Kingdom’s Bloodline

For a moment, Thales thought Tomdin was about to cry.

In the firelight, his upper and lower lips collided back and forth, the small eyes on the cheekbones blinked and blinked in a daze, and the greasy hair on his forehead swayed slightly.

But the owner of the caravan took a deep breath, and managed to stabilize his crumbling image.

Tomdin arched his cheeks and forced an ugly smile.

"All right."

"You know what this reminds me of?"

Tomdin coughed, and the necklace hanging around his neck kept shaking: "In those war-torn years, my great-grandfather once fought under the hands of the 'virtuous king' Mendis III, His Majesty the King told him during the banquet : The more difficulties we encounter, the more confidence we have."

Kuaisheng covered his forehead in pain and mouthed "here again". Thales noticed that many people in Dante's big sword made similar movements.

But Dean still looked at Tomdin calmly, with his usual expression.

"Now, it's about you, it's time for us all to have more confidence," Tomdin tightened his belt, and his protruding belly swayed elastically in the air, as if thinking that this would give them more confidence. Some confidence:

"Good Dean, dear Dean, you know, I've always admired you, so I think you can hire a little more..."

Dean smiled.

"You didn't listen. What we lack is not confidence, but safety, and it's not that we are driving up prices." Dean smiled politely, as if this was just the most ordinary negotiation: "We can't move forward, God knows what's ahead Something is waiting for us."

"The corpses in the camp were so fresh that they didn't even have time to be buried in the yellow sand. This shows that we are only one step away from unknown dangers. If you want me to say, we should have considered turning back yesterday morning."

Tomdin was slightly taken aback.

"Dean,

It was you who promised me that I could come this time," the businessman's chest began to heave, and he stared at Dean with rounded eyes: "You can't let me return empty-handed and lose money! Then I can't even pay your commission! "

Quick Rope's eyes lit up.

"In that case, I suggest that next time you deposit a sum of money with the tavern owner Tampa, and if you come back empty-handed like this, he will pay you back... um, um, um..." But he didn't finish, Kan Ze, who was from the north, covered his mouth viciously, danced with tears in his eyes, and struggled helplessly.

"Things are always changing," Dean said, laughing at Tomdin. "So you mean, compared to that, if we die outside, then we don't have to pay the commission?"

Tomdin's face froze, he hesitated to speak.

Finally, he raised his finger and looked at Dean intently, his eyes full of uneasiness and anxiety and not very well hidden anger and anger.

"This is also related to your reputation, Dante's great sword!"

The owner of the caravan seemed to be unable to control his temper anymore, and he was rather annoyed: "What kind of mercenary, what kind of bodyguard is this?"

"I humbly invite you to go out, pay generously, and offer food and drink. I didn't even say anything about picking up garbage on the way, wasting resources, and burdening the caravan..."

Thales, the rubbish he picked up on the way, raised his eyebrows and scratched his head.

Well said gentleman.

What about the saying "take responsibility on your shoulders and have a warm pillow in your heart"?

"And after you received the deposit, what you are best at is putting down picks halfway and betraying your employer?"

"The entire Saber Dune will know!"

As soon as this remark came out, the expressions of the mercenaries changed.

"Let me tell you, I originally planned to praise you in front of Baron Williams after this trip, and try to reduce your taxes and venue rental fees. Now, should I go back and tell His Excellency the Baron or other colleagues, you I peed my pants after being scared by a few corpses, I don’t even have the most basic qualities.”

But Tomdin was interrupted.

"In the desert, you should never question your guide and protector, Fatty," McGee who was sitting on the side said coldly, the lines on his face slightly grim: "You think the desert is too simple, believe me, You may wish to think about the coffins of those who sleep forever in the desert are made of yellow sand, free of charge."

Tomdin was taken aback for a moment, then shrank back subconsciously.

