Longxiao City, somewhere.

It's a dimly lit passage.

There was only a lone lamp that could not be extinguished, barely illuminating the mottled and old earthen walls on both sides, as if they were about to collapse at any moment.

A young man sat silently by the lamp, looking at a dagger in his hand.

The narrow passage was only for two people, as if it were a gap between two walls, and the dirt floor was covered with dust, and it looked like no one had been here for a long time.

This is an underground tunnel hidden under the cellar of the chess and card room.

It's a shame that they can fix it.

The boy said in his heart.

It's just that he comes to play chess every month, why didn't the Grand Duke's guards who were responsible for searching and clearing the field find out here?

And...... When this place was chosen, Nicola must have already checked the details of this place, right?

Click, click, click......

There was the sound of footsteps in my ears.

The boy stopped what he was doing, slowly closing the daggers into his sheath and snapping them back into his belt.

A line of words on the sheath flashed under the uncertain light:

Kings are not respected by blood.

Click, click, click......

Footsteps are getting closer.

Tails sighed and turned to look at the other side of the dimly lit passage.

Far from the light, it was pitch black.

As the footsteps stopped, a figure loomed in the darkness.

"You should have a good rest, Your Highness, and regain your strength," the visitor said lightly, his voice brisk, "There will be a while." ”

The young prince snorted.

He stood up silently and patted the dust off his body: "This is not the same as we said. ”

Tails looked at the familiar face of the visitor, as well as the special pair of dark red eyes, and said coldly:

"Raphael Lindbergh. ”

With Tails' words, Raphael, the secret cadre of the kingdom who had not been seen for six years, stepped out of the dark passage and revealed his entire body in front of the lamp that could not be extinguished.

Tails looked at Raphael closely.

Six years don't seem to have brought too many vicissitudes to this barren bone man who lives in darkness.

He was still dressed in a white robe, with a chic posture and a calm demeanor, only when he saw the flickering lights, he subconsciously frowned slightly.

"Definitely. ”

"So it's not the perfect escape we imagined, and it's even extremely risky. ”

Raphael's dark red eyes swept over Tails, who was already in the shape of a young man, and his expression was calm: "But Your Highness, whose fault do you think this is?"

Tails' expression changed: "Whose fault?"

"Don't play dumb, Raphael, you know what I'm talking about. ”

"Five thousand cavalry marched from the Great Desert to Qiyuan City to support the Freedom Alliance," the prince said in a cold voice, "It's a big surprise for the people of the Northland, isn't it?" ”

"And do you know how many people told me in advance, about their hostage prince?"

Raphael raised an eyebrow.

Tails tugged at the corners of his mouth, his fingers shook vigorously in the air, mockingly compared a number, and said word by word: "Zero." ”

"Zero! one, one, all, no, there is!"

"These are dozens of stunned and hideous-looking strong men in the North, one, up, sue, sue, I!"

Raphael looked thoughtfully overhead.

"Five thousand cavalry?"

He moved slightly: "Is this the intelligence of the Northlanders?"

The indifference of the Mystic made Tails furious.

"Why, do you want to tell me that the cavalry and the Cross Twin Star Banner that almost killed me are fake, impersonated by someone else?"

The prince shrugged his shoulders and snorted dissatisfiedly, "And the kingdom didn't send troops at all?"

In the flickering light, Raphael looked at him silently a few times, and then sighed slightly.

"Those armies are indeed real, and they were sent out by the stars. ”

"But from the western wilderness, from the Blade Tooth camp, and into the desert to the west, at most one or two thousand cavalry will come to an end. ”

"As for the rest, it's probably all infantry or an illusion," Raphael laughed:

"Five thousand cavalry, that's enough to drain half the kingdom. ”

The Bones Man spread his hands, his sleeves still long, covering his wrists firmly.

He was laughing.

He didn't care at all.

Tails told himself with a glare.

The unhappiness in the prince's heart slowly rose.

