"I didn't expect that Winston Province would become even more desolate and devastated than Northland. It seems the two of you really put your hearts into plundering this place."
Baron Filim shook his head. "That wasn't us. Ever since you led us to seize the royal capital and we returned, we haven't touched Winston Province again. Perhaps you don't believe it, but the truth is that more than half of the new settlers in our two territories came here on their own. The nobles of Winston Province are fighting each other like a pot of boiling stew — it's so chaotic beyond reason that we can't even be bothered to intervene. For the sake of survival, more than half of the commoners in Winston Province have fled to Northland as refugees. There's absolutely no need for us to go and kidnap any manpower."
Baron Shahin nodded, indicating that Baron Filim was telling the truth.
This was on the way to attend the knight tournament in Windbury, the royal capital of the Iblia Kingdom. Looking around, Lorist recalled a poem from his previous life: "White bones lie exposed in the wilderness, and for a thousand miles, there is not the sound of a rooster."
More than a decade ago, before the imperial civil war broke out, Winston Province had been the fourth most populous province in the former Krisen Empire, with a population exceeding six hundred thousand. Its area was only one-seventh that of Northland, but its commercial development was famous throughout the empire. This had been the largest livestock trading market in the former empire. Merchants from Northland, the Eastern Wasteland Province, the Muyeyuan Province, the Southern Province, and the seven Central Provinces gathered here. They brought all manner of daily necessities and commercial goods, and took back countless cattle and sheep, creating the prosperous city of Windbury.
There was a saying back then: being a baron in Winston Province was far more prosperous than being the Grand Duke of Northland. This was the pride of the people of Winston Province, and their mockery of the people of Northland. After all, Northland had been the largest province in the former empire, and also the most desolate and impoverished.
The fortunes of heaven and earth turn in cycles. In just over a decade, Winston Province had become even more desolate than the old Northland. This was partly thanks to the
However, over the past two months, Winston Province had become very calm. No more territorial wars had erupted among the nobles. The reason was that Grand Duke Fisablen had returned to the royal capital of Windbury with two field cavalry regiments. With the former military god of the empire, who had an illustrious reputation, sitting there, any arrogant territorial noble had to weigh whether their family's strength could withstand a thunderous blow from Grand Duke Fisablen. All the nobles had learned how to play the part of being obedient.
In any case, Grand Duke Fisablen's purpose in coming to the royal capital was very simple: to host a grand knight tournament to select an outstanding knight as a husband for Princess Sylivia, who had reached the age of twenty-five. As long as everyone endured these few months and let Grand Duke Fisablen successfully conclude this knight tournament, then once he departed, Winston Province would become a battleground for the territorial nobles once more. Besides, everyone had been fighting for so long that they could take this opportunity to rest and recuperate, preparing for the next outbreak. Of course, many confident noble knights believed in their own valor and planned to distinguish themselves at the tournament.
The long column of cavalry marched along the ruined national road. This time, Lorist had brought the three-thousand-strong guard battalion. El, who had been promoted to
Count Kemis had brought a thousand guards, while Baron Filim and Baron Shahin each brought five hundred men. At Lorist's request, all three allied parties had brought cavalry forces entirely, for the sake of security and in case of unexpected situations. A day's march behind them were the Steel Armored Lancer Regiment and two Chariot Steel Crossbow Battalions from the Flying Tiger Corps, led by the fierce Tiger Ross. In the event of a critical situation, these twenty thousand or so men would rush over to provide support.
"This is way too desolate! We've been walking for three days, and there hasn't been a single decent castle along the way. Where on earth have all those lords gone?" Jiosk, who had once again abandoned his post to follow Lorist to the knight tournament, said in bewilderment.
Baron Shahin burst out laughing.
"What are you laughing at, Henried?" Jiosk said, a little annoyed. He and Baron Shahin were old rivals. Years ago, when the Grand Duke of Northland had dispatched the Gold Knight Chevani and Henried, who was not yet Baron Shahin, to attack the
Baron Shahin pointed at Lorist's back. "That was your lord's idea. Ask Baron Filim and you'll understand. Back then, Locke ordered our two families to raid and plunder Winston Province, specifically to make the people here miserable. This national road leading to Windbury royal capital was swept by us back and forth several times. Where do you think those lords went? They were hanged by us long ago. So while territories near the national road symbolize rolling streams of wealth for lords of other kingdoms, here in the Iblia Kingdom, they mean a dead end and death."
Behind the Iblia Kingdom stood the Fisablen Family. Lorist's wariness of them a few years ago had been very necessary.
