A Tale of Strategies For the Throne

After his subordinates left, Earl sat quietly in the room, the lights on the wall had been extinguished, and the moonlight slanted down on him from the skylight, pulling his shadow long on the ground.

He sat there, motionless, his eyes looking ahead very calmly.

Perhaps in the eyes of his subordinates, he has gone crazy.

In fact, he is very sober now, unprecedentedly sober.

Heymos won't let him go.

Earl is clear.

Although his nephew's appearance is similar to his elder brother's, his personality is very different from his generous elder brother.

All these years, he has been watching him secretly, whenever he has the opportunity, he will try to assassinate him.

Because of this, he knew exactly what Heymos was like.

The means are harsh.

One hit kill.

This time, since Heymos has come to the city of Meneste, it means that he is absolutely sure to deal with him.

If he didn't do anything, once Heymos made a move, he could only catch him without a fight.

He can't sit still.

Therefore, counterattacking before Heymos makes a move is his only way out now.

He knew what he was doing was risky, but he could only put all his eggs in one basket.

Because now he has no way out.

…………

No.

Perhaps it was many years ago, from the moment he secretly stole and discarded his elder brother's newborn child with evil intentions in his heart, he had no way out...

………………

In the dark night, Garlan was galloping on horseback.

At this moment, he was burning with anxiety.

In Aaron Landis, killing blood relatives with one's own hands is a sin that is not tolerated by the gods.

In the previous lives, although Heymos committed such a crime, he was already notorious. In addition, King Kamos knew the truth of the matter, and he was ashamed and sympathetic to Heymos. Even if Heymos did such a thing that everyone criticized, he still protected him, so Heymos could continue to stay in the position of crown prince.

But this life is different. Heymos was not murdered by Earl, and King Kamos would not feel guilty towards him. Once Heymos killed his blood relatives with his own hands...

Garlan frowned tightly.

In the previous lives, Heymos lost control and did such a thing because of his distorted mind and extreme hatred for Earl who had caused him misfortune.

It stands to reason that the current Heymos should not do such a stupid thing.

However, what is his uneasy feeling...

…………

Amidst all their thoughts, the night passed quickly.

In the early morning, Heymos was invited by the attendants sent by Earl to a garden in the castle.

It was a small but exquisite garden, with a stream meandering on one side.

In the middle is a spacious emerald green lawn, surrounded by green trees, and a blue stone carving table stands on the green velvet grass.

When Heymos was brought over, Lord Earl was already sitting in front of the stone table, facing the morning sun, drinking a glass of wine for himself.

Heymos raised his hand, signaling his subordinates to stay outside, and then walked over by himself.

"what's up?"

Standing still on the edge of the stone table, Heymos asked.

Earl looked up at him and took another sip of his drink.

He asked, "Why don't you do it directly?"

In this empty garden, there were only the two of them. Their respective subordinates and the servants in the castle stayed far away, and there was no one else within a radius of more than ten meters.

No one could hear the conversation between them, so Earl stopped pretending to be affectionate like yesterday.

"You should have the letter of King Kamos on you, and at least half of the army in Meneste City is under your control."

There is no news of the pawns he has arranged in the palace for so many years, and it is likely that they have fallen into the hands of Heymos, and they may have been dedicated to King Kamos by him.

He sneered while drinking.

"Heymos, my nephew, why didn't you just show the king's order and arrest me when you came yesterday?"

"There are some things I want to find out."

Heymos said flatly.

Over the years, he had actually gradually found out Earl's spies in the palace, he just didn't touch them.

Because if you move it, it will only damage a piece of the opponent's chess piece, which is useless.It's better to let them go, wait for them to make a big mistake, and then catch them all.

Just like this time.

Lord Earl smiled.

"What are you looking for?" He asked, "Is it the fact that you were almost burned to death?"

He nodded.

"Well, I admit, I arranged for someone to do it."

He took another sip of his wine and continued, "However, you must have guessed this matter at the beginning, otherwise you wouldn't rush over in anger and hurt Buck."

He said, his eyes gradually turned cold, and his voice revealed a bit of hatred.

"Heymos, do you know what you did that time? You crippled Buck's hand! You made him unable to hold a sword anymore! Don't you think you're too vicious?"

Heymos stood, looking at San Francisco Earl indifferently, without saying a word.

There was no trace of guilt on his face.

He is a good uncle, it is only natural that he secretly planned to burn him to death, but he just crippled one of Buck's hands, but Earl felt that he was too vicious.

This kind of double standard is so ridiculous, so ridiculous that he doesn't even bother to talk about it.

What's more, that incident hurt Garlan back then.

Thinking of the little child lying on the bed with a pale face and tears in his eyes, Heymos suddenly felt a surge of hostility in his heart.

He was still too young then.

