Moonlight City.

Everyone is cleaning the city, some are putting out the fire, some are clearing the corpses, and some are looking for rescue survivors.

Prince Smerkel asked his subordinates: "Has the body been found?"

The subordinate replied: "Not found."

"There are too many dead bodies, and many have been destroyed."

Smerkel: "Look again."

The subordinates were a little embarrassed: "His Royal Highness, it's not that you can't find the reason, but that there are too many corpses, and you can't tell them at all."

"Many corpses have been burned and charred. I don't know who owns it anymore."

"These savages are extremely cruel."

In the end, Smerkel could only say: "Try to find, if you can't find it..."

"forget about it."

People are already dead, what's the point of finding the corpse?

Smerkel sat on the steps of the City Lord's Mansion in Moonlight City, watching the wreckage and black ashes left after the fire burned.

The remaining people on the street came out like walking corpses.

Smerkel heard a word from his teacher when he came.

In peace times, sons bury their fathers; but in war years, fathers bury their sons.

And what is this scene he is seeing now?

The corpses piled up like a mountain, and the father, mother, son, wife, and children all stayed here.

The entire family, the entire bloodline, and the entire city were all killed in one day and night, although their deaths ended the war and exchanged for stability in the future.

But who wants to be a victim?

Who is qualified to make them a victim?

"Is it myself?"

"Is it the king's responsibility to choose who to sacrifice and who to choose to die?"

Smerkel sat leaning on the stairs, thinking about this question over and over again.

With Lu Qi's head beside him, Lu Qi stared at Smerkel with wide-eyed eyes. He remembered what he had said before and asked Lu Qi to hold on until he came back.

Smerkel involuntarily covered his face and lowered his head.

"Ha ha ha ha ha ~"

"What I said is really easy!"

Everything that happened in Moonlight City kept repeating in Smerkel's mind. The more he thought about it, the more annoyed he became, and the more he thought about it, the more he felt scared.

How could he say such cruel words at the time? You must know that not long ago, he was just a prince who had never seen a slaughter in the palace.

War can change a country, and it can change countless people, and he himself is one of them.

The destiny of the entire country, the lives and deaths of countless people, the choice of victory and defeat, are enough to make a huge change in one person, and make one person crazy.

When stepping into the battlefield.

Whether it is a civilian, a soldier, a general, or a commander, no one can control his own destiny.

Everyone has become a member on the wheels of war, inevitably becoming crazy people.

"Ha ha ha ha."

"so."

"The king chose to sacrifice some people to save others; did he let a group of people die, and then let the other group live?"

Smerkel shouted hoarsely: "This is completely different from what I imagined, this is completely different from what I imagined."

"Father, you never told me."

He is an idealistic young man, but at this moment his perfect ideals and expectations have completely collapsed.

Smerkel's gaffe frightened many people present.

Many people think that Prince Smerkel is crazy. This is normal. Many people are calm and composed like a **** of war on the battlefield, but when they retreat from the battlefield, they are crazy.

It wasn't until the next day that Smerkel became quiet, but the whole person became taciturn.

------------------

A grand welcoming ceremony was held in the fire protection city. Everyone came to welcome the army returning from victory, as well as Prince Smerkel who led the army to victory.

"Have you heard? This time His Royal Highness killed the fewest thousand people and captured tens of thousands." The civilians did not know the true cruelty of the war. They only felt shock and excitement. Death was in their senses. Just a number.

"So many people? The barbarians of the animal husbandry tribe are too young to die?" Someone was so shocked that it was impossible to imagine the death of so many people.

"Those savages may have been born, there are too many people, and they will die ten times more." Some people still think that there are fewer kills, and they can't wait to kill more.

Seeing the army coming in through the city gate, the crowd began to squeeze forward constantly.

Everyone wants to get close to the heroes on these battlefields, take a look at the warriors who have returned victoriously, and take a look at the commander-in-chief who can lead them to this glorious war.

His Royal Highness Smerkel, the prince of the city-state of Suinhor, is standing on the chariot pulled by the earth travel dragon.

In the sun, he was wearing armor, with a blood cloak trailing behind him.

