Exeter, the city of Qiyuan, the barren stone land.

In the sunlight, Tails and Monty looked at the uninvited guest in front of them with wariness and disbelief.

How is he?

The Starfall dismounted, expressionless.

He walked slowly into a spit rock, and as if nothing was happening, he naturally tied the reins.

Endless pressure.

"I hear you, big mouth. ”

"What, overconfident in your level?"

Nicolas slowly reined in the reins, turned to Monty, who was on the verge of a great enemy, and glanced back and forth at the dagger in his hand.

"Don't you think that when Isaiah left the White Blade Guard," the Meteorite tied the reins, his eyes were bloodshot, and he had obviously worked hard for many days, but the meaning in his eyes made people shudder, "There is no one in Longxiao City who can keep up with you?"

He shook his shoulders slightly, shaking the hilt of the Asahi Japanese sword to the easiest position to strike.

Monty's pupils shrank!

"Ah, I have to say," the experienced scout said softly, the short knife in his hand turning slowly, "I have thought of it more or less. ”

Monty stared at his old comrade-in-arms, not moving, his face almost frozen.

His eyes flashed again with the kind of light that had made Tails extremely uneasy.

"You're a brilliant scout, Monty," Nicollet said in a cold voice, "from the illusion of forgery, to the route chosen, to the method of concealment, there is almost no one like that. ”

"But it's only 'almost'. ”

Nicolai stepped forward slowly, the distance between him and Monty slowly narrowed, and his words were gloomy: "Just like now, starting from Longxiao City, we have chased so many miles...... From the Chaotic Stone Tomb, to the Dusk Snow River, to the Spear City, and even chased here, the barren stone land of Qiyuan City was almost about to chase into the desert......"

Tails subconsciously retreated.

But Monty stood still, motionless, only the short knife in his hand constantly adjusting the angle.

Konikola didn't care, he was still approaching.

Tails' breathing grew smaller.

Finally, a few meters away, Nicolas stopped.

"But we're catching up with you. ”

He raised his eyebrows lightly and said lightly:

"Ned Monty. ”

The gazes of the Meteorite and the Dead Raven met in mid-air.

One side is indifferent, the other side is dignified.

It was as if an invisible shackle had been placed on the air.

Tails didn't dare to take a breath, so he could only look at the two people in front of him with bated breath, anxiously thinking about countermeasures.

The situation ......

The two men stood still, like heavy icebergs, facing each other.

The Meteorite's pale face was a stark accent of the blood in his eyes.

The eyes of the dead crow were motionless, solemn, as if they were indifferent.

The sunlight shone on Nicolai's hilt and Monty's blade, reflecting a strange light.

After a long while, the party finally moved.

"Hey, hey, hey......"

Monty blew hard, and the solemnity on his face vanished.

Instead, there was a helpless smile.

"I'll admit, Thorn, you've progressed, and so have the White-Bladed Guards," the old scout shook his head, as if an old friend had said goodbye, and grinned as he retracted the short knife at his waist into its sheath:

"How?"

Nicolai watched his old friend take the initiative to put away the knife, and his eyes finally stopped being so terrifying.

At that moment, Tails, who thought that the next moment was going to war, breathed a sigh of relief.

"Since six years ago, the Grand Duke's personal guard has reduced the training content of charging into battle and commanding the army, and even fighting alone. ”

Obviously he didn't do anything, but it made people's scalps tingle, the meteorite said coldly: "The extra energy and money are all invested in the training of another skill. ”

I only heard him say lightly: "Sentinel reconnaissance, stealth tracking." ”

The air was quiet for a moment.

Monty frowned: "...... six years ago"

"So exaggerated?"

Nicollet stared at him for a long time, then nodded slowly:

"That's the exaggeration. ”

Tails' gaze froze in midair.

The death of the king had a much greater impact on the former white-bladed guard than he had imagined.

Monty sighed.

"Well, that's a good thing, really. ”

"Guard reform," Monty smiled and raised his hand, dangling it in the air, "You know, the old guard from before...... Caslan's shadow is too heavy, even if you have been the captain for twenty years, everyone still only remembers him......"

