The sky had just dawned, and in a series of heavy sounds, a huge winch spun and carried several ropes, slowly pulling up the sluice at the city gate. The heavy, boulder-like gate opened a gap, and the crack grew larger and larger under the push of a dozen guards, and the light of the morning poured into the dark doorway, until two muffled collisions sounded, and Oak City greedily inhaled the first breath of fresh air of the morning like a monster with a huge mouth open.

The sound of horses' hooves resounded on the capital's main road, and the metal hooves made a crisp sound on the stone pavement. A group of mighty cavalry drove out of the city gate first, red and white horse clothes, silver-white armor carved with intricate patterns, they held the reins of the horse in one hand, the flag in the other, with the undulating posture of the riders, the slender banner swayed in the air with a solemn rhythm.

These cavalry were only the vanguard of the whole procession, and behind them, the knights of order in golden armor formed a brilliant stream of steel, guarding the carriage shared by the king and the pope, and then the horse team of the royal ministers and the nobles of the capital, followed by the protagonists of the day, the young men who were about to be tested.

Later, countless servants and guards carrying banners and their respective family crests extended the length of the procession several times.

This team condenses the royal power and the clerical power of the Kingdom of Orem, and its destination is only one and the most mysterious land in the entire kingdom - the Forest of Songs.

The march was slow, after all, no one expected the nobles to be able to ride their horses. For them, attending the trial celebration was just a "national event" that did not concern them. In these few days, what they really care about is how to expand the family's network, and of course, it would be better to have an underground relationship that can be used to show off.

Colin was probably one of the few nobles who didn't want to attend the celebration at all, and unfortunately, as a former minister, he had no reason to stay out of the house on such a big day. He was now sitting in the saddle and writhing his body, as if no amount of adjustment could alleviate the discomfort coming from under his buttocks.

Truth be told, horseback riding has long been a strange thing in his life, but not everyone thinks so.

Behind Colin sounded the sound of a horse's hooves, and a figure came to a sharp stop beside him, accompanied by the neighing of the warhorse, and no one would deny the vigor and elegance of the figure.

"My old fellow, I've been a bitter sufferer for you," Roggett said in a short robe with red edges on a black background, and the hand-embroidered dark lines flowed luxuriously in the sun, "Listen to me, I can get you a carriage." He said with a smile, his tone full of concern.

Colin finally gave up the idea of continuing to adjust his sitting position, fine beads of sweat were already hanging on his shiny forehead, and even the war horse under his crotch snorted with some dissatisfaction. He wiped his sweat and glanced at Rogett with some impatience. "If one day you could scrape the eternal sarcasm off your tongue, believe me, you'd be so much cuter than you are now. ”

"Haha, I'm afraid there won't be that day," Rogett said laughing, "but I'll take your words as a compliment, and I'm glad you did." ”

"How's the hunt today?" asked Colin, "I don't know what stupid woman has thrown into your arms." ”

Rogett glanced back at the team behind him, looking a little smug. "My friend, we are going to spend a day and a night at the edge of the forest," he said as a matter of course, "and the Lord God is above, and if you don't have some fun, do you want to count the stars?"

"Cheap skin and flesh. Colin pursed his lips in disgust.

"Praise the great instinct!" Roggett whistled, expecting even the evening to come sooner.

Colin set his sights not far ahead. "Your business is good these days, isn't it?" he asked leisurely, but Rogett didn't answer, just looked up and down at the "mountain of meat" on horseback.

"After the Imperial Council a few days ago, the envoys of the various provinces have quietly come to Oak City, and they are like rats, and they are spiking around......" Colin rubbed the mane of his warhorse, as if to say something very interesting to himself, "As the master of Yeluo Garden, don't say you don't know. Or rather, don't pretend you don't know in front of me. ”

Rogette never doubted what kind of intelligence-gathering ability the fat man in front of him had, one was in charge of money and the other was in charge of people, for the two of them, the most unbearable thing was that there was no intelligence, which was no different from being blind.

