After listening to François' words, Laing pondered deeply. He had thought of returning the land to the serfs to free up production and promote commercialization. But François' words made him understand.
In this world, what was the main conflict that the Humans were facing? Was it the conflict between the serfs and the Knights, or between the Nobles and the commoners?
No, not at all. The Humans of this world were facing the fundamental conflict of life and death. They were surrounded by countless external enemies and internal corruption. The Vampires and Chaos sects were lurking in the upper echelons of the Humans, while the Orcs and Green Dwarfs were wreaking havoc in the forests and plains. In the distant Northern wasteland and the distant Chaos wasteland, the powerful and evil Chaos army was waiting for their masters.
What did the Humans rely on to protect the Kingdom? The serfs? No, the Knights and the Nobles formed the main fighting force of the Kingdom. The Empire and Brittany were like that. The difference was that the Empire's main fighting force was made up of diverse forces, while Brittany's main fighting force was nurtured by the Knights.
François didn't approve of the reform? No, the Duke himself was actually in favor of the reform. The Duke had already noticed that the serf system in this country was on the verge of collapse. He also believed that after hundreds of years since the founding of the country, the chivalry and rules of the past had gradually become a rotten thing on the surface. The knights were in great pain because they could not touch the Holy Grail, and the serfs were also living in an abyss of suffering.
The Duke was teaching Laing that he approved of the reform, but the process had to be prudent. The existence of the Knights was the foundation to protect and maintain the Kingdom. If not for the powerful Knights of the old world protecting the Kingdom, Brittany would have become a wasteland. The serfs couldn't take on the task of protecting the Kingdom. With countless external enemies surrounding the Kingdom, the Kingdom could collapse at any time. Chaos and the Vampires wouldn't give the Humans time to reunite. They would appear immediately and destroy the Knight King's Kingdom.
Laing knew that he could never count on merchants without faith and serfs with weak faith to fight against evil. In order to protect the country, he needed knights who firmly offered their faith and loyalty to the Lake Fairy. Only they were the backbone of the country.
As a Knight of the Holy Grail, François and Laing knew very well that his series of actions had already made many great nobles in the kingdom see some clues. François specially found an opportunity to tactfully warn him: I support you, but now is not the time. The time is not ripe yet. Just like what happened with Kavendish, the serfs will not be grateful to you at all.
He was already the biggest beneficiary of this system. He wouldn't do something as stupid as picking up his bowl to eat meat and putting it down to curse.
Moreover, there was a God in this world. As long as one was pious enough, they could be cured by praying. The first line of some theories was rejected here.
Firm faith and order were the best weapons against the corruption of Chaos. The more knowledge and wisdom one had, the more firm faith and will were needed to avoid being corrupted by Chaos.
In the process of thinking, Laing and François followed the black-robed man to a market.
There were people coming and going in the market. Many peddlers were selling fruits, vegetables, and meat. The black-robed man quickly got into the crowd. Laing and François wanted to try to chase after him, but the appearance of the Knight of the Holy Grail instantly ignited the heat of the whole street. The crowd crowded around François and Laing, singing the name of the Knight of the Holy Grail loudly, blocking the street.
In order to get rid of the crowd, the two had to loudly order the crowd to move aside. As a result, the black-robed man immediately noticed the appearance of Laing and François. He turned around and disappeared into a two-story wooden house.
"Damn it, we shouldn't come out like this." Laing said to François in distress. "Our identities are too obvious. Wherever we go, people will surround us and sing praises."
"You're right, Laing." François frowned. "That seems to be a tavern."
"Anyway, let's go back to the hotel first. If we go to the tavern to investigate, our intentions will be exposed." Laing shook his head. "My Duke, I'll order someone to keep an eye on this place."
"Then I'll leave it to you." François naturally gave the order. At his level, the Duke rarely took action himself. Today's situation was just a coincidence.
Laing nodded, so he and François returned to the hotel. The three-story hotel was directly booked by the Duke himself. Seeing François and Laing come back, the Duke's daughter asked curiously, "Father? Laing? Sylvia said that you went out together in the afternoon? "
Seeing his beloved daughter, François's face was full of smiles. "Father is doing this for you, isn't it?"
Suria's pretty face immediately turned red. "Fa … Father, what are you talking about!"
Laing's face twitched. He always felt that François's words were more for him to hear, but he was too lazy to care so much. "Hex? Emilia? Come with me. "
Hex immediately responded. His expression didn't change, and he always had a bitter face. Only Emilia, who was sitting beside Suria, asked softly, "Do you need my help?"
The girl's voice was a little emotional.
"Yes, I need your help, Emilia." Laing waved to his little maid. "Come with me!"
"Yes … Yes!" Emilia's eyes shone. The girl jogged to Laing's side, her little leather shoes clicking. She looked like a happy butterfly.
"My Duke, Suria, Miss Sylvia, we'll go first." Thus, Laing set off with Emilia and Hex, going to the place where the black-robed man had disappeared.
Today, Emilia was wearing a blue woolen sweater and a black checkered knee-length skirt. She had a white cloak on the outside, a pair of black leather shoes, and white opaque pantyhose on her slender legs. Her long blonde hair was tied into a beautiful princess hairpin, and her blue eyes blinked. She had a lovely temperament. It seemed that after being with the female knight for a while, Emilia had become a lot more cheerful. "Laing? Where are we going? "
"Emilia, pretend to be a noble lady. I'll protect you as you stroll around the market." Laing first instructed Emilia, then said to Hex, "Hex, pretend that you're still a wandering knight. Go to that tavern and have a few drinks. Ask the tavern owner if there's a black-robed man lodging there."
"Understood!" Hex had an advantage as a knight. He was a native of Le-Angouland.
