Kingdom’s Bloodline Chapter 245: calm

As Thales received more and more people, in just one afternoon, various good news came one after another about maritime trade, markets, debts, public security, noble affairs...

The various ministries and industries in the Emerald City, which had once been on the verge of death, began to show signs of gradual resurrection, which amazed D.D (who secretly came from the kitchen to treat everyone with a dining cart).

"The Emerald City is not dead in the first place. To be precise, it is pretending to be dead to protect itself."

In the evening, after the prince saw off the last group of guests from the Grain Merchants Guild and returned to the bedroom to take a nap, the little silly lion standing guard at the door of the room—to be precise, Paul Bozdov—worked hard to Looking at the steaming steam from the dining car, he explained coldly:

"How about resurrection?"

"If they pretend to be dead for too long, they will become real dead," on the other side, Morgan, who was guarding the door of Zhan's room, said coldly, staring at the dining car intently and touching Kong Kong's belly, "As soon as there is If you have a chance, can you get up early and resurrect?"

"His Royal Highness wanted to arrest the murderer and close the case, but he encountered a slight setback at Miss Hilley's side." The Conmuto guard guarding Federico's door used his words more politely than the previous two, and looked like he had experienced it before. " People—especially officials at all levels and powerful businessmen in the Emerald City—feel that His Highness must be very angry, and are afraid that he will overturn the table and smash the pot in his anger... So of course they have to try to behave better..."

"But is it really just because of this?"

Waiya, who was leaning against the door of Taylor's room, was holding a note and biting the end of the pen, puzzled:

"These people summoned by His Highness, from nobles to officials, from merchants to ship owners, some of them didn't even say a few words. Has the Emerald City turned around? Whether it's shipping routes, markets, public security, debts, Administration, especially those big forces..."

“Turnarounds don’t happen out of thin air.”

A familiar voice sounded - Mallos, who had returned from seeing off his guests, appeared in front of the guards.

"There is always a reason for its appearance."

Everyone standing guard couldn't help but tense up, and turned from boredom to solemnity.

Only D.D quietly moved his steps and blocked the dining car behind him.

"The point is not how many people His Highness summoned or how many words he said." Maris glanced at everyone. Wherever he looked, everyone was in high spirits. "But who did His Highness meet first and who he met later?" Who, whom I met, and what I gained from it."

Everyone looked at each other, still confused and confused. They could only praise from the bottom of their hearts and sincerely:

"I see, Lord, you still understand His Highness!"

"As expected of the guard guard..."

"As expected of His Highness, he is your favorite captain of the bodyguard..."

"There really is a lot going on here..."

"The best way to defeat the enemy is to attack the heart..."

"The terrifying blade deserves its reputation..."

D.D tried his best to arch his **** back and hide the dining car behind the curtain:

"In that case, that little brat, I mean, why didn't His Highness summon these people earlier? Knock on those who deserve, scold on those who deserve, praise on those who deserve, and kill on those who deserve. Then we can take precautions before they happen, and everyone will be happy. Is it - hiss, so hot - the Emerald City will not be reduced to..."

Marios smiled slightly and was about to answer when he heard a knock on the door.

"If you don't have a handy weapon, little D.D."

The Duke of Star Lake himself yawned and walked out of the room. He naturally bypassed D.D. He opened the curtains in full view of everyone and dragged out the dining car at the back. (Marios looked at the dining car that should not be here, his smile disappeared, and he said: With a numb face, D.D cast a death stare), opened one of the lids, and snatched away a piece of pastry without mercy.

"Then you'd better choose your time carefully and face your opponent later - well, it tastes good, my god, my waist is almost broken after a day of sitting down."

Marios couldn't help but frowned when he saw Thales devouring the pastries without testing the poison.

"What are you doing standing still? You have been standing all day, and you still have to act so fierce and indifferent. It's so pitiful. Eat quickly, don't wait for others, don't go to the dining room, let alone wait for the meal. ——Oh, let Zhan wait a little longer. Well, it’s not time for dinner yet.” Thales had a mouth full of food and couldn’t speak clearly.

Obviously, facing His Royal Highness the prince's natural and guiltless expression, the watchman could only act according to the order even though he was dissatisfied.

D.D on the side reacted even more quickly. He dragged the dining cart to the center of the corridor openly and opened three dinner plates for Thales with a swish of movement, which was so fast that it was dizzying.

So a group of people who had been hungry for a long time looked at each other in confusion, automatically realized themselves, crowded around the dining car, and started eating regardless of their manners.

Only Waiya refused the food offered by D.D. He held his little notebook and remained thoughtful.

"Who do you meet first and whom do you meet later... So, Your Highness, the 'handy weapon' you mentioned was the one you confiscated from the two Kevin Deeres during the previous meeting alone?"

As soon as these words came out, everyone with mouths full of food turned their heads.

Tiles rejected the dinner scarf Doyle kindly sent him, turned back in surprise, and couldn't help but look at the attendant with admiration.

"Not bad, Waiya."

He exclaimed and patted Huaiya's chest, then slapped half a piece of bread into the latter's hand as a reward.

Huaiya was shocked, took the prince and bit into the remaining bread, neither eating nor eating, with a look of embarrassment on his face.

"But it's not just that." But Taylor's expression changed. He swallowed a mouthful of beef, picked up a bowl of oatmeal scooped up by D.D, and changed the topic, "I made this weapon myself before meeting them, no. , I snatched it myself."

Waiya blinked, confused.

Just like everyone else.

Only Mallos narrowed his eyes.

"Well, Your Highness, you have been busy all day and summoned so many people. You must be exhausted, right? I specially ordered the kitchen to prepare this in advance..." Upon seeing this, D.D quickly interjected into the topic, and said the other person diligently Two plates of meat were served on top of the dining car.

"Yeah, it's quite tiring."

