Chapter 693, King's Inheritance

Frankly speaking, the number of times Ryan and the old king met is really not that many. Since he came to Brittania, the number of meetings between him and Richard is really very few.

On the one hand, it was because Ryan was forced to be a baron at that time. To put it simply, this is the meaning of the fairy of the lake. After Richard conferred the sword on the king, Ryan should have been his vassal, so he ordered Ryan to force him to There are reasons and grounds.

But here lies the embarrassing problem. Ryan is a Holy Grail knight, and Richard is just an expeditionary knight. The Kingdom's Holy Grail system determines that expeditionary knights are not easy to order. Loncois' support made it difficult for Richard to manage Ryan, and the relationship between the two parties was very awkward, and they seldom met each other.

On the other hand, Ryan and Richard have different political opinions. The only tacit understanding between the two sides is that Richard's eldest son Charles will not have the chance to ascend the throne. Richard is more inclined to Lawn, and Ryan obviously wants to fight for the throne with all his strength. After many contests and struggles, this struggle ended with Richard's failure, Lawn's defeat at Musillon, and Ryan's recovery of Musillon. Richard accepted the outcome of the failure. a result.

After Matthew Bard was beheaded by Ryan before the gate of Courona, Richard had already passed on the title of Duke of Le-Angoulant to his nephew Taubote, and sent his grandson William to set off to carry out the Holy Grail Expedition, as for his legitimate son, the Prince Charles who had waited for more than seventy years for the duke and the throne, and finally chose to become a vampire?

Who cares?

Every time he sees Richard, Ryan can feel that the other party seems to be a little older. When he first came to Brittania, Richard's hair was still gray, and it had become gray when he failed to suppress Ryan. Now it is almost gray. All white.

"What? Was it a surprise?" Richard was standing at the door, his demeanor had become that of a pure old man, and the outgoing old king stroked his beard: "I think it is necessary for me to come and see you. "

"Of course." Ryan hesitated for a moment, but still felt that Richard had to be given basic respect. This was not because he was cowardly or timid, but because he maintained his own legal orthodoxy. Only by fully respecting the old king, his throne Only then will there be orthodoxy: "Uh, take a step?"

"Are you interested in going out with me? It's nearby." Richard spread his hands: "No weapons, no people."

"Okay, wait a minute, I'll go and talk to Suria." Ryan nodded, he entered the room instead, and said a few words to Suria. The female knight was a little surprised, but quickly said it was okay.

A few minutes later, on the dimly lit streets of Korona, the old king and the new king who was about to take the throne, ignoring the curfew, strolled along the street. At this time, there were no pedestrians on the street. Under the ruling, the capital's night order was strictly enforced, except for a small number of aristocrats who had the right to go to the streets or merchants who had been licensed, there were no wanderers on the streets.

The street lights are not bright. Courona is the most populous and largest city in Brittania. If you want to keep the city brightly lit at night, it will cost a staggering amount of money every day. Lawn only guarantees that the city will remain basic. Therefore, whether it is Richard or Lane, their faces are looming under the lights.

"Don't you have anything to say to me?" Richard's old voice was full of calmness and ease.

"I remember you were looking for me." Ryan was a little amused after hearing this.

"Your Majesty," Richard said in a hoarse voice.

"Um?"

"You must call me now,

Your Majesty, because you are not yet a king. Richard snorted coldly deep in his throat: "Don't you have any basic manners?" "

"Well, my lord, I remember that you came to me first." Ryan rolled his eyes indiscriminately, thinking that this old guy is at the end, and he still doesn't forget to take advantage.

After Ryan's voice fell, Richard gave a faint "hmm" and didn't say anything more. The old king was in front, and Ryan was behind. The two walked along the street together. Richard never said a word, and Ryan also remained silent.

In the strange silence, the two gradually approached the Cathedral of the Holy Grail Champion Warriors. The sacred and glorious cathedral is shining brightly under the illumination of the magic lamp. The stories of the twelve first-generation Holy Grail Knights will be told here forever. Until the end of the world.

"No one will forget Arthur and his Holy Grail partners, and no one will forget their glorious twelve founding battles. Without their sacrifices and victories, there would be no Britannia today, the Kingdom of Knights." Richard Caressing his white goatee, tears welled up in the eyes of the old king: "Ryan, as the inheritor of Landuin's will and virtue, you must be able to experience this feeling, right?"

