The cold late September wind blew through the long corridor.

The Duke of Buckingham passed by the gorgeous oil paintings on both sides of the corridor alone. He remembered the content of every oil painting here, because he and his brother spent a long childhood in this palace.

This was the Metzl Castle, but as the royal palace situated in the capital of Legrand, it had another name:

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The Rose Palace.

In Legrand, the King owned many territories and castles. Many of these castles were used as temporary royal residences. But this castle was different. It was given the name “Rose” and was the heart of the entire Legrand Empire. Its owner and master could only be the King of Legrand.

When he went to the Moon River Fortress for negotiation, the King had handed over the Rose Palace to the Duke of Buckingham, which meant that he had once again granted the power of regency to his uncle.

The Duke of Buckingham did not disappoint this trust. Aside from holding an imperial conference in the Bright Room of the Rose Palace to deal with political affairs, he did not set foot in any part of the castle that belonged to the King. He didn’t even live in the quarters the King arranged for him in the palace.

But today was different.

The place where the Duke of Buckingham was walking towards today was the Bright Room of the Rose Palace——the place where urgent and important meetings were held.

“Good day, Lord Duke.”

Another group of people came face to face with the Duke of Buckingham, the two sides facing each other in a standstill in the large and stately corridor. The leader, dressed in dark black brocade with a white rose pinned on his chest, smiled and greeted the Duke of Buckingham. The people behind him were also all dressed in black, wearing white roses to express their condolences.

“I’m so happy, you are as robust as ever.”

He was Grand Duke Grice.

To some extent, he could also be considered the King’s uncle, because he was the half-brother of the Duke of Buckingham——he was also the son of the mother of William III and the Duke of Buckingham, the deceased Queen Isabel who had remarried.

Unlike the Duke of Buckingham and the former King, Grand Duke Grice did not inherit the iconic silver-hair and ice blue eyes of the Rose family. Instead, he had brilliant blonde hair and light green eyes that were always smiling.

He looked at the Duke of Buckingham in faked surprise: “Could it be you have forgotten something?”

“The King does not need that thing.”

The Duke of Buckingham said coldly, his eyes sweeping across the faces of those wearing white roses.

Those people subconsciously bowed their heads and avoided the old Duke’s gaze. This had Grand Duke Grice faintly annoyed.

“Please don’t say that, Lord Duke.” Grand Duke Grice expressed a very measured and suitable amount of sadness, “This is for my poor nephew.”

“I truly regret.”

The Duke of Buckingham was tall and thin. The cold wind had his cloak flutter and flap, causing him to look like he was surrounded by scarlet blood. At such a close distance, those who faced him could almost smell the metallic scent of blood.

“That my sword was stopped by William back then at the port of Beitna.”

Grand Duke Grice’s face changed suddenly, his smile disappearing from his face.

With a dark expression, he stared at the expressionless Duke of Buckingham with a cold face.

Few people knew that an armed conflict broke out between the Duke of Buckingham and Grand Duke Grice when they were young. The Duke of Buckingham, who was still a young man, threw his half-brother over the ship and then immediately jumped down with his sword in hand. In mid-jump, the Duke had drew his sword out, piercing straight towards the Grand Duke.

After many years, the murderous intent from that sword could still be recalled in detail.

“Move.”

Grand Duke Grice stepped away subconsciously, and the people in black robes behind him also scattered, allowing the lone and proud old Duke to sweep straight by.

“I want to know.”

Grand Duke Grice suddenly laughed coldly.

“After so many years, whose sword will be faster in the end?”

The Duke of Buckingham didn’t answer, his scarlet robe billowing in his wake. From a distance, it looked like a battle flag that was furiously snapping in the wind.

The bell of Metzl Cathedral rang.

Reverberating and deep, the solemn sound of the bell echoed over the entire Rose Palace for a long time. Everyone in the heart of this empire could feel that agitated, volatile tension in the air.

The conference was convened.

………

Bright Room.

Every wall of this room was gorgeously decorated with murals that told stories from the scriptures. The angels which represented judgment and justice looked down on the people from the dome. This had a special political significance because it required everyone participating in the conference to be responsible for all the decisions they made, otherwise God would punish them.

The members of the Imperial Council, the judges, the nobles of the upper house of the council, the archbishops……these important political figures under the King all gathered here today. At their sides were countless lit candles, looking like a sea of lights as they sat in rows in the cold megalithic building.

Except for the Duke, everyone was wearing dark robes and white roses of mourning on their chests.

The debate soon began.

Pureland I was very young and unmarried without any descendants. Therefore, the heir to the throne could only be selected from the King’s relatives.

Grand Duke Grice had prepared for this for a long time, but the most important part of his plan went wrong some time ago——the King saving the Duke of Buckingham in time. This was the last thing he wished to see. But since it happened, Grand Duke Grice could only find ways to reverse this defeat.

He advanced by retreating.

At the subtle hinting of Grand Duke Grice, the Lord Justice Wallingham turned the focus of the dispute to the silent Duke of Buckingham.

He asked sharply, what is your opinion on this matter as the first in line in the succession to the throne? Do you feel you should take over the throne after your nephew?

The torture of the heart surmounted all physical sufferings that come from directly killing the man.

In the entire Legrand Empire, who didn’t know that the only one who would not covet that crown was the Duke of Buckingham? This kind of questioning was simply the greatest insult to the Duke.

Everyone tacitly did not include the Duke of Buckingham among the nobles vying for the throne, but at the same time, everyone was also unable to bypass the existence of the Duke of Buckingham.

As soon as these words came out, the loud debates in the meeting room quieted down.

“My opinion?”

The Duke of Buckingham slowly raised his head, and everyone startled.

The old Duke’s eyes were so cold and sharp, like the ice covering the river in winter.

The Lord Justice Wallingham was a young man. When he was born, the Duke of Buckingham had already curtailed his sharper side. He had never seen the old Duke standing in a sea of blood on the battlefield. He was so arrogant and ignorant that he thought he could provoke a lion!

But soon, he knew just how foolish he was.

This old lion could willingly retract his claws and bow his head to receive the butcher knife from his King or show his bloody fangs for the defense of his King.

The lion might be aging but it was still fierce!

The scarlet cloak suddenly snapped, and the two rows of candles lit in the conference room flickered in an instant. The sound of the sword leaving its sheath was as cold and sharp as an eagle suddenly spreading its wings and soaring into the sky. It echoed in everyone’s ears as the long sword pierced the hard rock long table with such force sparks of fire could be seen.

Under the candlelight, half of the sword had embedded right through the table and the half that was still exposed was as white and gleaming as snow!

At that moment, everyone felt an icy coldness on their scalps, feeling as if the sword was not driven into the long table but rather through their own skulls! No one knew when the old Duke drew his sword, and no one had considered that the old Duke who had been silent for so many years would suddenly display a violent burst one day.

The old Duke of Buckingham put his hands on the hilt of the sword and slowly raised his head, his eyes sweeping the room coldly: “This is my opinion.”

Penetrating cold, murderous intent, and reeking of blood.

Some people were frightened by this sword and sat trembling in their seats while others showed complicated expressions. As for Grand Duke Grice, his face was extremely ugly.

The Duke of Buckingham was a lunatic.

He wore a fancy cloak, but under the cloak, he carried the sharpest sword.

He hadn’t come with any intention of participating in the conference but to announce war on everyone instead.

Perhaps in the turbulent era two hundred years ago, the nobles at that time would be ready to splash the ground with blood, wearing breastplates and swords under their cloaks. But times had changed and now was not like 200 years ago. None of them had considered that the old Duke would be so crazy.

No one dared to speak out.

