Mount and Blade System: Start from Pioneer Lords.

Chapter 459 Succession to the Throne
"Li Wei, you and I... to be precise, I don't remember having much contact with you, but the impression you left on me was extremely deep." The Death Knight Harland was now more calm and normal than before, somewhat resembling his former self: "Before answering that question, I want to ask you first, why did you become a Frontier Lord?"

"As far as I can remember, you were initially just a down-on-his-luck baron who had lost his noble status."

"Because I don't want to pay taxes," the lord replied simply.

At first, he was a mercenary, but he lived a carefree life thanks to his martial arts skills. He enjoyed doing good deeds like robbing the rich to help the poor, and occasionally went to taverns to learn a few clumsy poems to flirt with young girls and noblewomen. He had the air of a carefree swordsman.

But who knew that he would have to pay taxes no matter what he did? In a fit of anger, he vowed to become a taxpayer and embarked on this path of no return.

The dream of mingling in high society and living off a woman's husband is becoming increasingly distant.

“If it were just to avoid paying taxes, becoming a pioneer knight with a manor would be enough,” Harland said hoarsely. “But you are now a dragon knight, a duke of the wilderness, and even have the potential to become the pope of the Holy Light Church.”

This wasn't just empty boasting; even Carlisle nodded in approval. If His Holiness Levi was interested in this, she would be very happy to have him become Pope.

“That was true at first.” Li Wei sighed deeply, then shrugged, looking helpless. “But later it was due to inertia.”

Who would have thought that right after being conferred the title, he would encounter this mess of having his title revoked, and that things would only drift further and further apart afterward.

"What a convenient momentum." Harland seemed to chuckle, but no one could tell what the death knight's expression was beneath his heavy visor.

“I’m different from you, you know? When I was still hiding my identity because I was an illegitimate child, although I seemed to have a lowly status and be destitute, it was the most memorable time of my life. During that time, I met like-minded friends, and we formed an adventure team together, just like young people today… Hiss… Damn it, even if I’m dead, do my memories still have such a big impact on me!”

As he was talking, Haaland suddenly covered his head with one hand, struggling with something.

The old prime ministers were so frightened that they thought the other side was about to make a move again, and they quietly retreated behind the lord.

However, Haaland quickly regained his composure and said in a hoarse voice, "I don't have much time left, let's continue."

"We trained together, honing our martial arts skills. For our shared ideals, we traveled through Debei, traversing countless beautiful mountains and forests, defeating many magical beasts, and rescuing many people. I even met the love of my life. How wonderful and dreamlike it was!" Harland seemed to be reminiscing, but becoming a living dead had also stripped him of most of his human emotions, so it sounded cold and self-deprecating.

"What does this have to do with you becoming an undead and unleashing a calamity of the dead?"

"Li Wei, don't interrupt me. To know the truth, you need to have enough patience."

Li Wei smiled noncommittally, signaling to continue.

"Later, someone approached me and asked me to inherit the throne. The adventure team was disbanded. Although everyone was very reluctant, there was nothing that could be done. They all understood me because my lowly status was not enough to marry my beloved, and becoming king would fulfill my greatest dream."

Li Wei had already vaguely guessed most of the truth.

“But the so-called succession to the throne is not as simple as I imagined. There are undercurrents and hidden dangers everywhere. Even so, I still sat on that throne. But…” Harland smiled self-deprecatingly: “For this, I lost the love of my life. Perhaps this is the truth of the saying that you have to lose something in order to gain something.”

Ignoring the expressions on their faces, Harland continued, "So, in order to resurrect my beloved, I began to search for a way. Battle aura? Even if you cultivate to the level of a sword saint, you can't resurrect someone who is already dead. As for holy light? That's definitely not going to work either. Magic? It's the most powerful force, and even battle aura is derived from it. But I regret to find that it still won't work."

"As the saying goes, there is no road that cannot be traveled. Later, I came across a notebook that clearly recorded the undead. After studying it carefully, I discovered that necromancers have the ability to resurrect the dead."

