Knight and Wand

Chapter 155 No Secrets
Zabron and other guards guarded the entrances and exits to prevent anyone from approaching the backyard.

Leon looked at the three people in front of him and had already made arrangements for them.

"I'm sure you understand why I called you here today."

One of the older soldiers among the three replied nervously, "Master Leon, we have never said a word to anyone during this period of time. Master Zabron and the others can testify to this."

The other two were silent as a mouse, and quickly nodded in agreement.

Leon nodded and said, "I know you guys are keeping your mouth shut, so please continue to do so in the future. I don't want to say nonsense like forget what we saw that day, but I still have to give you a piece of advice. Disclosing things beyond your knowledge will not bring any benefits, but will only bring disasters beyond your imagination."

After hearing the dangerous warning, the three soldiers lowered their heads: "Understood, we will keep this secret for you forever."

"I hope I can trust you, but trust takes time, and you will not be out of my sight for a long time to come.

But I am not a mean and ungrateful person. I do not want to put under house arrest the soldiers under my command who are defending our territory and our homeland, and I do not want to see you panicking over such an accident.

So I'll make an exception. From today on, you will join the Royal Guards and receive training. When you become a truly qualified Royal Guards, I will give you an annual salary of no less than 21 gold crowns. "Leon did not threaten them blindly, but directly told the three people in front of him the arrangement after consideration.

"Twenty-one golden crowns?! Us?" The three soldiers widened their eyes, a little dazed by the "carrot" that suddenly fell from the sky.

Is this more than a blessing in disguise?

Looking at the three people with unbelievable expressions, Leon continued, "Although your martial arts skills are not up to the standard of becoming my guards, at least you showed enough courage in the Battle of Longka. Now I am making an exception and giving you this opportunity. It depends on whether you can seize it."

Honestly speaking, even without the favor, these three would have a good chance of passing the subsequent cavalry selection.

After all, they were considered to be the most capable conscripts among the three lords, otherwise they would not have been arranged to take turns guarding the prison.

"Merciful sir."

The older veteran knelt down on one knee, touched his chest and lowered his head, unable to hide his excitement.

"We failed to guard the prisoners of war properly. You not only did not punish us for our negligence, but now you are so kind to us. I am so dumb that I don't know how to thank you! Now I can only swear to you that I will die for you."

The other man also knelt down and patted his chest to promise: "Lord Leon! From now on, if any of us dare to speak too much, we will fall into the purgatory of the god Venolis forever after death!"

"Me too. If anyone dares to leak the secret, I will be the first one to not forgive him," the youngest soldier swore in imitation of the other.

"Okay, remember your oath."

Leon raised his hand to let them stand up, and then threw another bombshell: "Also, I am not afraid to tell you that since I can make the young master of the Wolf family walk under the sun again, then those who fight for me may also have such a miracle in the future. Do you understand what I mean?"

The three soldiers were still immersed in the ecstasy of a bright future. When they first heard these words, they did not react to what the lord meant.

But Hawke and others who were standing silently on the side suddenly widened their eyes.

They looked at each other and saw each other's shock and disbelief.

The first few guards who followed Leon were not stupid. Out of fear and confusion about the gods and witchcraft, they had always kept their speculations about their lord's mysterious power in their hearts and did not dare to talk about it in private.

But now, the monarch took the initiative to make such a miraculous promise to them.
"This!? You mean!?" The older veteran among the three was stunned for a moment, and finally realized the subtext that the lord almost made clear.

All present were warriors who made a living with swords, so they naturally knew the price each person had to pay behind the high salary.

Most people are willing to take this unavoidable risk in exchange for the wealth that they would never get in their lifetime.

But, it would be unbelievable if we don't even have to worry about the cost.

Could it be that Lord Leon is a messenger sent by the gods to the mortal world?
Be it the six guards or the three cavalry candidates, their expressions showed an unimaginable trance, and their eyes gradually showed a hint of fanaticism.

The second life cannot be measured by money.

The promise of this ultimate price should have been as unreliable as the nonsense of a charlatan trying to cheat people out of their money.

But the miracle of Canis's resurrection was right before their eyes, and everyone saw it with their own eyes.
Looking at the ardent gazes cast at him by Zabron and the others, and feeling the sudden fanaticism like that of a believer, Leon shook his head.

