The source of power was the alienation of the division of labor. The alienation of the division of labor was equivalent to the asymmetry of information under the hierarchy.
Therefore, when a person became a noble and became part of the existing power system, no matter if he was rich or poor, smart or stupid, his instinct was to protect this power system and ensure his ruling position. This was human nature.
In other words, as the hierarchy continued to extend and pass down, and as the information became more asymmetrical, the ruling class would gradually have a similar idea — the origin of my power is reasonable, and I should enjoy this power.
This formed a kind of logical closed loop. Now I have power because I deserve it (God has given me divinity, noble bloodline, military achievements, etc.). Because I am the owner of power, it is completely reasonable for me to exercise my power because it is something that belongs to me in the first place.
But in fact, is it?
Under the gaze of the crowd, Laing looked at all the nobles present, and many thoughts flashed through the king's mind.
In fact, it was not at all. As mentioned earlier, the source of power was the alienation of the division of labor. In fact, countless serfs and free people gave up part of their power and part of their income so that some people could be free from production and protect themselves. This was the origin of the knights and nobles, and the inevitable result of limited production.
As time passed, many of the knights and nobles had forgotten this.
Now that it was revealed that the Fairy in the Lake was the Goddess of Elves, this opened a gap in the logic of the knights and nobles.
"So now we have to talk about this problem, whether we like it or not. When the Lady in the Lake tells us that she is Lilith, the Goddess of the Moon, what should we do?" Laing continued his speech, and the king said to everyone present, "I think, these days, everyone here must have thought a lot, a lot."
"Should we pretend that nothing happened and continue to let a pointy-eared Goddess of Elves sit on our heads?"
A deep light shone on Laing's face, and there was a slight noise in the hall.
"Should we quickly change our minds and find a new God for us? Charlemagne? Yorick? Tal? Mirmedia? Or some other Lord of the Phoenix Assuyan or Blood Hand Kane? We Bretons can't wait to prostrate ourselves before the new God, call him Father, and beg him to take in these homeless children, beg him to accept us as he accepts other believers? "
The noise in the hall gradually grew louder. Almost everyone was shaking their heads.
"Impossible!"
"We are Brittany. How could we do such a thing?"
"Yurick? Are you kidding me? I hate the smell of wolf cubs the most! "
"Tal will turn us into barbarians!"
"Mirmedia? No, I'm afraid that if this goes on, the Brittany's war cry will no longer resound in the world. "
"The Estarians will take control of our army and castle in the name of Mirmedia!"
Laing gave everyone twenty seconds to discuss. Then the king smiled and said, "Then perhaps we can do this. I'll ask the cabinet to draft a document declaring that from today onwards, Brittany will no longer worship any gods. All the temples of the Lady of the Lake will be burned down! All the shrines of the Goddess will be smashed! All the glorious history of Brittany should be nailed to the stake and thrown into the garbage dump. Our so-called glory is just a pile of dog shit made of lies. It's time to abandon it. "
The noise in the hall grew louder. Almost all the knights and nobles showed a look of disgust. Everyone shook their heads.
"No, it can't be like this."
"No, I can't accept it!"
"Your Majesty. This is not a rational solution. "
"Those who think this way are simply crazy, Your Majesty."
"Very well." Laing gestured for everyone to be quiet again. The king was silent for a few seconds and gently tapped the table with a small wooden hammer. "Then, let me ask everyone here. You are all the dignitaries of Brittany, you are all the elites of Brittany. Let me ask everyone here a question."
"If our goddess, the Lady of the Lake, is completely abandoned by us, what will happen to Brittany?" Laing continued to ask, "Have you really thought about it?"
The whole hall was silent.
"I admit that some people will benefit from it." Laing looked at the large group of knights of the "Free Brittany" faction sitting on the right. The king's lips curled into a mocking and contemptuous smile. "Because they will have a legitimate excuse to seize more manors, castles, and lands and get more titles!"
"They can burn the Grail Cathedral in Culona to ashes with their own hands! Because that is a lady's thing! "
"They can tear down the Lion's Ring racetrack with their own hands, tear down the statues with thousands of years of history, throw all the tapestries on the ground and trample them with their feet, because that is a lady's thing!"
