This is not the first time that Akmund has been called an upstart. But the Gordon outbreak and the Richard outbreak had very different meanings. Gordon started almost from scratch, and gradually built the foundation of the Marquis by miraculous battles one after another. Such a speed of expansion is enough to subvert the common sense of ordinary nobles. That is, when the three empires were founded, the era of wars and heroes could have appeared. Gordon's speed of expansion and Akmund's poverty are equally famous, and the average constructed knight in the wealthy family is better than Gordon's thirteen knights. As for Gordon itself, the standard of living is exactly the same as that of the Thirteen Knights.

In Richard's time, however, the outbreak of Akmund took on a whole new meaning. Richard's philosophy was completely different from Gordon's, and he placed more emphasis on equipment, supplies, and logistical supplies. In his hands, in just a few years, the treatment of the soldiers of the Akmund family has caught up with the giants, and the equipment level of the core army is even higher than that of ordinary giants. It can be said that Richard piled up a powerful army with gold coins. The Akmund warriors are fierce and fierce, and the brood combat unit is ruthless, with these two excellent soldiers, combined with Richard's gold coins, what comes out is the elite that is not inferior to any giant.

The foundation for this qiē is Richard's unparalleled talent for construction, and the speed at which it accumulates wealth. Now Richard's followers have grown, and they have established a strong bond with the Eternal Dragon Temple, and they have the envious support. Although the relationship between the Eternal Dragon Palace and Richard is too good to be hated, the other wealthy families can't say anything. If they can also maintain the highest number of sacrifices in the entire Holy Alliance in the past few years, like Richard, they can also get a different look at the Eternal Dragon Temple. For a high priest like Nolan, the divine grace at the time of sacrifice was equivalent to their salary. No matter how detached a person is, even if he is a priest of the Eternal Dragon Palace, he will naturally be close to the person who pays the salary, especially since this salary is extraordinarily generous. If it is the priests of other temples, it will even go further, such as the priests of the three goddesses of Phara.

Both Gordon's outbreak and Richard's outbreak were flawed. The lack of substance is not a simple vicious curse, but has its true meaning. This splendor is like a building on the beach, which is prone to collapse when it encounters a large earthquake. For example, Gordon mainly relied on his extraordinary charm and invincible miracles to maintain Akmund's centripetal force. But this will not last long, and the contradictions can still be covered up during the period of violent expansion, but once the expansion is frustrated, all the contradictions accumulated will burst out. When Gordon suddenly dies in battle with Rockety, the remaining Akmund immediately falls apart. Giant crocodiles peeped on, and clowns jumped out one after another, trying to bite the flesh off the fresh corpse.

On the floating islands, there was even a rebellion of foot knights and branch families. If it weren't for Ellijie to suppress the situation and Richard's timely return, the floating island belonging to Akmund would have been taken. If it were a wealthy family like Joseph, this would never have happened. In the event of such a betrayal, all the betrayers will be beheaded, and their families will even be killed. The stability of any throne requires a pool of bones and blood.

And as soon as Gordon died, the Thirteen Knights immediately became semi-free. Until now, there is still a boxer Wald who refuses to recognize Richard's succession.

After Richard took over Akmund, the first thing he did was to stabilize the floating island, and then gradually take over the mess left by Gordon. It is only now that there is a solid situation. But Richard's weaknesses are also obvious, lacking top powerhouses as pillars, and too few territories in Norland. There are not many territories directly under Richard other than the traditional territory of Ashan, and it is very difficult to make up a marquis, and it is quite a long way from the duke.

And during the expansion, Akmund was indispensable to make enemies. Among the floating island giants of the Holy Alliance, if you do the math, half of them are enemies of Akmund. The only ones who really have a better relationship are the fifth-tier royal family and the iron-blooded Grand Duke. But Richard was only on good terms with a few people in the second generation of the two giant families. This is several planes away from the real relationship.

When Richard returned to Faust, he first locked himself in his study and began to read the history of Akmund and the Holy Alliance. In a day and a night, Richard had read through all the history. Then, for the first time, he began to deduce the current situation of the Holy Alliance with the gift of wisdom.