"Your Excellency Landuin is worthy of being a perfect man of chivalry. He sacrificed himself and saved Mu Xilong. Without his sacrifice, Mu Xilong would not be where he is today." Ryan nodded slightly. Apart from infinite admiration, he has no other thoughts in his heart. Without sacrifice, there is no victory. In the long history, countless martyrs have used blood and glory to create the cornerstone of human beings.

"Hehehe~" Richard looked at Ryan's watch, and smiled like sarcasm and self-deprecating, he pointed to the rows of stone benches at the entrance of the Holy Grail Cathedral: "I'm old, I can't walk that much, Sit with me."

"Okay." Ryan didn't refuse, he and Richard sat at both ends of the bench.

"Have you ever hated me?" Richard was sitting on the bench, turned his head and asked Ryan: "From the Chivalry War in Arden Forest, I made things difficult for you more than once, and then I wanted to transfer you to Arabi Mujahideen go, tell me, Lady's God's Chosen Champion, have you ever had hatred in your heart?"

"No, at most it's just annoying." Ryan shook his head calmly: "We just have different positions."

"Hmph~hahahaha! Different positions?" Richard laughed loudly when he heard this, and his old laughter spread far away. Several guards from the Cathedral of the Holy Grail immediately came out to check the situation and saw that it was the old king and the new king. The king sat and chatted together, quickly saluted, and then backed away. The old king looked at the guard and sneered: "Do you think I have a different position from yours? Ryan, do you know that when I was young, I was once a man like you? Reformist?"

"???" Ryan frowned when he heard the words, and he thought about what Richard meant by these words.

This old guy turned around and changed to support me?

Or is it about to abdicate and sell well?

"Why, don't you believe it?" Richard sneered, "Do you know the Le-Angourant Marine Corps? This army is all equipped with muskets, decades earlier than your old Guards."

"I didn't expect you to create that army." Ryan decided to wait and see what happened. He was really surprised, because the Principality of Le-Angoulant did have a musket battalion called the Marine Corps, but because of its low presence , he almost forgot, did not expect that this army was created by Richard: "But I don't seem to have seen it before."

"That's because this army is no longer usable." Richard nodded slightly, and he seemed to be sighing, seemingly helpless: "About thirty or forty years ago, when this army was first established, it still had a certain fighting capacity. Sparse battle formations, poor management, and enough military pay, the serfs are unwilling to fight hard. The army built with a lot of gold and silver and the muskets bought from the empire are all useless. I didn’t think about it so much at the beginning As thoughtful as you are, I once thought that as long as we buy muskets and train them strictly, our army will be no worse than the empire."

"...It is useless only if the equipment keeps up, but the system and management do not keep up." Ryan said casually: "This kind of temporary army can only fight a full-scale war at most. The battlefield of death."

"Well, now you believe that I used to be a reformer, right?" There was a faint light in Richard's cloudy eyes: "I have realized it a long time ago, earlier than you, when I was a duke, John I and John II came to power successively, they were aggressive externally, and internally crazily squeezed the national power and the wealth of the serfs, I was probably the most radical among the dukes at that time!"

"...I can't tell." Ryan didn't know much about Britannia's previous history and stories.

"You must want to know, why did I become like this?" Richard laughed straight: "The high-spirited and ambitious Duke of Le-Angulan, the paladin Richard nicknamed 'Tiger' when he came to the throne, How did you become the cautious old man you are today?"

"My lord..." Ryan let out a sigh of relief. He looked up at the dark night sky. The bright moonlight filled the entire street, shrouding the Cathedral of the Holy Grail in an unreal light and shadow.

"After I came to the throne, I thought of many ways, many." Richard continued on his own: "But without exception, they all failed. I will support my decision when I come up, but no, on the contrary, they only focus on their own interests, I am restrained everywhere, and what's more terrible, I still can't get the support of Mojiana, Mojiana doesn't support me , then the lady is definitely not on my side."

