Let's wish him a happy birthday.
Is that even possible? Laing's mouth was wide open, but no words came out of it.
Hippogryphs were the dream mounts of many lords. Just like the Griffins of the Empire, hippogryphs were the ultimate requirement of the lords of Brittany.
He was still riding a pure-blooded elven horse, but Angelo was already riding a hippogryphs?
His knight was riding a hippogryphs? His lord was still riding a horse?
Laing's face was filled with unspeakable sadness. He smiled bitterly and said, "Brother, you're a little ahead of schedule."
"Is that so?" Angelo scratched his head. He could feel Laing's surprise, which made him feel satisfied.
On the other hand, Morgiana looked at Angelo with extreme caution.
It was a sense of danger, an absolute sense of danger. The terrifying aura almost suffocated the Lake Goddess. Even after putting down her weapon, Morgiana's face still remained alert.
"I named my hippogryphs Nukeria in memory of my dead brothers and sisters." Angelo patted Laing's shoulder gently and said, "You're finally back. Thank you for your hard work. I'll talk to you later. See you at the old place tomorrow."
Leon nodded. The "old place" referred to the secret stronghold that Anglo had built in the Chalon Forest. Anglo's brother had built a "safe house" in the Chalon Forest to the north of Baron Zeon's territory with the help of the imperial guards.
Angelo said goodbye to his brother and said, "I'm going hunting." He patted Laing's shoulder and rode away on his hippogryphs.
Laing and Morgiana continued to move forward. The Lake Goddess hesitated for a moment and asked Laing, "I heard that your brother came here to seek refuge after committing a crime. But from his strength … What did he do to make the lords decide to punish him?"
Laing smiled. Morgiana was implying that Angelo's strength was unfathomable. How could the lords be willing to punish a warrior who was at least at the pinnacle of the sacred realm?
"There are many meanings to making a mistake, and there are also many levels to it. There are some level of mistakes that even the elder brother has to be punished." Laing shook his head and said meaningfully, "Even gods have to be punished when they make mistakes, Your Highness."
Morgiana saw this and did not say anything.
From afar to near, the changes in Gene Town were astonishing. The walls of the town had been completely transformed into tall stone walls. Half of the low wooden houses in the town had been transformed into residential houses that were at least two or three stories high. The other half was also in the process of being rebuilt. Dense crowds of people jammed the streets, and carriages were coming in and out. The town had even been divided into a special commercial area. A row of new shops were opening. Leon could see many serfs waiting at the street corners, obviously waiting for work.
Morgiana's appearance caused the people in the town to cheer. Many serfs could not help but kneel down and praise the name of the Lake Goddess and the Lake Goddess Witch. Morgiana routinely blessed the gathered townspeople, which led to even louder praises.
Many wood elves and dwarves had appeared on the streets. Everything showed that the baron had something that attracted them.
After dispersing the crowd, Laing and Morgiana walked up the hill. Katzenberg opened the door for the baron. The bald butler bowed deeply. "Oh, my baron, you're finally back. And the most respectable Lake Goddess Witch, welcome to Baron Zeon."
"This is not the first time I've been here." Morgiana turned over and jumped off the unicorn. She floated directly in the air and flew toward the prayer room on the third floor. "I'll rest in there. Bring me hot water and dinner."
"Yes." Laing nodded and handed the reins to the soldier. "Katzenberg, I need a big dinner."
"Understood, my baron. I'll arrange it right away." The butler bowed deeply.
"Master, you're back?" Dark Elf Olica appeared. She was wearing a standard black and white maid outfit. Her waist-length black hair was as shiny as silk.
"Yes, I'm back." Laing hugged his dark elf maid and kissed her on the lips. "Where's Veronica?"
"Miss Veronica went to supervise the construction of her wizard tower. She won't be back until nightfall." Olica leaned on Leon's body affectionately. "I'll ask someone to boil some water."
"Well, remember to boil more. Princess Morgiana also needs a bucket," Laing said.
"Yes."
