I, the Lord of the End

Chapter 43, Arriving at Wolf Castle

In fact, the best ending for soldiers who died in battle outside the wilderness is to be cremated, which can not only prevent the corpse from being fed by wild beasts, but also allow the soldiers to rest on the spot.

However, there are no conditions to do so in the wild. Firstly, the humid environment in the forest after the rain makes cremation very difficult, and secondly, the huge consumption of wood. Not everyone has the money for cremation.

Sid had seen his deceased relatives being sent to the incinerator in his previous life, so he took it for granted that the so-called cremation was just to get some fuel, put the corpse on it and ignite it.

Not at all, that would not burn cleanly at all, and you need to know a lot about firewood alone.

The lower classes are not even eligible for cremation, digging a pit and burying them is the best ending.

It can only be said that the patrol soldiers who died in the battle today were very lucky to meet the benefactor. Istvan decided to take 5 gold ecu out of his reward to give these dozen brothers a decent ending. The soldiers brought the corpses When they came to a nearby town, under the blessing of the Underworld monk, each person put two silver shillings on their eyes and burned them into ashes in the flames.

"It's all ashes in the end." In the cemetery, Ishtwan buried his savior with the ashes wrapped in a cloth. He asked Sid beside him, "Is man born to become ashes?"

"Life belongs to everyone and only once. How you want to live it is up to you." Sid grinned, and he cast his eyes on the entire gray cemetery of Hades.

I don't know how many people are buried here, but more people don't even have the opportunity to send their ashes to the cemetery, because it takes money to rest here.

"It depends on yourself?" Istvan chewed on this sentence: "A person's life?"

"Let's not talk about this." Sid shook his head, and he reached out his hand to signal Istvan to turn his attention to the mound in front of him, and put a wooden sign and dagger into his hand: "Let's write something."

Istvan looked at the wooden sign for a long time, and finally wrote with a dagger: "Olic, heroic werewolf, defender of peace, excellent warrior, savior of Holstein, you rest in peace. "

Put his broken spear and shattered shield in front of the mound, and it was all over.

Dire werewolves have a rather awkward habit. They must bury their weapons and equipment with them. This is their glorious tradition, and it is also one of the reasons why they always lack good equipment.

Sid does not agree with it but respects it. The best ending for a soldier is a shroud of horse leather. Compared with other imperial principalities who like to bury gold, silver and jewels, they are always dug up. This decision may allow the soldiers to avoid it. be disturbed.

After coming out of the cemetery and cleared their minds, Sid and Istvan met the oncoming temple guards. In addition to the agreed commission, Ulrich rewarded Sid with an additional 50 gold ecu on behalf of the Church of Heaven. Istvan was rewarded with 5 gold crowns for their contribution, followed by a Wolf Medal of Honor.

Sid took the medal and looked at the familiar wolf head on it. This Bad Wolf Medal of Honor is useful as well as useful - holding this medal means identity recognition, and Sid can hold this medal in the Principality of Bad Wolf. Settle anywhere.

"It's very beautiful." After sitting in the carriage leading to Wolf Castle in the small town, Istvan said, "It's very deceptive."

"But it's useless."

The carriage drove out of the town and arrived in the field, and Sid gently opened a corner of the curtain.

The Medal of Honor flew out of the carriage and fell into the mud in a gorgeous parabola. The splashed juice stained the red and yellow ribbon.

The two people in the carriage looked at each other and smiled, as if throwing a piece of trash.

Half an hour later, Temple Guard Ulrich arrived with a group of religious warriors. He looked livid at the medal that had fallen into the mud puddle, and finally gave up on the chase.

A few days later, Wolf Principality, Wolf Fort.

When the two were approaching Wolfsburg, they had already received news of the successful peace talks.

After some "friendly consultations", the imperial princess Celeste has signed the "Contract of Friedland" with Roboute, the Grand Duke of Wallace, and the Principality of Wallace announced its surrender. As the "sovereign", the Holy Empire begs for the yearly coins.

The Holy Empire once again crowned Roboute as Grand Duke Wallace, and "given" the Principality of Wallace 3600 ounces of dragon crystals, 150000 gold coins, 3 kilograms of iron, 3 bolts of cloth, and 45 kilograms of wheat.

