As Theodora and his party gradually traveled north, the efficiency of the new Iberian dynasty began to manifest itself before their eyes. Pen? Interesting? Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 infoSeville, the most important port and wool textile center in southern Iberia, is still as prosperous as it was before the Civil War. No one would have imagined that the city's wealth would have been swept away by the Zignar army led by Henry the "Seaspout". And now, under the rule of the most trusted courtiers of the Iberian king, everything is back to normal.

"After the end of the Iberian Civil War, King William rewarded several important cities to several of his heroes." "Seville was rewarded to Count Rui Casillas. However, this was only a small part of the king's grace for the earl. ”

"Such a prosperous city is only a small part of the king's grace to his courtiers?" Cyodora asked, puzzled.

"Of course, because compared to the hostess of the city, the pearl of Seville can only be a foil to adorn her style." "Luckily," said Pennes, smugly, "I have a good relationship with that lady, and we can take this opportunity to pay her a visit, and you will know that I am right." ”

Just as the group began to discuss the Countess of Seville, a disturbance in the street interrupted their conversation. Lan Feng looked back and saw three women being chased by a group of men. But the crowds on the street blocked their escape routes, so they had to stand down from time to time to knock down the pursuers who caught up. As a result, when they were about to reach Cyodora's party, they were besieged by each other. Of the three women, two had honey-skinned skin, one of them was older, and one looked like a child at all; The other blonde, white-skinned girl, was tall and didn't look much older than Odora.

At this time, the white-skinned blonde girl glanced over and immediately focused her gaze on Mazik.

"Bastard boy, you can't come over to help when you see your aunt and grandmother fighting?!" The blonde scolded at that.

Everyone looked at Mazik, only to see him smile bitterly, and immediately swung his unsheathed sword and pounced into the battle group.

"Looks like an acquaintance of Mazik." Fiona said.

"What a rude barbarian, why do you just command that Mazik guy." Sailor Dora muttered.

"Shall we go up and help, then?" As a gentleman, Fiore must not be used to seeing a group of men besieging a few ladies, not to mention that the other party is all beautiful women above the standard.

"Let's go help them." Fiona said.

"Since Fiona said so, Lan Feng, let's go! Fiore, protect your sister. "Saildora gave an order, and before Lan Feng could say anything, Princess Mastar was pulled into the battle group.

Seeing this, Estella could only shake her head and rush forward together.

It seems that this group of people chasing after the ladies are just some ordinary ruffians and hooligans, even if Cyodora and the others don't take action, I believe that with the skills of those two ladies, they can solve the problem. As he drove away his pursuers, Mazik immediately pulled aside the blonde woman who was about to tap him on the shoulder, and spoke quickly to her in Fallensi. After the other party hesitated a little, he still smiled heartily and slapped him on the back a few times.

"Let's find a place to talk, the other party may come back to find trouble." Fiore suggested.

So Pennes led them to a hotel he knew and sat down.

"Mazik, tell us about your friends!" Cyodora said loudly.

Mazik glared at the blonde woman again, then turned back and explained to the group, "Ah, this is a mercenary who worked with me. ”

"My name is Celeste, and I'm meeting you for the first time." The blonde woman greeted everyone with a big grin.

"Mazik, what about the other two young ladies?" Cyodora continued.

"These two are her employers this time, I don't know them, so let's ask them to introduce themselves."

"I'm Nataya, and this is my young lady." An older lady answered first.

Fiona could see that Nataya had great respect for the young girl, and she quietly touched Lan Feng and whispered to him, "This pair of master and servant may be nobles of high status." ”

"How can there be a nobleman with the appearance of a fisherman." When Cyodora heard this, she immediately answered.

"My name is Mehydis, and my mother is Penthesilea." The girl replied rather proudly. This is a child who looks to be less than 10 years old.

"Your name is like a Pharyn, but your mother's name is like a Hitarus. Where are you traveling? Fiona asked curiously.

"Because my father is Farencian, I should also have a Farencian name, which my mother told me. Our destination this time is also Farensi, which is Caiunescu. Mechedis replied.

"Are you visiting your father's hometown? Farensi is a great place to be. Paynes said.

"No, it's to find my father."

Mazik looked at Celeste suspiciously, shrugging at him.

"Could it be ......" Fiona had a sudden premonition, and the answer from the other party confirmed her intuitive acumen.

"My father is Thorgrande Leus." Mechedis said firmly.

