"Lord of the Mountains?"

Tails was stunned: "Why haven't I heard it at all?"

"Because the deity has no human spokesman, it has neither a temple nor a church," Putileh chuckled and explained, "and there are even very few credible accounts of the apparitions, which exist only in the stories and legends that have been passed down by word of mouth among the people." Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 For travelers in the mountains and fields, the meaning of worshipping the lord of the mountains is more of a safety and peace of mind when traveling far away, and the gift of the mountains is more like a means to help travelers overcome the cold through rituals. ”

"Word of mouth?"

"In the era of the ancient empire, the lord of the mountains was once the common belief of the entire human race, not only us Northlanders, including you, the Ludol people who established the empire in the middle of the world, but also the Calensa people in the southwest thorn land and the dragon's kiss land, the barren bone people in the great desert, the 'robbers' Neda people in the Near East, the Kithri people grazing on the eastern steppes, the dark-skinned red clay people in the far south, the Kasai people who crisscrossed the islands, except for the Far Easterners, almost all human beings know and recognize the existence of the lord of the mountains," The old man Kaslan himself took a sip of ale and sighed behind the bar:

"But nowadays, even in the Northlands, this simple belief can be seen in the countryside where the people are simple...... The name of the Lord of the Mountains is gone—as is the case with countless precious Northland traditions—and all that remains are the temples of power and money. ”

"Ludols and Northlanders?" Tails lowered his head curiously, nibbling on the next loaf of bread, "I remember, the title of the Supreme King of the Stars......"

"Yes, we all know that," said Viscount Cambida, a counsellor of the Grand Duke of Lombard, sneering sarcastically, "'Lord of the Ludols and Northlands of the Western Continent'." But I sincerely suggest that in Exeter you may omit the latter part - the Northlanders have never acknowledged your dominion over us. ”

"As far as I know," retorted pointedly, "two-thirds of the Northlands of the Ancient Empire were in Exeter, and the remaining third were in the North of the Stars, who also called themselves the Northlanders, and recognized the rule of the High King over them. ”

"That's the problem," Viscount Kambida tapped thoughtfully on the bar, "the Northlands belong only to the Northlanders, so why should they belong to the stars, and why to the rule of a Ludol king?"

Tails suddenly understood that "Northland" refers to the Northland Province during the ancient empire thousands of years ago, and it is a regional concept, while "Northlanders" is a human race that existed before the establishment of the empire and lived on this land.

Just as the stars were a nation that only existed after the end of the war, in fact, the humans who lived in the land of the stars, known as the "Ludols" thousands of years ago, seem to be the main people of the ancient empire.

Today, the Northlanders and Ludols have long since inhabited the northern borders of the Black Sand Territory and the Stars of Exeter.

Tails lowered his head, inadvertently looking at the wheat residue precipitated in the wine glass, and suddenly remembered the sunset bar in the underground street of the lower part of Eternal Star City, the grinning barmaid Yala, the fierce fat cook Edmund, and the bar owner who had only appeared once or twice.

"Why? because of history," said Putile, lightly, "to this day, whether it is the Black Sand Territory or the Northland, the Ludols and the Northlanders have lived together for many years, and they have long been indistinguishable from each other. ”

"Hmph, that's the land and people you snatched from the North," Kambida retorted, "For example, the Hanbao four hundred years ago, for example, the Lonely Old Tower two hundred years ago—your northern border is our southern land!" ”

The owner of the tavern, Kaslan, couldn't help but let out a laugh that no one else knew as he listened to the dispute between Kambida and Putile.

Tails thought in his heart: So this is what the Exeters think?

He thought about the attitude and behavior of the sergeants towards them when he first entered the Rumba barracks.

The stars want to defend their northern lands, but Exeter wants to reclaim the borders that belong to the Northlanders.

It is ironic that the two sides are fighting for their own justice.

These are all voices that he can't hear in the country of stars.

