The next day, the castle hall of Brave Shield Castle.

"Countess, that's the whole thing, Charles just wants you to agree to his using the surname Fletcher."

Li Ang and Charles ran as fast as possible for a whole day and arrived at Brave Shield Castle.

The countess is a rather kind old woman with an ordinary appearance.

Probably because she was used to life and death on the border, the countess was not too sad after learning the bad news.

In fact, she behaved very much like Hereward - her expressions were well controlled, but when she spoke she was even more choked up.

This is probably a common problem among high-ranking nobles in this era. They are used to hiding their emotions and do not want anyone to see all their feelings.

The countess did not show much disgust with the existence of the illegitimate child. She even observed Charles carefully and calmly handed him a glass of water.

"Well, Charles, can you give me a proof? Prove that you are Auden's child."

After calming down, the countess asked Charles calmly.

"I want to take blood revenge on Eldred! Therefore, I need my father's surname, otherwise I cannot provoke a public duel, madam. I think this proof should be enough."

Charles knelt down on one knee towards the countess and looked up at the countess, his eyes were bloodshot but quite firm.

Carrying out blood revenge in the name of his son and provoking a duel may be the only way to avenge Count Oden at present.

In the continent of Pendor, including in medieval Europe, the duel method of avenging blood relatives will definitely be supported by the vast majority of nobles, and avenging one's father is exempt from guilt.

Once the enemy is identified and qualified to initiate a duel, the challenged party must challenge. Of course, high-ranking nobles can ask their sworn knights to challenge.

But as long as the enemy is not dead, the challenge can continue until one of the parties dies!

Even if the king kills someone, he can still seek revenge against the king - but the chance of winning is slim, as the king has many knights...

In fact, this is an important reason why nobles do not kill easily. Even if two countries are at war, as long as the defeated party does not seek death, the leading nobles will rarely be killed.

Of course, this is different from the Celestial Dynasty, which since the Han Dynasty has been a unified political system with Confucianism as the main body and law as the basis.

A unified country will not have the logic of blood revenge, because the emperor has ordered the killing of the most death row prisoners. If he is not guilty of avenging his father, then the emperor will be in great danger...

But in Europe where principalities are everywhere, kings and nobles are essentially the same, and the core idea of ​​this "chivalry" is to prevent people from easily killing nobles and to consolidate class rule.

Charles wanted to publicly avenge his father in the name of Auden's son, so he needed Auden's surname and the status of a knight or above.

Only nobles can challenge nobles to a duel.

At the same time, this can also prove that he is indeed Auden's son - otherwise who would do this, without inheritance rights, and risking their lives.

The countess nodded: "Okay, kid, I promise you. You can use Oden's flag and surname. I hope you can come back alive..."

After saying this, she still had no expression, but she finally shed the first tear in her eyes.

The old woman did not embarrass Charles, she may be more generous than Auden thought - of course, this is mainly because Auden is no longer around.

A countess would naturally not be so stupid as to refuse mercy in such a situation.

In fact, the countess was probably quite smart, and she was probably like Hereward, who immediately realized that the existence of Charles Fletcher could actually protect her daughter.

"Your Excellency Li Ang, why are you here? Just to help your knights get their surnames back?"

After the countess calmed down for a while, she asked about Li Ang.

"I did it for my own safety. Charles and I have a common enemy, and I have more enemies than him... When Count Auden was alive, he promised to help me keep an eye on the Archduke Alma, but now...

"

Li Ang was very honest, and he would not deceive a lonely old man.

"But I'm just an old woman. I can't help you deal with a duke..."

The countess shook her head slowly.

"Then let me tell you straight, I plan to buy the jurisdiction of Ralph's knight territory. I know that you are managing the Earl's territory."

Li Ang pointed towards the west of Brave Shield Fort.

The Lord's intention is obvious - he wants Ralph and his rangers to completely separate themselves from the jurisdiction of Fort Braveshield and accept his own funding.

Li Ang was too familiar with that camp, and it was impossible to feed an army there.

Although the Horn Call Rangers are a self-contained system, their own expenses also need to be supported by nearby towns.

Ralph was able to garrison there because of the support of Count Oden's Fort Braveshield.

And now that Oden is gone, the Countess may hand over the management of Fort Braveshield to others - such as her son-in-law Lehman.

However, it is obviously impossible for the Horn Call Rangers to accept the management of the deputy leader of the Lion Knights, so the Rangers may have no choice but to return to Changhe Town to garrison.

That's basically giving Alma a strong army - there's no way someone like Alma can't control the Rangers under such circumstances.

Therefore, Li Ang wanted to buy the jurisdiction of that territory and turn himself into the superior manager of that knight territory, so that the rangers would be willing to serve him.

Of course, the main reason why such a transaction was possible was because Earl Oden died and Ralph had no one to be loyal to.

