Knight and Wand

Chapter 120: Refugees from Aiken Village

It was already late when Leon returned to Selva from Castle Avalon. As soon as he entered the territory, he noticed something was wrong.

There were obviously fewer militiamen patrolling the village.

He hurried back home with doubts in his heart, and learned from Ms. Elena that some villagers in Longka had reported that they had encountered a large group of robbers.

Azerien, Lohak, Old Brian, and Olivia led the archers and guards, and urgently assembled fifty conscripted infantrymen from the young and strong laborers in the construction camp to provide support.

The shocked Leon did not even have time to rest. He replaced the spare warhorse in the stable, and he and Corvis took enough torches and immediately rushed to Longka.

The two men traveled all night and arrived at Lohak's territory at midnight.

Leon didn't feel at ease until his own soldiers who were camped outside the village stopped their horses.

Regardless of whether Lonka encountered robbers or not, it seemed that Azerien and his men had the situation under control.

After entering the village and coming to the big house of the village guarded by guards, the four people who had already fallen asleep were awakened by the soldiers.

After lighting the candles, Leon took off his armor, sat around the table with everyone, and asked about the sudden incident.

Azerien explained the current situation in an orderly manner.

After learning that they were not bandits but nearly a hundred refugees who had been attacked by the undead and had nowhere to go, Leon immediately understood why his partner was so worried.

Longka's location is basically on the western edge of the barony under Farolis' rule.

Further west, the disaster-stricken village of Aiken is located in the territory of the Grey Wolf Baron Gunnar.

Leon remembered that this was the village he encountered when he left the forest after the curse was lifted.

Strictly speaking, these refugees left Gunnar's territory without permission and came to the Farolis family's territory for refuge. In this era, they are already considered "fugitives" who violated the lord's decree.

Of course, at the critical moment of life and death, the villagers naturally no longer cared about those rules and regulations.

The tricky issue is how to properly deal with these villagers who are seeking help.

Of course, Leon would not sit idly by and watch so many innocent people starve to death in front of him.

But to open the warehouses to save the people, Longka certainly could not afford so many extra mouths to feed, and had to transfer grain from Selva and Pleton.

However, the food on hand was not blown by the wind. If these nearly 100 people were homeless migrants, he would naturally be willing to pay the price and then happily settle these refugees to supplement the manpower.

But they were "fugitives" from a lord, and their lord's territory was right next to their home.

We are kind enough to be taken in and waste precious food. If the Gunnar family becomes aware of the situation and sends people to demand the people back, should we hand them over or not?
"We can convert the consumed food into money. When the Gunnar family comes to ask for the people later, they will have to pay the amount of money we spent according to how many people they want to return. If they can't pay, the people will have to return to us.

As a lord, you can't even protect your own people. If this matter is really brought to the great nobles for "lord arbitration", we will also be right. I believe Lord Elliver will support us." Azerien proposed a compromise.

“Okay, remember to raise the price when you settle the food bill, and help the Gunnar family relieve the refugees. We can’t spend so much effort in vain. However, I reminded that village at the beginning to inform the lord as soon as possible to send troops for protection.

Or is it that the scale of the undead attacking the surrounding areas of Aiken Village is huge? Can't even the army handle it?" Leon asked puzzled.

"I asked their leader about your question during the day, but the villagers couldn't explain it clearly. We don't know exactly how many zombies attacked the village, but we have been attacked sporadically by monsters in recent days. Aiken Village has already sent people to seek help from surrounding towns and the Gunnar family."

Azerien went on to say, “But the city of Wefenhall has not responded to their request. Not to mention the army, even the young and strong people from every household in Aiken Village who were conscripted to fight on the front line were not released.

I don’t know whether the current person in charge of Wolfenhall does not believe the small village’s request for help, or does not care about their life or death at all, or maybe the army of the Gunnar family was transferred away by Baron Grey Wolf to fight, and now they are short of troops?

I heard from the villagers of Aiken that it has been four days since the disaster, and they have not yet received the reinforcements from the Gray Wolf family to clean up the monsters wandering around the village. "

"Perhaps all the reasons you guessed are true." Leon thought for a moment and said, "Let's do this. The refugees will be taken in temporarily. I will write a letter to report this to the Lord and see Lord Elliver's opinion."

Farolis' army is almost assembled in the City in the Forest, and will march south in the next few days to launch a surprise attack on the poorly defended important town in Grayde County.

Such an incident happened at such a juncture, and Leon wondered whether it would affect the strategy of the Thorn Flower family.

Old Brian pinched his thick beard and listened to the discussion of the young people in silence, and his thoughts extended further.
He pondered his intuition and premonition, and suggested: "Sir, it is a waste of manpower to let the villagers of Aiken Village eat food for nothing. Why not transfer a few craftsmen from the camp in Selva and take them to cut wood nearby to build a circle of wooden walls and trenches for Longka, and build a few arrow towers to prevent the large-scale attack on Aiken Village from happening in Longka.

