Raldian Parabun, Kyoto

The city of Parabun in the depths of winter is quite cold, and the cold wind blowing through the ground blows pieces of fallen leaves, knocking on the white window paper glass windows of the city's residents, making a burst of crackling monotonous sound. This year's winter is particularly cold, and the snowflakes will decorate Paraven City like a snow city, and the streets covered with thick snow have not been cleaned for a long time.

The strong wind blew, rolling up white broken snow, rolling in the white that covered the sky, forcing passers-by to quickly cover their faces with their clothes, and there were very few pedestrians on the streets, and even if there were, most of them were royal cavalry riding horses and hurrying by. Their hurried horses' hooves can often attract a lot of eyes from behind the window, some anxious, some worried, and some dazed.

Since November, the situation on the front line has deteriorated almost constantly, and with the defeat of the Battle of the North, the situation of the kingdom of Ryordian has fallen into a state of misery.

First lost the northern town of Dvalinburg, and then was driven straight into the central plains by the cavalry of the eastern court of Kugit, plunging the outer cities of Paravon in the heart into a bloody war

The Goude people in the south bite like mad dogs, while the Kugit people in the north wield their snowy scimitars wantonly, harvesting the lives of millions of compatriots, hundreds of prosperous cities are burning in the flames of destruction, and there is a bleak scene of corpses everywhere.

Although the battle of Yeruige, the total annihilation of 30,000 Kugit cavalry, greatly enhanced the spirit of the Ruierdian people, but a large number of ensuing northern refugees, but this brilliance dimmed a lot, 300,000 Ruierdian army and more than 100,000 Kugit cavalry on the opposite side, held in the north of Paraven Reindi Fort, the battle is imminent.

But everyone knows that the 300,000 tired Ruierdian army, compared with the more than 100,000 elite Kujit cavalry in full swing, the probability of victory in this war is not optimistic, with some bad rumors, and the continuous reinforcements from Kyoto, the atmosphere of desperate defeat is like a cotton regiment shrouded in the walls of Paravon, lingering for a long time

Although there were fewer pedestrians, there were more royal cavalry and plainclothes magistrates patrolling the city, and the obvious ones on the city walls were beginning to be in a state of war readiness, sandbags, stones, and wood had begun to accumulate on the city, and some large streets had begun to be divided. There is inaccurate information that in two months' time, the flying hooves of the Kugits will trample on the head of the city of Ryordian Kyoto.

Panic from the inhabitants of Palaubon has made it a real disaster, and most of the people have chosen to flee to places far from the fighting. The rest of the people are also extra cautious, in public is absolutely not daring to talk nonsense, it seems that everyone has written on their foreheads "don't talk about state affairs" four big words, has always been all-night entertainment in the tavern, there has long been no lively scene of talking, many taverns have long been closed. Even the owner has fled with the tide to take refuge in relatively safe and inhospitable areas.

An unmarked carriage, escorted by a small group of knights of the Kingdom Guard, hurried through the desolate streets of Paraven and stopped at the gate of a dilapidated mansion.

The new under-secretary of the Ministry of Military Affairs, Prais, poked his head out of the carriage and tightened his trench coat to shield him from the growing chill outside. He looked up at the "Dale" above the gate of this old mansion, and he couldn't help but feel a touch in his heart.

"It's been 30 years, I didn't expect to have the opportunity to return to Kyoto, and I will see these words"

The corners of Prais's mouth trembled slightly, and his eyes were full of retrospective thoughts, and he seemed to see the scene of two handsome and enthusiastic young men standing in front of this mansion and personally receiving lords from all over the world.

But now, this qiē can only be remembered occasionally in midnight dreams

It is said that these two characters are the surnames given by the old king himself, but it is a pity that the object of his reward has risen and fallen because of the word "Dale", and the mansion is almost in a state of semi-desertion, completely devoid of the busy traffic and banquets of the past. (Please remember our website novel.com)

At that time, the Pula family and the Dale family were the most powerful marriage families in the kingdom of Kyoto, and on the eve of King Harauth's defeat of other opponents and his ascension to the throne of supreme power belonging to the king, he had to come to the two families in person to talk secretly late at night in order to obtain the support of the two major families.

They are the spiritual leaders of the Paravon aristocracy, although the two families were expelled from Kyoto soon after for something, but in the past 30 years, their shadow is still deeply rooted in the hearts of the Palabun nobility, this time by the king Xià personally came forward, invited the two families back, no one knows whether it is a blessing or a curse.

