Heart of the Castle

Chapter 505 His Majesty the Dragon King's Damn Test
The thunderous sound of horseshoes came from far and near, shattering the last silence before dawn. The gray morning light was streaming down through the low clouds in the east, coating the majestic figure of King Fermeyer. The color of the layer haze.Li Weiston raised his head and looked up. The crown and the flags of crossed swords were flying in the wind on the top of every high tower. Many guards of the king's capital in silver armor stood like silhouettes behind the crenels of the city wall. Quite comforted.

"The flag is still there, so it's still too late." He murmured to himself, and then remembered his brother, Grand Duke Raul's conclusive evidence of treason, and his heart tightened again.How many of the wealthy nobles in the royal capital participated in this conspiracy?What is the position of the remaining heads of the Jiuzhu family?These questions haunted the young Griffin Lord for a long time.

Li Wei couldn't help recalling that dark red nightmare soaked in blood again: the overwhelming sea of ​​blood, the indifferent ministers of the kingdom, the eyes of the Dragon King seemed to be watching him before being swallowed by the sea of ​​blood, heavy and resolute, ruthless and And sad.Li Wei had never seen a pair of more shocking eyes than those. The despair revealed made his chest feel like being grabbed by the claws of the devil, making it difficult to breathe.

They cautiously approached the Philmeyer West Gate in the twilight of morning light. Since it was still early, the city gate was still tightly closed, and only a few heads wearing half-face helmets protruded from the top of the city wall.When Sir Rodriguez rode forward and loudly revealed his identity, although Levi tried his best to keep calm and straighten his body on the back of the Dark Nightmare in the North, the heart in his chest was still pounding. The drums were beating non-stop.

To his comfort, the initial impatient attitude of the city gate guards immediately turned into a respectful response after seeing the griffin flag fluttering in front of this small team, and then a tooth-piercing sound came from the iron gate. After the sound of friction, it was pulled up high by the winch.Sir Rodriguez took the lead, and Li Wei stepped onto the drawbridge surrounded by the Griffin Knights. They passed through the deep doorway under the outer city wall, crossed the two lines of defense formed by the killing hole and the iron fence, and finally entered the capital of Phil Meyer's high walls and barriers.

Li Wei politely rejected the suggestion of the city gate guard captain to send someone to lead the way, but the small bag of gold coins thrown to him made the guard captain's respectful smile more sincere.Then the Griffin Riders proceeded carefully along the wide streets of Fermeyer. They lined up in a dense wedge-shaped formation around Levi, with square oak shields on their arms facing outwards, always on guard for possible emergencies .

However, everything was as normal as it could be. It was still early in the morning, and the streets of Fermeyer were deserted. Occasionally passing pedestrians immediately hid to the side of the road after seeing this group of heavily armed knights; The guards recognized the griffin flag of the Ston family, stopped immediately, knocked on the breastplate to salute, and then watched them pass by quickly.

As the road stretched forward, the anxiety accumulated on the road gradually faded away in Li Wei's heart, and a relaxed smile climbed up the corner of his mouth.Maybe those people didn't expect that the Griffin Lord could easily defeat the attackers in Iron Rock City, so they were not prepared for the rebellion; maybe they didn't find the Dragon King, so the conspiracy couldn't be carried out at all.In any case, as long as there is no violent turmoil, the younger brother, Grand Duke Raul, and the wealthy nobles who conspired with him have not yet been able to grasp the situation in the capital.

With a relaxed mood, Li Wei finally had the mood to notice the scene on the streets of Firmeyer. Compared with when he left, the streets of this city are now more desolate and desolate. Arthur's Kingdom, which is expensive and expensive, has injected new vitality. The noose formed by hunger and cold has gradually tightened Firmeyer. The once glorious capital has been covered with a layer of gray haze.

