The golden cross spear is covered with amazing marks of damage, and those scratches seem to silently tell how many tragic battles this legendary holy spear has experienced.
And even though it was damaged, a strange brilliance still flowed on the golden spear. Almost at the moment when the gun was carried into the hall, the originally brilliant torches seemed to have lost their luster.
All eyes were on the spear. Even Deron Knight, the famous clown, is ignored by everyone at the moment. Everyone's disdainful eyes turned into solemn eyes, carefully staring at the spear carried by the two golden armored warriors!
Soon, among the many important ministers, Camisiro, Baron Sark and other generals came down from their seats and knelt down on one knee facing the Longchinus gun in the middle. , bowed his head deeply.
Since the day of the last square coup, Prince Chen suddenly took out this artifact that had been lost for a long time and destroyed the morale of the rebel army in one fell swoop. This is the first time that the legendary strongest artifact has reappeared in everyone's eyes. In front of you!
As for Du Wei, the corners of his eyes twitched imperceptibly.
Compared with everyone present, Du Wei knew more about this gun!
At the same time, when this gun was placed in the main hall, Du Wei vaguely felt that the other two artifacts he had stored in the storage ring: the moonless five-light armor and Jidu Luohu instant prison arrow, at the same time There was a silent tremor, as if some kind of force had inspired the divine power they originally carried.
The buzzing and vibrating sound echoed in Du Wei's spiritual consciousness. It was as if both artifacts had been activated. Ready to move!
Du Wei took a deep breath, quietly retracted his hands into his sleeves, and tightly clasped the largest storage ring on his thumb with his fingers. A trace of spiritual power was slowly injected into it. Soothe the vibrating artifact.
"I think everyone should know what this is." Prince Chen stood up, standing tall in front of the throne, looking down at his important officials, and his voice was extremely solemn: "This is the knight's spear, representing The spirit and glory of knights. Over the years, it has been lost, causing the spirit of chivalry to gradually decline on this continent. The spirit of warriors has also gradually declined... "
With that said, he walked down the steps gently. Leaving the throne, he came to the side of the two golden armored warriors. Suddenly he grabbed the spear with one hand and held it in his hand.
"However, this gun should not be kept in the palace as a collection. It is a symbol of chivalry and the soul of glory for warriors. Therefore, since I have made a decision to rebuild the Knights Association, then this long gun... "As he spoke, his eyes fell on Knight Deron: "Deron, this gun of Longchinus, from today, from now on, I will return it to the Knights Association! I hope you can keep it well it!"
hum!
This astonishing decision made everyone excited. Everyone couldn't help whispering to each other, but the old Prime Minister Robeschell who had been quiet. He nodded slightly, but did not speak.
"Grand Duke Tulip." Prince Chen didn't look at the excited Delong, but just handed the spear to the president of the Knights Association. Delong quickly took it with both hands and held it firmly in his hand, as if holding the most Like a precious baby.
Prince Chen didn't go to see him. His eyes turned to Du Wei: "Grand Duke Tulip, this proposal to rebuild the Knights Association was proposed by you. So, I will leave it to you to take charge of this matter! I think Knight Deron will cooperate with you very well. "
Du Wei immediately stood up without hesitation and agreed loudly.
Next to them is a circle of Delan Mountain monsters. Camisiro et al. They all stood up. They patted their chests and promised that they would fully assist Duke Tulip in completing this important task.
It's just that the Chancellor of the Exchequer seems to have some dissent. He hesitated for a moment, and was about to ask the question about the cost of reconstruction—this is not about rebuilding a small organization. It's the Knights Association with an ancient history!
It's not that the association headquarters in the imperial capital spends some money to repair it, and it's over!
To rebuild a continental land association, it is necessary to reintegrate all the local branches in all parts of the mainland, build where it should be built, expand what should be expanded, and rebuild the membership system of the Knights Association, the Presbyterian Church, the Knights Order, etc...
Not to mention anything else, just say that there are so many provinces, cities, and places in the empire to re-establish branches of the Knights Association, and to build such a huge shelf-the cost is absolutely indispensable!
In the past two years, the empire has built the Kaspersky line of defense in the north and set up a new main battle army. Although the Duke of Tulip strongly sponsored it, the finances are also very tight.
There was only one thought in the old man's mind: Do you want money
But seeing this matter, the regent handed it over to Du Wei, the old man was not worried: what are you afraid of, anyway, Du Wei has plenty of money. Since he was given full responsibility, it was natural for him to pay for it.
