"This is tradition." Ashu Rufate whispered.

"Prince, your voice is full of insincere." Kay replied. "I have never seen a prince like you. They said you have lived a seclusion before. If it weren't for the critical situation, would you not want to show your identity?"

Lie! Ashu Rufate wanted to shrugg and answer like this. Being a prince is very important to me. But in the end he didn't do such a fool, just silently stroked the strings.

"This piano is not common," Kay continued. "My father once had one, which was his trophy, snatched from our evil cousins. A senior always played the piano, but unfortunately his piano skills are similar to those of you, the prince."

"Is my piano skills really that bad?" Ashu Rufate asked Carrie in his mind. After being told by Kay, he felt a sincere grievance.

"Well, master, I have to say that if Kay's performance just now was just the professional level of the elves, then your level... can barely be considered a 'amateur' level." Carrie replied in an innocent voice. "Do you remember the books we looked up before we set out? In those books, the artistic level of the elves is highly rated. For elves, human performance is probably like noise. So you don't have to be so inferior."

"Your father?" Ashu Rufate moved his mind away from these frustrating topics and turned to other things.

"It should be said that he is my adoptive father. He is a captain of the White Lion Warrior, a good chariot driving... His chariot has crushed Duruchi's resistance countless times. I followed him to learn the skills of the White Lion Warrior, chasing prey in the wilderness and jungle... He finally fell under the poisoned crossbow arrows of the Trujis. But before he fell, his chariot had crushed the Trujis' defense line and cut them down in groups like grass."

"This...I'm sorry..."

"No, Prince. I am not sad for my father, he died as much as he did." Kay continued. "It was an expedition, just like us this time...we are here, fighting on the land of our evil cousins, and we have severely damaged them again and again until we finally evacuated. It was a great victory, and my father fell in the victory."

"Prince, has the Phoenix King told you that a large-scale naval battle occurred in the Broken Islands?" Kai asked suddenly.

Ah... Ashu Rufat told himself in his heart. It seemed that his subordinates all had independent sources of information. So did Gales, so did Kay, and not to mention the Dragon Prince. It seemed that he was the one with the most information in the entire army.

"The result of the battle is that we win, but both sides suffer heavy casualties," Kay continued. "In the short term, our fleet will be safe because our evil cousin is temporarily unable to attack it. But in the long term... we are about to lose our naval advantage."

"Oh?" Ashu Rufat sighed in confusion.

"Because our power can no longer strengthen the power of the navy... In order to encircle our evil cousins ​​around the portal, the number of troops led by the Phoenix King has reached its limit. We cannot maintain a larger army... Even the navy cannot rest and recover... But our evil cousins ​​still have the remaining power to continue to supplement their losses in the naval battle. If the war continues to be delayed, even the Phoenix King will be powerless. If the war is a chessboard, then we are now the most critical piece. The progress of our expedition will be the last weight that crushes the balance of the balance."

He suddenly smiled. "I'm saying something strange... Sorry, Prince. Actually, you already understand all this. It should be said that when you try to convince the Queen to help you organize the expeditionary force, you have already taken this future insight into it."

"You seem to be familiar with Dosonian?"

"I know the city. Prince, I know the importance of this city, and I look forward to destroying it more than you. But every time, we stop on the coast, halfway or on the last stretch of our way."

"Why?"

"Because there is no certainty to win," Kay replied. "We suffered too much loss in the middle of the journey, which made us lose the opportunity to destroy Dosonian. My father was also killed in a battle trying to open the road to Dosonian. Our evil cousin's defense against Dosonian was far stronger than anyone expected. Prince, if you did not defeat Lord Meglin in that way, you would face a situation that was not different today than before."

If it weren't for ambushing in a dangerous terrain, then at this moment, even if other factors remain unchanged, Ashu Rufate lost the troops needed to attack Dosonian. The intelligence shows that Dosonian's defenders are only a few thousand, but they have a large number of combat beasts to make up for the lack of military strength. One of them is guided by the beast trainer and fully trained multi-headed dragons can exert amazing combat power in actual combat with the assistance of other troops. It would be even more dangerous if it was in groups. Even Ashu Rufate himself admitted that the combat power of the Expeditionary Force is only roughly on par with Dosonian's defenders, and at most it can be considered a slight advantage. Attacking Dosonian is not a very sure thing.

"Dosonian's lord seems to be called Hud," said Eshu Rufate. "I heard that he is a dragon knight with a black dragon."