Just like the damn weather today.Li Wei thought with a heavy face while wandering around.Not far from the west gate is the market square, where all the stalls made of wood have been abandoned, and most of the shops that were open all year round have also been closed.Although the rest are open, the business is obviously not good, and the sparse customers are even less than the number of shop assistants.Moreover, there were one or two guards carrying short sticks standing in front of each shop, looking at passers-by with vigilant eyes, as if they were all robbers or suspicious elements who were about to become robbers.

A wedge-shaped formation of Griffin Knights passed through the market square, and the residents of the royal capital stepped aside one after another. Mothers hid in the corner with their children in their arms, with frightened expressions on their faces; while some men stared at him with envious and greedy eyes. Wearing the thick and warm wool cloaks of the Griffin Knights and the steeds under their crotches, they subconsciously touched the weapons they carried with them: daggers, short knives, axes and clubs, everything, including many shop guards.But their greed can only burn in their eyes, because reason is telling them that there are a total of twenty fully armed knights, and stretching out their hands to these people will definitely not be able to grab wealth, but will be cut by the giant sword Broken wrist.

Seeing this scene, Li Wei felt very depressed. The shortage of people's livelihood supplies is not an easy problem to solve. Only by solving the dual threats of disasters and traitors can there be a turn for the better.However, it is foreseeable that no matter the four southern counties or West Wind County, there is no way to recover from the demon army in a short period of time. This winter in the Glorious Capital of Fermeyer is destined to be extremely long and cold.

The door of the Mermaid Hotel is still closed. Unlike before, for the sake of safety, it is really empty now.But there was a pre-agreed code on it, "It's safe and well." Li Wei read out these four words lightly, as if he was expressing his wish at the same time.

"Master Levi, it seems that we may have been a little too cautious." Sir Rodriguez said aside, "Everything is the same as when we left, and those people must not have expected that their arrangement in Westwind County has completely failed. , plus His Majesty the Dragon King could not be found, so there was no time to use any conspiracy."

"No amount of caution can be too much." Levi replied seriously, "Sir Rodriguez, this is what you taught me, have you forgotten?"

"I educated you well back then, making your tongue as flexible as a sword." Sir Rodriguez shrugged his shoulders with a wry smile, "Then what should we do now? Go to the audience hall of the palace to ask the regent Queen Lila Your Majesty, should we find His Majesty King Arthur XII in a brothel in Xicheng District? Or contact Old Dish who stayed outside the city?"

There are pros and cons to each of the three options. Li Wei did not answer right away, but pondered, subconsciously stroking the horned forehead of the Dark Nightmare in the North with his right hand. "We must find Baron Hughes first, and find out what happened to the situation in Firmeyer during our departure." The young Griffon Lord analyzed, frowning, "According to our previous agreement , Baron Hughes should have used the big crow to deliver the message at least once in the past few days, if it wasn’t for the safety sign on the door of the Mermaid Hotel, I would even worry that something happened to him.”

"Master Levi, I don't think you need to bother looking for him. Baron Hughes is already here." Sir Rodriguez's gaze then fixed on a man wrapped in a shabby linen robe. She was hurrying out from the corner of the alley, with a slender figure and graceful steps, a strand of blond hair was protruding from the brim of the hood, rushing down her shoulders like a stream of gold, dressed just like a seductive woman in Xicheng District.

"Baron Hughes?" Li Wei called tentatively in disbelief. The figure who looked like a prostitute was stunned for a moment, then pushed back the hood, revealing Baron Hughes' indisputable beauty face.

"Master Viscount, you are back." Baron Hughes exclaimed in surprise, and the next sentence peeled off the gratified smile from Li Wei's face, "Dragon King Arthur XII woke up shortly after you left Come here, and then enter the palace to reveal your identity, and now I have returned to the Golden Throne. I originally wanted to send you a letter, but I was imprisoned in the Ashes Fortress, and all the big crows were also imprisoned by the palace chief Bamilian until He was released this morning."

