Temple Sword

Chapter 110 Lakfee

1321, St. George's Month (April)
Timisoara, Hungary
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A warm drizzle drenched the street, and a broad-shouldered man watched sullenly at the returning cavalry, listening to the metallic sound of raindrops on the brim of his hat.

His name was Esteban Lakfi, and he was a captain of the Sekay infantry standard in the king's army.Rainwater trickled down his drooping beard and onto the chest of his robe, soaking the fabric.

The riders rushed through the gates under the raised portcullis, galloped across the outer court, and disappeared into the inner ring of the castle.

"They're back," Istvan Lakfi whispered to his companions, who were cooking a pot of cabbage in the open where the troops were encamped. "Who was that guy with them?"

"Why do you care about that?" asked one of them, more worried about rain seeping into the delicious cabbage, or dousing the fire under the cauldron. "Bornemisza will tell us, won't he?"

"Of course, the premise is that we have to feed him enough wine." Another person said with a smile, but Lakfei was not in the mood for a joke.

"He must be the new commander," he snorted, moving his beard with his mouth as he spoke, spraying water in both directions. "We didn't get a promotion, and again... I don't know if it's an Italian or a Frankish knight this time, telling us when we can fart and when we can't!"

Esteban Lakfi was a full head shorter than the others, but they were no match for him in terms of strength.God gave him such broad shoulders and chest but failed to give him the corresponding height, and his comrades often laughed at him, saying that it was easier to jump over him than around him.But they were always very careful not to let Lakfey catch them, because every finger was the size of a smoked sausage, and it was hard to beat him up.

Companions likened it to a pepper, small but very strong in flavor.His speech is also as spicy as pepper, and the chatter is like a numb feeling that cannot be dissipated in the mouth.But for these people, Istvan Lakfi is the perfect captain, he is strong enough to deflect arrows, and when he is in trouble, they are willing to protect him with their lives.It's just that his violent bison character is often unbearable...

"Please, Istvan," said the soldier standing by the cauldron, tired of the captain's complaints all day, "where do we have so many foreigners as commanders? Is Tomas Szechenyi Italian?" ? Or is Dorsa Debrecen a Frank? If you haven't been promoted, I'm afraid you'll turn us into Wallachians."

"What do you mean?" The captain's eyes glowed in the shadow of the brim of his hat. "Are you only concerned about your stomach, Alexander?"

"At the moment, I'm mainly concerned about my stomach," the Sekai soldier grinned at him, "If you're really feeling so uncomfortable, then don't spoil the aroma of this cabbage here, go to the castle and see if you can How many Italian commanders have been found!"

"The Drugeth's are Italians." Lakfey complained, and then he really left the soldiers.

Alexander was right, Captain Lakfee was very angry, and he was not promoted to commander.Though he has proven himself many times over the years, a royal servant who can lead well a hundred foot soldiers under him.After every battle and siege he waited for a reward, but somehow his name was never among those promoted.

He was promoted from an ordinary servant to the royal family, granted a more noble status, created a better future for his descendants, and swore to make his family great.Lakfee dreams of becoming a commander, or even a great lord!But despite his valor, the king did not favor him.

In the drizzle, the cavalry galloped away.Instead of waiting for the skinny-faced Janos Bornemisza to reveal it to them, Lakfee decided to go see for himself what the newcomers really looked like.

He had to run through the ropes of many tents, as if escaping from a giant spider's web.During the preparations for the war, so many people came to Timisoara that there was not room for everyone in the castle.Hungarian hoplites, Sekej hussars, Saxon spearmen and lightly armed lawmen, Charles Anjou's army was soldiers from all over the kingdom.

Lakfei walked all the way to the stables, leaned against the opposite wall, and looked at the riders there.Most of them handed the reins to the groom, and soon disappeared into the belly of the castle.Then a few burly soldiers dismounted, tied the horses themselves, whispered a few friendly words to the animals, and then disappeared.The two strangers stayed there the longest, inspecting the horseshoes and rations themselves, and leaving in a leisurely and in no hurry.

"Go to hell!" Lakfee muttered, spitting on the ground. "We've worked so hard for years, paying taxes with our own blood, and what we get in return are these scumbags that shit on my head!"

The two unloaded their bags from the saddlebags, their weapons all wrapped in hides, and set out to find their lodgings without the aid of servants.

