The Duke's Welcome
Here's the first release of the week!
Viscount Eidis brought the two excited sons of his and 20 mounted guards along. Besides Viscount Zindler, Barn Klaus and Baron Wade brought all their children and 50 guards. To the four nobles, being able to gather up roughly 70 men was already their best. The four stared at the Northlander soldier's armor. They realized that even the knights of their household, which they cherished dearly and looked after as well as they could, did not even have equipment as complete as the Northland guards. The realization took quite a bit of wind out of their sails.
Viscount Eidis's elder son, Warridge, was the 'boss' of the other youths that followed along. In a fit of dissatisfaction, he actually challenged Els to a duel. Thus, a small sparring match was organized at noon between the descendants of the four Winston nobles and Lorist's guards. What Warridge did not imagine would happen was that his comrades actually fared rather badly from even the most common of the guards. In the end, he joined the fray himself and managed to fight Patt to a draw. Throughout the whole fight neither could gain even the smallest advantage over the other. However, Patt was still a two-star silver rank, having been unable to train when he was recovering from his injuries, while Warridge was a three-star silver rank.
Eidis and his fellow nobles seemed to have predicted such a result and were pleased that their arrogant children got put in their place. At the very least, they would reflect on their actual capabilities and not engage in any reckless or risky behavior during their travels.
It took at least a full day to reach Windbury. The scenery along the way seemed more normal than before, with the occasional noble's carriage or group of mounted knights passing them by. There were also many carriages that transported various kinds of resources to the capital, as well as some roaming knights that dressed just like normal mercenaries.
When Lorist's group resumed their travels, those in their way immediately stepped aside to make a path, even the nobles stood at the roadside and bowed respectfully. It appeared that the flag of the Raging Bear attracted the most eyes and bows.
From time to time, nobles on the side of the road would call out to Eidis. Count Kenmays was also rather busy with greetings as the number of nobles he knew did not lose out to that of the viscount. With Lorist's permission, their whole group slowed down as many other affiliated nobles wanted to travel with them. Lorist felt that Kenmays had a point when he said it was better to travel leisurely and arrive at the capital the next morning, rather than rush all the way there to arrive during the night. It would be easier to take over control of the southern gate's guard stations in the morning as well.
What Lorist wondered about was how Kenmays did not know Viscount Eidis despite the depth of his knowledge of Iblia. Even though he was entitled by the second prince and had a mercantile family background, he had quite a large network of acquaintances, as was apparent from how eight or nine out of ten nobles they passed knew him. So, why did he not know Viscount Eidis?
"Well, I've heard of Viscount Eidis before," Kenmays laughed, "but we've never met before. Frankly, I am a noble of the kingdom, just like Baron Felim. We are both in King Iblia's faction. Baron Felim knows the nobles of Southern well and is on bad terms with the queen and her faction of nobles. However, Viscount Eidis and the rest belong to the Winston faction, nobles who are known to form alliances for their own protection and staying neutral on most matters. They are also rather powerful as a whole. As long as the second prince didn't threaten their interests, they'd maintain their neutrality. They don't normally interact with the queen's faction, so it's not weird for me to not be acquainted with him."
Sheesh, to think the nobles of a small kingdom like Iblia would have so many factions, thought Lorist, frustrated.
Count Kenmays proceeded to explain that only two factions remained after Lorist captured the second prince, which were those of the queen and Winston. Without the second prince in the picture, the nobles of Southern had no choice but to join the queen's side, changing their former aim from developing their own dominions to causing trouble for Winston's nobles. Most of the conflict and provocations Viscount Eidis and his fellow nobles received were from the nobles of Southern.
The number of people on the road increased as they neared Windbury.
When the rest saw a flag that depicted a round horseshoe with a sword pierced through it, Baron Felim, who was usually calm and collected, exclaimed, "Is Bonawar going to the capital as well?"
Just as the Felim left the group and attempted to catch up, the people bearing the horseshoe flag sped up their course and quickly disappeared.
"Who's that Bonawar you mentioned?" inquired Lorist.
"That's one of the second prince's former generals. He served him during the first years after the kingdom's founding," explained Felim, "He's adept in battle and comes from a famed family of knights. He is also a gold-ranked knight. Two of the second prince's three victories were thanks to him. But, when the kingdom was founded and he was awaiting his entitlement, the second prince actually demanded a sizable donation from him. He left in a fit of rage and disappeared for good. I didn't think that he would show up here to participate in the knighthood tournament..."
Lorist nodded before he patted Felim's shoulder.
"Oh well, it's obvious that Bonawar doesn't want to interact with a huge group of nobles like us. Don't worry, you'll have your chance to meet him at the capital."
In the evening, Lorist instructed everyone to set up camp earlier than usual at a small mound not far away from the main road. During the night, when Lorist was about to start his patrol, he realized that a regiment of troops was rushing towards the capital with lit torches. When they neared, they were surprised to find such a well-guarded camp. After hesitating for a while, a few of the riders brought their torches towards the camp and requested the people at the camp identify themselves. After a squad of patrolling guards told the riders the camp was set up by nobles intent on participating in the tournament, the riders returned to their group and resumed their journey.
The night was cloudy. The dark grey puffs obscured the silver moon's brightness. Perhaps it would rain the next morning. Lorist watched the group pass by and disappear into the distance from a vantage point on the mound.
A few thousand cavalry soldiers and more than 40 carriages... Was that a merchant convoy, or one belonging to a noble?
Just as he was about to finish his thought, the squad of patrolling guards came over and reported that the group that just passed them were from the Forund duchy. It appeared the duchy's young prince would be participating in the tournament as well.
Oh, I see that word has traveled far... Even those at the four central duchies got wind of it. It goes without saying that the prince is intent on forming a union with House Fisablen. Sol, even though the four duchies' army just destroyed the the second highness's at Redlis, they're clamoring for a union. It truly is rather smart of them to garner support so aggressively. If I allow it to happen, the four duchies and the Fisablen duchy combined would be like five huge mountainous obstacles blocking my way… I must not let it happen.
Originally, Lorist did not care too much about whether he would succeed in winning the princess's hand. But, when he realized that there were others competing with him, he felt as if he had been crossed somehow and resolved to not let others soil his princess.
Noon the next day, when Lorist's group was roughly 5 kilometers from their destination, a loud horn tune was blown. The guards sent to check it out came back and reported that Duke Fisablen was on his way with more than a hundred mounted guards to receive The Northlands' four great nobles. Not only did the news surprise Lorist, Viscount Eidis and the other Iblian nobles were also shocked. Given Lorist's title and the other nobles' weak understanding of their might, it was as if the duke's welcome was a departure from normal etiquette.
Tch, that old fox is roasting me on a fire.
Lorist knew well that the duke had come to receive only him. 'Welcoming The Northlands' four great nobles' was just an excuse for the duke to see for himself the might of Lorist's house.
Given how I see him as a potential enemy, there's no doubt that he also thinks of me the same way. His subordinates suffered quite a loss at my hands, after all. Also, had it not been for the fact that I provided them with military equipment, that old fox might not even have thought of reaching his hands into the greater and lesser golden creeks...
This was Lorist and Duke Fisablen's first meeting. Under the gazes of the Iblian nobles, Lorist dismounted when the duke approached on horseback. Count Kenmays, Baron Felim, Baron Shazin, and their guards followed suit. The Norton's three allies stayed slightly behind Lorist of their own accord, whereas the guards of all four houses got into formation on two opposite sides, forming two rows of ten square formations facing each other, each numbering 500 men.
It was said that Duke Fisablen was well above his seventies. However, given that he was a rank 3 blademaster, he looked only around fifty. Alert and sharp, he saw Lorist and his cohort dismount and spurred his horse forward. He made his way through the hundred plus guards in front of him. He quickly arrived before the group and hopped off his horse with a hearty laugh before setting his gaze on Lorist.
"So, you're Count Norton. I've long heard your impressive name," said he jovially.
Lorist clutched his chest with his right hand and bowed slightly. It was the former empire's standard greeting.
"House Norton of The Northlands greets the Empire's Duke, Wargod of the Plains, Your Grace, Duke Fisablen. Let me first offer my most heartfelt congratulations on your recent successes at the plains."
Duke Fisablen stretched out his hand and patted Lorist's shoulder.
"Hehe, the Raging Bear of The Northlands, House Norton, has protected the empire's borders of for generations. I've long heard about your prestigious name. It is my pleasure to have you and your allies attend the tournament."
"Your Grace, it's our honor to partake in your knighthood tournament," said Lorist politely.
"There's no need to be so humble," the duke said, waving his hand casually, "I really meant what I said. Let me guess, this elegant and cultured person must be Count Kenmays, am I right? I've heard so much about you, but I've never had the opportunity to meet you in person. Seems like that wish of mine has finally come true."
"It is my pleasure to meet you too, Your Grace." returned Count Kenmays.
