Under the light of the fire, Thales stepped onto the stone stairs in the storage room while being guarded by Klein and Josef vigilantly.
There was an indescribably strange stench in the air, causing Thales to frown repeatedly.
He could not believe it. A few hours ago, he was escorted into the Prison of Bones by the Disaster Swords, and a few hours later, he was still forced to leave with them under the watchful eyes of the Disaster Swords.
It was an unconventional way to have a beginning and an end.
The heavily injured Zakriel was supported by Canon and Bruley as he staggered in front of Thales to his left. The security around them was even more exaggerated than Thales'. Ricky, with his hood on, walked beside them. He did not move an inch away from them.
Not far behind the prince, Tardin and Quick Rope returned to being tied up. They endured the wary gazes of the people around them with gloomy expressions.
Barney Junior and Beldin, who had injured Ricky before, were probably considered 'dangerous'. The two of them were separated from the others. Their hands were tied behind their backs, weapons were placed on them, and they were monitored separately.
When he thought of this, the weak and tired Thales could not help but sigh.
After Zakriel fell to the ground weakly, they had no choice but to accept reality and surrender. It was not just because of Ricky's uniqueness and mysteriousness, but also because all the Royal Guards were at the end of their tether after experiencing many fierce battles and the sensory torture from the Alchemy Ball. They could not fight head-on.
The secret stone stairs in the storage room brought them to a new platform. Through the torches held by the Disaster Swords, Thales could vaguely see a dozen figures waiting for them in front of the tunnel.
The moment he saw them clearly, Thales' pupils shrank.
'That's …'
"Looks like you are the winner tonight, honorable Crassus."
A fair-skinned man with a swollen face and tied up sat on the ground. He cast a glance at Thales and Zakriel and put on a fake smile before he looked at Ricky.
"Wow."
'It's Stake.'
Thales looked at the subdued leader of Shadow Shield on the ground in surprise.
He did not run away.
Instead, he fell into the hands of the Disaster Swords.
Stake turned to Thales and smiled weakly. He maintained the last semblance of a leader. "Look, Your Highness, if you had chosen to go with us … at least …"
The assassin leader shook his head at the murderous Disaster Swords around him and shrugged.
He had a look of pity on his face that said, "Why don't you listen to my advice?"
Thales frowned at him.
Ricky ignored Stake's words and looked at Samel, who was behind him.
Samel nodded and walked forward. Suppressing the disgust on his face, he questioned, "Why are you here?
"When will the people you left on the ground start moving to distract the camp's attention?"
Thales was slightly stunned.
The captured Stake was also stunned.
Divert attention?
His eyeballs began to roll.
"Operation?"
Stake seemed to have thought of something, and a smug look appeared on his disheveled face.
"Let me tell you. Look at me now. Do you think they will still act?"
Samel's expression turned cold, and he strode forward.
"I'm not Ricky, Stake. I'm not as polite as him …"
Stake smiled.
"Very well … Then, I hope you don't mind that I would like to speak to Crassus directly, if you still want to escape Blade Fangs Camp with our help."
He looked past Samel, straight at Ricky.
Ricky did not speak. His face was still covered by the hood.
However, in the next second, Samel furrowed his eyebrows and kicked Stake's head hard!
Stake fell to the ground with a groan in pain. Blood flowed from his nose.
"Listen up, assassin!"
Stake was drenched in cold sweat. He gritted his teeth and endured the pain. He wanted to struggle to get up, but Samel's boot was pressed against his chest. It was clear that he did not want to let him have an easy time.
"You can still negotiate like this in our hands," Samel said coldly.
"But if you fall into Constellation's hands with us …
"Don't forget, the letter that proves that you killed Herman Jadestar is still with us."
When this name was spoken, Zakriel, Canon, Bruley, Tardin, and all the prisoners who heard it were shocked.
They raised their heads in unison and looked at Stake.
Stake, who was struggling with all his might, froze.
Thales raised his eyebrows and remembered the letter in his bosom.
Samel snorted coldly.
"So, do you want to go with us, or become a guest of the Kingdom's Secret Intelligence Department?
Whether it is King Kessel or the Black Prophet, they will definitely welcome you. "
There was silence.
The Disaster Swords stared at their conversation coldly.
Stake gritted his teeth and panted for a while on the ground.
In the end, the leader of Shadow Shield sneered, sighed, and said in resignation, "That's right.
He said in resignation, "Half an hour later, the abnormality in the Prison of Bones will be discovered.
