Imperial Crown.

Chapter 14: Subjugated by force? Subjugated by force!

It's summer noon and the sun is scorching.

The streets of Eagle Town were rarely busy, with carriages engraved with various emblems filling the streets, and horses occasionally passing by.

There had been no major wars for more than a hundred years, and the nobles' lives became increasingly corrupt and extravagant. They gradually got used to traveling by horse-drawn carriages, but some old-school nobles were still used to riding alone.

Ingres is one of those old-school people.

He led his eldest son Judra and three knights, riding on war horses that were half-blooded with magical beasts, overtaking slow-moving carriages. As soon as they left the town, they saw a figure riding a white horse.

The horse was covered in silver-white, even looking a little dazzling under the sunlight. The outline of its muscles was clearly visible under its fur. Its four hooves were as thick as four pillars, and there were sharp light yellow spikes growing at the knees of each leg. If you looked closely, you could even see a faint electric current lingering.

The second-level magical beast [Electric-Horned Silver-Pupil Horse] is the mount of Viscount John.

"Lord John, long time no see." Angel rode his horse to John's side, adjusted the pace of his mount and rode side by side with him: "You are still as elegant as ever."

"Same here." John said indifferently, "Baron Angel's physique is still better. When I reach your age, I may not be able to wear armor and ride a horse."

"Hahaha!" As if he didn't hear John's sarcasm, Angel laughed loudly: "I can't compare to the Viscount's family and wealth, so I can only use a set of armor to show off."

"But it was really ill-considered for you to come here in formal attire this time. The untouchables have always only feared majesty, and have never known how to be grateful for kindness."

"A scoundrel like Raven who inherited the title by chance can only be subdued by force!"

Seeing a hint of helplessness in John's eyes, Angel felt even more proud.

In principle, when a noble visits another noble, he can wear armor.

But the Kingdom of Keynes has enjoyed peace for a hundred years, and the nobles' vigilance has long been thrown to the winds. No one would do that now.

That's why Ingres did the opposite.

Raven is just a pariah, he doesn't know the difference between the third and fourth levels, but the armor on his body can let him know who is more difficult to mess with.

In his opinion, with just a little intimidation, he could make the little bee cry and squeeze out all its honey!

"Am I going too far?" Angel asked complacently, "I heard that Baron Raven has only trained his private soldiers for a month. If he scares them away, it will be embarrassing for him."

John twitched his hooked nose, slightly clamped his legs together, and the horse under him quietly increased its stride.

Ingres rode up to catch up, feeling extremely proud.

John is more than ten years younger than him, but he has a higher title and is stronger than him. He also previously held the richest town of Shining Gold in Eagle Territory in his hands. It is really a comfortable thing to be able to gain a slight advantage over him.

The towering Eagle Castle gradually revealed its full appearance, which made Angel feel a little jealous.

The castle faces south and is surrounded by walls on all sides. It is 80 meters long from north to south and 65 meters wide from east to west. There is also a five-meter-wide moat outside for protection.

The outer city wall is five meters high and is built entirely with black granite. It is sturdy and beautiful. There are parapets and shooting holes on the top of the wall. As long as the drawbridge is raised, it will be a perfect war fortress!

The most eye-catching thing is the 17-meter-high main body of the castle. The carefully designed outer walls have graceful curves, and the towering spires are as charming as the body of a lover. As long as a magic crystal cannon is mounted on top, even thousands of troops will not be able to attack!

In comparison, his Ironforge seemed much more cramped and narrow. Due to the lack of flat terrain, it could only be built on a hill. Its area was only half of Eagle Fort, and the height of the main body of the castle was only ten meters.

How could such a beautiful castle fall into the hands of a scoundrel like Raven! ?

"The Eagle Castle is ahead. Please dismount and walk!" A loud and powerful shout brought Angel back to his senses.

Looking closely, he saw two teams of soldiers standing on the left and right outside the suspension bridge of Eagle Castle, and another team of soldiers standing in two rows on the suspension bridge. There were only more than thirty soldiers in total, but their appearance and momentum shocked Angel.

These people were wearing brown leather armor. The surface of the armor was smooth and flat, but it did not have the luster of new goods. It was obvious that the armor had been used for a long time and was carefully maintained.

Under the blazing sun, the soldiers held their spears with very steady hands, their eyes were wide open, and their bodies stood straight. Even though sweat was pouring down their foreheads, their feet were still as solid as tree roots.

