Swords, magic, and martial arts

The group split into two teams and carefully inspected the house one by one, even checking the cellars and wardrobes, but they did not find a single resident of the town.

By the time they finished inspecting all the houses, it was completely dark.

They chose a tavern in town as their place to rest for the night. The food in the tavern's cellar was well preserved and had not been taken or damaged.

Not only in the tavern, but during the search, Rod found that everything in the house was well preserved, and many valuables were still inside. There was no blood or signs of a fight in the town.

It's as if the residents of the town suddenly put down what they were doing and left the town at some point.

Hammer rubbed his rumbling stomach and asked, "When is dinner served?"

The tavern was small and didn't have a separate kitchen; the food was cooked over a brazier in the middle of the tavern's main hall.

"It'll be ready soon," Weber said, stirring the soup in the pot.

Rod stared at the food in the pot, lost in thought. If nothing unexpected happened, they'd be eating boiled food again tonight. For Baron and the others, Webber's cooking was already excellent, but for him…

Since I transmigrated, I haven't eaten any stir-fried dishes. When I have money in the future, I must find a blacksmith to make an iron pot and put it in my spatial ring.

Baron carried two barrels of wine up from the cellar, laughing, "Is there anywhere else to warm yourself by the fire? I took two barrels of the best wine from the cellar."

The middle-aged knight, who was sitting on a bench warming himself by the fire, moved the bench a little and said, "Although it's not good to drink at a time like this, I think we really need to have some wine to warm ourselves up. The nights in your Nord winter are just too cold."

"The weather's been pretty good lately. It's been a mild winter, and spring is just around the corner. It's much warmer than the winter days ago," Baron said, pouring wine into a glass and handing it to the middle-aged knight. "Aren't you taking off your armor tonight?"

"We didn't bring any attendants this time. It's difficult to put on plate armor by ourselves, so we usually don't take it off. It's a kind of training for us too," the middle-aged knight said, taking a sip of wine.

He has only taken off his helmet; he is still wearing heavy full plate armor on his back.

"If I had to sleep in a tin can, I definitely wouldn't be able to sleep. By the way, we still don't know your name," Baron said.

"My name is Harvey Lannister," the middle-aged knight replied.

"You can call me Baron," Baron said.

Baron pointed at Hammer, who was staring at the wine glasses in their hands. "This is Hammer, a powerful berserker."

He then pointed to Webber cooking next to the pot and said, "This is Webber. He is an experienced stalker and a very good cook."

Baron finally pointed to Rod, who was staring blankly, and said, "This is my nephew, Rod."

"I remember the Lannis family was a prominent family in the Roman Empire. I never expected to run into one in such a small place," Baron said, taking a sip of his drink.

"I am but an illegitimate son of the third son of Marquis Lannis. Marquis Lannis, seeing my bravery in the war against the Kingdom of Fish, knighted me and allowed me to use the family name," Harvey said with self-deprecation. "Later, I gave up my territory and joined the Radiant Knights to serve my god."

There are many knightly orders on the continent, each with its own beliefs. Within each order, there are not many people who actually hold the title of knight, since knights are also nobles.

Most of the "knights" in the Knights Order were actually just riders with horses. In addition to these combat members, the Knights Order also had some logistics members and priests.

There are also churches on the mainland that are dominated by priests and priests, but these churches are forces with weak armed forces.

Just then, two other knights, having finished feeding their horses, entered the tavern from outside.

"What are their names?" Baron asked.

Harvey pointed to the young knight, the same young knight who had been arrogant towards Rhodes and his men earlier, and said, "His name is Sven Erin, the youngest son of Earl Erin. Although he is spoiled by his family, he is still a fine warrior."

Sven was very handsome, with naturally curly golden hair, light green eyes, and a high nose.

Rod thought that if he were just a little better looking, he could even be considered as good-looking as himself.

"And what about him?" Baron asked, pointing to another knight.

Everyone except the knight had taken off their helmets, and he hadn't even opened his mask.

