Alien Knights

Cumberland and Emerson looked suspiciously at the petite "woman" in front of them.

Cumberland looked Dion up and down, and said to Todd: "Your Majesty, are you sure? If a person like this is sent to the Holy Acropolis, I am afraid that within two days, he will be swallowed up to the bone."

Dion patted the saber on his waist, and raised his head: "My lord, my swordsmanship is enough to protect myself."

Todd laughed at this time: "I can guarantee this. As an executive judge, Dion often has the opportunity to hone his sword skills."

Emerson stroked his moustache and said while thinking, "However, Dion, your analysis on the struggle for the throne can indeed explain a series of events that are happening now. I think this inference has high reliability."

Todd paused, and asked again: "So, do you think the knight Dion is suitable for the position of head of the Muxi City envoy?"

Cumberland glanced at the king and shrugged: "If your majesty thinks it is appropriate, I have no opinion."

"Emerson, what about you?"

"Dion Knight's ability to collect, analyze and summarize intelligence surprised me, and he fully meets the requirements of the head of the mission in terms of the overall situation." Emerson said here, looking at this young man in his early twenties, he said worriedly: "But if I remember correctly, you have been living in the Pope's country before and have never been to the Holy Acropolis. I am afraid that you don't know anything about the customs there, especially the relationship between the rich and powerful. This will not be conducive to the development of your work."

Seeing that he finally had the opportunity to get rid of the boring life of doing nothing, Dion would not allow such an excuse to ruin his hope of going on a mission: "Then, I will ask for the company of a deputy envoy. As long as I have a guide who understands the local environment better, I am fully sure to gain a firm foothold in the Holy Acropolis!"

Emerson and Todd glanced at each other, and the latter fell into deep thought and said to himself, "Vice envoy?"

After a while, Todd said suddenly, "I have someone to choose."

Two hours later, Mary came to the king's audience room, heard Todd's request, and shouted in surprise: "I hope that I, as a member of the Muxi Mission, will go to the Holy Acropolis?!"

Todd sat in a chair and wrote quickly: "The Muxi Kingdom has never dealt with the Holy Acropolis, and you are the only one among us who understands the situation."

Mary bit her lips tightly: "Your Majesty, aren't you worried that after I go back, I will secretly collude with people from the Holy Acropolis and stand on the opposite side of the kingdom?"

Todd stopped writing, raised his head, and looked at Mary: "Since I am willing to entrust you with this job, it means that I trust you unconditionally. Besides, the purpose of Muxi City's mission this time is to provide food aid to the Holy Acropolis, not to declare war on them. You don't have to worry about conflicts between the two countries."

"Frankly speaking, I don't have any good impressions of my birthplace." Mary sat across the desk, looked out the window at the sun gradually slanting west, and whispered dreamily: "From the moment I came to the world to the moment I got married, I was never allowed to leave that prison-like castle."

"They saw me as a commodity that was up for grabs. I couldn't walk in the sun because it would tan my skin. I couldn't run or jump because it would leave scars on my body. Like a caged bird, I groomed and put on makeup every day in order to be sold for a good price one day."

Todd put down the pen lightly, and the sad face in front of him made his heart tighten: "Mary, if you resist this job, I can find another person to serve as the deputy envoy. All you need to do is to give them a detailed introduction to the situation of the Holy Acropolis before the mission goes out."

"No, I will go, why not?" Mary took a deep breath, like a naughty girl climbing on the roof, looked at Todd and said with a smile: "When you deliberately stay away from the pain in your life, you will find that the nightmare in your heart will become bigger and bigger. The best way to overcome fear is to face it, not to run away from it."

Mary, with a smile in the corner of her eyes, looked at Todd without any hesitation, only firmness and affirmation: "Besides, I am no longer the puppet at the mercy of others. I have my destination and things that I am willing to protect with my life."

Seeing Mary's determination, Todd nodded: "I understand, I will let Cumberland send the most elite troops of the Knights to protect the personal safety of the entire mission."

After dealing with the issue of the candidates for the mission, the sky was already covered with stars. Todd, who was hungry, walked towards the bedroom and saw a familiar figure at the end of the corridor.

Huggins, who was unable to move because of his spine injury in the war, leaned his back against the colonnade and repeatedly rubbed the muscles on his thighs with his palms to relieve the fatigue of his legs.

Todd walked along the corridor, came from behind Huggins, and said, "You need a cane."

Seeing the king, the latter straightened up quickly, moved his legs and feet, and signaled that he was fine.

Todd walked in front of Huggins, looked at the other party's stammering appearance, and said in a deep voice: "Speak up if you have something to say."

Huggins lowered his head and said softly: "The Raglans are willing to donate part of their wealth to build a welfare hospital for immigrants outside the city in the name of the king."

Hearing this, Todd looked at Huggins with sharp eyes: "Your idea?"

Huggins shook his head slightly: "Mr. Raglan's idea."

Todd looked relieved, and sighed inaudibly: "Take a sum of money from the palace treasury, plus their donations, to build a decent medical facility for the immigrants outside the city. Don't use my name, just do it in the name of the couple."

Huggins bowed and saluted, saying that he would do it immediately.