But one thing is certain, in the face of the national crisis, these two families who have been treated unfairly still stand up without hesitation, and use their already decrepit and old shoulders to re-shoulder the burden of the fate of the Ruierdian Kingdom, because they are nobles, and in their beliefs, the meaning of nobility is not just superiority, but more responsibilities and obligations

With the coming to power of the Dale family, some of the originally shaky aristocratic class of Ruierdian quickly stabilized, and Palaven, the most powerful heart of the Ruierdian Kingdom, used its own strong pulse to unify the resources of various regions from the new unification and continuously transported them to the front line where they were most needed.

With just the letter from the Dale family, most of the regional lords were very conscious of sending troops to protect these materials until they left the territory safely

One qiē is because of the name Dale William

Dozens of knights in full armor stood tall on the inside of the gate, letting the snowflakes fall on them, and the cold armor seemed to be extremely warm on their young and strong bodies

The red cloak of flame behind them showed their distinguished status, and the knights of the king's guard, although some of them, knowing that the carriage in which Prais was riding belonged to the king's ministry, still examined it with great diligence before placing Prais in the mansion,

This is not because they are deliberately contrived, but because they know that the fate of the entire kingdom is tied to someone in the mansion behind them, and any small negligence will lead to unbearable consequences.

In just half a month, the assassination from the Kugit side has never been interrupted, for this reason, 124 knights have sacrificed their noble lives, even the guards here have been changed three times, and finally His Majesty the King simply sent his most intimate escort knights

In the room, when the new Marquis of Willem Dale, the new minister of state of the king, received the news of Prais's arrival, he was looking through a war report sent from the front, and a white bandage was on his right hand, and blood stains could be seen on it

Dale William tapped the battle report on the table with the fingers of his left hand intact, his two eyebrows were twisted together, and the stalemate in the north made the fate of the entire kingdom seem blurred, this is the biggest crisis in the past hundred years of the Ruierdian Kingdom, if it can't be overcome, it may be the fate of the country

Hearing the familiar name of Prais, he almost jumped up from his seat, walked a few steps to the door, and just saw Prais, who had already turned white, led by two knights in silver armor, into his small courtyard, and his posture was still as vigorous as when he was young

Walking into Dale William's room, Prais's nose twitched unconsciously, and the room was filled with the smell of roasted kiro grass, which was used by the northern nobles of Raldian to hide the pungent smell of some kind of wound medicine, but it was never able to hide the faint smell of blood.

"To tell you the truth, you don't smell good here" Prais looked at William Dale who was holding gauze, his face was very calm, about the assassination of the new Minister of War on the way home, it had already spread throughout the streets of Parabun, and on the day before yesterday, Prais had already heard the news

At the time, he also said that this was unlikely, because he knew that Dale William was one of the few people in the kingdom of Raldian who had the title of Paladin, which could only be possessed by winning the championship of the Knight Contest three times in a row, and if someone said that he could injure a paladin under the escort of hundreds of knights, Prais would definitely think that guy was crazy

But the fact is that Dale William was wounded, and it was seriously injured, a poisonous arrow shot through his right hand, deep into his lungs, for which Kugit Dongting sacrificed 30 of the best sniper shooters, their purpose is not yet known, it seems that the official Rui Erdian is also obscure about this assassination, but only announced that the assassins have all been punished

"Of course, you don't know that I'm an injured person now" Dale William enthusiastically grabbed Prais's hand, led him into his office, patted his old partner on the shoulder with his intertwined hand, and said enviously, "I haven't seen you for thirty years, you kid is still so heroic",

"It's all a bad old man, and he's handsome," Prais replied with great grace, "Say, you recommended me to that guy, what do you want me to do, fight?"

"Then how can it be, from the hands of the Roude people, 6 battles and 6 victories, the fierce tiger Prais who captured the important town of Suruo in one fell swoop, but let all the Roude generals also talk about the change"

Dale William smiled awkwardly, turned around and picked up a sealed letter from the table, handed it to Prais's eyes and said, "I know you still have resentment in your heart, so I recommend you this time, not to let you send troops to the north, but for other reasons, you take a look at this first, read it, and you will understand"

"Negotiation?" Prais took Wen Jiàn with a slightly stunned expression, gently opened Wen Jiàn's seal, his eyes swept over Wen Jiàn, and the face of Prais, who has always been known for his strength, was completely a dull gray at the moment

"Do you really decide to do this?" he raised his head and looked at his old partner with a blazing gaze, which was completely disdainful, as if he didn't know the person in front of him at all

"Ceding the three northern counties to the Kujits, you know what it means" Looking at Dale William's silent expression, Prais asked in an almost hoarse tone, "That is the most important iron-producing area in the north, it is the lifeblood of the north, not only rich in iron ore, but also a large number of skilled craftsmen, you give these all together to the Kujits, you are a traitor, and your name will forever be nailed to the shame rack in the hearts of the people of Ruildian"

"Of course I know"

Looking at the angry Prais, the corners of Dale William's old mouth just smiled indifferently, and his eyes looked at the snowflakes falling outside the window, and his expression was solemn

"This time, the East and West courts sent troops at the same time, and the elite cavalry of regular combat alone reached 150,000, if you count the people of his tribe, there will never be less than 1 million, but we only have 300,000 people, and more than half of them are still temporarily drawn from the south of the army that has been tired from the long battle, if we die, I am afraid that we will fight all the people, and we will never be able to defeat the Kugit cavalry cluster in the plains."

