Cyril Falkenhause.

Undesirables.

Tails looked solemnly at the Duke of the Western Wilderness, looking at his appearance six years later because of the increase in wrinkles and the loss of hair, which made him even more terrible.

The six-year-long hostage career has made Tails have a faint sense of alienation from the people, things, and things of the Star Kingdom.

However, when the terrifying Duke of a wealthy family reappeared in front of Tails, and his sharp and piercing voice echoed in the Prince's ears again, all the memories of the past came back in that instant.

Six years ago, in Eternal Star City, the meeting of the state that decided the fate of Tails, it seemed like it was just yesterday.

The cold wind outside the tower struck and stirred up the thin-clad and thin-troned Tails.

"The ruins aren't close here. ”

Tails struggled to clear out distractions and looked at Falkenhause calmly.

Calm down.

This is Williams, the territory of the royal standing army, and he can't do anything bad to me.

Think about it, six years ago, in the face of the appearance of the second prince, what was Falkenhaus's position?

What is his personality like?

And where he is, comes in......

Tails face does not change color:

"So, what is it that makes someone of such a noble position come all the way to the bitter, tiring, dirty and chaotic border?"

Falkenhause chuckled, twitching his crutches as he approached Tails.

"Your Royal Highness, you are really a newcomer, and you have no time to take care of ......"

The other party's terrifying withered face slowly enlarged in front of his eyes, making Tails feel uncomfortable, and he had to hold the dagger behind his waist tightly, resisting the desire to retreat.

The Duke of the Westwilderness paused a foot away from the prince, close enough for Tails to see his dry skin, wrinkled and crumpled as if it were hanging from his bones.

"Or is it in the dark from start to finish?"

To the prince's surprise, Cyril, whose face did not change, suddenly reached out and pulled the chair in front of the desk behind him, dragging a long and unpleasant grinding sound on the floor.

Tails frowned.

"I guess your whole question should be ......"

The Duke smiled and sat down comfortably in front of Tails' bed, glaring to the window behind him.

"When the princes of the Western Wilderness who slept in the camp lost their armor, suffered heavy losses, and were defeated because of unexpected raids;"

"When they go from command to logistics, from confidence to prestige, from inside and outside the field, they all lose clean and have nothing;"

"When many people lost the conditions and courage to continue to garrison the Blade Tooth camp, they retreated and prepared to return home;

"When the Wings of Legend returns with his royal standing army, he re-enters the Bladefang camp in the face of the defeat of the local nobles;"

Tails listened quietly to the other man's narration, followed his arm, and looked at the complex under the window:

Yesterday's attacks and riots had scarred the camp, and the marks of a certain fort burned were still visible, and a group of soldiers cordoned off the surroundings to stop a crying man who seemed to be the owner of the house, and seemed to be directing the cleanup.

And across the road, another alley without a soldier blockade is still full of people, merchants, herdsmen, mercenaries, thieves, beggars, prostitutes, swaggering and noisy, busy as before.

The peculiar boiling voices of Bladetooth Camp were faintly heard, accompanied by the Silver Cross twin star banner fluttering high above the camp gate.

Disaster and life, destruction and reconstruction.

It seems that nothing has happened.

It's just another day at Camp Bladefang.

Cyril Falkenhause's sharp voice, as his nickname, is unsettling with a deliberately compelling tone:

"What you want to ask is, in the above case......"

Falkenhause smiled weirdly:

"What is it that makes a cunning man like me go to such lengths to come to the Bladetooth camp with a prince in charge?"

It's terrible.

Cyril's erratic smile and elusive tone, his unanswerable and veiled words, combined with his lethal voice and appearance, gave Tails, who was used to the loud voices of the people in the Northland in Longxiao City, a little headache.

"Your Excellency, I have heard of your loss, and I am deeply sorry. ”

Interrupted from eating, Tails struggled to think hard.

Camp Bladetooth is attacked, and Williams wins.

So, that's what the camp is like.

That is to say, the Duke of Falkenhause, who had the highest status in the entire Western Wilderness, rudely and rudely broke into his bedroom with the aim of ......