"They can put any other flag in Bastogne, Bordero, or our Culona Palace, but those that symbolize our thousand years of glory will only be thrown into the fire!"
The hall was in an uproar. The more than eight hundred great nobles present thought of this scene, and a deep chill seeped into their spines.
Was this to destroy the Lady of the Lake?
If you want to destroy a country, you must first destroy its history.
This was to destroy the foundation of the knightly nobles!
If the Lady of the Lake disappeared from Brittany, then the knightly culture and the entire kingdom would cease to exist!
However, if they wanted to completely abandon the Lady of the Lake, they had to do so. Otherwise, how could the "Free Brittany" and "New Brittany" completely separate themselves from the Lady of the Lake?
All the great nobles could feel the blood rushing to their faces.
They could not, they could not let this happen.
"Ladies and gentlemen, is this the right thing to do?"
"No!"
"Is this the right thing to do?" Laing continued to shout.
"No!"
"Can we do this?" The king's voice echoed throughout the hall.
"No! No! No! " The great nobles in the inner hall, and even the four thousand knights in the outer hall, roared excitedly.
"Good, very good!" Laing put his hand behind his ear and smiled at everyone. "I heard it. I heard your cries. Very good. It seems that you don't want to see this happen. I heard it. Thank you, everyone."
Thunderous applause rang out, applauding their king.
Laing's words were concise and comprehensive. He was thinking for them.
After a few seconds, the hall gradually quieted down. Laing continued, "But I'm sure many of you still feel uncomfortable. We are the proud descendants of Brittany. How can we believe in an alien god? Moreover, she lied to us for a thousand years. Shouldn't she apologize for that? Shouldn't she pay the price for using us? Should she just pretend that nothing happened? "
Everyone present nodded. Yes, this was a hurdle that they could not overcome.
The neutral knights, led by Bohemond, all looked conflicted. Yes, they just couldn't get past this. It was hard for them to convince themselves to continue believing in a god of aliens.
They could not accept it!
"So, before that, I have to change the topic. Please listen patiently." Laing gestured for everyone to be quiet again. The king said in a deep voice, "I've been reading our history carefully for the past few days. I naturally found that our history is like a military book. Since the founding of this country, endless wars have invaded this land. From hundreds of tribes fighting in the prehistoric times to fourteen tribes fighting for supremacy in the later times, from the twelve wars during the founding of the country to the present, a thousand years later, we have had incomparably glorious victories and experienced many humiliating defeats. But now, ladies and gentlemen, tell me, where are we now? Where is our country? "
"It's here! It's here! "
"A thousand years later, the Brittany people are still standing!"
"We haven't perished!"
The great nobles shouted excitedly. Even after countless wars, even after thousands of years of peaceful times, even after generations of knights, we are still here, and the kingdom is still here!
"Yes, we are still here." Laing nodded. The light shone on him, and the figure of the Sun King was shrouded in the light. He first opened his arms and then placed them on his waist. "A knight's duty is to protect. A knight's virtue is also to protect. There is nothing more glorious than protecting the country. Ladies and gentlemen, as knights, should we continue to promise everyone that we will continue to be here to protect and protect our country and our people?"
"Agreed!"
"Agreed!"
“Aye！ Aye！ Aye！”
Voices of agreement began to sound. The great nobles recalled the glory of the past thousand years, the sacrifices of each family in the long history, and the generations of clansmen who died in battle to fulfill their duties as knights. They all felt that something in their bodies had been awakened.
Even though they were cruel, greedy, and corrupt, once the horn sounded, the knights in full armor raised their spears and mounted their horses, shouting the name of the goddess and fighting for their country.
The great nobles who were not willing to fight for their country had already been cleaned up by Laing. Those who were left now were basically those who had been on the battlefield.
"Yes, we have to promise. In fact, I have full confidence that I can lead you to protect our country. Everyone, do you think I can do it?" Laing smiled. "I personally think that as long as we do our jobs, we can continue to reproduce the glory we had in Eight Peaks Mountain, in the Empire, and in Obien."
"Agreed!"
“Hear！ Hear！ Hear！”
The voices of agreement grew louder. The knights who supported Laing and the Old Guard shouted with all their might. The neutral knights slapped their thighs hard. Even the free Brittany knights could not help but be moved.
