The elite retinues of the Knight Lords crowded outside the great hall, while hundreds of the Knight Lords themselves filed in one after another.
In the audience hall, surrounded by clear mirrors and cold armor, fully armored Yonglan Knights stood on floor tiles that reflected light like crystal. Their hands, beneath their capes, either gripped the hilts of their swords or smoothed the hems of their garnts as they quietly awaited an audience with the new Knight King.
To be standing here ant they acknowledged Westheid’s status as the Knight King. Or rather, they had been beaten into submission and had no choice but to acknowledge it.
Even the Knight Lords, accustod to being free and undisciplined, maintained a solemn silence during the audience.
CLACK CLACK CLACK—
The crisp sound of footsteps echoed. On the high platform on the second floor of the audience hall, phit was the first to appear. The blue-haired girl unabashedly revealed the collar around her neck, startling the crowd.
"Is that Lady phit of the Zitherheart Clan?"
"Even a Grand Knight of Zitherheart as arrogant as her has completely submitted to Duke Qinghui?"
"I’d heard that Lady phit’s compatibility with the Divine Ancestor’s blessing was extrely high. The kind who could even be chosen as a Divine Chosen champion."
Behind phit, Westheid and the others followed.
There was no need to elaborate on Mivana and Reiya. The two won had fought countless duels over the past few days, forcefully suppressing all voices of dissent.
For many of the Knight Lords, however, this was their first ti seeing the new Knight King, and they curiously sized up Westheid.
They had been closely following news of his pilgrimage, but unfortunately, the Country of Yonglan lacked an efficient ans of communication like Star Gates. As a result, outside the pilgrimage route, public opinion had shifted in a rather comical way.
At first, it was: "A Monster from Qinghui Territory has landed in Dusk Lamp Territory."
Then, news ca from the Expeditionary Army: "An unspeakable fiend has usurped the throne of the Land of Knights."
A few days later: "A despicable, shaless usurper is approaching the Pool of the Holy Grail."
Next, it was: "Westheid Qinghui has occupied the Land of Fertility."
Then: "Duke Qinghui is nearing the Spiral Tower."
Finally, it beca: "His Supre Majesty the Knight King arrives today at his loyal Gale Heart."
The rumors had been outrageously fantastical. Now, seeing Westheid in person, they couldn’t help but sigh in admiration.
He truly had the bearing of a monarch.
’One look at his stance and you could tell he was absurdly strong!’
phit, her face flushed with excitent, ca to the railing and announced with her head held high:
"Everyone, silence! Raise your swords and pay respect to the Knight King of Yonglan!"
SHIIING—
The words had barely left her mouth when the Knight Lords drew their swords almost in unison. The gleam of the burnished blades even outshone the splendor of the audience hall.
Faced with hundreds of swords capable of cleaving iron and steel, Duke Qinghui remained perfectly composed. He gestured lightly with his hand, signaling for everyone to lower their weapons, then slowly descended the steps to the platform at the front of the audience hall.
On such a formal occasion, Westheid maintained an aura of authority without needing to show anger, letting phit act as his mouthpiece:
"Those who have not yet sworn an oath to my Lord may now co forward."
As was procedure, the Knight Lords who had not joined the pilgrimage were now to swear their loyalty to the new Knight King. And so, from left to right, the assembled Knight Lords stepped forward one by one.
They knelt on one knee before Westheid and properly raised their personal swords. Westheid touched the blade, completing the simple yet solemn ceremony.
"Jingzhe Territory swears fealty to Your Majesty, Westheid! So long as you hold the true will of the Divine Ancestor, so long as you embody the will of Yonglan, our blades will be wielded for you, to seize for you infinite victories!"
"Black Stone Territory swears fealty to Your Majesty, Westheid! So long as you hold the true will of the Divine Ancestor, so long as you embody the will of Yonglan, our blades will be wielded for you, to seize for you infinite victories!"
"..."
While the Knight Lords took turns stepping forward to swear their allegiance, the Knights who were not occupied began to whisper amongst themselves, discussing topics related to Westheid:
"He’s so young. But then again, the Knight Kings throughout history have always been young Heroes of exceptional Talent."
