Chapter 3: The Fourth Knight of the Empire

"Glory? Medal? It's just a useless burden. A true soldier does not waste all his mind on glory and medals. In St. Peter's City, the imperial capital of the Noxian Empire, Darius, who was honored in the solemn and sacred Cathedral of Egustine, once said this.

At that time, these words immediately added a layer of bloody atmosphere to the Cathedral of Eugustín, which was holding a pleasant celebration banquet, and the cheerful atmosphere was suddenly replaced by solemn and gloomy, and many nobles and lords who participated in the dinner with red wine glasses and impeccable and perfect aristocratic demeanor glared angrily at this man who came out of the battlefield like a demon god, but after all, no fool stepped forward to fight the Darius, who was known as the fourth knight of the empire.

The atmosphere in the auditorium of the Eugustín Cathedral, where there were two saints and more than a dozen cardinal archbishops, suddenly froze, and it seemed that a thick layer of ice had formed in the air, but on this day, there was an even more majestic and unfathomable powerful figure standing in the auditorium, so this solemn atmosphere was not broken for too long.

It is known that since the death of Stuart II the Great Niko Cage, the most honorable person in the Noxus Empire was not. Stuart but the Emperor's daughter Kiris? Her Royal Highness the Princess, but with Her Royal Highness Princess Kiris, who lives in Burnham in St. Peter's Castle, which is guarded by the Knights of Glory? General Darkwell, who is the one who wields the power of the Noxian Empire.

An uncrowned king who does not wear the crown of the Great Emperor.

The generals of the Noxian Empire's armies have always been known for their unruliness, both externally and internally. As the fourth knight of the Noxian Empire, Darius is one of the best. But this General Darius, who had fought for the brutal slaughter of the Demacian Empire, the Zaun Empire, the Ionian Empire, and even the barbarians living in the South, was as terrifying and awe-inspiring as a tyrant in the army, and in front of the General Burnham, who held the power of the Noxian Empire, he also sincerely lowered his proud head, and his heart was full of indescribable respect.

General Burnham's words of understatement made Darius, who had just been unscrupulous in the sacred Eugustín Cathedral, exude humility and deference from the inside out. General Burnham asked softly, "General Darius, what do you think makes a good soldier?" ”

Darius bowed his head respectfully. Without hesitation, he replied, "Every Noxian Imperial soldier fought for the Empire in his life and fought for himself after his death. ”

This unembellished phrase from the mouth of Darius spread from the Cathedral of Egustín to St. Peter's and then to Noxus. This not subtle, even vulgar remark, was not included in the eyes of the nobles, who were very harsh on their rhetoric, but it was widely accepted by the common people, so much so that for a long time, the words spoken by Darius himself became the most common language spoken by recruits joining the Imperial army.

However, in the last two years, with the stacks of meritorious deeds and medals that this General Darius has built up among the alien races in the south with the personal consent of General Burnham, this sentence can hardly be said by ordinary civilians.

Isn't uttering this sentence tantamount to acknowledging the great general who is also known as the second Darius? You must know that General Darius is now in the limelight in the army for a while, and has even gradually overwhelmed Du, who has the soul of the Noxian Empire? General Quekao, but this one is invincible on the battlefield. The prestige in the army is second only to the military soul Du? If it weren't for General Burnham's firm grip on the authority of the Noxus Empire, I'm afraid that the outcome of this highly successful imperial god of war might not be much better than that of Prince Otis, the god of war who almost pushed the Demacian Empire to the brink of destruction eighty years ago.

You must know that the head of Prince Otis, the imperial god of war who was the first person in the army back then, was hung on the left hand of the enshrined 'St. Urban' by his elder brother, the then Noxus Great, becoming the sixth great heretic and traitor to be hung on 'St. Urban' since the establishment of the Noxian Empire.

Although few people really believed at the time, how could Prince Otis, who was a great minister, be a traitor? But under the power of Emperor Edward III, who would dare to raise objections?

"Fight for the empire in life, and fight for yourself only after death!" When Augustus uttered this phrase, which no one had dared to say for ten years, most of the people in Place de Stiroland were stunned, including the clerk Hermès, who had always been known for his clever and witty arguments. They all stared in disbelief at the young boy who stood in front of Bishop Raphael, reverently and respectfully, and made impeccable manners: Does this guy want to be the second Darius?

Some of the aristocratic lords sitting in the VIP seats could no longer hide their emotions, their faces showed a rare hideousness, and their eyes were even more angry that seemed to burn everything, staring at the young man with a slight smile on the corner of his mouth. They couldn't help but wonder if this civilian boy was unintentional or deliberately provocative?

Few nobles would have had any affection for Darius, as the tyrant-like commoner general had been fighting for a fortune against the southern aliens for years while constantly expressing his desire to expand his army to the supreme General Burnham.

Expansion? Isn't that equivalent to indirectly weakening their strength? The already clever aristocrats immediately saw through Darius's idea. Therefore, how could they not hate this General Darius, if it were not for the blessing of General Burnham and the admirable exploits of this fourth knight of the Empire, I am afraid that this guy who wants to harm the interests of the majority of nobles day and night will directly follow in the footsteps of Prince Buodis. The head hangs on the left hand of St. Urban's in the Cathedral of Egustín, becoming the seventh great traitor in the history of the Noxian Empire.

No one in the aristocratic world wanted to mention the Fourth Knight of the Empire, it was already a matter of convention.

Augustus's move was undoubtedly a provocation to this group of high-ranking people.

――――

Angry? Augustus stood respectfully before Cardinal Raphael. But the rest of his eyes did not give up looking at the crowd around him, especially the group of high-ranking people sitting in the VIP seat who looked up and down the square with a playful look, and the result was not unexpected by Augustus, this group of high-ranking people who were good at hiding their emotions did not show too much emotion, but the coldness that flashed in their eyes from time to time showed their intentions.

