A Tale of Strategies For the Throne

As some people jumped up and down, rumors quickly spread among the city residents who had been panicking.

It was like an infectious disease, but within a few hours, almost everyone in the city knew about it.

The consul fled with other officials!

The soldiers protected the officials and escaped!

They were abandoned!

How can this be—

Although it was late at night, the city was already in chaos.

Because of the pirate's attack, they hid in the room tremblingly all afternoon, and the mentality of the flustered citizens was completely overwhelmed by this last straw.

Fear, anger, disappointment and other surging emotions overwhelmed their rationality. Under the instigation of some caring people, they rushed out of their brains and gathered together like thousands of streams, forming a terrifying force.

Thousands of city dwellers rushed to the streets and gathered in front of the governing government in the center of the city from all directions.

"Let the consul come out!"

"Let all the officials come out!"

"Where are our soldiers—?"

In front of the government office, the originally empty large square was densely packed with people.

Everyone was shouting loudly, and everyone's face was full of anger.

Someone was screaming hysterically, someone was waving their fists furiously and roaring loudly.

Human beings are the most easily influenced by the same kind around them.

Even those who just wanted to take a look at the situation were involuntarily affected by this environment, and became agitated after being involved in the waves.

"How can you escape? What should we do?"

"You actually want to leave us and run away, you cowards!"

Hundreds of soldiers who were in charge of guarding the gate of the Consulate struggled to guard the gate of the Consulate, holding their spears horizontally in front of them to block the crowded citizens in front of them.

Their figures are like a solid wall, firmly blocking the raging crowd and preventing them from rushing in.

And their blocking angered these already angry people even more.

"Leave us alone! You actually left us alone! You guys are inferior to pigs and dogs!"

"You bunch of lackeys!"

"Go away, we want to see the consul! You bloody lackeys, get out of here—"

Someone with disheveled hair screamed insults at the soldiers who blocked them.

Someone stretched out his hand, trying to take away the spears from the soldiers.

Once someone takes the lead, many others will follow.

A hand reached out and tore the soldier's hair and clothes.

Some hands reached out and slammed heavily on those soldiers, and even scratched their faces and arms with their nails.

"You bastards!"

"You must not die!"

"Consul! Get him out, come out and meet us!"

The veins on the faces of the soldiers who were wantonly cursed and insulted were all stretched out. They gritted their teeth, and made no sound with a stern face.

But they still stood there, blocking the surging crowd with their bodies.

This is what Garlan saw when he rushed out from the side door with Kaihos and several generals.

Unexpectedly, the situation had reached such an unmanageable situation, and everyone was stunned for a while, unable to speak for a while.

In the dark night, thousands of citizens crowded the square, shouting to see the consul.

At this moment, with a sudden swish, the originally dark square brightened up.

The torches surrounding the square connected by special agencies were all ignited with a bang.

In an instant, the light shines.

And the brightest one is a high platform extending in front of the high-rise government building.

The front of the high platform faces the square, while the back is a hemispherical shape that surrounds the high platform.

A huge torch illuminates the high platform brightly.

That's the bulletin board of the Consulate.

Whenever there is any important event or when a grand sacrifice is held, the city residents will be summoned to the square, and the consul will stand on the bulletin board to speak to everyone.

After a special and ingenious design by the craftsman, the voice of the speaker can be amplified on the bulletin board.

As long as the square is quiet enough, talking loudly here can spread throughout the square for everyone to hear.

The noisy square was quiet for a moment when the torch on the bulletin board was lit.

Everyone looked up one after another, and saw a man wearing the uniform of an admiral appearing on the high platform.

"Captain Seth?"

"It's Captain Seth."

"Yes, it's him!"

Many citizens recognized this person at a glance.

Seth's presence made them start whispering to those around them.

"Citizens of Tozeth, listen to me—"

Thanks to the special nature of the bulletin board, Seth's voice resounded throughout the square.

"You have not been abandoned."

He says,

"We are still here, the army is still here, please believe us! We are soldiers of Aaron Landis, no matter what happens, we will never abandon you!"

"So, don't be afraid, please go back with confidence."

Seth yelled,

"We will protect this city, and we will definitely protect you!"

Captain Seth has always been known for his integrity in Tozes City, his words made everyone a little quieter.