And the old man still has a trace of dissatisfaction in his heart: the Knights Association has been ruined for hundreds of years, what does it have to do with the central government of the empire? You, Duke Tulip, are really full. It’s okay, why are you worrying about it? Still submitting a proposal
At that moment, the Chancellor of the Exchequer made up his mind instead, half-closed his eyes and stopped talking, and he decided in his heart: pretend to be dead! Anyway, the Prince Regent didn't order me to pay the Treasury Department, so I was so happy to pretend to be dead that I didn't say anything. One thing more is worse than one thing less.
The ministers who came from military generals were quite excited and appreciated the regent's decision a lot, but a considerable part of it was out of face for Du Wei: Can everyone not applaud the matter that Duke Tulip mentioned? You want to object? That would be a fool.
Prince Chen smiled and watched the reactions of the ministers below. There was no obstacle to this matter, and it was decided so easily.
"Okay, today's meeting
That's the way it is. I hope you can help Duke Tulip to promote the martial arts of our empire! Rejuvenate the soul of warrior spirit! After pondering for a while, Prince Chen looked at Knight Delong.
This slick guy really hit the road. He hurriedly expressed his utter loyalty loudly—the words were so nasty that he almost hugged Du Wei's thigh and called him the savior.
After the meeting. After exchanging pleasantries with Du Wei, many dignitaries from various families retreated. And Camisiro, Delan Mountain Warcraft, Earl Villa and others also gave Du Wei a wink. Everyone tacitly agreed, and they all left.
On the contrary, Knight Delong, the clown in the aristocratic circle of the imperial capital, posted it up with a flattering look on his face, which is really a pity for his handsome face: "Duke Tulip, look. The next thing..."
Du Wei also knew a lot about this joker in the aristocratic circle of the imperial capital, so he just smiled at the moment, with a serious look on the surface: "Knight Deron, you are the president of the association. Is this matter, after all, I just An outsider. And... I am not a knight yet, but a magician. I think His Royal Highness wants me to be responsible, but only asks me to contribute more financially. As for the specific matters, it still depends on you... "
Delong immediately shouted: "What are you afraid of if you are not a knight? My lord, you only need one word. I will get you a document for the assessment of knighthood tomorrow! Uh... It is not good to have a low level. In this way, I will personally give you You can issue a ninth-level knight badge!"
Du Wei rolled his eyes. I thought to myself: No wonder the Cavaliers Association will decline. If you meet this kind of president, you will not die!
The two left the palace all the way, but Delong had already made up his mind, and seemed to be embracing Du Wei's thigh. Yili insisted on inviting Du Wei to go to the headquarters of the Imperial Knights Association with him now.
Du Wei looked at the sky and it was still early. I made an appointment with Kamishiro and the others to meet in the evening, but I still have time in the afternoon anyway. As for the stand-in emperor's old tailor, he didn't need too much training, so he agreed.
He sent someone to call the elder of the guard, Yan, and brought a few knight guards from the Tulip family. Du Wei followed the president of the Knights Association all the way to the headquarters of the Knights Association.
But when he left the palace, Du Wei almost didn't laugh when he saw the palace servants leading the horse of Knight Deron.
The majestic president of the Knights Association. The mount of a mainland ninth-level knight is simply a disgrace!
In front of Du Wei was a thin and small old horse... so old that almost made Du Wei a little worried. Whether it can carry this knight in full armor. and. In terms of size, this "knight war horse" is probably not much bigger than a donkey. Knight Deron is tall, and when sitting on the horse, his legs can almost drag on the ground, and he needs to bend his knees ridiculously slightly... This action is undoubtedly funny.
And Du Wei's mount is naturally the best war horse produced on the prairie. When the two walked side by side, this Delong knight was much shorter than Du Wei.
Du Wei sighed in his heart, couldn't help laughing and said, "Knight Deron, is it possible that the Knights Association's funds are so tight? Don't you even have a decent horse?"
Deron smiled nonchalantly, as if he casually threw the "Longchinus Gun" on the hook of the saddle, as if throwing garbage, without even looking at it - this performance is similar to what he did in the hall just now Here, holding a spear, looking excited and loyal, the difference is really too big. Du Wei couldn't bear the urge to hit someone—that's a magic weapon!
It was Ares who defeated the powerful demon god and the strongest artifact of the gods back then. "Yun Delong began to cry poorly: "My lord, you don't know! The current Knights Association is simply It is difficult to walk! Let alone a good horse, many people in our Knights Association now have problems even eating!"
Du Wei frowned: "It won't be so miserable, right? Although the Knights Association has declined a bit now, the military will at least send a group of officers and generals every year, and ask the Knights Association to evaluate the knight level-these will be one point Quite a lot of paying application level assessment fees! Also, now that the mercenary group is so prosperous, knight associations all over the world have a large amount of fee income for level assessment. And... I heard that you have been "specially approved" a lot in the imperial capital What about the badge of knighthood?"