"Huh!?" Almost everyone exclaimed, and the sound became very harsh because it was so unanimous. Everyone else in the hotel looked at their table.

"I'm sorry, don't care, don't care." Pens immediately compensated the other guests. Then he sat down and looked at Mehydis and Nataya with a serious face.

"I hope you're not swindling, and that the person you're talking about can be considered his friend. That's why I'm going to take this matter more seriously. If I'm not mistaken, you're from the fabled island of Arlan. ”

"You're right." Nataya replied.

"Wow, it's a princess." Fiona cried softly.

"But as far as I know, there is no way that Thorgrande will leave a child there. Don't mind, young lady, let us take a closer look at your eyes, as we all know this is an easy way to identify the lineage of the Leuss. ”

Hearing Paynes say this, Cyodora subconsciously reached out to cover her right eye, while Mehydis lowered her head.

"Don't look at it, I don't have purple eyes!" The girl's voice was a little choked.

Nataya put her arm on Princess Arlan's shoulders and explained to everyone, "My Royal Highness does not have the traits that have been inherited from the generations of the Luce family, which is why we have come to this continent. ”

"I'm going to be the queen of Arlan, I'm going to protect my mother, but why don't I have those eyes?" Mehydis fell into Nataya's arms and said in pain.

"Our Senate had hoped that Her Majesty would be able to give birth to Lord Leus's child to inherit the throne, but now this situation puts the Queen in danger of being deposed at any time. My Highness then promised to the Senate to go to Pharynsi and personally bring back the acknowledgment of Lord Leus, so that Her Highness Mechedis might become the next king. Nataya explained to the crowd as she soothed Mehydis.

Those in the know looked at Seodora secretly, and Princess Marstar fell into a deep silence, her gaze falling stiffly on the Arran. The amethyst-like eyes that he cursed day and night were what others had always dreamed of. Cyodora didn't know how to react, and if she could, she even wanted to give her right eye to the girl in front of her. If so, we can both get the happiness of our dreams, Celedora thought. But it suddenly dawned on her why the girl was so eager to be Sogrande's daughter? You can't imagine an eight- or nine-year-old child having boundless ambitions for throne and power, and it sounds like the queen of Arlan is not as capable of calling the wind and rain as her own mother.

"Why do you want to be the daughter of Thorgrande Leus?" Cyodora suddenly asked such a question, and even she herself was surprised.

Mehydis turned her little face, which was still with tears in her eyes, and replied resolutely, "Because I was his daughter, and my mother told me that I had his blood in my veins, I should be recognized by my father that I am a king who can protect my mother and my people." ”

"But he may not love you at all and have no idea you exist." Cerodora raised her voice.

"That doesn't change the fact that we're connected!" Mechedis replied with some stubbornness.

Just as the two princesses were about to continue their fight, Fiona came out to play a round.

"Alright, alright, what the hell is the truth of the matter, we can only find out when we meet Lord Luce in Pharansia, can we? So now you can't fight for a reason. I think so, Mechedis is still a child, and it is not very safe to be taken care of by the two of you (Celeste argues, but is held down by Mazik. Why don't we go together, and our final destination is also the royal capital of Pharansis. ”

"If it can be like that, it would be the best." Nataya laughed.

There Mazik covered his forehead and looked at the ceiling.

"The more people, the more lively, I think that's good." Peines hurriedly said, "We will take a boat from Seville to Valencia, and then take the land route to Debans, and when His Excellency Lan Feng finishes the work of the envoy, we will go north to France, which should be much faster than taking the land route all the time." ”

"By the way, why are you being chased?" Mazik asked in a low voice.

"Ahaha, it's a long story, and it seems that my luck hasn't been very good lately." Celeste touched the back of her head and smiled dryly.

"You're really going to the casino to make trouble again!"

"You dare to go back and talk nonsense, the old lady killed you!"

April 27, 363 Continental Gregorian Calendar, Hitaros, Haiswa.

Two days earlier, the Lenosque army had begun to lay siege to the royal capital of Hitaros, and the news of the king's defeat had become known to passers-by, and the entire royal capital was in fear. Haiswa is not a fortified city, and now their problem is that they are seriously underarmed. Originally, the garrison of the royal capital was only one of Prince Fels' Praetorian Guards, with a total of only 8,000 men. Although the remaining princess Rakoxiu issued a conscription order, the quantity and quality of the civilian army that was temporarily recruited was seriously insufficient.