"And this collected person here with the visage of a true knight must be the descendant of the House of the Pegasus, Gold-ranked Knight Baron Felim."
Baron Felim smashed his right fist on his breastplate, making a knight's salute.
"House Felim pays our respects to the Lord Duke!" announced he.
Baron Shazin also did the same.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Lord Duke. I am Hennard of The Northlands' House Shazin. I pay my respects to House Fisablen, the renowned riders of the grasslands!"
Duke Fisablen laughed and knocked on Baron Shazin's breastplate
"What a fine man," praised he.
All the Iblian nobles greeted the duke afterwards, the latter only hummed and nodded in response before turning his attention to the guards.
He turned around and questioned Lorist, "Count Norton, is this your household's force?"
No shit. Can't you see the Raging Bear crests on their breastplate? Lorist snorted inwardly.
But he understood the duke's intentions.
He nodded and replied, "Your Grace, you are the famed Wargod of the Plains. Please rate my troops and give them some pointers."
"Attention! Pay our respects to His Grace, Duke Fisablen!"
Every time the duke passed by a square formation of troops, the regiment leader would call out in that exact manner and his subordinates would salute the duke in unison.
Duke Fisablen returned each salute, nodding as he did so.
Duke Fisablen stopped at the last formation after he finished his salute and knocked on the breastplate, helmet, and pauldrons of one of the guards. He turned to Lorist, who had accompanied him all the way.
"Kid, are you making a fool out of me? Even I can't train troops that disciplined!" he exclaimed, "Every one can become, at the very least, a squad leader in my household, perhaps even a company leader. Other things aside, they are far better equipped than even my own knights.
"Tell me honestly, are all your soldiers equipped with steel armor? The feeling I got from knocking on it is a little different... The defensive capabilities of your troops' armor are far higher than the equipment you sold me..."
As expected of an old fox. Even Count Kenmays didn't realize that my troops were armed with steel, yet Duke Fisablen was able to tell at a glance.
"Well, it's not strictly steel armor. We also added a steel mesh beneath to increase its structural integrity. However, the manufacturing costs are at least double as a result. I thought that mass production would allow me to decrease production costs, but after making 3000 sets, I realized the cost was still sky high, so I called for production to cease immediately. The armor sets they are wearing cost more than 180 gold Fordes each. Only my personal guard is equipped with this armor. We are far from capable of doing the same for the rest of our troops."
To prove his point, Lorist pulled out the steel mesh beneath the armor of one of his guards for the duke to see. A mesh could indeed be seen through the gaps of the greyish-green armor. The duke scrutinized it and gave it a few more knocks suspiciously.
Apart from that small interlude, Duke Fisablen was full of praises for the Norton forces. He did not fail to give credit to Count Kenmays, Baron Felim, and Baron Shazin's guards either. After a good while of pleasantries, they finally got back on their mounts and followed the duke into Windbury.
Welcoming Banquet
Enjoy the second release of the week!
As promised, when Duke Fisablen arrived at the southern gate, the soldiers stationed there quickly gathered together following another bout of the tune of welcome, before turning away and leaving the gate unattended. Only three soldiers remained to receive everyone.
"Count Norton, you may have your soldiers take over the defense of the southern gate. Those three are just here as guides and you can ask them should you require any guidance or assistance. They are well-versed with the gate and surrounding wall's layout," said Duke Fisablen as he pointed at the three garrison soldiers with his horse whip.
"Thank you, Your Grace. You are far too kind," smiled Lorist.
Patt took a thousand guards and quickly had them take up positions with the help of the three garrison soldiers.
"Oh, also, I am holding a welcoming banquet at noon for Forund's little prince, as well as Count Dalek from Shabaj and Count Chujway from Handra. I hope the four of you will attend it to for my sake. Organizing the knighthood tournament has put quite a dent in my finances, so it'll be great if you can be welcomed during the same banquet instead of having to organize another one," invited the duke with a chuckle.
"Oh, we'll be in your care then. We're more than glad to make some new friends," said Count Kenmays after giving Lorist a look to ascertain his intention.
"It's great that we'll have the opportunity to meet them. I've long heard about how the four central duchies are the most prosperous of all the dominion in the former empire. It's about time we nobles from The Northlands got to know what the trends in the central part of the empire are, so I hope you can introduce us."
"Hahaha," laughed the duke happily as he looked at Count Kenmays, "Introductions are in order of course. I didn't think that this little tournament of mine would actually attract the attention of the four central duchies. Their sudden arrival is one of the reasons I'm unable to host a banquet for your sole sake. I hope you don't mind. Let's go, the banquet's already prepared. We're just waiting for you to begin."
The banquet was being held at the Rose Palace's pavilion where the second prince used to live. When Lorist and his companions arrived, there were more than ten people in front of the pavilion waiting for the duke.
Forund's little prince, Doke, looked to be 24. Clad in noble robes embroidered with gold thread, the little prince truly looked graceful and handsome. Lorist couldn't help but think the prince was far better looking than he. Not only was he young and handsome, he was just a white mount short of ruling many maidens' dreams.
Beside Doke were two people, one of them a red-faced old man, whom Lorist recognized as a rank 2 blademaster whose abilities should be close to that of Shuss. The other was a three-star-gold-ranked knight which Lorist didn't care much for. As for Little Prince Doke himself, he was only at one-star silver rank and looked rather arrogant.
I bet this baby-faced Little Prince is going to rely on his looks to gain Princess Sylvia's favor. Well, he might possibly win if this were the world of my previous life, but it's a shame that the lass has 'a man who can defeat her in combat' as her criterion for a partner. This poor prince stands no chance at all, thought Lorist with envy while he revealed a superficial smile and greeted the other nobles pleasantly.
Count Dalek of Shabaj was a man of huge physique and seemed to be in his thirties. He was a two-star gold rank and had a rather quiet personality. Lorist took note of a trace of disdain the Count revealed in his eyes when Duke Fisablen introduced him and the rest as nobles of The Northlands.
Count Chujway of Handra, on the other hand, felt like a younger clone of Count Kenmays. He was better in terms of battleforce training, however, being a one-star-gold-ranked knight. He was sociable and charismatic and the duke treated him even friendlier than he did the Little Prince.
When Lorist was being introduced, Count Chujway asked in a cautious tone, "Lord Count, may I inquire whether Silowas Island is House Norton's?"
Lorist smiled and nodded, before following Duke Fisablen to the next person he would be introduced to. As he continued on, he noticed that Count Chujway's gaze lingered on him for an unnaturally long time.
Apart from the four central duchies' nobles, there were another three Iblian nobles present. While Lorist only barely recognized them, Count Kenmays was incredibly well-acquainted with them and even gave them hugs when he greeted them. After the introductions, Lorist realized that he had in fact interacted with the three previously. Back when he attacked Windbury, the three had represented the queen to negotiate with him.
The final two were introduced as the gold-ranked household knights of House Fisablen. One was called Blud and was a three-star gold rank, and the other was a two-star gold rank called Loseff. The two looked to be the duke's personal aides. Oddly enough, Viscount Kristoph, which Lorist had looked forward to meeting again, was not present. The duke mentioned that he was stationed at Goldcreek.
Upon entering the pavilion, Lorist realized that the banquet was in the long-table style. There were 20-odd smaller long tables arranged into two rows, much like the banquets Lorist saw before in movies of the 'Romance of the Three Kingdoms'. The only difference was that the corners of the tables were not rounded. Each table was covered with a white linen cloth and a row of round wooden stools sat on each side of the table.
Duke Fisablen naturally occupied the seat in the center of the table. Lorist was seated to his left, followed by Count Kenmays, Baron Felim, Baron Shazin, Blademaster Shuss, and Josk. Els, on the other hand, refused to sit together and joined the 500-odd guards outside, who were served hot soup, meat, and alcohol.
Standing behind Lorist was Howard, and Lorist couldn't help but notice that there were two impeccable beauties serving Little Prince Doke from behind. Count Chujway did not bring any servants with him, contrary to what his likeness with Count Kenmays might suggest. He sat alone and smiled back at Lorist when he noticed the latter's gaze.
The moment they settled into their seats, a large number of maidservants and attendants began serving the dishes. Some half-naked and muscled servants hauled a large rack with a half-ton heavy calf on it around. The calf was roasted on demand, fresh for the meal. Servants would even slice a specific piece requested by one of the nobles. A group of maidservants carrying various musical instruments performed in a corner nearby.
Duke Fisablen raised his golden cup and announced, "Ladies and gentlemen, I welcome you all to the Royal Capital of Windbury. This toast is for those who came all the way to participate in the knighthood tournament! House Fisablen is incredibly honored to receive such high regard. Cheers!"
The duke gulped down the wine in his cup before he said, "That will be all. Let the feast begin!"
Various cries rang out from the crowd that stood up to return the cheer.
