Ariak City is located east of the territory of the Duke of Greenwood City and south of Suero City. It is the headquarters of the Arias family. Since the disappearance of the first Duke of Arias, the main residence of the Arias family members has been this historic central city. For the Arias, the ancestral home near Floro Town is a remote and desolate place that even the tax collectors are too lazy to go to. The capital is a place full of malice and distrust. Only here is their comfort.
However, this rule does not apply to this generation of Count Carlos. The Count spends most of his time in the capital, and occasionally does something sensational to keep the old king's attention on himself. Meanwhile, his city of Ariak has developed quite well in the past twenty years. Perhaps the appearance of this city itself cannot be distinguished from other cities in the kingdom, but careful people will find that most of the residents in this city are well-dressed and energetic, with few beggars and hooligans, and even the farmers who come to the city from surrounding villages and towns seem quite wealthy.
Unless the kingdom's inspector came, there would be hungry poor, lax soldiers, and incompetent officials. The officials of Ariac have been good at performing such a good show over the years.
However, the atmosphere in the entire city today is different from usual days. The coming and going of carriages and horses and fully armed soldiers make this quiet city full of the atmosphere of war.
It was the time of the morning sun rising. Behind the Earl's Mansion in the city center, a large martial arts training ground was crowded with people wearing armor and robes. Most of them looked at the high platform in front of the martial arts training ground with serious and slightly excited expressions, waiting for today's protagonist to appear.
Those who could stand here were all nobles under the Earl, including Viscounts and Barons, and at least one knight. If all of them were caught, I'm afraid one-third of the families in the western part of the kingdom would have to change their heads. And those mages were also the leading figures in the surrounding magic towers, and at least one of them had the title of low-level mage.
After waiting for quite some time, Count Carlos finally came out of the main building of the Count's Palace. He was followed by several people, including the family's magic advisor and close friend Master Banderas, his butler Pinto, the mayor of Ariak City Trinidad, the knight leader Batis, and his daughter Serinda and son-in-law Li Jia. In addition, there was a tall warrior holding a flag, following the crowd. It was the Berserker Bairon who had fought with Roger. The flag in Bairon's hand was embroidered with neither a coat of arms nor words, but a portrait.
That was Prince Javier, wearing a crown and looking serious. The embroidery was made by someone based on a printed photo of Prince Javier, and it looked very lifelike.
Li Jia looked up at Prince Havel, who was waving in the wind, and couldn't help but find it a little funny. His father-in-law was really a joker. Since he couldn't invite the real person to the army, he came up with such a funny alternative.
Not long after the Chinese and Count Carlos formed an alliance, Li Jia came to Ariake with the Count and Serinda. In addition to being Count Carlos' son-in-law, he was also the liaison officer sent by the Chinese to Count Carlos. Whenever Count Carlos had a new action, he would use the communication array in Ariake to inform the committee in a timely manner so that both sides could cooperate and coordinate with each other.
The war is really about to begin.
He followed the Earl to the training ground. Seeing so many warriors ready to go, he actually felt a surge of blood in his heart. However, he felt that Serinda hesitated before stepping out of the main building. He hurriedly held her hand and asked, "What's wrong?"
Serinda's face looked a little confused. She shook her head and said nothing.
After all, Li Jia was someone close to her, so he guessed her thoughts immediately. He slowed down his pace, and the two of them distanced themselves from the people in front. Then he asked softly, "Do you still feel cheated by your father?"
Serinda lowered her eyes and whispered, "I am just a poor fool, this is how I feel these days.
Do you know? Since I was very young, I felt that my father was an uneducated playboy and that the revival of the family depended on me alone. Even though I was not very talented, I still practiced martial arts and learned magic diligently, hoping that one day I could lead the family back to its rightful place.
But now? Everything I did was proven to be in vain. He had prepared everything long ago, and he did everything better than me.
The most hateful thing is that he kept this secret from me for so many years, even from my poor mother. She thought my father had abandoned her until she fell ill and died.
It's sad that all my mom's waiting turned out to be a sham, and all my preparations to revive the family have turned out to be a clown show. It feels like... everything around me is fake, and it's terrible."
"I think your father is trying to protect you." Li Jia looked at Count Carlos's thin figure and said, "If I had a daughter and the family was in such a dangerous situation, I would also want her to stay away from these disputes as much as possible. The enemy hurt us, we should not hate others for not protecting us, but hate the enemies who caused the harm, right?"
"But I am also a warrior, and I can fight for my family. Or at least, he can tell me the truth, so that he and I wouldn't have to spend ten years like this. Do you know how painful it is to hate your own father?" said Serinda.
"I... know. Not only do I know, but I know it very clearly." Li Jia looked at Serinda and said, "Maybe not as deeply as you, but I have definitely experienced such feelings. However, all of that is in the past. I won't worry about it anymore."
"Li Jia, are you also thinking about the past... I didn't even know about this." Serinda sensed his emotions and held his hand a little tighter.
Li Jia smiled with relief and said, "It's okay. I'll tell you slowly when I have the chance. Well, the oath-taking ceremony is about to begin. Let's get ready. Today is your father's glorious day, and it's also the day you've been looking forward to for a long time, isn't it?"
They followed the team in front of them onto the stage. Count Carlos walked to the front of the stage, smiled confidently, and raised his fist to the people below, who immediately burst into warm applause and loud cheers.