"It's tradition. Ashrufat replied in a low voice.

"Prince, your voice is full of insincerity. Kaye replied. "I have never seen a prince like you. They say you've been living in seclusion, and you wouldn't have been willing to show your identity if it weren't for the crisis?"

Lie! Ashrufat was tempted to shrug his shoulders and reply. Being a prince is important to me. But he didn't do such a stupid thing in the end, just silently stroked the strings.

"It's not common. Kaye continued. "My father once had one, and it was his spoils, taken from our evil cousins. A senior always borrowed the piano to play, but unfortunately, his piano skills are similar to those of the prince. ”

"Is my piano really that bad?" Ishrufat asked Carrie in his mind. After being said by Kaye, he felt a heartfelt grievance.

"Well, master, I have to say, if Kaye's performance just now is just the professional level of the elves, then your grade ...... It's barely 'amateurish'. Carrie replied in an innocent voice. "Remember the books we read before we set out, and among those books, they gave high marks to the art of the elves. To elves, human playing is probably like noise. So you don't have to be so inferior. ”

"Your father?" Ashruphat let his mind turn away from these depressing topics and toward something else.

"My adoptive father, I should say. He was a captain of the White Lion Warrior and a good chariot driver...... His chariot had crushed Truzi's resistance countless times. I followed him to learn the art of the White Lion Warrior, chasing prey through the wilderness and jungles...... He fell to the poisoned bolts of the Durusties. But before he fell, his chariot had crushed the Duruszi's defenses, cutting them down in droves of grass. ”

"This ...... I'm sorry......"

"No, Prince. I don't feel sorry for my father, he died a well-deserved death. Kaye continued. "It was an expedition, the same as we did this time...... We are here, fighting in the land of our evil cousins, and we have inflicted heavy blows on them again and again until we are the last to retreat. It was a great victory, and my father fell in the midst of it. ”

"Prince, did the Phoenix King tell you that there was a large-scale naval battle in the Broken Isles?" Kaye asked suddenly.

Yes...... Ashruphat told himself in his heart. It appears that his subordinates all have independent sources of intelligence. So did Garth, so did Kaye, not to mention the dragon princes. It was as if he was the most uninformed of the entire army.

"The result of the battle was that we won, but there were heavy casualties on both sides. Kaye continued. "Our fleet will be safe in the short term, for our evil cousin is temporarily powerless to attack it. But in the long run...... We are about to lose our superiority in the Navy. ”

"Oh?" said Ashrufat, a puzzled exclaim.

"Because our strength can no longer strengthen the strength of the Navy...... In order to contain our evil cousins around the portal, the number of armies led by the Phoenix King has reached its limit. We can't sustain a larger army...... Even the Navy could not rest and recover...... And our evil cousins still have the strength to continue to replenish their losses in naval battles. If the war continues to drag on, even the Phoenix King will be powerless. If war is a chessboard, then we are now the most critical one. The progress of our expedition will be the last weight that will crush the balance of the scales. ”

He suddenly laughed. "I'm saying weird things...... Sorry, Prince. Actually, you already know all this. It should be said that when you tried to convince the queen to help you organize an expeditionary force, you already had this vision of the future in mind. ”

"You seem familiar with Dosonian?"

"I know this city. Prince, you are not the only general who knows the importance of this city and expects it to be destroyed. But each time, we stopped on the coast, halfway or at the end of the road. ”

"For what?"

"Because there's no certainty of winning. Kaye replied. "Win or lose, we suffered too much in the middle and we lost the opportunity to destroy Donsonian. My father was killed in a battle that tried to open the way to Dosonian. Our evil cousins are far more defensive against Dosonian than anyone expected. Prince, if you hadn't defeated Lord Metlin in that way, you would have faced a situation no different today than in the past. ”

If it had not been for an ambush in a dangerous terrain, then at this moment, even if all other factors remained the same, Aerufat would have lost the forces needed to attack Dosonian. Intelligence indicates that the defenders of Dosonian are no more than a few thousand, but they have a large number of war beasts to make up for the lack of troops. A well-trained hydra under the guidance of a trainer and with the help of other units can exert amazing combat power in actual combat, especially in a group. Even Ashrufat himself admits that the current combat strength of the expeditionary force is only roughly equal to that of the defenders of Dosonian, and at best it can only be regarded as a slight advantage. Attacking Donsonian is not a very sure thing.

