Heroes of Might and Magic: Knight Chapter 708: Empire (End)
After being carried by the crowd of people at the station to the Central Street of the Royal Capital, Handel finally took a breath and looked up, seeing that the Central Street was still crowded with people.
After several years of development, the current royal capital is more prosperous than before Richard took over. The originally wide Central Street has been expanded once, and the width of the entire main street is close to 150 meters, but it is still It was packed with people.
After the train opened to traffic, countless people poured into the capital every day, especially as the celebrations were approaching in the past few days. Too many people had become a burden, and the city guards had begun to restrict the flow of people into the city.
Both sides of Central Street were hung with bright yellow three-arrow flags, announcing the identity of the city's new owner.
Handel looked at this familiar yet unfamiliar city. He had only been in the south for more than three years, and the golden dragon had become almost unfamiliar to him. Not only was it more lively, it also became more energetic. Many, at least the people walking by on the road no longer have the worry about the future in their brows, but more of a longing for life.
After all, in the past few years, the orcs had almost invaded the royal capital, and the shadow of the war lingered. The increase in taxes due to the war would not only crush the common people, but also cause many small nobles to go bankrupt due to the war.
And now the human kingdom looks around, with a sense of confusion as it draws its sword and looks around. The security crisis has long been lifted. In addition, Richard has promoted the policy of reducing the burden on civilians. The people's livelihood, which was originally ruined, has been restored quickly. Just look at the king. There is already a scene of great prosperity.
"Avoid! Avoid!"
"Hai Hou enters the palace!"
"Avoid! Avoid!"
Just when Handel was about to find a hotel to stay, the city guards shouted loudly from the south side of the street. The crowd was forcibly separated into a four-to-five-meter-wide passage by the soldiers, who walked in the middle of the road. Handel was also squeezed to the store on the street with the flow of people.
First two teams of city guard soldiers opened the way, and then two red flame horses pulled a huge water tank. The water tank was decorated with various gems. Even a non-professional businessman saw these as big as his head. Gems also know they are worth a lot of money.
Of course, the most eye-catching person in the team is not these gems, but a man who wears a crown, is two meters long, has gray-blue skin, has an appearance similar to humans but has many fish characteristics.
The people on the Central Plains are no better than the people on the southern coast. Most of the people in Jinlongdu have never left the Central Plains, and many people have never left the hundred-mile radius of Jinlongdu. The relationship between the sea and the Hai people It's a rarity for them.
Everyone stood on tiptoe with their heads held high, wanting to see what the legendary Sea Tribe looked like, and some even commented on it.
"If you don't look carefully, there is no difference between him and a human being. He looks quite handsome, but he is a bit taller."
"Hey, I don't know if their women are handsome anymore."
"Hey, you don't understand. The one above is their king. Most of the Sea Tribe people are not even 1.5 meters tall. They have hunched shoulders and look like a dwarf. You'd better work hard and be serious. Find a woman."
The carriage passed through Central Street, and civilians on both sides gathered around to watch and point. The former King of the Sea in the water tank and now the Marquis of the Kingdom felt uncomfortable all over.
I wish I could immediately explode and kill all the humans around me who were pointing fingers at me. But thinking about the sun crashing into the sea and the dense human army on the clam field, I still forced myself to stay rational and used some gloomy words. The voice questioned Paul next to him:
"General Paul, are you humiliating me? Are you displaying me here as an exhibit?"
Paul smiled and said in denial:
"How can Lord Haihou think so? Crossing Central Street and receiving the attention and cheers of the people is the highest honor for us. Lord Richard also walked through Central Street like this when he returned to the capital."
"Are they cheering?"
Hai Hou glanced at the humans pointing and pointing below. They were not cheering, they were looking at monkeys.
"That's not my problem, that's your problem. When I walk through Central Street, others are cheering."
"But you are pretty good. The dragon army captured some orc noble prisoners and passed here before, and all they threw were stones and rotten eggs."
Neptune, who originally wanted to say something, lowered his head when he heard this. He simply did not look at the humans on both sides and remained silent.
I'm afraid of comparison. At least compared to the orcs who died and their clans were wiped out, his treatment was much better.
……
Royal Palace
The golden Three Arrows Flag replaced the original Golden Dragon Flag, and there were golden flags everywhere. The palace city that was originally reduced to ruins has been completely restored, and it is even more magnificent than the previous one. The magnificent palace is shining in the sunshine. Shining brightly under the light.
More than 100,000 people gathered in the palace square, looking up at the central high platform. There were more people who were not qualified to enter the palace and were blocked outside. Everyone knew what today meant. , looking down from the sky, densely packed heads of people surrounded the palace.
The Imperial Guard maintained order in the face of a powerful enemy. Facing a crowded and noisy crowd may be more difficult than letting them fight the orcs again.