"Also, if you really know Baron Williams well enough, Mr. Merchant, to the point where we can decide our fate with a single sentence," the old hammer on the other side said flatly: "Why are you afraid of going back to Saber Dune? "

After finally breaking free from the fast rope of Kanze's clutches, he chuckled: "Or bring out the fact that your aristocratic ancestors drank with the king, maybe the baron will be surprised, and he will compensate you for your loss graciously?"

Tomdin was so choked that he couldn't speak, he just pointed at McGee and Old Hammer: "You..."

"Okay boys," the silent captain Luisa coughed, raised her hands, and said with a smile like a peacemaker: "We don't have to make it so stiff, I promise we will have a good way to solve this matter son, right?"

She smiled at Dean and winked.

Finally, Dean sighed and stroked his bald head.

"Okay then, let's, um, let's find a compromise."

Tomdin seemed to have found a savior, and looked gratefully at Louisa.

"Captain Dante! I knew you were reasonable..."

Louisa waved her hand.

"Twenty or thirty miles in a certain direction, we will come across a remote oasis stronghold that few people know about, where a small tribe is stationed," Dean said softly, "We know their chieftain , In fact, we are very familiar, talking and laughing like brothers and sisters, they should move to the vicinity at this time of the year."

McKee sneered.

"You can trade some goods there, exchange some desert specialties, replenish water sources and food, sell at least part of the backlog, and then decide on the next step, how about it?"

Tomdin was slightly taken aback.

"Wait, the tribe of the Skeleton Man? Is it nearby?"

Thales was taken aback when he heard this, and the water bag in his hand trembled.

His astonishment was the same as Tomdin's.

Desolate man?

A familiar face appeared in front of his eyes, and the most impressive one was the man's red eyes.

But Dean didn't let him continue: "If you're worried, Sipe, that tribe...they know the situation around them well, at least better than us. Ask them, and we can know what's going on right now. Is it a terrorist killer that appeared in the desert, or the sand bandits are killing each other boredly, and then decide whether we continue to go or..."

Tomdin waved his hands anxiously: "But those are the skeletons! Those bastards who eat people...how do you know, how can you guarantee..."

McKee stood up slowly and walked in front of him.

"Because that's the tribe I came from," the warrior with black lines painted on his face lightly tapped Tomdin's belly: "Don't worry."

McGee chewed his teeth, his eyes were like arrows:

"As a 'cannibal bastard', I will tell them in advance: you can't eat."

The owner of the caravan turned pale, took a step back in fright, and fell to the ground.

Quick Rope chuckled.

Thales was stunned.

Desolate man.

The Will of the Fire of the Leaf

Desolate man?

He stared intently at McGee, especially into the latter's eyes.

But those were ordinary brown eyes.

"Desolate bones..."

Tomdin subconsciously looked at the other mercenaries, but found that they were all looking at him with worried faces, and couldn't help shivering slightly.

"nearby?"

"Now, you know why we can come and go freely in the desert," Dean sighed. "This is our biggest secret, sir. We have a bone man as a guide."

Tomdin shuddered again.

Louisa helped Tomdin up and smiled apologetically at him.

"Then... let's go to that tribe tomorrow..."

A smile flashed across Tomdin's face.

"Ahem, I understand!"

The owner of the caravan smiled, looking somewhat reluctant: "We will return tomorrow! Tomorrow, tomorrow!"

Before he finished speaking, he scrambled and left the camp, as if there were eight hungry wolves behind his buttocks.

Dante's great swords laughed easily.

Thales sat in the corner, silent.

"But we all know that there are no desolate bone tribes there," Old Hammer shook his head helplessly, and patted McGee who sat down again: "And that's the supply point we planned to go to, isn't it?"

"That's right." Dean shrugged and pouted at Tomdin's back.

"But he doesn't know."

There was another burst of hearty laughter in the camp.

"The problem is solved. You don't have to worry about searching those corpses anymore. Seriously, there are a few exiles among those dead sand robbers. I even recognize them as people from the Shalaren tribe. Some people have at least 20 brake marks on their bodies." Dow has won 20 fights, maybe even a guy in the extreme," Dean sighed:

"It's hard to imagine what killed them."