Standing on the balcony of the palace, Racoxiu could clearly see that the whole city was in chaos. The invisible fog formed by despair was like a huge net that hung over the entire city. Everyone knew that it was only a matter of time before the city fell. This reminded Rakoxiu of what had just happened.

About an hour ago, an uninvited guest broke into the palace.

"Bold fanatic, what are you, dare to break into the Forbidden Palace!" Racoxiu scolded.

"Your Royal Highness the Princess, Xia Guan is a compatriot from your hometown, and this time I dared to break into this place to give you a very important piece of information." The stranger humbly knelt down on one knee in front of her.

"You're from the Ninth Legion?" Racoxiu knew a little about the Farensi intelligence agency, and of course this was only after Caiunescu agreed to let her know.

"Exactly."

"So, what are you trying to tell me?"

"Prince Fels has secretly surrendered to the Renoskes." The Falencians quietly uttered such bombshell-level information.

"What nonsense are you talking about!? Firth is also His Majesty's brother no matter what he says......" Racoxiu was unbelievable.

"Yes, the brother who is in line of succession after His Majesty Canitus." The Falencians calmly pointed out this fact.

"You mean to say that he betrayed the city in exchange for the Renoskes supporting him as the new king of Hitaros?!" It was easy for Rakoxiu to guess the specific content, "Impossible, this is absolutely impossible!" Even if it was true, why didn't you tell me sooner? ”

"Prince Fels is not improvising, he has been in contact with Renosque for a long time, but we do not have enough information and evidence to prove anything to His Majesty Canites. And it's not our job to solve Hitarus's problems, so I'm sorry for you. ”

"You ...... Forget it, I got it. Let's go. Rakoxiu waved his hand and turned away.

"Your Royal Highness, we still have a flying dragon that can carry one person, you better come with us." The words of persuasion from Titius, the leader of the Praetorian Dragoons, pulled the princess back from her memories.

"Have you taken everything I told you to take with you?" Racoxiu didn't answer him, but asked something else.

"All of them have been loaded with flying dragons, and those that can't be taken away have already found a place to hide."

"Come on," Rakoxiu summoned the palace attendants, "gather all the people in the **." ”

A few minutes later, Racoxiu arrived in the hall of the palace, where all the other side chambers of Canitus** had gathered. Seeing the princess walk in, they lost their previous arrogance and whispers, and all of them looked at Rakoxiu with their necks curled in panic.

Rakoxiu walked up to the group of charming women, glanced at them coldly, and couldn't help but laugh mockingly.

"Alright, the Dragoon Commander told me just now that we have one more person who can ride the Wyvern to meet His Majesty." The princess calmly alouded this fact, which immediately caused a commotion. Rakoxiu looked at the applications of those side rooms who wanted to discuss with each other and guard against each other, and couldn't help but put a sneer on his face. "You may think I'll have this chance to escape, but I can tell you right now that I can take charge of this ** by acting fairly, and let everyone fight for this opportunity - we'll draw lots."

The princess beckoned, and the chamberlain brought up the jar from which the lot had been drawn. Ra Kexiu didn't say anything more, and pulled out his wooden skewer first. Then the other concubines came up one by one to draw lots, and when they went down, they found that they had not been the lucky ones. Some were there sobbing alone, and a few even fainted on the ground.

When the youngest stepped forward tremblingly and tried to remove the last wooden skewer from the bottle, Racoxiu stopped her. This made the poor woman tremble with fear, and she thought she was going to be left here too.

"Has anyone been able to escape so far?" Rakoxiu stood there with his hands behind his back and asked, "Okay, you don't have to smoke anymore, come on, take her to the Wyvern." ”

"Her Royal Highness!" The chamberlain shouted anxiously.

"Didn't you hear me? None of us won the lottery, so it was the last one. ”

The side room, which had the last chance to escape, didn't figure out what was going on at all, and she was probably overwhelmed by the huge mood swings at this time, and her mind was blank, just staring at Ra Kexiu, and then being dragged out by two chamberlains.

"Okay, the rest of the people should think about their own retreat, you are all still young and beautiful, I believe that the Renoskes will not kill you easily." After saying that, Rakoxiu didn't look at them again, turned and left the hall.

"Her Royal Highness, Your Royal Highness!" Titius chased after him from behind, "Please let me see the one you drawn." ”

"I've already lost it, Lord Titius, please do as I command, take those things and people with you, and get out of here quickly. If the dragon knights of Reynosque arrived, there were any losses, which you and I could not explain to the ancestors of Hitaros. Rakoxiu replied lightly.