"Thank you, Lord Duke!"
"Your Grace, you're being too humble!"
"You truly overstate your praise for us!".
Lorist stood up and mumbled his own share of pleasantries. Just when he was about to sit down, he heard Little Prince Doke say something to the duke.
"Your Grace, I've long heard that Princess Sylvia is the number one beauty in the whole of Iblia. I wonder if she will be present to meet us? I've been yearning to see her for myself for quite a while."
I knew it! He's here for the sole purpose of the princess!
"Hahaha..." the duke laughed heartily, "Your Highness, there's no need to be impatient. Something happened in my dominion a few days ago that required the lass' attention, unfortunately. She will be here in three or four days and I will introduce her to you all when the time comes. But let me warn you that as a result of being spoiled too much, she's developed quite a temper. I hope you will tolerate her."
Doke sat back down with a disappointed expression.
Lorist finally understood why he hadn't seen the princess since his arrival, not even during the banquet.
"Your Grace, I heard the knighthood tournament is an event held to find the perfect suitor for the princess. Is that really the case?" said Count Kenmays, standing up.
Duke Fisablen sighed lightly.
"That is indeed so. Time really flies. Sylvia has grown into such a fine lady. I can still remember when she was small like it was yesterday. She looked so weak when I cradled her in my arms. Now she's grown into such an amazing gold-ranked knight. Since she turns 25 this year, I will no longer let her delay this matter. This tournament is indeed related to her marriage. It's all her fault for setting her sights so high that so many of her other admirers were unable to match up. I have no choice but to use this method. I hope she will find a fine man to marry during this tournament."
"Your Grace, Princess Sylvia is the finest flower of our Iblia and also the most precious gemstone to ever grace our eyes. Her marriage is naturally something worthy of much consideration. What would happen if Her Highness picks a suitor of which you do not approve? After all, Her Highness is already an adult and no doubt has her own views on things. Also, if the one you find worthy to be her husband is not to Her Highness's liking, she would not live a life of bliss either," elaborated Count Kenmays a little hesitantly.
Nodding, Duke Fisablen looked at Lorist.
"You're right, Count. I've promised Sylvia that she'll have the final say. The only condition I have for the person of her choice is his sincerity to form a union with House Fisablen."
"Hehe, Blademater Fisablen, I don't agree with this notion, however," said the rank 2 blademaster who was seated beside Little Prince Doke, "We are nobles, and the marriages of the descendants of nobles have always been decided by their parents. Only commoners will be allowed to pick and choose one's spouse after spending a good while understanding each other like what the Lord Count mentioned. As nobles, we enjoy the wealth and power that comes with the household names we bear. However, the matters of our marriage are no longer a matter of our own choice. We have to consider the household and be prepared to make sacrifices for the best interests of the house. Personal bliss and happiness should not be something we factor into the equation."
"That's true, Blademaster Rimad does have a good point," said Duke Fisablen as he stroked his mustache.
"Your Grace, what if the person Princess Sylvia fancies is also someone who will benefit the Fisablen house and will become a worthy ally? Wouldn't that be the perfect scenario where everyone ends up happy?" retorted Count Kenmays.
"Hahahaha, this count speaks sense! That way, the perfect candidate for Princess Sylvia would be our very own Little Prince Doke. Your Grace, just look at how talented our Little Prince is. He's both handsome and proficient in combat. Last year, when the four central duchies' army was deployed to Frederika, it was His Highness who led the soldiers into battle! In the end, not only did we manage to exterminate the remnant forces of Second Highness Auguslo, our little prince also attained quite a number of military contributions.
"If Your Grace is willing to form a union with Forund, given how the four central duchies have backed each other, House Fisablen would get four allies for the price of one! Surely, this arrangement would be the ideal one that even the Silvermoon Goddess herself would approve of. Even though our little prince's talent in battleforce is not as amazing as that of Her Highness, given how learned and famed he is in our duchy, I'm sure Princess Sylvia would find fancy in His Highness's many talents."
Not one of those present expected rank 2 blademaster Rimad would actually spout such embarrassing words in public. Even Duke Fisablen seemed a little startled by his audacity. Little Prince Doke acted like it was the most natural thing in the world to have praises sung about him in public, which was apparent from his raised head. It seemed like he was studying the empty ceiling intently.
Lorist lost control of himself completely and laughed.
Oh my, the Little Prince is nothing but a spoiled brat... I'm sure he's heard so many sycophantic praises that he's gotten completely full of himself!
A low voice rang out on cue with Lorist's laughter.
"Oh, the Little Prince led his troops on the battlefield himself, you say? That can't be right, why didn't I see House Forund's standard when I called for reinforcements?"
The one who spoke was Count Dalek. Even though the four central duchies were allies, Count Dalek didn't have to give the little prince any face as a noble of the Shabaj duchy. While he wouldn't care if Blademaster Rimad only wanted to make his little prince seem better, he had an issue with the blademaster's exploitation of the battle for Frederika.
"Hehe, Dalek my friend, everyone knows that you lead the main forces and were the first to breach Frederika's walls. However, Shabaj was only occupied with attacking the north gate, Forund took care of the south gate. It's no surprise that you weren't able to see us," countered the three-star-gold-ranked knight that came with the little prince.
However, Count Dalek gave him a weird look.
"The south gate? Wasn't that part occupied by the Union? What business did you have over there? It's no wonder we were only able to spot Forund troops after we beat the Union."
"Pffft!" Baron Shazin and Baron Felim couldn't help but spit out the wine they had in their mouths.
The gold-ranked knight wasn't able to step down from his 'podium', so he directed his anger at his new targets.
Staring at the two barons angrily, he yelled, "What's so funny?!"
"Oh?" mumbled Baron Felim as a cold look flashed across his eyes.
He didn't fear Forund in the least, but just before he was about to make his retort, Baron Shazin stole the spotlight
"I didn't know we needed your permission to laugh during Duke Fisablen's banquet!"
The moment the statement was made, the three-star-gold-ranked knight snapped out of his anger and realized that he was attending a banquet hosted by the duke. He wasn't in Forund and couldn't afford to act brashly. Stealing a glance, he saw that the duke wore a dark expression. He turned to the house's knights and could see their deathly stares aimed straight at him.
At that moment, Rimad stood up to defuse the situation.
"Come on, even if the wine served by the duke is that good, you shouldn't have gotten that drunk! How embarrassing. As a gold-ranked knight, you should be preparing for the upcoming tournament instead of mouthing off at other people. Your Grace, we're very sorry about this."
Duke Fisablen waved his hand.
"It's no big deal. I heard you guys conquered Frederika last year and eliminated the second highness' remaining forces. Can you tell me more about the battle?"
"I would be glad to, Your Grace," answered Rimad.
Count Chujway's Narrative
Here's the third release of the week, enjoy the read!
"Your Grace, even though I'm a Forund blademaster, I'm not too informed about the specifics of this matter. We were led by our little prince to reinforce the front at Frederika in the later stages of the battle. As Count Chujway was also present during the campaign, I'm sure he's the one that has the best grasp of the situation. I think we should have him tell us about it instead," said Blademaster Rimad.
Duke Fisablen nodded as he turned to Count Chujway.
"Lord Count, could you tell us about the battle? As a military man myself, I'm really curious how the surprising result came about. When I heard that the second highness occupied Frederika, I thought his victory was already set in stone. I didn't expect the tables would turn completely only two short years later. It is truly shocking. I'm sure you have lots to say as someone who was there."
Count Chujway had not expected to become the centre of attention. He cursed Rimad under his breath before standing up and giving Lorist a glance, only to see his curious expression, much to his relief.
"Your Grace. We did indeed take part in the conflict but it was only because the four central duchies had no choice but to resist the second highness's advances. We did so only in self-defense originally. The later developments are far from what we desired. They forced us to fight."
Nobody expected the count to speak of the battle in such a way. Little Prince Doke, who had little to do with the battle, only humphed with dissatisfaction as if he was displeased with the count's apparently self-praising words. Rimad and the gold-ranked knight were even more surprised. Count Dalek remained seated with a melancholic look.
Count Chujway took a deep breath before he continued.
"As everyone knows, the four central duchies have always been the main load-bearing pillar of the empire. Of the 29 provinces that comprised the empire, the eight that make up the four central duchies occupy 45 percent of the empire's territory. In the days of the empire, whether it was conflicts with external forces or internal revolts, the dukes have always been the ones to lead the effort to defend the empire's interests and contributed to the empire. Even during the 170 plus years of conflict with the Union, the four central duchies contributed the most.
"During the civil war, when the three princes fought for the throne, we four dukes had no choice but to protect the prosperity of our territories by forming our own armies. Even during such a straining time, we still offered a lot of help to the third prince because we respected his imperial heritage. However, following Duke Madras' revolt, things started going down a path no one expected. The empire eventually split into the three kingdoms and seven duchies.
