Heart of the Castle

Chapter 483 Stigma, strength, facing court
The words of Queen Regent Lilaya immediately caused waves in the hall of the palace. Most of the nobles who are eligible to participate in the court meeting have already known about the news of the defeat of the king's army, or at least they have guessed it.But the serious accusation of betrayal by a traitor and the sudden appearance of Earl Leonard Stilwell surprised many people, and there was a lot of discussion.

Count Leonardo then appeared behind everyone. He was wearing a knight's armor full of sword marks and blood stains, and the purple cloak on his shoulders was in tatters, and the marks of burning fire could be seen.Many aristocrats remembered the face of Knight Ray of the Stilwell family vividly, a grim but energetic face with a short, carefully groomed beard.But now they are almost unrecognizable, because Count Leonardo has become dark and thin, his face is full of pain, his beard is unkempt, and he can hardly walk on his own. He has to be supported by two royal servants. .

Earl Leonardo walked forward slowly with the support of the royal attendants, and the nobles attending the court meeting stepped aside to let him pass, and at the same time whispered to each other about his distressed appearance.As important ministers of the kingdom, Cardinal Enoch Sebasta and Star Mentor Satzien Hel stood up, watched their colleagues walk with difficulty, and moved step by step to the stairs leading to the golden throne.

"Your Majesty the Queen Regent, Your Royal Highness the Crown Prince." Earl Leonardo, with the help of two royal attendants, knelt down on one knee with great effort and bowed his head, saying, "The head of the Lightning Knights, the head of the Kingdom's Nine Pillars family, holds the sword Earl, Ray Knight Leonard Stilwell has an audience."

"Earl Leonard Stilwell, please get up." Queen Lilaya said slowly, "Now please swear to God the Father, and then tell the words you said to me last night in front of the kingdom's important officials and You rich nobles, repeat."

"Yes, Your Majesty the Queen." Count Leonardo stood up again, and then turned to the crowd. Although his voice seemed weak, it was enough for everyone in the audience hall to hear clearly. "I, the head of the Lightning Knights, the patriarch of one of the Nine Pillars of the Kingdom, the Lightning Knight Earl Leonardo Stilwell, swear to the Supreme Father God that every word I say is true, otherwise I will lose All reputation and prestige, and then died under the sharp knife."

This oath is enough for any nobleman.Afterwards, there was no sound in the audience hall, and the rich and nobles stopped whispering, preparing to listen to what amazing things Count Leonardo would say after making such a severe oath.

"My lords, it has been half a month since the defeat of the various royal armies in the Southern War." Earl Leonardo's first words caused an uproar among the nobles in the audience hall, and then he closed his mouth. Mouth, waited for the voice of discussion to decrease a little before continuing. "I can understand everyone's surprise. The decision to block the news was jointly made by the Marquis Osiris, the Sky Knight, and the Earl of Ansair, the Governor of the Northern County. I can't comment on whether their actions are correct, but I think they should at least send Special envoy, come here and explain."

"Yes, we have the right to know the battle situation on the front line!" Several voices agreed, but more nobles did not express a clear attitude. This is not to say that most people agree with the practice of blocking news, but that they are waiting Even more shocking news was heard from Earl Leonardo.

"The king's army in the middle road went very smoothly at the beginning. Thousands of demons lost their lives in front of the knight's iron hooves, and tens of thousands of demons were beaten and fled in disarray. The king's army pursued all the way and recovered many villages, towns and manors. It was only outside the city of Nardi that they set up camp and prepared to attack the county seat of Nardi County." Earl Leonardo said loudly, "Then there was a terrible riot in the camp of the king army in the middle road. And the culprit is the Death Knights of Gregor, Earl of the Mountain! As far as I know, there is a unit in the Knights of Death that specializes in assassination, sabotage and reconnaissance. It is this unit, under the order of Gregor, Earl of the Mountain, They destroyed the other camps of the middle king army and assassinated many battalion commanders and sentries in key positions, which led to the complete defeat of the middle king army in the riots!"

The noise then resounded in the hall of audience, like a tide, wave after wave. "The Earl of the Mountain is a traitor? That's impossible, isn't it? What can the devil give him?"

"Why is it impossible? I have long thought that guy is not pleasing to the eye, bloodthirsty, brutal, cold, more like a devil than a devil."

"If the Devil Mountain colluded with the devil, then the reason for the defeat of the middle king army will be found out."

"Father God!" An old voice rang out, "I want to know if my son was sacrificed. Count Leonardo, please tell me, how much loss has the royal army in the middle suffered? "

"Yes, tell us, how much did Wang Jun lose?" Many voices immediately shouted.

"I am not willing to bring you terrible news, but I have just sworn before the supreme Father God that I can only tell the truth, so..." Earl Leonardo paused, not so much because of grief. He couldn't go on, it might be better to say that he wanted to achieve a more sensational effect, "There is not one out of ten kings in the middle road, and only more than 150 noble children of the king's capital survived."

There was a moment of silence in the audience hall, and then many voices shouted angrily, "Gregor, Earl of the Magic Mountain, he deserves to die a hundred times!"