The anger in their hearts weakened a bit, and everyone looked at each other. Although no one moved, everyone was still standing in the square, but many people had hesitant expressions on their faces.

Those who were affected by the intense environment and lost control of their emotions also began to calm down, and a very small number of sober people have already begun to persuade relatives and friends who came together to leave here.

Seth breathed a sigh of relief.

But at this moment, another shout suddenly sounded from the quiet crowd.

"That sounds good! Who knows if you are lying to us!"

Everyone was stunned for a moment, before realizing who the person who shouted these words was, similar doubts sounded again and again.

"That's right! How can it be possible to make us believe you with just a few words!"

"Yes, yes, you are just a captain, what qualifications do you have to say such things?"

"Everyone, don't be fooled by him!"

"Let the consul come out! We want to see him, and hear him—"

These questioning voices came from different places in the crowd, and suddenly made the quiet and hesitant people uneasy again.

The flames were lit again, and they shouted after the voices.

"That's right! The Consul comes out!"

"You are just a mere captain, what's the use of what you say?"

"Where's the consul? Why hasn't he come out yet?"

"It must have really run away, you see, except for Captain Seth, none of the officials saw it, they must all have run away, leaving this man to lie to us—"

"We want to see the Archon!"

"We won't believe any of your nonsense until we see the Archon!"

In an instant, the square became turbulent again, and people shouted hoarsely together.

They rushed forward, trying to break through the blockade of the soldiers and rush into the Consulate.

They were dazzled by the anger, their eyes were red, each of them looked ferocious, and they roared to the point where the veins on their necks burst out.

They seem to want to vent all their panic, anger, and fear at this moment.

Seth yelled and yelled anxiously from the bulletin board, but it was no use, never believed him again.

The defense line composed of soldiers is already crumbling. Even soldiers, they can't compete with so many crazy people.

The scene has completely gotten out of control.

Several generals standing at the side door watched all this with livid faces.

Keyhos frowned deeply.

Looking at the situation in front of him that was out of control, Garlan stood quietly.

He closed his eyes slowly, his fine blond hair scattered on his slender eyelashes, as if they were dyed with a little golden light on his eyelashes.

The deafening shouts echoed in his ears like a mountain roaring and a tsunami.

But in this violent square, for some reason, only the place where he was standing was unusually quiet.

Garlan stood there for a long time.

Then, he opened his eyes.

The flames burning around the square seemed to fall into his golden eyes the moment he opened his eyes.

He turned around abruptly, without greeting anyone, and walked quickly through the side door back into the hall of the consul.

When he left, Keyhos was giving some instructions to the guards beside him.

The knight ordered: "Arrange people to sneak into the crowd immediately, and control the few guys who made a fuss and agitated others earlier, and don't let others find out."

After he finished speaking, he turned his head and saw that Garlan's figure was about to disappear through the door.

He was stunned for a moment, his face suddenly changed, and he hurriedly chased after him.

"prince!"

In the empty hall, only the sound of footsteps echoed.

Kehos yelled, but Garlan didn't look back.

He walked through the hall, quickly walked through the corridor inside the Consulate, and walked to the other side.

It was in the middle of the Consulate's interior. A door was open, and inside the door, spiral stone steps led directly to the top.

Seth's anxious and futile cry came from the top of the spiral stone steps.

Walking up from here is the bulletin board.

Garlan raised his foot.

However, just as he took a step forward, the blond knight who was chasing him grabbed his hand.

The boy turned his head. He was standing on the steps, looking down at his knight.

Kyhoes clasped his wrists and looked up at him.

"No, Your Highness."

said the knight, his voice suppressed at this moment.

His pupils contracted forcefully.

"No."

If he just sits behind the scenes incognito, no one will know that the prince is still in the city except those generals.

This is why he has always been calm and never persuaded the prince to leave the city of Tozes.

He had already made up his mind that once the situation was defeated, he would forcibly take the prince to break through and leave.

He has this confidence.

However, if the prince appears in front of everyone now...

Kyhos tightly grasped Garlan's wrist.

At this moment, he felt that his breathing was a little difficult.

"Your Highness."

Keyhos said softly.

His voice was very soft, as if he was afraid that something would be irreparable if he spoke louder.