If it were him now, Buck's hands and feet would be crippled as soon as he made a move, so that he could only lie on the bed as a cripple for the rest of his life, and make Earl's heart ache when he saw his son. Pain until death.

"If you have nothing else to do, I'm leaving, I'm busy."

Heymos said, turning to leave.

The things he wanted to know were too long ago, so in order to avoid alarming the enemy, he didn't touch Earl for the time being.

"What are you looking for? Is it...how did you get discarded back then?"

Earl's words made Heymos stop.

"Or, your father, my brother, the real cause of death?"

Heymos turned back and stared at Earl.

Earl drank the wine in the glass slowly, and smashed the glass on the stone table with a snap.

He raised his head and stared at Heymos, his eyeballs were a little red, and he didn't know whether it was because of drinking too much wine or other reasons.

"Heymos, my nephew, you should not have been born."

he said, staring at Heymos.

"Your birth killed your father, and he died because of you."

He gripped the wine glass so tightly that his knuckles were slightly white.

"He promised me originally. He said that he has no children. After he passes away, I will be the next city lord. So, over the years, in the eyes of everyone, and in my eyes, I will be the next city lord."

"But why—why were you born? Why were you born?"

For so many years, he existed as the next city lord of Menester City.

But suddenly, his older brother had a child.

On the day that child was born, he lost everything.

All the people who once surrounded him left him, and surrounded the newly born child.

Overnight, the world was turned upside down.

He was abandoned by everyone and became a complete joke.

"Heymos, without your existence, my brother and I would not have turned against each other, and your father would not have died."

"So, the culprit is you. It was your birth that killed your father."

Earl said, word for word.

His words sounded like curses.

"It would be fine without you."

"If only you had never been born in this world!"

In that case, he can still hide his jealousy towards his elder brother in his heart, and continue to be a good younger brother who respects his elder brother.

He will take good care of his elder brother, fulfill his responsibilities as a younger brother, and serve his elder brother with all his heart and soul until he grows old.

Then, he became the lord of the city of Meneste in a dignified manner.

Yes, as it should be.

That's how it should be.

If Heymos had not been born—

If Heymos hadn't taken away everything that should belong to him——

He wouldn't treat his brother at all—

"Heymos, you shouldn't have existed from the beginning."

Once the mask that had been disguised for decades was broken, Earl looked at Heymos ferociously, with deep hatred in his eyes.

Yes.

He hates the kid.

It was the appearance of this child that completely changed his destiny and pushed him step by step onto this irreversible path.

Facing Earl's resentful gaze and the almost curse-like words, the corner of Heymos' mouth twitched.

His expression was downplaying, as if he didn't take Earl's words to heart.

"Not even the gods of Aaron Landis can decide my fate."

He says,

"Ear, what kind of thing are you, and you decide whether I should exist or not?"

The black-haired young man stood in front of Earl, with a tall and straight figure, like a tall green pine rooted on the top of the mountain, standing majestically, even the wind, rain, landslides and ground cracks could not shake him at all.

He looked down at Earl, with a chill in his golden-red eyes, with a hint of sarcasm.

"That is to say, you were the one who stole me and sent me away?"

"Yes."

Earl responded immediately, looking at Heymos coldly.

"I only regret that I wasn't ruthless enough at the beginning, and I didn't let someone directly strangle you to death, so as to avoid future troubles."

He smiled contemptuously.

"A little bastard like you should die soon."

He got up, put one hand on the stone table, and approached Heymos.

He narrowed his eyes, narrow and malicious, as he scanned Heymos's face delicately.

"After you disappeared, my brother fell ill. He was very sad. Please, I must find you back..."

"Yes, of course I'll look for it, and I'll look for it very carefully, but there's nothing I can do if I can't find it, isn't it?"

"It's just that elder brother is too stubborn, holding on to such a breath, insisting on waiting until you come back. I really can't bear to see elder brother suffering so hard, so, for his own good, I helped him..."

"My good brother, he still thought I was a good brother until he died. Before he died, he begged me to find you and help him take care of his wife..."

"As for your mother, she looks dignified and beautiful, but she is actually like a prostitute. I just coaxed her a little bit, and then threw herself into the arms of her husband's younger brother without any scruples. thrown aside..."

"Did you know? When you were starving and being bullied by servants, your mother was alive on my bed..."

He spoke slowly sentence by sentence, and got very close to Heymos.

He spoke softly, but every word was filled with deep malice, and he slammed at Heymos like a deliberate provocation.

"You shouldn't be an eyesore again, Heymos, you were born by that whore-like woman, you have that kind of dirty blood on your body...Since you grew up in the garbage dump, you should continue to be there Live in the garbage heap, live until you die, it's just a pile of garbage..."

Suddenly, Heymos raised his hand sharply and pressed it on Earl's hand that was touching his wrist.

