Azure Scepter

Page 109

Trier spread his hands to indicate that he meant no harm. He slowly stepped forward and said softly, "Hello, Nina, I mean no harm."

The celestial warhorse looked at Trier hesitantly, instinctively feeling uneasy, but after a moment, out of trust in Edith, she gently nuzzled Trier's hand.

Trier then gently stroked the warhorse's soft mane.

The time traveler thought to himself: "High charm really does have its advantages; my approachability has improved."

He glanced at the information panel subconsciously, and then couldn't help but feel a little amused and exasperated.

[Successfully fooled]?

Chapter 219 Torture (Part Two)

Trier looked away from the information panel and then back at Edith.

Edith's eyes regained some of their sparkle, and she was staring at him.

"Can you teach me how to ride a horse?" the time traveler asked.

Edith blinked in surprise: "You can't ride a horse?"

Trier didn't speak; he deliberately gave a slightly awkward smile.

He certainly knows how to ride a horse, but Edith is quite uneasy right now, and it would be beneficial for him to show appropriate weakness at this time, while also satisfying the other party's desire to be needed.

"I thought you didn't know anything."

Edith said, reaching for the reins and handing them to Trier.

"First, grab the reins, yes, like that—pull yourself into the stirrups, don't be too stiff—don't be nervous, good job."

Trier deliberately slowed down, following Edith's words, and slowly stepped into the stirrups, exerting a little force to lift himself onto the horse's back.

The Celestial Warhorse was quite large, with thick, flowing muscles that provided a solid sense of support. Trier casually touched the side of the Pegasus's neck, feeling the warmth of its fur against his palm, and its pure white mane fluttered in the night breeze.

"Isn't Nina very docile?"

Edith said as she walked over to Trier.

Before Trier could answer, the Celestial Pegasus snorted in dissatisfaction—Trier knew that the Celestial Pegasus's intelligence level was no different from that of a normal human; it could understand common human language...

"See, it's very simple." Edith smiled sincerely. "Should we have Nina walk a few steps slowly?"

Trier didn't speak; he turned to the side and extended his left hand to the princess beneath his horse.

The princess hesitated for a moment, then reached out and grasped Trier's left hand.

Trier squeezed the horse's flanks, lightly stepped on the stirrups, and used the momentum to pull the princess onto the horse's back.

“For a beginner, you’ve done very well,” Edith praised sincerely. “I think you can get Nina to jog a bit.”

“That makes sense,” Trier said with a smile. “Hold on tight.”

The next moment, his hesitant and stiff movements became fluid—he lightly kicked the horse's flank and then sharply pulled the reins backward—

The pure white warhorse let out a long neigh and then suddenly galloped off. A few moments later, Trier pulled hard on the reins again, and the Pegasus flapped its wings violently.

Nina took flight!

The intense feeling of weightlessness pounded into her cerebellum like a hammer blow, and the fierce wind mixed with rain lashed against Edith's face. Caught off guard, Edith screamed.

"Trier, you're lying! You can ride a horse!"

The time traveler laughed twice, then suddenly clenched the horse's flanks.

"Fly higher, Nina!"

Pegasus let out a joyful neigh and then suddenly charged towards the rain clouds overhead!

A biting wind howled past, making Trier's face tremble. He stared wide-eyed at the thick rain clouds—he couldn't help but recall the feeling of riding a bone dragon in the game.

Edith was both shocked and furious, but she had no choice but to hold Trier tightly. Only after she had held her tightly did she realize with a start that she was not wearing her chainmail lining today.

A few breaths later, a white meteor streaked upwards through the rain cloud. Pegasus's long mane flew, its supple strands brushing against Trier's face. He reached up and wiped his hair, the icy crystals instantly melting into frozen water that dripped to his sides.

At this moment, the sky was filled with countless stars, and the bright silver moon was clearly visible. The rain clouds that had obscured the view were now completely beneath Pegasus's feet. The cool moonlight shone on the pure white horse's back, and the tips of every strand of Nina's hair shone with a silvery-white radiance, like a brushstroke painting the starry sky on the curtain of night.

The wind howled, and Edith's braids were blown about. She pressed close to Trier's ear and asked again, "You can ride a horse?!"

