Outside Longxiao City, a small house in a certain village. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

"It's been five years, Cohen, and dear Miranda, did Tari send you? In the dimly lit room, the short-haired girl on the wooden bed, Croeich Mielke smiled at them with a complicated but peaceful smile: "It's the best comfort to see you now." ”

"Thank you, Uncle Caslan. The short-haired girl thanked Kaslan on the side with a blank face.

Miranda frowned tightly.

Even careless Cohen couldn't help but notice that during the same period in their past, the Northland girl Chloehi had changed dramatically.

Compared to the high-spirited Chloehi Mielke when she parted at the Tower of the End five years ago, she is not only much thinner, but also much more gray, and the perseverance that was once engraved on her round face like a seal has turned into bitterness and loss at some point.

Cohen's gaze shifted to her hand, and his breath froze.

This girl with a resolute face, hard training, and never giving up when she was in the tower......

Her right hand with a sword......

I am being bandaged tightly.

"Croaich......" Cohen tried to take his eyes off her right hand, squeezed out an ugly smile, and said carefully, slowly, "You still ...... Are you alright?"

Are you okay?

As soon as the words came out, Cohen felt the urge to slap himself.

Chloehi looked at him slowly, her eyes unwavering.

"It's okay," the girl's empty eyes made Cohen's heart ache, "it's just the right hand...... You can't touch weapons anymore. ”

Silent.

Cohen was embarrassed and didn't know how to answer: Damn, it would be nice if Raphael was here at this time, comforting people has always been the kid in white's forte.

Sure enough, Miranda stepped forward and gave Cohen a roll of the eyes.

Then, as she had done countless times in the past, she quietly stomped on the innocent-looking Cohen.

"Shhhh

Just when Cohen grinned in pain, Miranda sat on the edge of Chloehi's bed, her expression unchanged, and she said decisively: "Who did it?"

Any comfort at the moment is pale—Miranda thought to herself: it would be better to get straight to the point, so that she would stop thinking about the senseless things.

Caslan on the side coughed.

In the face of Chloehi, the old leader of the former Whiteblade Guard didn't say much.

He had seen this happen to too many retired soldiers.

Kaslan sighed inwardly.

And they, the soldiers, never knew how lucky they were to be wounded and discharged.

Chloehi came to her senses and smiled ugly.

"I think you should all know a little bit about the cause and effect," Chloehi's tone calmed down, not sounding like a swordsman who had just lost hope of wielding a sword, "An officer named Hardy lurked in the Black Sand Lord's army and almost assassinated your prince under the fortress with a magic spear. ”

Cohen nodded.

"I saw that scene at the Broken Dragon Fortress, but I couldn't see it clearly, I thought it was just a test launch for a demonstration. Miranda replied silently.

"By the way, Miranda, you are now the Kingdom of the Stars, and the right-hand man of the Flower of the Fortress, aren't you?" Chroisy laughed at his former contemporary, then glanced at his right hand, his face darkened, and spat out a few words:

"Congratulations. ”

Miranda's expression was flat and she didn't speak, she just silently reached out and squeezed Croahi's left hand.

Feeling the warmth of Miranda's hand, Chloehi trembled slightly.

"That...... Ahh

Scratching his ears and cheeks, Cohen was about to speak, but Miranda elbowed him expressionlessly, knocking his stomach full of words back.

Cohen, with a grief-stricken face, continued to bare his teeth silently, while continuing to protest to Miranda with his eyes.

Does it have to be this way?

Chloe Ash burst out laughing.

The scene reminded her of her past in the Tower of End.

Caslan, who was holding her arms on the side, looked at Miranda approvingly—what a careful and considerate girl, and unconsciously lifted Chloehi's mood.

The girl of the Aaron family, her face is too cold, and it would be better if she could smile more.

"On the instructions of the Grand Duke, we tracked down the Hardy officer's arms connector," Croesy continued, with a smile that had barely gotten up, "and they sold the parts of the magic gun that Hardy had replaced from the army and should have destroyed, to the south and west. Hardy used this in exchange for more money, which could then be used back for training and personal contacts. ”

"In a few years, perhaps His Excellency the Grand Duke's magic gun squad will be under the control of those people, but fortunately we found it early and intercepted the connector of his underground arms deal. ”

"The officer...... What information did you find about him?" said Miranda, softly.

"Not much. Chloe Ich said lightly:

"Hardy comes from a small village farther north, the domain of Grand Duke Leco of the Guarded City. He was a first-hand witness to the war between Exeter and the stars eleven or two years ago, and survived the brutal attack and defense of the Broken Dragon Fortress, losing a hand and half of his face under the bombardment of the magic gun. ”

Miranda's face turned pale.

It's the war of twelve years ago again.

