The prince and the duke were both silent for a while.
"So this is your goal today."
Thales pulled out the dagger that was stuck at the head of the bed. He tossed it in the air and accurately grabbed the hilt of the dagger as the blade flipped. After going through countless fights, he had become increasingly skilled and simple in this manner.
Cyril narrowed his eyes slightly as he watched the prince's actions.
Thales raised the tip of the blade and pondered for a while.
"You want me to join you and become the third person outside of the two camps? You want me to stop Constellation from moving faster and faster between the iron whip of the driver and the galloping hooves of the fierce horse?"
'Third person.'
At that moment, it was as if the clouds in the sky blocked the sun, and the room darkened.
The Duke of Western Desert pressed his hands on his walking stick again and again.
"The fierce horse will not submit to the iron whip, and the driver will not give up on whipping." His gaze was sharp.
"And the person in the carriage, no matter who it is, cannot sit and wait for it to fall apart."
Thales flicked the blade between his fingers gently.
"So."
Thales snorted and pointed the tip of the blade at the duke in a very rude manner.
"All of this, including your inexplicable appearance, your threat with your sword, your alarmist talk, your earnest words, and your arrogance, was all for this moment?"
Thales stared at Cyril with the ghost of a smile on his face.
Cyril stared at him for a while and snorted softly.
"Do you think I would pull a random fourteen-year-old brat off the street and tell him all this?"
Cyril said coldly,
"If I can't first confirm what kind of person you are, if you are just an incompetent coward who has high standards but no abilities, if you are just an impulsive brat who was raised by the Northland barbarians to have a brain full of muscles, if you are just a stupid idiot who thinks he knows the truth of the universe just because he has read a few history books …"
Thales raised his eyebrows.
The duke sized him up from the corner of his eyes and said in disdain,
"Then you are not worth my words."
The teenager was slightly stunned.
Thales exhaled and stuffed the dagger back under his pillow.
"You know, if you want to win me over by praising me, you can actually use better words."
The Duke of Western Desert opened his mouth, which seemed to be missing a piece of flesh, and laughed eerily, like a mummy opening its mouth.
"Don't worry, you won't be short of sweet words. The prince's return is a major event that will shake Constellation. Countless eyes will be focused on you."
Cyril narrowed his eyes.
"But you have to be more careful and alert."
"The nobles and suzerains with power and influence will fight to be the first to find you. They will try to rope in the prince who has just returned to the kingdom and use all methods to make you stand on their side. They will turn you into the vanguard to fight against Renaissance Palace."
Fakenhaz's tone changed.
"Before you accept their kindness, please remember: they are only against your father, not truly loyal to you."
Thales fell silent.
He suddenly remembered Quick Rope's words.
[The shackles of power.]
How was he going to … live a different life?
When he thought of this, Thales took a deep breath and raised his head.
"They won't succeed."
But Cyril shook his head in disdain.
"When I said 'rope in', I didn't just mean knocking on the door and giving gifts."
Thales frowned and retorted sarcastically.
"Of course, it might also include threatening me with a sword and telling me that the carriage must not fall apart."
This time, it was Cyril's turn to be silent.
A few seconds later, the duke said airily,
"You know, some words are nonsense to most people in the world."
Thales was instantly confused.
Cyril snorted softly.
"Remember what I said today."
He extended his finger and waved it by his lips.
"All of it."
Cyril's eyes shone with a cold glare.
"What if you can use it one day?"
He paused for a second and curled his lips in a rather evil manner.
"All of it."
Thales stared at the duke and felt uncomfortable.
But Cyril quickly changed the topic.
"Compared to these, you have to be more careful of your father."
'Father.'
Thales' nerves slowly tensed up.
The strong figure appeared in his mind again, and it made him remember the suffocating feeling he felt when he faced him.
The duke's voice echoed in his ears, and there was a different meaning to it.
"As you grow older, perhaps he will realize that you are no longer that pitiful child. Perhaps he will also try to win you over as a father, and control you with the power of a king.
