novelraw Chapter 471: I Want to Be the King
Chapter 471: I Want to Be the King
After eating a hearty, 3-Star Quality breakfast, everyone couldn't help but show an expression of relief. The taut nerves of the past few days could finally relax a bit.
Afterwards, Li Wei called over Li Yue, Zhao Xuanxuan, Thomas, Zhao Qingshan, Jocelyn, Chekhov, Liu Huan, and others, totaling over twenty people, almost encompassing all the squad leaders, Squad Leaders, and mid-level managers accompanying the army.
They needed to hold a meeting regarding the future and the present. Many things needed to be sorted out, many beliefs needed to be aligned, and many interests also needed to be coordinated.
As the saying goes, Li Wei couldn't come up with an advanced ideological program to make everyone tighten their belts and conquer the world with him. It wasn't like everyone was living a miserable life and couldn't survive anymore, nor should they talk about class struggles.
The only thing that could be discussed was interests.
What couldn't be discussed was Blades and Swords, life and death.
Why were the Royal Guard loyal to him? Because he saved them from deep water and scorching fire.
So why should the Blazing Legion continue to loyally follow him now? On one hand, they had no choice. On the other hand, Li Wei had to provide interests, sufficiently large interests.
Therefore, as everyone's eyes turned toward him, and as many soldiers on the periphery listened attentively, almost no one didn't care about this meeting. Where would they go in the future?
If you want our loyalty, you have to give us a goal and an entity that can carry this goal."Everyone, I, Li Wei, want to speak from the bottom of my heart to you all here. I originally thought that this Empire Reconstruction Quest might be an opportunity for me, but I never deeply considered what kind of opportunity I wanted. A Count? A Marquis? Or perhaps a Duke? I also never thought about what kind of risks I would encounter because of it, much less whether I could counter those risks after bringing myself and everyone into them."
"To tell the truth, I hadn't thought about it. I have had a very smooth journey over the past few years. I kept telling myself to be cautious and steady, but when push came to shove, I still made a mistake. I didn't realize that the outbreak threshold for danger is actually infinitely large, and deep down in my subconscious, there was always something called luck hiding."
"This is my fault! I think it was also Jiang Xinran's fault, so she died, and we are like a Homeless Dog!"
"But I also must thank Duke Kaidel for this slap in the face. He made me understand a truth: don't waver, don't pick sides, don't rely on luck, and don't just muddle along. Either step down and be a Submissive Subject or a Freeman, or aim for the most fundamental goal. Therefore, I want to be the King!"
"Because this is the cruelest reality: either be a king, or be a thug, cannon fodder, or a Submissive Subject. Actually, everyone, you have all seen the messy pile of rules and information for the Empire Reconstruction Quest throughout the whole process. Did you all feel dazzled? But in reality, I think many of us were deceived."
"For us, there are actually only three choices. Be a Submissive Subject and wait a hundred years for the victors to crack their whips on our backs and treat us like beasts of burden; be a thug and seek refuge with a major faction—to tell the truth, with my Favored Official Start, I don't even have the qualifications to directly seek refuge with a Duke! I can only find a Treacherous Official to serve under!"
"But brothers and sisters, regarding this first path, let alone me, even you all wouldn't be resigned to it, right? As for the second path, to tell the truth, the chances of us surviving for a hundred years really aren't that high. Maybe I can live that long, but what about you? I would have to lead you to charge forward time and time again, braving skies filled with Fletched Arrows, Ice Blades, and Wind Blades to charge up the enemies' City Walls. We wouldn't dare retreat because behind us would be the supervising unit. You would hate me with Bone-Deep Hatred, but you wouldn't be able to do anything about it, because I could be the Duke's running dog, while you are just dog hair! Dog hair that gets sheared off crop after crop and still grows back!"
"So, let's stop playing around. Let's stop muddling along. Don't think there might be an opportunity. There are no opportunities. We can only carve out a bloody path; we can only snatch a piece of territory that belongs to us. We definitely don't have a chance at Imperial Restoration, we don't have that kind of foundation. But establishing a Duchy, like the Kingdom that the Locke Kingdom used to be, is a possibility."
"Now, everyone, you have all followed me for seven or eight years, six or seven years. Some were once survivors of the apocalypse, some were once infected Ability Users, some are Players selected from a peaceful world, and others are Academy Mercenaries who changed their status from Weir Province to here. I hope you can continue to follow me and build a Kingdom together with me!"
"I am the King. Hathaway and Li Yue will become my Royal Consorts. Zhao Xuanxuan and Thomas might become my Dukes. Javier, Zhao Qingshan, Seth, Jocelyn, Duan Bowen... you might become my Marquises. Chekhov, Liu Huan, you might become Spellcasters of the Kingdom's Royal Mage Council. And there are many more. I admit I am making empty promises right now, but everyone, do you want to gamble on such a future!"
Hearing this, everyone looked at each other in dismay. Even Li Yue hadn't expected Li Wei to speak so bluntly, boldly, and vulgarly!
But in this silence, in each other's gazes, everyone still saw the exciting gleam in each other's eyes. Yes, so what if it was blunt, bold, and vulgar?
Did it matter?
It didn't matter, because at this moment, this was an opportunity laid out before them.
Imperial Restoration was too slim of a hope; don't even think about it.
