Kingdom's Bloodline, page 442
Thales was startled.
'Carry out the task…
'Going deep into the enemy's territory…
'To find the prince… who was supposed to be dead for years?
'He…
'He came to…'
"But as time flies, as I searched day after day, I obtained no results. After years of investigation, I found no news of the prince."
Dean's voice was particularly cold.
"Moriah seemed to have disappeared from the world. No matter Three Kingdoms of the Lost Ocean, Thornland, Dragon-Kissed Land, Camus Union, the Great Desert, even after I searched through all these places with mercenaries, I never found his tracks.
"I have tried all methods, and from all the information I obtained of Moriah, I have tried my best to figure out his thoughts, behavior, and goals," Dean said with deep hatred, "Over countless days and nights, I lurked in a place full of spies from the Secret Intelligence Department and Constellation forces, carefully hiding and wrecking my brain to search for Moriah.
"But nothing."
Dean clenched his teeth.
"No clues.
"I nearly fell into despair."
Thales's breathing shivered.
With the Sin of Hell's River, the prince forced himself to calm down and reconsider his current situation.
"So." Thales frowned, "So you decided to…"
Dean looked at the bewildered Thales and smiled, as if he enjoyed the pleasure derived from this moment.
"Therefore, when I was forced into a corner, I turned myself into him and became Moriah."
The mercenary gritted his teeth.
"I imitated his appearance, copied his manner of speech, learn his mannerisms, even his thoughts, and his character. A prince? Northlander? Learning the orc's language? The Star Killer's student? Mercenary? Like lower ranked whores?"
He spoke faster with each passing moment, and there was deep resentment and indignation in his words.
"His wishes became my wishes, his behavior became my behavior. I went where he was most likely to go, I did what he was most likely to do, and looked forward to finding something with this suspicious identity of mine as 'Dean', or draw out those who are interested in him, and see what clues I can be obtained from them, even lure out Moriah himself."
Dean's animated voice suddenly came to a halt, and his expression became hard to decipher, but it was clear that he felt pained.
"Yet, I still failed.
"No," said the suspicious mercenary soldier with a hateful tone, "Except for a few people who I suspected were Northlander spies, I still found nothing.
"In five years, I was like a headless fly, a blind cheetah, a stiff desert snake. I searched in vain through all the possible places where Moriah might appear. I was filled with pain and hopelessness.
"One more day without good news, one more day without his trail, one more day of not completing the task, and it would mean I would be trapped here for another day. I can't go back, I can't get away, I can't escape…"
He stared at Thales, "I've been here for five years.
"Do you understand?"
Thales slowly calmed down.
'So, everything is clear now. This person before me is…'
Dean sneered and said, "I have had enough. This kind of never-ending, fruitless pursuit. I have wasted all my years and talents in the desert and among fights."
His gaze changed.
"At this time, you appeared."
Dean stared at Thales with a crazed look, and the muscles on his face contorted.
"My savior."
Thales looked at him in shock, but he had his right hand move to his waist quietly.
But the ruthless mercenary noticed this.
He moved the knife in his hand gently.
Thales had to look up to avoid the blade from cutting into his carotid artery. At the same time, he sighed and dropped his right hand.
"So, you saw me as a target as early as we met." The prince was annoyed.
Dean did not care about Thales' little tricks. He just shook his head coldly. "At first, I'm not sure who you were. But after we first met Constellation's army, you did not show your identity, not in the beginning, and not even at the end. Even after coming to Blade Fangs Camp, you didn't show a trace of seeking assistance from the army. This made me became skeptical that maybe you were not who I think you were.
"I had to suppress and hold my urge to take action again and again… my test on you must be executed at perfect timing, so I lurked here, isolated and helpless. The slight carelessness would cause me to be doomed for eternity, and I will be overwhelmed by the Secret Intelligence Department and Constellation's army, who will come here once they receive wind of this news.
"Until tonight."
The house was still quiet, but the atmosphere here was completely different.
The aloof man suppressed Thales with all his might, turning the first night the mercenaries returned home into a night filled with conspiracies and dangerous conflicts.
"You are a spy, a special agent, or something else," Thales said indignantly, "You did not come for me."
Dean raised his eyebrows.
"No." He shook his head, quite satisfied.
"O fleeing Thales, you were a pleasant surprise. You may not be my first goal, not my target as I lurked in this place, but there is no doubt in my mind that you are a ticket for me to get out of this deep bottomless swamp… You are a certificate that will grant me special permission to return home."
Thales closed his eyes and exhaled in pain.
"Haha, it seems that King Chapman and all of you know of Moriah's survival. She won't be satisfied," Dean said, "But at least, I caught you. I can finally get out of here."
Thales was struck by a thought.
'Wait a minute.'
He opened his eyes, and with the knife against his neck, he said laboriously, "She?"
Thales asked in surprise, "You said, 'she'?"
"Yes, dear Prince Thales."
Dean nodded slightly, and a cold sneer appeared on his face.
He bent his upper body slightly and gave him a bow, but it was not exactly according to standard.