He poured a little cold water on his men: "That being said, I am not a god. If you want to receive such a miracle, you must be qualified in front of the being who truly controls life and death. An unknown person may not be blessed by a miracle."

The three men swallowed and looked at each other.

The old soldier raised his head again and asked tentatively: "Honorable Lord Leon, we are just lowly commoners and not as noble as you and Lord Canis. How can we have such qualifications in front of the gods?"

Hearing this, Leon said helplessly: "What do you mean by noble or humble? More than five months ago, I was just the son of a hunter, living in the open air, not as good as you. And I heard that Canis's ancestor was just a Falajel fisherman."

He denied the other party's understanding of qualifications and continued to paint a rosy picture for his soldiers: "The qualifications I'm talking about have nothing to do with bloodline or origin, but refer to your bravery and reputation in this life.

Although you are unknown now, who knows what the future holds? As long as you earn enough glory and spread your reputation for bravery, miracles may happen to you."

At this point, Leon paused.

He felt that he was becoming more and more like a cult member, and the only thing he had to do was shout to everyone, "Believe in Brother O and you will have eternal life."

Although what I said is true, even though it may be far away.

But if in the future, all the warriors under his command can become powerful knights of honor like Canis.

How could he be reluctant to call back the powerful warriors who died in battle for their loyalty to him?

Ok.

Although I have been impressed by the power of Neti cards more than once.

But Leon suddenly realized that the magic left by Ms. Aphrodite would play an increasingly terrifying role in the future.

If you can collect enough materials, let Miss Lola create more Neti cards.

Then in the future, wouldn't he be able to COS a one-eyed old man from his previous life and build a "Hall of Valor" filled with warriors who died in battle?
Or maybe COS a god king swinging a hammer? Create a batch of "card-cast magic weapons"?
Leon hesitated a little in his distracted mind, not knowing whether he would look cooler with a spear or a hammer.

He was distracted for only a moment before he focused back on the reality before him.

"Do you have children?" Leon asked the three people.

The older veteran nodded: "I have a daughter and a young son."

Another person replied, "My wife is about to give birth."

Finally, the young soldier said awkwardly: "I don't have a wife yet." "Then you'd better find a girl and start a family as soon as possible. Otherwise, even if you die as a famous warrior, miracles won't allow you to have children after you come back."

Leon reached out and patted the single young man on the shoulder, then looked at the guards around him: "Zabron, Hawke, the same goes for you."

After saying that, he changed his tone and said, "But you must also remember that I can bring the dead back to life, and I can also make the betrayers suffer the punishment that cannot be escaped even by death.
This favor and promise requires you to repay it with equal loyalty."

Only this warning is just a bluff.

He can try to use the Neti Card to revive powerful warriors, but punishing the dead souls is probably an authority that only the Dead Sea Dragon possesses.

However, the guards and guard candidates obviously have no idea where the limits of the power he wields are.

When everyone heard this, their hearts trembled.

Zabron and the others beat their chests and said, "We swear to be loyal to you till death. We will never change our minds, my Lord."

betray?

A lord who can allow them to return to the human world after dying in battle, no one would have the slightest doubt even if he claimed to be the incarnation of a god.

It would be a huge joke to betray the monarch who gave me a second life.

After receiving the oath from the guards, Leon solemnly made a promise of equal weight to the soldiers: "I will never let down anyone who is loyal to me. When you become warriors known throughout the world, even if you unfortunately die on the battlefield, I will make sure that your heroic souls become the wings that transcend death under the banner of Pendragon."

At noon, the sound of horns continued from the high tower on the north slope. After finishing his business, Leon returned to the house to have dinner with everyone.

Since the end of the battle in Longka, the beast-summoning horn on the watchtower has once again sounded on schedule.

The horn has completely become Selva's unique timekeeping device. The Deathclaw has been missing for so long that Leon no longer has any expectations for the griffin's return.

After sitting down with the people who were going home, Leon looked at Azerien and asked, "How is it? Are the people from Aiken Village willing to stay?"

Azerien nodded and said, "They are willing to stay in Selva. Only a few of them requested to go back to Aiken Village to take a look. I hope you will allow it."

