Atlas Battle Song

As usual, Egg was home alone.

He planned to give Trend a surprise today: make the fennel and mutton soup that the silly lion likes.Cooking has become a huge challenge. For a noble boy who has never done housework, cutting vegetables is much more difficult than swinging a sword.

Egg held the knife and looked at the lamb in front of him suspiciously.He asked a few small animal puppets sitting on the chair:

"Is that how it was done...?"

The soup pot was boiling and gurgling, and the smell of fennel and spices filled the kitchen.

Egg thought of Trand.The little lion usually cooks while humming, shaking his ears, and dangling his garlic tail, waiting for the fire to make the marinated meat skewers delicious.

"Like silly lions," Egg whispered.

Suddenly, Egg heard voices outside the house.The smell of strangers, he sniffed, and metallic.

Someone is coming.

Egg didn't have time to think, and quickly hid the puppets in a safe cabinet.He took a knife and planned to escape from the second floor.

The door was slammed open, and it turned out to be patrol soldiers!

Seeing the boy, the soldier yelled, "Inside!"

"Catch him, don't kill him!"

"Run to the second floor!"

"Surround those outside, and don't let the brat run away!"

Soldiers rushed on and the boy stabbed a man with a knife.A knight in armor came and pierced the boy's arm with a sharp spear.He struggled desperately to break free, but still escaped from the tight encirclement.

"Going south——!"

"quick!"

The pursuers shouted, and Egg ran through the snow, dripping blood on the white snow.From a distance, the one-eyed instructor draws his bow and aims at the boy with his remaining left eye——

"Hello, little bird."

The flying arrow whizzed forward and hit Egg's calf.He fell on the snow, and countless spears surrounded him like an iron cage, restraining him.

"Catch this little lunatic!"

"To live!"

"..."

Egg had no expression on his face, and he pinched the sharp spearhead with his bleeding hand, and sent the knife into the pursuer's neck.Blood spattered and corpses fell.The soldiers were a little scared. No one wanted to die with a crazy boy in a nameless alley.Egg fought back like he couldn't feel the pain until the blunt object hit him hard on the head.

Egg passed out.

"Caught it!" The soldiers were covered in cold sweat, panting, looking at the corpse lying on the ground and the boy covered in blood.

"Just to catch this ferocious little brat, two brothers were sacrificed..."

"Heh... this kitten is a bit special."

Hearing the officer's voice, the soldiers parted ways, and the one-eyed instructor came over, coldly looking down at the youth who passed out on the snow, blood and black hair scattered.

"Sir Archimboldi!"

"Go, send an order to Lord Hall: We have captured the eldest son of the traitor Gorgon. This boy is not dead at all, but has been hiding in the imperial capital... Well, soldiers, congratulations! Because you have made military exploits and captured the empire's son alive. Sinners, vipers of rebellion—celebrate, your Majesty will reward you well."

The soldiers who were still in shock froze for a moment, then cheered.The citizens hiding in the house also came out to watch.

"Catch the traitor!"

"This is the man who caused us to fight! Dedicate him to His Majesty! Hang or behead, the Gorgon family must die!"

The war is truly over.

A winter of blood, bones, and cruelty ended with the sin of a boy.

The crowd cheers:

"Kill him! The traitor's son!"

The one-eyed instructor picked up the unconscious boy, as if gently picking up a bunch of pure white lilies of the valley from the snow.

Bright red blood dripped down his arm, and the boy fell asleep, like a swan whose flight feathers were cut off and put on chains.The man smiled fascinatedly:

"Look, pretty bird, you're back with me again."

After the turmoil, everything returned to calm.

Broken white porcelain vases, bouquets were scattered all over the floor, the door was open to let in the cold wind, freshly chopped fennel and mutton were still in the kitchen, and the soup pot on the stove was still bubbling.

The house was a mess.

Only the young master's beloved puppet was well hidden in the cabinet, and there was still a sweet smile on his face.Trand sewed it himself.

****

That whole day, Trand was very busy.In the morning he had to train with ordinary soldiers, and at noon there was a pile of documents to sort out.

"Boy, come and eat with us." The knights laughed and ruffled the boy's hair.

"I can't go away, there is too much work, I have to do it until next year!"