"Even though we declared our independence, we didn't fail to unite against the first prince's threat. Two years of draining resistance against him finally lead to our victory. But right after we started recovering, the second highness sent his forces over and made unreasonable demands to say the least. We were once again forced to come together to face an external threat."
"Oh, what sort of demands did the second highness make?" asked Duke Fisablen, stroking his moustached chin curiously.
"He demanded we accept the relocation of our dominions and wanted our forces to attack the Madras duchy," replied Count Chujway.
Duke Fisablen pulled a few hairs off his moustache in shock.
"Was the second highness out of his mind? Wasn't he practically making enemies out of allies with demands like that?!" exclaimed he.
Count Chujway shrugged.
"Even I don't know what he was up to when he made those demands. Everyone knew they were unreasonable and that we would never accept. We have held these lands for almost three centuries. Much like what Duke Farkel had claimed, we had long deeply integrated with the lands over which we rule. Nobody can make us leave.
"When the second highness ascended to power in the Andinaq kingdom, we were even glad and rested our hopes for a reunified empire on him. To us, being nobles of the mighty Krissen Empire was a sign of pride. We have proclaimed that we are willing to relinquish our independence and reunite with the empire should it be required.
"We didn't expect the second highness would suddenly defeat the first prince, lead his forces to our doorstep, and make his ridiculous demands. He also intended to put the eight provinces under his royal family's direct control. Our peerage and fief would be decided by our contributions in the campaign against Madras.
"We finally understood that the second highness considered all of us traitors. Not only were we enraged, we were also incredibly disappointed. We sent a representative to voice our objections to the second highness, but nobody was able to see him. All we heard was that he had fallen incredibly ill. We thought it was an excuse for him to avoid seeing us. It made us boil with rage. We implored the four dukes to form a coalition army to resist the threat and support Redlisian nobles. We used them to push back against the second highness's forces.
"No one wanted to be a traitor, but the circumstances forced us to become the second highness's enemies. We didn't intend to push him all the way back at first. We only wanted to station our troops on the borders to discourage the second highness from taking action against us. We didn't think that the claim that he was really sick was actually true. Without him there, the army kept fighting losing battles with Redlis' nobles. 70 thousand men were even lured into a trap and washed away by flood waters at one point. The situation changed completely in a moment. The frontlines only stabilized once the second highness returned to the frontlines.
"To be honest, while our army didn't have any huge conflicts with the second highness, we did pay quite a price. The six years of peace allowed us to recover some of our vitality, but the second highness's army actually put quite a bit of pressure on us considering the threat we pose. Even though the second highness mobilized his troops to exterminate Redlis' army, nobody was quite sure when the axe the second highness was pointing at Farkel and Handra would fall.
"During the empire's most prosperous time, the eight central provinces' population was around three and a half million. It was the best place to be in the entire empire. Apart from the great Andalou Plains, where the imperial capital is situated, no other province could rival the central provinces' level of development. But the population has decreased to two point eight million since the civil war. Not long after the civil war, the first prince's forces invaded and caused lots of chaos. In his wake cam starvations, plague, and genocide. Our population fell even further, to around 2 million, in just two short years. We lost nearly half our population to the war and the invasion."
Count Chujway wore a tense expression.
"The four central duchies do not want war. We seek only peace. However, the second highness didn't come for peace, he wanted to force us to abide by his demands and put us on his bandwagon. He threatened to declare us traitors if we didn't obey. We had no choice but to form our own army as a failsafe. We stared each other down across our borders, but, after a year, we'd used up our resources. What's even worse is that we'd conscripted most of the young men, so there was no one to plant a new generation of crops. It seemed we'd face another food crisis for at least 2 years."
"I apologize for interrupting, Count Chujway, may I ask how the second highness was able to feed his army for that long, considering the fact that the four central duchies have a hard time feeding themselves?" interjected Lorist.
"Oh, according to my understanding, the second highness had about 270 thousand soldiers when he was in Redlis. He also had another 120 thousand former Redlis troops stationed at Kanbona. Originally, the second highness only brought the first local defense legion with him and had the surrendered soldiers launch an attack to the Redlisian nobles. It didn't end well. Most of the attacks were complete failures, and the war dragged on.
"When 70 thousand of his soldiers were washed away by the flood, the second highness lost all confidence in his indentured forces and transferred the third local defense legion from Andinaq to reinvigorate his campaign. The first legion would unite with the indentured forces and put pressure on us. There were 130 thousand men in total that threatened to attack us.
"When the second highness conquered Frederika, he also got hold of all the arms and resources the first prince had been gathering. We estimated it'd last eight months. We thought the war might end soon with his victory. We didn't expect the Redlisian nobles to continue to hold out. Even with his army 100 thousand men lighter, it seems the second highness still felt it was just too wasteful to feed all of them all through the winter.
"It was then when the second highness employed three methods to curb the consumption and raise the morale of the frontline troops. The first was his orders for food expropriation, where the army would extort all the food produced by the commoners of the Redlis kingdom and leave them with a small share cooked as porridge so that the frontlines could remain fed. After that order, the second highness was in direct opposition of the commoners of the Redlis kingdom and revolt after revolt had to be quelled.
"The second method was confiscating the wealth and resources of the noble houses of the Redlis kingdom and using the confiscated goods to reward the soldiers that survived the winning battle. With that, he was able to restore morale to his troops, but he pushed the neutral nobles to their tipping point and forced them to join the revolting nobles, hence their sudden surge in power and subsequent surf to multiple victories.
"The last method was to transport food from the Andinaq kingdom to solve the food crisis. However, given how far the journey would be and the frequent raids by the revolting nobles, only around 15 kilograms per 50 kilograms of food transported would arrive at the destination. So, the soldiers at the frontlines were only half-fed at most, with their stores frequently hitting the three-day-remaining mark.
"The four duchies' chief commander, Duke Farkel, aptly realized that there was an opportunity to be grabbed. Following the surprise occupation by the forces of the Union at Kanbona Province that cut off the logistics route from the Andinaq kingdom to the Redlis kingdom, Duke Farkel ordered for us to gather livestock and have them cooked into stew to solve the hunger problem we faced when standing off against the second highness's other forces."
"I have another question. Why were the nobles of the Redlis kingdom, meaning those of Anderwoff Province, resist the second highness so desperately? According to my knowledge, the nobles of Anderwoff Province don't get along with the first prince and even formed their own union to resist the first prince's infringement on their interests., The second highness, someone who has conquered the Redlis kingdom at that time, should know about this well, and that he would require the help of those nobles if he wanted to stabilize the Redlis kingdom. What happened to cause the second highness to become lifelong enemies with the nobles of Anderwoff Province? Do you know about that, Count Chujway?" asked Lorist again.
"Hmmm," the count murmured in thought, "I think I know part of the reason. I've met some nobles from Anderwoff Province before and they said that the second highness's conditions were for their titles to be downgraded and their fiefs to be moved. They were also asked to pay a tribute to make amends for following the first prince into rebellion, hence the crumbling in negotiations. The nobles there only wanted to not cooperate with the second highness because of that at first, but they didn't think that he would strike them first instead, causing a few noble houses there to be exterminated. So, they had no choice but to rebel."
Lorist smiled bitterly and thought, he really let all the power get to his head. The Second Highness actually thinks he can claim the realm with only a few hundred thousand soldiers. Even though he already suffered a loss from the nobles of Anderwoff Province, who would've thought that he'd repeat the same mistake with the four central duchies, forcing former allies to become enemies? He had all this coming for him.
While downgrading a peerage and relocating a fief was a decent method to decrease the power of a noble house, it could only be used in certain circumstances where one has complete control over the situation. The second highness had failed in that regard as he perceived himself to have the control he did not possess just because he had a decent number of soldiers with him.
"Oh, and Count Chujway, did you guys manage to find the second highness after conquering Frederika?" asked Count Kenmays.
"We didn't. Nobody was able to find out where he went. He disappeared without a trace just like the first prince. ACtually, the four central duchies intended to sit back and relax after we defeat the 100 thousand soldiers he stationed at the border and not engage in other conflicts with the second highness. However, he actually had Duke Melein's army backstab us from the Shabaj duchy, raiding and pillaging as they went across the weakly defended areas, killing thousands of women and children and incurring our wrath.
"It was at that time when the Union sent over their representative. In the end, the four dukes decided to attack Frederika, with each duchy supplying 20 thousand soldiers with the rest of their forces focusing to drive out that of the Melein duchy. On the 21st day of the 7th month, our army surrounded Frederika and requested for the surrender of the second highness and even guaranteed his life. But that proposition was refused by a gold-ranked female knight who was in charge of the city's defenses."
"A gold-ranked female knight?" asked Lorist, sitting straight up.
