A Tale of Strategies For the Throne

The tips of the ears were hot.

Garlan thought it must be because of the sun that was about to set.

He reached out and pressed on the chest of the man with his hands encircling him, trying hard to push him away.

It stands to reason that with his strength, it is impossible to push Heymos at all.

However, as soon as he pushed, Heymos moved his body back according to his strength, pressed against the rocks on both sides of him as if he was holding his hands up, and the scorching breath and low breath poured out close to his ear. The lips of murmured words also left.

The extremely aggressive aura that had been surrounding him just now receded, making Garlan feel a little less uncomfortable.

However, that seems to have always been the case.

Although Heymos has been unabashedly declaring his admiration for him, and has been approaching step by step, forcefully branding his own traces in his whole body and life trajectory.

However, the man never did anything to force him.

It is obvious that the strength is much stronger than him, but as long as he expresses a little signal to stop or not, Heymos will immediately stop and take a step back according to his request.

like just now...

Garlan raised his head, and Heymos, who was standing in front of him, looked down at him.

The golden-red pupils are like the sunset glow in the sky, and they are full of softness that is completely contrary to the sharp corners of the eyes.

The jet-black forehead hair fell from the man's eyes and was gently blown by the wind.

Garlan saw that the night-like hair was dotted with a few tiny white petals, and the petals were soft and lovely, so Garlan couldn't help laughing.

He was still sitting on the rock, raised his hand with a smile, and waved to Heymos.

Heymos looked at Garlan, and then bent down again.

As soon as he squatted down, the angle of sight changed from looking down to looking up.

He didn't care about it himself, he just stared at Garlan with bright eyes, he looked like a big black wolfhound squatting obediently in front of his master.

Garlan reached out and took off the tiny flower petals that had stuck to Heymos's forehead.

But as soon as Heymos squatted down, he saw the top of Heymos' head. Not only were the petals stained on his forehead hair, but there were even more petals on the top of his head, and even a few of them got stuck in the hair.

The white points are particularly conspicuous in the jet-black hair.

The boy subconsciously reached out and stroked Heymos's hair a few times.

Heymos's black hair was very flexible and smooth, and when he flicked it, it fell apart, and the white petals mixed in the hair naturally fell down.

A few petals landed on the black shoulder armor.

The weak and boneless white petals and the cold and hard black armor are obviously the opposite sides of the extreme, but at this moment they seem to be extremely harmonious, giving people an indescribable sense of beauty.

"All right."

Satisfied, he patted the head of Heymos who was squatting in front of him again.

Then, he couldn't help but poke his brains secretly, if he didn't do anything, just let Heymos walk out with the petals on his head for everyone to see, I don't know how many people would be stunned.

And just as he was laughing and rehearsing the scene in his mind, Heymos, who had been watching him steadfastly, suddenly stretched out his hand.

The brown fingers stretched straight towards Garlan's face, and took off a petal hidden in the blond hair scattered around the corner of the eye.

Looking at the petals, Garlan was taken aback for a moment. He thought that when he was washing his face by the pool just now, he had taken pictures of the petals that stuck to his hair and shoulders.

I didn't expect there was a piece hidden here.

Probably because of the water, the small petal was a little wet, soft and pitifully pinched in the pulp of the knuckle fingers.

Garlan glanced at it and didn't pay much attention. He thought Heymos would throw it away just like him.

But Heymos glanced at him, suddenly lowered his head, and licked lightly on his fingertips.

The red tip of the tongue rolled the slightly wet petals on the fingertips into the lips.

This was caught off guard, and Garlan had no time to stop it.

He looked at Heymos in astonishment, only feeling that the tips of his ears were getting hotter and hotter, almost like burning.

He was thankful that his long hair covered his ears and made people invisible, so he forced himself to be calm, pretended to be nonchalant, and looked away from Heymos as if he didn't care at all.

Then, he put his hands up, jumped, and quickly jumped back to the ground from the rock he was sitting on.

"Okay, it's time to go back."

He said, in a calm tone, sounding calm.

Then he just walked past Heymos on his own and walked straight forward.

The wind brought by Garlan as he walked forward lifted the long hair that fell on his shoulders, and the long golden hair gently passed Heymos' eyes.

And the moment the blond hair was raised, the ears covered by the long hair were exposed to the air.

Heymos clearly saw the red tip of the boy's ear protruding from the blond hair.

His lips twitched.

However, he didn't say anything, just smiled and followed the pace of Garlan who was walking fast.

…………

........................

After returning to his own palace, he changed out of the pitch-black armor, and after cleaning his body briefly, Heymos came to Garlan's palace again.

Although he became the king of Aaron Landis, Garlan still lived in the palace where he lived since he was a child.

Throughout the ages, the new king would build a new palace in the palace, or completely renovate his palace to make it more magnificent.

However, Garlan seems to have no plans to build a new palace or renovate the current palace.

Therefore, this palace is still very familiar to Heymos.