Baron Shahin consoled him. "Don't worry, Jo. Tomorrow we'll arrive at Walker Town. That's Viscount Edis's territory, and his castle is there too. Last time we marched on the royal capital, this Viscount Edis was very sensible. He paid a large ransom and grain supplies, so his territory wasn't harmed much. Since his reputation was generally good, we let him off. Over the past two years, I've heard that his territory has developed quite well. He's considered a rare good lord in Winston Province, though he doesn't have a good relationship with the queen. To protect himself, he's gathered some territorial nobles and has a bit of strength."
"When we get to Walker Town tomorrow, we can drink to our heart's content. Blame Locke — no drinking during a march. Not just you, even I can't stand it anymore. These three days, my mouth has been unbearably bland, chewing on dried meat and gnawing on bread every day, staying alert and all that... We're going to attend a knight tournament! Why do we have to put on this warlike appearance!"
When Baron Shahin started complaining, Jiosk took offense. "What are you saying, Henried? The lord is doing this for your own good. This time, the four Northland families are going together to attend this knight tournament, and the lord had to be this careful to avoid any oversights. Otherwise, the lord could have just brought me and El. He arranged all these men to protect you, and you're still ungrateful..."
Baron Shahin was exasperated. "You... Just now I was kind enough to console you, and now you're turning around and blaming me. You were the one who started this topic..."
By midday the next day, when they arrived at Walker Town, the messenger who had gone ahead to Windbury royal capital to announce their arrival had also returned, along with a noble envoy sent by Grand Duke Fisablen to welcome them — Count Richard.
Count Richard enthusiastically conveyed Grand Duke Fisablen's welcome to the four great Northland noble families for coming together to attend the knight tournament. On behalf of Grand Duke Fisablen, he relayed a proposal that shocked Lorist: given the shortage of troops, Grand Duke Fisablen was willing to entrust the southern gate of Windbury royal capital to the four great Northland noble families, with them dispatching troops to be responsible for defending the southern gate during the tournament.
Only at this point did Lorist finally put his mind at ease. Grand Duke Fisablen's proposal was clearly intended to put the four great Northland noble families at ease, showing that he was genuinely focused on hosting a successful knight tournament without any hidden schemes. Being willing to hand over the southern gate of the royal capital demonstrated his openness and provided the four great Northland noble families with a retreat route.
Count Kemis, on behalf of the four great Northland noble families, expressed gratitude for the news brought by Count Richard, and praised Grand Duke Fisablen's upright conduct and his reverence for the Fisablen Family. The two stood outside Walker Town, exchanging pleasantries for the better part of the day. There was no way around it — this was noble diplomatic etiquette. Even if one was impatient on the inside, one had to wear a smile to show one's grace and courtesy.
In the end, the negotiations concluded with Count Kemis accepting Grand Duke Fisablen's proposal. He and Count Richard shook hands warmly, like two long-separated brothers.
Viscount Edis, the host, who had been waiting to the side for the better part of the day, stepped forward at just the right moment. He first welcomed Lorist and the others' arrival, then greeted Count Richard, and finally invited everyone to his castle for a welcome banquet he had prepared for these nobles heading to the royal capital for the knight tournament.
Walker Town was quite prosperous, with an estimated population of twenty to thirty thousand. What surprised Lorist was that the shops along the main streets were all decorated with lanterns and colorful banners, with signs and banners everywhere to attract customers.
Perhaps sensing Lorist's puzzlement, Viscount Edis, who was accompanying them, explained. Since the Second Prince established the Iblia Kingdom with Windbury as its capital, two things had happened. First, the outbreak of the imperial civil war had severed trade routes. Second, the Second Prince despised the stench of the livestock market. The livestock market that had originally been in Windbury city was ordered closed by the Second Prince. During those years of widespread warfare, no one was doing livestock business anymore — it was an unavoidable reality.
These past few years, without the Second Prince's relentless meddling and with the surrounding situation stabilizing, even though the territorial nobles of Winston Province were fighting each other bloody, trade caravans from the four central duchies still came to purchase livestock from time to time. However, reopening a livestock market in Windbury royal capital had become rather unlikely. The tax officials dispatched by the queen, who wanted money, would extract a huge sum from everyone entering and exiting the city gates, and no one could bear that. Viscount Edis keenly sensed this was an opportunity and opened a livestock trading market in his territory's Walker Town, and sure enough, it brought prosperity to his domain.