"Yes. The second highness has one female and five male gold-ranked generals, collectively known as the flower and five tigers, who are his most trusted subordinates. The female gold-ranked knight was called, Nor... Gl-Glacia..." In the midst of realization, Count Chujway slowly turned to peek at Lorist, feeling chills down his spine.
Duel
This week's fourth release is up! Enjoy the read!
"Ahaha, what a shame, I heard the second highness' female knight was quite the beauty. Rumour has it she was even his lover. It's a shame we weren't able to spot either of them when we conquered Frederika. What a shame. I would've liked to meet her, and perhaps make her my concubine, hehe," Blademaster Rimad commented, much to Count Chujway's relief, given that he was no longer the center of attention.
"Is that so?" asked Lorist as he flashed the blademaster a chilling glance.
The glance made even Howard, who was standing behind him, freeze when he felt the seething killing intent radiating from Lorist.
Lorist looked at Count Chujway.
"Can you tell me about the second highness' subordinates? He must have many fierce knights at his disposal. Can you tell me about the other five male gold-ranked knights you mentioned?"
"But of course, it would be my pleasure," said Count Chujway as he stood up and wiped away another drop of sweat on his forehead.
Count Dalek, who was seated to the left of Count Chujway, looked at him with a weird gaze. He could feel that something was going on.
It's as if he's afraid of the little count. He's acting even more respectfully to him than the duke.
"Actually, the second highness had around 20 to 30 gold-ranked knights, around 300 silver-ranked knights and two rank 1 blademasters by his side. The two blademasters, however, were hired by the Andinaq royal family to protect the third prince, and had only been assigned to the second highness's side following the former's death.
"Among the second highness' many gold-ranked knights, the ones he trusted most were the flower and five tigers. The flower is the elegant gold-ranked knight, Glacia, and she was the leader of the second highness's personal guard. She could give orders on behalf of the second highness. The five tigers were the other five gold-ranked knights. While they might not have been the best at combat among the second highness's men, they were the ones best at leading soldiers.
"The one that is the commander of the first local defense legion is Bowen Ketty, a three-star gold rank, who's said to have been by the second highness for the longest time. The commander of the second local defense legion is Sysraid. The other three are division commanders. One of them, Gold-ranked Knight Ribalo, was made the commander of the indentured legion. When he lost 70 thousand soldiers in the flood, he could not bear the humiliation any longer and fought to his death.
"The other two-star-gold-ranked knight, Bensji, and one-star-gold-ranked knight Yaritom, are both long-time subordinates of the second highness as well. Yaritom, however, didn't accompany the second highness to Redlis. It seems he was injured during an assault on the manor of a noble from Anderwoff and was sent back to Andinaq to recover. The ones trapped at Frederika were the female gold-ranked knight and the two legion commanders.
"We searched Frederika for a long time after we took it but didn't find the female gold-ranked knight or the legion commanders. We suspect the second highness left with his most-trusted subordinates and escaped the city during ir just before the beginning of the assault. The most frustrating part is that this group disappeared all of a sudden like the first prince. We didn't find anything even after conducting extensive searches."
"Count Chujway, may I ask about two friends of mine that serve the second highness? One is called Karitok and the other, Sander. They were three-star silver ranks around five years ago. I wonder if you've heard of them and know where they are?" asked Lorist.
Count Chujway furrowed his brow for a good while before he shook his head
"I apologize, Count Norton. I don't recall hearing those names before. I've personally checked the list of captured or killed gold-ranked knights but I don't remember seeing the names. There were only three three-star-silver-ranked knights that surrendered to us, but they were not them either. I can't confirm whether they perished in battle or not but I'll check it for you when I return. I'll send someone to inform you if I find something."
"I am most grateful for your assistance," thanked Lorist, saluting.
"Don't worry about it, Count Norton. It's my pleasure to be able to help," replied Count Chujway, returning the salute.
"Hahaha," laughed the gold-ranked knight sitting beside Little Prince Doke as he pointed to Lorist.
"No way, Count Chujway, are you actually afraid of a little noble from The Northlands? Haha, this is too ridiculous... Are you intentionally playing the fool?" asked he.
"Shut it!" exclaimed Count Chujway, his expression morphing into one of rage.
"Count Chujway, please take note of your stature. You are a count of the four central duchies! You don't have to lower your head to stray dogs and cats! Remember who you represent!" hissed Rimad.
Bam!
Josk thumped on the table and stood up.
He pointed at the blademaster as he barked, "Old fool! Who did you call strays?!"
Enraged, Rimad retorted, "You dare to point at me like this?!"
The rank 1 blademaster seated beside Josk stood up and made a beckoning gesture to Rimad, causing the latter's face to flush.
He actually dared to challenge me? Ridiculous!
Just as he was about to stand up, he suddenly felt the blademaster emit a thick aura of blood. Petrified, he remained seated as if his arse was glued to the stool.
Rimad was no idiot and had heard his fair share of stories of rank 2 blademasters being killed by rank 1 blademasters. In the world of blademasters, only those almost at the swordsaint level would not be provoked. A talented rank 1 blademaster had a real chance of defeating a rank 3 blademaster under the right circumstances.
That rank 1 blademaster must be someone who broke through thanks to countless bloody battles. Even though he's rank 1, it's best for a rank 2 blademaster like me to lay low. No blademaster who broke through using battles is easy to deal with, thought Rimad with regret for the words he had uttered.
"Your Grace, look," said Rimad as he turned to the duke with a troubled expression, as if he had been provoked by Josk and Shuss through no fault of his own.
"Hmm...?"
Duke Fisablen was looking forward to the show, he didn't think Rimad would shift everyone's attention to him. If the two sides had clashed, he would be able to find out more about Lorist's strength and mediate after a side had obtained victory. But since he had been asked to intervene as host, he had no choice but to act.
"Count Norton, Rimad only mouthed off casually without being specific about who he was talking about, so please don't be so tense. Sit back and relax, here's a toast to you."
Given that the duke himself had spoken, Lorist waved his hand lightly to gesture Josk and Shuss back to their seats.
However, the storm was far from over. Just when the two were about to sit back down, Doke chuckled.
"Wow, these little nobles have quite the temper! What's wrong with calling you strays? Your Grace, I don't understand why we had to wait outside for so long to receive these barbaric uncultured folk. On what basis do they deserve our welcome, the ones who defeated the mighty 300-thousand-strong army of the second highness? I want a satisfactory explanation, Your Grace."
It was apparent that the little prince was dissatisfied at being asked to wait and welcome Lorist's group. As Duke Fisablen didn't personally receive him, on what basis did the Northlanders deserve the duke's welcome? He took it as an affront to the four central duchies.
A loud thump resounded from the table once more, this time Baron Felim and Baron Shazin joined Josk and Shuss.
"What did you say?!"
Doke rolled his eyes without a care.
"Well? Was I wrong? Northlander barbarians will be Northlander barbarians. They don't care about noble etiquette at all."
Lorist laughed lightly, rose from his seat, and waved the others to calm down. They grudgingly obliged and sat back down, glaring at the little prince.
Lorist looked around before he waved to a guard by the entrance.
"You, come here."
Surprised, the guard pointed at himself, and looked at the duke, only to see him nodding. He hurried to Lorist's side.
"Milord, what are your instructions?"
"Apologies, let me borrow this for a bit."
With a swift movement, Lorist took the guard's left gauntlet. The armor the guard wore was of the rider gear number 103 make, the design House Fisablen had purchased from the Nortons. The gauntlet was made from iron plate with an inner lining of leather. It weighed quite a bit.
"Thank you, I'll return it shortly," said Lorist as he turned around.
A moment passed and the gauntlet flew through the air in a straight line. It's flight terminated in the little prince's face. As if he was clobbered by a giant's palm, the prince groaned, grabbed onto the iron gauntlet, and clutched his nose. Blood and tears flowed all over his face.
"The fuck did you do?!" Rimad cried out as he stood up, accompanied by the gold-ranked knight.
Both glared at Lorist. The knight had already drawn his sword and stood in front of Doke as if he was faced with his worst adversary.
"Calm down. Didn't Little Prince Doke claim that we didn't know noble etiquette? That is a dire insult to our house's honor. I thought it best to repay it with blood. In a most noble fashion, I have challenged him to a knight's duel. He has taken up the gauntlet and accepted my challenge. I am delighted to see he still has some guts. Well, Little Prince, are you ready? Take your time to prepare for the duel."
Lorist stepped to the center of the pavilion.
"You two, stand aside. This is a matter between your prince and I. Are you prepared to violate the sacred tradition of the duel? What weapon will he carry? An axe, a spear, or perhaps a longsword? Maybe he wants to compete mounted? I'll leave him the luxury of choosing the manner in which we duel."
"A duel," muttered Rimad and the knight as they turned to see Doke holding the iron gauntlet.