"But even a three-year-old knows that necromancers disappeared thousands of years ago, so where am I supposed to find one?"

"However, I learned about the existence of the Book of the Dead from this notebook. It is a treasure left behind by the Titans, containing all necromancy spells and the ability to turn anyone into an undead."

Kalis's gaze turned serious.

“So I began searching for the Book of the Dead, my only wish being to resurrect my beloved,” Harland said, looking at Levi. “Don’t you think this story is terrible?”

"It is indeed terrible." The lord nodded, then asked.

"So whether you're building the Garden of Ten Thousand Flowers or doing something else, it's all to cover up your search for the Book of the Dead?"

“That’s right. After all, the Book of the Dead is rejected by everyone in the world. If people find out that I’m looking for it, it will definitely cause unnecessary trouble.” Harland nodded slightly.

"Although there were many twists and turns afterward, the Book of the Dead was eventually found, but I don't understand magic, so I could only let a court mage study it."

"So you've resurrected your beloved?" Li Wei took a deep breath.

As a paladin who had cultivated the Holy Light, Li Wei knew to some extent what a notorious thing the Book of the Dead was.

Magic originated from the Titans, and necromancy is no exception. However, unlike others, these giants believed that magic was never divided into good and evil, but only by the user. Therefore, they inscribed all necromancy spells on books made from the skin of hundred-armed giants.

However, Livy disagreed with their views, arguing that necromancy itself was evil, regardless of the user, a view shared by all scholars of the time.

“No, that damned old man deceived me!” Harland growled hoarsely. “Isulna is just an ordinary person. Too much time has passed. Even if the Book of the Dead could resurrect her, she would be no different from these ugly skeletons! Not to mention resurrecting her soul as well.”

"He was just using me to help them find this treasure."

"As expected, they used the Book of the Dead to turn you into a Death Knight, and then unleashed the Scourge upon the entire Gonda." Li Wei sighed, unsure how to comment on the matter.

"No, he doesn't have that ability yet. Li Wei, I must remind you, be careful of them!"

"Them? Who are they, and what is their purpose?" Li Wei asked the question that concerned him most.

Even before he arrived, he sensed that everything that happened was being orchestrated by an unseen force.

“I don’t know.” Harland said succinctly, “I was just killed by one of their members and then turned into a Death Knight. I don’t care about their purpose, and I don’t know it.”

"Harland, do you regret everything you've done?" Kalis couldn't help but ask.

Because she is one of Haaland's closest friends.

“Regret?” Harland’s hoarse voice was calm: “Most of you don’t have anything you’d be willing to give up everything for, even if it meant destroying the world, but I do.”

Having said all that, there's practically nothing more to say.
Seeing her former uncle transformed into this state, Tanya, the daughter of Governor Debe, had a very complicated expression.

She stood with the priests of the Holy Light from the very beginning, which is why she didn't die in this calamity of the undead. "I can take Aisha to visit your grave during future festivals," Li Wei sighed.

Therefore, those who achieve great things must not prioritize personal feelings.

Throughout history, countless heroes have perished at the hands of beautiful women.

But Li Wei asked himself, if Tina, Tiffany, and Ashleigh were to face the same situation in the future, what would he do?
Or perhaps it was Zart and his followers.

He had no answer.

“No need. Losers don’t need to be remembered. Since I’ve chosen to do these things, I have no other desires.” Harland’s massive body began to crumble like a sandcastle. Fine cracks spread from the sword wound on his chest, and a grayish-white aura of death mixed with golden holy light particles began to dissipate into the air from his feet.

"Alright." Li Wei had to admit that anyone who could ascend to the throne through extraordinary means possessed a spirit beyond that of ordinary people.

"Any last words?"

“As the sword of kings, the sword of Biva should not be disgraced with me. Give it to the new king.” Harland handed over the extraordinary sword of Biva.

This sword is indeed extraordinary. After the two swords clashed head-on for so long, the blade remained sharp without a single nick.