Cohen sighed, stepped forward, carefully avoided Miranda's unarmed attack, and asked slowly: "The Kingdom of Exeter, one of the two Grand Dukes of the North, the Grand Duke of the Guarding City?, the Leco family?

Chloehir shook her head, "It's not that simple, Hardy came to the Black Sand after the war and has lived there ever since, and hasn't been in contact with anyone related to the Vigilante City - so it's not sure it's him." ”

"But there's one thing that makes us very skeptical. ”

"We interrogated Hardy's arms connector, and found out that Hardy had mentioned once that he had a daughter named Lucy. ”

Cohen's eyes lit up: "Did you find his daughter?

"It's not just that there's a problem. Chloehi pursed her lips and shook her head:

"It's that there is no such person at all. ”

"No...... This person?" Cohen wondered.

"Hardy has been celibate for more than forty years, and this is what we confirm from his neighbors - he has no wife or lover at all, let alone children. Chloehi said quietly.

"Let's follow the name Lucy...... It was discovered that he had mentioned the name Lucy to more than one person. ”

"From the black market of arms in the Black Sand Territory to the transport team in the Weilan Territory, when the clues were chased to Longxiao City, we were intercepted," the short-haired girl raised her head with a terrifying face: "A group of strange swordsmen have appeared. ”

Miranda's brow furrowed, "Sword of Calamity?"

Chloehi lowered her eyelids and nodded.

"How are they, how many of them?" Cohen's expression moved, ignoring Miranda's dissatisfied expression, he took a step forward and asked anxiously, "What kind of finishing power did you use, how did you recognize them as the Sword of Calamity?"

Kaslan, who had listened quietly, frowned.

"There were a lot of them, their heads and faces were covered, and it was dark night, so they couldn't see their bodies and their appearances clearly. But their finishing power...... As Mr. Chartille described," Chloesy said lightly, "cold, violent, and the power of the end is surging and never ending. ”

"I was the only one who escaped. ”

Cohen froze.

But then he reacted: "Is there any more information, when and where did they appear, like how did they draw their swords......

"I've told Uncle Kaslan all the details of their appearance," but Chloehi just gritted his teeth and shook his head bitterly, "Go ahead and complete your mission, whether it's for the Finish Tower or for your Star Prince." ”

Cohen wanted to ask again, but Miranda grabbed his arm and shook her head.

"I'm tired. Chloe said slowly, slowly turning over and facing the wall: "I want to rest for a while." ”

Cohen and Miranda looked at each other, then at Chloehi, and finally said goodbye to Caslan's gaze.

"Cohen. ”

Before leaving, Chloehy suddenly called out to the guard officer of the stars.

Cohen looked back in amazement.

I saw her turn her head and raise her eyes, with an indescribable complex expression in her eyes: "You ......"

"Be careful. ”

Cohen was stunned for a moment, then was pulled out of the room by Kaslan.

"You see her...... To be honest, from my observations, I don't think she's really hurt enough to use the sword anymore, but it's a hindrance in her heart that prevents her from continuing to use the sword. Kaslan said lightly.

"What do you mean, a barrier in the bottom of your heart?" asked Miranda, frowning.

"Chloehi is the daughter of my old subordinate in the White Blade Guard," Following the two young men outside, Kaslan looked at Longxiao City in the distance and shook his head, "You know her in the end tower, then you should know that she has a high heart - I guess it's also due to the indoctrination of your star people......"

"Hey!" Cohen protested, "What do you mean by the indoctrination of 'us astral people'?" Chloehi has always been ......"

Kaslan ignored him and said to himself:

"She has been strong since she was a child, and she always wants to be a legendary female knight like 'Heart of the Rain' Lorain. ”

"'Heart in the Rain' Lolan, I heard that it is the same time as Master Shao and you?" Cohen asked curiously, "That Banner Leader mercenary in the Eastern Continent Hanbul Succession War?"

"Well," Kaslan paused in his memories as if he was reminded of the past, and then smiled, "There are always some women you don't dare to mess with in your life." ”

Immediately, the earth-shaking old man Kaslan sighed: "After experiencing the training of the Termination Tower, Chloe Ash is even more ambitious, and when he comes back, he even recommends himself to the assessment of the White Blade Guard, wanting to join the White Blade Guard........."

Miranda raised her head, her eyes burning: "But she didn't make it?"

Kaslan raised an eyebrow, "The White-Bladed Guards rejected her - it was a big blow to her. ”

Miranda looked puzzled: "Strike?, as far as I know, the selection criteria for the White Blade Guard are very high......"

"It's not the rejection that strikes her," Kaslan interrupted, turning her head, "but the reason for her rejection." ”

"Reason for rejection?" Miranda looked at him steadily.