"The lord of Dosonian seems to be called Hurd. Ashrufat said. "I heard that he is a dragon knight with a black dragon. ”

The lightness in your tone is surprising. Prince, I know that you have always been proud of your fighting skills. But I warn you, Heard is not a waste like Lord Maeglin, who has no other strengths than the shadow of his ancestors. He was not only a good commander, but also a warrior feared by everyone, and he and his dragon never lost in air combat. He has destroyed more than one of our fleets with his dragon at sea, and he has slain more than one prince riding a dragon in a duel on the battlefield. And he has an army of many animal tamers under his command, and a large number of war beasts. Although his main force has been transferred, the remaining forces are still not negligible. ”

"I know. But I also have a star dragon. The flatness and ease in the prince's tone made Kaye stunned. Should this attitude be called arrogance, or can it be understood as self-confidence......?" Kaye, if you're willing, I'll play another one. ”

"Prince!" Kaye jumped. "We are now in the land of our enemies, and our every move is related to the future of our entire race. At this time, you still have time to spare......"

"You've already played a song. Ashrufat replied. Elves are really elusive creatures, which is really incomprehensible. Suddenly, his memory conjured up books of poems that said that elves were beautiful, cold, and incomprehensible creatures—similar evaluations that poets generally reserved for women.

"That's just ......"

"No matter what kind of beast it is, even under the control of the beast tamer, it is difficult to defend the city. War beasts may be useful in field warfare, but they are very useful in defending cities and street battles. If we manage to reach the city of Dosonian, then Hurd's only option is to abandon the city and come out to fight us, or retreat. No, if he were as wise as the legend suggests, he would have chosen to evacuate the city. ”

Kaye was stunned.

"He'll leave a tempting bait – and that's Donsonian himself. Ashruphat stroked the harp gently, and he seemed to see Thomas's face emerge in front of him. Thomas smiled and nodded for him to continue. "He left behind the worthless city and the multitude of beasts in the city that had not yet been domesticated...... Of course, the remaining defenders will fight to the last of their lives with their characteristic stubbornness and fortitude. But after their inevitable final defeat, they will unleash all the beasts. What follows is a big scuffle. ”

"But that won't stop us from winning. Kaye spoke.

"That's right, we'll win. But...... We will suffer a lot. ”

"What does it matter, once Dosonian is destroyed, we will ......"

"There is no point in Dosonian. Ashrufat replied. "This is a city responsible for the domestication of beasts. As long as Hurd and his trainers are safe and sound, and what is it if they lose some beasts that have not yet been domesticated? They just need to change camps...... You don't even have to change it. There is no conflict between training the beast and rebuilding work. It will only take a short time for Dosonian to resume the domestication of the war beast...... Provide their armies with a constant stream of war beasts. ”

"Well, Prince, what do you mean......"

"Play a song for me. Ashrufat handed the harp to Kaye. The latter did not refuse this time.

"What do you want me to play?"

"Play that song in your soul. Ashrufat replied. "That piece was very moving...... But I feel that that's not what you mean. ”

Kaye's fingers began to flow on the strings. Maybe this harp is indeed a masterpiece, or maybe Kaye's playing is a master even among the elves. As the melodious melody began to play above the strings, Ashrufat felt his spine tremble.

The winds around him began to die down at some point, maybe they were still there, but he didn't pay attention anymore, maybe even the wind listened. Then, the innocent singing echoed with a mournful tone. The singing is wonderful, mysterious, ethereal...... Sad. There is an indescribable sorrow in the air, a pain that cannot be understood by human beings.

Ashrufat felt his heart not help but feel the sound of his own music.

Music is a story and a mood. Ecstasy, sorrow, heartbreak, all of them spread in the night sky. At the end, with a tense tone, the strings stopped vibrating, but the music and singing still seemed to linger in the air. Ashrufat was incredibly silent, not even applauding or applauding. Because he had a feeling as if he was going to destroy something as soon as he opened his mouth. This music makes people lose themselves in another world, with memories, pain, and sorrow.

After a long time, Ashruphat raised his head and looked at the elf in front of him. Kaye was holding the harp tightly in his arms, pressing it deep into his chest. The confusion in his eyes showed that he was also immersed in the song of his soul.

"The host, please pay attention to him. In her mind, Carrie suddenly reminded. Ashrufat couldn't help but slap a spirit, and then he saw something.

The harp was pressed deep into the middle of Kaye's chest, pressing the garment so tightly that it even accentuated the two sharply defined shapes like mountain peaks.