The drizzle of rain fell from the sky, baptizing the chaotic earth and washing away the blood stains on the armor one by one. The knights raised their heads and let the rain soak into the armor as much as possible to cool down the hot bodies.
Then a faint heat rose above their armor.
The battle has come to an end, and the enemy's armor has been scattered by the knights. Most of them use old weapons, which can only bring out a few sparks when cutting on the fine armor. Only a few enemies have armor, but
They all have skilled knights to fight against, unable to shake the tide of the battle.
Earl Stuart slowly pulled the sword blade away from the enemy's body. His movements were extremely slow. As the sword blade left, a large amount of blood gushed out from under the broken body. He and
The knight fought for a long time. At the last moment, Earl Stuart seized the opportunity, knocked him unconscious with the hilt of his sword, and then sealed his throat with a sword.
He was already old, and he couldn't breathe after a while. He held the cross sword blade and raised his head slightly, enjoying the coolness falling from the sky.
"Ah...how many days is this?"
His eyes felt hot under the helmet. He turned around, and there were still embers of fire burning on the battlefield littered with corpses. Some knights fell forever, and some knights barely stood up.
The earl took off his helmet and scanned the ground with his tired eyes. He tried to cheer everyone up and raised the sword in his hand. The knights responded to him, but the sword withered and looked a little desolate.
It all started a few days ago. The fishermen here saw a large number of ships passing through the White Tide Strait and landing in Inverg. They were not fishermen, and they were wearing heavy armor.
This matter was quickly reported to the nearby lord, Earl Stuart. The old Earl felt that something was not good. After the White Tide Strait was Gaulonaluo. If it was the opponent's army, he should have received it in advance.
News, but now there is nothing.
Thanks to his vigilance, the Earl of Stuart immediately raised an army, and the next day enemies from Nalo in Gaul surrounded his castle.
They tried to capture this place. As long as they occupied the Stuart Territory, the local resources would be enough for their follow-up troops to rest and recuperate. They even said that they would use this as a base to continue advancing into the interior of Inverg.
Therefore, Earl Stuart made a bold decision. He did not listen to others, but stayed here.
He is now a nail, nailing Gaul Naluo's army to the Stuart territory. If they attack other territories, it will bring a huge marching burden, and the attack will fail, so Stuart
The count did not retreat and has held on to this day.
They only sent their cronies to ride horses to other territories to convey the news one by one until they arrived at the Platinum Palace in Old Dunling. During many days of persistence, he had been waiting for support from other territories.
The knights once again defeated the enemy and pushed them out of the gap in the city wall. Then more people rushed up to reinforce the damaged gap.
Earl Stuart was so old that he felt tired. He sat casually on the steps while his attendants ran over cautiously in the shadows.
That was a child who looked a little cowardly. He didn't even dare to look at the old man. He skillfully removed the armor from his body. Earl Stuart took a long breath and felt that his whole soul was released.
come out.
"How are things going today, Navis."
Navis quickly removed the last piece of armor, stacked them together, and replied while working smoothly.
"It's getting worse and worse. We have been besieged for four days. Although we have enough supplies, everyone is panicking, and..."
Seeing Nevis's hesitation, Earl Stuart laughed, the wrinkles of time knitting together like a dead tree.
He likes this attendant for a simple reason. He is a simple person. He will tell him all the bad and good news directly. He never lies or betrays. Although he comes from a farmer's family, he has a noble soul.
"Is it because I'm old?"
He faced his old age with a smile. There was nothing to be embarrassed about, it was just that the hero was getting old.
Once upon a time, Earl Stuart was also a peerless knight who could wield a hammer and a sword with one hand. He was simply a meat grinder on the battlefield. After every battle, his armor would be stained red with blood, so those people called him Stuart.
red knight.
But now the Red Knight is old, and even wielding his sword feels tired. His people also feel that he is old, and think that this tall city wall can no longer protect them.
Navis hesitated for a moment, then nodded.
The earl still had a smile, but that smile gradually became lonely and helpless. Then the pain spread on his face, and he coughed violently. Navis panicked for a moment and quickly helped the earl, but it didn't stop.
Hold him in pain until he passes out.
When Earl Stuart woke up again, he saw a familiar room. Dark red curtains hung on the four corners of the bed. The room was empty except for Navis, who was sitting on the chair outside the door. He lowered his head slightly.
, as if falling asleep.
The old man struggled to get up from the bed, but every move brought huge pain. He roared uncontrollably, waking up the attendants outside the door, so Navis ran in with a panic look on his face.
"What's wrong with me?"
A hand supported Navis, and the count's voice was a little weak.
"The doctor said you are sick."
Navis helped the Earl back to the bed, and his old body sank into the soft mattress. He had just woken up, but he still felt tired, not only physically, but also mentally.
"How long have I slept?"
"day and a half."
"How's the battle going?"
"..."
Navis was silent and did not answer. There were faint sounds of people crying and howling. The Earl moved his sight outside the window. This was his room, the highest point of the entire castle, enough to overlook everything, but now there was a burning fire in his sight.
With the thick smoke, it was the castle's barbican, but now the flag of Gaulnaro was planted there.
The earl had no unnecessary emotions and seemed to be expecting it. He asked again.
"What happened?"
"Yes...it's Lord Madel. He took over the city defense after you were unconscious. During last night's battle, he led the knights to rush out, and then...he didn't come back."
"Really...it's really like that."
A smile appeared on the Earl's sick face. Madel was his nephew. Earl Stuart never married and did not have many relatives. Madel was his only bloodline, so he always accompanied the Earl.
Because he knew very well that as long as the count died, everything here belonged to him.
