Before the Winter Veil holiday, Count Laing of Glamorgan held a year-end meeting in his winery.
The attendees were:
Count Laing and his wife, Suria.
Morgiana, the witch of the Lake Goddess.
Tax Collector Gasparton. Chief Steward Katzenberg.
Flag bearer, Grail Knight Armand.
Royal Knight Hex, Olivier, Lopes, and the newly promoted Royal Knight Lucian.
Laing's two female courtiers, Teresa Trovic and Veronica Benadotte.
Head of the Church of Justice's branch, Paladin Alfred Frey.
The newly promoted Lord Winford, Sir Bertrand.
Morgiana was, of course, the most powerful and influential person in the meeting. However, the Lake Goddess calmly expressed that she was only there to listen. She sat to Laing's left and read an exquisite hardcover book without any intention of speaking.
Theresa and Veronica were in completely different states. In the cold weather of the Winter Veil, Theresa's magic power was particularly strong. She was in a very good state and looked like she wanted to say something.
Veronica, on the other hand, looked like she couldn't wake up at all. Wizard Garland yawned. She was thinking about going back to the wizard tower to catch up on her sleep after the meeting, or sitting in front of the fireplace to warm herself up, read, drink, and chat with Leon. She wanted to spend the day in comfort and contentment.
As usual, Katzenberg spoke first. He reviewed the glorious victory of the previous year, the further development of the dominion, the influx of wealth, the increase in the population, the increase in the number of newborns, and how to deal with the challenges and opportunities in the new era.
After Katzenberg summed it all up, Tax Collector Gasparton spoke. He had followed Laing for seven years. While he was old, he was still in good health. He coughed and said, "Since last year's Winter Veil Festival, the count's territory has collected 7,326 crowns. We've spent 5,100 crowns and have a surplus of 2,200 crowns. The total amount of food we have is enough to feed the entire army for a year and a half."
"The count's territory has a population of around 90 thousand people. There are three towns, 38 villages, and a few small settlements. We have a total of 1800 soldiers, 900 of which are regular soldiers and 900 semi-professional soldiers. If we need them, we can recruit up to five thousand soldiers without affecting the farming."
"Apart from that, there will be an additional 500 crowns from the winery, 2000 crowns from the battle with the Necropolis, and 12000 crowns from the conquest of Blackstone Stronghold. The dwarves will be vouching for the payment and King Belgar will pay it over the next two years."
After conquering Blackstone Stronghold, the human and dwarven armies made a lot of gains. There were around 50 thousand crowns in the stronghold, which was split 60-40 between the humans and dwarves. Laing, as the victor of Gul's victory, had a 40-40 split with François and the rest. As a result, he received around 12000 crowns.
"Seems like we can't fight as fast as we can rob," said Olivier with a laugh. "We got so much from one robbery. I really want to see if there are any more vampire-occupied citadels in the Grey Mountains."
"I doubt there are any left. Olivier, what do you think a vampire citadel is? That old fellow Kemmler had to spend more than 20 years to accumulate that much. " Lopes had grown a beard and his voice was rather gruff. "Or do you think we can deal with an entire legion of undead on our own?"
"Impossible. If not for the participation of the Vanford Duchy's knights, the elites of the Champion Knights Brotherhood, as well as the wood elves and dwarves, we wouldn't have been able to achieve such a glorious victory," said Hex.
This royal knight was already over 30 years old and was still alone. During the battle at the Blackstone Stronghold, his face had been torn apart by the sharp claws of a bloodthirsty sky demon, leaving behind several hideous scars. If it weren't for the wood elves' excellent medicine, he would have lost an eye.
After returning to his dominion to recuperate for a while, Hex's face was still pale and he wasn't in good shape. However, his scars were the best proof of his military exploits. Now, he was starting to look like the leader of the kingdom's knights.
As for Lucian from the Winford Academy, he had performed well in this war. He had successfully killed two tomb guards while charging back and forth. With his military merits and Sulia's pillow talk, he was naturally promoted to a knight of the kingdom and received half of the village as a fief. He could be considered to have made a name for himself.
