A Tale of Strategies For the Throne

When Gallan said one sentence, everyone in the audience was shocked.

Were those two royal knights killed by the royal knight who was thrown up now?

It was hard for everyone to accept it for a while.

The Royal Knights have been passed down since ancient times and have a long history. They are almost one of the symbols of the Aaron Landis royal family.

The loyalty of those who are carefully selected to become royal knights is recognized by everyone.

It can be said that even if any of the Aaron Landis kings is rebellious and cruel to the extreme, even if everyone in the world rebels against him, the royal knights will still follow him and protect him loyally.

So when Garlan said that the murderer was actually one of the royal knights, almost no one believed him.

Especially Sage, who is the leader of the regiment, his face turned livid as soon as Garlan said those words.

"Prince Garlan, please be careful what you say!"

The look in his eyes when he looked at Garlan had changed. If he was just a little angry at first, now his eyes when he looked at Garlan were cold, and even revealed a bit of evil spirit.

The big lion Nerga, who was keenly aware of the evil spirit released by Sage, turned around and roared at Sage, with a warning in his roar.

With its intelligence, it naturally knew that Garlan would not let it attack this person, but it couldn't bear it either.

Sage faced the lion's roar without moving his eyebrows and stood firmly on the spot. His eyebrows were raised, his square face was stern, and he stared at Garlan sharply.

For him, the honor inherited by the Royal Knights is more important than his life, more than anything else.

Anyone who dares to slander the reputation of the Royal Knights, even if he is a prince, will not let him go!

"Some words cannot be said casually."

He stared at Garlan with a cold tone.

"Even you can't slander my subordinates easily!"

The Chief Secretary stood aside and watched with cold eyes.

Just now he was startled by the big lion's low roar, and then he was startled by the person thrown up by Kaihos. He was in a bad mood.

At this moment, seeing that Captain Sage and Prince Gallan seemed to be having a falling out, he naturally stood aside without saying a word and watched the show, waiting for the fisherman to profit.

Garlan didn't feel angry at Sage's harsh words. Anyway, he had already guessed that Sage, the stubborn leader, would have this reaction, so he didn't take Sage's words seriously.

However, he didn't care, some people didn't want their little prince to be wronged.

Kayhos took a step forward, his tall body blocking Garlan's face, and he faced Sage head-on.

With slightly longer blond hair on one side scattered on his dark eye patch, the handsome Sun Knight smiled at Sa Ge.

But there was a fierceness in that smile.

"Captain Sage, you are right, there are some things you cannot say casually."

Caihos said with a smile, his words were soft but hard at the same time.

"Even if you are the leader of the Royal Knights, you can't offend His Highness easily, can you?"

After giving Sage a soft-spoken but tough sentence, the One-Eyed Knight changed the subject again and immediately brought Sage's mind back to business.

"I know you may not believe what I say. In order to avoid being said that I led my subordinates to slander the Royal Knights, let your subordinates speak for themselves."

Caijos said, raising his hand and making a gesture.

Everyone thought Caihos was talking about the red-armored knight who fell to the ground with his hands tied, but they guessed wrong. Caijos made a gesture, and the group of guards who followed him moved, and a knight came out.

He is also a royal knight wearing red armor, and has a special lion emblem on his shoulder.

This is still a knight commander.

At this moment, the knight commander's face was pale, his eyes were in a trance, and his expression was extremely ugly.

But even though his face was ugly, he still had a look of enlightenment on his face and walked towards Sage step by step and steadily.

Then, in full view of everyone, with only the clang of the armors colliding with each other, the knight captain knelt down on one knee in front of Sage.

"Captain Sage..."

He spoke with great difficulty, every word seemed like he was swallowing a knife.

"What Mr. Kaihos said... and what Prince Garlan said is true."

The hand he was pressing on the ground was trembling slightly because of extreme shame and anger.

"There is a traitor among our royal knights."

As soon as these words came out, there was another uproar in the square.

