PS: The Emperor wishes you all a happy new year!
PS2: There are many things to do during the new year, so I need to rest and sort out my thoughts. I'll take tomorrow off and see if I can update the day after tomorrow!
Fedmond de Bordero was the son of Duke Bodrick of Bordero. He was 48 years old this year, and after 15 years of the Holy Grail Expedition, the Sea God's Knight had finally returned with glory.
After killing a Chaos Troll that had plagued Tarabek for many years, he received the recognition of the Lake Goddess.
Duke Bodrick rushed over when he heard the news. The old duke was escorted by the Sea God's Knight to Fedmond's side and looked at his son.
Fifteen years had passed in a hurry. The vigorous and vigorous knight who had set off for the Holy Grail all those years ago now had a lot of hardships on his face. However, judging from his appearance and age, Fedmond looked even younger than when he set off. He now looked like a heroic young knight in his twenties. His plain face had a faint smile, and his eyes were burning with the fury of the Lake God. His body was emitting a divine light. His blade had drunk the blood of countless dark creatures. Now, he had returned from the Holy Grail Expedition!
"I'm back, Father." Fedmond looked at his old Bodrick and opened his mouth. But in the end, he decided to kneel on one knee. "Thanks to Lady Bodrick's blessings, I completed the Holy Grail Expedition."
"Good, that's wonderful!" Bodrick was overjoyed. The usually calm Duke of Bordero patted his son's shoulder excitedly. "Come, let's talk inside the castle! Where are your friends? "
"They're not my friends. We're just passing by." Fedmond shook his head. Just as he was about to turn around and introduce the people from the Empire, he noticed that they had already disappeared into Bordero's town.
"It's fine, it's fine! Fedmond, my son, it's been 15 years! You're finally back! "Bodrick hurriedly gestured for his son to follow him.
In the duke's eyes, Fedmond was the best.
Twenty minutes later, in the middle of the Poseidon Hall in the capital of Bordero, Bodlius Castle.
On both sides of the huge mermaid statue was a waterfall of seawater. The furniture was made of gold, silver, and high-quality oak. The sun was shining brightly outside. The power of Mannen, the God of the Sea, revolved around Pordro Castle, blessing the prince of Mannen, the Chosen of God, Duke Bodrick.
More than a hundred Sea God Knights, all the servants and the family members of the duke came out to welcome Fedmond. They gave him a grand welcome.
"It's been fifteen years, Fedmond. Fifteen years. I've sent people to inquire about you many times, but I've never received any information. My son, how did you survive the past fifteen years?" Duke Boddrick asked his son in his formal attire.
The plate armor on Fedmond's body was already in tatters. Only the statue of the Goddess in the lake was as clean as new. The new Knight of the Grail silently listened to his father's question and sighed. "I went to the prince's territory at the border."
"Border Prince's Territory? No wonder it's so hard to get news out in that chaotic place. " Duke Boddrick thought for a moment and asked curiously, "Why did you go to the prince's territory at the border?"
"After I started the Grail Expedition, I traveled along Brittany, Estalia, and Tyrell, leaving my footprints in the duchies of Milagliano and Lucini." Taking a mirror from one of his attendants, Fedmond looked at the dirty stains on his face and body. This son of a duke didn't feel ashamed at all; instead, he felt quite proud of himself.
This was his glorious military medal, a symbol of his devotion to the Lady. He was no longer a mortal. Divine power surged in his chest. He was a Grail Knight.
The servant turned on the hot water and handed him a towel. Fedmond wiped his face and said, "A few years later, I accepted the invitation of Duke Antonelli of Rayford to fight against the Green Dwarfs. In order to protect the civilians there, I stayed there for more than three years and killed thousands of Green Dwarfs. I didn't leave until I thought the people there could resist the Green Dwarfs' invasion."
"Duke Antonelli of Rayford? How come I've never heard of this person? " Duke Boddrick was quite confused. He shifted his gaze to the deputy commander of the Sea God Knights, Sir Houlf, and his group of courtiers.
