On the cold mountain path of the Grey Mountains, Duke Casfan of Palawon and his army were trudging forward. The armor of the knights was bright and shiny. The glory and passion of the expedition were once written all over the faces of the knights. They had great confidence in this expedition.
The march of the Brittany knights was a beautiful sight in the old world. On the black and white Grey Lady's Road, it was an incomparably beautiful scene. Every knight carried three to four warhorses. All of the warhorses were covered in fine horse clothing. There were more than a dozen duchies and hundreds of family coats of arms in the Knight King Kingdom. Even the kingdom's heraldry masters would have to spend a long time to gradually identify them.
Behind the procession, several hundred freemen formed a long line of wagons, followed by squires, coachmen, cooks, heralds, priests, and serfs. The sergeants were in charge of the wagons, forming a beautiful scene.
However, this was the time to set off.
Now, continuous rain was falling from the sky. This terrifying rain and snow caused great damage to Casfan's army. The bone-chilling cold washed over the huge cliffs on both sides of the road. The dark clouds in the sky roared and wailed. Huge clouds of air fell from the sky, tormenting Casfan's army.
Because of this, the enthusiasm for the expedition could no longer be maintained. Only those who had personally experienced the horror of sleet in the high mountains would know. The morale of the knights was severely damaged because of this. The weak knights lowered their heads and did not say a word as they hurried on with their journey. The knights who still had the strength kept cursing and complaining about the annoying weather.
The knights could still persevere in this weather. The serf infantry regiment suffered heavy losses. Their animal skin cloaks or wool clothes might be able to keep them warm, but they were helpless against this level of cold. There were people dying every day. Many shallow graves were left on the road.
Even so, Casfan's army was still crossing the Grey Mountains at a relatively fast speed.
Their target was Helmgat.
…
Night in Helmgat, the Emperor's Resting Hotel.
As an important military base of the Empire, Helmgard had a special palace for the Emperor. Now, the Emperor's Resting Hotel was having a lively banquet because the scouts' investigation showed that Kasvann's army would need at least three days to arrive.
The banquet was very lively. The war between the Empire and the Brittany had attracted the attention of the human countries of the old world. In addition to Laing and the others who had come from afar, the Brittany's Duke of Montfort, Forcade, was also present. Several Kurfürst from the Empire had also come.
Everyone wanted to observe this battle. This was an important opportunity to evaluate the Empire's national strength and Karl-franz's ability.
Not all of the attendees wanted to participate in this banquet. At least, Julius and Jerrold did not like this banquet. They sat in the corner and ate in silence.
However, some people were like fish in water at the banquet.
"Hey! Boris! I see your face again! " Laing, who was dressed as an Earl, held a glass of wine and smiled as he pointed at Boris Todbinger, Kurfürst Vollrich and Grand Duke of Midland. "You always have this bitter and vengeful expression on your face. Just looking at you makes me feel unlucky!"
"Hey! Laing, you bastard. When I have the chance, I will definitely push your pretty face into the cold swamps of the Drakwald Forest and let you know what cruelty is! " Seeing Laing appear, Kurfürst Boris's stern face finally showed a little smile. "Well, in the name of Yurick, we meet again. I still remember the story of how we drove away the Great Demon Nurgle together on the Kurona Plain. Praise Yurick. That was a beautiful victory."
After saying that, Kurfürst Boris deliberately glanced at Emperor Karl-franz who was standing beside Laing.
The Emperor smiled at Laing thoughtfully. "I knew you knew each other."
Boris used to be one of the candidates for the throne. His grandmother was married to Heinz, the brother of Ludwig, the Savior. Compared to Karl-franz's grandfather Leopold, Boris's bloodline was even closer to Ludwig's.
Therefore, he had always been feared by Karl-franz. To some extent, the rivalry between Boris and Karl-franz represented the rivalry between the Northern Sect led by Yurick and the Southern Sect led by the three Churches in the Empire.