The sword of the Duke of Buckingham just now had shown that in this conference room, he could draw his sword to kill anyone at any time——he was fully capable of doing it. No one wanted to use his own flesh to test that sword.

“This is how you keep your pledge of allegiance?”

In the huge conference room, only the voice of the old Duke, which was low and deep, could be heard.

Grand Duke Grice knew that he had to stand up, and he confronted the Duke of Buckingham from a distance: “But the King is dead.”

“Did you see the King’s corpse?” The Duke’s gaze instantly swept over to him.

“He died in the forest. Who can be sure that the King’s bones are still there. Shall Legrand have no King the whole time we have yet to find it?” Grand Duke Grice sneered, “Why, do you want to cut off all the heads of everyone here to accompany the King? Do you dare?”

“The King is still alive, and I swear this on my life and honor.”

The Duke of Buckingham stated loudly and decisively.

Some of the people shifted.

They had already accepted the fact that “the King was dead”, but the Duke of Buckingham’s reputation in the Legrand Empire over these many decades lent weight and power to his words, and some people had begun to waver.

“You want everyone to join in your madness?” Grand Duke Grice looked around. “Do you all want to join in his madness? Gentlemen! The Bressi expeditionary army has not yet left! We need a King! The thirty-six states may rebel at any time. Do you all want to watch Legrand fall apart?”

The slight shifting turned into whispers.

“Everyone, with my life, my honor, and my wealth, I guarantee that the King is still living in this world, healthy and sound, and he will return soon.” The Duke of Buckingham’s words were majestic and cold, “Back then, my brother had divided and conferred the lands to you all, and you all offered him your pledge of loyalty.”

“Now is the time for you to make a decision.”

The Duke of Buckingham clapped his hands together.

Instantly, more than a dozen knights entered in file, holding exquisitely crafted trays in their hands. On those trays were placed with iron rose badges. Everyone fell silent.

The Duke of Buckingham put his hands on the hilt of the sword again, and he calmly looked at everyone.

“Either wear the glory of the Rose and guard your promise.” He raised his eyebrows, “Or, betray your oath and be an enemy of the Rose family!”

“You may decide, gentlemen!”

The knights also dressed in blood red cloaks scattered among the crowd with the trays, silent as iron. The nobles recognized them——they were the surviving veteran knights who had accompanied William III on the battlefield. Now they once again donned the scarlet cloak for the son of William III.

There was dead silence, terrible silence.

Finally, someone took off the white rose on his chest and picked up the iron rose badge.

One flower, one flower, another flower.

Then the people wearing the iron rose stood up automatically, joining the side of the long table where the Duke of Buckingham was standing. And the people wearing the white rose got up and sat down on the side of Grand Duke Grice. Within a short period of time, a decision and division took place in the conference room.

In the end, the white rose and the iron rose were clearly demarcated, the atmosphere between the two sides antagonistic.

In terms of the number of people, the side wearing iron roses was very clearly less than that of the white roses. However, each of them was as silent as a steel knife——most of them were people who had followed William III and the Duke of Buckingham on the battlefield. Now, they chose to put their trust once again in their former general, the Duke of Buckingham.

The two sides confronted each other.

The aura of death shrouded them, as if the neighing of war horses and the clanging of iron weapons were echoing in everyone’s ears.

Grand Duke Grice’s face was dark with anger.

It took him nearly ten years to plan the current situation, but the Duke of Buckingham used his own power to turn it into a stalemate between the two sides.

The dream of easily winning the throne popped like a bubble.

“Very good.”

Grand Duke Grice gritted his teeth and sneered.

“We shall see!”

He got up angrily and left with the people who chose him.

The Duke of Buckingham did not bother to look at the other, his gaze on his sword.

He had killed many people in order to put his nephew safely on the throne. Now, in order to keep the throne for his nephew, he did not mind killing more people!

“Now, everyone, do you smell the blood from the throne?”

He spoke softly to himself.

………

1432, winter was approaching.

Following the assassination attempt on the King, a long-simmering turmoil broke out. The Duke of Buckingham had put his life and honor on the gambling table, while the Grand Duke Grice used wealth and future glory as his stake in the gamble. In the stalemate, both sides dispatched their own personnel to search for the King. The difference was that one party was to welcome the King back, and the other was to bring the King’s corpse back.

With the “Iron Rose” and “White Rose” as signs, the Royalist Party and the New Royalist Party split into two factions. One party swore to guard the throne, and one party swore to take the throne.

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At this time, the King himself, whether he was alive or dead, had become a sword.

A sword that could determine the entire situation.

Countless people had a question: Where was the King?

In fact, the King was also on the battlefield.

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“If you are in Ingres, what is your status?”

The King asked as he sat by the window, looking out at the streets.

“No status. Your Majesty.” The knight commander laughed bitterly. “In truth, before I was rescued by the Duke, I had a name. Modia Leverin.”

“Leverin?” The King caught on to the key word, “You are a member of the royal family of Ingres.”

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“Yes.” The knight commander replied, “A descendant of an exiled prince. Your Majesty, this is really not something to boast about.”

The King quickly understood why the knight commander said so.

The matter went back to eleven years ago. It was related to a domestic struggle within the State of Ingres.

The father of the knight commander, one of the princes of Ingres at the time, failed in the power struggle for the throne and was accused of having the “intent to murder his brother”, so he was exiled and had to flee Ingres.

This was not a rare thing and such stories abounded in this era.

Right now, wasn’t the King himself experiencing the very same thing?

The only difference was that after the knight commander’s father took him away from the sad place, he unfortunately contracted typhoid fever. Before his death, the knight commander was entrusted to Legrand’s Duke of Buckingham by his father. Perhaps out of political considerations the duke arranged a new identity for the knight commander.

But the King should not have known this.

After hearing the words of the knight commander, the King was not disappointed, but smiled imperceptibly.

He thought that he had indeed stumble across a suitable candidate.

There was a long history of grievances between Ingres and the royal family.

The state was located in the southwest of Legrand.

The first king of Legrand took his cavalry and longbowmen deep into the abdomen of the state of Ingres, and forced the ruler of Ingres to surrender by force. Since then, the royal family of Ingres and Legrand had been repeatedly rocking back and forth between “surrendering” and “rebelling.”

What annoyed the Rose royal family the most was that three hundred years ago, the King of Ingres participated in a murder plot and joined forces with enemies of the royal family to assassinate the then crown prince. So in 1134, the royal family convened a parliament meeting and passed the law that established the inferior status of the Ingres nation.

Since then, the conflict between the two parties had become more intense.

There was no doubt that the ruler of Ingres, who had always been full of hatred for the Legrand royal family, would definitely get involved after news of Legrand’s “death of the king” spread. However, compared to people with bad intentions such as Grand Duke Grice, Ingres was purely a troublemaker.

They only wanted to be a thorn in Legrand’s eye and had no specific goals.

This was also one of the reasons why the King chose Ingres.

Who would have thought that the King would suddenly unite with the people of Ingres when they normally hated each other on a normal day?

In addition, the King also had his considerations.

Thanks to the Duke of Buckingham providing a qualified care for his nephew. Although Pureland I grew up to be a tyrant, he still received a systematic elite crown prince education and had a certain understanding of his own territory. Therefore, the King was able to extract information related to Ingres from his memory.

If it was said that the woodland aristocrats in the north were repeatedly ridiculed by the upper class, then Ingres was directly regarded as dirt underneath their boots.

The natural scenery in Ingres was extremely beautiful——large undeveloped forests, turbulent rivers, and majestic mountains. And it was these mountains, giant valleys, jungles, and rivers that limited the development of Ingres. The land there was barren and internal transportation was difficult.

