I just covet their strength

Chapter 281 [Heart of Mist]

"Ugh"

The supreme lord of Yingxi Castle was actually sighing in front of a piece of light letter paper. If the knights under Uther saw this, they would definitely suspect that they were hallucinating.

Uther knew this day would come ever since Twilight was brought back, but when Westhead's letter was actually delivered to him, the Black Knight still felt extremely tormented.

Uther tirelessly trains apprentices, not because he is a good teacher, but to enjoy the respect and love of others. He will do everything possible to create an atmosphere of being the center of attention, even if it is only in his own territory.

It is precisely because of the large number of students cheering for him and creating momentum for publicity that the reputation of the Lord of Yingxi Castle can resound throughout the country of Yonglan.

The undefeated record so far, the undefeated record touted by followers.
You cannot fail, you absolutely cannot lose. If you fail, all the glory will be gone from you.

But he couldn't think of a way to deal with it. Westhead's strength was far beyond his expectations. Uther believed that he was also a superior knight in the Kingdom of Yonglan. Maybe there were people stronger than him, but there was definitely no one who could beat him, let alone crush him.

As long as he doesn't take the initiative to provoke conflict, Uther can rest assured.

However, Westhead suddenly appeared and broke his comfort zone with a punch. Not only was he incredibly strong, but he was also a knight who was going on a pilgrimage to become the king. Even if Uther did not take the initiative to provoke him, Westhead came with the righteousness of the pilgrimage.

The challenge from the king cannot be rejected and a response must be given.

If it was a one-on-one duel, the result would have been decided long ago. Last time, Westhead gave me face, but this time, I'm afraid I won't have any way out.

Therefore, there is only one way before him, that is obedience, and not just ordinary submission, but also full support, and the best way to show it is to recognize Westhead's ideas and go with the flow.

Only in this way can you rationalize your cowardly behavior.

Uther stood up, looked at the letter again, finally made a decision, and rang the bell:
"Call Lafati over here."

A moment later, a young knight with bright silver hair pushed the door open and saluted respectfully to the Lord Knight:

"Lord Uther, did you call me?"

I saw Uther standing in front of the French window, with his hands behind his back, and said lightly:

"Well, Lord Qinghui's pilgrimage is almost in its final stages. A large number of opponents have already gone to the [Heart of Mist], and he is also planning to go to the [Heart of Mist]."

Lafati was stunned and said, "So, it is really possible for Lord Qinghui to become the Knight King?"

".We cannot be sure yet, but on the way to [Heart of Mist], Lord Qinghui will also be in Yingxi Castle."

Uther turned around and looked at the student with his piercing eyes:
"Lafati, you have the most contact with Lord Qinghui. Do you think he has the courage to become a king?"

"Sir, if I were to say so, Lord Qinghui is a natural born knight. It is a loss for him to be born in the Empire. His fighting style is too wild. He does not take his life seriously at all, and he has an indomitable attitude."

Lafati did not hide his admiration for Westhead and praised him nonstop. Then he noticed the lord's expression and said hesitantly:
"Lord Uther, you are planning..."

"Ah."

Uther nodded and said:
"In fact, I have some complaints about the serfdom system. I think the reforms proposed by Lord Qinghui are very good. Besides, didn't he promise us a grand expedition?"

"Perhaps, joining Lord Qinghui's team and helping him win is a good choice."

Lafati: “Ah?”

When did this happen? Aren't you specifically looking for the best talents among the serfs?
Although the serfs under the jurisdiction of Yingxi Castle did not live such a hard life, their scale was extremely large.

An assembly line industry of [serfs - apprentices - knights] has been formed, which is an important source of blood for Yingxi Castle.

Shouldn't serfdom be the foundation of our Yingxibao system?
However, Lafati did not voice his doubts. As a good student of Uther, he certainly supported his master's decision:
"If that's the case, you will be the first great knight to join the pilgrimage camp."

Uther smiled upon hearing this:

"That's perfect. It means we are here to help those in need."

Following Westhead to attack the [Heart of Storm] will benefit Uther in every way and is the only solution.

The loser of the King's Pilgrimage will be disgraced, but those who support the king will not be held accountable and will just go their separate ways. The most Uther will be accused of not knowing how to judge people and will be laughed at by the other great knights.

