Knight and Wand

Chapter 54 Knight
"How is it possible? How is it possible? How can he pass through the forest?"

Hearing the lord's recognition and praise for the foreign boy, Boris was so frightened that he cried out in dismay.

"Shut up, you shameless person!"

Baron Elliver looked at the village ruffian coldly and angrily said, "Your slander against the hero almost brought shame to us. I really should cut off your tongue that spews out hatred."

"I'll do it for you, sir." Knight Balfe said calmly.

"Tongue? No! No! My lord, I am wrong. I am stupid!"

Boris knelt on the ground in fear, begging for mercy: "I am blind and don't know how to recognize people! Forgive me! Forgive me!!"

Baron Elliver stopped looking at the despicable man's ugly appearance and looked at Leon standing beside him.

"Young man, this person has repeatedly offended you in despicable ways. How do you want to deal with him?"

Leon thought for a moment and asked the baron, "Sir, I am from Serrian and do not know the laws of Orland. I would like to ask you, this man first gathered a group of people to rob but failed, and then used drugs to steal. How should this crime be punished?"

Elifer nodded to the young man, and he admired him more. "In my territory, such a villain should have his hands chopped off, be hanged and have his body hung for public display, and have all his property confiscated."

After listening to this, Leon continued, "I would like to ask you to temporarily detain him. He has committed far more crimes than just me and my friends. I want to make all his crimes public to the villagers and then punish him all at once."

"Another crime? Well, fine, that's fine." Elifuer turned to his retainer and ordered, "Lock up this dirty guy and wait for the verdict."

"Yes! Sir."

Balfe roughly grabbed the shaking Boris on the ground and dragged him away while he was crying and shouting at the top of his lungs.

Seeing that the clown temporarily left the stage, Leon looked at the two almost identical swords in Baron Elliver's hands.

If he didn't know the connection between the two at this moment, he would be as stupid as Boris.

Leon took off the equally gorgeous scabbard from his waist and presented it with both hands: "My companions and I found this sword next to the body of a knight. It turned out to be your property. Please forgive us for taking it for self-defense without permission."

After hearing what Leon said, although he had already accepted this news in his heart for many years, Elifu's eyes still dimmed.

He put his sword back to his waist, raised his hand to take what the young man returned, and then slowly put the ancestor's sword into the scabbard.

"It's made of genuine dwarven steel. This is the ancestral sword of my Farolis family, the Thorn Blade. It was also the sword my father carried until he went to the forest and disappeared."

Baron Elliver handed the collected family treasures to the attendant beside him for safekeeping, and then said: "The sword on my waist is just a replica made by someone later. Leon, I will not treat your character badly for returning my family heirloom sword to its original owner. Thank you for bringing back the last news of my father."

Leon bowed his head, sweating slightly on his forehead.

I decided in my heart not to tell the other party the details of how I obtained the sword.

Although it was the spirit demon possessed by Lohak who dismembered Elif's father.

But Azerien also chopped off the head of the Undead Knight with a sword in the process.

His soul was even extracted by himself and burned as a wick.
I think the situation is forced, and the other party won't blame me too much if I get too serious about it.

However, it is better to have less trouble than more. The details of the fight that overly stimulated someone else's son will be buried with me forever.

Besides, after leaving the cursed land that day, the soul stored in the wayfinder immediately dissipated from the lamp as soon as it appeared in reality.

What is this called, according to Miss Lola?

The dead returned to the Dead Sea.

This can be considered as returning home and resting in peace to some extent.

No wonder they arrived at Selva Village, it turned out that the area nearby was the territory of the noble soul when he was alive.

"Okay, everyone, don't stand at the door. Ask someone to bring more stools and chairs, and come in to talk." Count Trosa smiled and patted Leon's shoulder: "And where are your companions? Let me meet the other two warriors."

"I'll go call them over right now." Leon bowed.

This was a good opportunity to remind Lohak and Azerien to reconstruct their statements and omit some details of their experiences.

For example, the fight with the previous Baron Farolis and the fact that Lohak was possessed by the devil were avoided as much as possible. After all, the countless zombies they encountered and the strange environment were enough to illustrate the danger.

When Leon and his companions returned to the big house in the village, the nobles and knights who had gathered at the door had already entered the hall.

The big house in the old village also had the function of gathering villagers for meetings in the past, and it could accommodate twenty or thirty people at a time without being crowded.

Leon walked into the house first, carrying Azerien on his back, and the servants beside him stopped Lohak who was carrying a halberd.

"Please leave the long weapon outside and I will keep it for you. It would be rude to bring it in." The servant guarding the door said to the tall young man.

