PS: I wish everyone a good time reading this 5000 word chapter!
That night, the knight's army set up camp on the Kurona Road.
It was already December, and the weather was very cold. Even the knights knew it was hard to bear. When the knight's army set out, they did not bring too much food and supplies because the Empire had promised to solve all logistical problems.
In fact, Laing had already received the first part of the logistical supplies from the border, which was handled by Marlinburg and handed over to the Empire's border guards. Because Schultz gave a very detailed list of items, the Empire's bureaucrats only set the "transportation loss" at 8%, and the remaining 92% were handed over to the knight's army.
This made Veronica, who was familiar with the Empire's style of doing things, complain that the Knight King was famous, and the money and supplies were provided by Marlinburg. Plus, the Empire took the initiative to invite the Empire, so the bureaucrats did not dare to touch the money.
Laing also knew that the transportation of money and supplies was indeed a loss, so the Knight King did not say much. He simply handed over the transportation to the Empire bureaucrats, asked if there were any new information, and then let them leave.
After leaving, Laing had more thoughts about the Imperial Emperor's level of planning.
Did the Imperial Emperor predict that he would become the Knight King? No one knew, but there was no doubt that the Emperor had the foresight to send Schultz to this world (a certain commander gave him a thumbs up). Schultz had played a role in several crucial moments, including when Leon first arrived at Marlinburg, when the Emperor tried to take back Marlinburg several times, but to no avail, when Leon ascended the throne, and when he suddenly acted at this crucial moment to stop the Tzeentech demons and Tzeentech believers from achieving their goal.
Knight King always felt that there was an invisible hand controlling everything. Behind him, the Imperial Emperor's cold eyes were observing the chessboard, and what to do next. On the opposite side, the Four Gods of Chaos, the Elven God, the Ancient Saint, and other creatures like Tarasin the Infinite or the Astral God were on the opposite side, and the cold chess game continued.
For now, I just need to focus on dealing with the Tide of Destruction … Knight King convinced himself. He patrolled the vicinity of the camp, and soon found a troll hunting for food and a few goblins from the Gentil Mine. Laing wanted to find a chance to attack, but before he could get close, the Old Guard of the King immediately rushed up and lined up in formation, ready to fight.
Speaking of which, the troll was really unlucky. Bertrand's arrow through the heart made the troll kneel on one knee. Then, the flintlock grenadiers took down the troll with a volley of bullets, and then a molotov cocktail hit the still twitching troll. The troll struggled for a long time before it was burned to ashes. The goblins collapsed on their horses and were killed by the Knight Squires.
During the whole process, Laing did not find a chance to attack. Knight King could only smile indifferently. Too many strong enemies had died in his hands. Now that the opponent's level was not high enough, he felt that it was beneath him to attack.
Looking at the charred body of the troll, Laing suddenly thought of the legendary hero of the High Elves, Azarion the Ruthless. He recalled the end of the two old enemies, Azarion and the green bellied king Gru. Laing finally heard from Tegris that Azarion threw Gru's body, which was constantly healing and recovering, into the magic furnace of Tar-Iris. After five days and five nights, Gru was completely burned to ashes.
At this time, the soldiers had a new discovery.
"General, look, this is the body of a pilgrim." The captain of the Old Guard's flintlock grenadiers, Hugo, immediately signaled to Bertrand that there was a corpse on the roadside.
Bertrand wanted to step forward, but the blessings of the Eye of Tar-Iris and the Lord of Nature were not for nothing. He saw the corpse nearly a hundred meters away at a glance and signaled that there was no need to go over. Instead, he said to Laing, "It's a pilgrim, Your Majesty."
"It's normal. This is the Kurona Road." Laing immediately understood what had happened. Knight King sighed softly. "Well, it's almost time for us to go back."
"Yes." Everyone just took a few glances and decided to go back.
The Kurona Road was not only the border area between the Empire and Brittany, but it was also the famous pilgrimage route of the Church of the Goddess of Mercy.
As everyone knew, the headquarters of the Church of the Goddess of Mercy was in Kurona, the capital of Brittany. However, the largest sanatorium and the most patients of the Church of the Goddess of Mercy were basically in Brunswick, the capital of the Empire. Every year, the Church of the Goddess of Mercy in the Empire would encourage sick and disabled pilgrims to go on a pilgrimage to the Church of the Goddess of Mercy in Kurona.
The priests of the Church of the Goddess of Mercy promised that as long as they completed the pilgrimage, they would receive free medical resources and divine blessings. As a result, a large number of pilgrims who were suffering from illnesses or hoping for divine blessings would gather in Brunswick every year. They would then set off from Brunswick and walk thousands of kilometers to Culona.
In fact, the priests of the Church of the Goddess of Mercy would always try to encourage as many believers and patients as possible to make the pilgrimage through speeches and promises. If there weren't enough people, the Church of the Goddess of Mercy would even offer to send people away. Most of the pilgrims would be reduced to begging before they even left Brunswick. Some of the pilgrims who looked like beggars would be sent back by the Brittany border army, while others would be thrown into prison. Most of them would die of illness due to lack of food and water.
