I will be crowned king

Facts have proved that Ruko Visenya still "underestimated" the combat effectiveness of the Storm Division and the coalition forces, or was too "optimistic" about the determination of the Iron Bell Fort defenders to fight to the end.

Facing the artillery fire coverage of the Storm Division artillery battery four times a minute, which lasted for nearly fifteen minutes, as well as the Grenadier regiment advancing in line, skirmishing fire cover, and grenades clearing the way, this expensive offensive method, the defenders of the inner fort of Tiezhong Fort faced His will to resist had already reached freezing point amidst the rumbling explosions, and it was only because of his last bit of inertia that he did not surrender immediately.

And when they calmed down from the panic, they realized that it was a fool's errand to try to make a comeback when their escape route was completely blocked, the city defenses were completely lost, and the enemy's strength and firepower were several times their own.

At 15:30 on the 11th day of the seventh month in the 100th year of the Saint's Calendar, after the Grenadier Regiment finally smashed open the main entrance of the inner castle hall with a grenade, the loyal Mist nobles directly killed the eighty-seven-year-old Mist. The Archduke was captured alive and surrendered.

As the flag of King Clovis was raised on the top of the dozen or so remaining towers of Iron Bell Castle, the 20,000 coalition troops officially declared their occupation of the capital of the Grand Duchy of Mysteria.

This not only marked the end of the Mist Civil War, but also symbolized the formal end of the "Hantu War" that lasted for several months.

What followed was the coronation ceremony of Grand Duke Myster, which symbolized the "rebirth" of this ancient country and even the entire land.

……………

Iron Bell Castle, banquet hall.

Eighteen o'clock sharp.

The gradually dimming sunset swept away the blazing sunset glow in the sky, giving the smoke-filled siege position and the still-burning Iron Bell Fort a blood-red glow.

Although many officers in the coalition forces and even the Mist nobles complained about the timing of the sunset; but at the insistence of a certain old man who was already seventy years old and could not walk steadily due to continuous coma, the coronation ceremony was still " "As promised" was held.

In the spacious hall, the door blown open by the grenade has been demolished, and the floor soaked with plasma, various body fluids, minced meat and bones, and other mixtures has been urgently covered with a bright red carpet; the hall is filled with cheap perfume, The smell of incense, fireplaces, blood, and corpse odor mixed with pus; the rifles and ammunition boxes piled in the corners were replaced by paintings, sculptures still stained with bloodstains, and unnamed ones that were temporarily dug from outside the city. of trees, grass and flowers...

In short, with the efforts of the coalition forces and the Mist nobles to cover it up, this hall that had just experienced the war finally looked like a "banquet hall".

Of course, compared with the real "coronation ceremony", it still seems too shabby.

Not to mention the "guests" present, almost all of them were fully armed, some of their clothes were stained with blood, and their bodies smelled of gunpowder smoke, blood, and sweat; even their identities were unbearable to look at—— There were no big nobles in Mist, and there were not even a few small nobles in Clovis. The highest-status person in the room was actually the heir to the two principalities.

In the Seven Cities Alliance era, guests of this level were only qualified to participate in open banquets that "enjoyed with the people"; if they were witnesses to the coronation of the Grand Duke, this would even be tantamount to humiliation and an excuse for war between the two countries.

But for Ruco Visenya, that was enough.

It's really enough.

Standing outside the door, looking at the bustling hall crowded with guests, looking at the red carpet extending from under his feet, leading straight to the seat of the Grand Duke, looking at the red carpet standing beside the red carpet, holding hands The black-robed priest who entrusted the sterling silver crown... Ruco Visenya was deeply moved.

Under the gaze of everyone, the old man took the crutches from the attendant behind him and walked along the red carpet into the hall.

Following his limping footsteps, the crowd in the hall was like waves split by a sailboat, consciously or unconsciously making way for the old man.

The bright red carpet stretched under his feet, and the smell of blood in the air made the old man involuntarily speed up his pace; he walked faster and faster, and the red carpet stretched faster and faster.

