Astartes of the Bear School

Chapter 1181 1163. Contradictory Emotional Intelligence

The knight who looked so arrogant in front of the mercenaries became very obedient in front of Nenneke, the chief priest of Meliteli who delivered him.

"I don't want to do that, Mammy."

A tall and strong man in armor was bending over and speaking in a low voice.

"But now those Knights of the White Rose are too conspicuous in front of the Duke! He thinks of them in everything!"

"When we heard about the problems in the Pontar Valley, we local knights wanted to follow the Duke, but he only brought the Knight of the White Rose. He didn't even give us a chance to show our faces."

"Show your face?" Nenneke looked at him seriously, causing him to scare his body so much that his armor parts rustled. "Do you think this will make you famous and gain fame?"

"Isn't it because of your current condition that Seaward doesn't take you with him?"

As he spoke, the chief priest looked towards the other person's body, and saw that although the leather straps had been loosened to the maximum at the joints of the armor, there was still some fat wrapped under the silk shirt squeezing out from the gaps in the armor.

Nenneke said seriously, “This is a life-threatening matter! Can you please sober up? Just think of this as your mother’s!”

The knight nodded, turned around and continued to command a group of mercenaries and warriors, but his face still showed a nonchalant look and he was still muttering.

"It's fatal. It's just a monster I've never seen before?"

"Whether it's a monster or not is still unclear. It could be the Scoia'tael from the mountains. They come and go like the wind, and maybe they brought a wizard with them, and killed all the villages in the mountains."

"With such a large group of people coming together, even if they don't scare them away, they will be killed alive. What's the danger?"

At this moment, the sound of horse hooves was heard from the temple complex.

A team of knights in distinctive armor and moving in unison approached under the sudden serious gaze of Knight Samaresh.

The other mercenaries who had already mounted their horses and packed their packages also looked over there.

Although Samaresh had been a local knight of Elland for a long time, he had at least received an orthodox knight education.

One glance tells you how unusual this small group of knights is.

This kind of coordination and orderliness during riding are not even possible for the core team in White Rose!
There was no flag, and the leader was a 'giant' who was taller than one could imagine and wore a hooded cloak.

If it were any other scene, Samaresh's first thought upon seeing this 'giant' would probably be the newly popular magic cloak.

But being guarded by such a group of knights, even though there is no flag, this couldn't be...

A legendary figure and story flashed through his mind. Although he had some doubts about the credibility of the story, the protagonist's reputation and status were there anyway.

If he were in person, he would at least bow politely.

But Nenneke didn't give him the chance to find out.

The chief priest of the temple, Lan En, came forward and greeted the other party in the name of "knight coming to support".

He didn't say anything extra. As Shiward was currently short of men and combat power, there was no reason for him to refuse the knight who was in charge of mobilizing men.

But before leaving, Nenneke pulled Lan to the side, pulled him down and looked at him carefully.

"Remember what I told you before, kid."

The fat grandmother patted Lan En's arm hard, as if she wanted to use this force to help him remember.

"Don't be disturbed by those who take it lightly, that thing is not simple!"

Lan En nodded: "Thank you for your care, I will always be careful."

“Well, go ahead.” Nenneke also smiled after hearing this. “I don’t see any bad omens in you. You’re much better than that unlucky Geralt. Haha, I quite like you.”

With the blessing of the chief priest of Meliteli, Lan En rubbed the ring on his finger and summoned the Qilin that had spent the night outside.

At this point, Samaresh had actually completely confirmed his identity, but since he had already behaved like this, it was equivalent to making his position clear and he did not want to make it public.

Anyone with a bit of common sense should have understood, so he was tactful and didn't shout about it.

The mercenaries, who had been noisy for a long time, barely formed a team under the knight's urging. There was no doubt that Sakia was the most beautiful rose among them all.

Even Samaresh repeatedly rode past her on horseback, trying to create some 'accidental' physical contact.

A group of people rode non-stop under the urging, greeted Nenneke who provided them with hospitality and rest, and immediately rushed to the northeast of Elland.

That is where this land meets the Pontar River and the Mahakam Mountains.

During this time, Samaresh maintained a considerable but unquestionable respect for Lan and the Embers Knights, which made Lan feel that this long-abandoned local knight was at least quite outstanding in terms of emotional intelligence.

