Knight and Wand

Chapter 196 Ines's Request for Help
After drinking a few sips of bitter tea produced in Seralil, Ines regained her spirit, hurried out of the military tent and mounted her horse.

She summoned her cavalry escort and immediately rushed to the place where Arad and his team had disappeared.

To the northwest of Kantadar near the Pangloss Forest, dozens of West Bay Knights and dozens of Dire Wolf Cavalrymen set out from the captured town of Kantadar and rumbled across the wilderness until they reached a high ground. Only then did the brightly dressed and vigorous Orlando cavalrymen stop advancing.

".That damned eagle repeatedly attacked the horses and livestock in the barracks at night. Lord Arad was furious and vowed to shoot it down himself, so he took a dozen people to track it down, but it didn't return this time.

We sent hundreds of riders out of the camp to search along the claw marks, but a few riders explored a little further and disappeared inexplicably in the blink of an eye."

The anxious knight Loman tried to remain calm, calming the restless wolf under his crotch while pointing to the distance ahead.

Ines rode through the crowd, her blue eyes looking out over the fields surrounded by woods, and asked carefully, "What do you mean by suddenly disappearing?"

"Your Highness, I don't know how to describe it. It's just that... when I came to my senses, they were gone. We didn't even see the moment our companions disappeared. It's really weird."

Hearing such a strange answer from the other party, Ines once again looked at the scene in the distance.

The places farther away seemed to be shrouded in a hazy and blurred color, like an illusion caused by the hot environment. Although it was summer now, the local temperature was obviously not that hot yet.

"Your Highness!"

The young warlock in robes and armor rode up to the princess's side and warned her hastily, "Don't get any closer. The concentration of magic here is frighteningly high. Either there is a range spell cast by a powerful spellcaster, or... I'm not sure."

The young warlock had little experience and was a little hesitant when speaking the latter part.

"Tell me your guess, and I will judge whether it is right or wrong." Ines turned around and encouraged the northern warlock she had trained.

Warlock Harvey boldly continued, "Looking at the descriptions of these knights, if it's not a trap set by the wizard Kantadar, it's probably an unmarked cursed land. This place is not far from the Nightmare Forest, so I think it's very likely."

"Cursed Land?" The knight at the side asked in confusion, "Didn't the thousand-year curse of the Nightmare Forest disappear?"

"Maybe there are still some left in Kantadar." Without waiting for the young warlock advisor to answer, another West Bay Knight continued the conversation and guessed.

Ines frowned slightly and turned to ask the Dire Wolf Knight of Loman's territory, "Have you asked the locals in the town about the situation here?"

"Not yet," the knight Roman replied awkwardly.

"Then go quickly! Do you want your master to wander in the land of despair forever?" Ines shouted angrily in her pleasant voice.

She turned her horse around and ordered the knights beside her, "Leave a scout to search the surrounding area and take turns to keep an eye on this place, but do not continue to cross the high ground and go deeper to the north. The rest of you follow me back to the camp."

Without making any meaningless stops, Ines led the soldiers back to the base.

The girl sitting on the bumpy saddle fell into deep thought.

It was not that she was worried about the upcoming war. She always held an attitude of adding icing on the cake towards Aorad's troops. Even if this group of Dire Wolf Cavalry stayed here to search for their missing lord, it would not cause too many changes to her offensive.

But the son of the Duke of the East Territory disappeared inexplicably in his hands, which would definitely be a headache in the future.

The eldest son is missing, alive or dead, how will Duke Roman take advantage of this?

Ines did not want to be involved in the dispute between the East and her father so soon. It was too early and she was far from ready.
The fan tapped her forehead vigorously and the girl sighed.

No matter whether this troublesome guy is dead or alive, even if he died in battle or was assassinated, it would be easier to explain if we leave behind a body.

But if he accidentally entered the so-called cursed land in public, how could he be found?
The Dire Wolf Riders who also disappeared in search of each other proved the horror of the legend.

Previously, when the army passed through the Nightmare Forest, the poor zombies they cleared out had already told the world what the final fate of those who entered it would be.

It has already happened. Even if she offers a reward to a brave man in the army, it will be meaningless to go and explore. After all, no one can
Ok?
The three warriors who traveled through the Nightmare Forest. The legend that Ines had heard in the Thorn Flower Territory before could not help but come to her mind.

"Harvey, has there been anyone in history who could enter the cursed land and then come back to the human world?" she turned around and asked her warlock.

"Your Highness, regardless of those fictional folk tales, as far as I know, there is no record of such associations." Harvey shook his head repeatedly with certainty.

"Does the association's records mention a precedent of a cursed area as large as the Nightmare Forest disappearing?"

"It seems, never." Harvey said awkwardly.

Ines nodded and said no more.

Regardless of whether the folk legend exaggerates the knight's deeds, I have to write a letter to ask the other party.

