"The commission has failed, Sandor...... The mage who called himself the Fire of Destruction also missed. ”

A man appeared on the carpet of the reception room, carrying a dying guy on his shoulder.

The pouring rain blurred the glass windows, and thunder rose and fell in the distant dark clouds.

"A miss means death." The shirtless Sandor is a short, thin man with a hunchback back, "You brought the stench of the sewers into my place. ”

"Sorry...... Sandor, but we need a place to hide. The man whispered, "The city guard sent a small group of men after us, and you see, Shept was also seriously wounded. ”

"What does your shame have to do with me?" Sandor turned his back to them and put his index finger above the candle, "But that wound is interesting, who did it?" ”

The man put his scarred companion on the carpet and gritted his teeth and said, "It's the woman named Silver Hime, damn it, even if we suppressed the Dead Touch with a trap, who knew that the arrows she shot were like ballistas!" ”

"That [the Duke of the Mountain]'s youngest daughter? I've seen her, and she's not that good. Sandor's fingers were scorched by the candle flames, "Speaking of which, the Duke of the Mountain is a great man, and I was going to take off his head, but ...... Hehe, before I could make a move, he was executed. ”

The man listened to Sandor's broken thoughts, nodded yes, and took the hemostatic powder from his personal pocket, and applied it evenly to his companion's wounds—his poor companion wailed like a wounded wild dog, but soon he had no strength to speak.

The man's wound was horrific, and his entire abdomen looked as if it had been hollowed out, revealing a hole the size of a dinner plate.

"I know two of the most powerful archers on the continent, but they don't necessarily recognize me, hehe." Sandor whispered, "One of them is in the Secret Forest, and her arrows are whirring like the wind...... The other person is a person who is not a ghost or a ghost. ”

The man poured all the medicinal powder, his face was covered with sweat, and he said with some anxiety: "Sanduo, do you have a potion for raw meat here?" ”

"It's useless, he's dead." Sandor removed his fingers from the candle flame, one hand behind his crooked back, and the other on the table and tapped gently, "He will die, and so will you." ”

As soon as he finished speaking, a puff of smoke erupted from the place where he was standing, and then it became empty.

Despite the explosion, there was not a sound in the smoke—except for the low laughter that Sandor had come out of nowhere.

"If you miss, you'll die, that's the rule of the guild, isn't it?"

A black quadrangular boomerang whistled over the man's head—

After a night of rainstorms, Slom ushered in a special day, and at noon in this late autumn, King Willish XX, Cavendish Welsh, was to receive an eminent emissary from the royal palace, Curran Munso, the second prince of Golle from the northern Goler Empire.

The place where the prince of Gole met was the Crystal Palace, the palace where the kings of Odelik received important foreign envoys.

In the morning, Prince Curran led a procession of 200 men into the north gate of Slom, entered the city along the Northern Expedition Road, stepped on the Avenue of Honor through the Triumphal Bridge, and then reached the north gate of the palace.

Along the way, a number of Audrick civilians gathered on both sides of the road, standing behind the royal security regiment, wanting to see what the Gole people really looked like.

Prince Curran wore a black cloak and rode a horse at the front of the procession, followed by two generals who also wore black cloaks and rode horses, but compared to the prince's light dress, the two generals wore rough but beautiful leather armor under their cloaks.

Behind the three of them was a brigade of servants divided into four and fifty phalanxes, the first phalanx was the long axe infantry, they were dressed in leather clothes, only their forearms and chest and abdomen were covered with chain mail, the handle of the battle axe in their hands was one and a half meters long, and the axe head was divided into three heads: a crescent-shaped axe blade more than ten centimeters long, a middle thorn ten centimeters long, and a heavy prismatic hammer head.

The second phalanx was the infantry of the Hatchemen, dressed in half-covered dark brown leather armor, holding a single-edged hooked hatchet with a handle forty centimeters in one hand and a round shield that covered half of their body in the other.