"But …"
Fakenhaz's tone changed again, but he suddenly became quiet. It was as if the sky had suddenly turned gloomy, and rain was about to fall.
He stared at Thales. His terrifying face and cold gaze made the latter's heart clench.
"When the news of Eckstedt's upheaval, Nuven the Seventh's death, and the reshuffling of Northland's political power reached Constellation six years ago, everyone was shocked."
The duke's tone and rhythm became heavy and slow, reminding Thales of Putray when he was narrating the bardic poems.
"Who would have thought that a few months ago, we old bones were still living in fear, fearing that the arrogant Northland barbarians would invade the south again?"
Cyril exhaled softly and pointed at Thales.
"But someone, someone only needed to gently poke holes in the domineering and overbearing Kingdom of the Great Dragon, and they could not even fend for themselves.
"Do you know what that means?"
Incomparably tyrannical and overbearing …
Riddled with holes, unable to even fend for themselves …
What did that mean?
Thales could not help but recall the nightmarish night in Dragon Clouds City.
Dragon's blood.
He looked at Cyril, who was pointing at him, and cleared his throat unnaturally.
"You think too highly of me."
The prince sighed.
"Six years ago, it was just an accident, and a tragedy. I did not contribute much to it —"
Cyril interrupted him coldly, "I did not say it was your contribution.
"Don't flatter yourself."
Thales choked on his words, and his expression became rather unpleasant.
The unpopular duke snorted coldly.
"As I said, from the Battle of Eradication to the Bloody Year, Fakenhaz has followed Jadestar since ancient times."
He pointed at the Ancient Empire's sword leaning against the wall.
"In the past seven hundred years, Sentinel has witnessed a lot of history." Cyril was extremely solemn.
"More than you can imagine."
Thales felt Cyril's cold gaze, and an ominous premonition rose in him.
"That's why I know."
The duke said softly,
"The so-called 'descent of calamity' in Dragon Clouds City was definitely not an accident, nor was it some rare coincidence."
'The descent of calamity.
It's not an accident. '
At that moment, Thales pressed his thigh tightly.
Fortunately, Cyril did not look at him again.
The duke paced to the window and looked at the camp quietly.
"Every time they appear, they will be cleverly concealed, blurred, exaggerated, and whitewashed. As time passes, they will eventually become hearsay and bedtime stories of passersby …
"But I know that they exist, and they are real."
'Exist, and they are real.'
Thales exhaled.
He breathed deeply to hide the change in his emotions.
Cyril's voice became sharper and more urgent.
"And every time they appear, they are inseparable from our world."
The next moment, the Guardian Duke of Western Desert turned around abruptly, and his eyes were like lightning as he stared at Thales.
"No matter what happened in Dragon Clouds City, it was your father's doing."
He said resolutely and decisively,
"He and that old viper, Morat, used some method."
'It was your father's doing.'
Thales stared back at the duke quietly, enduring the rolling bloody memories in his mind.
But no matter how hard he tried to ignore them, he could not help but recall those scenes.
The blue light in Asda's eyes, the purplish lines on Giza's face, the tears on Little Rascal's cheeks, Black Sword's wounded body, the strange gash on Raphael's arm.
And …
King Nuven's head on the ground.
"Your father's chessboard is cold and merciless, and you do not know what his next move will be.
Will he ignore the rules, or will he overturn the chessboard? "
The duke's expression was solemn, and his tone was cold.
"My child, be strong.
Do not become a chess piece that can be manipulated and sacrificed at will. "
'Manipulated at will.
'Sacrificed at will.'
Sensing the duke's obvious provocation, Thales inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly.
"I am his heir. My interests are the same as his."
There was a hint of rejection in the prince's tone.
"My safety is related to the stability of his rule.
And he is my father. "
But this only led to another sarcasm from Cyril.
"Who knows?"
Duke Fakenhaz said coldly.
"Four hundred years ago, 'Ascension King' Alan Jadestar the First killed his son as a sacrifice to pray for victory."
