Chapter 24 Part I

Part I:

"Hugh Corson, Son of Kalana, the blood of hell knights is flowing in your body." Ibran's voice was the same as before, with a heavy sense of power: "I am calling you in the name of the night."

"Hugh!" Joyce said anxiously.

Hugh raised his eyes to look at Joyce. The scars on his lower abdomen had gradually spread. His face became pale, and his forehead was covered with sweat. Joyce gritted his teeth to suppress the dark seed in his body with holy light. , But Hugh clenched his wrist tightly.

"Don't... use... Holy Light." Hugh intermittently said in Joyce's ear: "He... will find your hiding place, his target is not you."

He pressed Joyce's hand and said in a low voice, "I'll allure him away, and you have to leave...here, Joyce."

"No, no!" Joyce was going crazy. He was about to tear up Hugh's shirt, but he was pushed aside by Hugh and hit the wall.

"Hurry up, and go!" Hugh gritted his teeth: "That day, outside the Golden City, my father made a mark in my body. All the hell knights...including Ibran, they all have tracked down the dark fire in my body. I have to distract him! Otherwise, both of us will all be captured by him! Three days, Joyce, give me three days, I will find you!"

Joyce: "..."

"Wait." Joyce trembled: "What did you mean? Your father? Isn't your adoptive father the mercenary king? You..."

Hugh broke away from Joyce's hand, walked out of the cellar, paused for a moment, then turned and staggered, put his hand on Joyce's shoulder, and kissed him on the cheek.

"My father is a hell knight... even Alex... doesn't know." Hugh whispered, then smiled at Joyce and said, "I'll tell you this secret, don't tell...anyone else."

Joyce couldn't breathing, and Hugh put a small badge into Joyce's hand and said, "This badge allows you... to hide the human breath, you can use it to go through the black mist, and protect yourself. I.... I'll be back soon... to save you."

"Let me go." Joyce had fearless courage in his heart for an instant, and he whispered: "Teacher is coming soon, as long as I hold Ibran, we can..."

"No!" Hugh gasped and said, "You are not his opponent, nor is Alex! Ibran is just a minion in the dark army... listen to me!"

Hugh pushed Joyce away, opened the cellar door, and staggered out. Joyce couldn't open his eyes for an instant.

Ibran stood in the middle of the road, turned around, and looked at Hugh.

"The Knight Kalana has been looking for you for a long time." Ibran said: "He asked me to pick you up, please come back with me, Corson."

The blood in Joyce's whole body seemed to solidify, Hugh put his hand on his arm wearily, a black gleam was exposed between his fingers, the holy stigma faded and sank into his body gradually, while the dark power spread to his whole body, replacing the stigmata, and the tattoo on his arm reappeared.

"What else did he say?" Hugh said: "Killed all my comrades in my army and left marks in my body. It took a lot of trouble to just take me back to the Northern Rift?!"

Ibran said: "When you see him, you can ask him yourself, please get on your horse."

"You betrayed your priest." Hugh trembled: "You scum guardian knight..."

Ibran said indifferently: "Time will let you understand my choice."

Hugh looked at him and sneered with hatred. At that moment, Joyce felt that the power of the stigmata had been almost completely corroded by the power of darkness. The next moment, Hugh roared and waved the broadsword, and Ibran immediately blocked the move with a shield!

However, the two knights just collided quickly, and the muddy ground was blown up with a violent wind, and the powerful tornado wrapped in Hugh, blasting to the southeast of the sky!

"Damn it!" Ibran drove the Pegasus almost at the same time and chased him up.

One by one, the two disappeared at the end of the gray sky.

Joyce walked out of the grocery store, stood there for a while, and looked at the horizon. There were cries and corpses everywhere in Krian Village. He stood in a daze, with Hugh's words in his mind, no longer thinking about it, staggered, and walked out of Krian Village.

Hugh's horse escaped from Krian Village in the chaos and was grazing by the lake at the moment, looking back at Joyce from a distance. Joyce got on his horse, rode the brown military horse, and ran along the lake, with confusion in his mind. However, the next moment, there was the sound of iron hoofs in the distance again, and the earth shook.

Oops! It's Sosha Cavalry! Why is it here again? !

Joyce walked forward again, bound to collide with the Sosha, had to turn his horse backwards, and returned to the town of Krian. However, the Sosha cavalry had spotted him, and the leader issued an order to form a team. They are chasing him.

"Run--!" Joyce yelled desperately, speeding up his horse, but the cavalry outran him from the left and right, more and more closer, chasing him towards the lake, the horse neighing, and almost throwing Joyce off. A cavalry rushed fiercely, and a whip knocked Joyce off his horse.

Joyce hit his head on the ground when he fell off the horse, and he passed out with a splitting headache.

The village of Krian was full of flames and it was scorched black. Before Hugh returned, Joyce opened his eyes again and found that he was tied up with his hands and feet, thrown into the chamber of a carriage, dragged by the carriage, and entered the grassland.

The entire village was first crossed by the undead army and then robbed by the Sosha people. Finally, a fire was burned to ashes and smoke billowed into the sky. Joyce was tied with his hands and could not move, so he could only follow Sosha cavalry moves forward while they raided the refugees.

The sun went down, Hugh had been away for a day, and Joyce quietly analyzed what Hugh said when he was parting.

Since concluded the holy contract, Hugh had concealed many things... Joyce put on the fragments and finally got a vague explanation: Hugh is the son of a hell knight. The dead soldiers he has seen on the battlefield under the mountain on the fallen day may have been caused by his father.

