In the tavern, against the sound of everyone's inhalation, Ricky said slowly:

"What's the secret?"

Tails stared at the drill, unable to take his eyes off it.

The curiosity and surprise of that night overcame the uneasiness and fear in his heart.

The drill didn't answer right away.

The man in the Shadow Shield looked around and smiled in satisfaction when he saw that everyone was attracted to the topic.

"That's why I'm here today. ”

He slowly raised his head, revealing a pair of eyes that suddenly became sharp under his eyebrows: "Since crossing the sea, Teng has shown extraordinary enthusiasm for the Bright Star Royal Family, and I guess it is due to his past status. ”

"However, in the year of blood, taking over that business that leaves no way out, and ending the Bright Star Royal Family by the roots? ”

At Ricky's hand, the masked man snorted coldly.

The Year of Blood.

Hearing the keyword, Tails' eyelids jumped for no reason.

"There must be a reason, a reason why he is so fascinated by the stars. ”

The drill straightened up and responded to the people with different expressions one by one with an indifferent gaze.

"Six years ago, as our head of the Northlands, I issued an order: if I had the chance, I would assassinate the visiting Second Prince of the Stars. ”

Fast Rope stabbed Tails in the dark.

Tails lowered his eyelashes, pretending not to see the reproachful look of "Why are you again?" from the other party.

The chisel's words continued, attracting everyone's attention: "But this order was finally stopped by Teng. He even ventured out of his way to prevent those of us from doing impulsive things. ”

"He wanted the prince alive, and even sent me to the Black Sand bus for this. ”

Ricky frowned, fingers twining lightly on the table.

"From the almost frenzied assassination of the royal family members eighteen years ago, to the present time doing everything to ensure the survival of that prince," the chisel showed a mysterious expression, "The change of attitude before and after Teng only says one thing." ”

He held up a finger and said in a serious tone:

"The existence of that prince must mean something. ”

Tails could feel his nails gripping into his palms.

The mercenaries stirred in low voices.

The hammer didn't care, just stared straight at the highest-ranking Ricky: "Take him, I can find out Teng's secret, find out why he is so interested in the Bright Star Royal Family, and find out the truth behind the big business that he took over like crazy in his bloody years." ”

"Why, do you want to work with us to uncover this secret?"

The commotion of the mercenaries grew louder and louder, and Tails could even hear Marina gritting her teeth behind her back.

Northland swordsman Clay leaned over and whispered something in the masked man's ear, but the masked man only shook his head slightly.

Until Ricky raised a hand with a blank face and calmed the whispers around him.

"Where's Teng?"

The leader of the mercenaries did not dwell on the so-called secret thrown by the other party, but asked softly:

"How is he now?"

Returning to this topic, the face of the drill seems to be covered with a haze.

He and Ricky stared at each other quietly, but the latter's nonchaliant look revealed his attitude and focus.

The chisel could only sigh slightly.

"Life and death are uncertain. ”

The three leaders of the Sword of Calamity frowned at the same time.

"But I can tell you that he's not doing well, he's not doing well," he said, clasping his hands together and picking up the conversation very quickly, "and since then, Teng hasn't been seen in the organization for six years, and even I rarely receive orders from him, even if ......."

He said solemnly, "Including me, more than one person in the organization has begun to doubt the current situation of the Shadow Lord. ”

Listening to the chisel's words, Ricky took a soft breath.

"So," Crassus of the Sword of Calamity gave a strange look: "The Shadow Shield is now a headless serpent. ”

The masked swordsman added unpleasantly, "This makes them even more dangerous: you never know where the venom will splash towards." ”

Clay snorted, and the chisel could only smile awkwardly.

"And what are you doing here?"

Ricky shook his head, "Uncover his secrets and carry on his unfinished business?"

The smile of the chisel slowly faded.

"Needless to say, after Teng's disappearance, the Shadow Shield is at a critical turning point. ”

The chisel coughed: "As I said, taking down that prince is the key to solving the puzzle, and it is a summary of what Teng has done in the past ten years." ”

The masked man snorted.

"Sounds like you're unhappy with your master?"

"Dissatisfied?"

The drill looked delicate at first, and then shook his head decisively.

"No, I'm here to save the desperate Shadow Shield from despair and hardship. ”

"We can't go on like this, the Shadow Shield needs to be uplifted, it needs to be renewed, it needs new stimulation......"