"Prince Smerkel." Crowds of young people cheered, and the idea of ​​worshiping the strong exists in the depths of everyone's bones and blood.

"Look, it's your highness." The girl in the city guarding the fire screamed.

"He is like King Alpens! Many years ago, King Alpens." At this moment, some old people saw him, as if they saw King Alpens when they were young. When they were young, these old people also followed Alpens in the battle. pass.

Prince Smerkel watched the people welcoming him with longing for worship. The crowd shouted with joy and knelt down, making him seem to have descended on the world to accept the gods worshipped by believers.

They talked loudly about their achievements and how many enemies they had killed.

No one knows the decision that Smerkel made that day, and no one remembers Lucky who died.

History does not record this, everyone only knows that the cruel and tyrannical barbarians killed the civilians of Moonlight City, and their prince avenged them.

He stared at the faces.

He has seen his father ride through the streets in a chariot like this time and time again, patrolling his territory and country.

He has longed for countless times to be able to be like his father, do the great feats that have been downloaded into the annals of history, and become a warrior and hero that people truly admire.

However, when he really did it at this moment, he had a completely different mentality.

He came to the palace, where his father, King Alpens, was waiting.

Alpens stepped forward and hugged his son with his solid arms, and looked at Smerkel with a relieved look: "Congratulations, my son."

"This is a brilliant victory."

Smerkel did not speak, as usual, he should be excited to confide his joy with Alpens.

It's like a kid showing off his grades with his father.

However at the moment.

Smerkel just lowered his head.

Alpens looked at Smerkel: "You don't seem to be happy."

Smerkel has bloodshot eyes, and he hasn't fallen asleep for many nights.

He first looked at his father, the King of Gods who founded Suinhor City-state, and then his eyes shifted away.

He looked at the high throne and said slowly.

"Father."

"I finally understand how to become a king."

"Only stepping on everyone's blood can you become this king. This throne is made of corpses and flesh and blood!"

"Not only the flesh and blood of the enemy, but also the flesh and blood of companions and brothers."

Smerkel said with the style taught to him by his teacher: "The crazy killing on the battlefield is unconscious, and there will be no peace after midnight of the dream."

Smerkel looked at his father and asked suddenly.

"my father."

"Great King of Gods, have you never had a nightmare?"

Alpens told Smerkel: "Sacrifice is a must. Only in this way can we win."

Smerkel suddenly said loudly: "I can't do it."

"I'm not so cold-blooded."

Smerkel's pupils dilated for an instant, and his expression seemed to exude a big question. He was doubting himself and the essence of the king.

"Perhaps for a moment, my blood became cold."

"But as long as I think about what I did over and over again, I feel sick."

"I feel sick and want to vomit."

Smerkel's voice has changed: "I know I have to do it, I know I have to do this, but because I know it makes me feel that I am crazy."

"When you are in the position of king, you don't even have to make an excuse to sacrifice others because of fate, mission, and responsibility."

"They will force you to sacrifice others. You can just let others die and everyone else."

"I told Lucky."

"I need to sacrifice the people of his hometown, I need to sacrifice the people of an entire city, I just watched him take everyone to death."

"With a word of mine, Lu Qi, his family, and everyone in Moonlight City died."

"I will do whatever it takes to win, I will spare no effort to become the king."

"I sacrificed them."

Smerkel roared loudly, the whole person looked crazy, but at the same time he was extremely helpless.

Alpens and Smerkel are two kinds of people. The former was born to blaze a trail in the wild. He was born in an era of chaos, and he was a person who grew up and walked out of blood and fire.

And Smerkel grew up in the court, he was Alpens' only son, and his teacher was a renowned scholar.

Alpens could know why his son said such words, but he could not fully understand his son's feelings.

"you are tired."

"You should go back and rest."

Alpens asked his son to go back and have a good sleep, and Smerkel also turned and left.

When Alpens sent someone to find Smerkel the next day, he found that Smerkel had left, completely missing.

He just left a letter.

It says.

"I don't have the aura of a king, nor the courage to sacrifice everyone to step onto the throne."

The court guard was so panicked that he quickly delivered the letter to Alpens.

Alpens was following the Prime Minister of Suin Hall City-state, and the Prime Minister was also a little panicked.

