The military department and the Ministry of Culture of the Holy Empire spend considerable manpower and material resources every year to organize special personnel to jointly revise the famous book "The Glory of the Empire", which records the deeds of the legendary soldiers of the empire---- this total of 35 volumes, and occupies the top ten prominent positions in the circulation of the history of imperial publishing.

Turning to the twenty-seventh volume of the Glory, there is an account of a certain Imperial soldier: "He was one of the greatest generals, the greatest strategists and thinkers of the ninth century of the Sacred Calendar, and if one considered his equally impressive attainment in swordsmanship, one might even consider removing the suffix one, and countless later knights would spend their lives looking up to this name----- Morgan Todd." ”

And for countless knights, Morgan has another incomparably fascinating identity: fifty years ago, he was the winner of the 40th Imperial Martial Arts Conference.

This old man, who enjoyed high prestige in the military circles of the Empire and among the people, glanced at the fanatical faces of these young juniors with gentle and dignified eyes.

"The Lord says that pride and anger are original sins, and I hope that the knights of Paladine will remember this, that your sword is allowed to be drawn at all times and in all places, only when and when the Empire needs it. The old man said.

He turned to Rommel, "I have dealt with most of the people of your father's generation, they are proud and confident warriors, they have never bothered to show their strength outside of the battlefield, and I am sure they don't like to see what you do today." ”

Rommel looked at the old man steadily, and after a long time, bowed calmly, "I respect a truly strong person, such as you, but that doesn't mean that I have reason to respect any of the Imperial knights present other than you. ”

The dragon lance youth straightened up, "And, in the near future, I will prove myself and lead my knights to defeat the empire with strength and regain the glory of the dynasty, the martial arts conference is just the beginning." ”

After saying this, the audience was silent, and the imperial knights who heard this arrogant declaration could no longer suppress the anger on their faces, if it weren't for Morgan's presence, I'm afraid that the hundreds of knights in the auditorium would have drawn their swords and slashed at Rommel.

Morgan waved his hand, "Very good idea, when you go back to Ouranos City, say hello to little Rome for me, tell him that your old friend Morgan misses him very much, and by the way, help me see if his bones are about to be torn apart by the maid at home." ”

The knights burst into laughter.

Rommel looked indifferent, "Countless people in the dynasty, like me, are looking forward to the day when you will come to Ouranos in person, and I hope it is not as a prisoner. ”

Old Morgan replied lightly: "The day the Golden Iris Knights' hooves step into the Ouranos Triumphal Arch, even if one foot has already entered the Lord's heavenly kingdom, I will take it back to take a look." ”

Rommel smiled coldly, didn't say another word, and turned to leave the Great Hall.

Morgan turned around and looked around at the more than a hundred knights standing in the auditorium, his eyes were bright, "Knights and gentlemen of the Empire, I believe that you have all just seen the appearance of the next generation of dragon lances, they are strong, fearless and confident, this is the opponent you will face in the future, Rommel he will never be the last, or even the most powerful one, who among you can confidently say that you can defeat such an opponent on the battlefield head-on?"

The knights were silent for a moment, if Rommel showed his strength as a knight in the ring of the tryouts, the performance just now proved that Rommel, as a dragon vein warlock, was indeed capable enough to compete with all the contestants present.

This is a monster of force and magic, and no one wants to be a match for such a monster.

Morgan continued slowly: "I don't know how many of you have come to get honors and rewards, to be able to stand in the arena of the finals and receive the cheers of tens of thousands of people, to be the focus of the entire Olympia and even the entire empire, to receive the rewards given by the emperor and the pope at the same time, to become the so-called strongest knight, and then to become famous and prosperous. ”

"But I will tell you that this kind of glory and feats obtained without leaving a drop of blood is actually not something to be proud of at all, and how can a true warrior be bound by this level of glory?"

"You are the future of the empire, your real stage is on the battlefield, in the barracks, you shouldn't be here, to fight for the title of the strongest knight in the empire. ”

"I hope you will take this opportunity to see your opponent clearly, and then see yourself clearly, and when you stand on the battlefield and cut off the head of an enemy with your own hands, you will find that the pleasure is far greater than listening to the cheers coming from under the ring. ”

If these words were made by an unknown soldier, I am afraid that most of the knights present would only sneer.

But from the mouth of Morgan, the former champion of the martial arts tournament, the oldest marshal of the empire, and the current president of the Palatine Academy, it undoubtedly meant great to them and pointed them in the direction.

The players on the stage in the auditorium fell into thought, and the knights in the audience who were still deep in the haze of being eliminated before also showed their suddenly cheerful expressions, and their gloomy mood was swept away.