The masked man interrupted him again.

"Or the new leader—I guess you want to say that?"

The words of the drill choked in his mouth.

"It's been twenty years since Teng came to the Western Continent," the masked man said coldly in a tone that he knew a lot, "Twenty years of 'Shadow Lord', for the 'fine tradition' of the Shadow Shield in the rotation of leaders, his reign has indeed been a bit excessive. ”

The face of the chisel turned cold.

"You don't have to hint at that. ”

"I have made these secrets known to you only to gain trust," said the hammer coldly, "in order to prove to you: the Shadow Shield, at least the part I lead, is no longer the old view of the Teng period, and we should not bear the treatment and stigma of that period." ”

As soon as he said this, the masked man snorted and shook his head, and Clay laughed.

The unexpected one who took over the words of the chisel was Marina.

"Ridiculous," the woman in red said in a hateful tone, "what kind of 'stigma' do you think we can give to a bunch of stinky rats in the gutter?"

Hearing this rebuttal, the chisel frowned and looked at Ricky, only to find that the other party did not have the slightest displeasure at being interrupted.

He could only sigh and turn to Marina.

"I'm not just talking about it. ”

In the face of Marina's hateful eyes, the hammer said sadly: "Once upon a time, the Shadow Shield was not a mouse that everyone shouted about, and once upon a time, we also had noble and respectable concepts. ”

The mercenaries looked at each other.

I saw the hammer take a deep breath: "A thousand years ago, the empire was finally restored, the major powers were born, and the powerful and high-ranking people set off countless wars, tyranny, slavery, and oppression, and the helpless people of the world experienced famine, death, pain and torture again and again. ”

So, after being driven to a dead end, such a group of people came into being: they came from humble backgrounds, their names and surnames were despicable, and they were alone, but they stood up and held their blades, and in the weak, they sacrificed their lives in the shadows, assassinating tyrants, resisting tyranny, fighting back against power, and standing in front of the ruler's immorality and the tyranny of the princes, and sounding the voice of suffering of the common people. ”

"It's rare," Ricky's eyes showed a hint of approval, "compared to those blind killers, at least you know your organization's past." ”

Tails' eyebrows twitched: this was the first time he had heard the Shadow Shield narrated from this angle.

The drill owes a bow, and then he lets out a long sigh, his eyes wandering.

"Once upon a time, we were the last hope of the miserable, the vanguard messengers of the insurgents, the unreturnable warriors of the rebels, threatening, reminding, and warning the tyrants who held high positions but preyed on the common people by unimaginable means and costs: in the shadow cast by the rulers, there was always such a restless existence, always incarnated as the strongest and most thorny shield, guarding the people who were trampled under their feet and despised. ”

Ricky remained motionless, and Clay and the masked man responded with expressions: the former disdainful, the latter snorting.

But once again, the drill was interrupted.

"How can you be so shameless and describe such a despicable thing?"

"Last hope?," Marina said through gritted teeth, "Scum, do you know how many thousands of innocent people have been ruined because of you in the year of blood!"

The chisel glanced back at Marina in some surprise.

He said with a complicated expression, "I can't say you're wrong, girl. ”

The chisel lowered his head and sighed:

"The truth is that thousands of years have passed, and the shadow shield that swore to resist in despair has been drifting with the tide and reluctant to compromise day after day...... Fallen into the filth it is today. ”

He clenched his fists and bit out the words from between his teeth as if he were angry:

"Profit-seeking, flies and dogs, muddy, disgusting. ”

The air in the tavern was quiet for a moment.

"Wow, a noble, pure, shadowy assassin detached from the lower tastes," Clay shook his head sarcastically, "what a rarity." ”

The hammer still clenched his fists, as if he didn't see the eyes of the others, nor did he hear Clay's sarcasm and Marina's snort.

"Especially after Teng arrived, our situation has become even worse. ”

His face tightened, and his breathing accelerated:

"Eighteen years ago, he bewitched us, contacted all parties, and launched an operation against the Bright Star Royal Family, starting with the great assassination that shocked the world. ”

Tails' heart was beating faster and faster: my tavern had given him too much information tonight.

