In front of a window in the Green Building, Loli was leaning against the window, gazing at the clouds in the sky, her eyes filled with melancholy. In a chair behind her, Iris had fallen asleep, but tears were still hanging in the corners of her eyes.
"Where are you?" Loli just asked softly, tears welled up in her eyes, "Wu Lai, come back to me..."
At the same time, three carriages were parked on a horse path somewhere outside the city of Assyria. One was beautifully decorated, and the other two were just ordinary black-covered carriages.
In the beautifully decorated car, Cosmondo sat with a frown on his face, and sitting opposite him was the beautiful Cleo.
However, in Cosmondo's eyes, Cleo's face was not as pleasing to the eye as before.
"Now that Wuleglindo is gone, the Salt Marsh Army will be withdrawn sooner or later, and my Woye Army will definitely be the first choice. Why are you forcing me to take the initiative to propose that the Woye Army replaces me? In this way, everyone will point the finger at me." There was annoyance in Gosmondo's voice.
"Who said that the Woye Army will be able to successfully change defense?" Cleo smiled slightly. "My Gus, you underestimate Connor and Qi Yuan. If you don't fight for it, they will find a way to reintegrate the Salt Marsh Army and continue to stay there. By then, will your Woye Army still be useful?"
Gosmondo gritted his teeth and said nothing.
"Besides, if your Woye Army cannot garrison the Gap Defense Zone, then do we still need to go through so much trouble to do all these things? My good Gus, don't forget that without evidence, everything is false." Cleo continued.
"Hmph, how can there be no evidence? The evidence is all in your hands. Otherwise, how could I let you control me?" Gosmondo said angrily.
"Oh, no, that's not the case." Cleo smiled. "Gus, I'm just helping you make a great decision. Think about it, for a person like you, being just the chief of the Supreme Council is a bit unfair. We Tianjuan people have a proverb, 'Wings are for flying.'"
"Flying? Humph, I will become the target of everyone's criticism." said Gosmondo.
"Since ancient times, has there been any superior who has not been the target of public criticism?" Cleo asked back.
"Stop talking, and leave quickly. I still have to arrange the rotation of the Woye Army." Gosmondo swung his sleeves impatiently.
"Then, it will be Lord Cosmondo's turn to see you off. We will see you later." Cleo pushed open the car door with a smile.
…
It was still drizzling in the Gap Defense Area. Not long after lunch, Oddo and others walked into Wu Lai's tent again. These days, they came here on time every day, because when there was no war in the past, Wu Lai usually gave them lessons at this time.
Although Wu Lai has not come back yet, they have developed a habit and will feel uncomfortable if they don't come here to sit for a while.
But with every day that passed, their hearts sank a little more.
"Odo, the soldiers are in a bad mood now that the general is away." Red couldn't help but speak in a low voice.
Oddo nodded. If it was like this for the first group, then the seventh group would be the same.
Huo Yi saw that everyone looked unhappy. After thinking for a while, he stood up and said, "Everyone, please don't be so dejected. If the general comes back and sees you, you will be in trouble."
However, this sentence obviously did not have any effect. At least, no team leader was willing to say something.
After Huo Yi sat down awkwardly, the curtain of the tent was lifted, and Puya and Sares walked in quickly.
"Hello, Instructor Pu Ya." Several team leaders hurriedly greeted her.
"Hello, everyone." Puya walked straight to the table, turned around and said, "I have just discussed with Knight Sares. I will take the special company to find the general. Before leaving, I have a few words to remind everyone. First of all, the general said that the gap defense zone is better for defense than attack. All his arrangements are for defense, and he did not consider attack. Secondly, the general cannot be inferred by common sense. He will not come back, and there must be a reason for not coming back, but he must hope that during the time he is away from the defense zone, everyone can hold the defense zone and prevent the enemy from advancing. Finally, I want to say that although you all come from different families, the general told me that in his mind, you are like his own brothers. I have finished what I want to say."
"Instructor Puya." Odo stood up. "Will you bring Mengbao with you? Perhaps it can help us find the general."