Seeing that the other party hadn't left yet, Todd asked strangely, "Is there anything else?"

Huggins showed a reluctant smile: "Your Majesty, my energy is not as good as before. If you can agree, I would like to find some people to share my work..."

Hearing this, Todd already understood what Huggins was thinking.

Because of the Raglan couple's affairs, on the one hand, it was to worry about Todd's anger, and on the other hand, it was also to avoid suspicion. Huggins, who was about to retire, hoped to return power to the king.

"Stand here and wait for me."

After saying this, Todd walked towards the bedroom without looking back, leaving Huggins alone in the corridor in a daze.

A few minutes later, Todd changed into a long robe, covered his figure with a wide cloak, and covered his face with a low hat brim. He walked up to a confused Hudgens and gestured, "Follow me."

The two sat in the royal carriage, led a group of disguised guards, and drove to the city center at the foot of the palace hill.

Hearing the noisy voices in his ears, Todd stopped the carriage in a hidden corner, opened the door and walked onto the street.

Seeing this, Huggins quickly got out of the carriage, greeted the guards, and followed the king's footsteps.

The place where Todd got off was close to Muxi Square, which was the busiest and busiest place in Muxi City.

Although it was eight or nine o'clock in the evening, the crowds on the street did not subside in the slightest. Thousands of people gathered around the square to enjoy the entertainment life at night. A newly choreographed romantic comedy is being staged in the open-air theater. The actors are performing hard and the audience is laughing loudly. Officials, businessmen, and craftsmen who have been busy all day leave their places of work and rush into the taverns and hotels in the business district to enjoy themselves. Vendors push all kinds of trucks and sell their products to passers-by. The voices of bargaining are endless.

Holding a bowl of seafood chowder in his left hand and a dozen skewers in his right, Todd, who had no image of a king at all, ate street snacks while walking towards the south of the square.

Huggins followed behind him, glanced at Todd's expression, and carefully persuaded: "Your Majesty, it's getting late, we should go back."

"It's not far, just ahead." Todd finished eating the food in his hand, wiped his mouth with a handkerchief, pointed to the front and said to Huggins.

The group of people who came out of the palace walked forward for another 20 minutes and came to a lonely hill.

This hill is located in the center of Muxi City, but compared with the surrounding colorful and noisy downtown, it is as quiet as an isolated island.

Huggins looked around as he climbed the hill.

There are luxuriant trees in the sky, endless grass and wild flowers, and... hundreds of tombstones standing quietly in the night.

He recognized it.

It was originally the residence of Alfonso, and later became the cemetery of the knights who died in battle.

Todd walked to the top of the hill, looked back at the thousands of lights at the foot of the hill that were as bright as a galaxy, and asked, "How is the scenery?"

Huggins, who didn't know what the king intended, said cautiously, "Your Majesty, it's beautiful."

"The building that looks like a tower is the Muxi Cathedral that is about to be completed in the kingdom. Elijah is leading a group of art masters to make the last part of the murals on the ceiling of the church; the place that looks like an aristocratic manor is Muxi College. By the end of next month, the college will be officially renamed as Muxi University. There will be seven branches, nearly 100 academic departments, and more than 2,000 students. There is also a brightly lit area near the sea, where the Muxi Harbor has just been expanded. Stop the largest ship in the Southern Empire, and the Muxi Shipyard will soon start construction of the third shipyard, which will be the largest shipyard in all the parish kingdoms..."

Todd turned his head to Huggins' direction, and said calmly, "You know the beauty in front of you, who do you want to thank?"

The latter paused for a while, and said softly: "Of course it is Your Majesty, without you, this place is nothing but a deserted beach."

"wrong!"

Todd pointed his finger at the land not far away, and said word by word: "Music West City can have today, thanks to them!"

Following the direction of the king's finger, Huggins looked at the densely packed tombstones in his vision, and stood there dumbfounded.

Todd walked slowly to the nearest cross tombstone, looking at the words engraved on it - Seth Drummond, 1152-1171, Eleventh Lancer of the Muxi Knights, died in the Battle of Beishi.

Todd squatted down, gently brushed the dust off the tombstone, and said softly in a voice only he could hear: "Perhaps the first instinct a ruler possesses should be to take other people's sacrifices as a matter of course, but after so many years, I still can't do this kind of thing..."

Todd, who squatted in front of the tombstone, stood silent for a long time, stood up again, and said to Huggins: "I have never thought that being a king is a pleasant job, and I have never thought that power is a supreme honor. It is precisely because of my high position that the first thing I wake up every day is not thinking about what I can enjoy today, but what I should do for my subjects today."

"Hagins, I reprimanded you and the Raglans not because you deceived me and offended the majesty of the king; but because you began to put your own interests above the people."

"Different from the time at the San Sidro Monastery, in the past we fought, we fought for food and clothing, and for survival. But now, our fight is to live up to these dead warriors and to protect everyone behind us!"

After speaking, Todd patted Huggins on the shoulder and said with a smile, "Everyone makes mistakes. Today I will point out your mistakes. One day in the future, maybe it will be your turn to warn me."

After saying this, leaving Huggins in a daze, Todd walked down the hill alone.