The servants quickly boiled a bucket of hot water, and Laing comfortably placed himself in it. As the backbone of the baron's territory, the baron's return made everyone in the castle very happy. A Grail Knight's lord had a great influence on the territory. There were always rumors in the territory that the lord was a man blessed by the gods. The hunters hunting in Chalon Forest and the serfs cutting firewood were always protected and helped by some tall golden-armored giants.
Olica helped Ryan take a bath and told him about the changes that had happened in the territory.
Baron Zeon's territory had recently swelled to more than 14,000 people.
"Where did so many people come from?" Laing asked casually as he soaked in the hot water. In the master's room on the third floor, the steam brought by the hot water was thick and filled the room.
"They're refugees from the Duchy of Boleon and the Duchy of Karason. The Duchy of Boleon has always been at war with Estalia. Many of the serfs couldn't survive, so they fled here. Because of the war, the nobles of the duchies couldn't be sure if the serfs were dead, surrendered, or escaped. So, Mister Katzenberg took the opportunity to take in a lot of high-quality people. "
"There are also serfs from the Duchy of Karason. Duke Hubbard has already embarked on the path of the Grail. The Duchy is currently under the joint regent of a marquis and the Prophet of the Lake. So, some of the freedmen took the opportunity to come here and look for work." Olica draped a towel over Laing's body. The dark elf's pointed ears were pierced with golden rings, which gently swayed with her master's movements.
"This will be troublesome in the future." Laing sighed comfortably. He had taken in so many people, so his neighbors would definitely have opinions about him.
Development was the absolute principle, and he couldn't care so much for the time being. The arrival of these high-quality people was more beneficial than harmful.
"What about the wood elves and dwarves?"
"My cousins sent a team of woodland guards and a team of eternal guards to be stationed on the land you drew for them." Olica's tone was somewhat contemptuous and awkward: "Generally speaking, they are satisfied with the status quo. The existence of these wood elves attracted a lot of merchants to trade. At least, your merchant friend, Oliver, made a lot of money because of this. He is now said to have relied on your relationship with the wood elves to enter the upper class of Marlin Castle."
"Don't forget our close relatives, Azul. They are the enemies of our Aisley! Don't forget our cousin, Duruqi. He is the enemy of our Aisley! "
— Nursery Rhyme of the Wood Elves
"Very good." Laing then asked: "Then what about the dwarves? I see that the blacksmith workshop along the river seems to have become very big. "
"The rune craftsman, Delon Fiennes, can produce more than two hundred sets of exquisite dwarven equipment and weapons every month. The business of these ironwares is very hot. Just the wood elves and the nearby lords' orders are in short supply, so the dwarves decided to summon their own kind to help. Until today, more than a dozen dwarves have left the mountains and settled here." The dark elf's little hand gently pressed on Laing's back: "The dwarves find it difficult to trust others, but they are willing to trust the Grail Knight, master. It is said that many dwarves in the mountains are tempted by the life outside. The dwarf king of Calac Breezy Castle did not stop them from leaving after hearing your name."
"Did you follow my instructions and draw a community for them?" Laing then asked.
"Yes."
"Very good." Leon didn't ask any more questions. He continued to bathe for a while before standing up from the wooden tub. The scar on his chest was very obvious. The dark elf could tell at a glance that his master had gone through a tough battle.
But unlike the female knight or Emilia, the dark elf was not worried at all when she saw the scar. Instead, her face was full of pride. She helped Laing wipe his body with a towel and said cheerfully: "What a great master. In the dark and cold Nagaros, if a dark elf can defeat a chaos demon, you will definitely be received by the Witch King."
"Will he make me a Dreadlord?" Laing joked.
Olica's expression froze, and she looked away unnaturally: "I don't know about that."
Laing did not notice the dark elf's abnormality. He changed into light clothes and hugged the dark elf in his arms. Olica hugged him with a rosy face: "Master, if there is anything, let's talk about it at night. Her Highness the Lake Goddess is still waiting for you."
