Knight and Wand

Chapter 258 With Her
".The great Ilaril carved the Wound of Omroth on the earth, splitting the continent in two and blocking the ancient disaster that devoured all souls.
She was like the sun falling from the sky, falling into the holy lake, bathing in it, washing away the flames rising from the holy body in the lake water.
Guards surround the sacred lake to protect the Great Savior.

Six days later, Ilaril returned from the lake."

When asked about the origin of the Knights Templar, Irem solemnly told the people of Orland the myth of the Holy Lake of Dineshien.

"After Ilaril returned, the commander of the guards, Gelvin, left behind a group of the original guards to look after the holy lake, to prevent the powerful force contained in the lake from harming mortals, and to prevent the lake water imbued with sacred power from being stolen by villains.

These first generation Holy Lake Guards are the predecessors of today’s Ilaril Knights.”

Listening to the long legend recorded by the Knights through the ages and passed down to this day by the descendants of the Holy Lake Guardians and successors, Leon couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. He didn't expect to hear a familiar name in this myth.

Gelvin.

Olivia was also dazed for a moment by the name that had the same pronunciation as her ancestor's. She did not interrupt, but just looked at Leon beside her.

Nodding to the girl, Leon asked Irem for confirmation: "Sir, the 'Gervin' you mentioned, is it the Twilight Knight Gervin?"

"Yes, it is the royal family of your Orland Kingdom, the ancestor of the Drakmar family, the king who founded Kronia, and the ancient hero praised by later generations." Irem confirmed that this was not a coincidence, but then explained: "However, at least in the records of our Knights, Lord Gelvin, who was the commander of the Ilaril Guard at that time, did not yet have the name of the "Twilight Knight". When he stayed behind to guard the Holy Lake, he had not yet made the unparalleled achievement of killing the dragon later."

When Leon heard this, he began to believe Irem's words a little bit.

Because Laura once said that before Gelvin was deposed by her, he was the commander-in-chief of the Yanyang Guards.

Although there are subtle differences between this and the statement of the Knights of the Holy Lake, it is generally similar.

You know, neither folk legends nor legends in church texts mentioned that Gelvin had such an identity.

This record alone is enough to prove that the knights before us do have some inheritance from the era thousands of years ago.

However, Leon remembered that Lola said that Gelvin was not her guard.

This is strange.

Leon thought about it and felt that Laura must be right as Ilariel himself.

Perhaps there were some misunderstandings when the Knights of the Holy Lake were recording history because the time was so long ago.

Of course, no matter what, now that the identities of the Knights of the Holy Lake have been confirmed by the rangers of Dineshien.

Regardless of what the situation was after hearing the oracle, at least for this wealthy knight order, Leon did not think that they would have any plans or threats to his territory.

Just the huge expenses that the other party has spent in the past year marching around and searching for traces of the holy land on earth would probably not be enough to make up for it even if he plundered his current barony three times.

Not to mention who has nothing better to do than to travel thousands of miles to a foreign country west of the continent to plot for a small barony. Even if they really wanted to do it, Orland's army was no pushover, and Redwin III was not so stupid as to allow a small foreign army to invade the territory of his own nobles.

No matter how elite these thousand men are, they cannot fight against an entire powerful kingdom. No matter how rich the Knights of the Holy Lake are, they cannot survive on gold coins. They obviously will not risk making enemies of the land they stand on and causing chaos in other countries.

After much consideration, Leon decided not to hesitate any more.

A greater crisis was imminent, and he was reluctant to give up such a powerful ally that came to his doorstep for free, especially when the price was just to allow them to make a pilgrimage to Avalon.

First take them to the border of Glade County to stay temporarily. If Laura has no problem with it, it would be fine to let them go to Avalon to chant some sutras.

Moreover, I heard from the Holy Court Rangers privately that the Holy Lake Knights did not seem to be affiliated with the Holy Sun Church and were not very enthusiastic about missionary work, so there was no need to worry about any conflict between them and the original Feru faith west of the continent.

Taking Irem and others back to Marquis Deyatuk, Leon gave a security guarantee for the Knights of Ilaril.

"Even if Baron Pendragon guarantees you, I still cannot allow you to pass through the heart of the royal territory without the king's decree."

Hadrian looked at the knight leader from a foreign country, but did not say anything final. He compromised and proposed: "But I can let you go through my territory, exit from Dragon Claw Fortress, and leave the Crown of Kronia along the route that Lord Pendragon took. The premise is that when you march in Deyatuk County, you must accept the 'escort' of my army, and you must not wear armor or hold any weapons other than swords."

Feeling that Olivia's "uncle" was really cautious, Leon turned around and waited for Captain Irem's opinion.

The Grand Commander of Holy Lake frowned at the conditions of Border Marquis and thought about it helplessly.

