Heart of the Castle

Chapter 471 Heavy duty, traitor, proposal
Although King Arthur XII's voice was weak, the content in his words made everyone present hold their breath. Silence enveloped the room, and even the sound of a quill pen rubbing against the paper could be clearly heard.Perhaps it was because the room was too hot, fine beads of sweat appeared on the head of Sir Lloyd Raul who recorded the king's will, and his whole body seemed to shrink in size.

"Have you written it all down, Lue Jula?" Arthur XII asked while raising his arm with difficulty to get the quill on the bedside.Marquis Osiris hastily fetched the pen for him, dipped it in ink, and handed it between the trembling fingers of the king.It took the king several tries to get a firm grip on the penholder. "After you write it, bring it over here and let me sign it."

"It's finished, Your Majesty." Sir Lulula dried the writing on the parchment with his mouth, then picked up one end in each hand, and spread it out in front of the king, "Your Majesty, please see if I understand what you mean ?”

"Liuola, you have never made a mistake in writing, and it is even more in line with my own wishes than what I wrote myself." Arthur XII only glanced at it, and left trembling scribbles on it. Signed, "Now...Magellan, you take my signet ring, and seal it...with a wax seal."

Sir Magellan untied a gold necklace from his neck. This necklace was of ordinary shape, and at the end hung a small box that looked very inconspicuous, and the seal of King Arthur was kept in the small box.Sir Magellan solemnly opened the box, took out the royal seal ring, and presented it to His Majesty the King with both hands.

Arthur XII did not go to receive the seal ring, but asked Marquis Osiris to take it for him, "Osiris, Ansair, both of you are important ministers of the kingdom and the heads of the Nine Pillars family, and for this purpose Be a witness. Leroula, show them your will."

"Sir Lureura, please wait a moment." Earl Ansair, who had been listening silently, suddenly spoke up, and then dissuaded King Arthur XII, "Your Majesty, the authority of the important ministers of the kingdom is very important and should not be delegated lightly. Lord Leviston's abilities are certainly worthy of a heavy responsibility, and he has made enough achievements, but after all, he is too young and has only a short time to become a nobleman... I suggest that you wait for your injury to improve before thinking about it carefully .”

"Are you trying to say that my mind is no longer clear? My dear brother-in-law..." Arthur XII laughed out of breath, and then the laughter stopped because of a sudden pain.Turning to moaning in pain, "No, no... I was sober, so... I realized that I had to do something... when I was the king of a country."

"Your Majesty, you will always be our king." Sir Salamis with an iron gray moustache said resolutely.

"That was also when I was still breathing. It is impossible for a dead man to continue to be king." Arthur XII showed a terrible smile, with many black and red blood stains between his teeth, "Earl Ansair, punish To be a traitor is to reward loyal ministers, it is the duty of a king... Count Leonardo...didn't you insist on meeting me?"

He asked Sir Magellan, and after the latter slowly shook his head, a sad and bitter smile appeared on the king's face, "See? An earl with a sword who has lost his courage and self-confidence... The Stilwell family has no The status matches the strength, or do you still hope that such a weak and weak family will stand side by side with you among the Nine Pillars family?"

Earl Ansair opened his mouth to speak, but he suddenly found that he could not refute the king's statement, so he had no choice but to shut his mouth.

Arthur XII turned his head in satisfaction, and looked at the young griffin lord, "Leviston..." he said in a difficult voice, "Are you still satisfied with using this title to reward your achievements? ?”

"Your Majesty, I am deeply terrified..." Li Wei replied a little at a loss, but before he could concede, King Arthur XII interrupted him unceremoniously. I don’t have so much time to waste with you, little Griffin, this is a job given to you by the Dragon King, whether you like it or not, you have no right to refuse, anyway, now you are one of the most important ministers of the Kingdom of Arthur, get ready to fulfill your responsibilities!”

Li Wei could only smile wryly, and then, regardless of the winks from Earl Ansair, he knelt down on one knee, with his right arm across his chest, "In that case, Li Weiston obeys the king's order."

A weak smile appeared on Arthur XII's face, "Very well, Li Wei...you really did not disappoint my expectations, accept this order now, and give it to Baba after returning to Fermeyer. The dead eunuch Mi Liyang, he will arrange your succession ceremony. Even if I die, you still have to sit in that chair."

"Your Majesty, please don't say that." Earl Ansair's voice was full of sadness, "Take good care of your body, there are so many doctors, scholars and archbishops in the Kingdom, it is impossible to find a cure after returning to Fermeyer. your people."

"You still don't know how to say comforting words, Ansair." The muscles on the king's face twitched twice, and it was obvious that the pain fell on him again, "I know how serious my injury is. .Not only the surface of the body, but even the internal organs...the internal organs have been...festered, and I don't know it, the fighting spirit...power has left my body..."

"Impossible!" Li Wei couldn't help blurting out, "As a knight, no matter how seriously injured he is, as long as he still breathes, his fighting spirit will never disappear!"