These people all looked up at the ceiling and shook their heads at the duke. The duke's former butler, Ismail, who was most familiar with the outside world, said to Boddrick, "My Duke, the two border princes that have diplomatic relations with Brittany are the Duchy of Akendorf and the Kingdom of Milmaden. Akendorf has two thousand troops and Milmaden has two thousand five hundred troops. We've heard of some of the smaller border princes, but we're not familiar with them."
"The Duchy of Rayford? There are only five hundred people in that place. "Fedmond laughed somewhat mockingly.
"Five hundred soldiers?" Boddrick asked casually. "That's really small. This so-called 'duke' can't even compare to the barons under my command."
The border princes' territory was a chaotic area. This land had been conquered by the Empire and the Brittany, but it was quickly abandoned. The Empire's emperor, William I, who was also the Grand Duke of Awe, and the later famous emperor, Sigismund the Conqueror, had conquered the border princes' territory and established provinces. But due to the long-term attack of the Green Skins and the difficulty of transportation (the loss rate of transporting food from the Empire was more than 70%), the Empire chose to abandon this place twice, only leaving behind a few people and soldiers who were unwilling to leave.
After that, the Brittany was established, and the proud knights had also conquered this land. After that, some of the knights who had completed their mission to expel the Green Skins chose to return to Brittany, but the remaining few refused to return and began to take root in the border princes' territory, building castles and becoming the nobles here. So now the border princes' territory was a chaotic area where the Empire, Brittany, and Mrs. Kiesler lived together. This land was notorious, and it was a lawless place where all kinds of bandits, mercenaries, murderers, pirates, and other lawless fugitives lived. In this land, there were new border princes rising almost every day, and the old border princes were defeated and died.
"What five hundred soldiers? Just five hundred. When I left the Duchy of Rayford, there were five hundred and twenty-six people in the entire fortress. " Fedmond laughed. The Knight of the Holy Grail said to his father with a bitter smile, "Mr. Antonelli has always wanted to establish 'international diplomatic relations' with Brittany and the Empire!"
"Alright." Duke Bodrick shook his head. There might be dozens of border princes' territories in the border princes' territory. Most of these border princes had exaggerated titles and a decent palace. The border princes were keen on 'international diplomacy' and arrogantly made their own demands to other border princes. But when faced with a real country, such as the Empire and Brittany, these border princes basically behaved like a dog wagging its tail and begging for mercy. This was because to these border princes, a baron of the Empire or Brittany was far more powerful than them.
To be a dog of the Empire or Brittany was the greatest glory!
"After that, I went north and participated in the war against the Green Skins at the Black Fire Pass. In Mute, I received a table of delicious food from the Halfling and helped them deal with a Bloodthirsty Heavenly Ghost. In the Steyr territory, I participated in the encirclement of a Necromancer. Finally, in Tarabek, I killed a Chaos Troll … By the way, Father, I heard that Bordero is doing well recently? I saw a lot of High Elves' fleets. "
"Now, Bordero has established trade relations with the High Elves' Kingdom of Lothard and the Kingdom of Savry. We've made a lot of profits since last year." Duke Bodrick hesitated for a moment and decided to tell the truth. "This is all thanks to Count Laing -Macado. He made a deal with Sir Tegris. I don't know if you've heard of his name."
"Of course I've heard of him. In the Southern Kingdoms, the Empire, and even in the border princes' territories, I've heard of Laing's name." Fedmond nodded with a rather arrogant expression. "To be the Lady's Chosen Champion, he must have such strength."
"Now that Richard is preparing to abdicate, the only ones qualified to compete for the throne in the whole kingdom are Duke Laing Leo Cornwall, Duke Carcassonne, Berchemund, Duke Bastogne, François, Duke Vanford, and a few others. But I think Laing still has a chance. This chance depends on whether he can get the title of Duke. My son, Fedmond, do you want to compete for the throne? If you do, I'll pass the title of Duke to you tomorrow. " Bodrick frowned and felt a little relieved. "When you've mastered the affairs of the Duke, I can rest assured that I can hand Bordero over to you and start my own Holy Grail Expedition."
"Mannen above, none of the Dukes of Bordero have ever become the King of Brittany. It's already an honor for us to be able to guard Bordero as the Lady's followers. After all, in the eyes of the Dukes, we're not orthodox." Fedmond shook his head. "I can't become the King, Father. The nobles of the kingdom won't accept it."
