At that moment, Thales' breathing stopped.
Eighteen years ago …
Herman Knight Jadestar …
Blade Fangs Camp …
Ricky's pupils shrank!
"You?"
He stared at Stake in shock and solemnity, and subconsciously glanced in one direction. "Ghost Prince …"
"It's you?"
Stake straightened his robe, revealed a perfect smile, and nodded.
"It's me."
Soon, everyone's gazes towards Stake changed. Even Lasalle was no exception.
From wariness and disgust … to wariness and shock.
Thales stared at Stake blankly.
'Let's put it this way.
He is … '
"Look, everyone has a past.
"And the reason why Teng promoted me to one of his assistants and sent me to be the person in charge of Shadow Shield in Dragon Clouds City," Stake said with a smile. He spread his hands and flashed a strange smile.
"There's a reason."
He turned to Thales, still smiling.
But the prince only felt that this man's smile suddenly became chilling.
A long time ago, the Bloody Year was just a label in Thales' mind, a backdrop.
Only when he talked to others about it would he occasionally bring up the background of that era in a conversation that had a sense of history and vicissitudes.
He was shocked by Gilbert's narration, sentimental in the Jadestar family tomb, and sighed for Willow's fate. He was surprised when he passed by Rayman Pass, angry when he heard King Nuven's story, puzzled when he listened to the Old Crow's discussion, and melancholy when he passed by Ghost Prince Tower.
But Thales had never been in close contact with the Bloody Year of that era. It even gave him a misconception.
'That's all in the past.'
War, assassinations, conspiracies, death, and bloodshed. All these things that happened from Year 660 to Year 661 of the Calendar of Eradication seemed to have happened behind a curtain.
They were like history, legends, and stories.
It was only at this moment, when Thales looked at Stake, at the true culprit of that year, at the curve of his lips and the fanaticism in his eyes, that he suddenly understood.
He had been living under the shadow of that Bloody Year.
"Damn it …" Lasalle could no longer maintain his noble demeanor. He clenched his fists in front of his chest and stared at his companion in shock.
Masked Man's eyes bulged. He stared at Stake with bloodshot eyes and trembled slightly.
The mercenaries were in an uproar.
But Stake did not care about them.
"Is this guarantee enough?" Stake stared at Ricky and the latter's solemn expression.
"Do you still think that I will betray all of you to Blade Fangs Camp, doubt my stand against Constellation, or doubt my integrity?"
Stake sneered and pointed at the letter in Ricky's hand. "If the above happens, then …"
"Use it."
"Send me to the list that Kessel and the Black Prophet missed out on, send me to the Secret Intelligence Department's endless search and pursuit."
The entire tavern fell silent.
It felt like a century had passed.
Ricky took a deep breath to calm himself down.
"Not bad."
He nodded with difficulty, as if there was a heavy weight hanging on his neck. "It is indeed a substantial guarantee."
"Let your people in." Ricky seemed a little touched. He folded the letter again and carefully tucked it into his bosom. His voice was a little gloomy. "After we take the prince away, we still have a lot of things to do."
Thales felt a chill in his heart.
Stake smiled sincerely.
He bowed respectfully.
"It is my pleasure."
At that moment, Thales watched in a daze as Ricky waved at his subordinates. He watched Stake take out a whistle in a pleased manner and blow it silently.
Under Ricky's orders, Marina and Shawn walked towards the three of them with furrowed brows.
The prince's shock and fear still lingered in his heart.
'Herman.
'The fourth prince.
'The Ghost Prince …'
He suddenly remembered Old Hammer's sigh. "… He landed face first …"
But soon, the Sin of Hell's River surged through his body. With a shudder, the absent-minded Thales immediately snapped out of his daze.
'No.'
He raised his head in a daze.
Ricky's sternness, Stake's smile, and Lasalle's solemnity were all in his eyes at that moment.
Thales panted as he watched the people from Disaster Swords hand over his ownership to Shadow Shield. His heart tensed up.
'No.
'It's not over yet.
'Shadow Shield …
'I can't go with them!'
Thales thought and gritted his teeth.
He turned his head and observed his surroundings.
Then, with a firm expression, Thales whispered to Dean and Quick Rope behind him.
"Cover me."
Quick Rope, who was also panicking, frowned.
"What?"
Dean, on the other hand, looked at Thales' gaze and guessed his intentions. He could not help but say, "Are you crazy?"
Thales clenched his fists!
He stared at Stake's satisfied expression from afar.
"Trust me!" Thales said through gritted teeth.
Their secret conversation ended there, because Marina had already arrived behind Thales.
The prince pushed Dean and Quick Rope aside and took the lead to meet Marina and the mercenaries behind her.
"Put your hands behind your back, Your Highness, and it won't hurt so much."
Marina said coldly to Thales. There was a malicious look in her eyes.
But Thales snorted softly and slowly approached Marina.
"Marina, am I right? I think you must be very angry right now … "
The prince sighed and said, "Your whole family was wronged and died with a crime they should not have committed. Today, your actions will make that crime a reality …"
Marina trembled slightly.
She clenched her fists and took a deep breath.
"Jadestar?"
Marina snorted softly and went forward. She stared at Thales at a close distance and said disdainfully, "You look no different from a normal person, don't you?"
Her gaze slowly turned cold.
"What makes you so important that even if you shed a drop of blood, countless innocent people will die with you?"
Thales took a step closer and winked playfully. "Maybe it's because our blood glows?"
