A Tale of Strategies For the Throne

"Answer me! Stoker—"

The roar of the blond knight echoed in the night.

But the person he questioned did not answer, but showed a guarded look when he saw him, and there was still a bit of confusion hidden in that guard.

"you are still alive?"

asked Stocker.

There is his internal response in the Tasdar mission, so he knows about the prince of Aaron Landis and Kehuos in this mission.

The only one among these people that he can feel afraid of is this knight who he once regarded as a good friend.

Therefore, tonight, those insiders of his should take the initiative to ask for the night watch and killed the other Tasdars on the night watch, and then let the Vasily horse thief quietly break into the camp and set fire to it, and then directly shot the crossbow arrows at Kaiho Tent.

No matter how powerful a knight is, he will be shot to death by crossbow arrows in his sleep.

He thought Kyhoes was dead, after all, when he entered the camp, the tent where Kyhoes slept was motionless, and blood was seeping from it.

Keyhos sneered.

"never mind."

He said that suddenly he raised his hand and threw the silver gun at Stoke.

The sharp silver gun roared towards Stoke like lightning.

Stoke suddenly raised the black iron gun in his hand, blocking the silver gun that was trying to penetrate his throat.

The violent impact made the iron gun in his hand vibrate and buzz.

The blocked silver gun fell to the ground with a slap, and on the opposite side, the one-eyed knight on the horse had already drawn out the big sword at his waist, and the snow-white blade reflected the blazing flames behind him.

He stared at Stoke, and the fire seemed to ignite the deepest part of his eyes.

Although his marksmanship is also good, but what he is most good at and accustomed to is the big sword that he carries with him.

When fighting an evenly matched opponent, a single omission can lead to total defeat.

Therefore, if you want to work hard, you must use your most skilled weapons.

Stoke and Kaihos looked at each other, different from the cat-and-mouse teasing with Garlan, and also different from the arrogance towards Oppada, he stared at Kaihos with full vigilance, He paid close attention to every move of Keyhos.

He clenched the iron gun in his hand tightly, and he could clearly see that the muscles on his upper arm had swelled slightly and were stretched to the extreme.

The aura of Kaihos has already pressed over, and the aura gushing from his body also greets him.

The courage of the two is evenly matched, and neither can overwhelm the other.

The big sword in the blond knight's hand moved.

The brown-haired Tasdar pitched his black iron gun in one fell swoop.

Almost at the same moment, the two of them urged the steed under them at the same time, sprinting forward like an arrow leaving the string.

With a loud bang, the two knights collided heavily, like two ferocious wild bears roaring and colliding fiercely. The terrifying force seemed to shake the ground along with it.

The big sword and the iron spear separated, and then collided together again.

Repeatedly.

One after another, the visible sparks that exploded when the iron blade hit each other kept splashing in the dark night, showing how intense the battle between the two was.

"Opada!"

Hearing someone calling his name, Oppada turned his head and saw his companions who were still alive running towards him in a hurry.

There were also several Aaron Landis knights who were subordinates of Kaihors and came with them while resisting the attack of the horse thief.

"How do you..."

"Your Excellency Keyhos brought us here to kill."

Said the slightly aged head of the mission, who was protected by Tasda soldiers.

Just as they were trying to kill and join Oppada, the blond knight suddenly appeared, took a few of his subordinate cavalry to help them fend off the horse thief, and then led them to kill a bloody road and rush to this side.

He looked at the Tasdar who was fighting with Kaijos, showing a dignified expression.

"...Stoker."

He called out the name in a low voice, looking at Stoke with a complicated and sad look in his eyes.

He is a collateral branch of the Tusda royal family, and he also knows what happened back then.

"He finally refused to confess his sins... I don't know what he did wrong."

he said, with a low sigh.

The head of the regiment sighed with complicated emotions, while the other Tasdar fighters were straightforward, staring at this guy who colluded with outsiders to slaughter his compatriots with hostile or hateful eyes.

