When the Saint comes, she does not collect food

Chapter 1161 Emeric's Surprise

By September, the grasslands in the northwest of the empire were already a desolate sight.

The wind blows from the distant icy sea, swirling snowflakes across the withered meadows.

The grass blades on the meadow, blown by the cold wind, clung to the ground, covering the earth with a wrinkled golden carpet.

The cattle and sheep were treading on this carpet, chewing gently. Occasionally they would look up warily, but they always gazed at the mountain wall that resembled a giant's wall.

The Furnace Plateau mountains are shrouded in gray mist, and the snow on their peaks gleams coldly.

At the foot of the mountain lies Tieliubao, originally called Kapoor Pass, the place where Vivian's grandmother ate human flesh.

The centaur Sethhae Khan besieged this place, but was eventually forced to retreat.

During both vampire invasions, the royal army also came here, but returned empty-handed.

Ironflow Fortress, Golden Fortress, and Fat Fortress form the defensive line against the Royal Court and the Centaurs in the Roaring Corridor.

Ironflow Fortress is the most fortified stronghold of the Frontier Knights and the first line of defense against the vampire army.

The black stone walls of the Gaoruo Mountain range are now pitted and uneven, with traces of centaur bone arrows and red marks from exploding blood pellets between the bricks.

The once-thick timber-framed houses and mahogany roofs that once stood beneath the city walls are now nothing but piles of ashes and burning skeletons.

At the base of the wall lay piles of blackened corpses—some centaurs, some vampires.

Hundreds of guards patrolled the city walls, wearing chainmail under black cloaks.

The soldier on the arrow tower, holding a long sword, dozed off with his chin resting on the hilt, his eyes dark and his face covered in rust.

It's been three months. I've been waiting for three months.

Their food supplies in the cellar were running low, and they even had to start killing their warhorses to stave off hunger.

The promised support still didn't arrive; Fatty Beef Castle didn't cease hostilities, and the Regent didn't come to provide assistance.

They have given up hope of keeping their ancestral lands; perhaps the Kush River means displacement.

Whoever drinks the water of the Kush River must leave the Kush River.

The Kush people were like this back then, and the Frontier Knights are like this now.

All they wanted was to survive.

Even if it meant humiliatingly bowing down to his former enemy, Duke Regent Omes.

As long as Leia comes to their aid and holds back the vampires or Norns, they can slowly retreat and leave this place.

but--

“…You actually forbid it!” With a loud slap, Emeric slammed his hand heavily on the table.

Inside the castle's council chamber, candlelight flickered, illuminating the faces of more than twenty knight commanders.

Most of them wore tattered chainmail, had bloodstained longswords hanging from their waists, and their arms were mostly wrapped in bandages, with blood seeping through.

"Why? This is clearly a mutually beneficial arrangement!"

The knight commanders were all taken aback when they heard that Duke Omes had actually replied with a letter of refusal.

Hoffman, who read the king's letter, didn't say much, but simply sat down slowly.

The reason why Leia was unwilling to support them or allow them to submit is quite simple: it was ultimately a chain reaction from the Dawn Island War.

First, Leia needs to reserve sufficient troops to fight against the newly formed Dawn Island Federation and lose a major source of manpower.

Secondly, the border knights did not achieve any military merits on Dawn Island, and when they submitted to the government, the Leia nobles were not satisfied.

Third, with Dawn Island's successful independence, a large amount of land that was originally available for distribution fell into enemy hands. If they wanted to settle these border knights, they would have to cut off pieces of land from other major lords.

If the Dawn Island War is won, the Border Knights will have proven their worth, slaughtering Dawn Island to acquire vast amounts of land, and annexation will be almost a certainty.

But now?

These are just Final Fantasy.

"Leaving aside Leia's attitude, what should we do now?"

"Let's hold out and wait for reinforcements..."

"Hold on to the death? Hold on until how long?" A bearded knight slammed his fist on the table and stood up. "Hold on until we die? The Pope's gone, what's the point of all this talk?"

"Ironflow Fortress is our root. We couldn't conquer it back then, even against centaurs and vampires. How can we surrender now and face the knight brothers buried at the foot of the wall?"

"Then what do you suggest we do?" the bearded knight sneered. "Leia doesn't care about us, the Holy Alliance is far away, and Norn at least sent a messenger saying they'd give us a fiefdom if we helped them guard the border!"

These words caused the previously quiet council chamber to erupt in noise once again.

"Norn? A bunch of savage barbarians!"

"We are a knightly order personally appointed by the Pope, not mercenaries."

“Then what about joining the Pope’s side? We are originally the Pope’s knightly order,” a younger knight suggested in a low voice.

This suggestion clearly made the knight commanders present look as if they were eating excrement.

They initially helped Leia fight the Holy Alliance because of the Pope's influence, but now, after several dramatic changes, it is Horn of the Holy Alliance who has become the Pope.

