Outside the southern city walls of Monolith Castle, tents and flags fluttered in the wind. The empty space where the knights used to flaunt their prowess and duel was now covered with a dark red carpet. On it were rows of long tables made of logs and stools made of logs. On the long tables were large pots of braised beef, boiled apples, fist-sized white bread, and large pieces of roasted lamb and sausages. Apart from these, there was also a large basket of northern fruits, blue strawberries.
Today was the celebratory banquet for the Northern Peace Cup Knight Tournament that was held jointly by the Norton Family and the Kenneth Family. No matter if you were a wandering knight, a free knight, or a family knight, you could find a seat at these long tables and eat to your heart's content. You could even use the food on the table to reward the servants and commoners who served or fawned on them.
Roaming knights and free knights wore black iron knight badges on their chests, while family knights wore silver family knight badges. In the world of combat aura in Galinthea, this was an invisible boundary that elevated the status of knights.
It was both easy and difficult to obtain a Knight Certification Badge. Generally speaking, territorial nobles, legion-level armies, Gold Knights, and Knight Training Academies all had the right and qualification to issue Knight Certification Badges. Even some old wandering knights, free knights, and family knights could pass on their knightly skills to their heirs, and they could also pass on the Knight Certification Badges. For example, Laurist had received knight training in the Dawn Academy, so he naturally had a knight badge after passing the certification.
Black iron combat aura, trained as a knight, knew the etiquette of a knight, and had a bit of wealth. After paying a small fee, one could obtain a knight badge and become an apprentice knight. If one's combat aura reached silver, they would become a quasi-knight. They could choose to become a wandering knight, a free knight, or a family knight who served a lord. Of course, there were many poor commoners who chose to become knight squires, and then slowly grew from squires to quasi-knights.
For example, the leader of the Cromwell Mercenary Team, Richard, had a gold 1-star combat aura, but he didn't have a knight badge, so he didn't have the right to sit at the table. However, as a Gold-ranked mercenary, he naturally had a special invitation to attend the feudal lords' banquets. He wouldn't have to fight for a seat with the knights in the open space.
As for the pitiful Jim, he was only a Silver-ranked mercenary. He didn't have a Knight's certification badge, nor did he have the Norton Family's Knight's badge. All he could do was lie on the city wall and watch the bandits, Overkiss and Pat, eat and drink with the Norton Family's Knight's badge on them. How could he, who was naturally fond of liveliness, stand it? He kept muttering to himself, cursing the two fellows below that they would break their teeth if they bit on a stone.
Lollister was wearing a formal attire. The formal attire of the former Crisen Empire was very simple. It was just a white coat with a vertical collar. After wearing it, one would put on a chest ornament. The so-called chest ornament was like a long towel with a hole in the middle that hung down from the head, revealing the vertical collar. The chest ornament was very wide, with the shoulders slightly raised to the knees. Then, the chest ornament and the white coat would be fastened with a fine leather belt.
The sky blue chest ornament was very luxurious, with a circle of golden laurel leaves embroidered with golden silk. Inside, there were golden stars in full bloom. This was the symbol of the Crisen Royal Family, which meant that the Norton Family's title was only under the Crisen Royal Family's jurisdiction. In the middle of the chest ornament was a roaring golden bear and a small golden sword. The bear was the Norton Family's crest, and the small golden sword represented the military nobility.
Kemp complimented him, "Sir, you look very handsome in this formal attire. It's very noble and heroic …"
This was the first time Lollister had worn a formal noble attire, and he felt very uncomfortable. However, he had no choice. He was about to attend the feudal lords' banquet, and he could only wear such formal attire.
"How is Miss Tracy?" Lollister asked.
Kemp shook his head and said, "Still not good. I asked little Winnie, and she still refused to get up today."