"The 'Secret Room' said hello to you."
Thales did not answer. He suppressed all his sighs.
The man and the teenager were silent for a while.
After a long time, Thales exhaled.
"What are you going to do? Knock me out and take me back?
"Where do you want to go? Don't forget that this is Blade Fangs Camp. You take me and head to the west, then to the north, into the desert filled with soldiers from Constellation? Or are you going to go east, then head south, and simply enter deep into Constellation?"
Dean shook his head.
"The situation here is really bad for me, but there is always a way."
Thales snorted.
"So not only are you not Moriah, but you are a spy sent to search for Moriah."
He frowned slightly.
"But… dear Dean. Do you really think that I will be stupid enough to take the risk, to come here alone in the dead of the night, risking my safety to confront you?"
Dean's smile froze.
"Have you thought about it carefully?"
Thales whispered, "How did we meet?"
Dean was momentarily startled.
But at this moment, something unexpected happened, and it broke the two people out of their stalemate.
*Clack.*
A gently sound appeared.
The light from the hall shone into the dim room. The two people on the bed could be clearly seen under the light.
Thales and Dean turned their gazes together.
Right before their eyes was the drunk novice mercenary Quick Rope. He carried an oil lamp in one hand and stood at the door in confusion. His other hand remained lifted in the air, still in the posture of pushing the door.
The two people in the room were shocked.
Quick Rope yawned loudly with a sleepy look.
"I'm sorry, Dean. I didn't want to wake you up, I wanted to poop so I came here to get something to wipe my butt…" Quick Rope muttered, "There must be some drugs in those bottles of wine. It's going to kill me…"
A second later, he saw Thales suppressed on the bed by Dean, and he was instantly stunned.
His jaw dropped, and his mouth hung so wide that he could fit an egg in it.
Under their bewildered looks, Quick Rope quickly covered his eyes.
He stuttered and said in shock. "Don't worry, I didn't see anything… I mean, you can continue. I swear I will not say anything to Louisa…"
Quick Rope shut his eyes tightly and stepped into the room cautiously, as if he was afraid of disturbing something.
He touched a broken closet by the bed, "So where is the thing…"
The two people caught in the tense stalemate on the bed finally reacted to the situation.
They fought over each other to speak.
"Quick Rope, things are not as you see…" Dean continued pinning his enemy down and frowned. "Wya, this guy is very suspicious, I suspect he might be…"
"No, Quick Rope. I'm Prince Thales, he's a Northland spy!" Thales, who was crushed under Dean, said with great difficulty, "Hurry up and head to…"
Dean pushed down harder with the knife and cut off Thales' words.
Quick Rope covered his eyes and finally touched the closet beside him after much fumbling about.
"Wow, role playing? Interrogating the prince, huh?"
The novice mercenary smiled awkwardly, "You guys… sure… have a lot of tricks..."
At that moment, a drastic change happened!
Chapter 388: You Have to Laugh |
*Sizzle!*
That instant, the irritatingly-bright light suddenly went out amid a loud noise!
*Thud!*
The sound of a person ramming against another rang in the room.
Thales' Sin of Hell's River was activated in the darkness, and he became more sensitive to light, but he did not manage to catch what had happened. However, he felt the pressure on his neck disappear. Dean's dagger left his carotid artery and windpipe.
*Clank!*
The dagger fell on the ground with a clatter.
Thales tried his best to move an inch backwards. Like a man who just grabbed hold of a life-saving plank, he seized his own throat in unrecovered shock. As the Sin of Hell's River relieved the pain in his neck, he breathed hard.
*Clank!*
The sound of the bed crashing against the closet was clear, and it was followed by the sound of intense fighting.
"No!"
When Thales lifted his head in the next second, he discovered to his shock that the bald mercenary had already gotten his neck in a headlock. A pair of arms stretched out from behind him and yanked him back hard!
Dean tried hard to cling to the bed frame, and he stepped firmly on the ground to maintain his balance. He refused to let his enemy drag him down. At the same time, he turned his head around in shock.
"Quick Rope, what are you—"
He could not continue speaking.
The reason was, at some unknown point of time, Quick Rope had locked his arms tightly together to strangle Dean!
Thales watched the scene in shock, unable to understand what was going on. With Hell's senses, he saw Quick Rope pressing himself firmly against Dean's back with a resolute face. He used his left arm to lock Dean's neck while he withstood Dean's struggles and resistance. His eyes shone with a lively, rarely-seen spark!
Under Dean's disbelieving face, the calm Quick Rope locked his right elbow with his left arm, and used his right palm to press against the back of the mercenary's head.
"You know, Dean…"
Quick Rope was almost pressing against the back of Dean's ear. He spoke in a cold tone Thales had never heard before, "Most of the information about Moriah Walton's filled with all sorts of errors and loopholes."
While he endured the immense pressure against his neck, Dean's face turned savage, but there was also a hint of pain in him. However, the battle-seasoned man instantly moved. He released the bed frame, and at the same time he stomped on the ground with both of his legs, hurling his entire body backwards!