Hell, aren't you supposed to throw a white glove? Those Northlander barbarians really don't know their etiquette. How can one throw an actual gauntlet? Wait, there's no saying that one can't... No, don't get distracted. The issue is that the little prince picked the gauntlet up and accepted the duel! Oh, Lord Singwa, what can we do?
Doke finally recovered and waved the gauntlet in his hand, teary-eyed.
"Kill... Kill him! He... He flung this straight at me!"
"Yo-your Highness... He tossed over a glove to request a duel. You picking it up means that you accepted it! You have to fight him!"
Count Kenmays, Baron Felim and the rest fanned the flames even further.
"Yes, it's a duel! I guess I misread the little prince after all! He's got guts! To duel Locke to the death... Haha, he must want his corpse cut into eight pieces!"
"Stand forward! Let us all witness the bravery of the four central duchies' nobles!" roared Josk.
"What? A duel to the death... No, I won't do it!" Doke cried.
He glanced at the gauntlet in his hand and threw it to the ground.
"Your Highness!" exclaimed Rimad and the knight, panicked.
Holding the gauntlet but refusing the duel would spell the end of the Forund nobility's honour. Doke would have to bear the name of a coward for the rest of his life.
"I-I didn't think this was a glove... If I knew, I wouldn't have caught it... I... I won't duel that lowly savage! Given his status, he's far from qualified to duel me!" argued the youth stubbornly.
"Your Highness, that won't do. If you don't accept the duel, the duchy's reputation will be tainted forever! Trust me, if His Grace knows about this, you'll lose your right to the throne for sure! It's alright if you go to duel him. This Count is only an iron rank. A silver rank like you will definitely win," advised the gold-ranked knight.
"N-no way... That guy's so strong and huge, there's no way I'll be his match..."
"I say, are you done deciding yet? Your Highness, if you don't dare to duel me, I will allow you to nominate a champion to fight in your stead," said Lorist impatiently.
"Is... Is that true?" asked Doke, delighted.
He quickly pointed at his gold-ranked knight.
"Henriman, you shall duel in my stead."
Henriman drew his sword and walked in front of Lorist. Relieved, the prince recovered his former arrogance.
"Henriman, teach him a good lesson! Cut off his hands and tear off his mouth!"
"Are you not going to draw your sword?" groaned Henriman angrily, his expression turning cold.
"Using a sword against someone like you would stain my honor," Lorist replied.
Henriman was so angry that his hair stood on end. His vein popped on his arms and forehead from his iron clasp on his sword's hilt.
"M-man you're frustrating! D-die!"
A golden blade glow manifested on his sword he leaped forward.
All the observers saw was Gold-ranked Knight Henriman's silhouette flashing past Lorist's figure before they heard a soft thump. Henriman, standing behind Lorist, had stopped moving. He tried to reach for his neck, but when his hands reached his chest, he collapsed. His face dug into the ground. His last movement was two twitches.
One move! Lorist had killed a three-star-gold-ranked knight in one move. And with his bare hands!
Intelligence Center
And here's the last and fifth chapter release of the week! See you guys next week!
"Milord, Count Chujway definitely knows about our might. He seems to be quite fearful of you. But what I don't understand is why Forund's little prince, his knight, and that blademaster don't seem to know about the situation.
"Didn't you provoke them to send someone to avenge the knight? I saw Count Dalek was just about to stand up but Count Chujway stopped him almost reflexively," said Howard.
They were currently on their way to the inn. After Lorist's killing of the gold-ranked knight, Henriman, everyone present was completely flabbergasted. Even Duke Fisablen, who was prepared to enjoy his show, had his eyes popping out of their sockets as he stared incredulously at the knight's corpse.
In one move, one instance of crossing figures, the knight's throat had been completely obliterated. Only the most agile body movement, and lightning-fast reactions, could make a three-star-gold-ranked knight like him lose his life so helplessly. Even if Baron's Felim and Shazin were confident they could beat the man, they certainly couldn't do it in any less than a few hundred exchanges. They might have to trade an injury or two.
Duke Fisablen was completely shocked, Blademaster Rimad stared terror-stricken at the corpse, while Blademaster Shuss watched admiringly. The last sparred with Lorist regularly, so he could see that Knight Henriman's frenzied charge was what had sealed his fate. Lorist merely gave a small step forward to mess up his position. The momentum Henriman built up along the way prevented him from pulling out of his attack; he could only watch as Lorist's hand reached for his throat... and crushed it.
This is absolutely sublime, Shuss had thought, awed by Lorist's movements.
Blademasters at that level had to be close to becoming swordsaints. Lorist was only 34. People able to reach the gold rank at his age were already considered absolute geniuses.
But Milord is no genius... he's a monster. He's already a quasi-swordsaint at such a tender age, it would be more surprising if he didn't advance to the swordsaint rank than if he did...
Josk urged his horse to Lorist's side.
"Did Milord notice that Count Chujway tried to make it sound like the four duchies were the conflict's victims, unlike those arrogant Forund idiots? I think Howard has a point; the count definitely knows our house well."
"Hehe, you've noticed it too? Well, how about this... Take a few guards when we get to the inn and invite the count over. I have a few questions for him," answered Lorist.
Lorist had smiled after killing Henriman and asked the little prince whether he would like to send someone to take revenge but the young man was already so terrified that his bladder let loose as he shook his head. Lorist felt there was no point in staying any longer and bid the duke goodbye. Duke Fisablen knew that Lorist already had an inn reserved near the south gate, so he didn't stop him from leaving.
Not far from the gate was an inn called Anna's Abode. It was five storeys tall. The first floor was a tavern and the four above it rooms. Anna's Abode was quite well known in Windbury, not for its service, but for the tragedic story linked to it.
During the fifth emperor's reign, Windbury was a city that had just recently developed its livestock trade. There used to be an old grocer's where Anna's Abode now stood. Its owner's daughter, Anna, was a mute. She was a gentle and sweet girl who frequently took in stray animals and even looked after orphans.
When Anna grew up, she was married to a hard-working young lad and the two ran a humble little grocer together and adopted just over ten orphans as their own. The couple eventually saved up enough money, along with their inheritances to build a two-story building. The lower floor was made into a tavern and the upper floor into rooms which they rented. Because of their sincere and honest service, their business fared rather well and Anna also had more than enough money to rear the stray animals and orphans she so frequently took in. The couple eventually expanded the building to five floors.
Unfortunately, the expansion drew the attention of several greedy nobles. They charged her husband with smuggling, had him arrested, and threatened Anna with his life should she not sell the business and the building to them for one imperial gold coin. She had no choice but to accept.
When they received word of her acceptance, the nobles did indeed return her husband but as a mutilated corpse. Anna's mind crumbled when she saw her husband. She knelt at the city's hall for three days and nights straight before letting out a despairing cry and banging her head against the flag pole's stone base to her death.
During her three-day catatonia, there were thousands of citizens who surrounded the city's hall and offered her food. She touched none of it. She did not move when others advised her to either. The citizens rallied together to make sure the city administration gave a satisfying resolution to Anna's case, but the mayor just holed up in his manor. Unfortunately, before the people could pressure the mayor into taking action, Anna committed suicide.
Her death sparked the first recorded civilian revolt in the empire's history. Countless angry citizens and merchants set fire to the city's hall. They broke into the mayor manor and hung him. When word of the revolt reached the imperial capital, the enraged emperor sent someone to investigate the matter. The most laughable part was that the first ambassador was bought off by the nobles involved in Anna's case. He put the blame for the whole matter on the mayor. The protesters, however, refused to accept this conclusion and flooded the city with armed bands.
In response, the first ambassador ordered the nobles of the province to mobilize their forces and suppress the revolt. The nobles outside the city, however, refused to take action. They were convinced the fault lay not with the citizenry, but the greedy nobles. When word of their refusal reached the emperor, he ordered the imperial family's knights deployed and tasked the brigade's commander with the issue's resolution.
When the knights arrived at Windbury, the armed bands surrendered and opened the city gates right away. They also submitted a letter of complaint that detailed the chain of events and requested the nobles be punished.
Confronted with such a clear statement of fact, the imperial knights took immediate action. They killed all the nobles involved, around two-thirds of the nobles in the province were stripped of both fief and peerage. The first noble ambassador sent to deal with the situation was also hung as a result.
In the history of the Krissen Empire, Windbury's revolt was quite a well-known event. It was also the first confrontation between the imperial family and the rest of the nobility. While the imperial family weren't able to stop the nobles from governing their own territory, they definitely wouldn't allow them to stretch their hands into imperial territory. Windbury and a few other major cities were under the imperial family's control, and the nobles enjoyed decreased tax rates for conducting business there. Their intent to procure the citizen's businesses there was akin to reaching their hand for the imperial family's profits.
Because of the incident, Krissen V suspended many business operations the nobles had in the city and that was why many considered Krissen V's 35-year reign the empire's golden age.