"What is His Majesty’s Knightly Path?"
"I hear he inherited the will of the [Star Lake Sword]."
"The Path of Chivalry?"
"I rember there was another Knight King who followed the Path of Chivalry before..."
"Including His Majesty, that makes four Knight Kings from the Path of Chivalry, right? I thought it was so boring offshoot. Don’t tell adhering to the Path of Chivalry can actually make you stronger?"
"Now that you ntion it, I might just have to give it a try!"
"..."
Only after all the Knight Lords had completed their oaths of fealty did Westheid look out at the crowd in the audience hall and speak:
"All of you present here are the pillars and cornerstones of Yonglan. It is truly remarkable that you are willing to acknowledge a Foreigner like ."
Westheid had just offered a mont of humility when his tone shifted abruptly:
"But this is also as it should be. Because I have walked further on the Knight Path than you—much, much further than any of you! I am stronger than any one of you. The mont I beca king, there was no longer any question as to who should sit on this throne."
"Though it has already been confird, I will ask one last ti—do any of you have any dissatisfaction with my status and position as Knight King? Speak. You can say anything. What is there that can’t be said? The Country of Yonglan has always had freedom of speech."
Under the handso, black-haired, purple-eyed young man’s amiable smile, a few Knight Lords exchanged glances. After a mont of hesitation, one spoke up:
"Um... Your Majesty Westheid, we do not question your accomplishnts on the Knight Path. We have long heard of them. Your power as a Yonglan Knight is beyond doubt."
"However, we still have so concerns. The Path of the Knight is one thing, but Yonglan is another. You are not one of the Yonglan People, after all. We wish to know how Your Majesty truly views the Country of Yonglan."
’Is this worry because my pilgrimage was rather cruel and violent? That’s understandable.’
Upon hearing this, Westheid nodded. After a mont of thought, he issued a saintly proclamation:
"In the Country of Yonglan, I am the Knight King. In the Imperial, I am Duke Qinghui. The two are equally important to ; there is no priority of one over the other!"
This was a lie. In Westheid’s heart, the Country of Yonglan could not possibly compare to Purity Forest.
For one thing, the foundation for his Great Enterprise of Ascension was entirely within the Qinghui Territory.
The Country of Yonglan had its own Divine Ancestor. Westheid might be able to poach a very small number of people with his personal Charm, but to make an entire fanatical Realm of Order convert their faith... the difficulty of that was no less than the great enterprise of becoming a god.
Furthermore, in the Qinghui Territory, Westheid was a dictatorial patriarch with absolute power over life and death. In the Country of Yonglan, however, the Knight King’s power seed a bit too limited. It was good enough to just borrow the strength of the Yonglan Knights.
Soone else had also thought of this. They frowned and spoke up again:
"Is that truly the case? We wonder, will Your Majesty reside permanently in [Gale Heart], or will you return to the Qinghui Territory?"
’Asking such a thing was crossing a line!’
Westheid frowned. The question was tantamount to asking the Emperor of Austria if he was the Emperor of Austria or the King of Hungary—a question with malicious intent!
His current identity was both the Clan Leader of the Qinghui Territory and the Knight King of the Country of Yonglan. But the Qinghui Territory and the Country of Yonglan were two absolutely incompatible entities, making Westheid a bona fide dual Monarch.
The awkwardness of being a dual Monarch needed no explanation. If the two entities under his rule began to pull in opposite directions, the harm would be endless.
However, Westheid found the question slightly thorny to answer. Just then, the chain on his wrist stirred, and the Zitherheart Grand Knight imdiately jumped in:
"Enough! Is there any point in harping on this? Is my Lord’s understanding and adherence to the Path of the Knight not enough? Must you force my Lord to prove his innocence? Who is the king here, and who is the subject?!"
phit was perfectly fulfilling her duty as a loyal dog, jumping in to shut down the conversation.
The blue-haired girl glared, her brows furrowed, and raised a slender finger as she declared:
"So, do not say things that are detrintal to unity."
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