Although the papacy is not recognized by bishops or monks in many places, this does not preclude its true legal status. In the end, the holy war turned them into heretics, into clowns!
"Didn't Pope Horn say that all believers in the Holy Way are brothers? If we convert, maybe he'll send troops to our aid..."

No sooner had he said this than a sneer erupted.

"Convert? Have you forgotten all those battles we fought against the Holy Alliance back then?" An older knight shook his head. "Besides, how far is it from here to the Holy Mechanism Court? By the time the messenger returns, we'll all be dead."

The arguments rose and fell silent time and time again. The chief remained silent, sitting quietly in his wolf-skin high-backed chair.

As the debate continued, unsurprisingly, the knights eventually turned their attention to Grand Master Emeric.

"Commander, can you say something?"

"Commander, what are you doing, Commander?"

"Why are you just watching, Commander!"

With everyone so enthusiastic, it wouldn't be right to remain silent, so Emeric asked softly, "What do you think about joining the Royal Court Army?"

The council chamber remained silent for a full three seconds.

The knights, seeing that their commander remained silent, assumed he was about to do something drastic, but instead he just made a big mess.

After three seconds of silence, a volcanic eruption of noise ensued.

"what?!"

"Commander, have you gone mad?"

"The royal court is our mortal enemy!"

The knights stood up, their faces filled with shock and disbelief.

The bearded knight pointed at Emeric, his finger trembling: "Have you forgotten the corpses of vampires beneath the walls? Have you forgotten that we're here to hold off the royal court's attack? And now you want us to surrender to them?"

Emeric waved his hand, signaling everyone to be quiet: "I'm not crazy. The royal court you're talking about, is it the royal court of the Council of Immortals? The current royal court is the royal court of Serfaye."

"Even the royal court of Serfaye, would they accept us?" The older knight frowned. "We've been fighting the royal court for so many years, and a blood feud has long been formed. How could they possibly tolerate us?"

“Whether it’s tolerable or not, we have to try.” Emeric’s voice turned somber. “Do we have any other choice but this path?”

Are there any other options?
Leia doesn't want them, Norn is an old enemy and can't be trusted, and the Holy Alliance is beyond their reach and even less likely to help.

If we don't pledge allegiance to the royal court, Ironflow Fortress will be breached by the vampires in less than three days.

At that time, everyone here will become their prey.

The council chamber fell silent again, the knights looking at each other with struggle in their eyes.

They all knew that Emeric was telling the truth, but this wasn't about defecting to someone else; it was about defecting from humanity to vampires.

"Then... what are the conditions?" Finally, one of the knights from the crowd asked in a low voice, "Who would surrender without conditions?"

Emeric's gaze darkened: "The condition is... everything will remain the same. We will still be the Border Knights, with our own organization and our own base."

But there is one condition—all knight commanders must undergo vampire conversion.

"Transformed into vampires? Do they have that much source blood?"

The difference in the quality and quantity of source blood required to transform a superhuman knight into a vampire is more than just one level.

“At least we can survive.” Emeric’s voice was a little hoarse. “By being transformed into a vampire, we can at least be guaranteed to be second-generation vampires and enjoy the same treatment as the ogre warlords.”

"If I may ask, Grand Master, does this mean we are going to war with our fellow humans?"

Emeric remained silent for a long time before saying, "I don't want to deceive you, but we cannot rule out this possibility."

"I won't do it!" A knight abruptly ripped off his helmet and threw it on the ground. "I'd rather die in battle than become one of those blood-drinking monsters! I'd rather not be human!"
"I won't do it either!" another knight stood up. "We, the Border Knights, will die with dignity, even if we die!"

Emeric did not stop them, but simply watched the knights who had stood up.

“I won’t force you,” he said softly. “Those who don’t want to surrender can leave now, whether they go to Norn or the Holy Alliance. I’ve prepared some last rations and horses for you.”

The door to the council chamber was pushed open, and a cold wind rushed in, almost extinguishing the candlelight.

A dozen knights picked up their weapons, did not look back, and walked out of the council hall step by step.

Their footsteps faded into the distance, disappearing into the castle corridors.

"The Knights... have split up." An older knight sighed. He looked at the empty doorway, then at the dozen or so knights who remained in the same spot, and suddenly felt his eyes welling up with tears.

What exactly did they do wrong?

Three days later, the ceremony for the surrender of Tieliubao took place.

The walls that had kept the city closed to vampires for a thousand years were breached from the inside, and Americ, alone, led a warhorse toward the dark mass of vampire and centaur allies.

At the very front of the vampire army was a knight riding a black horse.

Unlike the rest of the vampire army who remained in place, he rode alone, galloping at full speed.

As he approached, the man raised his hand and took off his helmet.

A familiar face appeared before Emeric. Emeric couldn't believe it, rubbing his eyes several times before tentatively asking—

"Lord Lacunio?"

(End of this chapter)