PS: In the latest chapter, to ensure an authentic experience, I referenced a small excerpt from a translation. Some people accused me of plagiarism (x). Therefore, I've removed that portion of the translation to avoid unnecessary controversy. I apologize to everyone here and will try my best to avoid using translations in the future to prevent any inconvenience to readers.
I admit my mistake and will try not to reference translations anymore, as it has caused some readers distress.
I acknowledge my mistake, but I will not tolerate deliberate troublemaking. If such behavior occurs, I will delete the relevant posts.
Knights charged on horseback, facing only a few frail beastmen units armed with long spears and bows, along with lesser horned beasts and chaos hounds. These foes were easily overrun by the knights.
Putting away his warhammer, Lain asked Eules, "Are there beastmen in these parts?"
"Every spring, those damned creatures always emerge from the Arden Forest," replied the Grail Knight Eules with a sense of helplessness. "As you know, even the bravest knights find it difficult to gallop through the forest."
Arden Forest is the largest forest in Britannia, home to powerful beastmen tribes. Every year, the kingdom organizes knights to clear them out.
"Why not send a large force to completely eradicate them? Or... knights could fight on foot," Lain continued.
"The reluctance of knights to dismount is a minor issue. They have sworn to the Lady to follow her wherever she needs them," Eules nodded. "But our foes are cunning. If too many knights enter Arden Forest, they simply avoid us, refusing to engage directly. Then, they attack the less defended villages or lure us deeper into the forest for ambushes. After significant losses, we've abandoned the idea of completely wiping them out in the depths of the forest."
"Well, that's all we can do," Lain felt helpless. This situation was not unique to Britannia; in Nordland and the Empire, beastmen could always retreat deeper into the forests and caves, making them difficult to eradicate completely.
Venturing too deep into the forest made supply lines and vulnerable marching routes easy targets for beastmen.
After five days of travel, the army finally arrived at the capital of the Knight Kingdom—Corona.
Corona was founded on the banks of the Sanne River and is considered one of the great wonders of the Old World. Originally a massive city of the high elves, it now proudly displays the flags of the twelve duchies of the Knight Kingdom. Its walls, made of white giant stones, are majestic from afar.
The walls are twenty-five meters high, wide enough for ten soldiers to walk abreast. Each gate is carved with the story of an original Grail Knight. Countless spired square houses stretch to a small hill where a huge castle rises, inheriting the elven architectural style of spired cylindrical towers that rise dozens of meters, with a waterfall flowing down from the high part of the castle—said to be a gift from the lake fairies.
Centuries after the founding of Britannia, Arthur did not choose Bastonne Castle, where he was born, as the capital. Instead, he chose Corona in the north of the kingdom for its strategic location and fertile lands.
Lops, a wandering knight, rode up to Lain, laughing, "I've heard that the Lion Ring Racetrack in Britannia is the biggest and best in the Old World. I must see it for myself this time."
"Hehe, the Lion Ring Racetrack, huh? In my youth, I too competed in the knightly tournaments there," Grail Knight Eules smiled as he took up the topic. "That place is sacred to all knights of Britannia!"
"Tell me more!" Lain became interested.
Eules proudly recounted the racetrack that holds a special place in the hearts of all Britannians, the largest and best in the Old World. It's a massive stone oval structure with tiered seating arranged by class. The racetrack, more magnificent than the main castle, existed before Britannia and was adopted and modified from the elves.
"That tournament must have been exciting, right?" Alfred asked eagerly.
"Indeed, I advanced all the way to the semifinals," Eules stroked his beard, reminiscing about his youth with a genuine smile.
"Semi-finals? If Sir Eules could only make it that far, then we'd probably be eliminated early!" a young ranger knight joked.
"It couldn't be helped. I swore by the Lady that I did my best, but I was defeated by a great knight, Francois, in the semifinals. He then defeated Theodoric in the final to win the championship. That was forty-eight years ago, as you know, the tournaments are held every five years," Eules continued smilingly. As a Grail Knight, he had a good temperament and had long come to terms with the past.
"Francois, who is he?" Alfred continued to inquire.
"Hehe~ That's a question for Julius and Suriya," Lain said with a smile. "Sir Francois is now the Grand Knight of the Holy Realm, a Grail Knight, full name Francois de Antray."
"Could it be?!" Alfred's mouth fell open as he turned his gaze to the siblings.
The female knight smiled beautifully but remained silent, while Julius calmly responded, "He is indeed my father, the current Duke of Winfort."
"...My apologies," Alfred quickly apologized, but the Antray siblings took no offense, instead, they were proud of their father.
"Speaking of which, can I also participate in the tournament?" Lain suddenly became interested, having heard of the generous rewards, including a personal award from the Lake Fairy Witch, the chosen of the Lady of the Lake.
"Sir Lain participating in the tournament would be bullying, hehe~" Eules chuckled. "The tournament rules stipulate that participants must not be older than twenty-four and do not welcome kingdom knights or Grail Knights to join. Don't look at me; these are the Lady's orders."
"Ah, that's a shame. I was just thinking about what rich rewards the champion might receive!" Lain complained dissatisfiedly.
"Perhaps you could ask Julius about it; he was the champion of the last tournament," Eules continued smiling, his words already inspiring the ranger knights.