"The ease in your tone is surprising. Prince, I know you have always been proud of your combat skills. But I remind you that Hurd is not a waste like Lord Meglin who has no strengths except his ancestor Yu Yin. He is not only an excellent commander, but also a warrior who is afraid of everyone. He and his dragon have never failed in air battles. He has destroyed more than one of our fleets on the sea with his dragon, and has killed more than one prince riding a dragon in the duel on the battlefield. He also has an army of many beast trainers under his command and a large number of war beasts. Although his main force has been transferred, the remaining troops cannot be ignored."

"I know. But I also have a star dragon." The plainness and freedom in the prince's tone surprised Kaiyi. Should this attitude be called arrogance or can it be understood as self-confidence? "But we don't need to consider this for the time being... Kaiyi, if you want, I will play another song for you."

"Prince!" Kay jumped up. "We are now on the enemy's land, and our every move is related to the future of our entire race. At this time, you still have time..."

"You have played a song just now." Ashu Rufate replied. The elves are really elusive creatures, which are really puzzling. Suddenly, his memory recalls a collection of poems, which says that the elves are beautiful, cold and incomprehensible creatures - similar evaluations, poets usually leave them to women.

“That’s just…”

"No matter what kind of beast it is, it is difficult to defend the city even under the control of the beast trainer. The war beasts may be very useful in field battles, but their role is very small in city defense and street battles. If we can successfully reach Dosonian's city, then Hurd's only choice is to give up the city, come out to fight with us, or retreat. No, if he is as wise as the legendary one, he will choose to evacuate the city."

Kai Yi was stunned.

"He will leave a seductive bait--that is Dosonian himself." Ashu Rufat gently stroked the harp, and he seemed to see Thomas's face appearing in front of him. Thomas smiled and nodded to him to continue. "He left behind the city that had no value and a large number of untamed beasts in the city... Of course, the remaining defenders will fight to the last soldier with their unique stubbornness and perseverance. But after their inevitable final defeat, they will release all the beasts. Next will be a big melee."

"But that won't stop us from winning." Kay said.

"Yes, we will win. But... we will suffer a lot."

"What does that matter? Once Dosonian is destroyed, we will..."

"Dosonian has no meaning." Ash Rufate replied. "This is a city responsible for the domestication of wild beasts. As long as Hurd and his trainers are safe and sound, what is it to lose some untamed beasts? They only need to change camps... and they don't even need to change them. There is no conflict between training beasts and reconstruction. It only takes a short time Dosonian will resume the domestication of war beasts... and provide their army with a steady stream of war beasts."

"So, prince, you mean..."

"Play a song for me." Ashu Rufate handed the harp in his hand to Kay. The latter did not refuse this time.

"What do you want me to play?"

"Play that song in your soul." Ash Rufate replied. "The song just now was very touching... but I felt that it was not your true intention."

Kay's fingers began to flow on the strings. Perhaps this harp is indeed a famous product, or Kay's playing is master-level even among the elves. As the melodious tune began to be played from the strings, Ash Rufate felt his spine trembling.

The sound of the wind around began to silence at some point. Perhaps they still existed, but he no longer paid attention. Perhaps, even the wind listened with the sound of sadness. Then, the pure song echoed with the tone of sadness. The song was wonderful, mysterious, ethereal...sadness. Indescribable sorrow floated in the air, telling the pain that humans could not understand.

Ashu Rufate felt that his heart could not help but feel the music.

Music is a story and a mood. Ecstasy, sorrow, heartbreak, all of which spread in the night sky. Finally, with a nervous tone, the strings stopped vibrating, but the music and singing seemed to be still lingering in the air. Ash Rufate was incredibly silent, not even applauding or applauding. Because he had a feeling that he would destroy something as soon as he opened his mouth. This music made people lose themselves in another world, accompanied by memories, pain, and sorrow.

After a long time, Ashu Rufate raised his head and looked at the elf in front of him. Kay was holding the harp tightly in his arms and pressing it deeply into his chest. The confusion in his eyes showed that he was also immersed in the singing of his soul and could not extricate himself.

"Master, please pay attention to him." In his mind, Carrie suddenly reminded. Ashu Rufate couldn't help but shudder, and then he saw something.

The harp was pressed deeply into the middle of Kaiyi's chest, pressing the clothes tightly, and even highlighting the two clearly defined contours, like mountain peaks.
Chapter completed!