"If you really want to say that 'the Northlands only belong to the Northlanders,'" Putile chuckled at this, "The Arund family in the North of the Stars was once the family of the Duke of Qinfeng who managed the entire Northland Province for the emperor for thousands of years......

"Hmph, the senseless pride of the Star People," Viscount Kambida snorted coldly, "In the end, you still have to say that you have returned to the ancient empire that has been destroyed for a long time, are you? still nostalgic for the supreme authority and glory of the Pegasus Throne, nostalgic for those emperors who made the whole world tremble with a wave of their sleeves, and nostalgic for the era when you could spread the map of the border from one end of the room to the other?"

"There is no doubt that the empire is the most precious legacy, the most glorious page, the most powerful existence in the history of mankind. Putile replied coldly, "Even though it no longer exists, its brilliance has survived to this day and has never faded." ”

"Hah! I almost forgot!" said Cambida with his hands raised and laughed sarcastically at Tails, "'If the stars are there, the empire will live forever', isn't it?

Tails shrugged and smiled at him.

"Don't joke about the royal family," Putirai said coldly, "His bloodline once stood on top of the world, and witnessed the rise and fall of mankind. ”

"Blood?" Kambida snorted in a deep nasal voice.

"The people of the Northland don't believe in blood, heroes who can carry the country and the people, and nature is king," the next moment, His Excellency Viscount Exeter narrowed his eyes and said solemnly: "And you listen, Your Royal Highness, the empire under the rule of the so-called imperial family from which you came is left the world with only a chaotic nightmare!"

"Well, thanks for the tip," Tails scratched at his hair in embarrassment, and he chuckled dryly, "What a novel idea." ”

"Novel?" Kambida stared at him and said lightly, "Have you heard the story of Queso Rumba?

"Queso Lomba, the ancestor of the Lomba family, the king of the rebels?" replied Tyers with great interest.

"You don't need to ...... from the mouth of a local Grand Duke," Putile was about to speak, when he found Tails raising his hand in interest to stop him.

"Go on, Your Excellency Viscount Cambida," said Tails with a smile, "I am interested in all things knowledge. ”

Both Putile and Kambida glanced at Tails in surprise.

"Do you know the Grand Duke of Trudida who rebuilt the Tower?, one of the ten Grand Dukes of Exeter," Kambida pondered for a moment and said silently, "The Rebuilt Tower, adjacent to your old tower, is ruled by the famous knights of the Northlands, the famous knights of the Northlands, the family crest of which is a shining blade. ”

"I don't know much, I'm sorry, I'm only seven years old," Tails shook his head awkwardly, "but I'd love to hear from you - what happened to the Trudida family, and what does it have to do with Queso Rumba?"

"It's not about the Trudida family, it's their territory, the Rebuilt Tower and its surroundings," Cambida sighed, "It's the far east of the Northlands and one of the entrances to the Sigh Mountains, where the Rebuilt Tower was synonymous with barbarism and chaos in the ancient empires before the continental fission - do you know how the Rebuilt Tower got its name?"

Tails shook his head cooperatively.

"It used to be a prison of exile and an execution ground in the ancient empire, and everyone who goes there needs to be 'rebuilt'," Kambida shook his head, "Rebuild the tower...... Unfortunately, most of the prisoners inside did not make it out alive to recreate their lives. ”

Tails nodded thoughtfully.

"And in the ancient empire, there was a famous man imprisoned, Queso Rumba. ”

Tails frowned slightly.

Queso Rumba.

He knew the man.

At least that's what Gilbert told him in the history of the world - Queso Rumba, the "rebellious king" of the Northlands.

The man who kicked off the first civil strife in an ancient empire.

However, in the books, he is a robber of the green forest who roams the Great Needle Forest in the Northland, and is captured by the Imperial Sona after inadvertently killing the official officials of the Empire during a robbery, and his comrades attack the execution ground and rescue him.