A joke was often said, “Ingres’ yearly tariff cannot afford a button on the sleeve of Legrand’s King.”

The nobles only regarded Ingres as a laughing stock, but the King saw something that he could borrow and use at this time.

The soldiers of Ingres.

Poor natural conditions made it difficult for Ingres’ agricultural development. Many of them still relied on hunting as an important means of earning a living. The Ingres people who hunted bears and killed leopards in the Taigu mountains were very good fighters, and because of this, Ingres was able to set off rebellions time and time again.

What the King wanted was to borrow this knife that could slaughter bears and leopards.

Ingres’ fighters did not have the strong economic conditions to manufacture armor for their knights and soldiers, nor did they need to be like ordinary nobles in which a lot of retinue must be prepared to follow when the knights leave for war. Therefore, their marching speed was enough for them to be able to cross the mountains in the southwest to penetrate into the battlefield in central Legrand in the shortest time.

So, here was a problem.

How should the King convince Ingres, this hunting knife, to be used by him?

——He handed a letter to the knight commander.

The letter had been present next to the King from the moment the knight commander entered the door. After listening to the knight commander’s words, the King added a few more lines to the letter. Then, he personally sealed the letter with wax.

Except for the King himself, no one knew what was written in it.

“Take this with you, and make your way back to Ingres in the fastest possible time to meet your cousin.” The King said in a calm tone, “Tell him the deadline is only one week.”

The knight commander accepted the letter in confusion.

Ingres was a painful place for him. He vowed to the King that even if he left his life there, he would hand the letter to his cousin.

“Remember.”

When the knight commander walked to the door, the King suddenly spoke.

“You are the knight commander of the vow knights of the King of Legrand as well as the representative of the royal family of Rose.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

The knight commander took a deep breath and left with his head held high.

………………

“You’re truly amazing, my Majesty.”

After the knight commander left, the Devil walked out of the shadows in the room. He seemed to have found a new hobby, that was, to appear and disappear unpredictably.

“Look at that poor idiot who was taken advantage of. Even if you gave him a knife, so long as you give him an order, he can insert the knife into his chest without hesitation.”

“Then you might be disappointed.” The King said, “If there is such a knife, it will definitely not be stabbed into my knight.”

The Devil pretended not to understand the meaning of the King’s words: “Yo, I am your loyal hell knight.”

The King sneered.

The Devil was here to remind the King that he should leave.

At this time, besides the knight commander, another vow knight of the King also quietly left in the morning. He was also ordered by the King to escort a secret letter.

After the carriage set off, it took to the road leading towards the palace.

Along the way, more and more cavalry rushed past on the road. As expected by the King, the news that “the king was dead” exploded across Legrand with a thunderous speed on the third day after the attack.

When the King’s carriage stopped in a tavern again, they could already hear people discussing this matter.

The fireplace was warm, the bard and his harp played a frivolous almost lurid tune, and the tavern was full of joy.

Yes, joy.

Contrary to the situation when William III passed away, the people didn’t feel any grief at all……

To put it bluntly, most of the people were very happy. The passing of the tyrant was the best news this year.

The bard fiddled with the old worn strings, and the fools and jesters who also settled here tossed colored balls in a performance for everyone. Most of the people inside were drunk, and everyone toasted and celebrated with “Amen” and “Holy Lord Bless”.

The only sober one was the King’s table in the corner.

The King and his knights were disguised and sat in an inconspicuous manner. The Devil also looked no different from any other ordinary young man. Few people noticed their table, but the noise of the people could still be clearly transmitted to the King’s ears.

The Devil twirled the wine glass with his fingertips to make himself look like the group of drunks. Through the wine glass, he observed the King.

But he was destined to be disappointed.

There was no reaction from the King.

At this time, a clever jester sang an adapted hymn:

“The merciful Lord bless my King

Bless his people and his well-being

Let him live not so honorably, but die very gloriously

Let us sing happily

Thank you Holy Lord! “[1]

This song was originally sung by people on the day the King was born, hoping that he was as great and glorious as his father. At this time, a slight modification was done to the song, and the irony was as simple as it was mean——yes, for Legrand, the death of the tyrant was simply a blessing from the Holy Lord.

The knights at the table couldn’t bear it anymore and put their hands on the hilt of their swords.

The King put down the wine glass he was holding and stopped them with his eyes.

The knights were sitting at the table flushed with rage, while the King acted as if it was not his “death” being celebrated, listening to the noise in the tavern as usual.

At this time, someone had already continued the verse:

“……The benevolent Lord bless my King

Bless his judges and his sheriffs

Bless his forest officers and his guards

It’s best to let them be like my King

So that we can sing happily

Thank you Holy Lord! “[2]

Then they shouted in unison, “Thanks to the Lord.”

The King calmly listened to the whole song.

………………

However, there were still people who would grieve over the news that “the king was dead”.

The Duke of Buckingham was definitely the saddest one.

However, the grief of the Duke was soon buried deep down in his heart. He started investigating the specific course of the matter as quickly as possible as well as maintain a hold on the situation for his nephew.

He did not believe that his nephew was really dead.

“The bloodline of the Rose family cannot die so easily.”

Said the duke who once crossed the Abyss Strait and became the nightmare of the Bressians.

The Duke of Buckingham immediately gave up the cautious and restrained manner he had adapted for his nephew, showing his cold, iron fist. On the day of receiving the bad news, the Duke of Buckingham sent out the soldiers, and all those who dared to promote “the king was dead” on the streets were thrown into prison by him.

The prison in Legrand’s capital was filled in just a few days.

Such ruthless methods would undoubtedly damage the Duke’s reputation, but the Duke didn’t care.

——You know that, yes?

——The only person I can trust now is you.

The old duke recalled the scene on the day the King set off. He had a vague feeling, maybe the King had already foreseen something at that time.

How did he answer at that time?

“I will protect Legrand for you.”

More than ten years ago, he replied this way. More than ten years later, he still answered in the same way.

“Bring my sword.”

The duke ordered.

The Duke of Buckingham wore the red cloak gifted by the King, an iron rose badge pinned to it. His personal guard quickly stepped forward and offered the sword. He took the sword and hung it at his waist. The scarlet cloak covered it.

He was going to participate in the upcoming emergency parliament meeting.

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The content of the parliament——

Who will inherit the throne?

AN: [1][2] adapted from a 15th-century British ballad, the original text reads “May the merciful God bless my King and his people, have him live great and die gloriously/let us happily sing/Thank God”, at that time, during the reign of Henry V, the country was prosperous and strong.

The Duke of Buckingham’s method of persuasion: Bring my sword.

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“Can I come to the conclusion——you demons have no memory at all?”

The King sat up. His shoulder was still a little bit painful but the wound was much better. The holy fire had healed his injuries.

Only one arrow of Baron Sheehan’s three arrows hit the King. The reason there were two holes in the cloak was that after the King drew the arrow out, he used the arrow to pierce through the cloak again in the spot above the heart.

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He seemed to want Baron Sheehan to believe that he was dead.

“If you say this, my colleagues will feel wronged.”

The Devil avoided the topic as the King was clearly in a rage. He wisely didn’t want to provoke the King’s anger even further……although this possibility was very low.

“Long time no see, Your Majesty.”

“Long enough that your head has completely forgotten the terms of the contract, yes?”

Sure enough, the King was definitely not a forgetful person.

On the contrary, he had a surprisingly good memory, and he was also very talented in holding grudges……He seemed to have plans to double the old and new hatred together.

The Devil got a bad feeling.

