Kingdom’s Bloodline

No words can perfectly describe the dungeon at this moment.

After a neat gasp, for several seconds, only the heartbeats of the people could be faintly heard in the air, and it seemed that even breathing loudly had become a luxury.

A few seconds later, the torch in Little Barney's hand was finally completely extinguished after burning out the last few flames in despair.

The dungeon was plunged into boundless darkness, leaving only the unpleasant smell of smoke, and the countless living people seemed to have all turned into corpses, motionless.

It's like going back to the old black trail.

Thus, Thales spent the most special few seconds in his life in a trance, feeling the faint breathing sound in front of him and behind him in such silence and darkness.

At this moment, the darkness seemed to become his shield, burying his fear, numb his pain, and block all kinds of eyes.

Finally, following a few rustles, someone in the guard groped tremblingly, and lit another torch amidst the sound of flint.

Thales narrowed his eyes to adapt to the firelight, as if he felt back to the world.

"I don't, I don't understand...disasters, magicians...they shouldn't be...thousands of years ago...immortal..." Cannon, who was a scout, held up the new fire source, subconsciously shaking his head, Her lips trembled, but she couldn't form a complete sentence.

He couldn't take his eyes off Thales, and Bree beside him was completely stunned.

But following Cannon's reaction, everyone boiled like hot spring water!

"Your Highness, this joke..." The punishment officer Belletti couldn't digest the latest news at all, he stared at Sackel, speaking incoherently:

"Watchman, sir! He's saying he is, he can, he'll... that's another lie, isn't it?"

Tardin looked at Thales with suspicion in his eyes: "What's the matter... the prince is a disaster?"

"The Canxing Royal Family...Damn it, what did they do this time?"

Thales stared quietly at the wound on his palm, ignoring the uproar around him.

The strange thing is that Thales felt that he was extremely calm at the moment—not the "calmness" that was so indifferent that he was scared when he knocked on the door, nor the "calmness" that was forcibly suppressed by the crime of prison river in a dangerous situation. Calm', but really, let go of everything, remove the restlessness,

As if the calmness of a chess player staring at the chessboard.

"Oh My God."

Semir's eyes switched back and forth between Thales and Sackel.

"Sakeel, those words you said earlier, those words about Queen Fiosa being a disaster, and your determination to complete your mission...they are not all lies, are they?" Sackel said without saying a word. He just stared blankly at the calm Thales, his eyes full of sadness and doubt.

Semir gritted his teeth, struggling to maintain himself in shock and anger:

"Impossible, his age... Is he really only fourteen years old? If not, what does he have to do with the bloody year?"

"What the hell is your damn mission!"

Thales watched the reactions of each of them, and understood a lot in one breath.

so……

The young man raised his mouth slowly.

That's how it feels.

He could even feel that the eyes looking at him behind him were different.

Between the conviction and respect that Thales had finally built up, there were some other impurities.

fear? disgust? Suspect? unknown? exclusion?

But that doesn't matter anymore, does it?

"Hey, that fake Wyah!"

"It's you, my 'nephew', you already knew all this, right?" Taldin realized something, turned his head to look at the fast rope with his head lowered and his chest shrunk, trying to eliminate his sense of existence.

"Wia? Nephew? Huh?"

Staring at Thales's fast rope in shock, he hugged the crossbow arm in embarrassment, and smiled innocently:

"Oh! Me, no, uh, that...it's my first time too..."

Just when the dungeon was about to become a mess, a muffled sound exploded out of thin air!

clatter!

"Quiet!"

The sound was heard far away in the empty storage room, and everyone stopped in unison.

It's little Barney.

He just threw away the extinguished torch in his hand, attracting everyone's attention.

The vanguard officer's face was livid, and he scanned everyone with the most stern gaze before turning back to Thales.

Thales took a breath, smiled and turned to look at him.

"My sword is out of my hand."

After a while, Barney, who was full of contradictions, spoke up.

"Just when I..."

He looked at the broken sword lying behind Thales.

