People in this chapter: (Haraus Hera), (Sertius).

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Chapter 031: (Oath of Allegiance)

King Harauth gathered a total of 13,000 soldiers at Ribolet, the smallest army ever assembled. There were twenty powerful lords in the country, but only seven of them responded to the king's call and sent troops to participate in the military campaign of the southern expedition.

Among them, Duke Mijod drew 5,000 elite armor soldiers from the [Dehrim] defense line to participate in this southern expedition, while the Count of Sweden recruited an army of 3,000 people in the territory, and the remaining 5,000 soldiers were the private army of the other five lords.

In the kingdom of Swadia, with the exception of the ruler Hera, four other lord families were able to recruit an army of more than 15,000 men in their realm. But among the four lords, except for Duke Michod, the other three lords did not send a single soldier.

King Harlaus was helpless about this. He could neither use the law to compel these lords to send troops to the south, nor could he judge them for disobeying the laws of the kingdom, because any one of them could lead to the division of the Swadia king.

The King's decree may only work in Fort Repolet, Talbolia, Fort Kerrydan, Costmos, Alberon, Biglen, and Deherim, which is located in the middle of the continent, which borders the territory of the Nord Kingdom.

After King Haraus, Duke Michod and Count of Sweden agreed, the plan was to divide the entire southern expedition into four armies, and launch an all-out offensive against the Duchy of Rhodok from [Marasburg], [Kulma Fort], [Agorlong Fort] and [Ameraburg] respectively.

But these 13,000 soldiers were far from enough to sustain this huge battle. For this reason, the king had to order the Chancellor of the Exchequer to spend millions of gold coins to hire more than 10,000 mercenaries in the mercenary city [Chanda], and at the same time, the war of the southern expedition was forced to continue to delay for half a month.

This huge mercenary group composed of the Golden Mercenary Group, the Raven Mercenary Group and the Snow Leopard Mercenary Group will be transported by nearly 100 large ships by sea to the [Elbel] Harbor Town in the Southern Province in ten days. The goal of this mercenary force will be to be responsible for the attack on Marasburg.

The Knights of the Guards and the Royal Infantry Legion, loyal to the royal family of Hera, were also part of the southern expedition, an elite army of 5,000 knights and 12,000 hoplites, under the command of King Harauth himself. This army will capture Fort Kurma.

Another southern expeditionary army cobbled together by seven lords was temporarily led by Lord Radway under the command of Duke Michord, a mixed army of 10,000 infantry and 3,000 cavalry, starting from Ribolet and marching south on the plains.

After the army reached the territory of [Lurens], Sir Radvi divided his army into two routes according to the king's previous orders, one route was to go south to [Uxhall] with 3,000 cavalry led by himself, and the other road to the southwest, aiming for [Harvest Town] under the jurisdiction of the southern provinces.

Ten days after the king's return to Paraven, the lords who had responded to the call to the south arrived in Paraven with His Majesty the King.

Although the southern conquest of Rhodok was postponed due to the lack of troops. However, there was another important thing for the king. The aged king decided to canonize Serius as a knight in the form of glory in the imposing palace hall.

·

In the early morning, the sun shone down from the stone windows of the castle, and the fragrant air made the old man's chest feel extremely cool and comfortable.

At the behest of King Haraus, the young squire took a precious book from under the bookshelf and placed it on his desk, while King Haraus, who was sitting on a comfortable bench, slowly opened the heavy book in front of him.

The old man began to quietly read the lines of ancient words written on the parchment:

Standing in the middle of the continent of Calradia, the kingdom of Svadia is like a rock that is beaten by lightning and thunder, wind and rain - still holding on to its territory.

This vast plain, hard as a rock, is now ruled by the lion, the 'King of Beasts'. But the lion's territory is surrounded by five unscrupulous neighbors who are eyeing and stirring.

The northern coastal areas are inhabited by large and intelligent crows. The greedy bandits broke into the lion's territory every now and then to plunder their property, but the lion's subordinate 'Red Bull Knight' was always able to drive the crows back to his territory with his iron-hoofed horses.