"Stop pushing in, step back, step back!"
"Let the Central Street stop the flow of people! No more people are allowed to come to Miyagi City. If we let people in, they will squeeze us to death!"
The Guards knight guarding the door was sweating profusely and commanded his soldiers to block the crowd. Ever since he put on this blue and white armor, he had rarely been afraid. Today's huge crowd is really Jean felt the pressure of facing giants on the ice field.
"Who is that!"
"Stop pushing forward, I'm talking about you!"
The sharp-eyed knight saw a strong figure in the crowd struggling to push through the crowd and move forward. He felt angry in his heart. It was because there was such a guy in the crowd that it was so troublesome for him to maintain order.
This person can squeeze through the crowd like this instead of following the crowd. He is obviously a master above the level of a knight. Even those in poor health can't get through now.
"It's me, Handel!"
"I don't care who you are! If you stay where you are, if you push in again, you will interfere with public order. I will arrest you and put you in jail!"
Seeing that the other party was still moving forward, the knight of the Imperial Guard had almost lost his patience. The knight's sword in his hand was unsheathed with a "clang" sound, and the threat was self-evident.
"I am the captain of the third legion of the Dragon Army, and now I am working as a security baron in the south. I have proof of invitation!"
Handel squeezed forward while waving a certificate in his hand. Only with this thing can he be qualified to enter the palace. If he is not invited, he can only experience a little participation at the door like the crowd outside. feel.
Low-level nobles like barons are not very qualified to be invited. Even if they enter, they usually enter as a follower of a powerful person.
But the gold content of Baron Handel is different. He is a baron with military merit in the Northland Army. He is naturally higher than those nobles in the past. Being invited to watch the ceremony also shows that Richard attaches great importance to these military nobles.
The knight of the Guards at the door softened slightly after hearing Handel's identity, and took back the unsheathed sword. This was one of his own from the Northland Army, and his attitude did not need to be so bad. He signaled to the soldiers around him After putting the other party over, he picked up the invitation in Handel's hand and inspected it briefly.
"Why are you here so late? The people in front of you have already gone in, and they won't let you in if you are any later."
Although he was definitely one of his own, the guarding knight still sounded a little dissatisfied. This guy came so late and squeezed in the crowd, which completely caused trouble for his work.
"Sorry, it's a long way for me to come from the south, and there are too many people on the road today. I can't walk because of the crowds."
Handel himself never thought that the golden dragon could actually block people, and that it would be such a difficult thing for the knight to shuttle through the dense crowd.
"Come in quickly. The ceremony will begin soon and no one will be allowed to leave. There are people from the Griffin Army guarding the place. They don't know the people from our Dragon Army."
"Okay, thank you!"
"Don't push forward for those at the back. He has an invitation letter. No one without an invitation letter can enter!"
On the other side, Handel hurried into the palace city and finally arrived at the ceremony after undergoing several inspections along the way.
Guards wearing blue and white cloth face armor formed two teams on both sides of the road. These warriors, with an average height of nearly 1.9 meters, gave off a powerful feeling just standing there.
Their eyes intertwined, monitoring the crowd with almost no blind spots, ensuring that possible accidents could be killed as soon as possible, even though the supreme majesty in their hearts was not afraid of any assassins at all.
What is even more shocking are the dozen giants standing beside the high platform. These Titans, who are more than ten meters tall, are all wearing golden armor with so-called short spears on their waists. Their huge heads wearing golden helmets are even higher than A section of the stage.
"Cang!"
"Cang!"
"Cang!"
When the silent bell rang, the originally noisy scene instantly became quiet.
Everyone knows that the real protagonist is coming.
The Titan, who was still a little higher than the platform, was the first to react. He leaned forward and half-knelt on the ground in the direction of the platform, trying his best not to be higher than the platform in front of him.
Then the Northern Army guards arrayed around let out a rhythmic war cry.
A golden dragon chariot flew over steadily from the horizon. The noble dragon lowered its head and let the reins wrap around its neck. The six-headed golden dragon was divided into two rows, moving steadily towards the high platform in the center. Fly away.
Two teams of angels with backs and wings guard the dragon chariot, wary of unlikely enemies.
At this scene, even the old man who had experienced the Golden Dragon Kingdom in its prosperous period was stunned with shock.
After all, except for the Aragorn period, the golden dragons later came to be the masters.
Even the best-tempered person cannot accept pulling a cart for others. For those with a more violent temper, it is common for them to kill some people.
As for the people with black or white wings around them, they are more like some legendary mythical creatures.
Maybe Lord Richard is really some kind of **** descending to earth?
The arrival of the dragon car brought the atmosphere to a climax, and the originally quiet crowd burst into loud cheers.
