The Winter Veil holiday ended very quickly, and that’s how people are. Time flies by when they are on vacation. Almost in the blink of an eye, the Winter Veil holiday passed easily.
In a blink of an eye, the time came to January, almost as soon as the rain and snow season of the Winter Veil Festival ended, Duke Casfan of Palavon finally led more than 1,500 knights and an army of more than 10,000 people to prepare to cross the Gray Mountains
, attack the empire across the Gray Mountains.
The departure of the army could not be hidden from all the nobles who were paying close attention to the war. Almost as soon as they got the news, Ryan joined Francois, Gerald, and Julius, preparing to cross the gray at the same time.
Mountains, watching this war.
It took several people two days to ride horses to the edge of the Gray Mountains. Of course, because of the presence of Francois and Lane, the four knights were warmly received by the locals wherever they went.
Desolate wilderness, cold air, distant mountains, small towns, this is all the scenery that Ryan saw as he followed Francois and others. Human towns and villages are like isolated islands of civilization in the wilderness.
, only by relying on strong high walls and guards can the fire of civilization be preserved.
This world is not like the celestial dynasty that Ryan lived in in his previous life. Apart from people, they are still people. Even in densely populated Britannia, it is still a country with towns as its stronghold and roads as its bloodline. It is just a region of villages and villages.
There will be more, but most of the area is still uninhabited wasteland, such as forests, swamps and mountains.
At night, only city walls and troops can protect the people.
"We have entered the territory of the Principality of Palaon." Francois pulled the reins of his beloved horse. The Duke himself rode a pure-blood elf Pegasus named Bragg. This Pegasus is the whole of Brittany.
The most powerful and smartest of all the Pegasus in Asia, it is extremely intelligent and has certain magical abilities. When surrounded by enemies, Bragg will turn the sacred energy contained in his body into a strong light and release it, burning the enemy.
Turn to ashes to escape from the battle.
Julius and Gerald, who were wearing shiny blue and white-patterned enchanted mithril plate armor, nodded. Only Ryan, who was wearing gray psychic power armor, sighed: "This place is really desolate."
The wilderness of the Principality of Palavon is full of barren land, with only some scattered fields near towns and villages. It's mid-January, and the weather is very cold, even for Holy Grail knights like Francois and Ryan.
They were all breathing white air.
"The most famous thing about the Principality of Palavon is the peaks here." Francois was riding a Pegasus. The Duke himself had a faint smile on his elegant face: "The peaks of Palavon are rich in the best Pegasus in the old world.
Compared with the Pegasus produced by Winford in the Oracle Mountains, the Pegasus produced by the Palavon Peaks is superior in endurance."
"The Duke of Palavon came from the first generation of the twelve Holy Grail Knights, Argilgal. At that time, he was riding on Glorfindel, the ancestor of all pure-blood Pegasus, and annihilated more than three hundred green-skinned giants by himself."
Jerrod also said that after a series of tests, François's cousin finally got Francois's trust.
"It is for this reason that the Duke of Palavon is a long and narrow mountainous area." Julius nodded. Ryan's future brother-in-law seemed to be in a good mood. He calmly said to Ryan: "The Duke of Palavon
More than 60% of the land is mountainous, and there is very little land that can be cultivated. There are only some lands near Palaon Castle and a small area of hills above Athel Loren Forest that can be cultivated."
"The land is barren, lack of arable land..." Ryan whispered: "I understand."
Four knights rode up to the town, and the town's name "Glennell" was written on the town's gate.
Glenel is one of the three large towns in the Principality of Palavon, with a population of about 8,000. It is located southeast of Palavon, north of Athel Loren Forest, and near the southern entrance of the Gray Mountains.
Duke Palavon led his army across the Gray Mountains, the only way to attack the empire.
It was daytime now, and the town gate was wide open. Seeing Ryan and others appearing, the town guard immediately knelt down: "Your Excellency, Knight of the Holy Grail! Welcome to Glenel!"
"Welcome to Grenell! Master Knight of the Holy Grail! Welcome!"
"Bless you! Master Knight of the Holy Grail!"
"Meeting the Holy Grail Knight is really a blessing for this year!"
"Salute to you, Master Knight of the Holy Grail!"