It was very risky to be surrounded by unfamiliar troops while taking off his armor and transporting weapons, but considering that the holy land was almost within reach, he seemed to have no choice but to silently regard it as a test of the Knights from Ilariel.

Of course, even if he accepted the harsh conditions, he was not stupid enough to abandon the most basic insurance measures: "Well, if you don't mind, we will pass through your territory in three groups, how about that? About three hundred people each time."

Hearing this, Hadrian nodded slightly and did not continue to embarrass the other party.

The problem of the army's passage was finally solved, and the knights immediately broke camp and set off.

The Knights of Ilaril were divided into three teams. After each team passed safely, they would send someone back on horseback to report safety.

After a slight delay of one day for the troops to pass through in batches, in the evening of the next day, Leon finally led the troops gathered outside the high walls of Dragon Claw Fortress and embarked on the return journey in a mighty manner.

When the Knights' army passed through the land of Mamor County, they naturally could not hide as they did when they came with a dozen people. No matter whether they passed through the territory ruled by Kantadar or the territory ruled by Orland, the villages and towns along the way were frightened by this army with unfamiliar flags.

Fortunately, there were no accidents along the way. It took five days for Leon to bring them safely to Glade County, the home of the Thorn Flower family.

More than a thousand soldiers from the Holy Court Kingdom were walking on the avenue. They were so conspicuous that they could not be hidden from the eyes and ears of the family.

Leon went ahead and informed Baron Marcelo, who was stationed at the county border, of the news.

Although he was surprised at where Leon recruited such a large elite army, Marcelo did not doubt anything. He sent someone to report to Count Elliver and arranged a temporary camp for the Knights of Ilaril at the border of Glade.

Leon led the rangers and several high-ranking members of the Holy Lake Knights and rushed back to Castle Avalon without stopping.

After passing through the avenue in the forest and entering the river valley, the people from the Holy Lake stopped their horses when they saw the magnificent castle in the distance.

"A riverside land surrounded by forests, a beautiful castle built on a mountain, named Avalon. This is it! This is it! The residence of my Lord!!!"

An elderly priest of the Holy Lake raised his voice several tones, jumped off his horse with nimble legs and feet, immediately knelt down, and excitedly chanted hymns towards the holy land in the distance.

Seeing the same scenery as in the oracle, Irem and several other Knights of the Holy Lake all showed ecstasy on their faces.

After nearly a year of pilgrimage, they finally found the holy land guided by the savior.

The Knights of the Holy Lake dismounted neatly, walked to the old priest, drew their swords, bent their knees, rested their foreheads on the scorching sun emblem carved on the end of the hilt, and chanted prayers in a low voice.

".The Lord who rules the blazing sun, the last guardian, the great Ilaril.
Praise the mercy and justice of our Lord, praise the wisdom and teachings of our Lord, praise the beauty and purity of our Lord, praise the power and authority of our Lord."

Looking at the special atmosphere of the knights who believed in Ilaril, Leon was scratching his head.

Although the original owner's memory was full of religious influence from the church, he had never spent even a single day in Serian since he came here.

Azerien, Lohak, Elena, Raya, and Celie were obviously just ordinary church believers, without such fanatical temperament. This was the first time I had seen such devout Ilarial believers.

Feeling it was awkward to continue sitting in the saddle, Leon jumped back to the ground.

Of course, he would not follow the others and worship and pray in the direction of his little teacher, but he had already arrived at the doorstep, so it would not hurt to wait for these Knights of the Holy Lake to finish their prayers.

Several knights-errant from Dineshien looked at the castle belonging to Lord Orland from afar, then turned back and looked at the praying followers of the Holy Lake Sect with particularly strange eyes.

The rangers from the Holy Court are of course also followers of the Holy Sun and the Prophet Ilaril.

If the castle ahead was really a holy place related to the prophet, they would probably immediately make a pilgrimage in the same manner.

However, although the Holy Court Rangers politely refrained from commenting on the credibility of the oracles from the heretical opinions of the Holy Lake Sect, they still harbored doubts in their hearts, because the oracle sitting on the throne had never uttered such holy words.

Olivia was shocked by the exaggerated behavior of the Holy Lake Knights.

Although Avalon is beautiful, it is where she lives every day after all. It is too exaggerated to worship her.
Thinking of the special origin of the ancient city, the girl pulled Leon's arm and asked him to bend down, and whispered quietly:

"I remember you said before that Avalon was the apprentice of Miss Lola and the castle of Lady Aphrodite, but the oracle of these knights said that our home was the residence of that Ilarial. Could it be that they worship Lady Aphrodite or Miss Lola?"

Listening to the question whispered by his wife, Leon raised his head again and quietly and silently mouthed "Lola" to her.