Until the chair belonging to the Grand Duke and the black-robed priest standing in front of the stairs, holding a crown in his hand, blocked his way.

"In the name of the Circle of Order, his humble servant declares."

I saw the priest holding the sterling silver crown high above his head and speaking calmly with an expressionless face.

His voice was not loud, but the whispers in the entire hall fell silent as he moved, silently turning his gaze to the old man who was breathing heavily.

"A few hours ago, the former Grand Duke of Mist, Elega Visenya, officially announced his abdication."

"Following the traditions of Hantu, the wishes of the previous Grand Dukes, and the ancient Mysterian inheritance law, his eldest son, Ruko Visenya, will inherit the position of Grand Duke of Myster."

"Enjoy Mist's silver crown!"

After the words fell, the old man, who was so excited that his breathing became increasingly rapid, quickly turned his back to the priest so that he could put the crown on him; and because his legs were really weak, his movements looked very funny, as if he was being weighed down by the crown. It's almost like I can't stand still.

However, Ruco Visenya himself did not notice it. Except for a few Storm Division officers, the guests present also chose to pretend to ignore it.

"Who...will be his witness to vindicate his name?"

As the priest's words fell, little Leon, who had been waiting for a long time, immediately stepped out of the crowd, lifted up his purple one-shoulder cloak with gold edges, and bowed respectfully to the equally excited "Grand Duke Mist":

"I...Claude's son, Léon François, on behalf of the François family and the Grand Duchy of Thun, volunteer to be a witness to the coronation of the Grand Duke of Mist!"

As soon as he finished speaking, little Leon couldn't help but turned his head sharply and looked at the other figure hiding in the crowd with extremely eager eyes.

Feeling the creepy look in his eyes, Leno trembled and twitched the corner of his mouth. He half-pushed and walked out of the crowd. With a very reluctant expression, he also followed the actions of little Leon and looked at Luco Visenya. He made a salute:

"Leno Emmanuel, on behalf of the Emmanuel family and the Principality of Aiden, is willing to be a witness to the coronation of Grand Duke Mist."

The old man wearing a crown nodded excitedly, cast a grateful look at the two young people with different expressions, and then turned his attention to the crowd, waiting for the last person to appear.

Then……

Uh, no more.

Following a brief silence, there was a small commotion among the crowd in the hall. At this time, the coalition forces and the Mist nobles discovered that a certain person who should be there to express his position... didn't seem to show up? !

"Cough cough cough!"

Following a sudden sound, all eyes in the audience instantly glanced at Carl Bain, who was coughing violently. The red-faced chief of staff had complicated eyes, and his expression was even more embarrassing.

In the weird atmosphere, Leon's confusion, and Lenore's meaningful gaze, he walked out of the crowd with his throat twitching, as if he was thinking about something and calculating what to say, and walked forward slowly.

"Well...just...what about that..." Facing the old man's suddenly panicked look, Karl stammered:

"Anson... No! It's the Deputy Commander. He... suddenly felt a little tired and wanted to take a rest... After all, it's understandable after being busy for so many days, and... uh... I didn't mean to say this, I meant... uh... to say …Um……"

He hesitated for a long time, until the little clerk who was hiding behind sneaked up behind him and stuffed a small note in his hand.

"Ah! This...oh, I mean...me! Carl Bain! Major of the Clovis Army, Chief of Staff of the Storm Division of the Southern Army! Representing the Deputy Commander of the Southern Army, Southern Army...and! Kingdom of Clovis, Oster Leah Royal Family and Privy Council!”

"Willing to be! A witness to the coronation of Grand Duke Mist! Applause!"

After the words fell, before the dumbfounded old man could react, Karl, who was nervous and embarrassed to death, just kept to himself and started clapping with all his strength, "Bah, bang, bang!"

As soon as he clapped, even the Storm Division officers in the hall also clapped, and soon the applause began to spread to the surrounding people: Thuns, Aiden, Mist...

Finally, everyone started to applaud, and while applauding, they looked at each other inexplicably, confused as to what had just happened.

The shabby coronation ceremony began in this lively and inexplicable atmosphere.