"This time, just this time, this time, you must listen to me."

He says,

"Please...don't go."

do not go.

If you go.

Once you show up in front of everyone, you cut off all your escape routes.

Standing on the stone steps, the boy's golden eyes looked down at Kaihos.

He didn't answer.

He just looked at Keyhors and smiled.

A little silence, a little silence.

The knight clasped the young man's fingers slowly and with difficulty.

He stood downstairs, watching Garlan turn and leave.

When the boy turned around, the light-colored cloak flying past his eyes.

Deep shadows flitted across his malachite green eyes.

The knight stood watching the back of his prince disappear down the spiral stone steps.

…………

………………

Seth stared blankly at the noisy crowd below, his voice was already hoarse, but it didn't help.

At this moment, he suddenly felt exhausted physically and mentally.

Before the enemy came in, the city of Tozes was about to collapse from the inside.

How ironic.

They desperately wanted to defend the city, but those city residents who had been instigated by whom did not believe them, believed that they were going to abandon themselves, and yelled and cursed at them.

Even if he was as tough as Seth, he felt disheartened for a while.

Just when he was helpless, suddenly, footsteps came.

His eyes widened when he saw the familiar figure.

"prince?"

He lost his voice and called out the identity of the person.

The surprise of the person coming made Seth forget that he was on the bulletin board at the moment, and when he shouted, his voice was amplified.

In the square, that special title suddenly rang in their ears, which made many people startled and looked at each other in blank dismay.

"prince?"

"What is he saying?"

"How is it possible? Did you hear wrong?"

They were discussing one after another, and couldn't help looking up.

"How do you—"

Keyhos' plan had already been disclosed to Seth.

Seth was very much in favor of Cayjos's idea, and told the generals not to reveal that the prince was still in the city.

Seeing Garlan coming up here, he immediately became anxious and wanted to persuade Garlan to go down.

"Seth, back off."

One word from Garlan made all Seth's words stuck in his throat.

With a deep sigh in his heart, he lowered his head.

He said, "Yes, Your Highness."

He bowed his head and stepped aside.

When answering, he was still standing on the center point of the high platform, and his voice was expanded again.

Everyone heard that title again.

"Yes, he was talking about the prince."

"Is it really..."

"Impossible. The noble status of the prince is much more noble than the consul. The consul has escaped. How can he still be there?"

"But he clearly yelled..."

"Yeah, I heard that just now."

The people who were excited just now fell silent in an instant, and all of them stared at the brightly lit bulletin board with their eyes wide open.

They waited with bated breath.

They saw Captain Seth step aside, bow his head and kneel.

A boy appeared in their line of sight.

The flame of the huge torch illuminated the boy's face, as well as the long golden hair blown by the wind.

That is...His Royal Highness?

The townspeople of Tozeth stared at the young man with respect and awe. Their innate awe of the supreme royal family made them shut up, not daring to make any more noise.

After all, it was a prince.

No matter how they were dazzled by anger, given their great courage, they would not dare to be presumptuous to the noble prince.

"Citizens of Tozeth."

Under the watchful eyes of thousands of citizens, Garlan spoke.

"I am the prince of Aaron Landis, Garlan."

Really His Royal Highness!

Everyone's hearts were beating violently, and they raised their heads high.

But in the next second, their hearts that were raised high fell down heavily in an instant.

Garlan said: "As you know, the consul and most of the officials of Tozeth have fled."

"!"

Seth looked up sharply.

They tried their best to conceal the matter, but the prince said it directly.

He opened his mouth to say something, but couldn't utter a single word.

Garlan's words were like a bolt from the blue, stunned the citizens of the entire square at once.

They stood there dumbfounded, their mouths open but no sound came out.

After confirming the fact that they were abandoned, their eyes were instantly burned red with anger. Fear and despair even overwhelmed their awe of the prince at this moment. Some people opened their mouths, wanting to shout out.

However, before they shouted, Garlan had already spoken one step ahead of them.

"Those who want to escape have already escaped, far away."

Garland said.

He raised his hand and pointed to the kneeling Seth beside him.

Then, pointing downwards, pointing at the crowd, pointing at the soldiers who stopped the citizens and were being shoved and charged.

