A Tale of Strategies For the Throne

The Saar Desert was different from the usually clear night sky. This night, the sky over the desert became extremely gloomy, and dark clouds enveloped this desolate land.

It was pitch black on the ground, with no moonlight or starlight, and layers of dark clouds rolled down from the sky.

Tiny raindrops fell from the dark clouds, and the entire dry desert was thirsty for the nectar given to it by the sky.

This was a rare rainy night in the desert that is dry and water-scarce all year round. If it had been normal, there would have been cheers in Fela's camp. At this time, no matter men, women, old or young, they don't care about sleeping. Instead, they praise the gods and happily welcome this rare heavy rain.

Those lively children will run back and forth in the rain excitedly, cheering for joy.

But tonight was different.

On this night of heavy rain, there was no joy at all in the Fela camp. Instead, it was extremely depressed.

A solemn and urgent atmosphere enveloped the camp, and no one slept peacefully in the huge village.

The situation is critical, and the old, weak, women and children in the village have been urgently gathered together.

The originally extremely empty hall was now crowded with people, and the torches hanging on the stone walls shed a little light in the dark night.

Even the most naughty child was leaning tightly in his mother's arms at the moment, looking uneasily at the rainy night sky outside.

The firelight in the room reflected on the children's faces, and their young faces were full of nervousness and fear.

The women hugged their children tightly and comforted them while praying to the gods in their hearts.

The rain was still falling, pattering on the roof, falling from the eaves like broken beads.

The sound of fighting in the distance came faintly through the dark rain curtain, spreading an uneasy atmosphere in this packed house.

………………

Heavy rain fell in the dark night.

The long-awaited rain soaked the dry and cracked earth, and also soaked Sal's hair while riding a horse in the heavy rain.

Sal raised his hand and wiped the rain off his face to prevent it from blocking his vision.

Although in this dark rainy night, the field of vision is extremely limited.

Not just his hair, his whole body was soaked, his whole body seemed to be soaked in water, and his wet hair was messy and stuck to his cheeks, making him look quite embarrassed.

Only his hanging eyes were glaring at the opposite side, with a wolf-like ferocity in his eyes.

The anger in his eyes was boiling, and the evil aura was almost substantive.

Sal's clenched teeth chattered in the heavy rain.

If he could do it, he would really like to bite that damn traitor's throat out.

If he could, he would love to bite off that bastard's flesh bit by bit.

Temya!

And those traitors!

He stared ferociously at Temiar, who was standing opposite him on horseback, and at the dozen familiar figures behind Temiar.

He recognizes every one of his people!

There was deep pain hidden in the depths of the young leader's wolf-like eyes that stared at the betrayer.

Even though the relationship gradually became estranged due to different ideas, in Sal's heart, he still regarded Temia, who grew up with him, as his good friend.

He never thought that his friends, his people, would one day lead their enemies to attack the camp——

Don’t they know what a miserable end the Fira people will end up with if their camp is captured?

In the heavy rain, the horses neighed.

The dark crowd of horse thieves has approached the Fela camp.

That's the Sivali gang.

There are nearly a thousand Sivali horse thieves.

As for the Fela people, even if they were all mobilized, including strong women who could fight and even teenagers who were fifteen or sixteen years old, there would only be only five or six hundred in total.

In particular, the Sivali bandits attacked at night this time. They took advantage of the fact that the Fira people were unprepared and attacked in the dark rainy night, catching them off guard.

The weak light from the torch burning on the stone wall shone through the rain curtain. Sal's eyes were heavy, and his hand holding the reins tightened, and the hemp rope sunk deep into his palm.

Temia.

He never knew that this man was already so angry with himself.

He had never been on guard against his own people, so he never expected that Temiah would secretly contact the Sivali bandits during the ten days he took the royal court's envoy touring the desert.

Presumably, Temea had already informed the other party that the Ferra people were going to join forces with the Royal Court to exterminate the Sivali bandits, so the leader of Sivali planned to strike first, taking advantage of the fact that the Royal Court's envoy had just left. , attack the Fela camp.

