,
My name is Akatosh,
This is ~the golden theater of provocation~
——4e, 201, Hearth Moon, 26th, 4:17——
Astrid finally decided not to wait for dawn, but chose to rush back to the sanctuary at the darkest hour before dawn.
The sanctuary is surrounded by a dense black forest and overgrown bushes. Even if someone can determine the general direction of her escape based on the whereabouts of her old suspicion formation, it is impossible to accurately determine the specific location and arrange a large number of people to set up an ambush. The reason is very simple. , it takes time for the army to move, and the movement will never be small. Now that the Imperial Legion and the Stormcloaks are at war with each other, if Sharp-Eyed Eagle dares to mobilize a large number of troops, the civil war that was originally calmed down will start again.
This kind of thing would not have been considered by her originally. Strength is the guarantee for completing the task. A favorable environment can only serve as an icing on the cake, and without it, it will have no impact.
However, after being completely crushed in terms of strength, Astrid finally discovered that there was a fatal flaw in his long-standing approach - if there were victims who wanted to capture or eliminate them at all costs, the Dark Brotherhood would There is no way to confront them head-on.
The only way to deal with it now is to escape and relocate, and go into complete hibernation before the Emperor leaves Skyrim.
Although it was meaningless, she still couldn't help but think that if she followed the list passed by [Night Mother] to assassinate those guys who were willing to die, wouldn't she be hunted down by such an almost overwhelming force?
"[What is the most beautiful music in the world?]" Black Gate's voice sounded.
"Silent—" Astrid, who was distracted, opened his mouth to reply, but was suddenly covered by Ironboyn, and then broke out in a cold sweat.
She's not even close to the Black Gate yet! So who exactly was there to answer the question?
The next second, a somewhat familiar voice answered her question.
"Of course it is the singing voice of Her Royal Highness Princess Emilia." Tuka Yagmi replied: "She was so good when she was a child. She would sing whenever she was asked, like a lark. Now that she has grown up, she has become taciturn. She must be It’s Skyrim’s fault for the civil war!”
"[Wrong answer——]" Black Gate did not have a chat function, and fell into silence after giving the response.
Can that commander-in-chief know how to fly? And it’s still such a precise positioning? But she is not wearing that strange armor now, and she doesn't have a giant sword in her hand. If it were just her...
"Big, big sister~"
Another sharp-eyed hawk soldier appeared in Astrid's field of vision. Although he looked very tired and lack of energy, Astrid's bold idea was dispelled.
"Please don't play with that black door. It's so noisy that the brothers can't sleep." The Sharp-Eyed Eagle soldier said with some trepidation.
"Oh? Tell me, 'What is the most beautiful music in life'?" Yagmi asked the soldier.
"Yes, it's silence!" the soldier yelled like breaking a jar.
"——" Astrid tried to rush out again, but this time Jeanne and Ironboyn grabbed her at the same time.
The code to open the door is "Silence", and it must be followed by "my brothers", but looking at the context of the guy, you know that he may say the correct answer at any time.
"Oh, I will listen to you this time." Yagmi stared at the sharp-eyed hawk for a while, until he started to tremble, then Shi Shiran said, turned and left.
——4:21——
"Although I don't know how they did it, they are obviously ambushing us," Ironboyn said in Astrid's ear: "Are we leaving temporarily?"
"Why do you think she ambushed us?" Astrid lowered his voice and pointed to the small pond on the side of the Black Gate: "Most of the people didn't have time to evacuate."
"What's there?" Jeanne asked with some confusion.
"It's not 'something', but 'nothing'," Astrid frowned: "There was almost no sign of his absence when he went out, only the two of us and Gallus. As for the clown pattern... "
"Oh," Joan nodded: "When the Night Mother asked me to rescue you, she also asked the people in the sanctuary to move, but it seems that they had just sent away the Night Mother's coffin and Cicero, and they were blocked here. It’s inside.”