But Nicollet didn't seem to have any intention of catching up with him, and the Starfall glanced lightly at Tyers.

Tails gave an ugly smile.

"Ten seconds for you, Monty. ”

"Disappear at once," Nicolas said in a flat tone, as if he were just a normal greeting, "I don't see you today." ”

Monty's expression froze slightly.

He lowered his head, crossed his waist with one hand, and scratched his neck with the other, looking very embarrassed.

"Thorn, you'll have to let me explain ...... about this prince."

Nicolai's eye knife suddenly flickered and landed on the Dead Crow.

"Nothing to explain. ”

"It's just a matter between me and him," Nicolai said to Tails, his eyes cold again, "I don't care where you are, who you cut him from, or where you're going to send him. ”

Tails couldn't help but feel nervous again.

"You can go, old friend. Nicollet said without mercy.

Monty's smiling face stiffened.

He looked away and let out a breath.

Tails could tell: the Raven suppressed his anger and clenched his fist fiercely.

But the next moment when the prince was about to get angry, Monty let out a long breath and laughed again.

"Listen, Thorn. ”

"Longxiao City and Qiyuan City are allies in the matter of the Western Expedition," Monty bared his teeth and pointed at Tails with a look of embarrassment:

"Sooner or later, he will have to go to Qiyuan City, you don't want to see him fall into the hands of the Black Sand Collar and the king, right......?

Konikolé interrupted him.

"Big mouth," the Meteorite whispered, "it's not the past now. ”

Monty paused.

"We have long passed the age of jealousy and prostitution together. ”

Nicolai shook his head, his gaze indifferent: "It's useless. ”

"I said, just give you ten seconds, and disappear immediately. ”

Monty's smile vanished.

The air suddenly fell silent.

A shadow crossed Tails' mind.

Nicolai's pale face was expressionless, he just looked at his old friend silently.

For a few seconds, the muscles on Monty's face trembled slightly, signaling his thoughts.

"That's right, Thorn," the old scout chewed on, nodded slowly, and repeated without emotion:

"It's not a thing of the past. ”

Nicolaim was silent.

Suddenly, the Dead Raven burst out laughing.

"Hahahaha......"

But not the happy kind of laughter.

It's a sneer.

There was a chilling hint in the crow's laughter, and he nodded slowly, "Very well, Lord Nicolai. ”

Once again, a sense of foreboding hit Tails.

"But don't forget," the Death Crow grinned softly, a faint threat coming out of his teeth:

"This is a wasteland of rocks, and it is already the territory of Qiyuan City. ”

Monty sneered and stepped forward.

He looked his old friend in the eye: "Mine—prayer—far—city." ”

Tails subconsciously turned his head and looked for the horses.

Unexpectedly, Nicollet laughed too.

With laugh lines on his pale countenance, the Starfall lifted his steps slightly.

Greet each other.

"Your Qiyuan City?"

He slowly walked up to Monty, and the two of them were close enough to touch their foreheads, almost kissing each other.

I saw the sneer of the Meteorite at the Death Crow, his eyes were sharp, and his tone was not good:

"So what?"

Monty's sneer faded.

"When was the last time we fought each other, Thornhead, eighteen years ago?" asked the Dead Raven softly.

With a hint that only each other knew, the two old friends looked at each other for a moment.

"Eighteen years. Nicolas nodded.

"But today? I'm not going to go it alone. ”

"You hear the signal arrow, old friend," said Nicolai, in a cold voice, "the Grand Duke's guards will arrive later." ”

Monty's pupils froze.

"There are a lot of your old acquaintances," the Meteorite repeated, especially biting:

Subsequently. ”

"Do you know what that means?"

Monty's expression slowly turned cold.

The two were silent for five seconds.

After a second, Monty snapped his eyes shut, exhaled heavily, and gritted his teeth:

"Hell. ”

Nicolas snorted softly, revealing a victor's smile.

"yes, hell. ”

He looked at Monty, who was emotionally distressed in front of him, and said softly:

"I only counted to ten. ”

Monty seemed to be enraged.