Grand Duke Wallace Roboute also announced that he would pay 50 boxes of pearls, 500 boxes of wine, 2000 bottles of balsamic vinegar and 10000 pairs of leather boots every year.

The previous story about the robbery and killing of the official caravan has been reversed. The Holy Empire and the Principality of Wallace announced that they have abandoned their past differences and reached a peaceful agreement!

Congrats, congratulations.

Sid immediately learned that the place where the princess was staying was the famous Ritz-Constance Manor in Wolfsburg, where the two countries would hold a grand banquet tomorrow night to celebrate the success of the peace talks.

Congrats, congratulations.

Sid's opportunity has come, which means that the time for the two to part is also approaching.

As the city loomed on the horizon, Istvan began babbling on to give Sid a history lesson:
"Wolf Castle is located at the foot of the Julian Mountains. It was entrusted with the title of earl by the von Baten family during the wolf dynasty. Later, the von Baten family was destroyed in the war of the elders and was replaced by the von Lotterbihof family. ruled here, and then after a long historical change, it was handed over to the Royhaus family, the Schubren family, and the von Helmut family successively."

"Until the end of the Fourth Griffin Dynasty, the Helmut family perished in the second Blood Moon War, but the only daughter married to the noble Gifhorn family of Rizland, so this place was once included in the Ryze The Grand Duke of Lan ruled..."

"Okay, okay, I know what you said, and I don't want to listen to your history class now." Sid hurriedly stopped Istvan from lecturing, and added: "After the stag dynasty mediated and asked for the division of titles, according to the wolf According to the request of the Principality, choose a child from the couple's children who is "born in a wolf and grows up in a wolf and can speak wolf language", right?"

"Hey, your history is not bad, do you know this kind of thing?" Istvan was a little surprised: "It's strange, didn't you say that you were adopted by a pair of Sivis, and then went to work in Rizland? Are you a mercenary? Where did you see these things?"

"It's not like Rizran doesn't have a library."

"Then your search ability is really good, and you can find books about these things from places like Rezlan." Istvan couldn't help but glanced at Sidgao again: "Be patient and read it, I see These things always give me a good night's sleep."

"Knowledge is power." Sid pinched his chin with his hands, and he spoke meaningfully: "Thinking about it for a long time, wanting to know, knowledge and thirst, everything is part of the plan."

When Istvan frowned and didn't know how to answer these words, Wolf Castle had already appeared in front of them.

The main tone of gray, the configuration of the guards facing the enemy, cylindrical bunkers and turrets, behind the giant gate drawbridge of Wolf Castle, there are many new faces standing, these are the guards of the Black Eagle Royal Legion wearing black and red colors , They were ordered to protect Her Royal Highness Celeste, the princess of the empire. The number of guards in the Royal Legion was not many, but they caused a lot of trouble for the guards of the Wolf Principality who were in charge of defending the city.

The reason is very simple, with the royal guards around, the werewolves are not easy to beat the bones. In the Holy Empire, the military discipline of the central army is far behind the local army.

Also taking advantage of this opportunity, merchants with all kinds of documents and guides all chose to enter the city at this time, and there was a long queue at the gate of the city. The incident caused Wolfsburg to enter a state of military control.

All it took was a temperature check and a request to show a health code.

However, under such circumstances, business activities are further prosperous, population flow is expanding, and merchants with all kinds of documents and guides all choose to enter the city at this time. The central army that takes over the city will neither extort nor deliberately set up Obstacles, dealing with problems is efficient and clean.

As Nobili, Sid and Istvan had a fast track but had to wait in line for a while. At this time, two yeoman were talking beside the line.

One owner farmer looked older, about 40 to 50 years old, and the other was younger, about [-] years old.

"Why are you entering the city at this time, can we enter before dark?"

"I want to enter the city at this time, stupid, Thomas, you see, the chiefs of the Central Army are here! If they come, those guys won't embarrass us!"

"Oh oh, it turns out to be the military master of the Central Army!"

"That's right, that's why everyone found out that the officers have been guarding the city gates for the past few days."

"But the officers of the Central Army, why did they come to our evil wolf?"

