Dust of History Chapter 26: The selection of heroes

The war in the West has reached a strange stalemate before it even begins.

All the countries around the wild highlands sent envoys, and the capital received several batches in just a few days. Most of these people came to Italy in the same way, and they all asked the imperial army to stand still, because there were merchants in the city of Oufu in their countries. Among them, some small countries have already recognized Oufu City as a new independent country. No matter how much the military advocated war, the huge diplomatic pressure made His Majesty the emperor order the troops in the west not to act rashly. At the same time, Oufu City also kindly returned all the goods that were robbed some time ago, and the people and many nobles also began to have anti-war sentiments. It seems that Sedros' means and methods are indeed very effective.

On the other hand, a strange military situation came back from the west. A huge undead monster appeared in the wilderness. Priest Nags led all the magicians in the army to destroy it, but the whole army was wiped out. Suffering such huge damage before the war started, the whole court was shocked by it. The military said that the priest of the Erni family was overjoyed to cause such a result, while the Erni family accused General Sanders of improper command, especially It was the prime minister's pain of losing his son that made him even more strongly advise to change the commander. Naturally, the military cannot easily agree, and the daily government affairs have almost become a place for quarrels between the two sides.

The School of Magic seemed relatively calm. Bishop Ronis made a rare statement on political affairs this time. He advised the emperor to withdraw troops. He seemed to be very dissatisfied with the Priest Nags recommended last time, so this time he did not appoint the son of the prime minister nor accepted the candidate provided by the military ministers, but planned to appoint an unknown ordinary monk to replace Nags who died in battle. Priest Goss commanded the remaining priests in the army. This is a method that does not favor anyone, and it is in line with the bishop's usual style, and the ministers can only accept it obediently. As for why such a person was chosen, it is said that it was because of the pious faith of this monk, who prayed for the corpses for several years, so he was able to get the attention of the bishop.

In this extraordinary period, the selection contest for the Holy Knight Order is still held. And just because this kind of power competition is fierce, the significance of this competition is naturally extraordinary.

Although the generals of the empire have control over the army, they have never dared to act recklessly with their own dignity. It is the core military force of the empire that can make these generals who hold a large army dare not do anything wrong, which is directly ordered by the emperor and the holy knights of the church. Although there are only less than a thousand people in total, each member has the fighting power of a high-level swordsman, and the dozens of magicians and priests inside are almost the top elites in the empire. This huge fighting power can make tens of thousands The human army is timid, and its high mobility and combat effectiveness make it easier for them to intersperse and charge in the ordinary army than to cut butter with a hot knife.

The Holy Knight Order can only act under the joint orders of His Majesty the Emperor and the Bishop, so there are very few chances of being sent to the battlefield. Served in the military. This is a shortcut for the Erni family to enter the military.

The selection of such an important unit is of course extremely strict. Thousands of knights from all over the country come to participate every year, but only a dozen or so qualified people are selected from among them. The most important thing is that the chief examiners are Captain Roland and Bishop Ronis of the Holy Knight Order. Although Captain Roland is a member of the military faction, he is a perfect combination of military strictness, selflessness and meticulous personal cultivation. The effect is famous. Together with Bishop Ronis, who seemed conservative and staid to others, he ensured that the core strength of the empire would not be influenced by political forces. No matter who belongs to any faction, anyone who wants to enter the Holy Knight Order must pass the test head-on and come honestly.

On the first day of the selection meeting, a variety of preliminary assessments were conducted, such as equestrianism, spearmanship, knight etiquette, beliefs, etc. Over a thousand candidates were eliminated like washed sand in these rigorous examinations. Competing to be the first to brush down, only a handful of nearly a hundred elites remained. Then these survivors will compete for the last dozen places in the next day's competition. The champion will receive the badge of the Holy Knight Order issued by His Majesty the Emperor himself. This is the great honor of every knight and the capital of promotion. General champions have the opportunity to become the small captain of the regiment, commanding dozens of regiment members who can be used as a thousand-man army.

This martial arts contest every year has become a grand festival in the capital of the king. Tall temporary stands were built around several open-air competition fields to meet the needs of the audience, and even the emperor came to watch the finals.

The people in the square can no longer be described in a single word. It seems that people from the entire king's capital have gathered here. Both nobles and commoners were talking enthusiastically about the upcoming tournament. The gambling handicap has also come out. According to the past achievements of each contestant and the evaluation of professionals, each participant gets his own odds for supporters to express their enthusiasm with coins.

The biggest favorite on the market is a contestant named Rod Hart. This knight named Rod Hart has passed all the tests on the first day, and all the results are very good. According to the eyes of several veterans, his skill and bearing are also the best among all the contestants. So he did his part to become the favorite to win the championship.

