragon."
Thales clicked his tongue and did not say anything.
"The older generation is very respectful of that place, and they do not dare to approach it easily." Kurtz snorted softly. "They say that it's a forbidden place in Dragon Clouds City, where the Master of Mountains resides. Even the nobles don't know about it.
"But … eighteen years ago, the men followed the king to Constellation to fight a war. The war lasted for more than a year. No one farmed, no one hunted, and no one herded. The taxes and military contributions became heavier and heavier.
"Forget the farmers and hunters outside the city, even the old, the weak, the women, and the children in Dragon Clouds City could not live on. The winter that year was especially cold, and there was not enough firewood. The nobles had to be prioritized, and they did not even have enough 'gifts from the mountains'."
Thales fell silent.
'Eighteen years ago …
'Went to Constellation to fight a war …'
"Gleeward first beat up the disciplinary officer of Shield District who was in cahoots with the nobles and bureaucrats. Then, he masked his face and looted a few black-hearted merchants' stock warehouses …
"Then, he broke tradition and led us into the Black Track. He began to transport contraband goods. He transported everything you can imagine: Crystal Drops, Eternal Oil, firearms, and even hemp. He also transported food, firewood, and medicine that he robbed from the frontlines.
"With these, the women and children in Shield District and Hammer District survived that winter, where countless people died."
Kurtz stared at the silent Gleeward with a complicated gaze. "This is the Black Track, and also the history of the slum boss's rise to power."
Thales felt very upset in his heart.
He looked at Gleeward.
But the veteran only snorted coldly, as if he was very dissatisfied with Kurtz's words.
He coughed loudly.
"After you go in, carry your Everlasting Lamp and watch your feet and the top of your head." Gleeward's expression was unpleasant, as if he was recalling some unpleasant past. "The tunnel there is too old. Six years ago, the calamities and the hydra caused a ruckus in the city. The earth shook, and most of the Black Track collapsed.
"We don't know when the rest will collapse."
Thales felt a chill in his heart.
'Calamities.
'Calamities again.'
The three people behind the low fence were silent for a while.
"The calamities," the prince said resentfully, "brought about quite a lot of disasters, didn't they?"
Gleeward's hand, which was holding the wheelchair, suddenly tightened.
"Disasters?" Kurtz laughed sarcastically. "Disasters?"
"You can look around you." The seamstress' expression turned cold.
"But you can't imagine what it was like that day."
She kicked away a piece of gravel beside her feet. "Son of a b * tch."
Thales lowered his head. He did not look at the gravel, broken wood, dust, and debris piled up around him. He did not look at the abandoned houses, the dust-covered wells, the collapsed rotten wood, and the cracked ground.
There was even a faint stench in his nose.
'This is Shield District.'
"I can," Thales said in a low voice. "I told you, that year … I was here. I saw how Shield District was destroyed, and I saw the people who died —"
But before he finished speaking, he felt an itch in his ear.
Thales was shocked. He instinctively sat up to avoid Kurtz, who was tickling his ear with a grass root.
"There should be a limit to boasting." The seamstress waved the grass root in amusement. "How old were you six years ago?"
Thales was stunned. "I …"
"You even 'saw Shield District's destruction'?"
"Why don't you just say it," Kurtz said with a mocking expression. "Back then, you single-handedly and fearlessly killed the Blood Calamity and saved Dragon Clouds City? Wouldn't it make you look more impressive if you boast like this? "
"Your Highness?"
Thales' face turned green and red.
"I …" He slid down against the low fence like a deflated balloon. "It's nothing."
At this moment, Gleeward spoke airily.
"It was never about destruction."
Both of them were stunned. They turned to look at the veteran.
"The calamities did not harm those who died either. They were lucky to a certain extent. They left forever in an instant."
The man in the wheelchair stared ahead with steely eyes. "They … What the calamities left behind was torture for the living."
Gleeward slowly raised his left hand, which was missing three fingers. His gaze was unfocused.
Thales and Kurtz instinctively turned their heads.
"Do you remember the boy who drove the car last night who made a fuss?"
Thales paused.