“It’s like this, Your Majesty.” The Devil defended himself, “After you abandon the human form you will have true immortality. And look at your courtiers——how worthless they are! How dare they betray you! But we are not the same——hell has been waiting for your arrival for a long time! My dear Majesty, we will be your most loyal ministers with the sharpest blades, and will offer you the kingdom of darkness.”

“Your sophistry is the same as before.”

The King replied.

Immediately afterwards, he expressed his attitude in two words:

“F**k off.”

“My dear Majesty, you are too partial! It is not only the human world that can offer you the throne.” The Devil stretched out his hand to help the King get up from the ground.

The King ignored him.

Okay, he can be sure now. If the King had a holy sword in his hand at this moment, he would definitely pierce it into his heart without hesitation.

The Devil thought.

The skulls inlaid on the bone carriage closed their mouths, not even daring to splash sulphurous tears. The nightmare steeds quietly lowered their front hoofs and no longer neighed. They seemed to have a natural awe of the King. At this time, they were all very quiet, all betraying their master, the Devil, displaying quite the admirable characteristic the denizens of hell were known for.

Let the Devil face the King’s anger by himself.

The Devil cursed in his heart.

He saw the King walk to the vow knights who had fallen on the ground, and quickly tried to reduce the King’s anger: “They’re just asleep!”

In order to prove his words, he snapped his fingers, and a cloud of black mist flew out of the vow knights, even healing much of their injuries on the way.

“In fact, Your Majesty, you may have a slight misunderstanding of me.”

The Devil’s attitude towards the King was very strange. If he had the opportunity, he would definitely try his best to take away the King’s soul. Aside from this however, he was truly willing to do everything for the King. When the King woke up, he immediately stopped acting out of line and tried his best to behave like it had never happened.

“I’m here to escort you back to the palace. Look, what a beautiful carriage I have prepared for you.”

“Beautiful enough for twelve Holy Inquisitors to cross the sea, is that it?”

The King picked up the knight commander’s sword.

“They can put on a disguise. And it will also allow you to leave here quietly, without being spotted by the little mice outside.” The Devil had a keen insight into conspiracy. He guessed a little bit of the King’s plan and took the opportunity to cleverly present his value.

Ai, he knew all too well what kind of person His Majesty was——

A qualified king.

So long as it had a value, then to the ruler it would be useful. For this reason, the monarchs wouldn’t even mind putting aside their hatred for the time being. Of course, so long as there was a chance, His Majesty would be very happy to kill the donkey when the grinding was done. (TN: to get rid of somebody once he has ceased to be useful)

So he said that the King was really suitable for hell.

The King didn’t have on any expression, but with a sharp sound, he pushed his sword into its sheath.

The Devil shrugged helplessly.

………

The Devil worked very hard this time so that the sword that the King had finally pushed back into the sheath would not be drawn out again.

The bone carriage drawn by the nightmare steeds had transformed into an ordinary inconspicuous carriage. The vow knights also woke up one after another. The Devil also politely asked His Majesty if he wanted to erase their memories.

The King ruthlessly rejected his favor.

The vow knights used their loyalty to win the King’s rare trust. Now, any of the vow knights had a higher status than the Devil in the eyes of the King.

Of course, the knights showed with their actions that they were indeed reliable.

After they woke up, they found that the King was sitting in the carriage safe and sound and instantly wanted to cry with joy. However, if it were not for the King stopping them in time, they would definitely draw out their swords to fight the Devil in a bloody duel.

“He works for me now.”

The King, dressed in a new red cloak that the Devil manifested from nowhere, was sitting by the carriage window.

People in this era were no strangers to demons, monsters, and witches. Although most of them regarded these as horrible nightmares that brought only disaster to ordinary people, the upper class obviously knew more about them.

This was the case with the knight commander.

After several battles, the vow knights seemed to have come to regard the King as an omnipotent existence. The knight commander was not surprised that the King was able to control the Devil——perhaps in his opinion, it was only natural for all creatures on Legrand’s soil to surrender to the King.

But he was very hostile to the Devil.

“Your Majesty, even the unpardonable traitors are more trustworthy than the Devil. Both legends and history have proved their treacherous, insidious and capricious natures.”

The knight commander loyally advised.

“I know.”

The King had already confirmed that the Devil could not directly touch him. He let out a cold smile laced with unspoken meaning.

“It’s not that there were never Templars in the Rose family.”

Ai……

The Devil who was driving the carriage once again thought of the dark age nostalgically.

The people were so amiable to the Devil at that time.

During the day, the carriage swaggered out of the forest.

The soldiers of Baron Sheehan dutifully controlled the exits of the forest, and the Devil deliberately passed by them blatantly with wicked fun. But none of them found out.

When he left the forest, the King’s gaze swept the Truu Castle standing in the sun.

………………

The King left silently, indicating that he did not want to expose himself to everyone’s eyes so quickly.

This also meant that the news that “the King was dead” would soon spread throughout Legrand.

It seemed that the King was determined to solve all the emergency crises revealed in the fate line in one fell swoop.

He bypassed the Truu Castle and rushed to the palace by other roads.

After the Devil’s nightmare carriage had been disguised, it would not rouse any suspicions even among the members of the clergy. But this also limited its speed. It was now similar to an ordinary carriage. However, in an age when the glory of theocracy was still triumphant, there was always nothing wrong with caution.

Two days have passed since the night of siege and betrayal.

The King’s carriage stopped in an ordinary tavern where he rested in a room.

The King had already locked down on who his true enemy was at this time.

According to the medieval law of succession to the throne, there were actually not many people who were eligible to ascend the throne after his death. Blood relatives of the Rose family and other aristocrats who had some kind of marriage ties with the royal family. Let’s put it this way, people who could profit from the death of the King could stretch from the palace all the way to the outside of the capital, and at least a dozen of them were qualified for the throne.

Therefore, before the assassination took place, the King could only list all possible enemies.

But now he knew exactly who it was.

The clue lay in the heavy cavalry of Gulundi.

The Gulundi heavy cavalry, as a mercenary group with terrifying combat effectiveness and known to be notoriously ferocious, would not appear inside Legrand’s borders if there were no reason behind it. They were distributed on the continent of Elta from the east to the south of the Abyss Strait. Only those who controlled the coastal ports in the southeast of Legrand had the opportunity to receive such a batch of foreign aid.

The eye-catching appearance of the Gulundi heavy cavalry required that this person must have a certain influence on the transportation industry of the Legrand Empire, otherwise he would not be able to smuggle a team of Gulundi heavy cavalry across Legrand to quietly appear on the grassland outside Truu Castle.

In addition to this, the King’s brief contact with Baron Sheehan also provided him many clues.

Leaving aside the betrayal, Baron Sheehan was undoubtedly a qualified general and qualified lord. Those who could persuade him to their side must not have too many smudges on their reputation in the eyes of the public.

Therefore, it was clear who the enemy was:

Grand Duke Grice.

A great nobleman with a very good reputation, but previously considered a nobleman who liked to keep a low profile. He also had the qualifications to succeed to the throne. His qualifications were even on the same level as that of the Duke of Buckingham.

A dog that bit people was a dog that did not bark, wasn’t that the truth?

Hidden in the shadow on the side of the window, the King looked down onto the streets indifferently. He could see two to three heavily armed cavalrymen passing by from time to time.

The appearance of cavalry on the daily streets itself represented a sign of turmoil.

The fact that the Duke of Buckingham did not die made everything about to be staged completely different from the fate line. An old duke with a glorious reputation and at the forefront of succession to the throne meant too much. Moreover, he would be the most powerful of the royalists, and would protect the throne so long as he didn’t see the King’s body with his own eyes.

Tensions would be inevitable.

But the war would be very restrained.

The King knew this.

