three days later.
In Yongxing City this morning, it had just snowed, and the roads were muddy and dirty.
But the road in front of Mindis Hall was completely swept away.
Several carriages have already arrived one after another.
"Time is a little tight. It is said that the Grand Duke of Lombard did not withdraw his troops, but continued to march on the border. I don't know if King Nuen didn't restrain him, or he couldn't restrain him anymore."
Gilbert and the well-dressed Thales stood in the study on the third floor, looking out the window at the carriage that drove into the gate of Mindis Hall.
Gilbert said solemnly:
"It seems that tentative conflicts are unavoidable. Although Baron Mu and Lady Sutherley are in the fortress, and the Zemuto and Forex families also promised to provide full support, but after hearing the news that the Duke was imprisoned, Cold Castle and Allen's vassals are in chaos...we'd better get there early to avert the war."
Thales nodded slightly, quietly listening to Gilbert's report.
"According to the usual practice, as a Prince of the Stars, your Highness needs three instructors who will guide you in terms of military affairs, politics, and etiquette; Guard..."
"But you are going on a mission soon... we can only keep everything simple and make up for it when you return home."
"Considering that the place we are going to is the strange Exeter, and the purpose of this trip is to apologize, so we have to reduce the entourage, except for the thirty private soldiers led by Jorah, there are three people who are special candidates. "
"A teacher—I will introduce you to a knowledgeable scholar later, as the deputy envoy of this trip; an attendant—the candidate has already been selected, and he is in the carriage; and a guard— —Your safety is too important, you must be an experienced extreme master..."
Thales couldn't help but startled when he heard this.
"The candidates for the instructor and guard...Gilbert, what do you mean, you, Yodel, and even Jinny...will not travel with me?"
Gilbert showed a helpless smile.
"Well," he said indifferently: "I am the signatory of the "Fortress Peace Treaty", and I am notorious as a 'conspirator' in Exeter... My appearance in Dragon Clouds City will only bring you unnecessary troubles." trouble."
"As for Yodel..."
Gilbert shook his head: "In the past ten years in the Northland, there have been five famous extreme powerhouses, commonly known as the 'Five Warlords', under King Nun and several grand dukes, whose status is comparable to that of our Star Kingdom. Here, the 'Three Commanders' who are in charge of the legendary anti-magic armed forces are quite similar. If you meet any of them, Your Highness, please don't mention the 'Master Wearing a Dark Purple Mask' and the fact that he is now the secret guard of the Star High King. "
Thales was taken aback.
After a month of study, he knows the three handsome men of Xingchen... but the five generals on Exeter's side...
The former foreign minister sighed: "Yordel...has a problem with each of them..."
Thales took a second to understand this sentence, and then twitched his face and said, "Every...everyone? What kind of holiday?"
Gilbert just stared at him silently.
Thales took a breath and showed a helpless smile: "Okay... I guess it's the more troublesome kind..."
The traverser had one more question in his heart.
Yodel's past.
What exactly did he do to provoke the "Five Generals" at the same time?
It's as if one person wants to be an enemy of the "three handsome men" at the same time - that's simply unimaginable.
"And Ms. Jine..." Gilbert watched the carriage stop outside the window, and several people got off one after another: "Her identity is more sensitive...you know, her relationship with the king..."
Thales sighed: "So, apart from the 'allies' of the Corleone family, I probably won't see any familiar faces.
Right? "
"That's exactly what I'm going to say." Gilbert's expression froze. "Are you really going to bring the Corleone family?"
Thales said with a serious face: "After all, I made a promise to them - I don't like to break my promise."
Moreover, although the old hag Serene is annoying, she did help me at a critical moment by using the sound transmission of the blood race. It can be said that it saved my life.
Thales frowned: "After all, they have an extreme master and two super masters, and Serena hopes to rely on my identity to achieve a reset, which is a bargaining chip that can be used. On the way to the Northland, they You can change your appearance and hide in the entourage..." He paused, remembering that strong figure: "And..."
"Your Majesty, he allowed it, didn't you?"
"Of course, that was the promise of a star prince...it was the promise of Canxing," Gilbert breathed out, "It's just that, in the country of Stars, with the king and our forces on their side, they dare not be too presumptuous." , and Exeter in Stranger Things... hope they won't cause trouble."
"One more thing, don't forget," Thales gave Gilbert a blank look, "Who made this covenant possible."
Gilbert showed a perfect smile and raised his hat.
Thales let out a breath, turned around, and straightened his collar.
"Midilla! Are you ready? It's time to go."
A strange and weak metal friction sound came from outside the door.
Midilla Rolfe, staggering, stepped on a pair of strange metal prosthetics, walked into their field of vision, and bowed lightly to Thales, which was not very qualified.
Gilbert's eyebrows moved slightly.
Rolf's neck and half of his face were covered by a strange silver mask, which blocked the bloody throat and the tattoos on his face, but what was even stranger was the pair of artificial limbs under his knees.
