Chapter 22: The Emerald City

As Friedlier had envisioned, none of the thirteen Taru who had set out at the King's call were willing to go to war with Rikril on the Isle of Eternal Night. During the voyage, none of them wanted their fleet to sail at the forefront of the expedition. However, due to the king's retinues who were supposed to assist and supervise each of the Tarus, the Tarus had to set sail to track down Rickliel's fleet.

The retinue accompanying him on Friedrie's ship was the one who ridiculed and mocked him the most in the King's Palace of Dragonheart that day, much to Friedrie's disgust.

On a clear noon, when all the fleets were aimlessly and absentmindedly searching for the fleet off the coast of Garland, the Starlight, which was at the forefront of the army, suddenly raised the bright red Wyvern flag at the top of the mast.

The Taru and sailors of all the other ships were amazed when they saw this move of the Starlight. Because everyone knows that the red dragon flag can only be hoisted by the king after his ship sinks. And the flag of the flying dragon flag is precisely to announce that this ship is the flagship, and everything is subject to my orders.

This unusual behavior of the Starlight naturally first aroused the incomprehension and dissatisfaction of the retinue of the ship. After seeing the sailors hoisting the red dragon flag, he angrily found Friedlier on the ship. He opened his mouth to insult and accuse Friedlier of violating the king's rules by overstepping the rank and using the military flag. But Friedlier did not respond to his words, and before the requisite could speak again, a spear suddenly pierced him from behind, piercing him through.

Friedlier smiled slightly as he looked at the retinue's pained expression. After the retinue collapsed to the ground, Friedlier looked over the corpse and nodded at Tallegalil, who was still holding the shaft of the spear. Afterwards, Friedlier ordered the warriors around him to hang the body of the retinue in front of him to the mast, together with Tarregalil.

The red dragon flag and the hoisting corpses of the king's servants caused all the other ships to sail frantically towards the Starlight.

Seeing this scene, Friedlier immediately ordered the four warships of Frosttrail Island to use their sails together and quickly leaned towards the shores of Garland.

Immediately after the ship was dropped, Friedlier led the warriors of Frosttrail Island to disembark and wade ashore. When he reached the shore, he ordered all his warriors to unpack their weapons and shields, and piled them up in a heap, waiting for the arrival of a fleet led by the other twelve Taru.

When the last Taru rushed to the shore where Fridlier and his warriors were. Friedrear and his warriors had long since been surrounded by the armies of the other Taru.

Some of Tharu demanded an explanation for Friedlier's flag raising and killing, while their retinues clamored for Friedreel's arrest and strict punishment for the murderers.

Friedlier remained silent during the process, and it was not until he saw that all the Taru had arrived that he slowly spoke, "I was asked why I raised the Red Dragon Banner. I told me that I could answer now, I knew where Rickliel's fleet was, and not only that, but I knew what they were doing. Follow me, and I can guarantee that you will find him. ”

"That's why you hung the Red Dragon Flag in violation of the law?" "But how do you know where Rickrell has gone?" ”

Before Friedlier could reply, one of the king's servants interjected angrily, "There must have been a collusion between him and Rickliel, so he knew where Rickrell had gone." You are betraying Phyton! Betrayal of the King! The king will put you to death and deprive you of your fiefdoms. ”

Friedlier laughed at this, and then said, "You are right, the minister, that Ricklier and I are in collusion with each other. My two brothers, Tyrel and Eoliel, are in his fleet at the moment, and are navigators for him. So I know exactly where the fleet on Eternal Night Island has gone. ”

"This traitor." "He's a traitor." Several of the retinues cursed Friedlier, and some shouted to the Taru standing by, "Arrest this traitor!" ”

Ignoring the clamor of his retinue, Ariel Taru of Raven Island threw his sword to one of his guards, walked up to Friedreel empty-handed, looked at him and asked, "Friedrear, my brother, tell me, why did you go against the king's wishes with Rycliel?" ”

"Eriel, it's not me and Rickliel who went against the king's will, it's the king who went against the will of his ancestors. I'm just following the guidance of my ancestors. ”

"Bastard traitor, he is slandering the king, and he should be put to death immediately!" The retinues shouted angrily again.