"King!"

"This is how to do ah!"

Alpens was rather calm: "It's nothing."

"Let’s say that my son went to patrol the cities of the city-state. After all, he is the heir of the city-state of Suinhor."

"It's normal to see what the various parts of your country are like before you are about to ascend to the throne."

Prime Minister: "But what if your Highness never comes back?"

The prime minister thought for a while and said, "We still have to send someone to find it, and His Highness Smerkel must be retrieved."

Alpens had deep eyes, staring at the throne in the palace.

"He will understand his responsibilities after all."

"It's not that he stepped on everyone's corpses and blood to become a king, but because too many people have sacrificed, he must become a king."

"He can only make these sacrifices worthwhile if he becomes a king."

-----------------------

Iva, the former ferryman, walked through the world. He walked in the wilderness. He saw village after village. He was hidden in the corner of the city.

His sensitivity to time is very poor, and several years passed inadvertently.

And he only felt that he was just walking a somewhat long street, and occasionally he would stop and think about the scenes he saw.

He came to a jungle with a lamp without fire in his hand.

The only way to light this lamp is the emotions and desires in his heart.

However.

To this day, he has not realized the emotions and desires he wants.

He also failed to complete the task entrusted to him by the creator Insai, but this itself is a character that takes time.

God Insai is not in a hurry, as a myth, he also has enough time.

He lit a fire in the jungle, surrounded by the flames.

The flames shone out Iva's shadow, swaying lonely under the firelight.

He suddenly remembered the pair of mortals he met when he first came to the world, and what he had asked them.

"Is it happy to be together?"

The answer to the dialogue is so affirmative that it doesn't seem to require any deep thinking at all.

"Of course."

the other side.

A young musician also came to this jungle. He was also alone, but he sang his own poems happily.

He held a harp and sang wherever he went.

But it is strange that he is not singing the famous poems, nor is it praising kings, heroes and ancient myths.

It's the little tune in the countryside, the love between the shepherd and the farmer, and the scandal of the nobility.

And some bizarre stories.

Sing what you think of.

The young musician was Prince Smerkel, who left the city of Fire Protection and became a small person incognito.

When he was imprisoned in the palace, he had seen street musicians singing loudly outside the palace wall, and they told their rich experiences and bizarre stories.

The ancestors of these wandering musicians are generally court musicians. After losing their livelihoods, they began to walk in various cities and villages. They generally possess a wealth of knowledge and experience, and are a group of very interesting people.

He once thought that if he were not the king, becoming a wandering musician would be a good choice.

then.

He really took his favorite instrument and traveled through the world like he had hoped when he was a child, walking and singing his favorite stories.

Late at night.

He has not found a place to stay, and the next city and village are still far away, and he is going to rest here.

However, at this time, he just saw the flames in the distance.

The moonlight in the jungle shone on Smerkel's body through the gap, and the firelight reflected Iva's company.

The two turned their heads to look at each other, their eyes just colliding.

A demigod of wisdom who still hasn't found how to plant a wish in people's hearts, a prince who is confused and does not know where to return, by chance, came together by chance.

The moment I saw the person, Iva got up and prepared to leave.

Because he knows what will happen next.

As usual, most people must be panicked when they see his true appearance.

However, the musician holding the harp in front of him said.

"Why are you leaving?"

"Meeting is the fate of you and me. There are only two of us in the wilderness. Why not have a chat together!"

I saw Iva's look completely different from the snake-man, as well as his gorgeous coat and tailless figure.

The prince was not afraid, but sat directly beside him.

Smerkel greeted him with a smile: "Hello."

Iva responded: "Hello."

This is a cross of fate.

Smerkel leaned close to the flames and looked at Iva's appearance. His face did not have the characteristics of Chengbang, nor did it resemble those from the animal husbandry tribe.

For Smerkel, it is full of exotic or alien style.

If you want to say who you are, some are like the **** named Scarlet Witch in the temple, the ruler of the kingdom of blood in the deep sea.

It reveals an ancient atmosphere.

Smirkel told him his name, and it was his real name: "My name is Smirkel."

Iva: "My name is Iva."