Even Mr. Right, who had been squinting and pretending to be napping, stopped pretending at this moment and opened his eyes suddenly, staring sharply at him.

The Royal Knights, always known as the royal family's last line of defense, are in trouble, and that's a big deal.

He thought solemnly.

Sage's mind was already in a mess at the moment.

He gritted his teeth and asked: "What on earth is going on——"

The kneeling knight commander was silent for a while, and then directly told the matter.

………………

Back in time not long ago, because Prince Garlan said that he would find the murderer on the Square of the Gods, in addition to the team of knights guarding Prince Heimos, Captain Sage left a message at the temple of the Royal Knights. After the next group of knights were on duty, they took all the remaining royal knights to the Square of the Gods.

When he left, he would naturally leave behind a knight commander who was second only to him.

After the knight commander arranged patrol routes and times for the knights who voluntarily stayed, he returned to the government affairs room to handle some daily official duties.

He planned to go out on patrol himself after finishing all the documents.

Because many knights have left, the temple is extremely empty at this time, and the royal knights do everything themselves, so there are no servants in the temple. So, he was the only one walking in the empty corridor at the moment.

Just when he reached the door of the government affairs room and reached out to push the door open, he suddenly felt danger coming from behind.

He turned his head subconsciously, and as soon as he saw Caihos's face, he felt a sharp pain on the back of his neck, and he fell into a coma.

I don't know how long it took, but the coldness coming from his whole body made him wake up slowly.

As soon as he woke up, he found himself lying on the cold ground, his whole body was tied tightly and unable to move. And there was something stuffed in his mouth, making him speechless.

When he turned around, he realized that this place was actually an ice cellar. No wonder he woke up from the cold.

At this moment, a voice came from the side.

"woke up?"

When he turned his head again, he saw Kayhos smiling at him next to him.

The memory before he fell into coma came back to his mind, and he immediately understood that it was Kayhos who knocked him unconscious and tied him here.

His mouth was blocked and speechless, and he could only glare at Kehos.

Kejos squatted in the corner of the ice cellar, with something blocking the front, casting a shadow on both of them. He couldn't see Caihos's face clearly, but he just saw Caihos raising his hand, putting his fingers in front of his mouth, and making a silencing gesture to him.

He was suddenly knocked unconscious and tied here just when he was furious. He didn't care what the man meant by silencing him. But because his mouth was gagged and the man was tied, he could only use his fire-breathing sight. Nothing could be done but stare at each other.

Caijos came over and lowered his voice: "Sorry, I invited you here in this way, just to let you see the murderer with your own eyes."

He was startled when he heard Kayhos continue: "If you don't see it with your own eyes, neither you nor the leader of Sage will believe that there is a traitor among you."

As soon as Keyhos said these words, the knight commander was stunned and stunned.

traitor?

What's the meaning?

Does that mean... those who killed the two royal knights were members of their own regiment?

impossible!

This was the first thought in his mind.

Absolutely impossible!

"His Highness said that there are other clues on the body to find the murderer on purpose. Only by doing this can we lead out the traitor among you." Caijos said, "Today is the best time, everyone's Attention is focused on the Plaza of the Gods, and that person will not let this opportunity pass by."

The knight commander didn't believe it.

He never believed there would be a traitor among them. He glared at Kehos and shook his head vigorously.

At this moment, there was a sudden noise at the entrance of the ice cellar. He subconsciously turned his head to look and found someone coming in.

The man's movements were very gentle, and he looked out carefully, and then quietly closed the cellar door. At first glance, it gave people a sneaky feeling.

When he saw it, his heart suddenly tightened.

The person who came was wearing fiery red armor, and he also knew that he was one of the knights who asked to stay on duty today.

This person is usually taciturn and quite strict and self-disciplined in his actions. He has always had a good impression of this person.

Is it true that this man killed his companions as Caijos said?