Partaru of Cold Flame Island immediately stepped forward and said, "Friedlier, what you said is indeed excessive. I hope you'll take your words back and take us to Rickliel. At the same time, I hope that you two will not resist needlessly, and that I will intercede for you before the king. ”

Friedlier smiled lightly and said, "As you all know, our ancestors were little more than poor people struggling to survive on a small piece of land in Dragon's Heart Island. But the ancestors were not satisfied with the status quo, they multiplied from generation to generation, and after several difficult and dangerous times, they finally defeated not only the powerful enemies who believed in the god of war, captured their palaces, but also ruled the island of Dragonheart, and finally conquered the present-day Pheton Islands. ”

Elliel looked at Friedreel and nodded slightly.

"And now, as the descendants of the great ancestors, each of us still has the blood of the ancestors who continue to forge ahead. This blood is the mark left by our ancestors, and it is also the teaching of our ancestors. But now, our King of Dover has lost this blood, and at the same time has disobeyed the teachings of his ancestors. He's content with the status quo, he's not going to make any progress, he's only going to let us go to the Golden Coast and the Northern Wastelands to do some stealing business, rather than being the enemy of Randy, who has great wealth. Even though Randy's land was vast and abundant, and even if Randy's ally, Garland, was full of jewels and gold, he didn't dare to reach for it. Friedlier glanced at the Taru and his retainers in front of him, and he noticed that the facial expressions between them began to change subtly.

"Finally, I want to say.." Without waiting for some angry retainers to open their mouths to interrupt, Friedlier immediately continued, "I want to say that even now, the ancestors have led us to a rich land, and we do not understand the intentions and guidance of the ancestors. Now that we have been lost, not only do we not want to fight for the prosperity of ourselves and our descendants, but for the honor and tradition of our ancestors, we have to go to fratricidal war with our own countrymen for the sake of a cowardly king and his pedantic rules. Ladies and gentlemen, do you think that this is not going against the will of the ancestors for the sake of the king? ”

Taru and the warriors suddenly fell silent, except for the retinues who cursed Friedreel in anger.

"What can fratricide give us? You can't get wealth, you can't get land, you can't get honor, you can only get shame and pain. Friedlier paused slightly, his gaze swept over the eyes of several Taru again. He knew that the time was ripe, so he continued in a sonorous voice, "We don't want fratricide, we don't want shame and pain. We should be united, and we should follow in the footsteps of our ancestors. Not afraid of strong enemies, vowing to kill the enemy, and gaining wealth and treasure is what we should do. Look at the rising waters behind us, it is the goddess of the sea who is blessing us, and she wants us to send our ships into the heart of the enemy to take their lives and riches! ”

Friedley's voice landed, and the crowd did not wait for everyone to recover from Friedley's passionate speech. In the crowd, there was an immediate scream of pain and hoarseness.

Friedlear looked sideways and saw that it was Taruluga Dotya, the female of Cold Moon Island. It was she who used her delicate silver dagger to quietly slit the throat of the retinue standing in front of her. When more people turned their heads to look, the retinel was already clutching his blood-gushing throat and collapsed to the ground.

The retinues were in a panic because of the sudden change in the scene in front of them, some of them were shouting, some were furious, and some were frightened.

"Friedriel Taru, of Frosttrail Island, I hope you will take me to the treasure you speak of. Don't let my dagger get blood in vain. Lugadotia seductively wiped the blood from her dagger, smiled at Friedlier, and said to him.

Friedlier smiled in response, and then he saw that the other Taru had drawn their swords.

After a chaotic and bloody scene, more retainers were beheaded and fell to the ground.

The last to stab his retinue to death was Parr of Cold Flame Island, who pulled his spear out of the corpse of his retinue on his ship and said, "Ladies and gentlemen, I hope you have made the right choice. ”

Ariel of Raven Island approached him, patted him on the shoulder, and said, "Parr, my brother, a new conquest has arrived, and it can never be wrong for the ancestors to call us to battle. ”

Eighty-nine Featon ships set sail again, and on the sea, the glowstone placed in the bow of the ship radiated a brilliance comparable to that of the stars. Led by the four warships of Frosttrail Island, the Featon fleet sailed into the mouth of the Garland River at night, heading upstream.

After two days of traveling, Friedlier finally saw Ricklier's fleet anchored on a wide river. After questioning the warriors guarding the ship, he learned that Rycliel had figured out the way to the Emerald City, and that Tyrel and Eoliel had already traveled with him, along with the warriors of the Isle of Eternal Night.

After sending the warriors and supplies to the river beach, the Featon fleet returned to anchor in the center of the river. After resting on the river beach, the army marched in the direction of the Emerald City under the leadership of thirteen Taru, without waiting for the next day's dawn.

