Heart of the Castle

Chapter 571: Rebuilding Iron Guards, Attacking Dragons

When Li Wei and others were preparing for the war, Marquis Osiris, the green lion, was not idle. Before he fully recovered from his injuries, he devoted all his energy to rebuilding the Knights of Ashes.

On the day when the capital fell, the Knights of Ashes suffered a fatal blow, but only a small number of them were crushed to death on their posts by the "sudden collapse" of the palace, and most of the Knights of Ashes were with the acting commander Sir Magellan.Bizarrely died at the corner of a street.

However, when the Knights of Ashes fell, Marquis Osiris was acting as a hostage in the camp of the Northern Allied Forces, and he was seriously injured because Queen Lillaya showed her true face, and has been in a coma until now.From the beginning to the end, he could only understand the situation at that time from the narration of others. Although he had doubts about it, he couldn't verify it.

But there is one thing he is well aware of. The loyalty of the Seven Iron Guards to the king is not absolute. For example, Sir Magellan is the confidant of Archduke Raul, and Sir Lulula has long since taken refuge in the Sleepless Eye. The other few were more or less involved with the royal family, but the deceased was already dead, and Marquis Osiris was unwilling to go into it.

In addition to the Marquis of Osiris, only Sir Salamis and Sir Luerula among the Seven Iron Guards of King Arthur survived. However, the former went to the east of the kingdom with the Death Knights, and the latter had exposed his sleepless eyes. As a spy, he was also mercilessly removed from the Iron Guard Knights by the Marquis Osiris.

There are many doubts about the death of the Dragon King. Although it has something to do with the weakness of Fidel Adams' character, the iron guard knight who was supposed to be King Arthur's shield did not play its due role. The Marquis Osiris blamed himself, Even more distressed by the depravity of the Knights of the Iron Guard, he secretly vowed to create the strongest Iron Guard with both steel-like loyalty and storm-like fighting power, and he must never live up to the title of King Arthur's Shield again.

The two golden signs of the Knights of Ashes and the King's Guard are enough to dazzle the eyes of most people. After the Marquis Osiris announced the rebuilding of the Knights of Ashes, not only the children of the royal capital signed up one after another, but even the leaders of the northern counties also had many well-known names. The knight showed his intention to be among the iron guards.However, the qualification requirements for ordinary members of the Knights of Embers are already regular knights, and Iron Guard knights must master the fighting spirit to be eligible to sign up. Such an astonishing requirement immediately turned most people away.

Even in the heyday of the Kingdom of Arthur, the iron guard knights may not be able to be all knights who have mastered the fighting spirit. After all, the title of the title knight is actually awarded to knights who have reached level 11, and it does not mean that this knight must master it. Tianhua lost his fighting spirit.

Most of the title knights are still at the peak of fighting spirit. For example, the branch president of the Knights Guild of Deke City, Nicholas nicknamed "Long Hammer" is a title knight, and his level of fighting spirit has exceeded the peak level of fighting spirit. , but strictly speaking, there is still a thin line of difference between Tianhua and the real fighting spirit.

This line is actually worlds apart.

When Li Wei participated in the knight qualification examination, the flame wheel knight Wilps who accompanied him to Dirk City was only a great knight leader. Although he had already crossed the threshold of fighting spirit Tianhua, his strength was not stable. Compared with the long hammer Nicholas, the strength is still slightly inferior.However, a few months later, although the current Wilps has not yet participated in the certification, he already has the strength of the Lord with a Sword, but Elder Nicholas still stays at the rank of the title knight, and his strength is even slightly weaker than before. decline.

Contrary to the usual situation, the Marquis of Osiris specially chose a day with bad weather to announce the reconstruction of the Knights of Ashes, and at the same time, the selection ceremony of King Arthur's Iron Guard knights was held.