The seven towers of the Ashes Fortress are still soaring into the sky, forming a perfect ring, guarding the Arthur Palace below, but one of the seven towers now lacks a master, and the behavior of the rest of the iron guard knights may not be as they said. The oath is so firm.

Li Wei saw from a distance that the iron gates under the Fortress of Ashes had already been opened, and many wealthy nobles of the royal capital gathered on the square. Due to the sudden appearance of His Majesty the king, most of the people's faces were smiling and uneasy under the mask, and the armed forces around them The number of attendants is also slightly more.

The Griffon Banner was not the last of the Ninepillars to arrive, as neither the Black Pennant of the Mountain House nor the Ring of Iron Banner of the Ansair Family appeared, but the Banner of the Flayed Head of the Reeves Family appeared Levi was quite taken aback. The Terrible Marquis Edwin Reeves was once suspected of being a traitor like Gregor, the Earl of the Mountain. He never expected to show up in public. Has the suspicion of treason been cleared?

With some doubts, Li Wei passed through the iron gate of the Ashes Fortress, jumped off his horse on the square in front of the palace, handed the reins to the palace attendants who came up, and then hurriedly squeezed through the crowd.

The head of the court, Bamilian, was wearing a gorgeous and loose silk robe, and stood on the steps of the audience hall to welcome him. His smooth, fat face was just powdered, and it was as white as a freshly peeled boiled egg. "Your Majesty has an order. The guardian of the northern border, the important minister of the kingdom, and the lord of the griffon, Viscount Levi Ston, will have an audience immediately!" He sang loudly, and at the same time gave Li Wei a look that seemed to want to say something.

The palace steward then turned around and motioned for a palace attendant to lead the way for Li Wei, but that gaze accompanied the Griffin Lord as he walked through the red carpet in the audience hall, and after passing through two heavily guarded palace gates, he gradually entered the palace. He disappeared before his eyes.

Due to his poor health, Dragon King Arthur XII did not meet his ministers on the high golden throne in the middle of the audience hall, but chose to stay in a warm and comfortable bedroom.Marquis Osiris, wearing emerald lion armor, guarded the last door leading to the king's bedroom. It was a gold-painted sandalwood door, fragile and gorgeous, which aroused slight disgust in Li Wei's heart.

"This door is just like those useless children of nobles from the royal capital." The griffin lord thought, and then bowed his chest to Marquis Osiris. "Your Excellency Sky Knight, Li Weiston has been ordered to come to see you, please inform me."

"Your Majesty Viscount Leviston, His Majesty the King has ordered that you don't need to report, you can have an audience directly." Marquis Osiris replied with a slight apology in his voice. After all, if there was no Li Wei leading the Griffon Knights to escort him along the way , His Majesty the King may not be able to safely return to the royal capital Fermeyer at all.However, in the plan to quell the civil strife in the capital, Arthur XII deliberately excluded Li Wei, and even Baron Hughes was placed under house arrest for this reason, and he was not freed until the overall situation was settled.

"I see." Li Wei took a few deep breaths, suppressed all the anxiety in his chest, and then pushed open the wooden door and walked in. Sir Rodriguez was not allowed to enter the king's bedroom and stayed at the door Standing side by side with Marquis Osiris.

His Majesty the Dragon King Arthur XII received Li Wei on a large soft couch. His face looked thinner and haggard than when he was unconscious, and his beard and hair were mixed with many traces of gray and white.However, his spirit is not bad, at least much stronger than that of Saint White Stone Castle.There were originally two court servants serving him in the room. Seeing the Griffon Lord walk in, Arthur XII waved his hand and ordered them all to retreat.

"Well done, a beautiful duel, and dealt with a treacherous traitor for the kingdom." Arthur XII looked at Li Wei with approving eyes and bowed to him, with a face like dead wood. It's a bit of a pleasure. "Lord Griffin, important minister of my kingdom, what news did you bring back from West Wind County?"