"I heard that the princess is here. She represents the Holy Empire and has come to negotiate peace with Wallace's jackals!"

"Peace talks, why are there peace talks? What is the outcome of this battle?"

"I won."

"Why do you want to negotiate peace if you win?"

"Oh, you are stupid, you just want peace talks, peace talks are right, do you want your son Hooper to be recruited? Or do you want to be taxed more? Or do you want to pay the dead hand donation? ’ the old yeoman babbled.

The younger yeoman immediately fell silent.

"Peace talks are a good thing, especially for those of us Sivis who have passed the recruitment age. The benefits of victory will definitely not fall on our heads. On the contrary, the losses will not be certain. 5 acres of land and then use it to grow something."

"Yes, good thing."

The two Sivis yeomen came to a consensus.

"These two wolf bumpkins have no culture, but they are definitely not stupid." Sid gestured towards Istvan with the corner of his mouth.

Stephen was silent, and the young warlord understood Sid's meaning.

What does the Battle of Friedland, which is regarded as a must-win battle, mean to them, great nobles?
Gold-plated opportunities, promotion space, benefit distribution.

But what did the Battle of Friedland mean to civilians?
The dialogue between two yeomen has explained everything.

What is Dead Hand Donation?
The dead hand donation is a tax for the third class Sivis. As we all know, as the third class Sivis, many taxes cannot be collected from them. If the Seus family like the little guide does not The lord of the People's Insurance can be rounded and flattened at will, and the lord will ignore it if he reports to the priest of the church, but Sivis is different. Sivis has a channel to speak out, especially after the high priest returns.

But the lord also has a way to "govern" these free people, that is, "donate with dead hands". According to the Falcon Code, every household of the free people has the obligation to serve the lord, and the standard time of service is 40 days a year. Time freemen serve without remuneration, and even some food is provided by themselves. For 40-60 days, half of the military salary and all the food will be paid, and for more than 60 days, the full military salary and double rations will be paid.

5000 years have passed, and the freeman service system has long been disintegrated. It has been replaced by the mercenary system and the semi-professional military system. It is rare to recruit freemen on a large scale as before. If there is a small matter, you will find mercenaries. , The army was dispatched for major events, and the service system was gradually transformed into a "military service tax", that is, the freedmen paid a sum of money every year, and the lord used the money to support the army or hire mercenaries.

But the legal rights of the lord grandfather must be safeguarded!This is where the death donation comes in: if a freedman dies before the age of 50, the lord is entitled to "horses, harness, a complete set of arms, armor" from his relics. If the free folk don't have it, or the quality is not enough to satisfy the lord, then it can be discounted naturally.

This tax is a heavy tax, and Sivis's face changes when they hear of it.

Different places have different donation standards for dead hands. Some principalities are 55 years old, and some are 60 years old. The Wolf Principality once received 75 years old, but after the great priest Cecilia returned from the void, she ordered The unified standard of the Holy Empire is 50 years old.

It can only be said that it is not unreasonable for free people to generally like the great priest.

The current season is late autumn, and the Wolf Principality can feel the chill in October.

Stepping into the deep city gate opening, a strong sense of damp and cold hits the face, and the coat of arms and tapestries of the Bad Wolf Principality are hung on the city tower.

The coat of arms of the Bad Wolf Principality has become very complicated after 5000 years of evolution. The red, gray, black and white background divides the coat of arms into 4 areas, which are densely packed with patterns, representing the changes in family rule during the four dynasty changes. , the only thing that remains unchanged is the wolf in the coat of arms and the Holy Flame City that symbolizes the capital of the Principality of the Wolf. As a principality that once ruled the Central Dynasty, there is naturally a crown above the coat of arms of the Wolf.

"Please show your ID." Immediately, a black eagle royal guard came up to stop Sid. This is a soldier wearing a feathered kite helmet, chain mail and breastplate. He has a thick W mustache and is stronger than Xi De. A big step of moral weakness is probably the cornerstone step, but these cornerstone soldiers should not be underestimated because of this. Except for the elite central army and local army, most of the army is composed of beginners and cornerstone officers. It is rare to see all cornerstone soldiers.

