The serf redemption system had been put into practice in Laing's Count of Glamorgan and François's Winford Duchy. All serfs who had been conscripted were given the right to redeem their serf registration.
The announcement of this treaty brought hope to all of Brittany. People were overjoyed, thinking that this was another gift from the Goddess of the Lake to the mortals. Coupled with the influence of the Old Guard Investiture Ceremony, all the serfs in the kingdom finally began to believe that they might be able to change their fate and become knights.
In the first month alone, nearly a thousand serfs in Winford Duchy redeemed their freedom. They came to François's Duke Castle and handed over a lot of gold coins. Under the witness of the Goddess of the Lake, they received a certificate of redemption and became free people. These free people were quickly received by François. The Duke himself courteously and warmly welcomed these new free people into his palace in waves. He held one grand banquet after another and set up a very grand welcoming ceremony. He thanked them for their contributions to the Duchy and the Duke's family over the years. He then promised that even though they had become free people, he, his city, and his Duchy would always welcome them.
These free people were really touched. As the descendant of one of the first twelve Holy Grail Knights, "Pure Witch" Redmond, a Holy Grail Knight, the noble Duke actually treated us with such great respect. The free people present all cried and knelt down. Almost all of them stayed in Winford Duchy. Some of them worked in the workshops, some of them became freelancers and shopkeepers in the towns. Many of them chose to contract some barren land from François and hire their own people to start farming. These people no longer needed to be taxed. Instead, they became rich farmers who only needed to pay shield tax (military protection fee) and tithe.
With the large amount of labor provided by these free people, François followed in Laing's footsteps and promoted industrialization, achieving very good results.
At the same time, François used the Winford fugitives to form the Unicorn Guards and promised them the same knighthood, causing a huge wave of people to join the army.
The boundaries of class started to blur. As the beneficiary of the redemption system, François received more than 30 thousand crowns from the free people. François was delighted to receive the money. After all, even a Holy Grail Knight wouldn't complain about having too much money.
Similarly, Laing's fief also received more than 10 thousand crowns in ransom. The treasury of the duke's castle was filled to the brim with all sorts of treasures. Suria and the Nymphs of the Lake were in a good mood because of that and would often hold hands and count their savings.
Seeing François enjoying such a huge profit, the dukes who supported Laing either openly or secretly could no longer sit still. Laing had long expected that they would come looking for him. As for why Duke Hubbard didn't come, the reason was simple. The duchy of Carcasson was really poor and faced great military pressure. Hubbard's support was, in a way, a 'trade'. He supported Laing's reformist nobles and the Nymphs of the Lake, while Laing would continue to provide him with military and material support.
It was worth mentioning that Morgiana carried out her duties faithfully. When a free person got into a conflict with an old knight and was beaten up for no reason, Morgiana declared the knight's loss in court and ordered him to pay 50 crowns and make a public apology. The way the Nymphs of the Lake dealt with the matter was like a shot of adrenaline to the serfs. They were no longer the property of others. They were free!
Milady, bless Brittany!
The Nymphs of the Lake also benefited from the redemption system. The redemption fee was also taxed, and Morgiana earned close to five thousand crowns from that alone.
After Laing met up with Morgiana and the rest, they were still some distance away from the duke's castle. However, they had already arrived at Teresa's magus tower. The seven-storey tower had already formed a rather large manor. Laing hesitated for a moment before asking Teresa, "Teresa, do you and Lady Aurora want to return to the duke's castle with us?"
"No. Mother and I have to deal with the matter of the pressure. We'll meet up with you in a few days. We'll part ways here." Theresa shook her head. The sorceress rode the hybrid elven warhorse Laurel to Ryan's side and kissed him gently. "You can go back first."
"Alright." Laing did not say anything else and simply agreed. At the same time, he signaled to Aurora. However, for some reason, the sanctum witch became very hostile towards him. She only snorted as a response.
Laing shrugged and said to Morgiana, "Let's go."
After meeting up with Morgiana, Laing originally wanted to leave the Chalon Forest before night fell and rush to his duke's castle. However, Morgiana seemed to have noticed Laing's thoughts. The Lake Goddess witch said that the two of them had to go to the sacred place in the Chalon Forest, the Lily Island where the Lake Goddess had descended to, to stay and pray. Due to Morgiana's insistence, Laing's journey was slightly delayed. When his army finally left the Chalon Forest, it was already dusk. Seeing this, Laing simply dismissed the army and went to Redfish Village with Morgiana to spend the night in Angelon's manor.