"According to the plan we agreed on, but now you have ruined it, my people will first burn down the military supply warehouse, then assassinate a certain Western Desert noble who is hated by the heavens and hated by the people, and create unprecedented chaos in the camp."
Thales lowered his head and sighed.
Stake tilted his head and revealed a cold and fierce expression.
"I guarantee that the group of Western Desert nobles who came from afar and are not used to the climate will be in a flurry, and they will only be able to figure out what is going on after two hours."
Samel frowned.
"Can you do it?"
Stake gave him a look that said, "What do you know?" and snorted coldly.
"Williams, who is the most difficult to deal with, is not in the camp … So, yes.
We can do it. "
Samel looked at Ricky.
The latter nodded under his hood.
Samel raised his leg and let Stake, who was panting in pain, sit up again.
"Very well, we will take action at that time."
However, the moment Stake caught his breath, he smiled again and said,
"But …
"There will be a small problem with our follow-up plan."
Samel, who was halfway through his turn, turned his head back again. His expression was one of displeasure.
"What trick are you trying to play now?"
Stake quickly shook his head. He understood the temper of the person in front of him, and he had a submissive look on his face.
He said in resignation, "You have to understand, once my people meet up with us outside and find out that I was captured … Don't misunderstand, they will not fight you to the death. But you have to know that Shadow Shield has an 'outstanding' tradition of cutting off one's tail to survive."
'Cutting off one's tail to survive …'
Samel narrowed his eyes slightly.
Stake turned his head and wiped the blood from his nose that flowed to his chin with his collar. He sighed in resignation.
"My subordinates … will cut off our escape route and leave without hesitation, leaving us in the chaotic camp to fend for ourselves."
The Disaster Swords were silent for a while.
Samel looked up.
"Cutting off one's tail? Even if you are their leader? "
Stake showed an embarrassed smile.
"It is precisely because I am their leader."
'Then …'
Stake said in his heart, 'The Dragon Clouds City branch will have a new leader of Shadow Shield.'
Thales looked at Stake, who was covered in blood from his nose and was covered in wounds. He suddenly had a new understanding of Shadow Shield.
Stake shrugged again. He had an expression of resignation that could not be faked or real. He gestured at the rope that bound him with his chin.
"What do you think? I can give up on the prince, but our cooperation doesn't seem to be over yet. At least help me untie me and put on an act in front of my subordinates … "
At this moment, a terrifying voice rose in the air. It sounded like the hissing of a sand snake, but also like a gust of wind blowing through a cave. It made Thales feel uncomfortable.
"Don't worry."
The people around him subconsciously retreated and covered their ears. Ricky walked through the crowd. With his hood on, he came before Stake and continued to torture Thales' ears with his inhuman voice.
"We have our own way."
But Thales did not know whether it was because he was already used to it or because Ricky deliberately controlled it, but when he heard Ricky's inhuman voice again, the discomfort and desire to tremble were no longer as strong as before.
Stake was also affected by the voice, and he trembled for a few seconds.
He was puzzled for a moment, then he instinctively asked, "Crassus, why is your voice … so strange?"
Ricky gave a signal to the person behind Stake with his eyes.
In the next moment, a slender figure behind Stake walked forward and knocked him out with the hilt of her sword.
Thales saw the person who knocked Stake out clearly.
Once again, he was stunned.
"We're done. Prepare to leave." Klein, who was beside Ricky, walked forward and spoke to the person who was waiting there.
"Well done, miss. The information you brought back is worth a thousand taels of gold. You will be rewarded in the end."
It was Marina.
Under Thales' surprised gaze, the Disaster Swordswoman who tied him and Quick Rope up in the tavern, Marina Novork, who wielded dual swords, nodded. She glanced at the prince with a cold gaze, and her gaze met the prince's.
'Wait, what did Klein just say?
What …
Information I brought back? '
A second later, Thales suddenly understood.
Marina was the one who brought the information that Zakriel was chasing after Thales to the Disaster Swords after she woke up.
After that, Shawn chased after him and Quick Rope.
And after Thales had no choice but to seek help from the prisoner guards, Samel replaced Shawn and appeared in front of them.
When he thought of this, Thales' face turned pale. He glanced uneasily at Ricky, who was by his side under the hood.
After the prince was saved by Yodel, he thought that he had gotten rid of the mercenaries, and that the only threat left was Shadow Shield.
But in reality, whether it was Marina, Shawn, or Samel, Thales had always been under the surveillance of the Disaster Swords, who were hiding in the dark.
Until Thales' party and the other enemies in the underground prison exhausted each other, and both sides were injured.
The more he understood, the heavier Thales' heart became.