Although the odds are already as low as one to one, there are still people betting to express their support for him. The accumulated money on him has exceeded the mark of a thousand gold coins, and this huge amount expresses a huge degree of support.

Whether it is based on such great enthusiasm or such a large amount of money, the bettors even investigated the knight's background and experience clearly. It is said that this thousand-mile steed ran out of the knight school in Erathia. This place rich in heroes and generals added a noble touch to his bloodline. According to rumors that have been circulating among noble youths for a long time, this hero even rescued the daughter of Duke Mrak from a group of monsters with big ears. This is a heroic deed worthy of trust in his ability. Although he didn't have any prominent family background, and he didn't become Duke Mrak's subordinate just because he rescued the Duke's daughter, the Duke's only reward was to help him, a commoner, sign up for this competition. It's the accent of a poor place near Airy. But Kusano's poor background combined with his experience of saving the United States and his current achievements, he has the aura of a hero born in a dry land and soaring into the sky, which fully meets the psychological needs of ordinary people. The integrity of Bishop Ronnies and the rigor of Captain Roland have always ensured the fairness of this selection meeting. So his astonishing bet on the possibility of becoming the first commoner champion is even more astonishing—different from the glamorous but small gold coins and silver coins cast by the rich, they are made up of the hills of copper coins of the common people. Just looking at it feels overwhelming.

Bets are closing soon. The last bettor walked up to the betting table, and solemnly placed three silver coins in the square marked 'Rodhart', which was a rare and generous gesture. This is a girl who is well-dressed to the point of being flamboyant. She wears a shoulder-length fancy dress, exposing her shoulders and half of her chest triumphantly to make the men around her salivate. She has a cute and well-behaved face. A little extra makeup was put on. Can't blame, this is probably an extension of work habits and professional ethics, this young lady named Xuan is a very famous red-card girl in the largest brothel in Wangdu.

"Hey, this beautiful lady, the odds have dropped to 6 points, why do you still want to bet on this knight named Rod Hart?" the staff accepting bets asked loudly.

"Because I like him." The beautiful prostitute twisted her slender waist. "He is handsome, temperamental and virtuous. He was born into poverty and worked **** his own. This is the real hero. Compared with those nobles who rely on family background and nepotism, I'm sorry." She was very imposing. Spit out a mouthful of saliva, this casual posture is something that ladies and gentlemen of good families will never be able to learn.

Her speech immediately aroused applause from the surrounding crowd.

With everyone's support, Miss Prostitute is a little happy. She cast a wink at the board with the name on it, as if that was the person she wanted. Covering his face with his delicate hands, he said with some resentment: "I don't know when he will come to me."

"That's very good. I will write down the pure feelings of the young lady." The staff shouted loudly, and took a pen to write down in the notebook solemnly. "May our hero live up to expectations, and let us all win some wine money. I also wish this lady that you will receive all your wealth and sex, and you will taste what you expect."

This performance won booing from all the men around. "Then do you want this hero for free?" "Heroes seem to be generally chickens, so you are lucky, remember to put in more effort." "Whenever I come, you can also give it for free. I He is also an aspiring young man...."

Amidst the applause, Miss Prostitute raised her head triumphantly, and stepped off the stage to meet everyone's eyes. Walking past a young man who folded his arms and looked at her smiling, he squeezed his arm, and the young man smiled and stretched out his hand to pat her on the head as if encouraging. She continued to walk into the crowd gracefully.

Still smelling of the shaving oil left by the prostitute lady in his hands, and surrounded by obscene comments about her, Asa feels as if he has returned to the tavern in his hometown. Now he only needs to wait for all the formalities to be completed and he will go to the west. Today, he will use this last opportunity to watch Rodhart's game.

Asa walked towards Rodhart's lounge. He wanted to see how the hero who gathered public expectations was doing now. If nothing else, Rod Hart really deserves the title. After watching all the exams and competitions yesterday, he realized that his friend seemed born to be a knight.

Of course, it is impossible to be born like this. This outstanding performance is due to his childhood dream of being a knight. When a person completely indulges his life in a dream, the energy he puts in and the achievements he gets are unmatched by other people who rely on "hard work" or "struggle".

The key point is that he is no longer the child who is obsessed with dreams. Mental maturity and stability are a person's greatest wealth and strength. Only with a calm mind and a calm mind can one fully display one's abilities. In Asa's eyes, Rodhart is already quite strong now.

The rest room for the contestants is located in a hotel outside the square. In order to allow them to rest well, there are soldiers guarding the surrounding area, and ordinary people are not allowed to enter. However, one of the officers recognized the monk who was highly regarded by the bishop, so he immediately let him go, and asked him politely if he was going to pray for the soldiers.