The desperate Quesso knew that he could not escape the pursuit of the Empire forever, so he simply did not stop, taking advantage of the dissatisfaction of the Northlanders with the harsh government of Duke Arend, spreading rumors to divide the Northland, setting off a storm of chaos in the Northland, and completely embarking on the road of rebellion against the Empire, and his rebellion was finally easily extinguished by the Empire's legions on the side of Lone Old Peak.

But the first civil strife of the empire also began and intensified.

But today, Kambida tells him a completely different story.

I only heard Kambida say lightly: "It is rumored that the Rumba family is a descendant of the northern ancestor Takmu in the era of ignorance before the orcs invaded. ”

"More than 1,500 years ago, Queso Rumba was just an ordinary lumberjack in the Northland Province of the Ancient Empire, but he was skilled, bold and righteous, and helped the poor and the weak, and he was very famous in the local area, and even the Duke's family in the Northland Province, Aarend, knew such a person. ”

"It was the most glorious time of the so-called empire - the elves compromised with the empire, the dwarves became artisans, the orcs fled the glaciers, the dragons disappeared, and only the Far East remained unconquered. ”

"So, when the Empire's campaign against the Far East was in full swing, Queso was drafted into the army, and with the honor and pride of fighting for the Empire, he gladly went to the battlefield, he fought bravely, he was able to fight well, and because of his prestige in the hearts of the Northlanders, he rose all the way until the Empire made him the Count of the Empire and appointed him the general of the Northland Legion. ”

Tails' heart sank.

This story is completely different from the one he remembered.

"Thanks to the efforts of Quesuo and the other legions, the Far Easterners have been defeated and retreated, trapped in the lonely city, leaving only the Qilin Holy Capital, which is about to fall to the ground, and the feat of the empire's unification of the world is about to be realized. ”

"The emperor's desires are becoming more and more excessive, the demands are endless, the conscription of labor has never stopped, the tax burden has increased, and the northern provinces, as the best source of soldiers, are the first to bear the brunt. ”

"The Northlanders could no longer bear it, and they began to resist taxes, they began to evade the army, they drove out the emperor's tax collectors, and they began to confront the authority of the empire with anger and invective, rather than enthusiasm and obedience. ”

"So the Duke of Arronde, the Emperor's servants, could no longer collect enough taxes, could not levy enough labor, and even had repeated incidents of tax resistance. The Empire's minions came up with a solution: to find the most famous person in the Northlands, the commander of the Northland Legion, Quiso, who was returning home to recuperate while the Legion was resting, and asked him to convince his native people. ”

Kaslan sighed, and Putilemo was silent.

Kambida continued:

They persuaded him to become their comrades and go with them to collect taxes and servitude, but he did not nod, and they persuaded him to persuade the people of the Northland to submit to the Empire in the form of a proclamation, but he did not nod, and they took the name of the Empire and ordered the generals of the Empire to help them find the rebels in the Northlands, but Queso did not nod. ”

"That's what Quisso said: 'I'm loyal to the Empire, but I'm a Northlander. ’”

The Emperor finally found out about it. ”

"The emperor has sent an edict, and there are only two words on it," Kambida's eyes became extremely cold, and he said lightly:

"'Pick one. ’”

Tails only felt a chill run through his back.

Pick one.

"What the Northlanders know next is that Quyso was exiled to the Recast Tower until he reaffirmed his loyalty to the Empire, something that the Emperor could not tolerate his own generals not being able to do. ”

But for a whole year, Queso did not relent, and at the same time, the people of the Northlands who learned the news were even more resentful. ”

"In the end, the **** emperor, who heard the grievances of the people of the Northlands, was tired of Quesuo's toughness, and decided to use him to intimidate the people of the Northlands with punishment and fear, and reaffirm the majesty of the empire. ”

So Queso Rumba was taken to the place of execution. ”

There, he watched as his son was beheaded, his wife hanged, his daughter hanged, his friend whipped, and finally, when it was Quisso's turn to be himself, the enraged Northlanders and his men broke through the rebuilding tower, entered the execution ground, killed the Imperial soldiers, and rescued Quisso. ”

"When the news broke, the whole Northland was shaken, and the people took up arms again, put on their armor, and gathered around the dying Queso—but this time not for the service of the Empire, but for the rebellion against it. ”

"Of course you know the rest of the story......"