"Okay! I'll send the things up now. "Laing brought the hot water and towel to the prayer room on the third floor.
The prayer room was renovated again under the leadership of Olica. The statue of the Lake Goddess and the altar were unchanged. The walls were covered with wallpaper and paintings, and the floor was covered with carpet.
Morgiana was sitting on the big bed in the room. The Lake Goddess' long dress reached the floor. When she saw Laing come in with a big bucket of water and towel, she complained: "Why are you only here now?"
"Sorry, Your Highness. I had to wash myself first before I dared to see you." Laing put down the bucket and towel and asked casually: "Do you want to have dinner with me and my subordinates tonight?"
"No, you can just bring the dinner here." Morgiana took off her soft boots. The Lake Goddess sighed softly and thanked him gently: "No matter what, thank you for your hard work, Laing. You did a great job in eliminating the Chaos Fiend, and for my sake as well."
"It's my pleasure, Your Highness." Ryan bowed in a very gentlemanly manner and then left the room.
"Wait …" Morgiana wanted to say something to Laing, but Laing had already closed the door and left.
When he came down from the third floor, Gasparton immediately went to Laing. "Baron, I have something for you to deal with here."
Knight Olivier also popped up from the side. "Baron, I also have an immature suggestion."
"Let's talk in the office, Gasparton." Laing gestured for them to talk as they walked.
"The tax revenue for the first quarter of this year exceeded 500 crowns, Baron," Gasparton said with a smile. Gasparton's face lit up. He chased after Leon and said, "My suggestion is to take a portion of it and give our soldiers a better set of equipment."
"That's what I wanted to say, Baron. A group of bandits have appeared in Chalon Forest recently. I suggest I lead some men to exterminate them," Olivier said as he followed behind Laing.
The three of them entered the office. Laing sat in the baron's seat and gestured for the tax officer and knight to sit. "Are the soldiers equipped with enough crossbows?"
"Yes, Baron. With the help of the dwarves, the soldiers are all equipped with dwarven breastplates and crossbows," Olivier said. Olivier continued, "The range of this dwarven crossbow is longer than that of the serf archers, but shorter than that of Bastogne's longbowmen."
Laing nodded. "Tell me more about the bandits, Olivier."
The knight-errant took out a map and pointed at the Chalon Forest above Baron Jean's territory, which was close to the Bastogne Duchy. "Recently, a group of bandits who call themselves the 'Brethren of Bergerac' have gathered in the Chalon Forest. They are led by a notorious serf fugitive and have been intercepting travelers and merchants everywhere. What's interesting is that this group of bandits never kill people for their goods. They only take a small portion of the goods from passersby and then let them go. These bandits also call themselves' Heroic Bandits' and often leave the forest to help serfs who can't survive. This has caused the knights of Bastogne to encounter a lot of difficulties when they tried to attack them, and then nothing was done."
"Pfft! Do these bandits even understand the concept of sustainable development? "Ryan laughed.
Gasparton and Olivier were both puzzled. Sustainable development?
The Baron didn't explain, and Olivier didn't dare to stop. The current King of Leon was very dignified. The Ranger Knight coughed and continued, "In short, I suggest that we send troops to eliminate these bandits. However, these bandits are very strong, especially the leader who is dressed in green. People call him the Hero Bandit Bertrand. It is said that he can blind a pegasus with an arrow."
"Well, don't worry about this. It's spring plowing time, and it's not good for us to recruit troops. Let's send out scouts to gather information first." Laing made a decision for the time being. "I hope to rest for a year today. We need to think carefully about sending troops."
"Yes …" Olivier was a little disappointed that Laing didn't want to send out troops. Military merit and glory were the steps to promotion. Laing's two royal knights were still vacant, and several knights were secretly competing with each other.
After dealing with the backlog of internal affairs, it was already night time.
After enjoying a sumptuous dinner, Laing knocked on the door of the prayer room on the third floor. "Your Highness Morgiana? I've brought dinner. "
"Come in."
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.