The Kingdom of Stars made good friends with the dwarves of the City of Steel, and even benefited a lot from the skills of domestic craftsmen - the ingenious royal craftsmen only took two days to create a pair of simple prosthetics for Rolf ——Two elastic, wear-resistant high-quality steel sheets are bent into an L shape, and the bending point is reinforced with pitch crystals, and then a fixed plate is made, connected to the knee, and the buckle is connected to his belt, so that Rolf can barely Able to walk on foot without the aid of crutches.
Of course, he had to rely on his own ability to control the wind to move around in battle.
Thales raised his eyebrows: "Not bad, but the part below the knee is too eye-catching... Next time, let's cover it with pants."
Midilla Rolfe lowered her head and pulled out a stack of stapled papers.
Gilbert suddenly realized that the other party was not hesitating, but looking for the sign language drawings in his hand.
The clumsy Rolf found the blueprint he wanted. He looked at Thales, raised his right fist, bent his wrist, and tapped twice.
[yes. ]
Thales smiled lightly: "Very well, what you lack is proficiency: both sign language and prosthetics—just right, you can continue the course on the road."
Rolf smiled, found another piece of paper, and made a gesture.
[Thanks. ]
Gilbert sighed: "Since you have decided to go to the Northland with your highness, to Exeter—I hope you can realize the difficulty of this trip, and do your best to protect your highness."
Rolf lowered his head slightly. This time, he didn't need to look for the "cheat sheet", but recalled the gestures he should have and gestured.
Not knowing why, Gilbert frowned, and finally could only look at Thales helplessly.
"He said," Thales replied with a smile, "Do your best."
Gilbert let out a breath and shook his head helplessly: "Well, at least it's a good way to deliver secret letters..."
This is a gangster-born supernatural being they rescued from the Vinegrass Manor... No, he is a super-level, although he is still very immature in combat, but strictly speaking he is already considered a supernatural warrior... What is the reason? So convinced?
Thales waved his hand lightly and snapped his fingers:
"Very good, let's go."
——————
At the gate of Mindis Hall.
"How have you been recently, old friend?"
In front of a few carriages, Gilbert stretched out his hand and shook hands with a skinny man in the lead.
"It's bad," the skinny man said with an ugly expression, "Eternal Star City's administrative efficiency is far inferior to the frontline camp in Xihuang. I came to the Royal Capital just for the documents in the large library, but I lost my high-level access a month ago. Proof, so I can only wait in the capital until now—they told me that it will take half a year to re-apply."
"I guess you probably came to me because you ran out of travel expenses..." Gilbert replied with a smile.
"And you found me such a troublesome job..." The skinny man sighed and looked at Thales with appraising eyes.
"You don't want me to give you money directly either, do you?" Gilbert turned sideways, letting Thales figure out:
"This is Lord Putillai Nyman, from Song Crow City in the Western Wilderness Territory. We used to study under the same tutor," Gilbert introduced the forty-year-old man in front of Thales with a straight face. man:
"Puttilai once traveled half the world as a bard, and he has a deep understanding of the continent's geography and the customs of various countries, and he has also stayed in the Northland for a long time-Your Highness, you have complained to me, and you don't know much about the basic situation of the world. , I think Puttilai will be a good candidate, he will serve as the deputy envoy and your instructor, all the way north."
"Puttilai, this is the second prince, His Highness Thales—his intelligence will surprise you."
Puttilai——The skinny man looked displeased, but he still raised his right fist to his chest and saluted Thales.
"I'm very glad to have the opportunity to ask you... Puttilai, can I call you that?" Thales returned the greeting with a smile.
"Of course, you are a prince, you can call me whatever you want." Puttilai shrugged indifferently, not seeing the excitement and respect of His Royal Highness, the only prince of the Star Kingdom.
"Sorry, his temper is a bit weird, but I think you will admire his knowledge and rich experience." Gilbert said to Thales with a smile, not at all worried that the old friend's contempt would arouse the second prince's dislike .
Thales looked at the thin Puttilai in front of him, and then at the high boots under his feet. His face remained calm, but he sighed deeply in his heart.
Destiny.
It's him.
On the day Quaid went crazy, the people in the Sixth House met a thin man wearing high boots at the west gate. of a card.
The access card of the Canxing Great Library.
At that time, I thought he was some down-and-out scholar.
Thales rolled his eyes where others couldn't see: I'm so sorry, Mr. Puttil, your library pass is in an abandoned house in the lower city.
Gilbert led him to the next person.
It was a young man in his twenties with a sword at his waist, a firm face and a tall and straight figure. He had an ordinary face but sharp eyes.
"This person was chosen unanimously by His Majesty and I. He will serve as your attendant—whether in Exeter in the Northland or in the stars after returning—he just returned from the Tower of the End a few months ago, Gilbert looked at the young man in front of him, with complex emotions in his eyes: "Wia Castle."
