Chapter 174 24. Brothers
At night, the lower level of Malekith’s Black Tower was brightly lit, and the dining area echoed with the wild laughter of Brother Darkus and his followers.
Holding a wine glass in one hand and a pipe in the other, Kewell playfully performed an extremely funny mime with a smile on his face, which aroused the laughter of the powerful children present. While Darkus smiled, he could feel Kewell's mood today. It's really good, probably because the marriage between Cowell's sister and Maranul has been finalized. After Ren said hello, he raised his head and drank all the blood wine in the wine glass. He also held up the empty wine glass and walked to Cowell to interact. The atmosphere of the banquet was now pushed to a climax. The dignitaries gathered together to celebrate. At the wedding of the Keus brothers, various toasts and tributes came one after another, and the sorceresses laughed wantonly while discussing it.
Sirsis and his followers stayed in the far corner. He listened to the lively commotion in the dining area, and his face kept changing. After a brief hesitation, he waved his hand gently to signal to the followers. Follow him.
"Sir?" A follower behind asked cautiously.
Silsis did not speak, but turned around and glared fiercely.
A moment later, Silses appeared in the dining area with his followers. There was no banquet raid, and there was no bloody banquet. He knew that Darkus and the powerful people from the south of Nagaroth were not easy to mess with. Their strength and influence He can't shake the power and power. He can't afford to offend the sorceresses around Darkus. One of them is okay, but there are four who can't stand it. He also participated in the Midnight Gathering. He conspired with several fear lords who were familiar with him to study for several nights and found that there was basically no solution.
Especially after the Dark Council was convened, they discovered that Darkus was not on the same level as them. They seemed to understand what the Witch King meant. If they used some forceful means that might offend the Witch King, then their outcome would be to be defeated. Fancy hanging from the wall to feed the harpies. Besides, if the Hell Calamity Family is angered, they will not be able to get the extra ships, food, meat, and giant beasts in the future. Few of the fear lords who have managed to reach this level are ordinary people. Even ordinary people cannot survive at this level. How long it will take, there is no guarantee that one day I will ascend to the eternal palace. After hearing some rumors, he made some preparations and finally decided that he would come forward.
The appearance of Sirsis caused a brief lull in this small banquet, but the dignitaries of Krakarond quickly reacted, becoming alert while having fun. The smiles of the sorceresses still remained on their faces, but one of their hands was placed in a dark place, either somewhere that Sirsis could not see, behind their backs, or under the table, as if they were preparing something. After swallowing the food in their mouths, they stopped eating and just drank. They were waiting for something.
Darkus observed Sirsis and the retinues behind him. Only Sirsis was still wearing the armor, and the retinues were dressed normally and did not look like they were about to launch a surprise attack.
Maranur and Dacus looked at each other quickly, and then he walked slowly to Xiersis with a smile on his face, chatting in a low voice. He also made a gesture of invitation to dinner, Xiersis's With a smile on his face, he tried to communicate with him in a low voice.
Darkus felt the gaze of Sirsis looking over him, raised his wine glass and nodded to Sirsis. Hirsis turned his head again to Maranur and shook his head slightly while rejecting something with a smile. Soon, Hirsis's followers carried boxes of heavy gifts and placed them in the dining area, and briefly said After a few polite words, Hilsis politely excused himself.
Franais saw Darkus's gaze, and after understanding, he directly pulled out the serrated dagger and stood up, walked over to the boxes filled with gifts, and opened them one by one. He used the serrated dagger to carefully stir the gifts inside, confirming There was nothing strange lurking in the box, so he turned to Darkus and nodded.
The banquet went on as usual, followed by music and dancing.
Maranur sat back on the chair, smiled sinisterly at his brother sitting opposite him, and then shook his head slightly. The dignitaries did not discuss the appearance of Sirsis, as if Sirsis had not appeared just now. .