To make matters worse, these pilgrims had to pay a transit tax when they crossed the border. Originally, the Brittany knights felt that it was necessary to show their compassion and stated that the pilgrims could travel for free. However, soon, unscrupulous peddlers, postmen, and smugglers took advantage of this rule and claimed that they were pilgrims. In the end, the knights were so angry that they decided that no matter who they were, they had to pay the transit tax.
As everyone could see, the border between the Empire and Brittany was very barren and full of green-skinned, bandits, and even small monster gangs. Therefore, only 3% to 10% of the pilgrims could reach the Church of the Goddess of Mercy in Kurona. These pilgrims would receive free medical treatment from the Church of the Goddess of Mercy when they reached Kurona. After the treatment, the pilgrims would be asked to return to Brunswick immediately. In the end, only 1% to 3% of the pilgrims could make it back to Brunswick to spread the generosity of the Church of the Goddess of Mercy and encourage other believers to continue the pilgrimage.
In fact, if anyone with a brain thought about it carefully, they would know that the so-called "Kurona Pilgrimage" by the Church of the Goddess of Mercy was a bit strange and had some strange meaning.
Think about it, think about it carefully.
Laing had long known why the Church of the Goddess of Mercy wanted to do this. He also knew that the pilgrimage road was full of the blood and tears of pilgrims, but the Knight King still kept quiet about it.
The reason was simple: the Church of the Goddess of Mercy was one of the very few churches in the world that would accept the sick, the elderly, and the homeless for free. This was the doctrine of the Goddess of Mercy, the Goddess of Mercy. But there was a problem because the Church of the Goddess of Mercy did not collect tithes. Basically, all of its income came from the donations of the nobles and the citizens. The Church of the Goddess of Mercy tried its best to help the poor, but it seriously lacked sufficient power and financial resources. Therefore, they needed a pilgrimage ceremony to "eliminate" the large number of poor and sick people who relied on the Church of the Goddess of Mercy for charity.
On the way back, the Knight King was silent. Laing thought that this also involved the unresolved "war between the left and the right", which was the problem between the left and the right. This problem was very complicated, but to put it simply, on the issue of charity, the left was "demanding social security and ensuring the welfare system", while the right was "the kingdom does not raise lazy people, emphasizing competition and stimulating subjective initiative".
Of course, the poor liked the social security and welfare system of the left, but there was a problem here, just like the problem faced by the Church of the Goddess of Mercy. That was, high welfare and high social security = high taxes. So, did the poor like high taxes? Obviously not. In the end, everyone was getting benefits together. They did not want to work hard and relied on their previous savings.
The right advocated cruel competition and did not raise lazy people, leading to the division between the rich and the poor. This was hated by the poor, but the right had low taxes and high freedom that everyone liked. So, did the poor like low welfare or even no security? Obviously not, and in the end, the social class solidification, completely losing the initiative.
This problem had troubled human beings for thousands of years. Just like populism and elites, human beings swayed left and right, and always only temporarily alleviated the contradiction, but never found a real solution to this problem. The "unimagined road" had been proposed many times, but none of them were successful. Countries with high welfare and low taxes would go bankrupt in a few years, and countries with high taxes and low welfare … There were quite a lot of them.
Back in the king's red and blue tent, Laing gently opened the inner tent. Veronica was sitting in the hall of the tent, debating with Aurora and Teresa about the future development of the sorceress assembly. The topic of the debate was roughly whether magic theory was more important or practical experience. Seeing Laing come back, Veronica said casually, "Laing, why are you back so soon?"
"I just patrolled and came back." Laing smiled. He glanced and noticed that Laun and Duke Berchemund were sitting in front of the stove, stewing bullwhip. Berchemund saw Laing coming in and said with a smirk, "Your Majesty, try my cooking. You must need it."
"No need, thank you." Laing thought that the bullwhip was useless except for filling the stomach. Knight King said to Laun, "Have there always been so many bodies of pilgrims on this road?"
"Many? I've sent people to clean it up several times. " Laun said helplessly, "Since Your Majesty signed the contract with Emperor Karl-franz, the main energy of the border guards has been used to clean up the small scale green skins, bandits, and these pilgrims. Sometimes there are so many of them that we have to work together."
"Very good." Laing had nothing to say. Knight King stressed to himself again that his current goal was to resist the tide of Chaos. Everything else should be put aside first. "Where's Hagan?"
"Duke Hagan will come later. He's gathered the young knight-errant of Gisoleiox and is lecturing them." Duke Berchemund said casually, "He said that these young knight-errant are the last wave of the tide, and that the Holy Grail and endless glory are waiting for them. The war of knighthood is the best stage for them."