Luisa smiled gently at him: "Don't worry, we'll be heading back tomorrow."

Thales silently huddled in the corner, looked at the team suspiciously, and glanced at McGee from time to time.

Louisa noticed Thales' eyes.

"Don't mind, Wyah, don't be too surprised, I know what you're thinking," Luisa said understandingly, "What kind of skeletons have green faces and fangs, and they specialize in eating human flesh..."

Everyone turned their eyes in unison, which immediately made Thales feel very embarrassed.

Old Hammer even started laughing.

The female captain shook her head: "First of all, the so-called Desolate Bone Tribe doesn't exist, and we didn't go to any tribe as guests."

Kuaisheng showed his big white teeth: "Just kidding."

Thales twitched the corner of his mouth reluctantly.

He cleared his throat, thinking he should say something: "Okay, of course, but you just said, McGee..."

Luisa smiled and said, "That's right, McGee is a bone man. Have you seen the lines on his face? That's the battle pattern, one of the proofs of a bone man. Obviously, he doesn't eat people, and the bone man doesn't." No……"

"No, not all of them," McGee snorted softly, seemingly disdainful, with cold eyes:

"It's just that my tribe doesn't eat people."

Thales was taken aback again.

"Fuck you, McGee," Old Hammer snorted, and took a bite of food:

"Every word is like telling a ghost story."

Thales still felt a little embarrassed, after all, he was in someone else's camp, but Louisa's smile made him feel a lot better, but Dean stared at him thoughtfully, which made the prince quite uneasy.

He turned to the fast rope.

"So, what I've heard..."

"Oh, forget what you've heard," Old Hammer sighed, swallowing his food, "Crazy, tyrannical, cannibal... People outside the desert always describe this place as you know, some people don't bother to distinguish, There is no way to distinguish them, so we just make a fuss and spread rumors, collectively referring to the human beings who are forced or voluntarily living in the desert as desolate people, and even counting the sand robbers and thugs from outside."

Thales frowned when he heard it, and was a little dazed.

"Of course, I doubt whether any of them have ever seen a really difficult and terrifying kind of bone man."

The old hammer snorted softly: "Even in the desert war, the real bone man is not something you can see at will."

Dean spoke, and his flat voice made everyone quiet down slowly and listen to him.

"I know your confusion, Wyatt, and I know how the rumors about the skeleton people are spread outside, but you don't have to be afraid that the desert is huge, and the skeleton people are not a simple and clear race," the bald mercenary said politely. McKee indicated: "Their history is probably not much shorter than that of the desert, and their species are not much less than the animals in the desert."

"Some tribes are vigilant against xenophobia, some tribes are willing to entertain guests, some tribes are cruel and warlike, some tribes are friendly and peaceful, some tribes are sparsely populated, and some tribes are so powerful that they dare to break arms with orcs, and even go to the two major tribes. The borders of powerful countries look at the scenery, they are very different, that's it."

Thales nodded knowingly.

"But I heard that the desolate bone people all... all have red eyes?"

At that moment, McGee raised his head, his eyes were cold.

"red?"

Against the other party's unkind eyes, Thales' heart moved.

Did he say the wrong thing?

"A lot of soldiers heard that too," Dean said with a smile. "Obviously, they haven't encountered real skeleton men or not many."

But this time, McGee cut him off.

"No, there are red-eyed desolate skeletons."

The bone man raised his head, the black lines on his face were faintly visible in the firelight, facing Thales: "Have you seen it?"

The tone is aggressive.

Thales scratched his head.

"I've seen... I've seen people who have heard of them," Thales hesitated for a while, "just like you."

McGee looked at Thales without moving his eyes for a long time.

"Only a small number of desolate bone people have such eyes," he said slowly, and even the other mercenaries listened to him seriously: "They are the descendants of the ancestors, and in your terms, they are probably considered to be descendants of the desolate bones." nobleman."

