A Tale of Strategies For the Throne

The soldiers roughly pushed Gallan and the two into the dungeon. With a clang, the iron door closed and they turned and left.

The light in the dungeon was very dark. Only the oil lamp hanging on the wall of the dungeon hall gave off a dim yellow light, allowing people to barely make out the outlines of the surrounding things.

There were other prisoners in the huge dungeon, but everyone was lifeless. Even if they saw new people being pushed in, they would only raise their eyelids, and then lower their eyes, indifferently.

Garlan stood in the dungeon, his head slightly lowered and silent, his hands still tied behind his back.

He pursed his lips tightly, and the shadows cast by his slender eyelashes covered the look under his eyes. His long golden hair hung down from his side cheeks, covering half of his reddish cheeks.

Shulos, who had been silent since the incident happened and looked like a wooden man, came over and looked at the red cheeks.

He whispered: "What? Young Master, do you feel aggrieved?"

Garlan said nothing, his lips pursed tighter and tighter.

"Since you decided to come here, you should be prepared not to be trusted."

Shulos shrugged.

"Children are children, and they cannot bear the slightest grievance." He said with some emotion, "As a powerless civilian, or even a lowly untouchable, how many grievances will you suffer every day, and you may even be wronged? To the point of death, a young aristocratic young master like you can't even imagine it."

Garlan looked up at him. Although he tried his best to suppress it, there was still a faint anger in his eyes.

"I've never been treated like this."

He said, his tone was very stiff.

Shulos smiled.

"The common people who have been at the bottom since birth have become accustomed to this kind of oppressive life. Just a slap in the face is nothing to them. It is not as important as their mouthful of food."

He said, "Young master, if you were a commoner, you wouldn't be able to survive now with your character."

Garlan was silent for a moment, then suddenly lost his temper.

"Obviously I took the risk to help them, but they locked me up instead. Are these people mentally ill? Especially that guy - that guy, he deserves to die! He deserves to be crushed to death by the mountain, he deserves to be killed If he drowns in water, I’ll let him die!”

He kicked the iron door so hard that it clanged.

"Even if you are lying about something as big as a flash flood, you still need to confirm it, right? If you have the brains to think about it, you will know that no one would lie about such a thing! They are all a bunch of pig brains! Pig brains!"

After cursing in one breath, Garlan took a deep breath.

Then, he turned to look at Shulos calmly.

"We have to find a way out, flash floods won't give us much time."

"…………"

Garlan's expression changed too quickly. One second he was throwing a tantrum like a child, but then he turned around and calmly discussed the flash flood with him, leaving Shulos confused for a moment.

He said dumbfounded: "I said, just now you said you didn't care about them dying, why are you so anxious again?"

"If you're in a bad mood, you have to vent it out by scolding him. Besides, I said to screw him, not them."

After losing his temper, the young man calmed down a bit and shrugged his shoulders like Shulos.

"You can't just throw a basket of good eggs on the ground and smash them because you were hit by a rotten egg, right? If you get angry again, you should be saved."

"It's easy as you say. If you had brought something with you to prove your identity, we would have met the city lord long ago."

Shulos said angrily. He stretched out his hands tied behind his back, and a thin blade slipped from the cuff. He cut it with his backhand, and the rope fell down.

He moved his wrist and stepped forward to help Garlan untie the rope.

"Okay, young master, don't feel wronged."

He leaned into Garlan's ear and said angrily, "When it gets later, I will take you out of this hellish place."

"Huh? But..."

The bard smiled.

"It's just a broken lock." He said nonchalantly, "When I have no money, I will go to a wealthy businessman's house to 'borrow' some belongings. Small things like opening locks...ahem."

He accidentally told the truth, and facing Garlan's wide-open eyes in astonishment, Shulos coughed a few times in embarrassment.

"Don't look at me like that. I have investigated them beforehand. They are all greedy and unkind. Moreover, I will distribute some of the stolen property to the poor."

He said, "Okay, let's sit and wait until late at night."

Garlan thought for a moment, lowered his voice and asked, "Can you sneak into the city lord's room secretly?"

"Impossible, the defense is too tight. Not to mention the city lord's room, it is very dangerous to sneak into the government office. At most, I have only sneaked into the house of a wealthy businessman before."

After finding a cleaner pile of straw in the dungeon, Garlan sat there with his hands on his bent knees, looking down at the ground, wondering what he was thinking.

He didn't say anything, and Shulos didn't speak either. He put the thin blade in his hand and kept turning it, his eyes carefully looking at the structure of the dungeon, thinking about the fastest way to escape.

After a moment of silence, Garlan suddenly spoke.

"Schulos."