The war in this era was like playing chess. The castle and the knights were the pawns on the chessboard. People in the game mobilize the pawns on the chessboard to consume each other and enact revenge on each other. But so long as it was not the final moment, no one would easily engage in a head-on conflict. This would be a stalemate. [1]

What the King needed was this time.

In addition, he also needed an army.

An army that could secretly support him and no one could guess who was truly behind them.

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

Earlier on that cold night in the forest, the King realized where he could obtain this army.

The answer was Ingres.

A wild state with endless rebellions.

AN: [1] Reference “Edward I”, author Marc Morris

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Clack, clack, clack.

The bones collided, the horrifying rhythm sounding bizarrely cheerful. The blue mist rose to roil and twist under the cold moonlight. The black shadow coming out of the mist showed the outline of a carriage.

How could there be a carriage here?

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

What kind of carriage could move so unimpeded in this forest? Could they be witnessing a horrible apparition? On this cursed night! The vow knights clenched their swords and their loyalty was definitely worthy of a rose badge awarded by the King himself——they shuddered at this terrible and unexpected circumstance, but did not flinch away.

“Let’s tell sad stories of the death of kings, my dear.”[1]

A singing voice comparable to that of first-rate tenors echoed out from the thickening fog, each pronunciation so clear, so elegant and so impeccable. But it was also full of unspeakable evil and ostentatiousness, as if a poisonous snake was flicking out its tongue and showing off its fangs. The voice was saturated with both ridicule and coldness.

It was as if the impending death of a king was an excellent performance to be seen at the best operas.

The shadow of the carriage finally revealed itself in all its horrifying glory, and some of the vow knights could not help but groan weakly——

Oh God! What kind of carriage was that?!

Droplets of sulfurous flames splashed around a humongous bone pale carriage that was pulled by shadowy monsters with an unclear visage. They seemed not to pass through the real world, but to cross the distance in a different spacial realm that happened to overlap with the material world. They passed directly through the thousands of years old pitch-black giant trees.

“Some have been deposed; some slain in war,

Some haunted by the ghosts they have deposed;

Some poison’d by their wives: some sleeping kill’d;

All murder’d——”[2]

In the wake of the ancient opera, the poisonous snake that wandered in the dark raised its head high.

The sound of the wheels rolling forward was like thunder, the skulls letting out high-pitched cackles, the nightmare horses rose up from hell, and countless night owls screeched in the dark as they flew up into the sky, their wings dotted with the cold darkness of night.

The carriage leaped out of the dark woods and bushes, and suddenly stood still on this small clearing amidst the sound of night owls flapping their wings and the low cry of the nightmare horses. The sulfurous fire dripped onto the dark green moss. The blue mist rose from both sides, and the vow knights could clearly see every delicate bone that made up the pale carriage, every flame of ghost fire, every red rose in full bloom on the vines coiled along the bones.

The handsome guest from hell in black formal attire sat in the driver’s seat of the carriage. And it was he who let the ancient opera sound once again in the world.

His voice suddenly changed, becoming extremely low and deep, like the hissing of a poisonous snake before it launched a fatal attack.

“——For within the hollow crown

That rounds the mortal temples of a king

Keeps Death his court!”[3]

The singing was interrupted, and the knight commander bravely launched an attack on the guest from hell he had never faced before. The silver armor on his body was cast in a glorious light by the moonlight. The other vow knights followed his lead, roaring together and swinging their swords at the uninvited guest with evil intentions.

The Devil wore a top hat, his face shrouded in shadow. He did not move.

The nightmare horses pulling the bone carriage flicked their tails impatiently and the cold black mist floated out. The brave and loyal vow knights fell one by one, dragged into the deepest nightmare.

The Devil jumped down from the carriage and walked briskly past the vow knights on the ground, not sparing them even a glance. The Devil came to his unconscious little king and took off his top hat.

“I’m here to pick you up, Your Majesty.”

The Devil bowed deeply and gracefully to the young king shrouded under the cold light of the moon.

He appeared so elegant and so polite, despite singing the most terrible and strange opera verse and arriving on a bone carriage driven by nightmares.

The scarlet rose was still pinned on the Devil’s chest. He picked a few roses from the rose vines coiled on the carriage, and held the throny roses in his hand just like a person attending a funeral would hold a bouquet of white roses. Lying silently on the dark green moss ground was the King shrouded in cold moonlight, eyes still.

The sharp, ice-blue eyes of the young King no longer opened.

The moon god was attached to this child. He only appeared more beautiful in the moonlight. The coldness, violence, and sharpness temporarily faded from the King’s countenance. With his eyes closed he looked like the perfect holy son, exquisite and sacred. It was definitely not an exaggeration to claim that he was the incarnation of a saint from just his appearance alone——if not for those few drops of blood.

The scarlet red, already coagulated blood stained the corner of the King’s eyes and cheeks.

They were only a few small flecks, just like a devout religious painter who suddenly fell after carving out the most perfect holy child, and heavily splashed the wicked, the crazy, the cursed bloody tears onto his perfect face.

Therefore, heaven and hell, sacred and bloody, merged into one to be embodied by the King.

The Devil walked around the King unhurriedly, constantly tearing off the soft petals of the roses, just like the priest did when he sent the deceased to sleep in the grave, and sprinkled the blood-red petals on the King’s body.

He was here to happily prepare the funeral for the King.

Death shadowed the King.

For the Devil, nothing was better than this. He had been waiting for this day for more than ten years. When the King’s breathing ceased completely and life’s vitality was gone from the King, he would welcome the King to another kingdom.

When the mortal King closed his eyes, the monarch of hell would open his.

“Leave with me, my dear Majesty.”

The last rose petals fell and the Devil sat on the ground next to the King. He manifested a golden harp out of thin air. His slender and pale fingers flicked the ancient strings at random, making a pleasant sound. He lowered his voice and whispered in the ear of the King, like the poisonous snake tempting the first man to swallow the bright red fruit of evil.

The cold moonlight continued to cast down on the King.

“Come with me, Your Majesty.”

The Devil made a sweet promise softly.

“The long river of red gold flow over the dark earth eternally. It is the wealth that has fallen into the darkness through the hands of the greedy. The most beautiful diamonds, the most flawless marble walls, the most splendid golden river……all of that can be yours.”

The crows quietly landed on the branches, waiting for the new corpse with dark red eyes.

“There is also a kingdom there. Although those naughty little fellas look a bit odd, I assure you that they will be the most obedient servants in the world. If you want, you can fly across the skies on the keel, and even the lords of the abyss would not refuse your calling.”

The cold enveloped the King, his pulse gradually became slower, his breathing became lighter than that of a kitten, and the last bit of blood on his lips disappeared quietly.

The Devil’s voice was gentle and soothing. If he was willing, he could be the most successful persuader in the world.

Even an angel would be tricked into falling to hell by him.

Now, he had undoubtedly taken out all of his abilities, trying his best to seduce the young King to give up his tenacity and allow death to swallow him up.

“You see……”

He sneered slightly in the ear of the King, a sneer with such a deep meaning.

“Your father betrayed you——he sold you to the Holy See and then to the Devil. Your subjects betrayed you, and your so-called relatives long for your early death. No matter where you are, people are trying their best to make you die.”

“In truth, no one wants you to survive.”

“Aren’t you very clear on this?”

………

No one wanted you to survive.

Curse-like words traveled to him from far, far away.

The King stood in a mist and raised his head expressionlessly. The sky was gray and the surroundings were also gray. There were many fuzzy figures hidden in the surrounding gray mist.

He vaguely felt that he had forgotten a lot of things.

Where was this place? A dream?

The King walked forward.