He pondered and spoke:

"I didn't expect it to be a bad day, please convey my regret to your vassals on my behalf. But right now, I don't think Baron Williams would be happy to see ......"

But Falkenhause interrupted him.

"I've heard that you liked to play chess when you were in the Northland. ”

The headless words made Tails stunned.

Play chess?

The Duke of the Guardian of the Western Wilderness smiled sadly:

"You know, what do I find the most interesting thing about playing chess?"

Just as Tails was pondering how to answer in order to end the conversation politely and send off the guest safely, Cyril suddenly shook his left hand, the end of his crutch heavily on the ground!

"Boom!"

The long sword strapped to the cane shook.

Before Tails realized that the other party was just looking for a place to hold his cane, he had already subconsciously bated his breath and leaned over, clenching the dagger behind his waist.

Falkenhause, holding his cane, seemed to have not noticed that Tails looked like he was facing a great enemy.

Instead, he smiled, leaned forward on his knees, and pressed his thin figure towards the prince who was sitting on the bed.

"That's it...... There are no blind people in the chess game. ”

"Both sides of the game can see, see clearly, and understand every move, every square, every move. ”

Tails managed to adjust his breathing and began to think about the other party's words.

Cyril, who had been staring at him, suddenly reached out and grabbed the plate on the desk.

The Duke held the rich plate firmly on his lap, grabbed a grilled fish that looked like it had been spiced with his bare hands, and bit it down with his broken teeth, neither following the usual dining etiquette nor caring that it was the prince's meal.

Tails frowned again.

"So, let's stop pretending that we can't see the chessboard—well, it tastes good, and it seems to have been brought up in Muhe by the Lautten family at the 'Revival Festival.' ”

Cyril chewed on the bone-in fish in his mouth as he nodded thoughtfully.

Stop pretending you can't see the board......

Staring at the other's lethal face, the discomfort like a stab in the back crept into Tails' heart again.

"Your Excellency, what do you want to say?"

The prince was no longer polite and perfunctory, but looked at the duke solemnly.

Cyril smiled, looking like his ugly face suddenly cracked.

As he chewed, he held up the half-eaten grilled fish in his hand and pointed at Tails:

"To save a seemingly important guard. ”

Cyril looked out the window, at the Bladetooth camp after a night of chaos, and a rare chill emanated from his eyes:

"A certain chess player generously sacrificed a knight. ”

But he never expected that the knight was the one who killed: it rampaged through the formation, and finally rose to the rank of prime minister, and instead ate countless foot soldiers, swordsmen, shield soldiers, knights and even slings of the opponent. ”

Cyril stopped eating, and his eyes were dangerous:

"Teach me, Tails, to ...... between knights and guards in this chess game"

"Who does the player want to sacrifice and who does he want to save?"

Chess game.

Chess player.

Knight.

Guards.

Tails had a headache.

Accustomed to the rugged old Valhalla, accustomed to seeing the majestic and heroic Northlanders, the duke of the Western Wilderness in front of him, who was twisting, thorny, and unpleasantly vitriolous, made Tails very uncomfortable - even the Grand Duke of the Reconstructed Tower, Trudida, who was known for his miserliness and cunning, was much inferior in comparison.

The prince could only sigh, and tried his best not to look at the grilled fish that had been bitten all over the other's hands:

"I'm sorry, I'm not good at chess, it's just a hobby in my spare time. ”

Cyril laughed strangely, and his ugly and withered face rippled:

"Ha, you don't care. ”

He leaned forward again, pointed his left hand at Tails, and his tone turned cold:

"But you should care. ”

The other party's abrupt change of attitude made Tails scratch his head.

But Duke Falkenhause then grabbed the grilled fish in his right hand and shook it in front of Tails.

"Just like you don't care about this fish, I don't care about this fish. ”

"But ......"

Under Tails' discolored expression, Cyril bit the fish's head and tore it off the grilled fish in its entirety, causing a crunching sound.

Tails looked at the grilled fish and felt only a pang of discomfort.

Cyril looked coldly at Tails as he chewed, gently shaking the headless grilled fish in his hand:

"It should still care about itself. ”

Tails looked solemn.

