I will be crowned king

"The blood descendant of the Dragon Knight, the only commander-in-chief of the knights, the legitimate emperor of the empire, the guardian of the world, the person blessed and chosen by the Ring of Order - His Majesty Joseph Hred has arrived!"

A series of clear shouts were like shrapnel fired from a six-pounder, smashing open the door of the banquet hall and attracting everyone's attention again.

In a solemn atmosphere, the expressionless Joseph III stood outside the gate, with the blood-red carpet extending forward under his feet, and the triple crown on his head still shining brightly in the night.

The guests who were still chatting and laughing a second ago quickly calmed down their expressions, walked to both sides of the red carpet in an orderly manner and lined up, and nodded slightly in salute - even the princes did the same.

No matter what they are thinking in their hearts, they are all respectful at this moment, showing their loyalty without reservation, and not daring to slack off at all before taking the lead.

Under the gaze of everyone, Joseph III slowly raised the jeweled scepter like a spear in both hands, looked forward, and stepped across the threshold of the hall.

The eldest princess Anne Herred and the young king Nicholas Osteria were also dressed in gorgeous clothes, followed by a group of royal nobles, royal guards and ceremonial attendants; but all of them only stood on the sides , on the scarlet carpet, there was only Joseph III.

This is the emperor, this is authority, the highest authority in ordering the world!

The imperial nobles nodded slightly, leaned forward, put their right hands behind their backs, and pressed their left hands on their chests. When the emperor's peripheral vision glanced over them, they skillfully lowered their heads and made the most elegant gesture of surrender.

As for Clovis's officers... their movements are more skillful than those of the imperial nobles, and their movements are so smooth that they are as standard as if they were cast from a certain mold. It is so neat and standard that they look indescribably weird.

Even a guy like Carl Bain, who comes from a lower-class background and has never attended a few banquets in his life, is very familiar with it. The person with the stiffest and most unfamiliar movements in the room is obviously our ruler and commander-in-chief.

The emperor's eyes glanced over, and a contemptuous smile flashed across his lips.

Even if you are as arrogant as you are, you have to restrain yourself at this moment, be humble and do not dare to show any slightness.

However, this little pride only lasted for a moment. Joseph Herred knew better than anyone else what was going on in this special "interview" - no one present, including the nobles of the Principality of Xiaolong, People truly come to show their loyalty to Him.

The authority that seemed to respond to everything and was as solid as a rock had long been in danger after the disastrous defeat of the Battle of the Halcyon; let alone continuing to control the empire, it was already unknown whether the Herred royal family could retain the throne that had been passed down for more than ten generations. .

Outside the banquet hall, Arthur Herred, who was serving as the chief of ceremonies, stepped forward with a serious face and "fired" at the entire hall again:

"My lords, salute your emperor—!"

The next second, the accompanying royal nobles and guards stopped and watched as Joseph Heritage walked up the steps to the throne that symbolized the emperor. He held his head high and took the lead in shouting:

"Long live the Emperor——!!!"

As if a heavy rain fell from the sky, the entire banquet hall immediately burst into unimaginable cheers, and almost everyone—including Anson Bach himself—followed closely, either sincerely or against their will:

"Long live the Emperor——!!!"

"Blessed by the Ring of Order——!!!"

"God Bless the Empire——!!!"

Hidden among the extremely excited crowd, there were also people with strange expressions.

Bernard, with his hands behind his back, looked worried, while Archduke Bernard, who pretended that nothing happened, had sharp eyes.

The gray-bearded Archduke Roland hid behind the crowd, looking at the figures opposite Archduke Levent and Consul Clovis standing side by side.

Archduke Levent, who felt his old friend's gaze, sneered and ignored him indifferently.

Emperor Joseph Herred, who was sitting on the throne, watched all this silently, but turned a deaf ear. He raised his hand to stop the master of ceremonies who wanted to continue.

After the warm cheers dispersed, the guests and nobles stood up one after another. The little king and the eldest princess also followed the royal family members up the steps and sat down on both sides of the emperor.

