"Get ready!" A ceremonial officer in gorgeous clothes drawled his voice and raised his right hand high. At his signal, dozens of musicians raised their trombones and played cheerful tunes. Then, everyone in the hall turned to the door at the same time. Wearing gorgeous robes, Sophia appeared in front of the palace door, followed closely by Lorna in exquisite knight armor, followed by several maids in holy white robes. Accompanied by them, Sophia slowly walked along the red carpet in the hall towards the high throne. At this time, the musician's tune changed from cheerful to solemn, and Sophia's steps became slow and solemn. People on both sides of the hall were infected by this solemn atmosphere and silently watched her progress without anyone speaking. Going up the steps, Sophia came to the throne. At this time, a priest with white hair and beard, accompanied by two nuns, walked up to Sophia. The influence of religion in the Kingdom of Gaspard is not as strong as that of the Croat Empire. However, the succession ceremony of the royal family still had to be presided over by the priests in the temple to show that the king's position was blessed by the god-king. Sofia knelt on one knee in front of the priest. The priest took the crown symbolizing royal power from the tray held by a nun behind him and put it on Sofia's head. "In the name of God King Tyron, I grant you the position of Queen of the Kingdom of Gaspard." With that said, the priest slowly made a gesture representing the God King above Sophia's head. Then, the crowd below immediately burst into cheers. "Queen Sofia!" "Long live your Majesty!" The gorgeously dressed nobles, neatly armored generals, wealthy businessmen, white-haired scholars They are all cheering for the birth of the new King Gaspard. The war-torn Gaspard can finally stabilize, which is the common expectation of everyone. ??In fact. At this time, half a month had passed since the capture of Aulat City. After executing Duke Charles and other rebellious nobles, Sophia was busy rectifying government affairs, appeasing the people, and urging the remaining lands of Gaspard to change their flags and return to her rule. In this way, I have been busy for half a month. Only then did he finally get the most important things done. At least on the surface, Gaspard has been reunited, the waiting armies have surrendered and declared their allegiance to Sofia, and the city of Aurat has lifted its martial law and begun to regain its vitality. So, Sophia¡¯s official succession ceremony was held. Although the biggest threat has not yet been eliminated, the Kingdom of Dirk is still watching with eager eyes and is experiencing continuous wars. People's livelihood in the country is in decline, the economy is in a slump, cities and towns are severely damaged, and people are displacedSofia is faced with one problem after another. But at least at this moment, everyone is full of hope and excited for their new queen. Sofia was sitting on the throne, looking at the cheering crowd below. moment. She raised her hand slightly to signal everyone to quiet down. "This time I can successfully restore the country. In addition to the blessing of the God King, more importantly, there is a group of brave and loyal people who have been by my side and defeated enemies one after another for me. I can sit here, and they are the "Those who have made the greatest contribution." "So, I want to reward these brave men. The Kingdom of Gaspard will never forget their achievements." As she spoke, Sophia read out the names of the Gaspards one after another. Among them are generals such as Bryce and Makurdi, as well as loyal attendants like Lorna. There are also businessmen who funded Sophia, soldiers who made contributions in the war, scouts, spies, and officials who helped Sophia settle the refugees or surrendered the city to her, etc. They all made great contributions to Gaspard's recovery in this war. Sophia rewarded them generously, some received titles, some were awarded important official positions, and some were promised generous rewards in the future. And those who received the reward also expressed their allegiance to Sophia. It may not be ruled out that there are speculators fishing in troubled waters, but Sofia's rule must rely on these people to stabilize. Finally, when Sofia finished commending the Gaspards, she turned her eyes to a corner of the hall. Sofia said slowly: "In addition to those loyal people of Gaspard just now, there is another group of people. They rescued me from Aulat City when I was in the most critical moment; they took in countless exiled Gaspards. The common people; they rescued me from the clutches of the Necromancer; they defeated Duke Charles and Leonard; they liberated the entire territory of Gaspard. " "It can be said that without these people, Gaspard would not be what it is today. Germany, let alone me as a queen. Without them, maybe I would have been framed and died like my father and uncle.Who knows how many of Gaspard's people will die. " "These people are the real saviors of Gaspard. Their