He faced a number of high-ranking opponents, many of whom had a unique imposing presence – such as the imposing and aggressive Rumba, the silent King Kessel, or the deep-eyed Count of Lisbane.

No matter where these people are, even if they are just sitting quietly in a corner of the room, you can't ignore their presence.

But Cyril Falkenhause seems to be special, he is described as withered and terrifying, his posture is almost obscene, and even when he looks at people, he maintains a slight squint with his neck leaning forward, giving people a first impression of deep discomfort and awkwardness, and his sharp and ugly voice makes people frown fiercely, and they want to ignore him.

But as Cyril's movements change, his tone fluctuates, and his eyes drift, there is always a casual moment when this dry old man will give you a chilling sense of danger.

It's like combing through piles of straw, always worrying about whether the next moment will be hidden barbs and pricking your fingers.

It's like a horror movie that slowly renders the atmosphere, accumulates emotions, and gradually gets better.

Like now.

Tyers tried to remove the shadows from his heart, and could only choose the method that the Northlanders were most accustomed to, and go straight to the subject:

"Your Excellency, I am grateful that you have come to visit me, and I know that Falkenhause has contributed greatly to my return home......"

"But believe me, I really don't know anything about the 'chess game' between you and Baron Bladetooth about the camp, I just got involved by chance, and I can't do anything about it, as for the rest, I believe ......"

But Cyril's face turned cold.

"I still remember six years ago. ”

The Duke put down the grilled fish and stared at him as if to stare out of his shell.

"When you ignored the face of your 'cunning fox' teacher at the national meeting, you made a lot of nonsense. ”

Tails' mind moved.

Cyril's words made Tails slowly recall what time he was:

"When the stubborn one-eyed dragon suppresses you, you will turn your lips back and bite you hard, if the iris boy ignores you, you will stand by and strike a fatal blow, and if the short-sighted nobles disrespect you, you will remember the bottom of your heart and give it back a hundredfold. ”

"Speak spicy, use harsh words, go with the wind, and be unforgiving. ”

The Duke of the Western Wilderness said this with a very funny expression, as if he was looking forward to it with some appreciation, and it seemed to be a joke like watching a good show.

Tails remembered the-for-tat confrontation he had with the princes as a child at the National Council, and what Gilbert had said to him later.

The prince sighed, with a little sigh:

"I was just a kid. ”

"If I offend, it's my youth, frivolity, ignorance, and fearlessness......"

Falkenhauges picked up and interrupted him again:

"It is also a chess piece that is not willing to be manipulated by others. ”

At this moment, Cyril's eyes were very sharp:

"In order to break free, even in the face of the endless stars high above, dare to try the blade. ”

This sentence is quite profound, and Tails couldn't help but say it.

With that, Cyril turned his head and spat out the chewed bones in his mouth.

It didn't look like spitting fish bones, but rather like chopping a particularly difficult piece of firewood.

"I have to say, you were more to my taste and more ...... at that time"

The Duke turned his head and took out a handkerchief and wiped his mouth and hands, revealing an ulterior gaze:

"Cute. ”

Tails took a deep breath.

He vaguely understood the other party's overtones.

So he didn't want to hear it anymore.

"Look at you again. ”

Cyril looked at him playfully, looking up and down like a prostitute at a banquet:

"Gentle and polite, dignified. ”

"Put the blade in the sheath, put the fangs in your mouth, and hide the claws back in your palm," the sharp voice of the Duke of the Western Wilderness filled the room:

"Isn't it a pity?"

Tails lifted his gaze and looked directly at Cyril.

He has no interest in playing with this strange old man who is obviously in a high position and power, but is always full of yin and yang.

"Maybe that's right. ”

"My teacher told me," said the prince in a deep voice.

"Wise men seldom speak eloquently. ”

Unfortunately, he has not been able to do it.

Tails sighed inwardly.

The second prince's tone was calm, implying a refusal:

"And I believe that none of us are fools. ”

Falkenhause laughed again.

His laughter was unusually long this time, even to the point of making the impatient Tails impatient.

Cyril stopped laughing and spoke quietly:

"Well, at least, you shouldn't repeat Hayman's mistakes. ”

Tails didn't react for a moment:

"Who?"

