Long River Town.
The atmosphere in the lord's hall was extremely solemn.
Li Ang's return should have been a joyous occasion that made everyone cheer, but now, all the lords present felt somewhat uneasy.
They did not know what to do next—just as they returned to Long River Town, a messenger from Lion City had brought a royal decree...
It summoned every lord in the Lionheart Kingdom to Lion City, ordering them to return to the service of King Ulrich, to whom they had once sworn allegiance—or else be deemed oathbreakers and traitors.
"This is indeed King Ulrich's handwriting and seal. Gentlemen, what do you intend to do?"
Godric readily confirmed that the royal decree was genuine.
Many of the lords present, including Li Ang, had sworn allegiance to King Ulrich. Moreover, Ulrich had never treated them unfairly. When it came to dealing with nobles, Ulrich could be called a wise king.
They had no reason to break their oaths.
Though they knew this Ulrich was certainly dead, that his body had been occupied by an evil spirit, the problem was that others did not know that!
Others might truly believe this was the real Ulrich—the flow of information was slow in these times. Others might even think King Ulrich had planned far ahead, faked his death to fool the entire continent, and finally eliminated his greatest threat in one stroke...
If they did not acknowledge Ulrich, the entire Pande Continent would see them as oathbreaking traitors!
A formal oath of allegiance was a rigorous contractual relationship, not something one could say casually.
In this era, the price of breaking an oath was even greater than rebellion—so long as there was a sound reason consistent with a knight's honor, even if a rebellion failed, one could still be taken in