Smerkel carried a leather water bottle, he shook it, took a sip, and handed it to Iva.

"Come and taste it."

Iva asked him, "What is this?"

Smerkel: "Sweet wine."

"Treasures that can bring happiness to people, I finally bought them."

"It can make you forget the troubles, and it can also remind you of happy past events."

Sweet wine is a wine brewed with a ball, with a strong sweetness. It is currently popular in some large cities in Suinhor city-states. Many city temples will also use this item to sacrifice and worship. Gods.

Iva suddenly became interested when he heard him say this.

He looked into the leather kettle first, then sniffed it again.

He took a sip, then showed a puzzled expression.

"But, I don't feel happy?"

Smerkel smiled: "You must be a person who has no troubles and no happiness."

Iva said to him, "How do you know?"

"I have communicated with many people, and I have asked many people."

"But in the end I couldn't figure out why they were upset and why they were happy."

Smerkel: "When your heart is connected with others, you can truly appreciate the emotions of others and know the hearts of others."

Iva said: "I can clearly see other people's hearts, and the power of wisdom can see everything in people's hearts."

Smerkel couldn't help it anymore, and smiled endlessly: "Seeing other people's hearts and being able to appreciate other people's hearts are two different things."

"The happiness of others is the happiness of others, and the joy of others is just the joy of others."

"Only when you have experienced the same joy yourself can you truly understand the emotions of others."

Iva still didn't quite understand.

Smerkel looked at Iva and found that he really didn't seem to understand.

This strange "person" does not seem to belong to the human world, but comes from a place isolated from the world, and is incompatible with everything in the world.

At this time Smerkel proposed: "Let's do it!"

"Let's make a game."

Smerkel suggested that the two put their hands on the fire together, and whoever couldn't help it first would lose.

"Does this make any sense?" Iva asked.

"Some things are meaningless, but they are very interesting." Smerkel said.

Smerkel stretched out his hand, he was a symbiotic of life power, and his body was not afraid of ordinary flames.

He was going to startle Iva, tease him, let him know how people get along.

However, Iva stretched out his hand, and Smerkel's eyes widened.

His hands are formed by entangled vines and whiskers.

and.

Iva's hand was just stretched out on the flame, and it was ignited immediately.

The two stared with big eyes, Smerkel opened his mouth wide, and Iva didn't make any movement.

After a while, Smerkel yelled suddenly.

"Oh no."

"It's on fire, it's burning."

Smerkel hurriedly kicked the bonfire away, and then looked for something to put out the fire.

At this time, he immediately noticed the kettle in his hand.

Then the precious sweet wine in his hand was poured into Iva's hand, and there was another slap, which extinguished the flame on Iva's arm.

After a period of busy work, Smerkel's face was all black and gray.

And Iva scorched half of his arm, holding it high as if holding a charcoal stick.

Smerkel couldn't help laughing first: "Hahahaha!"

Then Iva looked at Smerkel's face and then at his arm.

He seemed to be infected by a certain emotion, and couldn't help laughing along with him.

The two people laughed loudly.

Laugh unscrupulously.

The smile was not hidden.

Leaning forward and backward with a smile.

Iva suddenly understood something, something that had no meaning at all, something that seemed extremely stupid.

As long as someone accompanies you to do it together, it will suddenly become different.

Smerkel collected the firewood again, and then lit it.

"It doesn't matter which one was just now."

"Next."

"Let's tell a story!"

Iva: "Tell a story, I will do this."

Iva knows many stories, and he knows many secrets that are not part of the world.

Smerkel also sat by the bonfire without any margin, leaning against the tree and playing music, he thought of his father.

King Alpens, the king of the gods full of legends.

Compared with Smerkel himself, his father was full of courage and responsibility.

He ignores all difficulties, he dares to challenge the peak.

While playing the harp, he sang his story about Alpens’s climb to the mountain of the origin of life over and over again.

"..."

"King Alpens~"

"He came to the kingdom of blood at the bottom of the deep sea. He is the king of the gods and knows all the secrets in the world."

"He knows the height of the mountain where life originated, and he knows the mystery of the temple of the mother of life."

"..."

With the last flick, Smerkel stopped his action.