Above the frozen snow in the northeast snowfield is the snow leopard, a distant relative of the lion. Although the lion and the snow leopard have lived in peace with each other for hundreds of years, this self-proclaimed 'king of the snowy mountains' snow leopard is not willing to submit to the lust and power of the 'king of beasts' lion.

The Oriental Grasslands are also inhabited by a group of cruel and alert 'King of the Prairie' wild wolves. This group of wild wolves also wants to be the king of beasts, but the wild wolves know that they are wolves, not tigers. This group of intelligent wolves is forbearing, waiting for an opportunity. When the opportunity comes, the wolves will come out of the nest.

The Southern Desert is home to a cunning and ferocious eagle. Due to the distance between the eagle and the lion's territory, it does not pose a threat to the lion for the time being. But the 'Sky Overlord' eagle is not only a symbol of freedom, strength, bravery and victory, but also a symbol of conquest and pride.

In the southwestern mountains is the mountain bear, the lion's sworn enemy, the 'jungle overlord'. This beast taller and stronger than a lion always wanted to encroach on the lion's territory, but this mighty mountain bear was blocked from the plain by a cold and lonely 'black eagle'.

Greedy crows, ferocious snow leopards, clever wolves, fierce eagles, and strong mountain bears are all enemies that lions hate to face. But these dangerous and restless neighbors are not the real worries and concerns of the elderly lion.

The reign of this elderly lion in the vast plains may seem unshakable, but the truth is unpredictable. Behind it are wild boars, red bulls, hyenas, foxes, black hawks, and even his close cousin, the golden lion—they are the real threats that keep this lion awake.

It seems that all the predators in the vast plains are under the rule of this lion. Wild boar, red bull, hyena, fox, black eagle, and its close relative, the golden lion...... But this is because the strength of this group of subjects is expanding more and more, and the subjects who are truly loyal to the lion are very small.

As he flipped through the last page, King Haraus, who was sitting on a comfortable bench, slowly closed the heavy book in front of him and handed it to his attendants. The young squire carefully replaced the precious book into the bookshelf in the right corner of the room.

This old book contains a thousand and one stories written by a famous bard. By the time the bard finished the last story, the book would take twenty years and seven months. Half of the stories are true, and the other half are written by poets.

In his spare time, the old man, who is nearly sixty years old, always reads this story book carefully again and again. And every time the old man flipped through the story was the same—the thousandth and eleventh story—the king of beasts.

This story made up by the bard, known on the continent of Calradia, is mainly about the situation of an elderly lion. But the true moral of this story is known to everyone except for children under the age of seven.

This is also a constant reminder to King Swadia that his supremacy and dominance are not unbreakable. He had to find a way to eliminate all of these threats, and he did. He came up with a solution more than a dozen years ago.

War, only through war, and in the name of exterminating the rebels, the Duchy of Rhodoc was constantly waged war. King Harauth was able to justifiably weaken these lords, and only in this way could he ensure that the House of Hera would continue to rule the kingdom of Svadia.

"Your Majesty, everything is ready. A very dignified, courtly official, bent down respectfully to report.

King Haraus, with a solemn countenance, slowly rose and left the study with solemn steps, followed by his attendants and bodyguards. Today is a special day and an important day for the king.

·

Everything in the palace was ready, and when the first rays of sunlight poured out from the mountains to the east, the whole of Parabun was covered with gold, and all the bells of the city rang in unison, and all the flags were waved in the wind.

Sercius walked slowly into the audience hall in a burqa with his coat of arms painted on it. On both sides of the audience hall, the musicians of the six-stringed instrument, the transverse flute, and the trombone played solemn music.

The Audience Hall is very spacious, and the smooth marble floor is made of solemn circular geometric shapes. Although the Audience Hall is located relatively inward, the large carved skylights on the walls at the top of the hall near the roof and the surrounding torches bring plenty of light and warmth.

The throne rests on a flight of steps, and King Haraus sits on a throne made of ebony with a golden crown. In his left hand, he held a three-foot-long scepter decorated with a golden standing lion, and his right hand rested on the hilt of a heavy half-sword at his waist, looking down on him condescendingly.

