25 Escape

Charlie and his men walked on the desolate land, they left the place according to the way they came, not as majestic as before, but dejected and depressed, and they did not ride horses, and the horses were killed in the mutiny. Behind him, a few wisps of black smoke rose from the side of Windwalk, which was the people in Windwalk, who were cremating their relatives and friends as they had done two days before when they had held a funeral for the fallen soldiers.

The sun was in the west, and it was approaching dusk, and Charlie just wanted to get out of here as quickly as possible, yes, ......

When he learns that Milo killed all the mutinous soldiers, he growls, whines, and curses at Milo...... Until Milo put the sword around his neck and told him with his eyes, "No matter how much you mouth, you will be cut off"...... He decided to escape from the center of this storm once and for all......

In order to let the Praetorian Guards go, Charlie handed over all the djinn heads in their hands to the Praetorian Guards, and their merits, their efforts, and their glory were all in vain...... But he didn't care about that anymore, he just wanted to get out of the way with this as soon as possible, and ignore everything that had happened, just happened, and was about to happen here...... Windrun has become a cursed place for him......

The Praetorian Guard agreed to Charlie's request and took all the djinn heads.

"Captain, you said earlier that Captain Milo has a terrible secret, does it have anything to do with what happened this time......" One of the soldiers asked in frustration, full of resentment about the djinn head that had just been given away for nothing, but they all swallowed their anger, and they all wanted to leave this ominous place as soon as possible.

"Milo's secret......," Charlie replied, in a gloomy tone, "and I'll tell you......"

Heidi's body was gradually engulfed in flames, and billowing black smoke rose to completely dissipate high in the sky with Milo's love for the girl. The fire carried away the maiden's last sigh, letting the breeze blow it away, leaving behind a remorseful yet utterly broken heart. Through the burning flames, Milo saw the dark-skinned man with blue pupils again...... Of course, he knew it was an illusion.

Melo lit the pyre for the maiden with his own hands, and the residents around him who were being cremated, remained silent in the midst of the wailing, and did not shed a single tear. He knew that crying and weeping could not bring his loved one back to life, he didn't like to do meaningless things, he had killed more than a dozen of his former comrades to avenge Heidi, and now he had two things left to do.

Although the Viscount was shocked and did his best not to let the news of Milo's killing of the mutinous soldiers get out, many of the residents found out about it, and they rejoiced and thought that killing the group was a great thing, but the Viscount feared that things would get out of hand. After all, the danger in front of us is also obvious: the Praetorian Guard will be moving as soon as tomorrow, and the Wind Chime, which the Count sees as hope, has not shown up for a long time, and no matter how Parrett and Nightsparrow explain it, it is now certain that the Wind Chimes are missing. Nor could they get an answer from Count Lee, for the Count had been in a coma since noon, with weak vital signs, and could die at any moment. The wind chimes disappeared from under everyone's noses as if they had never existed.

Melo gathered his men and led them to the fortress's underground cells.

Charlie and his soldiers continued on their way, as the most remote territory of the Splett Empire, Windwalk Town brought them not only fatigue and hardship, but also mental torture - there were no people in a hundred miles, and it was impossible to rush to the next human settlement in one go. Not long after the soldiers set out, they were already exhausted. Charlie urged everyone to hurry because he was worried about one more thing. He had a good political acumen and had done a good job in handling this emergency, but his heart became extremely fragile and even lost his judgment in unexpected situations again and again......

There was a hurried sound of horses' hooves behind the soldiers, and Charlie woke up, in fact, he had expected it a long time ago, but the chaotic spirit caused him to make wrong judgments again and again, and what he feared most finally happened.

The cavalry of the Praetorian Guard caught up......

When Milo and the others learned that Charles and his men had been exterminated by the Praetorian Guard, he was heading to the fortress underground with his soldiers. The Viscount asked the Night Sparrow to turn into a mouse and quietly follow Charlie's team to make sure that the Praetorian Guards would be wiped out, and sure enough, Night Sparrow witnessed the bloody scene. Charlie's ending didn't make a ripple in Milo's heart, and he was almost indifferent.

Melo looked up at the sky and saw that there were already scattered stars in the east...... He remembered Domi's prophecy that he had just killed more than a dozen of his former comrades, and that he had surrendered without any trial - this was treason, and it was treason everywhere, and as long as the Imperial army arrested him, the lightest way to deal with it was to exile him to the Misty Jungle...... And Charlie, he didn't choose to do the right thing, as prophesied about him, he didn't see the light of tomorrow...... Domi, how can your prophecy be so accurate?