However, this kind of ridicule is very mild and is only mentioned in private at most.

As long as public opinion mobilizes its forces to record the history books, the stain can naturally be washed away.

And if Westhead can successfully take over the [Heart of Storm] and sit on the throne of the Knight King, it will prove that Uther has a keen eye and is the first great knight to stand on the side of the Knight King, which is even better!
There’s only a difference between small wins and big wins, it’s all a win anyway!
"Lafati, you have a history with Lord Qinghui, so I'll entrust you to contact him first. We still need to make some preparations, but the checkpoints at Yingxi Castle will no longer hinder the pilgrimage team."

When Uther thought about it, he didn't feel so aggrieved anymore, and he knocked on the table and said.

"Yes, I will definitely convey your will!"

Lafati immediately took the order and left.

So not long after, a piece of news swept across Yonglan like a hurricane.

Lord Uther of Yingxi Castle announced his support for Westhead's claim to the throne and led his troops to join the pilgrimage team.

This greatly surprised many of the knight leaders who were watching. Although Westhead seemed to be unstoppable, the great knights with real background had not yet taken sides, which meant that the journey to becoming a king could not be concluded yet.

Yingxi Fort, which was originally thought to be the site of a fierce battle on the pilgrimage route, did not fire a single shot, but instead became a guide, welcoming the pilgrim army to easily cross the natural barrier and enter the pass.

Uther, the [Black Knight] whom we had high hopes for, has surrendered!
Uther's choice was beyond most people's expectations. In their opinion, the Lord of Yingxi Castle should be a staunch opponent.

He surrendered without fighting. Does Lord Uther really approve of Lord Qinghui? Or does he expect a foreigner to rule him?

No matter how outsiders speculate and are surprised, the fact that cannot be changed is that the pilgrim team passed through the natural barrier of Yingxi Castle unimpeded.

Their path was like a straight sharp blade, piercing Yonglan's heart at an extremely fast speed.

[Heart of the Mist], just like the [Sacred Roots] of the empire, [Heart of the Mist] is also the capital of an orderly country. Naturally, it is the place where the purest miracles of the gods are nurtured.

In the imperial capital, it was the shadow of a huge sacred tree, and in Yonglan's capital, it was the magnificent city itself. It was not built on a fertile plain, nor was it a transportation hub or a resource producing area. On the contrary, the geographical location of [Heart of Mist] was quite bad.

The surrounding land is barren, the location is remote, the weather is covered with snow and wind all year round, and it does not have any of the elements that make it a capital.

But it is the hometown of [Yonglan Rider God].

This alone is completely sufficient. The greatest miracle brought down by [Eternal Storm Rider God] after his ascension is the forging of [Heart of Storm].

In front of this towering city spanning cliffs and canyons, all natural creations seem insignificant.

Each wall of [Heart of Mist] is hundreds of meters high, able to accommodate the parallel width of the colossus. Each brick has hundreds or nearly thousands of years of history, fully demonstrating the blessing of God.

The style and layout of the buildings were all determined thousands of years ago.

Such ancient structures are stacked up in the Heart of Mist, with countless towering towers reaching up to the sky, countless long bridges connecting vertically and horizontally, and countless large stone elevators connected in series.
There is also a large monastery with a limestone shell, a temple surrounded by millions of glazed windows, and a trial waterfall surrounded by white mist.
Being in the Heart of Mist is like being in a miraculous palace maze. It does not feel like being in a fortress, but rather an exhibition hall built with all kinds of magnificent wonders.

To the extent that [Heart of the Mist] no longer serves as a settlement, all kinds of pilgrims, travelers and idle knights live there. Thousands and thousands of people are scrambling to move their family residences to [Heart of the Mist], but only a handful of knight families can truly receive this honor.

They cannot be said to be the superiors and rulers of the Kingdom of Yonglan, because in terms of the territorial resources they hold, these knight families are far inferior to the local great knight lords.

But they can be stationed in the capital openly and are in a position closest to the God-Ancestor in the mortal world. This alone makes countless knight families envious to the point of madness.

【Guardian of Steel】.

