Kingdom’s Bloodline

In the Palace of Heroes, after parting with Puttilai, who had a strange expression, according to the habit of the past three years, Thales walked out of the narrow and desolate Blood Courtyard with a book in his hand, and walked directly to the stables accompanied by his entourage.

Wyatt followed behind helplessly, and Rolf seemed to be used to this scene, but quietly followed the prince's footsteps.

Behind them are the few Star Soldiers. Most of the dozen or so are the old guys who were recruited from Broken Dragon Fortress and have gone through many difficulties with the prince all the way, including the veteran Genard and the recruit Willow who is no longer a recruit. .

On the outside, the personal guards of the Grand Duchess of Dragon Clouds City and the palace guards passed the news back and forth as if they were facing an enemy. From time to time, groups of soldiers set off to open the way. The leader, Lord Justin, had a dark face and a tense expression. , but still scrupulously fulfilled his obligations.

After all, this is the order of the Grand Duchess.

"For the sake of safety, I sincerely suggest that you postpone leaving the palace for a few days, at least until the end of the Grand Duchess' hearing." Huai Ya seemed to be unable to stand the second prince's leisurely pace: "At that time, the White Blade Guard... I mean that the Grand Duke's Guards have enough people to protect your travels, instead of focusing most of their energy on the Hall of Heroes like now."

Wyatt's attendant glanced at the northern soldiers around him, at least half of the manpower was less than usual when the prince travels: many vassals of Dragon Clouds City visited around the day of the hearing, and most of the Grand Duke's personal guards in Dragon Clouds City, whether they are The surviving ex-White Blade Guards were elite soldiers newly trained by the Meteorites in the past few years, and they were all mobilized to the side of the Grand Duchess.

Thales took out the brown book under his arm, flicked the words "The Beginning and End of the Temple of the Knights of Human Light" on the cover, and blew the whistle that Rolf taught him indifferently.

Wiacastle, during the six years he served the prince in Exeter, he only returned to the country twice, and each time he returned, he became more mature, but he was as serious and "excessive" as ever , the string that is tense all the time has never been relaxed.

That's not okay.

Especially... facing such an opponent.

Thales kept smiling and said silently in his heart.

The prince said relaxedly: "Northern people are not idiots when it comes to safety issues like assassins. Even children who have been burned are afraid of fire, let alone a country where the king has died."

Lord Justin, who was walking beside the former White Blade Guard, unabashedly "hummed" heavily, muttering something, to Thales, who had good hearing, it seemed that "the people of the stars are ashamed to say that".

Thales pretended not to hear,

Shrugged: "Besides, being under house arrest in an enemy country's city like a prison is already a very tragic thing, don't deprive me of the little fun I have left."

"Miserable? I think you are enjoying your current 'prison' life." Wyatt rolled his eyes, and retorted with the prince who is familiar with him: "Besides, no prisoner has ever had a good relationship with the 'warden' To such an extent that she can promise you to freely choose the time of 'release' every month."

"Don't say it so simply, go out to play chess..." Thales smiled, and he waved his hand to Huai Ya without looking back: "That's because I endured the humiliation and endured so much hardship to show the master and the master of Dragon Clouds City The Earl of Lisbane's wretched rights."

Enduring humiliation and bearing hardships?

Wyatt's face suddenly became as dark as that of Lord Justin next to him.

Is it referring to the countless times you dragged the Grand Duchess to skip class, causing the Palace of Heroes to jump up and down?

"Do you really want today?" Huai Ya's innate personality made Huai Ya hold back the desire to continue complaining, and the attendant said with a straight face: "If you really can't, just stay in the palace and play chess. Anyway, you are playing chess with yourself. Down."

Under the eyes and ears of King Charman, in the treacherous atmosphere of Dragon Clouds City, and in front of His Royal Highness, who has such a heavy responsibility, except for those who are looking for trouble and have ulterior motives, which Exeter nobleman would dare to fight against the Star Kingdom? The sole heir sits at the opposite table and plays chess?

"The focus is not on playing chess, but on 'releasing the wind', Wyatt," Thales kept on stepping, the book in his hand slowly slapping his left palm: "I don't expect people like you who can freely enter and leave Dragon Clouds City , can understand the mood of the prisoner himself."

Huai Ya shook his head helplessly, waiting to speak again.

"Alright, alright, Wyah, please do me a favor, let's not say a few words," Thales waved his index finger back, and ended the conversation casually: "Like Midilla next to you, he never Talk too much."

Wyah frowned, and looked suspiciously at Midilla Rolfe, the Wind Follower.

Sure enough, the dumb Rolf said nothing, and stretched out a provocative middle finger to Wyatt expressionlessly.

"I can't deny this," Wyatt sighed in pain, lowering his head and rubbing his forehead: "I hate you, Your Highness."

Thales whistled.