Tales sighed, stirred the hot porridge with a spoon, and watched the storm in the bowl rise. Oh, no, it was the soup rising from the porridge.

"But compared to the physical fatigue..."

After a busy day, they were tired and hungry. Everyone was eating hard and chewing vigorously around the dining car, and no one spoke to him.

Only Marius took away the clear spring drink from D.D’s hand without any doubt:

"Your Highness?"

"In order to compete with me, everyone, everyone does not hesitate to show that they don't care about their own interests and take the overall situation into consideration, but in their words and deeds, they only see their own interests," Thales looked at the bowl. The wheat porridge spread out and gathered together, "like countless chess pieces scattered in all directions, mindless and running amok on a chessboard."

Tales shook the porridge in his hand, his eyes solidified:

"As for me, I hold the entire chessboard in my hand, and I have to sift them in one direction by shaking, tilting, knocking, shaking them off, etc."

At the other end of the dining car, Nixi struggled to swallow a mouthful of food:

"Then you can't...can't stretch out your hand and lift each chess piece accurately one by one?"

"Of course I want to," Thales shook his head, "but compared to the delicate and delicate chessboard, my fingers are too rough."

Everyone secretly raised their eyes while eating and looked at each other.

Tiles carefully scooped up a spoonful of porridge, put it into his mouth, and took a long time to swallow it.

Well, it's a little hot.

But the cook is very good, and the porridge is seasoned just right and delicious.

"At first, if I want to grab this chess piece, I will inevitably knock that chess piece over. If I want to move a chess piece to a new position, I have to move the old chess piece above it first... In the end, I found that I couldn't just To move the few chess pieces I like accurately, I can only gently and carefully shake the entire chessboard to let the chess pieces slide naturally."

The more Thales talked, the more he became fascinated:

"But soon I discovered that it was not just natural sliding - in fact, every time my finger shook, the entire chessboard would shake, and all the chess pieces on it would be affected, moving in various complex trajectories. , shaking and beating."

He sighed:

"Only a small number of chess pieces close to my palm will slide to where I want as I shake them, but not many."

At this time, except for a few inexperienced people who were still bowing their heads and eating, everyone realized that the prince was confiding his troubles and lamenting about life, and could not help but listen solemnly.

Tiles paused for a while, took another sip of porridge, and continued to sigh:

"As for the chess pieces placed in various postures in other corners of the chessboard... No matter how intentional and cautious I shake the chessboard, they will be vibrated unevenly and will slide in different directions. . But if I shake the chessboard in the opposite direction and try to shake the distant chess pieces back, the chess pieces that were originally close to me will start to slide to uncontrollable places..."

Everyone was silent for a while. Seeing that His Highness had no more instructions or reprimands, they cautiously resumed eating.

"Holding the entire chessboard and shaking countless chess pieces, you revealed the difficulties of being in politics."

Paul chewed a piece of pastry with the air of an aristocratic son, if you ignore the crumbs around his mouth.

"What's the chessboard? Do you need to shake it to play chess?" D.D came back from his soup bowl with a confused look on his face.

Conmuto rolled his eyes and shared the plate with others:

"But you don't just have one pair of hands, Your Highness: the chess pieces are all on the same chessboard, and they will also collide with each other and change direction. If the collision between the chess pieces can be used to achieve the purpose..."

"So it is particularly important to choose the chess pieces - this is mine, take your own," Paul said coldly, knocking away D.D's hand that wanted to help him wipe away the crumbs from his mouth, "Because You cannot precisely control every chess piece, so you must focus on those key pieces that are easy to move, and use the minimum effort to slide the maximum distance to capture the most chess pieces and miss the fewest pieces to achieve the highest efficiency."

"It's too much trouble. If you ask me, you'd have to dent the chessboard - no, just take it back to the furnace, melt it and recast it to make a big pot," Morgan snorted and drank the porridge in the bowl. Then, with a rough stroke on his lips, "As soon as all the chess pieces are put in, won't they all slide to the bottom and gather together obediently?"

Tales frowned and said nothing.

On the other side, the bronze-skinned guard Custa smiled disdainfully:

"Melting and recasting? Please, polite Morgan, do you know how long it takes to rebuild a chessboard and how expensive it is?"

"But before putting it back into the furnace, you have to take out the chess pieces first. You can't melt them all together?" Conmuto thought thoughtfully

At this time, Huaiya, who had been taking notes, suddenly spoke and joined the conversation:

"In that case, which chess pieces must we take out? Which ones do not need to be taken out? Also, which ones can be put back after they are taken out, and which ones must be thrown away?"

He raised his gaze, causing everyone to lower their heads:

“After building the pot and putting the chess pieces back, how much will be left?”

After hearing this, Thales stopped eating his porridge.

On the other side, veteran Gennard, who had been silent all this time, suddenly spoke:

“A chessboard with no chess pieces left is still a chessboard. Can you still play chess?”

"Why play chess?" Morgan said disdainfully, "The chessboard is replaced with a big pot, isn't it just to make the chess pieces pile up and not shake or make noise? Who cares about playing chess?"

Everyone was stunned, some were pensive, and some were confused.

Huaiya scratched his head and thought:

"Okay, let's not play chess or not... Let's assume that the pot is built and the chess pieces are safe, but what if, what if this recast pot is used for a long time, weathered and corroded, and countless chess pieces are lost? What should I do if the chessboard is flattened by the heavy pressure and turned back into a flat and smooth chessboard that is not easy to shake?"

Nexi frowned:

"Melt it again?"

"Perhaps what we see now is a chessboard with uneven stress due to its flatness on all four sides..."

Paul sighed, crossed his arms, and rested his chin on his hands - he finally found the debris around his mouth, and tried to wipe them away quietly and naturally in a way that did not affect his image:

"When it was first baked, was it also a high-quality cauldron?"

