A Tale of Strategies For the Throne

After his subordinates left, Earl sat quietly in the room. The lights on the wall had been extinguished. The moonlight fell slantly on him from the skylight, pulling his shadow long on the ground.

He sat there, motionless, his eyes looking forward very calmly.

Perhaps in the eyes of his subordinates, he has gone crazy.

In fact, he is very awake now, more awake than ever before.

Huymos wouldn't let him go.

Earl knew that.

Although his nephew's appearance is similar to that of his brother, his personality is completely different from that of his generous brother.

Over the years, he has been watching him secretly, and whenever he has the opportunity, he will try to assassinate him.

Because of this, he knew exactly what kind of person Heimos was.

The methods are ruthless.

One hit kill.

This time, since Heimos has come to Menestre City, it means that he is absolutely sure to deal with him.

If he didn't do anything, he would have no choice but to surrender as soon as Heimos made a move.

He couldn't sit still and wait for death.

Therefore, counterattacking before Heimos takes action is his only way to survive now.

He knew that his approach was risky, but he could only make a desperate move.

Because now he has no way out.

…………

No.

Perhaps many years ago, from the moment he secretly stole his brother's newborn child and threw it away with evil intentions, he had no way out...

………………

In the dark night, Garlan was riding fast.

At this moment, he was extremely anxious.

In Aaron Landis, killing a blood relative with your own hands is a sin that is not tolerated by the gods.

Although Heimos had committed such a crime in previous lives, he was already notorious. In addition, King Camos knew the truth of the matter and felt guilty and sympathized with Heimos. Even if Heimos did something that was reprehensible, he still protected him, so Heimos could continue to stay in the position of crown prince.

But this life is different. Heimos was not killed by Earl, and King Camos will not feel guilty about him. Once Heimos kills his blood relatives with his own hands...

Garlan frowned tightly.

In previous lives, Heimos lost control and did such a thing because of his twisted mind and his extreme hatred for Earl, who had harmed him.

It stands to reason that Heimos should not do such stupid things now.

But what exactly is his uneasy feeling...

…………

With everyone thinking, the night passed quickly.

In the early morning, Heimos was invited to a garden in the castle by the attendant sent by Earl.

It was a small but exquisite garden, with a stream winding through it on one side.

In the middle is a spacious green lawn, surrounded by green trees, and a blue stone table stands on the green velvet grass.

When Heimos was brought over, Lord Earl was already sitting in front of the stone table, facing the morning sun, drinking a glass of wine.

Heimos raised his hand to signal the subordinates who were following him to stay outside, and then he walked over.

"What's up?"

Standing next to the stone table, Heimos asked.

Earl looked up at him and took another sip of wine.

He asked: "Why don't you just do it?"

In this empty garden, there were only two of them, their respective subordinates and the servants in the castle were all staying far away, and there was no one else within a radius of more than ten meters.

No one could hear the conversation between them, so Earl no longer pretended to be affectionate like yesterday.

"You should be carrying King Camos's handwriting with you, and at least half of the army in Meneste City is under your control."

There is no news about the chess pieces that he has arranged in the palace for so many years. I am afraid that they have fallen into the hands of Heimos, and they may have been dedicated to King Camos by him.

He drank and sneered.

"Heimos, my nephew, why didn't you just show the king's order and arrest me when you came yesterday?"

"There are some things I want to find out."

Heimos said calmly.

Over the years, he had actually gradually discovered Earl's spies in the palace, but he just didn't touch them.

Because if you move it, it will only damage one of the opponent's chess pieces, which is useless. It's better to let them go, wait for them to make a big mistake, and then catch them all.

Just like this time.

Lord Earl smiled.

"What are you checking?" he asked. "Is it the time when you were almost burned to death?"

He nodded.

"Well, I admit, that's what I arranged for someone to do."

He took another sip of wine and continued, "However, you must have guessed this before, otherwise you wouldn't have been so angry that you just rushed over and injured Buck."

He said, his eyes gradually becoming colder and his voice showing a bit of hatred.

"Heimus, do you know what you did that time? You disabled Buck's hand! You made him unable to hold a sword anymore! Don't you think you are too cruel?"

Heimos stood, looking at the Lord of Earl with an indifferent expression, without saying a word.

There was no trace of guilt on his face.

As a good uncle of his, it was natural that he secretly planned to burn him to death, but he only disabled one of Buck's hands, but Earl felt that he was too cruel.

This kind of double standard was so ridiculous that he didn't even bother to talk about it.

What's more, that incident had hurt Garlan in the first place.

Thinking of the little child lying on the bed with a pale face and tears in his eyes, Heimos suddenly felt a surge of anger in his heart.

He was still too young at that time.

