At the beginning of Year 2523 of the Empire's Calendar, an army of more than a thousand people walked out of the snow-covered Isolorun. The Chosen Champion of the Wood Elf Queen Aleil, Aralos, was the commander of this army. He was ordered to lead this army to Sylvania to rescue the little Queen Alisala who was still trapped.
Frankly speaking, Aralos didn't want to do such a thing. As the wood elven hero who had just made a great contribution in the battle against Morgul, Aralos only wanted to enjoy the peaceful days in the forest and continue thinking about how to please his goddess, Lilith.
For Aralos, the little Queen of Eternity was indeed a top beauty, but she was not his cup of tea and had nothing to do with him. As for the High Elves, although Aralos verbally called them family, he didn't like them deep down in his heart. He especially hated the High Elves' arrogant attitude and their view of Isolorun as an overseas colony.
The Wood Elves were surprised that the Queen of Eternity had come to Isolorun, especially since the two sides hadn't communicated for many years. The Queen of Eternity had never left Ossouin.
At this time, Queen Aleil's memory was a little chaotic. She only remembered that sometimes she was Queen Aleil, but when Aleil knelt down and begged the Wood Elves to save her daughter, Queen Aleil agreed and sent Aralos and a small Wood Elf army of more than a thousand people.
The Twilight Sisters' Aleil army was left in Brittany to continue the alliance with the Knight King's Kingdom.
In addition to Aralos, the three High Elves, Azarion, Bellannar, and Etilla, who had arrived in the Empire a few days ago, also found the Emperor of the Empire. Karl-franz was very troubled. The Empire was now suffering from disasters, and all the surplus troops were transferred to the northern front line. The Emperor had to write to two people, Elector Marius of Avel and the Butcher King of Carac Kaderin, asking them to send troops to help.
In fact, almost every force hoped that the Brittany Knights would send out the army. In this dark age, only the Brittany could keep their country away from corruption, plagues, and all kinds of threats. However, a shocking news spread in the old world. Everyone knew that the Knight King's Kingdom didn't have the energy to help.
Everyone expressed their understanding, but they were also deeply disappointed.
Duke Kakason told the news to everyone in the Knight King's Kingdom.
It wasn't a rumor, it was true.
The Fairy of the Lake was really the High Elven Goddess of the Moon, Lilith.
The moment they heard the rumor, many nobles and knights cried bitterly, and many young men who dreamed of becoming a knight had a mental breakdown.
Duke Xiubard couldn't face all this. He couldn't accept that his family had held on for thousands of years because of a scam. But at the same time, the Fairy of the Lake's criticism made him speechless. He couldn't even refute it.
Yes, if the Fairy of the Lake wasn't there, Brittany wouldn't exist. How dangerous was the situation in Brittany at that time? At the most difficult time, the number of Brittany Knights and the number of Green Dwarfs was 1: 300! Almost all the Brittany people were in despair. Most of the army was defending the castle, and the remaining few were almost completely scattered.
If it wasn't for Arthur, Landuin, and Schiluff who received the encouragement and guidance of the Fairy of the Lake and the glory of the Holy Grail, and found the meaning, goal, and courage of their battle, the entire kingdom would have been finished.
So, what should they do? Should they rebel, or should they compromise?
Xiubard didn't want to do either. The disheartened Knight of the Holy Grail announced that he would no longer listen to anyone's orders, including the Fairy of the Lake and the Sun King. However, he would continue to defend Castle Carcassonne until the very end. As for the future, it would be left to his descendants to decide!
Just as Xiubard was feeling disheartened, Knight King Laing made an official announcement to all of Brittany.
"The Brittany Kingdom will hold a Knights' Assembly at the beginning of February in the capital, Culona. The truth of the Fairy of the Lake's faith, Brittany's national policy, and the future of Brittany will all be decided here."
This was the first Knights' Assembly to be held after so many years. Only a small number of people still remembered that the last Knights' Assembly was held after John II's defeat at the Evil River.
Laing called for all knights to come to Culona and participate in the Assembly, regardless of whether they were willing to continue believing in the Fairy of the Lake, whether they were willing to stay in this country, and whether they still wanted to fight for the old world.
Many people saw Laing's actions as a threat. After all, the Sun King was the champion of the Fairy of the Lake, so he would definitely side with her.
Then, was it possible that the Sun King was planning to gather the rebels and wipe them all out in one fell swoop?
Many knights and nobles had the same idea. Among them, the new Duke of Le-Angoulin, Campbell, and the Duke of Lyonasser, Guichard, were the leaders of the "Free Brittania" faction. They did not want to participate in the Royal Knights Conference. What they wanted was a military coup.