The selection ceremony was carried out on the roof of the main building of Greencastle. The strong wind carried the chill from the extreme arctic ice field, as if the gods of nature were venting their anger.The sky is terribly gloomy, just after noon, but the dark clouds have covered the entire sky, it looks like a dark night, the dazzling lightning flashes across the air like a twisting snake of light, and the thunder rumbles, as if the foundation under your feet is sinking The thick green castle was trembling slightly.

The loud and clear sound of more than a dozen military horns suppressed the rolling thunder. The sky knight Marquis Osiris was wearing a brand-new emerald lion armor, standing in the center of the roof of the main building of the Green Castle, with two elf-style magic epees crossed behind his back. The hilt slanted out from the shoulders, and the top was decorated with golden silk coiled in the shape of ivy.

The 120 knights who passed the primary election were fully armed and surrounded Marquis Osiris, like a group of steel statues, unwaveringly accepting the baptism of the cold wind, and the gray wool cloak on their shoulders was torn and fluttered by the strong wind.The armors they wore were all provided by the Griffon Lords, and they had a strong style of the Order of Ashes, but the quaint style was more similar to the era of Arthur I. The surface of each piece of armor was covered with gray enamel, and After matte treatment, it looks like a group of ghosts condensed by a group of gray smoke in the night.The chest of the armor is etched with an Arthur royal crown and crossed double swords coat of arms, which is the only thing that can be called decoration on the whole body of this armor.

The ten applicants who participated in the selection of Iron Guard Knights were fully armed and knelt on one knee at the core of the circle of 120 knights. Ten silver alloy long swords from the heart of the castle were placed at their feet. They were so sharp that they dare not There was a cold light on the touched blade, emitting a faint wave of magic power.Unlike the Ember Knights who had just assembled, these applicants had been praying like this for nearly six hours since dawn, and the cold dew soaked in along the gaps in the armor, making people feel very wet.

The body of Nicholas, the long hammer knight, swayed slightly, and then tried his best to straighten up.After all, this old knight was already old. Although his muscles and bones tempered by fighting qi were still strong, he really couldn't compare with young people in terms of endurance.His movements were so subtle that it was almost impossible to detect them, but he couldn't escape the sky knight's sharp eyes.

The clanging footsteps of boots hitting the ground sounded, and the green lion walked up to Knight Nicholas, staring at the old knight's gray hair with a look of pity.The palpitating silence lasted for a full minute, and then Marquis Osiris broke the silence. Although his voice was as clear and pure as usual, his tone was as cold as ice blades and frost arrows.

"Nicholas Knight, get up."

The old knight's body trembled violently, then raised his head, the muscles on his old cheeks twitched slightly, showing an expression of unbearable bitterness. "His Excellency, Marquis Osiris...I...I would like to invite you..."

"Sorry, Knight Nicholas, I can't reserve a place for you among the Knights of the Iron Guard." Marquis Osiris told him calmly, "However, if you wish, the Knights of Ashes can reserve a position for you as a sub-captain."

"Squad leader of the Knights of Embers?" Nicholas froze, with an expression on his face as if he had been stabbed in the chest, "No, who wants to be what squad leader? Your Excellency, Marquis Osiris, I am willing to swear an oath before the gods Allegiance to the future King Arthur, I am willing to abandon everything, just to become King Arthur's iron guard knight!"

"Everyone here can swear allegiance to Arthur's royal family, and they are willing to abandon everything for Arthur's royal family and defend the king with their lives, even if they are turned into ashes, they will die without regret." The Marquis of Osiris said in a heavy and straightforward tone, "But if you want to be an iron guard knight, you want to be a solid shield to protect King Arthur, just being loyal is not enough."

"I have the title of knight, Your Excellency the Marquis of Osiris." Nicholas murmured, repeating what everyone knew, "I have the qualifications to be sworn to be King Arthur's Iron Guard Knight."