Even though she was mentally prepared, Olivia, who had just heard the myth of the Holy Lake not long ago, still widened her eyes in surprise.

She couldn't help but raise her hand to cover her mouth.

Her heart began to beat fast, and the girl blinked her eyes, unable to help but look towards the invisible tower.

In her usual conversations with Azerien and others, she also gained some understanding of the Holy Sun Cult's beliefs, which were different from those of the Feru gods.

Leon's magic teacher, the ancient wizard lady in the tower, is actually a god believed by so many kingdoms! ?

No wonder Miss Lola recognized her ancestors from thousands of years ago.

It took Olivia a long time to calm her pounding heartbeat.

Even if she was not a follower of Ilaril, she could put herself in his shoes and imagine how she would feel if the legendary Lord Feru stood in front of her.

Leon looked at Olivia with sparkling eyes, touched the girl's hair with amusement, and whispered in his wife's ear:
"Don't tell Azerien and Lohak yet. I'm afraid they can't bear such a great mental shock."

After the Holy Lake believers finished their prayers, everyone continued to step into the river valley.

Entering Avalon, the knights of the Holy Lake nodded frequently at the clean and beautiful castle scenery.

Only such a beautiful ancient fortress is worthy of the status of the place where the spirit descends in the Oracle of Ilaril.

After entering the first floor hall of the main castle and seeing the huge sun totem clearly displayed in the main seat, the knights of Ilarriel stopped in their tracks and looked at the Baron of Avalon with raised eyebrows.

They no longer had any doubts that they had come to the wrong place.

Such a huge and exquisite statue of the flaming sun is definitely not something that can be built for the Knights of the Holy Lake in a short period of time.

Seeing the mysterious smile on Lord Irem's face, which showed that you are indeed a fellow believer, Leon waved his hand:

"This is an ancient totem that originally existed in Castle Avalon. I didn't order anyone to carve it."

Without rushing to explain the origin of the fortress, Leon saw Azerien coming downstairs to greet him, and hurriedly asked the castle maid to arrange accommodation for the rangers and the Knights of the Holy Lake.

After removing his armor and without taking a breath, he took Azerien back to the office study to discuss matters.

"How come you brought back three bears after going out?" Azerien asked in confusion about the beasts that the Wolf family had sent not long ago. "Are you planning to build a zoo in Avalon?"

He had heard that some great nobles liked to raise birds and animals in their territories for viewing and entertainment, but Azerien seemed to have never heard of anyone raising bears.

"Of course not. Remember the giant bear that forced the three of us to jump into the river and almost drowned?" Leon shrugged. "On this trip, the rangers and I worked together to hunt it down halfway. Those were the three cubs it left behind."

"what?"

Thinking of the savage beast, Azerien felt a chill on his back. "You don't want to raise a terrible bear monster, do you? I heard that bears are very evil beasts. Even if a hunter raises a bear from childhood, it will still bite back."

"I have such an idea, but don't be nervous. I just did it casually. Let me go to the tower to ask Laura. I'm afraid they haven't been weaned yet, so it's not certain whether they can be raised. If I really can't control their wildness, I will ask Deathclaw to throw them into the northern wilderness and release them." Leon waved his hand.

But if there is a chance to tame the three giant bears as war beasts and then equip them with armor, the power of Avalon in the future will be much stronger.

"Is Aka back?" Leon took the hot water brought by Olivia to moisten his throat and asked.

Azerien put aside his worries for the time being, nodded and replied: "Six days after you left, Akau came back from Magya, and he also brought back the alchemical materials that Her Highness Inis gave you."

"Where are the materials?" Leon was immediately surprised. He had been looking forward to it for a long time. Finally, he got the materials for the Neti cards promised by Princess Ines when he completed the last search and rescue mission for Marquis Aorad.

"Akao sent it to the tower for safekeeping. There's more. A few days ago, a team of King Redwyn's blood guards came to Avalon on Pegasus and brought you the 'Moonfall Silver'. I also gave it to Miss Lola." Azerien said with a smile.

Leon immediately stood up excitedly, and had no intention of resting. He just wanted to see Laura immediately.

Not to mention the gold medal that holds the young teacher himself.

As for other secondary Neti cards.

Regardless of whether it is the Noble Phantasm card "Boiling Heart".

Still the Heroic Spirit cards, "Garron" and "Canis".

So far, any Neti card he had obtained had been of immense help to him.

Now the materials are complete again.

Even if there is no soul stone and it can only be a black card, it is still an unparalleled improvement in the safety of yourself and your companions.

However, Leon has not yet decided whether to engrave the magic immediately after finishing it, or keep the empty card as a final insurance to save people in the future.

This requires some careful consideration.

(End of this chapter)