At this moment, a young and exaggerated female voice sounded from above the head:

"Oh! Little Thales, are you leaving the palace again?"

Several new Grand Duke's personal guards raised their crossbows nervously upwards, but the others seemed to be calm and used to it. Wyah and Rolf rolled their eyes almost at the same time.

With a plop, a short figure tightly wrapped in a cloak jumped down from a tree on one side, kept up with the footsteps with one hand on his hips, and stretched out a thumb with the other: "Don't worry, with me here, he will never There will be safety concerns!"

"Why do you always like to lie on the branches, Miss Ada?" Wyatt asked dissatisfiedly Miss Cloak who was supposed to be the prince's first guard.

"With such a big sun, of course we need shade from trees!"

Huai Ya looked up suspiciously, unable to figure out what the "shade" and "branches" have in common.

"I'm sorry, Ada, I'm just going to the Spear District to play chess." Thales sighed and replied angrily, "I'm not going to hunt rabbit meat in the outskirts of the city."

"Eh?"

Ada put her hands on her head and walked backwards in front of him. The cloak covering the upper half of her face could not hide the disappointment in her voice: "Can't you take two more steps?"

"From the Palace of Heroes to the outskirts of the city, do you mean the dragon's 'two steps'?"

Ada said pitifully: "The food in the Palace of Heroes is always cold when served, don't you think...boy, think about it, hot rabbit meat!"

"It's for your safety..."

"Speaking of safety," Ada clenched her fists and sighed bitterly: "As your personal bodyguard, I fought bloody battles with wounds all over my body, and I saved you from the enemy's hands, and finally saved the entire dragon. Xiaocheng...but you don't even have this little request..."

"Are you talking about rushing to the Heroic Spirit Palace with a dirty mouth six years ago, only to find that everything was over, so you happily asked me for money to pay back the bill, to prove that you are not a lady who broke into the house and stole chickens?" The prince replied without a wave.

In the next second, Thales turned his footsteps, tilted his head skillfully, and just rightly dodged the angry Miss Elf, and also avoided the finger poked by her tiptoe.

"Hey, hey, hey, you actually flashed again! The third time!" The lady in the cloak froze in place, holding up her right index finger, tremblingly said:

"Why are you so proficient!"

Why... so proficient?

Listening to this line that seems to have been heard somewhere, Thales let out a breath, shook his head, shook off a vague memory fragment, and continued to move forward.

A desolate and helpless Ada was left behind ("Where did that lovely little Thales, who could never avoid my finger of death?"), and countless soldiers and guards who ignored her and walked forward: Huaiya News With a sympathetic look, Rolf simply blew a whistle with a weakened bass and a trembling sound to set off her current mood.

The prince recalled the special fluctuations gathered on the soles of the feet and the side of the neck, feeling the faint fatigue of the tendons, and frowned.

With a serious expression, he recalled what the man with the long black sword said on a bloody night long ago.

【This is cursed power...you can only increase it through special methods...】

Sure enough, six years...

This thing...

No progress.

Thales walked into the stable next to the Palace of Heroes and kicked his boots on a horse stool to cover up his purpose of relaxing his tendons.

The prince came down to the stable that he was familiar with, surrounded by both sides. A strong black horse stuck its head out of the fence and stretched out its nose to him affectionately.

"Did you treat her well?" Thales smiled and scratched the black horse's chin, looked at her teeth, and said to the groom beside him:

"You know, Jenny likes to be clean."

The full-time groom of the Palace of Heroes patted his chest proudly, promising the prince that his mount had never been so healthy.

The black horse Prince Jenny's exclusive mount was brought to Dragon Clouds City by the envoy of the Star Kingdom three years ago. It is said that it is a good girl carefully selected from thousands of mounts. , while inheriting her mother's violent temper and father's stamina, she is not false to many riders who try to subdue her.

Surprisingly, Thales, who had never been talented in riding horses, got along very well with Jenny. Even Viscount Connie, who was leading the mission at the time, was amazed at this.

Thales smiled lightly, stuffed the book in his hand into the saddle bag, and untied Jenny's reins. At the same time, Wyatt and other soldiers also started looking for their own mounts.

at this moment.

"Dear Prince Thales, good day."

A gloomy and peaceful female voice came from outside the stable: "As a fifty-six-year-old elder, I need to remind you to pay attention to the safety of this trip."

The soldiers and guards gave way one after another and bowed to the person who came, while the stars all frowned.

Thales closed his mouth that was opened in a smile, turned his back on the new lady, and sighed.

"Good day, Ms. Jinx," he said without turning his head, and was still preparing for departure, "I thought you should stay with the Grand Duchess at this moment, and help her present herself to the vassals and nobles in a decent and elegant manner." It's pretty."