Following Little Barney's hesitant words, everyone began to recall their previous memories.

"That's not a coincidence, is it you?"

Telston pursed his lips for a few seconds.

"Yes."

The prince said in a low voice.

Little Barney opened his mouth and looked at him in disbelief, before turning to the two bodies on the ground after a few seconds.

"Why, why me..."

Little Barney stared at the dead Naki and Nai, his expression became very complicated.

"Why didn't you save...them?"

Thales paused.

At that moment, a picture of him using magic energy in the "contact person" stage flashed in front of him after experiencing Thoros' teaching.

That absolutely unreasonable indifference.

And blood all over the place.

The dungeon seemed to have entered a strange stage, everyone was full of surprises, everyone had doubts, but under the strange atmosphere and tacit understanding, no one spoke, just stared at Thales in unison.

"I want to, but I can't."

Thales sighed and lowered his head:

"sorry."

Little Barney was silent for a long time, and finally lowered his head.

"Is it."

A faint sadness spread, and Little Barney's words seemed to have some kind of magic power, Thales suddenly felt that the eyes behind him were no longer so dazzling.

Until Sakel's voice sounded in the air.

"Why."

The hoarse and sluggish voice of the penalty knight attracted everyone's attention.

"Why? Why are you telling them?"

I saw Sackel raised his head in the dark, staring at Thales, with hesitation, pain, sadness, disappointment and sorrow on his face.

"You may not be afraid of death, but at least...you don't have to...you don't have to bear these..."

Sackel's eyes suddenly became very sad:

"You could die in their admiration and respect instead of—"

Thales sighed amidst the sentimental questioning of the punishment knight.

"But they'll hate you."

The penalty knight hesitated slightly:

"them?"

Thales silently looked at Sackel, at the blood and dust all over his body, at the obvious tiredness and painful expression on his face, and at the conspicuous and ugly brand on his forehead.

Sack El.

This mighty, almost invincible warrior.

I don't know how heroic he was when he was young?

Thales smiled: "I know, for a certain reason, you will not tell me about my identity even if you die - and you are already prepared to keep your mouth shut afterwards, and then willingly die in their hands .”

Thales turned his head and glanced at the guards behind him, many of whom were still immersed in surprise and doubt.

Little Barney was taken aback:

"us?"

Thales ignored him, but turned around and sighed to the knight:

"They respect me, so, yes, they're going to resent you."

"again."

Sackel was stunned.

"If I don't say it out loud, then after my death, the misunderstanding you've worked so hard to unravel will deepen again."

Thales said this with a sad expression:

"Once again, you will be abandoned, hated, and regarded as a lunatic and a traitor by your most cherished companions."

"You will die with their grudges."

Little Barney and the others looked at the conversation between the two in amazement.

Sackel completely froze in place.

After a while, he gasped and said:

"I do not understand."

Thales snorted lightly, as if he had figured out something.

"Sakel, in order to serve the kingdom, defend the royal family, protect your companions, and protect your beliefs," Thales said sadly with a heavy heart:

"In the past eighteen years, you have obviously carried so much of the past and paid such a heavy price..."

Thales raised his head and looked into the void, as if a dazzling silver figure appeared in front of his eyes.

The forgotten hero.

And the voice that seemed to sound in my heart:

[I've been dead for a long time...a long time...so long that I don't even remember how long...]

Thales was a little dazed.

The silver figure stood in the bottomless darkness, facing the countless dead souls alone, and the scene that radiated both great and tiny light seemed to appear in front of him again.

That figure has been alone for countless years, sacrificing himself, taking on the greatest and selfless mission, guarding the people and things he once loved most.

But no one ever knew, no one understood.

But he is still smiling, no complaints, no resentment, no seeking help, calmly doing his own thing.

[May the mountains tolerate your footprints, and may the earth bless your journey. 】

Thales took a deep breath, pulled his mind out of the nihilistic past, and tried to return to the present.

Back to the penalty knight.

"But you've never been understood."

"there has never been."