"Yes, Your Majesty Franz. I've known you for a long time, but I wasn't familiar with you until the Battle of Kurona Plain." Laing said somewhat thoughtfully. He was slightly taller than the Emperor. "If it weren't for Boris, I might have died."
"It was indeed a great war …" Before Karl-franz could say anything else, a champion knight of the Griffin Knights roared and rushed into the banquet. "That bastard! Where is that bastard who doesn't want to call His Majesty Emperor? I want to duel with him! "
The fully armed knight soon found Laing. Most people understood why Laing didn't want to call Karl-franz "Emperor" because Laing wasn't a noble of the Empire. However, many loyal knights of the Empire were very dissatisfied with this champion who rose from Nord and had a deep relationship with the Empire. They wanted to tear Laing's pride into pieces.
Laing's name was like thunder to everyone's ears. Even the nobles of the Empire had heard of his feats. The knights of the Empire naturally knew that they had to send out a champion knight of equal strength.
The one who challenged Laing was the champion knight of the Griffin Knights, Logue.
Before Laing could say anything, the champion knight took out a glove and threw it at Laing.
Standing not far away, François, who was communicating with a knight of Moore, frowned. Duke Winford noticed that Karl-franz didn't object. Instead, he was very interested in how things would develop.
François thought that this might be a coincidence. It seemed that the new Emperor of the Empire was also very interested in Laing's strength. Or maybe it wasn't a coincidence at all, but Karl-franz's intentional arrangement.
The new Emperor of the Empire was domineering and tough, but he also inherited his father Luitpold's excellent diplomatic skills. After ascending the throne for a few years, the young Emperor not only stabilized the throne through a series of diplomatic and military victories, but also gradually integrated the power of the Empire.
François thought of Brittany's aging Knight King Richard and sighed in his heart.
Richard was not as good as Karl-franz. This was already a well-known fact in the old world. It was said that Richard intended to let his distant grandnephew, Duke Roan Leo Cornwall, take over the throne. However, because Morgiana was seriously injured, this matter was put on hold. And in François's opinion, Richard was still reluctant to give up the throne.
"For the sake of honor, I can't refuse this challenge." Laing took the glove. The champion of the Goddess of the Lake still had a faint smile on her face. "But our competition can't be meaningless. We're all fellow humans, aren't we?"
"Laing is right." Emperor Karl-franz nodded and smiled. His servant quickly brought up two velvet satin. "This is the satin from the famous Mrs. Iger's tailor shop in Brunswick. I'll reward it to the winner."
Then you're giving a gift to my baby daughter, François thought.
"Then, please excuse me, Your Majesty Franz and Boris." Seeing that there was a reward, Laing put on a smile on the Knight of the Holy Grail's face. He followed the champion of the Griffin Knights out of the hotel.
Umberto Corleone, Elector of Tuscany and Grand Duke of Ivy, approached the Emperor with a glass of red wine. The bearded Elector asked in a low voice, "You arranged this?"
"Why not? We have to know how strong he is, right? " Karl-franz shrugged. "Twenty-nine years old, count, Knight of the Holy Grail, Chosen Champion, Exiled Demon … Should we go out and watch the duel …"
"Dong!!!"
Before he finished his sentence, a huge noise came from outside of the hotel. It sounded like something was broken by a blunt object.
Karl-franz and Umberto's faces changed.
Everybody at the banquet subconsciously looked at the entrance of the hotel.
The knight on the other side of the mountain, Count Laing Macado, walked into the banquet with a smile on his face. He was dragging one of the legs of Roger, the champion of the Griffin Knights. The plate armor of the champion knight slid on the ground, making an ear-piercing sound.
The champion knight of the Griffin Knights had passed out. His eyes were white, and he was vomiting gastric juice. He was unconscious, but his life should not be in danger. The Emperor's servant hurriedly dragged the embarrassing guy out of the banquet.
"I knew it would turn out like this." Elector Boris gloated. Seeing that the Emperor's champion knight was defeated with one strike, Boris felt very happy.
It was our White Wolf Knight. Now it's your turn.
The champion of the Lady of the Lake took away the silk and came to the Emperor with a glass goblet. "Thank you for the reward, Your Majesty. Let's continue."