They don't look like people at all, but two rows of clay figures, two rows of statues!
But their chests still rose and fell.

And that powerful shout came from the mouth of one of the curly-haired young men.

This is actually Raven’s soldier?
In just one month, he was able to train these peasants into this state?
I just want to try your quality!
"How dare you stop me?" Angel rode forward, holding the whip and pointing it at the young man's face: "Do you know who I am?!"

"Your identity has nothing to do with me." The young man was not afraid at all and repeated, "The Eagle Castle is ahead. Please dismount and walk!"

"Hey, you're really brave!" Angel was amused by this tough move. He clamped his legs together and took a step forward with his horse: "What if I insist on going in?"

Although he is over sixty years old, he is still in good shape. Although he has not mobilized his fighting spirit, his momentum leaves no doubt that he will ride his horse forward at the next moment!
The young man's expression changed and he took two steps back.

Ingres smiled complacently, it turned out to be just a showpiece.

The untouchables are the untouchables. No matter how well-behaved they are, they are just obedient lambs!
But immediately, his expression changed.

"Enemy attack!!!"

At the young man's shout, the team that had been standing quietly suddenly moved.

The soldiers stood in two rows, holding their spears horizontally. In just a dozen seconds, they formed a thick human wall, tightly blocking the entrance to the Eagle Fort suspension bridge!
"What a quick response."

Viscount John, who had been watching from behind, was secretly surprised. He was already fifty-five years old and had seen all kinds of teams, including mercenaries, bandits, and even the Imperial Steel Corps and the Church's Knights of Light.

But no team could form a formation in just a dozen seconds.

Even the [Snow Maple Legion] that John had carefully trained might be able to surpass them in terms of individual strength and equipment, but they could never match their discipline.

Just now, John was still regretting that he did not come here in full helmet and armor, but now, he began to be thankful for it and began to watch the show leisurely.

Ingres was now in a dilemma and was extremely anxious.

Madman, really crazy!
These private soldiers must have received Raven's instructions before they dared to attack him.

How dare Raven? He is just a lowly thug, how dare he brandish a knife or a gun against a noble baron like me? !
But he had to admit that this trick was indeed effective.

As the Baron of Ironfurnace Ridge, no matter how powerful he is, he has to play by the rules of the game for the nobility.

It was a bit unusual to attend a funeral in full helmet and armor, and it was only natural that he would be attacked with weapons if he rushed forward without revealing his identity.

If we attack the Eagle Lord's private soldiers at this time, it would be tantamount to declaring war on the Eagle Lord!

Of course, he was not afraid of fighting with the Eagle Territory, but in the current environment, declaring war would be tantamount to slapping the face of the royal family. Even if he razed the Eagle Territory to the ground, he would be using his own blood to help others.

Could it be that the little bee had already calculated this, and therefore arranged this method!? Impossible, absolutely impossible!
"Baron, please dismount." Jude came up from behind: "After all, today is Baron Donald's funeral..."

Angel turned his head and looked at Judra, his eyes full of disappointment.

To dismount now would be like stepping on his own face and bringing fame to Raven!
He gritted his teeth, slowly raised his arms, and was ready to lead his knights to force their way in!

At this moment, a clear voice sounded: "I was wondering who had come to visit. It turned out to be Baron Angel."

Along with the voice appeared a black-haired man in a baron's dress uniform.

The dress is woven from woolen cloth and is a neat and clean sea blue in color. The chest is open, revealing a white silk lining.

The cuffs and lapels are decorated with large gold and silver patterns, making it look noble and elegant; on the left chest is embroidered an eagle soaring in the sky, making a loud cry, and the eyes carved from clear amber show its sharp and arrogant arrogance to the fullest.

Not everyone can pull off this dress, but when worn on this man it can only highlight his grace and elegance without overshadowing the man himself.

This was, of course, Raven.

He walked behind the human wall and said in a reprimanding tone: "How can you treat our distinguished guests like this? They are not enemies. Disperse quickly!"

"Yes, Baron!" The young man, Simon, was the first to shout, "Return to the post!"

With the sound of orderly footsteps, the private soldiers divided into three teams again and returned to their original positions.

The tense atmosphere melted away, and Raven put his hand on his chest and performed an impeccable courtesy: "I'm sorry, Baron Angel, I frightened you."

