Kingdom’s Bloodline

Thales didn't feel good.

very bad.

The body aches one after another, the cold that stimulates the joints to tremble, the hunger that seems to burn through the stomach, the pain and numbness after the old and new wounds have healed, and the dizziness and fatigue that exhaust everything mentally...

All kinds of negative feelings came like a flood.

The weeping and panting of the members of the guard seemed to echo faintly in the ears.

The stimulation made Thales' vision fluctuate faintly.

And the crime of prison river, which has always been ready to move and rebellious, is now dormant lifeless, like a beast in a serious illness, refusing to give him any more help.

Thales knew that this might be a side effect of Hell River's sin's healing power, or it might be the sequelae of mana abuse, or even the flash explosion of the alchemy ball.

I have tortured this young body too hard.

But he has no choice.

No.

In the worried sound of the fast rope and Belletti's nervous gaze, the boy tried his best to stand still.

But he can't fall.

In a trance, Thales, who was equally heavy physically and mentally, said this to himself, waving his hands and refusing the help of others.

Not yet.

He bit the tip of his tongue hard a few times, which made him tremble.

As if in this way, he could draw enough strength from the almost numb pain and concentrate.

In a different kind of silence, Thales, who was holding a torch, turned around with difficulty.

He looked at the man who was leaning against the wall, clutching his injured arm, with a desolate face.

Following Thales' gaze, others also turned to the poor man who didn't say a word, just stared blankly at the two corpses.

Belletti stared fixedly at the man with her red eyes, as if expecting something.

The expressions of Cannon and Tardin are full of shame that they dare not face,

There was an indescribable meaning in Samir's eyes.

But the closer the torch in Thales' hand was, the more the opponent shrank back, and even turned his head to avoid it, as if he was full of fear of the light.

"Quiel Barney."

"Chief Vanguard Officer."

Thales sighed wearily:

"I know, you've been through a lot today."

The indifferent figure seemed to feel something, and shrank back subconsciously.

Thales stopped in his tracks.

In the boy's blurred vision, little Barney's figure gradually became clear.

Not long ago, it was this man who stretched out his rough, callused palm to himself.

But at this moment, the bright look in the other party's eyes has long since disappeared.

Instead, it was gray.

Full of despair and self-blame, pain and confusion.

"No, Your Highness," Little Barney's head was pressed against his shoulders and the wall, half of his face was immersed in the darkness, and he couldn't see clearly:

"No."

His words were full of hatred, and the brand on his face became more and more obvious.

"Don't use that sensational trick on me..."

"Don't comfort me, don't forgive me..."

Little Barney didn't go on.

Holding his injured arm, he curled up dying in the corner, avoiding the light.

Like a lifeless beast.

no way no money.

Only the walking dead remain.

What took him?

What took this man?

The warrior who wields his sword and shield resolutely and fiercely, and enters the enemy's line with wide open and wide?

The extremely strong man who was in a desperate situation, dripping with blood, and never changed his color?

Thales took a light breath, and lightly threw away the torch in his hand.

The dim and blurred light and shadow flickered for a while.

Without the stimulation of the torch, Little Barney finally turned his head slightly.

"of course not."

I saw the boy evoked a peaceful smile:

"And I'm not going to do that."

Thales stared at Little Barney, his tone became calm:

"Because you did nothing wrong."

The trembling little Barney was stunned for a moment.

The dungeon fell silent.

Until Thales' words continued to sound:

"Since eighteen years ago, as a loyal vanguard officer of the royal guard, Barney, your path has always been clear, straight, one-way and unique."

"You live in the purest world, you only need to stick to yourself, protect your companions, and never have to choose between dilemmas."

Little Barney's gaze slowly froze, but he remained motionless.

The boy turned to the other people in the dungeon, his words were deep, and he seemed to be sighing:

"Not like them."

Saker stared at the two corpses on the ground, his eyes were blurred, and Semir bowed his head deeply, as if feeling displeased.

"It's not like Naki, who is full of remorse and guilt, longing for peace of mind."

Cannon, Bree, and Tardin each had their own difficulties.

"It's not like Nai who knows the truth like a stick in her throat, suffering in the unspeakable hesitation."

Thales stared at Little Barney's unchanged expression, and finally sighed:

"It's not like..."

"Not like your father."

Father.

As soon as the word was uttered, Thales saw little Barney trembling violently.