"Okay." Karl-franz was still smiling, as if nothing had happened.
The Emperor felt that a storm was blowing in his heart. The Griffin Knights were the Emperor's personal knights. They were not as strong as the top knights of the Empire, but they were not far behind. The champion knight, Roger, was thirty-five years old this year and was in the middle level of legendary. However, he was defeated by Laing with one strike.
What did my Empire miss?
On the surface, the Emperor looked as calm as usual. He introduced him to Laing first. "I don't need to introduce Boris. Come, the champion of the Lady of the Lake. This is Mr. Umberto Corleone, the Elector of Tuscany and the Grand Duke of the Ivy Hill. The Ivy Hill is a major agricultural province in the Empire and the richest province only second to the Rick Hill. Mr. Umberto is the only remaining Elector who participated in the great holy war. Not only did he vote for my grandfather and my father, but he also cast his precious vote for me a few years ago."
"Nice to meet you, Mr. Umberto." Laing knew that the bearded Elector was immeasurably strong and was also an important political ally of Karl-franz. He expressed enough respect. "It's my honor to meet you."
"Not bad, young man." Umberto patted Laing's shoulder and said, "I look forward to your more exciting performance in the future."
Then, a Elector with a thin beard and a fat and sad face came to Laing under the introduction of the Emperor. Karl-franz introduced him warmly, "This is Wamir von Zhukov, Elector of Wolffin and Grand Duke of Auster. The Auster Hill is a territory filled with forests and mountains. Mr. Wamir has spent his whole life fighting the dark creatures in the mountains and forests since he ascended the throne. He is an excellent general and the guardian of the northern border of the Empire."
"I've heard of your name a long time ago, Laing Macado." The Auster Hill was close to the Kingdom of Nords in the west and Kislöw in the east. Naturally, Wamir had heard of Laing's name. "It's an honor to meet you."
"It's an honor to meet you, Mr. Wamir." Laing also nodded and greeted him. The Auster Hill was the most remote area in the Empire. To this day, the province still hadn't recovered from the devastation of the great Holy War. Every Elector had been fighting against the barbarians in the north and the dark creatures in the forests and mountains for decades.
"This is Oleg von Zhukov, Baron of Wolffin, the heir of Elector Wamir." Karl-franz continued the introduction. "He is an excellent general."
This was a young man in his twenties. He was wearing a round mink hat and clothes with the red bull family coat of arms. He was strong and strong. He reached out his hand to Laing proudly. "Hello, Mr. Laing Macado. I am Oleg. Your strength has left a deep impression on me. We hate the scum of Chaos so much that I think we can be friends."
"Haha … I think our hatred for Chaos will always exceed the small conflicts between us." Laing shook his hand. "The scum of Chaos will definitely be destroyed. I believe it."
"I also believe it." Oleg nodded. For some reason, he and Laing hit it off the moment they met. The two quickly found a place to talk privately.
"You have an excellent son, Mr. Wamir." Emperor Karl-franz calmly said to Elector Wamir. "It's just that many of his ideas are too bold. It's not that the Empire hasn't tried to go deep into the wasteland in the north to exterminate the barbarian tribes, but once they went too deep, they suffered heavy losses every time. Some of them even never returned."
"Oleg is a brave child. He found himself a teacher, a White Wolf Holy Knight who got drunk in Wolffin Castle," Wamir said. "Oleg was conquered by the knight's strength in the tavern and became his disciple. I didn't agree at first, but this Holy Knight's strength was far beyond my imagination. If it wasn't for his help, we might have been wiped out in the battle of Wolffin Castle."
"Then it can only be said that Oleg is excellent enough to be accepted as a disciple." The Emperor nodded.
"Speaking of which, Your Majesty, how do you plan to deal with Kasvann's invasion this time?" Elector Wamir held a glass of red wine and said in a low voice. "The knights on the other side of the mountain are not easy to deal with."
"I already have a plan." The Emperor's voice was full of pride and confidence. "Just watch."
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.