"No, why do you like pot so much?" Cuesta was puzzled. "Isn't the chessboard just for playing chess? If you don't want to play chess and don't want to hear the sound of the chess pieces, just throw the whole chessboard away. Why bother casting a pot?"

"You guys are so weird."

A voice suddenly sounded, and everyone turned around and found that D.D was struggling with a hard old steak:

"Why, why, why do you insist on making all the chess pieces slide in one direction?"

What?

Everyone, including Thales, was stunned.

D.D finally took a bite of the steak and chewed it with satisfaction.

"Isn't the reason why there are so many grids and so many routes on the chessboard just to allow more chess pieces and different chess pieces to have a foothold and a place to go?"

Doyle enjoyed the steak with a careless expression on his face:

"As long as no chess pieces fall or crush the board, then let them slide freely in all directions and make a noise. Isn't it a bad thing?"

Everyone looked at each other in shock. They were stunned for a second before they realized what was happening. They all waved their hands in disdain.

"No common sense about chess..."

"What a mess..."

"So you are ignorant..."

"If the chess pieces can move by themselves, then what are the people doing playing chess?"

"Yes, what's the use of the chess player? Isn't it worthless, worse than a chess piece?"

"If there is no one to play chess, wouldn't it be a matter of time before the chess pieces fall off the chessboard?"

"The chessboard will be destroyed!"

"The chess pieces all have their own ideas and are going in various directions, so how can we unite to capture the opponent's pieces and win the chess game?"

D.D said in confusion:

"But, what opponent? Why should we capture our opponent's pieces?"

"When playing chess, there must be more than one side, more than one player, and there must be opponents!"

D.D is not convinced:

"Wait a minute, as I just said, if the players are useless and worthless, then of course there is no so-called opponent, so how can we defeat the opponent——"

"Because it must be so," Morgan shook his head: "Because if we don't capture the opponent's pieces first, then the opponent will capture our pieces."

But D.D still doesn’t understand:

"Why? Why would the opponent capture our pieces?"

Conmuto was stunned and answered bravely:

"Because...because they want to occupy our chessboard?"

“Aren’t our chessboards the same and connected together?”

Nie Xi had an idea:

"It's true that it's the same chessboard, but there are boundaries. This side is ours, and that side is theirs!"

"Then why not let them come?"

"You are crazy! Let their chess pieces come over and occupy our place, then where will our chess pieces go?"

"Go to their place! Each chess piece is free to go wherever it wants..."

Custa was irritated and gave the final word:

"Oh, why do you care so much? When playing chess, there are players and opponents. These are the rules! Why are you glaring at me? I didn't make the rules!"

D.D has a mouthful of food and slurred speech:

"Then why do you have to comply?"

Custa was startled:

"Why should I...Why don't I comply?"

"Okay, who makes the rules?"

D.D’s question made everyone stunned.

"Who?"

"Convention..."

"It's always been like this..."

"Since ancient times..."

"Um, the person who invented the chess game?"

"Who is the best at chess?"

"Um...the first person to play chess?"

"Still the first obedient chess piece?"

"The first chessboard with grid lines?"

Tiles listened silently to their chat after tea and dinner without saying a word.

"Then, no matter who made the decision," Huaiya suddenly said in a daze, "can we change the rules?"

"We?"

Paul finally wiped away the debris around his mouth. He held his arms for a while to make the action of wiping his mouth less abrupt, then let go and snorted:

"I can't change it anyway."

D.D scratched his head.

However, Huaiya still has questions:

"However, if His Highness succeeds and countless chess pieces are all facing the same direction and gathered in one place, wouldn't the chessboard be unbalanced? Will it fall over?"

Conmuto chuckled:

"How is that possible? That is a chessboard that can support every chess piece! The foundation must be the strongest, for example, it is firmly nailed to the stone table and will not fall over!"

"Wait, if it is firmly nailed, how will His Highness shake the chessboard and gather the pieces?"

"So His Highness is very strong..."

"No, Your Highness can shake the chessboard precisely because its foundation is not firmly fixed..."

Morgan’s eyes moved:

"In other words, as long as you have enough strength, you can lift the stone table, shake the chessboard - and even recast a pot."

"You must," Paul said firmly, "You must have enough strength to lift the stone table and shake the chessboard."

"Then we must carefully select the most perfect center," Wyatt said thoughtfully. "When the chess pieces gather towards it, the stress on all sides will be even. In this way, the chessboard will not turn over. ”

"That's what I said, recast the pot..."

"Wait, where is the perfect center of the chessboard, or who determines the center of the chessboard?"

Commuto looked to his left and then to his right, feeling that his mind was filled with questions:

"How do I know - Hey, is this topic annoying to you?"

"Maybe there is no answer."

Tiles' voice suddenly sounded, attracting everyone's attention.

“Whether it’s a chessboard or a chess piece, it’s shaking, it’s sliding, it’s gathering, it’s scattering, it’s fixed, it’s loose, it’s rules, it’s chaos, there’s actually no inevitable end or eternal answer. , there are only the moving pieces and the constantly moving chessboard, and only the process and history formed in their interaction," the prince sighed, "Perhaps this is the essence of the chess game."

What is the essence?

Although some people still don't understand or are dissatisfied, no one dares to ask, let alone refute His Highness the Prince.

Only Mallos, who had been silent for a long time, snorted coldly and turned to look out the window:

"It sounds like we're back to square one, nothing has been solved and it's meaningless."

"In the eyes of chess players, and even the gods above the chessboard, this may indeed be meaningless." Thales nodded, slightly lost in thought, "But once you feel, perceive, and wake up to these things, it's a dull act. The chess pieces themselves..."

He took a deep breath:

"Its meaning transcends everything."

Marios frowned:

"What's the use? Even if you are aware of it, what can the chess pieces do?"