Want to be a Duke?
Then you would first have to join another Faction and serve someone else as King. But saying this was easy; doing it was not simple at all.
Since that was the case, why not build a Kingdom themselves, with the boss as the King? Even if they couldn't become a Duke or a Marquis, at the very least, they should be a Count, right?
Right now, they only had 375 people. Counting those who died in battle earlier, once they resurrected and returned, as long as they fought to the end, would it really be that hard to become a Baron!
"Yes!"
Someone shouted with a rough voice, and then came a wave of responses. Everyone's heads were buzzing, stimulated as if by electricity. For a time, their previous worries, confusion, and hesitation vanished into thin air.
Yes.
Previously, when you, Li Wei, asked us to go to battle and fight, I didn't have much interest in it. Why should I go and die? Oh, out of gratitude for your past favors? But that's too light, it's not enough.
Even if we can be reborn continuously, we can't be reborn an infinite number of times.
But now you say you want to conquer a Kingdom, this matter is different. We don't want to be Royal Consorts, nor do we want to be Dukes, and we don't even covet Marquises or Counts. We don't have that ability. But would it be hard to become a Viscount or a Baron?
Damn it, this is within easy reach! With this, our courage will swell by 30% when we go to the battlefield! Even if we die, we won't have any complaints, because this is the path we chose.
Wealth, power, the supernatural—which one is simple? Which one is within easy reach?
Right, it should have been like this long ago. If you had said from the beginning that we were building a Kingdom, we wouldn't have acted like cowards in the previous battle!
In an instant, the Loyalty Level of all soldiers increased by +10 again. Even someone as difficult to deal with as Zhao Qingshan gained 2 points of Loyalty.
Yes, thinking clearly, this was the optimal choice.
At this time, Li Wei spoke again, "Everyone, this is actually still Duke Kaidel's sphere of influence. We are currently temporarily hiding here using the Blind Spot method. Next, depending on the development of the situation, we will stay here for about half a month to a month. But we cannot relax. While staying alert and maintaining Silence, we also need to comprehensively reorganize our troop."
"Of course, for those brothers and sisters who fell in battle, I will reward and reorganize them when they rejoin the team in half a year. Now, let me tell you my preliminary thoughts. If anyone has any suggestions, feel free to speak up."
"First of all, the Infantry and Cavalry of the Blazing Legion must be separated into two legions. Li Yue, do you have any objections to this?"
"No, it really needs to be done. Of course, this doesn't mean that the cooperation between Cavalry and Infantry is no longer needed. In fact, we should consider the cooperation between Infantry and Cavalry even more. Unfortunately, for the time being, we lack a Commander-level talent who can oversee the central army. Of course, for a long time to come, we probably won't have the chance to fight a proper, head-on field battle anyway, so talents can be cultivated."
"Also, if possible, I suggest adopting the Legion Organization of Chiliarch and Centurion."
"Boss Li, why not use Colonel, Commandant, General of Chariots and Cavalry, or General of Agile Cavalry? I think those sound more satisfying and cooler." Liu Huan interjected at this moment.
"It's not a matter of whether it sounds cool or not. We are an insurgent force originating from the Locke Kingdom. Even if we establish a country in the future, we must claim succession rights from the Locke Kingdom, understand? And the Legion Organization of the Locke Kingdom is managed at the three levels of Chiliarch, Centurion, and Squad Leader. Of course, the Neanderthals also use this organization. The historical origins of this must be traced back to the Ancient Magic Empire, not based on the histories of our respective Homeworlds, and certainly not based on personal preferences."
Speaking up to this point, Li Yue glanced at Li Wei again, "Moreover, the King of the Locke Kingdom can only have one queen. Anyway, from now on, we must declare ourselves the orthodox lineage of the Locke Kingdom. This way, even if we succeed in establishing a Kingdom in the future, even if we become the Blazing Kingdom, it will still be a Legacy passed down from the Locke Kingdom. This legal principle must be followed."
"Alright, we'll do as you say! From now on, we will adopt the Legion Organization of Chiliarch and Centurion. Li Yue, you will be the Chiliarch of the Blazing Legion, commanding all the Cavalry. Zhao Xuanxuan will be a Centurion. The others—Javier, Seth, Jocelyn, Duan Bowen, and the other Riverside Knights—will all be promoted to Centurion. However, I feel that after a hundred years, the Riverside Knights will also need a name change. Let's call it the Blazing Knights then."
Li Wei said casually. There was no controversy over these things. Previously, when Santiago, Benjamin, and the others renounced their status, he added several new Riverside Knights, but they almost all died in the Battle of Dawn. So, whether in terms of Loyalty, overall strength, or personal ability, they had long gone through countless screenings. After all, before this, who didn't want to be a Riverside Knight? The list of candidates was right there.
So, there was absolutely no problem with them taking on the role of Centurion.
In this way, the Blazing Legion was equivalent to having one Chiliarch and ten Centurions.
But what about the Heavy Armored Infantry that had been separated?
"Boss Li, let me be this Chiliarch. I also want to try being a Duke."
At this time, Thomas, who had always been silent and slow-witted, suddenly spoke up. This quite surprised Li Wei, and in fact, mostly everyone was quite surprised, because Thomas's sluggishness was simply known by everyone!