Lollister originally wanted to invite Miss Tracy to attend the banquet with him. Last night, he went to her place to solve the problem of the well, and also to extend an invitation. Unfortunately, Miss Tracy's aunt had come to visit her these few days. Lollister found out that Miss Tracy had menstrual cramps, so he sincerely suggested a way to help her …
Cough, cough, erm, erm, it's said that menstrual cramps can be alleviated after a man and a woman have sex … Then, Lollister was chased out of the room by Miss Tracy with a room full of small trinkets …
Sigh, the dog that bit Lu Dongbin, didn't know how to appreciate kindness. He really wasn't lying. In his previous life, his secretary didn't have a good relationship with her husband because of this. The secretary said that she went to see a doctor for menstrual cramps when she was in university, and the doctor gave her advice. Medicine didn't work, and it hurt like hell, so the secretary randomly chose a suitor and gave him her first time. After graduating from university, they naturally broke up. Later on, she married this husband, but because she wasn't a virgin, their relationship wasn't good.
When the secretary said this, she was lying naked in Lollister's arms, and the two had just finished tormenting each other on the bed. However, at that time, Lollister wasn't interested in the relationship between the secretary and her husband. Instead, he asked if menstrual cramps could really be cured by that. The secretary said that the symptoms were alleviated after she exposed it, and later on, she got much better and didn't feel any pain when she had her period. Based on the situation at that time, Lollister didn't think that the secretary would lie to him because it was just a relaxed and pleasant in-depth conversation.
However, Miss Tracy didn't believe this, and Lollister couldn't provide any examples from his previous life to prove it. Lollister had no choice but to return to his own residence after the door was shut in his face.
Josk stood at the city gate, waiting for Lollister's arrival. Vasima was still at Maple Manor, and only Ovikis and Padt were family knights in the Monolith Castle who could attend the banquet. Paul Binns and Jim were not family knights yet. One of them took over Ovikis's job of training the soldiers, patrolling and looking after the captives, while the other was in charge of defending the city walls and muttering to himself.
Lollister brought Sederkamp and Redi down from the tower. He wanted to scold Josk the moment he saw him. This guy was dressed much better than him. He was wearing a noble's attire, but Josk was wearing a silver knight's armor. It was extremely eye-catching, and with his handsome face and melancholy eyes, Lollister knew that the noble ladies wouldn't pay attention to him.
Redi was carrying the Norton Family's Bear's banner, and Sederkamp was leading the way. Lollister and Josk were leisurely riding through the clearing. Along the way, there were clowns performing funny shows, servants serving food and wine, dancers performing celebratory dances, jugglers climbing on high platforms, bards reciting epic poems, and magicians spewing fire from their mouths. These people stopped what they were doing when Lollister passed by and bowed deeply to show their respect.
From time to time, a knight would stand up from his stool and salute Lollister with his hand on his chest. Lollister nodded in greeting and asked Sederkamp curiously, "Who are they? I don't know them. Why are they saluting me?"
Sederkamp was vexed. Having an absent-minded master like Lollister would give him a lot of trouble. "My lord, have you forgotten? I reported to you yesterday that there are twenty-nine wandering knights who are willing to serve our family's armed forces so that they can make contributions and become knights of the Norton Family."
"Oh, I'm sorry. I forgot. Are they all Silver-ranked?" Lollister asked.
"Sigh … …" Sederkamp sighed, "My lord, if you did not add an archery event, there would not be so many knights joining our family. In fact, seventeen of them are still Iron-ranked. They had just received their knight badges and came here to broaden their horizons. However, when they discovered that the archery event did not have a combat aura rank restriction, they signed up. Pat said they were good archers, so he got them all to join him. "
"Haha." Lollister was very happy. "Padt did the right thing. They are Iron-ranked now, but they will become Silver-ranked soon. Perhaps in the future, our family will have many Gold-ranked Sharpshooters like Josk … …"
"Impossible." Josk interrupted, "They will not have my talent in archery, and they will not have a Green Beni. At most, they are just good archers."
Green Beni was Josk's nickname for his green longbow. It was said to have been excavated from a giant dragon's rib in a ruin, and it had fallen into the hands of a master bowsmith. It took him more than ten years to craft, and he had kept it by his side like a treasure. Baron Umador obtained it by chance and gave it to Josk as an engagement gift for him and the baron's daughter.
"Shut up, Josk. I will definitely have someone make a better bow than your Green Beni. Do you believe me?" Lollister said in annoyance.