Tales looked at the watchman and smiled slightly:

"That's another topic."

Beside the dining car, D.D poked Custa beside him:

"Strange, how did we get to this boring topic and still keep talking?"

"You still ask me?"

"Your Highness is a man of culture after all..."

"Perhaps," Huaiya, who had been working hard to take notes and had no time to eat, mused, "maybe because this topic is not boring, and it even concerns everyone."

D.D and Cuesta looked at each other and rolled their eyes.

Huaiya felt something and suddenly looked up in surprise:

"Where are you going, Your Highness?"

Everyone also looked up, and then realized that Thales was already ten steps away.

"I've been sitting for a day, and my head is getting big. Let's go for a walk." The prince waved the sausage on his hand towards the back, leaving them with a handsome back.

Huaiya was stunned. He looked at his notes, then at the half piece of bread on the dining car, and murmured:

"Of course, Your Highness..."

The serious-looking Mallos sighed and put down the soup in his hand.

"What are you doing standing still?"

He ordered coldly:

"Follow me!"

————

Where is he?

Losanne II woke up slowly, his vision was pitch black, and his nose was filled with the stench of rot and urine.

Dark.

Dirty.

Moist.

Silence.

No sight of the sun.

These thoughts passed by in a flash, and the pain came as expected.

"Uh..."

Losanne II grunted in pain.

Bangs of itching and severe pain came from his broken arm, and the wounds on his chest and abdomen were not to be outdone.

Seriously injured.

Near death.

Losang II gritted his teeth, and the muscles and blood vessels of the wounds on his body immediately "came to life", stretching out tiny sprouts, struggling like earthworms, trying to use the vampire's ability to repair them, but he had no choice... …

【Blood! ! ! 】

A tremor spread from the depths of his soul, shaking him for a moment!

【Shut up! 】

Losanne II first roared in his heart, and then sneered.

Sure enough, the monster inside me is never absent and comes as promised.

As for him, after being seriously injured, his physical strength and recovery ability were almost exhausted.

What is really needed - blood.

Lots of blood.

High quality blood.

The next second, Lausanne II resisted the nausea and discomfort, severe pain and blood thirst, took a deep breath, and tried to struggle up from the ground, but found that he was lying on the ground, his whole body heavy and motionless.

Strange.

Lausanne II's eyes were blood red, his muscles tightened, and he launched with all his strength!

Dang Cang!

The vampire struggled with all its strength, but it only caused an unpleasant sound of metal friction.

The killer immediately understood what was on him.

Iron chain.

Shackles.

Shackles.

The most familiar friend who has been with him for most of his life.

"Hahahahaha..."

With sad self-mockery, Lausanne II ironed it back and sneered.

He no longer struggled vigorously, but turned his head vigorously and looked around in a narrow field of vision.

His vampire senses slowly take effect:

This is a very typical dungeon, with thick stone layers on all sides and only a small hole half a person's height behind it as the entrance and exit.

The ground is full of sewage, the air is full of stench, and cockroaches are crawling not far away.

There is only a small candle in the corner, which can hardly illuminate even a few feet around.

As for him, his body limbs - maybe only three limbs - are fastened by an extremely heavy black mechanical stone lock with complicated patterns. Four thick chains extend from the lock, which are fixed at the four corners of the dungeon. .

Unable to move.

"He woke up."

A steady voice came from the direction of one of the four iron chains:

"Be vigilant."

Losanne II tried his best to turn his head, but unfortunately his field of vision was narrow and the lights were dim. He couldn't see the other person's appearance clearly. He could only feel that the man was full of blood, and even his outline was glowing red.

But...

Lausanne II carefully accepts feedback from other senses:

The person is breathing evenly.

The heartbeat is steady.

A sword rests on the knee.

He behaves calmly and gracefully.

Either he is a master.

Either he is a pretending master.

Wait a minute, he seems to have heard this person’s voice.

Lausanne II’s eyes moved.

He was one of the people who hunted him that day.

"If you ask me, I should give him another blow on the head to save trouble - or at least replace the silver locks."

A rough voice came from the direction of the other chain, with a disdainful tone.

The second guard had a weapon on him and a faint smell of blood.

Recently injured.

"Miss Heeley said that he will be interrogated later," the first person's voice came. "He has been seriously injured. Although I don't know how good the vampire's physique is, I can't be careless..."

A third voice broke in, panicking:

"So I said, how long do you have to guard? Although the reward is very high, it stinks here... I said, you are not kidnapping, are you... Don't get me wrong, I, I, I don't have any objections , I support it very much..."

The third guard was short of breath, with weak hands and feet. He was an ordinary person, no, even weaker than ordinary people.

Losanne II silently counted the number of people.

"Shut up, just sit down if you don't want to die." Another voice came, interrupting the third person, who immediately fell silent.

The fourth one is women.

The voice is cold, the tone is cautious, and there is a faint smell of blood on his body.

One, two, three, four...

Losanne II finished his observation and took a deep breath.

Four people.

Watch him.

There was also a woman among them, a coward who couldn't speak a word clearly.

Losanne II narrowed his eyes and began to explore the range of movement with his remaining left hand, slowly touching the black shackles on his body.

This also underestimates him.

Even if he is seriously injured and dying.

The vampires at the beginning locked him in a heavily guarded blood-forbidden prison, guarded by all kinds of terrifying old zombies and unheard of magical curses.

【Blood! Blood! Blood! 】

Losanne II turned a deaf ear to the desire in his body and snorted secretly.

They will pay the price for their underestimation.

"I am seriously injured," Lausanne II said hoarsely, and had no choice but to obey the desire in his body, "Without blood, I will die."

Escape first...

The guards remained motionless and turned a deaf ear.

"When I die, your mistress will lose even her last bargaining chip," Lausanne II felt the pain and fatigue. "What can she use to threaten Polaris?"