Jinx, one of the female officers next to the Grand Duchess: a noblewoman in her fifties who looks like a thirty-something. She is dressed in simple clothes, has simple hair accessories, and behaves well. You need a serious face, but you have to be impeccable in language and etiquette.

It is said that she is the widow of a powerful vassal of the late King Nunn. Six years ago, she was invited into the Palace of Heroes by the Regent of Lisbon. She took care of the grand duchess and taught her the corresponding etiquette. Like Nibakwe, she is an excellent and competent female officer. If she didn't ask Prince Star, who was originally reading leisurely, to follow the Northland etiquette class.

By the way: she is also one of the reasons Thales took the Grand Duchess to skip class for the first time.

Ms. Jinx still used that voice that made people unconsciously tense: "In addition, I also brought the words of several other adults."

"I suggest you listen carefully even if you are from the South."

Hearing this, Thales reluctantly stopped what he was doing, turned around and bowed to her.

Only then did Ms. Jinx nod in satisfaction, raised her neck, which was as angled as a swan's neck, and cleared her throat.

"His Excellency, the Grand Duchess of Longxiao City, asked me to remind you that during the time she was in charge of the government," the lady said proudly, "The new books that arrived in the palace..."

"Okay, Ms. Jinx," Thales scratched his ears with a headache: "Please report to Your Majesty the Grand Duchess, I will wait until she returns before opening the present."

Ms. Jinx narrowed her eyes. Although her expression remained unchanged, Thales knew that she was dissatisfied with the prince's interruption.

But a few minutes later, the lady spoke again.

"The Earl of Lisbane also asked me to remind you that when he was accompanying the Grand Duchess as regent," the female officer lowered her posture slightly this time, but still looked straight into Thales' eyes: "For your safety and Dragon Clouds City reputation, please abide by the king's edict..."

"Okay, Ms. Jinx," Thales stroked Jenny's horse's head, calming her dissatisfaction with the master's delay in untying her: "Please thank the Earl of Lisbane for me, who is busy with the regent and still takes time to care about me , and tell him: I won't run out of ax and spear."

Jinx frowned slightly.

"at last……"

"Captain Serenikole asked me to remind you that because the hearing day is very special, please be sure to cooperate with Lord Justin and the guards when you go out," the lady's voice softened, but it still made people nervous: "Also, because Your bad record of returning after eight o'clock two months ago..."

"This time, once you come back after six o'clock in the evening, he will lock the city gate and suggest that you spend the night at the guard post of the city gate."

Thales frowned, took a deep breath, and let it out long.

He pushed aside the fence, stepped onto the stool, and saddled on the horse.

"Okay, Ms. Jinx," the prince faced the stern female officer, and pondered for a few seconds: "I'll trouble you again, to Nico... to that dead face..."

Mistress Jinx raised her eyebrows.

Thales sighed and said seriously:

"Let him die early."

The next moment, Thales flicked the rein without hesitation, and rode out amidst Jenny's loud neighing!

The prince rushed past the female officer without looking back, followed by his followers and soldiers, including the helpless Wyatt, the calm Rolf, and the sulking Ada.

He flicked the rein of the horse in his hand, and rushed out of the square in front of the Palace of Heroes, towards the first city gate.

The journey from the Palace of Valor to the Spear District did not take much time, especially with the full cooperation of the Grand Duke's Guards and patrols, the streets and roads were unimpeded.

In what he just teased about Wyah, he didn't lie about one thing: Thales had won this hard-won opportunity to play chess in the spear area not far from the Palace of Heroes.

Thales, who was bouncing on the horse, controlled the ups and downs of his body, looked at Jenny's ears and her cheerful steps from behind, and curled the corners of his mouth.

In the past six years, at least his riding skills have improved by leaps and bounds. Exter may be culturally inferior to the special stars, but when it comes to the emphasis on military skills, even the roughest and lowest northern nobles have to get rid of them. There are a lot of colleagues in the stars.

Thales still remembers that in his outdoor course (this is a polite name) with the Grand Duchess, when Nicolai, who was in charge of the "class", discovered that his only two students, Thales, were riding because they were allergic to horses. Not good, when the Grand Duchess resists getting on the horse because of fear in her heart...

The expressionless Meteor asked for a thick rope, tied them firmly to the horse, and then set the horse's tail on fire.

Once a day, two hours each time.

Ten days after the effect was immediate, both he and the girl became equestrian "masters" amidst vomiting and dizziness, or at least experienced ones.

After finishing this step, Nicolai untied the rope, and began to leisurely correct their riding posture and skills, and introduce the harness.

Then it's taking up arms... and then it's hunting on horseback...

Later, a former White Blade Guard told Thales privately: Multiplying the duration and frequency by two, and turning the torch that lights the horse's tail into a honeycomb is the standard riding training of the White Blade Guard.

Thinking of this, the prince couldn't help sighing.