With a twist of his backhand, he snatched the dagger from Earl's hand.

Then, with a push, he pushed Earl away who was very close to him, and he quickly put the dagger into his sleeve.

In this way, in the eyes of those outside the garden, Heymos and Earl were talking, and then the two got closer and closer.

But Heymos made a sudden move and pushed Santo Earl away.

Those who were watching outside were startled, and then rushed in one after another.

Heymos raised his eyebrows, looking at San Francisco Earl who was pushed away by him.

"You want to piss me off?"

Every word Earl said just now was trying his best to arouse his greatest anger.

Then after humiliating him severely, he wanted to stuff the dagger into his hand.

If an ordinary person, especially a young man with a fresh blood, was angered by those words, and once his blood was aroused, he would probably stab him regardless.

"Why, do you want to die by my hands?"

Earl was astonished, he didn't see any anger on Heymos' face.

He also thought that Heymos might be able to control himself not to attack him even if he was irritated.If so, he would stab himself when Heymos was angry, and put the blame on Heymos.

But Heymos's eyes were terribly calm, as if the person he humiliated so much just now was not himself at all, so calm that he couldn't even use the means to blame him.

"Unfortunately, although I hate you, I don't want to get my hands dirty."

Heymos looked at him and said, "I don't want to lose my reputation for a guy who is doomed to have no future."

Earl had miscalculated in trying to piss him off with his parents, for he was a naturally cold-blooded fellow, and to him so-called parents were no different than strangers.

The reason why he wanted to find out the truth was not to avenge some parents, but to give an explanation to himself when he was a child.

Heymos turned his head, raised his hand, and showed the handwritten letter of King Kamos to the knight commander who had already come.

"It is King Kamos' will to abolish Earl's position as the lord of Meneste, and immediately escort him to the king's city for trial."

Since what he wanted to know had already been said by this person himself, there was no need for him to waste any more time.

After yesterday afternoon, it was already confirmed that more than half of the troops in the city of Meneste had surrendered to him. With these troops as support, the rest would not dare to openly disobey the royal order of King Kamos he brought.

He has already controlled the city and will not let it become chaotic because of the city lord's affairs.

So, now you can go straight to it.

Seeing the king's seal on the handbook, the group of guard knights rushed towards Earl without saying a word.

Earl's confidant guards who ran over together just now surrounded Earl and drew out their long swords to resist, but even if they were slightly larger in number, they were completely vulnerable to the powerful guard knights.

The team of knights sprinted and defeated them. The leading knight commander stepped forward and clasped the shoulders of Lord Earl.

He said solemnly: "City Lord Earl, King Kamos ordered that because you have committed many crimes, from now on you are no longer the City Lord of Meneste City. You must immediately go with me to the King City to meet the King."

Heymos ignored this and directly gave orders to the middle-aged general who greeted him yesterday.

"From now on, this castle is under control, and no one is allowed to move around at will, including the former heir Buck."

He said that he casually threw the dagger hidden in his sleeve to the middle-aged general.

"In addition, immediately announce the imperial order of King Kamos in the city."

"Heymos!"

A cry came from Earl, who was already held by the knight commander.

His once generous and gentle mask was completely broken at this moment, his face was ferocious, and his eyes were full of resentment when he looked at Heymos.

"Damn you—you should have been burned that day—"

"Burned to death...burned to death...you should have been doomed that day!"

As Earl's last words fell, Heymos felt that his eyes suddenly went dark, and something seemed to shatter in his mind.

Countless pictures flashed through his mind like fragments.

flame……

The crimson flame... is burning...

Swallowing his whole body in it... He wailed in the flames.

He was burned by the fire, curled up on the ground in despair...

…………

Holding his head with his hands, Heymos' pupils suddenly dilated.

The light red in the golden-red pupils seems to be soaked by the crimson flames in the brain, and condenses into a blood-red hue——

He held his head and opened his mouth, but couldn't make a sound.

The bone-deep pain burned by the flames was so real that it almost made him convulse on the spot.

Hatred comes with pain, like a shadow.

Intense resentment surged out from inside his body, like an invisible flame, burning his internal organs bit by bit, and devouring his reason bit by bit...

...the burned body...

The pain of struggling desperately on the verge of death...

…………

...the disgusting figure in the mirror...

Groups of polyps entangled with each other... the ugly half body like a monster...

... and ... a future doomed to despair ... ...

"Your Highness?"

The strangeness of Heymos caught the attention of the middle-aged general.

"Your Highness Heymos, why do you..."

He didn't answer the person who called him. At this moment, Heymos' eyeballs almost turned red.

His mouth was open, panting violently, and the corners of his eyes twitched.

Then, Heymos rolled his eyes and stared at Earl who was opposite him.