Trier chuckled, deliberately changing the subject: "Would you like to hear a story, Your Highness?"

“Speak! Louder!” Edith hesitated for a moment, then shouted, “The wind is too strong!”

For some reason, she felt that most of her suppressed emotions had suddenly dissipated.

Trier was silent for a moment, then spoke.

"Long, long ago, in a faraway place, there was a human kingdom called Lordaeron."

"Is this a fairy tale, Trier?" Edith asked. "You're going to introduce the princess next, so can you tell me something more modern? I don't want to hear the cliché fairy tale of a knight defeating a dragon and rescuing a princess."

"Don't interrupt, listen carefully, uh, where was I?"

“There is a human kingdom called Lordaeron!” Edith shouted.

"There is a young crown prince in Lordaeron, whose name is Arthas Menethil."

"You did introduce the princess! Next, a crisis will surely strike, people will be helpless, the king will be worried, then a bounty will be issued, and then an unpopular young man will accept the bounty, go through a series of adventures to solve the crisis, defeat the evil dragon, and finally marry the princess!" the princess continued to interrupt.

“Arthas is clearly a male name!” Trier exclaimed. “He’s a prince, not a princess.”

"So the knight is the female lead?" Edith was clearly intrigued. "That sounds like an interesting story."

“If you interrupt again, I’m not going to talk anymore!” Trier threatened.

Edith snorted softly, then fell silent completely.

"Shortly after he came of age, an unknown and terrible plague suddenly spread quietly throughout Lordaeron. This plague could turn the dead into walking corpses. This plague greatly threatened the stability of the kingdom, so the king ordered Arthas to investigate the plague."

"Huh?" Edith blinked in surprise. "Is this plague spread through food? Are you using this story to allude to something?"

Ignoring Edith, Trier continued, “Fortunately, Arthas is not alone. His paladin mentor and mage fiancée are both powerful and wholeheartedly helping him.”

"After a series of thrilling adventures, Arthas and his friends finally found the mastermind behind the plague: a powerful demon called the Dreadlord was the culprit."

"Trill, do you mean the Silent Whisperers are backed by a demon lord?" the princess asked tentatively.

Trier still ignored the princess. He cleared his throat and continued, "Although they found the mastermind, they were too late. Stratholme, a densely populated city, has already been infected by the plague."

"Fortunately, the plague has not yet broken out; but unfortunately, there is no cure for it, and once it breaks out, most of the city’s inhabitants will turn into ferocious and terrifying undead, and the entire kingdom will be utterly destroyed by the surging undead."

"At this moment, our prince Arthas faces a difficult choice: to slaughter the city or not to slaughter it. What's worse, Arthas is not only the crown prince, but also a paladin who has sworn an oath of devotion."

"If he chooses to massacre the city, he can certainly save his kingdom, but in the process of the massacre, he will also harm a large number of innocent people, be rejected by his mentor and fiancée, and break his own vow."

"If he chooses not to massacre the city, he can preserve his honor and oath, his friendships and love, but the entire kingdom will fall into the clutches of the undead."

Trier abruptly stopped speaking.

"And then?!" The princess listened intently, and asked eagerly, "How exactly did he choose?"

Trier did not answer; instead, he asked, "Your Highness, if you were that prince, what would you choose?"

PS: Thank you so much for your generous donations, monthly tickets, recommendation tickets, and requests for more updates!

Chapter 220 Torture (Part 3)

What would I choose?

Upon hearing Trier's words, Edith was stunned; she had not expected Trier to suddenly ask a question.

She didn't hesitate for long, only weighing the options briefly before saying, "I won't choose either—both massacring the city and not massacring it are too extreme. If I were Arthas, I would blockade the city and wait for reinforcements."

Trier did not turn his head.

“That won’t do,” he said firmly. “There’s not enough time. If we don’t massacre the city immediately, the undead transformed by the plague will sweep across the entire kingdom. Even if reinforcements arrive, they won’t be able to withstand the undead horde.”

Edith blinked and began to think again.

"What if we try our best to find a cure for the plague?"

“It’s too late, and the story is set up so that this plague is incurable,” Trier denied again.

"So, there are only two options?"

"That's right, there are only two options: either massacre the city or don't massacre the city."

