Nicole suddenly felt that this voice was very familiar, and quickly looked back. She quickly saw the other person's face clearly through the torch, and she exclaimed: "Roman?!"

The person who came was none other than the comrade-in-arms that Nicole met when she was training in the palace.

Roman is 22 years old this year, 6 years older than Nicole. He has heroic features, is 18cm tall, and has a standard inverted triangle figure. He looks very tall. He and Nicole were reserve imperial guards at the same time, and he is also the only one among them who is not

A boy who laughs at her for being short and wants to be friendly with her.

Meeting an old friend at this time, Nicole ran up to Roman in surprise and looked at his armor: "You went to Prince Bolton's bodyguards?!"

Roman smiled and rubbed the back of his head: "Yes, after this year's New Year's banquet, I graduated from the reserve force. I was fortunate enough to be appreciated by Prince Bolton and was selected into the Guards Corps. I also directly participated in the "Blood Sand Battle". Soon

I just came back from the desert."

Nicole patted his strong arm in a friendly manner: "I heard that the Battle of Blood Sand was very tragic. It's great to see that you are okay."

"Yes, many comrades-in-arms died. It was all thanks to Prince Bolton's wise command that we reversed the situation at the end of the battle." Roman asked with concern, "What about you? How are you doing recently? After the New Year's banquet,

You were taken out of the reserve, and I was thinking about when I could come and see you, but I didn't expect to meet you in this way."

"I'm very good. I have the honor to serve as the personal bodyguard of the administrator of Kino, and I have inherited his family name. My name is Nicole Hircine now." Nicole subconsciously glanced outside and asked quickly, "Okay,

Let’s talk about small talk later. What’s going on here? Why do you want to arrest the people in the government residence?”

Due to military regulations, Roman was not supposed to reveal the details of the operation to Nicole, but the two had been good friends during their training and often talked about everything.

In addition, Roman had just transferred to the Guards Corps not long ago, and his thoughts had not been tempered. He was still not able to "disown all relatives" like a senior soldier. After hesitating for a moment, he stopped concealing it: "I have some very bad news for you, Bo.

Prince Ton was assassinated in Thundercloud City yesterday, but fortunately he was not injured. The Kino Administrator is now the first suspect and is still absconding. We were ordered to come to Twilight City to capture all those involved with him."

"This is impossible!" Nicole lost her voice at first. She quickly covered her mouth, and finally lowered her voice and said, "This is impossible!"

Roman peeked out of the window to make sure that the other companions were not disturbed, then he walked back quickly, put his hand on Nicole's shoulder, and said in a deep voice: "It's useless for you to argue with me. Since you are the administrator of Chino

You are a close bodyguard and live in the executive residence, so theoretically you are also on the arrest list!"

"Nicole, please go out with me now. Don't hide anymore. Let's go back to Thunder Cloud City to be investigated. Say what you have to say and don't hide it. His Highness the Prince will definitely know everything."

Nicole didn't hesitate at all, and directly shook off Roman's hand: "I won't go back with you! There must be something fishy about this matter, it happened too suddenly!"

Roman said helplessly: "We already have enough evidence, each piece of evidence points to the Chino administrator, and a complete chain of evidence has been formed."

Nicole retorted: "His Royal Highness was assassinated yesterday. Isn't it abnormal for you to grasp the chain of evidence so quickly? The more perfect this kind of thing looks, the more flawless it is, the deeper the water is!

"

Roman shook his head: "Then let me ask you, if Administrator Chino was really wronged, why did he run away? Just go to His Highness the Prince honestly, cooperate with the investigation, and tell the whole story clearly?"

This point left Nicole speechless and unable to refute.

According to common sense, as Roman said, it was not you who did it, so why are you running away?

Although Prince Bolton has a violent personality, he is also rough and subtle. He is not an unreasonable person. Cooperating with him in the investigation is the best policy. Hiding here and there will only appear to be a thief with a guilty conscience.

Roman said in a comforting tone: "Nicole, I know you are very grateful to Administrator Kino for taking you away from the royal city, and you always want to repay your kindness, but on issues of great right and wrong, you should"

"Wait a minute, wait a minute." Nicole seemed to have thought of something, and interrupted Roman directly, pacing back and forth, muttering, "I have a question, is there an extraterrestrial visitor involved in the assassination of Prince Bolton?

"

"Visitors from outside the world?" Roman was stunned for a moment, shook his head and said, "I have never received such news. I only know that the Blood Thorn will be involved in this matter."

Nicole kept biting her index finger, frowning and thinking: "If I say that if extraterrestrial visitors are secretly involved in this matter, the situation will be far more complicated than what you see, right? It's not what if! Things are so strange, there must be something inside.

Someone from outside is causing trouble! Otherwise, how could it be such a coincidence that the administrator was implicated?"

Roman patiently advised: "Even if there is something fishy, ​​you should go back with us for investigation, tell us everything you know, and then let us deal with it."

Nicole shook her head heavily: "No, these aliens are very cunning and cunning. During the seven plagues incident a few months ago, the administrator of Chino almost fell into their hands. Now that you are arresting all the people in the executive mansion, I am afraid that you have been tricked by the aliens."

It’s a plan, I can’t go back with you.”

Roman asked back: "Then what do you want to do?"

"I want to stay outside and become his helper!" Nicole flexed her fists tightly, her eyes seeming to be lost in memories, "I had clearly seen through the clues to the last seven disasters, but I couldn't help him. It was all my fault.

I have to make up for my weakness this time! If he has an extra helper outside, he will have a better chance of winning!"

Roman's face was ugly, and his voice became urgent: "Niko, you can't be so stubborn! You are committing the following crime and directly resisting Prince Bolton's military order! If the administrator of Chino is really an assassin, you will be punished for doing so.

wait!"