In addition to secretly leaking information to the Sivali bandits...

When he came back in the evening, he found that some people were missing from the camp. After asking, he learned that at noon, Temya said that he had heard news that in an oasis in the distance, there would be an extremely wealthy man in the evening. Large caravans arrived and were stationed there.

Therefore, Temya and several other small leaders from Fela set out with hundreds of people in the afternoon.

According to him, he would not return until the next day because he had to wait in ambush in the oasis.

At that time, Sal didn't think much about it.

It wasn't until night, when he saw with his own eyes that Temea led the Sivali bandits to attack the Fira camp - and also led the Sivali horse thieves to avoid the trap set outside the camp, that he finally understood.

The only thing that gave him some relief was that there were only a dozen or so Fela people following Temiar.

Presumably hundreds of other people were deceived by Temiar and were still lying in wait in the oasis, waiting for the unfounded caravan to arrive.

In the heavy rain, the leader of the Sivali bandit with a beard on his face was roaring viciously, trying to intimidate and overwhelm the Fira people with his momentum.

No matter how much the other party yelled and cursed, Thrall ignored him. Only his companions yelled back, and some were angrily scolding Temya and the dozen betrayers.

Thrall did not curse, he even just glanced at Temiar and the others who were among the Sivali horse thieves, and never looked at them a second time.

At first, he was also furious, and he wanted to scold Temiar and the others in a rage.

But as soon as he opened his mouth, he suddenly felt that it was no longer necessary.

A few scoldings are insignificant to those heartless betrayers.

At this moment, he was just staring straight at the leader of the Sivali gang.

When he saw the bearded man raising the sword in his hand and giving the order to attack, his whole body tensed up.

Thrall gritted his teeth.

Although there were only half the number of the other party, as long as he did not fight hard against the Sivali horse thieves and fought a bloody way to escape, most of them could survive.

But no, they can't escape.

Their tribesmen, those old and weak women and children who have no fighting ability, are in the camp, right behind them, and they cannot abandon their families no matter what!

"It's been so long..."

A hoarse voice came from the side.

The middle-aged man, who rarely drank tonight, raised his hand and wiped the rain off his face.

"The last time we went together was a few years ago."

The man raised his hand and put the long knife on his shoulder.

His eyes, which were already cloudy due to long-term alcoholism, were flashing with a fierce light.

"Don't be a coward, son." The man said, "Kill a few more backs before you die."

Sal didn't speak, just nodded.

The horse beneath him was neighing.

Suddenly, the rain became heavier and more urgent.

In the storm, the Sivali horse thieves, led by their leader, were already rushing towards the Fela people like wolves and tigers.

Tonight may be the time when the people of Fela will be exterminated.

Thrall took a deep breath, waved the long knife in his hand, and rode up to meet him with his companions.

There was no trace of fear on his face.

However, there was still a hint of unwillingness deep in his eyes.

Obviously...

It's clear that their new future is right in front of them...

But the people of Fira no longer see that future.

He doesn't regret his decision.

He just wasn't willing to give in.

Very unwilling——

Suddenly, a huge bolt of lightning struck down heavily, followed by a roar of thunder that seemed to burst the entire sky, lighting up the dark rainy night like daylight.

Thrall's eyes suddenly opened wide.

He saw a dark shadow suddenly coming from the dark night in the illuminated rainstorm.

The dark shadow in that rainy night was like an indestructible sharp blade, fiercely tearing apart the Sivali horse thief in an instant.

…………

Rain pours.

When Garlan and his party rushed back, standing on a hill, they could see the Fela camp surrounded by the Sivali bandits from a distance.

"It looks like there's a mole among the people of Fira."

Garlan said.

"The Fira people will lose."

Heimos said in a calm tone.

To him, this showdown between the Fela gang and the Sivali gang was like a fight between two children.

It doesn't matter to him who wins or loses.

but……

He turned his attention to Garlan.

As if there was a connection between them, Garlan also turned to look at him at the same moment.

Even with the cloak covering it, most of the boy's hair was already wet, especially his forehead hair, which had been washed by the rain and the black color had faded and turned back to its original golden color.