The prince sighed secretly in his heart.

"So, you think your father should have told you the truth back then, don't you?"

Thales looked at Barney's struggling and changing expression, and said softly:

"The question is, if he really confessed to you, what would you do and how would you choose?"

If he told me the truth...

Little Barney's silhouette distorted in the light of the fire on the ground.

But the vanguard finally turned his head angrily and stubbornly, facing the wall, avoiding the light, without saying a word.

Only the ugliest brand was exposed in the firelight.

Thales watched the other party's reaction calmly, and continued:

"I guess……"

"Will you listen to his difficulties, stand with him, and then, like him, die in battle in front of the palace gate without returning, and be buried with your choice and sin?"

"Bearing the blood debt of regicide, sleep forever?"

Little Barney still turned his head and said nothing, but the brand on the side of his face twitched inexplicably.

Thales' tone became more serious:

"Or to be loyal to the former king, stand on the opposite side of him, with disappointment, sadness, bewilderment, anger and pain, meet him with swords and swords, and kill relatives righteously?"

"Carrying the stigma of my father, a nightmare for the rest of my life?"

Little Barney's outline moved, and visible veins protruded from his fist.

Thales chuckled lightly:

"Or, will you lose yourself in confusion and hesitation like now, refuse to accept reality, go away alone, and escape everything that is coming?"

"Living in chaos with cowardly guilt?"

The boy's gaze turned to the sword on the ground that Sackel had snatched from Barney:

"Even... die?"

One dies.

The vanguard officer who was avoiding everything with his injured arm shivered.

He seemed unwilling, and only spit out a few vague words from his mouth:

"It doesn't matter anymore..."

But Thales didn't let him continue.

"I think that's his concern, his fear."

The prince's voice dropped:

"He understands you, understands you, so he is afraid, afraid that when you know the truth, when you know his choice, you will have no more ways to go..."

Thales was in a distressed figure with a tired face, except for a pair of eyes that were burning with energy.

"I think this is also the tacit understanding and agreement between those brothers and colleagues who have kept you in the dark for many years and your father."

Little Barney's breathing stopped for a few seconds, and he froze.

Ignoring the serious injuries to his shoulder and arm, he turned his head again and looked at Tardin and the others.

But they all bowed their heads together, avoiding his gaze.

Thales ignored Barney's expression of confusion and pain, but looked at the non-existent distance and sighed softly:

"Your father didn't mean to betray or deceive you, Officer Barney, and he didn't want to hedge his bets as Naki said."

The young man speaks with regret and sorrow:

"The truth is, he loves you."

"He wants to protect you."

Thales' voice paused, accompanied by Barney's increasingly messy breathing:

"He just..."

"I don't know how to express it."

The prince's voice was steady and profound, with indistinguishable emotions:

"So, he made the choice for you."

No one knew, at that moment, Thales clenched his fists fiercely.

Choices made for you.

Little Barney's thoughts paused for a moment.

The vanguard officer was a little dazed.

In the long memory, the familiar figure who often visited his nightmares in eighteen years reappeared.

That solid, tough, stubborn figure that he thought would never fall.

And that old voice.

Serious, forceful, earnest:

【Your grandmother wrote... She wants you to go back. 】

[I think it should be up to you to choose. 】

Little Barney's eyes were lost in the firelight.

go back...

It's up to you to choose...

Little Barney subconsciously hugged himself tightly, trembling, and an inexplicable fear rose in his heart.

But in the next second, what sounded in his ears was the other party's rare, not so tough, and even weak and helpless words:

【No, we can't escape. 】

【my son. 】

The other party's voice became more and more blurred, but his face became more and more clear.

I choose...

No.

Little Barney's expression slowly twisted.

He hugged his injured arm in unbearable pain, breathing intermittently.

"No……"

Barney put his face on his shoulders, twitching uncontrollably, his voice trembling so distorted:

"Father……"

As if not wanting to appear too weak, little Barney with a distorted face stuffed the knuckles of his left index finger between his teeth, biting the whimper in his throat.

Everyone in the guard silently watched Barney's grief and pain, and unspeakable sorrow spread in the air.

Thales sighed slowly, with a lot of feelings in his heart.

"His plans have apparently failed."

The prince tried his best to use his gentlest but most serious voice:

"Even though it was eighteen years late, you still faced the truth."

"Cruel, but true."