But Hugh never mentioned his father to Joyce, but simply said: "A knight wearing a helmet and unable to see his face." Now he thinks of it, that hell knight must be Kalana. Thinking about it this way can also explain why Hugh is born with magic talent and can master dark magic without training.

Hugh has always concealed many things, including his life experience, his father... His eyes often carry self-blame and guilt. Thinking of this, Joyce can't help but feel a pain in his heart. He was still too innocent to notice Hugh's secret and uneasy during their fleeting.

Where is Ibran? Thinking of Ibran, Joyce became nervous again. The betrayed guardian knight Alex was talking about must be Ibran. Do the others know about it? The news must be delivered as soon as possible, otherwise, people would still be unprepared for his apostasy.

But why did he betray Uther? Ibran betrayed Uther, just like Alex betrayed himself, making Joyce incomprehensible.

Thinking of Alex, Joyce's heart can't help but speed up, why he hasn't come yet? Where is he? If Alex arrives at the Ruins of Krian, with his wisdom, he will be able to infer what happened there and find it along with the horseshoe prints towards the north... Thinking of this, Joyce feels a little relieved, the situation It's not too bad. Although everything is clueless, maybe they will be able to meet soon.

The only thing that worries him is Hugh.

His stigmata was getting farther and farther away, almost impossible to feel. Joyce leaned on the side of the carriage, closed his eyes, prayed in a low voice, and felt the stigmata repaired.

The galaxy in the spring stretched across the night sky on the grassland, and the air is colder. Fortunately, there is no longer the black mist that obstructs the holy light. It seems that the black mist has not spread here.

Hugh's stigmata was like erratic sparks, appearing from time to time, getting farther and farther. But the other stigmata mark had already left the area of ​​the mist and came towards the northeast.

That was Alex... Joyce finally felt his power, and he leaned against a sheep and fell asleep.

In the middle of the night, Joyce felt a sharp pain and sat up abruptly.

"Hugh--!" Joyce cried out in disintegration.

It was completely different from the previous, sharp and icy pain, he was almost certain that Hugh had been caught.

All the people in the convoy were awakened by Joyce's shout. They thought that something had happened, so they came to check it out. The Sosa cavalry frightened Joyce angrily, and someone came over and slapped him. A loud slap hit his face, and half of Joyce's face suddenly swelled.

With tears on his face, the cavalry guarding him threw out the whip, and was about to whet him, but someone in front of the team rode over. It was the prince Xilin who they had hurriedly met before.

Prince Xilin spoke with majesty, and the cavalry scattered one after another. Joyce shrank in the corner of the carriage, shaking, looking up at him, eyes full of shock and fear.

The prince Xilin murmured something to Joyce. They couldn't understand each other's language, and Joyce's mind was blank.

After a while, Prince Xilin drew the scimitar and picked it towards Joyce. Joyce yelled again. However, only the rope in his hand was cut off. He moved his hands and even his breathing trembled.

Prince Xilin stopped questioning and left on horse again.

The pain was almost fatal to Joyce. He felt that the stigmata on Hugh's body was still there, and Ibran had already discovered the holy light in his body! Joyce couldn't help but pray, and may Alex arrive here soon...otherwise he will be unable to hold it anymore.

At dawn the next day, the weather became colder, and the team stopped at times, but turned eastward in front of a certain mountain. After walking towards the sunrise for three full days, the grasslands along the way were gradually covered by ice and snow, until they entered the vast ancient forest, followed the stream up the mountain, and entered the camp of the Sosha nationality in the middle of the mountain.

Joyce was escorted into a tent, the camp site was surrounded by mountains, no one could escape, even the birds would lose their way.

After entering the forest, the cavalry no longer cared about Joyce, but gave him to the women in the tribe. Joyce was tired and hungry. A woman came in with goat's milk and placed it in front of him. He climbed over and drank with gulps.

After a while, another girl came in and said, "What's your name?"

Finally ran into someone who could communicate. Joyce choked and coughed. The girl put down the cheese, came over and patted him on the back, and said, "Are you okay? I heard them say that Prince Xilin specially ordered the people to take good care of you...are you injured?"

"Where is this... ahem, ahem." Joyce asked, "Are you from the Middle-Turkish nation?"

"My name is Qing. I used to be from Duolong demesne." The girl replied, "Mom took us to the kingdom of Sosha, and now follows His Royal Highness Xilin and his tribe to herd. How about you?"

"Joy... Joe." Joyce replied, "My name is Joe."

Qing nodded and said, "His Royal Highness Xilin wants to see you. You can eat your meal first, and then wash yourself. I will boil water for you."

Joyce asked again: "What does he want to do to me?"

Qing was about to go out of the tent. Hearing the words, she turned around, smiled and comforted him: "His Royal Highness Xilin is not a bad person. Don't be afraid. He has protected the lives of many people. Maybe he just wants to ask you something."

Joyce nodded. He was so hungry. There was only bread and snow water to eat along the way. Qing gave him a small pot of barbecued meat, and Joyce gobbled it up. After the meal, Qing and another girl came in, they carried a bucket, and gave a cloth bath to him.

When the hot water drenched his body, Joyce closed his eyes and his whole body was shaking. He washed his whole body as fast as possible, and Qing gave him a robe for him to put on. There are no shirts and shorts, only a heavy full-body animal robe with an interlayer of animal velvet inside. Joyce wrapped his robe and tied his belt, and Qing came in again to comb his hair.

"You look so beautiful." Qing smiled.

With a bruise on the corners of Joyce's mouth, he looked at himself in the mirror. He nodded, remembering that Hugh had also said this, and Alex also said that too. However, the echo of Hugh's stigma has been completely cut off. he couldn't feel it anymore, and he felt sad.