The Amber Sword

Situated on the banks of a small lake called Stroj to the west of Rusta, at the crossing of summer and autumn, the water reflects the castle and the distant snowline of the Hazelroy Mountains, reflecting the standing forests and white maples, one of the most famous scenic spots near Emperor Du, but also the royal woodland.

The Imperial Royal Family, however, does not always live here, often sheltering only throughout the long summer. After Constance the Silver Queen boarded, the castle was shorter to use, not necessarily once in two or three years, and often stayed for less than a month, even when travelling.

But even so, the castle was crowded with servants, with the garrison permanently stationed. As far back as half a month ago, a group of mountain maids were replaced in Samburg, along with the Knights of the Blade of Fire in exchange for the Prohibition Army, which added a lot of popularity.

Only tonight, this ancient and elegant castle by the lake is extraordinarily quiet.

The silver moon 'Timise’ moved slowly over the nearby forests, and the long shadow of Bai Feng stretched forward as the moonlight moved, crossing the fence, crossing the forest middle avenue and leaving a shadow over the city walls.

The wind propelled the clouds above the night, and a moment later the shadows on the walls crept, slowly rising from the ground and gradually forming a woman dressed as a witch in a veil.

The woman stood beside the city for a moment and looked suspiciously into the courtyard, dark in the courtyard, with no lights in the stables on one side, no dark posts or patrol guards on the walls of the city.

At this time of the week, the servants would have fallen asleep, but at least there was a minimum of defense in the castle, which would never be as silent as it is at this moment.

She raised her eyebrows and walked to the edge of the city wall. At that moment, the moonlight poured down from the clouds had some substance at her feet, forming a class ladder, and she came down to the courtyard.

A faint silver hua spread around her body, sweeping across the castle between her eyes.

The woman frowned as if she realized something, but it was at this moment that she suddenly looked in the direction behind herself.

As if she heard something, she was about to leave, but it was at this moment that she suddenly had a glimmer of anger in her eyes. She lifted her right hand and suddenly a clap-sized crystal ball appeared in her palm, and it kept switching several images, like a floating shadow. If a normal person didn't have time to see it clearly, but she just blinked and engraved one of them in her eyes.

If Brando was here, he would have recognized the sights inside the Cat and Beard Hotel.

The woman flashed her hand, and the crystal ball in her hand instantly turned into a piece of silver dust, and she herself broke apart, as if it were broken glass, melting in the moonlight momentarily.

The woman's front foot had just left, and a few tiny shadows landed lightly on the wall behind her.

That's a few cats.

The black cat in front of him had a big bow around his neck, and he curiously measured it four times, and the sweet voice of the sugar jar at the opening: “Weird, how come nobody, even if the Knights were led away by adults, would there at least be guards in the castle? ”

The yellow and white flower cat behind the black cat suddenly revealed a nervous look, hurrying to warn softly: "Shh, shh, shh, shh, miss, nobody is okay, do you want to bring everyone here? ”

“Barbasa, what are you afraid of? Didn't we confirm that the Knight of the Blaze has long gone, either to support Lord Lords in their battle, or to deal with the strange guys in the city, who won't be here anyway? The rest of those guys, they're not my opponents either. ”

“Lady, if you're not afraid of 10,000, just be careful.” Barbasa looked around nervously: “This is an empire, don't forget Agatheris and they're here. ”

“Nobody in here," turned into a black cat's canister stumbled into a castle immersed in darkness, she looked up and sniffed with her nose, wondering: "But there was a strange smell in the air, as if one of our kind had been here, strange, I couldn't be sure, does that woman have such a powerful guy, is she the King of Witches? ”

Barbasa startled: “That woman can't be here. ”

“Well," the sugar can nodded: “It's not her breath, weird, is there such a powerful guy in our generation of witches? ”

“Let's get to work, miss...”

The canister jumped lightly from the city wall and landed steadily on the meadow in the courtyard, like a real cat animal, without a sound.

Behind her, including Barbasa, three witches who turned into cats jumped sequentially, and a few people walked around the courtyard without a single one noticing.

“There's no one here, miss.” The white cat behind Barbasa, though the smallest one, sounded like a middle-aged woman.

“The woman can't be trusted. Be careful, miss. This could be a trap. ”

When she heard the word "trap," Barbasa's hair was all up, and she looked back subconsciously, but the yard was silent.

“Relax, Barbasa, even if there's a trap, it's against the lord, and the Silver Queen has no interest in you as an old woman. ”

“Ma'am," the white cat who spoke earlier suddenly said again: "There are others in the castle. ”

The canister nodded, and she noticed, “Left front, third room. ”

She stepped on the elegant cat steps under the window of the room, jumped gently and jumped onto the ledge, stretched out her paws and twisted, opening a gap, and a strong gust of alcohol poured over her face.

“So I hate drunkards...”

……

Hobbs. Barack is indeed an alcoholic, a dwarf from Ambrose, an alcoholic, but also the best trainer in the whole empire. The royal family hired him as an equestrian in Samburger. During the week, he didn't dare to get drunk - the dwarves were too big to take the Royal Mortal Rule seriously, not to mention that he cherished the job at hand.

Not to mention the wealth of Her Majesty's stables, but his status as the most powerful imperial royal horseman alone is enough to make him proud.

Today, however, the Prohibited Army was replaced by the knights of the Flame Sword, and earlier the servants in the castle were transferred. He was left behind because he wanted to help take care of the knights' horses, and a few hours ago the knights left.

Now he's in charge of this empty castle.

