honor me as god

Chapter 889 Imperial Selection
(Two in one big chapter, updated today and tomorrow)

Time flies, time flies, four seasons of cold and summer, four seasons of spring and autumn, and the calendar of Dogolande has also been turned from the year 516 of the fire calendar to the year 520 of the fire calendar.

In the past four years, Dougland has undergone earth-shaking changes under the New Deal.

The land monopoly was broken, and all the noble lands in the whole territory had been bought back by the royal family and redistributed to every household. Everyone who used to be dependent on others now had their own ownership.

The currency system is unified. The purchase scope restrictions of gold moon, silver moon, copper moon, and iron moon, and the class system represented behind them have become history forever. Currency types are only distinguished by denomination, and there is no distinction between high and low.

Brand-new schools and public libraries have sprung up all over the kingdom. Educational subsidies and admission standards have been standardized. No matter how noble or poor, no matter men, women, old or young, no matter full-time or part-time, everyone has the opportunity to acquire knowledge. place.

At the same time as the education reform, the old official selection system was overthrown. Officials at all levels no longer enjoyed family inheritance.

In the past four years, countless capable people have entered the palace with their own efforts and held important positions in the kingdom's administrative agencies at all levels. They are like sparks blooming everywhere, burning all over the kingdom with the force of a prairie fire, burning those deep-rooted weeds, and waiting for the end. The coming spring breeze.

Under the great changes, there may still be various problems in many Guland, but the old era will surely become history, and everything is moving towards a new era.

As for the royal palace, according to the rules of the palace, the reserve team of imperial guards will be recruited every 4 years to ensure that when the official imperial guards suffer casualties or retire, there will be enough fresh blood to replenish them.

Now is the booting season, which coincides with the season for recruiting reserve personnel. Not long ago, the candidates who passed the selection process have come to Wangcheng, waiting for the final test.

As usual, Solandelle took the time to come to the scene for inspection today.

Solandelle, who was born in the 500th year of the fire calendar, is already 20 years old this year. Compared with the first time she ascended the throne, her appearance has changed a lot. The room is full of queen style.

Lorna was standing behind Solandelle at this time, with two badges pinned to her chest, one symbolized "King's Blade" and the other symbolized "Legend of Ragnome".

Regarding the title of King's Blade, which should belong to the "kingdom's strongest", Lorna has never formally contested with Kino, and she doesn't know who is the strongest among them.

It's just that Kino never cared about the title, and this badge has a special meaning to Lorna, so he naturally gave it to her.

Not long after Solandelle sat down, slow footsteps sounded from the backstage, and a figure sat next to him in the seat belonging to the regent.

According to the code, "Regent" is a special position, which is usually set up to assist the monarch when he is a minor, and should be removed after the monarch reaches adulthood, and replaced by "the left hand of the king" and "the right hand of the king".

However, Solandelle did not follow this rule when she became an adult, because Kino's position in the kingdom was too important to do everything without him, and the post of regent was always attached to him.

No, some time ago the frontier guards sent battle reports, and the desert horse bandits were harassing the border again. Kino went to inspect the frontier army's defenses in person. He had been away for more than ten days, and he only came back late last night.

"Long time no see. It's been only ten days since we separated, but it feels like I haven't seen you for several years." Seeing Kino's side face, Solandelle suddenly laughed secretly.

Kino looked over: "What's wrong?"

Solandelle said in a joking tone: "It's okay, but in my impression, your appearance has never changed over the years, and you seem to never grow old."

Kino joked, "Although I'm older than you, I'm still not old enough to describe it as 'old', right?"

While the two were chatting, the palace selection began. There were 97 candidates who passed the provincial test this time. According to the elimination rate of more than 90% in previous years, there may be less than 10 people who can stay this time.

The chief imperial bodyguard is in charge of testing the candidates, and this year's chief imperial bodyguard is very interesting, none other than Shangguan Xue.

This quota was designated by Kino, because Solandelle, as the sovereign who seized power, had no confidantes around her who had been trained by her personally, and they would eventually be replaced slowly with fresh blood.

As for how to train newcomers, it is really a test for the chief imperial guard.

The earliest people who followed Kino died and left, only Hanyi, Nicole, Shangguanba, and Shangguanxue remained.

Hanyi is a person in the dark, and shadows are invisible and everywhere, so it is not suitable to go to the sun to do things.