'Killed his son as a sacrifice to pray for victory.'
Thales' breathing froze. He clenched his fists.
The duke stared into the distance, and his tone was drawn-out.
"And every day, your father creates new history."
Thales closed his eyes.
"Your father and his enemies …"
"Six years ago, because of your appearance, the outcome of the first round was decided.
"But six years later, from the day you returned to the kingdom, the second round began."
The duke's tone was a little scary.
"And it will not be any easier."
The room fell silent again.
Until Thales slowly opened his eyes.
"So, Your Grace, you are a third party who is neither a noble nor loyal to the royal power."
Cyril narrowed his eyes slightly. He could feel that the prince was a little different at that moment.
"If that day really comes …" Thales stared straight at him.
"Can I count on your strength?"
Both of them were silent for a while.
It was as if they both knew what this moment meant.
A few seconds later, the duke spoke slowly. There was not a hint of a smile on his face.
"If I were the One-Eyed Dragon in the Land of Cliffs, I would say 'yes'."
Thales snorted softly.
"But you are not."
The duke nodded slowly, then shook his head.
"I am not."
The prince sighed softly.
'Of course.
He understood. '
But Thales immediately thought of something, and he snickered.
"Do you know that Northlanders do not ask whether they can do it or not?"
The prince's tone was nostalgic.
"They only ask whether they can do it or not."
The duke could not help but be stunned.
But a few seconds later, Fakenhaz chuckled.
"Sometimes, I am quite grateful to the Northlanders. No matter how brainless they are, at least they raised an interesting prince for us."
Thales also laughed.
"This is the third time you have scolded them. Why do you hate Northlanders so much?"
Duke Cyril paused for a moment. There was a complicated expression on his face.
"Because my wife is a Northlander."
Thales was stunned.
The duke looked at Thales and waved his finger in a seemingly serious manner. "Let me give you a piece of advice …
"Don't learn from me."
Once he finished speaking, before the stunned Thales could react, the Duke of Western Desert laughed out loud.
As the duke laughed in a shrill and mean manner, Thales' expression gradually turned cold.
"How can I be sure?"
The duke's laughter came to an abrupt halt.
The prince stared at Cyril. His words were filled with caution.
"A third party. Even though you make it sound like it's nothing but an exaggeration, how do I know that you do not just want to push me to the heart of the struggle and use me as a shield and a battering ram?"
The room was silent for a moment.
Then, Fakenhaz exhaled slowly, as if he had figured something out.
He snorted and looked at Thales again.
"A year ago, when you were still playing with snowmen in Dragon Clouds City …
"Your father sent a secret letter asking us to mobilize the army to rescue his heir to the throne."
Thales' heart froze slightly.
'A year ago?
The prince's return to the kingdom. How long has this game of chess been set up?
Cyril seemed to be in a daze as he continued.
"The suzerains of Western Desert, my vassals, thought that they had seized a rare opportunity. Hot-Headed, they seized the chance to make things difficult for us and extort us. They wanted to take back Blade Fangs Camp from the royal family's' custody ', and His Majesty readily agreed to it."
When he said this, Duke Fakenhaz's gaze froze.
"But one of my courtiers tried to dissuade me from sending troops. He thought that it was a trap with malicious intentions."
Thales frowned.
The duke stared coldly at Blade Fangs Camp beneath the window before he suddenly turned around.
"But Fakenhaz still sent troops.
Even though I knew that there was a problem.
"Do you know why?"
Thales quietly stared at him for a few seconds before he averted his gaze.
"You said it before."
The prince looked elsewhere and spoke in a slightly mocking tone.
"When you face your vassals, you don't want to be the one who replaces the king and prevents the suzerains from regaining their power. You don't want to fall under a pincer attack."
He mocked.
"Like now, aren't you being pushed out by them to regain their dignity? A third party? "
This time, Fakenhaz stared at him for a long time.
"No."
The duke spoke slowly.
