Chapter 2270: The Puppet King (21)

When he saw the name Earl Warwick, Arthur didn't have any expression on his face, although there was a faint murderous intent in his eyes.

"Is it really okay to tell me to see the Earl of Warwick?" he asked, slightly sarcastically, "maybe I will do it the moment I see him?"

"No, you won't. But the Duke of Hillant said, "He is the shadow king of the country at present, the one who secretly controls everything." This man was a bridge and lobbied everywhere to unite the originally chaotic Britain and barely maintain the rule of the country. Despite his recent defeats in the Anglo-French War, I have to admit that he still has some ability. This old fox is not only scheming, but also very deep in the city. Even if you go to see him now with this letter of introduction, I doubt that you will ever be able to meet his deity. Chances are, you're just a stand-in. If you do it casually, not only will you be killed, but you will also be implicated in me, who introduced you to him. So, think it through before you start. ＂

"I see. There is some truth to this. Arthur said, "So ......?"

"Be patient, young man. The Duke smiled indifferently, took another puff of his cigarette, and said slowly: "It's too early for you to meet the real Earl of Warwick. But there will always be a chance. What you need is his knowledge and trust in you. The more prestige you erect in front of him, and in front of the other lords and nobles, and let them know that you have the power to be king, no matter how deep he is, the old fox Richard Beecham will eventually be tempted to come and meet you personally. ------Hey, maybe things will turn out for the better? Maybe he'll eventually have to admit that you're the better king, and then depose the young king Henry VI and elect you the new king of England?"

If only things were that simple. Arthur thought to himself. But he also knew that it was just the Duke of Hirnant fooling him. The Earl of Warwick would not have given up the power he had already taken so easily, and it was much easier to control a child than a "promising young man" like Arthur, so the Earl would not have deposed the current young king, Henry VI, and elected Arthur as king. Even if he elected Arthur as king in his brain, the Earl of Warwick was still the shadow king who controlled the country behind his back, and Arthur, who had no real power, would eventually have to compete with the Earl of Warwick to take back power from him. Moreover, in order to avoid future troubles, even if Arthur became king, Henry VI would inevitably die.

Here's the thing. At least according to Arthur's conjecture, that's exactly what the Duke of Hillante thought.

Arthur himself didn't care, he didn't really have any interest in the power of this country in this era, he was originally the king of Great Britain, the king of this country nine hundred years ago. All he had to do now was to assassinate all the current British rulers, plunge the country into chaos, and then put an end to the war of aggression against France, and free Jeanne d'Arc from the quagmire of bloody war.

Nine hundred years later, Britain in another world or something, King Arthur didn't care at all. All he cared about was reclaiming his queen, Greenway.

Arthur looked thoughtfully at Duke Hirnant, and Duke Hilnant looked at Arthur thoughtfully, and they were both thinking about it.

"Anyway, let's go find a horse first. "Considering that you are going to London, and that you will have to behave in front of the nobles, it is certainly not appropriate to go in a hired carriage, and even more so on foot." ＂

"I have Bedi. Arthur snorted without even thinking about it.

"Are you talking about the wolf?" and "Are you serious?" Duke Cirnant almost couldn't hold back a laugh: "Stop. Although it was a big sturdy wolf, it was only a beast after all, and as a mount, it would be laughed at by the nobles. You should at least find a better horse. In the stables of my castle there are dozens of warhorses that can be called upon at any time. Except for the one with the golden saddle, you can choose any of the others. You go pick one. ＂

"Okay. Arthur didn't intend to be polite to Duke Silnant either, and nodded. However, in fact, these ordinary war horses are not worthy of Arthur at all, and they will only lag behind in battle, and they are useless at all. The "mount" that can really be ridden in fierce battles is the "big white wolf" that is despised by the Duke of Hillante, Bediwell.

These mortals don't understand.

"One more thing," said the Duke suddenly, "His Majesty Henry VI was here last night. ＂

"What?"

"It seems that the Earl of Warwick was behind his back, and His Majesty Henry VI made more rounds of his own land, and visited each lord's domain. Because you were out last night until late at night, I didn't send anyone to inform you. The Duke explained, "And you have no need to go to see Your Majesty, and you are not qualified to do so at the moment." ＂

"Fair enough. Arthur snorted.

"Your Majesty, he is now in his carriage on his way back to London, and perhaps you will come across his carriage somewhere on your way. But ------ I don't need to say more------ please don't do anything to Your Majesty. Now, it's not the time. ＂

"I won't do anything more than you say. Arthur snorted. He had met Henry VI in Penzance Harbour before, and Arthur didn't even know that the curious child was the current King of England. When he learned the identity of the child, he also thought about killing him, but Admiral Penzance dissuaded Arthur for the same reason: "Now is not the time."