There was silence in the dungeon.

Until a few seconds later, a cold female voice spoke:

"Wait."

Boom!

With a muffled sound, a soft object was thrown to Lausanne II's mouth.

After seeing the target clearly, Lausanne II's eyes widened.

That's a dead rat.

Stinky.

Smelly.

Stiff.

It also has a strange smell of disgusting rot.

What?

Losanne II frowned.

"That's it?"

"Why, isn't the blood of rats blood?" the female guard said coldly, "Can't it support your recovery?"

A surge of anger surged in Lausanne II's chest.

Of course you can.

Unless you work day and night, eat hundreds or thousands of them continuously...

"At least give me fresh ones."

In order to get out of trouble, he swallowed his anger.

"Farewell, the rats here are very powerful," the male guard on the other side said sarcastically, "I'm afraid you can't beat them like this."

Lausanne II clenched his fists.

【Blood, blood! Want blood! 】

Losanne II closed his eyes.

Okay.

Damn it.

This is to escape.

At least, at least it wasn't human blood.

Not...the blood of innocent people.

Feeling the **** smell of the dead rat, Lausanne II forced himself to hold back his nausea and revulsion, opened his mouth tremblingly, showed his teeth, and bit through the rat's body.

Pfft.

The hairy and stiff texture gradually solidified, and the slightly rotten and foul-smelling cold blood splashed out from the mouse's veins and entered his mouth.

It made him feel sick and bitter.

【Blood...really...stinks...】

【Shut up! 】

Losanne II closed his eyes and swallowed the unpleasant blood in pain.

Although it was slow, but surely, the dying blood in his body began to stir.

Restore.

"Look, why don't you just eat it anyway," the male guard said disdainfully, "Why are you so particular..."

The next second, Lausanne II, who had recovered some physical strength, suddenly opened his eyes, blood red!

His left hand turned and turned into sharp claws.

Brush!

The fire was radiating, and his sharp claws went straight to the locks on his body, making a harsh and unpleasant friction sound!

A sudden change occurred, and the ordinary person screamed in fright. The other three people immediately stood up, weapons in hand, and were ready!

"Weapons!"

"He's picking the lock!"

"I said he is a restless scourge," the first rough and rich voice said viciously, "He should be——"

"Calm down," Cassian, who was obviously the leader, said calmly, letting his nervous companions relax, "Look, he can't break free."

At the center of everyone's attention, Lausanne II was stunned.

Lying on the ground, he struggled to raise his head:

I saw that the black stone locks under the sharp claws were motionless, leaving not even a scratch.

On the contrary, his vampire claws were emitting a faint green smoke due to the violent friction just now.

This lock...can't be opened?

"But he tried," the female guard said behind him, observing him carefully, the tip of her sword always facing her opponent, "and he will try again."

Losanne II was still stunned, unable to figure out why his sharpest and most hated vampire claws had no effect.

Cassian frowned.

He held the candle and slowly approached Lausanne II.

"Don't work in vain," Cassian carefully observed the movements of Lausanne II, watching the sharp claws on the latter's hands gradually shrink, "I know you are an extreme master, but you can't break free of this lock. ”

Losanne II sneered and did not answer.

What nonsense is there to talk to the dead?

"Of course he can't break free," the first male guard with a rich voice drew out his sword and approached him, gritting his teeth, "If both hands are gone, I'll see what he can use to break free..."

But Cassian reached out decisively and held down the male guard.

He looked at the latter and shook his head:

"He is a prisoner and should be treated as he deserves as long as his safety is not affected."

The male guard snorted angrily and shook off Cassian’s hand:

"Pedantry."

Cassian was not upset, he just looked at the prisoner silently.

"You know, the day before I graduated and left the Tower of Termination, Kuradel from the 'Rose' lineage told me a story."

Knight Cassian said quietly.

Losanne II was thinking about another way to break free from the chains, and frowned when he heard this.

"He said that a long time ago, the legendary mages did many, many bad things," Cassian said with longing in his eyes, "One of them was to measure the limits of what the human body can achieve - speed, reaction , strength, flexibility, durability, injury-bearing, and even the power of termination, it was still called extraordinary power at that time - and a large number of experiments were done on living subjects, from the elderly, children, women, men, soldiers, craftsmen to..."

The other guards all frowned, and Cassian seemed to realize something and smiled slightly.

"I won't say what they have done, but through complex experiments and formula calculations, the mages have indeed measured the limits of the human body and summarized a complete set of theories - you probably won't believe how exaggerated this limit is. , and what incredible things a mere mortal can do with only flesh and blood and the power of termination."

Lausanne II snorted disdainfully.

"So people at that time agreed that this was the limit of mortals, and called it..."

Cassian looked at his sword and shook his head:

"Extreme realm."

Cassian sighed softly.

"No matter how powerful or powerful a person is, they say that this is the highest critical point that a person can reach, and beyond that, it is beyond the reach of human beings. In order to break through this critical point, one must Beyond the human body, breaking through the shackles of flesh and blood. To this end, the mages have done more and worse things..."

Losanne II was unmoved and was still trying to feel the shackles on his body.

"But on the other side, another group of people who have always had a bad relationship with the mages - the knights, are not convinced."

Cassian raised his head with clear eyes:

"After years of wielding swords, they know that the body has its limits and that flesh and blood has an end, but they never believe in human power, or in other words, they do not believe that the knight's will and spirit have their limits."

Brush!

The fire flashed and the others became nervous.

"Bah, **** your spirit!"

Losanne II, who failed to open the lock again, cursed loudly, and his sharp claws even drew blood.

"They sneered at the mage's theory that the highest human being is the 'extreme realm'." Cassian looked at the killer's struggle calmly, "calling it a 'false realm'."