"Eighteen years, you can only bear the burden alone and face the price alone from the beginning to the end."

Thales' mood sank, his face darkened.

Just like that unknown lonely hero.

Even if he is buried deep in the ground, he will not hesitate to ignite himself to dispel darkness where there is no light and hope.

Even if he couldn't afford to sink, he tried his best to reach up and lift those who lost their feet and drowned to see the sky again.

Even though the past is gone, he is still stubborn and persistent, sticking to his original promise to the past.

No one knows.

No one cares.

never ending.

There is no forgiveness.

[Thank you for bringing her greetings. 】

He looked at Sakeel seriously, watching the other person's eyes tremble slightly.

"The worst thing is that in the end, the punishment knight is still misunderstood, hated, hated, and ignored by the people he cares about and cherishes the most—by the people you want to protect the most, misunderstood as traitors, lunatics, and villains."

Thales whispered, and the guards behind him reacted one after another, with different expressions.

But all of them locked their stunned eyes on Sackel.

Sackel breathed in a trance.

"The stories of your life are all about others, Sackel, the kingdom, the guards, siblings, responsibilities, missions... everything is on your shoulders," Thales said here, paused slightly, his voice concealed Unceasing weariness and sorrow:

"But without yourself."

Sackel's right hand holding the weapon lightly shook.

Thales let out a long sigh, and said dejectedly:

"No one knows, no one appreciates what you've done."

"You can only sit alone in countless cold nights, silently counting the past, and the only comfort is the belief in your heart..."

"Even the final curtain and death..."

Thales' voice was very soft.

"Although you don't care, but..."

Thales quietly said:

"It makes me a little sad."

Sakeel panted in a trance, looking at the boy in front of him in disbelief.

"Sackel."

Taylor paused for a moment before slowly saying: "You have already shouldered too much, and you shouldn't continue to be misunderstood and hated."

After a few seconds.

"Pointless."

Sackel's trembling and hoarse voice spread:

"Do you think you did something smart? Pity me? Influence me? Shake me?"

The penalty knight lowered his head slightly, his eyes hidden in the dark under his brows, he clenched the handle of the ax tightly and clenched his teeth.

"you are wrong."

Sackel suppressed his tone, but he couldn't suppress the trembling on his arm, whether it was caused by pain or emotion:

"What you're doing now means nothing to me."

Thales exhaled and looked at the darkness between Sackel's brows.

"But it makes sense to me."

He lowered his head, with sadness and sigh in his tone.

"to us."

Sackel was startled again.

"you?"

Thales nodded with a bitter smile.

"My family, Canxing."

A second later, Sakeel's chest began to heave visibly to the naked eye!

Thales raised his head again:

"If I'm not mistaken, it was Eddie who appointed you as the watchman of the royal guard."

"It's the same him who involved you in his family's infighting and ruined your entire life."

"But King Kessel put you in prison ruthlessly and unfairly, causing you to be reduced to this day."

Thales' eyes were dim, and he knocked on his chest with a sigh:

"As for eighteen years later, it was the sudden intrusion of another bright star that broke your tranquility and revived your nightmare eighteen years ago."

Thales tried to look at each other with the most indifferent eyes:

"The tragedy that happened to you, Sackel, no matter what is right or wrong, right or wrong, it all stems from the blood of the noblest but most indifferent kingdom."

At that moment, Sackel remained silent, but his breathing became chaotic.

"And the most ironic thing is that even today, you still want to fulfill the duties of the royal guard and protect our reputation."

"While you wouldn't have any complaints about the royal family for various reasons...it must have been hard work."

Thales' voice was a little lonely:

"I think we... the Canxing family owes you too much."

He saw that Sakeel's fist was getting tighter and tighter.

But Thales ignored it, and continued to look at the body on the ground, remembering the scene when the two left just now, with a hoarse voice:

"You know, as Thales Canxing, facing you..."

"I can give comfort to Nai and Nai as a farewell at the end of life;"

"I can forgive Tardin and talk about their pain;"

"I can inspire a devastated Barney and help him get back on his feet and face life."

