When the Saint comes, she does not collect food

Chapter 562 We Want More Than Freedom

"Given the morale of the soldiers in the camp, it is impossible for us to continue the attack."

The knight Klowin from the Longfort said in a resounding voice.

In the small stone house next to the knight's training ground, a steaming fireplace was lit, and the cold wind knocked against the windows, as if accompanying the words of the Klovin knight.

Surrounding the bed of the White Horse Knight Spitrochu, senior commanders including the Red Horse Knight Moruo, the Black Horse Knight Hearn, and Meliati wearing an iron mask were all there.

There was even an unexpected guest with a depressed look - Sechinger, who escaped from Prince Condé's camp.

He was thinner than before, and even half of his foot was chopped off by a battle axe. He could only walk with the help of a crutch.

Almost all the Four Horsemen were present, the only one absent was the "traitor who left the city and surrendered."

To be honest, the reason why morale in the barracks is so low right now is because the mountain knights are arguing among themselves about whether Wayne has surrendered or not.

As the second-in-command under Meliati, Wayne's status in the hearts of the mountain people is definitely not low.

But this surrender was too bizarre. Although it was rumored that it triggered a riot among the nobles, Prince Condé did not clear Wien of the wrongdoing.

Until the authenticity of the noble riot is confirmed, Meliati cannot make a judgment.

Horn and Prince Condé could see it clearly because one of them was involved and the other was an outsider.

The church deliberately blocked the news in Upper and Lower River County, and Meliati has been fighting and defending the city, so reliable news has not yet been delivered.

Lacunio once again spread rumors and smoke screens, which to a certain extent concealed the truth about the riots in Hotam County.

Therefore, for Meliati and her army, Wayne's death is still confusing.

Meliati didn't believe that Wayne would do this, but... it happened.

This sense of collapse, as well as the subsequent defeats in the battle with Prince Condé, caused most people to fall into defeatism.

Today, the silent city of Gaobao is proof of this. In the past, the military camp must have been very noisy, but now it is deathly silent.

Nearly 1500 mountain riders were killed or injured.
Most of the local knights in Upper River County fled, the Knight on the White Horse was seriously injured and had his arm broken, and Meliati was knocked off her horse in public.

Although Prince Condé withdrew the day before yesterday, the knights had already equated this expedition with failure.

Their biggest thought at the moment is to go home.

After Knight Clowen finished his long speech, the Knight on the White Horse lying on the bed reluctantly raised his head and said, "Your Highness, if I'm wrong, you can correct me, but has that dog Charles been promoted to Grand Knight?"

After a half-minute of silence, Meliati finally admitted, "I guess so. At least I drank the second bottle of Blue Dragon Potion."

She could see that, although she didn't know where the Nine Dragon Potion came from, Prince Kongdai was definitely on the path to becoming a great knight.

And it is the most extreme type, the kind that trades lifespan for strength.

Meliati's grandfather Antoine is the Great Knight, and she is too familiar with the Great Knight.

But the difference is that Antoine is a consecrated Grand Knight and a member of the French royal family.

Not only did he have a precious potion that could prolong his life, but he also had a monk of the Patriarchate level who could give Antoine a precious long-term blessing.

Therefore, he could not only stay awake, but also suppress the poison and enjoy the longevity bonus brought by being promoted to Grand Knight.

He even had a daughter at the age of 105, and gave birth to Meliati's mother, Lulos, with his third wife.

However, after his only daughter Lulos's identity as a witch was exposed, he had to withdraw from the competition for the throne and moved his territory to the Thousand River Valley.

This naturally led to him losing his ordination and becoming an Alzheimer's patient who couldn't even use a cane.

By the time Melia was born, Antoine had completely lost his cognitive ability and turned into a fat old man who played with her every day.

Only when little Meliadie practiced swordsmanship with Antoine and was defeated ten times in a row by him using muscle memory with his eyes closed, did she realize what kind of person her grandfather used to be.

Klovin was still talking nonstop: "We can't fight any longer. If we continue like this, I'm afraid there will be traitors among our knights, just like Wayne..."

