The wizard starts by trimming the donkey's hooves

Chapter 271 Defense (two chapters in one)

The distance from Shanjin Town to Habsburg Manor is not far. After ten minutes or so, the team approached the gate of the manor.

At this moment, the four guards standing at the gate of the manor were very nervous when they saw the large group of people coming. They immediately sent someone inside to report, while the others were concentrating on being on alert.

However, the guards were relieved when they saw the Habsburg family's Kaliri bird emblem on the carriage.

One of our own!
As Ryan and his companions got off the car, the guards looked at each other with surprise and said, "It's the head maid Xia Diya!"

"Oh my God! Miss Claire! Miss Claire is back too!" Several guards shouted in surprise.

But Ryan's changes were so great that the guards felt both familiar and strange, and for a moment they were a little reluctant to recognize him.

Soon, a familiar figure walked out of the manor quickly. It was Lloyd, the butler of Habsburg Manor.

Knight Lloyd was surprised to see Claire and said, "Ms. Claire, you're back!"

"Long time no see, Knight Lloyd." Claire said with a smile.

When Lloyd saw the tall, silver-armored knight standing next to Claire, his eyes widened and he said in surprise:
"You you are Ryan?!"

Before, Ryan was only about 1.8 meters tall, half a head shorter than him, but now, the young man in front of him needed him to look up. Not only was he sturdy, but he was also at least two meters tall.

It's just like blowing up a balloon!
"Knight Lloyd, long time no see."

Seeing a familiar person finally made Ryan feel a little better. He smiled and greeted him.

"Knight Lloyd, Ryan is now Baron Ryan, and will be promoted to Viscount soon!" said the head maid Shatia with a smile.

"What!" This shocked Lloyd!

The guards around were whispering:

"It's Ryan! No matter how you look at him, he looks like a different person. Ryan was originally thinner than me, but now he's so tall!" A guard on the side gestured and said.

"I didn't expect that there would be a big shot in our Shining Gold Town!"

"Viscount of the Empire!"

"That's amazing. Maybe we can avenge our Shining Gold Town."

"Difficult! The cult is too powerful. But with Ryan's rate of improvement, if we wait a few more years, maybe we can succeed."

"Ms. Claire, Viscount Cerill, Baron Ryan, shall we go into the manor and talk?"

Claire glanced at Ryan and said, "Knight Lloyd, no, we plan to rush to the county town immediately."

"That's right! As for the Earl..." Lloyd thought of something, his face suddenly realized, and he did not continue to invite.

"Then I will accompany you, young lady."

Claire's luxurious carriage was very spacious. With Knight Lloyd getting in, there were just four of them, so it didn't seem crowded.

"Okay, by the way, isn't Mr. Perez here?"

"Perez has been transferred to strengthen the defense of the county town."

Soon, the convoy arrived at the county town of Meister.

As the convoy entered the city, Ryan looked out the window at the familiar streets outside.

I saw pedestrians on the street, all of them were in a hurry, and most of them had sad or serious expressions.

The number of vendors setting up stalls on both sides of the street is much less than in the past. In addition, it is not like before that you can often see children playing and fighting on the streets.

The atmosphere of the entire county town seems very depressing.

Suddenly, Ryan saw a middle-aged man with a flushed face rushing out of the alley in the distance, dancing and shouting.

Although the other party was some distance away from the convoy, Ryan's keen hearing enabled him to clearly hear what the other party was shouting.

".Believe in the great God of Hunting, and you will be protected. The Black Flame of Destruction will destroy those of you who believe in heresy!"

Soon, the man was pinned to the ground by the security guards.

Soon after, several guards from the Temple of the Goddess Church took the man from the security guards and quickly took him away.

"Knight Lloyd, does this happen often?" Claire said thoughtfully.

"Yes, Miss Claire, since the attack, people who are mentally ill or talking nonsense after drinking have appeared frequently."

The faces of the people in the car suddenly became solemn.

Ryan knew that although this man was quickly subdued, the panic he caused to the people was not eliminated so quickly.

The impact of the other party's remarks is more far-reaching than imagined.

Even though he was in the carriage at the moment, he could still hear many people on the street talking about this scene:
"How many times has this happened today?"

"The sixth? Or the seventh?"

"Hey, have you heard? Not many people survived in Goldshire."

"I heard about it! And the town of Monem is also almost extinct."

"Alas, the Empire probably can't do anything about the small town next door. I heard that Count Habsburg was seriously injured."