The next second, Thales pulled the rein in his hand, exerted a little force, and at the same time sat back deeply, sliding his legs back slightly to a relaxed position.

The smart Jenny immediately started to slow down. After confirming this, Thales also let go of the rein in time to show encouragement, and comforted this excited, passionate, and beautiful girl who was eager to vent. She let out a dissatisfied grunt .

Jenny's horse hooves clicked heavily, and a few seconds later, she stopped in front of their destination.

The mounts of Wyatt and Lord Justin also stopped.

Thales praised the triumphant Jenny with stroking and whining. She has recently acquired the bad habit of using dissatisfied coquettishness to attract the attention of the owner, while lamenting that the horses are no less difficult to deal with than humans. He thought of the few days of the black sand collar Hundred cavalry God knows how much time and energy it takes to train a skilled galloping cavalry.

Thales stepped off the stirrups, handed the reins to Genard behind him, and looked up at his destination, a chess and card room in the Spear District.

I heard that this was originally a well-decorated aristocratic hotel, until the independent owner was killed by robbers in the catastrophe that swept through Dragon Cloud City six years ago. After arriving here, according to the original decoration, it was converted into an entertainment room for nobles to entertain. I heard that the business is not bad.

Of course, the word "business is good" has nothing to do with it today. Since Prince Xingchen chose this place as his monthly outing point three years ago, this chess and card room has to be cleared once a month, waiting for the prince. Fate, but obviously this is not a bad thing, because its business has risen instead of falling, and everyone is scrambling to see the "place where the battle was fought" by the mysterious prince who has lived in the palace for a long time.

Thales stepped into the chess and card room amidst the flattering voice of the boss: hundreds of Grand Duke's personal guards and patrols had already searched the place thoroughly and isolated the adjacent area.

Looking at the empty hall, the prince sighed.

He slowly climbed the steps to the box on the second floor, followed by guards ranging from Justin to Wyer and Rolf.

Under the leadership of the boss, Thales skillfully stepped through a gate and came to the largest box. This is a semi-open-air box with a large area. One side of the terrace faces the streets of the Spear District downstairs. The prince's chess seat Right off the terrace, from here you have a great view of the street.

Through the terrace, Thales was not surprised to see countless pro-guards and patrols guarding the vital points of the streets and nearby buildings. At least 200 people, with their bows and crossbows wound up, patrolling regularly, strictly guarding against possible uninvited guests, almost Everyone was staring at themselves on the terrace.

This kind of formation and atmosphere, coupled with martial law, even if the number of people is reduced by half, it is impossible for the tragedy of six years ago to happen again.

Once bitten by a snake...

The prince shrugged, sat down on the seat, and put down the book.

He shifted his gaze to the chessboard and chess pieces in front of him. Starting from the Kingdom of Allenbia, the seat opposite the "Rise and Fall of Empires", which had been circulating in the Western Continent for nearly a hundred years but was still unabated, was empty.

"Okay," Thales looked at the standing red king on the chessboard, while looking at the familiar and unfamiliar black and red chess pieces in the chess box with a little emotion, while facing the arms who were still relentlessly checking the surroundings. Ya and Justin said: "You can go out. Anyway, the door is not closed, and there is a terrace. It is the same for you to guard outside the door and on the street."

"Just like before, I want to be by myself."

Behind Wyatt, Rolf nodded slightly. After putting down a plate of food and water that had been inspected, he grabbed the boss who was still about to curry favor and went to the first floor. Ada had long been missing, probably on the roof.

"Prince Thales," Lord Justin of the former White Blade Guard said cautiously: "Old rules, three hours, if you need anything..."

The prince let out a breath: "I will let you know as soon as possible."

Lord Justin nodded, exchanged glances with Wyatt, and both walked to the door ten meters behind Thales, guarding the entrance and exit, while staring at the prince who was reading and playing chess at the same time.

"It's like this every time." Thales shook his head and smiled softly, continued to take out the chess pieces from the chess box, and began to place them on the chessboard one by one.

The box and the block returned to silence, only the footsteps of the soldiers from time to time, and Wyah's small complaints to Rolf came faintly from behind.

Guards, catapults, shield warriors, pawns...

Just when Thales had placed the penultimate piece and was about to get the last piece.

Two slender, fair fingers with beautiful nails suddenly appeared.

Fingers descended from the sky, grabbed the black king, and gently placed it into Thales' chess formation, arranged it, straightened it, and even aligned it with the chess grid, and turned the front to the direction perpendicular to the red square.

Meticulous, extremely detailed.

"Thanks."

Thales raised his eyebrows, he raised his head, and nodded slightly to the unexpected guest who suddenly appeared without any surprise.

The prince's long-lost friend, the magician of Qi, Ashida Sarkon sat gracefully and quietly on the seat opposite, staring at the chess pieces on the chessboard, with the corners of his mouth slightly raised.