The troops we brought with us don't need to be disbanded. With so many people, and Longka's residential area is not large, it will only take ten days to complete if everything goes well."

"Work-for-relief? Yeah, let's do it." Leon nodded when he heard it.

Unlike Selva, Longka's geographical location is not as convenient as Selva, which can catch up with the flow of people and business opportunities in the transit camp and the forest avenue. In the short term, Lohak's territory may not have much opportunity for expansion and development.

Then it would be a good idea to take advantage of the extra labor now to completely surround the village with wooden walls and build a manor camp as a defensive stronghold.

“Without further delay, Azerien, you will be responsible for transferring grain from the warehouses in Pleyton and Selva.

Uncle Brian, you stay in Longka and command the troops to manage those refugees.

Luohak, come with me to Aiken Village tomorrow to investigate the situation there and see the scale of the undead trouble and how much of a threat it poses to Longka."

After arranging their respective tasks, Leon quickly adjourned the meeting and let everyone continue to rest.

Azerien and Lohak yawned, holding the candlesticks and walked up the stairs to their room to sleep.

But seeing that everyone was busy, Olivia, who had been listening quietly, couldn't help but raise her hand, shook Leon's arm, pointed at herself and asked: ".What about me?"

Leon just stood up and looked down to see his lover's eyes, which were full of anticipation for being assigned a task.

After hesitating for a moment, Leon had to look at his old centurion first.

Naturally, he wanted to bring Olivia with him. Even though it was just a quick ride around Aiken and there was no danger, having the girl by his side would always provide an extra layer of protection.

I just don't know what Uncle Brian's attitude is now towards the girl's dangerous situation.

Seeing Leon's hesitation, Olivia couldn't help but look at her old father with a pleading look.

Brian looked at the two with a wry smile, and could only sigh: "My lord, my daughter is not that fragile. As long as she is not surrounded by a chaotic army, I believe you can protect her. There is no need to ask for my opinion on everything.

Besides, you must care more about Olivia's safety than I do. After all, she is not a child anymore, but..."

Old Brian stopped talking and said to his daughter, who looked visibly happy, "Olivia, go back to your room and go to sleep. Lord Leon and I have some territory affairs to discuss."

Olivia didn't think too much about it. She said good night to everyone and ran up the stairs excitedly.

The old blacksmith watched the girl's back disappear at the stairs, and then he pulled Leon aside in his puzzled eyes.

Leon looked at Uncle Brian's serious expression in confusion.

As the other party whispered, the attitude of the words he used also changed: “Leon, if you haven’t prepared for the wedding yet, you’d better pay attention and don’t make any noise in advance.

Having a child before marriage is not considered illegitimate in Orlando, but it is against the royal tradition. After all, your child is the direct bloodline of my king.
I really can’t help it, I must remember to buy some more sheep intestine leather covers, just in case”

Leon tapped his toes on the ground in embarrassment, and was extremely grateful that he didn't hear these words while drinking water, otherwise he would have choked to death.

He was not really a teenager, and he had no lack of knowledge and experience in this area. He also had no plans to do anything to Olivia so early.

But
"Uncle, do you know the relationship between Olivia and me? Did she tell you everything?" Leon interrupted the other party's fatherly reminder and asked.

"That's not the case, but she wears that precious headband every day, and she carefully puts her hair up every day, and you two are getting closer and closer. I'm not blind, old man.

And I heard from Little Lina that you were still making out in the warehouse? Privately, as Olivia's adoptive father, I would like to advise you to pay attention to the location and at least close the doors and windows."

Listening to old Brian's nagging instructions, Leon scratched the back of his head, nodded silently, and decided in his heart that this time when he returned, he would let Ms. Elena spank little Lina's butt hard.

That girl is really getting more and more naughty. It's ok for her to peek, but I don't know what she is spreading.

It was just a kiss that day, how come it was considered "making out"? The meanings of these two words in Feru language are very different. Leon escaped from Old Brian's nagging with a little embarrassment, and followed Corvis, who was holding a candlestick, to find a room to sleep.

However, the other party's advice still echoed in my mind.

Sheep gut holster?

Although Leon had never seen this legendary "ancient artifact", he could certainly guess what it was through the context and imagination.

To be honest, if you think about it carefully, you really don't have any safety measures at hand, and it is conceivable that this damn thing probably can't be found in the entire territories of Selva and Longka.

That thing is also a luxury item for the nobility and the rich in this era.
Leon sighed. Every day he was either running around or practicing martial arts. He was busy, tired and exhausted. He was not troubled by that kind of things.

Now that I'm suddenly being nagged like this, I can't help but start to have all sorts of random thoughts in my mind.

The image of the girl curled up in his arms that day appeared in his mind, and Leon's heart beat faster.

Following the corridor on the second floor of the big house to the two empty rooms at the innermost side, Corvis glanced back quietly.