"You said, if this hunting god can really protect us, then we..." Suddenly, the speaker's mouth was covered!
"How can you say such things casually?" The person next to him looked around nervously.

Obviously, the situation in the entire Meister has not been effectively controlled and is still turbulent.

And the panic is still spreading.

The county town of Meister.

Inside Earl Habsburg's mansion.

Ryan met Count Habsburg twice in total, but both times were in the study, and his status was that of a subordinate meeting the emperor.

But this time is different.

For the first time, Ryan followed Claire to the bedroom of the governor of Mayest County.

As soon as he entered the room, Ryan smelled the pungent smell of medicine. There were several doctors in white clothes busying around, as well as Bishop Theon, an old acquaintance of Ryan.

His face was serious, but when he saw Ryan, he forced a smile and nodded.

"Father!"

Claire couldn't help but exclaimed, and then she ran over quickly.

Ryan's gaze followed Claire's figure and looked at the hunchbacked old man lying on the bedside. He was greatly shocked!

this.
He had met Lord Habsburg twice before.

He was an elder with meticulously combed hair, a full forehead, and a deep and rich aura. His hair was just a little gray, but his spirit was brilliant.

But at this moment, the old man lying on the bed had a haggard face, age spots, and almost completely white hair. It would not be an exaggeration to say that he was an octogenarian!

"Claire, didn't I tell you not to come back? You never listen to me." Upon hearing the familiar voice, Count Habsburg's originally dim eyes suddenly brightened, and he immediately revealed a happy and relieved smile.

"Father, I have to come back!" Claire, who was always calm and composed, now had tears in her eyes.

This is the first time in Ryan's memory!
Seeing the situation between Claire and her father, Ryan felt uncomfortable.

At this time, Bishop Xien came over and said to him softly: "Ryan, let's go outside and leave this place to them."

"Yes, Bishop Theon."

"You guys go out too." Count Habsburg turned his head to look at several doctors and said.

"As you wish, Lord Earl." Several doctors quickly left the room.

Claire knew that her father had something to say to her, so she sat down beside the bed and listened carefully.

"Claire, I knew you would come back. I have prepared something for you, a special giant beast essence potion tailored for you. It is in the family secret room."

"You are the one with the highest concentration of family blood. Once you become a great knight, your strength will be greatly improved."

"Moreover, you are likely to activate the family's bloodline talent, so this matter cannot be delayed, you must take it as soon as possible!"

"It is far from enough for a peak knight to deal with the current situation in Mayest County. If you can become a great knight, I will feel more at ease."

Listening to her father's earnest exhortations, Claire held back her tears and nodded vigorously.

"Don't cry, I'm not going to die yet! If I live another two or three years, it shouldn't be a problem for me to see you get married."

"By the way, Claire, I have decided to let you succeed me as the patriarch of the Habsburg family and the first in line to the throne."

"Don't even consider the heirs of the great nobles in the imperial capital. Just find a young man you like and let him marry into your family."

Hearing this, Claire's face turned slightly red, and her mood gradually improved.

"Father, I won't consider marriage for now. Let's get over this difficulty first."

Somehow, when it comes to "marriage" and "marrying into a woman's family", the image of Ryan in battle suddenly emerges in Claire's mind.

But the problem is that it only took Ryan more than half a year for his strength to reach its current level.

Is it possible to marry into the wife's family?

Claire's emotions were a bit complicated for a moment.

In the corridor outside the room.

"Bishop Xien, long time no see."

"Yes! Long time no see, Ryan. I feel that your aura has become stronger. It seems that your strength has increased again." Bishop Theon looked surprised and looked Ryan up and down.

"Bishop Theon, I need to trouble you with something." Ryan suddenly remembered something.

Ryan took out the gold conch medal from his arms and handed it to Bishop Theon.

"I have already used up the magic spell 'Exorcism' in the Conch Medal. I may need to trouble you to bless it again when the time comes."

"Of course it's no problem, but I need to return to the temple to bless you. How about this, I'll send someone to deliver it to you later."

"Okay, thank you Bishop Theon."

Half an hour later, in the study.

Ryan and Claire sat facing each other.

"Ryan, the family has prepared a special beast essence for me, and I want to take it right away in the family secret room."

"It will take about three days to break through. I'd like to entrust the safety of the mansion to you."

Ok?
Ryan was a little surprised when he heard the news.

Although he could sense that Claire, as a top knight, had laid a very solid foundation and was ready to challenge the great knight at any time.

But the attack during this period of time still surprised him a little.