"Arrest the traitor, execute him, execute him!"

"Avenge the dead, deprive the Devil Mountain of all its territories and positions!"

"Earl Leonard Stilwell, you are brave enough to bring us such important information. From Her Majesty the Queen Regent and Her Majesty the Crown Prince, down to every subject in the kingdom, I am grateful to you." The court said The manager Bamilian said softly, "However, there is a question stuck in my throat like a thorn. I hope your answer can pull out this thorn for me."

Count Leonardo snorted in disgust, "My lord, I don't have time to play word games with you. You have been hiding behind the high wall of Fermeyer, and the intelligence network of Sleepless Eye in the four southern counties has long been broken. Unbearable, why doubt my words."

"Oh, my lord, do you think I'm going to question your words before I speak?" The eunuch frowned, his expression seemed a little sad. It is a fatal loophole, but with the little black-feathered angel generously borrowed by Viscount Leviston, some basic information can still be sent back. After you reunited with your knights, you have been lingering outside the battle line, According to the calculation of the time you just mentioned, it seems that until the night when the king army in the middle lost, you should still lead the Lightning Knights to wander outside the battlefield, right?"

"Are you accusing me of fearing the enemy and avoiding war?" Count Leonardo asked in a bad tone.

"Oh, it's okay if you say this is to preserve your vitality." The eunuch's smile didn't change, but his tone became sharper, "But they were all buried in the onslaught of the demon army afterwards Nah."

Manager Bamilian’s words made many nobles nod frequently. No matter how Earl Leonardo accused Gregor, Earl of the Mountain, the destruction of the Lightning Knights’ entire army was an irrefutable fact. If he could not put forward a strong If there is no evidence to refute Bamilian's accusation, then the best ending is to be deprived of most of the territory and official positions, and the Stilwell family may also be removed from the nine-pillar family.

"Your accusation sounds reasonable, but in fact it has no basis at all." Earl Leonardo replied sharply, "Because the Griffin Lord Liviston is the No. 2 I want to accuse of colluding with demons and accusing you The traitor to the kingdom of the deceased is also the chief culprit that caused the defeat of the Northern Allied Forces!"

The uproar this time was far louder than the time Thunder Knight accused the Earl of the Mountain, and it was mixed with voices of protest.Because the rich and powerful nobles of the royal capital have no affection for the brutal and domineering Clemennon Gray, but it is different for Li Wei.Although they didn't like the young Viscount who had just risen from the backcountry, they were even more unwilling to believe that the Dawn of the North was in collusion with the devil, especially under the premise that there was a well-known major conflict between the accuser and the accused .

Levi Stern once greatly damaged the face of the Stilwell family at the banquet held by Grand Duke Raul. What happened afterwards not only caused the family to lose two important members. In order to control the power of the Lightning Knights.Earl Leonardo is not known for his magnanimity. On the contrary, there is an ironic saying in the capital, that is, the earl's calculating character, but the family language of the Stilwell family is "endless". Play to the fullest.

"Count Leonardo, please pay attention to your wording." Grand Duke Raul, who was attending the court meeting for the first time in several years, raised his head from the table and said with a frown, "Let me remind you that Viscount Leviston is the king himself. The conferred viscount of the kingdom has repeatedly made military exploits in the war against demons in the northern border, if your accusation is true, then the situation the kingdom will face will be more severe than imagined."

"My Lord Flandara, the golden face roams the land. When this kingdom is in danger, we should pray for blessings more piously." Cardinal Enoch Sebasta expressed his opinion in a deep and deep voice , the solemn posture standing behind the discussion table is like preaching in the glorious cathedral. "Excavate the fester and wash away the remaining dirt, so that the remaining healthy body will be saved. This is the truth that every believer in the Lord of Glory firmly believes. If there is evidence to prove that Lord Levistone is indeed in collusion with the devil, Then we have no reason to ignore his treachery out of fear of worsening the situation."

"What the star mentor and the cardinal said are all reasonable." Regent Queen Lilaya said in a solemn tone, "Earl Leonard Stilwell, your accusation against Viscount Leviston is very serious, you can provide Is there strong evidence?"

"I can……"

"He can't!" A sonorous voice came from outside the audience hall, interrupting Earl Leonardo's words, and then there was a neat clanging sound, as if many heavily armed knights were coming here.The nobles of the kingdom in the audience hall were suddenly commotioned, and they all looked back. Some of them couldn't help but hold the hilt of their swords at their waists.

A total of forty fully armed knights appeared on the square covered by thin snow, walking straight and briskly towards the audience hall.They wear half-faced helmets, on which stands a winged griffin that symbolizes their identity, wearing blue and white knight armor, with a fine steel epee on their waists, and a thick kite-shaped steel shield in their left hand, faintly The green vindictive light shrouded them, making them appear more and more fierce and murderous.