"What is it?"

Kaslan took a breath and didn't answer.

"I know. Just as Miranda was about to speak, it was Cohen on the side who answered.

I saw the vigilant officer sigh: "Because she is a woman, right?"

Caslan glanced at Miranda meaningfully and nodded, "Not bad." ”

"Because she's a woman. ”

Miranda unconsciously clenched her teeth.

"Although many people say that we Northlanders are very strong, and when we are fierce, even women and children can take up arms," Kaslan sneered: "But according to my mother-in-law, most Northlanders still think that territory, politics, wars, and noble inheritance are all men's affairs, and women should wait at home for their husbands to return." ”

"In this way, Chloesy took her sword and traveled from lord to lord, but she ran into walls everywhere - a woman who had undergone the training of the complete Tower of End, a super-level swordsman, but could not get a position with even one count......

"There are several viscounts and barons who are willing to take her in on the condition that they marry them when the term is due...... No doubt it was for her father's presence in the White Guards. ”

Miranda gently clenched the hilt of the sword at her waist.

Compared to his smooth sailing in the stars, his father's care, and Sonya's care...... Is this what Chloech faced in the Northlands, what happened to him in Exeter?

"Listen to her father...... Chloehi even considered going to the southwest, to the Thornlands or the Dragon's Kiss Basin, or even the Great Desert, to become a mercenary. ”

"But at last she went to the Black Sand Realm, and in her father's name, went to my unsuccessful nephew, a viscount named Kambida, and took up a position in his domain. Kaslan sighed:

"I suspect this is one of the tactics that Charman Rumba used to win me over, but looking at Chloehi like that......"

"Plus this ......"

Kaslan shook his head.

"So you know why, little girl Aaronde," the old man looked up at Miranda, "Dressed like yours, to be honest, is too dazzling in the Northlands. ”

Miranda didn't say a word, just stared at Longxiao City in the distance.

"When I was on the Western Front, there were some female soldiers there because there was an occasional shortage of soldiers. Cohen spoke slowly:

"I enlisted in the army for various reasons such as not being able to survive, from death squads to service, most of them were female mercenaries from the southwestern countries, but they ...... often unpopular," Cohen said with a twinkle in his eyes:

"Born less than a man's strength and weight, with a special requirement for the upper body armor, and at an absolute disadvantage in height—this is often fatal when facing orcs, because you have to leap to attack their vital point. ”

"And, of course, once a month...... You know. ”

"They have a very poor status in the barracks, and sometimes, they often have to rely on ......" Cohen lowered his head and frowned between his eyebrows: "...... to please the chief and his colleagues. ”

"And once they fall into the hands of enemies, especially the bones...... The end is often much worse than that of men. ”

"So even I, when the commando team wants to choose soldiers, often avoid female soldiers. ”

Miranda still didn't speak.

"I'm guessing that's pretty much the Whiteblade Guard," Caslan sighed, "It's one thing to learn a sword in the Tower of the End, but ...... Women are inherently unfit for the battlefield. ”

"Excuses. ”

Miranda raised her head abruptly and snorted coldly, "You-men, you only see the disadvantages of female soldiers on the battlefield, and deliberately ignore their advantages. ”

"Advantage?" Kaslan frowned.

Cohen raised his eyebrows helplessly, and spread his hands towards Caslan from an angle that Miranda couldn't see.

"Less consumption than men, far more endurance than men, unimaginable flexibility and flexibility, fine and keen observation, and calm in the face of danger, these are all advantages of women," Miranda said angrily, "Even in terms of strength and height, in the case of Kingdom Wrath himself, I have witnessed that his height and strength are not comparable to that of His Excellency Sonya!

"And I'm a woman," Miranda said coldly, "In the Tower of the End, I'm stronger than you, than you, than Raphael, better than Misadon, better than every one of you at the same time." ”

"Not to mention, there is also a Valkyrie legend like the 'Heart in the Rain' Knights of Lorain thirty years ago!"

Cohen coughed awkwardly.

"Uncle just said that the battlefield is another matter...... And you can't compare some special people," the vigilante said helplessly: "'Heart in the Rain' is a special case within a special case. Lord Sonia is also a legend under Duke Starlake. And Miranda, the daughter of the Aarend family, was born to be trained as a warrior, lord, and commander......"

As soon as Cohen finished saying this, Miranda's murderous gaze shot straight at him, poking him through the cold.

also cut the second half of his sentence in his throat.

"I think the Western Wilderness and the Northland are both special," Caslan snorted, "The Western Wilderness is the front line of perennial war, and the Northlanders' views on women have been ...... for a long time."

"I'm from the Northlands too!" Miranda retorted with a grimace.

The old man, Kaslan, led them to the stables, and two men who looked like soldiers bowed to him.

