Longmen Memoirs

Ines looked at the man next to her, who looked slightly taller compared to her, as well as the stubble on his chin, and Hedley's short red hair, which looked like flames and dried dark red blood.

But for some reason, he couldn't help but look a little haggard now.

"Do you really think so?" Ines already knew the answer, and Hedley's silence was the best answer.

He could explain and tell the reasons why he did this, but Ines knew he wouldn't say it, and it wasn't important to mention it now, but she couldn't help but ask.

She didn't ask why.

"The other teams in those camps are not from the same group as us. There is no guarantee that they will not object to this mission. I can't trust them. Moreover, we need bait to escape from the camps and the scouts staring at us over there." After a few seconds, Hedley Finally spoke.

As if explaining.

"W is a very suitable candidate. Her behavior will not arouse the suspicion of the scouts."

"You knew who our enemy was from the beginning."

"People from the Royal City came to see me. After the Tower of Babel intercepted our messenger, they came to me to discuss the price."

"You turned them down."

"They have been following us. The Tower of Babel knows this, but none of us can afford to offend anyone, Ines." Hedley sighed: "Compared to doing business with the other side, at least the people in the Tower of Babel are more Safer, of course, cannot deny being equally dangerous.”

"That's not what your shadow thinks." Ines sneered, her [$

"We lost a lot of people on this trip, Hedley, a lot. They didn't have to die here. You clearly knew this was a trap!"

"..." Hedley fell silent.

Ines was also discouraged and lost her words.

She knew that, as Hedley said, none of them could afford to offend them, she was just a little helpless and aggrieved.

"...I want to come and meet that Highness in person." Hedley finally expressed his thoughts on this trip: "I have heard rumors about that Highness, but this is the first time I have seen her in person."

"Is it worth it?" Ines's sneer became more obvious.

"I don't know." Hedley shook his head and replied, his voice as calm as ever. He didn't know whether it was worth it, but he knew one thing.

"But I am a Sakaz, and those of us are born Sakaz, Ines... I'm sorry I couldn't tell you at the beginning."

No Sakaz would want to live in a foreign land, or rather, no one would want to live in a foreign land for the rest of his life and die meaninglessly.

As he said this, Ines felt an anger rising in her heart, an anger caused by being treated as an outsider. She clenched her fingers, but soon the nameless anger dimmed.

She is an outsider, but she is also regarded as a colleague and comrade-in-arms by Sakaz. Perhaps the word companion is not a good word among Sakaz mercenaries.

Sakaz, that’s what he said again, the same thing that W she always couldn’t like said.

"I really can't understand what you Sakaz people think."

There was a rare annoyance in Ines's voice.

Hedley smiled.

"It's actually not difficult to understand."

Hedley raised his head and looked at the huge figure of the land cruiser not far away: "Every Sakaz has heard the story of His Highness more or less, and the same is true for me. Many older Sakaz In my heart, Her Highness is a great hero. She was once regarded as the hope of this country. Now many people hold the same view, but this is not the most important thing... The most important thing is that I don’t know how long this kind of situation should last. The Sakaz people have gone from being used to it to being numb, so we are very afraid of hope, and that His Highness was once hope."

Ines didn't answer.

After Hedley expressed his thoughts, he exhaled softly and felt much more relaxed.

"To be honest, I'm still hesitant." He said: "I haven't decided whether to choose one of them. After all, we have been escaping for too long. Most of us have become accustomed to this kind of life. Once things change, I don't know what we will do." Are you able to prepare yourself to adapt?”

"Many people may choose to stay here, and many more people will never have the right to choose."

"I know what you wanted to ask me at the beginning. Except for the tragic encounter at the beginning, we went very smoothly along the way. You also discovered the clues as to why it went so smoothly."

Hedley said and turned to look at Ines, who was sitting next to a figure, who sneered.

"I'm waiting for your answer," she said.

"You've met that man."

"If you mean the one who gave you a hard lesson... I've seen him before no surprise."

"How to say……"

"What else can I say? I tried to use my magic to observe him, but he seemed to be able to detect my movements. After I came here, Dr. Kelsey, who spoke coldly, warned me not to do anything extraordinary. Behavior."

"Can you listen?"

"So now I don't even dare to close my eyes when sleeping." Ines breathed a long sigh of relief and said with a hint of sympathy: "I can probably understand your mood at that time."

"I can imagine."

Hedley could imagine the pressure of facing that kind of monster. He was not surprised that the Tower of Babel could have such a level of combat power, but what was different from what he imagined was that he did not see that person in the Tower of Babel. figure, which made him feel relieved but also slightly stressed.

