Viscount Kenmes was dripping with cold sweat, staring at the place on the map where his father hit with his fist...
"Father. Father, are you crazy? That is the fiefdom of Earl Lopez, and he is His Majesty's confidant. Have you forgotten His Majesty's words? He wants our family to cooperate sincerely with Earl Lopez. Attract the attention of Grand Duke Lukins. Count Lopez is in the dark, gathering elite soldiers and waiting for the opportunity to give the Grand Duke a fatal blow. Not to mention anything else, what do we use to attack Count Loper? Just rely on the group of soldiers who did not obey orders ? Also, Earl Lopez has several Silver Knights under his command..."
"Your Majesty? Are you referring to that idiot of the Second Prince? He is too busy to take care of himself and has no time to pay attention to the Northland. When I left for the Northland, I just received the news that the Second Prince's army had just taken a beating in the Principality of Meilein. The battle was defeated and the army was defeated. Grand Duke Meilein led the army to counterattack into the Kingdom of Iberia, and is currently sweeping the three counties in the south of the kingdom. The second prince should lie at the feet of his father-in-law, Grand Duke Fesabrun, and beg the Grand Duke to send troops to rescue him, otherwise The capital can't be kept..." Patriarch Kenmes said with a sneer.
"As for Earl Lopez, do you think he is a loyal minister of the second prince? The second prince asked our family to keep him in the dark, but what did he do? After he got the fiefdom, he treated the second prince yin and yang, and only knew to us The family wants this and that, and we want him to help him. He keeps evading, saying that the mountain barbarians are rampant in the territory, and there is no troop to help us. Now, the mountain barbarians he always talked about finally let him lie on the bed, and the silver knights under his command He also died cleanly. Take a look at what this is?" The head of Kenmes took out a letter.
"This is a letter of appeal for help from Count Lopez. With this letter, we can enter his territory and castle swaggeringly. After we arrive, Count Lopez can die of his injuries. Then we can annex His territory and troops attacked the surrounding lords until he occupied the entire eastern part of the Northland."
"But father, the eastern region is bordered by the Demon Dragon Mountains, and the mountain barbarians are a great disaster... Didn't we discuss before or because of Earl Lopez and the mountain barbarians that we gave up the plan to occupy the eastern part of the Northland?" said the Viscount.
"The current situation has changed a lot from the previous estimates. The return of the second young master of the Norton family has greatly increased his strength. It is no longer something we can swallow. There is no possibility of continuing to implement the Morgan Hills development plan. Let's turn around while the loss is still small. Go east, let the Norton family and Grand Duke Lukins face each other, and take this opportunity to wipe out the eastern lords and control this land in the hands of our family."
"Father, even if we rule the eastern part of the Northland, the mountain barbarians are still a serious concern to us. The mountain barbarians in the eastern region are very active. This will be the biggest obstacle to our future development of the eastern region..." Lord Viscount is still not very optimistic about his father's proposal strategic shift.
"Hehe, have you forgotten the mountain barbarian slaves I bought before? Didn't you question why I treated these mountain barbarians as guests and gave them whatever they wanted. Now is the time for them to contribute. I can give the dragon mountain The mountain barbarians can make offerings, trade with them, and even hire and organize a mountain barbarian army to conquer. I promise those mountain barbarian slaves that as long as they can meet my requirements, they can continue to live that luxurious life. With them contributing to our family, I believe that the mountain barbarians in the Demon Dragon Mountains will become a new source of wealth for our family." Patriarch Kenmes pointed to the map.
"Look carefully at the map. If we follow the plan to make the Norton family surrender and carry out the Morgan Hills development plan, then our external passages will still be in the hands of Grand Duke Lukins, who will lie on our Kenmes like a bug. The family is constantly sucking blood. After carrying out the Eastern Northland Plan and occupying the entire eastern region, we can build a new chain bridge on the upper reaches of the Mitoburo River in the Northland to connect the eastern region with the outside world. The family’s supplies don’t need to go through the territory of Grand Duke Lukins and the Hengdelifu Cable Bridge, and they don’t need to be picked up by Grand Duke Lukins. From this perspective, it is most suitable to turn to the eastern part of the Northland. Our family’s path…”
"But our family's armed forces may not be able to implement your plan, and those soldiers still refuse to obey my orders..." Lord Viscount was a little dejected.
