A Tale of Strategies For the Throne

"Heymos, and the Aaron Landis Army?"

Opada looked at the countless cavalrymen who suddenly appeared on the hill in astonishment, he was a little confused.

"Why are they here? Haven't they already gone to the Northland battlefield?"

His voice was not loud, but it was extremely clear in a place that was silent because of the appearance of the Aaron Landis cavalry at this moment.

Many people heard his words, but no one answered.

There was an uncontrollable look of surprise on the Tasdar's face.Although they are ready to fight to the death of the last one, the desire to survive is a human instinct. If there is hope, they also want to live.

"Hold!"

Staring dumbfoundedly at the mighty Aaron Landis cavalry standing on the hill, the horse thief leader cursed.

His small, fierce eyes stared viciously at the Tasdar who had hired them to kill beside him.

"You bastard, how dare you blackmail me!"

It is said that there are less than one hundred Tasda infantrymen, so what is going on with the terrifying Aaron Landis cavalry now——

The baby prince must be right, this insidious Tasdar has no intention of letting his group live!That's why I deliberately plotted against him!

Stoke completely ignored the horse thief leader who was staring at him fiercely.

He looked at the prince of Aaron Landis, staring straight at him, his fingers holding the rein were clenched tightly.

Garlan was looking at the black eagle that had landed on his arm, stroking its feathers, probably noticing Stoke's gaze, he raised his eyes, and met Stoke's fixed gaze.

Then he smiled at Stocker.

Not a little deterrent, without imposing manner, even a smile that can be described as the soft wind in early spring.

However, the more so, the more difficult it is for Stoke to accept.

From the very beginning, he never put this prince in his eyes.

'Sage'?

It's just a halo that weak people rack their brains to find out and put on themselves.

This world is a world where the weak prey on the strong, only power can make others submit and admire, only power can decide everything!

Stoker has always been so convinced.

But now, he who thought he was a strong man above everyone was defeated by this weak man in his eyes.

He couldn't take it-even losing to Keyhos would make him feel better.

No matter how violently Stoke was impacted, after Garlan smiled at him, he turned his gaze to the horse thief on the side.

The sturdy horse thief leader sometimes stared at Stoke angrily, and sometimes glanced nervously at the mighty Aaron Landis cavalry not far away, his forehead was already dripping with sweat.And his subordinates were even more unbearable. Seeing the obvious fear on the faces of the cavalrymen, the riot spread among the horse thieves and could not be stopped.

It can be seen that when the Aaron Landis cavalry appeared from behind, the fighting spirit of the Xivali bandit group was completely extinguished in an instant, and the tense atmosphere spread among the crowd.

In any case, no matter how vicious they were, they were nothing more than a bandit group. Even if they were given great courage, they would not dare to fight against the regular army with a small difference in number-especially the world-famous Aaron Landis cavalry.

That is simply courting death.

"Are you still planning to continue?"

Garlan's words stunned the nervous leader of the horse thief for a moment. He turned his head and looked at the beautiful blond boy who made him feel sorry for killing him for a moment, and the cute-looking boy who showed himself to him. Smiling face, the corner of his mouth couldn't help twitching, as if feeling a toothache.

Immediately afterwards, he glared at Garlan.

"I'm not afraid! I can take you as a hostage! At worst, we will die together! It's not a loss to have a prince to die with us!"

He roared, with a stern look on his face, as if he was dead.

But it can be seen that this person is obviously vicious.

"Well, I know, but I don't want to die with you."

Garlan nodded.

He said, "So you go."

"Don't scare me, I am so big and cut off more heads than you, a little baby, I am not afraid of you...what?"

The leader of the horse bandits was still uttering harsh words and pretending to be ferocious to cover up his fear of the army. Halfway through his speech, he was choked up by Garlan's words.

A mouthful of saliva stuck in his throat almost choked him.

He stared at Garlan with wide eyes in disbelief, suspecting that he was hallucinating.

"You... no, you... what did you just say?"

"I said, you can take your people and leave now."

Garlan raised his eyebrows and said, "Or do you mean that you don't plan to leave and want to fight my guards for this Tasdar?"

"No no no—how dare we?"

The horse thief leader waved his hands hastily.

It was revealed from Garlan's mouth that the group of cavalrymen were the king's guards, which shocked him even more for a moment.

His face, which was brutal and fierce just a second ago, instantly changed to a flattering expression.

He flatteringly said to Garlan: "My merciful prince, thank you for being so generous and forgiving us humble villains."

The leader of the horse thieves had never been to school at all, he was really blind, and he could only come up with such a few clumsy flattery words after searching his brain.

After finishing speaking so dryly, he didn't even wait for Garlan to reply, fearing that the other party would repent, he simply turned around and waved his hand.

"let's go!"

Before the words fell, he rushed out immediately.

Seeing the mighty and majestic heavy armored cavalry army, the horse thieves who were already frightened heard what the boss said, and responded one after another, and followed the boss's galloping footsteps without hesitation.

