As Marshal Rick, Hailberg, and Flag Bearer Ludwig roared in anger, the assassin's dagger quickly approached their beloved emperor. Karl-franz's decisiveness once again saved him. He let go of the Rune Sword's hilt and tried to use his arm to block the dagger. The Tzeentch assassin's movement was slightly disrupted by the emperor's block. However, this did not affect his attack at all. In less than half a second of delay, the assassin's dagger had finished charging up and stabbed heavily at the emperor.
There was nowhere to run.
The silver seal on the emperor's Divine Artifact let out a blinding light. The powerful energy within it protected the emperor from being harmed by the Chaos Sorcery. However, the silver seal could not stop the sharp dagger and the venom on it!
At this critical moment, a strong gust of wind blew in the forest.
The emerald green wind carried with it endless rage. The leaves in the sky formed a twisting hurricane. In the forest, a green light shone brightly. The hurricane wrapped around the emperor's body. When the dagger was close to the emperor's neck, a supernatural blade appeared from the void and blocked the assassin's attack.
Ding!
A green spirit wearing an exquisite set of ancient armor appeared in the gust of wind. From his helmet to his entire body, he was glowing with a bright green light. Ivy vines wrapped around his body. Iris flowers decorated his armor. "No one can pass through here!"
"Tzeentch, protect me!" The assassin was losing his mind. He swung his dagger and wanted to attack again. However, the green spirit did not give him any chance. The Blade of Pain swept across the assassin's arm and cut his arm in half. With a twist of his wrist, the sharp blade pierced forward and pierced through the assassin's throat. The Tzeentch believer twitched a few times before he died.
The spirit pulled back his weapon. His green eyes that were hidden behind his helmet looked at the emperor who was still in shock. He reached out his hand as if he wanted to pull him up.
"No, you, stay where you are. Raise your hands and put down your weapons!" Marshal Rick, Helberg, finally brought the Guards of Rick and the great swordsmen of Griffin to protect the emperor. In fact, from the assassination to the assassin's death, only about five seconds had passed. Marshal Rick felt that his heart almost jumped out of his chest. Although the Guards of Rick did not know if firearms were useful against this ghost-like thing, dozens of long and short guns were still aimed at the ghost. Helberg pulled out his rune sword and said, "Now!"
"No, no!" Karl-franz stretched out his hand, and the ghost pulled him up. The emperor was surprised to find that the ghost had a physical body. He suppressed his surprise and waved his hand at Helberg and the others. "If he wanted to hurt me, I would have died a long time ago. Soldiers, put away your weapons. I recognize him. He is the Green Knight, the embodiment of knighthood's virtue, the defender of secrets, and the defender of kindness. Thank you very much for your help.
"In my long history, I've had many names." The Green Knight's voice was ethereal as if he did not exist in this world. "That's not important."
"Alright." The Emperor asked for a snub. He smiled awkwardly and signaled for Marshal Rick and the flag bearer to put down their weapons. The Emperor took a few steps forward, arrived in front of the assassin, and lifted his helmet.
Under the helmet was a completely distorted face. The emperor shook his head and said, "This is not my man. Something must have happened to Schmidt."
"Damn it, have the cultists infiltrated the Guards of Rick?!" Helberg wanted to see if his Rune Tooth, the Complaint Bearer, could hurt the legendary Green Knight. But he was a soldier, and a soldier's duty was to obey orders. Helberg could not absolve himself from the blame that there was a fake in Rick's Guards. Marshal Rick's tone was a little exasperated. "It's my fault, Your Majesty."
"No, it's not your fault." The emperor shook his head and looked at the face carefully. "He looks exactly like Schmidt, and he has his full set of equipment."
"A foolish attempt," the Green Knight said. There was a strong Brittany accent in his words. Some of the words were old words that had died out for a long time. If it was not for the emperor's proficiency in the ancient language, he might not have understood what he was saying. "I left my hometown to come to you, Emperor of the Empire. My lady sent me here. Nothing must happen to you. Nothing must happen to you and your Empire. Otherwise, in ten years, we will all submit to the Three-Eyed King."
"The Three-Eyed King?" The emperor was stunned when he heard the term. Then, he fell into deep thought.