Neeko's introverted personality, especially after Roman's death, has become more obvious, which is contrary to the fortitude required by the chief imperial guard.

Let alone Shangguan Ba ​​whose IQ stays at the age of 8.

In the end, Shangguan Xue became Kino's candidate. Although this girl is petite and doesn't look majestic, she is actually extremely strong in her heart.

Just imagine, how many people can be calm and composed in front of their enemies?

Ye Lingchen, the grandson of the Far East Emperor, designed to kill Shangguanxue's family. She endured the humiliation and kept silent. Dead end.

This kind of toughness is extremely rare, plus she used to be a three-clawed golden dragon, trained many new onmyojis, and has experience in nurturing newcomers, so she naturally became the best candidate.

Shangguan Xue took off her Onmyoji robe at this time, and stood in the center of the training ground wearing the uniform of the imperial guards. The Doguland-style clothing and the small face of oriental blood looked quite exotic.

Soon, the No. 1 candidate entered the arena led by the guards. This is a well-groomed young man. He walked up to Shangguan Xue and stood with his head held high in a military posture, looking quite dignified.

They must be elites from all over the world who can go through the selection process to reach the court. Their backgrounds are clean, their physical fitness meets the standard, and their appearance will not be flawed. After all, the imperial guards represent the image of the kingdom, and some crooked melons and cracked dates cannot be allowed to accompany the queen every day.

Shangguan Xue walked around the candidate, looked up and down coldly, and suddenly whipped a whip at his feet.

"Crack!" The piercing sound of the beating sounded, echoing continuously in the training ground.

This candidate has a very good psychological quality, and he was not frightened at all when he was caught off guard, and his military posture did not appear to be loose in the slightest.

Shangguan Xue asked coldly: "What is under your feet?"

The candidate was a little puzzled. He looked down and saw nothing but the welt marks on the ground. He hesitated for a moment and tentatively replied, "Land?"

Shangguan Xue: "What land?"

This can make the candidate ask, what kind of land should the land be divided into?He was dumb for a moment, unable to answer.

Shangguan Xue didn't give a shit, and gave the answer directly: "The land under your feet is the king's land. Dogorand regards the queen as its king, and the land under your feet is also great because of her."

"Now, answer me a question, why did you come here?"

The candidate replied without hesitation: "In order to become a royal bodyguard, to protect Her Majesty the Queen."

He looked past Shangguanxue, looked at Solandelle on the stage, and said deeply: "I am willing to sacrifice my life for her!"

Solandelle's appearance is not a secret, and it is often published in major newspapers, but mere pen and ink can't outline one-tenth of her true appearance.

Now he was looking at Solandelle, and Solandelle was also looking at him. The young heart throbbed when the eyes met, and there was an unconcealable yearning in the eyes.

The candidate didn't know that it was just the longing revealed in such a moment that made all his previous efforts come to naught.

"Are you willing to sacrifice your life for her?" Shangguan Xue's eyes gradually became cold, "Have you ever been on a battlefield?"

Candidate: "Yes, I used to be a soldier of the Molten Iron Legion, and I was ranked commander."

Shangguan Xue: "Have you ever killed anyone?"

Candidate: "I have killed, I have beheaded 87 enemies in total, and the rest have killed or injured over a hundred."

Shangguan Xue: "Have you ever lost a battle?"

Candidate: "No, I have fought 54 battles with the Legion, without losing a single one."

Shangguan Xue: "Have you ever faced death?"

This time, the candidate was silent.

Before he had time to think of more feats worth boasting about, he suddenly found that the cold wind was blowing around him, and a huge Yin-Yang magic circle appeared on the ground under his feet. Countless energy flows surged around Shangguanxue, condensing into green and mysterious swords .

Shangguan Xue's eyes were cold, the hem of his clothes fluttered in the wind, and his voice was full of deadly killing intent: "Have you been pierced by a sharp knife?"

"Pfft——" A green and mysterious sword suddenly pierced through the air, piercing the candidate's abdominal cavity. He froze in place in shock, staring blankly at the blood gushing out of his body.

Shangguan Xue: "Have you heard the sound of bones being rubbed by blades?"

The Qingxuan sword twisted in the candidate's abdominal cavity, constantly stirring the internal organs, and the twisting sound of the bones being squeezed was harsher than all other noises.