"Do you think he's dead?"
Navis did not speak. The Earl knew very well what was going on. On the first day of the defense, some knights objected to this. They had excellent war horses and could easily break out of the siege of the Gallo Nalots, but this proposal was rejected.
The count suppressed the situation and ordered the knights to hold on to the castle, because they had horses and armor, but the civilians did not.
"This is a defection, and he will be crucified on the pillar of shame."
The Earl said calmly, but at this time Navis couldn't help it and said.
"Sir, please evacuate. It is only a matter of time before the castle falls, and we have no knights left to fight."
Those knights followed the Mader Knights away together. That was the last force in the castle. Now all that is left here are just a group of civilians.
But the count shook his head.
"If there are no more knights, then those Gaulnaros have already invaded the castle, then why are we still alive now?"
"Yes...it's the civilians. We used the remaining weapons to temporarily defend the inner fort."
"So you see, don't we still have knights?"
The earl's eyes were shining, and he was clearly in a desperate situation, but he could still laugh. Navis had been the earl's attendant for a long time, but today it seemed like he had truly gotten to know the earl for the first time.
"Go ahead, Navis. There is a parchment in the bottom compartment of the drawer. Please bring it over."
Although the attendant did not understand, he still obeyed the count's instructions. He took out an ancient parchment with names written one after another in ink.
The count coughed painfully a few more times, but still took the parchment, picked up the pen on the bed table, and slowly unfolded it.
"Navis, where does your full name come from?"
Navis didn't understand, but he still said it.
"Navis Dodd."
The earl nodded, then wrote something on the parchment, and finally put it away and handed it to Navis.
"I'm sorry, I can only do this. I hope your father can forgive me."
Navis took the parchment in confusion, but his body couldn't help but tremble as if he had seen something frightening.
"Uncle... Lord Earl, this is not allowed. How can I... I am just a child of a farmer."
"But the children of farmers will not always be farmers, right? Even Stuart's ancestors were farmers, and they might not be as good at farming as your father."
Earl Michael Stuart reluctantly climbed out of bed. His figure was shaky, but he still stabilized. Navis seemed to be frightened by all this. He didn't help him for a while, but kept talking.
muttered.
"But I...but I'm just a farmer..."
"But none of this is important..."
"Then...why?" Navis looked at Michelle in fear. He didn't understand. There were too many things in this world that he didn't understand.
"There are many reasons...for example, those civilians need a hope, a symbol, a guide who can make them follow calmly even if they die. Of course, if you survive, I don't want to let that bastard Madel
Dan took advantage."
"Navis, kneel down!"
The sharp voice interrupted Navis's wild thoughts. At some point, Michelle had picked up the sword hanging on the wall. The blade was covered with scratches left by several days of fighting, just like holding a sword.
He was as old as an old man, with his back hunched over like a wounded lion.
Navis hesitated for a moment, but in the end he slowly knelt down and tried to calm himself down as much as possible. His cowardly face gradually became resolute, and his escaping eyes finally met Michelle's, so the old man
Smile at him.
"They need a Red Knight, not a Stuart."
The sharp sword blade gently rested on his shoulder. Michelle was too old. He could not even hold the sword, leaving small wounds. Navis could feel the pain, but he was like a sculpture.
Nothing moved.
"You inherit my will, and I will give you glory."
He smiled and performed this ancient awarding ceremony.
"Swear to me, child."
…
After Earl Stuart was sent into the castle, the door finally opened again, and the civilians looked into the deep darkness with anticipation.
In the past few days, rumors were spreading. Some said that the count was dead, while others said that the count had escaped from the secret passage. After Marder led the knights to escape, the panic became even more intense.
But now the door was opened, and the red knight in armor walked out of it. He seemed a little different from before, but soon everyone found the reason. The red knight who dominated the battlefield once again grasped the warhammer and sword.
"But we have no knights left."
Someone told him that now only civilians are left here.
"Then can anyone still take up arms?"
the red knight asked, and countless hands raised their weapons.
"Don't you see there are many knights?"
He replied with a smile.
"But we are just farmers, butchers, and blacksmiths..."
The man said again.
The red knight was silent for a while, then raised his sword and gently placed it on the man's shoulder. He looked further away and shouted to everyone.
"Kneel down and swear to me."
As thousands of voices of oaths entered the dim room, the old man closed his eyes with satisfaction.
…
In the year 791 of the Inverg calendar, the Gallic Naro people launched an undeclared war and aggressively attacked the southern part of Inverg. However, when they attacked the Stuart territory, they encountered the stubborn resistance of Michael Stuart and stopped the Gaul.
The Naro people continued to advance inland and bought critical time for the deployment of troops.
Michael Stuart finally died of illness in the castle, and his son Nevis Stuart awarded all the civilians in the castle as knights after his death, and then resisted again for two days until reinforcements arrived.
A few days later, Inverg officially declared war on Gallonalo, and the glorious war that lasted for hundreds of years officially broke out. Navis Stuart rushed to the southern theater with the knights he awarded.
During the long war, the troops were dispersed and reorganized. The Stuart knights who were once civilians infiltrated the entire Yin Erweg aristocratic class. Relying on the connections granted by the war, they formed a group headed by the Stuart family.
A huge aristocratic group.
In 876 AD, the improved steam engine appeared, setting off the second industrial revolution, and the Glorious War ushered in a turning point.
In the year 907 of the Yin Erweg calendar, the glorious war that lasted for hundreds of years ended with Yin Erweg's victory.
In the year 925 of the Inverg calendar, Old Dunling welcomed a stranger named Lorenzo Holmes.
The story begins in the year 931 of the Inverg calendar.