merits cannot be exaggerated no matter what reward they are given. "Sofia's words were almost exaggerated, but no one present thought it was inappropriate, because what she said was the truth. Immediately, the eyes of the entire hall were focused on that group of people. "Heddington's Everyone, please come forward. "Sofia said to them. ************************************************ ********************** That group of people is the people of Headington. Sophia's restoration was successful, and Headington's help can be said to be the greatest. Therefore, When she held the coronation ceremony, people from Headington were also invited to attend. Among them, Freddy, Charlotte, Rickett and others came specially from Headington because next, Sophia will face the problem. They rewarded Sofia based on their merits. In order to commend their achievements, Sofia held a knighthood ceremony. But at that time, she was just an exiled princess, so-called knighthood. , It's just a symbol. But this time it's different. Sophia is already a real queen. The title she bestows will make Headington and others become real nobles in one fell swoop. For Headington of the Union, it is no less than the most attractive reward. After all, they are not a real country and cannot confer titles on their own. Therefore, even though Headington has a vast territory and strong strength. They are just a group of common people. Among them, the most excited ones are naturally Freddy and Rickett. One of them wants to become a noble, and the other wants to restore the honor of the family. This kind of thinking can't compare to the actual conferment. As for Charlotte and other local residents of Headington, Headington has already surpassed them step by step from a weak small town. Imagine. So although today¡¯s knighthood is also a great joy, the impact on them is not that strong. ¡°Then Mr. Raymond. "Sofia's eyes first looked at Raymond. "In recognition of your selfless help to me and your achievements in my return to Gaspard's war, I grant you the title of Duke of Gaspard. " "Wow¡ª¡ª" Although I had expected that Raymond would receive a great reward, Sofia directly made him a duke, which still made everyone present in an uproar. "Duke is the highest title that ordinary people can get, and then Only relatives of the king can be crowned princes. You know, if a commoner can be crowned a nobleman, he will be considered a nobleman, and this is a luxury that most people cannot achieve in their lifetime. Going up, viscount, baron, earl, marquis, duke each level of promotion is more difficult, because the gap in title represents the absolute level of status. Thor almost died in the Orc Empire before he got it. The title of earl. He saved the Kingdom of Dinar in the subsequent Lulin War and was finally awarded the title of duke. His mortal enemy Cliff never became a duke in his life. From here, he knew this. How rare it is to have a title. And now, Raymond has almost ascended to the throne and been directly awarded the title of Duke. I don¡¯t know how many people here are envious. Although Gaspard is a small, it is also a long-established orthodox kingdom, and Raymond is a Duke. It¡¯s true. But as Sophia said, no one could help her more than Raymond. Without Raymond, there would be no liberated Gaspard, so although everyone was surprised, no one felt uncomfortable. That's right. In fact, only a duke can match Raymond's achievements, not to mention Sofia, Harlot and others who know Raymond's true origin, but they don't think Raymond is a prince at all. ! ¡°Besides, I want you to promise that as long as I am alive, Gaspard will always be Headington¡¯s staunchest ally, and there will never be any change. "Following that, Sofia said these words in a serious manner. These words were equivalent to a political declaration, which naturally aroused another wave of exclamation. But whether it was the personal friendship between Sofia and Raymond or Gaspard's current situation, This is their only choice. Without the support of Headington, even if Sophia returns to the country, it may not last long. Raymond knelt down and accepted Sophia's reward. The power he currently holds has no effect on him. In a sense, it may still cause trouble.?It was Sofia's sincere thanks, so he still chose to accept it. "Raymon, thank you." When Raymond stood up, Sophia looked into his eyes and said sincerely again. Subsequently, Sophia continued to reward other people in Headington. Compared to Raymond's calmness, Freddy and others seemed much happier. And Sofia was not stingy in rewarding everyone, from Freddy to Harold and others, everyone became a noble. In the end, even Ackerman, who had been undercover for Duke Charles for a long time, was given the title of Lord. Finally, the merit-based rewards were completed, and Sophia¡¯s enthronement ceremony came to a successful conclusion. *************************************************** **************** At the banquet that night, everyone had a great time celebrating the birth of the new queen. The huge banquet hall was bustling with