This is the nickname of the knight family stationed in the Heart of Storm. As the name suggests, they uphold the will inherited from the God-Ancestor, are transcendent guardians of order, and are also the hosts of the Knights' Council.

The knights belonging to these families are the core defense force of the capital of the Kingdom of Yonglan. Knights wearing white cloaks inlaid with gold, silk shirts and mithril light armor can always be seen standing guard on the battlements and palaces of the inner city.

He is graceful, heroic and handsome, holding the military flag in one hand and the dragon sword in the other. His inverted triangle full-coverage helmet is covered with light golden runes, and a straight vertical fluorescent line is the eye window. The helmet feathers are like a lion's mane and drape down.

[Heart of Mist] The almost constant wind and snow fluttered on their cloaks, and the knights standing guard were motionless like statues until they heard a sound.

"Da da da--"

The sound of boot soles tapping on the marble slabs was extremely crisp as Mavis came up from the lift.

"Mr. Mephis"

"Master Mephis!"

The knight of the royal city of the Qinxin family heard the voice and nodded slightly to greet the family's chief knight, who also nodded in return.

The blue-haired knight girl came to the steps of the Knight's Temple and looked at the stone tablet in front of her. There was a permanent glowing mark on it:
“I place my weakness here.”

"Use the sword to cut off my confusion."

"Never give up the thoughts of the past."

"I will walk into the snowstorm, and there will be no return."

Even though he had read the words engraved by [Eternal Storm Rider] countless times, every time he looked at the miracle, Mephis would bow devoutly before stepping into the hall of the temple.

In the lobby illuminated by dim lights, a group of knights were already talking.

They did not hold a solemn meeting around a large round table, but were distributed quite casually, some sitting in the corners, and others sitting on the leather sofas next to the fireplace.

"Mephis, you are a little late. We are discussing how to accommodate the knights who have poured into the Heart of Mist. They all intend to block the pilgrimage in this last stronghold. What do you think?"

"Then let them band together to stop us. It sounds like it will work. If they could really hinder the pilgrimage, they wouldn't have come to the Heart of Mist. In the end, don't we have to be the last barrier?"

Mavis brushed the snow off his coat and said:

"Uther has chosen to support the king. The army of Yingxi Castle will join the pilgrimage team. Everyone, what do you think?"

"Well, what a surprise."

The speaker was an old man with white hair and beard, standing with his hands behind his back, wearing a grey knight robe. He nodded slightly and said:

"As far as I know, Uther is a lord who values ​​his reputation and vanity. How could he so easily bow down to a king?"

Mavis smiled and said:

"Master Achsius, your information is a bit outdated. It is precisely because Uther is so careful about his reputation that he has to bow to Lord Qinghui, and he must do so without reservation."

"You did not participate in the vanguard of the previous expedition. The battle between Uther and Westhead was not a draw, but the former was crushed unilaterally."

As soon as Mephis finished speaking, the knight sitting by the fireplace couldn't help but said:

"Hmm? Uther is definitely not weak. Is the Empire's [Branch of Prosperity] that powerful?"

This knight has a light golden ponytail and his eyes are closed, but his delicate face can still be seen:

"There is no one who can unilaterally crush Uther, even if you look at the entire Kingdom of Yonglan."

Mavis raised his eyebrows and said:
"Lai Wu, this is what I want to say. Lord Qinghui is very strong. Very strong. I doubt whether he has already reached a realm above the legendary level. This is unlikely. In my opinion, Lord Qinghui has let go of the restrictions of the Tao and is wantonly absorbing other powers. The composition is really complicated. He has definitely been doing this for more than one or two days."

Hearing this, Achsius shook his head: "After all, he is a knight who changed his ways and cannot stick to the pure way of knighthood. How can such a foreigner be king?"

"That's not our concern, old man."

Mavis didn't have the outdated idea that "the laws of our ancestors cannot be changed". She put her hand on her chest, slowly closed her eyes, and said in a fanatical and almost trembling voice:
“No matter who claims to be the king, or what he proposes, there is only one thing we [Guardians of Steel Will] have to do, and that is to use the authority and power bestowed upon us by the God Ancestor to offer the trial of steel will and storm to the one who intends to be the king.”

“That’s all I did.”

(End of this chapter)