Little Barney, Belletti, Tardin... the people behind the prince all stared at him blankly.

"But you, Sackel..."

Thales deflected his gaze and avoided staring at the knight, as if he could relax a bit in this way:

"As a prince without power, I can't change the tragedy of the past, I can't clear up your grievances, I can't reopen the old case appointed by the king, I can't give you the justice you deserve, and I can't even give the people you cherished back then. An account of the past."

Thales looked at the two corpses on the ground unwillingly, thinking of the countless bones in the cell, and said sadly:

"Facing you who have given so much, lost so much, and endured so much, I really don't know what else I can do for you."

"So, if you and I are destined to die here..."

"Then I want to leave with nothing to worry about, whether it's to let go of my own fears or settle my guilt towards you," Thales smiled bitterly and ugly, like a patient at the last moment:

"I also want you to go peacefully."

Sackel remained motionless.

"I don't want other people to continue to hate you, and I don't want you to still be alone, bearing sins that don't belong to you in the dark."

"I want them to understand you—at least try to understand you."

Thales lowered his head and let out a long sigh again, feeling as if he wanted to let out all the anger of today.

"Compared to this..."

The prince looked up.

This time, there was no bitterness and hesitation on the boy's face, only a relaxed and relieved smile remained, facing the crumbling punishment knight:

"My secret isn't that important anymore, is it?"

Among the crowd, Kuaisheng stared at Thales in a daze.

He wasn't the only one with this reaction.

Sackel didn't answer, nor did he move.

Thales shook his head, hid the sadness inside a little tighter, and managed to bring up the second smile:

"So, it's not just me."

Thales looked directly at Sackel, but turned his head to look at the rest of the people around him:

"It's for them too."

"They?" Sackel replied in a trance.

As soon as these words were uttered, all the surrounding guards reacted in their own way.

Just listen to the prince calmly and seriously:

"They should know what kind of person their chief and watchman was, no matter in those days or today: Emmanuel Sackel was never a traitor who betrayed his loyalty for his own selfishness, let alone a madman who had been imprisoned for many years and lost his mind .”

Tardin sighed and lowered his head, Cannon twisted his face in pain, and Bree looked sad.

"They should know that you are still the Sackel they believe in, admire, and love, and you are still the one who sticks to your beliefs, abides by your sacred duties, and loves your brothers and sisters deeply—Punishment Knight."

Samir looked conflicted, while Belletti looked sad.

"They need to know what you have done for them, to know your sacrifices, your efforts and your struggles - even your most unreasonable actions are nothing more than carrying out your mission to eliminate a terrible disaster."

Little Barney tightly clutched his injured right arm, bit his lower lip, and looked at Sackel with more and more complicated eyes.

"They need to know that they owe you, the watchman of the guard, an apology and a thank you."

At some point, Sackel, who had buried himself in the darkness, was motionless.

Samir, who listened to all this, closed his eyes and turned his head away.

Little Barney, who had just come out of the gloom, stared at Sackel with endless sadness hidden in his eyes.

Others were not much better off.

Another unspeakable silence.

Thales chuckled lightly, calmly and serenely:

"Sorry, this is the last thing I can do for you."

He stared at Sackel seriously:

"At least, you don't have to suffer alone anymore, gritting your teeth to be brave."

"At least, I can show them the real you, let them understand, let them see the burden you carry - you have suffered so much injustice and misunderstanding, I don't want my death to be a part of it .”

"At least I hope that after today, that darkness, the darkness in which you will struggle in the future, will be less cruel and cold."

Thales spoke sentence by sentence, but Saker in front of him just bowed his head deeply, burying his face out of the light.

In the end, the boy who felt another wave of dizziness hit him sighed deeply.

He raised his lips, sneered and shook his head:

"So, yes, I'm a disaster."

"The conversation is over."

Sackel seemed to be stunned, and the others remained silent.

Until Thales sighed and spoke.

"Okay, now," the boy looked at Sackel in relief:

"Let's end this."