Seeing this man walking straight towards the bodies of the two knights, his heart sank deeply.

But he still had some vague hope in his heart, thinking that maybe this man just had a strong sense of responsibility and even visited the ice cellar when inspecting... Or maybe he came to commemorate them because he was friends with these two knights. What about for a while?

Thinking so uneasily in his heart, he no longer cared about the fact that he was kidnapped by Kehos, and just stared at the knight's every move with his eyes wide open.

For a moment, I was so nervous that I even held my breath.

He watched the man walk to the long box containing the body, bent down, and started groping for the body of the knight whose neck was broken.

The man didn't have any respect for the body. He not only groped the body from front to back, but also pulled the body out, threw it to the ground, turned it over and touched the side. In the end, he even started to take off the body's armor. .

Anyone could tell from that action that the person was looking for something on the body.

The knight commander watched helplessly as the subordinate he regarded as good desecrated the body of his companion without mercy, and his heart was filled with sadness.

He had never felt that this ice cellar was so cold, so cold that his breath and beating heart were both cold.

He closed his eyes in pain.

It had reached this point where he could no longer deceive himself.

Yes, his trusted subordinates betrayed him, betrayed the leader, and betrayed the glory of the Royal Knights.

And when he was thinking about it, Kehos, who had been waiting beside him for a long time, suddenly stood up and jumped towards the man.

At the same time, several guards who were also ambushing here rushed forward and pushed the royal knight to the ground who was still trying to take off the armor of the body.

…………

……………………

When the knight commander knelt on the ground, looking painful but telling all the facts with great determination, there was silence all around.

The knight commander didn't care about other people's eyes.

His heart felt clear.

They protect shortcomings, but that doesn't mean they will protect sinners.

The honor of the Royal Order cannot be tarnished by sinners.

Now there is a traitor among them, and it is their own fault.

They don't cover up.

Covering up the rotten flesh will only make the rotten infection worse, and they must face this piece of rotten flesh calmly and cut it out no matter how painful it is.

This is the correct way to protect the glory of the Royal Knights.

And his thoughts were also those of Captain Sage.

After just listening to the knight commander's report, Sage's mind went blank.

He regarded all members of the Royal Knights as companions and trusted them deeply.

He never expected that one of his trusted members would fight with him and kill his companion.

After a moment of trance, Sage took a deep breath to wake himself up.

There was a determined look on his face, and he endured the heartache and looked away from the knight who was still lying motionless on the ground.

Then, he took a step forward and put a hand on his chest.

Sage leaned down and bowed his head deeply in salute to Garlan.

"Prince Garlan, I apologize to you for my recklessness and ignorance."

He lowered his head and said with a bit of annoyance, very sincerely.

"You found the murderer of my men, but I offended you because of my stupidity and prejudice."

"No matter how you punish me, I have no complaints."

Sage apologized to Garlan very frankly.

Right is right and wrong is wrong.

He misunderstood Prince Gallan and should apologize.

His character has always been like this.

But Captain Sage himself didn't think anything was wrong, but his behavior shocked the noble ministers on the side.

They didn't understand Sage's character. After all, Sage didn't interact with anyone at all. Unless it was official business or an order from King Camos, he paid no attention to anyone.

Therefore, in everyone's impression, Sage is a very arrogant person.

However, the leader, who looked down on everyone except the king, actually bowed his head to anyone other than the king at this moment.

This is simply incredible.

Everyone looked at Garlan with strange eyes.

Seeing Sage's sincere apology, Kaihos was satisfied and stepped aside.

And Garlan shook his head at Sage.

"It doesn't matter." He stretched out his hand to help Sage up, smiled and said, "After all, half of the reason why you are like this is because I have been hiding it from you."

He said: "But there is nothing we can do about it. If I told you from the beginning that the murderer was one of your insiders, you would never believe it and would alert the enemy. I would have to hide it from you."

The Prime Minister You, who had opened his eyes and been looking over here, suddenly spoke.