"His Majesty held a banquet that night. Gregor, the Earl of the Magic Mountain, and Reeves, the lord of the Dreadfort, both attended. After the riot, the two important ministers went to purge the troops one after another, but they never returned. When we found out The situation was not good, and when he was protecting His Majesty on the horse and wanted to leave there, when he returned to the camp, he was attacked by an elite demon army." Sir Lulula recalled, "Your Majesty seemed to be a little bit at that time. Something was wrong, but no one thought about it at the time, and they didn't even know when His Majesty was stabbed by the demon."

"I don't know, I drank a lot that night, a lot... I don't remember ever being drunk, but when I woke up, I was already riding on horseback, the armor was so heavy that I couldn't breathe, and the weight was strange... Then I just realized...I...lost the power of fighting spirit." Arthur XII shook his head with a puzzled expression on his face.

"Could it be that someone poisoned the wine?" Li Wei speculated.

"His Majesty did not drink the wine brought by others, and that night, all drinks were strictly inspected by the royal attendants." Sir Magellan explained.

"Strict inspection? How strict? Can Xiaoyue Ninghua also find out?" Li Wei asked without relaxing.

The Marquis of Osiris had a surprised expression on his face, "Dawn Condensation? That kind of precious potion that only the elves in the Moon Whispering Forest can brew? Leviston, you really surprised me, there are very few alchemists People other than warlocks know this kind of thing. Xiaoyue Ninghua does have the effect of dissolving battle energy, but it can't be hidden from my nose. You may not be able to distinguish the subtle differences, but I... can."

"The potion for dissolving battle qi is not just Xiaoyue Concentration. Demons and the dead also have their own secret recipes. It is not surprising to provide some to traitors." Sir Lulula joined the conversation, but his words only made everyone more confused Puzzled.

"It's so cold, Father God, why is it so cold in the room?" Arthur XII suddenly cursed, "Did the fire go out? Let those slobs quickly add wood to the fireplace!"

The temperature in the room was already suffocating. Everyone looked at the burning fireplace, and the flames inside were fiercely licking the mouth of the furnace.The royal attendant who was standing in front of the fireplace in charge of lighting the fire was about to open his mouth to defend himself, but Sir Magellan gave him a hard look, and then said harshly, "Do as Your Majesty said immediately, add more firewood, do you plan to chop firewood?" Is it not enough?"

The royal servant had no choice but to show hurt eyes and shut his mouth.Then he left the room, and soon came back with two companions, each holding fine oak logs in his hands, and stuffed them into the crackling fireplace.

The red flames filled the room, and His Majesty Arthur XII seemed to feel a little warmer, "I...I think about a lot of things now, Ansair, tell me...I, will I be like the king of the army, What about leaving a shameful stroke in the history of Arthur Kingdom?"

"Of course not." Earl Ansair said consolingly, "Your Majesty, King of the Army... No, the deposed King Arthur VII did not defend the Four Realms Castle, allowing the demon army to fight all the way to the king's capital, and he wanted to abandon the city and die. escape; and you defended the Holy White Rock Fortress, and severely defeated the coalition forces of the demons and the dead, you are much better than the deposed king."

"However, the king of the army also has...Gonitz, a brave and skilled... brother, who saved the defeat." Arthur XII muttered, then waved his hand feebly, and hissed, "The Marquis of Osiris is here to stay. , everyone else back down, it's all the same..."

Li Wei and Earl Ansair kowtowed to the king lying on the bed, and then left the stuffy and cold room one after the other. Instead, it stands around the king's bedroom, like a statue made of gray steel.

His Majesty the Dragon King of the Kingdom of Arthur may not be alive soon.Both Li Wei and Earl Ansair were no strangers to the feeling that enveloped Arthur XII. They were unwilling to admit it, but that feeling was indeed called—the breath of death.Although Earl Ansair said so many words in front of the king, easing his heart and allowing him to heal his wounds at ease, in fact, he already had such an awareness in his heart.

"May the merciful Father God bless you."

Then the two walked down the stairs in silence, the light of the silver moon and the red moon poured down the corridor from the window, making everything look desolate and gloomy, even the ashen knight standing in the corridor holding a halberd was no exception .As he passed the corridor leading to the observation deck on the second floor of the castle, Earl Ansair suddenly stopped in his tracks.

"Li Wei, come with me for a walk over there."

It was a simple request, and then the sword dancer walked straight to the watchtower of the castle, throwing himself into the cold embrace of the bitter night wind.Li Wei followed closely behind, and there were also two Ash Knights standing on the watchtower holding a halberd. When they saw Earl Ansair and Li Wei approaching, they both held their halberds and bowed their heads.

"Master Ansair, Lord Li Wei..."

"Master Li Wei and I have something to say, you should step back a little bit first." Earl Ansair ordered, the two Ash Knights seemed to hesitate at first, but they quickly nodded and walked to the left side of the viewing platform into the guard hut.

