Edge of the Apocalypse

Chapter 420: Viscount Of Strength

At dusk, ripples of water rippled across Lake Portilli, and winds blew across the lake, causing circles of ripples from time to time. The glow of the setting sun was refracted, leaving behind a string of resplendent gemstones. In the middle of this beautiful and quiet lake, there was a majestic and magnificent castle that was like a fairy tale. The outer perimeter of the castle was a high defensive wall, and the buildings inside were towering circular towers, spire towers, watchtowers, shooting castles, and so on. As for the main building, there were vaulted buildings of various shapes, pillars carved with complicated patterns, balconies extending in different directions, and dome pavilions climbing green vines, and so on.

Connecting the castle to the lake was a road that had been built. The road can accommodate three carriages running side by side, and the road is spacious and clean. It led straight to the gate of the castle and, to a certain extent, restricted the direction of the enemy's attack. Now, carriages were driving along the lake road into the castle, and after passing through layers of defensive structures, they arrived at a fountain plaza paved with pebbles.

Everyone who got out of the carriage wore luxurious and decent clothes, and even their hair was carefully decorated. As for the emblems on the costumes that indicated their identities, it meant that most of these people were barons.

It was a rare sight for five or six knights to gather, especially when they were gathered in the castle. On the tallest bell tower of the castle, on the flag that was blown by the wind, the last ray of sunset light quietly slid down the unicorn on the flag that carried boundless majesty, and finally jumped into the night.

In an empty room in the castle, dim yellow lights lit up all around the walls. However, the brightness of those lights did not seem to be enough. Thus, a candlestick in the middle of the hall dome lit candles the size of a child's arm. The candlelight made up for the lack of light and illuminated the hall, especially the meeting table below.

On both sides of the rectangular discussion table, the bronze velvet cushioned chairs were already filled with people. After the barons met, they exchanged greetings, and each of them appeared polite and courteous. However, two of these people had gloomy expressions on their faces.

At this moment, the door of the hall was pushed open and someone strode in. When he came in, all the knights shut their mouths to show their respect.

"Good evening, gentlemen." The man was wearing a white shirt and a lace scarf. There was a pair of black riding boots on a pair of linen-colored horse trousers. Sweat was still on his forehead, and it looked like he had just returned from riding a horse.

A servant brought over a bronze basin filled with light water. The man washed his hands and face with water and took a clean towel to wipe them before sitting in the middle of the table. He is near middle age, but he looks very young. Her appearance was delicate and beautiful, and her temperament looked very gentle. His well-groomed beard gave him some dignity, and his pair of divine eyes made him stand out amongst a group of barons.

He was the owner of the castle, Viscount Daniel. Although these barons were called friends, they were actually under Viscount Daniel's command. In the aristocratic class of the empire, the title of strength was given before the title. Usually, it meant that the knight's overall strength had already reached the requirements for promotion, but due to lack of military merit or other reasons, he was temporarily unable to advance. Thus, the word strength would be added before the title to show the difference. This special title was just like what it literally meant. Such a noble was usually very powerful, much stronger than a noble of the same rank.

Just like Viscount Daniel, his Unicorn Legion had a regular formation of more than three thousand men. Including cannon fodder, logistics and other related personnel, the number of troops would be up to five thousand. With such an army, Daniel naturally had the right to add the word strength to his title. Moreover, his own Origin Energy was not bad, and his level 24 strength was close to reaching the Earl's threshold. It was precisely because of this that the barons around his territory chose to submit to him.

Viscount Daniel sat down, swept his eyes over the knights, and smiled, "It looks like you guys are a little depressed. Didn't you just lose a battle? My unicorn has lost a squadron of knights, and I don't have to be as worried as you are. Win back where you lose, what do you think?"

A knight embroidered with bauhinias and snakes snorted, "Sir Daniel, this is not a simple defeat. Sir Biya and I received a letter from Storm City. In the letter, the lord in charge of Storm City asked us to pay the ransom before he was willing to release our two commanders."

"And what?" The viscount sat up slightly and asked.

"He also asked us to compensate him for this matter. The war reparation he listed is simply an astronomical figure!" The baron slammed the table and said, "This is outrageous. Isn't it too arrogant to win just one match?"