Drusala, who was newly joined today, saw all this in her eyes. She and the three sorceresses continued to drink and laugh wantonly, secretly observing the Darkus brothers from the corner of their eyes from time to time.
"I think he seems to want to reconcile? To ease the relationship? There are quite a lot of gifts." Maranur said with a smile and lightly kicked the box.
"Maybe? Then we will give him some benefits. Look at this, my brother." Darkus rubbed his forehead. The wine he drank just now was a bit strong, and his head hurt at this time.
"Okay, leave it to me. Rest, my brother." Maranur saw that Dacus was in a bad state, so he patted Dacus on the shoulder and turned around to leave.
"Many friends, many roads. Who is our enemy? Who is our friend? Who has many friends? Who has few enemies? These words do not seem to be applicable in a sick society like Druch. ? Who knows? Just wait and see what happens." Darkus looked at the neat rows of golden Sovereigns in the box and thought for a moment. He knew that Sirsis wanted to reconcile, but the problem was that Dark The Us brothers seemed to have no grudges against Hirsis. The reason for the matter was just because Hirsis was unilaterally and purely jealous at the beginning. He could understand it too. He could understand Hirsis's mentality too well. Maybe If he had been replaced by Silsis, he wouldn't be sure he would have it.
Drusala was assigned to an empty room. Darkus was not infatuated with Drusala's beauty. He was not so brave that he preferred to travel in the mountains despite knowing that there were tigers in the mountains. He knew clearly that there was a problem. The situation is tough and reckless. Is Drusala's soul now controlled by Morathi? This is so exciting to think about! It seemed like some strange achievement had been achieved. He quickly shook his head to dismiss these idle thoughts.
The next morning, the radiant Darkus arrived in front of the black steel door of the throne room. Sirsis and two young Druch stood there nervously, seemingly waiting for the Witch King's summons. He walked over with his hands behind his back, nodded to Sirsis in the dim light, and began to observe the two Druchs, because he felt the slightest trace of fate in one of them. Of course, the power was not as surging as the Dark Council a few days ago. It was normal for Druchi's legends and bosses to feel that way in the council hall that day. As for the last time? It was in Spicazuma, before he was about to leave the continent of Lustria, that small flying competition, where all the legends and bigwigs of Hesiota's power were there.
Silsis didn't say anything, but pointed to the two young Druchi towards Darkus, then tapped his breastplate, lowered his head and saluted to Darkeus. He couldn't understand why the Witch King suddenly summoned his two sons. Did Darkvus say something to the Witch King after the banquet last night?
"Good guy, Malus when I first returned to Krakaronde, Caronde Carl's Loxia and Larkas? And this one in front of me, the assassin in the forest farm? Hal Gancy's Lechi ? I seem to be more or less offended, or because the forces don't deal with each other. I really admire myself, I am such a wizard!" Darkus only glanced at the one that exuded a weak power of fate. There is a long wound next to Druch's left ear, and the wound has not yet scabbed. It seems to have been formed not long ago, but he knows this location, and this scar should be a good thing done by Franais, and it is all a master. He was taught to understand them too well. After smiling self-deprecatingly at the two Druchi, he turned his head and nodded to Sirsis before pushing open the black steel door and entering. There was no communication, and this was not a place for communication, and he probably guessed who these two people were, but at this time, the person's hair was still silver-white, his skin was pale, there were a few freckles on his face, and his eyes were pure green. green.
Sure enough, the rumors in Nagarond were true, and the two Druchi also knew who the powerful man in front of them was who smiled horribly at them. The two of them looked at Darkus with some fear, fearing the momentum, power and power that Darkus exuded. They both looked at Darkus's back in shock, seeing that Darkus could freely enter and exit the pitch-black throne room, but the two Druchi did not communicate with each other in words or eyes.
After Darkus got used to the brief discomfort, he saw Malekith still standing there in the pitch-black throne room in the same posture as the day before. He did not ask or ask for instructions, but walked slowly over and looked at the map on the table. It seemed that the map on the table had been changed, but the piece of kraft paper he left the day before yesterday was still there, but there seemed to be more on the kraft paper. some content.