"What do you hear? Do you care what the rats in the corner are calling?" Rogett followed Colin's gaze and saw the Minister of Justice Gasula and Donis not far ahead, "Something has to happen, it's just that you're on that side." ”

Colin withdrew his gaze. "Don't make the wrong choice, my friend," he deliberately made an ugly expression, "and if you die, I'll be seriously sad for a while, haha." ”

Rogett's gaze turned cold. "For God's sake, I cherish my life," he said, staring at Colin slowly, "money, power, women, status, here is everything I want." And you, my lord, have climbed from the crappy declining aristocracy to today, what do you really want?"

"You won't want to know. Colin shook his head, his eyes a little hollow.

Rogett laughed dryly. "I'll know sooner or later......"

Unlike the two men, Sirian and Tandra, who were slightly behind, were talking about things that had nothing to do with the kingdom.

"Old friend, call Aemond back from Blade Keep," Cirian whispered, "he's in his twenties, isn't he? ”

Tandra gently knocked the horse's belly, and a somewhat gloomy expression appeared on his face, which was rare for such a tough man.

Aemond Empes was Tandra's only son, and no one knew who his birth mother was, not even Cyrian.

The friends who had been friends with Tandra only knew that the child had been brought back on a night of lightning and thunder. To this day, Sirian still remembers that dark night, with Tandra's blood covered in blood, tears overflowing from the corners of his eyes, unable to utter a complete sentence, and the baby sleeping very soundly in his arms.

Later, when Aemond was twelve years old, Tandra sent him to Mount Doron, Black Rock, which had been guarded by the Monroe family for generations in the province of Black Rock, the most dangerous place in the entire kingdom against the eastern front line of the Rokokans, Blade Fortress.

This has been more than ten years, and even when Tandra became the commander of the Kingdom Guard, he didn't even think about bringing Aemond back. From the youth training camp to the front line of the legion, from ordinary soldiers to commanders, Aemond was left there in this way, constantly tempered by blood and fire, as if his father had forgotten that he had another son.

Listening to Cyrian's words, Tandra sighed, but didn't say anything, this was the deepest pain in his heart.

"Hell, Tandra, think about your child," Cilian suppressed his voice, unable to understand what his best friend was doing, "If he can come back sooner, he will have a chance to participate in the trial of order, and he will inherit your title, even better than you!

Tandra patted Cilian on the shoulder. "There's nothing wrong with being there," his voice was a little sluggish, "let him stay out of here." Nobles, knighthoods, I don't see anything to praise about this dirty deed. ”

"Tandra......" Cilian was interrupted by Tandra before he could finish.

"Cillian, I am still here because His Majesty brought me out of the orphanage and eventually became the commander of the garrison, and I have nothing but respect and loyalty to him. Tandra looked up at the sky, "Ten years later, I'm still here because you and Aiden are my brothers, and I have nothing but trust in you. He paused and continued, "But that doesn't mean I like it here, Sirian, and sooner or later I'll leave Oak City, even if I don't know where to go." ”

Sirian listened silently, there are so many differences in their lives, and sometimes quiet listening is the best support for friends.

"I'm an orphan, even though I'm a count now," Tandra said, smiling at Sirian, "I can't give him the best, but I can give him the rightest." Orphans will always need to grow up in the face of adversity, and if the trials of order have given me faith, let the battlefield teach him the truth of survival. ”

"You're never going to tell Aemond who his birth mother is?" asked Sirian.

Tandra shook her head. "No, it's for his good, and my pain shouldn't continue on him," he said with some distraction, as if remembering the good in his memory, "Some things, whether good or bad, are buried in your heart and slowly forgotten." ”

The long journey didn't last long, and by noon, the team finally reached the end of the road. Turning around a few rolling hills, the landscape suddenly became vast, with green meadows stretching from under your feet into the distance, and at the end of the view, a vast forest like an ocean slumbered there.

The lilac mist lingered at the edge of the forest, as if controlled by some wonderful force, and the mist did not spread, but only wrapped around the dense forest. What's even more special is that not far from the mist, three thick and ancient rock pillars surround the altar in the middle, forming a neat triangular stone henge.

From afar, the wonders that the Creator has bestowed upon here are filled with awe-inspiring mystery and seclusion.

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Digression in this chapter: Thank you for the 150506011945957 of the book friends