Du Wei's last sentence finally couldn't help stabbing this guy, but Deron Knight's face was obviously thicker than Du Wei expected. "My lord, you don't know! It costs a lot to maintain a large continental association! Don't look at the fact that the military will send a group of warriors every year for assessment, but with that little money, even the annual maintenance of our Knights Association There are not enough branch buildings everywhere! Now the Knights Association has a total of 168 branches in the whole continent, and the annual maintenance cost is tens of thousands of gold coins!"
Du Wei was taken aback: "It's just routine maintenance, so much?! Tens of thousands? Tens of thousands of gold coins are enough to build a new house!"
"Isn't it!!" Delong continued to cry poorly: "My lord! The Knights Association is a big business! You don't know those houses in various branches! They are not small houses! This is the Knights Association. The branch houses need to be as big as they are built, and as grand as they are! Now, those big houses can’t be easily repaired with a dozen or twenty gold coins! There are also many old buildings that are hundreds of years old. They are all old antiques, and they are even more troublesome to repair!"
"Then it's better to sell it directly and rebuild a smaller house."
"Sell? I really want to!" Deron curled his lips: "But there is an iron law in the Imperial Code, the real estate of the Knights Association is not allowed to be sold! I can't help it! Those big houses are a waste to keep, and they will cost a lot of money to buy. Xiu, I really wish they could get rid of it by themselves!"
"Is there any other expenses?" Du Wei sighed.
"Yes! Of course there is!" Delong smiled wryly: "Many of the knights' associations from all over the country are members of the association, and those knight officials who are in charge of the assessment, they have to eat and drink to support such a large group of people. The Knights Association in the mainland now has a total of more than 600 knights to support! The armor of these people needs to be repaired? The weapons should be repaired regularly? And their horses—how can a knight have no horses? Six hundred a year The expenses of many people are almost equivalent to a middle-level knight order! At least 30,000 gold coins are needed to barely survive! We can only spend our limited funds on feeding people now... I really can’t care about horses! My lord, You are also the leader of the army, you know, the cost of feeding a war horse for a year is more than feeding a person!"
Du Wei nodded involuntarily.
"In addition to the knights in the association, there are also some normal handymen from various associations—you can't expect those noble knights to sweep the floor and clean the windows in person, can you? These people, there are now a total of One thousand and forty people, and the annual expenses are about two to three thousand gold coins—of course, these are very few. We try to hire some cheap labor."
"I know that I have a bad reputation in the imperial capital. Many people say that I desecrate the spirit of chivalry by buying and selling knight badges, but I can't help it." Land expenses cost at least 100,000 gold coins! It’s just enough to keep everyone fed and keep the shelf alive! But where can I get 100,000 gold coins? The army only gives 10,000 to 20,000 gold coins every year at most Thanks to the King Regent. The legality of the mercenary group is now open, and there are more people who apply for the assessment of the knight level every year, but the annual income in this respect is only 40,000 to 50,000 gold coins. More than 30,000 gold coins in shortfall! Where can I get these 30,000 gold coins?"
Deron said the last. A sincere expression on his face. He looked at Du Wei with sincere eyes like a child looking up at his parents: "Master, tell me, can I do it without buying and selling knight badges? If I don't want to be a clown, can I get along?"
Du Wei was completely speechless.
When Delong talked about the excitement, he suddenly slapped the armor on his chest hard, with a strange smile on his face: "My lord, let me just say that this armor I am wearing now... still looks good. But you don't know. For Save costs and material costs... This set of armor looks magnificent, but in fact... the steel plate inside is hollow! Not to mention using a weapon. You take a stronger wooden stick and lightly poke a hole!"
Du Wei: "..."
The headquarters of the famous Knights Association is just south of the imperial capital.
It can be said that from the perspective of the occupied area. It is quite in line with the title of "Continental Knights Association", one of the two major organizations in the mainland.
Headquarters of the Knights Association. The theme building is a square tower with an empty patio in the middle and a row of wide three-story buildings on all sides. The theme building is made of solid granite, which looks extremely solid. And if it is in wartime, it is also quite defensive.
And the area is quite large, if you ride a horse around the headquarters of the Knights Association. It also takes about a cup of tea to work!
For such a large piece of land, the price of the land alone is already very valuable in the imperial capital, the most powerful city in the mainland.
Unfortunately, when Du Wei came to the famous "Continental Knights Association Headquarters", he was almost stunned by the scene in front of him!