Earl Ansair came to the edge of the watchtower, held the crenel with his hands, and looked at the dark night outside the city. After a long time of silence, a sigh floated in the air, and the sword dancer said in a deep voice without looking back, "Li Wei, you are still too young, do you think Wang Guozhong's chair is really that easy to sit on?"

"Of course it's not easy to sit. I knew it from the beginning, but now I have to sit." Li Wei's expression didn't change because of Earl Ansair's sigh. Stand shoulder to shoulder. "Lord Ansair, the important ministers of the kingdom have always been held by the wealthy patriarch of the royal capital Fermeyer. No matter in terms of qualifications or background, I, a young lord who has just become a nobleman for only a few months, cannot compare. The Dragon King's reward will make me a target of public criticism, and the friendship I just gained among the nobles of Firmeyer will probably also turn into jealousy and hatred, right?"

"You actually understand everything?" Earl Ansair turned his head in surprise, and looked at Li Wei's resolute young face, "Since you know, why do you still accept His Majesty's orders?"

"Loyalty, responsibility, and the oath of being a knight." Li Wei replied seriously. "Hero and Minister of the Kingdom, the two brilliant titles will make everyone else look eclipsed. There should be many people who are dissatisfied with this, but the one who is the most dissatisfied and the first to jump out is bound to be..."

"...the guy who betrayed the kingdom!" Earl Ansair continued, but then his expression became a little suspicious, "So, do you think the murderer who murdered the king is not the same person who initiated the night of terror? ?"

Li Wei's eyes flickered, "Gregor, Earl of the Magic Mountain? This man is rough and arrogant, he is a very good target, isn't he? His figure is too big, I am afraid he can attract all eyes Well. As for poisoning and murdering His Majesty the King, it really doesn’t look like the Earl of the Magic Mountain, so I suspect that he is not the traitor, or rather, he is not the only one.”

Earl Ansair nodded thoughtfully, "What you said makes sense, Levi, the Magic Mountain really doesn't seem like a coward who can poison people. But this can't wash him and the Marquis of Reeves away. After all, it was the chaos between the Death Knights and the jailers of the Dreadfort that caused the royal army in the middle to retreat."

"This is the biggest problem now." Li Wei admitted, "We want to deal with that traitor, but we don't even know who the traitor is. The problem facing the kingdom is still very serious. Although the coalition forces of the dead and the devil have suffered heavy losses, Their attempt to encircle and annihilate the king's army was also shattered, but the Kingdom of Arthur still failed to win the war. Now we can't even find the manpower to recover the four southern counties, let alone carry out a purge within the kingdom."

When they walked out of the gate of the central castle, the two of them were in a more gloomy mood than before meeting the king. Earl Ansair and Levi said goodbye in front of the door, because the exhausted sword dancer needed a rest urgently, and Levi took the burden for him. The command work of the defenders of the Holy White Rock Fort.Regarding this point, the royal knights in the castle were all convinced, and no one raised any objections.

Due to a particularly brutal battle just now, the outer walls of the Holy White Stone Fortress have been dilapidated, many guard towers have collapsed, and many problems have arisen in the defense.In order to detect possible enemy traces in time, Li Wei organized the Griffon Knights into three groups, and they took turns to perform reconnaissance missions over the Holy White Rock Fort; It's quite an exciting adventure.However, the exhausted Li Wei didn't have time to rest, because just after he had arranged these things, the Holy Light Knight Titos found him in front of the castle gate.

"Master Li Wei, if you have time now, can you take a step to speak?"

Li Wei found that he had no reason to refuse, so he stopped, nodded and said, "Okay, Lord Titos."

The holy light knight Titos walked quickly to Li Wei's side, glanced cautiously around, and when he found no one was paying attention, he lowered his voice and said, "Master Li Wei, has His Majesty appointed you as an important minister of the kingdom? "

Li Wei frowned, and replied reluctantly, "...that's right. How do you know?"

"The humble believer of the Lord of Glory knows everything." Titos covered it with a phrase that fanatics often say, and then moved forward, "Then, Lord Li Wei, have you ever considered how to sit still? This position?" Without waiting for the young Griffon Lord to answer, he took it by himself, "The Lord of Radiance can help you, as long as you nod, Archbishop Mystra will give Cardinal Firmeyer Bishop Enoch Sebasta sent a letter, asking him to fully support you. Not only that, the entire Temple of Radiance will be your solid backing."

To Titos' disappointment, Li Wei didn't show a trace of joy on his face, but raised his eyebrows, "This is really great." His tone was very flat, as if he had just announced that he would support him. It's not a powerful force like the Temple of Glory, but an ordinary knight. "So what do I need to pay?"

"You don't need to pay anything, because the Lord of Radiance is extremely kind and generous to his followers, just like the golden sun selflessly bestows light on all things." Titos declared with a solemn expression.

　Shen Duxing and the Heart of the Castle wish all book friends a happy Christmas Eve, everything goes well, and all the best.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)