How to Live as a Wandering Knight
Chapter 216: ๐๐ฅ๐ฏ๐๐ฌ, ๐๐ฐ๐๐ซ๐ฏ๐๐ฌ, ๐๐๐ฌ๐ข๐ฅ๐ข๐ฌ๐ค๐ฌ (2)Johan was at a loss for words after being hit hard for the first time in a long while. He didnโt expect to be rendered speechless in front of the elf knights.
Iselia, who was next to him, came to his defense as his spouse.
โJohan is a brave knight. He always charges first into the enemy lines with the knights and is the last to retreat. He never backs down from a duel. However, he never abuses his power.โ
โ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆโ๐ด ๐ข๐ญ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฅ๐บ ๐ฏ๐ฐ ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด๐ถ๐ข๐ด๐ช๐ท๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ด๐ด. . .โ
Isnโt that abuse of power already?
In any case, Iselia continued speaking.
โHe has the courage of a lion in his chest, but the cunning of a fox in his head. Hmm hmm.โ
โDidnโt His Excellency tear off and rip apart the arm of a troll?โ
โ. . . . . .โ
At a loss for words, Iselia looked at Johan. Johan looked away.โYes. Still, isnโt this going too far?โ
โJumping into that danger and grasping glory, isnโt that the mission and duty of a knight? His Excellency must surely know this, right?โ
โ๐ ๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ฏโ๐ต ๐ฌ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ธ.โ
Iselia was somehow moved and nodded as if in agreement. I wanted to hit her on the back of the head.
โNo matter what, isnโt this too much? Arenโt there many evil enemies in the kingdom as well?โ
โOf course thereโs a reason. This is a secret of the kingdom, but I can trust and tell His Excellency.โ
โ. . .?โ
It shouldnโt matter if thereโs honor or not, right?
The noblesโ sense of security amazed Johan from time to time. Of course, this was largely due to the customs of the kingdom and the Empire.
Although they serve the king as their lord and devote their loyalty and duty, this is not absolute loyalty, but loyalty akin to a contract.
Right now the nobles are like feudal lords to their own fiefdoms, and the kingโs orders are often refused if deemed unreasonable. This was the same not only in the Holy Empire, but also in the Elven Kingdom.
From that position, even if it was called a secret of the kingdom, they did not protect it with absolute loyalty. They readily told those they deemed acceptable by their standards.
โIโm grateful you trust me.โ
Of course Johan had no intention of refusing. If the other person told him secrets, he should gratefully listen.
โOur young king, Angoldolph III, intends to stand against the fallen emperor of the corrupted Empire for glory.โ
โ. . .Iโm really surprised!โ
Johan made an effort to pretend to be surprised. Of course he had already obtained information in advance from the Empire envoys, but he couldnโt make things awkward.
Lauren nodded and continued speaking.
โItโs surprising, but if you think about it, itโs reasonable. In fact, His Majesty is an unfortunate person. Unlike the blessed, honored His Excellency born with a fate where he can gain honor, His Majesty was not born with such a fate.โ
โ. . .๐๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ธ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐จ๐ถ๐บ ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฌ๐ฆ๐ด ๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ง๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ญ ๐ฃ๐ข๐ฅ.โ
Of course there was no malice from the elfโs point of view, but Johan felt bad. If given a choice, why would one be born as a mediocre knight instead of the Elf King?
However, he roughly understood the other personโs meaning. What a young new monarch does is the same whether itโs a kingdom or a fiefdom.
Build oneโs own new authority to cover the authority of oneโs parents.
In the fiefdom lurked retainers loyal to the previous lord and potential political enemies coveting his position. To rule through that web, the young lord needed an achievement to shine light on him.
Although the current Elf King sat on the co-monarchโs seat with the dowager, the old king was seriously ill, so the acting king was Angoldolph.
For the young king, the turbulent situation in the chaotic Empire seemed well suited for raising his authority and building achievements.