Cyril looked around the room, smirking like a cloudy wind:

"As a diplomat, he was personable, well-mannered, eloquent, and witty, and made every person who wanted to speak in front of him ashamed and stammered. "So he can always get the most out of the negotiation with his incorruptible tongue." ”

"No matter who you're facing. ”

?

Tails' heart was broken, and he subconsciously glanced into the corner where his carry-on luggage was piled up—his fourth uncle, Bright Star's last letter.

Why bring him up?

Just because it's ...... Ghost Prince Tower?

Remembering that this was the place where another bright star died, and the bed he had been lying on might have slept with the other party before he died, Tails was heartbroken for a while.

But at the same time, he also built a high wall in his heart, rejecting everything with a polite smile and clever words. ”

Strangely, Cyril's expression deepened, slightly distracted, which dispelled a lot of the gloom caused by his terrifying countenance:

"Whether it is the flattery of a courtier, or the advice of a friend. ”

"So he paid the price. ”

This sentence made Tails's attention highly focused.

What do you mean?

Take its toll?

"Do you know Prince—my uncle?"

But Falkenhause did not answer him.

The ruler of the Western Wilderness slowly turned around and surveyed the cramped penthouse, his chair legs rubbing against the ground with an unpleasant muffled sound.

"I still remember that night. ”

Looking at the furnishings in the room, Cyril Falkenhause snorted softly, making it impossible to distinguish whether it was sarcasm or emotion:

"That night. ”

Tails caught a glimpse of darkness in the other's terrifying eyes.

"When I arrived, I saw him lying quietly on the ground, covered in blood, unable to speak. ”

"The camp alarm was loud, the soldiers under the tower were panicked, his guards shouted at me, and the enraged attendant led the standing army to hunt down all the living within a hundred feet, and even cut down several local nobles on the spot. ”

"Infighting was on the verge of breaking out, the royal standing army and the local conscripts and even mercenaries who arrived rushed to confront each other, and there were several clashes and countless casualties, but the mediation between Baron Luhmann and me had little effect, and everyone was nervous and panicked. ”

That night.

Tails immediately realized what the other party was talking about.

Duke Cyril seemed to ignore the presence of Tails, and only slowly observed the room that once belonged to the ghost prince.

"Quartermaster depots, supply depots, prison of bones, and other places soon broke out in riots—just as these days, order in the camp collapsed, and we had no time to take care of it. ”

In less than half an hour, beacon fire and signal arrows came from five guard posts miles away: the ranks of orcs and bonemen with no end in sight came strangely at night to launch an unprecedented surprise attack. ”

"The prince's death is hugely implicated, the standing army is hateful and only wants to attack, the lords are scattered and defend the emperor first, and the mercenaries have their own ghosts and only want to protect themselves. ”

"The generals are suspicious of each other, their morale is low, and they are troubled by moles...... We had the advantage, but we only held it for less than a day. ”

Cyril turned his head and looked at the house under the window with a reckless look in his eyes.

"At the most critical moment, communication between the ministries was lost, I was knocked off my mount, half of my face was taken off by a damned orc, and Baron Luhmann even sacrificed his life to evacuate the camp for us. ”

"If it weren't for the lack of military discipline of the orcs who intercepted us, they were just looting in a mess...... Hum. ”

Cyril snorted and shook his head with sarcasm and disdain.

Tails sighed and closed his eyes.

"But that's not the worst. ”

Duke Falkenhause's face became more and more stiff, and the uncomfortable ugliness turned into an indifferent coldness:

"Just as we retreated to Grace Town, regrouped our defeated army, and planned to return Heyman's body to Eternal Star City along with the letter for help...... Even more terrible news came from the Wing Fort. ”

Even more terrible news.

Tails' heart tightened.

"Yongxing City is in turmoil, Fuxing Palace is changing, and the king and crown prince are ...... Both were assassinated. ”

Tails listened to the other man's words, his breathing slowing.