Was it another prophecy of Eichahn? In the past hundred years, the royal court of the Empire had collected more than ten prophecies about the eternal Chosen One, Eichahn. The demon hunters and battle priests had tried many times to nip the threat in the bud, but Eichahn refused to come out of the Chaotic Wasteland. Neither the Empire nor any other forces could do anything about it.
"I was sent here by the Lady of the Lake. I must follow the oath I made to her. I must return to Brittany. But before that, I must inform you that today is the day of the Lady of the Lake. Laing Macado, Duke of Musillon, the rightful successor of Landuin, will be enthroned in Kurona. I have a sincere suggestion. You, Emperor Karl-franz of the Empire, should go to Kurona and meet with the new king," the Green Knight said. The emperor noticed that the green light around him was flickering.
"This is not a suggestion. This is blackmail, ghost!" Helberg strode forward. Marshal Rick's exquisite mustache fluttered in the air. He glared at the Green Knight. "It is not up to you to decide whether the emperor will attend the Knight King's enthronement. We will have a meeting to discuss it!"
"No, please tell Laing that I will go. I will go personally." The emperor, however, waved his hand, hinting Helberg not to be impulsive. Assassination was nothing out of the ordinary for Karl Franz. He put on a bright smile and said, "He and I are friends."
"But we are not always friends." Helberg grumbled. Marshal Rick insisted. "Just like the Battle of Helmgard, if you knights are here to make friends, we will give you wine and flowers. If you covet the land of the Empire, we will fight with swords and spears."
"That was the mistake of the previous king …" The Green Knight saw that the emperor had agreed. He softly chanted a few words in an ancient language. A green spirit warhorse appeared from the void. He leaped onto the horse. "The time of darkness is coming. We must be united. It is not just the Three-Eyed King. Soon, there will be an avenger. His anger will burn the entire Empire."
"Who?!" The emperor wanted to ask more, but the Green Knight had already disappeared into the light. The spirit warhorse raised its front hooves. Following its master's movements, it disappeared behind a bush.
The breeze gradually stopped. Only leaves and the dead Tzeentch assassin were left on the ground.
After the commotion, the emperor and his army were no longer in the mood to hunt. They cleaned up the battlefield and burned the body of the Tzeentch assassin. Then, they gathered the army and prepared to return to Brunswick.
After the good mood of hunting was disrupted, both Rick's Guards and Griffin's Great Swordsman fell silent. The emperor rode his hybrid elven warhorse at the front. Marshal Rick, Helberg, and Flag Bearer Ludwig rode behind him on their Empire warhorses. Although Ludwig did not say a word, everyone knew that this old man was blaming himself for the emperor's danger. The emperor was obviously thinking about something.
"So, you will personally attend Duke Laing's coronation?" Helberg hesitated and asked tentatively.
"Can I?" Karl-franz asked Helberg.
"I do not mean to blame you. My duty is to follow your orders, Your Majesty," Helberg said in a low voice.
"But you still have a suggestion?" The emperor understood the meaning behind Helberg's words.
"You shouldn't have made such a hasty decision, Your Majesty. You are the Imperium. Everything you say and do represents the millions of children of Charlemagne. I have never questioned your excellence and abilities. If it weren't for you, the Kurfürsten in the Imperium who were old, cowardly, arrogant, or disloyal might've split up a long time ago. You shouldered the heavy responsibility bravely. From that point alone, you did a better job than your father." Helberg nodded and said in a low voice, "But when it comes to diplomacy between countries, you seem to be a little passive. We are the Empire."
"Passive?" The emperor heard Helberg's contradictory words and could not help but laugh. It seemed that the decision to appoint Helberg as Marshal Rick was right. "The knights are not enemies, Cotter."
"But they are not always friends," Helberg insisted.
"If you do not understand betrayal, you do not understand politics. If you do not understand compromise, you do not understand politics, Cotter, my friend." Karl-franz sighed softly. "Diplomacy and internal affairs cannot be replaced by the idea of governing the army."
"…" Helberg did not say anything.