On the surface, the free Brittania gave Sun King Leon fifteen days of "preparation time", which seemed generous, but in fact, they were also giving themselves enough time to prepare so that it would be easier for them to gather their troops.
What the Free Brittany Faction didn't expect was that these damned serfs would refuse to respond to the call of the knights! They refused to follow the knights to Culona to seek justice, and they even refused to attack the temple of the Fairy of the Lake!
Revolt! Revolt! The serfs didn't listen to the orders of the knights!
The knights were furious, but it was different this time. No matter what they said, the serfs refused to accept the call.
Were the serfs really that stupid?
Not at all. In fact, the serfs were very clear about the situation.
Under the glorious leadership of the Lady of the Lake and the Sun King Ryan, are our days getting better and better? Or worse?
Of course, they were getting better and better!
Then, how did the Fairy of the Lake treat them?
Obviously, she was very good. The serfs didn't know anything else, but they knew the following three things.
First, the Fairy of the Lake had announced a tax reduction a few years ago. The original 10% tax was reduced to 15% tax.
Don't underestimate these few points. These few points were often the difference between starvation, eating chaff and drinking water, and barely having enough to eat and wear! Also, the Fairy of the Lake held all kinds of activities all day long during festivals, such as giving out sweet cakes and sweet wine according to household registration, giving out porridge and organizing barbecue from time to time. There were also all kinds of worship activities, bards, circuses, and traveling performances. These were very popular. Especially in recent years, because there was too much food, the Fairy of the Lake would give out "10% tax rebates" from time to time. The serfs' lives were much better!
Second, His Majesty Wang Laing treated us serfs so well. Needless to say, right? As long as His Majesty Laing was mentioned, any serf's first reaction would be to give him a thumbs up. For the simple minds of the serfs, wasn't the Fairy of the Lake bound to the Fairy of the Lake?
We won't go against His Majesty the Fairy of the Lake. On the contrary, we will smash the head of anyone who speaks ill of His Majesty!
In the end, the serfs finally lived a good life. They were most afraid of returning to the dark ages of the past. The existence of the Fairy of the Lake provided Brittany with seven days of legal holidays every year. This holiday must be taken. We don't believe in the Fairy of the Lake. Will the Fairy of the Lake give this holiday or not?
As for whether the Fairy of the Lake was a human god or an elf god? What did it matter? Weren't the elves the model of a noble civilization? Believing in anything was the same as believing in anything.
It didn't make sense.
When the knights found that they couldn't persuade the serfs, some of the knights decided to force them.
At this time, the method that Laing had been planning for many years in advance came into play.
Now, what kind of people were the petty bureaucrats, the townspeople, the militia captains, the freedman sergeants, the rangers, the homesteaders, the peddlers, and the self-employed, who filled the Brittanian serf base?
Retired soldiers! They had fought the Great Expedition with His Majesty Laing! Many soldiers had fought in more than one Great Expedition! These veterans returned to their hometowns with glory and wealth and soon became the group of people with the highest status in the local villages and even towns. What they liked to boast the most was stories like "When I followed His Majesty to the Great Expedition, you were still wearing diapers".
Who would these retired soldiers recognize? Would they recognize His Majesty Laing or the knights?
Take a guess.
The grassroots army couldn't be mobilized at all. Basically, if they really wanted to mobilize them, the knights would have to mobilize their army to suppress this group of "rioters" first.
There was no time, and there was no way for a military coup. A military coup wouldn't work, so they could only go to the Knights' Assembly and see what Laing had to do.
Just like that, the knights who belonged to the "Free Brittany" faction could only bring their family knights and squires to Culona and were forced to participate in the Knights' Assembly.
In the beginning of February in the year 2523, in the palace of Culona.
During this period of time, the city was filled with knights from all over the kingdom. The capital was under the strictest military control, but there were still more than ten thousand knights, squires, and nobles' private guards that arrived in Culona.
The whole city was on guard, and Laing, who was in the center of the storm, hurriedly moved his palace to Culona.
In the king's study, there was a bright yellow carpet that symbolized royal power, with red and blue tapestries on both sides. Laing sat behind his desk, dealing with endless documents.
It was tiring, but it was necessary. Teresa and Aurora provided a list of the knights and nobles that entered the city, and Berliat provided another list. Last night, Laing and Suria stayed up all night to divide the list of knights and nobles.
According to years of statistics, there were now 3369 great nobles in Brittany.
357 Knights of the Holy Grail (12 of them were missing).
There were 210 people with the title of Count or above.