"Because …
"From the cold king to the zealous suzerains of Western Desert, I am the only one among the participants in this power struggle."
'The only one?'
Thales was a little stunned.
"When the Legendary Wing and my vassals had their eyes on Blade Fangs Camp, no one cared about the serious matters in the desert, and no one cared about the heir of the kingdom who was supposed to be the main character …"
Cyril slowly became serious.
"I am the only one who believes in it.
"I believe that compared to the ownership of Blade Fangs Camp, the nobles' power, and His Majesty's success or failure …"
The duke bent his back so much that his head was almost pressed against his cane. He cast a sidelong glance at Thales from afar, and his right hand, which was pressed against the cane, pointed at the second prince.
"To save you, to save Prince Thales Jadestar, and to return home safely.
"This is what everyone should really care about — the most important thing."
Thales stared at Fakenhaz blankly. His emotions were complicated.
Cyril straightened his back, hiding his old and haggard appearance from just now.
His gaze was very sharp, as if he could see through everything.
"Alright."
Thales spoke laboriously.
"You're not bad when it comes to pretty words —"
But the duke spoke again and cut him off!
"So!
I stopped some suzerains from secretly leaking information to Eckstedt and obstructing you from returning to your country. "
Cyril raised his voice.
Thales was stunned.
The duke's tone became melodious, and it greatly reduced the shrillness in his voice.
"So, Baron Gurtz led the most efficient Raven Whistle Light Cavaliers to go against his direct superior's orders and spare no effort in searching for you. He did not even spare the orcs."
Thales could not react to it for a moment.
But he soon realized that something was wrong.
'Baron Gurtz.
Raven Whistle Light Cavaliers. '
The familiar name made Thales raise his head swiftly!
"Who?"
He glared at Cyril.
"Who are you talking about?"
But Fakenhaz only watched him with interest.
Two seconds later, as if the duke had enough of enjoying Thales' expression, he slowly said, "You're right.
He then said slowly, "So …
"After you and your merchant group parted ways with Kandarll Nushan, who was acting suspiciously in the desert, you were able to have a smooth journey and reach Blade Fangs Camp without any obstacles."
Thales' thoughts stopped for a moment.
'Merchant group.
Kandarll Nushan.
'Smooth journey without any obstacles …
'Impossible.'
Thales stared at the indifferent duke in a daze.
"How did you know —"
But Thales lowered his head and bit down on his next words.
He remembered.
"Baron Gurtz."
Thales instinctively said,
"I met him in the desert, the commander who chased after the orcs with the freak squad …"
Thales raised his head and stared straight at Cyril, but he could not hide the surprise in his voice.
"He's one of yours?"
Cyril chuckled. He was confident and relaxed.
"Before I was made the Baron of Emolei Town under the Kroma Family, Fakenhaz Gurtz was my courtier."
The room was quiet for a few seconds.
Then, Thales exhaled laboriously.
"Then …"
He asked in disbelief,
"Then, whether it was when I met the army in the desert or when I entered Blade Fangs Camp, you always … knew?"
'Also.
'If that baron is one of my people, then what he heard in my tavern …'
The duke let out a disturbing chuckle.
"That's not all."
At that moment, Cyril's ghastly and cold laughter was incredibly terrifying.
"I also knew that Blade Fangs Camp, which was within my grasp, was filled with inauspiciousness. I knew that there was something fishy about the movements of the regular army of the royal family. I knew that Williams' mercenary lackeys were eager to take action. I also knew that it was not a coincidence that Gurtz met the orcs in the desert."
The duke's words were like a steel blade that reflected a sharp, cold light.
'What did he say?'
Thales breathed in shock and bewilderment.
'Blade Fangs Camp is filled with inauspiciousness.
'The movements of the regular army.
'The mercenary lackeys are eager to take action.
'The orcs are definitely not a coincidence.
'This information, this intelligence …
'This means …'
Thales frowned and looked at the duke.