Viscount Edis said with a wry smile that although the current livestock trading market wasn't large and the trading volume wasn't high, the most scarce commodities in the market were all manner of furs and animal sinews. These were high-priced military supplies, which was why there were so many shops along this street processing and selling these goods.
Because of Viscount Edis's vision, Walker Town had prospered and developed, but it also attracted greedy gazes. He had fought several territorial wars with some lords, and in desperation, had formed an alliance with several neighboring lords who also profited from the small town of Walker for mutual protection. His poor relationship with the queen was for the same reason — the queen had dispatched her tax officials to demand a seventy-percent levy on the total value of all commercial transactions as a business tax rate, which Viscount Edis had firmly refused.
Lorist said in surprise, "The queen is absolutely money-mad to even propose such a demand..."
"...all invested in territorial defense. Essentially, this money just made a turn through my hands. I still have to spend enormous energy training the territorial garrison, repairing my castle and Walker Town's wall defenses. I'm so busy I can't even sleep in peace. I really don't understand why I went to such great lengths to develop my territory..."
Lorist could only express sympathy for Viscount Edis's grievances. In peacetime, Viscount Edis would certainly have been able to accomplish great things. His business acumen was excellent, he was kind to his settlers, and among the nobles of Winston Province, his reputation was outstanding. It was just that he was now in troubled times. The better his family territory developed, the more wolves it attracted, forcing him to invest all his wealth in building a territorial garrison for self-defense.
Walker Town had originally been no more than a hundred meters from Viscount Edis's family castle, but due to the rapid development of recent years and the large number of commoners coming to settle, it had to be expanded. Now Walker Town and the castle had merged into a single entity, with two more rows of walls built on the open ground between them, along with four stone cylindrical watchtowers like fortresses. Whether Walker Town or the castle was attacked, the territorial garrison could provide support at any time.
Viscount Edis's family castle also had a history of nearly a hundred years. According to the viscount, when his grandfather was granted the title of viscount for his military merits and became a territorial noble of Winston Province, he had taken root here. This castle was built by his grandfather. In the spacious great hall, portraits of his grandfather and his father still hung.
Viscount Edis said self-deprecatingly that both his grandfather and his father had been famous Gold Knights. His father had been renowned for his valor in Winston Province. Later, he also died in battle during the last campaign of the former Krisen Empire against the Forde Commercial Alliance. That had been over thirty years ago. When the viscount inherited the title, he had been only sixteen years old. But his own aptitude was mediocre — he had only reached Silver Two-Star to this day, and there was no hope of advancing to the Gold rank in this lifetime.
In the castle's great hall, Lorist saw the portrait of the white-bearded old man that Viscount Edis had mentioned — his grandfather — as well as his father's image in knight's armor. At the entrance to the great hall, Viscount Edis's wife, with her two sons and seven-year-old daughter, along with three nobles, welcomed Lorist and the others.
Lorist and the others bowed to the viscount's wife and greeted her, presenting the gifts they had brought. Ever since destroying the Haneabada Kingdom, Lorist had no shortage of precious gifts. Indeed, the platinum necklace set with sapphires drew gasps of admiration from the nobles present. While sapphires and platinum were precious, the nobles were knowledgeable — what they marveled at was the craftsmanship of the artisan who had made the jewelry. For they didn't know that in the Haneabada Kingdom, slave artisans without exceptional skill could not survive.
After the viscount's wife expressed her thanks, Viscount Edis introduced his two sons and seven-year-old daughter to Lorist. His eldest son was twenty-four and already a valiant Silver Three-Star knight. The younger was twenty-one, a Silver One-Star knight. The viscount now placed his hopes of becoming a Gold Knight on his two sons.
The three nobles were Viscount Edis's allies and neighbors. Baron Klaus's territory was a ranch, Baron Weid's was a farm, and Viscount Schindler grew pasture grass. They formed an effective complementary relationship with the livestock trading market of Walker Town, becoming allies with shared interests.
At the welcome banquet, Viscount Edis requested Lorist's permission for their four noble families to accompany him to Windbury royal capital for the knight tournament. The main reason was that their relationship with the queen was truly terrible. Although they had hoped to bring their sons and nephews along for the experience, they worried that their enmity with the queen might make the journey dangerous and had been unable to decide. If they could follow Lorist's party, they would at least not need to worry about their safety. In case of any situation, they could also retreat to their family territories through the southern gate controlled by Lorist.
After a moment's thought, Lorist agreed to Viscount Edis and the others' request. The banquet continued until evening before everyone dispersed in high spirits.
...(To be continued.)