The chisel raised his head sharply and gritted his teeth: "As the shadow master, he has never leaked the list of employers of our business, but he tried his best to trick us into ignoring the risks behind it. ”

Teng said it beautifully: the Shadow Shield was fed up with haunting the poor streets, taking the stinky copper of a few country villagers, finding the rich or unpaid barons, and seeking justice for the stolen cattle in the village, and he said, "We have a great responsibility, and we will get to the root of it." ”

The chisel looked around, his eyes burning with anger, as if he was trying to find recognition.

He told us that by a great business that had never been done before, the kingdom of the stars would collapse. It represents the beginning of a new era, a great era rooted in chaos and confusion, where the whip will whip, blood will be spilled, fields will burn, fear will sprout, a time of chaos that will make us shine, a time that will change the decline and rise to the top, just as we rose a thousand years ago – the world that woke up in our sleep will remember us again and need us again. ”

The words of the chisel were so vivid that Tails could even imagine Teng's tone at the time.

But......

List of employers.

Tails noticed the word.

In the year of blood, who are the people who want to see the destruction of the Bright Star Royal Family?

The chisel exhaled, his expression and tone darkening at the same time.

"I have to say that he is very eloquent, his means are superb, and he also carries the power of the new superior...... Some of them were seduced, and some of them had to obey him for the sake of their lives. ”

Clay showed his contempt: "I guess you're going to say you're one of those 'musts'?"

The chisel shook his head.

"It doesn't matter anymore, it's the consequences of it. ”

"Let's see, what Teng and his crazy plans have brought us. ”

The chisel spread his hands flat, and his face was depressed:

"Confusion? Of course, the war in the Year of Blood is a mess, and it's not just civilians who suffer, but also killer assassins like us, and even mercenaries like you—if everyone is likely to die at the hands of the war, what else do killers do?

And that turmoil didn't last long — at least not until our golden age came — before it ended. ”

The hammer struggled with an expression, as if experiencing hell:

"For eighteen years, Teng has made enemies on all sides: not only have the shadows hidden in the realm of the stars, but even in the world beyond the stars, they have to face the relentless pursuit and extermination of the secret department or their allies, you can't imagine how we got through the old days, everything is terrible. ”

The drill has a cold look in his eyes: "That's a business with no winners." ”

Tails' heart sank.

"The kingdom of the stars in the aftermath of the Great Tribulation did not fail to usher in a golden age of assassins and shadows, but instead rose from the ashes, and the new king's methods were more ruthless than ever, and the power of the throne was more powerful than ever. The endless feuds between the nobles and the princes slowly disappeared under the iron fist of the new king, and the chaotic future promised by the fall of the Kingdom of the Stars had not arrived, but faded away—ridiculous to say, but sometimes our men even wondered: Could it be that Teng, who launched the assassination, was the spy of the Kingdom of Stars?"

In the final narrative, the chisel is almost uttered in a bitter tone that makes us cry and laugh.

People can't help frowning.

Ricky exchanged glances with the others.

"You just asked, I'm 'dissatisfied' with Teng?"

The drill shook his head violently, and jealousy flashed in his eyes: "No, the word you chose is too simple to describe how we feel about Teng. ”

"For twenty years, Teng brought the Shadow Shield. ”

"It's a disaster. ”

The tavern was quiet again.

Only Tails is still immersed in his own thinking.

Rise.

What kind of person is this?

"You say, six years ago, Teng ventured into Longxiao City, encountered an ambush, and was dying?"

Ricky's voice rang out, pulling Tails back to reality.

The chisel nodded politely:

"Yes?"

Ricky touched his chin and chuckled with a clear eye:

"Regardless of whether your words are believed or not. ”

"Be careful of how someone like Teng found out in Longxiao City, which you have been running for a long time?"

The drill stiffened.

"So, either you're talking nonsense, chisel, or ......"

Ricky's smile froze.

"Now, this person who deals with us is a ...... who is unwilling to be subordinated and kills the lord in anger."

Ricky's eyes showed a cold color of dead silence:

"Betrayer. ”

The tavern was suffocating and terrifyingly silent.

Everyone looked at the drill with a strange look.

Damn it.

The chisel rubbed the sweat from his palms.

This so-called Crassus......

Ricky didn't move, waiting for the drill to respond.

A full few seconds passed.

The latter took a deep breath.