Just one glance made Earl feel cold all over.

As if being stared at by a venomous king cobra, Heymos stared at him and made his hair stand on end.

It was obvious that Heymos was calm not long ago, no matter how much he humiliated and scolded him, he looked at him like he was looking at a clown, and he didn't care.But at this moment, Heymos stared at him with deep hatred in his eyes, and his whole body exuded the killing intent towards him.

click!

The sharp long sword hanging on his waist was unsheathed, Heymos stared at Earl with blood red eyes, and slashed heavily with his sword.

"His Royal Highness Heymos!"

There was a clang and a crisp sound of weapons clashing, and the middle-aged general at the side saw that the situation was wrong, and hurriedly drew his sword to receive Heymos' sword, and helped Earl block the fatal blow.

However, he was also shaken to the point where he staggered several steps backwards, and the sword in his hand was sent flying.

"Your Highness! Please wake up!"

Seeing that Heymos stabbed Earl fiercely with his sword again, the knight commander stood up and stood in front of Earl, no longer caring about anything else.

This was under the watchful eyes of everyone, and His Royal Highness Heymos suddenly lost control of his emotions for some reason. In case he lost control and killed his uncle Earl——

The crime of killing blood relatives.

The knight commander could not imagine the dire consequences.

As a last resort, he took his subordinates to stand in front of Earl.

【The Black Knight from Hell】.

This title is not in vain. Heymos, who is out of control, may only be suppressed by King Kamos himself.

Although the knight commander led his subordinates to attack together, he tried his best to barely resist Heymos.

"Your Highness?!"

He anxiously called Heymos, trying to wake him up.

But Heymos's eyes were red at the moment, his face was ferocious, and his whole body seemed to be completely insane. He turned a deaf ear to his cries, and just stared at Earl, who was being protected by the knight commander. Just by looking at his eyes, he could tell He wanted to kill Earl in his hands.

Just as the knight commander was retreating steadily, trying to grit his teeth, suddenly out of the corner of his eye, he saw the knight he had arranged to guard outside the castle, leading two people, running towards him in a hurry.

In the next second, his eyes suddenly widened.

Prince Garlan!

Seeing that Prince Garlan was running towards this side quickly, the knight commander roared violently.

"Don't come here, Prince! Dangerous!"

But he was just trying to resist Heymos, and the roar at this moment made his movements slow down for a moment, and the next second, the knight commander was sent flying by Heymos.

Earl, guarded by the knight commander, appeared in front of Heymos.

Heymos stared at Earl with red eyeballs, and the deep-seated resentment was churning in his eyes.

With no obstacles in front of him, he took a sudden step forward, clenched the hilt of his sword with both hands, and slashed heavily at Earl——

Garlan stretched out his hand abruptly.

No.

he thinks.

Absolutely not!

He managed to change the fate of Heymos on that day, how could he watch fate return to the original track——

"Heymos!"

He shouted with all his strength, stretched out his arms desperately, and hugged Heymos from behind.

When Garlan hugged him, Heymos suddenly paused.

The blade of his slash hangs almost over Earl's shoulder.

He stood there, his whole body seemed to be in a daze, motionless.

The knight commander who was knocked down a second ago seized his momentary pause, jumped up from the ground, and rushed over to block Earl again.

As he rushed forward, he also shouted anxiously at his subordinates.

"Take the prince away!"

The appearance of Heymos out of control at this moment is really terrifying, the knight commander is afraid that if he misses, even Prince Garlan will be injured.

A knight quickly stepped forward, without caring about offending, grabbed Garlan's arm, intending to lead him away.

"His Highness Garlan, His Highness Heymos is too dangerous now, please stay away!"

Garlan, who was being held by the knight with one arm and still clutching Heymos's clothes with the other, turned his head, before he could speak.

No one noticed that when the knight said the name 'Garlan', a glimmer of light suddenly flashed across Heymos's dark eyes.

His body also paused.

good chance.

Seeing that Heymos stopped, the knight commander seized the opportunity and wanted to knock him unconscious.

But in the next second, he was knocked down heavily to the ground.

Lie on the ground, clutching his severely painful shoulder, he struggled to raise his head, and watched helplessly as Heymos grabbed the wrist of the knight who wanted to take Garlan away, and he just grabbed his hand and went straight to the ground. Throw it out.

His breath suddenly choked.

Oops!

Prince Garlan is in danger!

Just when he was startled and thought that Heymos would hurt Prince Garlan next, he saw Heymos stretched out his left hand and held Garlan in his arms, while the other hand was still tight. Holding the sword in front of him, he scanned the crowd sharply.

That posture, no matter how you looked at it, seemed to be carefully protecting Prince Garlan in his arms, protecting him, and preventing anyone from hurting him.

Knight Commander: "...???"

…………

Something seems wrong?