It was the beginning of the 11th month, and the weather in Culona was getting colder and colder.
The victory of the Battle of Shantiron gave birth to five new knights. They were given the title of Knight Errant in the Culona palace. Laing commended the Northern Frontline Army led by Kalad and personally awarded him the Legion of Honour Medal of the Holy Grail. All the soldiers below Kalad also received sufficient rewards. The king ordered the victory to be widely publicized and reminded everyone not to let their guard down.
Ulfric and his fleet of dragonships were roaming outside the Claw Sea, looking for the next opportunity to invade!
The victors would be rewarded, and the losers would be compensated. The town of Shantiron was destroyed and would take a month or two to rebuild. Laing would be in charge of that. Shantiron was under his jurisdiction, and Laing had also left it to him.
After the meeting, Laing still received very little information. Many of the reports were contradictory. Some said that Ulfric's invasion was premeditated and that the Noskas were about to go to war with the Brittany. Others said that it was just a test and a routine raid by the northern barbarians. Some even said that it was because Ulfric and his army had been abandoned by Chaos and they weren't chosen for the war with the dark elves. That was why they came looking for trouble with the Knight King.
Laing read through all the information he had and felt that it was a mess. He couldn't tell which information was trustworthy and which was false. The Knight King could only temporarily determine that the invasion of Chaos wasn't just a test or a raid. Laing vaguely recalled the source of information Aurora had given him. It was said that a powerful being of Chaos was gathering an army in the north. However, there wasn't any solid evidence to support the claim. The previous information had already shown that the target of this powerful being of Chaos was the dark elves, and it had been confirmed.
Furthermore, the prophecies of the Eternal Chosen Eichahn were enough to fill three large wooden boxes. Did you think the people of the old world wouldn't find a way?
The Empire had sent out several armies, demon hunters, and battle priests to search for Eichahn, but they either went missing or became idiots and loyal believers of Chaos.
Brittany had also sent some knights to the Chaos Wasteland. Some died in battle, some were corrupted by Chaos, and when they returned to the Brittany who preached the doctrine of sexual sin, they were burned to death. The most famous expedition knight was Gillette. He encountered the famous Azazel, and during a one-on-one battle, the expedition knight suddenly knelt before the Azazel and was beheaded without any resistance......
According to the currently known information, the only person in the world who could enter the Chaos Realm in the Chaos Wasteland and come back unscathed was the Dark Elf Witch King Malecis. However, Laing learned from Lilith that Malecis didn't really "escape unscathed". He was able to successfully return to Nagaros, other than the bloodline of the Phoenix King in his body, the deal between the Witch Queen Malecis and the sexual sin, as well as the sacrifice of countless of the most precious sacrifices, including a Demon Toad Shilan that was obtained at a great cost.
Laing himself didn't dare to enter the Chaos Wasteland. It wasn't that he was timid, but if he were to enter the Chaos Wasteland, he would be like a firefly in the dark, or a husky in a pack of wolves. He could guarantee that he would be discovered and attacked by countless Chaos Demons wherever he went. Even if he was in his original form, he wouldn't be so exhausted.
What, you're talking about the Gray Knight Grand Mentor Cardo Diego? Slaughtering demons in the subspace for many years?
There were two points to emphasize here. First, the subspace was not the same as the Chaos Domain, and there was not only Chaos in the subspace.
Second, Diego's strength was at the level of a demigod, but he was not as invincible as imagined. He was trapped in the subspace for life after eating a curse from the Chaos Demon Reborn Muka. Moreover, he was so happy to kill, but in fact, it was only the Four Gods of Chaos who were waiting for him to be corrupted and fall. Therefore, they didn't spend their energy to deal with him. Moreover, the demons he killed and the Chaos Domain he destroyed would be reborn and restored endlessly.
This was different for Laing. As the original form of the Gray Knight, other than the Chaos Demon, he couldn't completely kill the other Chaos Demons for the time being. If he killed the other Chaos Demons, they would be completely dead, and the Chaos Things he destroyed would be destroyed.
Third, one of the important reasons why Diego was able to defeat Mortarion was that the Emperor told him Mortarion's true name. The Emperor's request for Laing's original form was that he would not tell him the true name of the demon. He had to decipher it himself. This was a skill that he had to master as the original form of the Gray Knight. Laing was only in his forties this year, so it was not that easy to master this skill.
