"A force belonging to Duke
"What? Is that true?" Steward Boris and Steward Hansk turned pale with shock.
"It's true. No one would dare joke about something like this. Ovgis, once everyone has withdrawn into the castle, select a batch of soldiers from among the laborers and form a guard company," Lorist said.
"Yes, Your Grace. I'll see to it right away." Ovgis hurried off.
Steward Hansk pulled a beast-hide ledger from a bag beside him, flipped through it, and said, "Your Grace, what kind of weapons and equipment are you planning to give this newly formed company?"
"What's the matter?" Lorist asked.
"We have plenty of leather armor in the stores, but only a few dozen suits of iron chainmail remain. Over these past four months, Master Hidde, along with his sons and the blacksmiths among the laborers, used that assembly-line method you described to produce over twelve hundred suits of iron chainmail. The two companies of family soldiers formed at Maplewood Manor and
Lorist understood what Steward Hansk meant: "How about this — equip the new company with leather armor, spears, wooden shields, and short swords. Any problems with that?"
"Those items are well-stocked, no problem, Your Grace," Steward Hansk replied.
"Oh, and Steward Hansk, on my behalf, reward Master Hidde with ten gold Fordes, and give each of the other blacksmiths one. Let them rest for a while first. Once we've repelled Duke Lukins's forces, we'll ask Master Hidde to take a team to survey the Morgan hills for any iron ore or other mineral resources," Lorist said.
"As you command, Your Grace."
"Steward Boris, earlier I had Father Balak set about settling the people from the main camp onto the castle construction site. You will take overall responsibility for managing that area from now on. Once they're settled, have Father Balak lead a team of laborers to dismantle the main camp completely and bring in any useful timber and stone. After two days of rest, have them start building the residential district. Understood?"
"Your Grace, rest assured, I will arrange everything." Steward Boris also took his leave.
"
"Your Grace, what are your orders?"
"I want you to go on an envoy mission to the camp of the Kenmays family and the other lords across the way. Tell them that I've seen how lively the duels below are, and I'm preparing to hold a tournament. We'll offer weapons and equipment, as well as prize money, as rewards for the victors. If they still wish to attack us, they can do so after the tournament ends — in any case, they can't really attack right now..." Lorist said.
"Ah? Your Grace, you mean..."
"Stall them, stall the Kenmays family and those lords so they don't coordinate with Duke Lukins' forces inside our family's territory. With enemies on both sides, we have to eliminate one side first. The enemies inside the territory right now are the most dangerous and critical. I plan to concentrate our forces to deal with them first."
"Understood, Your Grace. I'll head out shortly," Sedkamp replied.
"Pate, escort Sedkamp on his mission tonight. Also, send someone to fetch
…
Ever since receiving the messenger's news from the mercenaries, Lorist had relocated his quarters from the outer wall to the inner wall, taking over Lady Tressidy's former room. Lady Tressidy, in turn, had moved down from the wall and selected two houses in the newly constructed commercial district. The large house facing the street was converted into the engineering headquarters, while a smaller, quieter house in the back became her residence.
Sedkamp and Pate walked into the room to find Lorist comparing maps of various sizes, trying to find any route that could allow a large force to pass into the family's territory.
"Your Grace..."
"Oh, you're back." Lorist tossed the map in his hands back onto the table with a dejected air. "No leads at all. There's simply no passable route. Two or three people might manage to cross the mountains, but how could several thousand soldiers and horses possibly get through? Sigh... By the way, Sedkamp, what did they say when you went over there?"
Sedkamp thought for a moment and replied, "Your Grace, when we arrived, Viscount Kenmays happened to be hosting a banquet in the camp to welcome the newly arrived lords. After I stepped forward and explained our purpose, those new lords cheered immediately. However, Viscount Kenmays looked very displeased, and the seven lords he had invited to attack us remained completely silent. Then Viscount Kenmays excused himself for a moment, and when he returned, he loudly announced that the Kenmays family was willing to make peace with the
"Are they planning to use our joint tournament as cover to launch a surprise attack on our Rock Fortress?" Lorist stood up, pacing back and forth as he pondered.