The group of people were escorted by the Disaster Swords and continued moving forward.
Then, they went up another stone staircase and arrived at a huge circular platform that seemed to be able to accommodate hundreds of people.
A huge circular stone pillar stood in the center of the platform. Around it were a dozen different stone platforms or tables, and there was also a huge, dilapidated, round well that was already empty. Many of them had already been broken and abandoned. They had turned into countless stones or scrap metal and were scattered all over the ground.
Thales carefully stepped over an obstacle that he did not know was made of steel or stone. He looked at the layers of stone platforms on the platform and asked in a daze,
"This is …"
Ricky did not even turn his head around.
"The Forge Hall.
Or … what's left of it. "
This time, Ricky's voice started to return to normal. Although it was still unpleasant to the ears, it no longer gave the impression that he was scratching against a steel plate.
Ricky sighed and said,
"A long, long time ago, the prototype of the world's first batch of standardized anti-mystic equipment was secretly born here."
Thales was shocked.
He stared at the stone platforms, which had obviously been abandoned for a long time. His gaze changed.
"What a pity …"
Ricky's footsteps stopped.
It was only then that Thales realized that they had arrived in front of a stone slab.
Ricky took out the key that had returned to its former owner from Thales' hands. He gently wiped an eye symbol that said 'Towards Omniscience' on the stone slab.
"Everyone, rest where you are. Also, hold tight."
Ricky said faintly.
Following his orders, Zakriel was forced to kneel by a stone platform by Samel. Canon and Bruley protested as they were carried away by swords. Quick Rope and Tardin walked to a spot far away from them under Klein's watch. The guards were scattered far away, and they could not look at each other.
'But …
'Rest?
Hold tight? '
Thales did not react to Ricky's words for a moment.
But in the next second, as the key in Ricky's hand began to turn, a rough and unpleasant vibration came from under his feet again!
* Rumble … *
Thales held onto a stone table beside him and steadied himself. He subconsciously looked around.
He thought that another exit was about to open.
But when he looked up, he realized that he was wrong.
* Rumble … *
In the dim firelight, Thales was surprised to see that the wall at the edge of the platform was slowly sliding down!
Soon, Thales felt his body become heavy. There was a faint pressure coming from the soles of his feet.
'This is …'
Many people, including the Disaster Swords, jumped in shock. Their expressions changed abruptly!
"What's —"
Before Thales could finish his sentence, he realized the current situation.
He looked at Ricky, then at the wide, descending curved wall around him in shock.
"We're … going up?"
Ricky smiled.
"You are very sharp, Your Highness."
He nodded and spread his arms in the midst of the panicking crowd. He watched with satisfaction as the entire platform slowly rose.
"Now, we are riding the tools that the wizards used to transport materials up and down the tower to the surface, which was once the top floor."
* Rumble … *
"Up and down the tower? The top floor? "
Thales narrowed his eyes and sized up the deep darkness beyond the firelight.
"But isn't this underground —"
He did not finish his sentence.
"Yes, most people think that the Prison of Bones was born an underground dungeon."
Ricky sat on the stone platform beside him and faced Thales. His tone was filled with emotion.
"But only a few people know that this place, the Confinement Research Lab under the Alchemy Tower, was once a huge tower that rose from the ground."
'Huge tower.'
Thales was stunned.
"What?"
The prince subconsciously raised his head to look at the ceiling. "But we came in —"
But Ricky only raised a finger and stopped him from speaking.
"You know, thousands of years ago, before the Empire was built and before humans rose to power, the Great Desert was not called the Great Desert."
Ricky sighed softly and knocked on the stone platform he sat on.
"At that time, dozens of sandbanks of various sizes had yet to be connected. The lakes and oases were not covered by layers of yellow sand. This Magic Tower stood among them.
"Unfortunately, too many years have passed, and countless sandstorms have buried most of its body. Now, many people think that Blade Fangs Camp was born as a sturdy and reliable sand dune. They are not surprised as to why so many fortresses can be built on soft sand. They are used to it."
There was a hint of regret in Ricky's voice.
"Rest well. We will be able to reach the surface soon. "
Thales was silent for a long while amidst the slow but rhythmic, and to a certain extent, intimidating rumbles.
"You know this place so well?"
Thales said quietly.
"So, you have seen how this tower used to look like?"
At that moment, Ricky quickly raised his head. His terrifying yellow eyes were revealed under his hood.
Thales subconsciously leaned against the stone platform behind him.
"You do not have to spend so much effort to test my background, Your Highness."