"Look, he's complaining that his salary isn't high enough."

"Work hard," the knight commander said earnestly, crossing his arms. "You're almost 15 years old. I'll transfer you to the cavalry to get some good grades, and then I'll give you a promotion."

Trander grinned and complained, "Hey, when will you make me a knight!"

"It's very early!"

"It's okay to pay more, I want to support my family!" The little lion raised his head proudly, as if he was wearing a golden "Head of the Family" medal on his chest.

The knight laughed angrily: "Little friend, wait until you become the father of six children before you come and complain to me about how difficult it is to support a family."

"Who are the children!" The little lion continued to quarrel with his colleagues persistently while rushing to submit the report, "Six is ​​enough, I'm so awesome, I have to have twelve children!"

The knights laughed:

"Hahaha, the little lion is in a hurry! Then let's eat here, in front of him, and starve this kid to death."

"Go away, don't disturb my work!"

"Come on, brothers, everyone eats and drinks. Trand, work quickly, and you will have to raise twelve children when you grow up."

"Damn it!" Trand laughed angrily, "When I become an officer in the future, I will also assign this damn clerical work to my subordinates!!!"

"That's~ to be a high official! Take the hereditary title."

The knights actually ate in the document room, nibbling on the delicious leg of lamb with relish, deliberately greedy for Trand, who was rushing to report on a hungry stomach.The colleagues were chatting and laughing, waiting for Trand to throw away the quill, howling and rushing towards a piece of roast leg of lamb specially reserved for him.

After dealing with the pile of documents, Trander was assigned to run errands in the afternoon, delivering letters to several other knight leader.When he went to the military camp in the south, Trand found that the soldiers were extremely excited, as if some major celebration was about to come, and the knights were the same, laughing and laughing.Trand was a little curious, so he asked a familiar clerk:

"What a good day today?"

"This...can't say it yet, but it is indeed a good thing."

"Don't be foolish, just tell me!"

The clerk opened his mouth, but still shook his head: "No, no, the head of the regiment has told you not to do it now, we have to wait until he has an audience with His Majesty. But I can tell you in advance that we are afraid that we will have a gift. It's amazing, at first I thought it was just a thief talking nonsense, but it turned out to be a good thing."

"Come on!"

"Hey, maybe I can talk about it tomorrow. Next time, boy, I'll invite you to drink then." The clerk smiled and patted the boy on the shoulder.

Trander sighed helplessly, and found nothing else after wandering around the barracks, thinking that he would take Master Egg to watch a play at night, so he returned to his knight order.

After returning, a new job was arranged, and Trander hurriedly said to the knight commander: "Tonight, I really can't do it, boss, I don't have a drop, let me go."

"Stinky boy, do you dare to refuse the officer?"

"Today I'm going to take my wife to watch a drama. Master Knight, please do me a favor and let me be a man with a family life. Otherwise, I'll be working overtime until my wife and children are separated."

"What 'a man with a family life', you are just a child!" The knight commander rubbed the boy's head rudely, and threw him a pack of frosted almonds: "Go, go! Bring this candy to your little girl She’s a nice little girl, she’s the same age as my daughter...how could she be picked up by a brat like you...I’m so pissed off!"

"Thank you, boss! I'll do the rest of the work tomorrow~"

Before the knight commander's violent temper came up, Trand quickly ran away as if oiling the soles of his feet.

In winter, the sun sets early, the lights of the imperial capital are turned on, every window is warm, and the sky gradually presents a thin and penetrating deep purple, which is the afterglow reflected by the setting sun on the snow.The whole big city is like the color in a picture book.

The weather is really nice, Trander thought, and the temperature is not too cold, which is just right for going out for a walk.

He spared his way and bought lobster and spices at the market that was about to close, thinking about making black pepper lobster rolls for the young master tonight.Egg doesn't eat fish, but he likes lobster and crab, and he only eats certain types of shells, and only in certain seasons.Trander laughed when he thought about it, the pampered little leopard would neither eat this nor that, nor would he eat anything that tasted wrong, nor would he eat any ingredients that were not fresh...he could become an expert in raising cheetahs in the future up.

"Okay, let's go home."

The little lion was in a happy mood, humming a song while shaking the bag of frosted almonds.He was almost home, and he and Egg's little house could be seen from a distance.

