A Tale of Strategies For the Throne

...Garlan.

A familiar voice suddenly sounded in his ears. The young man who was sitting on his knees and resting by the wall suddenly raised his head and looked in a certain direction.

To his right was a long corridor that was empty, except for the corpses of the two cultists he had just killed.

Strange, he clearly heard someone calling his name.

The voice sounded very much like Heymos.

He thought Heimos was here, but when he looked up, he realized it was his imagination...

Feeling a little disappointed, Garlan lowered his head again and adjusted his messy breathing to put his body in the best resting state so that he could regain his strength as soon as possible.

He held the sword in one hand, and the tip of the sword was stuck in the gap between the stone slabs. Blood slowly slipped from the silver-white sword blade and seeped into the gaps between the stone slabs.

His appearance was a bit dirtier than it was not long ago. Originally, it was just black and gray stained with dust. Later, when he killed the cultists, blood inevitably splattered on his face.

The blood was soaked in the dust on his face, and he couldn't wipe it clean. Instead, the dirt became dirtier the more he wiped it, and finally it dried up and condensed into black and red blood stains on his face.

Garlan just sat on the ground holding his sword, breathing rapidly and heavily.

Because his physical exertion was too great.

During this period of time, he had been leading Novi to find a way out. It was okay at first. Perhaps it was because of the attack on the Aaron Landis cavalry on the ground, so many cultists were sent up. The interior of the stone temple was very dark. Empty, almost empty.

But not long after, the cultists began to appear one after another, from one or two at the beginning to a group at the back, seeming to besieging him fiercely.

Garlan wondered in confusion whether it was because his identity was exposed that these cultists were chasing him relentlessly. Looking at their posture, it was obvious that they would not stop until they caught him.

The constant battles with the believers of the Cult of All Things have exhausted Garlan's physical strength.

Especially in the later times, one or two believers actually swallowed the medicine and turned into monsters that were insensible to pain and had infinite strength.

Fortunately, this medicine man's movements were relatively slow, allowing him to chop off their heads with his own speed.

My throat was very thirsty, my breathing was still short, and my hands and feet were sore.

Garlan didn't know how long he could hold on.

He just adjusted his breathing as much as possible to allow himself to regain more strength in a short period of time.

The boy who hugged the dagger tightly in his arms sat silently, staring at Garlan who was panting violently with his dark blue eyes, something seemed to be flashing in his eyes.

Although he didn't know who Garlan was, he knew very well that those cultists were all here for him.

In order to get what is in their hands, the All Things Cult will definitely capture themselves back at all costs.

The reason why they had such a difficult journey was because of his presence.

Of course, he would never tell this matter, otherwise, the person next to him would definitely get rid of this trouble.

…

However, now it seems that this person has reached his limit.

Novi lowered his eyes, covering up the uncertain look in his eyes.

I don’t know how long this person can hold on.

He thought darkly.

If this person can't wait any longer, he will find an opportunity to sneak away while this person is fighting with the cultists, and use this person as bait...

After making this decision in his heart, Novi felt the people around him stand up.

When he looked up, he saw the young man looking down at him, and the hand stretched out to him.

"gone."

This person smiled at him, still using these two words, an understatement.

But Novi knew very well in his heart how much danger and trouble these two words brought to this man.

Because they had him with them, their actions became so difficult.

It was obviously a dirty face covered in blood and dust, but when she smiled at him, it was inexplicably brighter than when he had a clean face.

...making his whole person darker and darker...

Novi bit his lower lip, lowered his eyes, and avoided looking at this person.

Grasping this man's warm hand, he felt the coldness of his fingers more and more.

…………

Holding the child's hand, Garlan continued walking along the corridor of his choice.

So thirsty.

He thought, licking his chapped lips.

This stone palace was even bigger than he imagined. After walking for so long, he didn't reach the end, and he couldn't even find any water.

So thirsty.

His face was also sticky, and the smell of those guys' blood still remained, which was really uncomfortable.

I really want to find a place with water, have a good drink, and wash my face clean.

…

It is unknown where Heimos is now.

He should be very anxious now, and he should be desperately looking for himself.

Normally, he would be overly protective of himself even over trivial matters. What's more, in this situation, I don't know what he is...

No.

Don't think wildly.

He was unscathed. Heimos was so much stronger than him, so he must be doing well.

Garlan raised his head and looked around this huge stone palace.

He thought that Heimos should be somewhere in the stone palace at this moment, worried about the other party just like him...