"Um?"

"If I were still a noble...this matter could be easily solved, right?"

Shulos' eyes flashed.

"Listen, Gal." He said, "Things like your mind are not worth mentioning. Everything depends on the result."

The village that was burned down because of his recklessness a long time ago flashed through his mind. Even though a long time had passed, his heart still felt a twinge of pain at this moment.

"No matter how good of an idea a person has, he can't do it, and the result will be bad."

"But a person with power, even if he has a less than glorious plan, but he does it, the result is good."

"People never care about your purpose, they only care about getting a good result, because only good results can bring them peace and happiness."

"Don't care about...the purpose?"

The young man repeated this sentence softly.

"In this world, personal bravery is not worth mentioning. You can defeat ten people, but you cannot defeat a hundred people."

Shulos' words were very straightforward.

"To tell you the truth, Gal, as a civilian, you have no ability to help others. It can even be said that with your appearance, once you meet a powerful person with special preferences, you may not even be able to protect yourself."

The bard's words hit the nail on the head.

The young man was startled for a moment, then hugged his knees and fell into silence.

After some time passed, Shulos estimated that it was almost done. He stood up and took stock of the situation, then stood in front of the cell door and reached for the iron lock.

But at this moment, there was a clang from the hall of the dungeon. Shulos suddenly retracted his hand and pretended to sit back in the corner.

A middle-aged man with a big belly walked in. Judging from his clothes, he seemed to be a butler of some powerful person. The warden was by his side, looking very respectful.

As soon as he entered, the prisoners in the cell became commotion, as if they all knew him.

Garlan felt strange when he saw an expression of fear and struggle on the face of the man in the cell next to him. At this moment, the man who looked like a butler spoke.

"The adults want to watch a beast-fighting show tomorrow. Which of you wants to come?"

He hummed and stood on the steps at the entrance of the passage and scanned the people in the dungeon.

The prisoners he scanned shrank back into the shadows, and some trembled. He looked away disdainfully, as if he had seen something dirty.

He said: "The old rule is that as long as you win, the adults will fulfill your request, and even the murderer will be exempted from the death penalty."

"What kind of animal fighting show?"

Garlan asked the man in the dungeon next to him in a low voice.

The thin man hesitated and answered in a low voice.

"It means that you will fight with wild beasts such as wolves, leopards, and wild boars in the arena. If you can kill the beast, you will win, and the nobles will agree to any request you make."

The man shook his head and said, "But after coming down so many times, almost all the people who came on stage died."

Moreover, the death was extremely brutal, and the flesh and blood were eaten directly by wild beasts, leaving no bones left.

So no one dares to go, and only those condemned prisoners who are destined to die dare to fight to the death.

"Isn't it just those nobles who want to have some excitement?"

Shulos on the side snorted.

"There was an earthquake just now, so they were bored."

"Is there no one?"

The man asked loudly again, but when no one said anything, he couldn't help but frown.

Because of the earthquake not long ago, his family was in a bad mood and wanted to vent, so he asked him to come over and pick a criminal to hold a beast fight.

If he fails in his errand, the adults will be furious.

At this moment, a voice suddenly sounded in the silent dungeon.

"Will you agree to any request?"

The voice was obviously very young, even a little immature.

The aristocratic butler walked over with a lantern, and when he saw that the person speaking was a young man who looked like he was not yet an adult, he couldn't help but frown.

"Child, you are still too young, it is best not to get involved in this matter."

In the past, he had no mercy when it came to sending those heinous criminals to their deaths.

But this time, the person in front of him was just a beautiful underage child, the housekeeper persuaded with some reluctance.

"Will you really agree to any request?"

The boy insisted.

Since the other party insisted, the housekeeper sighed inwardly and stopped persuading him.

He nodded: "Yes, you can make any request. As long as it is a matter within Tweilur City, if you win, whether it is property or immunity, any request will be satisfied by you."

The blond boy nodded.

"Okay, I'll go."

The aristocratic butler sighed slightly and left. Although he was very pitiful, he could not stop the young man from dying if he wanted to gain property or avoid guilt.

The prisoners in the dungeon looked at the weak boy with pity, as if they were looking at a dead man.

Shulos grabbed Garlan's hand.

"Are you crazy? This is not the way to seek death!"

He lowered his voice, "Stop talking, I will take you out of here later. At worst, we will have flash flood notes all over the city, and we can't control the rest! Regardless of the officials in this city , or others, they can only leave it to fate. They don’t believe what we say, they can only say that their fate has been determined by God, but we can’t die with them!”

Garlan turned to look at Shulos.

"Even the destiny set by God can be changed."