Quick Rope came out again: "Are you sure it's not albinism?"

The old hammer slapped him from behind, making Kuaisheng howl.

"Descendants of the ancestor?" Thales asked suspiciously, ignoring the fast rope.

McGee squinted his eyes and answered his doubts: "Red eyes... It is said that they are the origin of the skeleton people, the blood left by the first generation of skeleton people who entered the desert, no matter which tribe they are in, they will receive preferential treatment. tribal sacrifice."

Therefore, Thales frowned a little in his heart: the secret department cadre with dark red eyes, Raphael Lindbergh...is the so-called "descendant of the ancestor"? Zombie Love: Bride of the Zombie King

The origin of the skeleton man?

Quick Rope came in at this time: "But what I heard is that those red eyes are proof that the skeleton man made a deal with the devil?"

McKee frowned.

"Demon?" Thales was surprised again.

"Yes, I heard what the old sailor said about those demons living in the ground." Kuaisheng raised his hands and said grimly, "Evil, terrifying, insidious, and chaotic demons always think about it." Come and make trouble on the ground."

Quick Rope is serious: "In legend, the desolate bone people are a race abandoned by the gods, so they made a deal with the devils in hell, the enemies of the gods, and became the servants of the devils on the ground. The existence in the desert that is second only to the orcs is frightening... So, Huai Ya, this world is very dangerous, as the so-called fate is impermanent, we must use appropriate methods to cherish our lives and make them meaningful. Value, for example..."

Thales curled the corner of his mouth in embarrassment, he knew what the other party was going to say.

Fortunately, before the fast rope continued, the old hammer slapped his words and his face into the sand.

"Come on, the rumors stop at the wise. Almost all the desolate bone people, they enshrine and believe in the desert god, and even built a sacred altar, which has influenced a large number of outsiders. They have nothing to do with the devil. Just ask McGee." Old Hammer said silently.

McKee shrugged.

Kuaisheng raised his head unconvinced, and spat out a mouthful of sand: "How do you know? Have you seen it?"

"how could I know?"

Old Hammer put down the food and smiled: "Didn't I tell you, I'm from the Stars, born in the West Wilderness Territory, right here in Fort Heroes."

"So, I did, and I saw a lot."

Thales raised his eyebrows. He hadn't heard these familiar names of stars and places for too long.

"When I was young, I was a soldier of the Falkenhauser family. During the Bloody Year, I was conscripted to guard the Saber Dunes; during the desert war, I also entered the desert with the king's army and fought the altar battle Hey, that was a big battle," the old hammer showed a nostalgic look: "But since then, I found that I can only wield a hammer, but I can't support my family with meager rewards for farming and conscripts. I think In the past, the standing army who applied to the royal family, I heard that their salary is higher."

Quick Rope blinked in surprise.

Thales also looked at her in a daze.

This bearded uncle...is actually a veteran of Xingchen...

"But fate tricked people. In the end, I still came to work as a mercenary."

Old Hammer turned his head and smiled: "And then he became a brother with a bone man."

"I don't know you well." McKee beside him replied abruptly.

"Who said that!" Old Hammer laughed loudly, hugged McGee fiercely, strangled his neck with his elbow, and shook back and forth: "I am the benefactor who saved your life!"

"Damn it...let go!" McGee's face was ugly, with an expression of eating a stool, but he didn't get angry or attack, just struggling desperately.

"But, he can't save your life every time," Kuaisheng sighed, spreading his hands pretending to be helpless: "So I suggest, McGee, you might as well deposit a sum of money with the tavern owner... oh... "

This time, without anyone reminding him, Kanze from the North pushed the end of the fast rope into the sand.

"Sorry," the leader of the team, Luisa, pressed her head helplessly, pretending not to see the mercenaries fighting, and smiled shyly at Thales: "This is our daily life, you know, they Usually too much pressure."

Thales stared dumbfounded at the group of friendly mercenaries.