No one understands the strange thinking and thinking of this guy Augustus, not even his adoptive father, Saud, who adopted him, and Carlos, who watched him grow up. Just as Carlos wondered why Augustus scoffed at military service, which was a matter of great honor in the eyes of the inhabitants.

Carlos has a good tradition in the land of Noxus. Proud of her military service, proud of her juniors for glory and medals, she did whatever it took to push Augustus into the ranks of the army. But Augustus was not willing to join the army and live a bloody life of blood and weapons, or Augustus instinctively rejected this kind of life, so that Noxus, where everyone was proud of military service, made the absurd and shocking act of escaping military service.

But how can the tiny ants withstand the torrent of the times and the big shots, so Augustus has to become a Noxian soldier after struggling.

When the struggle was no longer useful, Augustus, who had become a soldier, became an existence unknown to anyone. Although it is still possible to be cynical and smile brightly and happily at familiar or unfamiliar, hostile or friendly people. But the stubbornness and ambition in his bones are fully demonstrated at the moment he becomes a soldier.

"The gods have given me special favor to close the road of the road but is destined to be idle, why not go on that rough path full of thorns but also full of glorious flowers, and let those who come after him look up?" This is the strongest ** that Augustus has revealed in his heart after he has struggled to be useless.

It was precisely because of this strong will that Augustus uttered the words of General Darius, the fourth knight of the empire, in front of everyone.

-- Statements that are destined to arouse high-profile hostility!

But at the moment, how would Augustus care about the remarks of that group of noble lords, his purpose is very clear, that is, to make himself the focus of this year's recruits by any means at all costs, and then get a pass to enter the gate of the First Knight Academy of the Empire in the recruit competition, otherwise even if he is angry enough to please this group of noble lords. When the recruit tournament is over, he will be thrown away and killed like garbage!

It is a fault for a person who should not be favored to be favored, and an even greater fault is that the person who is favored is not favored. How can such a lucky person who is favored by the gods and then ruthlessly abandoned by the gods survive in a cruel and bloody society?

Augustus, who saw the situation very clearly, understood his difficult and dangerous situation, when he was favored by the lord of the castle. If he is wise, he knows that he has only one way to go.

The road ahead was cloudy, dark and obscure, and death was the companion, but Augustus could not give birth to any fear, but gave birth to infinite fighting spirit, groping his way forward on the obscure dark path. The remarks with Raphael just now are that he is moving forward on a dark path of crisis.

Augustus dared to offend this group of high-ranking people so unscrupulously for a reason, and there were two reasons.

No one wanted to face the treacherous, brutal, and horrific force of the city lord of Urgat, so during this time of the recruit assembly, Augustus believed that he should be safe, who had become the center of attention.

And then there's the Law of Kriggs!

The year 998 of the Valoran continental calendar. That is, more than 100 years ago, Edward II, the then Prime Minister Kriggs and a kind of judicial officials fought over the loopholes in the imperial law to formulate a new law, which is the "Kriggs Law" that has been respected by successive generations of jurists and historians, and it is precisely because of this law that the commoner-born prime minister has been pushed to the altar status above everyone.

This law was promulgated with great difficulty, and it changed the fate of the commoners and slaves! There are many aspects to the design of the law, but one of the most famous is the one made by Edward II, which was established for the Recruit Assembly.

This law is recorded on the first page of the first chapter of the military chapter of the third book of the Law of Kriggs: Anyone who obstructs military service shall be hanged.

The law of Criggs was preceded by many obstacles, and when it was not refuted by the senators of the Senate or the judicial officers of the Judicial Council, it was unanimously adopted.

The reason for this could not be simpler, military service was one of the basic national policies of the Noxian Empire, and anyone who endangered this national policy should be hanged and punished for treason.

Since the promulgation of this law, countless nobles and clergy have been hanged for disregard of the law and interference with military service.

Therefore, this legal provision, which seems to have nothing to do with Augustus, has become the greatest umbrella of Augustus today, which is why the superior in the VIP table did not immediately order him to be imprisoned or killed, but remained silent.

None of the wise aristocrats would have challenged the letter of the Law of Lives, where hundreds of lives had been buried.

Thinking of this, many nobles changed the reckless label that had just been attached to Augustus to cunning when they looked at Augustus again. This is a guy to be reckoned with.

The clerk Hermes wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, and began to write happily on the letter paper with a quill again, and there was a pause in the middle of the note, and he wondered if he should record the words of Augustus, whom the lord of the city had named. After a short thought, Hermès decided to write down these two words of Augustus that caused a sudden change in the atmosphere of the audience.

With Raphael presiding, this gathering will naturally not go in the direction that anyone wants, but can only go in the direction that Raphael has set.

Raphael's expression was stunned for Augustus's remarks, then he smiled and nodded at Augustus, and then said Then I wish you a wonderful performance in this recruit competition, and then waved Augustus who nodded.

Raphael then continued to speak in a humorous and intelligent tone about the recruits' attention.

Returning to the phalanx, Augustus clearly felt that the recruits around him looked at him with completely different gazes from those already before, some with envy and more with jealousy and hostility.

Augustus ignored these gazes, and looked up at Raphael, who was standing in the center of the square, with a hint of age-appropriate profundity and vicissitudes in his eyes, and his eyes seemed to be like an abyss, which could sink a person if he was not careful.

Augustus didn't know that when Raphael heard that bold remark, Raphael's slightly sluggish moment was not disdain or shock for him, but a proverb that had been circulating in the Valoran continent for thousands of years suddenly popped up in his mind: He came from the sacred and walked to the other side of immortality. (To be continued.) )