"That's not the point, and it's not funny. ”

Tails narrowed his eyes and raised his fingers, his tone getting heavier and heavier, "You know, as the object of venting, I was almost torn to pieces by the angry Northlanders in the Hall of Heroes-"

In the dim vision, Raphael shook his head with a smirk: "They won't do that......"

But Tails didn't pay any attention to his interjection, but shook his fingers, suppressed his anger and continued: "-Or was he taken hostage to Qiyuan City, tied up in front of the two armies and forced Xingchen to retreat?"

The prince's final volume was a little louder, rather harsh in the narrow passage.

Raphael looked at the prince steadily, and slowly retracted his face.

"Your Highness, everything we have done is to rescue you back safely......"

"Yes, the way is for the Northlanders to hang me first, and then you come back to collect the body," Tails sneered, sarcastically, "It's safe." ”

Raphael's expression changed.

"Believe me, the secret department has its own suitable means and arrangements," his tone gradually became serious, "but I can say with certainty that it is not in the same crude and direct and forced way as it is now. ”

The secret man said coldly: "As I just said: Your Highness, whose fault do you think this is?"

Tails didn't pay attention to the other party's rhetorical question at all, he sneered again and again:

"'The right means and arrangements'? is inspiring, like the dragon's blood of six years ago, right?"

Hearing the code name of the operation that had not appeared for a long time, Raphael froze slightly.

The prince leaned against the wall, twisted his head to the side, and snorted angrily, "The secret department of the kingdom of heaven killing. ”

Raphael was silent for a long time.

Until he took a breath and slowly spoke:

"You're accusing us of withholding information, Your Highness, and you think the accident was the fault of the secret department. ”

Tails snorted.

"But on the other hand," Raphael's red eyes flashed with an eerie glint, "you ...... us"

"Is it so unreserved?"

Tails was slightly stunned and slowly turned his head.

Raphael stared at him with a chilling gaze.

"By noon today, we thought everything was going well...... It wasn't until the news came that we learned about the good things you and Rumba had done in the palace. ”

Raphael's voice also carried a certain sharp accusation: "Until I received the news that you left the palace." ”

"Caught off guard, we had to act urgently and adopt the worst backup plan: forcibly risk your rescue!"

Tails didn't speak.

Raphael took a slight step forward, his eyes glazed.

"For more than two months, from the moment you boarded the carriage of the Black Sand Territory, you always knew that Rumba had been lurking in the city for a long time, and you even secretly made an agreement with him to interfere in the internal affairs of Longxiao City and Exeter, until you were finally transferred to the Black Sand Territory. ”

Tails' heart sank, and he suddenly felt bad.

The barren bone man said lightly:

"About these, about your conspiracy with Rumba, about why you were forced to cooperate with him, Your Highness ......"

"How much did you tell us?"

Looking at Raphael's gaze, Tails suddenly felt some heart palpitations.

Damn it.

That's right, my secret meeting with Rumba, the plan for the little slippery head, these things, including the identity of the archduchess......

How could I tell you?

Tails took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.

He forced himself to calm down: "My affair with the Black Sand Collar was an accident. ”

Raphael's eyebrows moved: "Accident?"

Tails pursed his lips and nodded angrily:

"Yes, your accident caused my accident in the first place, okay?"

"If you hadn't brought the five thousand—nay, two thousand cavalry, and made the whole scene turn sharply, the Grand Duchess would not have been cornered, and I would not have been forced to ask Rumba for help!"

The prince snorted coldly, trying to change the subject.

No.

He said silently in his heart.

He knows.

To be precise, Tails had already made the record: in the Hall of Heroes, their and Ian's plan was likely to meet with an accident and not succeed.

For the sake of a small slippery head, Rumba is the hole card that he must turn over when he is cornered.

And once this hole card is revealed, the secret department will definitely know.

The secret department will not sit idly by, they will definitely take action.

Tails patted the belongings he had already packed in his arms, and sighed in his heart: he had already prepared for the rescue of the secret department.

This time, Raphael stared at him for a long time.

It's as if you're about to discover some secret.

Tails just twisted his head in a puff of anger, acting like a sulking teenager.

Finally, Raphael withdrew his scrutinizing eyes.