When they entered the manor, the sky was already dark and it was still snowing. The livestock were also hiding in the corral to spend the winter. During the slack season, there was almost no one in the manor. Laing's leather boots and Morgiana's soft-soled boots made a rustling sound as they stepped on the ground. The cold wind blowing against them made them feel cold.
"I don't know if my brother is here." Laing walked into the manor with Morgiana. "But no matter what, we have a place to stay. It's pretty good. I didn't expect you to come."
"Her attitude is too bad." Morgiana followed behind Laing. The Lake Goddess witch said, "Laing, you are the champion of the Lady's Choice. She can't treat you like this. If you need …"
"I know what you want, Morgiana." Laing turned his head. Morgiana was right behind him. The Lake Goddess witch's face was full of pride. She had also dismissed the Grail guards. If there were not a few people in the manor, she would have already come up to Laing and held his arm. "Isn't it good? There are a lot of things in the church that are specifically used to deal with witches. Take her into the tower and give me a month or two. I promise that I'll be able to lead this Sanctuary witch and make her kneel in front of you obediently. This is my territory, and she's not my opponent. "
"… I don't want to talk about this anymore." Ryan looked at Morgianna from the corner of his eyes. How could he not know that Morgianna was using her power to avenge a personal grudge?
Seeing that Laing did not want to talk about it anymore, Morgiana had a lot of ideas in her mind. She nodded and seemed to have given up.
"Brother? Are you there? "Laing looked around and did not see Angelo. He had no choice but to shout.
"Brother? I'm here. " Angelo's voice came from a farm. Laing opened the door. The smell that greeted him made Morgiana frown her golden eyebrows.
In the open space of the farm, Angelo was stroking a tiger.
The huge saber-toothed tiger was lying on the ground with its belly exposed to Angelo. It was whining and rolling around on the ground. Angelo was very interested and stretched out a hand to stroke the saber-toothed tiger's chin and belly back and forth. It could be seen that the saber-toothed tiger's eyes were squinting and seemed to be enjoying it very much. It was snorting and wagging its tail from side to side. Angelo was also feeding it with sliced boiled meat. When he heard Laing and Morgiana come in, Angelo did not even raise his head. "You're back, brother? I've been tidying up your room. Do you want to have dinner? "
"No, I've already had dinner. I just came to say hello." Laing tried to get closer. The saber-toothed tiger immediately turned over and looked at Laing with vigilance. It even showed a super fierce expression that said, "I'm not to be trifled with."
"In that case, you should rest. I know what's been going on." Ankelang gave the saber-toothed tiger a slap on the face, and the majestic beast whimpered in pain. It whimpered and lay down again, exposing its belly for Ankelang to scratch and comb. "Bro, stay alert. Tzeentch's scheme is not that simple. It won't stop so easily."
"I understand." Laing nodded. He did not think Tzeentch's scheme was that simple.
"By the way, I will be going out soon." After Angelo finished stroking the tiger, he was in a good mood. The World Eater geno prototype was very happy. He said, "I have an appointment with Brenner. We are going to explore the underground elven palace in the Southern Kingdom's Tobalo City. We will see if we can find anything good and bring it back for my nephew."
Brenner, the bounty hunter, was one of the three Sacred mercenaries in the Southern Kingdom. He had met Angelo in the Withered Swamp. Recently, Brenner had received a big job. He was going to explore the ancient elven ruins in the Estalya Tobalo Duchy. It was a very dangerous mission. The reward was 10,000 crowns and many other benefits. Brenner did not have the confidence to do it alone, so he decided to ask Angelo for help. They would split the reward 50-50.
Angelo agreed. He did not care about money, but he liked adventure. The ancient elven ruins had piqued his interest.
"Sure. As long as you are happy." Laing and Angelo talked for a while. Then, they went back to the manor's guest room with Morgiana. The two of them took a long shower and then went to sleep.
Morgiana looked lazy as she leaned against the headboard. She pulled up the blanket and looked at the magic lamp beside the bed. "Laing?"