Lakfee stayed in the rain, letting him boil in his own sour juice.He expected the two men to have silk handkerchiefs on their buttocks so that he could walk up to them and stamp his feet and sneer.

But they took care of their own horses, carried them around with their own hands, and suddenly he couldn't think of any witty words to question their style of life and their manliness.He watched their backs for a long time, then heeded the growling of his stomach and turned back to his tented camp, hoping the cabbages were ready.

At the same time, the clouds are getting darker and the rain is getting colder, and the drizzle turns into heavy rain.Lakfe thought that when he met these young people on the battlefield, he would naturally know what kind of goods they were, and then everyone would see that he, a strong bull from Transylvania, , is no worse than these people, and his ability is far more than leading a hundred infantry.

---

The living rooms of Antal and Simon are located on the top floor of the northern wing of the castle.A spacious room is much larger than a simple bedroom.In one corner was a tub, and in another a great green brick oven, which was already pouring steam when the knight and his squire crossed the oaken threshold.

The small windows are high up, and the only way to look out is to stand on a chair.Along the wall under the window were heavy boxes, a table and two armchairs.In the middle of the room was a high dining table, and opposite the fireplace and bath was a four-poster bed.This is the sleeping place for the knight, and Simon's bed is not far away in a wooden room with curtains, with a simple straw mat on the cold stone.

"Well, we're here." Antal sighed, "It's really different from home..."

Simon stood quietly at the door.He had sworn not to speak a word until the Knights Templar had been cleared of their wrongs and Grand Master Jacques de Molay was free.Then the grand master was burned at the stake, and the once powerful knight order was turned into ashes.

But even when his vow was turned to ashes and Dubica's mob nearly beat him to death, he didn't break it.After many years of silence, he spoke again as an attendant of Antal, but at that time he felt that he didn't like talking anymore, so he always chose to remain silent most of the time.

Antal didn't know anything about this oath, but he was used to this fact during the years they spent together, so he didn't force it.This time, he was also the one doing most of the talking.

"Put your things in any of the boxes," he said to Simon. "Pick any one."

They quietly unpack and lay out their new home, keeping everything within easy reach and not having to spend too much time packing if they set off for a campaign in the Highlands.

When everything was arranged, the sky outside was thundering, and a spring storm swept through Timisoara, causing trouble for the troops living in the tent camp, and maybe someone's cabbage was ruined Well, who knows.

Inside the ocher stone walls of the castle, the windows are shut, the fires blaze, and only the pounding of thunderstorms can be heard.Antal took off his hooded performance cloak, kicked off his boots, and lay down on the big bed.He moaned contentedly and moved his limbs. He was in the saddle from morning to night and slept on the ground at night these days, and now he wanted to rest.

"It's impossible to have training today," Antal said after another thunderclap in the sky, "I'll sleep for a while, and you can do whatever you want. You can take a shower and wake up before dinner I."

Simon nodded, and decided to take a look around the castle to get acquainted with this new place.He had never been to Timisoara and wanted to see the king's palace.

After repelling the siege of Buda by Mate Chak in 1311, Charles and his entire court moved here.Everyone thought it was a stopgap measure at the time, but after a full decade, Charles rebuilt the old fortress into a magnificent imperial city.

Simon intended to explore the castle thoroughly, and he had nothing better to do in the storm.By the time he spread the wet clothes on the chairs, put on the dry shirt and tunic, and added fresh wood to the brick oven, Antar was asleep and snoring.

Simon walked into the cold corridor, and the whole castle was shaken by a blood-curdling scream.

　①Banderium is a form of military organization created by Charles Anjou.In the aristocratic army, the soldiers who fight with the banner are a banner team, which is a military unit organized by high-income feudal lords and the highest church dignitaries and fights under their banner, and the army sent by the nobles with less income Can fight under the flags of the counties, Lakfey belongs to one of the flag teams of Sekai
　　②Military servants (várjobbágy), one of the Hungarian class and military units, they work in the castle manor and serve the lord/governor in the form of military service.Like the ecclesiastical militia on ecclesiastical estates, and the royal servants who live on the county estates and have their own small estates, who fight under the king's banner, forming a class similar to them, but with higher laws status
　　
　
(End of this chapter)