On the other hand, this knight did not use all of his emotional intelligence on Lan and Embers Knight.

He often patrolled the mercenary team, nominally under the orders of Prince Heward, to rush them to the rendezvous point.

But he always revealed, intentionally or unintentionally, when passing by Sachia that he had just divorced and that although he had a daughter, she was very obedient.

If she was a woman who yearned for an aristocratic life with fine clothes and delicious food, she would probably know exactly what he meant by now.

Even the mercenaries around knew about it, but they didn't say anything. Some people tilted their heads and spat on the ground, muttering, "Who knows if they are really divorced or ready to divorce at any time."

But for Sachia
"I sympathize with your plight, Knight Samaresh."

The female warrior on horseback looked like she was on a trip. She looked around at the surrounding scenery with interest, and spoke seriously to the knight who was approaching her.

"But people who once loved each other eventually drifted apart. This is also a fact that needs to be accepted. At least your wife left you a well-behaved daughter, right? You should take good care of her."

The knight with peacock tail feathers on his helmet was stunned.

If it was a tactful rejection or a perfunctory refusal, he wouldn't even feel frustrated.

After all, it takes effort to get into a good woman's bed.

But when he saw Sachia's eyes as she spoke - sincere, clear, and compassionate.

This woman seemed to be talking to him seriously!

Doesn't she understand what I mean?

Is there something wrong with this person's comprehension ability?

"Pfft~" A soft laugh that suddenly stopped and was held back came from the back of the team.

Samaresh turned his head and saw that the one who was stifling laughter was the tall figure leading the Embers Knights.

So he shuddered, pursed his lips, lowered his head and stopped talking.

But he was just being a little too sensitive.

Lan En had no intention of stopping him, because he knew that a woman like Sachia, who had ideals and abilities, would not set the goal of simply becoming a noble lady.

He was just laughing. In many aspects, Sakia's thought depth was indeed beyond the reach of ordinary warriors, mercenaries, or even nobles.

But at the same time, she does seem to lack perception in certain areas, that is, low emotional intelligence.

This complex of contradictions made Lan En even more interested in her identity.

But these are minor details. The most important thing now is to solve the problems in the Pontar Valley.

If the situation here collapses, the economy of the North will almost collapse as well.

From a public perspective, how can the four northern countries with collapsed economies compete with Nilfgaard?
Personally speaking, 80% to 90% of his current wealth is built in the Northern Kingdom!

The remaining 10% to 20% is the share of Valyrian steel exported overseas.

Although this steel has excellent properties, it is still considered a 'new material' in this vast and poorly communicated world.

Maybe those powerful buyers in other continents have not even heard of this product, let alone sent ships to buy it.

They galloped all the way, and although the formation was in a mess, they had a smooth journey in the end because of the local knights leading the way.

This group of scattered mercenaries actually arrived at the ferry crossing of the Pontar River at noon.

The next step is to transfer to an inland river boat and head towards the river valley, which will be much faster than traveling by land along the river.

According to Samaresh, we can basically reach the temporary base where Duke Shiward is located before dinner if there are no obstructions along the way.

The local knight retired with his mission accomplished when he reached the ferry.

His task was not so much to transfer these summoned mercenaries to Duke Shiward's side, but more like to serve as a safety net for the mercenaries.

To prevent some of them from running away for a small deposit and a horse.

These days, whenever it comes to business, it is always necessary to make some preparations.

Once on the boat, these people couldn't escape.

The river boat was similar to the one Lan En had taken before, with a wide platform that was large enough for many people and their cargo to squeeze on.

After all, few passengers on this kind of boat stay for the entire journey, most of them only sit for one or two stops.

River transport companies increase their profits by squeezing more cargo into smaller pieces in a short period of time.

More than ten horses of the mercenaries and ten war horses of the Embers Knights were surrounded in the center of the deck, and outside were everyone's equipment and baggage to prevent the horses from running out and falling into the water.

We have not yet entered the Pontar Valley, so the banks of the Pontar River are still plains. Farmers are busy in the fertile fields, and windmills and scarecrows stand quietly.

But if you look far along the river, you can see that the terrain on both sides gradually begins to rise and undulate, trapping the river in the middle.

Because the flow rate remains unchanged but the riverbed area gradually narrows, the farther you go, the faster the river flows.

So much so that gradually there was a thunderous sound.

(End of this chapter)