"I think you owe me an explanation, Your Majesty the King." Li Wei did not answer the king's question, but said each word in a rather stiff tone.

"This is a test, a test of loyalty." Arthur XII's haggard lips moved, and his hoarse voice spit out the truth that made Li Wei's hair stand on end, "The test targets include all the important officials and nobles of the kingdom, let me Disappointingly, only a third survived the test, and some of them wavered."

"Your Majesty, this is really..."

Li Wei could hardly control the trembling in his voice. He felt His Majesty's words poured into his veins like a stream of ice water, and his body was surrounded by a bone-piercing cold, but his chest seemed to be burning. A mass of flames, severe pain in the lungs, as if being burned by a raging fire. "That is to say...you deceived everyone including me with a false news, and then used it to test our loyalty? Is this the real reason for the big retreat in the four southern counties?"

"No, you can't say that. Neither the night of the disaster nor my injuries are fake." Arthur XII replied, "Although the Chief Bamilian brought some unusual information, no one was able to tell the truth at that time. Those intelligences were linked to a despicable rebellion. Although I lost my fighting spirit, my injuries were not as serious as it appeared. After retreating to the Holy White Stone Fort, I finally noticed the hidden conspiracies in the kingdom, but it was too late. It's too late, even among the iron guard knights there are traitors, I don't know who else I can trust in Arthur's kingdom except Marquis Osiris, that's why I have this test of loyalty."

Listening to His Majesty the King's eloquent talk, Li Wei suddenly felt that the person in front of him was very strange.The changes that have taken place in Arthur XII are of course huge. His tall and strong body has been thinned to a bone, and his face is even more haggard and old. He used to look like a middle-aged man in his 40s, but now he looks full. There are over 60 years old.But what makes Li Wei feel unfamiliar is actually his temperament. If Arthur XII seen in St. White Rock Castle is still the open-minded Dragon King, then Arthur XII who is half lying on the bed in the palace now Shi is already a weak and cowardly old man.

Li Wei could no longer overlap the image of this old man with the heroic image of the middle-aged mercenary holding the oath and the sword of victory a few months ago. He finally understood that the thoughts of His Majesty Arthur XII had deviated from On the original trajectory, after he lost the strength enough to support his self-confidence, his thoughts have turned to wandering in the wilderness of power and desire, no different from Grand Duke Raul.

"Your loyalty has withstood the test, Li Weiston, escorted me back to Fermeyer, and then got rid of Count Leonardo at the court meeting." Arthur XII had a hair on his face. Smiling from the bottom of my heart, "Now I clearly understand that you are trustworthy, and I hope you can continue to maintain this precious loyalty as an important minister of the kingdom."

"Thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty. So, how are you going to deal with those traitors who betrayed the Kingdom of Arthur?" Li Wei asked bluntly and without any concealment, "I saw many wealthy nobles gathered in front of the audience hall, feeling uneasy. There are many people who participated in the rebellion organized by Grand Duke Raul, you should identify them one by one and deal with them as appropriate."

"I have ordered Raul Adams to think behind closed doors, and deprived him of all his positions and military and political rights, and only retained the title of Duke of the Kingdom. All the dead soldiers he recruited privately were executed." Arthur XII slowly explained, "As for the rich and nobles who participated in this matter, except for a few who have committed the most serious crimes, I am going to exile them after depriving them of their territories and titles of nobility. All the rest will be fined a considerable amount."

"Your Majesty, so you are really tolerant and tolerant towards those traitors." Li Wei said, trying hard to hide the contempt in his voice, but it was obviously unsuccessful. "Then what about the people who have lost their lives because of this shameless conspiracy, and how can the kingdom comfort their souls? You can't see the despair in their glassy eyes, you can't hear the complaints of their dying wailing, just treat it as if it didn't exist ?"