"That's because you ordered them to die!" The head of the Kenmes hated iron and steel: "I'm glad they refused to obey your order. What else is left in your head except women and private money? Such a strong city wall Defense, do you think you can attack with two thousand family soldiers? If this is true, the second prince would have swept all directions and became invincible. I thought it was very lucky that our family's armed forces had already reached the Northland before the second prince was defeated. , otherwise these two thousand retired soldiers would have been ordered by the second prince to go to the front line as cannon fodder. Unexpectedly, they would get bad news as soon as they arrived. There are more than five hundred people! You ruined a quarter of the troops in one afternoon. I, I really want to beat you to death..."
The owner of the Kenmes family took two deep breaths to calm down: "From now on, this family's armed forces will no longer follow your command. Muribad..."
"Your subordinate is here!" One of the two attendants who entered the account with the head of Kenmes stepped forward and replied loudly. This is a tall man, about thirty years old, with a very military temperament.
"Muribad, I appointed you as the captain of the Kenmes family's armed force, in charge of that force."
"Obey, my lord, I will live up to your expectations."
The owner of Kenmes nodded and said to the Viscount: "Muribad was originally the captain of the Royal Guards of the Romon Empire, with three stars in silver. He only suffered disaster because he offended the powerful and powerful family. I brought his family back. He is willing to Allegiance to our Kenmes family and become our family knight."
"Asu, come here."
Another attendant took a step forward. He was a dark-skinned burly man, at least two meters tall, more than a head taller than Viscount Kenmes, especially his muscular body, which was like cast iron.
"His name is Sulemos. He is a gladiator from the kingdom of Haneyabada. He is a two-star silver star. He is victorious in life and death fights. I paid a lot of money and two big favors to buy him, and asked someone to teach him how to be a knight." Etiquette. He is also willing to become our family knight. Now you can perform a knight promotion ceremony for the two of them." The master of Kenmas ordered the viscount.
After the knight promotion ceremony, the owner of Kenmes asked the viscount why he saw the viscount throwing a tantrum and throwing things when he came in
The viscount said why.
The head of the Kenmes family shook his head: "You still don't think much, the more you are like this, the more you should participate, you don't have to play, but you have to see if you can select some of these northern wandering knights and free knights to play for our family. To the Northlanders, we are outsiders and unfamiliar with the place. But having these wandering knights working for our family will allow our family to establish a foothold in the Northland faster and integrate into the nobles of the Northland... "
"Father, I think these wandering knights are unfamiliar dogs. Where there is meat, they will rush to fight for it. Their habits are similar to mercenaries, and their martial arts are not outstanding. I don't think that wandering knights should be recruited. Our family." The Viscount was very opposed to his father's suggestion.
"You are wrong, one dog and two dogs are useless, but if there are too many dogs, even the most ferocious wolf will retreat. Our family cannot rely on only one family to arm, just like a person can only walk on two legs Although these wandering knights are not good at personal skills, they are the best candidates to form a knight group. You will take Asu to watch the challenge duel of those knights later, and ask Asu to help you choose if there are any good family knight candidates .In addition, let out rumors that our Kenmes family is going to form a small knight group, and those wandering knights are welcome to come and sign up."
"Do you accept as long as you come to sign up?" the Viscount asked.
"No, we only accept silver-ranked knights. In the future, we will unify the eastern part of the Northland. With such a silver knight, the mountain barbarians will not easily turn against us. The wandering knights who came to sign up let them stay in the camp first. Take Muribade and Asu and set off for Earl Lopez's territory tomorrow afternoon. I will leave you two hundred soldiers and let them be responsible for guarding and taking care of the wounded. You are here to deal with the lords and recruit wandering knights. If When others asked, they said that they received a letter from Earl Lopez and sent family knights to lead their troops to rescue." The head of Kenmes said.