The surroundings of the Black Gate became quiet, but in Astrid's eyes, it was a dead place with no way in or out. Although there was a high chance of escaping by just turning around, that would represent the high-ranking leadership of the Dark Brotherhood. Completely destroyed, although there are still Gallus and his daughter outside, how can an organization that is fully wanted by the empire continue to exist and develop? What's more, if she doesn't save her, her usual "we are a big family" will become a complete joke.
"Impossible, even if they flew, they shouldn't have arrived from Dugu City so fast." Astrid felt that his head was in chaos.
"Let me ask, when you sent me the black hand letter, who did you send? What was the channel?" Joan of Arc asked.
"Falkreath's..." Astrid discovered the problem halfway through. Normally, those rats in the shadows might be afraid of the Dark Brotherhood and do things for them or cover up, but because of the emperor's arrival, In the sky, in front of the sharp-eyed eagle with increased power, the traces they want to hide are as obvious as torches in the night.
"So, these people are just sharp-eyed eagle spies who came to the sky first, rather than real capable combatants. The only one to worry about is the commander Yagmi," Astrid's thinking returned to clarity. : "Although I don't know how she did it, it must not be easy for her to travel such a long distance, so we have every opportunity to sneak in."
"Then I will transform into a giant wolf and resist those sharp-eyed hawks, and you will take the opportunity to open the door, call them out, and then escape directly." Ain Boyorn moved his shoulders twice and said.
"No, they are worried that it will take a lot of time to ask about the scam and for us to confirm our identity." Astrid felt that his thinking had never been so clear: "We rushed in directly, and the black door will temporarily block those sharp-eyed hawks for us. .”
"But..." Ironboyn hesitated.
"The necessary conditions have been met," Astrid stared at Jeanne: "You can use some kind of magic to teleport us away. That's what you did with the 'death without body' commissions you handled, right?"
"Of course." Joan of Arc raised her chin slightly; "Leave it to me."
——4:35——
"[What is the most beautiful music in the world?]"
"It is silence, my brother."
"【Welcome home--】"
The low sound of the Black Gate was deafening in the middle of the night, and as expected, it attracted the ambush of sharp-eyed hawks, but as Astrid judged, these people were just scouts scattered to various cities, and their combat effectiveness was completely incompetent. The door closed again in front of them, but failed to break through the defense of Ain Bjorn inside the door.
"[In the world——]" "Boom!"
Black Gate's questioning was interrupted by a loud noise before it even started. Even if he didn't see it, Astrid could still imagine the scene of the two-handed giant sword slashing at Black Gate, and the whole underground sanctuary could feel the tremors. .
"I'm very sorry, leader, I slowed down everyone in order to sort out the information that needs to be carried." Nazir, who was carrying two large book boxes with him, immediately apologized when he saw Astrid appear.
"No, it's my fault. When I hired a carriage for Cicero, I was too showy and attracted attention." Gabriella lowered her head.
"Ha, what do you think that means? I set off quite a big 'firework'." Festus looked very proud.
"..." The Argonian Xavius was silent as he held his two swords.
"Astrid, are there any reinforcements you can call for? I can help you ask for reinforcements. If not, I will show my true body and I will be very effective in combat. As long as you don't be scared." Babette stood in a ventilated place. He looked at the three people walking into the hall.
As for the new members of the Brotherhood, they were not qualified to speak, but they expressed their determination with their eyes.
"I said, we are a family," Astrid stopped in the middle of the hall: "Abandoning our family, or putting our family into a certain death situation are things we will not do and should not do, but today's incident This incident also served as a reminder to all of us that after escaping, we must completely revise our own behavior."
"Can you still escape!?" A newbie suddenly spoke. After attracting onlookers, his face turned red and he lowered his head and remained silent.
"Haha, let's start with you." Astrid tilted his head and gestured to Joan: "Miss Darhk?"