Is this... is this the sanctuary of majestic chivalry
This... This is simply a vegetable market
I saw that in this square building, every wall facing the street has been opened up, and the houses inside have become various shops! There are those who sell cloth and gestures. Those who sell jewelry, those who sell food. Selling handicrafts... There are even vegetable sellers! !
Du Wei's eyes widened. Pointing to the front... The sound of yelling and selling came one after another, and it was very lively.
There was no guilt on Deron Knight's face. Instead, he smiled triumphantly: "Look, my lord, we are here."
"This... this is..."
"This is our knight headquarters!" Deron puffed up his chest.
"I thought I saw a vegetable market!" Du Wei's voice was a bit harsh.
"There is no other way." Delong sighed: "This land and houses cannot be sold according to the law, so after thinking about it for a long time, I can only open up the wall facing the street and turn these houses into shops for rent out. Sir, don't underestimate these rents, many people in our headquarters in the imperial capital rely on these rents to support themselves!"
With that said, he had dismounted and led his old horse to the front.
What stunned Du Wei and many of the guards under his command was that the Deron knight walked all the way, as if he was like a fish in water, and kept saying hello to the shop owners, looking very warm and familiar.
"Ah! Uncle Anon, the business is great! Haha..."
"Aunt Sophie, this month's rent is about to expire... ok, I'll send someone to collect it tomorrow."
"Boss Dick, this batch of cabbage looks quite fresh... Ah, it's for me? Thank you so much, hahahaha..."
Looking at the president of the Continental Knights Association, Du Wei suddenly remembered a professional person he knew in his previous life: farmer's market manager!
While greeting these small vendors, Delong took some things like cabbage and tomatoes in his hand, and waved back to Du Wei: "My lord, we are here, don't stand there, come in quickly."
Walking into the gate of the Knights Association, the voice of shouting and yelling from outside still kept coming, and Du Wei's face was a little ugly. With a calm expression, Delong casually threw the food he picked up just now to a lame old man at the door. He laughed and said, "I cooked it in one pot at night! Haha, I saved another meal today."
After hearing this, Du Wei's face was very strange, and the feeling in his heart was even more complicated.
Walked into the gate of the association. As the thick wooden gate behind him closed, Du Wei carefully surveyed the courtyard.
About the size of two football fields.
Obviously, in the era of knight glory. Such a large open space is used for knights to practice martial arts, and generally it can also be used as a racetrack. It's a pity that now... but simple wooden sheds have been built piece by piece.
"What are these wooden sheds for?" Du Wei frowned: "Could it be a place for people to live in?"
"Inhabitants? Of course not." Deron smiled wryly: "My lord, there are only six people in the headquarters of the Knights Association in the imperial capital now! But you see, such a large Knights Association, such a large building, is more than enough to accommodate at least a thousand people. The six of us can live in any room. This piece of wooden shed is not for living, but... a warehouse."
"Warehouse?" Du Wei was speechless again.
"Yes, it's the warehouse." When Delong talked about this matter, he looked joyful: "Thanks to the regent! Since he came to power, the imperial capital has become more and more prosperous. Businessmen from all over the mainland have gathered here The imperial capital is coming! But then the housing prices and land prices in the imperial capital are rising! Think about it, so many merchants have come to the imperial capital. There must be a place to store the large quantities of goods they brought! But the current housing prices in the imperial capital are so expensive! Warehouses The land rent has also increased several times! The merchants are complaining. Under such circumstances, I have an idea, don’t we still have a lot of open space here? Anyway, it’s idle, so why not build a wooden shed for rent out Be a warehouse! I am not black at all! The rental price I paid is 30% lower than the market price!"
Looking at Delong's intoxicated look. Du Wei almost vomited blood.
Warehouse... Warehouse! !
"Fortunately, there are these warehouses! You don't know that our current building, the annual repair costs, can only count on the rental income of these warehouses!" Delong smiled, and tied the old horse to a pillar. beside.
Du Wei sighed: "Your Excellency Delong, these warehouses, starting tomorrow, you can ask them to return all the goods one by one. After all, we are going to rebuild here. This...is a bit outrageous."
"Retire? This...isn't easy to handle." Delong was a little embarrassed, with a smile hidden in his eyes: "You don't know. The goods here belong to the chamber of commerce of some famous and prestigious noble families in the imperial capital. ! I signed a contract with them. I can't refund... Besides, there are so many big people. I don't dare to offend them."
"You are afraid of offending people, but I am not." Du Wei said lightly, "Who are the local goods?"