Little Barney started shaking again.

The vanguard closed his eyes, as if this could prevent something.

"I know your tricks, Your Highness."

He snorted stubbornly.

"A common method used by nobles—just like dealing with other people just now, you take advantage of their weaknesses and offer them undeniable conditions in exchange for what you want most."

On the other side, the faces of Cannon, Bree, Tardin, and even Belletti and others changed slightly.

Little Barney snorted and said to Thales:

"Now you are taking advantage of my feelings for my father."

Thales paused for a moment, as if he couldn't bear it.

But he still took a deep breath after all, and said slowly:

"So, is that your weakness?"

"Your father?"

"When he deprives you of the opportunity to choose yourself, so that you can avoid painful choices, and even avoid the consequences of choices?"

Father.

Little Barney's arm began to tighten, feeling the increasing pain of the fracture.

No.

He loosened his teeth in cold sweat, opened his red eyes, and looked at the prince resentfully, hesitating to speak.

"Does his action mean anything to you?"

But Thales shook his head.

"Don't answer me," said the prince softly:

"Answer yourself."

Little Barney hesitated slightly.

Thales turned his head and glanced at Semir with complicated complexion, Belletti with hopeful eyes, Tardin and the others who were in a difficult mood, and Sackel who had undergone a great change and was confused.

The prince took a deep breath to ease his dizziness.

"For example, will you be like just now..."

Thales turned around, reached out with difficulty, and picked up the long sword on the ground.

"Just like what your father envisioned, worried about, and feared."

"Become that cowardly veteran who loses his vitality, falls into despair, and is desperate for death after knowing the truth, Quill Barney?"

Little Barney's eyes were fixed on the long sword in Thales' hand.

His whimpering died down, and his trembling died down.

Thales sighed lightly.

"Do you know?"

The prince lowered his head, his voice was lowered, and his words were sad:

"If you do that..."

"That only means one thing—your father, he's right."

Little Barney shook violently!

"Because whether you admit it or not, you have confirmed your father's worries and confirmed his judgment: you can't bear everything he faced."

Thales took a step forward, resisted the dizziness, breathed in and said:

"You have approved your father's idea, agreed to the choice he made for you, and followed the path he laid for you."

The vanguard officer clenched his teeth, his expression became more and more painful, and his face became more and more distorted.

His eyes flicked back and forth between the resolute and irrefutable prince at this moment, and the blood-stained long sword lying on the ground.

"You prove with your own actions: your father should never tell you the truth of the matter, he should never share his choice with you, and as weak as you, you should never, never deserve to know this secret!"

Thales spoke forcefully and looked sharply.

Belletti and the others behind him looked at each other in shock.

But Thales' words continued, with a crescendo:

"Because of you, Quel Barney Vanguard, because you can neither bear the pain nor bear the consequences!"

"You are not entitled to make your own choices."

Little Barney clenched his fists unconsciously, breathing quickly.

The vanguard officer and the prince looked at each other silently, one struggling and hesitating, the other firm and cold.

Unexpectedly, the next second, the prince's tone fell, and he regained his fatigue:

"However."

"Are you?"

Thales took a deep breath, turned the long sword tremblingly, and handed out the hilt to Barney.

"Yeah?"

Little Barney froze.

【Your grandmother wrote... She wants you to go back. 】

A familiar voice echoed in his ears.

[Very well, then I won't go back. 】

His eyes fixed on the sword changed back and forth, sometimes confused, sometimes painful, sometimes sad and angry.

Until Thales gently lowered the hilt of the sword that no one took over.

The dungeon became quiet again, save for the sound of breathing.

It seems like a century has passed.

Finally, little Barney opened his mouth, took a deep breath in the dull dungeon, and tried his best to calm down.

"But what if," Barney Jr.'s next sentence was full of irony and disappointment:

"What if I am?"

"Is that the unbearable person after the truth is broken?"

Barney's voice was nasal and hoarse.

"What if I'm such a coward that I don't have the right to choose for myself?"

But Thales laughed.

He gently dropped the long sword and let it whine on the ground.

"You once said, Barney," the prince's voice was soft and hoarse, as if he was afraid of waking up the sleeping person.

"Those brothers and sisters you cherish, they are the reason for you to linger in the darkness and persevere until now, aren't they?"

Hearing this, the guards were breathing heavily.

Little Barney's figure trembled slightly under the firelight.