"What is it? Morgiana? "Laing was also leaning against the soft pillow. He was thinking about something.
"I never thought I would one day become like this." Morgiana put the potion holy grail aside. The Lake Fairy's first choice sighed and said, "But I have to say, this feeling is not bad. I like being with you, Laing. I like talking to you. I like eating dinner with you. I always feel happy when I am with you. I do not know if this is love. I have never experienced it, so I do not understand. But I really …"
"Me too, Morgiana … You know, we were together because of an accident." Laing smiled bitterly. He reached out and stroked Morgiana's golden hair. "But you are so good to me. What else can I say?"
"Actually, I was very worried." Morgiana shook her head. Her face was flushed. "I was worried that the lady would not agree with us … But I did not expect that the lady just asked me to be careful not to be found out."
Laing was amused. If he looked at the result, Morgiana and Suria were the two ropes in the hands of the Lake Fairy. The goddess used these two ropes to firmly tie Laing. How could she object? Morgiana lost her virginity to him because of the undead's conspiracy. It was a pleasant surprise because Laing was a person who valued responsibility and obligation very much.
"Is there any important news recently?" The two of them chatted for a while. Laing noticed that it was already very late. He hugged Morgiana's slender waist.
"Yes, there is news from Kislöw. Let's not talk about this now. You will know tomorrow. Laing, let's do it again …"
"Okay."
… I am the dividing line between two ropes …
The next day, which was the end of December of this year, Laing and Morgiana set off from the manor together and returned to his duke's castle.
After spending the night with Laing, Morgiana's face was flushed red. It was almost impossible to hide it. Let alone Laing, even Morgiana herself knew that she could not do this. Not long after they entered Gene City, the Lake Fairy Witch rode the unicorn Hillfain and left first. She wanted to see the construction of the new Holy Grail Church.
Seeing that Laing had returned, Duchess Suria and Laing's father-in-law, François, both came out to greet him. François was wearing a blue and white duke's robe with a unicorn and a pegasus emblem. Seeing that Laing had returned, before Suria could say anything, François reached out and patted Laing's arm. "Laing, did you run into any trouble? Mu Xilong should be able to suppress it. "
"No trouble, just a little disgusting." Laing shook his head. Before he could finish his sentence, the chubby little Devenhill ran out. "Daddy, you're finally back. Daddy, I want a present!"
"Daddy went out to war. What present could there be?" Laing picked up little Devenhill from the ground and kissed him on the cheek. "Were you good when daddy wasn't here?"
"Good! Mommy said I was good!" Devenhill shouted happily. "Both mommies said I was good."
"Which mommies?"
"Mommy Suria and Mommy Lilith!" Devenhill waved his little fist.
"Young master, rest time is over. You still have to learn how to read in the morning." Head Maid Sylvia walked over with a straight face. "Please come with me."
Devenhill nodded obediently and followed Sylvia. Laing took Suria's hand and pulled her to his side. He then said to François, "Where are the dukes?"
"Bohemond and Lauan are having a war simulation in your castle's meeting hall." François stroked his goatee and smiled. "They're simulating a recent battle in Kislöw. It's the largest battle in recent times."
"What battle is it?" Laing was interested. Morgiana had mentioned it before.
"It's north of Kislöw. The marshal of Kislöw's Bear Cavalry, Voroshilov, is leading more than 20,000 Kislöw troops against the barbarian tribe of Behrsonlin, which is located on the opposite side of the Mourning Mountains to the north of Kislöw." François nodded. "We've received very detailed information about this battle from Kislöw. Lauren, Berchemund, and Bodrick are currently simulating the battle based on the information we have."
"Sounds like a fierce battle." Laing was even more interested.
"It is indeed fierce." François shook his head helplessly. "The marshal of Kislöw's Bear Cavalry, Voroshilov, took the initiative to attack. At the cost of more than 20,000 casualties, he lost 120 Bear Cavalry, 1,500 Ugor mounted archers, 700 Kislöw archers, and 50 cannons. He defeated more than 5,000 barbarian troops from the Behrsonlin tribe in the south of the Mourning Mountains and recovered some strongholds in the north. In the final battle at the Ice Lake of Korvoze, he drove the Behrsonlin tribe to the other side of the Mourning Mountains."
"This battle is known as the Winter War."
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