Heir to the Kingdom of 1.4 billion people

Chapter 82: Crimson Fire (involving subsequent key plots)
Spark Hall.

Torches burned brightly on twelve dark and calm obsidian prisms.

Looking at Tamerlan kneeling on one knee in front of him, Xia Mingyu was stunned.

The grandson of the Sun Pope wants to be my attendant? It sounds even more exaggerated than a certain carpenter emperor.

"Tamerlan, comrades are actually similar to attendants." Worried that Tamerlan might misunderstand, Xia Mingyu explained patiently.

"But it's more equal than a servant, isn't it?" Tamerlan smiled slightly.

"With your status, the line of people who want to become your servants is longer than the body of Jörmungandr, the Ring Serpent. It doesn't matter if I am one of them."

"Besides, my intuition has long told me that you will be the dawn of this dark world, bringing light to everyone."

Tamerlan said loudly, his handsome face full of longing and expectation, as if he hoped to see a new world full of glory in the next second.

Ah. You praise me so much, what else can I say?
Xia Mingyu said no more and silently put his coat on Tamerlan's shoulders.

After all, he also wanted to know what kind of heaven-defying gift Tamerlan, who was summoned from all over the world by the spark of fire together with Hercules, would awaken?
Any one of them, such as the Light of Purification of the World or the Sword of Promised Victory, will do.

"I have no clothes, but I will share them with you."

Xia Mingyu began to chant with ease.

However, unlike the previous two times of canonization, this time after chanting "Qin Feng Wu Yi", the outer garment did not turn into countless points of light and merge into Tamerlan's body.

Obviously, the enthronement ceremony failed.

"Could it be that the same style of clothing cannot be canonized twice?"

Xia Mingyu thought for a moment, then materialized another coat and draped it over Tamerlan's shoulders, repeating the previous process.

Still failed.

"Tamerlan, what rank are you now?" Xia Mingyu asked.

He suspected that the gap in rank was too great, preventing him from conferring titles on his fellow soldiers.

"Your Highness, I am now at the fifth level, the Crescent Moon Level." Tamerlan replied respectfully.

The fifth level?! Xia Mingyu was shocked.

When Karen was in his twenties, he achieved the rank of Morning Star, and the name of the Howling Wolf had already resounded throughout the southern border.

Tamerlan looks to be only in his early twenties, but he has already reached the fifth level!

You should know that on the road to extraordinary promotion, the difficulty of subsequent promotions increases several times with each level increase.

If you look at it this way, then if the difference between you and your comrades exceeds three ranks, you will fail.
While Xia Mingyu was still in deep thought, Tamerlan looked at the emerald green protection above his head and had a vague guess in his mind.

"Your Highness, have you already canonized two of your comrades?"

Xia Mingyu nodded slightly.

"Your Highness, a noble of the extraordinary rank can only appoint two attendants. After that, there will be two attendants for each rank promoted." Tamerlan explained.

"So that's how it is. I thought the enthronement failed because the gap in rank was too big." Xia Mingyu suddenly realized.

"How is it possible? With your talent and the support of 1.4 billion citizens, you should have reached the sixth level of Huiyue by now." Tamerlan said with a helpless smile.

"Not only that, considering the great power Your Highness displayed when he blessed me across the boundless distance, I believe Your Highness should have reached the highest level of human beings, the eighth level of Eternal Sun." Hegemony retorted.

The two discussed for a long time and finally reached a consensus - His Highness is of the seventh rank, but his strength is enough to rival the strongest eighth-rank human.

Xia Mingyu: “.”

Should I tell them that I am just a real magician of the second level?

Black Wolf Castle.

With the arrival of the honor ceremony for baby Haydn, at the call of his grandmother, Rosa Martha, the Lord of the South, lords from all over the South came here in luxurious carriages.

Due to the inconvenient transportation and long distance, they often try to arrive the day before the baby honor ceremony to avoid missing the ceremony.

So early in the morning of that day, the gates of Black Wolf Castle were wide open, and the Karens were waiting at the door early, staring at the blue skyline in the distance.

These people are not just guests, they are clearly stepping stones to build a brilliant future for their son!
Tapping.

A luxurious carriage stopped at the door.

The first to arrive was Lord Nightshadow, Victor Nightshadow, the lord of Nightshadow, which is adjacent to Black Wolf Territory.