"I see, please cherish it." Titius saluted the princess with great humility.

Two hours later, Prince Felth returned to the palace with his own soldiers. He had everything in order, and the Renosk had promised him that the Reynosk army would not even enter Haiswa as long as he succeeded in taking control of the palace and surrendering enough belongings. Therefore, Firth was prepared to bring only a small number of men into the palace, as long as Racoxiu could be controlled, then the whole of Haiswa would be under his control.

However, as soon as he entered the palace, he noticed that the atmosphere was not right, and that no one had come out to greet him, the prince, which was very strange. Firth immediately became alarmed, and while telling his men to stop advancing, he sent someone outside the city to inform the Renoskes.

The Renoske, who received the report, discussed.

"The rumors seem to have leaked." Suvorov said.

"But presumably only the upper echelons of the palace know about this, and they haven't had time to mobilize the people below, so we should be able to take this opportunity to solve this matter quickly. Now, General Gran, let your men put on the uniforms of the Hitarus Army and go into the city to help Prince Fels. Duke Meshkin said.

"Do as you wish, Your Excellency." Pelce owes a debt and leaves.

"Princess Hitarus looks like a powerful woman." Suvorov said after watching Pelce leave.

"I heard that he is also a Pharansian, so let General Gran meet his compatriots." Duke Meshkin continued.

Pelce walked out of the tent, and Dick waited at the side.

"General, do we have any work?"

"You take someone with me, we're going to the Hitarus Palace."

By the time Pelce met Fels with a thousand mercenaries, another hour had passed. Fels was very pleased that the Renosques had sent him reinforcements, and for the sake of hindsight, he could not use his own Praetorian Guard to attack the inner city of the palace.

"Without further ado, let's get down to business." Pelce didn't talk to the other party much.

The two men led the soldiers to the inner city of the palace, and Firth first shouted inside, asking them to open the door and let him in. There was no direct answer from inside, and after a while, a female figure appeared on the walls of the inner city.

"Dear sister-in-law Wang, your posture in armor is still the same as more than ten years ago." Complimenting women is a tradition in the Landner family.

"Fels, what you have done is really a disgrace to the ancestors!" Rakoxiu replied.

"So what should I do?" Firth asked rhetorically, "Should I take 8,000 Janissaries to defend the gates, and then let the Renoskes step over our corpses and enter Khaisva** for a plunder?" ”

"Don't talk any more nonsense about high-sounding reasons."

"Sister-in-law, open the gates of the city, and think about it, I will be the new king of Hitaros, and you will still be the princess of Hitarus. Such examples are not unprecedented. As beautiful as you look when you're armed, you don't look good if you're bleeding or hurting. Firth continued.

A minute later, Pelce saw the prince retreat in disgrace.

"Then the negotiations break down, and we attack!" Pelce ordered his subordinates.

There weren't many regular soldiers on hand, just some chamberlains and palace maids. The mercenaries set up ladders on the wall, and the inner city was not very high, only less than two fats high. Rakosus set up shelves with tables and chairs inside, and the defenders stood on those shelves to resist enemy attacks. They made use of everything they could - large vases, scissors and sickles from the garden. It took a while for the mercenaries to work on the walls to bring down these weak opponents.

When they broke through the wall and entered the palace, they were met with a rather spicy attack. Racoxiu arranged more than enough crossbows here, and this weapon was simple to operate, but extremely lethal. An untrained chamberlain can also kill a warrior with it. The mercenaries paid a few casualties here, but the bloodshed infuriated them. Originally, these mercenaries thought that the resistance of these helpless opponents could easily be handled, but now they threw away that little mercy and directly regarded them as enemies who must be destroyed.

Rakoxiu led more than a dozen Praetorian Guard soldiers to make up for his defenses. Since marrying into Hitarus, she has hardly ever fought anyone in person with a sword. But this was not the time to consider whether her skills were rusty, and her instinct as a soldier returned to her.

The mercenaries obviously did not expect to encounter such an opponent, and they suffered a lot in front of Rakoxiu. Rakoxiu remembers the swordsmanship her father taught her as she unleashes them one by one. She slashes, blocks, lunges, and dodges in the crowd, slashing several enemies in front of her. Rakoxiu felt as if she had reverted to the same soldier she had been twenty years ago, and her prowess was not lost to that of men. However, Princess Hitaros had forgotten that time had not been forgiving, and that years of court life had made her physically incomparable to that of the past. After a continuous fight, Rakoxiu's breathing began to become irregular, which caused her movements to be flawed. The opponent in front of her saw this opportunity and attacked decisively. Rakoxiu felt a chill under her left side of her ribs, and the pain that followed almost suffocated her, but she still held her breath and raised her sword to wipe the neck of the still proud foe.