"Ha, if he's only talking to the young knight-errant and knight squires, then there's no problem." Laing nodded with a smile. Knight King thought for a moment and walked inside. "I'll go check on the dinner."
In the kitchen, Morgiana, the witch of the Lake Goddess, and several servants were humming happily as they cooked dinner. The dinner was very simple: corn, ham, and egg soup, fried foie gras, grilled steak, vegetable salad, black pepper chicken noodles, and bread with butter. Seeing Laing come in, Morgiana said softly, "Why are you here? Dinner won't be ready for a while. Let's wait."
"What? Why can women cook but men can't? Angry! Trembling! Cold! When will our Lord Knight be able to stand up? " Laing smiled and walked to the big pot where the corn, ham, and egg soup was simmering. He motioned the servants to move aside so that he could cook it himself. "I'm a master at cooking. When I was young, I often went on adventures alone. Morgiana, how long has it been since you left Brittany?"
"I haven't left Brittany since I became the witch of the Lake Goddess." Morgiana was wearing a maid's apron and a white headscarf (given by Olica) on her head. She looked very domestic. "This is the first time I've left Brittany."
"Lauren and the others are really lucky to be able to eat your cooking." Laing laughed.
Knight King had reason to be happy. With the Empire's logistical support, the knight's army could march very fast. At most, the knight's army could reach Mildenheim in a month, provided that there was no battle.
Knight King also found a handful of leeks in the corner of the kitchen. Laing could not help but laugh. "Isn't this' organic wave '? Morgiana, where did you get it? "
"What organic wave?" Morgiana did not understand. "I found it in the logistics of Fort Marlin, but no one liked it, so I just put it there."
"I see." Laing grabbed the leeks and suddenly wanted to take a scythe and cut them.
After a while, dinner was ready, and everyone sat down to eat. Laing, Lauren, and Berchemund prayed to the Lake Goddess, while Veronica and Teresa waited for Laing to finish praying before they started eating.
Only Morgiana was speechless as she looked at the steak, soup, salad, and Tyrell noodles in front of everyone, and the wet empty plate in front of her. She said unhappily to Morgiana, "Your Highness Morgiana, what is the meaning of this?"
"Oh, Lady Aurora, you're still here. I almost forgot." Morgiana sat next to Laing, and the Lake Goddess witch said coldly, "I thought you weren't going to eat with us tonight, so I didn't prepare your share."
Teresa wanted to stop her, but Laing stopped her. Laing gestured to Teresa to just watch. Out of trust for Laing, Teresa did not say anything.
"What do you mean I'm not going to eat with you tonight?!" Aurora was so angry that she almost stood up. The Sanctum witch said angrily, "I was ordered by the king to come here for dinner. I've been sitting here all this time. Are you blind?"
Lauren and Berchemund also looked at Morgiana strangely. This did not seem like a mistake the Lake Goddess witch would make. But it was not convenient for the two dukes to speak, so they could only eat in silence.
Laing's face was full of black lines. Knight King opened his mouth, and finally could only say, "It's okay, I'll make another one right away. Lady Aurora, please wait a moment."
"No, Lady Aurora. I'm sorry, I didn't prepare. So, Lady Aurora, you can use this to deal with it." Morgiana waved her hand and signaled the servant to bring a piece of oversized barley bread that weighed two kilograms and a can of butter. "Now that we're in the wilderness, you should get over it a little."
Aurora stood up directly, and the veins on the Sanctum witch's face bulged. "It seems that, Your Highness Morgiana, we need a duel of honor to solve the problem!"
"It's my honor!" Morgiana also stood up, and the Lake Goddess witch was very aggressive.
In the end, the two Sanctum wizards fought outside the tent, and the result was a crushing defeat for Aurora. She was no match for Morgiana, who had mastered both life and sky magic, and was also the Chosen One of the Lake Goddesses. The Sanctum witch was locked in a tent by Morgiana, and her limbs were tied up, eyes covered, and mouth gagged. No one knew what Morgiana taught her, but Laing vaguely knew that Morgiana seemed to have a private conversation with Orica before the army set off.
Since then, Aurora kept a low profile and restrained herself in the army.
The army of knights spent more than ten days to quickly pass through the Kurona Road and pass by Marlin Castle. At Marlin Castle, they received the second batch of supplies that were carried by thousands of carriages.
Then, the army continued to the east and came to the south of Wester, gradually approaching the Drakwald Forest in Midden.
At the end of December, Laing received the first urgent military report.
"About 130,000 soldiers of the Army of Chaos have approached the northern border of the Empire! The Empire's coalition army of Nord, Oster, and Ostermark provinces have successively clashed with the Army of Chaos in the south of Kislöw, but they have all lost! "
"Örengrád is still standing!"
"The capital of Ostermark province, Becafen, is under attack by the Nurgle army! Elector Hertwich Wolferam has gathered tens of thousands of troops and is preparing to resist! "
"The news shows that the new Chaos reinforcements have begun to come south from the Mourning Mountains!"
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