In previous lives, Heimos had changed the destiny preordained by the gods.

In this life, he changed the fate of Heimos.

Also, Opada, the little princess, etc., the fate of many people has changed.

He should no longer indulge in the so-called past destiny.

Garlan already understood.

This time he hit a wall because of himself.

He said that he wanted to give up his identity as a prince, but in fact he still habitually acted as a prince and with the thinking of a prince. He fell into the trap so easily because he still subconsciously believed that he was a prince and did not need to worry about his safety in the ruling government.

After suffering a big loss this time, he finally realized this.

Gallan suddenly raised his eyebrows and smiled at Shulos.

"Since we are rangers now, let's use the ranger method to solve this matter simply and crudely this time."

The heaviness and confusion that had been hidden deep in my heart during this period of time were all gone, and the young man's smile returned to its former brightness.

"Let me tell you, do you want to request a meeting with the Lord of the City after you win?"

"Guess~~"

The young man smiled with crooked eyes.

"...No guessing."

The bard refused decisively.

I always feel that Gal is even harder to deal with now.

he thinks.

…………

……………………

One night passed, and the city of Tweilur became busy and noisy again.

Residents in the city are still busy repairing their damaged houses, and countless people are passing by on the roads.

As time went by, towards noon, a gorgeously decorated room in the northeast corner of the city was bustling with activity.

It was a small indoor arena, and only the rich and powerful could enter and watch.

It was built very solidly, so it was not seriously damaged during two consecutive earthquakes. There were only a few slight cracks in the side room, which had long been repaired.

The young aristocratic disciples came with them and greeted each other reservedly. Then, he couldn't wait to cast his eyes on the arena in the middle.

There are also a few aristocratic women in gorgeous clothes, holding the hands of their husbands or lovers, coming in style and sitting elegantly on their seats.

They will vent their fearful anger in this bloody battle.

Generally speaking, in large open-air arenas, the fighting area is low and the audience seats are high. This is to avoid injuring the audience during the fight.

But this indoor arena is different. It uses a huge iron cage to seal the fighting venue. In this way, the audience can watch it up close and it will be more exciting.

Under the gaze of everyone, a blond boy appeared in front of them, causing everyone to buzz and whisper.

The noble ladies stared at the young man with pity on their faces.

"Oh my God, such a beautiful child..."

"Is he not an adult yet? What crime did he commit at such a young age?"

"It's such a shame to think that this child will be torn apart by wild animals."

"If I had known that there was such a beautiful boy, I would have bought him one step ahead."

An aristocratic woman covered her mouth with a fan, suddenly smiled strangely, and whispered: "But don't you think that when such a beautiful boy's slender body was torn apart by wild beasts, and his fair skin was stained with blood? Is it more exciting and exciting?"

"…………"

No one answered.

Some people glanced at each other, and when they imagined the bloody but sad and beautiful scene that the woman was talking about, their hearts beat faster and they couldn't help but look forward to it.

Some nobles also frowned and looked away in disapproval.

Many people showed pity for the young man in the iron cage, with unbearable eyes. There were even a few soft-hearted aristocratic ladies or men who had sent their servants to ask if the fight could be stopped, and they could pay to help the child atone for his sins.

But it was already too late. Before the servants could walk down, opposite the young man, the beast had been released from its cage.

Everyone exclaimed.

There were exclamations of nervousness and worry, and there were also exclamations of excitement.

It was a majestic gray-black giant wolf.

He has thick hair and a huge body. At his shoulders alone, he is already more than half the height of a teenager.

The sharp claws, ferocious teeth, and the fierce light radiating from the red eyes are all frightening.

It was a beast that made people tremble with fear just by looking at it.

The moment it appeared, the room that was originally noisy because of the boy suddenly fell silent for a moment.

It no longer knows how many human flesh and blood it has devoured. Many people here have witnessed the horrific scene of this ferocious giant wolf tearing apart those criminals.

Wolves that have eaten human flesh are extremely aggressive towards humans.

As soon as it appeared, its red eyes stared viciously at the living food opposite.

Unable to hold back for even a second, it jumped up and sprinted, covering the distance between it and its prey in the blink of an eye amid the shouts of everyone.

Then, the giant wolf jumped up high in the air, opened its mouth and bit hard at its prey.

Its sharp teeth exposed to the air reflected a cold light in the light.

The young man he threw at him seemed to be stunned. No matter how many people shouted at him to run, he still stood motionless.

Amid everyone's exclamations, they saw that the giant wolf was about to bite off the poor boy's neck in front of everyone -

Suddenly, a bright light flashed in the sky, and a dagger was handed out like lightning.