Almost everyone in the town, from the townspeople to the guards, knelt down. They cheered and cheered loudly, surrounding Ryan and Francois in the crowd. The story of the Holy Grail Knight was familiar even to the most remote villages in Britannia.
For the serfs, the Knight of the Holy Grail was an idol that gave the serfs living in poverty a warm comfort like the winter sun.
Thousands of years have passed since Arthur founded the country, and chivalry has been reduced to a decadent code of representation. Many knights fanatically abide by the dogmatic chivalry. They do not treat serfs as human beings at all, and some knights regard chivalry as a symbol.
As a pure tool and means to extract money, chivalry existed only to extract higher benefits from serfs.
Only in these days of moral decay, those knights who can understand the true meaning of knights are even more valuable. They are people who truly abide by the spirit of chivalry, rather than fanatical believers in chivalry's dogma. They use their souls to understand the laws hidden in outdated classics.
The true meaning, rather than letting the scriptures become a constraint that hinders personal thinking.
They are the Knights of the Holy Grail, the pillars and backbone of this country.
"Makeay! Makeay for the grailknights!" The serfs and a few free people were reveling, and the knights guarding the town were already galloping on the roads in the town. They roared at the serfs arrogantly, signaling these untouchables to get out of here.
Come on, you are blocking the way of His Excellency the Holy Grail Knight!
The guarding knight commander swung his whip high and struck it hard on several serfs who were unwilling to get out of the way. The flesh was rolled and bloody.
"Stop!" Francois shouted angrily: "What are you doing?!"
"Your Excellency, Knight of the Holy Grail, these are the untouchables! These untouchables are blocking your way!" The guarding knight was stunned for a moment and quickly explained.
"Compensate these gentlemen with their medical expenses, Mr. Knight." Francois said with anger on his face: "Now!"
"Yes...yes!" Upon seeing this, the guard knight quickly admitted his mistake. He took out a handful of silver coins from his body and threw them into the faces of several injured serfs: "Hey, thank you, Lord Knight of the Holy Grail, for your blessing and mercy!
"
"Yes! Thank you Mr. Holy Grail Knight, thank you Mr. Holy Grail Knight!" Several injured serfs got this windfall, and they left happily.
With fanaticism and admiration on his face, the guard knight said to Ryan and Francois: "Excuse me, your two Holy Grail Knights, why did you come to Grenell...?"
Gerald and Julius were ignored, and François's cousin and legitimate son looked at each other with envy and helplessness in their eyes.
"I am Ryan Macado, the lady's chosen champion." Ryan said calmly.
"I am Francois, Francois-Antry-Tancred-Dewinford." Francois also said calmly: "Hello."
"Ah! It's the Lady's Champion and Monsieur François, nice to see you!" The guarding knight opened his mouth, and he was startled.
"We got the lady's oracle and have a mission to complete, so we have to stay here today." Ryan said in a very calm tone: "The content of the mission is a secret. You only need to take us to a hotel in the town to stay."
"Yes!" the guarding knight asked again deliberately. After hearing the oracle from the Lake Fairy, he immediately stopped talking. He led Ryan and others towards a place in the city: "Please follow me!"
Lane's pure platinum cup cloak and Francois' blue pure white horse cape were floating in the air. They followed the guard knight away, leaving behind enough stories for the townspeople to discuss for days.
…………
Three hours later, Grenell, Baron First Mansion.
This is a small two-story mansion. It is the villa where the guarding knight just now, Baron First, lives in the town. Of course, Baron First has heard of the names of Ryan and Francois.
, he quickly gave up the annex he used to spend the winter for Ryan and his party to live in, and went back to the castle himself.
Simply put down their luggage and things. Both Ryan and Francois had space rings, so the load of several people was not much. Ryan added feed and black beans to several pure-blood elf horses. He took a look under the dark clouds and thick fog.
In the night sky, he exhaled a breath of cold air and added some more fodder to the stable: "Come on, grapes, eat well and grow well~"
"Eh~" Putao obviously understood what Ryan was talking about. The pure-blood elf war horse stretched out its front hoof and touched Ryan's arm gently, and neighed dissatisfied.
I'm already a mature war horse, you don't need to tell me.