He wouldn't dare touch the royal cellar in the basement, but a few barrels of good wine stored in the kitchen are no better than the royal treasure, but enough to make him go back to drinking.

He lay unconscious on several bags of flour and could not remember how much he had drunk, as if there were a small barrel of dwarf spirits, followed by three bottles of Landfield liqueur, a bottle of whiskey, as if the alcohol formed a thick cloud of fog that wrapped him in it.

Hobbs. Barack hiccups, this is his life, he dreams in confusion, dreams of making enough money, returns to his hometown to build a unique cellar with a wide variety of rarities, from the lion's feather of 366 years, the black king of Phyllis, to the famous cold moon wine, which was produced in the cold months, almost destroyed by a snowstorm that winter, but thus formed a unique cold taste, the finest treasure of all royal and aristocratic families.

He dreamed of inviting his guests to a feast full of distinguished drinkers and people of noble and superior social origins, with a wide variety of silver plates on a long white cloth table filled with famous wines and brightly colored fruits and vegetables from all over the world, where a black cat with a bow was walking around.

Hobbs. Barack stood still and almost thought he was mistaken. Why is there a black cat on the table? He couldn't help but rub his eyes and found that there was not only one cat on the table, but also two white cats and a flower cat.

He couldn't bear to sit up and subconsciously prepare to be angry at his dream servants, but before he could speak, he saw the black cat talking to him:

“Hobbs. Barack," The black cat slammed his claws out in front of his nose, disgusting: “Damn drunk, I'll give you a minute, or I'll send you to hell! ”

The dwarf trainer opened his eyes and the cat actually spoke. He shook his head and thought he was dreaming.

But a moment later, he woke up suddenly, and everything in his dreams was shadowed, and the surrounding environment turned into a pitch-black kitchen, filled with rich alcohol and raw meat in a small space.

On the wooden table opposite him, quite a few of the four cats, headed by the black cat, were staring at him with spectacular eyes in the darkness.

“Ghosts! ”

The dwarf screamed and slipped his legs backwards, banging on the bucket behind him, pounding over his head and squeaking. The various spice cans that had originally been placed on the shelf fell over and smashed him in the face.

“Pfft," the sugar can couldn't bear to be laughed out by this guy, but she hurried up: “Hobbs. Barack, do you hear me? ”

Witches are good at manipulating dreams and already know each other's names in their dreams.

But the dwarf trainer was scared to death. It didn't bode well to meet a black cat in the middle of the night in Warnde. Some country legends often thought that black cats and crows were messengers of death, and these animals with bad luck were often associated with witches, which was even worse.

Hobbs. Bareks had no idea that there were witches in front of him, but he was terrified. He contacted the previous black cat and thought that he was the Messenger of Death and came to send him to hell.

Are you drunk to death?

He couldn't help but grieve.

Sadly, not enough.

“I ask you a question," but no matter what he thinks, the sugar can shines a fascinating light in her eyes, as if it were a dream: “Where did the hostess go? ”

……

Palazzo San Cantipe, Rose Garden--

Two rows of knights slowly stopped outside the gates of the Rose Garden. At this very moment, it was a night of silence. There was no one over the Empire Avenue. The rows of oak trees suddenly stood on both sides of the Avenue, leaving a dark shadow on the ground.

Outside this solemn palace is a vast expanse of grassland, hundreds of metres away from other buildings, all royal gardens, but the knights who arrived late at night woke up residents in distant neighborhoods.

Citizens sneak through the windows of the moon and night, looking in the direction of St. Cantipe's Palace, far from seeing these black knights - not forbidden, not the temple's flaming knights, but the guards of which duke, why are they here so late?

And in St. Cantipe's Palace, there's a sight on the knights as well.

Constance could clearly see the rose garden and the situation on Empire Avenue from the floor arch and window of her study. Sitting behind her desk, the crystal ball in hand had long passed away, and there was no longer a view of the mountains and forests near Cold Rue Manor, becoming dark and reflecting a hint of moonlight on the edge.

The room was empty for a long time, except for the dragon queen, who stood silently in the darkness beside her. She did not speak, Her Majesty did not speak, and her eyes passed through the glass of the window, looking at the tightly guarded black carriage between the two knights.

She watched as the door was opened by a knight, walking down the car first a maid, long red hair, bronze skin, typical of the mountaineers.

The waitress got out of the car and owed a little before helping a dressed princess.

That's her countess.

Silver Queen.

“When will our prince arrive?” She asked.

“On the way, Your Majesty.” The dragon queen answered in the darkness.

“The councillors have been waiting in the lobby for a long time," she said after a while. “Your Majesty. ”

“Sure,” replied the Silver Queen, "leave me alone, Gwendolyn. ”

The dragon queen turned her head, but her figure remained unchanged.

“The rats were pretty rough today. ”

“Yes, I just asked, the city guard was led by the fighting over there. ”

“Then tell my dear Knight Commander what he should do now. ”

The dragon nodded.

“Go on, come back before lunch starts, that's the theme of today's banquet. ”

The shape of the dragon back into the darkness, followed by the sound of the door opening, and finally the sound of 'clicking’ was silenced.

Constance looked out the window at night silently, silently.

“… you were the kindest princess of the Krutz, if you were willing to return to the right path. ”

“I have never felt more convinced than now that I was on the right path. ”

“Paranoia obscures your gaze, Your Majesty. ”

“Quite the contrary, it is you who cannot see the way forward...”

She seemed to have an illusion in front of her.

……