Because he knew that person would have a discussion with him sooner or later, and he was very different from the people in the Tower of Babel.

"But your highnesses turned a blind eye, and... the doctor from the Tower of Babel, if we still treat ourselves as humans... then he is an alien. In his eyes, we may all be dead objects, or chess pieces. "Ines said, as if she could finally relax after being suppressed for too long.

"The person you are afraid of is different from the doctor." She reminded.

"...Why do you talk like W? You used to be very impatient, but you never mince words." Hedley said in a strange tone.

Ines let out a breath, she wanted to curse.

"For example, in the eyes of the doctor, we are all lifeless chess pieces that can be used and discarded at will. They are dead objects, and he is the only living person. I will not let myself coexist with him. I have not asked for death. Lu’s thoughts, but... the one who had contact with you, I could only see a huge, ferocious and blurry black shadow, thick and distant, but surprisingly not too malicious."

Ines thought of the not-long road back to the Tower of Babel. When the person whom he regarded as a ferocious figure was carrying W on his back, he was still careful to avoid the wounds on her body.

It's just that the ferocious black shadow makes people feel fear subconsciously, like a normal psychological reaction when facing the oppression of a giant, but it does not give rise to a real sense of fear.

"It seems like we're in agreement on that."

"The premise is that you don't work with that doctor." Ines asked: "So, are you planning to take a rest here?"

Hedley did not answer directly.

"Remember? In the beginning, when a flag bearer fell, another flag bearer would immediately take over." Hedley said, as if talking to himself with some memories: "From the west to the east, becoming a mercenary, Then we turned back here, but the flag never fell down until the No. 70 or No. 80 flag bearer died under the flag. He inserted the flagpole into his abdomen, but the flag still didn't fall down."

"When we were guarding the Rhode Island ship, those enemies' strong attack easily tore our defense line apart."

Hedley's words paused.

"At that time, the person holding the flag was a child. We were at the bottom of the slope, and the magic washed away the ground like a mudslide. Before Dr. Kelsey and the people leaving the court arrived, we had almost no power to fight back."

He said, turning his head and looking at the black and red flag that represented the mercenaries in the night.

"We are just a group of mercenaries, Hedley." Ines whispered.

"Yes." Hedley did not refute: "But actually I can reach out and catch the flagpole."

"..." Ines fell silent.

"I have always disliked the mercenary flag. It should obviously fall down." Hedley's voice was very soft.

It can obviously fall down.

The flag of the Sarkarz mercenaries, Kazdare does not need such a thing.

This was the first time Ines heard Hedley confide in his heart. His shadow did not waver at all, as if to tell Ines that his heart was extremely firm after saying these words, and he really thought so.

"Sometimes I wonder, the people who died for this flag, are their deaths meaningful?"

"You always don't think about things you should think about, but you think a lot about things you shouldn't think about." Ines said with a hint of sarcasm.

Hedley smiled and couldn't refute.

"But I know that we just want to raise a flag in our hearts. Sakaz rarely has any faith at all. If we lose even this thought, we will really be homeless if we die like this. "

Hedley's voice was low: "I am very grateful to Your Highness for her kindness. She remembered the parts of us Sakaz that could still be called human beings in the end, but maybe... these things were lost by ourselves, and we can't help Find it again.”

"Before I came here, I met the person who left the court. Your Highness... She came to me alone at the end of the last mission. Doctor Kelsey spoke like His Highness's style, which is very different. To be honest, I was surprised."

"Her Highness said that she remembered my birth and my past stay in Kazdaele, in the huge industrial area of ​​Hearth and the decaying city full of crime and death that surrounded it for hundreds of miles."

Hedley raised his head slightly, not knowing what he thought of. Perhaps he thought of the little kid who once struggled in the sin city of Hearth, who was thin, slippery and shrewd.

Later, when he grew up, he gradually became a mercenary, and he was an expensive mercenary.

"Because of the increasing number of refugees, the stinking slums are almost reaching the sky. Ines, how many so-called nobles are there in Kazdare? How many of them have profited from the war and become kings and lords, with ridiculous titles? ?”

A sarcastic smile appeared on Hedley's lips, and he asked and answered himself.

"They are as numerous as trivial things. The war has created them and us. It has created the cruel and cold-blooded Sakaz and the desolate and decadent Kazdaele in the minds of outsiders... But your Highness may remember it and remember Sakaz over the years. The changes and displacements have caused us to destroy this country with our own hands and throw away the human part of ourselves.”

The swaying light of the bonfire illuminated the weathered face of this mercenary veteran, but his eyes had never been as bright and clear as now.