"Prince Garlan, why did you think the murderer was someone from the Royal Knights from the beginning?"

"Because of the injury."

Gallan said, "Kayhos told me after checking the bodies that the two knights were killed almost instantly, so except for the fatal injuries, there were no wounds on other parts of the body. The armor The scratches must have been deliberately made for disguise afterwards, otherwise, when the sword struck the armor, it would have alarmed people."

"So I think that if you want to kill two knights in an instant without alerting other knights on patrol, it means that the murderer is very close to those two knights, so close that they will not have time to warn them until they die."

"And the only people who can make those two knights defenseless, apart from Brother Camos, are probably the only ones from the Royal Knights."

Most people have relatives and friends, but the royal knights are special cases.

They severed all family ties, became royal knights at the expense of not marrying wives, having children, and serving the royal family all their lives, so there was no one close to them.

With the indifference and repulsive attitude of the royal knights towards the noble ministers, even if the right secretary, the head of the civil service, went to see them, they would keep a certain distance, let alone the military generals.

Therefore, the only ones who can make them defenseless are their companions who are also royal knights.

Hearing this, the knight commander who was still kneeling couldn't help but ask.

"But that time, Mr. Keyhos didn't just..."

He stopped talking in the middle of the sentence, obviously unwilling to say that he had no power to resist in front of Caihos.

Garlan smiled.

"Do you think there are many 'Knights of the Sun' in this world?"

There are a few people like Heimos who are as strong as inhuman beings.

By the way, he secretly hurt Heimos.

The knight commander thought about it and realized that it was indeed the case.

Although the force value of the royal knights is not as good as that of the elite guards, they are not weak either.

There are only a handful of powerful warriors in Aaron Landis who can easily kill the opponent instantly even when two knights are on guard.

And warriors like Kaihos are well-known, and they will never be reduced to being instigated by others to frame others.

Garlan stopped talking, but Secretary Right, who had already guessed the cause and effect, smiled slightly and continued speaking on his behalf.

"So, the prince who has the target of speculation, you spread the word that you will find the murderer in the Square of the Gods in front of everyone, and attract everyone's attention to it."

"Then he deliberately told Captain Sage that he wanted to find the murderer through scratches on his hands. Captain Sage trusts his subordinates, so he will not deliberately hide this matter from the regiment. Someone who is interested will definitely find out where you are on the body. From the conversation next to me, I naturally learned what you said about 'there are other clues on the body'."

he said with a smile.

"As a murderer, no matter how calm he looks on his face when he kills someone, he will always feel a little uneasy in his heart. As soon as he heard this, he couldn't help but wonder if he really dropped something or missed any clues. .”

"And since you, Prince, are going to investigate in the wrong direction with great fanfare at this time, he will naturally feel much more at ease."

"You also deliberately asked Captain Sage to bring the Royal Knights here, leaving the door open and giving him a great opportunity. He will naturally seize the opportunity to destroy the so-called 'evidence'."

He said with a smile, intentionally or unintentionally, he praised Prince Garlan among the crowd.

His words made everyone in the square below show expressions of sudden realization, and then they whispered to each other and praised in low voices.

"I see."

"His Royal Highness is so powerful."

"You just said that His Highness is unreliable."

"How can I, a fool, be as wise as the prince? Naturally, I can't understand what the prince is doing."

Everyone was talking and admiring constantly. Prime Minister You raised his head slightly with satisfaction and retired after his achievement.

As expected of him dragging his old body out to praise Prince Gallan like this, this should make the prince have a good impression of him.

He thought with satisfaction, not feeling that there was anything wrong with him as an elder to please the young prince.

Anyway, as a minister, isn't it natural to please the future King Aaron Landis?

Just as everyone below was talking and the square was buzzing, on the high platform, Sage looked at his subordinates lying on the ground.

"Farr, why would you do such a thing?"

Sage asked.

