"Price was the son of Yhorm the Giant and Gwyndolin, daughter of Gwyn, Lord of Sunlight. On the day of his birth, his name echoed softly through the forests of Calista: Price!"
"In his youth, Yhorm had a childhood sweetheart named Queen Meque. Queen Meque, jealous of Yhorm's marriage to Gwyndolin, used magic to cast Price into the Cabon Forest."
"Grief-stricken, Gwyndolin sadly passed away."
"Yhorm therefore cursed Queen Meque to lifelong impotence."
"Legend has it that Price had hair as dazzling as the sun, a voice clearer and more melodious than any minstrel's, and eyes as green as emeralds. His features were clean and neat, his delicate appearance easily making women swoon."
"But before he returned to the public eye, he was a wild man, living alone in the Cabon Forest for ten years."
"At the age of ten, a knight patrol discovered him."
"A young knight named Lucius persuaded the others to spare him. He even adopted him himself."
"Lucius was very young at the time. His wife had died in childbirth six months earlier."
"Perhaps that was why he felt pity for the young Price."
"As days passed, Price grew up. He and his adoptive father, Lucius, joined the Knights of the Round Table, becoming a knight dedicated to justice."
"Together, they dispelled the ignorant age of the old night, protected the people of Albyon, and slew the Great Beats that terrorised the forest."
"Later, Yhorm finally recognised Price and acknowledged him. With tears in his eyes, he took Price's hand and said: 'One day, my life will reach its end, and you will be crowned king.'"
"That day, Price personally executed Yhorm with the Blade of Storms, successfully claiming the throne as King Arthur, beginning a new life."
"He led the Knights of the Round Table on campaigns far and wide. Among the Round Table Knights, twelve were most outstanding: Pure-blood Knight Lucius, Ethnic Knight Arthas, Gender Knight Zuckerberg, and others."
"During a battle, Arthas disobeyed Price's orders, trying to use a strategy of persuasion rather than scorched earth. Price noted this in his little book."
"At a victory banquet, enemies managed to smuggle a magical bomb into the palace. Lucius, having earned no commensurate honour through years of campaigning, grew jealous of King Arthur. His heart in turmoil, he considered letting the bomb explode."
"But, persuaded by Zuckerberg, he eventually reformed and helped throw the bomb out of the palace."
"Price was saved, but he had seen Lucius's treacherous thoughts. He exiled Lucius, Arthas, and Zuckerberg all back to the Cabon Forest, forbidding them from ever participating in the Round Table Knights' battles again."
"This filled all three with resentment towards Price, and they eventually conspired with Duke Said to launch a rebellion."
"The four of them, through lies and deceit, won over forty thousand Round Table Knights, convincing them that King Arthur had betrayed them."
"So, they raised the flag of rebellion in Cabon and attacked King Arthur."
"Finally, on the island of Rhodes, Price faced Lucius in a final battle."
"When Price angrily asked Lucius why he had betrayed him, Lucius answered with a bitter smile: 'King Arthur does not understand the human heart.'"
"Then, with a sudden, inexplicable, earth-shattering explosion, both perished."
"Cabon was wiped out, leaving only the island of Rhodes intact."
"From then on, the Round Table Knights established the Rhodes Island Pharmaceutical Group on Rhodes, vowing to hunt down all the traitorous Round Table Knights."
"They built a cenotaph for King Arthur. On its epitaph were the words: 'Here lies the Lion King.'"
Lion's hackles were raised, his blonde hair bristling like a lion's mane. "What kind of crappy story is that!"
Caelan nodded, "I think it's pretty crappy too. But that's what the book says. I just added a little artistic embellishment."
"Where's the art?"
"Abstract art is still art."
Having vented his anger, Lion calmed down, his clenched fists slowly relaxing.
Though angry, he was glad he hadn't said anything he would regret for life.
After a long silence, he asked: "Is that really what the book says?"
"Absolutely true."
"And the sword in the stone?"
"Until he and Lucius..."
"Lucius."
"Until he and Lucius destroyed each other, he never managed to pull that sword in his entire life."
"Because he wasn't worthy?"
"Yes, because he wasn't worthy."
"King Arthur didn't understand the human heart. I am not him."
"You are not."
"If I understand the human heart, will I be able to pull that sword?"
"I don't know. But I think you will."
"Then I will!" Lion's voice was as sharp as a drawn blade.
His eyes blazed as he stared at Caelan. "Teach me!"
"I am teaching you. And you have been learning."
The Lion King had low EQ, but high IQ.
How could someone with high IQ truly have low EQ?
They just don't care.
EQ is the ability to perceive, understand, use, and manage emotions. It's essentially a social tool.
People are utilitarian. Humans talk about EQ with other humans. No one talks about EQ with ants.
Some people seem to lack EQ, but perhaps they just don't care.
Many people have high EQ towards superiors but low EQ towards inferiors.
Because, in their eyes, superiors can help them advance, so they must serve them with high EQ.
But whether they use EQ or not, the inferiors will only fetch them tea and water. Not worth the effort.
For a person of high IQ to have low EQ, maybe they just don't care, and don't expect any interaction with those of lower IQ.
For someone inexperienced in the world to have low EQ, it's also because they don't care.
Inexperience means they are dealing with strangers, naturally they won't care much.
The Lion King wouldn't show EQ to those below him, because he simply didn't care.
And in his eyes, aside from the Emperor, everyone was below him.
Even when he was under someone else's roof, he was always thinking of launching a decapitation strike against his brothers. His conversations with them were utterly relentless.
But when his Legion was nearly wiped out by his brothers, he could beg humbly and respectfully.
He could lower his head. There were just few who could make him.
He did understand the human heart. He just didn't care.
Only when he fell from grace could he learn to lower his head, to cherish those around him.
