The year was about to end, and a new one was about to arrive. It had been a year filled with disasters for the citizens of the empire. The rise of the Eagle Band had miraculously increased their strength. In just six months, the empire had been turned upside down. Many people even thought that they were going to change their king.
However, what no one had expected was that in the final battle of the Eagle Corps, the Empire's army counterattacked and turned the tide of the battle. The war had become a hot topic of conversation for the citizens of the empire. There were always people talking about it during their leisure time. They talked about it in great detail, as if they had participated in the war themselves.
Everyone had their own version of the story. In the story, the king was either incompetent and his arrogance caused the situation, or he was a patient and capable person who kept his strength and defeated the eagle regiment at the last moment. His purpose was to use the eagle regiment to clean up the nobles who had deep roots.
No matter how the story changed, there was a common character in all the stories.
The Black Knight.
A mysterious, fairytale-like character. His existence was greatly exaggerated in the stories passed down by word of mouth. Count Eibron was a merchant after all. He had two loathsome identities, and his merchant guild was known for its greed.
Many believed that the Black Knight was at the center of the war. He was the one who defeated the enemy and terrorized the Eagle Band.
Some said that he was the seventh son of the king. His mother was a noble ancient elf. He had wandered the wastelands since he was young and learned his skills. He had the magic of an elf and the wisdom of a human. He couldn't stand the extravagant ways of the royal family. He had traveled far and wide and knew the hardships of the people. So, he gathered an army and decided to fight for the people.
In fact, they had never seen the Black Knight before. However, many places had heard of his heroic deeds. It was said that the Black Knight's army was quickly reclaiming the lost land. Just like the empire before, the Eagle Band was defeated in an instant and fled to the north. That was Idu's hometown and the base of the Eagle Band.
Many people thought that the Eagle Band originated from the ancient city of Stone. In fact, they were all bandits from the north who only grew stronger in Stone. The evidence was that when the Eagle Regiment started this battle, George had transported a large amount of gold and silver treasures back to Degu in the north, a city famous for its horse bandits.
The defeat of the Eagle Corps had a lot to do with this matter. The reason why they were able to defeat the Empire in the beginning was because they had distributed the wealth of Stone City to the commoners and borrowed the strength of the people. The commoners hated the Empire for its high taxes, so they were eager to see the Eagle Corps destroy the Empire.
However, even if the Eagle Regiment won, the only thing that changed was the people sitting on the throne. When the situation stabilized and the Eagle Regiment occupied a large amount of land, they revealed their fangs. In order to destroy the Empire faster, they violently collected food, captured able-bodied men, burned and looted, and even seized women …
"I'm willing to bet that the Dark Knights are part of the Empire's conspiracy. They want to take off their old clothes and change into new ones. Then, they want to tell the world that they are no longer the same as before. This is a ridiculous lie. Only a pig's brain would believe such nonsense. And those women who are in heat!"
"Don't say that. At least the Empire didn't use us as cannon fodder in the past. You know, the Eagle Regiment pushed children and women onto the city walls so that the enemy wouldn't dare to use magic weapons. They burned the farmers' fields and houses to delay the Empire's attack."
"These two aren't any better. They are jackals of the same tribe. Neither of them are good people."
On the street, three men in patched clothes in their forties were chatting. They sat in front of a wooden table that was missing a leg, holding three different broken wooden wine cups and drinking inferior wine with impurities and a sour taste.
They were very thin and looked like they hadn't bathed in a long time. Their bodies were wrapped in bloody bandages.
"The two fingers on my left hand were chopped off by the Empire because I hid a handful of rat rice!! The wound on my right leg was chopped off by the Eagle Corps! Just because I let out a loud fart on the road. You ask me which one of them is better? Bah! It's best if they're all dead. "
A cross-eyed man cursed.
"Sigh, now that the Eagle Corps is gone, they took almost all of our food and money. When the Empire's army comes, we don't know what they're going to take away."
Another man, whose hair stood up like a chicken's nest, sighed.
"Maybe it's your little daughter. She's the only young girl left."
The man with puffy hair frowned. His face was gloomy as he looked at the few remaining wine cups and fretted.
"You don't have to worry about that. Your daughter is very safe."
The skinny man who looked like a beggar said with a wicked smile.
"What do you mean?"
"You made her cover her face with mud before, didn't you?"
"Yeah, which woman doesn't put something on her face during this period?"
"At that time, you were dragged to carry cow dung, right? Then, I saw a few Eagle Regiment bandits enter your house. You didn't even know."
"What!? Why didn't she tell me! That bunch of animals! I'm going to eat their cores! I'm going to skin their whole families! "
The man with puffy hair was so angry that he slammed the table. The table immediately tilted and the three of them hurriedly supported it.
"Don't be angry. Listen to me."
"What else are you talking about! Hey! Ahhh! What should we do? "
The man with puffy hair was about to burst into tears. The cross-eyed man immediately patted his hand and comforted him, "Don't cry. Listen to what he has to say first."
The beggar continued, "You don't have to cry. Later, those bandits kicked open your door. When they entered, it was empty. There was nothing but a woman with mud all over her face. Those bandits looked at each other and flirted with each other. They saw that your daughter had a good figure, and then … "
"Of course her figure was good. I hid all the good things and brought them back for her. Those bunch of animals should go to hell!"
"Continue."
"Then they wanted to make a move. You know, but the mud on her face was ugly and smelly. It was probably horse urine. Then, those people took her to the river to wash up. Five or six men carried your daughter to the river. "
"Enough! I don't want to hear it! Damn it! Boohoo. "
The man with puffy hair finished the rest of the wine in one gulp and covered his ears. He looked very agitated.
"Listen to it. There's no harm. Then, the best part came."
The beggar laughed. He laughed so hard that he couldn't speak. This made the cross-eyed man anxious and the man with puffy hair angry.
"Are you going to say it or not!"
"I'll say it. I'll say it. Then, haha! They, they took her. Hahaha, I couldn't hold it in any longer. They took her to the river to wash up. If she didn't wash up, she wouldn't know. Once she washed up, she got a fright. Hahaha! When they saw her face, they were even faster than deserters. It was as if they had seen a ghost. Hahaha! "
"Hahaha!"
The beggar and the cross-eyed man laughed. The man with puffy hair put down his hand. He heaved a sigh of relief and at the same time, felt angry.
"You stinky coachman! How dare you call my daughter ugly? "
"I'm not scolding her. She really is ugly. Hahaha!"
"And then? What happened after that?"
"Then, then … the Black Knight!"
"Tsk!"
The cross-eyed man and the man with messy hair made a sound of disdain because he was making things up. However, the beggar straightened his back and his face was tense. He stared blankly behind them as if he had seen a ghost. He lowered his voice and said, "No, the Black Knight is right behind you!"
"You're bragging. If the Black Knight is behind me, then wouldn't I be the king?"
"Hahaha."
However, the cross-eyed man and the man with puffy hair slowly realized that something was wrong. Although there weren't many people on the street, it seemed even more deserted now. Moreover, the windows on both sides immediately closed. Even the broken doors of the shops closed with a bang.
The two of them slowly turned their heads and saw a black horse appear behind them. A man wearing black armor rode on the horse and looked at them silently.
Behind him, there was a well-equipped army.
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