"You have." Marquis Osiris nodded to confirm what the old knight said, "but not now." He swept across the crowd with stern eyes, the coldness contained in the green eyes was stronger than the gust of wind blowing from the extreme northern ice sheet. "His Majesty the Dragon King Fidel passed away, His Majesty the new King Ken passed away, Grand Duke Raul and his children died unexpectedly... Including me, all Iron Guard knights have failed the sacred oath we once made in front of the gods! Kingdom Facing a catastrophe, among the iron guard knights who are King Arthur's shield, there must be no one with a false name."

"May I ask who is not a person with a name in vain? Those cronies of Kingslayer Levi Stone?" Nicholas the Long Hammer suddenly stood up, with a trace of humiliated anger appearing on his pale face.

"Knight Nicholas, please pay attention to your title." Bamilian Yang, the palace steward who attended the ceremony on the rooftop of the Green Castle, reminded softly, "The so-called kingslayers are all ulterior motives of Lord Raul Adams to slander His Excellency the Griffon Lord. Now Levi Your Excellency is the head of the kingdom's important ministers and the guardian of the whole territory, which has been unanimously recognized by everyone."

"That's the second reason why you can't be an iron guard knight." Marquis Osiris added coldly. "The Knights of the Iron Guard only obey the orders of the royal family of Arthur. Even the important ministers of the kingdom have no right to mobilize and interfere with the Knights of the Iron Guard and the Knights of Ashes they lead. But now the whole kingdom must work together, so I cannot agree Guardians of bigoted minds, become one of the Brothers of the Knights of the Iron Guard."

The old knight was trembling and wanted to say something, but Marquis Osiris had already turned around and left. He continued to stand numbly for a while, but everyone's attention had already moved away from him, and no one was willing to take a second look at him.Afterwards, Nicholas the Hammer left the rooftop with blank eyes and stiff steps, as if he hadn't woken up from his nightmare when he walked down the stairs.

The remaining nine applicants were all motionless, and Marquis Osiris returned to them, his eyes sweeping over them one by one.These applicants are from the nobles of the royal capital, the lords of the northern border, and the Griffin Knights. Among them, there are many famous knights, such as Captain Elsteig, the heavy shield knight of the Temple of Storms in North Aura, and the magic fire of the Merister family. The knight Sir Chirawala, and the wind dancer Sir Goryjoy, who was originally the swordsmanship instructor of the Viscount Lane Castle, their reputations have even been heard by the Marquis Osiris far away in the capital.

Marquis Osiris paced past expressionlessly, without showing any expression of joy, but his eyes showed a hint of relief, even if measured by the strictest standard, these people all have the qualifications to join the Knights of the Iron Guard, even The same is true of Nicholas, the long hammer knight. If his position did not conflict with Levi, the knight guild branch president would have been considered one of the popular candidates.

However, there have always been only seven members of King Arthur's Iron Guard, so three more must be removed from these candidates.While Marquis Osiris was hesitating, a series of hurried footsteps quickly approached from far to near, and then a high-ranking griffin knight appeared at the stairway leading to the rooftop.

"Your Excellency the Sky Knight." The voice of the high-ranking Griffin Knight seemed a little muffled through the full-face helmet, "His Royal Highness Princess Fleischer has ordered that the Knights of Ashes gather immediately to prepare for the battle, and the trace of "that" appeared Already!"

The last half of Griffin Knight's words were spoken in a low voice, but it sounded like a thunder in the ear of Marquis Osiris. The Sky Knight had excellent self-control, and his handsome face remained motionless as if wearing a mask. , but his face turned slightly pale, and fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.

"...It came so fast?" Marquis Osiris muttered to himself, and then there was a trace of determination in his eyes. The next moment, the cold voice of the sky knight pierced through the howling wind on the roof, like a sharp sword. Breaks frozen fat. "A strong enemy is coming, all the Ashes Knights, prepare for battle!"