Everyone looked at Morgan's eyes, and they couldn't help but bring respect from the heart, a general who was old and in a high position, could consistently maintain such a simple mentality, and didn't care about worldly glory at all, even in his twilight years, all he thought about was the future of the empire, what kind of open-mindedness was this?

Such a knight is worthy of being called the glory of the empire!

Looking at Morgan's old but tall back, such a thought popped up in Constantine's mind, and for some reason, his mind showed the figure of his father back then.

"Father should have been like this back then. Constantine thought silently that, for all his memory, Archduke Eliotgard had always been a lord willing to give his life to his kingdom and his people, and he would not leave alone, even on the day of the destruction of Winterfell.

is such a person who regards his family and country above his life, but he would rather risk the destruction of his country than be with his mother.

What really happened back then?

Constantine had to face again this question that had plagued him for ten years.

Everything can only be answered after he wins the championship of the martial arts conference and sees the Pope's crown.

.........

In a snow-white tower in the oak grove of the Palatine Academy, Constantine stood on the empty platform on the top floor, holding the sky-blue pendant in his hand, looking at the vaguely magnificent outline of the Glorious Cathedral in the direction of Olympia Square in the distance, and was silent.

When he was still at Augustinian Theological Seminary, he had heard Bishop Cicero talk in a fascinated tone about this cathedral, known as the "rest of the gods", which was the foundation of the Church of Light for thousands of years, the holy place that thousands of believers across the continent yearned for, standing on the plains of Olympia for thousands of years, and the history can even be traced back to the wild Middle Ages, even the Cathedral of Richelieu is far behind.

The Church of Light has a strict hierarchy inside, and as a minor priest of the Augustinian Theological Seminary in Constantine, he is not qualified to step into this holy place that only priests of the rank of episcopal or above are allowed to enter, but it stands to reason that at least he should visit the Great Place of Olympia and worship this temple to show his piety, but in the nearly a year since he came to the imperial capital, even if Diana wrote more than once to invite him, he has never been to Olympia Square.

All of this stemmed from the fear in his heart, and the scene that happened in the night sky of Winterfell that night always haunted his heart, becoming a lingering shadow in his heart.

Ten years ago, the Gate of the Heavenly Realm, which had not been encountered for a thousand years, descended on an army of angels in the sky above Azero...... All of this faintly points to a fact that he is unwilling to admit: the death of his parents and the destruction of his homeland must be inextricably linked to the Church of Light that has taken root in the continent of Icadia for thousands of years.

On his current list of enemies, there is already such a behemoth as the Dragon Lance Dynasty, if in the future, with the Church of Light with tens of millions of followers, the father of faith in the entire continent, will he still have a chance to restore the country?

Thinking of his father's back before leaving, Constantine's heart instantly became much heavier.

On the day he took over [Dawn] from that person, as the only person in the world who knew Constantine's identity, the middle-aged man told Constantine very calmly: His help to the young man ended here, and all the roads in the future must be walked by the young man himself.

He had been walking silently for ten years on this rugged road, which might never succeed, and he would not allow himself to stop there.

But now, the great question before Constantine was: Was the legendary Pope, the deceased of his mother, friend or foe to him?

Although Joey assured Constantine with certainty that the Pope had no ill will towards him, the shadow in his heart still made Constantine have great doubts about it.

"How much can a friendship that has been separated by decades be worth in the eyes of the big people?" Constantine thought silently, remembering that his mother had never mentioned her experience in the City of Dawn, and judging from Younas's reaction, she did not get along very well with the peerless geniuses who had entered the council together and now dominated the continent.

The Pope may be seen by the world as a saint who is full of compassion, has a big heart, and does not interfere with the world. For thousands of years, the Holy Empire and even the entire continent have unwittingly accepted such a setting under countless propaganda and hints from the Church's officials.

However, in the year that Constantine and Diana corresponded with each other, he had a fairly clear understanding of the endless outpouring in the church, and knew that the seemingly noble and holy church had long been in a miasma, and that deceit was commonplace.

Otherwise, as the princess of the Diana Empire and a disciple of the Pope, why would she be forced to the Royal Academy of Magic, far away from the power center of the church.

On the contrary, they have the coldest and most precise trade-offs and judgments in the world, and they understand that their every move involves the interests of countless people, so they know what kind of image they should play and what kind of actions they should act under what circumstances.

Such a character could be obsessed with a woman who has been dead for many years, and even support her son at the risk of offending the three huge forces of the Church of Light, the Dragon Lance Dynasty, and the World Tree Council at the same time?

Constantine was completely unable to pin his hopes on such a small probability event.

Moreover, in the current world of the Gate of the Heavenly Realm, under the crown of the Pope, who is the leader of the church, the strongest magician in the continent, the existence closest to the brilliance, has no sense at all in advance, is it possible?