"Then you're going to betray your country," Prais asked, seemingly unappreciative

"No, I'm not a traitor, even if everyone says that about me, but you can't, because you're going to be my accomplice," Dale William turned around and looked at his old partner for a moment without fear before slowly

"Do you remember the oath of the nobles back then, when they abandoned you, but you must not abandon your companion because he is the one who walks silently in the darkness with you, so I am the first to think of you, I have sent a negotiator, the content has been finalized, but a name heavy enough is needed to stamp the seal of the kingdom on this negotiation"

"Bullshit oath, I forgot that I wanted to be scolded with you, I don't want to do this" Prais shook his hand angrily, threw the negotiation on the table, and prepared to turn and leave

"If you don't go, then wait for Ryordian to become a historical term" Dale William's sonorous voice came from behind like a heavy hammer, striking heavily on Prais's heart, he stopped at the door, "The spiritual leader of the nobles, the most responsible person in the kingdom, what a beautiful reputation, unfortunately, this qiē will be at the cost of the blood of millions of Raldian people and the fate of a kingdom At that time, you will be the sinner of the entire Raldian Kingdom"

"The kingdom needs you, we are nobles, companions in the dark" Dale William's voice continued to come behind Prais, "Berlant is gone, although he was born in the dark, but he walks with dignity, like a warrior, his blood is worthy of his noble name, I don't care about the grudge with him back then, can't you let it go?"

"You bastard...... I said, whoever mentions this to me, I will fight him ......" This sentence pierced a needle into Prais's heart, making his face flush with suffocation, and the flames of anger almost came out of his eyes

Some things are like scars that can never heal, as long as you touch them lightly, they will make people lose their minds with pain.

Almost without hesitation, Prais turned around and saw Dale William's gray eyes, staring at him, as if he had the ability to discern the secrets of his heart that could not be hidden.

Dale William's eyes had been damaged by a severe injury, and he had lost the brilliance of ordinary people, according to the outside world, it was a secret stab from his closest lover, but the poison did not kill him, and after that, his eyes were gray with everything, which made his heart brighter from then on,

"The power of the nobleman comes from his obligation" Dale William walked over, and with his injured right hand, he almost shoved the text on the table into Prais's hand, patted his trembling shoulder, and said in a condensed voice, "Back then, but if you didn't stop me, that woman would not have left Rui Erdian alive, it is said that that woman never married after giving birth to two sibling daughters that year"

"What, what you said is true" Prais's body trembled, and he held Wen Jiàn's fingers, which were slightly white from the exertion

"Don't forget, I sent someone to send her to Vekia," Dale William said with a sinister expression, "To be honest, I envy you, if that woman is willing to give me two daughters, it will be worth it for me to die"

"Fuck off, you weren't as handsome as me back then" The corners of Prais's mouth almost reached the root of his ears, and he said with an indignant expression, "If it weren't for you inserting a bar in the middle, maybe Lao Tzu would have been in a group with her children and grandchildren by now."

"Okay, let's not talk about this, Dale William said with a stern face, "As a companion, I have fulfilled my promise, and now it is your turn to take this document and go to Amira in the north as the king's vice-minister, where there will be someone to pick you up, and then finalize this qiē, which will give our disastrous country a time to recover."

"Okay, in order to repay your favor back then, I can promise you" Prais sighed, "I hope that after this time, my Prais family will still have the so-called reputation at all"

Prais turned to leave, when he came, his upright posture seemed to be overshadowed, in the heavy snow, it seemed a little desolate, the things of the year have always been the stone in his heart, so many years have passed, the years have not erased this scar, just let it quietly engrave in the depths of his heart

"I wish you a safe journey, my companion in the dark"

It wasn't until Prais's figure completely disappeared that Dale William turned around with a heavy face and asked the knight beside him

"Is everything arranged?"

"Yes, sir"

The knight looked at Dale William with a fixed gaze, and replied in a deep voice: "The carriage is already waiting at the East City Gate, as soon as you get on the carriage, you can leave for Amira immediately,

My subordinates have already made it clear that Lord Prais's journey will be one day slower than ours, and when Lord Prais arrives, I believe that the treaty has been signed."