Although he wanted to kill this guy who had slandered the honor of the Royal Knights with one sword, he knew that the most important thing was to find out the mastermind behind the erosion of the Knights, so he suppressed the anger in his heart and started asking questions.

The red-armored knight, who had been lying on the ground with his head lowered, raised his head.

His face looked sharp and righteous, but his eyes were red at the moment.

Like a wild beast with red eyes, his eyes were filled with anger.

"I'm not……"

He still wanted to resist, tried to deny it.

However, before Farr could finish speaking, Caihos sneered, stepped forward and cut the rope binding his hands with a sword, and then pressed him to the ground.

No matter how hard Farr struggled, he couldn't break free from Kehos's hand that was holding him down.

Kayhos held him down with one hand and twisted Far's right arm with the other hand. With a force, he tore off the gauntlet on his right arm.

As soon as the gauntlet was pulled off, Fall struggled like crazy, even ignoring the risk of dislocating his arm.

Anyone with a discerning eye could tell that something was wrong with his crazy look.

The next second, with a squeaking sound, Kayhos tore off his sleeve.

Under the bright sunlight, the four clear scratches on his arm appeared in front of everyone.

At the moment when his sleeves were torn apart, Farr, who was struggling crazily a second ago, seemed to have lost all his strength and collapsed into a ball on the ground.

He seemed to be completely desperate, and he just lay on the ground, motionless.

Everyone looked at the scratches on his arms and his appearance at the moment, and they all suddenly knew something about it.

…………

That old guy who can only flatter you! Still exactly the same as before!

Listening to the murmurs all around, the chief director felt very hateful.

He was waiting to see Prince Gallan's reputation be ruined, but things went beyond his expectations. At this moment, under the special praise of this old guy, Prince Gallan's reputation was raised to a higher level.

Back then, this old guy had always suppressed King Camos just because he knew how to please him.

Now that he is so old, he still has no shame in flattering a prince who is not as old as his grandson.

The Chief Secretary was still slandering the Right Secretary in his heart. When he raised his eyes, he suddenly saw a pair of bright golden eyes looking towards him.

His heart suddenly skipped a beat.

But before he could figure out how to deal with it, Garlan had already smiled at him.

"Although you are just playing games with me and Nega, this game has a good result and it is not a waste of your time, right, Chief?"

The young man looked at him with a smile and said.

The Chief's face stiffened. Prince Garlan's words were obviously aimed at what he said not long ago, 'Let everyone waste time here playing games with you and your lion.'

He twitched the corners of his mouth, barely suppressing the anger in his heart, and pretended to be nonchalant.

"Hey, I'm getting old, I don't have the energy compared to you young people, and my brain isn't flexible enough."

He paused and said reluctantly, "It's up to you young people to figure out the next thing."

Although he was very angry, under the current situation, he had to take a step back.

What he said was a hint that he would give in and no longer participate in this matter, so don't hold him back.

This is considered a tactful admission of defeat.

After he finished speaking, he returned to his seat and sat quietly without saying a word.

But his eyes were staring closely at Garlan's figure, his eyes full of gloom.

Misreading.

This little prince is not easy to manipulate.

The chief secretary thought gloomily.

He originally wanted to support the controllable Prince Gallan to ascend the throne so that he could control the power in the future.

But looking at it now, Prince Heimos and Prince Gallan are both difficult to deal with.

...He had to think of something.

Everyone present had their own thoughts, and no one noticed that the red-armored knight who was lying on the ground like a dead dog opened his eyes at some point.

Those eyes stared at Garlan, full of malice.

It shouldn't be like this.

No one would have discovered it.

He had already designed it.

No one will ever find out it was him.

If it weren't for this prince...

If it weren't for the fact that I was deceived by this prince...

Yes, it's all because of him!

The reason why I fell into this situation was because of this Prince Gallan!

The knight's pupils shrank violently, he gritted his teeth, and his facial muscles spasmed, showing a crazy look.

When things got to this point, he was bound to die.