"I'm very happy to hear your voices of agreement. I feel that my previous efforts were not in vain." Laing smiled and nodded. The Sun King looked at the outer hall and said, "But the situation isn't optimistic. Estalia has been annihilated, and only Bili Bali is still resisting. Tyrell might be able to last longer, but without reinforcements, the outcome is already decided. According to the news from the three Wretched Lands Guards and the Sea Gate, the Prince's Territory has been submerged by the Skaven Ratmen, Orcs, and Green Dwarfs. Perhaps you didn't notice, but with Kislöw and Sylvania, half of the Old World has fallen."
In the past few years, Brittania had been too "peaceful", and the great nobles didn't have such a strong sense of crisis. Even Francois, a Holy Grail Knight, believed that "the Empire and the dwarves would solve their own problems". However, after hearing the news from Leon, everyone was still shocked. So, without anyone noticing, half of the Old World had already fallen into enemy hands?
"All Brittany, the crisis is approaching!" Laing said loudly, "Unite, Brittany! Tell us, where is your courage? Do you still remember how to protect your Kingdom? This isn't the first time we're in such a predicament, but it's just like what we've seen. "
"We're still here, and the Kingdom is still here!" Laing's fist knocked on the table with the Knight's Code. The sound was soft, but it was as loud as a bell in everyone's ears.
"Agreed!"
"We're here, and our courage is here!"
"Yes! Yes! Yes! "The response had spread throughout the King's Parliament Hall. Even some of the nobles from the Free Brittany faction couldn't help but shout.
"Then, who gave us this courage? Who brought us out of the quagmire when the Brittany was in despair? Who gave us the Holy Grail when the Brittany was on the verge of extinction? Who has always been the guardian of our Kingdom? "Laing continued to shout.
The entire hall instantly quieted down. Everyone felt as if a basin of cold water had been poured over their heads.
It was the Lady of the Lake.
But … but she was the God of Elves after all!
The effect was just right. Laing took advantage of everyone's silence to laugh. "Ladies and gentlemen, it seems that you still lack courage. It seems that if you admit all this, wouldn't it hurt your dignity?"
More than half of the nobles subconsciously blushed and lowered their heads. Yes, even if she's really good to us, she's still the God of Aliens. If we admit it, wouldn't it make us … lose face?
Laing nodded repeatedly. His tone was a little reproachful. "But you know very well that many times, it's the little bit of courage in our chests that changes our history, our story, and saves us, allowing mortals to survive."
"The former first Phoenix King Ainarion was originally a navigator. To him, courage was when he personally climbed into the Assuyan Sacred Fire and begged the Lord of the Phoenix to save his compatriots. Courage was when he personally went to the Great Whirlpool under the double curses and defeated four Chaos Demons alone!"
"To Emperor Charlemagne, courage was when he fought for an entire day in the Battle of the Black Fire Pass and finally exploded the head of the Green Skin Warlord. Courage was when he fought the Lord of the Dead, Nagash, alone and sent the Lord of the Dead back to his grave. Courage was when he personally fought the Eternal God's Chosen One, Moka, for three days and three nights and drove the Chaos back to where they should be!"
"To Arthur, courage was when he was the first dragon-slaying knight in Brittany. Courage was when he bravely faced the Green Skin Frenzy when the number of enemies was 1: 30. Courage was when he was on the horse after being fatally wounded several times by arrows even if he was tied up with a rope!"
"For me, courage is the fact that I didn't make a conservative but cowardly decision after I became the king. I never tried to deny or hide anything. Courage is the great expeditions. Courage is the fact that I gathered all of you here to face all of you and give my speech to all of you!"
"Then, everyone, what is courage to the Lady?" Clayon finally brought up the most important topic. "For the lady, courage is when the Bretons were in the most difficult and desperate times, she stepped forward and extended a helping hand to us. Courage is when she appeared again and again in the face of Chaos and all kinds of threats. Courage is when she calmly admitted everything when the rumors were spreading. Her identity as the goddess of the elves and she gave us the right to choose!"
