Blood Dragon

Section 160 Persuasion

There are countless ways to kill a human being, but if these methods are ranked in order of cruelty, the stake type is definitely one of the top.

Essien looked at the corpse in front of him.The once arrogant, arrogant, and invincible Belheim has now turned into a miserable corpse.Byerheim was numb at the moment.A sharpened wooden stick was being inserted into the ground, and the sharp end of the stick pierced through Baerheim's lower body, and protruded from his mouth, penetrating Baerheim's entire body.Because of being pierced by the wooden stick, Bailheim's mouth was opened wide, and it looked like he was screaming.

It was a cry of pain, despair and terror.Even a person like Essien, a person who has seen blood and death before, a person who thinks he has a heart of stone, can't help but feel a chill down his back.

As far as the execution of Belheim was concerned, this matter had already been expected by Essien.But it's unbelievable that the little girl would give such an order... It's unbelievable that the little girl could stand aside and witness this cruel and bloody whole process, watching the captive crying and struggling in front of him, and then being ruthlessly pierced through the internal organs by the stake. In extreme pain until death... unbelievable that's something a little girl would do!

What kind of blood is flowing on this little girl's body!Why didn't she feel this at all when she was her bodyguard in the past?At that time, I thought she was just an ordinary little girl.

Essien vaguely felt that if he hadn't persuaded Skadra to help, then his end... might be the same as Beilheim.

This is also a very clear statement.The little queen has made it clear that she and Byron are incompatible, and there is no possibility of any reconciliation.If there were any lobbyists trying to resolve this "contradiction" in the past, now they know how to keep their mouths shut.

"Essien, the time is almost up. If you delay any longer, the corpse will rot." Cleo reminded, and Essien recovered from the previous nightmare state.

He couldn't help thinking of Byron, wondering what Byron would look like now.According to the time calculation, Byron has probably figured out Essien's actions by now.But now he probably could only be yelling and jumping into a rage.Unfortunately, if anger is useful, what is the military for?

In fact, the death of Byerheim was not so much a blow to Byron's forces as a blow to Byron's feelings.Even if he died, Byron would not fall into the state of cutting off his descendants.Because Byron actually has descendants—Essien knew that Byerheim had married long ago and had two (or maybe three?) children.

It's a pity that those children may not be able to grow up.Because the burning of the warehouse in Fornoros City directly caused Byron's fatal injury...

"Essien!" Cleo yelled. "We don't have much time. First find a way to get some lime!"

"Sorry," Essien came back to his senses. "I'm distracted."

In terms of the army, neither Ashrufat nor the little queen made things difficult.Essien easily chose five hundred well-equipped elite soldiers.This small force set out from the siege camp in Fornoros City and headed north along the main road.In a few days, they arrived at the two border castles.

This was originally the battlefield that Byron had planned, and it was also where he had an absolute advantage.It's a pity that the little queen didn't play her cards according to his rules, so Byron had two strong castles, but they had no chance to play a role at all.At this moment, according to Byron's previous arrangement, the defenders of the castle adopted firm retreat tactics to confront the king's army.The garrisons of the two castles add up to 7000 people, while the troops arranged by the little queen under the city are only 4000.But the little queen used these 4000 people to immobilize the garrisons of Byron's two castles.

From this point of view alone, Byron is really not a talent for military use-but this point is already a consensus.

Essien quickly secured himself a negotiating opportunity.Having said that, it's very easy, you only need to approach with a white flag, and the defenders will easily let a few "envoys" in.This is also a characteristic of the civil war. The warring parties, except for those at the top who are in a life-and-death relationship, the hatred between the middle and lower classes is actually very weak.Switching camps or something is considered a betrayal at the highest level, but it is easy for everyone to understand in private.

This castle was exactly the one that Essien stayed in before - on the way to evacuate Falcon City, Byron had stopped in this castle for several days before, reorganizing the team and hosting a banquet to boost morale.For this reason, both Essien and Cleo knew the commander of the castle garrison—his name was Tren, and he was a middle-aged officer who was nearly fifty years old.According to Essien's evaluation, Thrun is a very common and mediocre commander.The reason why he took this position was not because he showed extraordinary talents, but because he had served Byron for many years and was considered loyal and reliable, so he was promoted to lieutenant general and took charge of this important place.

For these reasons, after Essien and Cleo entered the castle, they did not become prisoners, but were received as guests.They left the weapons on their bodies to their followers, and then met Tren in the reception room in the castle.

"Essien, I didn't expect you to defect to the little queen." Tren didn't show much hatred for Essien's behavior. "What are you doing here? Could it be to persuade me to surrender?" He showed a malicious expression.