Not only the Marquis of Osiris did not expect that, including Levi and Mr. Dish, all the insiders did not expect the revenge of the emerald dragon to come so quickly.In their minds, the emerald dragon is far away in the Yueyu Forest outside the western border of the kingdom. Even if someone wanted to leak the news, they would never get there within a month or two.In addition, the emerald dragon has been sent to the heart of the castle, any detection and prophecy magic can never penetrate this magical masterpiece of the alchemist.

According to their thinking, Beijing County should have at least one more month of preparation time.

Fortunately, just in case, the Griffin Knights have assembled. When the big crow scouts sent back the news of the encounter with the green dragon, the entire Green Castle suddenly became a huge war fortress, and countless large monsters from the heart of the castle All the defensive equipment was lifted up the city wall of the Green Castle, and the twelve majestic stone towers were the important defensive strongholds. Each tower was equipped with a very complicated bursting ballista. It was not an ordinary fine steel crossbow gun, but an armor-piercing javelin made of silver alloy. There were many small magic runes engraved on the edge, which faintly shone with lavender light.

These magic runes are actually very simple, and they have only one effect, which is to enhance the sharpness of the javelin. The effect of each rune is negligible, but after ingenious engraving, the superimposed effect is amazing.Li Wei once experimented that even an ordinary soldier could use this javelin to pierce the steel armor worn by the knight effortlessly. If they all disappear, and at the same time seriously damage the weapon itself, Levi really wants to ask Mr. Dish to equip all the northern soldiers with weapons with this rune.

Since the enemy to be faced this time is at least one legendary emerald dragon, no matter how much preparations are made, it is not too much. The newly established Knights of Ashes have not been further honed, and can only be used as a backup battle. However, the three main branches of the Griffon Knights have all been mobilized, and they can join the battlefield of Green Castle within ten minutes with an order from Levi Ston.

However, what everyone didn't expect was that the days of waiting for death lasted for three full days, but the green dragon that had appeared in a flash seemed to have disappeared and never appeared again.No matter how the griffins and crows increase the frequency of reconnaissance and patrolling, and lay an impenetrable net in the sky of the entire northern county, they have not found any trace of the dragon.

If he didn't trust the eyesight of the big crow scout, Li Wei would have regarded this incident as a false alarm, and now he can only continue to prepare for the battle without relaxing.Fortunately, not long after, about [-] kilometers away from the burned Basol village, some strange news about the green dragon came from a medium-sized camp called Morken Town, which made Li Wei and others breathe a sigh of relief. At the same time, an order to lift the alert was issued.

In order to prevent too much panic, the possible attack of the emerald dragon is a secret that only a few high-level figures in the northern border county can know, and the nobles of the royal capital below the earl and the small and medium-sized lords of the northern border have no right to know.

The people in the small town of Morken are also ignorant. The scale of this small town is not high among the medium-sized camps. The resident population is about 1500. The knight served as the captain of the guard.Compared with Basol Village, the defensive power of Morken Township is naturally much stronger, but if it is facing the attack of the legendary dragon, the result may be even more tragic than the former.

According to the descriptions of the shocked villagers, the day when the green dragon appeared was no different from usual. It was getting late, and the villagers who had worked hard in the fields all day were walking home in groups of three or four.Because the crops are growing well, the villagers are exhausted, but they are all in good spirits. They are looking forward to the joy of the upcoming harvest, talking and laughing, and walking towards the town that is emitting bursts of cooking smoke.

At this moment, there was a very special sound of wind in the sky.At first it sounded like the soft rustle of leaves being disturbed by a breeze passing through the forest, but then it grew louder and soon became a terrible shriek like a hurricane tornado.The villagers looked up one after another. At first they thought it was a sudden gloomy sky, and then a sharp-eyed villager suddenly lay on the ground with his head in his hands, and at the same time let out a frightened scream like a rooster being strangled by its neck.

"Gods bless! A green monster is flying from the sky!"

(End of this chapter)