"Count, our next step should still be to stabilize our production, expand our army, and prepare to cross Chalon Forest and attack the Spire Palace," Lucian suggested. Lucian suggested, "The Spire Palace is the legal territory of our count. We have the right to claim it. We should take it back."
"The Spire Palace must be taken back, but what we need to do now is to recuperate and conserve our strength. Our army has been greatly depleted in this battle. The soldiers need to be trained and replenished, and the squires need to learn how to become proper knights. Count, I think we shouldn't send out troops for the next two years," Hex objected.
"I think we should take advantage of this great victory and attack the Spire Palace when the morale is high!" Olivier agreed with Lucian's opinion. He quickly said, "We can leave immediately after the Winter Veil Festival with our cannons. We only need to march through the forest for ten days to reach the Spire Palace. If there are no accidents, we should be able to take the castle easily."
"I don't agree. It's easy to take the Spire Palace, but how are we going to defend it? How are we going to deal with the undead's counterattack? " Armand also disagreed. The Knight of the Holy Grail said, "Olivier, I give you five hundred men. Fifty knights, a hundred sergeants, and four hundred serfs. Can you defend the Spire Palace? Five days? "
Olivier thought for a while and shook his head in frustration. "Two days at most."
"So … you still want to attack the Spire Palace now?" Lopes asked.
"Of course. How would we know if we don't try? I don't think the vampires have the strength to fight back. Didn't the black knight who called himself Duke Muxilon retreat after ten days of confrontation with Duke Lauen? Maybe he's too busy hiding in Muxilon to lick his wounds? "Olivier still insisted." We just need to hold on through this winter and wait for the weather to warm up. "
"I also think that attacking the Spire Palace is feasible." Teresa spoke. The sorceress was wearing an ice blue dress with clear swallow-sleeved sleeves. Since she was strong in winter, she was eager to give it a try. She did not perform well in this battle and felt that she was suppressed by Veronica. "Laing, what do you think?"
"…" Veronica's expression was calm. She had performed very well in this battle, and the might of her Light Magic Ascension had caught everyone's attention. In this situation, she didn't need to show off. Winter wasn't the time for her magic power to be strong.
The pressure came to Laing. Suria looked at her husband, but the female knight did not say a word.
The Countess' influence had been infiltrating Laing's team, but as long as Laing did not say anything, Suria would never make a decision in front of her husband. She knew very well who was the head of the family.
Laing weighed the pros and cons for a while and finally said something.
"We have to be careful with our attack on Muxilon. Once we attack the Spire Palace, it means that we have to go all out against Muxilon. We don't have the ability to fight against that Black Knight yet." Laing shook his head and rejected the idea. "At least not now."
The bigger the territory, the better. It was easy to attack the Spire Palace now, but it was difficult to defend it. This back and forth would consume a lot of energy. Laing had just finished his battle with Kemmler. His territory and his people needed to rest.
Laing's prestige in his territory was unparalleled. No one dared to question his decision, so the idea was put to rest.
"The plan for the next year is to recuperate, train, and reorganize the army. At the same time, expand the size of the army by 200 people." Laing revealed his plan. "Train, then strengthen."
"Yes!" Hex nodded and noted it down.
"Gather enough orphans and talented serf children and send them to the dwarves to cultivate their smithing, smithing, and engineering skills. We want to set up a small academy. You've seen the power of the dwarves' weapons. As long as they're used well, the kingdom will benefit greatly in the future!"
"Yes!" Katzenberg expressed his understanding.
"Lastly, about this year's evaluation …" The highlight of the year was here. Laing handed out the year-end bonuses under everyone's expectant gazes.
"Awarded the title of Baron Hex Devon!
"Awarded Olivier the title of Fearless and a set of dwarven runic plate armor!
"Awarded Lucien 200 crowns as encouragement!"
… …
The generous year-end bonuses made everyone smile. Following the count was still the best choice.