Essien looked at Cleo, who cleared his throat. "Actually, General Thrun," Cleo said, drawing Thrun's gaze to himself. "We're here to give you a chance."

"Opportunity? What kind of opportunity?"

"A chance to avoid destruction," Cleo replied. "Do you wish to die for Byron?"

"I really can't see that." Thrun said with a sneer. "I heard that the little queen defeated the Duke of Byron in a field battle, but that doesn't mean anything. The defense of Fornoros City is impenetrable. I know this very well. It's too early to say the outcome."

"It's a pity that you are the only one who thinks this way, such as our Lord Lockes."

"Locus?" Thrun knew that Lockes was Byron's biggest vassal. "He also...betrayed?"

"Betrayal, why do you use this word?" Cleo asked with a naive expression.

"He is a vassal of Byron. As early as when the Byron family was still a royal family, his family was..."

"But Byron is no longer a royal family." Cleo interrupted the other party. "There is only one royal family in Gruene, and the royal family's name is Mark Remiz. As for Byron," he said in a calm and powerful tone. "I have already sworn allegiance to the Mark Remiz family."

"This one……"

"In this whole relationship, there was only one person who betrayed, and that was Byron. I have to say this, General Thrun, if you think what Byron is doing is right, you should surrender right now. Because The fact that Byron betrayed the Queen means that you too can follow him. If you think what Byron did was wrong, then...his mistakes shouldn't affect your rightness, should they?"

Tren was speechless for a moment.This is the power of kingship. Logically, since Byron betrayed his oath of allegiance, he naturally has no position to ask others to be loyal to the oath.

"I don't want to talk about it," Thrun said. "I have served the Duke for decades. This situation is very good, and I don't want to change. Besides, I don't believe that the little queen can win."

"You're right, everyone wants to be on the side of the winner." Cleo agreed, "I completely agree with that. As for the previous point... Are you really satisfied with your current situation? I I heard one thing, you have been the commander here... for more than ten years?"

At this moment, Cleo's eyes were fixed on Tren's face.From the expression of the other party, he caught such a clue.

"Dear General Trent, I think you may know why we changed sides." Cleo told what happened before Essien.In a skillful and provocative tone, he told how Essien took risks, how difficult, and how he tried every means to carry out the reconnaissance mission, and then he just got Byron's "good job" at the meeting.Of course, this story has been filled with numerous additional material to stimulate Thrun's identification.

"...So, as you can see, after what happened, both of us think that Duke Byron is really not worthy of our continued pursuit. You just talked about the outcome... Even if Byron wins, it will not be good for us. what are the benefits?"

It must be said that this statement had a considerable impact.

"Your Excellency the Duke is indeed not generous enough," Thrun did show a sympathetic expression. "But this is not a reason for my betrayal. The outcome of this war is uncertain..."

He stopped because Cleo made a gesture.

"General Thrun, do you really feel undecided? Well," he said, "it's up to me to give you a piece of evidence to make you firm. The things are with my followers, please wait a moment."

Tren didn't know what happened for a moment.Cleo got up to leave, and after a while, he returned to the reception room, holding a large box in his hand.

"This is my evidence." Cleo put the box on the table, opened it, and showed Tren the contents inside.

"This...this...Belheim?" Thrun was shocked.

The box contained the head of Belheim.After all, Tren had worked under Bellheim for such a long time (when Byron was not around, everything in the territory was decided by Bellheim), so he would never admit it wrong.

For people like Tren, ordinary reasoning and stimulation are not enough.To really shake him, it must be a heavy blow to the head.

"This...what's going on?" He raised his head, with obvious panic in his eyes.Baerheim is Byron's eldest son, heir, and an important figure second only to Byron.If he dies, it means...

"I don't want to explain anything. After reading this, you probably understand what happened." Cleo replied. "I just want to explain this objective fact to you... The outcome has already been decided, at least it is basically determined."

"The city of Fonoros has fallen? Where is the Duke?" Thrun could only get such an explanation.

"Byron is still alive, or was alive when we left. As for now..." Cleo replied. "I don't know. Maybe he's still alive. But no matter how tenacious his vitality is, the days left are numbered."

Trent had an expression of disbelief, and his face was full of confusion.Seeing this irrefutable evidence, his faith suddenly collapsed.He once thought that the impregnable city of Fornoros was captured in one fell swoop?No, Byron is not dead, which means it has not been completely captured.By the way, Byron has retreated into the inner city... But since the outer city can't resist it, how many days can the inner city last?He is very clear about the city's defense layout. Among other things, there is not much food in the inner city. "How can it be……"