The atmosphere of this team suddenly made him feel very novel.

This is the most harmonious team he has ever seen: the beggars in the abandoned house can only tremble and helpless, the private soldiers in Mindis Hall can only obey coldly, and Nicolai's white blade guards are full of iron and blood Brotherhood, and no matter Gilbert, Yoddle, Jinie or Putillai, there is always an unspeakable sense of alienation between them.

To say the closest, um... Thales thought of Ada, Wyer, and Rolf, and suddenly felt that their getting along was quite like the people in front of him.

Kuaisheng spat out the sand in his mouth for the second time, and gritted his teeth: "Bah, I thought of it... Um, maybe, maybe Moshen was originally a demon in hell?"

"Be careful," McKee said with a cold face after he broke free from the old hammer's embrace, "In the desert, many people died of heat and hunger, but more people died of lack of awe and arrogance."

Quick Rope winked at Thales and made a "here it is again" expression.

The old hammer smiled: "Come on, quick rope, don't spread some hearsay rumors, a bard passing by the flushing road once told me swearingly: There is a giant dragon in the desert, nicknamed 'Warm Heart' Girl'! Giant dragon, do you believe it? Those legends that deceive children are also 'heart-warming'..."

Kuai Sheng's complexion changed.

"But dragons are not legends." Thales joined the discussion in a low voice: "It is said that Exeter was founded by giant dragons, and the noble rulers of Dragon Clouds City are still proud of it."

"Yes!" Kuaisheng found the supporters, his morale soared, and he vowed: "There are people from the north in the tavern. I heard from them that five or six years ago, a giant dragon descended on Exeter, and descended on the dragon. Xiaocheng, fighting against the legendary disaster..."

Thales coughed lightly, lowered his head and concentrated on dealing with his water bag.

"Disaster? Do you still believe this?" Old Hammer smiled happily: "Are you sure you didn't meet a priest from the Temple of the Night? Those naughty dramatists?"

"Ha, a group of Northlanders who are drunk, you know their virtues, and after drinking a few cups of horse urine, they start talking nonsense. Who knows what they see is a giant dragon or a mammoth with wings, maybe it's just for Cover up the death of the king and make up some legends..."

"Hey!" This time, the big man Kanze, who had been silent all this time, raised his hand in dissatisfaction: "Don't forget that there are people from the Northland here!"

"Hammer, be in awe of things you don't understand." Dean, who was sitting on the side, watched the chatting of his companions, and just smiled alone, like a father watching children playing: "We are still in the desert , maybe you are unlucky, and you will run into that 'heart-warming girl' tomorrow?"

"Then I'll fuck her," Old Hammer shrugged, "My dream since childhood was to become a dragon knight!"

Luisa snorted contemptuously: "Before then, finish your food Dragon Knight! And McGee, and you, Quick Rope, don't think that a rookie can be lazy, and then go outside to talk to the breeze and the fire." Haken and Pangja are on shift!"

"Hey, what about Dean? He's on shift too!" Quick Rope raised his hand in protest, "Why didn't you rush him?"

Dean shrugged.

Luisa smiled mysteriously.

Seeing the captain's smile, Kuaisheng panicked.

"As for Dean, he has worked very hard today, whether it's looking around or negotiating," Luisa said softly, "So, dear Quick Rope, you should sleep less today and take his shift."

Kuaisheng wailed, and the mercenaries laughed, and the atmosphere inside and outside the camp was filled with joy.

Thales took a bite of the food, watched their interaction silently, and suddenly felt a sense of tranquility and comfort from the bottom of his heart.

This is mercenaries.

Looks...seems to be fine?

At this moment, he suddenly noticed a pair of eyes falling on him. Thales thought it was McGee who was not friendly to him, but he was wrong.

Not a skeleton man.

It's Dean.

The bald-headed mercenary looked at him silently, and looked at Thales who was eating with strange eyes.

Dean's eyes slowly changed.