Time seemed to freeze at this moment. For the first time, Julian looked at the Noxian commander so closely.

With his gray hair and wrinkled face, he seems to be no different from those octogenarians in appearance, or even older.

But as long as you observe carefully, you will find that the old man in front of you has an indescribable momentum compared to others.

‘Living Qi nourishes the body.’ That is the majesty that can only be cultivated by living in high places all year round.

But it's not just the gorgeous silk clothes and expensive jewelry that can make up for it.

Julian thought that it might be like the impression he had when he first met General Duke Cao.

‘Don’t be angry and be proud’,

That's probably it.

Such a commander-in-chief is indeed in line with my expectations for a commander-in-chief.

If I could see each other so close a few years ago, I might be so excited that I can't speak. But now -

The man whom he had sworn to be loyal to until death was standing opposite him, and the sword he was holding might be about to pierce his throat in a few minutes.

At that time, will he still be as aloof and inviolable as he is now?

"...!" For a moment, Julian was surprised by the thoughts that came to his mind at this moment. The image of tearing flesh and blood and waiting for life to fade away little by little made him feel inexplicably excited just thinking about it.

But he knew very well that he was not a demon who loved killing, and the person in front of him was something he respected...at least, he once regarded him as a god in his heart, so he quickly suppressed this impulse and chose the most honest answer:

"It used to be, but now... it's no longer."

At this moment, Julian clearly saw the change in the expression on Darkwill's face. The look like a furious lion was disappearing little by little, replaced by deathly silence.

“…”

This was a conversation between men. In the silence that was so long that it was almost suffocating, the maid next to the throne was pale and trembling as she watched this scene. As the only 'witness' at this moment, she wanted to escape, but was stopped.

Bound by an invisible force, a pair of eyes were quietly dyed blood-like red,

A few meters away from her, the sword in the hand of the man who broke into the palace was emitting the same light.

A stream of blood flowed from the body of the dead guard commander, flowed across the cold floor, and slowly gathered at the point pointed by the sword tip, becoming part of its power.

The maid was afraid that she would be the next person to become like that, but the extreme fear had already made her lose her strength.

"Really? It seems that I, the commander-in-chief, did not do a good enough job." After a long silence, Julian raised his head in surprise, staring at the wrinkled face, trying to see something from those eyes.

false disguise,

But there was only calm calmness in those eyes.

This caused a ripple in Julian's originally calm heart - 'So, will the commander-in-chief also apologize to a nobody like me?'

What needs to be admitted is that Julian has never really met the legendary commander-in-chief who made the empire 'great' before. His impression of him is more based on Yuyou's words and childhood memories.

Spot memory——

He still remembered that when he was a child, he curiously asked Dad Isha: "What kind of person is the commander-in-chief?"

Dad said: "He is a hero to the Noxians and a devil in the eyes of his enemies."

Julian said: "Then I want to be a hero!"

He still remembered that it was the first time that his father was so happy and touched his head and said "Okay!" several times.

And now,

Cold, cruel, ruthless,

Gu Jing

It seems that the great hero in the memory who was wise, mighty, talented and wise no longer exists in the world, and what lives in people's hearts is just a 'demon' who is feared and despised by others.

Is this really the case?

Julian did not dare to make any judgments, but it was undeniable that the old man he actually came into contact with in front of him changed his mind with just one sentence.

"You...don't need to apologize! Your dedication to the empire is the driving force for every Noxian to be willing to sacrifice his life to protect this land. I once stood under the military flag and swore allegiance to you, but it was just me...

…Breaked the original oath.”

——Facing this centenarian, words could easily do what threats failed to do:

Julian lowered his head and caressed his chest, stood upright, and performed a standard Noxian military salute.

"Really?" His change of attitude caused a flash of surprise in the eyes of the old man sitting on the seat. After a moment of silence, the straight body slowly leaned back on the cold chair again, looking at the man at the foot of the stairs.

, half self-deprecating and half asking: "It turns out that my contribution has not been forgotten, which is really a gratifying thing. But even so, you still appear here, holding the weapon I gave to the Leiser Guards, and pointing towards it

Master of the guard, do you want to kill me?"

"Kill this old man in your mind who has devoted his whole life to the empire? At the moment when his life fire is about to burn out?"

"..." Julian was speechless and lowered his head silently. He was not good at talking to others, but Darkwill's words went straight to his unwillingness to face it, making him feel a great feeling.

of shame.

As a 'former' imperial soldier, Julian's father Isha once fought for the old man in front of him;

And as the son of Old Isha, he also took over his father's responsibility and continued to choose to serve the empire.

Thinking back to the time when Julian walked into the military camp for the first time and stood under the military flag with a group of his peers, listening to the instructors on the stage talking about the empire's conquests and expansion of territory under the leadership of the commander-in-chief. At that time,

, his heart was filled with blood and passion, and he wished he could step onto the battlefield right away and devote his life to the great commander.

But now, there are still countless enemies spying on the foundation of the empire, but he has turned around, whitewashed his heart with justice and the future, picked up the weapon that should have been swung at the enemy, and pointed it at his own hero.

Is this kind of myself really righteous?

A long time ago, Julian had imagined that this day would come. At that time, he told himself that he must not hesitate for the future of the empire.

But when he really stood here, in front of Commander Darkwill, he realized how difficult it was to do it.

I am 'for' the empire,

But this old man has already written his whole life in the history books of the empire.

Thus, he will be able to live until he is one hundred years old,

From a peaceful border country to a great empire that now spans all over the world, who can deny the contribution that the name 'Brown Darkwill' has made to the empire?

But now, even if he is old, dim, and has done "a little bit" of wrong things that he shouldn't have done,

But is what you think is wrong really wrong?

Or even...did he really do something wrong?

Julian was shaken.

When he began to feel unconfident, in Darkwill's eyes, this assassin who was so sharp not long ago became unusually silent.

That look made the old man feel a little dazed, as if he suddenly remembered the past————

"It looks like... it's so similar!" The old man sighed for no reason, but was interrupted by a sudden voice:

"Don't believe him! Don't be deceived by his words, Julian! Kill him! Julian, kill him!" Outside the open door of the palace, a figure suddenly bumped into,

With the black skirt and armor and the bloody blade, without turning around, Julian knew that the owner of the voice was Indali, who had been traveling with him before.

The female agent crossed the threshold of the palace in one step, stepped on the body of the dead old servant and rushed into the palace. While reminding Julian loudly, she raised the butcher knife at the old man on the steps without hesitation.
Chapter completed!