Edith closed her eyes and visualized the scenes from the story in her mind.

Flames raged, screams mingled with the groans of the undead, and the dying, in despair, charged toward the blockade, only to be riddled with crossbow bolts and reduced to minced meat—a pregnant woman clutching her infant wept in a pool of blood, flames spreading along her blood, slowly engulfing and burning everything in their path...

The victim clung to her boots with his last ounce of strength, and then she severed his head with a single sword stroke.

Her face twitched slightly; just imagining such a scene made her feel like she couldn't bear it.

“Thank goodness I don’t have to face that kind of choice.” Edith opened her eyes and looked thankfully at the starry sky. “Thank you, Trier, that’s a good story.”

Trier didn't answer; instead, he chuckled softly, as if he had heard a funny joke.

The princess felt a strange unease.

"So Edith, what is your answer?" Trier's voice drifted on the wind, low and hoarse.

Edith frowned – Trier’s questioning seemed a bit too aggressive, which was very strange.

To be honest, she didn't want to answer the question, because massacring the city meant abandoning the honor of the paladin, while not massacring the city meant abandoning the responsibility of the crown prince. This was a paradox that presupposed a tragic ending. The only purpose of this question was to torture the poor prince in the story.

“That’s an evil question, and I refuse to answer it,” she replied succinctly.

“This is just a story; stories aren't about good or evil.” Trier still didn't turn around, pressing on. “Would you massacre the city?”

Edith remained silent. In any case, Trier's interrogation seemed too strange. His aggressive tone was like that of the Arctic lich in "A Winter's Dream," who was keen on verbally torturing paladins and destroying their minds.

Suddenly, a terrifying inspiration flashed through Edith's mind.

She suddenly felt her heart skip a beat.

Perhaps Trier wasn't telling a story, but rather using it to hint at something that was inconvenient to say directly, which could explain why Trier specifically requested to be alone with him.

Perhaps Trier saw the future in the prophecy, and the predicament of the massacre in the story was also the predicament he would encounter in the future.

But if that's the case, who exactly is Trier hiding from? Or to put it another way, does a spellcaster as powerful as Trier really need to hide from anyone?

Could it be that I am overthinking it?

Edith felt her throat was dry and her mind was a mess. After weighing her options for a long time, she decided to go along with the other person's question first.

So she countered, "Trier, if you were this prince, what would your choice be?"

"Of course, it's a massacre of the city."

Trier answered crisply and decisively.

He tugged at the reins of the Pegasus, and Nina's speed immediately slowed down.

"After the massacre, I will arrest my adjutant, pin the blame for the decision on him, and then cut off his head."

Edith couldn't help but shudder.

Pegasus Nina also shuddered suddenly, and let out a dissatisfied hiss.

Undoubtedly, this was a frank answer, so frank as to be unsettling.

—Terre's tone was frighteningly calm, as if he were not talking about the massacre of innocent people and the betrayal of his loyal lieutenant, but merely about what to eat for dinner.

Edith felt instinctively uneasy. At that moment, she suddenly realized a terrifying truth—perhaps Trier was hinting that she too would choose to massacre the city in the future...

“This is too evil! The prince in the story is a paladin!” Edith trembled slightly; she simply couldn’t believe she would make such a crazy and cruel decision.

Predictions aren't always accurate... I wouldn't do that myself...

"But he is also the crown prince."

Trier interrupted coldly.

“Dear Edith, the Crown Prince is responsible not only for his own holy knight's oath, but also for the stability of the entire kingdom. This decision is necessary; it is a higher good.”

“That’s sophistry!” Edith’s voice grew increasingly agitated. “By the light above, Trier, listen to this nonsense—doing evil for the sake of good, that’s practically the standard dying line of a villain in a traditional story!”

The wind was biting cold, and the princess's voice echoed among the flying ice crystals.

The next moment, Pegasus crashed into a dark cloud again. A few breaths later, it pierced through the clouds, flew over streams and mountains, streaking across the dark night sky like a silver meteor. On the ground, a few sparse campfires, like fireflies, could be faintly seen.

"So you'll massacre the city, Edith?" Trier pressed for the third time.

This time, he loosened the reins and then rather recklessly turned around to face Edith directly.

Edith also looked up at Trier.