โ๐๐ช๐ณ๐ด๐ต ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ง๐ฆ๐ถ๐ฅ๐ข๐ญ ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฅ๐ด ๐ธ๐ช๐ญ๐ญ ๐ฐ๐ง๐ง๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ช๐ณ ๐ญ๐ฐ๐บ๐ข๐ญ๐ต๐บ ๐ช๐ง ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐จ๐ฐ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ธ๐ข๐ณ, ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ช๐ญ๐ญ ๐ข๐ญ๐ด๐ฐ ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ค๐ฉ๐ช๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต๐ด ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ง๐ต. . .โ
โBut what does His Majesty personally taking to the field have to do with you guys being here?โ
โWhen His Majesty draws his sword and fights evil, how can a knight like me just sit still? I intend to rip out and offer up the heart of a basilisk. For the other bedridden King.โ
โ. . .!โ
The old ill king could not be cured by any wizard or priest. Obviously every possible method had been tried since he was in the kingโs seat.
At this time some wizards said this. To loosen his stone-like body, the heart of a basilisk was needed.
Hearing this, the elf knights bravely stepped forward.
โI see. So thatโs what happened.โ
Only then did Johan understand.
Johan would have done the same. A young king who had just ascended the throne. This was a once in a lifetime great opportunity in his eyes. Would he not be able to sit in the empty retainersโ seats?
โ๐ ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ท๐บ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฎ.โ
Of course, regardless of Johanโs thoughts, the elf knights were not making such political calculations.
In the midst of the Elf King firing up their blood, the basilisk story came out so they just flooded in.
And in fact, considering stability alone, following the Elf King on the campaign was better.
๐ธ๐ธ๐ธ๐ธ๐ธ๐ธ
Johan exchanged greetings with the elf knights in turn. They were the Empire knights who used to ignore him, but they were courteous to Johan. It was because they respected his achievements.
โ๐๐ฎ๐ข๐ป๐ช๐ฏ๐จ.โ
Johan was surprised. He thought the knights here didnโt have fiefdoms. But unexpectedly, some knights who participated in the hunt had fiefdoms.
Among them, the one with the highest status was Count Puakonyu. It was hard to guess the age of an elf, but he was close to three times Johanโs age. Naturally, he took on the role of leading this group.
โIโve heard a lot of rumors. I didnโt expect to meet you here like this.โ
โIโm just embarrassed because the rumors seem to be exaggerated.โ
Johan glanced at the armor Puakonyu was wearing. Surprisingly, the shape of the armor was familiar to his eyes.
โ๐๐ข๐ณ๐ข๐ฎ๐ข๐ง. . .?โ
Amazingly, the shape of that armor resembled the one Sir Karamaf wore. It felt a little lacking and worn out, but the shape was plausible.
So is that the dwarf-made plate armor from the ancient Empire era?
โOh. Are you curious about this armor?โ
The count pointed at his armor and smiled proudly.
โItโs a family treasure thatโs been passed down for generations. Itโs a treasure thatโs been passed down since the days of the old Empire. Although the neck and leg parts are damaged, itโs still great armor.โ
Even if it could not cover the neck and legs, the armor of the ancient Empire was worth wearing. Johan, who had dealt with it directly, could tell.
Where else could he find lighter yet tougher armor?
โItโs really great armor.โ
โI appreciate the compliment. Iโm glad a count knight like you said that.โ
Count Puakonyu was a little excited to receive a compliment about his familyโs treasure. Compliments about the family treasure were always nice to hear.
โSo are we going to chase the basilisk like this?โ
โThatโs what Iโm thinking. But Iโm a little worried because basilisks are sensitive and violent monsters.โ
โ?โ
Johan wondered what he meant, then nodded as he saw where Count Puakonyu was pointing.
โThe mercenaries seem to be trapped on the high ground. Do you know them?โ
โ. . .They are people who fought under the banner of the Order with me.โ
Johan wanted to pretend he didnโt know, but he couldnโt. Count Puakonyu looked at Johan with a serious expression, seemingly worried about him.
โIt might be better not to get involved with such profligate fellows. You never know when they might drag you down.โ
Basically, elves looked down on the Holy Empire. There was a long-standing grudge between the two.
As such, they were unlikely to react positively to seeing Holy Empire knights being humiliated.
โThereโs an old saying in my hometown. On the battlefield, elves are the only comrades you can trust.โ
โ๐๐ฆ๐ญ๐ญ, ๐ช๐ต ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ญ๐ฅ ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฌ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ด๐ฆ ๐ด๐ช๐ฏ๐ค๐ฆ ๐ช๐ตโ๐ด ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ช๐ณ ๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ต๐ฐ๐ธ๐ฏ. . .โ
Honestly, the elves didnโt look much different to Johan. If the elves were gone, it was highly likely that elves would be trapped there.