After these words were spoken, several senior commanders frowned at the same time. Klown seemed to realize that he had said something wrong and quickly smiled to smooth things over.

"No, Wayne is not a traitor."

Klowin didn't know Sechinger, so he just laughed awkwardly and didn't say anything.

It's fine to ask him to admit that he made a slip of the tongue, but asking him to admit that Wayne is not a traitor, isn't that just overturning his own conclusion?
"Listen to me." Rushing in front of Klown, Sechinger almost yelled, "He's not a traitor, he's a hero."

This sudden roar stunned everyone in the house. Sechinger was not a moody person and few people saw him lose his temper.

With red eyes, he glared at Klown, then took out a crumpled letter from his clothes and handed it to Meliati.

"This is Lord Wayne's suicide note." Sechinger took a deep breath.

"Suicide note?" The sickly Knight on the White Horse raised his head suddenly. "Wasn't he attacked and killed? Where did the suicide note come from?"

Meliati was a little hesitant when she picked up the suicide note. She didn't even dare to open the light letter.

Opening the envelope and looking at the lines of cursive characters on the paper, the Grand Duchess forced herself to control her slightly trembling hands.

"Little Molly."

"I hope you're not too mad at me for surrendering."

"I will probably be dead when I see this letter, but I don't know if my plan will succeed. After all, no one can be sure of Prince Condé's final reaction."

"Perhaps, I need to explain to you... With Lacunio's strategy... on the verge of defeat... With this letter... Prince Conte and the nobles of Hotam County do not trust each other... This is a big gamble. God, please have mercy on me, and I hope I can win."

"I'm always lucky. Vicente picked me out of all the attendants and knighted me."

"Look, I married a Thousand Valley woman, my five children were all born in Thousand Valley, I have everything."

"I think this is perfect, so I advise you to find a husband, a companion, and don't bear it alone."

"I always thought this was the life you wanted, because little Molly's favorite game was to hold a wedding with two dolls."

"She would wear a red dress, be mischievous, eloquent, and could make people so angry that they would tremble, even to the point of being annoying."

“But I still miss her.”

"I don't know what happened to you before Vicente died, and why that cute little girl became like this."

"But it doesn't matter. I am your father's knight and your knight as well. I will support you in whatever you want to do."

"And so, here we are today. Even two years ago, I was still puzzled. Duke Hemashi held such a high position in the Thousand River Valley that he could not possibly be treated the same way as the Kushites."

"They are already dukes, and they enjoy a lot. As long as they maintain good relations with the church, the Fowles family will have a brighter future, and they can even have a glimpse of the throne of France."

"But when I saw the millstones of the Blue Blood Monastery, and my friends in the Thousand River Valley, those friends who had fought on the battlefield without shedding a single tear, wept uncontrollably—"

"I found myself extremely scared. I wondered if one day, my child would suffer these things?" "If the church does not leave the Thousand River Valley, not only my child, but even if you get married and have your own child or adopt a child, will he suffer the same fate?"

"Are we to remain silent?"

“Not to mention the Kush knights I saw who were forcibly driven out of their homes. They even had to offer their wives and daughters to an ordinary rural bishop in order to be treated relatively fairly.”

“There are even Kush knights who say that an ordinary Leia farmer lives better than them.”

"The Thousand River Valley is the largest private territory of the church. In the Holy See City, for the sake of the election of the Pope, the priests can still act in a pretentious manner, but in the Thousand River Valley, far away from civilization, they reveal their true colors."

"That Horn is absolutely right. They are devils."

"I don't understand the feelings of the people of Qianhe Valley towards this not-so-rich land, but I am willing to do this for you."

"I always advise you, but I won't advise you now. There will be a day when you won't need my advice, but this day will never appear in the enslaved Thousand River Valley!"

“Do what you want to do!”

"If you must ask, let the people of Qianhe Valley live in sunshine and flowers. This is my will."

After reading the letter, the Grand Duchess was stunned for a full minute under the gaze of others before she stood up abruptly.

After taking the last page of the letter away, Meliati walked to the door in silence: "Buried with ducal ceremony, buried in the family cemetery in Hema Stone, together with father and grandfather."