"His name is Kevin." Gleeward snorted lightly, completely unbothered. "Six years ago, he was an apprentice in a blacksmith's workshop in Hammer District."
Kurtz sighed. "Cripple …"
But Gleeward ignored her and continued to speak.
"That day, the day the calamities appeared.
"Kevin came to Shield District happily, brought a bouquet of flowers, and met his lover in secret."
Gleeward stared at an abandoned well in the distance, which only had its outline left. Next to it was a collapsed stable, and dried feces could be vaguely seen.
"They were discovered by her father. I know that old man. He used to serve in the glacial sentries, and his skills were not just for show. What's worse is that he has a bad temper, and he values his daughter very much."
When he said this, Gleeward smiled softly. The smile lines at the corners of his eyes were natural and smooth.
Thales and Kurtz listened in silence.
"Poor Kevin screamed as he was whipped all the way from Shield District to Hammer District with his belt.
"Everyone on more than ten streets knew about it. Their laughter was so loud that even Big Leather Belt's big yellow dog chased after him for a few hundred meters."
Gleeward's laughter was very cheerful.
"Kevin came to me and said a bunch of nonsense in a wronged manner. He said how much he liked the girl, that he wanted to become a good blacksmith, open a workshop, save enough money for his betrothal gift, and then tell the truth to his lover's father …"
The veteran shook his head with a disdainful expression. "Hehe, I still remember how stupid he looked when he said those words …
"I also remember how angry Big Leather Belt looked when he came to settle the score with him …
"I also remember how Kevin crawled out of the closet after I tricked Big Leather Belt into leaving. His face was full of indignation and ambition."
Gleeward paused for a few seconds.
"And yet …"
The smile on the veteran's face slowly melted.
It was like ice that had come into contact with sunlight.
Gleeward stared into the empty distance and was lost in thought. "Kevin, when he returned to Shield District the next morning …"
"That's all."
The loud voices unique to Northlanders when they negotiated prices came from afar. A rooster crowed indignantly at the sky. Together with the chirping of birds in the morning, it made Shield District seem incredibly quiet.
Gleeward's teeth chattered a little. "The girl Kevin liked.
"The 'future father-in-law' that he hates to the core."
Including the Northlanders on the streets who watched him make a fool of himself. "
The veteran's gaze was dim and his voice was hoarse. "Including that annoying big yellow dog who barked for twenty hours every day."
Gleeward stared at the brightening sky absentmindedly and said subconsciously, "All gone."
Thales and Kurtz leaned against the low fence without moving. It was as if time had stopped.
"All of Shield District."
The veteran lowered his head and picked up a piece of gravel from the ground. He could vaguely tell what it was made of. "This is the only thing left.
"This is what they are … These are the things that the calamities left behind for the survivors."
Thales exhaled slowly. His expression was stiff.
"When you see Kevin laughing heartily in the future, don't forget that this is the story behind him." Gleeward's gaze became serious, and a flame that had cooled down for a long time burned in his eyes.
Gleeward snorted coldly.
"So, when you meet the survivors of the calamity, help them. Don't say that you can imagine it, don't say that you understand their pain, and don't say that you can feel it.
Even if you are really the savior. "
The veteran turned his head slightly and stared at the silent Thales with a cold expression.
"Because that is very hypocritical."
Thales opened his mouth to speak, but in the end, he could not say anything.
* Slap. *
Gleeward placed his hand on Thales' shoulder.
"Also, if you really become the king in the future …" Gleeward's expression was very serious, and Thales could even feel his hand trembling slightly. "Become one of those high and mighty 'lords' …
"I know what you nobles know. I don't believe that those calamities are the messengers sent by the legendary gods to punish the world, or those legendary anti-mystic equipment. You must have a way to deal with them …"
Thales stared at the veteran in front of him in a daze.
Gleeward's expression was ferocious. "Remember, gather all your men, all your strength, all your weapons, and find those calamities.
No matter where they hide, find them. Find them all! Find them all! "
The prince's heart was in a mess. All sorts of emotions surged in his heart at the same time, and it was rather unpleasant.
At that moment, Gleeward gritted his teeth, and his aura was chilling. "From top to bottom …
Hunt them all. "
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