Following Thales' gaze, the man glanced at the two corpses of his colleagues in a daze.

The prince looked sadly at the gradually icy corpses of Nai and Nai:

Thales sighed softly:

"But I think it's just the opposite."

Little Barney's fingers tightened slightly, and his breathing became more disordered.

Thales raised his eyes and glanced at the underground storage room of the Prison of Bones, full of dust and mess.

Everyone in the guard found that the prince's expression became ethereal and confused.

"Naki said that in this dark and bottomless dungeon, everyone was tortured."

"But there is only one person."

"He lives in the only place where the light can shine."

Little Barney's eyes froze for a moment.

All the members of the royal guard were startled.

Thales' voice was very soft and very careful:

"There he has what they've lost, what they long for the most."

The young man with bruises and swollen eyes, who was described as a mess, lowered his head and showed a calm and brisk smile to Barney.

Little Barney froze.

"Compared to other people's tacit understanding or secrets, you can maintain the purest persistence, the purest steadfastness, and the purest sincerity."

Belletti lowered her eyes in confusion, Tardin lowered his head in pain, Samuel pressed his hand on the hilt of his sword, Cannon and Bree remained silent.

Thales spoke in his brightest and most regretful tone:

"This is what they have long lost, the most envious, the most jealous, the most admired, the most longing but out of reach, the most precious thing, it is your father's own sinking as the premise, and your siblings' eternal guilt For the price, the tinder that was saved for you."

"The kindling that makes them feel ashamed, wants what they want, and dare not look directly at it."

The articulation is clear and the aftertaste is long.

Little Barney didn't speak anymore, he just stood there in a daze.

The expressions of the rest of the guards were either confused or unhappy.

Thales glanced at Naki and Nai who passed away with their eyes closed on the ground, but smiled:

"The truth is, Quel Barney, before I came here, you were them, the lamp of your brothers and sisters in the night: bright and fiery, burning and blinding, representing their reluctance and their daring Think, the brightest and most beautiful side that I dare not destroy."

Every word Thales said made little Barney's chest rise and fall, and made others bow their heads and sigh, even Sackel was no exception.

"Admit it or not, Quill Barney Jr. . . . "

Thales leaned down with difficulty, his palm stayed above the blood-stained broken sword for a second, and then slowly moved sideways.

He picked up the torch next to him.

"You are the only existence they hope to retain their loyalty in this desperate world of betrayal everywhere."

"It is the only coordinate for them when they are immersed in self-blame and guilt, doubting themselves in the meaningless future."

"It was the only light they could see when they looked up when they were struggling in the bloody darkness."

"It is the only existence they can respect, love, envy, envy, and look up to without reservation or scruple."

"It was their last consolation when they looked back on the past in the bitter cold and dull life."

Only Thales sighed:

"For eighteen years, you were the reason why they survived."

"And after all this happened, did you..."

But little Barney interrupted the prince.

"Fake."

He was a little bit annoyed, but his hands, feet and expression were quite at a loss.

"Fake!"

"These are all illusions, something they created with despicableness and betrayal," Little Barney shook his head in a trance, clenching his fists, as if he would be able to wake up in this way:

"Never existed."

He growled hoarsely and feebly:

"Whether it's my father or someone else... Back then, they didn't give me a choice at all!"

"No!"

Little Barney was a little excited, his words made most of the guard members turn their eyes away in shame, not daring to look directly.

At this moment, Thales suddenly stepped forward!

He raised the torch in his hand high!

The flame approached and kept flickering, which made Barney subconsciously raise his hand to avoid it.

"No, they didn't give you a choice," the young man said quietly:

"But your life is given."

Thales spoke very slowly, which unknowingly calmed down the excited little Barney.

Thales sighed again:

"It's just that, compared to other people, your exclusive choice comes later, but it is more critical and important than them all."

"In this moment, here."

"In eighteen years."

Thales turned around and looked at everyone, including Sack El, who was also immersed in the darkness.

"Yes, Barney, when the truth comes to light, when all the disguise is torn apart and confronted cruelly," Thales said quietly:

"You will understand that everything you have experienced before is for today, what choices you can make."

Thales turned his head and looked firmly at Barney who was dodging.

"And the choice is," he said softly:

"When you face all the darkness in this world, when you are angry because of betrayal, when you are angry because of deceit, when you are suffering because of hatred, when you are despairing because of failure, when everything you fought for is far away from you."