Smerkel closed his eyes, still recalling the charm and tune.

He opened his eyes and looked at Iva.

This time.

It's the opponent's turn.

Listening to Smerkel's hymn, Iva suddenly remembered another story, a story about himself.

Iva’s story has no rhythm, and no matching poems.

His story is unpretentious, but the story is equally shocking.

This is a story between two brothers.

"A long time ago, an ancient king died."

"The descendants of several of his sons and daughters have established four kingdoms. The names of the kingdoms are derived from the names of the sons and daughters of the first kings. They are named after volcanoes, stars, seas, and deserts. They have the power of destruction given by God. , Possesses the power to destroy everything."

"It represents the inheritance and also contains the wishes of the first generation kings for them."

"The origin of everything comes from the two children of the royal family of the volcano king."

"One of them is called Visa."

"And the other one."

"It's called Henier."

Smerkel was fascinated by it. The endless conquests of the Four Kingdoms made him feel terrified.

He heard that Wiss Horsen was killed by Henir, and Henir killed the entire Horsen family of royal blood. He didn't understand why Henir did it.

However, after hearing it, I gradually understood.

Only by ending the remnants of the previous era can a new future be created.

He heard that Henir had annihilated all royal bloodlines, and the saints with light in their hearts had exiled the power of destruction and ushered in a new era.

Henir finally ascended to the throne and became the king of the world.

Although the gods and giants in the story are very cryptic, and the gods have never officially appeared, the omnipotent power, as well as the belief and dependence of mortals, can all be heard from the story.

"At last."

"The nightmare flower that swallowed Weiss Horsen became Henir's final ending."

"Wish Horson and his half-brother Henir started the massacre and fight for the kingship. After death, they were entangled in nightmares together, and finally dissipated together."

"Your beginning is doomed to your end."

"Life is like a maze. You stop and go, but in the end you find that the place where you started is the exit of the end."

Iva finished telling his story, and Smerkel was shocked to the point that everyone was stupid.

In this story, there are gods who do not appear but are omnipresent, kings with different images, and saints who are initially confused but who are always on the road of redemption.

There are people who are clinging to power and refuse to let go, there are people who are in a mess and are sacrificed innocently, there are people who do everything for their goals, and there are people who sacrifice themselves for salvation.

All kinds of scenes converge into an epic picture that makes people excited.

Everyone is in the painting, everyone is running, everyone is facing a choice.

Everyone has their own desires and pursuits, and they have things they can't give up even if they die.

There is no truly perfect person. Only when you are faced with a real moment of choice, will you truly understand what you really chase and want in your heart.

Smerkel: "Is this true?"

This story is too true, and it is so true that Smerkel can hardly believe that it is just a story.

"Or."

"Are there other countries and city-states in this world?"

Iva told him: "It's not anywhere else, it's under your feet."

Iva said calmly: "This used to be another kingdom that used to be. They were born here and disappeared here."

Ruhe Giant Island is everything that once belonged to the Sanye people, and all of them stayed here.

"All civilizations and ethnic groups are like this. They were born here, and they disappeared here."

"everything."

"They are all destined to turn into the dust of history, into dream bubbles, only Xinghai of the kingdom of God remembers them."

The two stood on the ground, looking up at the stars in the sky.

When you raise your head, you suddenly feel that the world and yourself are so small, while the sky and stars are rotating, and you are gradually lost in this rotating feeling.

Lost in the sea of ​​stars, lost in the drop of the sea.

Smerkel asked Iva: "People after death."

"Will it all belong to the Star Sea of ​​the Kingdom of God?"

Iva replied: "All the turmoil and resentment, everyone from birth to death will eventually return to eternal peace and turn into a dream of life in the dream star sea."

Smerkel suddenly thought of the dead Lucky, his dead comrade-in-arms.

There are also those who died in Moonlight City, those who died in the war.

They are the last.

Are they all attributed to the sea of ​​stars in the sky?

Has it all turned into a star-like existence?

Smerkel stared at the sea of ​​stars, and his mind had already flown into the kingdom of God.

"If I can, I really want to check it out."

"Go take a look."

"What is the starry sea of ​​dreams like? What is the endless galaxy full of dreams of life."