He is a tall, thin, middle-aged man with pale skin and a somewhat gloomy face.

"Respected Lord Night Shadow, my friendly neighbor, Black Wolf Castle welcomes you. Thank you for coming to attend my young son's...

Facing the Viscount who got off the carriage, Karen bowed slightly to express his welcome.

Then, before he could finish his words, Victor pushed him away.

"Hmph." Victor glared at him fiercely, then snorted coldly and walked into the Black Wolf Castle on his own.

Karen: “.”

"This guy really doesn't have the demeanor of a noble at all!"

Karen frowned slightly, a hint of displeasure flashing in his green eyes.

If Victor had not come to bring blessings to his young son, he would have been ready to let the other party feel the wrath of the Howling Wolf.

"Relax, Darling. His Night Shadow Territory has been experiencing a constant exodus of its inhabitants. Most of these have entered Black Wolf Territory to pay taxes to us. It's only natural that he would be dissatisfied."

Danielle said softly as she caressed Karen's face and gave her a kiss.

Later they would have to welcome the lords who had come from all over the southern border, and she didn't want her husband to entertain these guests with negative emotions.

"That's true." Karen's brows gradually relaxed.

Put yourself in his shoes. If the people in his territory were constantly being absorbed by the neighboring territory, he would want to kill them, let alone push them away!

"Haha, you can't blame me for this. It's because this guy is taxing the people in his territory for breathing, calling it air. It's his and I can't breathe it for free."

Karen raised the corner of his mouth slightly, and a hint of sarcasm appeared on his tough face.

In the simple-minded southern territory, thanks to the call of Earl Martha, the lord of the southern territory, and the Earl's former husband, the famous Shining Moon Knight Red Flame, he led the army of southern lords in the Battle of Dragon and Lion and made great contributions. He beheaded the rebel leader Grand Duke Mason but suffered irreparable injuries himself.

When the knight was on the verge of death, the King of Gluttony came with the great nobles to comfort him and granted him the right to make any wish he wanted.

What an honor and dream countless nobles dreamed of! He could propose that the Martha family be promoted to marquisates, or he could propose that his children become the king's godsons.

He could have asked for countless gold, silver, and jewels, as well as great fame after his death, but the Red Fire did not do so.
Under the confused, shocked and surprised gazes of all the nobles present, Crimson Flame put forward his absurd and unbelievable wish - to exempt the grain tax in the southern border.

That's it.

The King of Gluttony asked three times in a row whether he wanted to change his mind, but the Red Fire did not change his wish until his last breath.

Thanks to the sacrifice of the Crimson Flame, the King of Gluttony exempted the kingdom's grain tax in the South for fifteen years.

All the lords in the entire southern territory benefited from it, so they would naturally reciprocate by accepting the call of the Lord of the Southern Territory - or the widow of the Crimson Fire, and reduce taxes on the people in the territory.

Anyway, no matter how much it is reduced, it will be much better than the lords in other regions who need to pay grain taxes to the kingdom.

Because of this, the Southern Territory has become one of the few paradises in the entire Kingdom of Sosia, and even in the entire continent.

With the exception of the Night Shadow Territory in the south, Victor actually taxed even breathing, and single-handedly made the people of the Night Shadow Territory live a life worse than death, with starvation and corpses everywhere.

This also made him an outsider among the nobles in the southern region, and he was subtly excluded by the other lords.

"Haha, yes. If we follow his tax collection method, sooner or later all the people in his territory will starve to death. Then he will become the first lord without a leader in the history of Sosia."

Danielle also echoed her husband and scoffed.

The two looked at each other, and a knowing smile appeared on their faces.

"But after not seeing you for so many years, I didn't expect that this guy Victor has also been promoted to a Grand Knight."

Recalling the force he felt during the previous push, Karen's face showed a hint of confusion.

"Him, the Great Knight?! I remember Victor didn't achieve extraordinary status until he was in his twenties," Danielle said in surprise.

In this world, even if one is blessed by aristocrats and becomes an extraordinary knight in his twenties, then the possibility of becoming a great knight is almost completely cut off.

"Yeah, when we were fighting the Dragon-Lion War together, this guy kept hiding in the middle of the team, not daring to come out. Whenever the battle started, he would just lie down and pretend to be dead or run away. He was often laughed at by me and the others, Rune."