"Hahaha~" Ryan reached out and touched Putao's mane, and Putao rubbed his face against Ryan's face with enjoyment.
"Lian, are you okay? Come in." Francois stood at the door, and the Duke shouted to Ryan: "They don't know how to cook, so they still want to trouble you."
"Okay, come right away." Ryan touched Putao's head again, turned around and entered the mansion. There were two pots of stew burning in the kitchen, and firewood was piled in the middle of the house, baking pie and a pig hind leg.
In Britannia, it was believed that only nobles had the right to "waste" food and enjoy different spices.
Among the few people present, only Ryan and Francois had the experience of traveling outside for a long time. Ryan traveled outside for a long time as a knight errant and a knight of the kingdom, while Francois walked on the road to the Holy Grail as an expedition knight.
It lasted for many years until he was recognized by the Fairy of the Lake and became a Knight of the Holy Grail.
The two of them stood in the kitchen cooking together. Francois said with great interest: "I haven't cooked in person for several months, so I am still with you Ryan. I heard Sulia said that your cooking level is not bad. This
Let me try it this time."
The kitchen is relatively clean and tidy. Thick grease adheres to the floor. The stove is burning hot. The stew in the iron pot is making a "gurgling" sound. The walls are covered with pots and pans. In front of Ryan
There was a row of spoons hanging, from small to large, and in front of François hung garlic, onions, a few strips of bacon and fish, and a small amount of condiments.
"Dong dong dong~" Francois took the kitchen knife and chopped the cabbage, and Ryan was handling the stew with a large spoon and seasoning it.
"Last year, how much did your territory earn last year?" Francois asked casually. The Duke and Ryan are now a family, so he doesn't have to be so outgoing, and he also saves a lot of polite words.
"Almost 4,500 gold crowns, of which two thousand gold crowns are used for various salary expenses and military expenses. Five hundred gold crowns are my personal expenses, and there are almost two thousand gold crowns left." Ryan nodded and replied: "
In addition, the large amount of grain turned in, including more than ten tons of wheat, barley, rye, soybeans, radishes, peas, lentils and other grains, was also quite large, and I had to arrange for people to build two new warehouses."
"If your territory faces war now, how long can it last?" Francois continued.
"The castle's food reserves and savings add up to about a year and a half. If you include my personal wealth, it can last for about three years." Ryan said casually while stirring the delicious stew.
"That's really good, Ryan. You can manage the entire territory like this in less than a year. It can be said to be quite amazing. Bless you, madam!" Jarrod held a long wooden handle and
The front end of the wooden handle is a prototype flat surface. He stands in front of the bread oven and uses the wooden handle to continuously turn over the bread placed in the oven.
Julius was still on the first floor of the mansion, grilling pork shank.
"Prepare more food reserves, and make sure you have enough gold coin reserves in your hand, Ryan." Francois nodded. The Duke himself was very satisfied with Ryan's financial management and internal affairs abilities, and he said in a guiding tone:
"Sufficient food reserves can ensure that your army always has sufficient combat effectiveness, and gold coin reserves allow you to recruit troops and launch weapons in time.
Provide sufficient military pay, and you can even hire imperial mercenaries in emergencies. The old grain will be cleared every three years. Remember that every three years, the old grain is close to the time limit. You can distribute the old grain to the subjects as relief food and holiday gifts. They will not eat it anyway.
If it is expired, just let them have a full meal. These old grains cannot be sold to merchants. The merchants will resell them to serfs and make profits."
"I understand." Ryan nodded. He knew these things very well: "This is thanks to the trade with the wood elves and the workshops of the dwarf brothers. They bring me more than fifteen hundred gold crowns a year, and they continue to do so.
There are merchants and outsiders coming to settle in my territory."
"The nobles of the principality often go to your territory to see a doctor." Francois smiled: "In the name of the lady, disease and corruption have been effectively controlled."
"If it weren't for the wood elves' medicines, this hospital wouldn't be able to open." Ryan put the stew into a large copper pot. He thought to himself that the baron was indeed rich and actually had a copper pot at home.
After a feast was prepared, the four knights all sat down in the dining room on the first floor of the mansion. Francois took out a bottle of aperitif.