"Who will you choose to become?"

No one spoke.

There was another unspeakable silence.

But little Barney's eyes were no longer misty, he just stared at the prince with complicated expressions and incomprehensible meanings.

He sneered from his nasal cavity, sad and helpless.

"It's easy to say," Little Barney clenched his teeth, leaning his chest forward, as if trying to resist something:

"Because you're not there!"

He gritted his teeth hard.

"If it was you, if it was you who went through all this: betrayal, deceit, hatred, failure..."

Little Barney raised his voice and said to the prince angrily:

"You yourself, what kind of choices can you make, what kind of person will you become?"

But he was quickly interrupted.

"Simple."

Thales sighed.

"In Xingchen, the teacher who taught me swordsmanship, she told me on the first day."

The next moment, Thales moved his arm!

Little Barney was startled, but reacted very quickly to catch the thing Thales threw.

It's a torch.

It was the torch Thales picked up from the ground.

The fire was burning tenaciously in front of little Barney's eyes, illuminating his whole body, from bleeding, scars, holes, to marks and brand marks.

Dispel the darkness.

"She said to me: Raise your shield."

He only heard Thales calmly, but said without doubt:

"There are only two situations where you can let it go."

At that moment, Little Barney, holding the torch, was shocked!

The flame flickered violently in his hand, fluttering back and forth.

But after all did not fall.

"No matter how fucked up the world is, Barney, no matter what facts they try to convince you, deceive you, tempt you to open up to hate, to fight hatred, to surrender to anger, to surrender to despair, to be them Captives and slaves in the rules..."

Kuaisheng, who had been watching silently, was the first to feel that Thales' mood had changed.

"No matter what reality does to you, no matter how others hit you, hurt you, torture you, no matter how limited and painful the choices life leaves you..."

"No matter how many times the damn world betrays you, betrays you, hurts you, persecutes you..."

Under the light of the fire, Prince Thales, who has been adventuring with Quick Rope himself these days, reveals rare and complicated emotions at this moment:

Painful, sad, numb...

and fragile.

These fast ropes thought that they would never have anything to do with Thales, who was optimistic, humorous, strong and unpredictable.

After a few seconds of pause, Thales took a deep breath.

"There's only one thing that matters."

In front of Little Barney's blank and knowing expression, Thales drew a faint smile that was more helpless or melancholy:

"They can't change you."

"Don't want you to drop your shield."

In the silent, dull and dark dungeon, little Barney stared blankly at Thales.

A scene from a long, long time ago suddenly flashed before his eyes, when he had just joined the royal guard.

At that time, he was young and proud, proud and confident.

That day, he swung the wooden sword in his hand, and faced the country girl who fell in the sand and was in pain all over her face...

That vain girl who he once thought had climbed to the top of the royal family and won the favor of the crown prince was thrust into his hands by His Highness jokingly to "learn some martial arts".

[Believe me, miss, I hate this assignment as much as you hate me now. 】

He still remembered that in the training ground, he endured the pointing eyes of his colleagues, and said contemptuously and disdainfully to the "training object" assigned by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince:

【Now, honorable Miss Ginny, raise your shield. 】

He still remembered the look in the girl's eyes when she gritted her teeth and got up from the ground.

[There are only two situations where you can let it go...]

I remember the sweat on her face mixed with dust and blood.

And the shield that the girl held tightly in her hand, no matter how badly she was beaten by him, and never let go.

[You die, or the enemy dies. 】

Little Barney's eyes blurred for a while.

"You don't need comfort and forgiveness, Officer Vanguard."

Thales raised his voice:

"You just have to face yourself."

A few seconds later, Barney seemed to be unable to bear the hopeful and bright eyes of the prince, and subconsciously lowered his head to avoid the other party's sight.

At this moment, he was distraught and at a loss.

"Is that possible?"

Little Barney turned his head away, looking at the two bodies on the ground, with suspicion and sadness, his tone became a little hesitant.

Thales looked at Little Barney, who was gritting his teeth and holding a torch, and smiled faintly.

"certainly."

"Because that's what I do."

Thales turned around slowly, leaving the vanguard officer with a shaky but struggling back.

"From the first day," under the eyes of everyone, the boy stepped forward, raised his head with a smile:

"Until the last day." Kingdom Bloodline