"Shut up! Shut up!" Arthur XII growled in a low voice, and then a violent cough choked all the rest of his words in his throat.Li Wei hesitated for a moment, and then summoned a white light of healing technique, which quickly penetrated into the king's lifeless body, gradually relieving his severe cough.

"Li Weiston, there are still many things you don't know." After the cough stopped, Arthur XII's tone became more relaxed, "Both the cardinal and the star mentor have expressed to me that they hope to leave Labor With the life of Arthur Adams, no matter whether the king's brother is treasonous or the king kills his brother, his reputation will be bad. And you should know how powerful the Glory Temple and Star Academy are. For the current Kingdom of Arthur, the most important thing is to maintain a For a relatively stable overall situation, stabilize the war situation in the south, west, and north, and then gradually plan a counterattack."

"So based on this reason, you keep those festering and smelly pus and blood in the body of the Kingdom of Arthur, let them continue to exist, and slowly corrode the healthy parts, until a similar conspiracy breaks out again next time?"

"I don't allow you to make such doubts!" ​​Arthur XII stretched out a thin finger, pointing to Li Wei's chest, "Lord Griffon, have you not forgotten which of us is the king? "

"I will always keep it in my heart, Your Majesty." Li Wei pressed his hands on his breastplate and bowed deeply to His Majesty Arthur XII who was lying on the bed.The cold metal touch not only did not make him feel calm, but stabbed him with a dull pain in his chest like a cold dagger, "But when your Majesty listened to the slander of those important ministers of the kingdom, did you still remember this? What about the matter?"

Li Wei's words made King Arthur XII narrow his eyes dangerously, and his anger climbed up his neck with a red tide, extending towards his face. In his decades of life, he has always regarded himself as an uncompromising strongman. It is rare to have such an experience of being contradicted face to face.Now his body is indeed weak to the point where he can't even put on armor, but after the shell of self-confidence cracked, the wounds exposed are both slender and fragile, and there is no room for any disobedience.

"Leviston, you are an important minister of the kingdom appointed by me personally, and you are also my blood knight! I will not allow you to oppose my decision." Arthur XII's voice was weak, but with obvious anger, "You can either choose to be loyal to me, and the glory will surround your shoulders like a garland; or you can choose to give up everything for ridiculous self-esteem, and go back to your barren and cold fief!"

"It seems that you are going to find another more obedient Nine Pillars among the nobles of the royal capital. I wish that lucky lord a successful job, Your Majesty the King." Li Wei said in a tone so calm that even he was afraid. Announcing to the furious king, he immediately took off the ruby ​​blood alliance badge on his chest and the golden griffin badge representing the status of the kingdom's important ministers. His movements were crisp and neat, as if he had been looking forward to this moment.Then he lifted the two things respectfully with both hands, and placed them side by side on Arthur XII's bedside.

"Leviston!" Arthur XII's haggard face was flushed red, and his hands were trembling slightly with anger. "Stupid, stupid! Your choice is extremely stupid! I thought you had already learned how to be a superior person, but I didn't expect that you still have no perspective at all. Could it be that the cold wind in the north is too cold and blows your brains away?" Are they all frozen?"

"I originally thought that you would always be as confident as in the Dusk Forest. I originally thought that you were a heroic and heroic king." Li Wei's voice suddenly choked up, and his eyes turned away, not wanting Arthur XII to see The heat suddenly surged in his eyes, "It seems that the devil not only destroyed your fighting spirit, but also your spine that never bends down. Please rest assured, I will continue to firmly guard the northern border for you, No demon will be able to set foot on the land of the Kingdom! Please take care, Your Majesty the King."

After saying this in a trembling voice, Li Wei bowed deeply without saying a word, then turned around and was about to leave. He was not going to appreciate the furious expression on King Arthur XII's face. The free air in the North was calling him. It made his mood subtly jump up, and even the smoldering anger in his chest disappeared a bit.

(End of this chapter)