fragrant clouds and shadows. Sofia sat in the king's seat, accepting visits from various important figures in turn, and taking the opportunity to connect with each other. This is the helplessness of the king. Even on such an occasion, she cannot feel relaxed. In contrast, the people in the banquet hall were much more casual. People gathered together in twos and threes, drank, talked and laughed, enjoying the leisurely atmosphere. The people in Headington naturally gathered together, and they also behaved differently. Charlotte and the others all came from a small place and had never attended such a formal or large-scale banquet, so they seemed very reserved; Harlot and Bastet were born with rough nerves. What he is like at ordinary times is what he is now; Rickett's graceful demeanor, and his good aristocratic upbringing since he was a child, allow him to cope with this kind of situation easily; Aishita is not interested in such noisy places at all, and Hillness is chasing after him. She ran outside into the garden. "Your Majesty the Duke", "Grand Duke Raymond", "His Excellency the Grand Duke" During the banquet, the only person whose popularity could rival Sophia's was Raymond. There were a large group of people on three floors around him, and on the three outer floors, they were noisily courting the new Duke. Especially after hearing that Raymond is still single. Most of the people in this group were women, ranging from 15 to 50. They were all dressed up and singing, trying to attract Raymond's favor. Raymond grew up in the Orc Empire since he was a child. He is used to the simplicity and directness of the Orcs, and he is really not used to such a scene. But he knew that this was a necessary communication, so he could only cheer up and deal with it. "Meow. It's really hard work, young master." Bast sighed while stuffing fish meat into her mouth. Harold grabbed a bottle of wine from the passing waiter's tray. Under the astonished gaze of the waiter, he poured it directly into his mouth: "Of course, our boss is now a serious nobleman. It's strange that those guys don't flatter us This wine is really good." "Look, Frey. Dee is there," Bast pointed to the other side. Even at the banquet, Freddy was still dressed in black, standing alone in a corner. He looked coldly at the happy people around him. Among all the people in Headington, except Raymond's Duke, he has the highest title of earl. It's just that Freddy's intelligence work has always been low-key and not well known. In addition, he had a dead face and was wearing black clothes at the banquet. Even if others want to make friends, they will be scared off. Charlotte admired: "Master Freddie is really unfazed by favors and humiliations, which is really admirable." "Tsk, that guy is just pretending to be reserved." Harold sneered: "Maybe I wish someone would flatter him. "Charlotte said with disbelief: "How is that possible?" Obviously she didn't believe that Freddy could be so superficial. "Don't believe it?" Harold smiled and said, "Let's see." As he said that, he drank the last sip of wine, put down the bottle and walked towards Freddy. "Your Excellency, Earl Freddy, congratulations, your wish has finally come true." Walking up to Freddy, Harlot said with a smile. Freddy still had that half-dead gloomy face. He said calmly: "What's there to congratulate? He's just an earl." "Nothing more? Hey, you really dare to say that." Harold said in his heart. "I don't know who it is, but I almost went crazy wanting to be a noble." On the surface, he leaned over and said, "It took a lot of effort to get here, but you still look like a dead person. Look, no one dares to come over. "I don't know if it was because he was in a really good mood or something, but Freddy didn't care about Harold's sarcasm. He said coldly: "They are just a group of incompetent nobles. They have nothing to say to those people." He secretly said that he was really arrogant. , Harold asked deliberately: "You really don't want to pay attention to those people?" "Of course." Freddy said without hesitation: "Except for a noble title, those familiesThey're just a bunch of mediocre people. " "Then why do you want to be a noble? Harold asked unexpectedly. "Uh" Freddy was at a loss for words. It's really unreasonable to become a noble but refuse to communicate with other nobles. "Freddy can't say that it's very difficult to hold the title of earl." Come on. Suddenly realizing that there was something in Harold¡¯s words, Freddy¡¯s eyes turned cold: ¡°What do you mean? " "Ah haha" Under his gaze, Harlot laughed dryly and suddenly pulled over a passing noble man: "Thiswho is that? Count Freddy really wants to make friends with you. He has something to say to you. . "The man's eyes lit up: "Your Excellency, is it true? " "Well? ThisI" He didn't expect Harold to come out so suddenly. With Freddy's quick wit, he was speechless for a moment. But the man was extremely excited and immediately pulled Freddy to express his admiration. Now everyone in Headington is a hot upstart. Freddy's knighthood is second only to