Pu Ya smiled bitterly and shook her head: "I also want to take it with me, but Meng Bao only listens to the general. Without the general, no one can command it, so we can only let it stay in the defense zone. Maybe it can still help you. Just control your soldiers and don't provoke it."
Pu Tong also stood up: "Instructor Pu Ya, do you need any other help?"
"No need, we have the special forces company, that's enough." Pu Ya replied.
…
When Wu Lai carved the twenty-sixth scratch on the damp stone wall, a small light finally appeared before his eyes.
"Shelley... hurry, wake up..." Wu Lai supported his knees with his hands and shouted weakly, but his voice was almost inaudible.
The light flickered and there were sounds of footsteps approaching slowly.
Wu Lai barely raised his hands to block his eyes, trying to see the figure clearly, but his eyes were full of stars. After swaying twice, he leaned back and fell heavily.
Who could it be? Wu Lai wondered in his heart before he completely lost consciousness.
When he woke up, he felt like he was in a carriage, because he could hear the sound of horse hooves and wheels, and the carriage was not moving slowly, because it was quite bumpy.
He could hear but could not see because his eyes were covered tightly with a black cloth. He tried to move and soon found that his arms and legs were tied tightly.
"Shelley! Shelley!" Woolley cried.
"Wuliglindo, you woke up faster than I thought." A sweet voice said to him, "I think I shouldn't have given you noodle soup. It's strange that you've fainted, but you're eating like a greedy child."
Wu Lai's heart moved, and he continued to call Shelley's name while struggling.
"She is on your right. If you can bend your legs, you can definitely touch her." said the pleasant voice.
Wu Lai struggled to fall to the right and indeed hit something soft, which seemed to be a human body.
"Shelley, Shelley..." He continued to call, and sure enough, the soft thing moved and made a familiar hum.
Wu Lai suddenly felt relieved.
The pleasant voice sighed and said, "Wulinglindo, I didn't expect that you are so infatuated. By the way, are you interested in beautiful women?"
"Who are you?" Wu Lai asked with a frown.
"Oh, you don't need to know this for now." The pleasant voice paused, then continued, "I really admire you for being able to hold out in that dungeon for 26 days before passing out. If you hadn't given half of your daily rations to this little priest, I guess you could have held out longer, right?"
"I don't want to hear this. Tell me, why did you kidnap me?" After suffering for so many days and making himself so weak that he could hardly move, Wu Lai didn't believe that the other party went to so much trouble just to kill him.
"Kidnapping? Well, this is indeed a kidnapping, but I don't know why I kidnapped you. I am only responsible for taking you away from here and to where you should go."
"Where are you taking me?" asked Woolley.
The woman giggled and said, "Wuliglindo, don't think about getting anything out of me, and don't even think about running away, because you won't have that chance. I advise you that the place I'm taking you to may not be a bad place for you."
Wu Lai moved his body and said nothing.
"Also," the woman continued, "you'd better not test my patience. Although I won't kill you, I'm more than happy to torture you."
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"Okay, I won't challenge your patience." Wu Lai said straightforwardly, "But you have to agree to one condition of mine."
"Conditions? What a joke! Do you think you are still qualified to negotiate conditions with me now?" The woman giggled, as if she had heard the funniest joke in the world.
"My condition is that Shelley must be with me." Wu Lai said in a deep voice, "If you don't do this, I promise to find a way to kill myself in the shortest possible time."
The woman's laughter stopped abruptly. After a while, she wrapped a piece of cloth around Wu Lai's mouth, and then bit his ear gently: "Okay, I promise you, I will make sure your little lover stays by your side forever..."
…
For several days in a row, the carriage moved and stopped, and the stopping time was different each time, but there was rarely any other noise outside the carriage. This undoubtedly made Wu Lai a little disappointed, because this carriage obviously knew how to avoid some opportunities for him to be rescued, such as patrols and even some passers-by, and it would never enter any villages or towns.
Wu Lai was also sure that there were two people taking turns driving the car, and there were also two people guarding him and Shelley - in addition to the woman, there was another person, and judging from the heaviness of her breathing and body odor, she should also be a woman.