"They firmly believe that as long as certain conditions are met - hard work, sweat, perseverance, will, determination, methods, or anything else, mere mortals can surpass their limits."

"To reach the 'real realm'."

"This is the origin of the expressions of 'extreme realm' and 'true realm' above the extraordinary - at least one of the expressions."

None of the other guards in the dungeon spoke.

Cassian came to his senses.

"And the lock on your body is an ancient magic lock that Kevin Dill got from the Corleone family. It is said that they asked the mages to cast it according to the theory of 'Extreme Realm' a long time ago, ensuring that even if you are locked The prisoner living here is a master who has pushed all his abilities to the peak, and he can't break free."

The knight looked at the black stone lock on the prisoner with sad eyes.

"Yes, the meaning of this lock is to lock the ultimate master."

Also locks the limits of human beings.

Marks one's own weakness.

Losanne II frowned upon hearing this.

"It depends on what kind of master he is," the seriously injured killer gasped more and more violently, but he said firmly, "What if he is a lockpicker?"

Cassian shook his head:

"In all my life, I have never seen it broken."

In fact, he saw it once.

But the other party doesn’t need to know, right?

"So it would be a good idea," Cassian sighed, "to stop trying to do it and make it easier for both of us?"

Lausanne II was silent.

He didn't reply, but he stopped trying to pick the lock.

"You said before that when you were young, you saw my contest between generals," the killer suddenly changed the subject, "What did you see?"

Knight Cassian’s eyes moved.

He looked at the killer lingering on the ground and thought of the high-spirited knight apprentice who was his former general.

"I saw that you have excellent swordsmanship. One of the battles was against a master of the 'Rose' lineage. When faced with his backhand attack, you were always able to..."

Lausanne II snorted disdainfully:

"You know what I'm asking."

"You and Prince Horace had a final duel, and they were inseparable, and at one point they even had the upper hand."

Cassian paused and exhaled.

"But at the last moment, he caught the flaw..."

"If I said that I had a chance to kill him, would you believe it?" Lausanne II interrupted him coldly.

Knight Cassian smiled and was slightly surprised when he heard this. He was about to speak, but his expression suddenly changed!

"You, no..."

He stood up suddenly, but his body swayed, his eyes blurred, and he fell down softly.

Plop!

Three muffled sounds were heard, and Cassian and the guards fell down together.

Tricked.

That's it.

Losanne II looked at them coldly and concentrated on unlocking it.

It's so annoying.

If you want to kill, then kill, if you want to cut, then cut him. You have to force Lai Lai to give up his struggle.

Very good, now let’s take a look at this broken lock——

Huh?

Losanne II suddenly remembered something.

There were only three sounds of falling to the ground just now?

"Ahhhhh! Help, ahhhhh!"

The deafening cry for help came, and the killer couldn't help but be surprised!

He tried to turn his head, but found that the ordinary guard who spoke tremblingly, acted timidly, and was a bit bloated and clumsy not only did not fall, but was still shouting in panic.

How could...

Before Lausanne II had time to be surprised why his powers were ineffective, he saw the stupid guard rushing towards Cassian who fell to the ground, shaking desperately:

"It's coming, it's coming! Knight! Lord Knight! Wake up, wake up, wake up!"

Oops!

But before he could curse, Cassian, who was knocked down by "Evil Whispering", slowly woke up and turned around, pressing his forehead in pain.

The other two guards, a man and a woman, also slowly woke up, one gritting his teeth and the other silent.

"Do you think we locked you here without making preparations in advance? Especially for your superpowers?"

Knight Cassian stood up with an unhappy expression and thanked the fat guard who shook him awake.

Losanne II looked puzzled at the guard who instantly changed from crying to smiling because of the knight's thanks:

"How, how could..."

"This guy's name is Slimani, and he used to be a defense attorney," the male guard said coldly, explaining his confusion, "until he went crazy."

What?

Losanne II looked intently.

Only then did he realize that apart from his shabby clothes and his strange expression and strange behavior, the fat and shouting guard actually looked familiar.

"It can't be considered crazy... It should be said that his brain is messed up and he can't distinguish between the past and the present, memory and reality." The female guard sighed, "Yes, it coincides with your superpower. In other words , this power has no effect on him."

What?

Losanne II tried his best to raise his neck, stared at Slimani with wide eyes.

When I saw him, the former great defense attorney suddenly became gentle and kind, sitting on the ground full of sewage without any scruples, counting on his fingers with satisfaction:

"One, two, three... Bobo told me that after doing this job, he can earn a little money and make a new set of clothes for his wife..."

Lausanne II was in disbelief.

He looked motionless at Slimani, his once goal, but now a shackle that made him helpless.

"I advise you not to take advantage of him." Knight Cassian saw that he kept staring at Slimani and couldn't help but warn him.

Perhaps he has just been tricked, and his attitude towards the killer is no longer gentle.

"I forgot to tell you that each of the four of us has a mechanism in his hand," the female guard said coldly. She raised a simple wooden handle in her hand with a tight rope attached to it. , "Once all four people lose consciousness and let go, the mechanism will be triggered..."

Organization?

The expression of Lausanne II changed slightly.

Just listen to the female guard whisper:

"Directly above you is the skylight, which leads directly to the ground drainage channel."

Losanne II frowned deeply.

What?

The male guard on the other side suddenly said: "What time is it now? One o'clock? Two o'clock? Is it afternoon?"

The female guard shrugged:

"Open it and take a look?"

Open?

Lausanne II’s eyes narrowed!

The next second, there was a muffled sound of wood above the killer's head!

Wow!

At that moment, the dungeon suddenly burst into light!

Light.

Light?

Light!

Losanne II opened his eyes wide and watched in disbelief as the light from above shone into the dark dungeon, piercing the darkness and filling his vision!

No, no, no!

Dazzling light fell from the sky, illuminating the surroundings and even his whole body.