"Princess Morgiana instructed me not to tell anyone except Grail Knights," Julius shook his head amid the hopeful gazes. "If you're truly interested, I can tell you privately, but not now."
"Alright, alright, I respect your privacy. I won't ask further," Lain said with a wry smile, knowing he couldn't participate in the tournament anyway.
The group entered Corona, and Lain was accommodated in a high-class guesthouse built by the Church of the Lady of Mercy. The newly appointed Grail Knight received a private courtyard where he would wait for the Knight King to choose an auspicious day for his ennoblement ceremony.
Lops and Alfred also stayed in a city inn, the army disbanded, and everyone returned to their duchies. The ranger knights and kingdom knights received a substantial amount of gold as a reward.
Then, the knights reluctantly took a small portion of their gold, exchanged it for silver coins packed in small bags, and distributed them to the serfs. Many serfs, weighing the money bags in their hands, were ecstatic. A full bag of silver coins, clearly a gracious gift from the knights, would improve their fortunes for the year.
Witnessing this, Lain thought that in the Empire, if the generals dared to pay conscripted soldiers with such a small amount, the peasants would throw the bags back at their faces and sue in the Imperial Court. A bag of silver coins was more fitting as a small token and extra reward for soldiers' bravery in battle.
But without the Grail Knights' presence and foreign campaigns, the serfs would have received even less. Even this amount was hard for them to keep in full, as damaged equipment and weapons needed repair and replacement.
Overall, the war was quite beneficial for the serfs. The bag of silver coins amounted to their normal annual income, and they also plundered considerable booty on the battlefield. Every conscripted serf received a piece of smoked meat, a bottle of low-quality apple cider, and a basket of black bread. Many serfs were overjoyed, so eager for war that they always participated eagerly in conscription.
This might be their only chance to change their fate.
If infantrymen could gain the knights' favor, they could be promoted to sergeants and rangers, enjoying sheltered barracks and food rations. While not comparable to knights' castles and delicacies, it was still a top-tier civilian privilege, especially for rangers who received double pay and could afford meat once a week.
However, the knights were somewhat stingy today, promoting only five lucky individuals to sergeants, who received a small bag of gold coins. These fortunate ones could move into the castle to find a new home, then use the gold coins to buy a new set of armor and weapons (or other equipment) to serve their knight lords better.
After witnessing the ceremony, seeing the envy of other serfs and the joy of the newly promoted sergeants, Lain could only shake his head and then, with a bitter smile, asked the Antray siblings, "What about you? Will you leave too?"
"Julius and I will accompany you until you reach your fief," Julius surprisingly said, touching Lain deeply. "You're new here and might not be familiar with many things. We'll help you."
"Thank you very much," Lain appreciated their willingness to help, even if they saw it as an investment in him.
After a long journey, they finally arrived at their destination. That night, Lain rested in the guesthouse of the Church of the Lady of Mercy.
The night in Corona was silent. Lain walked alone in the guesthouse garden, with Emilia following behind.
"Speaking of which, Emilia, it's strange that the Lady of Mercy decided to place the church's headquarters in Corona," Lain noticed the dew-covered roses blooming alongside other flowers in the garden, an unusual sight for mid-March.
This was a blessing from the Lady of Mercy, Sarlia. Her church and temples always had flowers blooming, regardless of the season.
"There's nothing strange about it, Mr. Lain. The Lady of the Lake and the Lady of Mercy are allies, and... serfs are forbidden from worshipping the Lady of the Lake," Emilia explained softly from behind Lain.
Lain laughed, understanding that since the Lady of the Lake was an ally of Sarlia and could gather a lot of faith here, it made sense for her headquarters to be in Corona.
His maid often saw things clearly.
However, Lain did not dwell on this and continued deeper into the garden.
A new country, a new environment, everything was complex, and he had much to think about and handle.
He wondered if the current Knight King was trusted by the Lady of the Lake and what the attitude of Britannia's nobles towards him was. If he just wanted to live peacefully as a Grail Knight, these issues might not matter much because his status meant other nobles were unlikely to bother him.
Lain always felt frustrated by the ambiguity of punishments in this medieval world, unlike his own or his father's world. For instance, in the Aesthetic Society case, the nobles did not want to set a precedent for punishment, so Edmund, despite his serious crimes, received only a dismissal and reassignment from the Marinburg Senate—a light sentence.
But when this young noble was corrupted and exposed at a banquet, the Marinburg nobles, to distance themselves, could collectively decide to sentence Edmund to death without any procedure.
Now, as a Grail Knight, Lain was outside the King's jurisdiction. As long as he did not cause trouble, the King and the nobles would turn a blind eye to many things.
In Britannia, a land of knights, serfs could work hard but remain serfs, and knights, no matter how destitute, remained knights. The gap between them was insurmountable.
Had serfs ever risen to nobility in history?
Yes, but only five times in the centuries since the first Knight King Arthur.
So, Lain had to tread carefully.
Only he knew what he truly wanted.
Turning a corner, golden waist-long curly hair shimmered among the red roses. Seeing Lain, the person was not surprised: "Mr. Lain?"
The new volume begins, and our protagonist transitions from a knight to a lord noble. I hope for your continued support.
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