Seeing that his master behind him was obviously absent-minded with a strange smile on his face, the young man came up with an idea.

He pretended to turn the handle of the empty room in front of him, secretly used magic power to drill into the lock core, and silently locked the door.

"Someone is sleeping in this room too, my lord. There is only one room left."

Corvis turned around pretentiously and said softly, "You go to bed first. I'll stay in the hall downstairs for the night."

“?” Leon stopped, broke free from the distant future that he secretly imagined in his head, looked up and asked, “Just one empty room?”

Corvis shrugged, turned to the next room and pushed open the last small room. There was only a narrow wooden bed in it, with straw on the bottom and the bedding on top was also very simple.

After all, this village house is not a decent inn. Apart from the room where Lockhak lives, the other empty rooms in the house can only be used by a few workers working in the warehouse or travelers to rest.

"No, you have to come with me tomorrow. Get a good rest tonight. How can you sleep in the hall?" Leon scratched his head. If the bed was big enough, he wouldn't mind lying with Corvis for a night. A grown man doesn't mind being too particular.

The problem was that the bed was so small and the two people were squeezed so close. Leon glanced at the handsome face and figure of the boy next to him.

He didn't want to let his companions sleep on the ground, nor did he want to accidentally sell his soul and go down some terrible path.

Taking the candlestick from the boy, Leon lit the candle in the room and said helplessly: "This room is for you. Let me see where Lohak's room is. With his stature, the bed in his room must be wide enough."

Corvis shook his head.

How can we go to Lohak? Then the whole play will be in vain.

"My Lord, I just heard what Lord Brian said. Since you are already engaged to Miss Olivia, why don't you just go to her room and sleep?" The young man urged in a faint voice.

Leon was slightly stunned when he heard this, but couldn't help being moved.

Corvis smiled, raised his hand to cover his mouth, and whispered: "If you are worried about safety, although there is no sheep intestine, I still know some spells that can cast a risk avoidance effect. The duration is not short, you see."

"Come on, you little brat, go back in and go to sleep."

Leon could see what the boy wanted to tease, so he laughed and pushed him into the room.

This is clearly a major event in his life, but everyone around him is more anxious than he is.

Corvis poked his head out, handed over the candlestick, and pointed to Olivia's room. "It's the second room at the staircase. Don't go the wrong way, my Lord."

Leon snatched the candlestick and pretended to knock on his head, and the boy giggled and hid in the house and closed the door.

Holding the candlelight, he looked in the direction of Olivia's room, then pulled his collar and nodded.

Yes, there is no way, there is no room~
Besides, we have slept in the same bedroom twice, so this time won’t matter.

One is born, the second is cooked.

Anyway, I know that I am a gentleman! I definitely don't have any evil thoughts!
~

Arriving at his lover’s room, Leon knocked on the door, holding back a little embarrassment, and cheekily called softly: “Olivia?”

But as soon as he opened his mouth, the door was opened by the girl in the room.

Olivia, who had not yet gone to bed, was only wearing a thin dress with her waist undone. She stared at her lover with a flickering look in her eyes.

"Uh, that, I..." Leon didn't finish his words.

The girl then asked quietly, "There are no rooms left, right? I heard everything."

Leon raised his eyebrows in surprise.

He suddenly remembered how amazing the other person's hearing was.

"Is that okay?"

Leon glanced at the bed in the room guiltily.

A small, narrow single bed.

For the first time in his life, he felt grateful for the small wooden bed of ordinary people in this world that prevented him from turning over freely and had always annoyed him.

Olivia looked at the smile on the other person's face. She lowered her head, her cheeks slightly hot: "Well, come in."

No matter how innocent the girl was, she could feel at this moment that the other party wanted to get close to her.

but.

Not annoying
I don’t want to chase my lover away in the middle of the night.

After getting into bed, Olivia moved sideways as close to the wall as possible, suppressing her shyness and leaving room for the other person.

This time there was no second quilt separating them.

After locking the door, Leon looked at the girl who was curled up inside with her back to him, like a cute ostrich.

While cheering in his heart, he actually behaved very well and lay down flat on his back as close to the outside as possible.

Covering himself with a quilt, lying in the same bed, smelling his lover's scent, and feeling each other's body temperature, he felt very satisfied.

At this moment, even the hard and rough bed board behind me felt so comfortable.

Leon let out a long sigh, and the fatigue from riding for more than ten hours without sleep came over him, and he closed his eyes with peace of mind.

The room quickly fell silent.

In the quiet night, only the faint breathing sounds of the two people could be heard.

Yoshihisa
".Leon, are you asleep?"

"Well, not yet."

Hearing Olivia's question, Leon closed his eyes and hummed in response.

"What is a sheep intestine sheath?"

"Cough! Cough cough!" Leon opened his eyes and coughed repeatedly because of the choking.

Did you hear even the conversation downstairs?
(End of this chapter)