The shadows on the left and right moved with him, like maggots burrowing their way through flesh and bone. The scarlet fire was burning against the ground and trailing behind him like a viper, intent on swallowing him whole. Countless hands stretched out from the mist, dry and pale. Those hands grabbed the King and tried to drag him down.

——You see, no matter where you are, people are trying their best to make you die.

The whispering, ghostly voice burrowed into his mind.

The red fire raged up and swallowed the King. Boiling, blazing, burning the soul. Blood rolled down from the corner of his eye. He closed his eyes tightly.

Gradually falling.

——Come, to another kingdom that truly belong to you.

The golden lake of fire, the black earth, the docile and loyal servants, all the wealth of heaven and earth……the magnificent and luxurious picture unfolded in the King’s mind. All the existence there was waiting for him with joy.

——Please leave with me.

That voice was also laced through with suppressed joy.

A slender hand stretched out from the thick fog and reached out to the falling King. The hand was pale as if it was lit with brilliance.

Waiting for him to reach out.

The King slowly stretched out his hand. The voice stopped as if its owner was restraining ecstasy.

“No.”

The King suddenly opened his eyes in the fire, and the drop of blood rolled from the corner of his eye and plunged into the black flames. The ice-blue eyes were as cold as a long blade tempered in ice water.

“F**k off.”

He opened his arms and let the scarlet flames swallow him up.

Leaving the pale hand hanging there empty.

………

In the forest.

The King’s breathing came quickly, and an abnormal flush swept across his pale cheeks. A fierce battle between death and life was enacting within his body.

Snap——

The Devil put down the harp whose strings were all broken in an instant with a sullen face.

Darkness hung over his face.

His dark eyes stared at the King who was gasping for breath, but was still in a coma.

“Fine then.”

The Devil said in a compromising tone.

“Sorry but, you can’t expect a Devil to abide by the contract, right?”

He stretched out his elegant and slender hands and stroked the King’s pale cheeks, the blood staining his hands.

He intended to take away the King directly.

A smile flicked across the lips of the Devil.

But at the next moment, a bright and holy light surged up, like an ice cube suddenly being dropped into a blazing fire. The Devil jumped up abruptly and threw off the damn holy flames that had covered his hand in that moment.

“Secret baptism! Those damn priests!”

The Devil was furious.

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

The church once held a grand baptism for the King in St. Westa Cathedral. On the day of the King’s coronation, the representative of the Pope, who had specially crossed the Abyss Strait, used holy oil from the golden eagle-shaped bottle and anointed the King’s chest, the center of his back, as well as the head, shoulders, elbows, and palms.

This had become the King’s protection at this moment.

The King opened his eyes.

“Go away, Devil.”

He said.

AN: Devil: Wanna go on a date?

King: F**k off!

[1][2][3] From Shakespeare’s “Richard II”

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“But, the church also recognized that he is the human incarnation of Saint Val.” The personal guard hated the King, but at this moment he tried his best to defend the King. “They also held a grand baptism for him in the Cathedral of Saint Westa.”

Baron Sheehan smiled and shook his head.

He knew his good partner too well. Just like most Legrandians and Bressians, they were extremely pious and had a firm trust in the church…..Admitting that the church lied and deceived everyone was more painful to them than accepting a tyrant.

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

However, shortly after the King was born, William III, who had always been strong and unyielding, conceded to the church and the church gained a greater say in the appointment and removal of church clergy.

Baron Sheehan stopped talking.

He rode the horse forward another two steps and while the flames flickered, something caught his attention.

A scarlet figure appeared in the front.

“On guard.”

Baron Sheehan did not forget that there were at least five vow knights beside the King. He held a torch in one hand and a sword in the other, leading the vigilant group forward.

Unexpectedly, they were not attacked in any way.

The scarlet figure turned out to be the cloak of the King.

It was hanging on a slightly lower branch, swaying slightly from the cold wind. It looked like the King standing there from a distance. The cavalrymen spread out around the baron. Baron Sheehan reached out and took off the red cloak. Flipping it over to the back of the cloak, two holes in the material appeared.

The positions were slightly downward on the shoulders and at the back of the heart respectively.

It seemed that his arrow did hit the King.

But the King was nowhere to be seen, leaving only the cloak hanging on the tree branch.

At this time, the hunting dog made a discovery.

The hound barked at a place on the ground. Baron Sheehan got off his horse, walked over, reached out and brushed away the thick leaves on the ground. He saw that it was his arrows dropped here. He picked up an arrow and touched the arrow head. It was stained with the sticky scarlet liquid of blood——it really did hit his target.

“They should be not far from here, search!”

Baron Sheehan stood up and ordered.

The cavalry nodded and were about to disperse.

The hounds suddenly rushed to the side of the horses, pressing close to their owners and making a strange and nervous growling noise from their throats. It was not like a warning but as if they had been overcome with some kind of huge fear. They trembled as they looked towards the darkness in front.

“What’s the situation?!”

The cavalry looked with horror in the direction where the hounds were looking at.

There was a thick darkness……don’t know if it was their illusion but at this moment, the darkness seemed to be expanding and it was as if something in it was waking up little by little to then salivate at these uninvited guests……What was it?!

The horses also became uneasy, and all the cavalrymen had to tighten their reins.

“What is that? My lord, what is that?!”

The personal guard asked in a panic.

Baron Sheehan grabbed the iron arrow and cloak and jumped up onto his horse. His horse was one of the best of Legrand’s famous horses, but it was also trembling at this time.

“Withdraw!”

A strong sense of crisis swept through him, and Baron Sheehan gave orders without hesitation.

The war horse rushed out of the mysterious Konosen forest, almost without even needing its owner’s urging.

After leaving the Konosen forest the feeling of being watched suddenly disappeared, but everyone still had lingering fears when they looked back at the black forest shrouded in darkness.

“Seal off the forest.”

Baron Sheehan was not completely without any gain. He had obtained the King’s cloak and the blooded iron arrows and could now confirm that he had indeed hit the King——in truth this was already enough. The cold rain, the dark forest, no medical aid……Baron Sheehan could not imagine how the King would be able to survive in such a situation. However, out of caution, he decided to seal off all the paths leading out of the forest.

“In the name of……”

Baron Sheehan pondered for a while and smiled.

“In the name of guarding the royal forest.”

The cavalry laughed.

…………

Drip.

Raindrops fell on the mossy ground and every breath they took was wet and cold.

Baron Sheehan’s estimate was actually wrong. The King was not anywhere near the vicinity where they had found his cloak. They had already gone even deeper into the forest. Almost at the moment when the horses stopped tiredly, the King and his knights rolled off their horses, falling to the ground exhausted.

Thanks to the thick moss and fallen leaves, they didn’t suffer any new injuries.

The King listened for a while and concluded that the cloak he left to confuse their enemies should have worked.

The chasing soldiers no longer dared to follow after them into the forest.

The rain also stopped at this time, but the place they were in was still very dark. Even after their eyes got used to it they could only vaguely see each other’s outline. They didn’t have torches, they were cold and tired, and they were all injured.

This night was truly terrible.

A vow knight spoke up, saying that things would be better when dawn came and they could meet up with other people.

Upon hearing these words, the King sneered in the darkness and said coldly: “Then that’s indeed excellent, no need for Baron Sheehan to do anything at all.”

For the sake of their master, they hoped not to meet other people. Although the forest was also a refuge for the hermits, it was often the vicious thieves and desperate criminals who favored the forest more than those hermits——no matter which kind they would all be unfavourable for them.

Nor could they expect the woodcutters to help.

