King Nun held his wine glass and looked at the soul-killing gun.

He snorted softly, seemingly disapproving of it.

"No," the king's old voice sounded again: "What I am giving you is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."

"A bargain that cannot be refused."

Taylor was suddenly inspired.

"Think about what you can gain," King Nunn's eyes were full of depth and coldness:

"As a blood relative of the Duke's family in Longxiao City, the supreme royal family of the stars..."

"From now on, I can intervene in the internal affairs of the Kingdom of Exeter."

At that moment, Thales's heart was filled with ice.

"One of the descendants of you and my granddaughter will inherit Walton's surname and rights and become the future Grand Duke of Longxiao City," King Nun said in a cold tone, as if he was talking about something that had nothing to do with him:

"And you, Thales Shining Star, you will do what neither Oath Keeper Midir IV nor Hero Sarah can do."

"You will become the supreme king of the Kingdom of Stars..." King Nun's face remained unchanged, and he said words that made Thales feel confused:

"Also the regent of Longxiao City, the first territory in the Kingdom of Exter."

Thales stared at King Nun in a daze.

Even though he had memories that were incompatible with the rest of the world, and even though his brain was running wildly, he couldn't react immediately to the news.

"But before that," the old king's face became more serious than ever:

"If you still want to hold on to the Walton family's bargaining chip, you still want to use Dragon Sky City to constrain the Kingdom of Exeter..."

Thales exhaled dejectedly and took over King Nunn's words:

"The Kingdom of Stars and I must do our best to ensure the rule and status of the Walton family in Longxiao City and protect the Dragonlance family from dying in Exeter, right?"

King Nun showed a satisfied smile.

"If the new king in the future intends to use the reason of 'no male heir' to deprive the Walton family of their rights, he will have to think carefully," Nunn VII continued:

"The attitude of the Western Continent Shield in the south - what he touches is your cheese."

King Nun showed a firm look: "What you need to do is to show the existence of the stars and maintain the rule of the Walton family - even if there is only one little girl left, no matter how much the other grand dukes oppose her - we can continue to rule the country.

I will gain the biggest bargaining chip and advantage when facing Exeter in the future.”

"This can also strengthen the weight and status of the Bright Star family in the country and improve the reputation of the royal family at the same time - given your current situation."

Thales suddenly remembered the conversation they had when he first arrived at Mindis Hall, when Gilbert used a trick to make an alliance with Serena Corleone for him.

"Using interests to win allies," Thales unconsciously repeated Gilbert's words in a low voice: "This is the essence of politics."

"I can live for another eight or nine years, by which time the stars will begin to recover," King Nunn nodded approvingly: "After that, the last direct descendant of the Walton family, my granddaughter, your wife...

…”

"I'll leave it to you to protect me."

Thales didn't say anything for a long time.

marriage.

Stars and Exeter.

Bright Star and Walton.

"What if I say 'no'?" He raised his head coldly and looked at King Nun: "What if I don't want to be involved in this dangerous quagmire?"

"Dancing with the dragon, one's life often hangs by a thread, and," the second prince said calmly, "so far, those who want to form an alliance with me have either done me a lot of harm, or have been harmed by me."

Also - Thales recalled what Jann Kelvindill said to him on the day he set off north - if you are in the same boat as a jackal, you will be in danger of capsizing.

King Nun stared at him, his green eyes containing strange and indistinguishable colors.

Thales looked at the king without any sign of weakness.

"This has nothing to do with your wishes," finally, the old king slowly nodded:

"The Messenger Crow carrying the king's warrant will fly to Eternal Star City tomorrow - your father will decide this matter."

Thales trembled involuntarily.

"What if he...my father doesn't agree," Thales gritted his teeth and heard his hoarse voice: "Don't agree to bring Xingchen into this quagmire?"

"Oh, this," the old king replied nonchalantly: "I gave you the secret of 'triumph', didn't I?"

Thales's pupils shrank and he looked at him blankly.