Nowadays, Anna's Abode was run by the couple's relatives and descendants. Even during the second prince's reign after Iblia's founding, nobody dared to reach their hands into the inn's business. To the nobles, the building was a disaster waiting to happen, so the demographic of the inn's customers was dominated by merchants and mercenaries. Almost no nobles bothered to stay there.
Anna's Abode's business had suffered quite a lot in recent years, though. So much so that they were just barely hanging on. Lorist didn't mind, however, and reserved the whole inn to accommodate his entourage.
"Milord, Tarkel and Reidy have been waiting a good while for you," reported Howard.
"Oh, have them come in right away," Lorist said as he wiped his face, "Also, have the servants bring a bathtub and some hot water. I want to soak for a while."
The two soon arrived. They had been at Windbury for two months already, first to set up Furybear's intelligence center, then to check whether the duke had some hidden agenda with the knighthood tournament.
"How are things going?" inquired Lorist.
"Milord. We've united the city's three underworld syndicates into one organization and its new leader has already pledged allegiance to Furybear," Reidy informed, stepping forward.
Lorist pinched his nose.
"The smell of blood on you is thick."
Reidy shrugged, a gesture he picked up from Lorist.
"Had no choice. There were too many that knew too much for their own good. I had to send them back to Singwa's paradise for eternal rest."
Lorist turned his gaze to Tarkel, who reported, "Milord, the one backing Lunika, one of the three syndicates, was Viscount Vizinska. He was a noble from the Southern and in the queen's faction. The queen trusted him deeply. Reidy 'helped' him fall from his horse. He's dead.
The queen thinks her father, Duke Fisablen, had a hand in it and their relationship is rather tense for it. Despite no longer having Viscount Vizinska's support, Lunika thought they could continue their rule on their own merit. Sir Reidy tried to negotiate with them last night but it didn't turn out well. So far, about eight of Lunika's leaders are still alive. Sir Reidy killed the other 34."
"Did Duke Fisablen make any noteworthy moves?"
"Nope, we've been investigating him thoroughly for the past year but we haven't notice House Fisablen doing anything suspicious. The duke's probably genuinely trying to host the tournament. He spent around 50 thousand gold Fordes to demolish the city's slums and built four large, square stadiums for the tournament. Some of our informants have infiltrated the mercenary groups defending the four stadiums and are monitoring everything. They'll report any sudden changes they discover."
"You did well. How are the nobles reacting to the queen and duke's relationship?"
"Apart from the queen taking ten thousand gold Fordes from the duke's pockets after a huge argument, the other nobles obediently cooperated with the duke for this knighthood tournament. While they couldn't provide any funds, they did provide their supervisors and manpower to help out. Some of them even helped the duke with his resource purchases."
"And is the intelligence center set up?"
"We've already set up three and none of them know of the other's existence. We can cross check the reports they submit to verify their accuracy. We did encounter some difficulties; we weren't able to set up messenger-falcon stations. They are too easy to discover and might incite the nobles' greed, who I worry will capture our falcons and sell them. The best solution for this is to set the stations up outside the city at the late Viscount Vizinska's manor. The manor's quite perfect, actually. We can't do it without revealing our identities, though," replied Tarkel.
Messenger falcons were part of the plan, suggested a few years earlier, that involved training falcons to deliver messengers over long distances. After a few years, they were finally able to procure a good breed, which they termed messenger falcons. If a station was set up at Windbury, news could reach the messenger-falcon station at Northsea in a day, as opposed to the dozen it would take for the message to be delivered by horse.
"Aren't there any nobles in the city who support our house?"
"We did not find any, Milord. The nobles here are mostly brain-dead idiots who don't care about what's going on in the outside world. They only care about their meager little plots of land. Their impression of our house is still the same as a few years ago when we attacked the capital and captured the second prince. Basically, they are afraid and distrustful of us."
"Forget it. Let's think of another way. What will you do next?" asked Lorist.
"The plan is to head to Melein after we finish things here," said Tarkel.
A knock on the room's door interrupted -- the servants had arrived with the bathtub and hot water. Reidy brought the tub in and helped mix the water.
Lorist stripped right in front of the two and crawled into the tub before he splashed some water on his face. Reidy rubbed Lorist's back with a clean linen cloth.
"Alright, Reidy, just give it a simple scrub," Lorist said as he placed a cloth over his face, "Tarkel, I saw a few nobles from the four central duchies at the banquet. I'm rather interested in why they came. Check on them during the next few days and go to the four central duchies after the knighthood tournament. Set up intelligence centers there before you go to Melein.
"I have a feeling the four central duchies will become an obstacle. We have to be prepared and understand their intentions as soon as possible. Also, I've already had Josk ask Count Chujway to come over. When he's here, pretend to be an attendant and observe what kind of person he is. I hope he will be sensible and not reject my request."
"Yes, Milord. By your will."
The Tournament Begins
Finally, the first release of the week is here! Enjoy!
The sound of the carriage wheels gradually faded away as Lorist stood by the windowsill of his room on the fourth floor, looking at the dark alley nearby in silence.
"Milord," Tarkel's voice behind him rang out.
"How does it look?" asked Lorist without turning around.
"Milord, it looks like that Count Chujway didn't tell the complete truth. He said that he had gotten word about our house from the Union and had seen the head pyramid at Hanayabarta for himself, hence his fear. As for the matter of the allied army being deployed at Frederika, he told us a half-truth. His claim that he didn't find the second highness should be true, but the reason they allied up with the Union was probably fake.
"Milord, when I was standing behind him, I could quite clearly see that he would clutch his pants with his left hand under the table when he tensed up. I saw him do that when you asked him about the agreement the four central duchies reached with the Union, and he clutched his pants when he gave his answer where you wouldn't see it.
"He also did the same when he said that he had come to Windbury to see the knighthood tournament. I feel it's rather weird for him to want to lie about a small thing like that though. Perhaps he said that because he knows that you've come over to take Princess Sylvia's hand in marriage and lied because he was afraid because he came for the same reason? Hehe, Milord, I see that you have quite a lot of rivals..." Tarkel knew that his lord wasn't one to fuss over trivial things, so he didn't hold back his laughter.
"Speaking of Princess Sylvia, do you know why she left Windbury in a hurry to go back to the Fisablen dominion?" asked Lorist without turning back.
"I'm not sure, Milord," Tarkel replied, "I heard from a few guards of Duke Fisablen that when the princess left a week ago, she got into a fight with the duke. It's said that it was something about having the duke call the knighthood tournament off, but the duke wasn't willing to do so. The princess went to the queen weeping. But it only ended in another confrontation between the two women, so the princess hurried back to Eastwild with her escort and Blademaster Xanthi. The duke has sent three messengers in the last two days to have her come but he hasn't heard anything from any of them yet."
"Don't tell me something happened at Eastwild? It can't be, if that were the case, the first one to worry would be that old fox himself. Since he's still here organizing his knighthood tournament, there shouldn't be anything wrong in Eastwild."
"I'm sorry, Milord. We were unable to send our informants into Eastwild. This is my mistake," said Tarkel.
"No, it's not your fault. Eastwild is House Fisablen's dominion and there isn't any large city like Windbury over there. It's no surprise they are able to restrict flow of people into and out of the province. What you need to do is use the month of the tournament to see if you can bribe a few of the duke's to serve as our eyes and ears."
"Yes, Milord. I will do my best."
"Also, investigate the nobles from the four central duchies. I feel they didn't just come for as simple reason as winning Princess Sylvia's hand in marriage."
"Understood, Milord."
...
"What did you say?!" exclaimed Lorist, shocked.
"It's true, Milord. The Little Prince and his blademaster left with their thousand guards during the night. They even left the four carriages' worth of gifts they had prepared as the princess' bride price. Duke Fisablen said that since the princess wasn't wedded to any of them, he will give the gifts to you as compensation for your victory at the banquet yesterday. They're going to send them over soon."
"We originally tried to start working our way through the little prince and the counts from Sabaj and Handra's servants and attendants," Tarkel continued, standing in front of Lorist, "but they are the quiet and alert types that don't frequent the tavern at all. We weren't able to get any information from them.
"The prince, on the other hand, brought an escort of more than a thousand people, among which
about a hundred were servants and attendants. They were the easiest from which to extract information. All we had to do was force feed them three cups of horse urine and they would let everything loose including how they peeped at their mothers bathing when they were small. But it's too bad that you scared them away yesterday. Count Chujway must've told everyone about the might of our house and caused them to leave during the night."
"Ugh," Lorist groaned, "Whatever. Since the tournament will take place over a month, take your time to get to the servants of the two counts that stayed. Perhaps some of them might accidentally leak something that we need and allow us to understand their reasons for coming. We'll leave it to fate."
At ten in the morning, Duke Fisablen brought the four carriages over to Anna's Abode.
When he saw Lorist, he laughed out and said, "Lord Count, you really surprised me yesterday. I didn't know your house managed to exterminate an entire kingdom. How impressive."