A certain guy who was supposed to show up but didn't was then forgotten by everyone.

………………

Iron Bell Castle, underground prison.

The moment he pushed open the cell door, Anson Bach's expression suddenly froze.

"Stop looking, it's me."

A weak voice rang out from the dark cell, stopping Anson from leaving. He couldn't help but raise his eyebrows:

"It's you?"

"it's me."

The person who spoke was a well-proportioned young man who looked to be in his twenties, slightly older than Anson himself.

He was wearing an overly luxurious but tattered silk floral robe, his hair was messy and stained with chalky paint, his face was covered in dirt and blood, his right eye was swollen, and wounds and bruises could be seen everywhere on his body. .

Although he was very embarrassed, he looked very cheerful; even too cheerful, not like a tortured prisoner at all.

The astonishment in his eyes gradually disappeared. Anson closed the cell door and looked at the young man in front of him:

"Who are you anyway?"

"Don't you know everything?" The young man laughed out loud and raised his only open eye to look at Anson:

"But that's not what you want to ask...well, I'm a spell caster."

"Blood Mage?" Anson asked casually.

"right."

The young man shrugged: "But not a very powerful one...otherwise we wouldn't have met here."

"Why do you want to meet me so much?"

"Because I am your defeated general, isn't it natural for me to want to meet the person who defeated me?" The young man smiled again, with the corners of his mouth raised happily:

"On the contrary, Mr. Anson Bach, you surprised me for a moment. The dignified deputy commander of the Southern Army did not attend the coronation ceremony of the new Archduke but went to the cell to meet a prisoner... Tsk, tsk, tsk, I guess Ruco must be very disappointed now. Bar?"

"Of course, it might be better to do this."

When the conversation changed, the young man suddenly said seriously: "As his biggest supporter, he did not come forward on the most critical occasion, so he chose to let go... This is also a way to show his strength and let him see clearly that he is just a person without real power. He’s just a puppet holding an empty title.”

"But having said that, based on my understanding of him, I'm afraid it would be difficult for him to understand such a profound question; well..." The young man had a sarcastic expression on his face, as if he had a panoramic view of the coronation ceremony that was going on at the moment.

Anson looked at him quietly and never interrupted.

"Okay, let's not talk about that disappointing and disappointing guy." The young man sighed and his eyes fell on Anson again:

"Let's talk about you, His Excellency Anson Bach."

"Talk about me?"

"Yes, you." The young man nodded seriously:

"Why come here?"

"You came to me." Anson said calmly:

"Isn't it natural to want to see your defeated general?"

"If you are a guy who likes to show off your power, maybe." The young man pursed his bleeding lips, and his only intact eye shone with a strange light:

"But it looks like you're not."

"how do you know?"

"Because the first time you looked at me, you obviously wanted to confirm whether I was the person you knew. If it were a guy who likes to show off his power, it would not be doubtful. You would beat me up first and then ask me what I know. I don’t know where that person is.”

"You know it in detail."

"Yes, because that's what I am or...a spellcaster."

The young man was very calm, as if he had completely accepted his fate: "So why did you come?"

"I said, meet my defeated general." Ansen said without changing his expression:

"I have to admit, you gave me a lot of surprises."

"Are you referring to the fact that I am a spell caster? Well... it may be a bit strange to say this, but I am not the kind of spell caster you think, I am actually..."

"The Council of Thirteen." Anson interrupted softly.

"You know?" The young man widened his one eye and gasped:

"No wonder, no wonder Grand Duke Thun can be so decisive in joining you Clovis people...So you already knew all this?"

"I don't have to answer you."

Anson narrowed his eyes slightly: "What's more, you haven't answered my question yet."

"What's the problem?" The young man was startled.

"Since you are a spell caster, neither the Iron Bell Castle nor the siege positions outside can stop you - don't deny it, I have seen with my own eyes what a blood mage can do." Anson slowly squatted down and talked with him. Eye to eye:

"So why do you have to stay and meet me instead of leaving when the city is broken? What are you and the Thirteen Council behind you planning?"

"Grand Duke Myster, His Excellency Elega Visenya!"