"The king and queen have arrived!" rang out with the voice of the watchman. Everyone stopped talking and turned their gaze to a door on the side of the throne.

Guarded by four guards, the king walked into the hall wearing a robe of gold and green, a crown on his head, and a sword at his waist. The queen was dressed to match him and walked beside him with dignity. Two other attendants, one holding a long wand and one holding a folded robe, walked behind them.

The king and queen went to a platform five steps high at the end of the hall, and sat on two thrones, and four guards and two attendants also walked up to the platform and stood around them.

The people in the room quickly took their places, and the noble officials, mages, and priests were clearly distinguished. The king was then saluted at the command of the watchman, with most of the ordinary nobles bowing and mages, priests, and knights performing their own professional etiquette.

Xiao Chen saw the king again after more than two months, and found that he and the king he saw in the warehouse at that time were like two people. At that time, even if the king was not in good health, it was difficult to see the signs from the outside, and the current king is not an exaggeration to describe him as seriously ill. His face was as white as if he had been powdered, his lips were not bloody, and his eye frames were deeply sunken and black, as if he had applied eye shadow. If this is considered a better body, then I don't know what it will be like to be sick before.

The king propped his hand on the armrest of the throne, leaned forward slightly, turned his head to scan the crowd in front of him, smacked his lips, and said, "People are here today." ”

Marquis Francisco, who was in charge of court etiquette, replied, "Your Majesty, the mages and guests who have come to attend the canonization ceremony of the Tower of China today have arrived. Can we start the ceremony?"

"Hmm, I have met with Xiao Chen and Master Luo Ling in private, and they are both very good young people. In my opinion, the land that has not yet developed in Montenegro will make a name for itself in their hands. "But there are many of you who do not know them, and some of you have questioned me before whether these young men will be able to protect the land, and though I trust these two young men myself, the traditions of the kingdom are traditions." That's why these mages from Montenegro are needed here today to prove themselves. ”

Marquis Francisco was stunned for a moment, obviously surprised: "Your Majesty, do you mean to question the challenge?"

"That's right. The king looked at Xiao Chen, "Xiao Chen, you are strangers, and you may not understand the origin and rules of questioning the challenge, please ask Marquis Francisco to explain it to you." I'm sure there are quite a few aristocrats here who have almost forgotten about it. Today, many people have brought their eldest sons and eldest daughters, and they just happened to listen to it together. ”

The people in the office all felt that this incident was very sudden, and they originally thought that today was to come to see and receive benefits. Unexpectedly, the king suddenly came out like this, and everyone was either angry or worried. However, Xiao Chen had received a warning from Master Gordon before, and he was prepared. I don't know how this challenge will go, but as Master Kona said, it's a big deal to compare fists.

Count Carlos, who was not far away, shook his head lightly at him, and smiled disdainfully, as if mocking the king's petty family.

The surrounding guests also talked about it, and the meaning of the king's words was very clear, that is, to let people challenge Xiao Chen and their qualifications to obtain the fief, which made the people who were thinking of watching the excitement feel very interesting. However, most of the people who promoted the plan were dissatisfied.

"Yes, Your Majesty. Francisco cleared his throat and quieted everyone down, "Your Excellency Xiao Chen, 'Questioning Challenge' is a rule established by the founding king of our Iberian Kingdom, Alan I. Alan I believed that any nobleman or mage who had the skills to manage a fiefdom needed to possess four qualities: justice, bravery, strength, and wisdom. So when he divided the lieges, he allowed any of the guests present to raise questions. All the questioners can choose three people to challenge the divided family. If the challenger wins more than two victories, it means that the recipient does not have enough strength to protect his territory, and the division is considered unjust, and the king will take back the territory. ”

"If you can't defeat your opponent, it's considered injustice?" Li Jia asked, "Doesn't justice tell about right and wrong? If the challenger is a saint, then who can win the challenge?"

Marquis Francisco explained: "Alan I said that the greatest injustice of a lord is incompetence. If you, as a lord, are unable to defeat your enemies or your subordinates, you are wrong. Because when the enemy wants to invade, they don't think about your strength. ”

Xiao Chen's brows furrowed, he looked at the king and asked, "Your Majesty, if I'm not mistaken, this kind of questioning challenge hasn't appeared for many years, right?"

The king smiled meaningfully in his chair: "No, I have only encountered one such case since I became king, and that was more than twenty years ago. The challenge was made by a family that had a grudge against the recipient at the time. In that duel, the clans that were canonized defeated the challenger cleanly. Today, the decision of the story is yours, however, you can only decide whether to win or lose, and you are not qualified to decide whether to fight or not. Because in the Kingdom of Iberia, it is a sacred tradition to question challenges, and no one else can intervene whenever someone proposes. You have no other way but to fight or give up. ”

"Let's get started. Don't waste everyone's time. Xiao Chen said coldly.

The king waved his hand to the Marquis Francisco, who announced, "Now let's go to the questioning session, and may I ask if any of the guests present have questioned the ability of the Tower of China to manage the fiefdom." Please stand up. ”

There was a commotion in the hall when a male mage stepped out of the crowd. said: "I question. I am Arus from the Tower of a Thousand Thoughts, a high-level peak strength. I'm from the southern part of the Black Mountain region, and I've never heard of any decent magical inheritance in the northern part of Black Mountain, and if it's just a casual inheritance, you won't be eligible for such a large fief, so I'm going to challenge them!"

Immediately after that came out was a knight in armor, "I'm Savah from the Legaretta family, a high-ranking knight. ”

The knight didn't say why he challenged, but Luo Ling whispered to Xiao Chen, "This family is the actual controller behind a lot of the trade in daily necessities in northern Suero. Our business has a big impact on their family. ”