Tails savored the story—a far cry from what was written in the books of the stars.

"Yes," Tails said silently as he thought, "the rebel king fought to the end, and his last three hundred men ......"

But at the end of the story, Kambida still surprises Tails.

"There's only one difference," Kambida interrupted, his eyes shining, "there's no such thing as 'fight to the end.'" ”

Tails was stunned.

"Quesuo had no intention of fighting - he disbanded most of the rebels, and only led the last three hundred men who would not abandon him, and launched a final charge against the three legions on the side of Lone Old Peak. ”

"It's more of a complaint against the Emperor than a rebellion against the empire to which he has been loyal all his life, isn't it? ”

"When he died, every house of the people of the Northland lit candles and honored him as king, according to the ancient rites of the time of kings. ”

"This is the story of the Revolt King...... Many people in Exeter are familiar with it. ”

"Do you understand, descendant of the Emperor?" said Cambida lightly, "What the Empire left behind in the Northlands?"

Kaslan watched Tails' reaction with interest.

Luckily, the others were sitting at the round table some distance away from them, otherwise, Tails would have expected another tavern fight between the Stars and the Exeters soon.

"A well-polished story," Putileh sneered, "I wonder how you know so well about the Emperor's edict that you are sure it is word for word?"

"Be sarcastic, Imperial, you only have the splendor of the Empire in your head anyway," Kambida's eyes were filled with disgust, and he continued:

"What has the empire given to the world? years of endless military conquests, unmeasured excesses and heavy taxes, greedy and corrupt imperial officials, cruel and oppressive rule of fools, ugly and dark religious oppression—did you know that primitive beliefs such as the Lord of the Mountains, the Girl of the Shepherd, the Heavenly Father of the Prairie, and so on, disappeared under the ban of the ancient empire and in the conspiracy between the emperor and the Myojin Church?"

"There is also the Northern Knight Temple, which was forcibly demolished by the emperor thousands of years ago...... It is the cradle and holy land of the birthplace of knights, and it is the legendary place where humans fought together against the ancient orcs in the Northland!"

"Imperial," Kambida took a sip of wine and sneered, "Less lying in the glory of the past**, you have no idea how ugly your posture is." ”

"Keep holding on to that idea, but history cannot be changed, even now," said Putile disdainfully, "I have only seen your carriages galloping on the galloping roads built by the Empire, your currency is minted according to the gold, silver and bronze standards set by the Empire, your language is still the ancient language and lingua franca of the Empire, your army follows the imperial structure of legions, brigades, guards, and squads, and your nobles are organized by dukes, earls, viscounts, barons, Your paintings, poems, and music all draw from the glory of the Empire...... Without the Empire, I'm afraid that the Northland is still just a scattered sand, backward and barbaric!"

"What does that prove?" interrupted him unceremoniously, "if we call what the Empire has violently imposed on us a gift, and be complacent about it......"

"Imposed?" Putileh also seemed to be stirred up with anger: "The knights of the kings of the Northlands, almost at the same time as the legions of the chauvin kings, joined the command of Komora Carroser the Great, you are the earliest supporters of the Emperor, and the most active sword and blade in the establishment of the empire!"

"Very well," Cambida said coldly, "Now, we, the children of the North Wind and the Dragon, do not need that evil empire for a long time, and we are self-reliant—please put away the pride of the empire, Imperials." ”

"The north wind has seen a lot," Putile said lightly, "As for the dragon, if you are referring to the one embroidered on the Exeter flag, well, the material is good." ”

"The significance of the dragon on the Exeter flag is not that it exists, after all, we don't rely on a legendary beast to protect the country. "Kambida said solemnly.