Every day, the woman would give Wu Lai and Shelley food and water. The food was basically bread spread with salt, and occasionally a piece of bacon, but the quantity was definitely not much. The same was true for water, which could only moisten their throats at most.
Shelley's body was much weaker than Wu Lai's, but fortunately she had begun to get better. Although the two of them had no chance to talk most of the time, as soon as the restraint on their mouths was loosened, Wu Lai would definitely ask questions first and then comfort them.
These days, the phrase he says most to Shelley is "Don't be afraid, I'm here."
Shelley was still afraid, but every time she heard Woolley say this, her heart felt warm.
After several days, Woolley and Shelley left the carriage. They were tied to a stretcher and covered with thick cloth. Then, Woolley felt that he was being carried through the woods, up the mountain and down the slope.
The first night after leaving the carriage was spent in a quiet forest. After being tied to a big tree, Woolley used his eyes for the first time in many days - the cloth covering his eyes was torn off for a short while.
After getting used to it, Wu Lai was pleased to see Shelley lying alone beside a bonfire. Although she was haggard, her eyes were still lively and bright when she looked at Wu Lai.
Wu Lai nodded at Shelley. Although he wanted to say something, the cloth on his mouth blocked his thoughts.
Shelley's hands and feet were tied tightly, but her mouth was not sealed. When she saw Wu Lai looking at her and nodding at her, she smiled. Although that smile was filled with bitterness and sadness, and although she didn't know what to say, she still tried to smile, smile...
Wu Lai understood Shelley's smile, so he nodded again, and then nodded again.
Applause sounded softly beside him, and then the woman's voice came: "What a loving couple, a general famous throughout the continent, and a legendary high priest of the Assyrian temple, your love is truly astonishing."
Wu Lai shifted his gaze to the woman, and then he was stunned for a moment.
"Surprised, huh?" The woman giggled. "You thought 'Moonlight Girl' Maria was resurrected? Oh, I'm not her, Wuleglindo. Come to think of it, I should thank you because it was you who killed the twin sister that I envied for half my life but could never surpass. However, should I feel sad for her death and give you a little punishment? To be honest, I'm very conflicted."
Wu Lai could only express his contempt for the woman with his eyes.
"Okay, now that we know each other, let me introduce myself. My name is Cleo, Cleopatra, and I'm from the Tianjuan Territory." After the woman said her name with a smile, she flipped her hand and Wu Lai felt a piercing pain in his thigh. The veins on his neck suddenly bulged, and large stains of blood appeared on his pants, which were particularly eye-catching in the leaping flames.
"No!" Shelley's shrill cry echoed far in the forest, but it was of no use except attracting the chirping of birds and the roaring of beasts.
“It hurts, doesn’t it?” Cleo grinned while spinning the wooden awl in her hand. “When I heard that my sister was killed by you, my heart ached as much as your thigh does now, because she should have died in my hands.”
You perverted woman! Wu Lai gritted his teeth and held on, his eyes bloodshot, because Cleo seemed to know how to torture people, and every time she turned, the pain would increase several times.
"Swish", Cleo pulled out the wooden spike suddenly, and a stream of blood spurted out, splashing her hand with blood before she could dodge.
"How disgusting." Cleo wiped her hands on Woolley's clothes with disgust, and raised the wooden spike to press against his chin.
"Don't worry, I will apply medicine to you in a while." Cleo said with a smile.
Wu Lai simply closed his eyes...
The medicine Cleo mentioned was just a handful of leaves that she had pulled from somewhere. After a simple roast, she kneaded them into a ball and applied it to Wu Lai's wound. Then, she tied his thighs tightly with a piece of cloth.
Screw you, if I have the chance, I will make you pay me back with interest. Wu Lai cursed in his heart while gritting his teeth to endure the unbearable pain.
It was not known whether the so-called medicine was really effective or Wu Lai had a good self-healing ability, but early the next morning, Wu Lai actually felt that the injury on his thigh was not so painful anymore. After being hastily fed a few mouthfuls of bread and drinking two sips of water, his eyes and mouth were sealed again, and then he became one with the sedan chair again.
At nightfall, Wu Lai heard the sound of rushing water…