When everyone opened their eyes and looked at Kailar again, they only saw Kailar raising his arm high and shouting loudly: "But their deaths will not be in vain! They will be burned to ashes, and I will build a wall outside Red Leaf Ridge using their urns!
On the wall will be their names, the time they died in battle, and their age. They are all heroes! They are all legends!
Not only them, but in the future, if anyone from Red Leaf Ridge dies in battle, they can be enshrined in the wall. After ten years! After a hundred years! After a thousand years! Our descendants will know that the land they live on was protected by the flesh and blood of their ancestors! They will know that every inch of their land, every grain of their food, was reclaimed by their ancestors with blood and flesh! Even so, after we die, we will still transform into a city wall to protect them, protecting them for generations to come!!!"
Kailar shouted with a raised arm.
The two hundred thousand? Or three hundred thousand? Red Maple Citizens below shouted loudly. Many elderly people, with tears in their eyes, kissed the ground. The knights dismounted and knelt, propping themselves with their lances, trembling with excitement as they bowed to Kailar.
As for the elderly, what regrets did they have? They could see their own people multiply happily and prosperously. Their actions in this era would be remembered forever. They had no regrets. They believed that by following Kailar, their race would prosper and become strong. They would die without regret!
As for the knights, what regrets did they have? As warriors, they had no other desires. Besides dying on the battlefield, there was only the desire for eternal fame! When the Wall of Glory appeared in the land of Red Leaf Ridge, what could be more glorious than that? Nothing! Their great names would be sung for a thousand years, and their deeds would be passed down for ten thousand generations!!
"Can these things reflect their merits? No! Far from it! They protected us! They protected our homeland! They died in battle for us! They died in battle! We will raise their wives and children! We will be responsible for their education! We will guarantee their future!" Kailar shouted loudly: "Their sons and daughters will enter the schools we are about to establish, and our government will not charge a single cent! If their families face financial difficulties, our government will subsidize them with fifteen coins every month! If they struggle with heating, we will never collect taxes from them again until their children come of age! This is what they deserve! In the future, anyone who dies in battle will also receive this treatment! This is respect for a warrior, and it is also a tribute to those who sacrificed for their country! Red Leaf is with you!!!"
Kailar roared.
After a slight silence, a thunderous roar followed.
"Red Leaf is with us! Long live Red Leaf!!!!"
"Red Leaf is with us! Long live Red Leaf!!!!"
"Red Leaf is with us! Long live Red Leaf!!!!"
When Kailar walked down from the city wall, a group of people were already half-kneeling below.
Kneeling was not uncommon in the West (in fact, the East didn't have kneeling before the Qing Dynasty came to power... it was all a disgusting, soul-mutilating trick created by those queue-wearing barbarians...). So, the highest etiquette in Red Leaf Ridge was only a half-kneel.
Clearly, Kailar's words had touched everyone's hearts, reaching their most emotional depths.
"Everyone can go home now, our powerful knights have returned! We no longer need to fear anyone." Kailar smiled as he helped an old man, who was covered in snot and tears, to his feet and said loudly.
His words were met with good-natured laughter, and people walked out of the city gate in an orderly fashion. The knights, for the first time, propped their lances with their knight's swords and used their horses to create a passage for Kailar and Grand Duke Andrei to walk towards the castle.
Kailar tapped Gawain's shield, signaling Gawain to dismount and join them. Gawain hesitated for a moment, then jumped off his horse and followed the two towards the castle above.
His mother, Marcy, rushed out and gave his father an enthusiastic French wet kiss. Even though Kailar had once had a 'fusion' experience with Artoria, he couldn't help but turn his head away at their bold and open display.
As for Gawain, it went without saying. He even twisted his body to the side, trying to make his presence as subtle as possible.
When the two let go, his mother, Marcy, regained her former elegant and noble demeanor. She came to Gawain's side, took his hand, and gently patted it: "My child, I know all about your father's matter... I can only say I am very sorry... But one cannot dwell on the past... If you want to clear your father's name, then become more famous... That way, everyone will only remember your glory and forget your father's blemish..."
It has to be said that Marcy truly lived up to her reputation as a noblewoman who had lived for so long. With a single sentence, she pinpointed Gawain's current weakness!
"Yes, Auntie!" The aura Gawain was exuding now was completely different. If the Gawain Kailar had just seen was like a stray dog, dispirited and unable to face the future, then the current Gawain was like a famished lion... even an African elephant here, she could bite to death.
Kailar admired his mother's methods immensely. The Kailar family walked towards the inside of the castle. Aunt Marcy's thoughtfulness and gentleness almost made Gawain cry; he tasted the family affection he hadn't experienced in a long time.
Gently patting the slightly melancholic yet touched Gawain, Kailar took the initiative to ask, "Father... How is Uncle Birmingham's territory?"
"I only sanctioned that scoundrel, but I did not touch a single bit of that place. Birmingham rebelled, and according to the law, he should have his title stripped and his knighthood revoked. However, the new King has not yet ascended the throne, and as a Grand Duke, I do not have the authority to judge a Marquis."
Hearing Grand Duke Andrei's words, Kailar covered his forehead. He knew his father was a staunch royalist, but he didn't expect him to be so rigid: "Father, you didn't even leave a cavalry troop to maintain order?" Kailar asked incredulously.
"That is not my territory, I have no right to station my knights there." Grand Duke Andrei's answer was extremely rigid.
"But shouldn't you have left a troop of knights to maintain order and, incidentally, govern the area?" Kailar asked.
"I said, that is not my territory!" Grand Duke Andrei bristled, as if Kailar were the rebel.
"But you should know that if there is no ruler, the situation there will worsen, won't it! Plus the other two troops of knights who invaded us, now there are three whole counties in chaos!" (I couldn't find how Celtic nations were divided, so I can only use the current British units, divided by counties.)
"But that is not my territory!" Grand Duke Andrei was as stubborn as a child.
"Sigh..." Kailar sighed and began to use a roundabout approach: "Father, if the new King ascends the throne and sees three counties already in chaos, won't he need time to govern them? And how many counties in all of Camelot might rebel? How much time and effort would it take for the new King to govern them? If we help the new King govern these three counties well, then will the King save a lot of time in the future?"
Grand Duke Andrei hesitated...