Like most countries, Legrand’s forest laws were harsh. The forest belonged to the royal family and all living things in the forest belonged to the King. Any felling of trees and undergrowth must be carried out under the supervision of the Chief Forest Officer. For those who depended on the forest for their livelihoods, it was very difficult for them to pay the permit fee to the royal family.

As a King, Pureland I was definitely a master of exploitation. Before Zhu Chi transmigrated over, Pureland extended the forest law to nearly one-third of Legrand’s territory. The levy had also doubled in comparison to the previous kings.

Most people began cutting trees privately.

It was hard to say how these people would react when they came across the King.

No one dared to speak for a while.

Everyone thought of the forest law. But to say anything about this at this time would undoubtedly be equivalent to accusing the King of tyranny.

In truth, the King was more annoyed about this thing than anyone at this time. He gritted his teeth in the dark. When things settled down, his first target was the damn royal forest law.

Let those forest officers go to hell.

“Tell me, your comrades……” In the silence, the King spoke up, pausing slightly, “Their names, ages, and where they came from——including yourselves.”

It seemed that there would never be words like “weak” in his dictionary. Even in this darkness, the King’s voice was still cold and imposing, and this was exactly what was needed at this time.

It eased the hearts of the tired knights.

Their Majesty was born arrogant and he didn’t know what being “amiable” was from birth, his eyes always sharp and imperious. It made people feel that His Majesty was like the rose ring on his finger, a heart as cold as metal. By saying this, it was evident that the King remembered their loyalty and sacrifice.

They originally didn’t expect the King to remember this.

After a moment of silence, the knight commander spoke in a low voice. He knew his comrades better than anyone.

“Kohen, seventeen years old, from Saxony……”

The King interrupted him: “Is he the one just now?”

The knight commander quickly understood what the King meant: “Yes, he is the one who blocked the longbowmen.”

“Continue.”

The King remembered the vow knight who yelled at him in the mud——he was very young, with a round face that still had a boyish innocence.

“There are two younger sisters in his family. His mother was suffering from a cold last month……” The King only asked the name, age and where they came from, but the knight commander suddenly had the courage to talk to the King about these trivial things. His voice shaking slightly he said, “He originally wanted to take a leave of absence for a week……”

The King did not interrupt him.

The knight commander’s voice calmed down.

He began to talk about his comrades, trying his best to describe their habits, speaking about them as if they were still present. Gradually, other vow knights also joined the conversation.

The King rarely spoke, but the occasional inquiries let them know that he did listen and remember. Their eyes reddned slightly.

The knight commander only talked about himself last.

“……Twenty-nine, I am from the North,” the knight commander said naturally.

“No.”

In the dark, the King’s voice was not colored by any emotion and it was difficult to distinguish whether he was pleased or angered.

“You are not from the North.”

The slightly lively atmosphere suddenly ended, and the others were at a loss, wondering what the King meant.

“Yes.” The knight commander admitted bitterly, “I am from Ingres.”

The other vow knights inhaled sharply and realized something.

Ingres was a small state that Legrand conquered before, but it had repeatedly rebelled and angered the royal family. As early as in the law laid down hundreds of years ago, the people of Ingres were prohibited from occupying land, serving as royal officials, and even not allowed to wear armor……The status of the Ingres people was extremely low.

However, the knight commander became the King’s vow knight.

After the hidden secret was spoken out, the knight commander only felt relieved. He said in a low voice, “Your Majesty, please allow me to escort you back safely. After that, I am willing to accept any punishment……”

“Don’t bother me with such trivial things.” The King said indifferently, “Tell me about the situation in Ingres.”

The other vow knights cheered.

The knight commander wiped his face harshly. He couldn’t believe his ears. He could only try to express his feelings in an incoherent mess, but the King just interrupted him impatiently and had him quickly say what he should say.

He stumbled slightly over his words as he talked about the rebellious region shrouded in wildness. Because he was too excited it was barely even coherent.

The King listened quietly.

This time he was silent for a long time. It wasn’t until the knight commander finally calmed down did he notice that something was wrong.

“Your Majesty? Your Majesty?”

The King did not answer.

The joy retreated cleanly, and inexplicable fear surged up. The knight commander struggled and crawled in the direction of the King.

The heavy rain had already stopped for a long time, but unexpectedly it began to rain once again at this time.

The moonlight fell through the gaps in the tree branches, and the knight commander’s breathing suddenly stopped.

Their King lay not far from them, his face pale as an ice sculpture.

“Your Majesty! Your Majesty!”

He couldn’t care about the pain in his whole body at all, shouting while throwing himself to the King’s side. He lifted a trembling hand to test the King’s breathing. It was as light as a breeze.

A frightening dark red color soaked through the fabric over the King’s shoulders and even the moss where he lay appeared dark brown.

A terrible thought appeared in everyone’s minds and their minds completely blanked out by the shock.

Clack, clack……

An even worse situation had befallen them.

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

A faint blue fog began to pervade the air close to the ground. From the fog there was a horrible sound of bones colliding against each other. The knights jumped up, shielding the unconscious King in the middle and holding their swords with their cold, stiff hands.

The sound was getting closer.

The fog was getting thicker.

They saw the outline of a carriage appearing from the thick fog.

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The vow knight heard the King’s voice.

Before he had time to think about it, he immediately tucked in his head and with a turn of his hand he lifted his shield against his back.

The tough bowstring woven by horsehair was pulled, and almost at the same time, the sounds of many arrows whistling through the air could be heard. The arrows shot by the longbows covered the sky like a cloud of iron.

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

The King and the others were facing Baron Sheehan, and their reaction was faster than that of the vow knight who had acted as the scout.

The vow knights on the left and right sides of the King did not retreat but moved forward. They charged forward and set up a shield to secure the King behind them. The shields of the vow knights were forged by a special method, allowing them to be harder than ordinary shields. But Legrand’s longbowmen were also world famous. Within sixty yards, the longbow could shoot through chain mail.

This was why, Baron Sheehan dared to bring a dozen longbowmen to kill the King.

Strictly trained longbowmen could shoot six to ten arrows per minute. The shield could only hold on for a while, and when the horses fell, the King would have no way to escape.

It was not just Baron Sheeehan who thought of this.

At the moment when the vow knights raised their shields, the King threw his long sword out. The arrows fell on the shield like a rain of iron, and the King’s sword also drew a cold moon-like arc in the air.

The long sword accurately headed towards Baron Sheehan who was holding the torch.

Baron Sheehan was taken aback.

In order to lower the guard of the the vow knight, his sword was hung at his waist and he had no armor on. Seeing the long sword flying straight at him, Baron Sheehan had to urge his horse to charge a few steps to the side.

The long sword flashed coldly, and embedded deeply into the ground.

The sword had missed.

But the King’s purpose had been reached.

When Baron Sheehan rushed out on his horse, he inevitably blocked the longbowmen behind him.

The longbowmen who were just about to draw the bow and let loose the string a second time suddenly saw the baron appearing in the firing range, and hurriedly stopped in their tracks. There were a few bold ones who changed the direction of their aim, shooting at the King and his vow knights from the gap where the baron’s horse rushed by. But having already lost their aim and the strength of the arrows greatly reduced, these sporadic arrows flew out in a crooked trajectory for a certain distance only to then fall down to the muddy ground.

“Damn it!”

Baron Sheehan reflexively urged his horse to the side to avoid the sword and only realized after the horse had rushed out a few steps. He cursed, reining his horse to make room for the longbowmen.

“Keep going!”

He sternly scolded.

Almost at the same time, someone also yelled loudly.

“Your Majesty! Go!”

The vow knight in charge of scouting roared and rolled off his horse.

