Chapter 138: Different paths, no common goal

  Adrick walked into the grand hall with an unyielding gaze, his face cold and stern, its sharp lines as if carved by a knife. Underneath his bright red cloak, he wore a suit of black iron armor, and as he moved, the clanking sound seemed to bring with it a wave of murderous intent.

  As he stepped up the stairs, the golden armor-wearing palace guards standing on both sides of the hall seemed to have also sensed the ominous aura around this general, and their hands gripping the long axes tightened involuntarily.

  Adrick's eyebrows were low and gloomy, he suddenly turned around, lifted his cloak, took off the long sword he was wearing, and the court attendant who was following behind him quickly held it with both hands, then said in a low voice: "General, please enter."

  This overbearing general, at this moment, had a calm and composed expression, not showing any of his usual arrogance, he hummed a low "en" sound, and walked in with big strides.

  Those Mohe envoys from the imperial court, watching this military general walk in with his head held high, simultaneously had a misconception arise in their minds, as if it wasn't a person who walked by but a fierce tiger!

  The massive and heavy door opened and closed, and Adrick walked into the inner room. Emperor Cantos sat at a table, slightly raised his slightly pale face with a hint of a smile: "Back?"

  Adrick didn't say a word, went down on one knee, made a precise bow, and then slowly stood up, looking the emperor straight in the eye: "I'm back!"

  Kantos the Great Emperor gazed at Adrick's face and stared at him for a while. He couldn't see any change in expression on Adrick's face. Sighing slightly in his heart, he said in a low and slow tone: "The 13th Legion, when I ordered you to hand it over, were you not dissatisfied in your heart?"

  Adric shook his head, and the scar on his face twitched slightly.

  "There must be dissatisfaction." The Emperor of the Spear stood up, slowly walking around the table. His body was actually half a head taller than Adrick, but his illness was hard to conceal, and his broad frame seemed shaky, without the robustness that Adrick had. "I can understand, having personally led the army for many years, handing it over, there is bound to be some resentment."

  Adrick shook his head and said seriously: "Your Majesty has let me lead the army for nine years, without avoiding suspicion or guessing, which is already the greatest trust in me, I dare not complain."

  "Haha!" Emperor Cantos smiled and gazed deeply at Adrick: "Is... not dare" Adrick pursed his lips, speechless.

  This time the silence lasted a moment longer than before, and finally the Emperor spoke in a slightly hoarse voice, saying: "Tell me, Adric, can I trust your loyalty?"

  Adrick seemed to be stunned, and before he could respond, the Emperor continued in a low voice, "...... Of course! I am very clear that in this empire, in the military, if even you, Adrick, cannot be trusted, then no one else can be said to be loyal! So... I trust your loyalty."

  But as he said this, the emperor's tone suddenly changed, and in his eyes, which had been somewhat dimmed by the twilight, a few sparks of sharpness and vigor suddenly flashed out!

  "But, Adric, what makes me hesitate is... your loyalty, is it to me or to this empire?"

  Adrick furrowed his brow and hesitated for a moment before responding: "Your Majesty and the Empire, aren't they one and the same?"

  "No." The Emperor raised an eyebrow, coldly laughing: "I am the Emperor, Byzantium is still Byzantium! I am not the Emperor, Byzantium... is still Byzantium!!"

  The words were like thunder and lightning, bursting forth from the emperor's mouth, yet seemed to carry infinite intimidation. Adelric stood there with his head bowed, not speaking a word.

  At last, he slowly shook his head: "Your Majesty's words, I don't understand and don't want to understand - I'm just a soldier!"

  "I don't want to understand!" Kantos grunted, staring at him for a long time, but suddenly turned around, walked back behind the desk and sat down, looking straight into Adrick's eyes: "What I want is your 'I don't want to understand'!"

  The emperor waved his hand and threw a scroll of paper from the table over to Adrick, which landed with a thud at his feet.

  "This! I entrust to you! Trust, I entrust to you!" The emperor's eyes suddenly turned cold and stern, squeezing out the last sentence from his mouth, as if growling in a low voice, shouting: "The future of the empire... I also give to you!"

  Adric picked up the scroll, slowly unrolled it, and saw the words and signature on it. His body shook, he straightened his back, raised his head to look at Emperor Cantos in front of him - Emperor Cantos seemed very tired and weak, as if the brief emotional outburst had already exhausted the little energy he had left. At this moment, he was leaning half-lying on the chair, with a slightly urgent and disordered breathing.

  "Adric, I am clear, your loyalty is not to me, but to the Empire!" Emperor Cantos gasped, his breathing sounding like a broken bellows.