Angel's cheek twitched slightly, and he wanted to slap Raven to death on the spot, but in the end he took a deep breath and stepped down.

He dismounted and walked up to Raven. "Baron Raven, you are really good at training soldiers. They look great. Are you planning to send them to the public bathhouse in Mon'en City?"

In this world, public baths not only allow guests to clean their bodies, but also provide some additional services, both for men and women, and sometimes men are more popular than women.

It can be said that Angel was asking for trouble. Raven lingered in the underground world of Mon'en City all day long. When it came to quarreling and swearing, he was far from being comparable to Angel, an old man who stayed in the castle all day long.

"Oh, so the public bathhouse is the key to training soldiers. No wonder I always felt something was missing." Raven laughed and retorted, "In that case, your soldiers must have been trained according to the standards of the public bathhouse. No wonder the income of your territory is so good."

Ingres's big nose turned red: "You are quite good at talking."

"Thank you for the compliment. Rhetoric is also a required course for a noble." Raven replied with a smile.

As more and more nobles arrived, low voices of discussion began to arise. Angel didn't want to stay any longer, so he snorted coldly and walked in.

"I'm sorry, Lord Raven." Judra whispered, "My father has this kind of temper. I hope you don't mind."

Raven asked, "What happened?"

Judra was startled, nodded, and then left.

Viscount John saw all of this and his impression of Raven changed somewhat.

Of course, they can't fight in battles just for show, but Raven's private soldiers are definitely not useless.

The fact that they dared to raise their spears against a baron was enough to prove that they had enough courage and bravery, and would grow into qualified soldiers sooner or later.

Regardless of other things, at least from the perspective of training soldiers, Raven is indeed a qualified successor.

"Viscount John." Raven put away his smile and bowed: "Thank you for coming to my uncle's funeral."

This performance was beyond John's expectations again.

Raven had just defeated Baron Angel's arrogance and should have been in high spirits, but at this moment he showed enough restraint and humility, and even revealed just the right amount of sadness.

This is not something a good-for-nothing thug would do. Judging from this scene, at least he is smart enough to know who to offend and who to keep friendly with.

Now John began to understand why Donald chose Raven as his heir.

Raven is simply a natural aristocrat.

John got off the horse, handed the reins to the attendant, stepped forward to return the greeting and said, "Baron Donald is an upright and great man. I see his shadow in you. I hope that under your leadership, the Griffith family will be able to achieve glory again."

Raven said, "Thank you for your blessing."

The two of them were chatting happily, but Ingres was furious!

Although he avoided the worst outcome, his actions were still laughed at by John.

They said they would use force to intimidate others, but in the end they were intimidated by force. How could this be tolerated or not?

Since force doesn’t work, let’s try diplomacy!

As long as he could find the slightest thing that was not in line with aristocratic etiquette, he would take the opportunity to lose his temper, ruin the funeral, and teach Lei Wen a lesson.

There are some people you cannot offend!
But the scene in the castle made him so depressed that he wanted to vomit blood.

The carpet in the hall was replaced with a completely etiquette-free black color. The dozen or so tables and hundreds of chairs were all made of rosewood, a material generally recognized by the nobles, and covered with white and soft cotton cloth, which was neither overly extravagant nor shabby.

The table closest to the coffin, which was also the main table of the party, was slightly raised so that no one would mistake it.

When his eyes fell on the main table, his eyes finally lit up.

There were many glass goblets placed on it. The material was crystal clear and of high purity, which really made the wine look more tempting. One of these cups cost thirty silver coins, which was of course no problem.

The problem was the wine.

Those wine bottles look beautiful, but they don’t even have labels!
He was an expert in wine tasting. As soon as he saw the color, he knew that the bottle contained not high-end goods, but liquid amber.

It is so disrespectful to use such inferior wine as good wine to entertain guests at my uncle's funeral. It is so disrespectful!

This reason was of course a bit far-fetched, but so what? Raven was just a gangster, and he was an old baron!
A smile appeared on Angel's lips. He had already thought of that scene - when the ceremony reached its climax and everyone needed to toast, he would smash the wine glass on the spot and then expose Raven's seemingly polite mask.

Make his coronation ceremony a complete joke!
With a relaxed mood, he found a place to sit down, put the helmet on the table, rubbed his big nose, and said to Judra:
"Son, I will show you how to show off our family's prestige in a moment!"

……

(End of this chapter)