No!

Losanne II's eyes were horrified, and the monster in his body screamed in despair along with him.

[No! 】

Exposed to the sun, his bloodline instinct made him tremble and tremble uncontrollably, struggling for his life!

No! !

The shackles were pulled wildly and shook wildly, non-stop.

No! ! !

But the vampire killer struggled for several seconds before realizing that the expected pain and burning sensation did not appear.

He was neither burned to ashes nor scalded until his flesh and blood blistered.

Huh?

Losanne II looked at the silver light on his body in confusion, and the struggle disappeared instantly.

This is...

It's moonlight.

The killer let out a sigh of relief.

Gentle, deserted, safe...

Moonlight.

Losanne II stared blankly at the bright moon outside the sky window.

The next second, his whole body relaxed as if he was exhausted, and the back of his head hit the ground with a thud.

"It's around eight o'clock in the evening, huh, you're lucky," the male guard said in a cold voice, as if it was a pity, "Pull it up."

The female guard snorted, and the three of them picked up the discarded handle again, and at the same time put the other handle back into Slimani's hand.

The skylight is closed and the moonlight disappears.

But Lausanne II still leaned his head on the ground, his face dull.

Light.

Moonlight.

It’s just moonlight...

But why.

Why...

Why has it been so many years...

He is still like this...

Losanne II felt his eyes were sore and his chest was heavy.

He lay on the ground, shaking slightly involuntarily.

Why?

Uncomfortable, humiliating, painful, numb, sad, desperate...

Countless emotions hit him instantly, making him unbearable.

Swamping the Vampire’s mind, which was already experiencing great emotional fluctuations.

"Are you crying now? Huh, weren't you very impressive before?" the male guard said disdainfully.

The female guard narrowed her eyes:

"This light...is that scary?"

Losanne II remained silent, just staring blankly at the dim ceiling.

"No, he is not afraid, but hates."

Cassian, who had been observing for a long time, retracted the wooden handle and wrapped the rope around it.

"And it's not the light he hates."

Cassian looked sadly at the swordsman master lying on the ground, the ultimate enemy, remembering the panic and fear in his eyes when he was hiding from the sun, and understood something:

"It's himself."

The male and female guards were thoughtful.

"Fuck you." Lausanne II came back to his senses, twisted his head in pain, blinked hard to remove tears, and said harshly.

At this moment, the dungeon door opened.

"What happened?"

Amidst the sound of footsteps, another young female voice came, rather impatiently:

"I heard Manny yelling from a long way away."

Knight Cassian turned around and saluted:

"Ms."

"Nothing," the female guard responded calmly, "Our guest is restless, just give him a small treat."

Slimani’s eyes lit up when he saw the new girl:

"Miss, kind lady, I did everything you said. As soon as they fell asleep, I screamed...is the reward..."

"Yeah, I know, good job, Manny. By the way, Bobo is looking for you."

Slimani wanted to say something more, but he was pushed out of the dungeon by the male and female guards.

The newcomer refused to be accompanied by Knight Cassian and walked slowly towards Lausanne II.

The rightful owner has arrived.

Losanne II took a deep breath, forgetting the pain and despair just now, and hardened his heart to face the new girl.

"Congratulations, little girl from the Kevin Deere family," the killer said coldly, showing no sign of weakness, "you have caught the most terrifying murderer in the Emerald City."

"Terrible? Huh, you are just a little wave in the big wind and waves of the Emerald City."

The young female voice came to him and responded lightly:

"Whether it's Katherine from the Blood Bottle Gang or Feisal from the Brotherhood, I believe they will be happy to accept you."

"But you won't do that."

Losanne II struggled to turn his head from a few angles so that he could face the opponent.

"You still want to use me as a bargaining chip to blackmail Polaris, negotiate terms, and save your brother from trouble," the killer sneered, "You need my existence, and even more my cooperation, to be able to keep up with you at this moment. The most powerful people in the Emerald City compete against each other."

The owner of the dungeon - Cecilia Kevin Dill was silent for a long time.

"He has a lot of power," Miss Iris said disdainfully. "Let alone being powerless and poor, no one in this city takes him seriously."

"Perhaps," Lausanne II said solemnly, "But because of this, little girl, you are the unwise person."

Xilai’s eyes moved.

"Originally, the matter was about to end: Prince Thales caught the murderer, prepared another trial, a confession, and gave an explanation to the world...Who owned the Emerald City at that time, and was the Duke Federico or Zhan , it’s all up to him, it’s just a matter of tossing a coin and choosing one of the two.”

Lausanne II chuckled:

"But you stepped in, grabbed the tiger's mouth, slapped him in front of the whole city, making him look cowardly and incompetent, losing face, and unable to close the case..."

Xilai remembered something, she crossed her arms and sneered as well.

"I know, but that's kind of cool, right?"

"In order to save your brother, you turned yourself into a benchmark for the Emerald City's resistance to the prince," Lausanne II ignored her cold humor, "and also drove Polaris to a dead end."

Losanne II struggled hard, causing the chains in the dungeon to rattle.

Cassian frowned and was about to step forward, but was stopped by Xilai's hand.

"Now, if he chooses Zhan En, he will be forced to compromise, condescending, humiliating his status, and bringing disgrace to the royal family..."

I can feel Lausanne II gritting his teeth, and there is an inexplicable light joy between the lines:

"If he chooses Federico, he will be stubborn to the end, seize power by force, and dig his own grave in the face of the ridicule and opposition of the whole city..."

Lausanne II sneered:

"The only choice he has left is to completely oppose you until death."

Hilai remained silent.

"Now, he must first find you, take back the prisoner, sanction you, punish you, let the whole world see that he has regained the power and dignity he lost from you, and restore the influence, before he can end everything in Emerald City."

A hint of stubbornness flashed in Xi Lai's eyes.

