Stray: Chapter 207 the Avengers
Boom.
Everything happened so suddenly that the royal army in the city couldn't even react. The scouts on the city wall did not find any sign of the army approaching, but the solid city gate was destroyed in an instant.
Archers aimed at the rising smoke, shield soldiers erected huge shields, and the mages in the back row were ready to throw spells. The soldiers clenched their swords. Just waiting for the inexplicable intruder to reveal his figure.
But what appeared first in the smoke was not a figure, but a huge emblem. Soldiers were all too familiar with that emblem—the emperor used this spell to start every big event.
Royal Edict.
The esoteric magic of the Alban royal family is mainly used for the control of the middle and lower clergy of the Ladism. In peacetime, royal families who have been granted certain powers are also happy to use it to show their identity. Looking at the entire Alban at present, there are only two people who are qualified to use this spell - except for Princess Delia, who is not qualified to learn because she is underage, it stands to reason that only the emperor and the prince should use this spell.
Although the special pressure from it was not the same as what they had felt, the overall atmosphere did not seem to be fake.
This is not possible.
Most people can guess the basic formula of the above big men's struggles, except for a few unrealistic romantics, everyone knows that the princess on Marshal Gallagher's side can't be the real thing . Andrea Alastair had long since passed away, and her body was sealed in a coffin, decaying in a tomb in the imperial mausoleum.
Where did this royal edict come from?
"I know you are confused, I will keep it short." A slightly hoarse female voice sounded.
"I'm Andrea Alastair, that's all." A slender, sturdy female warrior clenched her spear—while the smoke was clearing, she didn't know when she slipped to a nearby On the roof. At this moment, she was half-squatting on the edge of the sloping roof, smiling brightly at them, her spear entwined with lightning.
No matter how you look at this woman, she is a low-level person who has been rolling in blood all year round. Her heroic spirit is mixed with bandit spirit, and she does not have the "noble elegance" of royal blood at all.
And behind her stood an armored warrior. Although his face was covered by the helmet, and no skin could be seen, judging from the fineness of the high-end armor, the characters inside were definitely not simple.
"I'm not going to give a sad tearjerker speech." The woman dressed as a soldier continued. "Next, I'll rush into the palace to show you my eldest brother who died a long time ago, and by the way, beat my brother who is addicted to acting and has the same father and mother."
She stood up and threw the end of her hunting spear to the ground, and the white and purple thunder and lightning danced wider.
"Your king is dead. Now you have two choices - first, think about your family, think about the recent abnormality of the emperor, and wisely back away. Anyway, I played the princess This is also justifiable, and no one can hold you accountable with military orders."
The woman called the princess shouted, her voice soaked with sneer.
"Secondly, if some friends are really eager to get ahead, or have regarded my ineffective prince brother as the real master. Then please, come and kill me, we will risk our lives and fight in an upright manner ."
If there was no royal edict, the soldiers would be happy to rush up and run over this nonsense woman. But the huge white emblem still remained in the air, and the majestic magic fluctuations continued. There was a brief confusion among the soldiers. Some commanders were still carefully observing the magic symbol, while others were impulsive—
"It's all lies!" One of the conductors shouted, "Attack, I'll take care of it if something goes wrong!"
An grinned, flew a kiss to the chaotic army below, jumped to the adjacent roof, and quickly advanced towards the royal palace in the center of the royal city.
The mage's spell smashed at her feet, and she dexterously avoided it. Pure evasion doesn't matter. Princess Alban showed the royal emblem on her left arm carelessly, and by the way kept throwing the royal edict in the city, causing chaos.
I probably didn't expect the other party to slip so fast, and the commanders who insisted on defending the city were all stunned for ten seconds before they reacted.
"Keep the palace!" Most of their instructions conveyed that.
"They must be assassins, we have to defend Your Majesty—!"
Although the enemy is in chaos, the female warrior is not too smooth.
"Where's the leather shop here?" An stopped at the edge of a building and turned to Marshal Gallagher beside him.
"I don't have the habit of buying leather in the lower city, Your Highness." Marshal Gallagher gritted his teeth.
"Oh, then I'll ask another question." An lowered his head and snorted at the pursuers below the house. "Do you know the nearest sewer entrance?"
I don't know if it was an illusion, even through the thick armor, Ann could smell the panic of the other party.
"Of course not!" The marshal raised his voice in a rare manner, and his tone became a little sharper.
A huge fireball hit the face, and the half-collapsed abandoned houses in the lower city were completely turned into ruins. An landed beautifully, and then clenched the spear in his hand.
"This is not meant to be captured alive." She lowered her voice, "I'll confirm it one last time, you should know who I am, right?"