In fact, "Finally, at this moment, the chisel no longer gathered a smile, but his face was full of coldness, and his eyes showed cruelty:

"If you've never been loyal to someone or something......"

"And what about betrayal?"

As soon as these words came out, whether it was Clay or the masked man, their eyes looked at the drill even more sharply.

But to his surprise, Ricky smiled.

"You must be scared of him, right? ”

The leader of the Sword of Calamity said flatly, "Afraid of Teng." ”

The figure of the chisel trembled.

"Whether you subconsciously imitate his speech and behavior, or you deliberately show resentment and dissatisfaction, you can't hide your inadvertent fear. ”

Ricky seems to have grasped the weakness of the other party:

"He's like an impassable mountain to you, a shadow without bounds, isn't he?"

"The reason why you want to master his secrets so much is because you can't wait, you want to surpass him, surpass Teng. ”

The chisel swallowed softly.

His lips twitched, but he didn't make a sound, as if struggling.

It was as if all his previous eloquence had lost its due color at this moment.

Eventually, Ricky looked at him and shook his head.

"Come on," Ricky didn't ask, but snapped his fingers against the backrest:

"It's time to talk about our collaboration. ”

The chisel was stunned, as if he didn't expect the other party to return to the main topic he wanted so easily.

"So ......"

I saw Ricky clenching his hands and a cold light in his eyes:

"For the sake of possible cooperation, you might as well tell me something about that prince?"

Listening to Tails' stiff body, he tried his best to behave naturally.

"How did you find him?"

After a few seconds, the chisel took a deep breath and smiled.

A moment later, a plainly dressed man was led into the tavern.

The new guests were lightly dressed, dusty, and tired after the journey, but even in the face of the room full of unkind swordsmen, they still maintained their demeanor and even pride, and walked all the way without humility or arrogance, and found the person in the room who spoke and counted at the first time.

Hammer smiled: "Let me introduce you, this is Baron Russell Vader." ”

With his words, the new guest bowed slightly.

Tails moved slightly, he subconsciously felt that he had seen this man.

But......

Ricky frowned slightly: "Baron?"

Clay looked suspicious, and said softly: "Vida, I remember that the noble surname of this Northland man seems to be a small vassal with a fief, and it can't be smaller. ”

The new guest lifted up, revealing a vicissitudes of life but a serious face.

"Take away the honorific title," Russell nodded, "my fiefdom has long been taken back, and my title has been stripped away." ”

He grimaced: "Now, I'm just Russell Vader." ”

"You're too modest," said the chisel, on the other hand, raising his hand and happily adding, "At present, you are our most reliable source of intelligence and cooperation, including our back ......"

Suspicion appeared on Ricky's face: Cooperation?

But the newcomer Russell didn't mean to say hello, and directly interrupted the drill.

"I've had enough of clever diplomatic rhetoric," Russell said, shaking his head:

So I got straight to the point. ”

"A few days ago, we received a message," he said, with a solemn face and a low voice, for the others to listen unconsciously: "There is an informant who has secretly discovered the traces of Tyles Bright Star in the desert. ”

Tails chuckled in his heart!

Even the fast rope stopped moving.

"The informant has already set up a target, but because he is undermanned and in enemy territory, he has to ask us for help and arrange for their evacuation afterwards. ”

Russell frowned, "The deadline for evacuation was last night, and according to the plan, our informant was going to come to us with his princely captive. ”

Ricky listened to the other party's narration, and the suspicion on his face never disappeared.

Tails stared straight at the ground, motionless.

But it was early in the morning, and the informant had not responded. ”

Russell let out a breath and said sharply, "For this, we have reason to believe that he has failed." ”

"That's why I'm here today, breaking with convention, and urgently asking for help from both of you. ”

Russell looked at the smiling hammers, and then at Ricky, who had a disrespectful expression.

The new guest gritted his teeth and said, "It is very likely that Tails Bright Star has escaped our control and received official protection from the camp, and we must rush to recapture the target with a thunderous blow before the army returns, the time is urgent, the sooner the better." ”

Ricky and his companions exchanged glances with each other.

"Any clues?"

Russell nodded.

"Our informant, he's a mercenary," Russell looked around with a serious face, "The name used in the desert is ......"

"Big Dean. ”

I'm out of the (lv) bad (you) fat coming!

(End of chapter)