Knight with Wand

On the dark red flag, a black dragon with wings spread majestically among the intricate patterns.

This is the emblem of the royal family of Orland, the Drakmar family.

In this era, this flag is roughly equivalent to the national flag and emblem of the Northern Kingdom.

Walking past the fences and watchtowers, looking around the endless military tents, although it is impossible to know exactly how many troops are stationed in such a large military camp as large as a town.

But recalling what Selva saw at the beginning, the scale of hundreds of heavy cavalry consisting of knights and attendant cavalry around the Earl of the Stag, considering the approximate ratio of knights to infantry led by him, and referring to the troops owned by his own lord, Baron Elliver.

Just for this siege camp, the number of archers, cavalry and lancers will not be less than several thousand light and heavy armored soldiers.

And the number of craftsmen and civilians supporting this huge army must at least double. In the history books, such a scale can also be said to have tens of thousands of troops.

But this army is still far from reflecting the strength of the Northern Kingdom.

According to what I learned when I consulted the Barf Knight, this time Orland's southern expedition to put pressure on Kantadar, in addition to the small number of royal troops sent by His Majesty the King, only the Gray Fir Valley of the Kingdom was mobilized. The Northern Kingdom has no plan to go to war with Kantadar.

Leon retracted his gaze and made way for a whole line of heavy infantrymen with dense and heavy steps. I don't know if they are going to perform a mission or to change guards at the sentry point.

Looking at hundreds of elite warriors covered with heavy infantry armor and carrying long-handled heavy weapons, marching out of the military camp in a line, Leon was envious, but he knew very well that it was not what he should expect now.

These one hundred tall and strong professional warriors who are obviously out of work, even if they are paid according to the ordinary standard of military pay and food, they will probably cost several thousand gold crowns a year.

Not counting the luxurious heavy infantry armor, weapons, and more daily maintenance costs.

And I wonder how many civilians are needed to serve these one hundred precious heavy-armored soldiers. The money spent on these logistics is really amazing.

Of course, if you can really afford the huge annual expenditure, it is definitely worth it to train such a group of terrifying elite heavy infantry.

These elite warriors covered with heavy armor, as long as the leader is not a pig, can easily defeat light-armored soldiers who are more than ten times their own on the battlefield, and can also stand firm against the same number of heavy-armored knights.

And if the enemy does not even have decent armor, then thousands or even tens of thousands of mobs are just lambs to be slaughtered in front of them.

Of course, ordinary nobles certainly cannot afford such a luxurious army. Even if they can raise so much money, they will generally choose a more cost-effective way to build the army.

Leon guessed that only the great nobles or even the royal family of the level of the Earl of the Stag can afford their daily military expenses.

After walking for a while, Leon finally saw the flag of the thorn flower emblem. He came to the camp where the Farolis family troops were stationed. After reporting, he learned that the prince was still attending the general's meeting, so he had to follow the guards of the Thorn Flower family into the tent and wait.

Not long after, Leon soon saw Baron Elifer, who was wearing plate armor, coming back, but he looked a little gloomy, as if he was not in a good mood.

When the prince sat on the chair in the military tent, Leon held his helmet and saluted the other party.

"Thank you for taking time out of your busy military affairs to meet me, sir."

"It doesn't matter. Seeing you makes me happier than watching some idiots talking nonsense here every day." Elifer smiled bitterly and waved his hand.

Looking at the brave young man he had recruited more than a month ago, the baron put away the pent-up displeasure on his face during the military meeting, and said with emotion: "I heard from Azerien before that you guys actually went to the castle of the Falcon family in the Western Port and made a scene?

You guys are really restless. It seems that I should find someone to write a legendary story about your bold adventure."

Leon said helplessly: "You are too kind, sir. I believe you also know what happened. Lohak's sister is in danger. We can't just sit back and watch that lady."

"Of course, you did a great job. Such a righteous act is worthy of my knight of Farolis. If I were still as young as you, I might go on an adventure with you." Elliver praised while chatting and laughing.

After that, the baron asked his little vassal about his purpose: "But why are you here to find me at the front line now? Are you impatient to step onto the battlefield and make achievements?"

"As long as you call, I will respond immediately, but this time I come here to report a very important matter, which concerns the Thorn Flower Family, the current war, and possibly the entire Orland Kingdom." Leon answered carefully.

But he looked at the lord and did not speak immediately, because there were unfamiliar ears and eyes in the military tent.