In a blink of an eye, the group of horse thieves disappeared completely, leaving only the dust raised by the horseshoes running in the desert.

Stoke didn't stop it.

He knew that he couldn't stop it. He and the horse thief had a relationship of interest, and it was impossible for the other party to work hard for him.

If he wanted to stop those horse thieves from escaping, I'm afraid those horse thieves would immediately turn around and kill him first.

So, he stood there on horseback, silently watching his accomplices abandon him, leaving only him, and his dozens of confidants surrounded by his side.

He still stared fixedly at the young man who dismissed thousands of horse thieves in a few words.

"All of this..." He paused for a moment before continuing unwillingly, "Is it all arranged by you?"

He asked, "You know I'm coming to attack the mission?"

He repeated: "How did you know I was going to attack the mission?"

Stoker couldn't figure it out.

Even his closest friends and relatives were completely hidden by him.

For this day, this moment, he planned for more than a year, and even the fact that Oppada followed the mission to Aaron Landis was the result of his secret promotion.

Except for his loyal confidant who is here at the moment, no one knows his purpose.

He really didn't understand why this Prince Aaron Landis, who had never even met him, could see through his plot?

The boy saw through him, and he knew nothing about it.

Garlan looked at Stoke, smiled and said nothing.

He stood there with a calm smile and an indifferent expression, as if everything was under his control, which inexplicably made people palpitate.

The young man's golden eyes reflecting the firelight were clear and deep, as if he could see through everything in this world.

…………

In fact, it was because I read the strategy beforehand.

Turn on the predictive plug-in.

Of course, the young man who smiled and said nothing at this moment and put on all the pretentious gestures that I expected would never say these words.

Garlan did not answer Stoke's words, but Stoke had already heard the sound of countless horseshoes coming from behind him.

Aaron Landis's cavalry was approaching them, spreading out in an arc and surrounding them.

Stocker made no attempt to escape.

He knew that Garlan temporarily spared the gangsters in order to avoid greater casualties, but Aaron Landis would never let go of himself who tried to frame them.

The cavalry had surrounded them.

In the next second, someone came out more and more.

In the firelight, he could see the man's face clearly.

That was the young man who stood on the hill not long ago with a strong bow and an arrow that almost pierced his back.

After he disappeared on the Northland battlefield, the young man who suddenly rose to fame and covered his prestige and reputation was called the 'Black Knight' by everyone.

The two people who met for the first time looked at each other for a second.

Then, almost at the same instant, the two galloped forward.

The pitch-black iron gun and the snow-white long sword collided heavily.

Stoke's confidants naturally rushed up, but were immediately intercepted by a group of guards, and fell into the hands of the guards either dead or injured in a short time.

At this moment, apart from the crackling of the gradually burning flames in the camp, there was only the clash of weapons between Stoke and Heymos when they fought.

When the fight hit hard, the two of them fought hard together.

Sparks splashed from where the weapon hit, extremely intense.

It could be seen that the two were evenly matched, and neither could overwhelm the other in a short period of time.In the shadow of the sword light and spear, ordinary people can't get involved in such a fierce battle.

"Kayhors, you go and help."

Garlan's words made Kaihos hesitate for a moment.

"Prince, this damages the name of the knight..."

The teenager blinked.

He asked: "The name of the knight is more important, or my order?"

"........."

Without saying a word, the one-eyed knight raised his sword and charged directly into the stalemate.

And Heymos glanced at Garlan from the corner of his eye, seemed a little helpless, and with a touch of connivance, he made way for Kaihos to join the battle.

If Garlan hadn't opened his mouth and didn't want to lose Garlan's face in front of everyone, with Heymos' arrogance, he would never have asked Kaihos to help him.

Whether it is Keyhos or Heymos, Stoke is evenly matched against any of them.

Now the two of them together will immediately crush Stoke to death.

When the two powerful knights teamed up, the attack like a storm made him almost breathless. Although he was still resisting, he was just trying to support it.

You can easily siege this guy to death, why do you have to fight so hard?

Garlan, who was watching, thought to himself.

And at the next moment, Stoke, who was almost exhausted under the siege of Heymos and Kaihors, managed to avoid the big sword that Kaihors slashed from the front. come out.

The sharp blade pierced the Tasdar's chest fiercely.

His pupils dilated for a moment, and he fell off the horse. The blood gushing from his chest stained the sand under him red.

"Big brother!"

Oppada, who had been clenching her teeth and watching what happened in front of her eyes, couldn't bear it any longer, and rushed forward with a loud cry.

He knelt down next to Stoke with a puff, looking at Stoke whose clothes on his entire chest had been dyed red with red eyes, his lips twitched several times, and finally he only uttered two words.

"...Brother..."

…………it's over.

Stoke lay on his back on the sand, staring at the endless night sky with his eyes open.

His eyes were empty at this moment, as if there was nothing.