The witch lamp in the throne room was silently lit. Darkus saw the map of Ulthuan on the table. He couldn't help but gasp. The already cold throne room seemed even colder under his twitching. . Because he saw that the content on the map was very detailed. Every major city, fortress, town, acropolis, garrison, tower, shipyard, farmland, and place where weapons and armor were forged in the inner and outer ring kingdoms were marked on the map. The Phoenix King's Court is represented by a small jewelry statue, but it is not placed on Lothern at this time, but on the table outside the map. Lothern on the map is replaced by the Witch King's jewelry statue. There were also some jewelry representing the Drukhi army placed on the table, and he saw the family emblem and the army the emblem represented. "My dear Darkus, how did the date go? Did you have a wonderful night last night?" Malekith kept maintaining the same action, he teased a little teasingly.
A face burned by the sacred fire of Asuryan twisted into an expression that was close to humor under the midnight armor. Malekith did not observe Darkus' date yesterday, nor did he review his past events, nor did he review his past events. Not tempted again to reminisce about the past. Although his body was tortured by the burning pain, he would retreat into his past thoughts. This was not to escape pain, but to alleviate the boredom with which Asuryan's sacred fire was eating away at his intelligence. He had been looking at the piece of brown paper yesterday and thinking, thinking about Darkus's strategic and tactical arrangements, thinking about what Darkus had recorded, thinking about Darkus' views and disapproval of the current Druchi politics, thinking about Darkus' Us said that he would take the Phoenix Crown back and let him be crowned, thinking about Darkus' so-called upcoming chaos frenzy.
"It's very bad, my Majesty." Darkus said in a low tone.
"Oh, my terrible mother will not do certain things for no reason. You have to grasp it. When you can't grasp it, you can come to me."
Darkus nodded and said nothing. , he doesn’t want to struggle with this issue now. He knows what Drusala represents, and he also knows what this so-called grasp is, and he also knows what it means to not be able to grasp it. When the time comes, he will have to practice some black magic to touch his soul. .
Dorian Silverblade, the eldest son of the Dread Lord Silses, was standing in front of the black steel gate with anxiety. He had spent the previous few years in a stronghold in the north, resisting in the stronghold. The Yankees and Chaos who went south returned to Naggarond after serving with the Dread Lords who participated in the Dark Council.
Dorian did not think about Darkus who had already entered. Instead, he thought deeply about his words and deeds in the past few months, wondering whether there was anything he had done wrongly that had incurred the wrath of the Witch King. Because he received a summons from the Witch King in the morning, he couldn't figure out what happened.
Dorian thought about it carefully and found that there was nothing wrong with it. Not even his most ambitious retainers uttered a single act or statement that might be construed as disloyal. Whoever made it up would soon find out how foolish it was to lie to the Witch-King. Because the Witch-King has his own sources and double-checks everything over and over again. He performed his duties in an exemplary manner, and while he was gilded, he continued to defend the northern frontier against the invasion of the Yankees and Chaos.
But Dorian also understood that no matter how faithfully he performed his duties, he would not always be favored by the Witch King. The Witch King would not take a hostile attitude towards the Druchi who served him loyally. Keus? He quickly shifted his attention. He knew that Darkus was different from him. He was not someone he could look up to now. He also knew that yesterday his father took out a lot of Sovereigns and treasures from the treasury. It seemed that It was given to Darkus as a gift.
However, like other Druchi, Dorian also has secrets that are not known to everyone. Moreover, he is also in a lover relationship with a sorceress. The sorceress knows the secrets of many powerful people, but not all informants will be particularly favored by the Witch King. He suspected that things were not as he thought. Maybe there was something else. Did he let his lover know? Could it be that his lover betrayed him? His lover was as loyal to Morathi as he was to Malekith, but that meant nothing. Mother and son will share information about their thralls, even when exploiting each other, as this has been the case in Naggaroth for thousands of years.