"Concerning the entire kingdom? You dare to say that." Elifer raised his eyebrows, not knowing whether his little knight's words were too exaggerated, but considering the character shown by the other party, the baron temporarily called back the attendants on the left and right.

"Balf stays, and the others go down first."

"Yes, sir."

The attendants saluted and left the military tent.

When only the Lord, himself, and the Baron's trusted Knight Balf were left in the tent, Leon said, "Lord Elliver, the horrifying cursed land in the Nightmare Forest may have disappeared! Now from the south of Kosos, it seems that we can directly cross the forest and reach the territory of Kantardar!"

".What did you say?!" Even with Baron Elliver's temperament, he couldn't help but exclaim in surprise when he heard it.

Knight Balf on the side opened his eyes wide in astonishment, as if he had heard a fairy tale.

Baron Elliver quickly suppressed his surprise, sat forward, leaned forward on the chair, and frowned: "How is this possible?"

If it had not come from the mouth of the young man in front of him who had entered the Nightmare Forest and returned safely, Elliver would have asked someone to kick the guy who made such a joke out of the tent.

No one could understand better than him how dangerous the cursed land that swallowed up the obsession of generations of thorn flower ancestors was.

Leon nodded, and then told the story of his experience of escaping back to Orland after the adaptation.

". In order to get rid of the pursuers as soon as possible, I lost my way and accidentally entered the original Nightmare Forest area from the other side from the northern border of Kantadar."

Of course, in Leon's brief report this time, he still did not mention the wizard lady and the wizard tower hidden by Laura's magic.

He did not even say that he had entered the cursed land again.

He just lied that he was chased by the enemy, and he went north all the way, fighting his way through the undead monsters he encountered unexpectedly in the forest.

When he unknowingly passed through the woods and arrived at the village settlement in Kosos County, he asked for directions and "suddenly realized" that he had safely passed through the nightmare forest while lost.

This explanation was, of course, to avoid telling the other party about Miss Lola and the spirit-like field.

Leon had already suffered the pain of being too honest in the past, and now he has a relative understanding of geography, which can cover up the lie and avoid unnecessary trouble.

However, Leon did not hide the fortress town under the wizard tower.

Instead, he told the baron truthfully that during his escape, he found an uninhabited "mysterious" fortress town in a river valley in the forest.

It's not that he didn't want to monopolize the ancient town that could accommodate a thousand people.

But after repeated discussions with Azerien, Leon gave up this tempting idea.

Now that they have the power and resources, it is simply unrealistic to want to occupy the empty city.

Leon had neither the financial resources to develop the empty city nor the population to fill the town.

And such a fortress town with advanced and complete facilities, which could accommodate nearly a thousand residents inside and had a large amount of land for development outside, was attractive to any lord.

Now the cursed land has dissipated, which means that a large area almost equivalent to half of the county has appeared out of thin air in the area covered by the area, which is completely unowned land that does not belong to the North and South Kingdoms.

And around the cursed area in the past, whether it was the lord of Kantadar or the other Orland lords of Kosos County, when other wealthy nobles learned that the Nightmare Forest was no longer dangerous, they began to open up new territories and discovered the empty city, Leon knew that he could not protect the town from being snatched away by other greedy nobles alone.

So, instead of giving it to outsiders, it is better to take advantage of it now and tell the feudal lord the existence of the empty city in exchange for real rewards.

It is better to let the fat meat rot in the pot of one's own camp and let the Farolis family invest and build it than to be snatched away by irrelevant outsiders.

Moreover, with the information of the Nightmare Forest and an ancient castle town with advanced facilities, Leon was not afraid of not getting a generous reward given Baron Eliver's generous character.

As for the secret of the Mage Tower, this was the only concern.

However, thinking of the magical magic activated by Laura before leaving, Leon was not too worried that ordinary people could find out that there was a hidden Mage Tower in the city.

When Leon finally finished telling his story in detail.

Baron Eliver stood up from his chair, walked quickly to the boy, raised his hand and pressed his shoulder armor.

"Have you told anyone else about this? Who else knows that the curse in the forest has dissipated now?" The Lord of Thorn Flowers asked seriously.

"Now, except for me, Azerien, and Lohak, only you and Lord Balf know about this." Leon answered half-truthfully.

Corvis outside the door and Miss Laura in the Mage Tower also knew about it, so there was no need to tell Baron Eliver specifically.