Back then, Stoke was fanatically admired by countless Tasdars. Even though he had disappeared for many years, there were still many admirers of him.And what he is doing now has completely shattered the admiration of these people for him.

traitor.

It's the only name they have for Stoke now.

There was another fierce clash of weapons in the air.

Two steeds passed by each other, and the two tall bodies separated again in the dark night.

Kyhoes turned his horse's head, turned around and wanted to charge up.

But when he turned his gaze, he stopped where he was.

Because on the opposite side of him, behind Stoke, dozens of Tasdars stood behind Stoke, with their crossbows pointed at him, and Garlan beside him.

"So far."

Stock said.

"Kayhos, I don't have time to continue pestering you."

At the same time, besides his men, those horse thieves also surrounded him.

Kaihos clenched the big sword in his hand and said nothing. He just turned his steed slightly to block Garlan's figure.

At this moment, there are less than 60 of his subordinates, including the surviving Tasdars.

But those who surrounded the camp were nearly a thousand horse thieves, and the crossbows in the hands of the people from Stoke's side were already aimed at them.

No matter how you look at it, they have no chance of winning.

But no one surrendered, neither the Aaron Landis nor the Tasdar.

Even if the last person is killed in battle, the Tasdar people will never surrender to the betrayers.

All Tasdars swear so.

"This is the starting point of Tasda's prosperity."

Stoke was standing on the ground on his horse, and the flames reddened his face and illuminated his gray pupils, making his pupils seem to burn with bright light.

His gaze was unusually firm and determined.

An old voice answered Stocker's words.

"Do not."

The head of the envoy with deep wrinkles on his forehead stared at this ambitious young man, sighed, and answered with his voice that had experienced vicissitudes.

"Stoke, what you bring to Tasdar is not glory, but destruction."

"I will not be as cowardly as you are."

Stock answered.

"Tasda needs a strong leader, a leader who can bring the whole continent under its feet."

He looked down at the old man proudly.

"You are old, whether it is King Tasda or my father, you are all old and have lost the strength to move forward."

"When you are old, you should leave everything to me."

"War, expansion, and strength, this is the path that the great Tasda should take, and only I will lead Tasda to a prosperous future—"

"wrong!"

Opada, guarding the old man, interrupted his brother.

He looked at Stock and shook his head.

"No, it shouldn't be like this, what you did was wrong."

He said, "Maybe I'm not as smart as you, big brother... But I know, if you do this, big brother, you will plunge Tasda into an endless war."

"War is the glory of Tasta."

"No, Tasdar people are not afraid of war and death, but that doesn't mean we don't care about death!"

Opada categorically retorted.

"Brother, ambition and greed have blinded your eyes and mind. Now I finally know why my lord father would say that..."

"He said brother, you shouldn't be born in Tasda, you have that kind of ambition, but Tasda doesn't have that kind of power, and you will forcibly drag Tasda into hell because of your own ambition—"

"enough!"

Anger ignited in Stoke's gray pupils.

But soon he calmed down and sighed softly.

"Opada, it seems that you still can't understand me after all."

Yes, he knows.

What he is going to do, many people will not understand.

But he doesn't care.

Because after he does it, he will become a great existence remembered and praised by everyone in history.

Ignoring his fellow countrymen, Stock looked the other way.

His gaze flicked over the blond-haired Prince Aaron Landis, and then fell on Kehoes.

"This is the master you have chosen?"

he said, shaking his head.

"Kaihos, your vision is far worse than your strength."

"Although I think races other than Tasdar are rubbish, I appreciate you very much. I asked you to help me, but you refused. Now, you have chosen such a weak and incompetent prince as your own Allegiance to the monarch, let me end up in this field."

He said, "Kayjos, I will give you another chance now. As long as you swear allegiance to me now, I will forgive you and give you the qualification to follow me again."

"You shouldn't continue to waste your talent and life on this weak little prince who is about to die."

Keyhos opened his mouth, but before he could answer, a voice came from behind him.