The cold weather also affected these archers who had been lying in the grass for a long time. These longbowmen brought out by Baron Sheehan should be of the highest rank in the army, and they could instinctively draw a longbow of one hundred and fifty pounds. But after enduring the torrential rain for so long, they probably only reached a hundred pounds.

Because of this, the vow knights around the King had the chance to block their arrow attacks.

However, the vow knight in charge of scouting was not so lucky.

He was too close to those longbowmen.

Even if the King alerted him in time and he reacted at the fastest possible second, the situation was still terrible. The iron arrow pierced his thigh and his horse also fell with a pained whinny. At this most critical moment, the brave vow knight miraculously dragged his injured leg and jumped up from the ground.

He roared as he threw himself towards those longbowmen who were very close to him.

With out stretched arms he grabbed two longbowmen, dragging them into the muddy water to roll and crash into the other longbowmen nearby.

An arrow that had just left the string sank into his chest, and blood spattered out.

“Your Majesty! Go!”

The longbowman kicked the madman desperately. But he ignored it, roaring loudly to his King, blood and muddy water rolling down his throat.

“……Go!”

This night, the King issued this order for the fourth time.

At this time, the King was in a dilemma.

At his back was the Moon River Fortress controlled by the Bressi expeditionary army. At his front was Truu City, which had rebelled. In the east was continuous grassland and in the west was only the undulating Konosen mountains——in this era, the dark forest was regarded as a forbidden place.

According to the unwritten rules——

The forest at night belonged to the dark creatures.

Without hesitation, the King led his knights to gallop towards the nearby forest.

Baron Sheehan threw away his sword and grabbed a longbow. He stretched the bowstring three times in a row.

That he was able to stand in a stalemate with the Bressi expeditionary army in the Castle of Truu for so long was not only because of his youth and handsomeness. As early as when he was sixteen, he had won many victories in the tourneys! These three arrows were the fastest and most powerful three arrows shot in Baron Sheehan’s life.

When the last arrow was shot, the bowstring snapped.

The iron arrow disappeared in the darkness, and headed straight toward the King.

Baron Sheehan could be sure that he had not missed and his strength was also absolutely sufficient.

But the last scene he saw was the King sitting on horseback, rushing into the forest and disappearing from sight.

“Damn! Damn! Damn!”

Baron Sheehan threw away the longbow. According to the plan, he had to bring back the King’s body, but now he was not sure whether he had succeeded or not.

“My lord, what should we do now?”

A person holding a torch led dozens of cavalry out of the dark rain, arriving at Baron Sheehan’s side. In order to avoid the King’s vigilance, these Truu City cavalry hid further away. When they had realized that the original plan had failed and rushed over it was already too late.

“Chase after them.”

Baron Sheehan said without hesitation.

“But……”

The one holding the torch was the personal guard of Baron Sheehan. At that moment he had a hesitant look on his face.

“The Konosen forest is a cursed forest.”

“F**k cursed or not cursed.”

Baron Sheehan could not maintain his demeanor anymore.

His gaze swept over the few dozens of cavalrymen and anger and sadness intertwined in his heart: These dozens of cavalry were the only cavalry in Truu Castle now.

How hilarious!

A military castle that had maintained a stalemate against Bressi for so long now had less than forty war horses left! Starting a month ago, the soldiers of Truu Castle had no choice but to slaughter the horses for ration. They had no bread, no milk, not even a hard-boiled egg.

These were all thanks to His Majesty’s favor.

“Even if there is only one in ten thousand chance that he survives, none of us would be able to bear the consequences.” Baron Sheehan gritted out from behind his teeth, “Whoever thinks he can bear it can stay.”

He was the first to ride his horse towards the Konosen mountains, also known as the ‘cursed forest’.

All the cavalrymen followed.

Only the King’s sword was left still embedded in the ground.

………………

Even if one looked at the Konosen mountain forest during the day, one would still feel chills.

This forest had been around since the ancient times, consisting of huge tall trees that grew close to each other, their bark as black as ink. The branches of the trees were like the arms of giants that densely intertwined with each other, blocking the sun’s rays during the day. It was gloomy and cold, darkness flooding the surroundings.

As soon as they entered the forest, they immediately felt that the rain lightened to the point that it seemed as if it almost stopped.

Baron Sheehan held a torch and slowed down his steps. The hounds followed alongside the horses. They had taken the hounds with them before they set off.

“My lord.”

The personal guard followed at Baron Sheehan’s side. He and Baron Sheehan grew up together and they had a close relationship.

“I don’t understand one thing.”

“What?”

“Why does the Grand Duke insist on having the King die tonight? Just because today is the death of Saint Val?” The guard voiced his doubts in a low voice, and at the same time to distract himself from his fear.

He couldn’t help it, this forest was too quiet, as quiet as death.

As far as the eyes could see, there were hundreds of thousands of thick tree trunks, standing like an odd city of nature. Humans here were invaders and offenders and there seem to be many eyes hidden in the darkness.

No one expected that a King who grew up in a luxurious court could enter here so decisively.

The hounds lost their former vigor, and only dared to sniff quietly and move forward with a lowered head.

“Do you remember? When was Our Majesty born?”

Baron Sheehan looked at this cursed forest and did not answer directly.

“In the early morning of September 23, the day when Saint Val returned to the Kingdom of Heaven.”

This was something that all the Legrand people knew.

More than ten years ago, on the night of September 22.

The royal cavalry sealed off the entire palace and the messengers could only wait outside the palace gate. The people waited until late into the night, until the first dawn light passed over the earth and the baby’s crying sounded. The Queen’s personal maid walked out of the palace wearily and announced to the people who had been long awaiting it:

The Crown Prince was born.

This coincided with the story of Saint Val——

She died on September 22. The next day, the Lord called her back to the Kingdom of Heaven.

Therefore, at that time, the royal family and the church announced to the people: The Crown Prince was a blessing from the saints, the incarnation of Saint Val, and would surely lead Legrand to brilliance and glory.

Because of this, after the death of William III, the Duke of Buckingham did not have to spend too much effort to get the people to accept the fact that their King was an infant.

You must know that there had always been a saying in the “Ecclesiastes”, “Oh country, if your king was a child, then disaster will befall you.”

“Levying exorbitant taxes, cruel and cold-blooded, extravagant lifestyle……what a brilliant and glorious King.”

The personal guard sneered sarcastically.

“Have you ever thought about this possibility……”

Baron Sheehan turned his head to look at him with a strange expression on his face.

“He was actually born in the middle of the night on September 22, not in the early morning of the 23rd?”

“What?” The personal guard looked at him in astonishment, and reflexively retorted directly, “Impossible. At that time, there were hundreds of messengers of the nobles guarding outside the palace. If it was the 22nd, those nobles would never allow him to become a legal heir to the throne!”

The glory of the Holy Lord enveloped the earth. No matter which country it was, it would not allow a baby born on the night when the Holy Lord abandoned the world to ascend the throne.

“Do you really think that Earl Walter was assassinated by the Grand Duke because he did not execute the Duke of Buckingham in time?”

Baron Sheehan asked coldly.

“What……what other reason could there be?”

“The night when the Queen gave birth, Earl Walter was the one leading the royal cavalry——he should have been the King’s first teacher!”

The personal guard was struck speechless.

Baron Sheehan stared at the torch, and the light of the fire casted his face in shadows made of light and darkness.

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

Behind the exquisite and elaborate curtains of the palace, every room had hidden secrets. The scent of blood and flowers mixed together. Behind the angel was a smiling demon.

“And so——”

Baron Sheehan’s voice was full of coldness.

“There is no such thing as the saints bringing a destined monarch to Legrand, but hell sending their champion to the world.”

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