"The glory of the Alastair family cannot be stained, and I will always be loyal to Lord Eldric." The leading soldier roared. "Even if you're a real princess, you don't have the right to touch the throne—reduced to a woman sitting on the throne, Alban is all over! I'm sorry, you have to die here—"
"Very good, I see your enlightenment." An said.
"There are people behind you." Marshal Gallagher whispered, "Although your strength is good, I still recommend you..."
"It's too long-winded." An spat, "Help me stand up to the people behind me, Mr. Wild Dog."
"You—"
Before Gallagher could start a sentence, the female warrior disappeared.
Leiguang made a big show, and she flashed like a ghost next to the soldiers of the soldiers who had just spoken. Then a warm mist of blood slammed into the early morning air.
The soldier's body fell heavily in a pool of blood, while his head rested in Ann's hands.
"Is there anyone else?" She threw the head with her eyes open to the chasing team in front of her, her voice cold.
"I said, if you really want to kill me, then we will risk our lives and fight in an upright manner. Of course, you can go up together."
The white light of the royal edict lit up again. It couldn't control the soldiers who had nothing to do with the Radhist religion in front of it, but the oppressive feeling made it hard to breathe - the female warrior didn't seem to know what exhaustion was. Her killing intent was mixed with grief, thick and sharp.
The princess of Alban wears ordinary leather armor, and her face is sprayed with the blood of the enemy.
"Come on!" she growled. The high-level magic of the Alban royal family unfolded in an instant, and a thunder beam with a thick wrist was ready to go behind her like a serpent. "Warrior to warrior, cowards!"
Gallagher used a sword dance with a stun spell to solve most of the soldiers in front of him. After recognizing the opponent's iconic fighting style, the remaining soldiers lost their fighting spirit and retreated. Leaving the battlefield - I don't know whether to call for reinforcements, or simply run away.
Unfortunately, to guard the princess, Gallagher looked at the back of the group of deserters sadly, grinding his back molars. Immediately he instinctively looked back at the princess—even after a long battle, he was shocked when Marshal Gallagher saw the scene behind him.
The situation on Ann's side is similar to him, the battle is basically over, but she has no plans to chase the deserters. The female warrior still had a broken sword stuck in her body, and a few deep stab wounds were added to her bare left arm. She didn't say a word, propped up the ground with her hunting spear, and there was a piece of intestines hanging from her leather armor.
"It's settled," she said coldly, "I recognize this place, come with me now."
"You need treatment!"
"Small wounds won't die."
An simply pulled out the broken sword on his body and cast a hemostatic spell on the wound, as if he could not feel the pain. After making sure the blood won't continue to drip, leaving a traceable trail to the enemy. She grabbed Gallagher's arm with one hand and dragged him in a certain direction: "Quick, follow me."
Half an hour later, the sewer.
Ann leaned against the wall wearily, she took out a simple treatment paper roll from her pocket, and further treated the large and small wounds on her body. Then he took out a piece of astringent and greasy dry food, ignoring the foul-smelling sewers, and just stuffed a few pieces into his stomach.
Marshal Gallagher stood restrained, obviously not wanting to touch the slippery and dirty sewer walls beyond the soles of his shoes.
"Sorry." Ann said, "There will be a tough battle at the palace, and we have to minimize the number of battles. Sewers have always been the best option."
"I know," Gallagher said sullenly.
The two were silent for a while.
As Ann frowned and threw the intestine aside, Gallagher took up the sword. The marshal did not know where to pull out a piece of cloth and carefully wiped the blood from the blade of the sword. As if smelling the smell of fresh meat, a fat mouse quickly slipped past the wall and rushed straight towards the blood-stained intestines.
It brushed against Gallagher's feet, who shivered visibly.
It may not be noticed by other people, but Alban, an unusual princess, is not an ordinary person. The moment the armor made a soft sound, she almost immediately realized that something was wrong with the marshal—
Gallagher sighed, closing his eyes for the taunts that the savage princess was about to throw.
"It's alright." Ann's tone was flat, "I killed it and threw it into the water. This thing has poisonous teeth, and a bite will kill you. If you are not good at it, give it to me Just say hi."
Sounds like a chat.
"You really..." Gallagher didn't know what to say.
Gallagher Salter has always had a bad impression of Alban's aristocratic women, and his father even thought he liked men at one point. At the age of thirty-seven, Gallagher was not without a lover, but it was not long enough, and both parties knew that it was what they wanted.
They don't love him, and he doesn't love them either. Very simple relationship.
While many people don't mind whether there is love in a marriage, Gallagher thinks he does. He doesn't want a wife who doesn't have anything in common, it's that simple. Compared with having a useless relationship with a weak and ignorant lady, he is more interested in galloping on the battlefield.