He certainly wouldn't survive anyway.

Then, it might as well——

At this moment, not many people were paying attention to him. At this moment, the prince was only a few steps away from him. The red-armored knight who had been lying motionless on the ground suddenly jumped up.

He rushed forward suddenly and stretched out his hand in the direction of Garlan.

The look he stared at Garlan was extremely ferocious at this moment.

Even if he died, he would drag the prince who had caused him misery to his back!

His eyes were red and he was thinking fiercely.

As long as he grabs the slender neck, he can crush it in an instant!

At the moment when the red-armored knight threw himself at Garlan desperately and desperately——

Clang, the sword at the waist of the blond knight has been unsheathed.

The hand of the royal knight commander who had just stood up was already on the hilt of the sword.

Sa Ge on the other side stretched out his hand eagerly and grabbed the hand that was reaching out to Prince Gallan.

But they were all a step slower.

A huge but extremely swift figure rushed over.

Brown manes flew through the air.

The lion opened its mouth, revealing its ferocious fangs, and bit down on the arm that was reaching for Garlan.

There was a crunching sound that made everyone's hearts tremble.

The red-armored knight fell to the ground and let out a shrill scream. Only a bloody piece of bone was left on his right shoulder, and the entire arm below the shoulder was gone.

Before he could let out a second scream, a sharp claw stepped heavily on him, and only heard another slight click. It was obvious that his ribs were fractured by the step.

The lion that stepped on the red-armored knight held a bloody arm in its mouth. The blood stained the mane around its sharp teeth and dripped to the ground.

That scene gave everyone chills in their hearts.

The lion opened his mouth and threw his bloody arm to the ground.

It still stepped on the human being beneath it, raised its head, and opened its mouth.

A roar.

It was deafening and shocking to the extreme.

The earth seemed to tremble at its roar.

Everyone's expressions changed in shock, and some were even so frightened that their legs softened and they knelt on the ground.

The reverberation of the roar seemed to still be lingering in the air.

The huge lion stood proudly on the high platform, its thick mane flying in the wind, and its eyes as burning as charcoal looking down at everyone.

That lion's roar was powerful in all directions.

It stood majestically in the wind. Its majestic posture, terrifying figure, the blood dripping from the corners of its mouth, and the bloody severed limbs thrown on the steps made everyone who looked up to it tremble with fear.

A hand reached out and pressed on the lion's head.

Give it a gentle pat.

The ferocious aura of the big lion that was intimidating just a second ago dissipated. It turned around and rubbed the hand like a spoiled child.

Then, it leaned down and lay down docilely and quietly next to Garlan, who patted its head.

The ferocious lion leaned over and lay quietly beside the slender blond boy.

The scene that should have made people feel weird somehow gave people an indescribable sense of harmony at this moment.

...Moreover, it seems as if I have seen or heard of this scene somewhere...

Many people have this strange feeling in their hearts.

...Where did you see it?

"Shamash..."

Someone murmured.

"...Shamash's punishment..."

Someone else was murmuring in a daze.

"...The legend...the legend of the myth...of the sun god Shamash..."

"Isn't this just..."

"Ah, Shamash..."

More and more people are waking up.

They knew why this image seemed familiar.

Under the bright sunshine, the blond boy caressed the lion's head.

A brown lion lying docilely beside the boy.

The liar whose wrist was bitten off by a lion.

A bloody severed arm rolling on the steps...

This seems to be the myth and legend about Shamash that has been passed down since ancient times.

[Liars will have their wrists bitten off by Shamash’s messengers. 】

The scene before them seemed to be the reappearance of ancient myths and legends before their eyes.

Their eyes widened in disbelief, but inexplicably, a trembling feeling arose from the bottom of their hearts at this scene——

The author has something to say: You always say that I am a genius.

Okay, let’s put together today’s and tomorrow’s portions.

You love me like this, hum(ˉ(∞)ˉ)chi