"By the way, didn't you say that Viscount Kemus is also recruiting wandering knights to form a knight order? How many did he recruit?" Lollister remembered.
"My lord, more than eighty wandering knights have joined the Kemus Family's knight order," Sederkamp said with a serious expression. "Apart from the Kemus Family, there's also the Pegasus Family and Baron Phillip Charward of the Phillip Family. He's also recruited nearly fifty wandering knights. There are also seven or eight lords who recruited one or two knights. The rest are not interested in recruiting. "
"Then how many knights have come to participate in the tournament?" Lollister looked at the dozens of long wooden tables in the open space. There were at least eight hundred people gathered around the tables.
"My lord, the Knight Tournament held jointly by us and the Kemus Family has been going on for twenty-seven days. It's quite a big event. Thirty-seven nobles have come. It's said that two lords are fighting and decided to make peace when they heard the news. They brought their family knights and rushed over. There are about five to six hundred wandering knights and independent knights. Including the family knights brought by the lords, there should be about seven to eight hundred people. "
Yep, 37 Lords. Added to the original Lords, that was almost half the number of nobles in the Northern Lands. This was indeed quite a scene. But Lollister didn't expect there to be so many wandering knights and independent knights in the north. Five to six hundred was a little too much.
Soon, they arrived at the main tent for the lord's banquet. The Kenneth Family lived up to their name as the largest construction company in the former empire. This tent was the largest Laurist had ever seen, and it could hold a few hundred people for a ball.
After registering, Lollister brought Joske and Sederkamp inside. Redi was outside the tent with the Bear's Banner in charge of the horses.
"My lord, the one who is welcoming us is Viscount Kemus," Sederkamp reminded him.
This was the first time Laurist had seen Viscount Gammus. He was a little shorter than Laurist, with golden curly hair that fell to his shoulders. He was also handsome, with a clean-shaven chin that revealed a livid chin. He had a graceful and magnanimous smile on his face, and his demeanor was elegant and confident. He was truly a handsome man.
Lollister turned to look at Joske, thinking that this fellow could be compared to Viscount Kemus.
Joske was puzzled. He looked at himself and asked, "How do I pull?"
Lollister ignored him.
Viscount Kemus was also wearing a noble's attire, but his was dark blue in color. The edges were embroidered with a silver tricolored grass, and in the middle was a rose representing the Iberian royal family and the three golden rings of the Kemus Family.
Viscount Kemus laughed heartily as he welcomed Lollister with open arms, "I've finally met you, Lord Baron. I've heard of your name for a long time, and it's an honor to finally meet you in person."
Laurist, on the other hand, had keenly sensed the resentment and suppressed rage that flashed past Viscount Gammus's eyes. He laughed, thinking that this fellow was still thinking about the hundred thousand gold coins. He also opened his arms and gave the viscount a warm hug, "Haha, I'm also looking forward to meeting you, Lord Viscount. It's just that I've been busy and couldn't find the time. However, I've fulfilled my long-cherished wish today. "
The two exchanged pleasantries with each other, and then Viscount Kemus led Lollister to introduce the nobles who had come to attend the banquet, as well as the thirty or forty noble ladies who had come to join in the fun. What made Lollister admire him was that this fellow could clearly introduce the names, origins, and family backgrounds of so many guests. He could even talk about the glorious and heroic deeds of these people's ancestors. It was no wonder that this fellow could act like a fish in water in such an occasion, and was warmly welcomed and loved by these noble ladies.
When Lollister felt that his face was numb from smiling, the introductions were finally over, and everyone took their seats to enjoy the delicacies prepared by the chef that the Kemus Family had hired.
Of all the lords who had come to attend the banquet, there were two that Lollister paid the most attention to. One was the fellow beside him who wore a sincere and friendly mask, because Lollister could feel the malice and resentment hidden behind the viscount's mask. The other was Baron Phillip Charward of the Pegasus Family. This baron looked harmless, but Lollister could feel the brutality and cruelty in his bones. Furthermore, this baron was already a gold-ranked knight.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
