As his words fell, Gawain smiled and waved in every direction around him.
As Gawain waved, the bolder civilians were the first to have their eyes light up.
Why?
Because although they had been kneeling, they dared to raise their heads!
Those too far away could only barely make out Gawain's waving, while those nearby could clearly see his smile.
That smile made them unconsciously smile along with him. For some reason, they dazedly rose to their feet.
One, two... then countless people climbed up from the ground.
Once enough people had stood upright, Gawain lowered his hand and smiled at Gion and Jinbe beside him.
"Celestial Dragon slaves have always knelt on the ground. Among them are pirates with bounties of hundreds of millions, yet after becoming slaves, they obey nearly every order given by the Celestial Dragons.
But if they were asked to take over the Marines' work, their strength might surpass that of many Marines, yet their accomplishments would never exceed those of Marine officers.
Those who kneel cannot give full play to their abilities. The more people kneel, the slower the world develops.
So, whether for the development of the entire world or to ensure that we live better lives in the future,
we need to make it so that those who have knelt no longer need to kneel!"
After saying that, Gawain shook his head to himself. He did not know whether Gion and Jinbe could understand his words.
And in truth, neither of them could grasp the deeper meaning behind them.
Without ever having seen a sea of red flags, who could have known that the knees of ordinary people could be so important?
Beside him, the slightly puzzled Gion thought for a moment before smiling.
"My lord, since you dislike people kneeling before