"Okay, father. I understand. You mean to recruit those wandering knights to join the knight order, not to become our family knights, right?"
"Yes, you can also tell them that those who perform well will have the opportunity to be promoted to family knights." Patriarch Kenmes nodded.
…
Lorist was standing on the city wall with Miss Teresty, watching the knight challenge duel in the open space below.
"My lord, I really don't like watching these fighting scenes..." Compared with the excited little Winnie next to her, Miss Teresty reluctantly accepted Lorist's invitation to watch the excitement.
"Dear Theresty, you can't stay indoors all the time, either reading books or studying models, which will affect your health. It is good to go out for a walk to bask in the sun regularly. Don't say it's a waste of time, in case you If you are sick, you will waste even more time if you lie in bed for a few days," Lorist said.
"Hey..." Miss Teresty frowned and looked down at the city: "Why do men always like to be competitive? Wouldn't it be better to sit down and make a few cups of tea and chat?"
"This is a really good idea. I have good tea in my room. How about I invite the beautiful Miss Theresty to have a cup of good tea and talk about my life?" Lorist said with a smile.
Miss Teresty rolled his eyes at him, with all kinds of flair: "It's another trick, I won't be fooled..."
Well, it's a joy to have a beautiful woman by your side to make fun of. Lorist was about to continue when he saw Pat rushing over with a serious expression on his face: "My lord, a messenger has arrived."
There was no other way, the business was important, so Lorist had to apologize to Miss Tresty first, take his leave, and followed Pat to his room.
The courier was a mercenary with a pale face and sweating profusely, no matter who had traveled six or seven hours with three riders, he would look like this. Lorist knew this mercenary, and compared swords with him when choosing the location for the military camp.
As soon as he saw Lorist, the news from the messenger shocked Lorist a lot: "My lord, an army bearing the banners of the Northland Army and Grand Duke Lukins appeared outside Beiye Town this morning. Open the city gate to greet them. The army is estimated to have 3,000 to 5,000 people. They have set up camp outside Beiye Town. Brother Haoski has already taken people to check the path of this army, and ordered me to come and report to the adults... "
"What did you say?" Lorist couldn't believe his ears. He was no stranger to the terrain of the family's territory, the Blade's Edge Mountains, the Black Mire Swamp, the Dragon Mountains, the Black Forest, and the Morgen Hills, except for the blockade of the Rock Castle. Living in a large building leading to the outside world, he really can't think of a place where a large group of people can pass...
The mercenary who was the messenger really thought that Lorist hadn't heard clearly, so he said it again.
"Pat, get a map of the family estate."
"Have you notified Fenglin Villa?" Lorist asked the mercenary.
"Notified, just on the way, I told the guard loudly under the castle, I didn't go in and ran here." The mercenary said.
"Sedkamp, take this brother to rest for a while, let him eat and drink well before he sleeps soundly, it's best to take a hot bath first..." Lorist took out a small purse and threw it to the mercenary, He gave instructions to Sedkamp who was standing by.
Pat spread the territory map on the table.
Lorist and Pat looked at the map carefully on the table. Although they couldn't find a place where thousands of people could pass, Lorist suspected that there was a secret path leading to the inside of the family territory.
"My lord, I heard that there have always been smuggling caravans in Beiye Town when I was very young, but I have never seen or found their whereabouts. I think Beiye Town must have mastered the secret path leading to the outside world, otherwise they would have to The way to the outside world will definitely pass through our Maplewood Manor. If the army of Grand Duke Lukins didn’t fly over, it must be the people from Beiye Town who led them into our family territory.” Pat said angrily.
Lorist nodded: "The rebellion in Beiye Town is already a certainty, but when did they collude with the Duke of Lukins? Also, it will take six to seven hours for the messenger to arrive here from Fenglin Villa, we don't know now Regarding the situation in Maplewood Villa, is the movement of that army coming to our Rock Castle? Pat, you immediately ask Paul Bins to take the scouts to go and investigate until you see the army. I will go find someone, Let’s move all the people in the camp outside the city wall to the castle first.”
…