"The stars can use this bargaining chip to destroy the Walton family at any time - this is enough to win his trust," King Nun said slowly with his old and powerful voice:

"When you discover a treasure, you may give up on it because you are concerned that it is a trap. But when you also have the ability to destroy it...will you still be persuaded by your own concerns and choose to give up on it?"

Thales was speechless for a moment.

Facing such a King Exeter and facing such a situation, even though he is as exquisite as him, he still feels "unable to withstand".

His intuition also told him that King Kessel would definitely agree to such an alliance.

"But the effectiveness of the 'triumph' chip will gradually fade with your death," Thales took a deep breath and followed the old king's words:

"The benefits brought by using 'Triumph' will become smaller and smaller. In comparison, Kessel...my father will definitely be more inclined to the benefits brought by marriage, and will be more inclined to support Wo

Walton, ensuring Walton’s status..."

"And harvest a nail driven into the interior of the Dragon Kingdom, changing the decline of the Star Kingdom after the Year of Blood!" King Nun raised his eyebrows, scooped up a glass of wine from the wine barrel, and poured it down his throat.

"I guess the nobles in Exeter will not be happy," Thales said dejectedly:

"Including every Grand Duke."

"Of course not - every one of them can't wait to see Walton decline." King Nun's eyes flashed, he put down the wine glass and wiped his mouth.

"But I am the king of Exeter, and I will clear the last obstacle for our cooperation," King Nunn answered him calmly: "The men of Longxiao City's service age will not be able to do anything in the next few years."

It will be peaceful - solving Rumba is just the beginning."

Thales figured it out instantly.

From Nicolai's temptation to the so-called "test" given to him by the king.

"So," at this point, Thales sighed: "You have already calculated everything."

"Don't confuse me with those shady conspiracy scum," King Nun snorted dissatisfiedly: "This is not a conspiracy, but - to use a Far Eastern word - a conspiracy that you can't refuse.

."

"Yes," Thales lowered his head, and an indescribable sense of loss rose from the bottom of his heart: "All these calculations, conspiracies and plots...or something like that."

"You're all good at this."

Just like when he first met King Kessel in Mindis Hall, Thales once again felt the helplessness and powerlessness of having his fate and choices firmly in the hands of others.

That feeling of powerlessness of drifting with the tide and blowing in the wind.

King Nun looked at him quietly.

After a long while, under the light of the fire, the old king slowly spoke.

"You are a special child, Thales," King Nun sighed, with a clear sense of vicissitudes in his voice: "I can feel it - you have the sharpness and determination of Suril and the sensitivity of Mosul at the same time.

unrealistic."

Sharp and determined.

unrealistic.

"Humph, thank you for the compliment," Thales replied tiredly, and chuckled: "I think you probably think the latter is the majority?"

King Nun, who talked about his two dead sons, took a deep breath and exhaled it slowly.

"You are not weak, Thales, even if you are only this young," the old king said seriously: "From my observation of you and the rewards from Nikolai and the others - you are a survivor and have the ability to become a survivor.

All the qualities of a strong man, but what you need is time and tempering."

King Nun clenched his fingers into a fist and tapped the left side of his heart: "And a heart that is hard enough, cold, and unwavering."

A hard, cold, unwavering heart?

Thales frowned. He couldn't bear it anymore and asked: "Don't you feel tired? The palace, the country, the Grand Duke, the conspiracy, the trick, the assassination, all these... God knows what the hell is still waiting for.

With you."

Escaped from Hongfang Street... until now.

Magician, Blood Bottle Gang, Blood Tribe, Iris, Black Prophet, Six Great Families, Exeter...

Faced with malicious intentions, crises, and tiring conspiracies and calculations again and again.

Even though Thales struggled through the period time and time again, he felt that he was almost reaching his limit.

This pace of life made Thales exhausted both physically and mentally - even his life as a beggar in an abandoned house did not give him this feeling of "difficult road ahead".

"I guess," at this point, Thales hesitated and blurted out: "If Prince Morar is really the kind of person Perfit said, he will also feel tired."
To be continued...