The formation of the Knights of the Round Table slowly fell into place. The order was not an army, and its numbers were relatively small. Rex planned to recruit a thousand members, which was already the limit of what he could support.
Building an army drained gold like running water. Everything cost money: armor, weapons, training grounds, military expenses, and countless other necessities. Rex certainly could not manage all of it himself. He had already sent his men to search for Gwen, but their search in Gilneas City had made little progress over the past few days. He could not announce it openly, as that would bring countless women claiming to be Gwen out of the woodwork, so everything had to be done in secret.
King Genn, Rex's father, had said that the kingdom would offer Rex no support, but he still provided considerable help in private. A deputy captain of the Royal Guard had been transferred to serve as Rex's bodyguard. His name was Cecil. Even within the Royal Guard, the elite of the elite, Cecil was a formidable warrior, second only to Rachel, who had reached Hero Rank.
He was hailed as the Royal Guard's strongest warrior below Hero Rank, a lofty distinction. King Genn had clearly put a great deal of thought into sending Cecil. Rex's departure from Gilneas had shown the king that his son was anything but easy to handle. He was most certainly a restless troublemaker, and Cecil had been sent to protect him. Rex gladly accepted a warrior at the Ninth Rank Peak. And so Cecil joined the Knights of the Round Table as its second Round Table knight.
To manage logistics, Rex deliberately promoted a member of the caravan to serve as the order's logistics officer. The man was not particularly talented, but Rex valued his steadiness. Once the Knights of the Round Table expanded, his limited abilities would lead to administrative chaos, but he could handle logistics for the fledgling order without issue. His appointment was only temporary. Once Gwen was found and trained, he would have to step down.
At full strength, the Knights of the Round Table would number a thousand, divided into three guards: the Infantry Assault Guard, the Musketeer Guard, and, lastly, Rex's own Personal Guard.
As a prince of Gilneas, Rex undoubtedly started from a lofty position. An ordinary person who came to Azeroth would be doing well to establish a knightly order and recruit Sixth Tier professionals. Rex, however, had begun with a warrior at the Ninth Rank Peak. Ninth Rank warriors were hardly a dime a dozen. There were very few in all of Gilneas, certainly no more than ten.
Standing on the training grounds in the Military District of Gilneas City's capital, Rex surveyed the sea of heads before him. A thousand people stood arranged in three sections. He nodded in satisfaction and began announcing his appointments in a loud voice. "Cecil, I appoint you captain of the Personal Guard!"
The burly Cecil stepped out of the ranks and stood alone before Rex. He knelt on one knee to accept the appointment, took the token Rex handed him with both hands, and returned to his place. There was no question about making Cecil captain of the Personal Guard. Even a commoner at the Ninth Rank Peak would quickly rise through the ranks upon entering military service, let alone Cecil, who had long served in the Royal Guard and earned considerable merit. Had Rex not been the Heir Apparent, Cecil would never have left the Royal Guard to join the newly founded, completely unknown Knights of the Round Table.
One of the three captaincies in the Knights of the Round Table had now been assigned. The eyes of some of the young nobles who had joined the order burned with eagerness. Had they not come here to build ties with Rex so that, once he was crowned, they could receive lands and establish themselves as new nobles? The two remaining captaincies were undoubtedly their best chance to rise in a single leap. As for command of the Personal Guard, none of them had ever held any hope. Cecil's appearance alone had settled who would receive that position.
The Personal Guard had to be placed in trusted hands. Who could compare with a member of the Royal Guard, utterly loyal to the Greymane Family? Prince Rex would not be foolish enough to trust outsiders over the Royal Guard.
"Rona Crowley will serve as captain of the Musketeer Guard," Rex continued, his tone measured and unhurried.
That announcement did provoke considerable doubt. A stir ran through the young nobles who had no inheritance rights. Fortunately, none of them was foolish enough to challenge Rex openly on such an occasion.
Rex chose to ignore their reaction. Rona was still young. Though talented, she inevitably lacked the authority to command their respect. Rex had selected her as captain of the Musketeer Guard to return a favor, not because he trusted her abilities. Rona would achieve a great deal in the future, but that was after she had endured tremendous upheaval: the worgen curse, her family's rebellion, and Gilneas teetering on the brink of collapse amid turmoil. Circumstances had forced her to grow. Without outside pressures to spur someone on, things would be different. Had the realm not descended into chaos at the end of the Qin dynasty, Liu Bang would have remained nothing more than the head of Sishui's local patrol station all his life.
Darius's contribution of five thousand gold coins was an enormous sum, and it was hardly just support for Rex because their political views aligned. If Darius claimed he had not also intended for Rex to look after Rona, Rex would have spat in his face. In any case, Rex had no particularly suitable candidate to lead the Musketeer Guard. Rona's future nickname, Gun Rose, had helped him make his choice.
"The captain of the Infantry Assault Guard will be chosen through a combat tournament in five days. Every member of the order may enter without restriction. The winner will become its captain." Rex swept a cold, mocking glance over the dozen or so young nobles. Their fathers had offered nothing, yet they expected Rex to entrust them with important positions. That was absolutely out of the question. Just look at how well Darius understood the way things worked. With five thousand gold coins laid down, Rex had immediately thought of Rona when he lacked a suitable candidate. Still, Rex had not excluded these young nobles outright. If they wanted to command the Infantry Assault Guard, fine. They could earn it through their own abilities.
"Prince Rex!"
"Prince Rex!"
"Prince Rex!"
The members of the Knights of the Round Table, who had remained silent until then, burst into cheers. The commoners were the most excited, because Rex had given them a chance. Rising through the ranks was simply too difficult for commoners. It would have been perfectly normal for the nobles to divide all the positions in the order among themselves. No one had expected command of the Infantry Assault Guard, the most powerful of the three, to be decided through a combat tournament.
Watching the cheering crowd, Rex studied the young nobles' sour expressions and sighed deeply inwardly. These fellows certainly would not take this lying down.
(End of chapter)
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