"No, these rooms are the arsenal of the Delan Mountain Warcraft family! The warehouse is full of iron ore! Ah, these rooms are the goods of the Chamber of Commerce of Count Villa, and some timber shipped from the south .”
Du Wei pointed to a piece of wooden shed in front... This piece of wooden shed has the largest area, which is more than the sum of the other pieces!
Du Wei said angrily, "What about these? Which one are they from?"
"This..." Delong smiled wryly, and glanced at Du Wei with a strange look in his eyes: "Grand Duke Tulip... the goods piled up in this wooden shed are all goods from your family... I just met with your family business manager Xiao Zha last month. Mr. Ke has signed the contract. Because the rent price I paid is cheap, Mr. Zack has rented this place for three years in one go!!"
Du Wei: "..."
In Du Wei's heart, after all, it is the majestic Continental Knights Association! The two major organizations in the mainland that are as famous as the Magic Union! Even if it declined again, Du Wei never thought that it would be so decadent!
Of course, he has been to the headquarters of the Magic Union many times. What kind of grandeur and majesty is it
But look at this again... the headquarters of the Continental Knights Association
Vegetable market? Storage in a large warehouse
At this time, Du Wei's heart suddenly moved. He noticed that there seemed to be a strange smile in the eyes of Deron Knight.
In an instant, Du Wei seemed to wake up suddenly and understood something.
His face returned to calm in an instant, and he waved his hand, making Lao Yan and other guards behind him retreat first.
Du Wei walked up a few steps slowly, touched those simple wooden sheds lightly, and suddenly said: "Knight Deron, I suddenly realized that you are really very talented in business."
Deron smiled and said nothing.
"Actually... I've heard a lot of stories about you. To be honest, there's nothing good about you in those stories."
Deron shook his head and said with a smile, "I'm used to it."
Du Wei lowered his head and thought for a while, then frowned and said, "I think it's really a drag and a burden for you to carry the title of president of this association! With your intelligence, you were tied to death in such a What a pity to be on a rotten ship! With your wisdom, if you are willing to go to my family to do some commercial business management, you will definitely become a famous businessman in a short time—it is better than supporting such a person here. Breaking the shelf is a hundred times stronger."
Deron fell silent.
But Du Wei continued slowly: "I thought you were a corrupt villain, a moth in the Knights Association... But I saw everything here today, and I understood... You don't hesitate to be a clown, but in You have painstakingly maintained such a mess... Sir Deron Knight, please accept my sincere apology!"
As he spoke, Du Wei lowered his head deeply.
The smirk on Deron's face disappeared.
When Du Wei raised his head, he asked, "Knight Deron, I'm curious... The Knights' Association has been down for hundreds of years! Logically speaking, all this didn't happen in your hands! At least in the When you were young, it was rotten! But when you were young and promising, why did you choose to stay on such a sunken wreck?"
Du Wei's voice was very sincere, without any pretense.
Delong finally sighed, his eyes no longer had that kind of cynicalism, but were dignified.
Slowly, the president of the Knights Association spoke.
"My teacher was the former president of the Knights Association. He adopted me and trained me... and the teacher had nine disciples in total. Unfortunately, when the other eight grew up, they almost couldn't wait to escape from this ghost place. What I have to admit is... I wanted to leave here too! Because in my opinion, the so-called Knights Association is already finished! There is no possibility of revitalization at all! But... "
Delong suddenly turned sideways, quickly flicked away a drop of tears from the corner of his eyes, took a deep breath, and said slowly: "Before my teacher died, he held my hand, and he begged me to stay. Begging I inherit his mantle and do my best to maintain this stall! Before he died, the teacher said to me: Although the knight's gun is gone, he firmly believes that there are still many people whose chivalry lives in their hearts! "
As he said that, he seemed to smile again, with a frivolous smile: "To be honest, I don't believe it! I don't believe there is any chivalry left in this world! But I can't refuse the teacher's begging before he died! So... I Only then did I stay here, inheriting the title of a ninth-level knight, the position of a president, and became the head of a bare knight group. Until today, my hair has also started to turn gray... because, I promised the teacher! I Promised him!"
Hearing this, Du Wei was suddenly shocked!
"You... have worked too hard!" Du Wei sighed, and without hesitation, he suddenly walked over, grabbed Delong's wrist with both hands, and solemnly said every word: "Knight Delong! I can't Needless to say, you are the most respectable "knight" I have ever seen in my life! Although the world regards you as a clown! But in my eyes, you are a noble knight! At least you kept your promise!"
Yes, it is a promise!
A word is a promise, a lifetime to keep it!
This is the real knight!
Looking at Du Wei's eyes, Delong finally sighed, and he held Du Wei's hand tightly...