"Enough is enough."

It was the voice of a boy.

"I don't say a word, you just keep talking, do you really think I don't exist?"

Garlan said angrily.

"It's your etiquette to speak ill of others in front of others?"

Stoke looked down at Garlan, but did not answer, a trace of contempt appeared in his eyes.

Only the strong are qualified to talk to him, and this young man, who he regards as a mouse and can play with him at will, is really too weak, too weak to enter his eyes.

"The guardian knight who hooked up with me in front of me, the heir to Tasta who was exiled by his own father, don't speak so grandly."

Garlan came out from behind Kaihos and stood in front of everyone.

Opposite him were dozens of crossbows aimed at him, but he didn't seem to see it at all, and there was no trace of fear on his face.

"Let me sum it up for you. What you are doing now is exchanging the lives of your brothers and compatriots for the opportunity to return to the decision-making level of Tasda. It has nothing to do with the prosperity of Tasda... The relationship is purely for your personal gain."

"To put it simply, you are climbing up on the bones of your own brother—"

The young man smiled.

"Look, easy to understand, isn't it?"

The young man's words hit the nail on the head, easily peeling away the gorgeous appearance of Stoke's language, exposing the bloody reality hidden in it.

Those sharp words caused Stoke's expression to change instantly, and he looked at Garlan with even more unkind eyes.

"Sharp teeth, sharp mouth, you only have such a useless saving grace."

"Don't underestimate the power of words... No, I mean, don't underestimate the power of language. You know, sometimes, the so-called 'language' can be worth [-] troops."

Stock sneered.

"I don't have time to continue listening to your nonsense."

Then, he glanced at Keyhors with regret.

"Kaihos, my former friend, because of your wrong choice, it seems that you can only stop here."

After he finished speaking, he waved his hand, and under his signal, those horse thieves approached.

"and many more."

Garlan raised his hand and made a gesture of waiting.

"Are you Sivali bandits?"

"Ok?"

The leader of the horse thief smiled ferociously and approached with his horse.

"What? Your Royal Highness, do you want to ask me for mercy?"

He looked at Garlan with regret in his eyes, and shook his head.

"Unfortunately, using people's money to eliminate disasters for others, our victim said that no one will be left alive, otherwise..."

"Yeah, no one left alive. The murder of your brother is a great stain on your victim. So, do you think that after we've been dealt with, the rest of the people who know about it can continue to live in peace?"

"……What's the meaning?"

"You know about him killing your fellow man, do you really think he'll let you live afterwards?"

"shut up!"

Stoke abruptly interrupted Garlan's words.

He turned to the leader of the horse thieves and said: "Don't believe what he said, if you solve them, you will immediately get the property I promised. And we have less than a hundred people here, and you have thousands of people. What do you think I can do to you? ?”

"Oh, by the way, Stoker, do you really think that a chest of gold and silver treasures is enough to shut their mouths?"

Garlan turned to Stoke.

"You know, these guys are gangsters and greedy guys. If they take advantage of you and ask you for money every once in a while, will you give it or not?"

Stoke's face froze for a moment.

He didn't worry about it at all.

Because from the very beginning of making this plan, he didn't intend to keep the Sivari gang alive for doing this for him.

"Fart, our Xivali bandits are also reputable! Not that kind of people!"

The horse thief leader who had looked at Stoke suspiciously over there immediately retorted loudly, but the expression on his face showed a hint of guilt.

How did this baby little prince speak out what was in his heart?

The leader of Sivari muttered in his heart.

Garlan clapped his hands, turned his gaze back from Stoke, and smiled at the Sivari leader.

"If you took advantage of him and asked him for property one after another, would you try your best to kill the person who blackmailed you?"

"........."

The expression on the face of the Sivari leader, who was mostly covered by a beard, also changed.

Will.

He thought to himself, but still refuted unconvinced.

"We took our belongings and left. We ran far away. This is the territory of Aaron Landis. Would he dare to bring the Tasdar army in?"