Marina frowned when she sensed the provocation in his words.
* Clang! *
Thales felt a chill in his heart.
The swordswoman in red drew the sword in her right hand and slowly raised it from the side of her body to approach the prince's face.
Marina sneered, "Then let us see your —"
"I'm sorry!" Thales put on a stern face and abruptly said.
She probably did not expect him to surrender so quickly. Marina was slightly stunned.
"What?"
Thales sighed and said, "Blame Kurtz.
"Go blame Kurtz. She's the one who taught me."
Marina frowned in puzzlement.
"Kurtz?"
However, in the next moment, Marina felt the prince seize her sword-wielding wrist!
Marina's combat instincts, which had been trained for many years, made her instinctively want to swing her wrist with a backhand. However, a strong force erupted from Thales' hand and pulled her forward!
Marina, who instantly lost her balance, felt a chill in her heart. 'This force is far from what this thin and weak teenager before me can produce.'
Marina was about to raise her elbow to fight back, but what happened next was far beyond her expectations!
Thales took a step forward as if he was dancing and pulled the swordswoman in red into his arms.
In that second, Marina felt the prince's bright and lively eyes suddenly widen. Even his eyelashes could be seen clearly.
He was so close that she could see his pupils.
Her lips trembled slightly, and she touched another piece of softness.
'It's a little dry, a little rough, and a little … warm?'
Marina was slightly stunned.
In the next moment, that piece of softness moved slightly and covered her lower lip.
It brought about an even stranger sensation.
'It's smooth, moist, and … warmer?
'This is …
Gray.
His eyes. '
At that moment, Marina looked at the prince's eyes at close range, and this thought popped up in her head.
'It's gray.
'It's really rare.'
At that moment, everyone who saw this scene was stunned.
But just a fraction of a second later, poor Marina realized the situation she was in.
'No.
'No!'
In an instant, the shocked and angry Marina pressed her palm against Thales' chest and pushed the prince's face away from her!
* Slap! *
Under the surprised gazes of the people around her, the exasperated Marina gave Thales a hard slap with the back of her hand!
The poor prince staggered backwards, but he did not forget to squeeze out a smile before he turned around and ran.
"Thank —"
Marina felt the lingering sensation on her lips and the gazes around her. Humiliation and anger surged in her heart at the same time.
'She was …
'She was …
'She was actually …'
Her face contorted. She raised the sword in her right hand and said angrily, "You b * stard —"
'Huh?'
Marina, who was about to hit him on the back, looked at her empty right hand and was stunned.
'My …
'Where's my sword?'
"— Thank you!" The prince's words traveled to her along with the sound of the wind as he turned around.
At that moment, Shawn, who was behind Marina, turned pale with fright. "Be careful!"
It was only then that Marina snapped out of her daze. At some point in time, one of her twin swords had already appeared in Thales' hands.
As the prince charged forward without any distractions, it erupted with an indescribable speed and stabbed towards Ricky at the center of the tavern!
Before the mercenaries in the distance could react, Shawn and the others, who were the first to witness the situation, drew their swords in shock and anger. However, they were stopped by Dean and Quick Rope, who were already prepared for this. They blocked their way!
'Sh * t.'
Marina only had time to think about this.
On the other side …
* Whoosh … *
Thales gritted his teeth, raised his longsword horizontally, and moved his feet. He felt the strong sound of the wind brought about by the Sin of Hell's River as he charged forward. There was only one person in his eyes.
Ricky frowned and raised his head to look at Thales, who suddenly attacked.
The sudden turn of events startled everyone, but the battle-hardened warriors reacted extremely quickly. Klein flipped his wrist, and with an even faster speed, Dim Light pierced towards Thales from the side!
* Boom! *
The Sin of Hell's River poured down like a river and filled Thales' legs.
The Power of Eradication, which was imitated from the Twist of Fate, poured out, and as his joints rubbed against each other violently, it pushed Thales' trajectory away!
He bypassed Klein's interception!
Klein cried out in surprise, but he could only let the tip of his sword slash past the side of Thales' legs.
"Ah —"
Thales felt the intense pain in his knees and ankles. He roared and broke through the interception that was impossible to break at all costs, and swung his sword at the unarmed Ricky.
There were too many of them.
Too many.
He only had this one chance.
He had to seize it.
He had to!
In front of him, a hint of surprise appeared in Ricky's eyes.
"Beautiful move …" Ricky only had time to say two words.
Thales' sword suddenly arrived in front of his eyes!
His sword stabbed into Ricky's chest.
* Bang! *
In the next moment, Thales felt as if he had crashed into a huge vortex.
A turbulent force came from all directions, pressing down on his sword-wielding arm. The prince could not help but fall forward, and he could no longer control the sword in his hand.
'Oh no.'
He only had time to think that.
* Bang! *
In the next second, Thales' vision blurred. He felt pain in his knees and elbows, and he fell to the ground!
Thales grunted and pushed himself up, but he felt a chill on his neck.
He looked up in shock.
At some point in time, the sword he snatched from Marina was already in Ricky's hand.
Thales was stunned.
'How can this be?'
The leader of the Disaster Swords had an indifferent expression on his face. He knelt on one knee and pressed the tip of his sword against Thales' neck.
On the other side, Quick Rope and Dean, who were subdued by the mercenaries, sighed at the same time.
"Beautiful move." Ricky, who had defeated Thales with one move, sneered and finished the second half of his sentence.
"… Stupid idea."
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