In the flickering light and shadow, the zombie sighed, threw away the bones in his hands, and grabbed the prosthetic limb that flew into the air.

"He just finished his shift."

————

"I changed my mind."

In the dungeon, Hilley's fingers flexibly pulled out the ribbon-wrapped dagger from Thales' hand.

"This dagger is very useful," she said carelessly, ignoring Thales' widened eyes, "lend it to me for another two days."

Two days to play?

Thales couldn't believe it.

"I don't understand," Thales said dissatisfied, "Why do you have to use it as collateral?"

Does she know what this dagger means to him?

Or does she actually know?

The JC dagger that was specially chosen?

"Who knows if you will regret it halfway and burn the bridge?" Hilley swung the dagger back and forth in mid-air, not forgetting the onomatopoeia in his mouth, as if he was waving a toy, "You have to leave a token?"

"As I said before, I can write documents, letters of guarantee, letters of commitment, sign and seal, everything..."

"Words don't matter. But if you regret it in the middle of the night and I really commit suicide, at least people will know that I died with the prince's dagger."

"You don't really think I'm going to push you to kill yourself—"

At this moment, the chain holding the prisoner made a sound, interrupting the two of them.

"You, that night, you were in front of the entire Emerald City..."

Lausanne II, who had a dirty face, twisted his head with difficulty, gritted his teeth, and couldn't believe it:

"A play?"

Thales and Hilley both fell silent and looked at each other.

"You can say that."

Thales sighed:

"Originally, in order to be more credible, I wanted to create a big scene. For example, in order to snatch you away, Xi Lai did not hesitate to kill my guards, and even directly threatened me..."

Even the red paint for pretending to be dead is ready...

Hilley played with the dagger, narrowed his eyes, and seemed to enjoy Lausanne II's shocked and regretful expression:

"Misguided."

Thales sighed:

"But firstly, my men may not be that good at pretending to be dead. Secondly, there are you here, there are vampires, and there may be many masters who are observing secretly. Whether a person is dead or not is probably impossible to hide..."

Third time, the budget in hand at that time, well, I'm afraid it couldn't support the "big event".

After getting the answer, Lausanne II was in a daze for a moment, and the back of his head fell back to the cold stone ground.

"Okay, let's get down to business," Hilley inserted the dagger into a newly made leather sheath, "How's the progress over there?"

Thales squinted his eyes and looked at Lausanne II for a while.

"It went very smoothly," he said slowly, while observing the prisoner's reaction. "In fact, most things went smoothly beyond expectations, and everyone at the top and bottom cooperated as expected, especially..."

"Especially my brother?"

After Thales paused for a moment, he turned his head and found that Shilai's expression was cold and his tone was calm when he said this.

Then he nodded cautiously:

"Yes...and Federico."

Hilley was unmoved.

Thales continued: "After learning that I was forced into a desperate situation by you, for various purposes, they all spit out a lot of things, including key intelligence and preparations--"

"The wound on your face," Heeley interrupted suddenly, "Did Zhan hit him?"

Thales paused and turned his head subconsciously:

"It doesn't matter, I didn't hide on purpose, it's just a minor injury——"

"Good fight," Heeley said coldly, without even looking at him, "You deserve it."

Tails was stunned for a moment, and then his face became helpless.

Thank you very much for your concern and comfort.

"Why."

Being tied to the ground and dying, Lausanne II struggled to speak: "Why?"

This question was confusing, but Thales knew what he was going to ask.

Thales and Hilley looked at each other, and the latter nodded.

"Because I have to."

Thales didn't care that the dungeon was uneven, cold and damp, so he sat on the spot with his legs spread out in front of the prisoner.

"Since I entered the Emerald City, everyone has addressed me as Your Highness and treated me with great courtesy." Thinking of what happened in these days, the prince couldn't help but sigh. "I have been elected as the general since then. Now I am the regent of Kongming Palace, and I can dominate the city with one hand."

, the deposing of the duke can be decided with one word."

Hearing this, Xi Lai laughed disdainfully and gently fiddled with the dagger on his waist.

Thales was not angry, but he also smiled, feeling helpless and regretful:

"But anyone with a discerning eye in the Emerald City can clearly see that Prince Thales is of no importance at all."

Lausanne II looked at him.

"If we only look at the surface, the protagonists of this storm are Zhan and Federico. These two Kevin Deeres, one has profound knowledge and tactics, and the other retreats to advance with hidden dexterity. They firmly held the two sides of the storm.

At the end, almost all the resources, forces and power chips inside and outside the Emerald City."

Thales said seriously:

"Yes, these days, the Emerald City has been experiencing ups and downs, whether it is financial crisis, security incidents, political struggles, trade difficulties, old cases, or the big news created by you killing according to the list.

', to put it bluntly, it's just the two of them surrounding the throne of the guardian duke on the south bank, playing chess in the air, attacking each other."

The prince snorted softly:

"In comparison, I am unarmed and weak. I can only sit and watch them come and go. At best, I can be regarded as a messenger - even if I lock them both in my prison."

No, it should be said that since locking them up, I have been going back and forth between Zhan and Feder more like a messenger.

Thinking of this, Thales sighed helplessly.

"Oh, you are quite self-aware." Heeley snorted, not sure whether it was approval or sarcasm.

The eldest lady walked up to Thales and kicked him out of habit.

The latter pursed his lips and reluctantly moved his buttocks to give up the position (which he had wiped clean with his buttocks and pants). He watched Xi Lai lift up her skirt and Shi Shiran sat down.

Lausanne II looked at the cover above his head that blocked the moonlight, his eyes dull.

But Thales didn't care about the prisoners and just continued:

"But if you dig deeper, you will find that it is not surprising that I am in this situation."

"Because this storm is essentially a game between Fuxing Palace and Kongming Palace, Yongxing City and Emerald City, and even the South Coast Territory and even ends the game between different forces on both sides of the sea." Duke Xinghu sighed quietly, "And I, at best I am just a

A marionette has no autonomy or right to speak. Its only role, or the only freedom it is given, is to step onto the stage and say a few words at the end of the play, creating a scene between Zhan and Federico.

Choose one of the two."

Make decisions on the fly.

discretion.

Thales couldn't help but shook his head when he thought of these two promises made by the king to him, feeling even more ironic.

"If this chess path continues, no matter who I choose as the Duke in the end, no matter who wins the chess game, it has nothing to do with me," Thales said solemnly, "I can't exert even half an influence, let alone dominate the situation, and get what I want.

desired result.”

"This is the fundamental reason why I have a high status but am struggling in the Emerald City - from the beginning to the end, the power is not on my side. What's worse is that no matter Zhan, Federico, Emerald City, Kong Ming

The palace, major forces, and even some of my subordinates have seen through this, which makes them more unscrupulous and turn a blind eye to me."

Thales couldn't help but feel deeply as he thought of all the experiences he had experienced in the Emerald City these days, from enthusiasm to cold treatment, from being responsive to being receptive to being obedient.

"Therefore, in order to reverse the situation, I can no longer follow the steps. I have to create initiative, seize bargaining chips, and obtain available weapons." His eyes became firm, "Use a more unorthodox but also more effective way to remind

The entire Emerald City: I, the North Star, at a certain point, am more important than Kevin Deere's two candidates, more able to dominate their interests and destiny."

[Tiles, although you are based on the earth, you can see the stars when you raise your head. When the sun sets at night, you can reach out and explore them, and they may not be out of reach.]

[For this reason, you must seize the power in your hands and use it when necessary, in order to expand it...]
To be continued...