"Ryan, the power of habit and tradition is terrible. When a country that has been passed down for thousands of years is gradually declining, many times it cannot be saved by one person alone. Ryan, do you really think that John I and John II are heinous sinners? A tyrant who endangers the country?" Richard turned his head and looked at Ryan: "I thought so too at first, but it wasn't until I became king that I realized that John I and John II were not what they imagined, they also wanted To save this declining kingdom, they just didn't choose the right way, especially John II hoped for a chivalrous crusade to gain actual control of the kingdom by conquering the badlands and fighting the Greenskins, but his ending was chivalry The entire army was wiped out, and I was pulled down from the throne by Morgiana."

Ryan sighed lightly when he heard the words. He understood that the new king also looked at the old king: "So, after trying many times, you chose to give up, because the ending of John II scared you."

"Yeah, I'm afraid." Richard nodded slightly: "Selflessness is often just a pursuit. I have my family, I have my family, and I have my vassals. I can't just because of my selfishness, Let bad luck befall them, and I can only become what I hate the most, being a rubber stamp, trying to maintain stability, like an old captain desperately steering the rudder, controlling a leaky broken ship, I am tired Tired and tired, but I can't stop, and I dare not stop, Ryan, you have your own way to protect the kingdom, and I have mine too."

Speaking of this, Richard has tears in his eyes: "I heard the story of Arthur and the twelve first-generation Holy Grail knights when I was three years old. I used to think that I just need to go forward bravely like Arthur and the Holy Grail companions in the story. If you are not afraid of evil, you can have your own great achievements, but after becoming a king, I find that I can't do anything about the status quo. When I see your various strange moves and repeated challenges to the existing order, my tired heart My heart and fragile will make me instinctively hostile to you, because I know that this kingdom can no longer withstand any little tribulation."

"My Majesty..." Ryan looked up at the black night sky. Who can understand the weight of the crown? Everyone only saw the glory and power symbolized by the crown, but few people knew that the weight of the crown was enough to turn Richard, a once brave and proud paladin, into what he is today.

Old, conservative, decadent, stubborn.

"I'm glad you found a way." Richard took out a handkerchief and wiped away the tears from the corners of his eyes: "Now is your time, the future of the kingdom will soon be in your hands, I have a hunch , the Kingdom of Knights is either in chaos under your hands, or in great order."

"Just wait for my performance." Ryan didn't know what to say. Up to now, he is still a little unconfident about becoming a king. The whole kingdom will be placed under his rule. He has a feeling in his heart I can't help but feel excited and worried. In the future, he will have to take care of this country by himself.

"Hmph, speaking of which, you are still an outsider." Richard said casually: "But what does it matter? Isn't Arthur also an outsider? The entire Britannians moved here from the opposite side of the Gray Mountains , since you married Suria, you are a Brittanian."

"Then people don't know, and I can't predict it." Ryan stretched out his index finger and gently rubbed it left and right under the nostrils, and then spread his hands: "A person's destiny, of course, depends on self-struggle , but we must also consider the itinerary of history, my lord, you said that I am the adopted son of a Nord lord, how did I become the King of Knights?"

"Heh, this is not the first time. Wasn't Taylor, the knight king, also the illegitimate son of the Duke of the Empire?" Richard also felt a little emotional: "I have been on the throne for more than 30 years. I thought about it carefully, and probably Just did three things."

"First, after John I and John II's militarism and decades of chaos, I presided over the restoration of production, the stabilization of the political situation, and the cessation of the civil war among the dukes."

"Second, stop launching chivalry wars for more than 20 years, and restore national strength and the number of knights."

"Third, a consensus was reached with the former Imperial Emperor Luitpold, which maintained a general peace between Brittania and the Empire for nearly thirty years."

Richard said to himself, Ryan nodded repeatedly when he heard the words, with a smile on his face, the old king actually didn't say it for Ryan, but for himself. To be fair, Richard did have something for the kingdom. own contribution.

"If there is any achievement, it is that I have tried to introduce the technology of the empire, and the scale of the invasion of Egil was also very large, but these are secondary. My main thing is three small things. Shame, only a little work done."

"The future is yours, Ryan, and the heaven below is your heaven."

"May the lady bless you."

After saying this, the old king got up from the same spot, ignored Ryan, and left alone. His old figure was no longer as strong as it was in his prime, but the pride in his heart and the ease of unloading the burden made his steps very fast. Quickly, after turning a corner, Richard left, and Ryan knew that this was probably the last time he saw Richard.

"Very well, next, it's my turn."