Being a knight is not easy

Chapter 183 Total War
The moment the gilded palace door was blown open by the night wind, the twelve crystal palace lanterns went out at once.

The figure of the young Emperor Ray Barton swayed in the flickering candlelight, and the ink stains on his gold-wire gloves looked like dried blood.

"Avalanches in the north, falling stars in the west!" He crushed the urgent report in his hand, and parchment scraps mixed with blood from his palms pierced by nails fell down. "There are only two obstacles standing in the way of my unification."

"boom!"

The gilded planetarium was kicked over by the dragon-patterned boots, and the bronze gears rolled across the obsidian ground.

When the gear symbolizing the Western Territory was stuck in the crack in the ground, the old servant saw the hem of the emperor's robe embroidered with a star map moving without wind.

Most of the Hawke family crest embroidered with silver thread had been torn off at some point.

"Your Majesty, please reconsider!" The old servant knelt before the gears, his forehead pressed against the cold floor tiles. "If the one in the Tower of Babel awakens, the seal the late emperor created with the blood of 30,000 imperial guards will be destroyed."

The young emperor suddenly tore open his ceremonial robe.

The black silk slid away like the wings of a dying night owl, revealing the beating golden crystal at the heart.

That was definitely not the dark blue of the star marrow, but an older and more violent light. Every pulse caused the family emblem flags hanging in the hall to spontaneously ignite without fire.

"Look carefully! This is the 'Sun Core' refined from the ashes of the first Gatekeeper!" The Emperor dug his fingers into the scar surrounding the crystal, and golden-red light dripped through his fingers. "Go tell that old monster in the tower that if he doesn't want to be controlled by Pavel's fear, then cooperate with me."

His finger, stained with light liquid, drew a bloody edict in the air. The ashes of the burning heraldic flag automatically gathered into twelve hideous ancient characters:
[The key will break, the dragon will wake up, and the star gate will open]

Suddenly, a thunderstorm broke out outside the hall, and lightning illuminated the giant black shadow lurking at the top of the Tower of Babel.

When that thing spread its wings, all the war horses in the imperial city stood up collectively, and the neighing sounds even drowned out the thunder.

The old servant's pupils reflected the terrifying outline of the descending black shadow. Finally, he trembled and held up the imperial edict: "This old servant will go and ask the chief of the Night's Watch..."

The rest of his sentence was ripped apart by the hurricane.

The emperor stood alone in the dusty palace, his fingertips gently stroking the crystal on his heart.

The dusk was as dark as blood, and the setting sun cast a layer of dark gold on the scorched battlefield.

Lady Eshar's redbud cloak swept across the shattered banner, the raven crest of House Hawke torn by the flames of war. With a flick of her boot, a ceremonial sword inlaid with a star sapphire emerged from the ashes. This was standard issue for the Duke of Westerland's Royal Guard, but now it lay scattered on the ground like scrap metal.

"Seven secret letters." She held a stack of gold-stamped letterheads between her fingers. The family crest engraved with wax shone eerily in the sunset. "Yew Castle asked if Robin was ready for marriage. Iron Rock City inquired about his mentor. Even the lady at the Emerald Palace hinted that she would be willing to trade three mineral veins for him to become the captain of the guard..."

Leo's heavy sword scraped across the ground, startling a few carrion crows. His single eye reflected the smoke from the burning corpses in the distance. "When did the old foxes of the Round Table become so concerned about a wandering knight?"

"When this knight, armed with a blade capable of shattering astral marrow, steps over the corpses of the Night's Watch," Lady Eshar suddenly crushed the letter, sending the scraps dispersing in a scattering of purple flames. She leaned over to pick up a fragment of the Stargate console. Melinda's fingerprints were still clearly visible on the bronze surface. "You know what? Melinda said back then that the greatest obstacle to opening the Stargate was the royal family."

The fragment turned over in Lady Aisha's palm, reflecting Leo's suddenly tense face: "Dragon Blood Emblem? Isn't that used to..." "To awaken the Dragon Blood Knight." She suddenly crushed the fragment, the sharp edge cutting through the glove, and wisps of white smoke emerged from where the blood dripped. "Robin and Feng Ling are heading there now. And our mission."

The sound of horns was heard in the distance, and a team of Redbud Knights were escorting the surrendered Western nobles past.

Those lords who were arrogant in the past now have thorn collars around their necks to suppress their magic.

"It's to ensure that before the real chaos comes," Lady Aishaer shook the blood off her hands. The redbud emblem ring suddenly became hot and red. "Let the Western Territory become an ironclad solid block."

Leo's white pupils shrank slightly. He noticed that Lady Aishaer was talking about the "real chaos" rather than the victory before her eyes.

"The Eastern Territory is reorganizing its cavalry, and the Southern Territory's fleet has suddenly put out to sea." He slammed his heavy sword to the ground, shaking off a twitching raven at his feet. "This morning, spies reported that even the Royal Guards are secretly mobilizing..."

"Because Hawke told the truth before he died." Lady Eshar suddenly sneered, "This is indeed not the end, but the beginning."

She opened her palm, and the blood that had dripped earlier actually corroded a miniature star map on the ground.

In the direction symbolizing the North, there is a Frost Wolf Totem that is bleeding.

"Do you know why Melinda's 'gift' is buried in the Boneyard?" She crushed the star map with her boot heel. "That's where the last dragon fell three hundred years ago."

The night wind suddenly became biting, and the fires burning corpses in the distance dimmed for a moment.

Leo's one eye reflected Lady Aisha's shadow, which was elongated by the firelight, and the shadow vaguely took on the outline of a dragon's wing.

"Order to the entire army." She turned and walked towards the makeshift command tent. Wherever her redbud cloak swept, the scorched earth blossomed with eerie purple buds. "Before sunrise tomorrow, I want all nobles in the Western Territory to receive the warrant."

Inside the gilded palace, the young Emperor Ray Barton stared at the golden crystal floating in his palm, the light of the sun core illuminating his stern face.

Outside the palace, the dark shadow of the Tower of Babel has gradually dissipated, but the war horses of the imperial city are still neighing anxiously.

"Your Majesty, the Lord Commander of the Night's Watch has responded to your summons." The old servant knelt on the ground, his voice hoarse, "But he said... if the Star Gate is opened, the cost will be far beyond expectations."

Ray Barton sneered, his fingertips gently stroking the solar core. "A price? My grandfather sealed the Tower of Babel with the blood of thirty thousand Imperial Guards. The late emperor spent half his life suppressing the northern border. Now, it is my turn to put an end to all this."

He turned and walked towards the map of the empire's territory on the side of the palace, his finger tracing the scorched earth of the western border. "Inform the First Knights of the Kingdom to mobilize their cavalry to garrison the border within three days. Order the North Lake Fleet to blockade the Emerald Strait. As for the northern border..." His fingertips paused on the territory of the Frostwolf Family. "Tell those exiled orphans that I can give them a chance for revenge."

The entire kingdom's war machine could no longer be contained and began to operate uncontrollably.

Although the nobles in various places had not yet received the order to go to war, they were all preparing for war in this tense atmosphere.

However, Robin, who was at the center of the war, was not aware of this. He did not know that Duke Hawke was dead. He was returning to Viscount Wilk's territory with the account book, but he was thinking about how to get rid of Feng Ling along the way, while Feng Ling was thinking about how to lead Robin to the burial place.

(End of this chapter)