Rodhart's room is the innermost one on the top floor. Asa went upstairs just in time to see a person walking into Rodhart's room, while several other guards stood outside with a domineering look of vigilance. A few curious contestants wanted to go and have a look, but they were immediately reprimanded by the guards.

This is not a place where you can come in at will. And these participating knights are not people who can be scolded at will. Asa was curious. He looked around for a while, then turned around and walked to the end of the corridor. When no one was looking, he climbed out of the window in the corridor, climbed on the outer wall a few times, and then slipped from under the eaves into the middle of the mezzanine under the roof. The grade of this hotel is quite high, and the age is not too long ago. The wooden boards on the top floor are very strong, and people climbed up without making a sound. Like a gecko, he climbed up to the top of Rodhart's room in a few moments without making a sound, and saw the situation below through a gap in a wooden board.

A middle-aged fat man in luxurious clothes sat carelessly on a chair, not necessarily imposing but at least very imposing. He looked at Rod Hart standing beside him with the same imposing eyes. This person is the one he met at the Magic Academy a few days ago, today's Prime Minister.

"Those who think they can succeed with one's brains and abilities are just fools who only see themselves because they are young. The real smart people are those who know the current affairs and know how to adapt to the current affairs." Although the prime minister sat He was standing there, but looked at Rod Hart standing next to him with condescending eyes. "I can see you're a smart guy. Really smart guy."

"Thank you, Prime Minister, for your compliment." Rodhart looked very respectful.

"I believe you can understand me, so I'll tell you straight to the point. This champion is useless to you. It will only be useful if someone with real power gets it. Even if you get the emperor With the support of those ants, there is no backstage or background. Do you think that a person like you, who comes from a poor background and does not have any noble blood in his body, can really go smoothly in this ever-changing court? ?You can’t imagine the brutal struggle of the political forces in the DPRK now. People like you who have no background can only be pushed around by the political trend and are just a small pawn. If you are happy, or if the political struggle has the need, it can still turn you back into a grassroots person and even kill you." The Prime Minister told this country boy the seriousness of the matter with a moderate majesty.

Rodhart was silent. Asa felt that this was not alarmist talk, it seemed to be true.

The prime minister's tone softened, and then he showed a magnanimous side. "I can see that you are a very talented person. But personal talent is useless, and no matter if you want to join any party's forces, you must use time to prove your loyalty and talent before you can get a chance to be reused .I am now in the midst of employing people. As long as you slowly prove your talent and loyalty to me, you will definitely succeed one day. Did you understand what I said?"

Rodhart was still silent, Asa couldn't see his face, but he could see the uneasy eyes flickering in the Prime Minister's pretended calm expression.

After a while, I heard Rod Hart's flat but affirmative answer: "I understand."

"Very good." The prime minister showed a very satisfied expression and voice. "Listen, there is now an opportunity to show your talent and your loyalty. And that is to give up this title that is of no use to you. Your opponent in the final will be a man named Strick Knight. He is the best in this conference, the favorite to win the championship, the most important thing is that he has the noble blood of the Erni family, he is one of my nephews. Do you understand what I mean?"

"Understood."

"The venue for the final is the big ring in the center. The third board on the left side of the ring is a little loose, and it will sink slightly as soon as people step on it. You know my Do you mean it?"

"Know."

"At that time, there will be many masters among the people watching the battle, and Captain Roland is the number one swordsman in the empire. The fake show must be done for real, and it is inevitable for everyone to get hurt, but there are so many priests around Now, it should be fine. Do you know?"

"I know ~IndoMTL.com~ the hero who represents the dreams of the common people is now tame like a little sheep in front of the majesty of the prime minister.

"Well, very good." Satisfied with the young man's sensibility and understanding of current affairs, the Prime Minister took out a small bag from his arms and threw it on the table with a heavy sound. "Here are fifty gold coins. I will give you more after the matter is over. And these small coins are just the beginning. I appreciate a young man like you who understands current affairs, knows the advantages and disadvantages, and is capable. .I can tell you that as long as you work hard, your future will never disappoint you. As long as you don’t let me down now.” The Prime Minister stood up and nodded, and walked out the door majesticly.

The door of the room was closed, and Rod Hart's still stood there without moving. After staying for a while, he went to the table and picked up the purse left by the prime minister, weighed it, sighed with satisfaction, took out a golden coin, held it in his hand and flicked it with his finger, making a pleasant sound.

Asa crawled out from the mezzanine on the top floor, returned to the corridor, and walked towards Rodhart's room. But when he got to the door, he scratched his head and found that this matter was originally Rodhart's own, and what he did was naturally his business, so he turned around and walked out of the hotel.

Asa suddenly remembered the prostitute lady just now, and couldn't help feeling sorry for the three silver coins she bet. Her money, if not hard-earned money, is at least hard-earned money.