"My father rejected the engagement, and my brother is also against it." Suria's tone was calm, and she even wanted to laugh, "I don't know why my father rejected the engagement, but my brother doesn't think Marquis Angci can bring me happiness. He only wants Winford's wealth and my dowry."
"And I also don't think I'll marry a knight who's weaker than me." The female knight shook her head, "I think Marquis Angci is more suitable to be a poet or a court minister than a knight."
"He's weaker than you?" Laing laughed. At the same time, he saw Olivier beat Chretien down from his horse and win the duel.
"I'm not saying he's weaker than me right now. What I mean is, I'm eighteen this year, and I'm an elite. He's twenty-seven this year, and he's also an elite. Do you know what I mean? Mister Laing? " Suria didn't know why, but she explained a bit more, "And he's just like the young knights nowadays. He always wants to win the attention of the ladies through a beautiful battle. Also, he cares more about what to wear to the banquet than governing his own territory."
With Francois and Julius as her father and brother, the female knight would definitely not be interested in this Marquis of Ancey. Therefore, it was normal for Duke Winford to refuse. Even if his daughter was not interested in this Marquis of Ancey, as her father, he would not be interested in this Marquis of Ancey.
"I also think that if you want to be Miss's husband, you have to be at least a legendary knight, and it's best if you've passed the trial of the Holy Grail and won the approval of the ladies …" Another female knight, Sylvia, added. But before she could finish, she felt her hand being pinched by Lucien, so she stopped talking.
"Alright, I'm sorry for offending you." After knowing that Suria was not engaged, Laing felt a little relieved. After all, all men had this common problem, which was that they would feel regretful after seeing a beautiful woman with someone else.
The next few days were spent on the march. The army of the Winford Duchy went around the Chalon Forest, passed through the Bordero Duchy, and headed northeast. Finally, in the middle of August, they arrived at the gathering point of the War of Knights, which was located in the Arden Forest.
When they arrived at Valémi's camp, Laing saw a large camp made up of countless tents, wooden walls, sentry towers, and stables.
White, yellow, and grey tents were set up in a picturesque disorder in the valley. Rows upon rows of crisscrossed paths crisscrossed, and a large number of flags fluttered in the wind. Laing saw the alternating red and blue coat of arms of the "Leaping Lion" House of Connet, the "Red Fire Dragon" House of Bastogne, the "White Castle" House of Montfort, the "Blue Sea Monster" House of Le Angulan, the "Trident of Poseidon" Bordero House of Bordero, and so on …
Except for Duke Beleon, who was at war with Estalia, all the other dukes had sent their own troops.
A few kilometers away from the camp, there was a lush forest that stretched as far as the eye could see. This was the Arden Forest.
The Arden Forest was the largest forest in Brittany, occupying almost half of the northern part of Brittany's territory. It covered tens of thousands of square kilometers of land, spanning the territories of five dukes.
In the depths of the forest, there were the most terrifying Orc tribes. Every spring, they would appear and plunder the surrounding villages and towns. In the summer, they would form a huge Beast Tide, and when winter approached, they would return with their spoils of war to spend the winter.
For hundreds of years, the Knight King Kingdom had launched countless wars to exterminate the Orcs. There were victories and defeats, but the Orcs' attacks were mostly confined to the Valémi Yursen Territory. This year, King Richard launched a new Knight War, which was to enter the depths of the Arden Forest and completely destroy the sacred totem and spiritual pillar of the Orcs in the depths of the Arden Forest — the Ten Thousand Demons Cliff.
Teams of patrolling soldiers were constantly moving around the camp. When they saw the arrival of a new army, a clerk dressed like a noble came forward to welcome them. "Are you the army from Vanford?"
"Yes."
"Please follow me." The clerk led Vanford's army to a camp in the valley.
Groups of knights and infantrymen were constantly patrolling and training in the huge camp. The knights were wearing gorgeous plate armor and chainmail, holding their family flags high. The colorful family emblems were too much for the eyes to take in. As a newcomer, Laing could not recognize many of the family emblems. He could only identify which duchy they belonged to based on the flags of the duchies.