That piece of land was originally sold by Li Ang himself...but now, what he wants to buy is not an empty territory, but a ranger station.

Baron Hereward's sentries were originally stationed in Changhe Town. Taking advantage of Hereward's opportunity to bring them to White Deer Castle, Leon also planned to keep the sentries in White Deer Castle for a long time.

Only by retaining the powerful army of the Horn Summoning Rangers can he ensure his own safety.

The best opportunity to retain this force is to avenge Count Oden, the leader of the Horn Call Rangers.

"Your Excellency Li Ang, I promise you, that was the land you conquered. I know this. But I also hope you can promise me one thing..."

The countess sighed, she could indeed decide on this matter, but she also made another request.

"I hope you can guarantee that the murderer of Oden will definitely die! No matter who he is! Oden said that you are the only master he has ever seen in his life. I know you can do it!"

The countess finally couldn't control her sad expression, and tears flowed from her eyes.

She is actually far from as calm as she appears.

"Please promise me! There is no need for any secret deals. I just want the murderer to die in front of me! If you can do it, I can give that territory to you... I am even willing to give it along with the Brave Shield Castle.

for you!"

Li Ang closed his eyes tightly and opened them again, his throat was a little dry.

"Madam, I promise you, but the murderer's life is actually not that valuable... If I really do it, you can give me Fletcher Village."

This is not the generosity of the lord, there is a big difference between "even willing" and "willing"...

On the contrary, if he takes the initiative and only needs a village, there may be hope.

…

Charles will set out for Lion City with the Countess.

The lord returned to Maixiangling alone.

As soon as he returned to Maixiangling, he received good news - the Eastern Front troops of the Bacchus Empire that attacked White Deer Castle had officially withdrawn.

This may be the only good news in the first half of the new year.

After the sentries from Changhe Town arrived at White Deer Castle, General Agathon led the troops of the Bacchus Empire in a comprehensive retreat.

Ralph's rangers watched all the way to confirm that the enemy had retreated two hundred miles away - this was indeed a complete retreat.

It was Amy herself who brought the news.

After confirming that the enemy had retreated, she originally came to the Lord to 'study'.

Lehman and Ralph escorted her over.

Charles' identity has been confirmed, and now there is no need to hide it from anyone. Leon told them about the death of Earl Oden.

But when they learned about the situation, they immediately had differences.

"I have to go to Brave Shield Castle... Baron Leon, I have to say goodbye."

Lehman thought about it for a while and decided to leave with some hesitation.

"Lehman, stop! You are the son-in-law of Count Oden, and you have an obligation to avenge him! The place you should go to is Qicha Fortress!"

Ralph was extremely dissatisfied with Lehman's reaction - there was no trace of sadness on Lehman's face.

Li Ang also frowned. Lehman's behavior really showed that Count Oden was always thinking about his future. Oden was even unwilling to conflict with Alma because of this.

"Sir Ralph, of course I know that I want revenge! But the question now is that the Earl has passed away. How will the Jatu people react when they know the news?"

Leman frowned. It seemed that what he valued more was the safety of Fort Brave Shield...or rather, the army of Fort Brave Shield.

But Lehman was right.

The death of Count Oden will bring about a series of chain reactions.

When Oden was still alive, the Jatu people did not dare to take the idea of ​​Brave Shield Castle, but now that Oden is dead, who will guard the border?

"Go to Te Niang's Jatu people...you are..."

Ralph became visibly angry and flushed.

"Ralph! You go and take over the defense of Fort Braveshield... This is what you should do. It is your obligation to protect Longhe Town!"

Leon interrupted Ralph's clueless words and simply started making arrangements.

"Lehman, you must return to Lion City immediately. You must attend your father-in-law's funeral early."

"As for the Qicha Fortress, I will go there to take a look and ask your lion knights to go with me, so that you can know all the results."

Although these two people were not his subordinates at all, Li Ang's arrangement was obviously reasonable and the two no longer argued and led their respective teams away.

After they were far away, Li Ang began to arrange his men.

"Anson, Leslie, you are responsible for staying in the territory. If the crossbowmen or merchants come back, you will pay the price agreed upon before."

"Sarah, go and ask Governor Justus to write a letter... and ask him to copy what I wrote without changing a word, and then send it to Baron Hereward."

Leon gave Sarah a piece of parchment.

"Well..." Sarah glanced at the content on the paper: "Sir, if he doesn't write..."

"If you don't write it? If you don't write it, you'll castrate him!"

Leon handed Sarah a small curved knife - the same one he used when kidnapping Justus.

Sarah nodded and went.

"Amy, come with me to Qicha Fortress. I guess your brother's troubles will have to be solved by you."

"Li Ang...Teacher, my brother should not be in big trouble. My mother can definitely save him."
Chapter completed!