"So have you forgotten? If we die here now, Tasdar will definitely lead his troops into Aaron Landis for revenge, and your victim may be one of the commanders. At that time, he will lead the army a little Take a detour and exterminate you gangsters, who can say he is wrong?"

The leader of the horse thief became more frightened the more he heard it.

He couldn't help but said, "You—"

"enough!"

Stoke's face became increasingly ugly, interrupting Garlan's words again.

"What the hell do you want to do?"

The leader of the horse thief also shouted.

"Yes, boy, what do you mean by so much?"

"Can't you see it? I think I did it very obviously."

Garlan seemed a little surprised by the simultaneous inquiry of the two.

Then he answered them both very honestly and with a smile on his face.

"I'm sowing discord."

Stock: "..."

The leader of the horse thief: "..."

puff.

In this tense atmosphere, the blond knight next to him let out an untimely sneer.

Stoke choked on the boy's calm and natural look, but he didn't know what to say.

He began to feel that something was wrong, vaguely, the atmosphere here was controlled by this weak person whom he despised.

He frowned and quickly calmed down.

Can't waste any more time here.

He glanced at the horse thief leader beside him, who was also sneaking glances at him with suspicion in his eyes.

Although Garlan admitted that he was just trying to sow discord, the words the young man said were very reasonable, and people couldn't help but believe it.

Apparently, the horse thief had begun to suspect him, and he might not be as obedient as he was at the beginning.

Hmph, he originally didn't want to do it himself and let his hands be stained with the blood of his compatriots, but now there is no other way.

Stock raised his hand, making a gesture with his fingers.

Do it, kill the enemy.

He issued such an order to Tasta's subordinates holding crossbows behind him with gestures.

His raised hand fell from the air, pointing in the direction of Garlan and the others.

The strings of the crossbow are tense, and the sharp arrows are ready to go.

Just wait for the moment when Stoke's finger falls, all arrows are fired, piercing through everything.

Suddenly, there was a buzzing sound.

It was a humming sound from the wind.

That inexplicable and strong dangerous breath, like a hurricane, struck fiercely behind Stoke——

Before the hand pointing forward had time to drop, Stoke turned around abruptly.

The iron gun in his hand was raised high.

Keng!

The sharp arrow that rushed towards Stoke's back vest like a hungry wolf slammed into the black iron gun shaft, making a crisp impact sound.

A long eagle cry resounded in the night sky reddened by flames.

The pupils of Stoke, who blocked the arrow, suddenly dilated at this moment.

In the crimson firelight, under the bright moonlight, he saw a young man with a strong bow riding a horse standing on a hill not far away.

The moonlight danced in the young man's dark hair, and the night wind howled, making the cloak behind his shoulders flutter in the dark night.

A banner like a burning flame was raised on the hillside.

In just a split second, countless black-armored knights appeared under the banner of the red lion.

Aaron Landis's most capable iron-blooded cavalry army stood silently on the hills and in the desert.

They rode quietly on the ground without making a sound.

But they just stood there, and the terrifying aura they emitted had already deeply suppressed everyone's breathing.

why?

This guard should be on the way to the North, why is it here now? !

Looking at the scene in front of him, Stoke couldn't suppress his rapid breathing.

He doesn't understand why things have become like this.

Suddenly, something flashed through my mind.He turned his head abruptly, looking at the soft young man who seemed harmless to humans and animals.

Unlike those Tasdar people who showed astonishment and surprise, the boy looked very calm.

Is it...

Stoke's pupils staring at Garlan shrank violently.

Could it be that all this is the prince of Aaron Landis——

Another eagle cry sounded in the night sky, especially loud on the silent land.

The black eagle hovering in the sky spread its wings and descended from the sky.

Garlan held out his hand.

The fire light illuminated the fair side cheeks and bright golden eyes of the young prince.

The black eagle that was sent by Garlan not long ago to deliver a message to Heymos lightly landed on Garlan's forearm, and uttered a pleasant and short cry at him.