After everyone had received their generous rewards, Leon smiled and said, "Finally, we would like to thank a person in particular. This person was born in the wilderness, and he led his subordinates to surrender to me as soon as I issued the 'Virtue Decree' …"
Everyone's eyes turned to Bertrand, who was sitting at the end of the table. The Green Arrow's forehead was sweating as he hurriedly stood up.
Lord was a rather special title. In Brittania, the title of Lord was bestowed upon those who had made great contributions to certain matters. After receiving the title of Lord, they were generally called Sir and enjoyed a relatively high social status. Others had to add a "Sir" to their title. This was the highest level of reward that a serf could receive. However, the title of Sir was not hereditary. It was only close to the level of nobility, but had not truly entered the ranks of knights and nobles.
Therefore, even though Bertrand was qualified to attend the year-end meeting, he could only sit at the end of the table. He was trembling in fear and did not dare to say a word. However, he was already the envy of all the serfs in the count's territory.
"In the battle of La Messner Abbey, he used the Black Arrow to kill Kemmler. It played a crucial role in the process and outcome of the entire battle." Laing continued, "So, I confer you the title of Lord. This is a reward for your military service. However, I have one more thing to give you at the year-end meeting."
A green woodland recurve bow was brought in by an attendant. Bertrand knew at a glance that this recurve bow would be highly sought after if it was put on the market. This recurve bow was made of the branches of the Asolorin Forest. The bow was surrounded by green leaves and vines. The blessing of the Orion God was added to the bow, and the golden engraving of the power of Starfire flowed with a magical light.
"This is a custom-made gift from the wood elves, the Woodland Starfire Recurve Bow." Laing handed the recurve bow to Bertrand, "This is your reward. May you continue to repay me with honor and loyalty!"
"Yes! My Count, Bertrand will definitely live up to your great trust! " Bertrand knelt down and took the bow. Laing noticed that his shoulders were trembling violently. This knight's excitement was evident.
Serfs and nobles, warhorses and knights. The Brittany had lived like this for thousands of years. Bertrand himself knew best what it meant to be a knight.
"Don't be too happy too early. I have a mission for you." Laing smiled and patted Bertrand's shoulder, "Duke Gisoleiox, Hagan, needs a troop to help the dwarves clear out the rebellious serfs and bandits in the Grey Mountains. The mountains are not suitable for knights to lead troops, so I thought of you, Bertrand. You may have to spend this year's Winter Veil in the barracks."
"I will definitely live up to your great trust!" Bertrand said loudly, "Count, please give me your orders!"
"Well, you will pick three hundred men from the Chalon Forest Patrol Camp. I will give you two hundred halberds and Ugor mounted archers to form a battalion. You will be the battalion commander. Remember, this time King Belegar is the commander. You will be fighting in the mountains. Watch, learn, ask, and speak less. Listen to King Belegar's command."
"Yes!"
After the meeting, Laing found Teresa and Veronica. The sorceress was obviously unhappy that Laing did not agree. She snorted and stood up to leave. Laing pulled her back and smiled, "What's wrong, dear Teresa? Why are you ignoring me? "
"Anyway, I don't care about you now. You don't listen to me. Why should I stay here after the meeting?" The sorceress did not give Laing a good look. Obviously, she was still upset that Laing did not agree to her proposal.
"Ha, are you guys done arguing? If you are, I want to go back to sleep. In this terrible weather, the only thing I want to do is hide in a warm bed to read and taste hot drinks, "Veronica yawned and yawned. Veronica yawned tiredly. Magus Garland took Leon's arm and said, "Leon, do you want to come to my place? We can chat, cook dinner together, and have a beautiful woman accompany you at night. "
"Okay, stop it, Veronica." Laing patted Veronica and then turned to Teresa and said, "I heard that you have encountered some problems with the construction of your wizard tower."
"Yes, there are some small problems." Teresa did not really have a problem with Laing. The sorceress was just taking the opportunity to throw a tantrum. She wanted to make Laing feel a sense of presence. "Do you want to go and see?"
"Let's go, Veronica. Let's go and see what trouble Teresa is in."
"Ah, this little princess … Okay, okay."
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.