"Why not? Give them some food and send them on their way. If necessary, you can send a few soldiers to escort them. When they see the miserable state of Aiken Village now, they will naturally give up." Leon nodded.

They returned to Aiken with nothing, no food and no property. They couldn't just eat the dirt, and eventually they would have to beg in nearby villages and towns. It would be better for them to stay here with their own ready-made land to support them and start a new life.

In any case, with the participation of the Aiken villagers, the problem of manpower shortage that had existed since Selva was massacred was completely solved.

From then on, all the Selva sons who had experienced the Battle of Longa could become professional soldiers free from labor.

However, the new subjects cannot always live in temporary refugee camps, and Selva must free up his hands to resettle these residents as soon as possible.

During the conversation, beautiful and elegant ladies and girls, like competent aristocratic maids, brought the prepared lunches to the long table.

They were the women brought by the Knight-Ranger Larian.

Leon still remembers everyone's name and origin.

Leading the group was "Ms. Martha," a lady of about the same age as Elena, who came from a wealthy merchant family in the Kingdom of Malaken.

Next was "Miss Sally", the youngest, the daughter of a noble family on the Serrian border, and a fellow Serrian of the three.

The lady behind Sally is called "Raya". This girl is also a Serian, and was even a resident abducted from the Holy City of Rolandar. She used to be a well-known painter in the Holy City.

Azerien and Lohak returned to Selva with the army. When they first heard Raya's self-introduction, they were quite surprised. It was obvious that they had heard of her reputation in the past.

Only Leon had not heard of her from the original owner's memory. Well, the son of a hunter in the woods outside the city really had no artistic pursuits.

Anyway, with the professional skills of this young lady painter, the three people in the territory may have needs for heraldry and drawing in the future, so they don’t have to go to Farolis city all the time.

Behind Raya is "Miss Treya", who seems to be taciturn and very quiet. She claims to be from the Kingdom of Feru and is the daughter of a knight.

The last one is "Lady Veresa". She has a special origin among the crowd. She was the eldest daughter of a Kantadar lord, but because her family was defeated and destroyed in the cruel struggle between nobles, she unfortunately became a slave presented by Falcon to the imperial ambassador.

In addition to these five, there is actually a girl named Milena who is absent. That girl is the daughter of a doctor in the Kingdom of Malaken and knows medical skills and herbs.

When Leon found out that night, he was surprised and immediately asked Elena to find him a separate room as his workplace.

Now, Selvane finally has its first professional doctor besides Corvis, which is really cause for celebration.

For safety reasons, Leon did not arrange for the six of them to live too far away, and they are now temporarily living in Olivia's house.

But only Milena has devoted herself to her job, which she is good at.

The other five people just help Irina with daily housework.

Selva has no official trade with the outside world yet, and Ms. Martha can only help calculate the daily expenses of the territory.

The others are similar, and for the time being there is no job that can make use of their specialties.

However, Leon discovered that, whether it was Elena's suggestion or spontaneous behavior, they seemed to have taken over the task of teaching the children at home.

The two noble daughters taught the servants etiquette and manners, and even little Lina's gait became much more elegant and dignified than before.

"Ms. Martha, you have lived in Selva for more than 20 days. Are you used to it here?" Leon asked the leading lady.

"Thank you for your concern, sir. We like it here very much." Martha smiled respectfully.

The narrowed eyebrows showed that his words were not polite.

After interacting with Elena and the women and children in the village during this period, she also got to know the young lord in front of her to a certain extent. She couldn't help but feel fortunate that she and others had such a lucky turn of events after experiencing a tragic fate.

The women who had suffered so much did not care about each other's heroic deeds, but the praises of his integrity, kindness, gentleness, and generosity from the people, Elena, and the servants in the house made them feel at ease. This was a knight with the same virtues as Lord Larian.

"Is Lord Larian still in Selva?" Leon asked Ms. Martha.

Now that there was no fighting, he couldn't help but think of keeping the knight-errant behind.

This "neutral hero" that spawned in the Selva Tavern had such a good character and such a temper that Leon was reluctant to let him go because of his admiration for his talent.

(End of this chapter)