There were 1169 hereditary barons and above.
There were 4,655 Royal Knights, and 21274 of them were Ranger Knights.
In other words, if Laing mobilized the entire country, Brittany could instantly produce 30000 knights, which was already the limit for the Knight King with a population of nine million.
So, of the 4655 Royal knights (4100 in Culona), how many of them were staunch supporters of Laing and the Lady of the Lake?
Not many, only 21%.
But how many of them were Free Brittany?
It wasn't a lot, about 33%.
Most of the knights were currently neutral. On one hand, they couldn't accept the fact that the Lady of the Lake was the goddess of the elves, but on the other hand, just like Duke Hubbard, there would be no Brittany without the Lady of the Lake. Most of the knights remained neutral.
So, the upcoming knights' assembly was extremely important. It would decide whether Brittany would be divided, whether they would regroup and set out again, or completely fall into civil war.
"My dear, Duke Campbell and Duke Guichard are frantically trying to form factions." Veronica was sitting on a sofa not far from Laing. The female president sipped her hot drink and said lazily, "Why don't you hurry up and win the hearts of the people?"
"…" Laing rolled his eyes at Veronica. Helios shook his head. "That would be disadvantageous. I'm the king."
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. My dear is the king," Veronica said sarcastically. Veronica said sarcastically, "Tell me, Ryan, it must be hard for you to be a king. You haven't slept for two days, right? Ever since you became king, have you had a year of comfort? All you do is war, internal affairs, diplomacy, and endless official business. I've never been a king, but I don't think many great nobles are as tired as you. You're already a demigod! "
"People have to live for themselves, but they can't just live for themselves." Laing poked his head out from behind the thick dossiers and shook his head. "Forget it. Why am I telling you this?"
"Then don't say anything." Veronica put her hands on her hips and said, "Isn't your Royal Army just outside the city? There's also the Coldstream Guards and the Old Guard! Get them into the city! Bring that Emmanuelle Land Cruiser in as well. Crush all those who resist, those who are dissatisfied, and those who dare to challenge your authority! "
Laing was speechless.
Helios waved his hand impatiently, indicating that Veronica should stop talking if she didn't understand.
It wasn't easy to get the army into the city to suppress these rebellious nobles. Even if it was just him, the ten new Grey Knights, and the magic knights under the Brittany's direct command, it would be enough to suppress the rebellious nobles, let alone his Royal Legion.
Then what? 1200 royal knights didn't die on the way to fight the enemy, but in the hands of their own people?
What would the neutral knights think? What would the entire Old World think? What would the Brittany civilians think?
Furthermore, these "free Brittanian" knights had already come to the capital for the Royal Knights Conference, and they had already agreed to negotiate with you. If Leon wanted to fight, then who was he, God's Chosen One, or God's Chosen One?
This made Laing feel very conflicted. Since they had given up on the "New World" plan, the Fairy of the Lake could now confidently tell the Brittany that she was here to collect debts. They had eaten, used, and taken from her, so of course they had to fulfill their rights and obligations. The whole kingdom was given to them by her, so did they really think that they didn't need to be paid back?
However, the Fairy of the Lake was satisfied, and the mess she left behind had to be cleaned up by Laing. The 33% rebels were 1300 elite knights who had undergone military training and proven themselves. According to this ratio, there were almost 10000 Brittany knights behind them!
If they were all "suppressed", how would Laing fight the coming war?
There were also the neutral knights who were waiting for the Royal Knights Conference and for Laing to express his stance. Laing could imagine why so many knights were neutral. Why were they all silent now?
Wasn't it because of Laing's great prestige and power? They were willing to wait for an explanation.
However, Laing was now very troubled. He had repeatedly deduced many times, but he couldn't find a way to solve this problem without bloodshed. He couldn't compromise, but he also didn't want to kill these people. Duke Hubbard was a good person, and they shouldn't die at the hands of their own people.
So, what could he do?
That night, in the palace, Leon sat in his bedroom, racking his brains for a solution.
There was a knock on the door. "Laing, are you inside?"
"I'm here, Suria."
The well-dressed queen walked in. She looked at Laing. "Dear, you have a guest."
"Guest?" Laing asked subconsciously. "Is it a lady?"
"No, it's His Majesty the King," Suria said softly.
"King? His Majesty? "Laing was puzzled." Which king? The dwarves? The elves? "
"Neither. It's ours, His Majesty the King." Suria chuckled and left.
His Majesty the King? Laing's pupils constricted.
The door opened, and a green figure walked in.
"Sun King, I think today is a good time."
"I think we should talk."
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