This brightness that seemed to have wiped away the dust surprised Ines, and his shadow gradually changed.

"Those who left the court, you also sensed the difference between them and us, right?" Hedley asked.

She said: "They are indeed different. Maybe they are doing the same thing as us, but their shadows are firm and... clean. Although they are unwilling to take responsibility, they are not like the Sakaz we encountered before."

"So I asked His Highness why this happened." Hedley said: "Do you know how His Highness answered me?"

"Just say what you want to say, don't make any excuses!"

Hedley smiled.

"His Highness said that she couldn't explain clearly. It turned out to be like this without knowing it. He said that I should go and see that city with my own eyes. Maybe I can find the answer there."

"City?"

"Grai-Bar, oh, it's called Grai now, that's where we are going now." Hedley opened his palms to warm the fire, and the warmth of the flame slightly dispelled the chill of the night.

"His Royal Highness was very confident at the time. He said that I would definitely make this trip worthwhile." Hedley raised the corners of his lips: "To be honest, after so many years, I have almost forgotten what it feels like to look forward to it."

Ines said nothing, with a look of disgust on her face, and simply threw the dead branch in her hand into the bonfire.

"Then you should really find a mirror and look at your current expression."

Her words were full of sarcasm, but the corners of her mouth were slightly raised.

Chapter 15 Easier Known Than Performed

May [-]

It rained all day yesterday, and the roads became increasingly difficult to navigate. Rhode Island was still undergoing the simplest repairs. The ship secretly excavated from Rem Billiton's ruins and sailed to Kazdaele. After waiting for Gray's camp, A comprehensive renovation will be carried out.

Two years ahead of schedule.

Originally, the construction of Rhodes Island was supposed to be fully started two years later, and it would be used as the main stronghold of the Tower of Babel after the war began, but the doctor and I rejected this proposal.

The situation in Kazdaele has become increasingly tense. Ever since Theresia began to lobby her lords and nobles, there have been vague chaotic movements in various places.

Babel cannot confirm how many of them are truly trustworthy. After officially entering Kazdaele, it is conceivable that the situation will become more tense in the future.

So we put this ship on the map in advance, and the doctor made a plan. The route from Rem Billiton to the camp is not considered hidden. It is used as a bait to attract the regent, Teresis, to prepare for the current domestic turmoil. The forces are waiting and watching, hoping for changes in the turbid domestic situation and the reactions of all parties.

This is the first time that the Tower of Babel has surfaced in Kazdare. I don’t know how many pairs of eyes are staring at it and His Highness’s actions.

As expected, the Regent reacted, but it was impossible to clearly confirm how many lords were involved in the interception.

Hedley's mercenary team is one of the mercenary organizations that had contact with the Tower of Babel two years ago. It would be better to say that the Tower of Babel is following them secretly. Maybe even they themselves don't know. During the winter operation, the Tower of Babel mastered and recorded their whereabouts.

The Doctor has been doing this to sift through the complex mercenary forces in Kazdel so that Li Ting can intervene in them in a planned way and control the movements of the mercenary team and the masters behind them.

He and I both know that the Tower of Babel will show up one day. Hedley's mercenary team is very suitable to take on this role. They have rich experience. Hedley himself also has enough reputation. Mercenary organizations in various places should be able to Through them we see the Tower of Babel's attitude towards mercenaries.

Once they take action, the chess pieces buried in the mercenary room can also tell the attitude of the lord behind them.

This matter was done extremely covertly, and it was one of the main lines buried. It was also the main reason for the separation between Liting and the Tower of Babel. Tower of Babel, His Highness's policy made it much easier for many spies to infiltrate. Ascalon probably feels this deeply.

I don't doubt that Theresia has this ability to convince them. Rather, she has created this image for Sakaz over the years, and the Tower of Babel... probably will leave many people behind.

The original plan had to be moved forward a lot due to the turbulent situation.

This is a helpless move, and again... there are pros and cons. The disadvantage is that many hidden clues have not yet been deployed, and the advantage is that Tracy's plan will also conflict.

I don’t know what the chance of success is for the path Theresia has chosen. Doctor... Although that person has been saying that he will use any method and means to increase the odds of winning the Tower of Babel, I know that he himself has also fallen into The dilemma, most importantly, is Theresia's own thoughts...whether she really wants to win this war, and after the war is won, how should we deal with and face the forces gathered under this banner.

Will the Tower of Babel become another political victim after the victory of this war?

How many of those lords and forces truly stood by Theresia's side instead of turning against her?

Maybe what Kelsey told me before was right.