Because it's just a puppet king, even if you kill it, what can you do? Without uprooting the real Shadow King, Earl Warwick, and the entire Shadow Regime behind him, they can find more puppet kings again.

In short, it was not so easy to plunge a well-established country into turmoil, and Arthur had to admit that he had thought too much about everything before, or had overbelieved in his own abilities and political charisma. If he wants to plunge the country into turmoil, Arthur still has to take it step by step, starting with the basics, like chiseling through the foundation of a huge castle bit by bit, gradually shaking up this incomparably large national institution. Although Arthur was anxious, it was useless to be anxious, and he told himself to be patient.

In this way, by the time Arthur had picked up a handsome white horse from the stable and was ready to set off for London, it was already noon. He simply rode back to the hotel and joined Verne.

"Wow, you actually rode out the snowhoof, you have such a big face. Verne, apparently knowing the horses in the castle where he had stayed, said to Arthur, "The Duke is willing to lend you this horse?

"It's not borrowing, it's giving. Arthur said indifferently: "This will be my horse from now on." ＂

"Awesome, a------a ＂

"Yes, Stinky Imp. But I'll ride the horse, and you'll ride the wolf, you know?" said Arthur, snorting, jumping off his horse, and glancing thoughtfully at Bedeville, who seemed to feel the smell of vinegar coming from the great white wolf.

"Of course, hey, hey------" The little imp crawled onto the horse's back, the white horse was very docile, Verne jumped and barked on its back without responding, and there was even a faint disdain on his face, as if to say: stupid human.

Arthur wanted to laugh, but couldn't help laughing.

"Can you fight on horseback?" Verne asked, "I tried to aim with a bow on the back of a big wolfdog, but I didn't know how to hit anything." ＂

"I'm not too proficient in riding and shooting. Arthur thought about it, in fact, he still had a lot of experience in shooting with a gun on a dragoon before, and shooting with a bow and arrow on horseback on this kind of horse was another matter, and the two worldviews were completely different.

"I'm not proficient, but I can practice with you. Anyway, we're about to leave for London, so how about hunting along the way?"

"Okay, let's try it. Verne jumped off his horse and ran towards Bediville. His light bow and crossbow were all hung on the wolf's backpack, and the kid even took it for granted.

"Hmm. Arthur didn't say much, the innkeeper had already taken their luggage, and he hung it in the saddle and jumped on his horse: "Then let's go." If we had moved a little faster, we should have been able to get to Sheffield before it gets dark today. Well...... It doesn't matter if you can't make it, anyway, the camping tent is also brought. ＂

Sure enough, it's good to have a horse, and there is no pressure to bring twice as much luggage. If it were all up to Bediwell, that guy would have a whole bunch of opinions.

In this way, Arthur and Verne went out of the city together. In fact, it is quite magnificent to go out like this, Arthur rode a handsome white horse, not to mention, even Verne, who was an adjutant (servant), had a mount to ride. Generally speaking, other knights of higher status could not even equip their servants with horses, and it was normal for the servants to run behind the knight on two legs, but this often delayed the speed of their travel.

Of course, they not only went to London this time, but also planned to hunt while on the road, and fully enjoy the fun of hunting while practicing riding and archery. Therefore, Arthur did not ride his horse very impatiently from the beginning, but let the horse roam in the woodland next to the road at a constant speed that was almost not tired, but never far from the road.

Verne also rode the great white wolf Bediville (more likely to be led by Bedivir than to direct Bediwell) to follow Arthur's horse, raising his * left and right along the way, aiming at all kinds of foxes and rabbits in the woods, but he didn't make a move.

"Aren't you going to practice riding and shooting, why don't you shoot?" asked Arthur, seeing that the sky was getting a little darker. He had planned to hunt some game, and he could get a campfire and eat barbecue tonight.

"I always feel ...... There is no such thing as prey that makes people look at it. Verne said, tilting his head.

Arthur stretched his face: "Don't pay attention to it, anyway, shoot a few rabbits first." ＂

"But------" The little imp was about to say something with a bow and crossbow, but suddenly saw a shadow approaching Arthur at a very fast speed, and exclaimed, "Be careful!!"

"What?!" Arthur raised his bow to aim, but the fast shadow was already very close to him!Oops! Such a big shadow was still approaching at this speed, and it would be knocked away! Arthur didn't even think about it before he rolled off his horse!

And no sooner had his toes touched the ground than there was a whoosh beside him. After the howling of the wind, Arthur's mount was completely taken by a behemoth!

Arthur looked at the huge red shadow in the sky from a distance.

------Dragon!