With blood dripping from the candidate's mouth, he looked at Shang Guanxue in horror: "What are you doing?!."

Shangguan Xue didn't answer him, just like the god of death who judged life, she kept asking:
"Have you ever seen all your comrades die in front of you?"

"Has anyone ever rolled among the corpses?"

"Have you ever wailed helplessly while dying?

"Have you ever seen the contemptuous eyes of the enemy when they trampled you down and harvested your life?"

The candidate's mouth and nose were bleeding non-stop. He tried to cover it, but he couldn't cover it at all. The passing vitality made him limp on the ground, with a look of despair on his face: "Why. Why. Kill me."

Shangguan Xue looked down at him coldly, and said without emotion: "You said it yourself - you are willing to sacrifice your life for Her Majesty the Queen."

"Now, His Majesty wants your life. The reason? There is no reason. Your Majesty's words are above all else, and you can only follow them."

The candidate suddenly looked towards the high platform. In the bloody wind, the originally extremely dignified figure twisted, like a demon disguised as a human being slowly shed its human skin. The scarlet eyes exuded a cold light that was thicker than blood, fear Come on.

"No, no!" At this moment, the candidate collapsed completely, and crawled out desperately under the survival instinct, dragging long bloodstains on the ground.

Shangguan Xue stepped on his back mercilessly, and moved a Qingxuan sword to the top of his head: "Now, sacrifice your life."

The candidate kept thumping like a loach, and the edge of the sharp sword was reflected in the corner of his eyes, and the whole person shouted heart-piercingly: "No!! No!!!!"

"Pfft!" The sharp blade pierced his head.

"Hiss—" the candidate woke up suddenly, panting heavily, he fumbled for his body, but found nothing except his clothes soaked in cold sweat.

Looking around again, the training ground was calm and calm, nothing unusual. Shangguanxue stood in front of him and looked down at him. There was no trace of Qingxuan sword around, only a spell in her hand quietly turned into green smoke.

If you have studied Far Eastern Onmyoji, you will know that this is a hypnotic charm that can drag people into an illusion. The effect of the illusion depends on the magic power of the onmyoji and the strength of the person who is cursed.

With Guan Xue's mana power, if he used a hypnotic talisman to curse a person of Kino's level, he might not be able to get the effect even if his blood was exhausted, but facing mere reserve candidates, he was naturally easy to grasp.

Obviously, everything that happened just now was an illusion of a hypnotic spell.

After all, no matter how cruel the selection of the imperial guards is, it will not really kill those who fail the selection. Applying illusions to test is the closest to reality and the safest way.

And now the candidate is clearly unqualified because he falters in the face of death.

Perhaps in the eyes of many people, this kind of test method is very unreasonable, apart from anything else, they will suddenly come to claim their lives, and everyone will feel horrified.

But there is no way, the imperial guards are such a group, you may not be so strong, but you must be strong enough, and you must obey absolutely, because the king stands in a higher dimension, and many orders are beyond the understanding of the guards.

When encountering incomprehensible orders, hesitation or resistance cannot be tolerated, and only silent acceptance is a qualified performance-even if there is no reason for them to sacrifice their lives.

In fact, when this candidate showed longing for Solandelle, Shangguan Xue had already eliminated him in her heart. What the Queen needs is a loyal bodyguard, not a caring admirer.

The reason for using illusion is nothing more than to let him "deadly understand", so as not to be unconvinced afterwards.

Shangguan Xue looked at the candidate who was still in shock, and said coldly: "Go out, are you still waiting for me to help you?"

The candidate gradually regained his composure and realized that he had been eliminated. He lowered his head sadly and said nothing. He saluted Solandelle and Shangguan Xue on the stage and left silently.

The following candidates entered the arena one after another to accept the trial, but of course they were tossed to death by the illusion. Most of them collapsed on the verge of death just like the first candidate and were eliminated miserably.

But there are also a few wolf exterminations. Although they don't understand why they were "killed", they can grit their teeth and say nothing, accept their fate calmly, and dedicate their lives to the queen wholeheartedly.

These people have passed the test. Shangguanxue will sort out their list and organize personnel to conduct a second review. As long as the background is absolutely clean, they can officially enter the reserve service and become a real imperial guard one day.

Time passed slowly, the qualified ones stood tall and high, while the eliminated ones bowed their heads sadly.

Finally, came the last candidate.

(End of this chapter)