But soon, Ryan thought of something, nodded, and said:
"Don't worry, Miss Claire. Leave the defense of the mansion to me. You can break through with peace of mind."

It is normal that it takes three days to break through and stabilize. Ryan has a system, so it is naturally impossible to generalize.

"Well, thank you! Come on, Ryan, I'll take you to announce this matter." Claire stood up and said.

"it is good!"

"Ryan, as for your appointment ceremony, the current situation is not suitable for holding a large banquet, so I want to talk about it later, is that okay?"

"Of course, you are my guardian knight now. You can freely read some permissions, such as the library within the family." Claire said as they walked.

"of course can."

The library?

That's not bad, Ryan thought to himself.

"By the way, Ryan, when I break through, we can spar again. I believe your Arcadia swordsmanship will improve even faster."

"Um, thank you." Ryan was stunned and said.

Count Habsburg's residence, training ground.

Most of the family knights and guards were concentrated here.

"This is Baron Ryan. Now the security and defense of the entire Earl's mansion will be taken over by Baron Ryan."

"Everyone must obey Baron Ryan's arrangements as they would obey me."

After Claire made her announcement, she headed to the secret room.

Ryan looked at the people in front of him and nodded slightly in his heart.

There are still a lot of guards at Earl Habsburg's residence.

In terms of strength, they are not weak either. They are all well-trained family knights and guards.

If it is used to defend against raids below the level of Grand Knight, it can be said that there is basically no problem.

However, once they encounter a senior great knight, or a joint attack by multiple great knights, the entire defense force will be insufficient.

This is the case when Ryan did not take the sorcerer into consideration.

Of course, the Goddess Church also arranged a number of formations in the Earl's mansion, but generally speaking, without the manipulation of senior church officials, most of these formations can only serve as a warning.

Moreover, we must also consider the possibility that there may be enemy collusion within the mansion.

If the insider causes some damage, then it would be a big question mark as to how effective these formations can be.

A fortress is always easier to breach from within.

When Ryan began to arrange the defense tasks, many guards in the Earl's mansion were quite surprised.

Because they found that the colleagues who went to greet Miss Claire seemed to have great trust in the young Baron Lei.

Basically, they do whatever the other party says and execute it meticulously.

This made many people feel confused.

"Hey, why are you so convinced by this young Baron Ryan?"

"Yeah, a baron isn't that much of a deal, right?"

"Do you really think we believed in Lord Ryan because of his title?"

"Don't you know how powerful Lord Ryan is? Didn't you see Viscount Seril over there executing Baron Ryan's orders?"

"Yes! How come this viscount is so obedient?"

The sharp-eared head maid Shatia naturally heard the guards' discussion and immediately interrupted:

"Don't question Lord Ryan's words or discount their implementation!"

"Also, let me correct one thing. Lord Ryan is not a baron. He is already a viscount, but the official appointment has not yet been made."

what?
It’s actually the Viscount?
He is already a viscount at such a young age?
Several guards looked horrified.

After some understanding, they realized how powerful this young Lord Ryan was.

In the study room.

Ryan was talking to a strange young man.

"Are you Ryan, the one who accepted the mission to protect Count Habsburg this time? I've heard of you. Your nickname is 'Meister Battering Ram'!" The young man in the robe smiled and said.

"Yes, are you?"

"I'm Stuart. Like you, I'm from the Munster Sword Bearer branch. I'm a member of the Hurricane Squad and I'm currently stationed at the Earl's Mansion."

"In fact, our main task is to ensure the safety of the transportation line from the fishing port town to the county town. Because the airship's transportation capacity is very limited, most of the support materials need to be transported by road."

"The Black Flame Cult is disrupting the transportation lines very strongly. Since you are here, I will return to my team."

Ren nodded.

He could understand this. After all, their mission was to protect the safety of the transportation routes, and considering the stability of the overall situation, they were stationed in Earl Habsburg's mansion.

Now that I'm here, it's normal for the other party to give way.

"By the way, Ryan, are you the only one here this time? Where are the other members of the team?" Stuart, who was about to turn around and leave, suddenly thought of something and asked in confusion.

"Uh, I'm the only one there at the moment."

Hearing Ryan's answer, Stuart couldn't help but look at Ryan in surprise and said:
"Then it will be very difficult for you to complete this mission. The Black Flame Cult has stepped up its activities in Meister and has several experts."

"If you are alone, I advise you to give up this mission as soon as possible and let another team with complete personnel take over."

"This will be safer for you, for us, and for the entire situation."