"Your Grace, I think it's very believable, because I actually met the Kenmays patriarch — that is, Viscount Kenmays's father," Sedkamp said.
"Oh?" Lorist stopped in his tracks and turned to look at Sedkamp.
"Your Grace, after that Viscount Kenmays made his announcement, he invited us to the tent next door to discuss the tournament's rules with his subordinates, so they could put together a draft for the lords present as quickly as possible. I didn't suspect anything and went to the adjacent tent, only to find that the person waiting for us there was the Kenmays patriarch himself," Sedkamp explained.
Lorist glanced at Pat, and Pat nodded, confirming that everything Sedkamp had said was true.
"What did the Kenmays patriarch have to say?" Lorist asked.
"The Kenmays patriarch was very affable. He said that all the past trouble was the doing of his good-for-nothing son, the Viscount, acting on his own initiative. He explained that the Kenmays family was originally a merchant house that had only recently become landed nobility, and so they were unfamiliar with the customs and traditions among the aristocracy. As newcomers, they should have shown respect to a long-established landed noble house like the Norton Family that had held its territory for a hundred years. But the young Viscount was hot-headed and was stirred up by others, which led to the offense against the Norton Family. It was only after suffering losses that he finally came to his senses."
"The Kenmays patriarch said that his family does not wish to continue being enemies with the Norton Family. The Viscount once besieged the Norton Family's estate castle for three months, and the Norton Family's retaliation caused the Kenmays family devastating losses. As neighbors, they should be watching out for each other rather than becoming mortal enemies. He hopes that the conflict between the two families can end here, that we look to the future, and stop dwelling on past mistakes. The Kenmays family is willing to withdraw from all disputed border territories with the Norton Family and accept the division according to the Norton Family's wishes, with no further objections."
"Your Grace, the Kenmays patriarch also let slip two pieces of information," Sedkamp said.
"Two pieces of information?"
Sedkamp nodded. "Yes. The first concerns their family militia. The Kenmays patriarch said they will be departing tomorrow afternoon to head to the eastern part of the Northland to come to the aid of Count Lopex. Apparently, Count Lopex's territory is under attack by mountain barbarians. I suspect that's the main reason he's so eager to make peace with our Norton Family."
Lorist shook his head. He would never believe that the Kenmays family possessed such noble character. The key factor that drove the Kenmays family to make such a decision was profit — without sufficient gain, a commercial clan like the Kenmays would never make such a significant change. It was just that Lorist currently had no understanding of the situation in the Northland. He was like a blind man who knew every inch of his own family's territory but was completely ignorant of what was happening beyond it.
Lorist asked noncommittally, "What's the second piece of news?"
Sedkamp said, "The Kenmays patriarch said that when he was traveling here, he passed through Duke Lukins's territory and noticed that the Northland Legion's soldiers were being mobilized. He made some inquiries and heard that the Norton Family's new head, the new Lord, had driven away the extortionate envoy the Duke had sent and had even beaten the arrogant
"Mm..." Lorist thought tensely. Would the Kenmays patriarch really be so considerate? The Kenmays family had been the one attacking Fortress Rock — wouldn't the arrival of the Duke's army be a perfect chance to join forces and attack together? It seemed the Kenmays family didn't know that the Duke's army had already entered Norton territory. Yet the patriarch said he would be leading his troops away tomorrow afternoon to rescue some Count, seemingly in a hurry to avoid the Duke's forces. Why was that?
If he were the Kenmays patriarch and the Duke was someone he had to curry favor with, what would happen once the Duke's army arrived and the two forces joined up? Cannon fodder! Lorist's eyes lit up. That was it — once the Duke's army arrived, Viscount Kenmays would have to follow orders. And from what he'd heard, Duke Lukins had always refused to allow the Kenmays family's two-thousand-strong private army into the Northland. Now, with such a golden opportunity, wouldn't he force those two thousand men to serve as the vanguard? Given Grand Duke Lukins's character, that was absolutely certain...