In the mist of blood spurting from the enemy's neck, Princess Hitarus took a few steps back, covering her wounds. Her lips instantly lost their bloodshot color and turned a strange pink white.

"Her Royal Highness the princess is injured, retreat quickly!" The remaining Praetorian Guards immediately pounced on her, picked her up, and retreated into the hall. Then the door of the hall was slammed shut, and the rest of the people gathered in a circle at the entrance of the hall.

"It's okay, stop attacking!" Pelce raised his hand, and his men immediately stopped abruptly where they had left the tip of the Hitarus sword, 1 Faz.

"How's it going?" Firth ran up at the moment.

"The princess is injured." Dick answered the question in place of his boss.

"It's a shame, I'll go find a doctor, she'll probably need it." Firth said.

"Please." Peer replied.

A few minutes later, a Praetorian Guard squeezed through the crack in the door of the hall.

"Are there any Pharians among you?" He shouted in mainland Mandarin.

"What kind of tricks are they doing?" Dick asked.

"Are there any Pharians among you? Her Royal Highness wants to meet her compatriots in her homeland. The other party repeated.

"I'm a Pharian." Pelce spoke out suddenly.

"General!" Dick shouted.

"I know, Alfonso." Pelce looked back at Dick.

"I'm just reminding you, my lord, if you think it's necessary, go in."

Pelce smiled, and he walked over, "Do I need to hand over my weapon?" ”

"No, I don't think that's necessary." The other party replied to him.

"Thank you."

Pelce followed the other into the hall, and from a distance he saw Racoxiu on the throne, several soldiers standing around her. The blood stains left by the princess were visible even on the red carpet, stretching from her feet to the gate.

"It's an honor to meet you, Your Royal Highness, Honorable Princess." Peer got down on one knee.

"Pelce Gran? I've always heard that you played in the Reynosk Army, but I didn't think it was. Don't be so surprised, you've probably heard that there is always a chance to become extraordinary before you die. Rakoxiu laughed, then coughed a few times, "You seem to have grown up, and you are no longer the little boy who pestered Gina all day." ”

"Your Royal Highness, why are you doing this? You should know that this is an egg hitting a stone and will not change the situation. ”

"yes, you're right." Rakoxiu laughed, "But you know that in your heart, don't you?" If it were your father or Ginna, they might have done better and more beautiful than me, but they chose the same path as me. ”

"My father was a rebel!"

"In Farency no one thinks so, Douglas Gran is a great martyr. There is no doubt about his deep love for his country and its people. ”

"But what are you doing this for? For what? You will not get anything. ”

"Yes, on the face of it, people who sacrifice like this do not get the slightest benefit. They won't even be celebrated after death, but they still don't hesitate. Anyone who has ever been a Francisnian soldier will understand that there will always be someone who will choose this path to move forward. If not us, then who else would it be? We do not condemn those who hold back, because they will live for us, they will continue the blood of the Falensi, and we will continue the spirit of the Falensi. Born into the Falencians, I became the princess of Hitarus, and I didn't realize what responsibility I had, but China told me by her actions that I should do it. Dear Peles, unless you choose the same path as we do, you may never understand this. I don't know if it's a good thing or a bad thing for you, hopefully...... Hope you don't ...... Won't make your ...... Father...... Shame. ”

"Her Royal Highness!" Others noticed that Racoxiu's breathing was becoming more and more difficult.

"I've heard that from a man." Pelce said.

"I can guess who." "I think even if I stayed in Farensi, he would end up choosing China over me." So...... Married to Canites...... Probably the smartest decision of my life. Well, I'm a little tired, Pelles, please leave, I don't want my fellow citizens to see me when I'm dying. ”

Peeres nodded silently, and turned away a little abruptly.

Rakoxiu looked at his back, although he looked up to the sky, "In the end, we didn't get nothing, at least we got peace of mind, and we had a clear conscience." Father, I didn't disappoint you. Princess Citarus finally recited these words in her heart, and after a sharp snort, she fell to the side and passed away with a relieved smile at the age of 39.

On May 1, 363 in the mainland Gregorian calendar, Prince Fels was proclaimed king in Haiiswa, known as the "thief" Fels.