Wearing a sword or saber is part of a warrior's etiquette, but long-handled weapons are not included and are not convenient to bring in to receive the audience from the adults.

"Oh." Lockhak didn't dare to cause trouble, so he handed the knight's halberd on his shoulder to the other party.

The attendant tried to catch it with one hand, but was caught off guard and his arm fell.

He opened his eyes wide and bent down quickly to avoid being crushed by the weight.

"I'm sorry, this thing is really heavy. If I hadn't eaten well and slept well recently, and hadn't gained some strength, I wouldn't be able to move it." Lohak apologized and hurried to help him steady the halberd.

"Uh, it's okay."

The attendant's face turned slightly red with embarrassment. He had originally thought that the young man looked normal and had not expected that the halberd would be so heavy. He almost made a fool of himself by trying to catch it with one hand.

Holding his lance under his arm, the attendant grasped the halberd with both hands and raised it upright. He sighed in his heart as he watched Lohak scratch the back of his head embarrassedly, turn around and walk into the hall.

These kids are truly extraordinary.
At the head of the hall, Trosa, who was discussing the war on the front line with Baron Elliver, looked at the three young men who entered the hall.

Seeing that Leon was carrying a companion who was obviously injured and unable to walk, the old count hurriedly asked his servants to bring chairs for them.

The three of them thanked him respectfully and then sat down in the new seats.

"What are your names? Tell us about your origins," Trosa asked kindly.

"Azerien Flarel, your Excellency." The noble son straightened his body as much as possible, lightly touched his brow with his left hand, and then lightly placed it in front of his right shoulder to salute.

"You are not the son of a commoner?"

Trosa saw the identity represented by the other party's courtesy.

"Yes, sir, I am the son of Baron Charleman of the Council of the City of Rolandar, but my father was killed in Rolandar, and my family's territory fell into the hands of the Kantadar people." Azerien answered truthfully.

Leon listened and couldn't help but glance at the boy.

To be honest, he and Lohak never asked each other about their family backgrounds during the journey.

The original owner was born into a commoner family, so naturally he had no idea who Baron Charleman Flarel was.

But the reputation of the Holy Land City Council is no small matter in the common sense of this body's memory.

Although it is meaningless to talk about this now, the entire Holy City has fallen, and no matter whether they are big shots or small shots, they are all doomed.

"May your father's heroic soul rest in peace." Trosa nodded.

Then, the old earl looked at another tall young man in black armor.

"My name is Lohak. My father was a sergeant in the Sword Guard of the Rolandar City Guard. He died in the battle. The rest of my family members were killed. Only my sister is in the hands of the Kantadar people. Her whereabouts are unknown." Lohak answered honestly in a low voice.

"There's a proverb in Orlando that says that when misfortune gets too extreme, it won't last long. You'll see your loved ones again in peace," the old earl consoled him.

Then, it was Leon's turn to talk in detail about the life story and tragedy of the hunter family, the original owner of this body.

As Count Trosa listened, his fingers instinctively tapped the armrests of his chair.

The situation in the Holy City in the east was even worse than described in the news sent back to Orland.

The Kantardar army brutally massacred the ancient holy city that had stood for a thousand years.

He also learned some information from Lohak that he had never heard of before.

For example, when attacking a city, the Kantardars had siege equipment that could fly over the towering city walls and accurately attack targets inside the city. They also had thunder and lightning that were powerful enough to collapse the thousand-year-old city walls. When did the Kantardars get the assistance of a group of powerful wizards?

Suppressing his complicated thoughts, the old count turned his attention back to Leon's story.

The boy talked about how the three of them became prisoners, and then worked together to kill the mercenary guards, climbed over mountains and crossed rivers, slept in the open air, fought monsters, avoided wild beasts, and accidentally followed the river into the Nightmare Forest.

Not to mention that no one has ever known the true appearance of that dangerous place. Just hearing that there is no sky, no direction, and all kinds of zombies wandering around in the forest is enough to make people marvel.

"You said you met the soul of a wizard in the cursed land?"

After hearing the young man's story about his adventure, Count Trosa and the other nobles who were listening immediately became very interested.

Here it comes, Leon thought.

He goes on to tell a revised version of his experience in the Cursed Lands.

In this version, he accidentally encountered the ghost of an old wizard with a white beard who died in a cursed land. With his help, he finally managed to escape from that area.

The reason why it has come to this point and I have specially adapted the story of Miss Lola is that I really have no choice.

He couldn't explain Laura's origins, and letting these people know that he still carried the soul of a mysterious deceased person might cause trouble.

Last but not least, Leon didn't know whether Miss Lola was willing to let others know her existence.

After all, they have helped me countless times.