"Ash Knights!" A high-ranking Ash Knight shouted, and then the twelve Ash Knights guarding the throne stepped forward together, blocking the way of those Griffin Knights.However, the Griffin Knights immediately separated to the left and right, and Levi Ston, wearing a gorgeous noble dress, came out, the badge of the Knight of the Blood Alliance on his chest was shining, and the Griffin badge and the golden sword badge were pinned side by side.Behind him stood two people on each side. On the left was Sir Rodriguez, who was carrying a star iron giant sword, and on the right was Mr. Dish, dressed in a dignified aristocratic butler.

"I am the blood knight of His Majesty Arthur XII, the Knight of Ashes, what reason do you have to block my footsteps?" Li Wei had an expression of arrogance that he had never seen before, and he stood in the way without squinting. Said the Ember Knight in front of him.At the same time, there was no hesitation in their footsteps, and they walked towards the great halberds in the hands of the Ash Knights.

This posture caused hesitation in the eyes of the ashen knights, and the two ashen knights facing Li Wei even slightly deflected the edge of the halberd to the side.When they saw that Sir Rodriguez's hand had been placed on the hilt of the star iron giant sword, the determination to block it further dropped.

Bamilian, the head of the court, walked up the stairs quickly, whispered a few words in Queen Lilaya's ear, and then walked down quickly, "Guardian of the Northern Territory, Lord of Griffins, Lord Viscount Leviston !” he announced in a high-pitched voice, as if it were an ordinary audience.

Hearing the voice of the palace steward, the Ember Knights secretly breathed a sigh of relief. They immediately stepped aside and watched Levi, Sir Rodriguez, and Mr. Disch stride into the audience hall.Originally, the Ember Knights were still hesitating whether they should stop the other Griffin Knights, but with a gesture from Li Wei, those Griffin Knights immediately stopped, neatly as if they were one person.

"You, how dare you appear here!" Earl Leonardo's face showed a trace of panic, but then it turned into a look of anger. "Li Weiston, you are asking for your own death! Your Majesty the Queen Regent, please immediately order to arrest this traitor who is in collusion with the devil..."

"Ha, the traitor is right in front of me!" Li Wei put his hand on the hilt of his sword, and approached Count Leonardo step by step, as if he didn't care that there was a powerful sword-wielding count in front of him.

"Nonsense!" Earl Leonardo instinctively took half a step back, and then reacted immediately. He immediately covered up his guilty conscience with an angry expression, took two steps forward, and also said while holding the sword hilt at his waist. "Leviston, you say I've colluded with the devil? Where's the evidence?"

"You are right, the traitor who colluded with the devil is indeed someone else, and you are not worthy." Li Wei's answer was merciless, "But not colluding with the devil does not mean that you have not betrayed the king, Count Leonardo , I did not forge some evidence like you. I only have one thing in my hand, which is the autograph of His Majesty King Arthur XII, and it is signed by the Marquis Osiris, the Knight of the Sky, and the Sheriff of the Northern County. The decree witnessed by Earl Sier!"

There was a commotion in the audience hall, and many wealthy nobles couldn't help stretching their necks and standing on tiptoes to look at the letter in Li Wei's hand, although they knew that it was impossible to see anything written on it from such a distance .

Queen Regent Lilaya stood up from the golden throne, "Boss Bamilian, please take the will from Master Leviston, and let Master Satsienhell check it." The eunuch then stepped forward Come, take the will from Li Wei, and put it on the table of the star mentor.

Master Satzenhell took out a crystal lens from his sleeve and put it on his right eye, carefully checked the letter over and over again, from the material of the parchment to the seal of the sealing wax, then raised his head and said , "This is indeed the seal of the royal family's seal, and it has not been opened. There are also the signatures of the Marquis of Osiris and the Earl of Ansair next to it. I can recognize their handwriting."

"Since this is the case, it must be His Majesty's will." The Queen Regent's eyes moved slightly, and she looked at Count Leonardo, who looked a little embarrassed, "Master Sach Enhell, then it's up to you to read it. "

"Obey, Your Majesty the Queen Regent." Star Teacher bowed slightly in the direction of the golden throne, then opened the letter, read it at a very fast speed, with an inevitable look of surprise on his face, and then cleared the letter. Clear your throat. "The ruler of the Kingdom of Arthur, the guardian of the whole land, the victor of the North Orla demon war, His Majesty the Dragon King Fidel Adams made a decree, for the dedicated Griffon Lord Viscount Leviston who has made great achievements in previous wars. , in order to reward his achievements, he was promoted to become an important minister of the kingdom immediately, to assist the royal family in governing the state affairs, and to establish the Griffin Knights to guard the northern border of the kingdom! The Ston family was promoted to replace the Stilwell family as one of the nine pillars of the kingdom, which will be inherited by future generations No replacement!"

"Your Majesty has a decree, we will obey it!" A shrill voice first came from the mouth of the court chief Bamilian, and then several voices of different thicknesses joined in, "Your Majesty has a decree, we will obey it!" Finally, except for the pale-faced Except for Earl Leonard Stilwell, every nobleman in the audience hall echoed loudly, "Your Majesty has an order, and we will obey it!"

(End of this chapter)