If it were him now, he would have directly destroyed Buck's hands and feet as soon as he took action, leaving him to lie in bed as a useless person for the rest of his life. Earl would feel heartbroken when he saw his son, and it would continue like this. Pain until death.

"If you don't have anything else to do, I'll leave. I'm very busy."

Heimos said, turning to leave.

The things he wanted to know were too long ago, so in order to avoid alerting others, he did not touch Earl for the time being.

"What are you checking for? Is it...how did you get abandoned back then?"

Earl's words made Heimos stop.

"Or is your father, my brother, the real cause of death?"

Huymos turned back and stared at Earl.

Earl slowly drank the wine in the wine glass, then slammed the wine glass on the stone table.

He raised his head and stared at Heimos. His eyes were a little red. He didn't know whether it was because of drinking too much or other reasons.

"Heimos, my nephew, you should never have been born."

he said, staring hard at Heimos.

"Your birth killed your father, and he died because of you."

He gripped the wine glass so tightly that his knuckles turned slightly white.

"He originally promised me. He said that he had no children. After he passed away, I would be the next city lord. So, over the years, in the eyes of everyone and in my eyes, I will be the next city lord."

"But why - why were you born? Why were you born?"

For so many years, he existed as the next city lord of Menestre.

But suddenly, his brother had a child.

He lost everything the day that child was born.

All the people who had been around him left him and gathered around the child who had just been born.

Overnight, everything turned upside down.

He was abandoned by everyone and became a complete joke.

"Heimos, if it weren't for your existence, my brother and I would not have turned against each other, and your father would not have died."

"So, the culprit is you. It was your birth that killed your father."

Earl said, word for word.

His words sounded like a curse.

"It would be better without you."

"If only you had never been born into this world!"

That way, he can hide his jealousy of his brother deep in his heart and continue to be a good brother who respects his brother.

He will take good care of his elderly brother, fulfill his responsibilities as a younger brother, do his best, and serve his brother until he is old.

Then, he became the lord of the city of Menestre in a dignified manner.

Yes, that's how it should be.

This is how things should be.

If Heimos had not been born——

If Huymos hadn't taken away everything that should have belonged to him——

He would never treat his brother——

"Heimos, you should never have existed from the beginning."

The mask that had been disguised for decades was broken, and Earl looked at Heimos ferociously, with deep hatred in his eyes.

Yes.

He hates this kid.

It was the appearance of this child that completely changed his destiny, forcing him step by step onto this path of no return.

Facing Earl's resentful gaze and those words that were almost like a curse, Heimos raised the corner of his mouth.

His expression was nonchalant, as if he didn't take Earl's words to heart at all.

"Not even the gods of Aaron Landis can determine my fate."

He said,

"Earl, who do you think you are? It's up to you to decide whether I should exist or not?"

The black-haired young man stood in front of Earl, with a tall and straight posture, like a tall green pine rooted on the top of the mountain, standing tall and majestic, even the violent wind, rain, mountains and ground could not shake him at all.

He looked down at Earl, with a hint of coldness in his golden-red eyes, and a hint of cynicism.

"In other words, you were the one who stole me out and sent me away?"

"yes."

Earl agreed immediately and looked at Heimos coldly.

"I only regret that I wasn't cruel enough and didn't let someone strangle you directly to avoid future troubles."

He smiled contemptuously.

"A little bastard like you deserves to die soon."

He stood up, put one hand on the stone table, and moved closer to Heimos.

He squinted, with a malicious look in his slender eyes, and scanned Heimos' face carefully.

"After you disappeared, my brother fell ill. He was very sad. Please, I must find you back..."

"Yes, of course I will look for it, and look for it very carefully, but there's nothing you can do if you can't find it back, right?"

"It's just that my brother is too stubborn. He insisted on waiting for you to come back. I really couldn't bear to see my brother suffering so much, so for his own good, I helped him..."

"My good brother, he still thought that I was a good brother until he died. Before he died, he begged me to find you and help him take care of his wife..."

"And your mother, who looks dignified and beautiful, is actually no different from a prostitute. I just coaxed her a little, and then she threw herself into the arms of her husband's brother without any scruples. Even the biological child she found was My son has been left behind..."

"Did you know? While you were starving and being bullied by your servants, your mother was happily living in my bed..."

He spoke slowly, one sentence at a time, getting very close to Heimos.

He spoke softly, but every word was filled with deep malice, hitting Heimos with every word as if he was deliberately provoking him.

"You shouldn't be an eyesore anymore, Heimos. You were born from that prostitute-like woman. You have that dirty blood flowing on your body... Since you grew up in a garbage heap, you should Continue to live in the garbage dump until you die, which is just a pile of garbage..."