"Then this involves where we are, Fedmond … There's no hurry. Let's wait for the situation to be clear. As for the title of Duke …" Bodrick really wanted to get rid of these worldly matters. "How about this, I'll hand over the entire Sea God Knights and the entire garrison of Bordero to you. I'll be in charge of the trade and many miscellaneous matters in the territory. When you've fully adapted to the affairs of the Duke, I'll hand Bordero over to you."
Fedmond had no objections. The matter was settled just like that.
"Ismail!" Now that everything was settled, Duke Bodrick was very pleased. He loudly ordered, "Quick, spread my invitation to the whole kingdom! I want everyone to know that my son, Fedmond, has completed the Holy Grail Expedition and returned with endless glory! I want all the Earls and nobles of Brittany and above to come to Bordero for a banquet! "
"Yes! My Duke, please give this banquet a name! "
"This banquet shall be called the Glory of Bordero!"
… …
In the castle of Bordero, a group of people from the Empire was walking on the streets.
"It's hard to imagine that in such a prosperous city where most of the civilians are serfs, this place is so much worse than Nur. Why would Emmanuelle be willing to stay in such a place?" The cold-faced giant looked at the scene on the street, and after a long while, he finally uttered these words.
"Nur is a great city, but it doesn't represent the entire Empire." Master Engineer Wagner looked at the bustling crowd. "Brittany and the Empire are fundamentally different. In the Empire, the nobles only guard the cities and manors that are related to their interests. The dense villages in the forests and fields have to protect themselves. In Brittany, although the serfs have a low status, if any village is attacked, the knights of the fief will mount their horses and raise their lances to fight for their ladies."
"Theladyofthelake …" The big man said in a muffled voice. He then nodded. "The knights of this country are indeed strong. I really want to see the strength of the Holy Grail Knights."
"The most important thing right now is to find Emmanuelle! Theodore! " A witch with a veil on her head and a purple robe with a giant scythe in her hand spoke. "Nothing else is important."
The witch's words were filled with some kind of deep and terrifying magic. When she opened her mouth, the bright light in the vicinity distorted, and the surrounding people felt a bone-chilling chill and retreated. Even Wagner, who was Rick's guard, felt a powerful force choking his throat.
Elspeth Von Drakken, Supreme Wizard of the Amethyst Academy, Imperial Royal Wizard Academy. She was a Grand Wizard of Death and the Guardian of Nur. Her nickname was' Rose of the Graveyard 'and' Nur's Black Lady '. She had always been Emmanuel's staunchest supporter. Ever since Emmanuel went missing, this Grand Wizard of Death had spent a lot of effort to find her whereabouts and confirmed that she was still alive.
Emperor Karl-franz of the Empire had sent someone to inform Elspeth after the Winter Veil Festival. He told her that Emmanuelle von Lebowitz Bernardino was working as a maid in the court of the "Devout" Laing Macado, Count of Glamorgan and the "Devout" Duke of Laing Macado. Elspeth felt that this matter was of great importance, so she led 50 Armoured Nur soldiers and brought along Rick's guard, Wagner, who was in charge of leading the way. She also called on this huge man who was like an iron tower.
Nur's Grand Judge, Nur's Champion, and a Saint of mysterious origins, Theodore Bruckner was an unbelievably powerful warrior. His existence was the enforcer of bloody justice and the protector of Nur's order. After receiving the news, this Nur's Champion put down his work and followed Elspeth to Brittany to look for Emmanuelle.
They all believed that only Emmanuelle had the right to become the master of Nur! She was the rightful successor of Brescia's Elector and Grand Duke Wesson's claim, not Gianni Bernardino!
"First, we have to find a way to enter Laing's court and confirm Emmanuelle's whereabouts. Then, we have to find a way to bring Emmanuelle away and bring her back to Nur! We have to make her the Duchess of Nur, Brescia's Elector, and Grand Duke Wesson! "Rick's guard, Wagner, said. He and his family were staunch supporters of Emmanuelle.
"Duke Laing Macado's strength speaks for itself. It will be difficult to forcefully bring Emmanuelle away. Perhaps we have to think of something."
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