Raphael said lightly: "Then maybe you shouldn't be so deeply involved in the government of Longxiao City?"

He looked at the prince with a different demeanor, rather disdainfully: "Even if you have an indescribable relationship with the female archduke, Your Highness. ”

Tails was stunned for a moment, and then said: "I, I ...... with the Grand Duchess"

But he was in a hurry, and immediately found a way to fight back and change the topic: "Merry?"

"Hey, six years ago, I wasn't the one who kissed Miss Aarend in public for a minute at Valhalla!"

Raphael's face changed.

He frowned and coughed, shaking off some of the dust above his head.

The two were silent for a moment.

Tails gasped silently, hoping that this would cover up the other party's questioning.

"Anyway. ”

Raphael sighed sarcastically: "If you were a little merciful, a little more respectful, and tell us in advance about the rumba, these lowly people who broke their legs in the secret department......"

"Then maybe we could have done it sooner, and things wouldn't have been so bad?"

Tails raised his eyebrows and spread his hands in a look of "I have nothing to say to you".

"Very well," said the prince, gesturing with a pause, as if to give up on himself, "I see, there is no result in this." ”

"That's the end of the discussion. ”

He turned, leaned against the wall, shook his head and folded his arms.

Raphael did not speak.

Until Tails broke the silence again:

"Hey, the black robe with the twin swords. ”

"When I fled into the chess and card room, I saw him fall into the siege of the guards," the prince said silently, without looking back, "Is he okay?"

No.

Tails said in his heart: None of Nicolai's former Whiteblade Guards are easy to mess with.

That person, in order to create an opportunity for himself to secretly escape to the underground of the chess and card room, is probably ......

Raphael frowned slightly, but did not speak.

It wasn't until Tails looked at him impatiently that Raphael sneered, "You didn't recognize him?"

Tails was stunned: "Who?

Raphael squinted and grinned: "Good, if even you don't recognize his disguise......"

"Rest assured, he'll be safe. ”

Tails paused lightly.

Disguise?

To put it this way......

That black-robed man, someone I know?

Could it be......

Tails shook his head and eliminated the masked figure in his heart: impossible, that black-robed man was slender and holding two thin swords, it couldn't be him.

At this moment, Tails suddenly remembered something, and he raised his head: "Attacking the inn where Rumba is - that is also your means of distracting attention?"

Speaking of this, Raphael's expression froze.

"Yes, a suicide attack that is unlikely to succeed," his voice was somewhat silent, "anything that could reduce the strength of the guards around you, we've all thought of it." ”

Terston lived.

The lights moved slightly, stretching the figures of the two on the wall.

After a while, the prince exhaled: "How many casualties?"

Raphael shook his head and did not speak.

Tails' face also turned cold.

Silence returned to the hallway.

"I'm sorry. It took the prince a long time to hold back these words.

Raphael closed his eyes and shook his head.

"They all know what they're going to do," the secret department's voice was gloomy, "For the sake of this operation, the secret department even gave up its headquarters in Longxiao City, sacrificing most of the intelligence lines. ”

Tails wondered, "HQ?"

Raphael nugged his chin and tapped his finger on the irregular earthen wall beside him: "This is it." ”

Tails froze.

He looked out at the dimly lit passageway.

The prince said strangely: "But here...... Isn't this what I come to every month, in the basement of that chess and card room in the spear district?"

In reply, Raphael nodded approvingly, his expression returning to his previous indifference.

"Wait, you mean," Tails glared at him in disbelief and looked around, "The chess and card room above our heads, where I come to play chess every month, is the headquarters of the Kingdom Secret Branch's Longxiao City?"

"It's in the spear area, just a few steps away from Valhalla?"

Raphael smiled.

He knocked again on the dilapidated earthen wall beside him:

"You wouldn't think that the owner of the chess and card room just happened to be bored and built this tunnel under the cellar. ”

"You don't also think that after you made a request to Longxiao City and was approved by the Grand Duke, the officials of the Order Department in charge of the site selection only happened to report this newly opened chess and card room to Lisbane, right?"