Unknowingly, Ricky's voice had returned to normal, just like his face. Other than that yellow eye, he was almost like a normal person.
Ricky stared at Thales for a long time, making the latter even more uneasy.
"Yes, I am older than I look," Ricky said softly.
"But I am not that old either.
At least, I do not have as much 'history' as you think. "
Thales subconsciously gulped.
Looking at him, Ricky laughed involuntarily.
"I know what you want to do, Your Highness. I can see that you have a special quality."
Ricky stared straight at Thales.
The teenager suddenly realized that Ricky's yellow left eye was changing color.
It changed back to its normal human color.
"Even now, even in the most disadvantageous, worst, and most hopeless situation, you still refuse to give up, right?"
Ricky chuckled and pointed a finger. "I wonder, did you obtain the Sin of Hell's River because of this, or did the Sin of Hell's River turn you into this?"
Thales was slightly stunned.
'Most disadvantageous, worst, most hopeless …'
Thales turned his head and glanced around.
On the slowly rising platform, Zakriel narrowed his eyes and stared at them with a tired expression. He completely ignored Samel's words beside him.
Bruley and Canon were tied together and sat on the ground in a sorry state.
Tardin leaned against a stone pillar and looked elsewhere angrily. He seemed to have been provoked by his' nephew ', Quick Rope, who was crying and chattering nonstop beside him.
Barney Junior and Beldin were in the distance. Thales could only see their blurry figures. But based on their 'history' of ambushing people, he guessed that the two brothers would not be treated too well.
The Disaster Swords stood all over the place. All of them were vigilantly watching the seemingly exhausted captives.
Thales sighed.
They were all in trouble, and there was nothing they could do.
But …
"I'm used to struggling in the dark." Thales stared at the dust on the ground. He leaned against the stone platform to relieve his fatigue and said quietly,
"Even if there's no light in front of me."
His words made Ricky silent for a while.
"Me too." Ricky curled up the corners of his lips and smiled faintly.
"We all are."
'No.
'You're not.'
Thales sneered in his heart. 'You can even be reborn.'
"Don't worry, my dear." Ricky looked at him and subconsciously changed the way he addressed him.
"You'll be safe."
Thales exhaled and answered in resignation.
"Thank you."
But Thales immediately remembered Ricky's identity, and he felt even stranger.
'Just now …
He was comforted … by a living demon? '
Ricky suddenly reached to his waist and took out a cloth bag.
"High-quality jerky. Do you want some?"
Thales was startled again.
'What?'
"Don't be shy. I know that the Sin of Hell's River is a huge burden on the body." Ricky unceremoniously took out a piece of jerky from the bag.
"It would be strange if you weren't hungry."
Ricky put the jerky into his mouth and tossed the cloth bag to Thales.
"And I need to replenish a lot of my energy."
Thales caught the cloth bag in a flurry.
He stared at Ricky dumbly, then at the cloth bag in his hand.
In the end, Thales sighed and took out a piece of jerky. He had no choice but to imitate Ricky and start eating.
As a result, an unusual scene appeared on this platform.
Thales sat by the stone platform, and Ricky sat cross-legged across him. The man and the demon sat opposite each other in silence, and they both tried their best to bite the jerky in their hands.
At this moment, Zakriel's voice suddenly cut in.
"Why?"
Thales and Ricky turned their heads at the same time.
Zakriel leaned against the stone platform not far away with a weak expression.
"Demon, what is your goal?"
Ricky frowned slightly.
When he saw the weakened Zakriel, Thales subconsciously wanted to hand him the jerky, but Ricky glared at him and stopped him.
Zakriel ignored the jerky and said airily, "That's right.
"After the Battle of Eradication, it has been a long time since a demon dared to appear on the ground and in the human world."
After the Battle of Eradication …
Thales seized this timing.
"Not for a long time?"
Ricky stared at Zakriel and smirked. "Are you sure?"
Zakriel did not answer immediately. He looked at Ricky for a long moment.
Finally, when Ricky turned his head around impatiently, Zakriel spoke with a hint of hesitation.
"Alright."
"A long time ago, there was a suspicious record in the inheritance records of the Watchmen."
"It was said that a King of Constellation was muddle-headed. His subsequent actions brought about countless disasters and chaos to the kingdom. There were countless disasters, and the people were plunged into misery and suffering."
Thales was shocked.
Zakriel stared at Ricky with a burning gaze, as though he wanted to dig something out of Ricky's body.
"After that, the Temple and the Secret Intelligence Department suspected …"
"That king …"
"Was possessed by a demon."
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