"You're a Northland of the stars, or an Arend, and you've even allowed women to inherit, and as far as I remember, you even had a queen hundreds of years ago. ”

"And the Northland," Caslan sighed, "is far from receiving a knightess, a lordess, or even a queen......"

"It's still a long way off. ”

No, even in the stars, the female lord is still despised - Miranda silently said in her heart: hundreds of years ago, the queen of the stars did not end well.

"There will come a day," Miranda raised her head, her eyes determined: "That day, female warriors, female swordsmen, female lords, and even queens will no longer be a minority, and we will prove to the world that men can do it." ”

"Women can do the same. ”

Kaslan shrugged and walked into the stables.

Cohen stuck out his tongue and sighed helplessly as he remembered his two demonic sisters in the family.

Miranda...... How could Raphael like her.

But the thought of Raphael, his current position, and the finishing power in him made Cohen's heart heavy again.

"The Black Sand Lord's army is stationed in the village near Longxiao City to escort the prince, and they will bring Chloehi back. Kaslan took the two horses and looked at the two young noble swordsmen: "The next task is left to you." ”

"You're not going?" Cohen raised an eyebrow.

"It's not a good idea for me to show up," Kaslan's face darkened, "and it will alarm too many people." ”

"Fortunately, I still know some people in Longxiao City, some old knowledge, they can provide you with information, but when it comes to specific investigation and investigation, identify the Sword of Calamity from the Sword of Finishing," Kaslan handed the reins of the horse into the hands of the two: "No one is more expert than you, the seeds of the Tower of End, whether it is the innate insight of the nobles, the super-level combat power that adapts to the battlefield, or the induction of the Sword of Calamity." ”

"Do you know some people in Longxiao City?" Cohen showed a skeptical expression: "Uncle, haven't you opened a tavern in Black Sand for twenty years?"

"Ah, this," Kaslan stroked his white hair in embarrassment, "I have lived in Longxiao City for many years." ”

"Twenty years from now, manpower will still work?" Cohen frowned.

"Have you been keeping in touch...... Caslan looked around, and then smiled: "And all along, many of the old subordinates of the White Blade Guard have stayed in Longxiao City after retiring, and I helped them a little when they begged for a living......

"Begging for help?" Cohen's confusion intensified.

"Well, when some retired soldiers are not easy to mix, I will pull some strings for them in the center...... Find some work," Caslan coughed unnaturally, "You know, there are always jobs that need to be done by someone who can fight......"

"It's good if you just say that you can introduce them to the gang," Miranda looked disdainful: "It's easy for us to understand." ”

Caslan coughed loudly, overshadowing Miranda's words: "In the past ten years, your star gangster, what kind of brotherhood has made a lot of trouble, and even done business here. Some old friends are always short of manpower and want me to introduce them to them, so ......"

"What?" Cohen's eyes widened: "It's been a long time, uncle, you're actually the gangster connector and introducer in Longxiao City?"

Kaslan's cough grew louder and louder, and under the suspicious eyes of the two young men, he raised his head in awe-inspiring manner, and patted the shoulders of the two of them: "In short, whether it is the mission of the Tower of End, or an explanation to Chloehi, or the truth about the assassination of your Star Prince, I will leave it to you!"

Miranda and Cohen, one with a look of disdain, the other shook his head.

"Remember, your mission is only to investigate, not to die for an unconfirmed piece of news," Kaslan grim before leaving, "but you all have the ability to come into contact with the Sword of Calamity, and even survive from their hands." ”

"As long as you don't meet a swordsman in the Extreme Realm...... I believe in your strength. ”

The two looked at each other and nodded earnestly.

"My people will help you...... But if you make a big fuss, remember to hide yourself...... Although your prince is on an envoy to Exeter, and the tension between the two countries has been greatly reduced by his arrival, it is not a good thing for the people of the stars, especially the families of the nobles of the stars, to reveal their identities here. ”

"In addition, what you need to care about and worry about is not just the sword on the surface," Kaslan narrowed his eyes: "The Sword of Calamity is probably cooperating with a lord of Exeter, such as a certain Grand Duke, no matter what, deliberately uniting with the lord, and doing something like assassinating the Star Prince, their purpose is probably not simple." ”

"I see," Cohen took a breath and flipped over his horse, "We'll find out the details and the truth about them, whether it's plotting to assassinate the prince or trying to disadvantage the Tower of End." ”

Miranda didn't say much, bowed her head slightly, and rode away directly.

Cohen followed.

Kaslan looked at the figures of the two leaving, and then looked at Longxiao City in the distance, and a trace of remembrance flashed in his eyes.

Back then, I also stepped into Longxiao City from here. (To be continued.) )