"To be honest, I find it hard to believe what you said. It's not that I doubt your honesty, but this matter is serious. What is the truth? I must send someone to follow you back to the Nightmare Forest to find out." Elliver quickly calculated the arrangements in his mind and said to Leon in a deep voice.

He knew that if what Leon said was true, what would it mean to the surrounding areas after the Nightmare Forest was no longer a natural barrier across the southern part of Kossos County.

The Lord of Thorn Flowers could not hide his excitement as his heartbeat accelerated as he deduced a series of shocking influences and chain reactions in his mind.

If it is true, this is an opportunity. An opportunity for Faroris to rise!

"Whether your inference that the curse in the forest has dissipated is the actual situation, Leon, you did not go to find others, but told me the news as soon as possible." Elliver took a deep breath, patted the boy's shoulder armor, and sighed: "I will never treat you unfairly in the future."

The baron could feel that the other party was not naive and ignorant from the words of the boy in front of him emphasizing the importance of the mysterious uninhabited town.

The young man must have known the unimaginable value of this information, but the baron believed that the small manor he had given to the other party was not worth mentioning compared to this value.

The other party did not choose to bypass him and find Count Trosa to gain greater benefits, but instead offered this God-given opportunity to him. Elifer silently remembered the loyalty of the person in front of him.

He looked at the little knight who was canonized by him, and felt that he was a lucky general given to the Farolis family by the gods.

Baron Thorn Flower suddenly felt fortunate that he had acted quickly and accepted the three young men from General Trosa.

Otherwise, the Farolis family would not have this good thing now.

"It is you who allowed me and my companions to have the current noble status and settle down in Orland, where there is no one to rely on. How can I not repay your kindness?" Leon acted modestly and responded with righteous words.

This is indeed one of the main reasons.

As for the other reason. Leon did not dare to bet that he would go far away to find General Trosa. How would the Stag Count view his political speculation of abandoning the feudal lord and flattering a higher position.

As long as this information is spoken out, the influence of a little knight on the subsequent situation will be insignificant.

How Count Trosa will use this information later has nothing to do with him, a little pawn.

And if the Earl of the Stag hates such disloyalty, then he rashly took this information to betray his master and flatter his superiors, but did not get a worthy reward from General Trosa.

When this matter was known to Baron Elliver and other people from the Thorn Flower Family, his future fate can be imagined.

You know, regardless of the camp, on this continent, the feudal lords may not be particularly concerned about the morality or even ability of their knights.

But the word "loyalty" is the quality that these lords value most.

Loyalty is not absolute, it is absolutely disloyal!

Although Leon did not think he had some real loyalty to Elliver.

But some things are not about what you think in your heart, but about letting others see what you do.

"Balf, pick the most reliable cavalry squad among the guards and go back with Leon to investigate the Nightmare Forest." Elliver turned back and ordered.

Then he looked at the young knight: "Remember, Leon, from now on, don't mention anything about the Nightmare Forest to anyone, understand?"

Leon nodded silently. He could see that his feudal lord didn't seem to be in a hurry to inform the high-level officials of the Kingdom of Orland.

But that's not what a little knight like him should be in charge of now.

Now that he has presented a great gift to Elifer, Leon then told him about his more urgent reality crisis: "Sir, I still need your help. Now my territories and my companions are adjacent to the Nightmare Forest, but the young men of Longka and Pleydon are still serving in your fortress. What do you think?"

"Okay, I'll write a letter to Balf and give it to the commander of the fortress when I go back with you this time, asking him to let your people return home."

Elliver turned back to his chair, looked at Leon and smiled: "In addition, no matter what the forest is Really or not, I believe you didn't lie to me about the threats of those undead.

Let me give you 500 gold crowns to help you build your own army to protect the territory.

And if Balf investigates and proves that this information is true

Haha, to be honest, by then, I don't know how to reward you, but believe me, I won't let you regret your loyalty to Farolis. "

"Thank you, sir."

Hearing that he could not only take back the fortress to take away the troops, but also get a large bounty, Leon smiled in his heart.

It's comfortable to have a generous big boss behind you. Just give a little, and the financial crisis in the territory will disappear.

"Also, Leon, after you go back, take the time to send someone to the city to find the herald painters and craftsmen in my castle to make your heraldry flag as soon as possible."

Baron Elliver said, smiling and hinting to the young man in front of him: "Remember, make a few more square flags, you may need them soon"