Suddenly, Heimos suddenly raised his hand and pressed it on Earl's hand that touched his wrist.

With a twist of his backhand, he snatched the dagger from Earl's hand.

Then, with a push, he pushed Earl away who was very close to him, and the dagger was quickly put into his sleeve.

In this way, in the eyes of those outside the garden, Heimos and Earl were talking, and then the two got closer and closer.

But Heimos suddenly took action and pushed Lord Earl away.

Those watching outside were startled, and then rushed in one after another.

Heimos raised his eyebrows and looked at Lord Earl who was pushed away by him.

"You want to piss me off?"

Every word Earl just said was trying to arouse his greatest anger.

Then after humiliating him severely, he tried to put the dagger into his hand.

If an ordinary person, especially a young and vigorous person, was angered by those words and his temper was rising, he would probably stab him with a knife without hesitation.

"What, you want to die in my hands?"

Earl was surprised that he didn't see any anger on Heimos' face.

He also thought that Heimos might be angered but could control himself not to attack him. If so, he would stab himself when Heimos was angry and put the blame on Heimos.

But Heimos's eyes were terrifyingly calm, as if the person he had humiliated just now was not him at all, so calm that he couldn't even use the means to frame the blame.

"It's a pity. As much as I hate you, I don't want to get my hands dirty."

Heimos looked at him and said, "I don't want to lose my reputation because of a guy who is destined to have no future."

Earl's attempt to provoke him with his parents' matter was a miscalculation. He was a cold-hearted guy by nature. To him, his so-called parents were no different from strangers.

The reason why he wanted to find out the truth was not to avenge his parents, but just to give an explanation to his childhood self.

Heimos turned his head, raised his hand, and showed King Kamos's handwriting to the knight commander who had already walked over.

"The decree of King Camos is to depose the Lord of Menestre in Er and immediately escort him to the royal city for trial."

Since what he wants to know has been said by this person himself, there is no need for him to continue to waste time.

After yesterday afternoon, it was confirmed that more than half of the troops in the city of Meneste had surrendered to him. With these troops as support, the remaining ones would not dare to openly disobey King Camos's order he brought.

He has taken control of the city and will not let it become chaotic because of the city lord's affairs.

So, now you can get started.

Seeing the king's seal on the oracle, the group of Guards knights rushed towards Earl without saying a word.

Earl's trusted guards who had just run over together gathered around Earl and drew out their swords to resist. However, even though they were slightly more numerous, they were completely vulnerable to the powerful knights of the Guards.

The team of knights defeated them with one sprint. The leading knight stepped forward and clasped Lord Earl's shoulders tightly.

He said solemnly: "Lord of the City of El, King Camos has issued an order. Because you have committed many crimes, from now on you are no longer the Lord of the City of Menestre. You must immediately follow me to the royal city to see the king."

Heimos ignored this and gave orders directly to the middle-aged general who greeted him yesterday.

"From now on, control this castle and no one is allowed to move around at will, including the former heir Buck."

He said, casually throwing the dagger hidden in his sleeve to the middle-aged general.

"In addition, immediately announce King Camos's decree in the city."

"Heimos!"

A shout came from Earl, who was already being held by the knight captain.

His once kind and gentle mask was completely broken at this moment, his face was ferocious, and the eyes he looked at Heimos were full of resentment.

"You deserved to die - you should have been burned to death that day -"

"Burned to death...burnt to death...you were supposed to be damned that day!"

As Earl's last words fell, Heimos felt that his vision suddenly went dark, and something seemed to shatter in his mind.

Countless images passed through his mind like fragments.

flame……

The red flame... is burning...

Swallowing his whole body into it... He let out mournful screams in the flames.

He was burned by the fire and huddled on the ground in despair...

…………

Holding his head with both hands, Heimos's pupils suddenly dilated.

The light red in the golden-red pupils seemed to be dyed by the red flames in the brain, condensed into a blood-red hue——

He held his head and opened his mouth, but he couldn't make a sound.

The pain that was burned by the flames and penetrated into the bone marrow was so real that it almost made him convulse on the spot.

Hatred comes with pain, like a shadow.

Strong resentment surged out from inside his body, like an invisible flame, burning his internal organs bit by bit and swallowing up his reason bit by bit...

...the burned body...

The pain of struggling desperately on the edge of death...

…………

...that disgusting figure in the mirror...

A half body that is as ugly as a monster and entangled with clusters of polyps...

...and...a future doomed to despair...

"Your Highness?"

Heimos' strange behavior attracted the attention of the middle-aged general.

"Your Highness Heymos, why do you..."

He did not answer the person who called him. At this moment, Heimos's eyes almost turned red.

He opened his mouth, panting violently, and the corners of his eyes twitched.