There are only a few kinds of women. And no matter what, they are inseparable from moodiness and sentimentality. They are weak and can't do anything great.
He had always believed so.
To be honest, Gallagher Salter didn't like the rude princess at all. She exists outside of his cognition, which makes him feel uncomfortable and panic from the bottom of his heart. He was loyal to her simply because she had the blood of the Alastair family in her veins, and she could help him fulfill the Emperor's will.
It is also a very simple relationship.
On the other hand, Gallagher could feel the princess' disgust for him. In every respect, they are two completely opposite types of people. At the moment, it's just two mature people working together rationally and calmly to get what they need in this war.
He was waiting calmly for a taunt.
Gallagher didn't like to expose his fear of mice, and even his cleanliness was carefully controlled. Although his subordinates won't say much, the nobles love to talk a lot, and insiders always like to mix this with contempt. And those who have a little affection for him tend to comfort him—
“This little weakness will not affect your merit,” they say.
No one ever told him it "doesn't matter".
But the rude woman in front of her passed the topic off indifferently.
"What's wrong with me?" Ann stood up, blood still on the leather armor. "I said, you are not waiting for me to laugh at you... I don't see that you still have this kind of interest, Master Marshal."
"...I just don't think this reaction is like yours." Marshal Gallagher and the female warrior walking in front kept a distance of about three steps.
"There's nothing wrong with fear." Ann's tone was very serious, and she quickened her pace without turning her head. "Besides, who would like to have nothing to fear—why should I laugh at you when you can't control yourself? I'm annoyed by your chin that's raised too high."
"I need to apologize to you for this. You're not like other women, and it's my attitude."
This time it was Ann's turn to be silent for a long time.
"So I still hate you. Listen, everyone is different."
Then her voice became a little more angry: "...but most people never get the chance to 'choose'."
Willard Frontier.
Jesse Dillon's blond hair was ruffled by the wind, he groaned aggrievedly, and slowly chewed a small cake mixed with tea leaves on the horse. Adrian followed him silently, looking at the border line not far away.
"This is abuse," Jesse said indignantly after eating the cake. "The capital is so good, this place can't even catch a fat rabbit. Ed, do you want some cake? I specially reserved the last piece for you."
"No." The knight commander deftly refused. "And you've said that three times. We obviously have very different definitions of what 'the last piece' is."
"Oh, don't do that. How could I have the heart to lie to you!" Jesse pouted, "It's like, I break off half of the rest every time—that way there will always be One piece left, dear, why don't you promise me as soon as possible."
"I don't like cake crumbs." Adrien was calm.
"I... oh, it's that little girl." Jesse raised his eyebrows at the black communication crystal, "Our deputy head will play more and more tricks, this thing is really can be used.”
"Jesse Dylan?" Delia's voice sounded from there.
"Yes, yes. Little Highness. What are your orders?"
"Willard will attack our defense line today, I hope you can pass this information to the generals on the frontier. If possible, I hope you will also help defeat Willard's army."
"Oh—" Jesse stretched her voice, "If I'm not mistaken, Marshal Gallagher has already hit the royal city, shouldn't you be concerned about something else?"
"I'm caring about what I should care about most." The communication through the cat's beard was a little vague, but they could still hear the firmness in the little princess' voice. "Mr. Cross is a Garlander, but you are registered in Alban. I think I have the right to order you, Mr. Dylan."
Jessie burst into a good laugh. "Of course, my little highness, I will not disappoint you."
The black communication crystal went out, and Adrian frowned. "Enemy attack?"
"That little girl has some skills, Ed. Guess what?"
Jessie wiped the cake residue from her mouth and sounded very pleasant.
"As a 'Fortuneteller', I totally agree with her guess."
Delia was not very skillful in disconnecting, and bowed her head in front of the cleaning maid. She hid the cat's beard in the palm of her hand—even though she was terrified of spiders, some maddening emotion now overwhelmed the fear. The itching in her palms would no longer make her tremble, but instead made her feel a strange warmth.
She can feel the emotions of this little thing, she is innocent and ignorant, and has no malice at all. She liked it, very much.
No wonder her mother wanted to get close to the prince as soon as possible, maybe this is the reason why Prince Eldric kept himself alive.
Unfortunately…
After the maid left, Delia stood up straight. She took out the long-hidden sharp knife from the fruit basket—it was just a harmless knife, she stole it from the dinner table, and Catbeard helped her make some small adjustments.
She lifted up her elaborate skirt and fastened the knife beside her lace-up stockings. For the day, she wore a dress with a huge bow on one side that could be slipped on and off at the side.
If she was right, it's time.
"Goodbye, dear uncle." She said softly, darting into the air with a sweet smile.