Chapter 179: The Grand Gift Prepared by Solon

Under normal circumstances, Allen would not open the Simulator while on the march.

Because the simulation process requires the consumption of a large amount of his mental energy; if the simulation time is too long, he can barely endure it once, but twice would cause a severe headache, and three times would cause him to fall into a coma.

Moreover, conducting simulations continuously within a few days would lead to an even longer coma, and the consequences of this are very dangerous, as it is not as if a situation where he sleeps for a whole day and night has never happened.

He is the commander of an army and the lord of a country; this situation was fine when he was in charge of a village, but now it is not allowed to happen, as it would cause great chaos.

Therefore, Allen generally does not conduct simulations when he is busy with affairs.

But an accident happened just as the troop entered the Two Rivers.

It is currently the season when spring is warm and flowers are blooming; the snow on the Misty Mountains is melting rapidly, and a large amount of snowmelt flows into several rivers, eventually merging into the Anduin River, raising the water level.

After the surging river passed through the Two Rivers, it overflowed many shallows that could originally be crossed, especially on the side of the North River-lands.

After investigation, there are only one or two locations left here where a large army can pass, and the passages are extremely narrow; if an army of several thousand people wants to pass, it would take a very long time.

Considering the issue of safety, Allen arranged for several cavalry squads to go to the South River-lands to scout and see how the situation is there.

At the same time, he himself also intends to rest here, waiting for all his companions to gather before continuing to discuss the next plan.

The entire southward troop is not moving gathered together; considering the scouting effect and short-term information communication, Allen's Human troop is in the lead, because Allen's own speed is the fastest among the entire troop, and Cress also possesses professional scouting partners.

In the middle is Fili's Dwarf troop; the goats are slower, so they can arrive in time to support both the front and back while in the middle, and Fili has little experience, so it is convenient for Allen to look after him while in the middle.

At the rear is Lord Cirdan's Elf cavalry; the Elves have the strongest strength, and in case they are pursued by the enemy, they have sufficient time and ability to entangle with the enemy for a long time, thereby waiting for the arrival of support, and their speed is also very fast, so if Allen is attacked, they can also support in time.

Moreover, Lindir is also proficient in knowledge related to birds and can obtain some intelligence through them, so as to avoid having his movements accurately grasped by the enemy.

The distance between the three troops does not exceed one or two hours, so Allen does not need to wait long.

But when Allen was resting, he habitually checked the daily news provided by the Simulator and suddenly discovered that his convenient father on the Calradia continent, Dilinade, who was already the King of Swadia, had suddenly died on the throne.

Of course, this is not a strange thing; as time passed, more than ten years have passed on the Calradia continent, and Dilinade is already at the advanced age of nearly seventy this year.

As a lord who gained Honor on the battlefield, after decades of military life, he had countless hidden and visible injuries on his body, so death is a matter of course.

But for Allen, it became a thorny matter, and he had to choose a suitable time to enter the simulation.

Because he must now rush from Sunor to Praven to inherit the Swadian throne; such an important matter certainly cannot be entrusted to the Simulator.

Rushing all the way to Praven is actually not a very simple matter; along the way, Allen suffered attacks from several waves of unknown forces.

Although Allen himself is incomparably powerful and can kill any enemy blocking his path, his subordinates inevitably became fewer and fewer.

Of the one hundred Swadian Knights brought out, only fifty-some remained by the time they reached Praven, which shows how intense the fighting was along the way.

And after Allen arrived in Praven, things became much easier.

The local nobles of Praven, that is, Dilinade's former confidants, warmly entertained Allen and his party.

Moreover, these people also swore allegiance to the new king extremely solemnly in public, that is, at the city gate welcoming Allen.

According to the customs of the Calradia continent, this is equivalent to tying themselves to Allen's warship, especially these nobles who only have positions but no fiefs; the king indeed has the power of life and death over them.

This approach also reveals their inner impatience and full-blown worries.

According to Calradia customs, Allen does not necessarily have to accept their allegiance and could completely refuse, in which case the two sides would inevitably develop a rift.

These people would also leave Swadia with their families amidst complaints, because there would be no place for them here.