The golden forehead hair was wet and stuck to his forehead. Garlan looked at Heimos, his eyes slowly curled up.

The crooked eyes are like the crescent moon hidden behind the dark clouds on a dark rainy night.

"Your Excellency Black Knight, it seems you have to appear early."

All right.

He knew this would be the result without having to guess. Heimos looked at Garlan who was looking at him with a smile, and without saying a word, he took out something and put it on his face.

Garlan's smile froze.

He saw the extremely 'unique' vine and grass mask that he had knitted in the oasis not long ago.

Didn’t this thing get lost a long time ago?

When was it taken away by Huymos?

Seeing Heimos slowly putting it on his face, Gallan couldn't help but twitch the corner of his mouth.

Wait, are you really going to show off with this crap?

Don’t you think it’s damaging to your reputation as a Black Knight?

"...Don't you think it's embarrassing to wear this in battle?"

After all, Garlan couldn't hold it in.

As the target of being disliked and complained about, Heimos didn't care at all.

"Who knows me wearing this?"

Garlan: “…………”

That seems to be correct.

After saying that sentence, Heimos suddenly lowered his head and came close to Garlan's face.

The vine and grass mask soaked by the rain looked increasingly green, but it could not hide the flame-like golden-red eyes that emerged from it.

"My lord, I will fight for you."

Under the rough vine mask is the brown lower half of his face.

The ugly mask and the handsome half of the face form an extreme contrast, but because it is so extreme, it gives people a magical allure.

There was a slight arc on the cold thin lips that were opening and closing to speak in a low voice.

"Aren't you going to give me the blessing of victory?"

Even the heavy rain could not extinguish the burning fire in the man's eyes.

Garlan and Heimos looked at each other for a moment.

He raised his hand.

His wet fingers pointed at the top edge of the vine mask, which happened to be where Heimos' forehead was.

His fingertips drew a water mark on Heimos' forehead.

"I know you can't lose, but be careful and don't get hurt."

He looked at Heimos and said softly, "Dear Black Knight, it would be a big joke if you were injured by such a horse thief."

"knew."

Heimos raised his head, and the tips of his forehead shook off a string of water droplets when he looked up.

He smiled and said: "I will make those guys unable to even touch the hem of my clothes."

After speaking, he raised his hand and waved.

Except for the two knights of the Guards whom he left to protect Garlan, more than a dozen other knights followed him on horseback and swooped down from the hill.

…………

Just when Sal was about to meet the Sivali horse thief who had already galloped towards them with the thought of dying together, a thunder suddenly sounded in the sky.

Under the lightning as bright as day, he suddenly saw a line of cavalry piercing through the ranks of the Sivali horse thieves like sharp arrows.

In the heavy rain, I saw the knight in black armor taking the lead and stabbing into the Sivali horse thieves.

The posture is as easy and freehand as splitting tofu with a sharp knife.

Almost at the same moment when the next lightning fell, the leading black-armored knight had already galloped to the center of the bandit group.

He waved the sharp blade in his hand.

The head of the Sivali bandit leader, who had no time to react, soared into the air, splashing bright red blood in the rain.

There was silence for a second, and everyone was in an uproar.

The Sivali horse thief's team instantly became chaotic.

The people of Ferra, who were originally full of grief and indignation, were now staring at the scene opposite with dumbfounded eyes.

The Sivali horse thieves, who were irresistible to them and could wipe out their entire clan, were vulnerable to that terrifying black-armored knight.

There were only a dozen cavalrymen, but among the nearly a thousand Sivali horse thieves, they felt as if they were in a deserted land, charging back and forth wantonly.

They smashed through the ranks of Sivali horse thieves, like ten ferocious wolves that broke into a flock of sheep, causing the sheep to scatter in all directions.

Especially the black-armored knight who took the lead was terrifyingly strong.

No one is its enemy.

When he waved the long sword in his hand, it was as if he could tear apart the night, and no one could stand in his way.

The lightning that continuously struck down illuminated the face of the black-armored knight, illuminating his devil-like mask with blood splattered on his face, making people feel terrified just by looking at it.