Part of the reason he could patiently listen to his sons' explanations, even introspect and admit fault in 40K, was that he was a dragon in a shallow stream.
If he had returned to Terra directly, he likely wouldn't have patiently listened to his sons' excuses.
This is also 'position determines viewpoint'.
When the Lion King was still on Caliban, before he had unified the world and become Grand Master of the Order, he did have EQ.
He would temporize with enemies, soothe subordinates, maintain brotherhood with other knights, even apologize.
After he returned to the Imperium, he started caring only about reason and efficiency, completely abandoning EQ.
But he had always possessed EQ. He didn't not know how to use it; he just couldn't be bothered.
Caelan didn't need to teach him what EQ was. He needed a reason to use it.
Lion asked, "What should I do?"
"That depends on what you need."
"What's the connection?"
"A big one. People use high EQ to gain something: the love of subordinates, the praise of peers, the appreciation of superiors."
"Those with high EQ who seek nothing in return... we usually call them 'saints'."
"I thought you hated saints."
"I'm not a saint, but I respect saints. What I hate are hypocrites."
Lion lowered his head. What did he need?
His subordinates were the common people. His peers were the knights. His superior was Caelan.
Even if he messed up, Caelan wouldn't blame him, because Caelan only doted on him.
But he still needed Caelan's appreciation. It would make Caelan happy.
If Caelan was happy, he would be happy too.
What could the love of the commoners and the praise of the knights bring him?
If his goal was to slaughter Great Beats, the commoners and knights brought him nothing.
Commoners were a burden. The knights couldn't help much either.
Their love and praise wouldn't make Lion happy either.
He never saw himself as one of them. He lacked a sense of belonging to their group.
He agreed to join the Order only because Caelan wanted him to.
As for what the Order was or what it would become, that wasn't his concern.
He didn't care.
He had lived alone in the jungle for ten years, always following the law of the jungle. It was the law of the jungle that had kept him alive.
Though Caelan had draped a warm cloak over this law of the jungle, if he couldn't actively embrace the world...
No matter how many cloaks Caelan draped, his underlying code would remain the law of the jungle.
Survival of the fittest.
Elimination of the weak. The strong prey on the weak.
He was the fittest, the strongest, the victorious. That was why he could dominate others.
But if someone was weak, eliminated, inferior, then abandoning them was only natural.
He had never been the Lion King. He was just a wild man disguised as a lion, who had never left Caliban's forest in his life.
If he wanted to be king, he must understand the human heart.
Only then could he pull that sword.
Lion raised his head, his eyes meeting Caelan's. "Will you help me?"
"I've been helping you."
"And in the future?"
"I will always help you."
Lion's smile held an indelible wildness. "You don't think I understand the human heart?"
"The current you do not."
"But I think I understand you very well."
"Your other brothers think so too."
"Do they?" Lion frowned, narrowing his eyes.
He didn't think so. What his brothers described was a mask.
Only the Lion saw the truth.
They didn't understand Caelan at all. Caelan certainly hadn't said all this to them.
He was special. Because he was the First Primarch.
Only him!
Lion didn't want to argue with Caelan. That would be too childish.
He should be the last of his brothers to meet Caelan. Most of them had met him in infancy. He was already ten.
He was older than his brothers. He should be more mature too.
Lion strode towards the two knights who were talking, his voice full of youthful vigour. "Master Sarrientus, what are the casualties?"
The older knight turned. His helmet was tucked under his right arm, the blood still unwashed. "Two knights badly wounded, and twelve militiamen. We need to arrange an escort to take them back to Aldurukh as soon as possible."
Lion nodded slightly and turned to the other knight. "I am Lion El'Jonson."
Ramil shook his hand solemnly. "I am Ramil. Brother Lion, thank you for saving our lives."
Lion aid, "It was nothing. We are all human. Only by helping each other can we survive on Caliban."
"A real hero from a young age!"
Ramil's voice was full of sincere admiration, but then a cold smile appeared on his face. "If the other knight orders understood this, our situation wouldn't be so difficult."
Though the Order could rank in the top three among Caliban's knight orders, they had very few allies.
The other orders were aristocratic, completely monopolising the selection of knights.
Only the Order recruited knights from commoners, naturally making them a target.
The Crimson Saint Order failed to destroy the Order; instead, the Order absorbed them and continued to grow. Many older orders could only look up to them.
Though they dared not provoke the Order, they wouldn't ally with them or voluntarily offer help in times of need.
The Order had to shoulder everything alone, which is why their knight casualty rate was more than double that of other orders.
But the commoners weren't stupid. They could tell who the true protectors were.
For decades, countless commoners had braved the dangerous forest, willing to risk being eaten by Great Beats, to pledge themselves to the Order.
That was the real reason the Order grew stronger!
And it was thanks to the unwavering support of the commoners, braving danger, that Aldurukh could stand firm.
The knights responded to that trust with their lives and oaths. Even if they couldn't protect everyone, they would fight to the last.
Lion asked, "How are the other villages?"
Sarrientus answered, "In much better shape than us. The direction the beasts came from is northwest. Here, it's mainly Chisano, Ulch, and two other villages. Those two had support from other knight squads and successfully repelled the beast-tide."
"Do you have a map?"
"Yes. Brother Luther, bring the map!"
Luther quickly took a rolled-up, yellowed parchment map from his saddlebag and carefully unfolded it with Ramil.
Sarrientus's finger traced across the map, stopping at a mark to the northwest. "Here is Ulch village, where we are. Chisano village is further north, right here."
He pointed to another mark. "Based on the beasts' movement patterns, we suspect the source of the disturbance is likely to the north, which is why Chisano was attacked earlier than the other villages."
....
If you enjoy the story, my p@treon is 30 chapters ahead.
[email protected]/DaoistJinzu