Brittany had such a custom. If it wasn't for the lord's permission or orders, the serfs would rarely stray too far from their village. Thus, after hundreds of years of accumulation, different places formed different customs and customs, as well as some unique local language customs.
That was something that Hex, who was born in the Duchy of Le-Angoulan, understood best. The knight-errant who could speak some local dialects and knew a lot of inside information could easily blend into the environment of the bar. They would not be ostracized by other patrons or serfs, which made it easier for them to investigate.
Sure enough, with a few dialects and a few subconscious actions, the tavern owner immediately treated Hex as a local. "Honorable knight, what would you like to drink?"
"A glass of porter." Hex took out some silver coins. "Remember, if it's mixed with water, I'll flip your tavern over! The lighthouse of Le-Angouland will prove everything! "
"That won't happen, won't happen. At least I don't dare to lie to you, Sir Knight. Hahaha ~" The giant lighthouse of Le-Angouland was famous for its high quality wonders in the old world. Hearing this code, the tavern owner immediately understood that the knight in front of him wasn't easy to fool, so he reached out and filled a wooden beer cup from the wooden barrel with porter. This beer had a black color and a lot of foam. In fact, the taste was much worse than the Aiur beer that Hex loved to drink in his territory.
It was just that the porter beer was a specialty of Le-Angouland.
The knight drank half a glass in one gulp, and then burped as if he didn't drink at all. "Oh, the taste of home."
"Hehehe, Sir Knight, you must have returned home after a long journey to watch the Knights' Conference, right?" The tavern owner's business was so-so today, and he was happy to talk to the knight a little more. "The Knights' Conference is just around the corner. A lot of foreigners have come to watch the Knights' Conference. Just now, there were two Holy Grail Knights on the street!"
"Yeah, I saw them too." Hex didn't have a smile on his face. He then asked, "Did a black-robed man come in here just now?"
"Huh? Oh. " The tavern owner's face was stunned. He then said, "Yeah, yeah, a black-robed man did come in here just now. He asked for two glasses of Aiur beer and some food to take away."
"Can you be more specific?" Hex's face was full of seriousness.
"Sir Knight, we are in business, and there are basic rules to be followed in this line of work. I can only tell you this much. He asked for two glasses of Aiur beer and left in a hurry. His accent doesn't sound like it's from here or the Empire. Yeah … that's all," the tavern owner said.
Hex clenched his fists. He wanted to ask more, but the well-educated ranger knight in the Empire knew that he wouldn't be able to get anything out of him. So, he finished the beer in one gulp, took out a gold crown, and stuffed it into the tavern owner's hand. "Did you see which direction he went?"
At the same time, the ranger knight put his longsword on the counter.
The tavern owner hesitated for a moment before putting the gold crowns into his sleeves. He then looked around before crouching down and whispering into Hex's ear, "Do you see that black carriage one road away?"
Hex looked outside the tavern. Indeed, there was a black carriage in an alley across the street.
"He went up," the tavern owner whispered, "Don't tell him I told you."
Hex nodded. The ranger knight pushed the wooden cup aside and stood up.
At this time, Ryan and Amelia were pretending to go shopping. The girl happily followed behind Ryan. The peddlers were trying their best to sell their goods to the honorable Knight of the Holy Grail. They all had a strange fanaticism on their faces.
"Twenty percent off! Honorable Holy Grail Knight, we have the best cloth from the Southern Kingdoms. It's only five silvers! "
"This is an apple from nearby, Sir Grail Knight. It's the sweetest!"
"Pork! The best pork! Thirty-five coppers per catty! "
Laing and Emilia looked around and bought a lot of things. He felt that Emilia was very happy, like a little bird. Laing, on the other hand, was waiting for Hex to make a move.
The ranger knight squeezed through the crowd and came to Laing's side. "My baron, do you see that carriage?"
The black carriage was parked in the alley, alone and unresponsive to the outside world.
"That black-robed man got into the carriage?"
"Yes, that's right. The tavern owner said that the black-robed man had a strange accent. He didn't seem to be from the Old World. He ordered two mugs of Aiur beer and some food before getting into the black carriage," Hex whispered.
"… He asked for food. This means that the black-robed man isn't a dead person or a vampire." Laing thought for a while and decided to wait. "Don't act rashly. Emilia, I need your help."
"Yes!" Amelia took out a lot of disguise items from her body, and the three of them found a hidden place.
Ten minutes later.
A tall beggar, whose face was full of mud and wearing a tattered robe, staggered closer to the carriage. He reached out his withered hand and leaned on the front of the black carriage. Then, he said to the curtain of the carriage, "Ah! Sir, sir, please do me a favor. I haven't eaten for three days, sir!"
"Yes, please do me a favor, sir!" A few beggars on the side of the road immediately came up, and a few withered hands reached behind the curtain.
The curtain of the carriage opened, and a staff burning with green flames reached out from the carriage and pressed against the head of the beggar.
The beggar seemed to be stunned by this terrible change. He immediately raised his hand. "God bless the lady! Praise the lady! I don't mean anything else, I just … "
"Get lost!" The person in the carriage hesitated for a while, and after hearing the beggar keep shouting the name of the fairy in the lake, she said in a low voice.
"Yes, yes! Praise the lady! Praise the lady! I'll get lost, I'll get lost. " The beggar retreated with a pale face and then rolled out of the corner like a dog that had lost its home.
Seeing this, the black carriage began to move. Strangely, there was no coachman driving the carriage, but the workhorse moved on its own and went deep into the alley.
In the carriage, a young voice said, "Godfather, why don't you kill that beggar?"
"No, didn't you notice? Holy Grail Knights just appeared nearby. If we kill randomly, we may attract the two Holy Grail Knights at any time! Now, it's important to complete your goal first. You must win this knight conference! "
"Yes!"
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