  Generally, "beside me, there are no people who are only loyal to me. But the joke is... these people can't accomplish anything! And you, can!" Huang's hands pressed against the armrests of the chair, leaning his body forward slightly: "They are loyal to me because I am the Emperor! But the Emperor may not be the Emperor anymore! However, you are loyal to the Empire! Byzantium will forever be Byzantium!"

  Adrick's chest heaved with excitement, his face revealing every nuance of emotion. Finally, he let out a long breath, and the gaze in his eyes was complex, filled with gratitude, shock, admiration, and above all, an unutterable sense of awe!

  "You... are willing!" The Emperor stared into Adrick's eyes:

  "This matter, if I entrust it to others, they won't be able to handle it! Even if I entrust it to you, I'm worried that you'll do a poor job. It's just... apart from you, there's no one else I can trust!"

  Adrick grasped the paper scroll, slowly raised his right hand, and heavily pounded his chest once, responding to the emperor with a solemn tone he had never used before in his life.

  "Even if there's a precipice in front of me, I'll still charge forward - Your Majesty, this is my vow to you."

  Motors Emperor felt relieved, he let out a deep breath, weakly waving his hand: "Alright, you can go down now..."

  Adrick nodded silently and turned to leave. He had only taken two steps when the emperor's low voice came from behind him again.

  "This time back, the Senate's affairs... Now that you have a heavy responsibility, don't be distracted by other things. Although you are a member of the Senate, I believe that at this moment, you can distinguish between what is important and what is not."

  Adric didn't say a word, he just paused for a moment, took a deep breath and continued walking out of the room. Behind him, the emperor's eyes involuntarily revealed a faint hint of disappointment.

  As he walked out of the grand hall, a palace guard approached him to return his sword. Adrick carefully put it on and stepped down from the platform, but at this moment, he felt as if he had a mountain pressed on his heart. The letter of appointment written by the Emperor himself was in his bosom, pressing against his heart, making Adrick take several deep breaths, but none of them could dispel the oppression.

  He was not short of courage, nor was he short of loyalty. Even when he saw this appointment, the passion and enthusiasm that had been dormant in his heart for many years were rekindled - Your Majesty, have you finally made up your mind?!

  After truly accepting this appointment, he also understood that from the moment he walked out of that door, his path would be filled with open and hidden dangers. From then on, treacherous mountains and seas of fire, steep cliffs, would not allow him to retreat even a single step!!

  No big deal... I'll die for it.

  This overbearing general had a sudden surge of military grandeur in his heart, and the smile at the corner of his mouth seemed to carry an air of absolute certainty.

  He walked down the steps, and suddenly a figure emerged from the distance, walking slowly towards him. The figure wore a grey hemp robe and boots on his feet, exuding an air of elegance and serenity that was hard to describe. It seemed as if he were strolling in his own garden, rather than within the solemn and majestic great hall, with an aura of being subtly detached from his surroundings.

  Two people walked slowly closer, but Adrick's eyes didn't even glance at the person, and he was about to walk away directly. Their bodies crossed paths, when the man suddenly seemed to smile: "General."

  Adrick strode forward, ignoring him, and the man behind him spoke again, his tone devoid of any anger at being ignored, smiling as he called out: "General Adrick."

  Adric finally stopped in his tracks, furrowed his brow tightly, turned his head to glance at the man with a cold gaze: "Mr. Cavicel, you should understand that it seems we don't have much common ground for conversation."

  Kǎ wēi xī ěr stood there, smiling without a hint of arrogance, his face old but his eyes as calm and gentle as those of a young woman: "General."

  "Say whatever you want!" Adrick gazed coldly at Kavish: "Different paths, no common goal - isn't that what you said back then?"

  Kavi shook his head gently, a warm smile spreading across his face: "I've seen that little kid before."

  Adric's eyes flickered, then he relaxed, as if utterly uninterested: "I'm not surprised there are things you don't know about in Australia - uh, no, in the entire Empire, the whole continent..."

  Kavi looked at the other's gaze, his eyes had a few points of inexplicable smile, and said in a low voice: "I think what I want to say is that child, not bad."

  Adrick's face changed color, and his eyes burst out with a fiery light, staring tightly at Kavishir. At this moment, even a hint of murderous intent flashed in his eyes! "Kavishir!" This general was like an old tiger revealing its fangs: "That person, you'd better not touch him! This is my bottom line! Otherwise, you'll have to pay the price!"

  That murderous aura, like a mountain collapse, enveloped him, but Kavi's expression remained as calm and serene as ever, not even his eyes flickered, letting the other person's anger erupt.

  Adrik's face was filled with anger, he turned around and walked away. After a few steps, Vishil suddenly said from behind: "Veya... the other day, I sent her to Odin."

  Adrick's body stiffened, but this time he didn't stop, taking big strides to continue walking away. However, if one looked closely, they would notice that his hands hanging by his sides had clenched into fists, with white knuckles...