"Ah... that gesture is really unpleasant..." Joan of Arc held up her forehead ornaments, took off the black dragon flag from behind with her backhand, and then thrust it into the ground in front of her: "[My Lord is here (luminosite) eternelle)]!"
The black dragon flag quickly turned from black to white at an incredible speed when it touched the ground. What also changed at the same time was the armor and appearance of her body. Her originally slightly white blonde hair and golden eyes instantly changed. Turned into dazzling blonde hair and clear blue.
The flag that had turned into a white dragon bloomed with a faint white light, spreading transparent ripples around it, and the new brotherhood member who asked the question disappeared the moment he came into contact with them.
"Is there usually such a big movement..." Even Astrid, who had made such an arrangement, was somewhat unexpected.
"It is used on sinners. The smaller the movement, the more painful it will be." The white Joan blinked: "As for this, I can guarantee that there will be no special feeling."
"Me, me, me! I'll be next!" Babette, who was ready to fight at all costs, immediately jumped over like a real child, and disappeared after receiving the gentle response of Jeanne d'Arc. not see.
"Then, next..."
"[The most beautiful music in the world is——]"
"[Dragon·Broken·Slash (hal van helev)]!"
Click, click—boom!
A terrifying and terrifying magic wave came from the direction of the sanctuary door. Everyone could clearly hear the sound of the black door shattering, followed by endless flames surging from the entrance.
It ignited everything in the sanctuary almost instantly, and stopped only after touching the "ripples" of Joan of Arc's flag.
"That guy seems to be a swordsman, but he still has this level of magic..." Astrid stared blankly in the direction of the door: "Why on earth would I want to assassinate the emperor who is protected by such a person?"
"Hmm... maybe... bad luck?" White Jeanne held up the flag to protect the surrounding brotherhood members from being caught by the flames, and her words were a bit choppy.
"Everyone, let's go, don't worry about the order!" Astrid took two steps back and stood next to Joan: "Is there anything I can do to help you?"
"Probably, a little strength..." White Jeanne stretched out her hand to Astrid, and she immediately held it tightly.
The vortex, this is Astrid's intuitive feeling, is only to protect those Brotherhood members who are still in the sea of fire. Each one consumes the same power as being sucked away by the vortex, and sending them away is even more consumption. To double it, Joan of Arc made her have such a terrifying feeling when she only borrowed a little bit of her power. Then Joan of Arc herself...
Huh-huh-huh-the members of the Brotherhood disappeared one by one in the white light. At the same time, Joan's protection scope became narrower and narrower, until Iron Boyon, who took up the most space, was also sent away. Under the flames Surrounded, Joan of Arc and Astrid were almost holding hands and clinging to each other.
"Huh... at least my decision didn't hurt my family..." The exhausted Astrid whispered: "Fortunately, we have a chance to correct this mistake... Joan of Arc?"
"Do you remember our first meeting?" Joan of Arc did not try to teleport, but looked up at Astrid: "You asked me what justice is."
"If you have anything else, we can wait until we leave!" Astrid interrupted her hastily, feeling something was wrong.
"And this is my justice." Joan of Arc pushed hard.
Astrid felt as if she had fallen into some strange passage where she had lost her sense of direction, and Jeanne smiled at her from outside the entrance of the passage.
"Jean!" Astrid's eyes widened.
"Sorry, I can't leave by myself," she heard the girl say: "This kind of magic can only teleport others, and you just didn't ask. Don't worry, I can protect myself. It doesn't matter even if I am captured by the Imperial Legion. .”
Astrid was just relieved when he saw a large piece of blazing white flame entering the transmission channel.
"Oops, it seems there are loopholes in this transmission, that idiot Zera," Joan of Arc let go of the flag and clasped her hands: "Don't forget your promise, 'leader'."
"Wait! Even if the ignition is teleported-"
"[Red Lotus Saint (pucelle)!]"
The last thing that remained in Astrid's eyes was the flames that rolled back, Jeanne Darc's figure disappearing into the flames, and the faint smile on her face.
