Viscount Ediths brought his two jubilant sons along with twenty mounted guards, while Baron Klaas, Baron Wade, and Viscount Schindler each brought four or five of their young male relatives and forty to fifty guards. For these four territorial nobles of Winston Province, managing to assemble sixty or seventy mounted guards was already giving it their all. Once the group set out on the road, the young scions of these four noble families couldn't help but drool at the sight of the four great Northland noble families' guard companies in their standardized equipment. There was nothing to be done about it—they found that their carefully treasured knight's armor couldn't compare to even a single guard's equipment among the Northland nobles, and their confidence took a severe beating.
Viscount Ediths' eldest son Walridge was the ringleader among these young men, and he defiantly challenged El. So during the midday rest, these young men from the four Winston noble families had a sparring session with
Viscount Ediths and the other three nobles seemed to have anticipated this. They were actually quite pleased to see their normally arrogant, heaven-defying young relatives hit a wall and get taken down a notch. Having the
After leaving Walk Town, it was still about a day's journey to Wentbury, the royal capital. The scene along the main highway now looked relatively normal—here and there, nobles driving horse-drawn carriages or knights riding fine steeds traveled the road, along with many cargo wagons and hand-drawn carts all heading toward the capital. Even some wandering knights dressed as mercenaries traveled in small bands of three to five.
When Lorist's cavalcade passed, those on foot or pulling carts hastily cleared the road, standing respectfully at the roadside and bowing toward each noble's banner. The Norton family's Raging Bear banner in particular drew the most gazes and the deepest bows.
Along the way, nobles periodically greeted Viscount Ediths and his companions, and Count Kemsley became quite lively as well—he knew no fewer nobles than Viscount Ediths. With Lorist's permission, the procession slowed its pace, as many acquaintances wished to join the group and travel together. Lorist thought Count Kemsley had a good point—rather than racing to reach the capital after dark, it was better to take it easy, spend the night, and arrive the following morning. That would also make it easier to arrange the handover at the southern gate.
What puzzled Lorist was that Count Kemsley, despite being a territorial noble enfeoffed by the
Count Kemsley explained with a mix of amusement and exasperation. He had heard of Viscount Ediths but never actually met him. To be precise, as a noble of the Iblia Kingdom, he and Baron
Well then—even within the small Iblia Kingdom, the nobility was fractured into this many factions. Lorist was thoroughly exasperated. Count Kemsley explained that ever since Lorist had mobilized his forces in retaliation and captured the Second Prince, the Iblia Kingdom was now down to just two factions: the queen and the local nobles of Winston Province. Without the Second Prince, the Southern Province nobles had no choice but to throw in their lot with the queen. Their ambitions shifted from territorial expansion to targeting the local lords of Winston Province, wishing they could take their place. The fact that local Winston Province lords like Viscount Ediths were on such bad terms with the queen was largely due to the Southern Province nobles stirring up trouble between them.
The closer they drew to the Winston royal capital, the more crowded the road became. When a banner appeared before them—an embroidered circular horseshoe print with a sword thrust through its center—even the normally composed Baron Filim was visibly shaken: "Is Bonavar heading to the capital as well?"
He spurred forward from the procession, wanting to catch up, but the men beneath that banner spotted the numerous noble crests behind them and immediately lashed their horses to a faster pace, quickly vanishing from sight.
Lorist asked curiously: "Who is this Bonavar you spoke of?"
Baron Filim answered with a look of loss: "He was one of the Second Prince's key generals before the founding of the Iblia Kingdom—a fierce and brilliant warrior from a renowned knight family in the Southern Province. He himself was a famous Gold-tier knight. Of the three great victories the Second Prince won before establishing the kingdom, Bonavar commanded two of them. When the kingdom was founded, he was supposed to be granted a title, but the Second Prince demanded a large sum of money from him. In a fury, he left and vanished without a trace. Who would have thought he'd be heading to the knight tournament as well..."
Lorist was speechless for a long moment before patting Baron Filim on the shoulder: "Forget it. That Bonavar clearly has no interest in making contact with us—or perhaps no interest in dealing with this large group of nobles. Once we reach the capital, you'll have plenty of chances to find him."