"But it represents the faith and temperament of our Exeter when he founded the nation, and it is the inspiration that the Northland hero Nekaru left us in the end battle - strength, patience, strength, tenacity, pride, perseverance, and," Cambida glanced at the people of the stars, then took a large sip of his wine glass, and smiled meaningfully, "Never give in...... Even a behemoth like the Empire. ”

"And what are you left with?" Kambida sneered, "The Kingdom of the Stars is just an antique, and it has no meaning in itself at all - the reason for its existence is only to testify to a past history, to summon the spirit of a country that has been in ruin for a long time. ”

Putile was about to reply, but Tails let out a long sigh.

"You know what?"

Kambida and Putile turned to the second prince of the stars at the same time.

"Whether it's Putile, or His Excellency Viscount Kambida," Tails sighed deeply, "though one is a man of the stars and the other is a native of Exeter, in your unpleasant encounter I have found two of your greatest things in common. ”

Putile and Kambida were stunned at the same time.

"So what's that?"

It was actually the tavern owner who had been watching the show on the sidelines, Caslan, who nodded his chin with interest and asked Tails, "What are they in common?"

Tails raised an eyebrow and shrugged:

"The two of you meet each other, and even though you speak for your own position, you both have the same thing in your head. ”

"One of the most uninspiring things. ”

Putile looked puzzled, and Kambida frowned slightly.

"Empire. ”

Tails said softly.

He nibbled on the last bite of bread.

Putile and Kambida were stunned at the same time.

"Hahahaha...... Caslan clapped his hands and laughed, "What an interesting conclusion, but what about the second common denominator?"

"The second one, well," Tails muttered, biting into the black bread, "the two of them, despite all that has been said about the Empire......"

"But none of them had ever seen an empire with their own eyes—neither the final empire six hundred years ago, nor the ancient empire more than a thousand years ago. ”

Kaslan's laughter grew louder and louder.

Putile's and Kambida's faces darkened together.

"Well said, Second Prince of the Stars!" Caslan slapped the table in amusement and looked at Tails with a laugh, "They have never seen an empire!"

"Thank you for the cheers," Tails shrugged, "On the one hand, it shows that the empire is indeed far-reaching, and on the other hand, ......"

He looked helplessly at the two quarrellers: "You are arguing with each other's imagination...... Really?"

Putile and Kambida turned their heads in unison, no longer looking at each other.

"Look away, boys. ”

The old man Kaslan shook his head, "Ancient legends, glorious pasts, lost histories, sacred traditions, who remembers them now, except for the nobles who boast of their families and the sour scholars?" he pointed to the door:

"The gift of the mountains can keep the young men who go out in the cold winter from freezing and starving to death...... Suffice it to say, it is useful to people, it has its own meaning - the lord of the mountains has not disappeared, he has always lived in the crevices of each of our desperate cold, and he lives in the gratitude of the traveler for taking food from the tree. ”

"And the Dragons and the Empire," Caslan sneered, "and it's the same thing. ”

Both Putile and Kambida stopped talking, but their faces were not good-looking.

Tails smiled brightly.

"Boom!" Caslan slammed a distinctly different glass onto the bar and pushed it in front of Tails.

"The best rye liquor, a special supply from the Heroes Tavern!" the old man said with a grin under Tails' surprised eyes, "The rye provided by my old comrades-in-arms in the Willan Territory is limited every day. ”

"It's not the rough stuff they drank - it's for what you just said!"

Tails' eyes widened as he looked at the white-haired old man, and then looked down at the wine in his glass.

"Don't hesitate, boy, drink it all!" Caslan showed off his strength, strength, and no old right arm muscles: "The criteria for judging a good warrior are whether the axe is strong enough, and whether the drink is refreshing enough!"

"Uh...... I'm only seven years old......" Tails looked at the wine glass the size of his head, his eyes widened, and he said embarrassedly: "You know, children can't drink, it's not good for the body......"

"That's!" Caslan flicked a thumbs up and his yellow teeth, and slapped Tails on the shoulder, making him stumble, "Seven years old is more important for drinking!"

"Kids, you can't grow up without drinking!" )