The appearance of the Vanford Duchy's army attracted the attention of many knights. Their camp was arranged in the valley near a hillside. Hundreds of tents were already set up, and a wall made of wooden stakes and a wooden tower stood guard. When the army arrived, a soldier immediately went inside to report.
A few knights and about a hundred infantrymen had already arrived at the Valémi camp. The infantrymen quickly opened the gate, and Julius Antrey led a few knights out to welcome them. "Suria? Lord Connelly? Laing! You're here too? "
"How can I be absent from the war? I'm the Ladies' Champion!" Laing laughed.
"Hahahaha!" The knights and nobles laughed. Yes, no war? What kind of knights were they?
The group walked towards the interior of the camp. The soldiers were arranged in ordinary tents, and the valiant warhorses lived in stables. As for the knights, Julius had already built many spacious and comfortable tents in the interior of the camp for the knights to live in.
The knights went to arrange the accommodations and distribute the soldiers' rations. Only four knights, Laing, Suria, Connelly, and Julius, were left behind. The white-haired Marquis Connelly asked, "How's the situation, Julius?"
"It's not good. We've defeated three waves of Orcs in the past two months." Julius was not wearing armor. He gestured for them to change into lighter clothing and said, "I've arranged the accommodations. We'll meet in the tent later."
It wasn't suitable to discuss matters while fully armed.
As a Holy Grail Knight, Laing was given a separate tent. There was shade in the tent, so it was not easy to be exposed to the sun.
Thirty minutes later, the few people who had changed into light clothes sat back down in the tent.
Julius and Marquis Connelly sat on one side of the wooden table, while Laing and Suria sat on the other side. There was a large map on the wooden table, which detailed the terrain of the Arden Forest and the surrounding towns and camps.
"Since June this year, there have been more Orc activities. Since I arrived, Valemy Camp has faced three waves of Orcs, but they were defeated by the knights." Julius pointed at the edge of the map.
His finger was pointing at Valémi's camp.
"Then how did our Marquis of Glasgow plan to fight this war?" Marquis Connelly asked. He wasn't good at war, so he preferred to listen to other people's ideas.
"The Marquis himself arrived at Valemy Camp in early August. He's leading his knights to wait for the gathering of the knights," Julius said in a deep voice. "The Marquis plans to enter the forest and reach Jursen Castle after the gathering of the army. Then, he'll attack the Devil's Rock in the depths of the forest."
"Jursen Castle? Who's guarding it now? " Laing saw that Jursen Castle was located in the depths of the Arden Forest. It was about 70 kilometers away from Valemy Camp.
"Jursen Castle is guarded by 100 knights and 2000 infantrymen from the Duchy of Lyonasser. The person in charge is Count Adred, a subordinate of the Duke of Lyonasser. A few days ago, we received news that Jursen Castle was attacked by the Orcs several times, but the defending army held on tenaciously."
Jursen Castle had a strong defense with a large number of siege weapons and sufficient defending army. It wasn't surprising that they were able to hold on. The few of them nodded.
"After extensive scouting by the scouts and rangers, we've confirmed that the Devil's Rock is located about 200 kilometers away from Jursen Castle in the depths of the Arden Forest." Julius pointed at the depths of the Arden Forest and said, "This is our goal for this war. To destroy the Devil's Rock and the nearby Orc encampment!"
"When are we marching?" Laing asked. He suddenly realized a problem.
All the soldiers brought 40 days' worth of rations. Some of the Duke's soldiers arrived first, while others arrived later. It was the middle of August, so the soldiers that arrived first had already consumed 10 days' worth of rations.
"Duke Bereon, who's fighting with Estalia's army, won't send any soldiers. The knights are still waiting for the armies of Duke Carcassonne and Duke Palawon," Julius said, "Perhaps … it'll take a few more days."
"There's not much time left for the army to march." Laing looked gloomy. If it took a few more days, it meant that they would have to consume a few more days' worth of rations. They didn't have much time left.
