The night falls and the sun rises. Early on the next morning, the southern nobles left Alto City in a hurry and headed south to their respective fiefdoms. The king did not persuade him to stay, nor did he see any nobles. When the sun sets and the moon rises, darkness falls again, and Alto City returns to its former peace.
Black Wolf's royal flag fluttered in the night. Shulot was still sitting in the big tent busy. He looked at the terrain map of the south and thought about the follow-up arrangements.
"Bertard, Purple Grass County has a vast area and a complex environment. After the southern nobles change their titles, I plan to form a new Purple Grass Legion and hand it over to the veteran Etalik."
The warrior commander nodded respectfully.
"Your Majesty, General Etalik is calm and steady, and he is familiar with the situation in Zicao County. He is indeed a suitable candidate for the army commander. And with the senior general's qualifications, he should have commanded the army long ago."
"Well, I did owe him something before..."
Hearing this, Shulot smiled in agreement. Etalik is a loyal warrior of the family and has followed his grandfather for many years. Whether it is loyalty, qualifications, ability or merit, he is enough to guard a place.
"Bertard, where should the new legion manpower be drawn from?"
"Your Majesty, General Etalik currently has one thousand warriors in his hands. In addition to one thousand warriors and more than three thousand miners, there are two thousand resting Tarasco troops under the command of Necali, the director of industry and mines. These surrender troops dug After a year of working in the mines, I’m almost exhausted..."
"Well, then transfer them to the south. Then there will be three thousand people."
Shulot nodded slightly. It was too dangerous to mine with surrendered troops. After the kingdom replenished the miners, they replaced these people. And this time the Gyeonggi Corps went south, it did not include the Qinganbat warrior camp in Nekali. Because large mines in this era must be suppressed by the army, otherwise riots will break out in minutes.
"The remaining manpower will be supplemented by some from the field army, and then from the militia of Zicao County. Then we will still be stationed on the spot, semi-off-the-job..."
With the current situation of the kingdom, there is no way to maintain a standing army. In fact, the support of the new legion will also fall on the land and Dingkou that are about to be confiscated in Zicao County.
The monarch and his ministers continued their discussion for a while, and during the conversation, they regarded Zicao County as a direct subordinate of the kingdom. After all, more than 30,000 elite troops marched south, equipped with bronze armor, long bows and bronze cannons, and the southern nobles had no way of resisting.
Suddenly, the shield guard Tels opened the tent door and strode in. He looked at His Highness and smiled simply.
"Your Highness!"
"Um?"
"The girl from last night is here again."
Hearing this, Shulot raised his brows and looked at Bertard.
"It's so late, hasn't Gulamo gone south yet?"
"Your Highness, Gulamo left south early this morning. Miss Medina...may have escaped secretly, maybe she was left behind by Gulammo, or maybe both."
Bertard understood in his heart and lowered his head to reply.
"oh."
Xiulote nodded. He pondered for a while and roughly guessed what Gulamo meant. The king hesitated and looked at Bertard again. The warrior commander lowered his eyes and said nothing.
"Well, then... let her in."
Tels turned and left. Soon, the tent door opened again, and a graceful figure appeared in front of the king.
Medina is a little different tonight, there is no original charm, but the stunning look after being dressed up. She was wearing a decent light yellow dress, a feathered cloak, and embroidered cotton shoes. She pulled up her hair, put a light rouge on her lips, and even dyed her nails light blue. At this moment, she held the pottery pot from last night in both hands and mustered up the courage to stand in front of the king.
"Your Majesty, I greet you!"
Medina put down the clay pot and knelt down to salute. On her face, there was a beautiful smile, but also a sense of loss and uneasiness that could not be concealed.
"Um."
The king nodded expressionlessly.
"Medina, why are you here?"
"His Majesty..."
The girl's eyes instantly became moist. She lowered her head and whispered.
"The patriarch... doesn't want me anymore. I... I can only come and join you..."
Shulot raised his eyebrows. He was silent for a moment and then spoke.
"Medina, I can send warriors to escort you back to Zicao Manor."
"Your Majesty!... Wuwu..."
Medina couldn't bear it anymore and cried on the ground.
"Please, I beg you, please take me in! If I return to the manor, the patriarch...the patriarch...will, will kill me!"
"Um?!"
Hearing this, Shulot was a little surprised. He asked the girl in a deep voice.
"Medina, isn't Gulamo your father?"
"Your Majesty... I am just one of the dozens of children of the patriarch. To him, I am just..."
Medina cried so hard that her voice was choked with sobs. Her small nose twitched slightly, and her expression was painful.
Seeing this, Shulot's heart seemed to be stabbed quietly by something. He slowly stood up, took two steps forward, and stared at the lovely person on the ground.
"Medina, tell me..."
"Your Majesty... In Lithospermum Manor, I am just a beautiful tool, a beautiful work of art."
Medina cried more and more rapidly, her face showing loneliness from the bottom of her heart.
"Since I can remember, I have never had a mother. As soon as I could walk, I had to practice dancing day and night, learn to sing, raise birds, and recite poetry. And when I grew up, I had to learn how to attract others and please Others...if they do anything bad, they will be punished and subjected to terrible waterboarding...Your Majesty, I...I'm afraid..."