However, at such a critical moment, even for the sake of controlling the military power of Praven, Allen could not make the choice to refuse, so he gladly accepted everyone's allegiance.

Among these people, the more important ones are the City Defense Commander Belgas, who is a landless Count.

The leader of the Lion-Hunting Knight Order, Tigrus, is a Baron and was once Dilinade's Captain of the Personal Guard.

Prime Minister Scholar Ganser, and the Town Mayor of Praven, Mitchell.

And the rest are some minor nobles responsible for specific affairs, or minor officers in charge of certain troops.

Since Dilinade died suddenly, whether he had other hidden forces in his hands is not something Allen can know, but on the surface, the positions of these four people are the most important.

Allen's current plan is to first stabilize these four people; if it goes smoothly, then it is equivalent to him holding the two major towns of Praven and Sunor in his hands, and he can be said to be the most powerful lord within Swadia, or even in Calradia.

And the funeral of King Dilinade began immediately after the lords from all over Swadia arrived.

In any case, during the time Dilinade held the throne, the kingdom was miraculously stable for several years.

Being able to achieve this level shows what a heavy price the upright Dilinade paid.

His sudden death may also be related to this.

And this period of stable life was enough for Dilinade to become a sage king in the mouths of the people of Praven.

When the coffin containing the king passed through the main road of Praven, countless people on both sides of the road watched their beloved king leave with sorrowful expressions.

At the same time, they also stared with worried eyes at Allen, who was walking at the very front of the procession, because all Swadians knew that their new king was a figure who was invincible on the battlefield.

This could not help but make all the grassroots people worry about whether the country could remain stable.

Allen did not know what the surrounding people were thinking; walking at the very front of the procession, his hair stood on end wave after wave, and in his senses, it seemed as if countless people on both sides of the road wanted to do him harm.

This forced Allen to muster his full attention to deal with this extremely difficult road.

Perhaps because of the full preparations, or perhaps because of Allen's reputation for being brave and good at fighting, the entire funeral procession arrived smoothly at the mausoleum built for the royal family after walking for two hours, and the feeling of being pricked by thorns on his back was finally no longer sensed by Allen.

The subsequent matters were very simple; when the king's coffin entered the mausoleum and was sealed, the atmosphere at the scene reached the peak of sorrow.

Countless cries echoed over Praven, mourning the dead king, and sorrow became the main theme of this city.

However, ironically, the grand ceremony for Allen's succession to the throne began the very next day, arranged by Prime Minister Ganser.

At this time, inside the inner castle in the center of Praven, there was no trace of sadness, and it was as if it were a scene of joy and laughter.

Everyone's face showed a smile that seemed to come from the heart, drinking delicious Wine and loudly discussing the past great achievements of the new king, as if they were worried that Allen, sitting on the throne, could not hear them.

Even Allen's nominal older brother, the lord of Uxhal, Rafad, also had a smile on his face that looked heartfelt, standing quietly to the side.

And with an extremely gratified expression, he watched Allen being crowned king in front of everyone.

Unlike what Allen imagined, the person who handed him the crown was not some religious figure, or the Prime Minister Scholar Ganser at this time, but his hot-tempered uncle, Harringoth, who was also sixty years old but still robust.

After Harringoth handed the crown to Allen, he coughed a few times before the throne, and then asked the guests present in a loud voice: "Nobles of Swadia, my colleagues, please listen to me, Harringoth, for a moment. This young man, the heir to the throne designated by His Majesty the King, my nephew, the invincible warrior who captured the enemy king Graveth alive in the Rhodok war, the hero who personally executed the enemy when Harlaus attacked us, do you think he should be crowned king?"

After Allen wore the crown and finished listening to this passage, he was completely dumbfounded; for a moment, he even thought his own uncle was here to sabotage him. Is such a thing something that can be talked about on this occasion and at this moment?

Capturing Graveth alive is one thing, but is personally executing the king he once served also a glorious thing?

But Allen clearly overestimated the moral standards of these nobles in Calradia; at this moment, the banquet was filled with responses of "as it should be," which left him not knowing what to say for a moment.

However, what happened next quickly resolved Allen's awkwardness.