Dorian was a little suspicious. Did he say something outrageous to his lover when he was drunk? He is more tolerant of sharing secrets than his lover is. Of course, his lover was a sorceress, a follower of Morathi and a member of the Sisterhood, which naturally aroused suspicion, but the Witch-King knew it. Because he reported the affairs between him and his lover to the Witch King a long time ago, he monitors his lover as much as his lover monitors him. This is how Druchi gets along with each other in many cases.
Perhaps Dorian might have missed something, or perhaps the Witch-King would bring up some indiscretion he had long forgotten and punish him for it. This isn't the first time either. He had heard many rumors that those fear lords were summoned to the Witch King, fully expecting to be promoted and rewarded. However, the Witch King talked about the minor faults of these fear lords centuries ago, and said that these fear lords also had treasonous intentions. tendency.
Drukhi society has established a system whereby no one can live a completely blameless life. For example, if you criticized the Witch King's enemies in order to please him, and ten years later discovered that these enemies were now Malekith's trusted ministers, your criticism of them at the time might be interpreted as betrayal. So it was best to remain silent and say nothing, but how could Drucci do that? There are so many parties, so many revelries, so many grand festivals where drinking is compulsory and so is indulgence.
After all, if you are sober, you can hide something very well, but once you are drunk, you will often start talking incessantly. At private parties, with friends under the influence of wine and potions, Druchi would suddenly say things that were unnecessary, and other pointed ears were always listening. No matter how many companions there are, and no matter how trustworthy the friends, there is always a druch who can derive some advantage from the indiscretions of the drunkard.
Dorian's mind was in a mess, and the more he thought about it, the more confused he became. Or was it because of his brother next to him? The two brothers came from the same place, a declining ancient family lineage. Their father Sirsis revitalized the family through military exploits and served as the aide-de-camp of the Witch King, a position of supreme honor in Druchi society. The brothers also chose different paths to achieve fame and fortune in the court of Naggarond, he on the battlefield, further north, while his brother took to the gladiatorial arena and the chamber.
Julian Baneblade is an extremely talented duelist with profound wisdom and knowledge. Maybe it won't be long before he becomes the greatest martial arts master that has appeared in Nagarund in the past two thousand years, a scholar who studies special knowledge, and an expert who studies poisons. He likes to fight in the arena where he became famous. It shows the use of poison. After all, his nickname is Poison Blade. He's indulgent, scary, and a little overconfident. The scar on his face a few days ago was nothing to him, because he had more scars on his body. He had always thought that Franais's martial arts skills were not very good these days, but Franais That strange halberd is really great.
But at this time, Julian was still intoxicated in the psychedelic wine with potion added last night. He couldn't concentrate and thought. He couldn't figure out why the Witch King suddenly summoned him. Could it be that he said something he shouldn't have said after drinking too much yesterday? He was a little confused when he thought about the slave girl who had his way with him last night, and about his harem, all of which belonged to him! Those girls will do anything he wants and do whatever he asks.
Julian looked at his brother standing with him out of the corner of his eye. He and Dorian had never been in love when they were young. This may be because of the tradition of the relationship between brothers and sisters in Druch society. He was jealous of Dorian, jealous of his father's love for Dorian, and he hated Dorian for blocking his way because Dorian was the eldest son and destined to be the heir of the family. He didn't like Dorian's self-confidence, nor did he like Dorian's high self-esteem and feeling that he was born to command others.
The tip of the sword was pressed against Darkus' throat again.
"Yes, there is improvement compared to the day before yesterday, a slight improvement." Malekith said with slight appreciation, and at the same time retracted the sword blade again.
Darkus still performed a very traditional elf apprentice etiquette on Malekith.
"My dear Darkus, we will be a little busy in the next period of time." Malekith's voice was hoarse, mixed with the sound of metal scraping and the crackling of fire.
The black steel door slowly opened.
(End of chapter)