The true name of a Chaos Demon was not something that ordinary people could remember after the Emperor said it once. The difficulty was probably to let an ordinary person master high-level calculus from scratch. Moreover, if they failed even a little bit, they would be corroded by Chaos, explode on the spot, and turn into a Chaos Egg on the spot. The first letter or pronunciation of most Demons' true names was enough to make a large group of people go crazy and attract countless terrifying existences.
After the meeting, Laing immediately made two decisions. The first was to summon Aurora and Teresa to Kurona and assign a new mission. The second was to contact the Empire and Kislöw to ask for more information.
It was fine to contact the Empire, as it only took half a day, but to contact Kislöw would take three whole days. All Laing could do now was wait.
Being locked in the palace was rather annoying, and one thing that Laing didn't like was that there were many rules in the palace. The Knight King would be monitored from head to toe. Therefore, after the meeting, Laing and Kalad went to the outskirts of Kurona alone. On one hand, it was to listen to Kalad describe the details of the battle, and on the other hand, it was to show how much he valued Kalad.
The beginning of winter was gray because the sky in Brittany was always gray at this time. There was no sunlight and no vitality. The beginning of winter was yellow. There was no spring or summer scenery in the fields, only a large patch of yellow left behind after the harvest.
Some of the serfs and freedmen who were idle chose to enter the city to work. Recently, Laun had issued an order to recruit people to repair Shantiron Town. The wages were not bad, and food was provided. Many people went, but some, especially the freedmen who did not lack food and copper coins, sat on the ridges of the fields and at the entrance of the manor and bragged and chatted.
The sparrows began to fly in flocks. The few remaining yellowed leaves on the trees spun in the winter wind, as if they were about to fall off the tree. The joy of the harvest still lingered on everyone's faces. No one noticed the passing carriage or the people hiding in the corner. Instead, they were talking about the recent harvest and the battle of Shantiron.
Due to the great victory, the civilians not only felt honored, but also discussed it very enthusiastically. Most of them talked about the "new knight title", "His Excellency Kalad", and "His Excellency Lauren." The two Knights of the Holy Grail hiding in the corner were not surprised. Ryan smiled at Kalad and said, "You are really famous this time, my count."
"It's all thanks to Your Majesty's wisdom and decisiveness. I just played my role at the right time." Kalad noticed that Laing was very interested in the conversation between the farmers and the freedmen. "Your Majesty, don't you think we should immediately dispatch the Poseidon fleet to deal with Ulfric and his army of world walkers?" Count Garament emphasized.
"It won't be easy for Ulfric to reorganize his army after losing the battle." Laing did not directly answer Kalad's question. The Knight King shook his head. "Kalad, do you have a feeling?"
"What feeling, Your Majesty?" Kalad followed Laing's footsteps. The two of them were wearing brown robes and capes, looking like two travelers.
"Normally, Kalad, there are only two outcomes for the barbarian invasions in Brittany history." Laing pointed at the manor in the distance. "The first is that the barbarians burn, kill, and loot. After they've had their fill, they retreat."
"The second is that the barbarians lose. Under such circumstances, have you ever seen the Noska people retreat? When have they not fought to the end? "
"Yes." Kalad nodded. He recalled Egil's invasion. "Your Majesty, do you still remember Egil Red-Eyes? At that time, he could have defeated Lyonarcy directly, but in the end, he chose to ask for the championship match because he wanted that boy. "
"That's right." Laing nodded. The Knight King looked at the plains of Culona and said seriously, "For the Noska people, the most glorious thing is to burn, kill, and loot in the name of an evil god and desecrate the land of the Southerners. I know this better than anyone. Don't forget, I grew up in Nord. If the Noska people do something that doesn't make sense, then there's only one conclusion: their scheme is far greater than the so-called most glorious thing. Then there's only one explanation for Ulfric's retreat: there's someone higher than him, or even an evil god, who told him to retreat in a dream."
"That's right, Your Majesty. This is why Laing and I think this is just the beginning." Kalad was not surprised that Ryan had come to this conclusion. He thought to himself that this was not like Ryan. His conclusion could be thought of by anyone. It was a little … superficial.