The silence lasted almost ten seconds.

Finally, Sackel in the darkness slowly raised the blade of the axe.

His hands were slow, even trembling.

But still raised it.

Thales closed his eyes silently.

Waiting for that moment.

And he didn't have to wait long.

clang!

A muffled sound of metal hitting!

"You know, if he's what he says he is," came Barney Jr.'s feeble voice:

"Then you are just trying in vain."

Thales took a deep breath and opened his eyes.

Above his head, little Barney held the long sword he had used to commit suicide against the blade of Thackel's axe.

The right arm of the vanguard officer who was seriously injured was broken, and he was holding the sword with his intact left arm, which seemed to be quite strenuous.

And Sakeel, who was opposite him, also had his left arm disabled, and he seemed to be evenly matched.

Little Barney glanced at Thales, who was as calm as before, and sneered:

"You don't have a legendary anti-demon weapon, so you can't kill him?"

In a corner where no one was paying attention, Kuaisheng, dripping with cold sweat, subconsciously pulled his clothes, trying to cover the crossbow in his arms.

Sackel still lowered his head, hiding his eyes in the darkness.

He gritted his teeth and spoke with difficulty:

"He's not a qualified disaster yet. It's recorded in the secret department... He can still be stopped before the final step causes a catastrophe."

Thales raised the corner of his mouth, sighed and nodded:

"He might be right."

But Little Barney replied unceremoniously:

"I didn't ask you, little prince."

Thales' face froze.

Little Barney turned his head to face Saker and shook his head.

"Records in the secret department? Qualified?"

"So what, you have to take an exam after being a disaster?"

Sackel's ax blade began to tremble.

His tone was already unstable, and he became unhappy at the moment: "This is not a joke!"

"Get out of the way, you already know he is..."

But little Barney suddenly shouted!

"so what?"

"According to what you said, the previous king even had one!"

Thales watched little Barney's actions in silence, gritted his teeth, and felt a slight heaviness in his chest.

The vanguard officer shook his arm, and the intertwined sword and ax blades of the two separated in the air.

Saker was silent.

After he saw Little Barney, Belletti and Taldin had already rearmed at some point and walked behind Thales.

Cannon and Bree followed suit.

They all looked at him with relief.

The knight's ax blade trembled slightly.

"You don't understand..." Saker's words were full of contradictory emotions:

"Empires...kingdoms cannot fall into the same trap."

Little Barney snorted.

It seems that he has changed back to the chief vanguard officer of the guard who always dislikes Sakel.

"I know, even if you are seriously injured, I still can't stop you," Little Barney hissed in pain, and raised his sword again with difficulty:

"Not to mention myself...not much better."

Little Barney raised his legs, his eyes were burning, and he walked towards Sackel step by step until the two were close to face to face.

"But listen to me, Sackel."

In the darkness, Sackel remained motionless, and the ax blade in his hand was getting tighter and tighter.

But unexpectedly, standing in front of him, little Barney suddenly relaxed all expressions and let out a sad sigh.

"sorry."

At that moment, Sackel, who was ready, was stunned.

"Barney, you..."

I saw little Barney turned his head and looked at the ground, as if he was talking to the air:

"I've never been convinced of you, but today, ah..."

Sackel didn't speak, but opened his mouth slightly in surprise.

"I have to say, Your Majesty and the old captain are very accurate," Barney Jr. looked disappointed and self-deprecating, hesitating:

"You are indeed better than me as a watchman."

Little Barney opened his mouth, thought hard for a long time, and finally said the word:

"Sir."

Saker trembled slightly.

"And that..." Little Barney stared intently at the floor tiles under Saker's feet, as if he didn't dare to look up.

Little Barney held the hilt of the sword upside down with his left hand, hesitating again and again, but he still raised it tremblingly.

"Thank you."

In the next second, his left fist twitched, and he tapped twice quickly and hesitantly on Sakeel's right shoulder.

Poof, poof.

There were two muffled sounds when fists touched shoulders.