"You praise me too much, Your Grace. It was but a pirate lair that called itself a kingdom despite no nation on the continent acknowledging it. Everyone knows that had it not been for their attack on our dominion, we wouldn't have bothered with them. If it were Your Grace, you wouldn't need to deploy all your forces like we had to; you would only need to send a division to crush them completely. Your conquest of the greater and lesser golden creeks is the achievement truly worthy of awe and praise," replied Lorist humbly.
His words had obviously struck a good chord with the duke, for he smiled like a blooming flower.
"Haha, not bad, not bad..." the duke chortled, "I'm starting to admire you more and more. Even though you're this young, you are not only quite calm and collected, your personal strength is also worth reckoning with. Very good."
After his generous praise, the duke recalled why he had come.
"Oh, Lord Count..."
"Your Grace, you have seniority. Please just call me Locke. Lord Count is a bit much," interjected Lorist.
"Alright, then I'll call you Locke. Well, it's like this. Since you won the duel yesterday, Little Prince Doke should've given you compensation for your victory. However, I received word that he had to return to the Forund duchy urgently and had no choice but to depart during the night. Before he left, he left the compensation he owed you to me and asked me to apologize for his breach of etiquette on his behalf."
Lorist nodded as he listened to the duke spouting his nonsense like it was what really happened before he praised the duke's trustworthiness for keeping his word. In actuality, both of them knew these were the goods with which the little prince intended to propose to the princess. He had not left them for Lorist, he was just in too much of a hurry and couldn't take them with him. Them being made compensation for Lorist was purely the duke's doing.
Lorist wondered why the duke bothered to cover up for the little prince. According to Tarkel's report, he had left during the night without even saying farewell. It was said that the duke only found out about the prince's departure in the morning as well and called him a coward in front of his own guards. The gifts packed in the four carriages must have been left behind intentionally as compensation for the duke's troubles, but Lorist was sure that the little prince hoped they would end up in Princess Sylvia's hands.
So why is the duke giving me these gifts instead? He has no reason to stand up for the little prince and cozy up to me on his behalf. He easily could've kept the gifts for himself and even spread the word that the cowardly prince didn't bother to compensate me for my victory. It would ruin the little prince's reputation! Don't tell me Duke Fisablen has something he needs from Forund? It can't be, it should be the other way around...
A smile could be seen on his face as Lorist racked his mind over the matter.
"I didn't think Little Prince Doke would be that attentive to noble etiquette, as expected of a prince from Forund. Actually, he could've sent a servant over to pass the message. There was no need to have Your Grace come."
Duke Fisablen's face twitched when he recalled Count Chujway telling them how House Norton exterminated Hanayabarta, had almost everyone, save around 30 thousand young women, beheaded, and used their heads to build a pyramid. Everyone had been completely stunned, some even doubted the truth of the count's words. Count Chujway swore what he said was entirely true and that he had personally seen the pyramid and had fallen ill for a few days at the sheer terror it inspired. He saw the pyramid every time he closed his eyes and heard the heads snicker and laugh. That was why when the duke saw the man who had ordered such a monument's construction, he wondered how cruel a man must be to be able to give such an order. It was also the reason he treated Lorist so carefully.
Had it not been for Count Chujway coming to tell me about Little Prince Doke's escape this morning, an escape which would compromise my plan, I wouldn't come over here to clean up the prince's mess for him! What would I do if your forces interfered with my plan?
The duke patted Lorist on the shoulder lightly.
"No worries, there's no need to be so polite. Right now I'm the host and you were willing to spend your precious time to come here to be my guests. Naturally, I have to tend to your needs and solve the problems you have. This is but a simple matter for me to settle.
"The opening ceremony will begin the day after tomorrow and I'm planning to host another banquet before the ceremony. I am inviting all the nobles to attend and pray for the tournament's success. Locke, you must not turn down my invitation."
"Naturally, Your Grace. I shall most certainly attend."
"Alright. It's a promise. I will send someone to escort you there tomorrow," said the duke, smiling.
...
The tournament finally began the day after the banquet but Lorist felt a little bored as he could not participate personally. Since he could kill a three-star-gold-ranked knight instantly, it didn't make sense for him to compete against other gold and silver ranks. Lorist wasn't thick-faced enough to do so either. It was especially the case after the duke secretly made a personal request that Lorist not compete which Lorist agreed to without argument. He could only send his subordinates to participate on his behalf.
The knighthood tournament was rather traditional. It involved archery, swordsmanship, and jousting matches. The archery and jousting matches did not discriminate between battleforce ranks. Gold and silver ranked competitors participated in the same category. The swordsmanship competition, however, separated the two ranks. The separation didn't hold for the winners of each rank, who could fight one another if the silver winner wished.
Lorist could only bite his teeth when he saw Reidy defeat the silver ranks in his category with one or two moves.
Gah, Reidy's disguising himself as a pig to feast on tigers... Even two-star gold ranks aren't Reidy's match, not to mention these puny silver ranks...
It went without saying that Josk dominated the archery competition. He didn't even have to try hard to win. Originally, there was a good number of those participating in the archery competition were there to try their luck, but they gave up on the notion after seeing a ridiculous anomaly like Josk participating, lest they embarrass themselves unnecessarily.
The jousting matches were the most popular section of the tournament. Apart from the silver-ranked guards, their leader Patt was the first one to be eliminated. Baron Shazin and Baron Felim both won nine straight rounds and had already qualified for the next phase. As for Els, he was resting near the stadium. He had already won six rounds and only needed three more victories to qualify as well.
The jousting matches' rules were mostly similar to that of the normal duels. Participants had to own a knight's badge and bring their own mounts, armor, lances on spears as well as a longsword or some other secondary arm. Only after being checked could one participate. Should one lose in battle, one would have to surrender their mount and equipment to their opponent or pay a ransom of equal value. However, one could participate again after a loss if one was rich enough.
The o e who had been faring the worst among Lorist's group was a guard named Loji. A two-star silver rank, he had already lost four times successively. As his equipment belonged to the house, he could not surrender them and had to pay the ransom out of his own pocket. Given that the armor was appraised at 100 gold Fordes, Loji owed 350 gold Fordes already.
Seriously, even though he knows he isn't capable, he still wants to compete... Is he trying to give away money for free? thought Lorist angrily.
He forbade those who lost once from participating again.
"How many other guards owe money?" asked Lorist.
"One hundred... One hundred and forty one..." answered Patt with a troubled expression.
"What?!" Lorist stuttered, "Why are there so many?"
"Milord, well," Patt lowered his head and explained, "Apart from ten or so who lost in the first match because of bad luck, the rest lost after winning a few rounds. However, the value of the equipment they wore caused them to be in debt despite their former victories..."
Good Sol, thought Lorist, the ones my guard defeats only own equipment that amount to roughly 40 gold Fordes, but they have to pay out 100 gold Fordes if they lose... It's no wonder so many received challenges, even some gold-ranked knights shamelessly challenged my silver-ranked guards... With them getting a hundred gold Fordes for each win, they're treating me like a money tree, aren't they?
"Those who wish to compete aren't be allowed to use the equipment of the house!" declared Lorist.
"Milord," Tarkel called out as he arrived in front of Lorist, "We discovered that Duke Fisablen's subordinates are recruiting the knights that lost all their equipment and gold coins."
"Oh?" Lorist wondered with frustration, knighthood tournaments like this are the ideal place to recruit household knights, however, one would usually recruit those who performed well. What would Duke Fisablen gain from recruiting those who lost?
"Do you know why?"
"I think they're not recruiting household knights, but rather people to join the Fisablen army. They will only gain a chance to be promoted to the position of a household knight after five years of good service," replied Tarkel.
Since it was just normal soldier recruitment, Lorist wasn't too concerned.
"What about the two counts from the four central duchies? Have they been making any moves?"
"Count Dalek participated in the jousting section and so far has a win streak of nine. He's waiting for the next phase to begin. Count Chujway hasn't participated. It seems he's only here to support Count Dalem. He seems to be acting normally even in private. Other than that, the messenger Duke Fisablen sent to Eastwild is back. It seems Princess Sylvia still isn't willing to come over. The duke broke a gold chalice when he heard the news. There's also other, rather bad, news, Milord..."
"Out with it!"
"Did Milord notice a gold-ranked knight competing right now who moves rather familiarly? Your commander, Sir Loze, snuck into Windbury secretly to participate in the tournament. To prevent you from noticing, he's wearing his own weapons and armor. Had it not been for the golden tiger insignia on his armor, I might not have even taken note of him since he is lumped together with the other wandering or freelance knights in the tent in the far corner of the
stadium..."
"Good... Good Sol!" Lorist cried out before gritting his teeth, "After returning to the inn tonight, I want to see this fellow who's showing off at the stadium before me!"
"Understood, Milord."