He could feel the blood gushing from his chest, and he could feel the life in his body passing away quickly.

His ambition, his belief, he should have had an infinitely glorious future...

It will all end at this moment.

"...Brother..."

The familiar murmur woke him up from his trance, and he saw Opada kneeling beside him with red eyes.

"What are you crying for?"

He reprimanded, as if he was very young a long time ago scolding the little child who was taught martial arts by him.

"Tastar people, even if the blood is dry, they can't shed a single tear."

Opada, who was reprimanded, pursed his lips tightly and did not make a sound. The water mist that had seeped out of his eyes was forced back by him forcefully.

Stoke looked at his younger brother, the younger brother he was determined to kill, with complex eyes written in his eyes at the moment.

He has no regrets.

It's just a winner and a loser.

No matter what the result is, he will not regret it.

But maybe it's a person who is about to die, he looks at the only relative who is by his side, and his mood is full at this moment.

After a while, he suddenly whispered something.

"Beware of the North..."

He said in an unreachable voice, and then his eyes moved away from Oppada and fell on the blond prince not far away.

His lips moved and made a weak sound.

"Prince Garlan...I admit...I underestimated you and ended up like this..."

He said that his breath gradually weakened and his voice became intermittent.

"...I lost to you."

Suddenly, he changed the subject.

"I lost...but you may not be able to be the final winner..."

He said blood was pouring from the corner of his mouth.

His gray pupils stared at Garlan, revealing a strange smile.

"You think I did something stupid...how do you know...you won't end up like me in the future..."

"Aaron Landis...two princes...there is only one throne..."

Stoke's voice was very soft and low, but it made people's hearts jump.

"One day...you will either do the same thing as me...or you will be..."

"...I saw...in the eyes of 'him', there is the same thing as mine..."

He saw it.

In the eyes of the black-haired prince, the same thing as him.

Ambition, lust, the thirst for power over everything.

"One day..."

The corners of his eyes curled up mockingly.

His words were like curses.

"One day...you will be like me..."

Heymos was riding on the horse, the long sword in his hand was still dripping blood.

He was holding the sword hilt in his right hand, and the veins on the back of his hand were already bulging.

He stared at the Tasdar who was still talking intermittently, his eyes were full of anger.

If he could, he would have chopped off that guy's head with a single sword.

But he couldn't do this, if he did, he would really fall into that guy's trick, making others, even Garlan, think that he was guilty of a crime, and then kill him.

The blond knight on the other side stared at Stoke coldly, but also resisted not moving.

At this moment, the ground was very quiet, only Stoke's intermittent voice echoed.

Those who were relatively close, all those who heard these words subconsciously turned to Garlan.

At some point, Garlan came over and squatted beside the dying Stoke.

"...you're a quick learner."

He says,

"Such a blatant sowing of dissension."

Stock coughed up blood and smiled at Garlan.

"I learned from you... what you said... ahem, the... power of language."

Even if he dies, he will sow the seeds of discord between the two princes of Aaron Landis.

For Tasta.

Garlan squatted beside him, looking at him with bright golden eyes.

"There won't be such a day."

the boy said.

Stock smiled and said nothing.

He was absolutely sure that there would be such a day.

These two princes will meet swords one day.

For the throne.

The determined expression on the dying Tasdar's face, as well as the "I've seen through you" expression made Garlan very, very upset.

This guy will disgust him even before he dies.

……

Although what this guy said is actually... it should be said... it really happened before.

But Stoke's half-smile look at him made Garlan's stubborn temper suddenly aroused.

If it goes on like this, Stoke will die contented with the satisfaction of having achieved it.

In that case, I would be suffocated to death.

No, this guy has to die aggrieved.

Thinking of this, he suddenly thought of a good idea, and his eyes flashed.

"There will never be such a day."

The boy repeated again.

Stock looked at him mockingly, disbelief written in his eyes.

It's just that the gray pupils start to dilate, which is a sign of impending death.

Garlan lowered his head and leaned closer to his ear, speaking in an inaudible voice that only Stoke could hear.

"No matter what happens, I will not hurt Heymos."

he said softly,

"He's the one I love the most."

Stoke's eyes widened suddenly, showing a look of astonishment.

He seemed to want to say something, but in the next second, his pupils dilated.

He just opened his lips like this, stared straight at Garlan, and swallowed his last breath unwillingly.

He opened his eyes and died with the regret of not being able to succeed.

…………

Garlan leaned into Stoke's ear and spoke in a voice so low that even Oppada, who was kneeling next to him, couldn't hear him.

No one knows what he said.

But no one noticed that when Garlan was speaking, the hand of Heymos, who was riding a horse and standing to one side, suddenly shook the hand holding the rein.

Many people know that Heymos is a person with outstanding talent, which is why he can become one of the strongest on this continent.

He is very talented.

But few people know that when he is fully focused... he can clearly hear the tiniest voices within tens of meters around him.

[He is my favorite person. 】