"Erica Browntree, Lilliana Kranichal, can I trust you absolutely? Give me your loyalty."
William made up his mind, as if he had made a major decision, and asked Erica and Liliana with a serious expression. The two stood up at the same time, looking at each other with determination.
"I have no intention of breaking my oath as a knight. King, what are you worried about?"
"Do you need me to re-swear my knightly oath of allegiance to you?"
Erica and Liliana's answers were resounding and resounding. The monarch's questioning of the knight's loyalty was undoubtedly a very severe accusation and question. If the knight had too strong self-esteem, he would probably die in response to this accusation.
Erica and Liliana are of course knights with a strong sense of self-esteem and honor, but because they only spent two or three days with William, they were able to restrain their inner emotions and respond to William's questions in a firm tone.
"I don't doubt your loyalty. What I want to ask is, can you become my confidant and let me trust you?" William asked.
"Of course, there is no need to question, King, respond to loyalty with loyalty." Erica said sincerely, and Liliana nodded.
In the Middle Ages, the loyalty between monarchs and knights was mutual. Knights were loyal to their monarchs, and monarchs must protect their knights. If they could not do this, both monarchs and knights were unqualified.
This point sounds like the saying in "Mencius": "If the ruler regards his ministers as his hands and feet, then his ministers will regard him as his heart; if the prince regards his ministers as dogs and horses, then his ministers will regard him as a fellow countryman; if his ministers regard his ministers as earth and mustard, then his ministers will Treat the king as an enemy." The concept is the same, but in the cultural environment of the East and the West, the need for loyalty is actually different.
There is a story told in the European heroic epic "Song of the Nibelung". The prince of the Netherlands, Siegfried (Siegfried), killed the dragon and bathed in its blood, thus obtaining invulnerable steel. He also obtained the treasure of the Nibelungen. When he heard that the princess Kriemhilt of the Burgundian Kingdom was an unparalleled beauty, he admired her and went to the kingdom to propose marriage.
The princess's brother Günther is the king of the kingdom. When he saw Prince Siegfried, he stated his conditions. As long as the dragon-slaying hero helped marry Brünnhilde, the queen of Iceland, he would allow him His sister Kriemhild married him.
Just as Prince Siegfried fell in love with Kriemhilt, King Günter also fell in love with Queen Brünnhilde of Iceland. However, unlike asking for Kriemhilt as his wife, the Queen of Iceland was beautiful, cruel and ruthless. , any man who proposes to her must be stronger than her. She has prepared three competitive sports, spear throwing, stone throwing and long jump. If he loses to her in any one, he will be killed by the queen, and as long as he can do all three, he will be killed by the queen. If he is better than her, then no matter who it is, the queen will marry him.
Günter admired Queen Brynhild, but she knew her own strength and was afraid of death. Queen Brynhild's reputation spread far and wide, and countless princes and heroes wanted to marry her, but in the end they all ended up in competitive sports. After losing to Brünnhilde and losing his life, Prince Siegfried secretly helped Günther with the help of the invisibility cloak and won the three competitions. The queen had no choice but to marry Günther.
It’s just that all of this was revealed in the wedding room. Günter was beaten by the Queen on their wedding night. She couldn’t get close to the Queen at all, and was hung on the wall by the Queen all night. Günther had no choice but to turn to Siegfried again, so Siegfried pretended to be Günther and defeated the queen on the wedding night the next day, and Günther consummated his marriage with the queen.
Siegfried married the beautiful princess Kriemhild, and Günther married the beautiful queen Brünnhilde as the queen. Siegfried and Günther became brothers. This was supposed to be a happy reunion. The ending is just that the story often ends here, but it does not end.
Siegfried led his wife Kriemhild to Günther's kingdom. Kriemhild and Brünnhilde were walking on the way to the church to attend mass, but they were arguing with each other about who should Walking in front, Brünnhilde thought she should walk in front, but Kriemhild retorted and told the truth.
After Brünnhilde learned the truth, she instantly felt humiliated and ashamed, and was filled with hatred for Siegfried. When Hagen, Günter's minister, learned about this, he was furious and decided to kill Siegfried.
Siegfried, who was bathed in the dragon's blood, had an invulnerable body. However, when Siegfried was bathing in the dragon's blood, there was a Bodhi leaf on his back that blocked part of his body. Therefore, when Siegfried was hunting, Hagen used a trick to He used a trick to learn the location from the princess, and secretly attacked and killed Siegfried.
After Kriemhild learned that her husband had been assassinated, she decided to avenge her husband, but was deceived by Hagen into taking the Nibelungen treasure. After Siegfried's death, Queen Brünnhilde also committed suicide.
Siegfried and Günther were sworn brothers who formed a blood alliance. They agreed that whoever betrayed him would die on the streets. Kriemhild asked his brother to punish Hagen, but King Günther refused.
Kriemhilt swore to kill Hagen, whether it was the other party hiding behind her family or the altar of the gods. Therefore, after losing the treasure, she married the King of the Huns. In the Kingdom of the Huns, In the martial arts competition, Günther and Hagen were captured alive by the Huns.
King Günter died, and Kriemhild asked Hagen about the Nibelungen treasure. Hagen refused to answer, so he killed Hagen. And saw the loyal minister Hagen was killed by a female streamer, and the warrior Hildebrandt killed Kriemhilt.
In Eastern concepts, the dissenting minister Hagen should not be a positive image in any case, while in the West Hagen is a representative of loyalty. Therefore, King Günter must also respond to loyalty with loyalty, even in the eyes of the Huns. If he gave up protecting Hagen in the palace, he would not lose his life, but he still firmly chose this outcome.
Whether Hagen was proposing a fight between Brünnhilde or Kriemhild as to who should be in front, assassinating Siegfried, or defrauding the Nibelungs of their treasures, it was all for the sake of his monarch, King Günther and Brünn. Hilde considered it and became actively loyal to it. Siegfried is far more talented than King Günther, and his popularity and reputation in the kingdom are even more so. In addition, he married the king's sister, and he also has the right to inherit the kingdom, especially since he also holds the Nibelungen. Treasures, this has to make people worry.
“Loyalty in response to loyalty?”
William took off the Anubis bracelet from his wrist and placed it on the table. This is an artifact that can obtain the Anubis Legion and summon endless Anubis warriors.
"Actually, there is one thing I have been hiding from you two. I am not only the god-slayer you know, but also a dragon-slaying hero. Do you know the hero Siegfried, the leading actor in "The Nibelungenlied"? In fact, I am the same person as him."
William spoke slowly, and he began to reveal the truth, responding to loyalty with loyalty.
The so-called loyalty in Europe refers to the unconditional loyalty of Eastern ministers to the monarch. The monarch does not need to pay equal loyalty. Instead, he rewards the ministers with their lives. Accompanying the monarch is like accompanying a tiger, and thunder, rain, and dew are all the kindness of the monarch.
Loyalty in the West is a feudal obligation, and allegiance is exchanged for protection.
Loyalty is neither blind nor unconditional. If you want your knights to be unconditionally loyal, you must respond to this unconditional loyalty.
"Did you kill the dragon too?" Liliana asked.
"I haven't killed the evil dragon yet, but I have obtained dragon blood. In the process of fighting the evil dragon, I myself have gradually transformed into a dragon."
William said honestly, looking at his arms. His original human hands had now turned into dragon's claws.