Tails looked at Raphael stunned: "So ......"

Raphael's eyes shone brightly, and he bowed his head affirmatively: "Yes, under the nose of the enemy, the safest place is the safest." ”

"For example, six years ago, the 'Dragon's Blood', from the beginning of the operation, to the repair, decision, planning, and even the final transfer of manpower and intelligence, forging a Rumba warrant, entering the city gate occupied by the enemy, fishing for a certain unlucky prince who made his own decisions, and arranging for the evacuation, were all contacted and prepared here. ”

Raphael glanced at him meaningfully, snorting and shaking his head.

Tails automatically ignored the other party's words of "some unlucky prince", and silently looked around: mottled earthen walls, deep passages, and lonely lights that could not be extinguished.

I see.

It turns out that for six years, all the secret messages I have sent to the secret department have been here......

"But Nicolas must have looked around closely, didn't he?

The prince frowned and said, "Even when I come every month, the guards have to turn the bottom upside down, how could they leak through this tunnel?"

Raphael smiled again.

"This wasn't a chess room before. ”

"This place, as the headquarters of the secret department in Longxiao City, has a history of supporting countless espionage operations and sheltering countless star spies in the underground war between the stars and dragons, for more than one hundred and sixty years. ”

Tails was taken aback.

Speaking of this, the barren bone man of the secret department seemed to sigh a lot: "During this period, no matter how big the action is, it has never been lightly moved here, and it has never been exposed. ”

"If the Starfall really wants to find out, it will be unless you go through the records of the reconstruction of the spear area of Longxiao City more than a hundred years ago, which was built by an architect of the Duchy of Anrenzo, whose cousin and niece married to the people of the stars, of course, the records were accidentally lost many years ago. ”

"As for why they couldn't find the tunnel - we are in the last escape route, which was dug decades ago, leaving the last layer of soil undug," Raphael pulled his mind back to the present, his eyes tightened:

"This morning, when we learned that there was an accident in the palace, I decided to get it through. ”

"Sure enough......"

Raphael paused, but did not say any more.

The headquarters that has not been touched for more than a hundred years......

Tails looked at him silently, but he was full of sighs in his heart.

He frowned and asked, "So, under this 'headquarters'...... Accessible in all directions?"

Raphael chuckled.

The barren bone man looked at the second prince with disdain, and sneered: "Why, do you think that the tunnel is so easy to dig, and the great dukes of Longxiao City in the past dynasties, the heads of the dark chambers in the past dynasties, including the current Meteorite and his people, are all stupid?"

"Back then, in order not to arouse suspicion, this tunnel was dug intermittently for several years, and it was almost discovered several times......"

"Otherwise, we want to connect it to the secret passage in the city gate, then we can even sneak into Valhalla and assassinate a Grand Duke or something......

Tails took a breath and laughed.

Raphael snorted.

But then he shook his head again, and sighed with deep emotion:

"But, because of this operation, here - the headquarters must be decommissioned. ”

Tails' eyes moved: Retirement?

Raphael seemed to read his gaze and said blandly:

"You've disappeared nearby, and while no one has been able to find you for a while, the Starfall and his former white-bladed guards will come back sooner or later to investigate until they realize something strange here. Not to mention the dark room and other forces that have come to hear the news, if these people put down their struggles for your sake, it won't be long before the truth is tracked down. ”

"Sooner or later, the headquarters will be exposed. ”

Tails frowned.

"If the headquarters is to be retired, then it will be accompanied by the retirement of everyone, things, things, channels, and places that have been involved with the headquarters for more than a hundred years, almost all of them are here," Raphael looked gloomy and hoarsely voiced:

"There is no doubt that after this incident, Longxiao City will undergo a wave of purges. ”

"And the one hundred and sixty-year-old headquarters of Longxiao City, everything that the Kingdom Secret Department has been operating here for more than a hundred years is probably going to disappear. ”

Raphael snorted uncomfortably: "Just because of this hasty and stupid plan." ”

"To save you. ”

Listening to the other party's words, Tails lowered his head silently, unable to say anything.

(End of chapter)