โAnyway, it would be fortunate if the Count rescued them. Weโll be able to chase the basilisk without any disturbances.โ
โCount Puakonyu, Your Excellency, may I help you for a moment?โ
At Laurenโs words, the other elf knights spoke up as well.
โMy friend. I must go wherever you go. Let us stand shoulder to shoulder and wield our swords together!โ
โTruly beautiful! If you act for the sake of honor, how could this old count stop you?โ
Before Johan could even speak, the elves ended the conversation themselves. Johan looked at them incredulously.
I havenโt even given permission yet. . .?
But before he could open his mouth, the situation began to change abruptly. Screams and thick smoke began to rise in the distance.
๐ธ๐ธ๐ธ๐ธ๐ธ๐ธ
โLet those running away be! I have no intention of seeing useless blood!โ
The dwarves shouted in coarse voices. Mercenaries gathered in small groups and fled in all directions. Starving, thirsty, and with smoke rising, they started running away.
โFoolish people. To not even be able to control your subordinates!โ
The young dwarves ridiculed them when they saw that spectacle. The nobles looked pathetic to them.
โThe situation seems to be much worse than I thought.โ
โWhy do you say that?โ
โThere is only one reason why they are not capturing and executing those running away. It might cause a rebellion in this situation.โ
The nobles were not completely oblivious. If they acted too violently in this tense situation, it could trigger riots.
โSend an envoy once more.โ
โShould we not just let them starve to death?โ
โFoolish talk. There is nothing good about creating bad ties with those outside the mountain range.โ
Unlike the hot-blooded young dwarves, the old dwarves were very experienced.
The mountain range was not invincible. From the past, countless warriors had led armies into this mountain range, and some of them were truly threatening enemies.
Aside from that danger, fighting with the outside was not good. The inside of the mountain range was barren and lacked many things, and the goods from the outside obtained through trade were significant. Also, were dwarf mercenaries not employed by feudal lords outside?
โBe honored, dwarves! His Excellency Count Yeats wishes to meet with you!โ
โ. . . . . .โ
โ. . . . . .โ
The dwarves were dumbfounded at the sight of the elf knights who appeared below them, riding horses.
While they kept some decorum, their words provoked the temperament of the dwarves. As the young dwarves tried to take out their crossbows, the old dwarves stopped them.
โCalm down. Save your crossbow bolts for later.โ
โThat damn elf isnโt even getting off his horse!โ
โGet off that horse right now!โ
Shouts flew among the dwarves, but the elf knight did not even pretend to listen.
โI came as a messenger and so will not get off my horse. I only dismount when received as a guest! Will you receive me as a guest?โ
โHey! Get him off that horse!โ
โEveryone, calm down. Count Yeats is a count whose household the Balpa clan owes.โ
โOh! Is that so?โ
โYes. Call the keeper of favors.โ
In the offices of Empire and Kingdom nobles, there were heralds who managed family banners and crests, organizing the banners and crests of other families.
The dwarves had something similar. Though instead of crests, they tended to record favors and grudges. The dwarf tasked with the office of keeper of favors, blessed with good memory, nodded his head and said,
โCaptain Mackald and Captain Volandrunt owe him their lives too.โ
โHmm. In that case. . .โ
โHe cannot be completely ignored.โ
Adding and subtracting these favors and grudges, the dwarves decided how to treat the other party.
โVery well! Prepare to receive them!โ
โHow long do you plan to keep me waiting!โ
โShut your mouth, elf! Be grateful we do not drag you off that horse!โ
โThese dwarves have no honor! Come out at once!โ
As the young dwarves quarreled with the elf knight, the old dwarf shook his head.
โQuiet everyone down.โ
๐ธ๐ธ๐ธ๐ธ๐ธ๐ธ
โWhy are you so anxious?โ
โUm. Itโs a bit awkward to say this now, but. . .โ
Suetlg spoke carefully.
โSending the elves as messengers may have been a mistake.โ
โIsnโt it better than sending the ones here?โ
If he had sent the knights Johan brought, or the dwarves Johan hired, it could have been misunderstood as a provocation. Sending neutral parties as messengers to convey intent was the priority.
โRight. The elvesโ unique customs and attitudes could anger the dwarves.โ
โThe knights would know that much. Besides, would they dare provoke while alone in enemy territory?โ
โWell, you have a point there. Oh. The dwarves are coming. Itโs fortunate that things seem to have worked out.โ
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