Actually, Shining naturally didn't mishear, and that knight also had a sufficiently legitimate reason.
Because the Columbian Civil War had broken out.
One of the important pillar industries of the knightly nation of Kazimierz was tourism. As a country with a rich fairy-tale-like atmosphere, Kazimierz had always maintained a knightly system in a somewhat special sense. Through internal family promotions, study tours, and a polished resume, one could achieve promotion in rank.
From low-ranking knights to high-ranking knights, there were various tests of fame, strength, and talent. Every high-ranking knight was once an embodiment of strength and beauty, displaying their dazzling posture at the Knight Major. And such knights often could also attract the attention of some wealthy individuals or forces from other countries; marriage alliances and similar things were naturally matters Kazimierz was extremely adept at. Until a few months ago, things here were still normal.
But the world is always changing. Like the industrial revolution brought by Originium technology, or for example, the shock brought by the Columbian Civil War.
The biggest changes brought by the Columbian Civil War were not to countries like Lungmen, Ursus, or Yan Country, but to Kazimierz. As a neighboring country, watching Columbia fall into the flames of war, they themselves also fell into great turmoil.
A considerable part of Kazimierz's economy came from Columbia, and after Columbia was destroyed, Kazimierz's environment seemed to become somewhat harsh. Coupled with the fanaticism brought by war, some Kazimierz knights claimed that knights should win honor on the battlefield. As representatives of Kazimierz, they dispatched a luxurious lineup of three high-ranking knights, twenty-two mid-ranking knights, and one hundred and fifty low-ranking knights, intending to rack up their honor on the battlefield.
Then, on the third day after reaching the front lines, only one half-crippled high-ranking knight brought back the cinerary caskets of the others.
And incidentally brought back a sentence.
'Let the knights immerse themselves in fairy tales; reality has no place for you.'
Kazimierz's already abnormally high-pressure political environment, with the destruction of the glorious knights brought by the Columbian Civil War, triggered a series of chain reactions. Those serfs and commoners seemed to start harboring ill intentions towards the knights. Various pressures seemed to appear.
A typical example was that although the capital Krolewska was still relatively stable, the surrounding borders had almost broken away from Kazimierz's control. Every village, every city, every street corner, seemed to have some conspiracy brewing. And the higher-ups, having learned a bitter lesson , decided to learn to integrate Originium Arts and machinery, calling it the Monk Project , intending to have the most loyal and powerful knights create a brand new class to maintain their rule.
But this also led to immense pressure on taxation, and various rebellions emerged endlessly.
The original exiled knights even received popular support; those madmen who used to beat and scold serfs actually attacked many knight garrisons with the support of villagers. Although Kazimierz now appeared glamorous on the surface, internally it was already rotten to the point of collapsing at a touch.
The residents in the capital, immersed in the fairy-tale kingdom, still thought of singing and dancing, putting on stage plays and knightly epics, yet on the neighboring soil, Raythean Industries' artillery fire and Umbrella Bio's biological weapons had long been roaring and interweaving, easily puncturing the prosperity of the knights. Individual strength, under the artillery fire of mixed Originium Arts and machinery, looked fundamentally insignificant .
Building-sized coil electromagnetic cannons and self-exploding biological devices even forcibly turned the original canyon into a plain, then blasted it into a basin.
So even figures as powerful as Shining, or the knights the Knightly Kingdom prided itself on, after seeing the scenes of the Columbian Civil War, also rationally decided to contract the surrounding routes and take detours. If targeted by either of the warring parties, there would be no good end.
However, this also meant that the central authority lost fundamental control over the localities. Knights, as territorial leaders, possessed a considerable degree of law enforcement and administrative power. Kazimierz's knightly culture absolutely did not include backing down when seeing a strong enemy. Although on the surface this seemed like a correct choice, there were still some ambitious individuals in the surrounding areas, some stubborn fellows, who didn't think so about this state of affairs.
Thus, it was a matter of course that various internal-external collusion disturbances appeared on the Kazimierz border.
"…This is everything, can you let me go now?"
"Wouldn't it have been fine if you said so earlier? Insisting we disarm and whatnot, do we look like opponents who can be slaughtered at will?"
Waving the sharp sword in her hand at the knight suspended by countless light bars, Lappland whistled somewhat boredly.
"Thought we were going to make mille-feuille or sandwich cookies or something…"
"What's mille-feuille?"
Looking at the somewhat bored Lappland, Li Lin, who was observing from the side, asked somewhat strangely.
And Lappland instantly perked up, happily prodding the knight's head with her sword, drawing several bloody marks amidst his miserable screams.
"Don't you know, Prophet? Let me demonstrate for you; look, isn't this a lively low-ranking knight? Mille-feuille refers to peeling this person layer by layer and preparing them, turning them into a shape like mille-feuille. Let me show you—"
"No! Don't do it! I've already said everything! What more do you want! I've already said it all!"
"You should still owe an apology?"
"I apologize! I confess! So quickly take the knife away, I beg you!"
"Alright, Lappland, retract it, no need to scare him anymore."
"Tsk…"
Looking at Lappland's slightly regretful expression, the knight trapped within the barrier of light pillars looked pleadingly at Li Lin, hoping he would show mercy.
However, Li Lin didn't feel he had any right to choose. Li Lin and Lappland were responsible for this side, while Shining and the others were also responsible for interrogating other knights. This kind of behavior, demanding disarmament and submission for trial without regard, to put it bluntly, if their hands were a bit cleaner, killing them all wouldn't matter.
Benevolent but not a saint ; explaining clearly was certainly possible. But in a place like the wilderness, letting people confiscate weapons and follow these individuals away was almost tantamount to suicide. Whether it was the Penguin Logistics group or the Blacksteel International operators, even Shining, who always seemed to smile kindly, would not accept such a proposal. The moment he said 'disarm', it had already been decided this was a declaration of battle.
Towns are places of order, but the wilderness is not; Li Lin and everyone else were clear about this point.
"Are you done asking over here?"
Rarely lighting a cigarette, Texas walked over to Li Lin's side with a tired expression and said in a low voice.
"Done asking. What about your side, Texas?"
"A high-ranking knight is stationed nearby; they are this high-ranking knight's retainers. Came over after receiving an alert. And haven't reported back for over ten minutes. Although we are in the right, now that things have become like this, we will have to deal with the authorities of this country later."
What a hassle.
Her ears twitched towards a certain direction. Texas looked at the dust gradually rising in the distance and sighed.