"My name is Nicole Hircine now. I only listen to the orders of the administrator of Kino and do not recognize the prince's military orders!" Nicole had made up her mind. She held the Chilling Weeping Fire tightly and looked at Roman without showing any weakness. "If you want

If you take action, then go ahead and I will rush out of here even if I try my best."

Roman and Nicole spent a long time together in the palace, and he had already figured out her temper. This little girl was usually introverted and quiet, like a little rabbit, but her unwillingness to admit defeat was as strong as anyone else.

During her reserve training that year, in order to make up for the gap between herself and others, Nicole not only studied hard in daily training, but was also extremely self-disciplined in her free time.

In terms of work and rest, while other reservists get up at 6 a.m., she gets up at 4 a.m. and sleeps 2 hours less than others every day. According to her, in one year, she has one month more time than others.

After the training, the reservists went out to drink, and she practiced more on her own in the back hill. She took the trouble to swing the sword at the dummy, reviewing the skills she learned during the day, and studying her own swordsmanship, rain or shine.

Hard work does not always pay off. Due to her height, Nicole's swordsmanship was severely limited. No matter how hard she tried, she could not defeat any tall guard, and her performance was always at the bottom.

But every time she was knocked down in the trial, she would get up again and again. During the training, she never admitted defeat. Apart from knocking her unconscious, there was no way to make her surrender.

I haven’t seen her for half a year, and this little girl is still the same as before, and has not changed at all.

Just as the two were confronting each other in the darkroom, the door outside was suddenly opened, and a soldier's voice came: "Roman, why haven't you come out yet? Is there anyone inside?"

Roman was standing at the secret door, and Nicole was standing inside. The intruding soldier's sight was blocked and he couldn't see Nicole.

Whether Nicole will be caught now all depends on Roman's answer. As long as he nods, Nicole will be unable to fly.

Nicole looked nervous, her forehead was covered with cold sweat, her two big eyes were wide open, and she was staring at the expressionless Roman, even holding her breath.

Roman looked at Nicole. After a moment of silence, he turned back and said, "There is no one there. I just found a darkroom here. I just went in and searched it, and it was empty."

"Oh, let's go now. We've arrested all the people. We have to rush back to Leiyun City overnight." The soldiers left, and the sound of their footsteps gradually faded away.

Nicole breathed a sigh of relief and murmured: "Thank you."

Roman sighed and looked at her deeply: "I only have one request, don't lose your life. I don't have many friends in this world."

"No." Nicole stretched out her little hand, held hands with Roman, and the two of them bumped shoulders to say goodbye.

Soon, Roman caught up with his companions and left.

Nicole waited until all the guardsmen had withdrawn from the government residence, then left the room and ran to the street outside.

The streets were very quiet late at night, except for the cold bright moon hanging high above the head. The surroundings were empty and lonely, with only a petite figure running.

Although Nicole was not arrested, she had no specific plan in mind because the incident happened suddenly.

She just intuitively believed that this matter was not as simple as it seemed. Just like the last attack by aliens, the seven disasters from heaven were just an appearance, and the current so-called "assassination of Prince Bolton" was probably also an appearance.

From the communication with Roman, Nicole learned that Kino was not captured and should be dormant somewhere.

Currently, there are only two things she can do.

The first is to secretly investigate the assassination of Prince Bolton and find clues from it.

The second is to find a way to contact Chino and provide him with the help we can to help him get out of his predicament.

Although I have a preliminary direction in my mind, where do I start?

Whether it's investigating Bolton's assassination or trying to contact Kino, I have no clue where to start.

Just when Nicole was frowning, her pupils suddenly dilated, she stopped in place, and stared at the surroundings warily.

when did it appear

Blood mist!

Just now, Nicole felt that the visibility was getting lower, but because it was late at night, she thought it was just dark clouds blocking the moonlight.

Until now, she passed by a kerosene lamp lit on the street. After careful observation, she realized that there was a layer of fog surrounding it.

Fogging late at night is a very common phenomenon, but generally speaking, fog formed due to any weather reasons should be light white.

But at this time, the fog that filled the surroundings took on a strange scarlet color.

The scarlet blood mist filled the surrounding area, getting thicker and thicker. The visibility was decreasing rapidly. The moon on the horizon was still looming at first, but soon became invisible. It was as if Nico had been separated from the earthly world and lost her way into another strange world.

world.

The only good thing is that this blood mist does not seem to be lethal or toxic. Although it looks like the blood coughed up by terminal tuberculosis patients, Nicole did not smell anything when she breathed, and her body did not feel strange.

Nicole wields the light sword Han Chan in her left hand and the heavy sword Weeping Fire in her right hand. A divine seal appears between her eyebrows, and the sun's golden fire burns all over her body. She has entered a fighting state. Her little ears tremble slightly, capturing every movement around her.

In this blood mist, except for the occasional howling of the evening wind, there are not many special sounds.

Until the cold footsteps came.

"Ta-ta-ta"

Nicole activated the divine seal, and the golden sun fire covering her whole body became more turbulent. She followed the method taught by Kino and triggered the central device of the Han Cicada's Weeping Fire. The Chilling Cicada cooled down and the Weeping Fire heated up, and the two swords were driven to combat temperature.

.

The water mist in the air is constantly condensed into falling frost flowers, but is quickly evaporated into water vapor by the magma-like hot temperature, just like the alternation between midsummer and severe winter.

"Ta-ta-ta, tap-ta-ta, tap-ta-ta" with the regular tapping sound of high-heeled boots and the ground, a dancing figure slowly emerged from the blood mist. If Nico and Kino belonged to the same world, they would suddenly understand
To be continued...