"Mr. Ezekyle Abaddon, Abaddon...a rare surname." Sure enough, the royal guard didn't let Sid in immediately, and he looked at Sid for a while.

Sid didn't respond, his face was calm and composed with a half-smile.

The most important thing for nobles in the Holy Empire is self-confidence in conversation and unique appearance.

Appearance is naturally not a problem. As for self-confidence, Sid is definitely not lacking.

This is a false claim made by the big sister of the encyclopedia, Ilustias, and the big sister said that there is absolutely no problem.

The royal guard had to ask the opinion of the local officer.

"Hello, Mr. Ezekel." The local officer in Wolfsburg felt a little short when he saw Sid's appearance, and asked, "Sir, are you here to attend the banquet?"

"Yes."

"No problem, let it go!"

As for Istvan, it is much simpler. The warlord went up and said:
"Which part are you in?"

The royal guard was confused by this sentence, and asked after a while: "Which part are you from?"

"Sergeant of the Fifth Banner Squadron of the White Horse Cavalry Battalion of the Ninth White Horse Guards Regiment, Istvan von Holstein, son of Marshal Gustav!" Istvan saluted: "White! Horse! "

The royal guard shouted subconsciously: "Justice! Justice!"

In this way, Sid and the two entered the city smoothly.

This is a city with very monotonous colors. You can only see three colors in the whole city, that is, white, gray, and red. This city is located in two black forests, and its geographical location is very important. The Gray Rock Mountains, across the Gray Rock Mountains is the Principality of Wallace.

There are two rows of two-storey classic townhouses on the side of the road. Compared with the manors in the countryside, these townhouses are not so comfortable to live in. The traffic is convenient and safe. The streets are sparsely populated, and soldiers patrolling non-stop. The branches and leaves of the big trees on both sides of the road were withered and yellow, and the fallen leaves were all over the ground, which added a lot of bleak autumn air to the city. The weather was gloomy, and thick clouds and fog shrouded Wolf Castle.

All kinds of wooden signs are hung on the gates on the street, the most typical of which is the bar. Although the wolf people are poor, drinking is indispensable in their life. There was once a wolf king who promulgated a prohibition order, which led to evil The werewolf's largest parade protest in history, more than 50% of the population took to the streets to parade almost caused the order of the entire principality to collapse, and finally made the nobles withdraw this decree.

In the history of the Holy Empire, there were not many times when the nobles compromised with the common people.

"Werewolves are stinking rocks in a cesspit."

- Holy Black Vulture Emperor "Redbeard" Frederick von Hohenzollern
Istvan soon got in touch with the imperial army.

It's time to part.

"Thank you, I will never forget your help to me, and those wonderful memories during the journey." The young warlord stood on the pier of the port, and behind him, floating on the dirty water of the Aller River There was a lot of household garbage, and he reached out and pressed Sid's shoulder: "If you have a chance to come to Oldenburg, please come to me, let's do the reverse."

"Don't, I don't want to be hanged," Sid joked.

Istvan laughed dryly: "We will keep each other's secrets, right?"

"We may not meet again in the future, but I just hope that you will not come to me when the time comes." The short journey is over, everything will return to its original position, and the Holy Empire will try its best to find the "chosen one" Trying to prevent the fulfillment of the prophecy of the Seven Seals, maybe one day Ishtwan and Sid will go to the opposite of each other, so it is better to never see each other than to see each other again.

"You have nothing to ask for?" The young warlord's eyes widened in the sound of the river, and he looked at Sid in disbelief.

In just a few days, he was shocked for the second time from the depths of his soul.

The intrigues of the aristocratic court seem to be temporarily gone, leaving only the warmth like a fire.

"Not every benefactor needs to be repaid." Sid shook his head.

Istvan stared blankly at Sid, and gradually, his eyes turned red, he sucked his nose twice, and simply stretched out his hands to hold Sid's hand: "Treasure, Sid, my brother, forever Brothers!"

"Goodbye."

The river sent the duke's legitimate son away, which also symbolized the end of this short journey. Sid was alone again, but it also met his needs.

Because the next goal is only one.

The second Void Realm Artifact, Angel's Tears!

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(End of this chapter)