After saying that, she walked out of the stone house, but did not go far. She just stood under the eaves.

Soon, bursts of low, throat-hidden crying sounds were heard from the stone house behind.

The three knights choked their voices with their throats, and their cries sounded as ridiculous as fine woolen mosquitoes and flies.

The Four Horsemen of Hema Stone have known each other for nearly thirty years, and Wayne is the youngest of them.

Wayne once said that he would hold funerals for the other three knights one by one and send them all away.

But now, the three knights were looking at the remaining fragments of his life together.

Lacunio burned Wayne's body, clothes and even armor.

It was only then that Sechinger found the remaining piece of cloth among the ashes that were flying like black butterflies, facing the hot wind caused by the burning.

The Grey Horse Knight was a man who valued honor and appearance. He had never been in a miserable or miserable state in his life, even on the most dangerous battlefield.

He did not charge or gallop, and was shot through the head by a farmer on his way to surrender.

It was not an honorable or clean death.

But what he got in return was a road to victory with honor and life as stepping stones.

If we ask them to return to North Mound County now, does that mean they should ignore this road?
Standing in front of the long street leading to the church, there was no expression on or behind Meliati's iron face.

She just stood in the cold wind, staring blankly at the empty street in front of her.

Not only Prince Condé and Horn walked along this long street, but even Meliati had walked along here with Wayne.

“It snowed in March…”

The voice was neither sad nor happy, and Meliati didn't know who she was talking to.

She stood there for a while, and suddenly said to Lannes, who was looking sad, "Send the letter to the barracks and let the priest read it. In the evening, I will personally preside over the mourning."

"As ordered, Your Highness."

Lannes bowed deeply and trotted to the barracks.

Meliati looked towards the towering tower. The cold wind blew through her white-gold hair. The snow in March was actually falling heavily.

The falling snow covered the tiles, as if a layer of short white hair had grown on them.

A puff of white steam came out from under the mask, and Meliati walked towards the long street.

The servants hurriedly picked up their cloaks, but the Grand Duchess pushed them away: "Don't follow me, I'll go by myself."

Letting her cloak fall to the ground, she slowly walked into the falling snow.

Almost every spring, Meliati and Wayne would come to High Castle City to purchase supplies. She had walked this long road from the knight training ground to the church countless times.

But this time, she had to go alone.

From behind the walls and towers came the incessant cries of soldiers, and the previously silent City of High Castle became noisy again.

Accompanied by cries and roars, Meliati walked alone quietly in the snowy world.

The tall back of the Grand Duchess was surprisingly slender, dark red, and barely visible in the snow.

After walking for an unknown amount of time, Meliati saw the black marble steps of the church.

She raised her head and heard the whole city crying in the wind and snow.

For Wayne, for the injustice and grievances they have suffered over the years, and even more for their family and friends who have been persecuted by the church.

Following the crying sound, Meliati walked up the stairs step by step to the top.

Standing in front of the church door, she looked towards the road behind her, but there was only a single line of footprints on the ground.

She still didn't cry.

Holding the last page of the letter tightly in her hand, Meliati lowered her head and silently read the last line of words left by Wayne:
"Go, just as your father and I expect you to."

"We not only want freedom, but also blood for blood!"

…………

On March 1446, 3 in the Imperial Calendar, Grand Duke Meliati Hesinien Fors of Hermash raided the White Maple Mercenary Group on a snowy night and miraculously killed the group leader in battle.

After disbanding the original organization of the mercenary group, the Grand Duchess selected about half of them to form the New White Maple Mercenary Group, using mountain knights as officers and hiring them at double pay.

On March 1446, 3 of the Imperial Calendar, Meliati led more than 14 mountain knights, more than 2500 White Maple Infantry, and more than 1200 local knights and marched towards the Stagnation Dock.

They abandoned all their baggage and took only three days' rations.

If nothing goes wrong with the trip, the 4300 people will arrive at the detention dock on March 3 or 18.

Then, she would go downstream, toward Feiliu Castle, to finish the unfinished business of her father Vicente, her teacher Juanno, and the guardian knight Wayne.

Flowers, sunshine and freedom.

(End of this chapter)