Raymond. I don't know how many people want to make friends with him. However, Freddy looks like he is repelling thousands of miles away. No one dared to act rashly. Now that he heard that Freddy actually wanted to make friends with him, the noble felt flattered. No matter how indifferent Freddy was, he still knew how to deal with people. He had no choice but to befriend him. The nobles started chatting, and in order to curry favor with Freddy, the nobles sent him compliments one after another. After a while, Freddy actually had a smile on his face. ¡°Well, although these guys are all mediocre, Still pretty good at talking. "Freddy thought in his mind, and suddenly he felt that these people were not so bad. "You see. Harold walked back and proudly said to Charlotte and others: "That guy is actually so boring." " "That's it, that's it. "Everyone could only marvel. I really didn't expect that the person who knew Freddy turned out to be Harold. **************************** ********************************** The banquet, which had some people happy and some sad, ended a few days later. , everyone¡¯s life returned to its original trajectory and began to face another realistic problem: ¡°What¡¯s going on in the Kingdom of Dirk? "While Sophia was busy performing her duties as queen, major generals such as Raymond and Bryce also gathered together for a meeting to discuss how to deal with Leonard's problem. "Since Sophia ascended the throne, Bryce and others, as well as Haiding The original Gaspard soldiers of Dunton have returned to the command of the Kingdom of Gaspard. The original "Heddington's Restoration" naturally ceases to exist, and the two parties of Headington and Gaspard naturally cease to exist. They became two different systems. However, in the face of the threat from the Dilk Kingdom, they had to continue to cooperate and were temporarily unified under Raymond's command. Freddy said: ¡°According to the intelligence sent back by my people. Prince Denard's troops and supporters have been driven into a small area, and Leonard's victory is imminent. "No one is surprised, this is almost doomed. In fact, it is amazing that Denard can delay Leonard until now. "How much time do we have left? "Bryce asked this key question. "Two months no more than three months at most. "Freddy affirmed. "Two months. "Everyone present sighed. In other words, the final battle will be in two months. However, these two months were still fought for by Raymond. He defeated the Necromancer as quickly as possible. , and did not hesitate to take risks to seize the city of Aulat, in order to gain as much time as possible to prepare before the decisive battle with Leonard. Otherwise, if conventional tactics are used, a large city like Aulat will be sieged. It can be delayed for a year and a half, and there is no time to deal with Leonard. Knowing that these two months are hard-earned, everyone knows that they must not be wasted: "Sir Raymond, I have already discussed this with His Majesty. Your Majesty plans to raise as much money as possible, and we decide to build a line of defense near the Dilke border to resist Leonard's attack. " "Well, that's a good idea. Helmi nodded and said: "Defensive battles always have greater advantages than field battles. If we can use the defensive advantages to keep Leonard at the border, Gaspard will be safe inside." "Others also nodded in agreement. They all knew the gap in strength between the two sides. No one had the confidence to engage in a head-on battle with Leonard, so a defensive battle became the only way. "If Gaspard does not have enough manpower, We can also provide aAppoint goblin laborers. Rickett said: "It just so happens that the fortress of the Giant's Seal is initially completed, and those goblins can be dispatched at any time." " "That's great. Although two months is a bit short, it's still better than doing nothing. "Makudi said happily. Everyone immediately started a heated discussion about where to build the defense line. At this time, Bryce suddenly realized that Raymond had not spoken, so he said: "Lord Raymond, look at where the defense line is built. How about it? "As he spoke, he pointed to a location on the map. However, Raymond frowned and slowly shook his head. "Isn't it possible here? Bryce was startled: "What do you think is a suitable place?" " "It's not a matter of location. Raymond finally spoke, he said: "But this plan may not work at all." " "Why? "This time, not only Bryce, but everyone else was surprised. "Lord Raymond, the army of the Kingdom of Dilk is far stronger than ours. If we don't take advantage of defense, we can't defeat them. "Makudi said. "Yes, we finally have two months of buffer time, so we should seize the time to strengthen our defense. "Others also said one after another. At this time, Freddy sneered: "Don't you still understand what Lord Raymond means? Do you really think that the defense line hastily established in two months can stop Dilk's army? "(To be continued, please search Piaotian Literature, the novels will be better and updated faster!