The second soldier who was called forward took a deep breath, with a very troubled expression on his face, but in the end he still used all his strength and held "Sword in the Stone" with both hands.
As he became exhausted and the veins on his neck couldn't stop stretching, it was obvious that the reward promised by the king was quite attractive to him.
But no matter how hard he tried, "Sword in the Stone" was still firmly stuck in the cracks of the stone and motionless.
After trying for a long time to no avail, the soldier had no choice but to retreat.
Constantine stared at the "Sword in the Stone" for a long time. "Priest, why have I never seen you in the temple?"
Lin Ze bowed slightly. "Your Majesty, I am the high priest who was just recalled from overseas last month, just to present this sword to your Majesty to celebrate the Spring Festival."
"Oh? The high priest really has his heart... but what if I can't pull out this sword?" Constantine's voice was unpleasant, but the coldness in it was obvious.
"Your Majesty, you have won the hearts of the people. Who doesn't admire your martial arts and martial arts? If you can't pull out this sword, no one in the world can pull it out." There was no one else around at this time, so Lin Ze still had to deal with Constantine.
Constantine has been able to hold this position for so many years, and it is obvious that he will not be easily fooled by Lin Ze's sweet words. "Then, what do you think, should I draw this sword or not?"
"Your Majesty, you can call the ministers and let the princes try it one by one under the witness of the ministers."
"You mean, one of my princes will draw this sword?"
"Your current concern should be about the succession of the princes, right?" Lin Ze followed suit.
Constantine stared at Lin Ze with deep eyes until a soldier came in from outside and told him that the ministers were ready.
Constantine nodded lightly. "In that case, let the ministers come in, call all my sons, and let them all try this sword."
The soldier took the order and retreated. Lin Ze walked lightly to the side and stood under the throne.
Not long after, the ministers walked in from the door one after another.
When they saw "Sword in the Stone" in the main hall, they started talking curiously, roughly meaning what the king was going to do this time.
After the ministers arrived, Constantine asked the fat prince beside him to explain the origin and function of the "Sword in the Stone" to the ministers.
The ministers looked at each other, and their eyes could not help but reveal curiosity about this sword.
But a very small number of people's eyes fell on Lin Ze's face.
Constantine's sons were brought in from outside the palace by the soldiers, and they stood in a row. The youngest was only seven or eight years old. He was led by the wet nurse and chewed candy in his mouth.
Constantine's lips moved, and his eyes swept over the faces of the sons one by one, and then fell on the sword embedded in the stone. The muscles on his face tensed up.
The ministers gathered in a half circle, some were whispering to each other, some were stroking their beards and watching, and some were holding their sleeves in front of their bodies, their eyes rolling around, not knowing what they were thinking about.
Constantine raised his chin, and the eldest prince took the lead in walking up.
He was half a head taller than Constantine, with broad shoulders and a thick waist. He walked with a wind, his hands resting on the hilt of his sword, and the muscles in his arms made the velvet robe bulge.
He took a deep breath and exerted all his strength. The carpet under his feet was kicked into two folds, but "Sword in the Stone" remained motionless.
He let go of his hand and took a step back, his face a little confused and his ears turned red.
The second prince was thinner than him. When he tried to draw the sword, he was still mumbling words, as if he was reading a congratulatory speech to himself.
He pulled it out three times, changing positions in the middle. The result was even more embarrassing than the eldest prince. The last time he almost sat on the ground due to lack of strength.
Then several younger princes came forward one by one. Some stood on tiptoe to reach the hilt of the sword, and some held it with both hands and hung themselves up. The youngest one couldn't even grasp the hilt of the sword firmly, so he was picked up by the wet nurse and touched the sword body before putting it down.
The ministers fell silent, and the only sound left in the hall was the beating of candlelight.
Constantine leaned on the back of the chair, holding the armrest with his right hand, his knuckles as white as bones.
His eyes withdrew from his sons and fell back on Lin Ze's face. The coldness that had been hidden in his eyes just now was completely covered up at this moment.
"Priest." His voice was low.
"This is the sword of King Britain that you call?"
"Your Majesty, the words engraved on the sword have this meaning."
"Then none of my sons can be plucked out. Do you want to say that none of them are worthy of being king?"
Lin Ze did not answer immediately.
He noticed that when Constantine said this, his left hand had been pressing on the dark pattern of the armrest of the chair, and his fingertips were rubbing the carved pattern back and forth.
The movements were very light, but the frequency became faster and faster.
"Your Majesty, drawing the sword is God's will and cannot be forced by human power." Lin Ze said in a calm tone.
"God's will?" Constantine snorted coldly.
Just when everyone's attention was attracted by "Sword in the Stone" in the palace
At the door of the main hall, a figure in a dusty uniform was stopped by a soldier and then let in.
Arthur walked in with his head lowered, his pace neither fast nor slow, his eyes swept across the furnishings in the hall, and he stopped for a moment on the sword embedded in the stone, and then moved away.
He walked behind the ministers and stood in an inconspicuous corner. Like all the servants who were temporarily called to watch the excitement, he shrank his neck and clasped his hands in front of him.
Constantine didn't pay attention to him.
His attention is entirely on Lin Ze.
"Priest, you said this is God's will, then I would like to ask, where is God?"
Lin Ze didn't answer the call.
"In this life, I have relied on myself to fight, kill, succeed to the throne, and govern the country." Constantine stood up from the chair, his movements were very slow, and the armrests creaked as he held them.
"You take a broken sword and tell me that none of my sons are worthy of being king, so who is?"
The ministers in the palace lowered their heads, and several veteran ministers took half a step back.
Lin Ze stood under the throne, his expression unchanged.
"Your Majesty, it's not up to me to decide whether it's worthy or not. The sword is standing right here. You can continue to let people try it."
"Try? What else are you trying?" Constantine's voice suddenly rose higher, and the phlegm in his throat was torn apart.
"My sons have tried it, my soldiers have tried it, do you think I should try it myself?"
"I don't dare."
"Don't you dare?" Constantine sneered.
"From the time you entered the palace to now, what words have you not dared to say?"
His left hand was always pressing on the dark carved pattern on the armrest, and the frequency of grinding with his fingertips became faster and faster. In the end, the edge of the carved pattern was deformed by his pressing.
Lin Ze noticed that detail.
There is something hidden under that carving.
"Here comes someone." Constantine suddenly shouted.
Four soldiers guarding the palace gate immediately stepped in.
"Take down this priest."
The soldiers were stunned for a moment, but quickly came to their senses and surrounded Lin Ze.
Lin Ze didn't move.
"Your Majesty, what are you doing?"
"What to do?" The wrinkles on Constantine's face knitted together.
"The high priest has never left the royal capital, let alone sent someone to get a sword from some overseas divine island. Who sent you?"
There was a commotion among the ministers in the palace.
Lin Ze sighed.
He originally wanted to act for a while longer.
"Do you really not believe in God? Or... the things you did before have nothing to do with the thing in the temple?"