The third formation was the Greatsword Infantry, who wore full-body armor that was closer to Audric's standard, but held a wide long sword that was one person tall in their hands, and compared to Audric's slender sword, Goller's greatsword looked like a giant.

The fourth phalanx is a team of mounted archers, who carry quivers full of iron arrows and half-human high, and ride under them a rare species not seen in Oderick: long-horned reindeer.

All the soldiers of the phalanx wore the round helmets characteristic of Gole, with two horns protruding from the left and right, and a visor covering most of their faces in front of them, revealing only their jaws and eyes.

"They've got hair on their faces, Mom!" A little Slom girl took her mother's hand and pointed to the Golle square.

"Don't talk nonsense, that's a beard!" The child's mother, fearing that the irascible Gole would hear this, hurriedly pulled the child back.

Seeing Prince Curran's party set foot on the magnificent triumphal bridge, some of the Slom people commented: "How did the prince of the Gole come to Audric?" And with so many soldiers! ”

The elder in the crowd explained to the curious, "Didn't you see it when you were kids? Something like this happened twenty years ago, and I remember that the Gole people who came to Slom that year were called White Tigers! ”

"Twenty years ago? Tell me about it, old man. ”

"Hmph...... I remember very well that twenty years ago in the Arena of Glory, Grand Duke Blaze was not yet a glorious duke. The old man's eyes gleamed with excitement, "That day, a thousand Gore's...... All beheaded by horses! The man named Gake White Tiger was slashed eleven times by Grand Duke Blaze and hacked to death! ”

In the Crystal Palace, which is almost entirely made of glass, Curran and two generals step on the red carpet and enter the large and spacious palace.

It was the first time for Collan Munso to see such a magical palace, and even when he was in the hall, the sun was shining overhead...... He was so distracted that King Odryk sat on his throne and waited for him for a few seconds.

"Your Highness......"

Behind him came the general's whispered call, Curran came back to his senses, smiled, put his fist to his chest, and said to King Odryk: "Dear King Odryk, His Majesty Wales XX, I am Curran Munso, the second heir to the throne of the Gorean Empire, and it is an honor to meet you. ”

Unlike the Odrik etiquette, the Goles use their right hand instead of their left hand and their fists instead of their palms against their chests.

Cavendish Welsh was a young monarch with brilliant blond hair and handsome features, and blue eyes as bright as jewels.

"I'm glad to accept your courtesy, Prince Curran." King Cavendish smiled and said, "Is Emperor Manso doing well?" ”

"My father is in good health." Curran said respectfully.

In fact, the young Cavendish had never met Emperor Gore, but this was only a very common polite remark.

Cavendish wore a white robe and a white-gold [crown that never sets], and he looked very noble, even to the point of dazzling.

"If I'm not mistaken, it's the once-in-a-decade event again." King Cavendish said slowly, "Are the Golle warriors in the Kingdom Mansion well prepared?" ”

"The empire is ready." "It's just that there was an accident last night," said Prince Curran, "and the gifts we prepared for you may have been somewhat lost, and we have lost fifty warriors and one general. ”

"I heard about that." King Cavendish sighed and said, "I am sorry for what happened to General Basil...... Therefore, I have decided that the number of Oderick soldiers participating in the event will be reduced by fifty, so that the number of fighters will be fair. ”

After all, it was a bloody case on his own territory, and King Cavendish did not forget to give an explanation to the Goles, saying: "The royal garrison has investigated the matter, and the identity of the attackers is probably the notorious [Throat Sealing Guild], and I have ordered their forces to be wiped out in Slom City, so that these assassins will pay for last night's attack." ”

"Thank you for your generosity, and the Goller Warriors will remember your kindness." Curran saluted again.

