The Empire begins with the Fourth Scourge

1103: Hermit

Darth Masail looked coldly at the two people standing in front of him, looked at the middle-aged man with a big beard, and said: "I said, you will definitely come back, Obi-Wan Keno Compare."

Obi-Wan Kenobi only bowed slightly to pay tribute, but still bowed his head and said nothing, with his hands in his cuffs and no expression on his face.

Darth Malthael ignored him, and turned to look at the fair-skinned Zabrak woman standing aside—the fallen Jedi knight, Maris Bruder.

"You, are Shak-Ti's apprentice?" He asked coldly, the incomparably powerful force of the dark side spread unscrupulously. It's like an endless vortex of darkness!

Maris Bruder was already covered in cold sweat and trembling all over, and fell to her knees when she heard the question, she didn't even have the slightest thought of resisting in front of Darth Malthael's terrifying force of the dark side. None, "Yes... yes, my former master was Shak-Ti. I have understood... I understand the power of the dark side, and I am willing to embrace the darkness... Please, sir, please teach me the essence of darkness ..."

"Hahahahaha!!" Darth Malthael laughed loudly, "The essence of darkness? Are you worthy?"

"I dare not... dare not..."

"My apprentice, Darth Lilim, is preparing to go to the Eliadu galaxy. You can go follow her and be a servant. That's it, get out." Darth Malthael said coldly.

"My lord...My lord, but...they said..." Maris Bruder wanted to say something, but just as the word 'they' came out of her mouth, she immediately found that her throat seemed to be choked by an invisible force, and then Straight up!

She was volleyed directly in front of Darth Malthael by the powerful force, and the pain of lack of oxygen made her struggle violently.

"Your poor, shallow power, I only need to look at it, and you will have no more secrets. Then, you remember, a talkative servant, never live long." Darth Malthael grimly said.

Marise Bruder shut her mouth and nodded desperately.

Plop, Darth Malthael raised his hand and threw Maris out. While she was still rolling in mid-air, the door switch was pressed in the air, and she was thrown out of the door directly.

Darth Malthael looked at Obi-Wan Kenobi and said slowly: "You are not sure whether Palpatine is the Sith Lord, and you dare not test him. But you are not A fool with no IQ can also judge that whether it is this war or the political situation of the Galactic Republic, they are completely out of control, so you came here."

"You're right, Death Angel." Obi-Wan Kenobi said flatly, "So, I've come to seek the answer."

A sneer appeared on the corner of Darth Malthael's mouth, "Oh~~~Answer. Jedi Knight, seek the answer from the Sith Lord?"

"I want to know where the future of the galaxy will go." Obi-Wan Kenobi lowered his head and asked.

"Hahahahahaha!!" Darth Malthael laughed loudly again, "The future of the galaxy? No! This is not what you want to ask... Until now, are you still clinging to the last bit of self-esteem and face? Haha Ha ha ha ha!!"

His smile suddenly changed, and he said coldly: "Before I drive you out, ask what you really want to ask!"

Obi-Wan Kenobi took a deep breath and asked again: "I ask you for advice... Where will the future of the Galactic Republic and the Jedi Order go?"

"In the hands of everyone, but not in the Galactic Republic and the Jedi Order." Darth Malthael said meaningfully.

"If Darth Sidious is Palpatine, I can't think of any possibility of a comeback." Obi-Wan - Kenobi said, "But you are not Darth Sidious A group. Under the two-person rule of the Sith, there may be a Sith Lord who can tolerate multiple apprentices, but it is absolutely impossible for a Sith Lord to tolerate multiple masters."

"It seems that in order to send you out, Master Yoda told you a lot of secrets about Sith that are sealed in the Jedi Archives." Darth Malthael sneered, "He is not afraid that you will read these Things, fall to the dark side?"

Obi-Wan Kenobi did not respond to Darth Malthael's taunt, and continued: "In order to fight against Darth Sidious, you should also have a lot of preparations. We are willing to provide help within our ability to eliminate Darth Sidious."

"So, what if Palpatine wasn't Darth Sidious?" Darth Malthael asked.

"Compared to the devastating consequences of another possibility, this will be a blessing—even if it accidentally injures the Speaker of the Republic." Obi-Wan Kenobi said.

"Hahahahaha! You Jedi Knights are really interesting! Hahahahaha!" Darth Malthael laughed, "Didn't you think that the Jedi Knights, who are so involved in politics, Is it still the Judgment Knights?"

"Everything is for the survival of the Galactic Republic." Obi-Wan Kenobi said.

Darth Malthael waved his hand and turned around, "You want an answer, yes. But it's not free, you have to do something for me."

"That's the expected condition."

Darth Malthael came to his desk, opened the drawer, took out a mask from it and threw it over, "Put it on, then abandon your name and past, and serve me wholeheartedly. Then, I will Slowly showing you everything... the future of the Galactic Republic, the future of the Jedi Order... and the future of the Confederacy of Independent Systems."

Obi-Wan Kenobi took the mask and found that it was a pure gray mask, the material was somewhat moist, it seemed to be some kind of bone, and it looked very old.

The appearance of the mask is that of an old man with a beard and a blank face.

He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and said, "I am willing to serve you and fulfill all your wishes. But I only have one small condition... I will not draw my sword against other Jedi Knights."

"Okay." Darth Malthael agreed directly.

Obi-Wan Kenobi didn't hesitate anymore, and put on the mask directly.

Darth Malthael said indifferently: "From today onwards, you are called... the hermit."

"Yes..." Obi-Wan Kenobi, wearing the mask of a gray bearded old man, bowed deeply.

"Give up all vanity, all power, all wealth, and focus on exploring the essence of things. You constantly reflect and explore, seek true knowledge, and illuminate others." Darth Masail said, "But you exile yourself and choose loneliness Alone. It means escape, seclusion, retreat, but you choose not out of fear, but in order to listen."