He too was heading toward the royal capital. As they drew closer, they were startled to discover a heavily fortified military camp beside the road. After a moment's hesitation, the vanguard riders galloped up to the camp entrance and held aloft torches, requesting identification. A night patrol guard squad informed them that this was a campsite for the many nobles traveling to the capital for the knight tournament. The riders returned, and the column continued its nighttime march.
The sky that night was thick with clouds, suggesting there might be light rain the next morning, and so the moonlight was quite dim. Lorist stood atop a small rise and watched the column on the highway pass quickly below, their wagon wheels rumbling as they disappeared into the distance.
Nearly a thousand cavalry, over forty wagons—a merchant caravan, or a noble family's private goods transport? As he pondered, the patrol guard squad came to report that the column which had just passed was from the Forlundo Duchy, claiming that the duchy's young prince had come to attend the knight tournament.
Hmm... it appeared the knight tournament's reputation had spread far and wide—even the four Central Duchies had caught wind of it. The Forlundo Duchy's young prince coming in person suggested he was looking to arrange a marriage alliance with the Fisablen family. Damn—the four Central Duchies had just joined forces with the Commercial Alliance to destroy the Second Prince's army in the former Redelis Kingdom, and now they were pivoting to form a marriage alliance with the Fisablen family. Quite the clever ploy—maneuvering between powers to secure external support and backing for the four Central Duchies. If the day ever came when he tried to implement his strategic plans, the four Central Duchies and the Fisablen family would stand before him like five great mountains blocking his path...
He absolutely could not let this marriage succeed. People were funny that way. Originally, Lorist had been somewhat ambivalent about Princess Silvia's favor, but the moment he discovered that someone else was vying for the princess, it felt as if someone was trying to snatch away what was his. This time, he was dead set on bringing Princess Silvia back to his family's territory. He would absolutely not allow anyone else to lay a finger on his Princess Silvia...
The next morning, when the main host was still about ten li from Wentbury royal capital, the long, resonant blast of welcoming horns drifted toward them from afar. The scouting guard detachment sent two riders back to report that Grand Duke Fisablen himself had come with over a hundred riders to welcome the four great Northland noble families. This news not only stunned Lorist but also greatly surprised Viscount Ediths and the other Iblia Kingdom nobles. Regardless of rank—or for those who didn't yet understand the Norton family's true strength—Grand Duke Fisablen's gesture was not merely unexpected; it was nothing short of staggering.
That old fox is putting me on the fire to roast. Lorist knew full well that Grand Duke Fisablen had come solely for his sake. Claiming to welcome the four great Northland noble families was really just a pretext to size him up and gauge the Norton family's weight. Just as he himself had come to regard the Fisablen family as a hypothetical enemy, he suspected the old fox was thinking the same. After all, the old fox's troops had already suffered no small defeat at his hands, and if not for the high-quality equipment his family had provided these past years, the old fox probably wouldn't have dared—and wouldn't have been able—to set his sights on the Greater and Lesser Jinchuan regions...
This was Lorist's first meeting with Grand Duke Fisablen. Under the watchful eyes of the surrounding Iblia Kingdom nobles, as Grand Duke Fisablen rode closer and closer, Lorist was the first to dismount, standing respectfully by the roadside. Count Kemsley, Baron Filim,
Grand Duke Fisablen was said to be over seventy years old, but a third-rank Great Swordmaster was still a third-rank Great Swordmaster. His face looked no older than fifty, his bearing vigorous and sharp. Spotting Lorist and the others dismounted and waiting from a distance, he kicked his horse's flanks and his mount surged forward, leaving the hundred-odd riders behind by a wide margin. He arrived before the group in no time, let out a hearty "Ha ha!" and swung down from the saddle. His keen, piercing eyes fixed firmly on Lorist: "So you're Count Norton. I've long heard of your great reputation..."
Lorist placed his right hand over his left chest and bowed his head slightly in the standard greeting etiquette of the former Krisen Empire: "The Norton family of the Northland greets His Highness the Grand Duke—the God of War of the Grasslands, Grand Duke Fisablen—and congratulates the Fisablen family on their glory across the grasslands."