"Now, Brittany, tell me, where is your courage?" Laing roared, "When half of the Old World fell, when many countries with long histories were about to fall, when the Orcs, Specters, Skaven Ratmen, Green Skin Frenzy, and the Chaos in the North were about to break through the Empire's defense line and invade the South, Brittany, where is your courage?"
Some sort of flame had been ignited. Every Brittanian present could feel the fire burning in their chests, spreading from their bodies to their limbs, and then to their heads. A long-lost passion had been awakened.
Their hair stood on end, their thighs were shaking, their fists were clenched, and their blood was boiling.
The Knights and Nobles roared angrily as they recalled the blood-boiling history of a thousand years ago. Then, they recalled what was happening now.
The fire was still burning, but the blood wasn't cold.
"The Lady chose us, but at the same time, our courage chose the Lady!" Clayon's roar echoed like a storm hitting the beach by the sea. "We will use our actions to tell everyone in the world that regardless of whether it is the God of Elves or the God of Humans, the Lady is our God! Whether we're allies or enemies, we won't give up or compromise in the face of the storm! We'll fight to the end until the last Brittany dies. If this is the end of our history, we'll use our sacrifice to play the last song that belongs to us, the Knights' Elegy! "
"The Elven Goddess? Is the Human Goddess really that important? Tell me, Brittany! Do you agree that the Lady should stay? "
"Yes! Yes! Yes! "The voices in the Main Hall were louder than before.
"The Lady is the God of Brittany!" Finally, someone shouted.
"The Lady is our God!" Someone said.
"The Lady! The Lady! The Lady! "The trickles, the rivers, the lakes, the seas, and the surging waves of the storm.
The nobles of Brittany were all shaken. More than half of them had expressions of shame on their faces as they prayed to the Goddess for forgiveness.
"The end is near. We'll fight Estalia in the Empire!"
"We'll fight at the border of the Kurona Road!"
"We'll protect our kingdom at all costs. If necessary, we'll fight on the beaches of Lyonnaise and under the lighthouse of Le-Angoulaine. We'll fight in the manors of the Kurona Plains!"
"We'll fight on the streets of the capital, in the Arden Forest, in the port of Borderaux, in the mountains of Montfort, and in Bastogne, where our Dragon rises!"
"Brittany, where's your courage? Where's your chivalry? "Laing roared," Who still remembers the vows of a knight? Who still remembers the Eight Virtues of a Knight? "
"Humility, Integrity, Compassion, Valor, Justice, Sacrifice, Honour, Soul!" Loud cheers erupted in the Main Hall. The nobles banged on their seats and railings, or waved their scarves and parchments with all their might. Their excitement was like a tsunami that shook the heavens. The young Devonshire, Laing's eldest son, jumped up and down in excitement. He couldn't wait to go to the battlefield and kill the enemy. The originally cold Main Hall erupted like a volcano, the heat overflowing and spreading to the outer hall.
"Let us invite the Lady back and prepare for the final battle. What do you all think?"
"Yes! Yes! Yes! " All the nobles shouted themselves hoarse. Even the free Brittany faction stood up. They shouted the names of the Lady and Laing, waving their parchments and scarves to show their approval.
There were no more doubts. Who cared if the Lady was the God of Elves or the God of Humans? Did the Brittany not even have the courage to admit the truth?
The Lady gave us courage. Now, it's our turn to give her courage!
Duke Berchemund nodded slowly and stood up to applaud. Seeing him stand up, the neutral nobles and knights all stood up.
"Yes! Yes! Yes! "
"Lady! Lady! Lady! "
"Laing! Laing! Laing! "
The Holy Knight's Oath sounded again in the Main Hall until it spread throughout the palace!
"I swear to be kind to the weak.
I swear to be brave against violence.
I swear to fight against all wrongs.
I swear to fight for the defenseless.
I swear to help anyone who asks me for help.
I swear to not hurt any woman.
I swear to help my brothers and knights.
I swear to treat my friends with sincerity.
I swear to love you till death do us part. "
Seeing the people scrambling to wave their parchments and scarves, Laing nodded slightly. The King closed his eyes.
Success was not the end, and failure was not the end. The most important thing was the courage to continue moving forward.
And the hymn of humans was the hymn of courage.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