*Bang!*
Quick Rope's back crashed hard against the closet!
Nonetheless, Quick Rope's hold of Dean's neck remained firm. The two of them were still unseparated.
On the bed, Thales saw Quick Rope's entire body being pushed against the closet by Dean. He even had both of his legs in the air.
Thales was so shocked that he forgot to breathe.
It was not the "accident" he imagined would happen.
'No.'
"He did learn some skills from the Star Killer, but his results from those lessons were horrible…" Quick Rope's face was contorted. He clenched his teeth tightly, speaking as if he had an immense weight pressing down on him.
Dean's puzzled look slowly disappeared, and shock grew more prominent on his face.
'No.
'No…'
In the scuffle, Dean whose face was red, gritted his teeth and swung his elbows. He struck the person behind him hard!
*Thud!*
The dull thud of an elbow coming into contact with a man rose into the air.
Quick Rope shivered slightly, but his expression remained unchanged, as though the heavy blow was just Dean helping him scratch an itch.
Dean's face became even redder. He was glaring at the spot before him, and his cheeks twitched.
In the next moment, Quick Rope instantly used both of his legs to clamp down on Dean's waist and stomach from behind!
"He may have looked up to the life of a mercenary, but he was never the man spoken in the legends. He's not one of those protagonists who've experienced many battles…" Quick Rope's expression grew more solemn and severe. The arms he used to lock down on Dean's neck trembled slightly. It was stretched taut like a bowstring, and his tremendous strength could be vaguely seen in every inch of his body.
Thales stared at the scene incredulously. He had long since held JC's dagger in his hand, but the two scuffling men and his chaotic thoughts made it hard for him to make a call. The sharp tip of his dagger kept moving back and forth furiously between the two of them.
"He may have accepted a good education, but his mastery of the Orc language is terrible, and he doesn't know how to create all those schemes in the political scene…" Quick Rope continued to grit his teeth. He still had his arms locked around Dean's head and neck. His right palm was pushing forward while his left arm was pulling backwards. With those two forces moving against each other, he maintained a strong pressure on the mercenary's throat.
Conversely, the bald mercenary's struggles were becoming weaker.
He hit backwards with his elbows, scratched and tried to grab Quick Rope with his arms, but it was all in vain. His body crashed and scratched against the closet violently. He exerted strength in both his legs multiple times to ram his enemy against the closet.
Unfortunately, all those tactics did not affect Quick Rope's resolute gaze and his decision to kill Dean.
A few seconds passed.
The anger and hate in Dean's eyes started to fade. They were replaced with fear.
Despite that, Quick Rope did not let go.
He did not...
His expression was still firm while his arms remained locked around his enemy's vitals. It looked like he had his arms wrapped around a lover he would absolutely never let go, as though his arms would be locked around Dean's neck until the day the world ended.
Quick Rope lowered his head, and with much difficulty, said, "And… the woman he loved…"
His voice was filled with sorrow.
As he noticed something at the last moment, Dean lifted his head in fear and looked at Thales, who had his dagger raised in front of him.
Simultaneously, Quick Rope looked up as well from behind that bald man. He moved his gaze to the Prince of Constellation.
Thales endured the gazes of the two pairs of eyes. One of them was filled with incomprehensible regret, and the other with sorrowful determination.
Finally, the quick scuffle and shocking encounter came to an end.
Dean shuddered one last time, and his expression froze during his final moments.
His eyes slowly fell shut, and his hands fell limply to his sides. His knees gradually collapsed, and with Quick Rope on his back, both of them slowly slid down the closet.
The victor was decided.
For a short period of time, only two sets of breathing could be heard in the room.
One of them was cautious, and the other was filled with the fear of someone who had just escaped death.
"That woman…"
Quick Rope lowered his head, hiding his expression in the shadows.
"She's not a whore," he said as he panted. There was a slight quiver in his voice.
"She isn't."
Quick Rope remained locked around Dean's body for a few seconds even though Dean's face had lost all signs of vitality.
Then, Thales exhaled slowly and put down his dagger.
Thales gulped despite his dry throat.
"Quick Rope, where did you learn that killing move?"
Quick Rope suddenly registered what was going on and came back to his senses, recovering from his fight-to-the-death state of mind.
He sighed at first, then curled the corners of his lips to gently poke fun at the prince.
"Thales, judging from your expression, you already know the answer, right?"
With a dazed expression, Thales stared at Quick Rope who was sitting on the floor. He watched as Quick Rope slowly removed his arms from Dean's neck and removed his legs from Dean's waist as well as stomach. He then freed himself from Dean, who was no longer breathing.
A shocking answer rose in his heart.
'No.'
"War is the art of deceiving the enemy…" Thales muttered.
In his mind he saw that rare, exciting, and memorable, thrilling fight. It was the one that happened not long ago at the borders south of Eckstedt, in the Land of Barren Rocks in the City of Faraway Prayers.
It was the Star Killer against the Raven of Death.
At that time...
Quick Rope let out a bark of silent laughter in the darkness.