"Why are you dazed! Charge forward!"

When Thrall came back to his senses, he saw that his companions all looked stupid and stayed in place. He suddenly felt embarrassed and shouted angrily.

Awakened by Sal's words, everyone in Fela finally came to their senses and hurriedly urged their horses to rush forward.

After all, they were here to help them. It would be too shameless for them to just stay where they were and just watch.

The Sivali horse thieves were already on the verge of collapse, and when they were surrounded and suppressed by the Fira people, they were quickly defeated.

Horse thieves never talk about honor or perseverance. Once there are signs of defeat, many of them will immediately turn their horses around and run away without saying a word.

The battlefield in the dark night was a mess.

Thrall allowed his father to lead the men to hunt down the Sivali horse thieves, while he led dozens of companions to rush in front of Temya and stop Temya who wanted to escape.

In the heavy rain, Temia was soaked all over.

He looked at Sal with a pale face and opened his mouth, as if he wanted to say something.

Maybe he wanted to ask for mercy, or maybe he was still complaining without repentance.

But Sal didn't want to hear anything.

No matter what this companion who grew up with him as brothers and sisters wanted to say, he didn't want to hear it.

He rushed over on horseback, and with the long knife in his hand, he cut off Temya from the horse's back before he could say a word.

The horses that had lost their owners were neighing in terror.

Blood flowed on the ground and was quickly washed away by the heavy rain.

Thrall grabbed the reins and reined in his mount, bringing it to a halt.

He raised his head and panted rapidly, the raindrops hitting his face heavily and flowing down his cheeks.

If his clan members weren't all around him, he would have the urge to roar loudly in the rain.

After breathing for a while, my heartbeat finally calmed down.

He opened his eyes and saw that the raindrops falling were much smaller than before.

The sound of horse hooves came from the side. Sal turned his head and saw one of the cavalrymen running towards him and reining in his horse.

"Master asked me to take you there."

Thrall had already recognized who these reinforcements were.

They were all escorts brought by the distinguished young man from the royal court.

Especially the man in black armor, he recognized him at a glance.

So, after giving a few instructions to his men, he followed the man.

On the way being taken there, Sal was still feeling grateful.

In fact, it was not that he had never had bad thoughts. After all, the ransom offered by a powerful noble was too tempting.

But the intuition that the man in black was dangerous saved him, and even the Fela family.

If he really couldn't help the temptation in his heart and had wrong thoughts...

Just when he thought of this, Sal was already taken to his destination.

At the guard's signal, he dismounted and followed the guard toward the hill ahead.

Not far away, when he raised his eyes, he saw a man in black armor standing on horseback in the drizzle, with most of his body stained with blood.

His chest shook reflexively.

It's not that he's a coward, but the way this man kills demons on the battlefield is really shocking.

Sal quickly looked away.

The next second, he was stunned.

The rain was still falling, and in the dark rainy night, the boy's wet blond hair was the brightest color in the night.

That bright tone was like the eyes of a young man looking into his eyes with a smile.

Normally when there was light, he didn't look carefully and always thought the color was lighter yellowish brown.

Now in the darkness, he could clearly see that the boy's eyes were the purest color of gold.

Blonde hair...golden eyes...a seventeen-year-old boy...

...and the powerful knight in black who has a close relationship with him...

…………

I heard that the one who was appointed as... not long ago...

Could it be——

In a flash of lightning, an incredible idea flashed through Sal's mind.

But he didn't dare to believe it.

He stood there, dumbfounded.

He looked at the young man with dull eyes, and only the words 'impossible' echoed in his mind.

"Speaking of which, it's been so many days and I haven't told you my name yet."

The wet blond hair was scattered on the shoulders, and the golden eyes of the boy riding the horse were slightly curved.

"Crown Prince, Garlan."

…

…………

……………………

"Holy shit!"

This was a certain horse-thief leader who couldn't help but slapped his thigh and cursed.

Clang, clang, clang, clang——

This was the sound of the swords clashing as the knights of the Guards suddenly drew their swords smoothly and became furious.