On either side of the king stood the vassals of the entire kingdom. They wore burqas with their coats of arms painted on them, and each wore their own matching swords around their waists. Standing in the center of the hall, this "free knight", from today, he will become a vassal of Svadia and fight for this kingdom.

Sertius walked slowly to the bottom of the steps, and the celebrant, who was standing to the king's right, struck the ground with a heavy staff with a dull sound. Sertius knew what he meant, so he stopped, got down on one knee, and buried his head in his chest. The celebrant's staff struck the ground twice, and the sound immediately echoed throughout the hall of the audience.

"I hereby pledge allegiance to Svadia and to the king of this kingdom, and henceforth to be its mouthpiece, without hesitation, to put life and death out of the way, and not hesitate to travel the ends of the earth, through the flames of war and peace. Until my Lord looses my bonds, or the world is destroyed, and he will not rest until death. Above, Sertius, son of Nessers and grandson of Andreup, swears by it. In the quiet audience hall, his voice was exceptionally loud.

The king stood up, drew his sword, and touched both of Sertius's shoulders gradually, before responding, "Of course, my brave knight. Haraus, ruler and administrator of Svadia and all of Calradia, and the continuator of the bloodline of the ancient kingdom of Calradia, remembers your oath. I will not forget, and I will surely respond to your allegiance: loyalty with love, valor with honor, and betrayal with vengeance. ”

"Now," said King Haraus, putting away his serious expression, "get up, my young knight, for we will probably be together for a long time from this day. ”

Sercius nodded in agreement, and the attendant standing beside the celebrant walked up to him with a tray in his hand, on which lay a sword and two golden spurs. It was a symbol of his status.

The attendants put on his spurs and gave him his sword, and Haraus himself fastened it for him, and then smacked him on the chest: "This is the end of the etiquette, go out, a great feast awaits us." ”

Exiting the hall of the audience, the king and his vassals, led by the attendants, walked north through a deep, long corridor, and before them was an open field, cut on all sides by the buildings of the palace. The open space was in the gardens of the Imperial Palace, with a gate to the north and a gate to the west, a corridor to the north leading to the Emperor's bedchamber, and a door to the west leading to the servants' lounge and kitchen.

In the garden there are several long tables filled with various foods and clay pots filled with fine wine. Staple dishes include lamb crisp chops, moer-style marinated chicken, and roast beef with mead wine, while desserts include cherry apple pie, blueberry vegetable rolls, brioche bread, and a wide variety of sweet fruits and wines.

The king went to the table, took up the glass full of wine, and toasted: "Today is a day to celebrate, and I will present to Sertius today the village of Tosdel, which is barren land, but I am sure that it will not be his only fief. Then he leaned his neck and drank the glass dry.

The protagonist, who was standing next to the king, also took a glass of wine and drank it down: "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your love." ”

Then the lords dispersed, chatting and enjoying the midday sun and the work of the king's cook, and Sertius silently walked to a table, cut a slice from a large piece of beef with a knife, and observed the lords as he chewed.

At this moment, a man tapped on his shoulder, and he turned around with some confusion and saw a person, the lord of [Dehrim], Duke Michod.

"It's a great day, why don't I think you're so happy?" said Duke Michord, who had cut a slice of the beef that Sercius had just eaten, and stuffed it into his mouth. "I'll tell you the truth, this meeting made it difficult for me to speak, but I think it might be the wrong decision for you to choose to join us now. ”

Sercius laughed, "Do you suspect that I have other intentions to join Svadia?"

Duke Mijod looked at Sercius's face and shook his head. "No, it won't. Don't say anything now, and when the banquet is over, come to my castle. There's plenty of privacy to talk to. ”

Sercius glanced at Mijod, picked up his knife and cut off another slice of beef. "For the sake of us dipping our hands in a plate, I would be more respectful than obedient. ”

As the evening approached the feast, the people began to disperse, and although the feast would last for nearly a week, it would also require adequate rest. What's more, every time there is a banquet, the lords are dragging their families with them, and this will not be an exception.

And the daughters of the old lords will also participate tomorrow, which makes the young lords who have not been married so far look forward to an affair. Svadia's aristocratic ties are an impenetrable web, and it is a painstaking and painstaking task to dismantle the interconnections from them.

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