The child's hand he was holding suddenly squeezed him hard, followed by a low cry from the child.

"Front--"

When Garlan looked up, he saw three cultists in short black and blue robes walking towards them.

His heart tightened.

The three people were walking towards them, not running or charging.

Obviously, these three people are believers who have swallowed that kind of medicine and have terrible fighting power.

Garlan's eyes flashed.

If there is another way, he will choose to take advantage of the opponent's shortcomings of not moving quickly to escape.

But there is only one way here and there is no way to avoid it.

It was impossible to turn back. The believer they had abandoned not long ago was at the rear. If he turned back, he would be attacked from both sides.

He could barely handle two of these believers who had swallowed the medicine, but three were really dangerous. Four would be...

Garlan leaned forward slightly and whispered in a voice that only the children around him could hear: "Listen, when I step forward to fight them, you seize the opportunity to rush over."

He paused and continued.

"Run forward, just run away, don't look back."

Novi was stunned for a moment. He never expected that Garlan would say such a thing.

"ah?"

He looked at Garlan blankly, thinking that he had heard wrongly.

What does this person mean... to leave him behind and escape by yourself?

Although he did have such a plan, hearing such words from the other party made him feel very uncomfortable for some reason.

"I say, seize the opportunity, rush over, run forward as hard as you can, and don't look back."

After speaking, Garlan straightened up and looked at the cultists in front of him, his eyes suddenly becoming sharp.

"Remember, run forward!"

He said, then held the sword in his hand and faced him.

Novi watched Garlan rush forward and fight with the three cultists, and he felt all kinds of emotions in his heart.

Gritting his teeth, he spotted an opening and rushed past the few people fighting together.

After rushing over, he didn't look back, didn't even look behind him, and kept running forward as hard as he could.

He knew that the man's physical strength could no longer support him.

This time, that person will definitely lose and die here.

He had to escape quickly, and while that person was entangled with the cultists, he could use that person as bait so that he could escape further.

He must do this, he should do this.

Anyway, he didn't believe that person from the beginning.

Anyway, that person just said, let him escape on his own.

He didn't need to worry about him.

so……

so----

The boy suddenly stopped.

It shouldn't be like this.

he thought, gritting his teeth.

However, he himself didn't understand what it shouldn't be.

He just stopped subconsciously, then turned around and ran in the direction he just went.

You still have time.

He gritted his teeth and thought.

There must still be time - he can use that thing to threaten those people to stop and save that person's life.

With a bang, the boy who was running forward with his head sullenly bumped into someone.

When he raised his head, he was immediately dumbfounded.

The person he bumped into turned out to be a young man who he thought should be in danger at this moment.

He raised his head and looked at the young man with wide eyes, and the young man also lowered his head and looked at him in surprise.

"Why are you running back? Didn't I tell you not to look back?"

Knowing that it was difficult for him to compete with the three cultists, Garlan only struggled with them for a while. When he saw the little boy running away, he made a feint, jumped away quickly, and left the battle circle.

Then, run away decisively.

How could he continue to stupidly fight against these powerful cultists when he knew that he was not strong enough?

Since the opponent moves slower, just get rid of them and run away.

Dragging the child and running forward quickly, Garlan said as he ran.

"Novi, listen, I know you're worried about me."

He said,

"But even if you come back, you can't help me. It's useless for you to come back, so..."

"I'm useful."

Novi said suddenly.

"Um?"

After hesitating for a long time, Novi finally answered.

“…There’s something in me that’s important to them and they want it.”

Only if this person is alive can we protect him and take him out of here.

He told himself so.

He didn't trust this person, nor did he want to rely on this person.

It was just for himself and for someone to protect him that he couldn't let this person die easily.

He said: "So, when there is danger, I can use this thing to threaten them."

There was silence between the two, and they stopped talking.

They ran for a while, and when they realized that the people behind them were not catching up, they switched from running to walking in order to conserve energy.

Garlan glanced behind him.

Looking back, his eyes fell on Novi, his expression was thoughtful.

"In other words, you are the person these cultists want to arrest?"

Not because his identity was exposed.

The reason why these cultists were chasing them was to catch Novi?

It is impossible for the Cult of All Things to attach such importance to an ordinary sacrifice.

What is hidden in this child?

Gallan's words made Novy's chest tighten.

In fact, he immediately regretted it after saying those two sentences just now.

And Garlan's question made him regret it even more.

It was guessed.

The truth that these cultists were all coming for him was guessed by this person.