Walking into the palace, he saw Garlan sitting cross-legged on the cool topaz stone platform, a snow-like white cloth was spread on it, and by the way the edge of the stone platform was hanging down.

Dozens of delicacies are placed on it, exuding a tempting aroma, and the sitting boy is stuffing a small piece of barbecued meat covered with honey into his mouth.

Standing aside, the female officer took out ice cubes from the jade plate with her slender fingers, and gently put them into the glass cup filled with light yellow fruit juice.

She smiled and looked at the boy with gentle eyes, obviously the boy's good appetite made her very happy.From time to time, she would turn her head and instruct the maid behind her to cut up a larger piece of meat, sprinkle a little sauce, or peel off the shell of the shrimp.

The atmosphere is very harmonious and comfortable.

And the only one who didn't fit in was a certain high priest standing aside with a dark face and expressionless expression.

Shemuer stood beside him without saying a word, but stared coldly at Garlan with eyes like sharp swords.

It makes people feel cold from the bottom of their hearts.

If it were someone else, with Xie Muer staring at him like this, he would have already sat on pins and needles, let alone continue to eat.

But Garlan, who was born to be the target of Ximuer's stare, still sat firmly, eating delicious food one bite after another without paying attention, and occasionally drinking a sip of cold juice.

No matter how you look at it, you look at ease.

As a result, His Excellency the High Priest, who already had an ugly face, stared at the young king of his family even more fiercely.

That murderous look made people really suspect that he wanted to kill the king with his eyes.

If he hadn't always kept his etiquette, perhaps he couldn't restrain himself from committing the following crimes.

Heymos coughed lightly, then walked over quickly without saying a word, just casually sat down on the topaz stone platform as if in his own palace, just opposite to Garlan.

Then he reached out to pick up a slice of bread smeared with thick cheese, randomly sandwiched a piece of roasted brown meat, and ate it unceremoniously.

Everyone has long been accustomed to Heymos's casual behavior. It stands to reason that it is a rude behavior to be so reckless in front of the king.

But Garlan didn't mind this kind of formality.

The high priest, who had always followed the etiquette, was naturally dissatisfied with this, but as the king, Garlan didn't mind, and of course he couldn't help it.

Moreover, although Heymos behaved a little casually in private, in public, his every move followed the knight's etiquette, and even Shemuel couldn't pick a thorn.

Therefore, the high priest could only turn a blind eye and pretend not to see this kind of rudeness in front of the king in private.

Taputi smiled, lowered his head slightly, and bowed in an extremely elegant posture.

She said, "Your Excellency Heymos, congratulations on your triumphant return."

Both were princes in the past, and both were honored as His Highness.

But now that Garlan has ascended the throne and become the king, Heymos' status as a prince will naturally be lost.

Although Heymos still has the status of the closest royal family, he can no longer be called His Highness.

Just when everyone thought that Heymos would be sent to the city of Meneste to succeed the city lord according to the tradition, a royal city far away from the political center, something that surprised them happened.

Heymos remained in the royal city, and was appointed by King Garlan as the commander of the soon-to-be-reconstructed Third Army, holding military power in his hands.

Isn't King Garlan afraid of being usurped?

Many people are thinking so puzzled in their hearts.

The young king was praised by everyone at the beginning, saying that he possessed "the wisdom of Shamash, the sun god" and "the wisdom of Solga, the god of wisdom".

The danger of keeping Heymos in the royal city... He couldn't have imagined it?

No matter how strange everyone is, this matter is already a certainty.

Heymos was awarded the badge of Commander-in-Chief of the III Legion and immediately set about rebuilding the III Legion.

No one can deny the power of this world-renowned "Black Knight" and his military talents. In less than half a year, he not only rebuilt the Third Army, but also made the Third Army stronger. Even before, it was approaching the First Legion commanded by the 'Knights of the Scorching Sun'.

The First Legion, known as the King's Guards, has always considered itself the leader of the army. Of course, they are not willing to be overwhelmed by the Third Legion, so the training is even more desperate.

……

After Garlan ascended the throne, he first dealt with the troubles caused by Heymos' strategy of "clearing the wall and clearing the field" in order to defend the royal city, appeased the refugees, and escorted them back to rebuild their homes.

Of course, the people injured in the war should also be consoled.

At the same time, rewards were given to the legions guarding the northern and eastern borders, and rewards were given to the soldiers who had been standing on the border during the war, so that those soldiers who felt uneasy because they did not go to rescue the king city finally felt at ease.

After tidying up the bits and pieces, and rebuilding the once-destroyed three legions, Garlan unceremoniously began to settle the accounts.

The objects of reckoning are naturally those who fled the battle with the Gastadians.

There are two types of city governance in Aaron Landis. One is the family style, where the city's government affairs are decided by the city lord; the other is the direct subordinate style, where the king city dispatches consuls to govern.

And the few people who fled the battle all came from cities inherited from the family.