She had to leave for the Shuangxia City area soon, and she didn't have much time to be delayed by the sudden accident.
On July 11th of the Orlando calendar, the temperature gradually rose.

The Barony's half-month southern tour ended.

On their way back, the Knights of Avalon no longer had the need to demonstrate their military authority, so they took off the heavy armor of most of their cavalry and infantry on the safe path guarded by the Thorn Flower Family's pass and placed the armor on horse-drawn carts that were transporting ordnance, in order to save the soldiers' energy and speed up their return to the city.

Behind the carts transporting military equipment, there were many horse-drawn carriages carrying goods and herds of livestock driven by civilian laborers.

The carts loaded with goods were carrying taxes collected from the towns and villages in the southern part of the barony.

It mainly consists of food and production materials such as grain, livestock, wool, leather, etc. harvested from the territory, as well as a large number of handicrafts such as agricultural tools and instruments.

Monetary taxation is not the whole of territory's finances. In most cases of this era, only towns that have developed a certain level of commerce are able to pay taxes with large amounts of gold and silver.

Stepping into the valley again and gazing at the majestic Avalon Fortress in the distance, Leon felt relieved at the feeling of being home.

The trip was assisted by two southern advisers: Knight Larian, who was familiar with the customs of the South, and Lady Veresa, who was the eldest daughter of Lord Kantardar. There were no accidents during the armed parade.

The Avalon army, with its clear banners and powerful weapons, caused sufficient deterrence to the towns and villages of Kantadar under the Barony's rule.

The emblem of thorny flowers and sword wings clearly conveyed the fact of the change of ruling regime to the people of this area.

Turning his horse's head, Leon rode to the side of the road and looked back at the team behind him.

To be more precise, he was looking back at the "fat and blood of the people" that he, the evil feudal landlord, had collected during this trip.

The tax collection process was smooth, because although it seemed that the team had "plundered" a lot of the hard work of the working people, in fact, the total amount of taxes collected this year was less than one-third of what those villages and towns had paid to their original lords in the past.

Leon generously granted exemptions of taxes to many villages in difficult situations until they restored production surplus.

This time, showing off one's sword is the stick, and tax cuts and exemptions are naturally the carrots.

What's more, all parts of Glade County have experienced oppression by the former lords due to war. Leon certainly doesn't want to play the role of "the benevolent king of Tongliao" and rush to exploit the people under his rule.

Under his investigation and the personal supervision of the Knights, there were no cases of extortion or extortion.

When taking time out to survey the public, the team also executed several local ruffians and village tyrants who had relied on their relationships with the former lords to commit crimes and had caused great resentment among the people, in order to establish their authority.

It must be said that it was very useful and satisfying to kill a few local bullies to win the hearts of the people. Although he did not have the energy to establish a complete legal order in his territory, as a ruler, the feeling of directly "bullying the evil" really gave him the feeling of being a great ruler.

Leon shifted his gaze away from the material taxes which were better than nothing this year, and looked at the three horse-drawn carriages in the middle of the team that were used to transport people.

There were about twenty boys in the carriage, aged between 8 and 13. They all looked well-nourished and obviously did not come from ordinary tenant farmers' families.

The boys looked around at the castle and town ahead. After being well taken care of along the way, most of them had lost the fear and timidity they had when they first set out, and gradually relaxed.

The children selected to be brought back were the eldest sons and grandsons of the new or former village officials in the southern parts of the barony.

However, since there was no one who met the age requirement, that is, the second son, a family without even a male heir, Leon turned to select male heirs from other prestigious local families in the village or town.

He chose to bring back the male descendants of the village and town managers in the Kantadar territory, on the one hand to serve as "hostages". If they were girls, to put it bluntly, they would have no weight in the eyes of the locals.

Although he knew that even if he really encountered a rebellion, he would not do anything to these children.

However, outsiders who are not familiar with them, especially the Kantardars, would certainly not dare to have such a "naive" idea. The move of holding the eldest sons of the wealthy families in their hands is a symbolic insurance to scare people.

In addition, there is a more important purpose.

Leon planned to place these children in the academy being built in Avalon, where they would learn the writing and language of the Northern and Southern Kingdoms together with the local Orland students under the guidance of Ms. Vereesa and Ms. Sally.

The human society in this world is not like the era of awakening national consciousness in the previous life. Nationalities and countries are far less clearly defined. Otherwise, the three Serians would not have become nobles of Orland so seamlessly.

If the Kantardars had not been accustomed to the Uriah language, the difference between them and the Orlanders would be no more than the difference between the Greyshirt Valley people, the West people, the Cronia people, and the Roman people in the Kingdom of Orland.

When these children grow up under the protection of Avalon and become familiar with the languages ​​and cultures of both countries, they will be able to directly contact and control the officials of the villages and towns of Kantadar as baronies in the future, which can be said to kill two birds with one stone.