Then, Heimos rolled his eyes and stared at Earl on the opposite side.

Just one glance made Earl's body run cold.

It was like being stared at by a poisonous king cobra. The way Heimos stared at him made his hair stand on end.

It was obvious that Heimos was very calm not long ago. No matter how humiliated and reviled he was, he looked at him like a clown, without caring. But at this moment, Heimos stared at him with hatred deep into his bones, and his whole body exuded the intention to kill him.

Click!

The sharp long sword hanging on his waist was unsheathed. Heimos stared at Earl with blood-red eyes, and struck down hard with the sword.

"Your Highness Heimos!"

There was a crisp sound of swords clashing, and the middle-aged general on the side saw that something was wrong. He hurriedly drew his sword to receive Heimos's sword, and helped Earl block this fatal blow.

But he was also shaken so much that he staggered back several steps, and the sword in his hand was blown away.

"Your Highness! Please wake up!"

Seeing Heimos stabbing Earl fiercely with his sword again, the knight commander could no longer care about anything else and stood up in front of Earl.

This was in full view of the public. Now His Highness Heymos suddenly lost control of his emotions for some unknown reason. What if he killed his biological uncle Earl when he lost control——

The crime of killing blood relatives.

The knight commander couldn't imagine what terrible consequences it would have.

As a last resort, he led his subordinates to stand in front of Earl.

[The Black Knight from Hell].

This title is not unearned. Heimos, who is out of control, may only be suppressed by King Camos himself.

Although the knight commander led his subordinates to attack him, he could only barely resist Heimos despite his best efforts.

"Your Highness?!"

He called Heimos anxiously, trying to wake him up.

But Heymos's eyes were red at this moment, his face was ferocious, and he seemed to be completely in madness. He turned a deaf ear to his shouts and just stared at Earl who was being protected by the knight captain. You could tell by the look in his eyes. He wanted to kill Earl in his hands.

Just as the knight was retreating steadily, gritting his teeth and holding on, he suddenly saw from the corner of his eye that the knight he had arranged to guard outside the castle was running towards him in a hurry with two people.

The next second, his eyes suddenly widened.

Prince Garlan!

Seeing Prince Garlan running towards this side quickly, the Knight Commander roared loudly.

"Don't come here, prince! It's dangerous!"

But he was just trying to resist Heimos. At this moment, the roar slowed down his movements for a moment. The next second, the knight commander was knocked away by Heimos.

Earl, who was protected by the knight captain, appeared in front of Heimos.

Heimos' red eyes stared at Earl, and deep-seated resentment surged in his eyes.

There was no obstacle in front of him. He took a step forward suddenly, grasped the hilt of the sword with both hands, and slashed hard at Earl——

Garlan suddenly stretched out his hand.

no.

he thinks.

Absolutely not!

He finally changed the fate of Heimos that day, how could he watch his fate return to its original trajectory——

"Heimos!"

He shouted with all his strength, stretched out his hands desperately, and hugged Heimos from behind.

When Garlan hugged him, Heimos paused suddenly.

The blade he chopped down was almost hanging on Earl's side shoulder.

He stood there, as if stunned, motionless.

The knight captain who was knocked down a second ago seized his momentary pause, jumped up from the ground, and rushed over to block Earl again.

As he rushed forward, he shouted anxiously at his subordinates.

"Take the prince away!"

The way Heimos lost control at this moment was really terrifying. The Knight Commander was afraid that if he missed it, even Prince Garlan would be hurt.

A knight quickly stepped forward. Regardless of the offence, he held Garlan's arm and wanted to take him away.

"Your Highness Gallan, His Highness Heymos is too dangerous now, please stay away!"

One arm was held by the knight, and the other hand was still holding Heimos' clothes. Garlan turned around before he could speak.

No one noticed that when the knight said the name 'Garlan', a glimmer of light suddenly flashed across Heimos' sinister eyes.

His body also paused.

good chance.

Seeing Heimos stop, the Knight Commander seized the opportunity and wanted to step forward and knock him unconscious.

But the next second, he was knocked to the ground hard.

He lay on the ground and struggled to raise his head while holding his shoulder in severe pain. He watched helplessly as Heimos grabbed the wrist of the knight who wanted to take Garlan away. Throw it away.

His breath hitched suddenly.

Oops!

Prince Garlan is in danger!

Just when he was horrified to think that Heimos would hurt Prince Gallan next, he saw Heimos stretching out his left hand and holding Gallan in his arms, while the other hand was still tight. Holding the sword in front of him, he glanced at everyone with sharp eyes.

That posture looked like he was carefully holding Prince Garlan in his arms, protecting him and preventing anyone from hurting him.

Knight Commander: "…………???"

…………

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