"You knew everything … but you did not show up, did not come to me, and did not interfere in the battle in the camp. When the Legendary Wing recaptured the camp, you did not help the suzerains of Western Desert. You only, only …"
Cyril exhaled in relief.
"I only asked Gurtz to make sure that you entered the camp and then fled far away. I only asked the Fakenhaz Family's Skull Guards to rotate out early so that they could stay far away from the center of the vortex and away from this trap.
"I let that bastard Williams complete his hunt."
Thales could not help but ask.
"Why?
Before everything started, you clearly had the intelligence and ability to turn the situation around, but you watched the conflict between the royal family and Western Desert happen. You watched as your vassals … suffered great losses? "
The duke of Western Desert smiled.
"Because this conflict was necessary, and it could only end like this."
Cyril looked at Blade Fangs Camp outside the window. He seemed to be deep in thought.
"The suzerains of Western Desert lost this round, lost their men and prestige, and were dejected. His Majesty won this round, protected Blade Fangs Camp, and dealt a blow to his opponent.
"Both sides will just return to the previous situation."
A thought appeared in Thales' mind, and he suddenly understood.
As expected, Cyril turned his head around.
"But imagine this. If I successfully interfered with His Majesty's game of chess, forced away the regular army of the royal family, prevented the suzerains from suffering losses, and even helped them regain control of the Western Frontlines … What would happen to Western Desert next?"
Thales sighed.
The duke continued.
"Will my stupid vassals, after celebrating each other's victory, be satisfied and quit while they are ahead, or will they be even more aggressive?"
"And would a person like your father accept reality and give up, or would he look at me and Western Desert in a different light?"
Cyril's tone became very scary.
"Go all out and return the favor a hundredfold?"
The duke sneered.
"Then here comes the problem …"
Fakenhaz's ugly face showed deep grooves.
"Will the Ruins become the next Cold Castle, or the next Dragon Clouds City?
"Sometimes, doing nothing is the best choice."
Thales leaned against the wall weakly.
The duke's words were very soft, but they made him feel as if a heavy weight was pressing down on him.
He had just returned from Northland. He was used to the Northland barbarians' style of fighting, threatening, threatening, and drawing blood at the slightest disagreement, at least to the nobles.
But after today, he suddenly understood a lot.
Constellation carried out another set of rules of the game.
Another … shackles of power. '
The prince's eyes became gloomy.
"Now, is this enough to prove it?"
Cyril said coldly.
"I am neither the kind of nobleman you think I am, nor am I your father.
Instead, I am the true third party in Constellation's colosseum, a life-and-death arena. "
'Third party.'
Thales shut his eyes tightly.
The silence lasted for almost thirty seconds.
Then, Cyril spoke slowly.
"Hmm, Williams is probably coming back from his patrol. I don't want to run into him. Gotham can't beat him."
Thales opened his eyes and watched the duke bow slightly to him.
"It was a pleasant conversation. You can continue with your lunch."
Thales, who had complicated thoughts, sighed and returned the greeting.
* Thud, thud, thud. *
As his leather robe fluttered, the Duke of Western Desert turned around with a mysterious smile and walked towards the door.
But Thales saw something.
"Your Grace, you forgot your sword!"
The prince frowned and pointed at the Ancient Empire's sword with a beautiful arc against the wall — Sentinel.
* Thud. *
The duke's walking stick paused on the floor.
But against Thales' expectations, Cyril said something else.
"No!"
The Duke of Western Desert turned around and said coldly,
"You are the one who forgot your sword."
Thales was stunned.
Cyril narrowed his eyes and pointed at the Ancient Empire's sword against the wall.
"From now on, Sentinel is yours."
Thales was stunned.
"Hold on to it. Hold on to your sword."
The Guardian Duke of Western Desert, Cyril Fakenhaz of the Four-Eyed Skull Family, said meaningfully,
"Don't lose it."
Once he finished speaking, the duke turned around and stepped out of the room.
His last words came from outside the room.
"Also, send my regards to the boy from the Catus Family, if he is not dead yet."
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