He suddenly opened his eyes and said in an excited tone: "You-"

But Nicollet was unmoved, he just looked at Monty coldly and spat out the next word:

"Ten. ”

Monty reached out and grabbed the Meteorite by the collar!

Nicollet just smiled.

Monty seemed to tremble with rage, only to see him take a step forward and roar almost against Nicolai's forehead: "You!

"!"

But Nicolas was still smiling, and his pale face was as pale as ever, bloodless.

Tails sighed secretly: it seems that Monty's old friendship cannot be counted on.

Monty angrily and viciously grabbed Nicolais, and roared in a gaffe: "I remember you, Thorn, I remember you!"

The Death Crow gasped fiercely, "One day, I will find today's field." ”

Bang!

Nicolas also stretched out his hand abruptly!

His arms overlapped Monty's, grabbing the collar as well.

"Then you must leave first," said the-for-tat Nicolai coldly:

"Then there was the word 'get back to the field'. ”

Once again, the eyes of the Dead Raven and the Meteorite intertwined, each burning with an unknown flame.

The next second.

As if there was a tacit understanding, the two snorted coldly at the same time and let go of each other.

Without hesitation, Monty turned around and walked towards his horse.

Nicolas looked at him coldly.

Tails, who was watching, was taken aback:

"You're leaving?"

Monty untied the reins, stepped into the stirrups, and turned back angrily:

"Or else?"

"Are you waiting here to be rounded?"

Tails looked at the annoyed Monty, and then at the cold Nicolais, and rubbed his forehead in pain.

Oh, my God.

"Aren't you good at bullshit, boy," Monty turned his horse's head and glared at the silent Nicolais, "help, be a good grey magpie—don't shut up, you'd better annoy him." ”

Tails smiled awkwardly.

The next moment, Monty flicked the reins angrily, and his mount raised its hooves to the west, swift and unhesitatingly away.

His back disappeared into the rocks, out of sight.

Until the sound of horses' hooves also disappeared and the bad smell was unpleasant.

His Royal Highness the Prince, who was holding his breath in the tense atmosphere just now, turned back in chagrin at this moment.

Look at the only one left.

"Impressive, Lord Nicolas," Tails sighed, "to catch up with me so quickly. ”

Nicollet folded his arms and gave a chilling sneer.

It's like they're meeting for the first time.

The Starfall glanced down at the dagger in his hand, and said nothing.

The boy shook the JC in his hand and smiled helplessly.

"So, can you tell me before you wait for your companions to come and rendezvous and take me back by the way," Tails curtled as he thrust JC's dagger back into its sheath and tucked it back into his arms, "How did you do that?"

"I thought you had sealed off the city, and you were busy dealing with the big guys, screening people one by one who might have robbed me. ”

"Why did you suddenly appear here?"

Nicollet smiled.

With a determined look of certainty in his prey, he bowed his head slightly: "Yes, your plan is good, little prince." ”

"Arrange for men to attack the team and create the illusion that you have been taken captive out of thin air. ”

"When the situation is at its most complicated, let the entire Longxiao City be suspicious of each other," Speaking of this, the meteorite's eyes were cold: "Greatly slow down the efficiency of the search and mislead our direction." ”

In fact, he secretly fled by himself. ”

"If you really fall into your trap, then we won't be able to find you even if we search for more than half a year. ”

Tails' heart was gloomy.

He still found out the truth.

"And how did you find out?" Tails raised his eyebrows and folded his arms, looking completely unresistant:

"When did you become so smart, Dead Face?"

Hearing this nickname, Nicola's smile became even colder.

"I'm really not that smart," he said indifferently, "but compared to someone like you, who has ten ideas a second, more than twenty years of life in the guard, especially in the last six years, has taught me at least one thing." ”

Tails frowned.

"That is," said Nicolais, putting his hand into his bosom, and whispered:

"It's not too cautious to be cautious about things you don't understand. ”

The Meteorite pulled something out of his bosom.

He spread it out and eased his hands.

Tails' pupils shrank!