Raising birds is to train the eyes and make them attractive. At this time, waterboarding mainly used intermittent suffocation as punishment, which was extremely painful and left no scars.
In Shulot's heart, the softness from the future emerged again. He gently reached out his hand and stroked the girl's hair.
"Don't be afraid...don't be afraid..."
"Your Majesty... Do you know... My mother committed suicide... After her death, the patriarch took off her head... And when I was young, I accidentally entered the patriarch's house. Collection room..."
Medina had a look of horror on her face. She stretched out her cattails in fear, hugged Shulot's big hand, and pressed it on her cheek. She held it so tightly, as if holding the last straw, even her blue nails were pressed tightly against the back of the king's hand. Fortunately, before scratching the king's skin, the girl regained some sense and put away her fingers.
"Head... collection..."
Hearing this, Shulot lowered his eyes. Nobles of this era had a hobby of collecting heads, often treated with antiseptic herbs, as a special trophy or collection.
The king silently felt the girl's cheek, which was warm and soft, but also moist with tears. He lifted the girl up with compassion, stretched out his arms powerfully, took the girl's slender waist, and held her in his arms.
"Medina, don't be afraid...I'm here."
Hearing this, Medina raised her head and looked at the handsome king. Her eyes were filled with tears and full of expectation.
"Your Majesty...will you...take me in?"
Shulot looked into the girl's eyes, was silent for a while, and nodded affirmatively. Then, he looked at the warrior commander.
"Bertard?"
Bertard sighed silently. He whispered back.
"Your Majesty, since Miss Medina has left the family, it will not have much impact. She can enter the royal capital and become a priestess serving the gods in the temple of the Goddess of Spring. As long as she does not appear in public and participate Kingdom politics, the Alliance will not..."
"Enter the temple and serve the gods..."
Shulot lowered his eyes and nodded. He thought of the other girl, a trace of guilt appeared in his heart, and the surging desire was restrained again. After a while, he looked at the girl calmly.
"Medina, will you?"
Medina stopped crying and looked blankly at the king's sincere eyes. She didn't speak for a long time and didn't know what she was thinking. After a while, her eyes gradually became charming, and her words revealed her love.
"Your Majesty, I do."
While Medina confided passionately, she stood up on her tiptoes and kissed the king's lips. Shulot was stunned. Unable to restrain himself, he lowered his head and kissed the girl's lips.
The girl's lips are so delicate, as beautiful as roses, with the gentle breath of spring. The king sucked greedily, feeling the softness he had never experienced before. Although it's hard to believe, this was indeed his first kiss.
"Medina..."
After a long time, the two slowly separated. The king's eyes became gentle. He had opened his heart, dropped all his defenses, and accepted the lovely person in front of him.
A strange red color appeared on Medina's face. She looked at the king charmingly and chuckled.
"It turns out that the feeling of kissing is so beautiful."
Then, the girl gently stretched out her hands and touched Shulot's handsome face. Her light blue nails gently scratched the king's face and then brushed the king's neck, as gently as a cat's claws.
"Your Majesty... you know. I was so lonely, so wanted to be accompanied, so wanted to be saved... If, if, I could meet you when I was a child, that would be great..."
Hearing the girl's words, Shulot felt a little uncertain. He took a deep breath, sniffed the girl's body fragrance, felt the warmth in his arms, and asked doubtfully.
"Medina, you..."
Medina took back her catkins, her smile becoming more charming and strange.
"Your Majesty, I am really lucky to meet you. How I want to go to...the Kingdom of the Underworld with you!"
Hearing this, alarm bells rang in the king's heart. He looked at Medina in shock, but saw that the girl's eyes suddenly became sharp. Then, there was a sudden pain in his waist and abdomen.
"when!"
At some point, the girl had a small, dark blue dagger in her hand. The short dagger pierced the king's waist and abdomen, but was blocked by the close-fitting bronze armor inside.
"Medina!"
Shulot roared angrily, like a wounded beast. His expression was one of disbelief and anger at being betrayed by someone he trusted. He didn't have time to think too much and immediately stepped back while using his right hand to pull out the bronze sword from his waist.
"king!"
Bertard stayed more than ten steps away to avoid disturbing the king and the girl. At this moment, when he saw the scene in front of him, his eyes were splitting. He immediately pulled out the bronze sword and ran over quickly.
"Phew! Phew!"
Medina had a strange smile on her face. She danced lightly, chasing Shulot's footsteps, always staying within one step. She waved the blue dagger, stabbing at the king's cheek, and then slashing at the king's arms, palms, thighs...everything not covered by armor.
Shulot kept retreating, relying on his uninterrupted samurai training to dodge the girl's attack with difficulty. He restrained his hands and feet to avoid being scratched by Youlan's dagger, and could not pull out the copper sword from his waist. However, the girl's movements are much more agile than imagined! Before Bertard arrived, she finally cornered Shulot and scratched the king's arm.
"Your Highness!"
Bertard cried out in pain, and dozens of bodyguards rushed into the tent, raising their spears, and surrounded the king and the girl.
Shulot leaned against the edge of the tent. He looked at the blue wound on his arm and felt dizzy.
Medina stopped moving, stood there gently, and smiled charmingly.
"My king, I have caught you. Let us go together!..."