"Sometimes, I wonder, if it was Boris Todbinger who won the vote, what would have happened to the Empire?" Karl-franz looked at the environment of the Rikwald Forest with a frustrated expression. "He is experienced, brave, and good at fighting, and has a lot of experience in communicating with the leaders of other countries."
"The result of Todbinger becoming the Wolf Emperor is that we, the Rikwald Guards, will be sent to Araby or Kislöw," Helberg said loudly. "He only trusts the White Wolf Knights of Rikwald. Your grandfather, your father, and you, the accumulation of three generations will be ruined. You may still be able to rely on your family's wealth, your identity as the Great Prince of Rikwald, and the Grand Duke of Brunswick to enjoy your life as a Kurfürst, but your talent will be wasted. You will see the White Wolf Church become popular, and the light of Charlemagne will dim."
"But Laing can get the full support of the Church of the Lady of the Lake, but I am still making a deal with His Holiness Vickmar." After hearing Helberg's words, the emperor did not comment. Instead, he said the second thing, "Sometimes, I feel like a beggar, and also like a newspaper seller who comes to sell his newspaper."
"If there is no faith, what will be left of the Empire?" Marshal Rick's answer to this question was very serious. "You know very well, Your Majesty, the army of the Empire is not enough to completely eliminate all kinds of threats. There are wars every month in this country, not for victory, but for survival."
"Very good." The emperor seemed to have finally understood something. Helberg felt that there was something more and something less on Karl-franz's face.
"I will ask my court to prepare a generous gift. When the time comes, I will personally lead the Rikwald Guards and the Royal Knights of Brunswick to Culona to attend Laing's coronation. This is an order!"
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
… I don't have the dividing line between faith and freedom …
Time passed very quickly in the midst of the preparations for the coronation. In just a few months, it was autumn in Brittany. Golden wheat swayed back and forth in the warm autumn wind on the plains of Culona. The impact of the Matheward Rebellion on the capital had become a thing of the past. Under Lauren's diligent governance, Culona had regained its former prosperity.
Now, the entire kingdom was focused on the upcoming coronation ceremony. In a few weeks, Laing, Duke of Musillon, would receive the scepter from King Richard and ascend to the throne under the witness of all the dukes and former kings.
This year, Laing was thirty-nine years old. It had been fifteen years since he left Coldwinter in Nord.
Laing and the others led the Old Guard and their own knights to Culona today. This once the greatest elven city in the Old World had long since become the capital of the Brittany Knight King Kingdom. The Culona Lion Ring Racetrack and the Holy Grail Champion's Cathedral were both built here to tell of the ancient history of the Knight King Kingdom.
Laing and the others checked into the Culona Royal Hotel. He could have stayed in the Culona Palace, but Laing rejected the suggestion. He was not king yet, and he could not wait to show off and enjoy the power of a king. This was not something Laing, who was the Chosen One of the Eight Virtues of the Knight, should do. In a few weeks, he would be a true king. Being so impatient now would only make him look bad.
There were many rehearsals and preparations for the enthronement ceremony. Culona had been preparing for this for several months, and Regent Laun had been so busy that he had spent quite a bit of the treasury's savings. Once the enthronement ceremony was over, there would be a military parade, followed by a royal knight tournament that would last for more than a week. This tournament would be open to the entire human world, and even the wood elves had said that they would send people to participate. Leon had prepared a large amount of food and wine, and he had promised that no matter if they were noble knights or ordinary serfs, they would all be qualified to watch the tournament.
It was late at night, and Ryan's family had just finished dinner. In the large suite of the Royal Hotel, Sulia was holding little Devenshire in her arms, telling him about the legends of the first twelve Holy Grail Knights and the glory of the spirit of chivalry. Little Devenshire listened with great interest, waving his lance doll from time to time, imagining himself as a great Holy Grail Knight, riding a horse and destroying evil, spreading the will of the Nymphs of the Lake throughout the kingdom, fighting to protect the country.
Laing smiled as he watched his wife talk to his son. He was drinking coffee when Olica approached him from behind. "Master, a guest is here. He wants to talk to you."
"Guest? Who is it? "Laing put down his coffee cup.
"It's King Richard. He wants to talk to you."
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.