Although it is inconvenient to communicate at the moment, I am still looking around through my own eyes.

He didn't want to disrespect the privacy of this mysterious wizard lady and make his savior angry.

So, while ensuring that the general experience was true, Leon attributed Laura's help to a certain Gandalf the Whitebeard.

Anyway, these nobles can't really go into the cursed land to verify it.

The story continued with rescuing the injured griffin and saving the village.

After hearing about the boys' wonderful journey, which was like a heroic adventure, the knights present recollected it with great relish, as if they had watched a play.

This is much more interesting than the stories made up by the actors in the Royal Capital Theater. More importantly, it is a real experience with evidence.

"Do you still have the guiding spiritual lamp?" A voice came from the side seat.

Leon looked over there, and saw a middle-aged man wearing a half-robed armor, holding a strange hammer-shaped long staff, looking at him with sharp eyes.

"This is my warlock advisor, Lord Hilgard. He is from the Northern Society." Trosa introduced to Leon.

Warlock?

Is it a mage?

This is also the first spellcaster from another world that Leon has met besides Miss Lola.

But looking at the burly man with slicked back hair, wearing thick armor, carrying a full-steel mace and a face full of flesh.

Leon feels that the image of the wizard is quite different from the one he has in mind.

If he hadn't been told, he would have thought that the big man was a warrior who hit people's heads with a hammer.

"Unfortunately, sir, the little wooden cage fell apart as soon as we left the forest." Leon shook his head.

This was not true. The structure of the spirit lamp was indeed not strong, but it was not broken either. It just lost the soul as its wick and was temporarily useless.

Leon has an inexplicable fetish for hamsters, but he is reluctant to lose this magical device which he thinks has supernatural powers.

Who knows if it will be useful someday.

And the reason for lying at this moment was still the same. He didn't want to, and shouldn't, show Miss Lola's creation to outsiders without her permission.

"What a pity."

Hilgard was disappointed to hear the answer, but he continued to ask, "Then according to what you just said, the crossbow arrow that shot the griffin must still be there, right? Can you let me see it?"

Leon nodded. It didn’t matter about that thing. Miss Lola looked disdainful at the time, so it must not be a rare thing.

"Do you need me to get it now, Lord Hilgard?" Leon asked him.

"No, I'll talk to you later." Hilgard shook her head.

Trosa waited for his old friend to finish talking, and just as he was about to speak, he heard Baron Elliver, who was sitting in the second seat, suddenly say to Leon: "What are your plans for the future?"

Trosa took one look at the Baron of Thorn Flower and instantly understood what he was thinking.

The old earl stroked his beard, feeling sorry, but tactfully gave up his original idea.

After all, it was found on someone else's territory, so he had no choice but to help them.

When Leon heard the question, he turned to look at the local lord.

He could tell that the nobleman seemed to be interested in helping him.

After thinking for a moment, Leon organized his words and replied to Earlliver: "As you can see, my friend was injured in the battle and his legs are temporarily disabled. I'm afraid he will have to rest in your territory for a while."

"What happens after you recover from your injuries?" asked Baron Elliver.

Leon continued, "At first we planned to go to the town and find some work within our capabilities to settle down and accumulate wealth, then help Lohak find her sister's whereabouts and rescue her from the Kantadars, and then...
Maybe we will return home, or maybe one day we will try to find the murderers who killed our families and make them pay for their blood debts.”

"Well, whether it's searching and rescuing your partner's relatives or taking revenge on your enemies, it requires strength." Baron Elliver said meaningfully, turning his head to look at General Trosa.

The old count smiled and gestured for invitation.

Seeing this, the Baron expressed his gratitude to the other party.

Then, he turned to Leon and announced his decision.

"In recognition of your two acts of kindness in saving this village and returning the Thorn Blade to me, I will give you two choices as a token of my gratitude.
If you want to return home, I will give you two thousand gold crowns as a reward, and buy any spoils you can't take away at market price, and then send knights to escort you back to the Kingdom of Serian safely."

Leon and the other two listened with excitement in their eyes.

Two thousand gold crowns!
If they had not heard about the money paid for the life of the Kantadar hostage, their reaction would probably have been even more shocked.

Don't think that the fact that the knight Kantadar offered a thousand gold crowns to the villagers in exchange for his life is not a large number.

In order to survive, the captured knight noble had almost emptied out the savings of several generations of his family. If he had more, he would not be able to get it out even if he was killed.

Now, not counting the spoils of war, just this huge sum of money plus the looted Kantadar gold coins, returning home with such a large fortune, even if they were just three unknown people, they could become guests of honor for countless dignitaries and nobles.

