"The King and Queen have arrived!" As the voice of the officer on duty rang out, everyone stopped talking and turned their attention to a door on the side of the throne.
The king, wearing a long robe of gold and green, a crown on his head, and a sword at his waist, walked into the hall, escorted by four guards. The queen, dressed to match him, walked beside him dignifiedly. Two other attendants, one holding a long magic wand and the other holding a folded robe, walked behind the two.
The king and queen walked to a platform with five steps at the end of the hall and sat on two thrones respectively. Four guards and two attendants also walked onto the platform and stood around them.
People in the room quickly stood in their respective positions, with noble officials, mages and priests clearly separated. Then, under the command of the duty officer, they saluted the king, most of the ordinary nobles bowed, and the mages, priests and knights performed their respective professional etiquette.
Xiao Chen saw the king again after more than two months and found that he was completely different from the king he saw in the warehouse. Even if the king was in poor health at that time, it was difficult to see any signs from his appearance. But now it is not an exaggeration to say that the king is seriously ill. His face is as pale as if he has been powdered, his lips are not very bloody, and his eye sockets are deeply sunken and black, as if he has applied eye shadow. If this is considered a recovery, then I don’t know how sick he must have been before.
The king rested his hands on the armrests of the throne, leaned forward slightly, turned his head to scan the crowd in front of him, smacked his lips and said, "There are quite a lot of people here today."
Marquis Francisco, who was in charge of court etiquette, replied: "Your Majesty, all the mages and guests who came to participate in the ceremony of enthroning the Tower of China have arrived. Can we start the ceremony?"
"Well, I have met with Xiao Chen and Luo Ling privately. They are both very good young people. I think the undeveloped land in Black Mountain will become famous in their hands." The king said slowly, "However, many of you here don't know them. Some people have questioned me before, wondering whether these young people can protect this land. Although I trust these two young people, the tradition of the kingdom is tradition. So today we need these mages from Black Mountain to prove themselves here."
Marquis Francisco was stunned, obviously surprised: "Your Majesty, do you mean to question the challenge?"
"That's right." The king looked at Xiao Chen. "Xiao Chen, you are outsiders and may not understand the origin and rules of questioning and challenging. Please ask Marquis Francisco to explain it to you. I believe there are many nobles here who have almost forgotten it. Many of you have brought your eldest sons and daughters here today, so it's a good opportunity for you to listen to it together."
Everyone in the office felt that this was very sudden. They originally thought that they were here to gain experience and gain benefits. Unexpectedly, the king suddenly did this. Everyone was either angry or worried. However, Xiao Chen had received a warning from Master Gordon before, so he was prepared. Although he didn't know how this challenge would proceed, as Master Kona said, at most, we could just compare fists.
Count Carlos, who was not far away, shook his head slightly at him and gave a disdainful smile, as if he was mocking the king's pettiness.
The guests around were also talking about it. The king's words were very clear, that is, he wanted people to challenge Xiao Chen and his team's qualifications for the fiefdom. This change made people who were just watching the fun feel very interesting. However, most of the people who pushed for this plan were very dissatisfied.
"Yes, Your Majesty." Francisco cleared his throat and asked everyone to be quiet. "Sir Xiao Chen, 'Questioning Challenge' is a rule established by the founding king of our Iberian Kingdom, Allen I. Allen I believes that any noble or wizard who is qualified to manage a fiefdom must possess four qualities: justice, bravery, strength and wisdom. So when he enfeoffs the lord, any guest present is allowed to raise questions. All questioners can choose three people to challenge the enfeoffed family. The challenged family also needs to send three people to have three one-on-one duels. If the questioner wins more than two times, it means that the enfeoffed person does not have enough power to protect his territory. This enfeoffment is considered unjust and the king will take back the territory."
"If you can't defeat your opponent, then it's considered unjust?" Li Jia asked, "Doesn't justice distinguish between right and wrong? If the challenger is a saint, who can win the challenge?"
Marquis Francisco explained: "Alan I said that the greatest injustice of a lord is incompetence. If you are a lord and you or your subordinates cannot defeat the enemy, then you are wrong. Because when the enemy wants to invade, they will not consider your strength."
Xiao Chen frowned, looked at the king and asked, "Your Majesty, if I'm not mistaken, such a challenge has not appeared for many years, right?"
The king smiled meaningfully in his chair. "Indeed, no. Since I became king, I have only encountered one such case, and that happened more than 20 years ago. The challenge was initiated by a family that had a grudge against the then-crowned king. In that duel, the crowned king defeated the challenger cleanly. Today, the decision of the story lies with you. However, you can only decide the winner, not the winner. Because in the Iberian Kingdom, questioning a challenge is a sacred tradition. Once someone proposes it, no one else can interfere. You have no other choice but to accept the challenge or give up."
"Let's start. Don't waste everyone's time." Xiao Chen said coldly.
The king waved his hand to Marquis Francisco, who announced, "Now we are entering the questioning phase. I would like to ask if anyone here doubts the ability of the Tower of China to manage its fiefdom. Please stand up."
Everyone in the hall was talking and commotion, and at this time a male mage walked out of the crowd and said, "I question it. I am Arus from the Thousand Thoughts Tower, and I am at the peak of the high level. I come from the southern part of the Black Mountain region. I have never heard of any decent magic inheritance in the northern part of the Black Mountain. If it is just a random inheritance, it is not qualified to obtain such a large fiefdom, so I want to challenge them!"
The next person to come out was a knight in armor, "I am Savach, a high-ranking knight from the Legaretta family."
The knight did not tell him the reason for his challenge, but Luo Ling whispered to Xiao Chen: "This family is the actual controller behind many daily necessities trades in northern Suero. Our business has a great impact on their family."