"Haha, he's a shy kid who grew up in the Knights Order and didn't have much contact with outsiders. He doesn't like us telling his name to people outside the Knights Order," Harvey explained.

"Okay, so what should we call him? Does he have any nicknames or anything like that?" Baron continued to ask.

"You can call him the 'Silent Knight' for now," Harvey said.

"We can start eating now," Weber said.

Baron moved a dining table over from the side, and everyone sat around the table to eat.

The meal consisted of only a large tub of venison and vegetable soup. There was no bread or other food in the cellar, and Webber had never learned how to make bread, so everyone had to eat this.

Weber divided a bucket of broth into seven equal portions and placed them in clean wooden bowls in front of everyone.

Rod took out the tableware that had been sitting in boiling water for a long time and distributed it to the people at the table.

When he was in the wild some time ago, he would disinfect the tableware before using it. He would usually wash it with water and then heat it with fire until it was hot.

In this era where illness is entirely a matter of physical endurance, he can only try his best to avoid getting sick.

The middle-aged knight Harvey took a spoonful of soup and praised, "This is the best soup I've ever had in Nord. Even the soup I had in the lord's castle wasn't as good as this."

"I am honored that you would praise the food I have cooked, Sir," Webber said gratefully.

Young knight Sven also picked up a spoon and took a sip of soup, commenting, "It's a little better than the previous pig slop, barely comparable to the food my servants eat."

Hammer's face turned green upon hearing Sven's words. "You mean we Nords generally eat pig swill?"

"I apologize on his behalf. Please forgive this ungrateful child. He's been spoiled terribly by his family, so he always acts this way towards others," Harvey quickly said.

Baron laughed heartily, patted Rod on the shoulder, and said, "We are flattered that a nobleman like you apologize to us. I can understand his behavior; he's just like my nephew before, not knowing how to get along with others."

Rhodes was surprised by Harvey's initiative to apologize. He had always heard that nobles and commoners in the Roman Empire were similar to slave owners and slaves, and that nobles and their serfs were like humans and livestock.

"You have disgraced our nobles. I will never apologize to a lowly commoner," Sven said angrily.

"Put aside your former aristocratic airs. Your family sent you to the Knights in the hope that you would become a man who can stand on your own."

"In the Kingdom of Nord, we should also adapt to local customs. Here, strength is paramount, and the nobles are respected by their people because of the honor and power they possess," Harvey said patiently.

"I don't believe any one of them can defeat me. Even if they all came at me together, they wouldn't be a match for me. They're just a bunch of lowly people with weapons," Sven said disdainfully.

Hammer slammed his hand on the table angrily and stood up. "Kid, do you need me to teach you a lesson on behalf of your parents and show you what's what?"

Baron pulled Hammer aside and said, "We could be in danger at any moment. Let's just forget about it. It's normal for a kid to be ignorant. He'll be fine after he gets dragged into an alley and beaten up a few times."

Shi Wen continued his sarcasm, "It's already a great honor for you that I can sit at the same table with you, and you still want to discipline me on behalf of my parents?"

"In front of us, besides your family, what right do you have to be proud? In terms of strength alone, I doubt you can even beat Rhodes," Hammer said angrily.

Ignoring their argument, Rod, who was engrossed in eating, felt like he had been caught in the crossfire and helplessly looked up at Sven.

"I disdain bullying the weak," Sven declared loudly.

"It's clear that you don't even have the courage to fight Rhodes, the weakest among us. If you're so capable, go outside and have a match now," Hammer continued.

"What do you mean by the weakest among us? I think I could fight you to a standstill right now," Rod thought to himself, looking at Hammer.

Rhodes was still a bit annoyed with Sven, so he picked up his longsword, walked to the door, and turned back to say, "Hurry up and come out, don't keep me waiting too long."

Shi Wen felt like he was about to explode with anger. He picked up his sword and shield and stormed out.

"Let's go take a look too, eating alone is too boring," Baron suggested.

Harvey nodded and followed him out...