Anson in the audience watched all this silently - the queen who was supposed to show up did not appear at this moment, and was replaced by the eldest princess, the Queen Mother of Clovis, Anne Herred.

On such an important occasion, Clovis's queen mother sat in the position that symbolized the hostess... Was this a demonstration to herself, or was she trying to convince others that Clovis's friendship with the empire was unbreakable?

"Everyone -" Raising the gem scepter in his right hand, Joseph Heritage spoke slowly, looking down at everyone:

"To all the guests who have come specially from their own territories and castles to attend the banquet, I...Joseph, on behalf of the Principality of Xiaolong, would like to welcome you all. May the Ring of Order bless you tonight and everything goes well."

"May the Ring of Order bless you——"

Following the emperor's words, sparse prayers resounded in the hall again. A certain Clovis ruler glanced at them intentionally or unintentionally: The figures following the prayers were obviously mostly local nobles, but at best they were only half of them. , and most of the rest are knights from the south.

Well, everyone's attitudes and positions will be clear at a glance.

Most of the nobles of the Xiaolong Principality have abandoned the emperor and reached a consensus with the northern nobles to elect a new emperor. Only a few are still willing to remain loyal; although the southern nobles are equally disgusted with Joseph Herred, they do not want to see him. To an emperor born in the north.

Joseph Heritage twitched his brows slightly, dissatisfied but at the same time he seemed not surprised by this sight.

"Today we are gathered here to welcome the venerable East and our neighbors to the south." The emperor's words sounded again, as if everything was business as usual:

"They came all the way to eradicate a despicable and shameful rebellion for the empire and defended the peace of the entire ordered world; their bravery and fearlessness are worthy of every knight's toast and praise."

"Now - heroes, please come closer!"

After the emperor's words fell, the eyes of everyone in the hall turned to the same figure in unison, and then showed expressions of "shock" and "gasp".

Well, it's standard, as if they have rehearsed it countless times.

Looking at each other in understanding with Archduke Levent next to him, Anson put down his wine glass and faced the "shocked!" gazes of the nobles present, amidst their breathless breaths...

Standing alone in the center of the bright red carpet.

The moment he stopped, Anson's peripheral vision caught the flash of disgust on the emperor's face.

But the next second, his eyes fell on a thin figure beside him.

The little king Nicholas Osteria, who felt the emperor's gaze, trembled slightly, but still took a deep breath, stood up tremblingly, and pretended to be majestic:

"Uh... General Anson Bach, your achievements make the entire Clovis proud."

The little king deliberately used a relatively vague title. Apparently he did not want to recognize Anson Bach's so-called "ruling" title, and was worried that directly addressing the military rank would cause displeasure to the other party.

The Clovis officers and nobles present breathed a sigh of relief. Although they knew that the two had met in advance, they were still a little on tenterhooks.

"Your Majesty is ridiculous." Anson smiled slightly, neither saluting nor looking directly at the other party: "It is the obligation of every knight to do his best to order the peace of the world; I only did my duty, It doesn’t deserve your praise.”

"What's your job?"

Before he finished speaking, Archduke Levent's cold snort suddenly sounded from behind: "I really didn't know that the Clovis people were so humble? Could it be that there were other people who were killed in the Halberd River with blood flowing into the river and corpses everywhere? people?"

Anson, who was interrupted, still kept smiling, looking back at the embarrassed little king and the emperor with murderous eyes on the high platform.

"Ah...please don't get me wrong, I am definitely not accusing you of anything, the ruling lord of Clovis."

Facing the gazes of everyone, the sneering Archduke Levent seemed completely unaware that he had ruined the atmosphere, and still thought to himself: "After all... when the rebels were completely defeated by you, my army was watching the whole process. I'm really ashamed."

"Yes, just like our beloved Archduke Roland and his followers, they watched the Clovis people... suppress the rebellion on the land of the empire, ha!"

At this moment, the whole place was silent, and everyone's eyes began to look strange.

"By the way, I would like to remind everyone present that you may not be particularly aware of what a feat our Lord Anson Bach has accomplished - crossing the border between Clovis and the Empire in less than ten days, with a large number of troops and When the firepower did not dominate, it only took one day to end the entire battle."