At that moment, Obi-Wan Kenobi seemed to shake a bit in his heart. He clenched his fists tightly, but then slowly released them, bowed again and said: "From now on, there will be no more Jedi Master Obi-Wan. Biwan Kenobi, only... the hermit."

The voice changer on the mask made his voice old and steady.

Darth Malthael gave him a deep look, then suddenly laughed again, "I don't believe you, Hermit."

"I'm willing to do anything to earn your trust." The hermit said with a bow.

"It's just a small thing. It's enough to defeat one person in a lightsaber duel," Darth Malthael said.

"I... will not draw my sword against a Jedi Knight." The hermit said again.

"No, she is no longer a Jedi Knight. She is just a dark believer who has fallen into the dark side." The smile on Darth Malthael's face became a little weird.

"Then, I am willing to win this lightsaber duel for you." The hermit said.

"Follow me." Darth Malthael walked outside, and the hermit followed.

They came all the way to the training ground, and there were already some people waiting around to watch the excitement. Obviously, Darth Malthael did not intend to conduct this duel in secret.

And in the middle of the training ground, there stood a man in a black suit with his back facing here.

With a slender figure and blond hair, she is definitely a beautiful woman just by looking at her back.

Seeing this person, although the expression was hidden under the mask, the hermit's body still trembled violently.

"Let me introduce, this is the former Jedi Knight who fell to the dark side—Siri Taki." Darth Malthael introduced, "Oh, I think, you should know her from the beginning?"

The hermit walked over slowly, and said in a trembling voice, "I thought...you were dead..."

Ciri-Taqi turned around, her expression was a little confused, "I... died. I'm alive again."

"You!!!!" The green lightsaber in the hermit's hand was unsheathed in an instant, and he turned around and pointed the sword point directly at Darth Malthael!

The smile on Darth Malthael's face was extremely cruel, "I always leave the choice to you. Yes, this is exactly what I want you to choose...Kill me, or kill her."

He spread his hands and didn't take out the lightsaber, but the terrifying force of the dark side was still condensed in his hands, and even everything around him was shaking.

"You! You are playing that trick again!! You are contemptuous of life! You are playing with death!!" the hermit roared.

"That's right, that's right! Hahahahaha! I control death! I am the Angel of Death! The Angel of Death!! Hahahahaha!!" Darth Malthael laughed ferociously, "Come on, yes I swing the sword! Kill me! Hahahaha!"

"You!" The hermit raised his lightsaber, and pointed forward with his other hand, which was the starting gesture of the third sword technique Solesu.

But immediately, the lightsaber in his hand hung down, and he lowered his head. Turning around slowly again, looking at the still bewildered Siri Taqi, she asked, "Taqi, what happened?"

Ciri-Taki shook her head, "Forgot... what happened? I... forgot... Is my name Taki?"

The hermit's body trembled again, and he asked tremblingly, "Do you know a man named Obi-Wan Kenobi?"

The expression on Siri-Taqi's face suddenly became warmer, adding a touch of rosiness to her originally pale and rigid face, "Although I have forgotten many things, he is my best...partner... No, I don't want to be just a partner, I don't want to... I..."

She still had a warm smile on her face, but tears kept streaming from the corners of her eyes.

"Oh... I passed a battlefield, and on the battlefield, I saw a seriously injured Jedi knight..." The hermit said in a trembling voice, "He said, his name is Obi-Wan Kenobi... He asked me to go Find a woman named Ciri Taki, let me tell her, forget about him! Forget about Obi-Wan Kenobi... because, he is dead..."

"Did you find it?" Siri-Taki asked.

"I asked him, I don't even know this Ciri-Taki, how can I find her?" said the hermit, "Obi-Wan Kenobi told me... When you see a beautiful woman, like the sun Lighting up the surroundings, she is so beautiful, so cheerful, so intelligent...you can recognize her at a glance..."

"Siri Taki, kill this old man in front of you." Darth Malthael's cold and gloomy voice came, and he did not intend to let the poor couple go.

"Obey!" Ciri Taki didn't hesitate at all, and the moment Darth Malthael finished speaking, she pulled out the blood-red lightsaber and slashed at the hermit!

hum! ! The green lightsaber directly blocked the blood red lightsaber!

The force of the two collided fiercely through the lightsaber!

Swish! ! The hermit pushed Ciri Taki away with force, and swiped with his sword, but Taki dodged it.

He raised the lightsaber again, pointed the sword forward with the other hand, and once again made the opening gesture of the third sword technique Solesu, and said heavily: "That's right... this beautiful woman, I found her ..."

...

21BBY, September 6th, the capital of the Galactic Republic, the planet Coruscant, the Parliament Building.

A bitter row is underway as the most powerful councilors in the galaxy are discussing an additional investment to repair the clone factory on the planet Kamino.

The congressmen of the main combat faction clearly supported this proposal. They believed that only by resuming the production of clone soldiers could the victory of the war be ensured. As for the funds, there is no way to do this. We can only let the major planets continue to tighten their belts and take out their last savings.

The members of the peace faction, headed by Bail Organa and Padmé Amidala, fiercely opposed the bill, and said that the bill would lead to further collapse of the Republic's finances, and not only the The governments of those planets have countless people!

The quarrel between the two sides was so fierce and the support was so close that neither side could get a majority of votes, so Speaker Schiff Palpatine announced the adjournment.

However, during the recess, a terrible thing happened!

Onaconda Farr, one of the main members of the peace faction, the representative of Rodia planet, was assassinated and killed!

Many people believed that this was a conspiracy by the pro-battle MPs, and all kinds of conspiracy theories were clamoring for a while, which made the voice of the pro-battle MPs much weaker.