The House of Lords' deliberation on the title of Duke Richard this time is, in the final analysis, a conspiracy to take out Richard's family background and expose it. The characteristics of Akmund are well known, such as the Marquis of Sauron and the Count of Goliath, who could not have become Richard's vassals, and their territories would not have been counted to Richard. Ellie is indeed close to Richard and has made her relationship public with her partner, but she is essentially an ally of Richard and not a vassal. Over the years, the territory she had laid down was still her own, and would not change hands to Richard. Even if she wanted to, her vassal nobles and generals wouldn't agree. Even within the confines of their own territory, the lord cannot do whatever he wants.

After thousands of years of development, the aristocracy of mankind has formed a very strict and complete system of rights and obligations, and at the same time, it has also formed a huge interest group that relies on this system. If Richard wanted to challenge this system, he would be declaring war on all the nobles. He's not really crazy.

So the problem now is that Richard doesn't have enough territory of his own. The existence of intellectual talent and true talent made Richard form a calm and rational side, and at the same time, the pressure of the environment also forced him to choose the path of expanding his strength as quickly as possible. Therefore, Richard has always focused on the faro plane where the brood is located, and only the plane can provide the most resources and the fastest development speed. Although Norland's territory also has great practical significance, for Richard at this stage, its symbolic significance is greater than the substantive benefit.

But now, this issue in the House of Lords is to put symbolism on the table.

Richard closed the thick book of aristocratic heraldry in his hand and began to ponder. On the title page of the book is a sentence: the glory of nobility is innate.

This is an old adage and a true portrayal of the human aristocracy of Norland. For the sake of family glory, the nobles could not hesitate to duel and even start war. In the founding era of the Empire, glory had a deeper and broader meaning, when on the battlefield, especially in some desperate battles, the casualty rate of noble knights far exceeded that of ordinary warriors, because most of the knights who rushed to the front and left behind were knights of noble origin. When an army is given a difficult task, such as intercepting a pursuer, the nobles in that unit will not be allowed to detach, and they will not detach. Honorable death in battle will make the family's flag shine even brighter. It can be said that the territory and glory of the nobles of that era were completely forged with flesh and blood.

After the founding era passed, the glory inevitably became weaker under the inheritance from generation to generation. The stage of politics is not only on the battlefield, but also on intrigues, rumors, and poisons. More and more children of the nobility live on the inheritance laid by their ancestors, who only see wealth, women and privileges, but turn a blind eye to the responsibilities that should be borne by them.

Fortunately, Norland is still a war-torn continent, plane wars are going on all the time, and the strong have unfettered power, which means that the current aristocratic system structure does not have enough strength to maintain its own operation. For example, when Gordon had just fallen, if Richard was not decisive enough and could not pull enough support, then Akmund would have been directly expelled from Faust. This is non-negotiable. And if it is under a stable system, for example, in a thousand-year-old empire with a long inheritance, even if the head of the family suddenly dies in battle, the heir can inherit the family smoothly, at most losing some benefits to the protector. Therefore, a stable and change-resistant system is the breeding ground for all kinds of second-generation talents.

In this dispute in the House of Lords, if nothing else, Richard will definitely not get the dukedom, or he will get the honorary duke based on his status as a royal grand constructor. This kind of title is stronger than the court earl without a territory, and it is also very strong. If Richard gets an honorary duke back, it is better to be an honest earl. In fact, even if Richard can't get the duke, it's not a big deal, he still occupies the floating island, and because it is a sacrificial position, no one can touch the floating island of Akmund in the next six months. Half a year later, if you want Richard to give up the floating island, you have to go through a war. With half a year to prepare, Richard was very confident that he would beat the guy who made the decision so that he couldn't find the north.

But the unspoken rule is also the rule, if Richard does not get the dukedom, but still occupies the floating island, he will become like a countryman sitting on a magnificent throne, and the opulence of the environment will not only not enhance his momentum, but will make him look like a monkey. So the real purpose of the guy who made the motion this time was to slap Richard in public. This slap in the face made Richard lose face at most, and his practical interests were not damaged much.

However, is this really the case?

Richard opened the book of noble heraldry in his hand again, and looked at the line on the title page: The glory of nobility is innate.

Glory is a complex proposition. If this link is not handled properly, it seems that Akmund is not damaged, but the hidden damage cannot be calculated. Richard asked himself, even he was not willing to deal with a family that did not speak of credibility, did not abide by the rules, and only knew how to seek advantages and avoid disadvantages. Benefits are not just tangible things, but also many intangible things.

This time, many pairs of eyes were staring at Akmund again.