The sharp tip of the sword danced a dance of death in the dark corridor, the steps under his feet kept changing positions, and his wrists began to feel a little sore when he waved his arms again and again, and every time the blades collided, it seemed that his hand bones and forearms would tremble once.

It's been a long time...... I haven't experienced such a battle before.

Despite being as vigilant as possible against Edward, Gayor Valence was aware of the natural gap between himself and this guy little by little.

He is a genius, with extraordinary insight and unparalleled calmness, and his experience is obviously much richer than when he first met him, and it may be difficult to win against him at his age, and he may not even be qualified to be his opponent.

But this was not a real gap, and before he could fall to the floor, Gayor Valens was torn to pieces by the oncoming blade of his sword, and Gaio immediately turned sideways to resist, and he dodged the fatal blow to his head.

The real gap is still in age - or for the first time, Gaio Valence realizes that he has begun to grow old, and has lost the almost limitless physical strength and energy of his youth to continue the duel.

Every negligence can kill you on the spot, every mistake will bring this "dance" to an abrupt end, and the slightest mistake is the most terrible mistake.

Is it time to end this "duel"? Guillaut Valens' eyes narrowed little by little - regrettably, but he also had no choice!

"You had that look on your face that almost told me that you were going to kill me. ”

Edward, who suddenly withdrew his steps and dodged backwards, raised the corners of his mouth, and stared at Gayor Valence in front of him with a calm but wary expression: "Have you finally made up your mind?"

"Ridiculous!" Gaio's expression was still a stiff coffin face, and the long sword in his hand flipped slightly: "Do you think that after the moment of swinging the sword at me." Do you have a second option?"

"You have chosen a path of no return for yourself, and I will not give you a chance to continue!" the long sword spun around in Gaio Valens's hand, and the smooth tip of the sword did not even tremble a little: "Death is your only fate." ”

"Everyone dies. Edward shrugged his shoulders, unable to see the blade's bright star constantly changing its trajectory, "But we can at least choose why we die, or we can die another day." ”

"Wishful thinking!" Fierce as a jackal, Gaio Valence pounced, and Edward, who almost instinctively wanted to stagger his steps, stubbornly chose to move forward. Facing the blade of the sword in his hand to Gaio Valens, the violent impact sound almost pierced the ear, but the light and shadow of the moment made the two people stagger their direction, and almost at the same time, they pressed the blade against each other's necks, and unceremoniously looked at each other.

"I just have to think that I can kill you now!"

"Why?" Edward's eyes narrowed into a line, "Actually, that's what I want to say - you betrayed the Knights, chose to pledge allegiance to Berion, and killed Mercer Kane. imprisoned Sir Leonardo...... Do you want to tell me that you're saving the Knights?"

"Of course!" Gaio was unceremonious, and his tone was even more reasonable, "I'm saving the declining Knights—no longer controlled by the damned nobles, the self-righteous royalty, and the Minest family, who always try to hold the entire kingdom in the palm of their hands, the Knights are the real pillars of the kingdom!"

"With all due respect, you're not talking about a pillar. Edward's head tilted slightly, not caring that the blade was still against his neck, "You want to say 'the true ruler of the kingdom', right?"

"Don't you think you shouldn't?" Guillo snorted, "What happened three hundred years ago was a terrible mistake. And this mistake should be corrected, and the Knights of the Sacred Tree should not bend their knees to anyone. We are the heroes who have shed our blood for this kingdom again and again, shouldn't we be the true rulers of the kingdom?!"

"Do you think I'm the first to think like this? Again and again, every Grand Master of the Order in three hundred years has had such an ambition, and some have tried to make it happen for themselves—but again and again there have been mistakes, mistakes that should not have been. Gaiyo's expression gradually became hideous: "Every time that opportunity is in front of us. It is often ourselves who stand in our way!"

"These hypocritical and arrogant nobles, who made a handful of the knights heroic, only to protect their own interests - they did not see the truth, and the pagans of the East grew stronger. And the Knights are getting weaker and weaker, and one day we will really be unable to support it, and the whole kingdom will face an unprecedented enemy. ”

"So, in order to prevent that day from coming, the Knights must have all the power in the entire kingdom in order to have enough confidence to fight the enemy?" Edward smiled, "Seriously, do you think Lord Barrion will believe your words?"

"He doesn't need to believe, he just needs to obey. Gaiyo raised his head coldly: "The 20,000-strong Eastern Territory army is about to arrive, and it is a fully armed veteran corps of Qizhuang." ”

"So that's the case, no wonder the legion hasn't arrived for a long time. Edward nodded in a sudden realization: "With this legion, you can kill all the supporters of Hantu City and Berrion who have suffered heavy casualties, and then use them to control the entire Turin City!"

"All the blame will be borne by Anson Marcherus, and Berion will only need to play his puppet role - there will be the Knights of the Sacred Tree to regent the entire kingdom of Turin, ready to face the approaching army of heathens!" Gaio's voice was still cold and full of sarcasm: "Do you think that the battle with 300,000 barbarians in the land is already the most terrible thing in the world? You have no idea what terrible enemies will await this kingdom, and there will be a catastrophe enough to destroy the country!"

"What if you died?" Edward did not answer him, but continued to ask, "So what will happen?"

"Leonardo will take over everything - no leader of the Order can give up the chance to take over the Regency Kingdom, this is our mission and our responsibility!" Gaio Valence stared at Edward, "definitely not something a monster like you can understand. ”

"What do you mean?"

"You know better, Edward Witwood—on the day we said goodbye, I expected you to change, but in the end I found that you had only intensified, chasing monsters of lust and pleasure, demons thirsting for power and conquest, and your presence was the deadliest threat to the entire kingdom!"

"Aren't you the same?" Edward sneered, "What are you doing now?"

"But to me, vows and promises still have weight—you know, from the first time I saw you, I saw a beast bound in chains. ”

"The reason you came to the Order is to return the ring, the reason you serve Eren is commitment, and the reason you are loyal to Anson is because of the title...... You are a monster with countless chains that give you power that doesn't belong to you and fill the ravines of your desires. ”

"But beasts are all about freedom, do you know what you're looking forward to the most?" Gaio laughed suddenly: "Betrayal - only the betrayal of others can justifiably break free from the chains and do what you want to do the most." ”

"Betrayal is the right revenge, right?Abandon the chains that gave you everything you have now, and then show your fangs to take everything that makes you happy!" )