When 10,000 police soldiers came marching towards the central square from the right, the Crown Prince's expression became ashen grey when some of his scout troops came running to report.
Immediately, the tide changed and the rebel's army is now surrounded on all sides.
On the left is the Holy Knights, and on the right are the police forces. But more importantly, this massive influx of police soldiers are all loyal to the royalists factions, thus, changing the tide in one fell swoop.
Naturally, the Crown Prince couldn't figure out why this is happening even if he breaks his head because all the people he sent to handle these matters are all trusted subordinates of his….
Earl Raymond is already giving out a long sigh as he looked up at the young prince up at the palace walls. To this old military official, his confidence in winning this battle is already gone. Suddenly, he looked over at captain Alpha and whispered: "Alpha, we have lost."
With that, Earl Raymond came around to the Crown Prince and looked up at the deadpan expression of this instigator. Seeing this, a sense of disdain grew inside of him as he spoke: "Your highness, we must concentrate our forces now and storm out of here. Only by getting out of the capital now will we have a chance to make a comeback!"
The Crown Prince looked hollow in his eyes as if he couldn't hear the Earl's words. Only nodding, his eyes suddenly changed to that of horror as he cried out: "There's no way! I won't believe this! How did I lose?!"
With that said, he cried out: "I still have 1000 elite riders! Humph, how can the police forces compete with me?!"
The Crown Prince seemed to have lost his marbles. Among his 1000 elite riders, there are numerous genuinely skilled knights from the association. In a loud voice, he declared: "Raymond, I'll give you 500 riders to stop the police forces in their tracks! As for me, I'll attack the palace! I will not admit defeat!"
Earl Raymond didn't say anymore and only sighed in return…..
Will not fail?
Jean Claude's 10,000 rebel forces had already suffered major casualties. With only a couple of thousand troops left including the elite riders of the Crown Prince, how can they take the palace so easily when they are being pressed on all sides?
It was at this moment, the main gate of the palace suddenly swung open and out came Prince Son. Slowly, he stepped forward alone while holding onto something really long.
Wrapped in a broad black cloth, the outline of this thing seems to vaguely resemble that of a long spear.
This abrupt interruption dumbfounded everyone because the young prince was only a hundred meters from Jean Claude's forces. Despite the inherent danger, Prince Son continued to show his charismatic smile without a hint of fear on his face. Slowly but surely, he stopped and stabbed the long thing onto the ground.
For a second, everyone didn't know how to react against this person that so suddenly came out of the Palace.
Just as the rebel forces hesitated over whether or not they should run up and kill this important figure, the young prince interjected:
"Knights Declaration, article 1..." Prince Son's calm voice suddenly reached out to every corner of the square, his voice clearly osculated by a wind based magic spell to reach everyone's ears.
"Knights Declaration, article 1: In the name of my soul, I swear to be forever 'loyal' as my lifelong personality so that I will never regret in this life! If I ever go against this, let my soul be abandoned by the Knights Spear!"
"Knights Declaration, article 2: In the name of my soul, I swear that honor is more important than my life! Without regret, I will defend the honor of a knight for life! If I ever go against this, let my soul be abandoned by the Knights Spear!"
"Knights Declaration, article 3: In the name of my soul, I will bear in mind the 'sacrifice' my life makes! Without regret, I will not break. If I do, let the Knights Spear abandon my soul!"
"Knights Declaration, article 4: In the name of my soul, I will live with 'courage' in my heart. I will brand my chest with courage without regret! If I break this oath, let the Knights Spear abandon my soul!"
"Knights Declaration, article 5: In the name of my soul, I will have mercy on the weak and be the enemy of brutality! Tolerance is my friend, and 'mercy' is my heart. If I break this oath, let the Knights Spear abandon my soul!"
"Knights Declaration, article 6: In the name of my soul, I will maintain the fusion of spirit and soul. Spirit is my soul, and soul is my life. If I ever go against this, let my soul be abandoned by the Knights Spear!"
"Knights Declaration, article 7: In the name of my soul, I will always be 'true and honest'. My heart will always be white, and my biggest enemy is the darkness in my heart. If I ever go against this, let the Knights Spear abandon my soul!"
"Knights Declaration, article 8: In the name of my soul, I always aim to be 'fair'. My heart is the embodiment of righteousness and equality. If I break this oath, let the Knights Spear abandon my soul!"
This long list of declarations is something every genuine knight would remember because during their assessment test, every person is required to recite this before they are recognized as a true knight.