Thales immediately reacted and looked at Gilbert suspiciously: "Caso?"
"Well, I hope this won't offend you. After all, nepotism... But I guarantee that he is the elite left behind after going through many screenings," Gilbert sighed: "But he is indeed, also me. son."
The young man - Wyah Kaso didn't even look at his father, and bowed respectfully to Thales: "Nice meeting, Your Highness Thales."
"I will serve you wholeheartedly for the rest of my life."
Thales is a little embarrassed. As soon as we meet, we will "for the rest of our lives" and "for the rest of our lives". Is this really good?
But he still nodded back with a happy face: "I'll rely on you along the way, Wyah."
Huai Ya bowed his head respectfully: "This life is for you to drive."
Thales rolled his eyes again in his heart.
Gilbert is obviously very good at socializing, but why is his son...
A little... Should I say serious or dumbfounded?
But he also felt that Wyah and Gilbert didn't seem to be on the right track.
Cold relationship between father and son?
Gilbert sighed and continued to move forward.
This time, when Thales saw the figure under the cloak, he shouted in surprise without any introduction:
"It's you!"
The petite figure under the cloak turned around with arms akimbo.
"Yes," the other party said casually, neither respectful nor indifferent, but rather sincere: "It's me!"
Gilbert (seems to be like this after meeting his son) said with a blank expression: "You should have seen this one, she, like Yodel, was originally one of His Majesty's secret guards, and this time His Majesty specially sent her call out..."
"Hey, hey, what are you calling out! Kessel can't control me!" The woman in the cloak who covered her face interrupted Gilbert, and she walked up to Thales unceremoniously, dumbfounded In front of the traverser, he patted his shoulder with his left hand, and pointed his right thumb at himself:
"Boy, my name is Ada!"
"Eda?"
Thales was taken aback: "Ada Wang?"
"Boom!"
Under the ugly faces of Gilbert and others, Ada hit Thales hard on the head!
"What'wong'! I'm not from the Far East..." As Thales grinned and touched her head, she whistled: "Listen, my name is Ada Roracat Gisai... "
Ada seemed to have encountered some obstacle. She scratched her head desperately for a few seconds.
In the end, the cloaked woman put down her hand weakly, and said in frustration:
"Oh, forget it, the name is too long, sometimes I can't remember it...you can call me Ada."
Thales looked at Ada dumbfounded.
I just feel that my original serious outlook on life has been refreshed once.
But... this feeling of being knocked on the head... is really familiar.
A few familiar figures appeared in front of his eyes - he didn't know what happened to Yala and those children, he only got some vague news from Molat.
"Ms. Ada," Gilbert said with a livid face, "Next time, please pay attention to your behavior towards His Highness..."
Thales touched his head, which was gradually no longer hurting, and noticed that although Gilbert was dissatisfied, he had absolutely no intention of demanding accountability.
So - he also acquiesced: This guy has the right to knock the prince's head?
"What's the matter!" Ada said dissatisfiedly, "Can't I hit him? When I hit Eddie on the head, even Keira didn't dare to have any opinions..."
Thales' face froze, noticing that Gilbert did not refute.
etc.
Eddie? Keira?
Could it be the "King of Changzhi" Eddie II, and the extreme master in the royal family-"Wolf Enemy" Keira Canxing?
Her voice is very young, but—Thales raised her eyes and looked at Ada—how old is she?
Thales raised his smiling face with difficulty:
"Ms. Ada...hehe, you are really...very lively."
"yes!"
Ada under the cloak seemed very happy, and punched her palm: "That's what my whole family said!"
"Just because of this! They kicked me out!"
Thales rolled his eyes unabashedly.
Gilbert coughed violently, attracting the attention of several carriages:
"Everyone, if there is no problem, everyone can get in touch on the road... I believe everyone knows the destination and mission of this trip."
"But if there are no doubts, let's get in the car," he said loudly, "Your Majesty and the dukes are all at the North City Gate, waiting to see the mission off."
Qiao La nodded, and the thirty Canxing private soldiers got busy.
Gilbert nodded to Thales and sent him to the carriage.
The prince's attendant with a serious face——Wiaia Castle stared at the eccentric Rolf with an uneasy expression, but under Thales' smiling face, he followed the Wind Follower and the second prince to the same room. a compartment.
"Puttilai!"
Gilbert called to stop the skinny man who was about to get into the car.
Puttilai turned around expressionlessly.
The former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Earl Gilbert Cassel said solemnly: "I entrust the prince and the future of the entire star to you."
"You have traveled half the world, from the Sea Battle of Crystal Jade City, the Year of Blood, the Desert War, the Civil War of the Alliance, the Steel and Tree Rebellion, to the Humble Succession War in the Eastern Continent and the Everlasting War, you have seen countless wars and wars— —You know how cruel that is, and your trip is for the elimination of the stars..."
"Okay!" Puttilai interrupted his old friend.
This thin man still had a displeased face, but his eyes were full of light:
"I took it."