That thing floated in mid-air for a few seconds.

until it fell at his feet.

"It's ......"

The boy stared at the Meteorite in a daze, barely believing his eyes.

Lying at his feet was a piece of paper.

A piece of sky-blue precious tissue paper with ugly folds.

Tails looked at the thin piece of paper, and his heart was indescribable.

It's that piece of paper.

The invitation that Ashida had written to him.

After being intercepted at Valhalla by the suspicious Nicolai, the Meteorite crumpled it in anger under the teasing and cover of Tails.

But......

"I thought you had thrown it away. ”

Tails frowned and looked at Nicolais, "Didn't you read the joke written on the paper, do you need me to repeat it?"

Nicolas laughed.

He took a step forward and stomped heavily on the sky-blue tissue paper.

On the paper is a line of large words that have faded a lot, which is particularly conspicuous:

[The Meteorite Big Fool. 】

"Yes, but that's just the appearance. ”

Nicolas shook his head slowly.

The image of Tails was reflected in his eyes, and no matter how Nikolai shook his head, he never left the center of his pupils: "You can't imagine that it took me two whole months, paid a lot of money, mobilized almost all intelligence resources, from materials to supplies, and single-mindedly traced the details of this piece of paper. ”

Tails was shocked.

"Leland cardboard," Nicolas repeated word for word, lifeless and rhythmic, as if reciting knowledge he knew nothing:

"The raw wood is produced in the Duchy of Norton, and the manufacturing and dyeing process comes from the Dragon's Kiss, the material is excellent, durable, and can even be erased repeatedly, and it is a special paper for the court of the Duchy of Anrenzo in the southern part of the Western Continent, and it is specially used for the writing of noble invitations. ”

Tails looked at him solemnly.

Nicolai smiled, with a hint of triumph at his opponent: "In the Northlands, the wealthy nobles may spend a lot of money to build a sword or feed a good horse, but no one will use this luxury—you can't buy this kind of paper anywhere, and even the Comas merchants don't bother to transport it to the Northlands. ”

"And we've searched the Stars' missions before, including the Viscount Potile Niemann—there's no trace of it either. ”

Despite Tails' complicated eyes, Nicollet pointed to the crumpled cardboard on the ground: "This thing. ”

"It shouldn't be in Valhalla, in your hands. ”

The next moment, the Meteorite's voice was cold: "This could only be something brought in from the outside, from a channel we don't know, and it must be deliberately hidden from the ears and eyes of Valhalla, because it must have some secret and special mission." ”

Hearing this, Tails gently closed his eyes.

Secret and special mission......

Alas.

"Little Prince, it is clear that you have been hiding something from us for a long time. ”

Nicolai grinned and showed a cruel smile: "Although I don't know, you do plan in secret - by going out of the palace every month to play chess, obviously, that chess room is also problematic." ”

"So after you disappeared," the Starfaller's gaze sharpened as never before, "while the Count of Lesbane was still thinking about who had taken you, and when the major powers were still testing each other in shock. ”

"I know, and I am convinced, that you have not been kidnapped, nor have you been taken captive. ”

"Instead, he fled!"

Nicolas closed his mouth and looked at Tails with contempt.

"At that time, I knew: all this must be a play you wrote and acted on yourself, that's all. ”

At this moment, a light breeze blew on the rocky ground, bringing up sand and dust, making Tails's mood more and more cold and heavy.

"When you think about it, it's obvious where you've gone missing," Nicolai's blade had never seemed so powerful, barely inferior to his:

"The forces that everyone was suspicious of at that time, and who were deeply suspicious—the Black Sand Leader, Qiyuan City, and the Dark Room, including the forces of the vassals of Longxiao City, have become the most unlikely places for you to go. ”

Sentence after sentence, Tails even had the feeling that Nicollet's words had almost cornered him.

"Therefore, the Grand Duke's personal guards sealed off the city on the surface, pretending to be suspicious of these forces, and took care of themselves. ”

Nicola's smile grew more and more terrifying: "In essence, within an hour of your disappearance, we put all our energy and resources into the only direction. ”

He spoke slowly, articulating clearly:

"Kingdom of the Stars, Secret Branch. ”

Nicolas sneered: this was an expression he had never seen before in outdoor training.