Most of the people in the square are the aborigines of the Golden Dragon Kingdom. Although they know that the golden dragon is nothing to Richard today, their worship of the golden dragon for hundreds of years still makes them see the grandeur of the golden dragon pulling the cart. I couldn't help but feel excited during the scene.
At the same time, Richard and Messiah, dressed in costumes, sat side by side in the carriage.
Richard had a smile on his face, while Messiah looked a little nervous, and squeezed Richard unconsciously with his little hands.
"Bang!"
The dragon chariot stopped smoothly on the high platform. According to the golden dragon's habit, whenever he stood on such a high place, he couldn't help but raise his head and howl to show his presence.
But the six-headed golden dragon pulling the cart restrained this instinctive impulse and leaned down quietly after landing.
Richard held Messiah's hand and walked out of the carriage. The attendants on both sides laid out the velvet blankets for him. Catherine, Moriel, Lint and other senior officials followed behind him in order.
"Long live Lord Richard!"
"Long live Lord Richard!"
When Richard stood on the high platform, the people in the square cheered again, even more enthusiastically than before.
Li Cha instinctively waved to the dense crowd below, but he couldn't help but feel a sense of pride in his heart. This feeling of being above ten thousand people would inevitably make people a little intoxicated.
After a while, two archangels dragged a crown to Richard. No one was standing in front of him. Richard raised his head and took the crown from the tray and put it neatly on his head.
The speed was so fast that everyone who saw it was a little stunned.
There was no process at all. The ceremony was at its last step. Only after the artillery started firing cannons did the people at the scene react.
"Long live His Majesty the Emperor!"
"Long live His Majesty the Emperor!"
Just when everyone thought the ceremony was about to end, a huge shadow appeared in the sky, and a sacred aura spread over the city.
A kind lady stood in the clouds. She first looked at Richard and nodded with a smile. Then she waved towards the crowd, and several pieces of golden light fell down, finally covering the entire capital in a golden veil. In the fog.
Everyone who bathed in it felt great comfort, some people with illnesses were relieved, and even some knights with hidden illnesses caused by training and battles were healed.
"That's it, Ms. Gaia!"
"A real miracle!"
Before the golden light dissipated, a huge golden dragon shadow appeared in the sky above the royal capital.
At first glance, it looks like a golden dragon enlarged more than ten times, but if you look closely, you can see that the two are very different. The dragon shadow in the sky is more elegant and noble compared to the ferocious dragon.
If the appearance of the giant dragon makes people feel full of power and aggression at first glance, the golden dragon shadow in the sky is much softer, more elegant and majestic.
"Elrath!"
"It's Lord Elrath!"
The belief in the heroic and invincible gods spread during the Northland Legion's campaign. As the Northland Group grew stronger, the number of people who believed in the heroic and invincible world gods such as Gaia and Elrath also expanded a lot. , even Namtaru gained some believers.
Many Gaia believers in the royal capital fell to their knees and called Gaia's name when they saw Gaia performing miracles in the sky.
In their hearts, the sanctity of the emperor Richard reached its peak.
Li Chaping looked at Ms. Gaia's shadow in the sky and didn't say much. He just nodded to acknowledge the other party's behavior.
It is unrealistic to ban all kinds of faith in this world. Richard can accept the order-oriented and kind-hearted gods of the Invincible Heroes world to establish faith in his country, but the bottom line is that he cannot override the secular world.
It is even more impossible to have a situation like the original Elf Empire where the gods intervened in the world at will and treated everything in the material world as a playground.
The pope is under the secular emperor, and the emperor and the gods are on an equal footing. The gods are not allowed to perform miracles to affect the material world without consulting the emperor.
This is an agreement reached between Richard and the gods, all for the sake of the stability of order.
When Richard was crowned, the dragon pulled the cart, and the news that several gods performed miracles spread like a virus to the entire continent. The old and young who were originally dissatisfied with the Hunter family replacing the Charles family on the throne were completely dissatisfied. Shut up.
With their strong personal strength, the powerful Beidi Group and the sanctity of Dieman, there is no reason to oppose the other party at all.
……
Ten years
Anjing City
It was also the former Golden Dragon City
No one knows why His Majesty Richard changed the royal capital to this somewhat strange name, but His Majesty's will must be carried out.
Richard not only changed the name of the capital, but also changed the names of some difficult-to-pronounce cities in the south. For example, the largest city in the south was changed to Ninghai City by Richard with a stroke of his pen.
The running train brings goods from all over the world to this prosperous Anjing. Animal skins are specialties from the ice sheet, coral pearls from the South China Sea, fish and crabs from the deep sea. You can buy almost all the goods in the world in Anjing.
On the New Year's Day, the entire city of Anjing is decorated with lights and the streets are crowded with people. Even though the city has expanded several times, it still cannot keep up with the expansion of Anjing's population.