Ryan nodded. The other party meant well, so he didn't know what to say.

"I'll be careful, it shouldn't be a problem."

It is impossible to give up!
Don't forget that he also took on two other gold-level missions, both of which were more difficult than protecting Count Habsburg.

More importantly, the tragic situation in Shemgold Town and the turmoil in Mayest made him feel depressed and uncomfortable.

He needed someone to take his anger on.

The Black Flame Cult, the instigator, is naturally the best choice!

Seeing that Ryan didn't seem to listen, Stuart couldn't help but shook his head and left.

Not long after Stuart left, the guard came to report:
"Lord Ryan, there is a messenger from the Munster Sword Bearers branch asking to see you at the door. He said he has something important to report to you."

Ok?
Ryan raised his eyebrows and said, "Please come in!"

Soon, Ryan met the messenger from the Sword Bearer Branch in the study, a sturdy man wearing leather armor.

"Lord Ryan, please show me your emblem. The secret letter requires your emblem to open."

Ryan nodded and handed the golden emblem to the other party.

After the other party took it, he used the badge to gently stroke a letter that was emitting a faint witchcraft glow.

Suddenly, the witchcraft aura on the letter fluctuated for a moment, and then returned to calm again.

"This is a confidential letter. Also, Lord Ryan, the letter will spontaneously combust in five minutes, so please hurry and read it." The sturdy man explained.

"Ok!"

Ryan nodded, took the letter, opened it quickly, and read it at a glance.

Soon, he wrote down the content.

Ryan didn't expect that the strength of this "Blood Burner" Laxul was just as he had expected. He was very strong, and the mission level had now been adjusted to three and a half stars.

In addition, there was another piece of news in the letter that concerned him.

That is the special envoy of the Secret Snake Cult, who will arrive in Meister in the next two days to make contact with the Black Flame Cult.

In other words, it is very likely that if he were to take action in the near future, he would face two masters of the cult.

Of course, if the opponent is strong enough, Ryan may not even have to go looking for them, but the opponent will attack directly!

"Tell Excellencies Yumaz and Olena that I will continue to carry out this mission. Thank you for their concern."

"Okay, Master Ryan, Master Olena asked me to ask you if you have any other needs. She and Master Yumaz will try their best to coordinate for you."

"Hmm," Ryan looked thoughtful.

The thorny problem he faced now was that if he needed to defend the entire Earl Habsburg's mansion, he had too few available personnel.

Even if it was just for vigilance and defense, Earl Habsburg's mansion, which had experienced several attacks, did not have enough strong personnel to do this.

The two top knights on Viscount Selier's side were no match for the cult master.

Ryan couldn't help but think of the twin-tailed girl Veronica.

If Veronica was there, then with her expertise in birds, he could save a lot of energy, at least in terms of vigilance, and focus on fighting.

Now, he can only rely on the Bloodfeather Hippogryph and the Greyhound War Hound to ensure the vigilance and safety of the main building of the villa.

Ryan thought for a moment and said, "Can you talk to the two Excellencies and ask them to help me coordinate and get Veronica to come to my side? She is my teammate and is currently in Fishing Port Town."

"Okay, Lord Ryan, I've made note of this matter and I will report it to the two adults immediately. Do you have any other requests?"

"The second thing is to ask Lady Olena to help me ask Angus, Vieri and the other five people whether they are willing to come to Meister to carry out the mission."

He also knew that this matter might be difficult because the other party originally belonged to the army, and with the turmoil in the empire this time, it is very likely that they have a special mission.

But these people are new sword-wielders after all, so it would be relatively easier to mobilize them.

A big reason why Ryan values ​​the other party is that these people are from the imperial army and they obey orders.

Moreover, he had sparred with him several times before, and his character and strength were both good. If he could be transferred over, at least the defense part would be a lot easier for him.

As for Evelyn, he didn't consider her.

Because when he was in the Sword Bearer branch, he heard that the situation in Rossby County was not good. This time, Evelyn returned to Rossby County to carry out the mission.

"Okay, Lord Ryan, any more?"

"Nothing."
-
On the main road near the border of Nome Province with Münster Province.

A luxurious carriage was galloping on the road, with two men in black robes sitting facing each other inside.

Their black robes' collars and cuffs were all embroidered with Ouroboros symbols, and the most striking thing was the features on their faces. One of them had a metal ring-shaped Ouroboros embedded in his lips, which looked quite creepy!

The other man in black robe had an Ouroboros pattern in the shape of an "8" painted on his forehead.

(End of this chapter)