By the time the army reached the vicinity of the Emerald City, the Phyedonians had few enemies.

Seeing this, Evenson couldn't help but lean closer to Friedreel and whispered, "Taru, could it be that the Athollians only plundered these places and did not occupy them?" ”

"Evenson, we just haven't encountered Azor's army yet." "But I think they've spotted us and started to prepare." ”

Evenson hesitated and followed the army outside the Emerald City. He saw that at this time, the Emerald City, the gate that was originally built ornate and beautiful, had been destroyed and shattered, and even the most basic function of a door had been lost. The tower on the side of the door, carved with two oak trees, was also crumbling and crumbling. The walls were devastated, and one of them collapsed with huge gaps. The prosperity of the entire Jialan capital in the past can only be glimpsed from the damaged exquisite marble sculptures. Because the other items have long been looted.

While the Phettons sighed at the Emerald City, Tallegarir ran back from the city panting, and he reported to Friedlier, "Taru, there are no Azars in the city. Only the warriors of Eternal Night Island are looting the ruins and few inhabitants of the city. According to the warriors of Eternal Night Island, Ricklir Taru is waiting in the halls of the city at the moment. ”

Friedlear nodded in understanding, and he immediately informed the rest of Taru to lead his troops into the city.

Walk through the streets of rubble and rotting corpses to the ruined Imperial Hall of the Emerald City. Friedreel and the other twelve Taru met Rickreel, who was sitting on the throne of the Jaspis that was still half a pair.

Friedreel stepped forward and said, "Rickliel Taru, we've come to your aid. ”

Rickrell sat on the throne and didn't get up, he said in a low voice, "Help? Didn't you honor the king's command to compel me to go back and confess my mistake to the king? ”

"No, of course not. The king commanded us to do so, but we did not listen to him. We have all killed the ministers sent by the king. Friedreel looked back at the other Tarus around him, and when he saw that they were all nodding, he continued, "We are here to fight the Athors with you. ”

Tyrell, who was standing not far from Rickliel, was about to say something when he heard Friedley's words, but he realized that he was not in a position to speak at this moment, so he closed his open mouth again.

Rickliel nodded slowly and said, "It seems that Doverlitha is indeed too old. It is no longer possible to lead Fayton properly. ”

Taru nodded in agreement.

"But Friedrear, is this what you call the golden Garland Emerald City?" Rickrell said, holding down the last remaining handrail of the stone bench and said, "I see nothing more than a looted city, and a handful of homeless Galan homeless people hiding here. ”

After hearing Ricklier's speech, Peterson of Stormy Island couldn't help but say to Friedley, "Friedley, you'd better give us an explanation. ”

Friedlier chuckled softly and said, "Rykril Taru, everyone, what you see is only a part of the Emerald City. ”

"Part of it?" Bai Bosen of Frozen Rain Island asked, "Could it be that there are other parts of the Emerald City?" ”

"Yes." "That part is no smaller than this one. And it's far richer than here. ”

"Have you been here? Have you seen it? Baiberson asked hesitantly.

"None of them. I've only heard about it. But I believe. Friedlier looked at Byboxen, and then said to the crowd, "But believe me, the people of Athore must not have known of the existence of that part, and certainly did not touch the treasure there. It will be ours."

"I believe in you." After Rickliel sneered, he said in a deep voice, "But, now you're going to take us there to see if there's any wealth you speak of." If you don't have that place, or if you don't have any treasure, I think you'd be embarrassed. ”

"Yes, Rickliel Taru." Friedlier smiled and said, "But I have one condition, and this condition needs to be approved by all Taru. ”

"Please, Taru of Frosttrail Island." Ricklell said, "What conditions do you have?" ”

"Whoever has as many warriors as he has, we will divide all the treasures we find." Friedlier said.

Rickliel's eyes swept over everyone, and he knew that this condition was the most disadvantageous for him, because he had the most warriors, and this condition was the most advantageous for Friedlier, who had the fewest warriors. He wanted to refuse, but when he saw Friedlier's determined eyes, and most of the other Taru's expressions of approval, he hesitated.

"If everyone agrees, I don't have any opinions.," Ricklier compromised after a moment's thought.

"I agree." Oliel was the first to say.

"I agree."

"Couldn't agree more." Luga Doseya said with a smile.

......

After seeing that everyone agreed, Rickliel nodded and said, "I hope we can share the treasure you mentioned, Friedrear." ”

Friedlier smiled.