"Very good, I'm just waiting for him to come to me."

"He will," Lausanne II laughed, "He has been to this sewer, he knows it! He will mobilize the power of the whole city to find me, or in other words, find you!"

Xilai frowned when he heard this and turned to Cassian.

"You told him where this is?"

Cassian hesitated for a moment and spoke awkwardly:

"We showed him the skylight."

Hilai looked unhappy:

"It's unnecessary."

Cassian bowed his head and confessed.

"And when he comes next time, he will neither be alone nor unarmed," Lausanne II's smile became more exaggerated, "and he will not be easily blackmailed by you because he is worried about being in public like last time. Let you go."

Shealy did not respond.

"Because of you, the script suddenly got out of control and everything was in chaos," Lausanne II said with sharp eyes. "Unless you decide the winner, the Emerald City will not end well, and no one will be able to survive alone."

The killer glanced at Miss Kevin Dill with evil intentions:

"Are you... ready?"

Xilai frowned slightly, but showed no sign of weakness:

"Worry about yourself first, prisoner - have you drank the blood today?"

Losanne II smiled, not caring about the other party's sarcasm.

"You are very confident. You think he will not kill you, or even do harm to you," he shook his head and tutted, "You are a girl who is carried away by love."

Hilai remained motionless and expressionless.

"Next time, I want to show him the skylight, Cassian," Miss Kevin Deere said calmly, "Choose during the day."

Cassian raised his eyebrows and nodded.

But Lausanne II seemed to have seen through his fate a long time ago and was not afraid.

"Believe me, I've dealt with people like him - so-called 'good guys' in high positions of power."

The vampire killer's eyes were ethereal, filled with both nostalgia and pain.

"Compared with killing people, they have many ways to use the most noble and compassionate way to make people - life worse than death."

Facing them, you will only be filled with grievances and resentment.

But there is no hatred and anger that can be vented happily.

But there is always something wrong behind this charm that makes people "willingly" die for it.

Wrong.

Lausanne II clenched his fists.

"So you're surrendering now?" Heeley said suddenly.

Lausanne II was stunned.

"What?"

"I know, it's an old trick. It uses your past and your persistence to trick you: life is hopeless, life has no solution, the end is tragic, and the only meaningful thing is to appeal to instinct , use up all your anger and vent your hatred to prove that you existed."

Hilai crossed his arms and rubbed his gloves with disdain in his eyes.

What?

Losanne II thought of something and his expression slowly changed.

"And you surrendered, bowed your head, and allowed it to wreak havoc in your mind, taking and asking for everything," Hillai clicked his tongue and shook his head, "Tsk, tsk, how pitiful."

Use your instincts, use up your anger, vent your hatred...

Surrender, surrender, take whatever you want...

"Who, who are you talking about?"

The killer found himself shaking slightly.

"You know who it is," Hilley said with a cold face, "that monster who is full of evil taste and loves to see people's beliefs accumulated over decades collapse overnight and turn into madness."

Cassian closed his eyes behind his back and turned his head, as if he couldn't bear to look anymore.

Collapse overnight and enter madness?

Lausanne II's eyes widened and his breathing quickened:

"You, you and that, that...how, how did it become...and how did you know that I used to be..."

"It doesn't know anything at all, and it can't change any real person," Hilley interrupted him coldly, "But you know, don't you? Only you know your past."

You know.

Only you know.

Lausanne II was stunned.

"Look, people are often defeated not by their opponents," Healy sighed, "but by themselves."

"But..."

Bang.

The dungeon door opened again.

"Did he recruit?"

Losanne II recovered from the shock just now and collected his thoughts.

This new voice is very special and different from the previous guards.

This is a new customer.

In order to hide under the nose of Kongming Palace, she must have taken great pains and contacted many helpers.

Losanne II closed his eyes, feeling gloomy.

"He is about to recruit."

Xilai sighed, turned around, and spoke in a bad tone, as if he was annoyed at being interrupted: "If I hadn't been interrupted by you."

"That's good," the new guest walked slowly, approaching the prisoner, "lest you try the prisoner privately behind my back and reap the benefits."

Huh?

Strange.

Losanne II noticed something was wrong and opened his eyes suddenly!

How could...

"You, you...why are you here?"

The killer looked at the new guest in disbelief.

The new guest frowned:

"This is really strange to say, why can't I be here?"

Lausanne II was stunned.

Wait.

That means...

He subconsciously looked at Xi Lai, wanting an answer.

"You have also seen that I kept my promise," the new guest stood next to Miss Kevin Dill and stretched out his hand with a nonchalant expression, "Now, can you return the collateral to me?"

Xilai glanced at him and snorted coldly, seeming to be disdainful.

A second later, the girl from the Kevin Deere family reluctantly pulled something out of her waist.

At that moment, Lausanne II’s eyes widened!

Dagger.

That's a dagger.

A sharp dagger that shines with cold light and cuts iron like mud

And he recognized the dagger.

He has seen it.

More than once.

The most recent time was the day I was arrested. The young lady in front of me put it on her neck and left peacefully...

The last time, and the last time after that, was...

Lausanne II was stunned.

Impossible. ~IndoMTL.com~You guys, when did you..."

Impossible...

Losanne II looked at each other in disbelief, suddenly figured out something, and his eyelids opened wide!

"No, could it be said that as early as the night when I was hunted and captured, you, you two..."

The vampire killer looked at the new guest standing next to Xi Lai and said in a daze:

"Are we all in the same group?"

No one answered.

In the dungeon, I saw Polar Star, the second prince, the Duke of Star Lake, and the temporary regent of Kongming Palace. Thales Canxing naturally took the JC dagger handed back by Hille Kevindir.

The wind is light and the clouds are calm, and the waves are calm. (End of chapter)

Please remember the first domain name of this book:. :