The gray wolf clicked and bit hard on the hard iron blade.

Before it could react, the fist with iron gauntlets had already hit its most vulnerable nose hard, hitting it so hard that stars appeared in its eyes.

Its four paws fell to the ground, and its body couldn't help but pause for a moment.

But its prey doesn't give it time to rest.

The young man let go of the dagger it was biting, turned around, and grabbed the long sword that had been placed on the ground.

A sword slashed hard on its lower back.

The giant wolf howled, blood splattered on his lower back, his lower limbs went limp, and he knelt on the ground involuntarily.

And the young man who was supposed to be the blood meal in its mouth had already raised the sword with both hands behind his back.

The sword stabbed down, pierced through the back of its neck, and nailed its head to the ground.

The young man stood on top of the giant wolf, breathing heavily.

The body of the gray wolf that was nailed to the ground twitched a few times and stopped breathing.

He stepped on the head of the wolf corpse and drew out the long sword.

The splattered blood dyed most of his clothes red, and scattered bits and pieces of blood splashed onto his cheeks.

He looked up at the crowd.

At this moment, the entire room was silent, as if time had stopped at this moment.

The blond boy who had stepped on the wolf corpse looked up. The sword in his hand was still dripping with blood.

His fair skin was stained with a bit of shocking blood red.

Long flowing golden hair fell from his shoulders.

The look he looked up at everyone was inexplicably shocking for some reason.

It was as if at that glance, the world held its breath for a moment.

………………

……………………

"What? Say it again?"

"Please let me see Lord Canile."

"This is impossible. You can change your request, such as property or something like that. These are all fine."

The middle-aged nobleman standing in the center of the audience shook his head and rejected the young man's request, which he considered extremely presumptuous.

After being released from the fighting arena, the blond boy who simply changed his clothes was brought to the noble in charge of the arena, and his request was flatly rejected by the middle-aged noble.

The young man was silent for a while and then made another request.

"Forgive me my sins, and I want that."

He pointed to the gold bracelet on the wrist of the middle-aged nobleman and said that there was a huge gemstone on the bracelet, which sparkled in the light and was extremely conspicuous.

At first glance, you can tell that it is extremely luxurious and valuable.

The middle-aged nobleman frowned in displeasure, but in public, he had already rejected the boy's request once, promising that he would agree to any request. If he refused again, his reputation would be affected.

"good."

He nodded and took off his gold bracelet.

Under the gaze of everyone, the young man stepped forward calmly and reached out to catch the gold bracelet handed to him by the middle-aged noble.

But the next second, a sudden change occurred.

The blond boy who seemed to be about to catch the bracelet suddenly grabbed the middle-aged nobleman's wrist, quickly turned over and jumped behind the nobleman.

Raising his hand, the thin blade emerging from his fingertips pressed against the middle-aged noble's throat.

"do not move."

The boy said, the corners of his lips raised slightly.

"Be good."

The middle-aged nobleman was instantly shocked and his face turned pale.

The air was quiet for a second, and then the entire indoor arena exploded.

The nobles nearby quickly stood up and retreated to a safe distance, and the ladies screamed in terror.

As long as they think of the horrific scene of a young man stepping on the corpse of a giant wolf with a sword in his hand not long ago, they can't help but tremble with fear, fearing that they can't avoid it, let alone approach it.

Garlan ignored the chaos around him and grabbed the stiff middle-aged nobleman and dragged him towards the gate.

The guards had already rushed over. Although there were many of them, they looked at the middle-aged nobleman in his hands and the blade on his neck. They were afraid to get close.

The door was opened and he dragged the man out.

As soon as they went out, the sound of horse hooves came over, and in a blink of an eye, the black-haired bard had already galloped to the gate. He was holding another horse in his hand and looking at Garlan with a smile on his face.

Without further ado, Shulos stretched out his hand, knocked the middle-aged nobleman unconscious, and then threw him on his horse.

Gallan quickly got on his horse. At this time, the middle-aged noble's housekeeper, servants and guards all chased him out, looking at him nervously, as well as the middle-aged man lying unconscious on Shulos' horse. noble.

The young man sat on the horse and raised his chin at the group of people.

He said, "Come, chase me."

He smiled, his golden eyes bright.

He turned around and galloped away, his blond hair flying behind him.

The group of people could only watch helplessly as the two men took their unconscious master away, leaving them with only dust on the ground and the indoor arena that was completely messed up.

"Follow me, chase me! And call someone! Go and notify the city gate guard immediately!"

The butler of the middle-aged nobleman was so anxious that he broke into cold sweat. He shouted: "Ask the captain of the city gate guard to chase him! Immediately! We must rescue you!"