Because in the decisive battle with the invaders, these people abandoned the crown prince and fled by themselves. This behavior, which is equivalent to betrayal, was spurned and condemned by the vast majority of Aaron Landis people, even the people in their own city. Very dissatisfied with this.

And those people knew in their hearts that it was difficult for their actions to be forgiven by the new king.

Therefore, at Garlan's enthronement ceremony, an occasion where all city owners must go according to etiquette, they did not go because they were worried that they would be detained and punished if they entered the king's city.

They didn't dare to leave their own city, so they could only shrink back and wait anxiously.

Because Garlan was busy with the aftermath, he didn't have time to talk to them for a while, which caused these people to have an illusion.

They feel that the new king is young and has a gentle temperament, plus they have so many people and a lot of troops in their hands. Of course, the law does not blame the crowd, and King Garlan's new throne is still unstable, so he must be more or less afraid of them. .

So this time probably they won't be punished.

However, just as they thought about it and breathed a sigh of relief, Garlan settled the disaster victims, and a new legion was established.

After freeing up time, he directly issued a king's order, ordering these city lords to come to see him in the king's city.

Naturally, these city lords did not dare to go.

Therefore, King Garlan issued a second royal decree, reprimanding them for running away from the invaders on the battlefield, abandoning their companions, and betraying the king, reprimanding them for not coming to the enthronement ceremony, and reprimanding them for refusing to let them have an audience. Wang Ling.

With these three charges, they are directly designated as traitors.

Afterwards, he directly sent Heymos to lead the Third Legion to conquer these rebels.

That's why Taputi said the words 'Congratulations to Heymos on his triumphant return' just now.

Because this is Heymos's third expedition.

As a result, there is no doubt that Heymos captured those cities one after another, and the city lord and his family members who were designated as rebels were captured and sent to the royal city, and those cities naturally became the cities directly under the royal court.

"This time the speed is even faster than the previous two."

Garlan asked while eating.

"It took a few days."

"Four days."

Heymos also answered while eating.

Although he had already replaced the armor he wore on the battlefield, there was still a bit of bloody aura around him that couldn't be washed away.

It was as if the endless hostility and death on the battlefield had permeated his skin and even his flesh and blood, merging with the black knight.

Even if he just sat here quietly, there was still an invisible evil spirit oozing out from his body.

If it is an ordinary person, I am afraid that just approaching him will be frightened.

It's just that the people in this room at the moment are not ordinary people, so naturally they don't care.

Garlan raised his head and looked at Shemuer who was standing beside him.

The high priest was obviously still angry, with a straight face and frowning.

Garlan thought for a while, and said, "Ximuer, come here."

"..."

Although he was very dissatisfied with Garlan's behavior today, since the king summoned him, no matter how dissatisfied Ximuer was, he would obey the order and walk over.

"What's your order?"

Although he used an honorific title, his tone was not good.

"Keep your head down."

The boy said with a smile.

"What do you want..."

Shemuer bent down impatiently, but before he finished speaking, his mouth was blocked.

Garlan stuffed a piece of white bread with bacon into his mouth.

"Sorry, Shemuer, I did something wrong today, and I apologize to you."

Gallan looked at Shemuer and apologized frankly.

"You worked hard today, I think you should feel hungry now."

Showing a bright smile to the high priest, he said, "I will listen to your reprimand honestly later, so how about having something to eat together first?"

Taking down the bread stuffed into his mouth, Shemuer stared at the brightly smiling young king in front of him.

After watching for a while, he sighed softly.

There was a little helplessness, and there was a bit of indulgence hidden in that helplessness that he himself didn't know.

The anger in his chest disappeared unconsciously before the boy's smile and words of concern about whether he was hungry.

"...the next time is not an example."

The high priest answered so bluntly.

He also didn't accept Gallana's invitation to have a meal together, and turned around and left.

He was still holding the white bread that Garlan stuffed into his mouth.

The female officer on the side couldn't help but pursed her lips and smiled.

The following is not an example.

I don't know how many times this sentence has been uttered by the high priest of Ximuer.

Garlan was watching Shemuer's leaving back when suddenly a hand reached out and patted his arm.

As soon as he turned around, he met those golden red eyes.

Heymos, who was sitting opposite him, looked at him, opened his mouth suddenly, raised his finger and pointed to the food in front of him, and then pointed to his own open mouth.

Gallan: "..."

Is this... the meaning of feeding him by yourself?

………………

Is it because he saw that he fed Shemuer just now?

…………

………………

Annoyed and funny, Garlan picked up a large piece of barbecue and stuffed it into Heymos's mouth, sealing that mouth tightly.

Then he didn't bother to talk to the other party anymore, and continued to eat on his own.

Heymos still had the big piece of roast in his mouth.

He looked at Garlan, raised his hand to take down the barbecue in his mouth, and suddenly smiled.

The invisible hostility and malevolence that permeated into his bones and blood while fighting on the battlefield dissipated in his smile.

Like ice and snow under the sun, it melted away in an instant.