As if he thought he had not made enough trouble, Archduke Levent continued: "A hundred thousand troops were completely defeated in less than eight hours, with more than one tenth killed, and countless prisoners who were lightly or seriously injured..."

"Our invincible Emperor, His Majesty, has never achieved such a dazzling record in his life!"

The mocking words echoed in the banquet hall, and everyone tensed up, waiting for His Majesty the Emperor's response; even the little king on the stage froze in place, neither sitting nor standing, or even Don't dare to look back.

Facing the overt provocation of Archduke Levent, what would be the attitude of the emperor who was forced into a corner? Anger, ridicule, retort, or...

"you're right."

On the throne, the expressionless Joseph Heritage snorted and said in a nonchalant tone: "His Excellency Anson Bach's achievements are unparalleled and far surpass those of all of us here."

"Otherwise his glory would not be so dazzling, wouldn't it, my respected Archduke Levent?"

"Uh..." Levent, whose pupils shrank suddenly, was in disbelief, and his expression looked like he was suddenly stuck by a fish bone.

Not only him, but also the other princes present were either shocked or sighed softly.

Joseph Heritage...this guy who has always been self-righteous and never bowed his head actually admitted it on his own initiative?

Was this the manifestation of the Ring of Order, or was the blow he suffered too heavy, causing him to change his gender on the spot?

Up to this point, Anson, who had been silent throughout the whole process, probably guessed the grand dukes’ plan: Archduke Levent would take the lead in angering the emperor and triggering a dispute between the two sides. Archduke Roland and other northern nobles pretended to be "reasonable guests" and mediated for both parties as passers-by. .

Of course, mediation is impossible, and provocation is more or less the same; the result is probably that Archduke Levent made rude remarks and was despised by everyone in the room, but it also proved that Joseph Herod was incompetent and was not allowed to occupy the position of emperor.

In the end, Bernard, who had not been involved in this mess during the whole process, was welcomed back to the public - during the Battle of the Changji River, he was still under "house arrest" in Snapdragon City - not only has outstanding ability, noble moral character, but also is a beloved and loyal person. The elder deserves to be crowned emperor.

But no one expected that Joseph Heritage would suddenly admit it and gave an answer that no one could refute.

Yes, I didn't do it. Otherwise, why would I give a Clovis man such an honor, hold a triumphal ceremony for him in Snapdragon City, and accept his audience?

Without giving Archduke Levent a moment to breathe, Joseph Herred's majestic words sounded again:

"As you said, my failure to see through the arrest plot caused huge losses to the empire and the world of order. It was a huge dereliction of duty on my part as the emperor... Thousands of knights died in vain in meaningless wars. , return to the embrace of the Circle of Order.”

Joseph stood up slowly, raised his hand and pressed the trembling little king Nicholas, and looked around the entire hall: "Such a mistake must be corrected and a response must be made."

"Celebrating the triumph of His Excellency Ansen Bach, who saved everything, is my response. Now, it is time to correct it."

"correct?"

The Archduke Levent, whose rhythm was disrupted, forced himself to calm down and took the initiative to step forward: "I wonder how your Majesty would correct it?"

"You don't have to be so anxious, my Grand Duke." The emperor's tone had already begun to radiate chills: "Since I have neglected my duties as the emperor, according to ancient traditions and laws, it is time to choose a new emperor. "

"In the past, the dragon knight Herid united the six knights to build an empire, and was elected and crowned by everyone; but now we must not let our ancestors live in dust, occupy the throne and refuse to give in."

"Knights, those who are qualified to elect and participate in the election, in the name of the emperor, I invite you to come forward and elect the new emperor!"

The atmosphere in the hall suddenly condensed, and the last trace of calmness was finally stripped off everyone's faces.

Anson, who was standing alone in the audience, was like an audience member who suddenly broke into the theater, quietly enjoying the gradually rising rhythm of the performance; looking at the stage with his arms spread out, everyone was nervous and frightened. Joseph Heritage…

...like a real emperor.