Grand Duke Fisablen reached out and patted Lorist twice on the shoulder: "Heh heh, the Raging Bear of the Northland. The Norton family has guarded the Empire's northern frontier through generations. I too have long heard of your illustrious name. To have the four great Northland noble families come together for this knight tournament—it truly fills me with excitement and honor."
"Your Highness, it is our honor to attend the knight tournament you have organized. You flatter us," Lorist replied courteously.
Grand Duke Fisablen waved his hand heartily: "No need for pleasantries—every word I say is from the heart. Now let me guess—this refined and elegant gentleman must be Count Kemsley? I've heard your name but never had the chance to meet you. This visit finally fulfills that wish."
Count Kemsley bowed respectfully: "Greetings, Your Highness the Grand Duke..."
"And this steadfast, resolute knight—I believe he must be a descendant of the Flying Horse family, the renowned
Baron Filim struck his right fist against his breastplate in a knight's salute: "The Filim family pays its respects to Your Highness the Grand Duke!"
Beside him, Baron Shahin immediately followed suit with a crisp knight's salute: "Greetings, Your Highness the Grand Duke. I am Henned of the Shahin family of the Northland, paying respects to the Fisablen family that soars across the grasslands!"
Grand Duke Fisablen cheerfully patted Baron Shahin's breastplate twice and praised him: "A fine fellow..."
Then he turned his gaze to the guards standing in formation and looked back at Lorist: "Count Norton, are these your family's armed forces?"
Was that not obvious? Could he not see the Raging Bear emblems on their breastplates?
But Lorist understood what Grand Duke Fisablen was really getting at. He nodded: "Your Highness the Grand Duke, you are the Empire's renowned God of War of the Grasslands and a grand master of military strategy. Please inspect our family's armed forces and bestow your valuable guidance. Please..."
"Attention! Salute His Highness the Grand Duke Fisablen!"
Whenever Grand Duke Fisablen approached a square formation, its commander would shout the order, and all members would snap to attention, standing at rigid ease while rendering the Grand Duke an eyes-only salute.
Grand Duke Fisablen returned each formation's knight's salute and nodded frequently.
Before the final Norton family guard formation, after completing his salute, Grand Duke Fisablen stopped in his tracks. He walked up to the guards and reached out to tap the breastplate, shoulder armor, and helmet of the front-row men. Then, turning to Lorist beside him, he smiled ruefully: "You little brat—were you trying to make a fool of me? I could never train troops of this caliber. If they joined our family, every single one of them could serve as a squad leader at minimum, even a company commander. Setting everything else aside, just the equipment they're wearing is far superior to what our family knights have."
"Tell me honestly—are your elite family guards wearing steel armor? When I tapped it, something felt off. It doesn't have the dull thud of refined iron plate. The defensive capability is vastly superior to the refined iron standard equipment your family sold us..."
The old fox was indeed an old fox. Count Kemsley and the others hadn't spotted the steel armor on the Norton family guards for all this time, yet Grand Duke Fisablen had detected the anomaly at their very first meeting.
Lorist proceeded to lie with a straight face: "It's not exactly steel armor. We simply added a layer of steel mesh inside to reinforce the defense a bit, but the cost doubled. We originally thought expanding production would bring the cost down, but after producing these three thousand sets, we found it impossible to reduce and had to halt the project. A single standard set like what they're wearing runs to a hundred and eighty gold Fordes. That's why I can only equip my guards with them—no other family's soldiers could afford them..."
To prove he was telling the truth, Lorist casually removed the arm guard of the guard standing in front and showed it to Grand Duke Fisablen. Inside the grayish-blue arm guard, there was indeed a layer of steel mesh. The Grand Duke examined it repeatedly, tapped it a few times, and remained half-convinced, half-skeptical.
Apart from this interlude, Grand Duke Fisablen was full of praise for the Norton family's elite, well-trained guards. He also commended the guards brought by Count Kemsley, Baron Filim, and Baron Shahin. After an extended exchange of pleasantries, everyone mounted up and followed Grand Duke Fisablen toward Wentbury royal capital.
……(To be continued.)