It's like a touch of water, like a superficial touch-no, it's a bit poisonous.

Because it seemed like one click would kill him.

After doing all this, Little Barney breathed a sigh of relief as if he had completed the most difficult task.

He turned around as if he was fleeing, and rushed back to the original confrontation position in three or two steps.

The corners of Thales' mouth turned up slightly.

"Okay, the debt is paid off."

Little Barney swept away all the awkward and awkward expressions, and looked at him coldly again: "Let's fight."

But Sackel stayed where he was, motionless.

The face he left at work in the dark is still unclear.

Until another figure crossed little Barney and walked towards Sackel.

What is surprising is that this person actually put his right shoulder on Sackel's right shoulder, stretched out his left hand, and gently clasped the other person's back.

"This may be the last time we hug, sir."

Sackel's ax blade swayed slightly.

I saw Belletti leaning against Sackel's right shoulder, patted his back, and said with a sob:

"Sunset, I really miss being in Punishment Wing, under your command."

At that moment, Sackel's shoulders trembled slightly.

He took a deep breath and let it out long.

The knight's breathing became louder and louder.

"You shouldn't have let me be a punishment officer," Belletti smiled miserably, turning his head with a trembling voice, trying not to look at the other party:

"You know... I suck, never do well."

He patted Sackel hard on the back, which shook especially hard.

Belletti closed her eyes, turned around and returned to Barney's side, not daring to look at Sackel.

"I'm sorry, sir," Cannon didn't step forward, the scout soldier sobbed and bowed his head: "Back then..."

"Sorry, it was us, we screwed up everything..."

"It was our fault..."

Sackel let out a painful breath.

"Woohoo," Bree next to Cannon made a voice that didn't know why:

"Woo."

"Ah, he probably said he regretted it," Tardin sighed, ignoring Bree's protests, showing a last pale smile:

"But... we are the ones who have implicated you and others, Chief Sackel."

Tardin looked blankly at the remains on the ground:

"But at least, we can 'rest in peace' together, just like those thirty or so idiots."

"We'll be together."

Sackel's ax blade trembled more and more.

"Hey."

It's Samir.

"Although I am no longer a guard."

"But I owe you a thank you, sir," the sword of disaster snorted lightly, as if he didn't care, but he didn't realize that his attitude was exactly the same as that of little Barney: "It was thanks to you that I escaped." .”

For the first time, Sackel opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but stopped talking.

Samir sighed, and his voice sank:

"And if I hadn't escaped, you wouldn't have been in solitary confinement."

"Anyway, I still owe you an apology."

Samir looked away, gritted his teeth hard, closed his eyes and said:

"sorry."

"I don't have any sense of mission as a guard anymore, but... this child can't die, so..."

Samuel shrugged and said nothing.

Sackel didn't respond, but the veins in his hands moved slightly.

As Semir's words fell, everyone in the guard sighed in unison, as if they had accomplished a great event.

Saker remained silent.

"Now."

Little Barney raised the corner of his mouth, looked at Sack El, and said in relief:

"Let's decide life and death."

However.

"etc……"

An unharmonious sob sounded faintly.

"Me too, I'm sorry too..."

Thales turned his head and saw Quick Rope wiping his eyes and making a low voice.

Huh?

A second later, under the strange eyes of everyone "why are you crying", Kuai Sheng, who suddenly reacted, froze.

His sad expression disappeared in an instant, and he subconsciously took a step back, showing an awkward smile:

"That, that... atmosphere, atmosphere, atmosphere..."

But this time, no one scolded him, no one rolled his eyes at him, and no one stopped him.

On the contrary, Barney Jr., Tardin, Belletti...they just turned around together, dragged their weakest bodies, and with the deepest awareness, stood beside Thales and raised their hands at Sackel. raise their weapons.

Facing their final battle.

I know, I was wrong! This chapter has not finished writing "Rebirth", and the word count is over!

It's okay, there is the next chapter, after twelve o'clock, it will be published next year.

( = )