“Then, let Ashelu become the new queen.” Harland actually laughed. “Levi, this is my gift to you for defeating me.”

This remark finally caused a huge uproar among the old prime minister and the nobles. The old prime minister finally couldn't help but ask, trembling, "Are you still His Majesty Harland?"

"Does it matter?"

A single rhetorical question, coupled with the overwhelming pressure of the king, silenced them all, though no one knew what they were plotting.

As expected of someone the Queen called a madman, his actions earned Li Wei's utmost admiration, almost as if he were saying, "I don't care what happens after I die."

"For a swordsman to end a duel... that was... exhilarating... Isurna... I've come... to find... you..."

His voice grew softer and softer, becoming increasingly indistinct.

Haaland's body, a symbol of death and terror, vanishes like starlight, his heavy armor collapsing like a house without support, crashing to the ground and raising a cloud of dust.

The once mighty lord of Debe, the Death Knight who unleashed the Scourge of the Undead, has now fallen into complete silence.

Only the masterless azure divine sword remained in the square, lying quietly in the lord's hand, amidst a deathly silence.

Everyone was stunned by the sudden truth and Haaland's fate, and remained silent for a long time.

The old prime minister was the first to recover from the shock, his cloudy old eyes becoming clearer than ever before: "His Majesty Harland finally said that Princess Ashelu would become the new queen?"

These words, like a pebble thrown into a stagnant pool, instantly shattered the frozen silence.

The nobles erupted in a commotion, fear, greed, scheming... a myriad of emotions swirling and shifting across their pale faces.

"Princess Aishilu? She...she's still so young..."

"This is the Mad King's dying wish! How can it be considered valid?"

“Absurd! The throne of Debe has never been inherited by a woman. Succession is governed by law! And how can it be designated by... by an undead knight?”

"Undead Knight? Weren't His Majesty Harland's last words spoken during his final moments of lucidity? Now the divine sword is in His Majesty Levi's hands, and His Holiness the Pope of the Holy Light Church is here to witness! Isn't this a legitimate succession to the throne?"

The debate grew louder and louder as everyone tried to seize any opportunity in this power vacuum. Once Harland disappeared, their ambitions began to grow wildly.

Li Wei noted that the ministers who opposed him most fiercely were nobles from the Eastern Territory and the Queen's faction.

Those in favor were the royal faction, who believed that since His Majesty Harland had already declared the heir to the throne, there was no way to change it.

The main reason is that their power comes from the king, and after Harland's death, the best option is to immediately pledge allegiance to the new king's faction.

Li Wei was helpless; even if Haaland died, he would still find something for him to do.

Carlisle slowly walked to Levi's side, her holy face bearing a trace of pity and deep weariness.

She glanced at the empty armor, then at the arguing nobles, and finally her gaze settled on Levi's face. Her voice was calm: "Levi, the Biva sword is the symbol of the Debe royal power. Harland entrusted it to you and designated Ashelu as his successor. Whatever his motives, it is now in your hands."

She paused, then added meaningfully, "Debai can't afford any more turmoil."

For Kalis, regardless of who Harland chooses to be king, Debe should prioritize stability and not lose its king for too long, otherwise war will break out in this land again.

Li Wei did not respond immediately. He weighed the divine sword in his hand. The cold touch reminded him of his simple wish not to pay taxes at first. Looking at the group of noblemen in front of him who were almost tearing each other apart for the throne, a sarcastic smile appeared on his lips.

Even though the undead scourge hasn't been resolved, these guys can still argue endlessly over their own interests.

From refusing to pay taxes to getting involved in a power struggle, from pioneering lord to dragon knight, and now his little fiancée has become the next king? This path is getting more and more outrageous.

"Roar!"

A series of hoarse sounds rang out, accompanied by countless heavy stomping sounds.

Without Harland's suppression, the undead that had been looking around seemed to come back to life and began to charge toward the few remaining living people in the center of the square.

This scene instantly silenced everyone; they realized that the situation was still very bad.

(End of this chapter)