Lorist followed this line of reasoning further, and the more he thought about it, the more likely it seemed. The Kenmays family's request for a truce served two purposes: on one hand, it let their family leap out of the whirlpool and sit back to watch the Norton Family and the Duke's army fight each other to the death. On the other hand, it preserved their family's fighting strength. So they had found the excuse of a rescue mission to distance themselves from the conflict and avoid becoming cannon fodder for Duke Lukins. Damn it, they were all old foxes — in order to keep the Norton Family fighting against the Duke, they were willing to suffer enormous losses themselves and proactively extend an olive branch, so that the Nortons could eliminate their worries and focus entirely on the Duke's army...
"Your Grace, these are the rules for the jousting tournament, provided by the Kenmays patriarch. He says the Kenmays family has organized many large-scale tournaments in the past and has extensive experience. As long as our family provides the prizes and the prize money, the Kenmays family will cover all the organizing expenses. This tournament shall be called the Cup of Harmony, symbolizing that our two families have shaken hands and will coexist in peace. The Kenmays patriarch also said that the grander and longer the tournament, the better — because during the tournament, no one would dare interrupt the proceedings, or they would become the enemy of all knights. So even if the Duke's forces arrive, they can only obediently stand aside and wait for the tournament to end..." Sedkamp handed over several sheets of parchment.
The Kenmays patriarch was digging a pit for Duke Lukins. When the Duke's army arrived, the tournament would be in full swing. By the time it ended, those soldiers would have lost all morale for a siege after watching all the excitement. What the Kenmays patriarch didn't know, however, was that the Duke's army wouldn't come here — they were already at Northwild Town.
Lorist picked up a quill, dipped it in ink, and wrote a few lines. "Everything else is fine, but I think it's necessary to further subdivide the Silver tier. Competitors should be matched by their star rank in cultivation, so that Silver one-star, two-star, and three-star fighters each have a winner. That would be much fairer. Also, having only mounted and infantry combat is too limited — let's add archery as well. Sedkamp, go confirm everything tomorrow morning. Tell them that the Norton Family is willing to let go of past grievances and coexist peacefully with the Kenmays family. However, the Kenmays family cannot bear all the expenses for this tournament. Since it's a joint event, we will cover the prizes, the prize money, and half the expenses. The Kenmays family will provide the manpower and cover the other half."
"Yes, Your Grace."
Pat stepped forward: "Your Grace, while Sedkamp was discussing the tournament regulations with them, I wandered around the vicinity and discovered two things."
"Hmm?"
"First, the Kenmays family already has two Family Knights. One appears to be a former soldier — his bearing and demeanor are very similar to Lord
"Oh, it seems the Kenmays family has other arrangements of their own. Who knows what they'll do next? Pat, find two guards tomorrow and keep a close watch on their Family Guard. Didn't they say they were going to rescue some Count? Follow them all the way and see what they're really planning," said Lorist.
"Also, I won't be making an appearance at this knight tournament. Sedkamp and you two will be in charge. Keep an eye on the victors and the top-ranked knights — if any show outstanding ability, try to recruit them. But your most important task is to focus on the archery competition. Those skilled with a bow can afford to be lacking in other areas. Ask the top ten whether they'd be willing to serve in our family's army. Those who perform well can be promoted to Family Knights later on."
Generally speaking, knights looked down on archery. They believed that knights should settle things blade against blade, and that shooting from a distance was the mark of a coward. But Lorist had already suffered repeated losses due to his shortage of ranged units, and training his own was too slow. As a last resort, he had set his sights on the knight tournament — adding archery as an event was specifically meant to recruit a batch of skilled archers. Perhaps the Kenmays family would think Lorist was simply promoting and publicizing his own family's golden-armed sharpshooter.
"Understood, Your Grace. We will carry out your instructions," Sedkamp and Pat replied.