"Ow."

Trund shook his shoulders triumphantly, brushed his hair back, and pretended to be an elite man on a date.

After walking two steps, Trander suddenly felt a little strange. The snow was very muddy, and it seemed that many people had passed by.A few steps forward, he saw a little bit of blood on the neighbor's wall.

"Blood?"

He suddenly remembered that Egg said that he saw patrolling soldiers catching the thief the day before yesterday, so it might be left behind when the thief was caught.

A flock of crows flew by, and Trand looked up at the sky.

"It's almost time, go back and finish cooking, or you won't be able to catch up with the opening of the theater."

Still the same as usual, Trander walked towards the small house full of expectations.When he passes through the small garden and opens the wooden door hung with garlands, he will see his beloved.Master Egg was waiting for him with the puppet in his arms.

their home.

Walking on the snow creaking, Trander looked at the lobster and frosted almonds in his hand. These things were still far from the food the young master ate before, and we will wait until later...

Suddenly, he was stunned.

"The door... is it open?"

Trand stood in the garden, staring blankly at the open door.The house was pitch black, there were no candles lit, and the cold wind whizzed into the room, making it icy cold.

The garland he and Egg had woven had fallen and been trampled by someone.The garden was full of footprints, many, many footprints.

why?

"Egg... Egg!"

The lobster and frosted almonds were thrown on the ground, and the teenager ran into the house in a panic. The living room was in a mess, the tables and chairs were overturned on the ground, fragments of vases, dried flowers, and wooden carved cats.There was blood on the ground, and a large amount of blood was sprayed out, and it had turned black.

"How...how could..."

Trand rushed into every room to check, but there was no master anywhere.Everything in the house was turned upside down, and the door remained open after someone broke in, and a thief came in again and stole all valuables.A piece of mutton and spices were placed on the chopping board in the kitchen. The pot had been burned dry, the firewood was extinguished, and there was only a faint embers of fire in the darkness.

Egg was captured.

In an instant, this terrible thought hit Trander like a thunderbolt.

The surroundings were dead silent.

Impossible, he obviously hid it very well, and those people thought that Egg had been burned to death long ago.Impossible, this is his and Egg's home.He's been trying to protect himself... It's not true, Egg must be joking.It must be so, it must be a hoax.

Tears welled up, and Trand held back.

"Master...don't, don't make trouble, come out quickly."

Trent pretended to be calm and smiled, but frantically opened every cabinet. Egg must be hiding in the cabinet.

Absolutely.

Trander couldn't help choking, it must be hide and seek.There was a buzzing in his head and ears, and some great, unbearable fear was coming.He doesn't believe it.Tears were about to ooze again, and Trand threw the jar in the cupboard on the floor in a rage.

"Shut up! I'm going to catch you...hide and seek. Egg, come out!"

Is it really...

"impossible!"

Trander was extremely furious, and smashed the jam jar in the cabinet all at once. The piercing sound of cracking sounded and dissipated, and there was darkness and silence.

No one can snatch the ones he loves from his home.

It's all fake, a hoax.

His little leopard must be hiding in the cabinet and laughing, gloating at his anxious appearance.Egg was always like that, doing everything just for fun.

"Master, don't make trouble, I admit defeat... I'm just a stupid, stupid lion, don't be scared, come out quickly..."

Trander tried to stay calm, rubbed his eyes, and opened another cabinet——

He saw it.

Master Egg's most beloved little puppets were hidden in the depths of the cabinet, and they were all right, their shiny little eyes were looking at him with aggrieved eyes.

In that split second, Trand understood Egg's logic: Bad guys had broken into the house and wanted to hide the friends from getting hurt.

"Ugh..."

He reached out and took the puppets into his arms.A soft friend, Master Egg likes it.

Trand fell to his knees, his forehead was pressed against the ground, and his breathing was so tight that he was about to stop.He suddenly became ruthless, and his head hit the floor heavily, until his eyes were red, and blood flowed down.He raised his eyes and glanced around, the surrounding darkness was spinning, broken, cold, and there was nothing else.

their former home.

"Ah...ah..."

Trand curled up, hugged Egg's toy tightly, and cried bitterly.