After the ceremony, he asked, "Is it true that the Glory Festival will be held ten days after the winter solstice?" ”

"That's right." "Until then, I intend to invite Prince Curran to join me in the Winter Solstice Celebration in Slom, the second largest festival of the year after the New Year, which you will surely enjoy. ”

"I would gladly accept your invitation...... It's just that I have one more thing to do with you today. Curran smiled and said, "My father has prepared an ancient dragon egg for you, I don't know if you have received a gift." ”

King Cavendish put his hand on his cheek, glanced at Curran meaningfully, and said, "Please express your gratitude to Emperor Manso on my behalf, General Manvenlin has sent the dragon eggs and other tributes to the palace. ”

"I'll be sure to convey it for you, so I'll be relieved."

After a pause, Prince Curran took a deep breath and said, "I wonder if you've heard of [Terella's Heart]?" ”

There was a brief silence in the hall, and King Cavendish sat on his throne, as if thinking about something, while Prince Curran stood silently in place, smiling.

"That's ...... A high-ranking relic. King Cavendish narrowed his eyes and smiled, "Could it be that you are a gift to me......

"That's right, the Lord of Frost."

There was an imperceptible look of gloom on Curran's feminine face, and King Cavendish would not have understood that he would never have received this gift if it weren't for a young bachelor.

At this time, King Audric, Cavendish Wells, thought of Saladin, of the Dome, of the Queen of Shadows under the veil of mystery thousands of years ago, and of her mausoleum that drifted in the void.

What are Holy Relics?

More than a thousand years ago, King Saladin built the vault of the Tower of Babel in Middle-earth, and then opened his treasury to gather the best alchemists from all over the continent to forge weapons for himself.

It was a timeless spectacle, and a contest of skills between the master alchemists, with top weapons experts putting their talents to work, squandering the mountain of treasures Saladin had to offer, pouring their hearts and souls into their own creations, and finally Saladin selected the best of them.

The miraculous and great treasures that Saladin had personally selected were called the Vault Things, also known as the Holy Relics.

And the Heart of Terrela is the best of the holy relics, it can give its master a bottomless vitality and a body as strong as a dragon, and it is a [superior holy relic] that countless people covet!

There are very few relics in existence, and it is recorded in many documents that the Heart of Terella was enshrined in the tomb of Queen Terella, the Shadow Queen, and slept with her...... It's just that thousands of years have passed, and no one has been able to find this tomb.

"More than twenty years ago, before Goeller handed over the city of Hopefire to Audric, we obtained a scroll from the ruins of the Tower of Babel, which recorded the specific method of opening [the Himere]." Curran said slowly.

"You want Odrik to provide the dragon soul in the Dead Touch?" King Cavendish smiled slightly, "But the Frost King and the Dragon Soul now belong to Audric. ”

"The Lord of Frost is a gift to you, and a sincere gift from Gore, Your Majesty." Curran lightly touched his chest with his right fist, "We are also willing to provide specific methods on the scroll...... There is just one small condition, and believe me, it is very reasonable. ”

"Tell me about it." Cavendish King said lightly.

"On the condition, let us enter the Himeres with your people...... The treasure in the mausoleum is divided between the two countries, and whichever side finds the heart of Terrella first, it belongs to that side, how? ”

In the dungeons of the royal security regiment, Levi was bound by chains and shackles, and sat alone in his cell.

It's funny to say that he had just escaped from his cell the night before and was sent to his cell last night...... And this time it's even worse, there are no brothers and sisters.

However, even the binding of his hands and feet did not stop him from thinking, and after all the events of yesterday, Levi had to ponder the oddities of it.

He still remembers reading an idle book called "The Treasure of King Saladin" in the palace of Emerald Silk, which mentioned that Saladin, the king of kings, built a palace full of treasures for the Queen of Shadows, and it was also a resting place for Terella...... After Terella's death, Saladin buried her in it, and in order not to disturb the queen's sleep, the palace was sent into the flood of the void, never to be seen again.

That palace is called [Himereung].

However, it is not impossible to open the door to the Himereung. The book only mentions the method of opening the door: it requires the dragon soul of the Frost Lord to merge with the shell.