"The royal capital is blocked, the communication route is cut off, a large number of nobles and lords in the city have lost news together, the center of the stars is dumbfounded, and our backup is far away. ”

Cyril looked back at Tails, his eyes shrunken and his eyes were ethereal, as if looking at the air behind Tails:

"And that's just the beginning. ”

"Urgent summons from Wing Fort came one after another, bad news after bad news. ”

Cyril turned to the backlight, looking gray in the cold wind:

"To the north, the Broken Dragon Fortress fell, the second prince was killed, and Exeter's troops pressed the north, crossing the cliffs, and it was unstoppable. ”

"In the east, the third prince died in Broken Bridge Fort, and he was responsible for the supply of the waterways in charge of the northern and southern battlefields, so the operation was suspended. ”

"In the southwest, the Duke of Xinghu died in internal strife, and the Starlight Legion, which was burdened with the expectations of the public, lost its leader, cut off supplies, and was torn apart, and there was no news. ”

The gloom and coldness of the Duke's words sent shudders down the sleeve of Gilbert's account of the year of blood.

But Tails then remembered the dungeon, Sakel's half-truthful descriptions and the painful confessions of the royal guards, and couldn't help but clench his fists.

"The stars are everywhere, the kingdom hopes are cut off, the enemy is under the city, and the royal family is gone. ”

"And the Western Wilderness, where to go?"

"Just at a meeting of the lords of the Western Wilderness in Grace Town, there were many people with evil intentions: there were those who kept their own hands behind closed doors, those who compromised and surrendered, those who divided the army, and those who supported the establishment in private discussions. ”

"Compared to that, the invasion of mongrels and desolate species, the fall of the Blade Tooth camp, and the looting of the Western Wilderness border seem to be nothing. ”

Cyril looked up, and the chill on his ugly face startled Tails:

"In the temple of Sunset in the town of Gifts, listening to their pointless quarrels, I was helpless to stand in front of Heyman's body covered with thick cloth, and asked him silently, 'Old friend, pretty boy, where have you gotten so proud of your handsome face and witty eloquence?'"

Cyril's tone was grim, but with a sense of loss that Tails didn't expect.

"That's all in the past," Tails tried to comfort him, while issuing the eviction order:

"Now, we've ......"

But Falkenhause looked at the ground, put his hands on his knees, and suddenly burst out with a sentence:

"So, sometimes I regret it too. ”

Regret?

Tails was stunned.

Cyril raised his head, his eyes flickering, and his color was strange:

"That night, if I hadn't done that, what would the future have been?"

Tails was a little confused:

"So what do you do?"

Cyril sneered and put his plate back on his desk.

He stared at Tails again, as if he had turned back into the Duke of the Western Wilderness who spoke and acted grotesquely, laughed and scolded:

"That night, if I hadn't secretly put the Shadow Shield assassins into the camp......"

"Put it in front of......"

At that moment, Tails' heart skipped a beat.

It was as if the hairs all over his body stood upside down.

Put the Shadow Shield on the Assassin ......

Put it in ......

Cyril Quiet Road:

"What about the bloody year?"

Everything was still.

It's as if the sin of the River of Hell has taken effect again.

Only the sound of the fierce wind outside the window reminded him of the passage of time.

Tails looked at each other motionlessly like frozen ice sculptures.

In front of him, the terrifying-looking Duke of the Western Wilderness, Cyril Falkenhause, did not smile, did not speak, did not sneer, did not stab, just looked at him quietly, extremely calm.

The cold wind outside the window increased again, causing Falkenhause's robe to tremble.

And on the robe, which represents the Falkenhauges family, has a skull symbol with four eye holes, which is extremely conspicuous and hideous.

It's like coming to life.

God knows how hard it took Tails to suppress his desire to shout yodel or strike a fighting stance.

God knows.

After a long moment, Tails was solemn, dignified, difficult, and hostile to hold back one word:

"You?"

Cyril sat back in his chair and narrowed his eyes:

"Me. ”

The tone is calm and the posture is calm.

Tails took a deep breath.

Both of them were still for a few seconds, only the sound of the wind remained.

Until Cyril showed a satisfied expression.

"Good. ”

The duke straightened up, and his withered and bloodless face finally revealed a rare shrewdness and solemnity:

"We finally started talking. ”