To a knight, these verses are the eight qualities that they should always keep in mind: loyalty, honor, sacrifice, courage, compassion, spirituality, honesty, and fairness.
Although magic is prospering on the Roland continent now, but the era of Knights is still much longer than magic prior till now. During the height of that era, Knight is the largest power!
From legend, the Knights Association from that era is said to be even higher in status than the current Magic Union! To the people back then, the association is the shining beacon of righteousness and respect.
Only problem is the passage of time. In the present day and age, the status of a warrior is far inferior to that of a Mage in the eyes of the general populous. As such, the importance of these verses gradually became forgotten in the hearts of everyone... Although a knight must still recite the oaths before they are recognized as a true knight, but it is quite rare nowadays for one to find a knight still adhering to such chivalrous actions. In general, a normal knight is only someone of brute strength, but weak in their mental cultivation.
But the real reason for the downfall of the knight's era is not only the prosperity of magic, but a more important reason. Unlike back then, the sworn oaths taken by every knight in the current age no longer have any binding effects on their actions!
For a Magician, they must automatically leave behind their mark whenever they make an oath. As such, if they ever go back on their words, they will then be punished accordingly!
But now, those declarations by the knights are more often than not different from what the swearer is actually thinking. The moment, they leave the doorstep of the knights association, some of these people would go off and cause havoc in the world. As such, this is the true reason for the downfall of chivalry in the current age!
No power to restrict ones action, so the oaths would naturally be ignored!
Regardless of whether they are rebel or royalists, Prince Son's face looked very serious as he swept his gaze across the square. To the knights of different ranks in the field, many of them didn't understand why this prince would suddenly come down to the square and recite these verses. To a small portion, some of these knights even grew a bit of disdain on their faces…..
"If I break this oath, let the Knights Spear abandon my soul!!" Prince Son gently whispers these words out before suddenly repeating it in a loud voice: "let the Knights Spear abandon my soul!!" His eyes slowly scan the field back and forth before letting out a gentle laugh: "Who here today still adheres to the eight codes of chivalry?"
The Knights Spear...
According to legend in the age of chivalry, the greatest artifact of the knight's profession is a legendary spear left behind during the age of gods. This spear held immense power and is the object of worship for every knight! During their oath swearing, every knight must use their own blood to imprint their souls into the spear! If the oath bearer were to ever break their words, the person in question will be punished by the power of the spear and have their soul be forever locked out of the afterlife, thus, forcing their spirit to roam the world.
With the idea of the spears punishment hanging over their heads, practically no knight would go against their vows!
Unfortunately, not knowing when, where, or even the reason, this miraculous spear disappeared from the annals of history. To some, the idea of the spear disappearing is the sign of god reclaiming it from the world of mortals.
From then on, the chivalry vows no longer had any punishing effect on the oath bearer. As time went on, the downfall of the knight profession finally reached the present day situation.
Currently, Prince Son stood in the middle of the square under the smell of blood and gore as he recited the knight's chivalry code. Though a little weird at first, he subsequently tore apart the black silken cloth reveal the true face of the long object in his hand....
Shining with brilliance is a spear radiating a golden light. This cross shaped spear is not only a head taller than the prince in height, but the body of the spear seems to be missing a section at the head like it was broken somehow. And that's not all, the body of the spear seems be full of scratch marks that if it was a bit deeper, it would have likely caused the body to break apart!
The moment this golden crossed shaped spear made its appearance to the world, not a single sound could be heard. At that instant, none in the square dared to make a single move, not even breathing!
Also without any hint or sign, people of different warrior ranks from both camps began to run forward towards the spear. Kneeling on one knee, these people all had the look of a devoted believer that could even put the followers of the temple to shame…..!
Even captain Alpha that was riding behind the Earl fell off the horse. Crawling on the ground, this heavily injured knight forced himself into a prostrating position with eyes full of tears akin to that of someone showing intense emotions.
"Alpha!" Earl Raymond turned pale: "you..."
"My lord." Alpha raised his head as his body trembled. Taking in a deep breath, he replied: "That is the Holy Spear! The real Holy Spear! The Knights Spear!"
Knights Spear, Golden Cross Spear, Holy Spear…. It also has a name that is beyond sacred in the hearts of every knight:
Martial Dragon Spear!
Standing atop the palace walls, Du Wei sighs as he saw the spreading scene of knights kneeling...
The Crown Prince is already defeated now.