Karen shrugged.

Tapping.

At this time, another luxurious carriage arrived in front of Black Wolf Castle.

"It's Warren Locke, Lord of Locke County. He was also one of my former comrades in the Dragon-Lion War. Let's go and greet him together."

Inside Black Wolf Castle.

Victor walked aimlessly in the castle courtyard. His expression was so gloomy that the servants passing by did not dare to approach him. They could only take a detour to avoid angering the guest with the emerald green noble protection on his head.

"Damn Martha, damn Hughes!" Victor cursed in his heart.

He didn't want to bless the young son of his neighbor who was sucking the blood of his territory like a leech.

But he had no choice but to face the ultimatum from Count Martha, the Lord of the Southern Territory. He had to either attend her grandson's baby honor ceremony and offer his blessing, or convert the grain tax that had been exempted over the years into currency and hand it over to the Martha family!
After all, that was the glory left by her husband, and Victor deprived his subjects of the right to bask in this glory.

Out of desperation, Victor had to set off for Black Wolf Castle, but this made him feel threatened and humiliated.

"Damn it! As long as the power of pain accumulates to a certain level, I will be promoted to Bishop. Then, whether it's Martha or Hughes, I will torture you to a state worse than death!"

Victor swore secretly in his heart.

As he walked, he unknowingly arrived at the Black Wolf Castle's training ground.

Clang clang!
A series of rapid jinge sounds like raindrops attracted Victor's attention, so he looked in the direction of the sound.

In the training ground bathed in the morning sun, a young man holding a long sword was engaged in a fierce battle with two knights at one against the other.

The young man looked no more than seventeen or eighteen years old, with a thin figure but straight as a pine tree. A few strands of brown hair soaked with sweat hung down in front of his forehead, but his eyes were as sharp as an eagle's, staring intently at the opponent in front of him.

Clang clang!
He swung the long sword in his hand as fiercely as a hurricane and as accurately as a hawk catching a rabbit, and managed to block the simultaneous attacks of the two knights.

"Are those Karen's two squires, Thorin and Remi?"

Watching this scene, Victor's expression was replaced by surprise.

The young man looked no more than seventeen years old, yet he could actually fight against two extraordinary knights at the same time without being at a disadvantage!

This is simply a gift from heaven! He will almost certainly reach the Morning Star level in the future, and even the New Moon level is very likely.

Thinking of this, Victor felt a sense of admiration in his heart.

"Karen's squire quota is full. This young man should not be his squire. Moreover, since the status of the fellow protector is neither a noble nor a squire, he should be an ownerless person."

With a revengeful mentality of having so many subjects absorbed by Karen, and wanting to kidnap a genius, Victor slowly approached the three fighting people.

"Respected Lord Nightshadow, I, Thorin Brooke, Viscount Hughes's attendant, greet you."

"Respected Lord Night Shadow, I am Remi"

After noticing Victor's approach, the two extraordinary knights withdrew from the battle and bowed slightly.

Although Lord Night Shadow had a very bad reputation in the southern border, that was something their lord needed to consider. As servants, they had to treat their lord's guests with courtesy.

"Well, stand up, this is..."

Victor looked at the young man in front of him with admiration.

For some reason, after hearing his name, the other party became so excited that his whole body began to tremble.

Tsk, as expected, as the lord of Night Shadow Territory and a participant in the Dragon-Lion War, I, Victor, do have some fame in the southern territory.

Victor felt a little complacent in his heart, and at the same time he became more confident about recruiting the young man next.

"Um, this is the guest visiting Black Wolf Castle, Berg Chu."

After exchanging glances with Knight Remi for a moment, Knight Thorin gave his answer.

Since His Highness's identity is still strictly confidential, they cannot directly say that Berg is the attendant of an important person.

"Boy, your swordsmanship is quite good, and your eyes are sharp. Are you interested in fighting with me?"

Victor looked at the young man in front of him who lowered his head and smiled slightly, extending an invitation.

Of course, he would not be so reckless as to directly ask the young man to be his attendant. That would not be reliable enough.

No matter what, in this world, force is the most powerful way to conquer people's hearts, and as a great knight, he just happens to have this force.

(End of this chapter)