"So those who stay here now are those who refused to escape with the consul, want to protect you, and are determined to live and die with the city of Tozes."

Just a few words of understatement, forcibly suppressed the roar that everyone was about to burst out.

Once again, the square was eerily quiet.

Garlan said: "Citizens of Tozes, are you still planning to continue insulting these warriors who stayed behind to protect you?"

Everyone was at a loss for a while.

However, perhaps intentionally or unintentionally, those who rushed into the soldiers all backed back a little involuntarily.

The square fell silent, and everyone was relatively silent.

Rumors of the consul's escape had enraged them immensely.

However, when they confirmed that the rumors were true, they lost the mood to continue to get angry.

There was nothing in their hearts, and the terrible reality made their minds blank.

Kayhos, who was standing on the side of the square, looked up at his prince.

The guards he had dispersed had secretly controlled the dozen or so people who had taken the lead in the crowd just now, and led them out of the crowd without a trace, intending to bring them back for interrogation.

"My wise people of Tozeth."

On the high platform, the prince's voice spread high in the air.

"Don't let the anger and panic get to your head, think about it, it doesn't matter if the officials are running or not, it doesn't matter if you're here."

He was not angry because of the turmoil of the city people.

His voice was calm, just like his calm expression at the moment.

"My people, Solga, the God of Wisdom, bestowed wisdom on mankind, so now, calm down and think with your minds."

He says,

"Think about who will gain after the chaos in Tozes City."

"Think calmly, do you want to continue?"

This time, without those constant rhythmic people making trouble, in the silence, the city residents began to calm down.

The fine rain began to fall again.

After being drenched by the icy rain, the mind that was dazzled by anger and fear became somewhat clearer.

What did they do?

Thinking of what they did just now, many people turned pale and felt like they were dreaming.

They didn't even understand how they did that kind of thing.

It felt like being swept into the tide all of a sudden, and I couldn't help shouting with the blood punch.

At this moment, everyone fell silent, and the square was eerily quiet.

Only the whistling of the wind could be heard.

Soon, a sob broke the deathly silence.

Someone sobbed.

"Your Highness, I'm scared."

"I'm really scared," she said in a crying voice.

"Please tell us, can we still live?"

She sobbed, expressing the common aspirations of everyone present.

"Please tell us, what exactly should we do?"

In the silent square, the voice seemed exceptionally clear.

Almost everyone heard it.

Subconsciously, as if in a resonance, everyone turned their gazes to Garlan.

Everyone looked at Garlan with complicated eyes.

On the one hand, they want to hear words from the prince, such as 'I will protect everyone', 'Tozeth City will be safe', 'Everyone will live well' and so on, even if it is a lie.

On the other hand, they also felt that if the prince really said the same thing as Captain Seth, then he was simply tricking them and perfunctory them.

This kind of contradictory mood even felt very at a loss for themselves.

They themselves didn't know what kind of answer they wanted to hear from the prince.

They could only raise their heads, silently waiting for the prince's answer.

Garlan looked down at the thousands of people below who were staring at him.

"I do not know."

He says,

"I don't know if I can keep Tozeth, I don't know if we can survive."

The light in everyone's eyes dimmed.

The prince did not lie to deceive them.

On the one hand, they feel a little comforted inexplicably, and on the other hand, they feel more and more desperate.

"But, my people."

On the high platform, the young prince looked down on his people.

Garlan said, "Even in death, I am with you."

The howling wind spread his words throughout the silent land.

Everyone stared blankly at the top.

Their prince stood on the dais.

People couldn't see his face, but they could hear his voice.

There are no glamorous promises.

There was no passionate agitation.

Simpler than anything... It can even be said to be cruel words.

But it was such a cruel language. For some reason, at this moment, they inexplicably calmed down their panic-stricken hearts.

Someone bowed his head and clasped his hands as if praying.

Some people covered their faces and wept silently.

Someone knelt and fell to the ground.

Someone squatted down and hugged his young child tightly with his eyes lowered.

Someone raised his hand and silently wiped away the tears from the corners of his eyes.

Tozes City in the darkness, the drizzle was falling, and the night was quiet.

………………

I don't know how it will turn out.

But my people.

Do not be afraid.

Even in death, I am with you.