In this case, this person may be——

Just as he was feeling annoyed, Novi suddenly heard Garlan shouting.

"run!"

He woke up suddenly and turned around to see that the cultists behind him had already caught up with him. And not just three, but a group of people.

With no time to think, he followed Garlan and ran forward desperately.

Ahead is the end of this corridor, where the fork is.

As soon as they reached the fork, before they could take a breath, they saw another group of pursuers rushing towards them from one of the passages at the fork.

With no other choice, they had no choice but to run into the rather dim passage on the right.

It was an arched passage. There were no lights hanging on the curved walls, and the light was extremely dim.

After they rushed out of the passage, their eyes suddenly opened up.

Passing through the narrow passage, a huge and empty underground garden appeared in front of them.

This is obviously the courtyard of the underground palace. Unlike ordinary courtyards, this underground garden is three-dimensional and divided into several levels.

In a huge semicircular underground space, stone steps are crisscrossed, some leading to the upper level and some to the lower level.

In the middle, there are staggered earth wall roads or suspended stone bridges connecting the isolated hanging gardens.

Below, the sound of running water could be vaguely heard.

It's a pity that this suspended attic garden located underground has obviously become dilapidated and is no longer as beautiful as it once was.

However, even if it is dilapidated, this underground garden is still extremely spectacular.

But Garlan had no time to appreciate its splendor.

There is no road ahead.

The road that was supposed to lead to a hanging garden ahead broke off halfway.

At this moment, Garlan and the two stood on the edge of the broken road. Ahead is a cliff-like crack, more than ten meters high.

The footsteps of the pursuers could be heard in the distance.

Soon, those cultists will be here.

Subconsciously, Novi turned his gaze to the boy beside him.

Even though he didn't even know his name, at this moment, he could only rely on this person.

I don't know when, when he was grabbed by this person's hand, he began to believe this person a little bit.

He saw the young man frowning and looking down for a while, then suddenly turned to look at him. Without saying anything, he reached out and took away the dagger in his hand.

Novi opened his eyes wide and watched in astonishment as the young man suddenly jumped forward——

Staring at the earth wall more than ten meters high in front of him, Garlan jumped out.

He jumped and fell from the sky.

The wind whistled in his ears.

He gritted his teeth, held his breath, and kept his eyes open.

Just when he was halfway down, he stabbed the dagger in his hand hard into the earth wall in front of him.

The sharp dagger stabbed in, cutting a long gash in the earth wall from top to bottom. The blade continuously collided with the gravel in the earth wall, wiping away sparks and making a harsh impact sound.

The short sword pierced into the earth wall effectively slowed Garlan's downward fall.

Finally, after just a few seconds, the dagger stopped moving.

Garlan, holding the dagger in both hands, was hanging in the air. At this time, his feet were less than half a meter above the ground.

He let go of his hands, jumped slightly, and landed on the ground.

…………

Novi knelt on the edge of the fracture, staring fiercely at the young man who had successfully landed on the ground.

He stared intently at the dagger pierced into the earth wall, and there seemed to be dark mist surging in his eyes.

really……

Shouldn't believe it.

He shouldn't trust anyone!

He thought this man would be different.

But this guy also abandoned him, took away his dagger, and just escaped, abandoning him!

The boy clenched his hands tightly, his nails digging into his palms.

He looked at the young man below with a sinister look, and a gloomy aura simmered in his eyes, churning.

Why?

he thinks.

He was already struggling very hard.

But his life was like a toy in the hands of God. Every time he had just gained hope, he was violently taken away.

He experienced this despair again and again.

The child's lower lip had been bitten and bled.

Are the gods...really worth believing in?

Neither he nor his relatives have always believed in the gods devoutly.

But in the end it ended up being such a tragic end.

Why?

Why did the gods fool him, torture him, and take everything away from him?

The bottomless abyss slowly emerged from the child's eyes, swallowing up the last faint light in the dark blue eyes.

enough.

Enough is enough.

If God is not worth believing in and cannot help him, then he might as well resort to the power of the evil god!

Regardless of whether it's an evil god or a demon, as long as it gives him fearsome power and lets him take revenge——

"Novi!"

A voice came from below the cliff, waking the child up.

He was shocked to see that the boy he thought had abandoned him and fled was still standing at the bottom of the cliff.

"Jump down, Novi!"

The young man raised his head, staring at him with bright eyes even in the dark, and stretched out his hands to him.

"I'll catch you."

The voice calling his name seemed to contain an indescribable tenacity and powerful power.

"Trust me, jump down!"