Leon took a deep breath in his heart, suppressed his restless mood, and continued to listen to the Baron's subsequent choices. Generally speaking, the ones at the end are the highlight.

"Or, you can choose to be loyal to the Kingdom of Orland, become my knight, and become a vassal of the Thorn Flower Family." Baron Elliver finished his words with a calm smile.

Compared to the first option, the huge wealth is enough to make even the most serious person with facial paralysis smile.

The second option sounded so easy when he said it.

Is this still a choice?

Leon and the other two looked at each other, and the excitement in their hearts quickly calmed down.

For them who have experienced so much hardship, in this world, the power to protect themselves and their wealth is the truly precious and priceless treasure, rather than simply huge wealth.

And being able to leave this choice to three children aged fifteen or sixteen.

The other party's appreciation is beyond words.

Even Count Trosa raised his eyebrows in surprise. Although he admired these three young men very much, he just wanted to take them in and train them as personal attendants.

Right away, a half-grown child was canonized as a formal knight. Generally speaking, this was a treatment only given to the crown prince of the royal family.

You know, on this continent, even for many noble sons, big and small, it is difficult to obtain the status of a knight after they are in their twenties.

Some unpopular family descendants would still be servants by the lord's side even into middle age.

Leon and Lohak stood up from their seats, and Azerien also stood up with some difficulty with the help of Leon.

Without any discussion, they simply exchanged glances and made the most sensible decision at the moment.

Then there is only one answer.

Lu Bu, who was like half a liter of purine, met Dong Zhuo for the first time, and Leon looked at Baron Elif with a lot more eagerness.

This handsome middle-aged guy, hey, the more I look at him, the more I like him.

In his previous life, he was just an ordinary man who was often scolded by his boss. The closest he came to being an exploited class was when he was COSPLAYing in front of the mirror while wearing the armor he bought.

I never thought that in this life, I could rise from the proletariat to become an evil feudal aristocracy.

"Thank you for your appreciation, sir. We are willing to pledge our loyalty to you. In this case, do we need to prepare a ceremony?"

Azerien, who was quite familiar with such occasions, asked. After all, if it was in Serrian, the etiquette process of knighting was not simple.

"No, in Orland, as long as there are knights as witnesses, it is our coronation ceremony." Baron Elliver shook his head and stood up.

He drew the sword from his waist, placed the tip of the sword on the ground, and his expression became serious and solemn.

Almost at the same time, all the knights without titles present stood up from their seats, hands on the hilts of their swords, and stood solemnly in the hall.

A knight who followed the baron acted as a ceremonial officer and said to the three young men who were about to be conferred titles:

“Lion of Cerrian.

Lohak of Rolandar.

Azerien of the Flarel family.

Come forward and kneel before the Lord you are about to swear an oath to."

Leon glanced at Azerien beside him, wondering if he needed help.

The noble son smiled, shook his head at him, then endured the pain and took a step forward with his companions.

At this moment, Azerien only regretted that he had not had time to put on his armor or even prepare a formal dress while lying in bed.

The three men bent their right knees in salute, placed their left hands horizontally on their left knees, put their right hands behind their backs, and raised their heads to wait for the enthronement.

Baron Thornflower raised his sword and placed the blade on Lohak's shoulder on the right.

"In the name of courage, facing a powerful enemy, you must be brave and fearless, without any cowardice."

As he spoke, the Baron raised his hand and placed the sword on Azerien's shoulder on the left.

"In the name of the kingdom, you must defend the people and overcome tyranny."

Finally, the blade came to the shoulder of Leon in the middle.

"In the name of justice, knowing the injustice, you must uphold justice and punish evil."

The baron raised the blade, held it in both hands and held it in front of him: "In the name of the gods, you must be loyal to the monarch and keep your promises, and abandon lies.

I, Elifuer Pharoris, make you knights of Orland and grant you the fiefs of Selva, Lonca, and Pleton in equal measure.

I swear that I will never allow your loyalty to be tainted by dishonesty or injustice.

You will eat and drink with me, and my castle will always have a place for you."

After the Baron finished his oath, the knight behind him reminded the young men who were being conferred the title: "Repeat after me, I swear."

".I will fight for the thorn flower with my honor and my life.

Fight for Orlando.

Fight for the territory and the people!"

The three young men's vows were powerful.

The baron put away his sword with relief: "Stand up, my knights."

Leon stood up dazedly, his mind a little unresponsive.

Not because of this brief and solemn canonization ceremony.

But
Did he hear it correctly?
Selva, Lonca, Platon?

He knew Selva Village, but what were the other two places?
The Baron
In other words, the lord who is now their feudal lord gave them three territories at once?
(End of this chapter)