Laing knew what Kalad was thinking just by looking at his expression. The Knight King thought to himself, You've only thought of the first level, but I've already thought of the third. "Then here's the question, Kalad. Why did Ulfric choose to retreat, not retreat to Noska, and not attack from another place? Why did he lead the fleet of dragonships back and forth in the open sea? He didn't attack, didn't loot, and didn't return. Isn't this a waste of time that evil gods hate the most? "
"This …" Kalad didn't know how to answer. Indeed, wasn't Ulfric wasting time like this?
"What do you think, Kalad?" Laing asked calmly with his hands behind his back.
"Your Majesty, I think there's something fishy about this." Kalad immediately understood. "Based on your understanding of the people of Noska, Ulfric wouldn't give up so easily. However, his actions are very unusual, which means there must be a bigger conspiracy behind this."
"That's why I'm eager to know more." Laing nodded slowly. The Knight King noticed that a group of traveling bands had arrived at the manor. He gestured for Kalad to look over there. "But I have a feeling."
"What feeling, Your Majesty?" Kalad knew that due to the development of the economy, Brittany and the Empire had begun to have traveling bands or performing groups. They would perform in various manors to earn a small living.
"Don't you think Ulfric's doing this to divert our attention and delay our main forces?" Laing whispered. "So, I have a feeling that something big must be happening. That's why he's in a hurry to get more information from the Empire and Kislöw. If we rashly mobilize the Sea God's fleet, we'll be led by the nose by Ulfric."
"Yes, Your Majesty!" Kalad nodded in agreement.
At this time, the band in the distance seemed to have negotiated a price with the people of the manor. They began to prepare to play.
The band consisted of a trumpeter, a singer, an accordion player, and a marimba player.
After a cheerful prelude, the singer began to sing, and in a voice rich with feeling, he sang a moving poetic melody.
"From Alençon to the port of Chantillon ~ to the port of Chantillon ~"
"All of Brittany is under attack ~ under attack ~"
"Count Kalad will lead all of Brittany ~ lead all of Brittany ~"
"Tell them we're fearless ~ fearless ~"
The accordion player played a cheerful tune.
"The barbarian tribes of Noska are waking up ~ waking up ~"
"Don't touch our country ~ our country ~"
"Count Kalad will lead all of Brittany ~ lead all of Brittany ~ lead all of Brittany ~"
"Tell them we're fearless ~ fearless ~"
Soon, the people of the manor gathered together and began to sing in a proud voice, praising Kalad's glorious victory over the barbarians.
"There's a poem dedicated to you already, Kalad?" Laing laughed. The Knight King was interested. "When did it appear?"
"Well, there was a group of bards in Chantillon that day. They didn't run far during the evacuation. They were brave enough to watch my duel with Ulfric not far away. After we won, they composed the lyrics and music on the spot. They wrote a song called 'Remove Chaos.' Now, people all around Culona, including Le-Angoulin and Lyonnesse, are singing this song." Kalad blushed a little. "I told Regent Lauren about it, but he said it's a good thing."
"It's a good thing. You deserve it." Laing wondered why he was getting thirstier the more he listened to the song. He wanted to drink some water. "Sometimes, you should visit the grassroots more often. It'll help you understand what the people are thinking."
"Yes." Kalad also felt his mouth dry.
At this moment, an old guard of the Imperial Guard rode over from afar and broke the silence, "Your Majesty! Urgent news from the Empire! The emperor of the Empire personally signed an urgent military report! "
"Give it to me!" Laing immediately took the letter and motioned for Kalad to come over and read it together.
The two Great Holy Grails gathered together and read the words on the parchment. Their expressions gradually became distorted and distorted. The veins on Ryan's hands bulged as he gripped the parchment so tightly that it crumpled.
After reading the letter of a few hundred words, Kalard and Ryan, whose faces were flushed with blood, looked at each other. Thousands of words converged together and finally became a single word.
"F * ck!"
"Inform all dukes to come to Couronne immediately for a meeting! Immediately! "
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
Laing had just received the message. On the other side, in the Empire's Royal Palace in Brunswick, the capital of the Empire, the parliament of the Empire.
All the Kurfürsten and the holders of the Kurfürst's right, as well as many generals and representatives of the mages of the Empire, were present.
The Empire's Royal Assembly was urgently convened here.
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.