"Yes, brother, Lord Connelly, Lord Laing," the female knight said hesitantly. "Father said … Winford's army might not be used in this war. He hopes that everyone will be careful."
"Anyway, after the long journey, let's take a break and wait for Marquis Anshe's about to march!"
"Okay!"
At the same time, in the main tent of the knights' army.
A handsome young noble was enjoying his lunch. The table was filled with fruits, white bread, and meat, as well as many condiments.
This noble had a head of dazzling blonde hair, slender almond-shaped eyes, and blue pupils. His face was fair and clean, but right now, there was a look of impatience and irritation on his face. After pestering the king for a long time, he finally became the commander of this War of Knights. However, when he excitedly led his troops to the camp, he found that most of the troops had not yet arrived.
This dampened the young Marquis' spirits. He had to wait patiently for the other dukedoms' armies to arrive.
He gulped down a glass of red wine and shouted, "Someone's here!"
"My Marquis?" Immediately, a Ranger Knight walked in from outside.
"How many people are here today?"
"About two thousand, my Marquis!" My marquis, "replied the knight," and Winford's army is here. "
"Winford? Well, only Palawon's and Carcasson's armies haven't arrived yet. What are they doing? Don't they know that this is the most important war in recent years? We're going to attack the Pandemonium Rock! "Marquis Anshe said impatiently.
It was no wonder that the Marquis was impatient. He had arrived here at the beginning of August and thought that he would finally have the opportunity to do something big and win the attention of the Lady. However, because of some late troops, his hands and feet were tied, and he waited for ten days in vain.
"Our messenger has contacted Carcasson's army. They should arrive in a few days. As for Duke Palawon's army, we haven't heard anything yet," the knight continued.
"Then we'll wait for Carcasson's army to arrive and then get ready to leave. Palawon's army won't wait for them." The Marquis immediately made a decision. "If we wait any longer, we'll run out of food."
"Yes, my Marquis!"
Marquis Anshe suddenly remembered that he forgot to ask if Marchioness Suria had arrived. Thinking of the beautiful figure of the female knight, he felt a little regretful. After the marriage failed, it was reasonable for him not to disturb her again.
It didn't matter. As long as he fought well in this war, there would be plenty of opportunities in the future. If Suria couldn't do it, he still had plenty of options.
The Marquis stood on the map and observed it. After more than a month of thinking, he and his courtiers had come up with an effective strategy. A strategy that he thought was perfect.
… …
Five days later, when Carcasson's army arrived at Valémi's camp, the knight's army officially announced that it was ready.
The army consisted of three hundred royal knights, more than one thousand eight hundred ranger knights, more than three thousand rangers and sergeants, and more than sixteen thousand infantrymen.
In addition to the logisticians and various family members, the knight's army had reached forty thousand people.
Brittany claimed that they had gathered an army of one hundred thousand.
The camp began to get crowded. The duchy's armies, which were not on good terms with each other, were constantly in conflict. The young ranger knights began to fight all day long. The experienced royal knights did not stop them. Instead, they seemed to be happy to see this scene.
For the past few days, Laing had been staying in the camp. He spent most of his time reading books in his tent and training his psionic power.
After testing his psionic power armor, Laing discovered a serious problem.
His power armor was custom-made. Compared to ordinary power armor, it was lighter and easier to put on and take off. From the appearance, it was not much different from a normal knight's plate armor.
However, as a special psionic power armor, just like the Nemesis on his back, Laing would consume a lot of his stamina and psionic power when wearing this armor. If he wore this power armor and used the Nemesis at the same time, the consumption would be double.
He could not hold on for too long in this state.
Laing knew why. The Imperial Emperor wanted to train his psionic power, so they specifically ordered the Great Sage to not have a built-in energy source in the power armor.
But his son always felt like he had been tricked again.
The baron wanted to test the power armor again, but Suria pulled up the tent curtain. "Mr. Laing?"
"Good morning, Ms. Suria?"
"Marquis Anci informed all of us to participate in the pre-war meeting, Mr. Laing."
"Okay, I'm coming now."
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