Levi knew that the Silver-Gilled Manvenlin's longbow was a subordinate artifact, and that the bow contained the dragon soul of the Frost King, the work of an alchemist, and that this was the purpose for Saladin to draw the dragon soul: to forge a holy relic.

The location of the dragon soul is not a secret, but the whereabouts of the dragon egg have never been traced...... Until last night, Levi found the egg in the convoy of the Gohler's prince Curran.

Although the identity of the attackers could not be determined, Levi was roughly able to determine their purpose: to open the Himeling.

There was the dragon egg of the Frost King in the convoy that was attacked last night, and the general of the Beicheng Guard, Silver Ji, who rushed to the rescue, had the bow of Death in his hand, how could there be such a coincidence? This kind of plan to encircle the point and kill two birds with one stone is effective, but it is a pity that the attackers miscalculated the existence of Levi.

And Hill Manwenlin, who held the dragon soul, was not killed, which is also a miscalculation? I don't know if the silver Ji hid her strength, or if the mastermind of the attack was simply a fool.

It is almost impossible for the Gorle royal family to come to Audric, and in terms of time, the purpose of Prince Curran's visit to Slom can only be to participate in the decennial [Glory Event], and last night's convoy should have been transporting tribute to Audric.

Among the tributes was the Dragon Egg of the Lord of Frost......

"The Goles want to work with Audric to explore the Himeling?" Levi whispered to himself, "The attackers are so bold that they are enemies of both countries at the same time...... No, how could the attackers know the purpose of Curran's mission? Or do you not know, just greedy for ordinary treasures? ”

There are only three possibilities, one is that someone in the Gole Empire wants Curran to make a mistake; Second, Curran intended to guard the thieves and cooperate with those who claimed to be the Fire of Destruction; Thirdly, the attackers did not know anything, and everything was a coincidence.

Levi wanted to touch his chin, but found that his arm couldn't move, so he could only raise his eyebrows helplessly.

After playing chess with Curran, Curran sent off the guests at a delicate time, just in time to send himself to the killing game...... Although I don't know why I provoked the prince, the second possibility is very suspicious.

If so, then Curran, who guards and steals himself, is really "self-inflicted"...... Levi, who was rejoicing in the bitterness of his heart, couldn't help but want to laugh.

There is still no clue about the "Tyrela, the Frost King", who crawled out of the eggshell and burrowed back in, but Levi has no time or conditions to think about it right now - he is still being held by the Royal Security Corps, intending to interrogate the origin of last night's attacker.

All he had to do was bite the bullet and say that the flame mage was the attacker, killed by the Gore's arrows, and that would explain everything.

Anyway, the key touches and dragon eggs were not lost, and they were involved in passing by...... According to normal procedure, as long as they are not falsely accused, they will be released soon.

Just as he was thinking, a middle-aged man suddenly walked in from outside the cell, he was wearing white armor and a bright red cloak, he should be the commander of the security regiment.

"I'm the general of the royal security regiment, Jerome."

Levi had heard the name from Alva's mouth, and that night in Kief's yard, it was probably the same general who led his troops to clear it...... It's no coincidence that the north of the city is under the jurisdiction of this Jerome general.

Jerome looked at Levi and said with a strange expression, "This tattered black robe...... You sound familiar to me. ”

Levi said, "I am wearing the robes of the Imperial Court of the Kingdom, Honorable General Jerome. ”

Jerome stared at Levi for a moment, and instead of dwelling on the matter, he asked Levi some expected questions.

According to the plan, Levi answered "truthfully" and carried out his mission as a passerby.

What neither Jerome nor Levi noticed was a thumb-sized figure sitting in the shadows at the edge of the cell, with long ice-blue hair and dark blue skin, looking at them with red eyes without any emotion in her eyes.

("[The Glory Event] is held every 10 years, alternately between Audrick and Gore. On top of this grand event, the ten-year sovereignty of the central continent [Lookout City] will be decided in blood and fire. —General History of the Continent • Medieval Era)