Daniel revealed a surprised expression before smiling, "Looks like there's an interesting guy on the other side of the border. What's his name again?"

"His name is Ellen, my lord."

"Ellen? If there's a chance, I really want to see him." Daniel changed his comfortable posture and said, "Looks like you've kicked the iron plate this time. How about this." The ransom of the two commanders still had to be paid. After all, soldiers could be recruited, but there were people who could lead troops in battle. As for war reparations, I will personally give him a formal written warning. If he still wants compensation, I'll give him a war. "

"A real war!" Daniel said with a smile.

Alan suddenly sneezed.

Father Miro looked at him strangely, "You have a cold?"

He shook his head and said, "Go on, where were we just talking about?"

"Everything is ready. The renovation of the temple has been completed. We have our own church. All we need now is to find a time to officially raise the banner. Through this period of development, we have the first batch of believers, including some officials. I will be able to recruit more believers when the church officially opens." When it came to excitement, the priest almost danced.

Looking at his baton-like appearance, Alan found it hard to imagine what Father Miro, the first Pope, would look like if Christianity grew stronger on this planet. He suppressed his laughter and nodded, "I've already invited Roger to Storm City. I'm expected to sail to the heart of the empire next month. So the church has to be open before I leave. Choose next Monday. You have time to prepare well."

"It's settled like this." Father Miro agreed.

Then looking at Alan, Miro tried to ask, "So, do you want to talk about your father today?"

"Ah?" Alan raised his head, but the priest shook his head in surprise. "No, there's still a lot of work to be done. Let's talk about that man later. I'm going back, and I have some documents to read."

He stood up and left.

Father Miro looked at his figure disappearing into the night and said after a moment, "This little fellow seems to have grown up."

An army visited Storm City this weekend. That was the army of the Black Iron Fort. Haggers brought ten Black Cloud Knights and a hundred infantry to Storm City. Legg took the army to the barracks to rest and recuperate, while Allen served Hagrid himself.

"What a rare guest, Commander Haggers. Last time, I thought it would be a long time before I saw you again."

In the study of the City Lord's Mansion, Alan and Hagrid sat on the sofa. Haggers smiled and said, "Ever since I last had a long talk with Lord Allen, I've often wanted to see you again. Until recently, when I heard that Storm City was under siege, I couldn't help but rush over to see if there was anything I could do to help."

"Thank you for your concern. How's the Black Iron Castle recently?"

"It's still the same, but Sir Sharon is unwilling to be lonely. He will try to go inland in the next year or two." josei

"Sir Sharon is ambitious," Alan nodded. "Naturally, he would not bow down to a small frontier."

"Yes, what about Lord Allen?" '"I saw your workshop when I entered the city. How long has it been since then? Lord Allen's efficiency is truly unspeakable. I'm glad Sir Sharon listened to my advice and did not make an enemy of you. Otherwise, we would probably have had quite a headache."

Alan smiled faintly. "The resources of the Border Land are limited. The two of us are fighting over each other. In the end, in the eyes of the true nobles of the empire, we are nothing more than dog bones. I'm glad that Black Iron Castle is not an enemy. That way, we can save time for war and use it to develop our own business."

"Looks like Lord Allen is also preparing to leave the border area."

"I have this plan."

The two of them probed each other again, and after getting the information they wanted, Allen sent someone to bring Haggers down to rest and invited him to attend the church opening ceremony tomorrow. Hagrid readily agreed without asking what a church was. In his mind, it should be something similar to the Divine Hall.

After Hagrid left, Belmore knocked on the door and handed Alan a note. The note was sent from the border station. The information on it showed that the people from Black Iron Castle had already arrived at the border five days ago, and the people who had come were not just the slightest bit of people that Haggers had brought. However, after hearing that Storm City's predicament had been resolved, Black Iron Fort's troops withdrew from the border. In the end, only Haggers brought over a hundred people to visit.

Alan smiled and crushed the note into powder. Black Iron Castle was naturally not the kind of loyal ally who would interfere in each other's affairs. If Storm City had fallen that day, Ellen was sure that Black Iron Castle would not have come to rescue them, and would only take advantage of this opportunity to take a piece of the pie. This was expected, but this information made Allen decide to change the procedure for the church opening tomorrow.