In front of the hole he had climbed out of, Melo gave his squad one last lecture, his face distinctly grim, his voice slow, lacking the strength of his past: "Comrades, we have fought all the way from Tum City to today, and we are lucky to have survived. And now, we all have to face the impending catastrophe here. But I'll give you a choice......" he said, showing the hole to his soldiers, who raised their eyebrows when they saw it, but did not speak, waiting for the captain's orders. "Some of you are younger than me and have a bright future, some of you are much older than me, even used to be my superiors, and some of you are worried about your wife and children at home...... Of course, there are also those who follow me to eat and think that I will take you to prosperity...... Now, I ask you to decide......" he picked up a cloth bag beside him, which contained some gold and silver coins. "This is my savings for several years, and now I share it with everyone. Take them with you and escape from this hole...... If you choose to face your fate, you can also stay with me......" The soldiers listened, did not hesitate, only tacit understanding, and quickly divided the money - they are all people who died in the war, they know that it is not easy and difficult to survive, and they are also like Milo, they have long been indifferent to the interests and safety of others, and they are already thankful that they can save themselves.

Next, the soldiers saluted Milo one by one, and they did not say anything, because they knew that slogans such as "I wish you good luck", "Take care", "Repay your kindness another day" and so on were not even as good as bullshit in the face of life and death, and the phrase "glory belongs to Splet" was even more ironic at this moment.

All of Milo's soldiers decided to flee from here, no one thought it was shameful, no one blamed them, they just chose to escape, that's all.

Soon, the last soldier climbed into the tunnel, and the team, once known as the "Spirits of Toom City", was disbanded. Melo closed the hole, sat in the underground fortifications for a while, and then left. He's going to do the last thing—get rid of himself, get away from it all.

Inspired by the fact that the Viscount was one of the few figures who were able to calm down when Windwalker was in complete chaos, Nightfinch and Snow Dog said they would fight to the end of the battle and live and die with Windwalk. Parrett continued his swaggering style, eating and drinking without delay, as if tomorrow's crisis was a regular occurrence in front of him, as is usually the case with those who eat on the tip of a knife. The viscount ordered the militia to sprinkle water on the walls, which would freeze in the cold winter months, and would be a huge obstacle for the besieging side, but in the face of a powerful and outnumbered Praetorian Guard, this was a drop in the bucket.

At night, some of the residents of Windrun Town were afraid to sleep, they had already guessed that the murderous atmosphere brought by the Praetorian Guard camp not far away did not contain good intentions, and their fate might have been destined to disappear with Windrun Town in the near future......

The Viscount learns that Milo had let his men escape through the tunnels, and he had planned to evacuate the inhabitants in the same way, but the inhabitants are not like well-trained soldiers, and if something happens, the consequences can be unimaginable. And now the Janissary cavalry patrols are getting more and more frequent - the tighter the blockade, the more they can't wait to move. The Viscount also got the bad news: the wind chimes were still not found, and no one in Windwalk had seen the so-called "wind chimes" except for Milo, the Nightsparrows, and Parrett, and if the magician did not appear again, the fate of Windwalk could be imagined.

Melo walked to the room in the fortress where Heidi's body had been kept, and after making sure the door was closed and no one was following him, he knelt on the ground as if in a solemn ritual. By this time he had taken off the saber-toothed tiger fur that the viscount had given him and had changed into light clothing, not wearing the leather armor of the Imperial army—things that were a disgrace to him now. Melo took out his short sword and ran his hand back and forth to the Mosuo scabbard, as if to say goodbye to an old friend.

The oil lamp on the wall drained the last few drops of oil, and before it was about to go out, it spat out a reddish flash, as if dying, striking the last of its light on the pale face of the only person in the room. There was no noise to be heard, and there was a terrible silence in the room.

Melo held his sword in both hands and aimed it at his throat, trying to deliver a fatal blow to himself...... Suddenly, he stopped, as if remembering something. He carefully took off his cloak, which Heidi had sewn for him with her own hands. Melo folded his cloak and placed it away from him, afraid that his blood would stain it.

Milo held the sword in both hands again, and once again aimed the tip of the sword at his throat, and suddenly his arm stabbed with all his strength—

“…… Sorry, I can't complete the agreement......"