The population of this human empire's capital city is close to 10 million, which is simply an incredible number in this era.
With the combination of magic and technology, the newly built houses in the past ten years have generally been built to a height of more than ten stories. With various advanced planned infrastructures, Anjing City can barely accommodate such a large population. Now Anjing City A house in a better location can be exchanged for a knight's manor of several hundred acres in the south, which made many Northern Army veterans who chose southern land feel a little regretful.
At this time, Richard, dressed in casual clothes, held Messiah's hand and walked among the lively crowd, accompanied by a five or six-year-old child who looked at the surrounding things curiously and excitedly.
"Father, I want to eat that candied haws!"
When Richard took a quick look, he saw a middle-aged hawker with blond hair and blue eyes, wearing relatively neat linen clothes, carrying a bunch of candied haws on his shoulders to sell. This kind of weird scene was something that Richard was still not used to until now.
However, the candied haws on wooden sticks are more diverse than in previous lives. In addition to the traditional hawthorn, there are also various fruits from the South China Sea that are wrapped in syrup and made into skewers. There are at least a dozen kinds of fruits on the cluster of candied haws.
Richard nodded, and a guard walked up and chatted with the vendor. Not long after, the guard came to Richard with a whole bunch of candied haws on his shoulders.
"Your Highness Aaron"
This is the only child that Richard and Messiah have had for more than ten years. With the strength of Richard and Messiah, it is almost inevitable that there will be few heirs. When little Aaron was born, the entire empire celebrated Ichiban.
Old Hunter even used this as an excuse to hold a running banquet in Ironwood City for three days. He was so drunk that he couldn't wake up for several days.
Little Aaron couldn't wait to take this large bunch of candied haws several heads taller than himself from the guard. It weighed twenty or thirty kilograms as if it didn't exist.
The guards were not surprised. It would be unusual for these two children not to be extraordinary.
"Give me one to try too."
At this time, a handsome man in light white brocade clothes came to Xiao Aaron, and seemed to be attracted by the luxurious candied haws.
"Give!"
Little Aaron, who had a large cluster of candied haws, generously handed the other party a candied haws, without feeling anything wrong. However, the guards around him felt like they were in danger, and the hairs on their bodies almost stood up.
Although Richard took Messiah and Aaron out without much fanfare, there were still at least a dozen plainclothes guards around.
Although Richard and Messiah do not need the protection of guards, it is not good to be hit.
Although these guards are not many in number, they are all experts. The guards who can be by Richard's side are at least good at the earth level. Even after the resurgence of magic power, those who can reach the earth level are still at the upper level of the pyramid. In the past, they were all experts. Legion commander level.
These people scattered around basically ensured that the crowd would not come within five meters of Richard, Aaron and others, and quietly separated the lively crowd. At this time, a strange man appeared inexplicably. He was obviously a tall man. They don't know how many masters there are.
However, Richard waved his hand to signal the guards to be calm.
"Elrath, when you come to Anjing City, you don't tell us in advance that the mighty Dragon of Light is coming. Why don't you let the believers organize a welcoming ceremony?"
"Why don't you go shopping with a dragon chariot and a guard of honor."
"Haha, what else can we do?"
"There are tens of millions of people in Anjing City, and you have to come here to rely on me to eat candied haws on a stick."
"His Majesty Richard is as bright as the sun. It's hard not to notice you."
Having said this, Elrath straightened his face and asked a little seriously:
"When does His Majesty Richard plan to raise the throne?"
In Elrath's eyes, Richard, who is still walking in the world, is no different from the sun. It is only a matter of time before he conforms to the rules and becomes the sun itself.
Hearing this, Messiah looked at Richard nervously.
The gods holding the throne high are in compliance with the rules, but it is not so easy to continue walking in the world.
And Richard just looked up, as if he could see the blazing sun in the dark night sky.
"Just let it run naturally, why bother controlling it."
"The sun is still too lonely, so lonely that there is no shadow."
"It's good that His Majesty Richard dominates the world, which is also a blessing to the entire continent."
"Of course"
Now the entire empire is thriving under Richard's rule. Although it is also divided into nobles and civilians, rich and poor, slaves are basically banned. Nobles cannot kill people at will, and poor people can also have food to eat.
And Richard is not afraid of the corruption of the aristocratic class in the future. He himself is the fastest knife to cut away carrion. Compared with those wise monarchs who live less than a hundred years, he can easily overlook the world for thousands of years.
Thinking of this, he suddenly touched Aaron's head lovingly.
"I have wronged you. I will try to be the prince for ten thousand years."
Aaron, who was only five years old, didn't understand what Richard was saying. He just nodded and continued to happily eat the candied haws in his hand.
(Complete book)
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