It seems that this is the moment when he completely defeats Tails.

"Yes, Tails, we caught up with you just outside the city—the bush where you stayed, we found you and the pack horse's footprints, just half an hour after you left. ”

Tails' heart tightened.

"If it weren't for Monty's step, you'd be at Valhalla by now. ”

Nicolai shook his head, seemingly unconcerned: "But you have to know: you can't escape. ”

The Starfaller's sneer continued.

It made Tails's mood more and more depressed.

The boy silently looked at the paper that had been trampled under Nicola's feet, and said nothing.

As if it wasn't paper.

It's his pride.

It took a long time for Tails to speak with difficulty and hoarseness: "It's actually this." ”

"I couldn't have imagined that it was actually this piece of paper, and there was something wrong with the source of this paper. ”

He sighed dejectedly:

"Damn ......"

Damn it......

Ashida puppy - Tails added inwardly.

Nicollet chuckled in response.

"Look, once the key is pierced," the Starfaller's boots slowly turned, slowly running over the tissue paper:

"The famous Kingdom Secret Branch, that's it. ”

"Your escape plan is full of mistakes and ridiculous naivety. ”

Tails took a deep breath.

The sun finally swung overhead and began to set in the west.

The wilderness was still silent, except for the whisper of the breeze through the cracks in the rocks, and a few scattered birdsong in the distance.

"Powerful, Starfaller. ”

"You say you're careful," Tails sighed, "and you didn't underestimate me, and you made me pay the price." ”

He slowly raised his head and spoke word by word:

"But you're underestimating the secret department. ”

Nicola's eyes froze.

Tails didn't continue, he smiled and turned around, his eyes lit up.

"Wow, he left me a horse before he left," Tails looked happy, looking at Monty's last horse:

"And swords and shields. ”

"I guess he did it on purpose - I guess you were upset. ”

Under Nicollet's increasingly unkind eyes, Tails walked over to the horse without hesitation.

"Hmph," the Starfaller's smile was peculiar this time, and he shook his head as he laughed:

"Really?"

"You, and me?"

Tails laughed too.

He drew his sword from his saddle, picked up his shield, and turned to the odd-looking Nicolais.

"Speaking of which," Tails looked at the other party with interest, shook his long sword, tested the weight of the shield, and bowed his head happily: "After practicing in the course for so long, we don't seem to have fought with real swords and guns, fighting with our lives?"

In the next second, Tails put away his smile and put on the starting hand of the Northland military swordsmanship.

Raise your shield forward, and your sword is on standby.

The young man's expression was solemn, and he was facing the most formidable opponent he had ever challenged, except for the magician.

The Meteorite of the Arctic Realm.

Seri Nicolai.

This is probably not the most disparate battle he has ever experienced.

But it's definitely going to be the toughest battle.

You only have one chance - Tails looked intently at the person in front of him, and silently said to himself:

Tails.

Only once.

Looking at Tails, with the weapon in hand and ready, Nicollet's smile slowly faded.

"It's a bad idea. ”

His face was expressionless and concise: "Just you, why should you defeat me?"

Tails snorted coldly and shrugged his shoulders: "What, at this point, you still expect me to be caught?"

The Starfall frowned fiercely.

The wind howled, and the cold blade reflected the scorching sunlight.

Nicolai's eyebrows relaxed, and he suddenly spoke:

"You eat...... It's right-handed, right?"

Tails narrowed his eyes, "What?"

Nicolai's pupils slowly constricted.

"Rest assured. ”

He pressed his knuckles, twisted his neck, and moved the joints of his body, making a terrible crackling sound between his bones.

The Starfall clenched his fists and walked slowly towards the waiting Tails.

"No matter how bad the fight is later......"

The former commander of the White Blade Guard said coldly:

"I'll leave that hand for you. ”

Insider tip: Fasten your seatbelts.

(End of chapter)