At this moment, all the landed nobles present, according to the size of their strength, knelt before him in turn, began to swear allegiance to the new king, and after the ceremony of allegiance was completed, handed over a gift list.

Clearly, this was a custom of Calradia, and Prime Minister Ganser, being extremely experienced, returned the prepared gift lists one by one to the nobles who had sworn allegiance; generally speaking, the return gifts were significantly lighter, so Allen still made a profit.

When all the ceremonies were concluded, it was time for the crowd-pleasing banquet; Allen braced himself to meet all the nobles present and exchanged a few pleasantries with a smile, attempting to understand the personalities of the nobles under his command.

Yet this was merely a futile effort; these nobles in reality would not start by mocking you for being the son of a cowherd, and although they could not be called people of profound hidden depths, they were not someone you could fully understand after a single meeting.

However, there were some figures he could always barely trust, such as his father-in-law Count Klauss, his brother-in-law Count Dell William, and certain members of Allen's own family.

Finally, when the night was deep, the banquet celebrating the new king's ascension to the throne finally came to an end; having sent off all the guests and returned to his bedroom, Allen saw a blurry figure in the darkness of the corner.

Allen did not shout for the guards; with his combat power, he had no opponents in Calradia, and if it really came to it, a Chain Lightning could resolve most crises.

"Your Majesty the King, I believe you have already guessed my identity by now, but please allow me to introduce myself; I am your father's Information Chief. I apologize for meeting you for the first time in such a reckless manner, but I have two pieces of news that must be reported to you today."

Allen had some guesses about this, and the candor of the person opposite confirmed Allen's thoughts; after all, this was the royal palace where the king resided, and this room had also served as the bedroom for two successive kings, so the guards were extremely strict.

Without special channels, ordinary people simply could not get in.

"The first piece of news: the people who attacked you on the road actually belong to your eldest brother Rafad. At present, we have not yet ascertained whether it was his personal instruction to do so, but we will continue to work on it. The second piece of news that follows is also related to this: there is already a faction within Swadia that opposes you. They hope to have Rafad become king and rule Swadia; here is the list of lords within that faction."

As he spoke, the man in the Shadow placed two envelopes on the floor in front of him, then bowed to Allen and said, "Your Majesty Davis, congratulations on successfully becoming king. Your father also had a letter before he passed away for me to give to you; this may be of some help to you. If there are no other orders, then please allow me to leave first."

"Not for now. If I have matters, how should I summon you?"

"You only need to remove the flowerpot in the very center outside the window," the Shadow replied respectfully.

Allen nodded and said, "You may leave."

Subsequently, Allen watched as the Shadow lifted a full-length portrait of Dilinade on the left wall and then disappeared into a black passage.

Immediately after, Allen retreated from the king's bedroom and locked the door firmly; such matters were simply too dangerous.

Perhaps this Information Chief was a very trustworthy subordinate to Dilinade, but to Allen, he was just a stranger. Allen would not joke with his own life; this king title was simply too important to him.

It was just after he ascended the throne and gained the allegiance of all the lords that the Simulator gave a new prompt.

【Congratulations to the player for obtaining the highest status in this world: King.】

【The following permissions will be opened to you.】

【Rising Reputation: As long as you possess the status of King, you can obtain a certain degree of reputation every month. The amount of reputation depends on the vassals' recognition of you, the size of your territory, and your personal right to rule; you can obtain one point of honor every year.】

【Knight Order at Your Service: You can incorporate any Knight Order that meets the standards and is loyal to you into the management of the Simulator. Depending on their strength, you can consume Dinar and reputation to summon them in any world or scenario, letting them fight for you for a short period of time. The summoned knights will know no fatigue or pain, will be fearless of terror and death, and will be invincible wherever their sword blades point.】

【Please note that after the summoned members of the Knight Order die, it will not affect the original person in their original world, but the next summoning will require consuming Dinar to replenish the personnel.】

【Currently eligible Knight Order: Lion-Hunting Knight Order. Can it be summoned: No, loyalty is insufficient.】

【Restriction: Before losing the status of King, you cannot appear on the Calradia continent with a new identity.】

"Let's just leave it at that for now."

Allen leaned against a large rock and opened his eyes.