Without the financial and material resources to carry out universal education, we can only start from the upper levels of the foreign territory and firmly control the next generation of grassroots managers.

And this purpose was no secret. Knowing that their descendants could study with the lord and have the opportunity to be trained as officials and confidants of the barony in the future, the village officials and elders wished they could come to Avalon instead of their descendants.

It's a pity that Leon doesn't want anyone over thirteen years old. If he's too old, the master will be too strong. He doesn't want to spend money to accidentally cultivate a traitor.

Looking at the twenty or so little kids in the car who were curiously looking at their future place of living, Leon touched his chin feeling a little strange.

Perhaps because these children were sent on the journey along with the taxes, Leon inexplicably felt that it was a bit like the blood tax imposed by the Ottomans in his previous life.

He shook his head. That wasn’t right. There was no need to think so harshly.

The blood tax separated families and forced them to become glorious slave guards. I only chose these children to study as boarders. Many families would never have such a good opportunity. What's more, they didn't even stop their relatives from visiting them occasionally.

To put it another way, it should be called selecting children from good families to train the future team.

This is much more pleasant to the ear.

If there are smart and capable people with good performance in Avalon Academy in the future, perhaps we can select members of the Knights from among them.

Hmm. Zhongsi College?

Leon was delighted.

Livestock, cattle and sheep, were driven into the grassy pastures surrounding the territory.

Food and supplies were delivered to the territory warehouse of Avalon Fortress in carts and properly stored in different categories.

The Kantadar gold coins collected from the towns were counted and recorded in the accounts, and then returned to the "public treasury" of the Knights' Order managed by Azerien and Elena.

As for those energetic boys, they were arranged by the school workers recruited from the pioneers of Avalon to go to the collective dormitories in the lower city of the fortress to rest and wait for the start of school.

After returning to the main castle, Leon was just about to shamelessly ask Olivia to take a bath together to relieve the fatigue of the journey, but he saw Corvis walking towards him quickly.

"My lord, the urgent letter sent by Princess Ines did not say what it was about, but it stated that it had to be opened by you personally. I dare not open it without permission." The young man presented the letter.

"It's okay. You are my deputy. If Azerien and I are not around, you will be in charge of handling any urgent letters. Don't let it delay any important matters." Leon took the secret letter, looked at the wax seal of the sea eagle emblem on it, and felt puzzled.

Didn’t you say not to push him to make a decision?
However, now that he has established the Knights of Avalon, it is not convenient for him to join the princess's organization.

Leon hurriedly opened it and took a quick look, only to find that it was not what he thought.

He looked at Corvis and asked, "How long has Princess Ines's messenger been gone?"

"We left yesterday. The messenger said that Her Royal Highness the Princess will wait for you in the town of Kantadar mentioned in the letter for no more than four days from the day it was delivered. Today is the second day." Corvis replied.

Upon hearing this, Leon quickly changed his route and headed for the meeting room.

Let Corvis spread out the map on the large table, and he groped his way to the southwest of Avalon to find the location of the landmark in the letter.

After finding the approximate location of "Rutansan Town", Leon felt relieved.

The journey was not particularly far, and it seemed that the route had been occupied by Orland's army. If we rode at full speed day and night, two or three days would be more than enough.

but
After confirming the location, Leon sat down on the chair and thought about it carefully.

Do you want to help me with this?
Indeed, in the entire Orland Kingdom, or perhaps in the entire Western Continent, there is no other living person who can enter and exit the spirit-like field as easily as he can.

But, should he go in to help find someone, or to search and rescue the son of the Duke of the East who had treated him with disrespect at the banquet?
Haha, it seems.

He was a narrow-minded person and didn't even care about the life or death of that arrogant guy.

After secretly laughing for a while, Leon held his cheek, put down his smug smile, and started to weigh the pros and cons seriously again.

Although he didn't want to care about Aorad's safety, it would be a good deal if he could make Ines owe him a favor.

Since he is now starting out on his own and has no intention of joining the other side's knights, he can take this opportunity to ask the other side if they can get some Moonfall Silver and Molten Gold from the Alchemy Guild in the royal capital as compensation for him. This would really save him a lot of money and time.

Of course, when entering an unknown spiritual field, one must also consider the possible dangers that may exist within.

Who knows whether the cursed land that Ines encountered was the same as the nightmare forest.

Leon thought about it, stood up, and decided to consult Laura first.

Actually, he had planned to practice flying with Deathclaw this time, and then set off on a griffin to find out the situation in the Holy City in the east.

This time I am not sure and will be delayed due to an accident. I just hope Laura won't be angry.
Otherwise, we should focus on our little teacher's affairs, and Ines will be of no help.

(End of this chapter)