Chapter 168: The Shock of the Va.s.sal Knights
This was exactly what he was shocked about, because even he did not own such boots. Even when he was on the battlefield, he only wore leather boots inlaid with iron. Now, 40 cavalries had come, and all of them were wearing iron armors.
And the warhorses under them were all fat and strong.
They were completely different from the malnourished thin horses in the Stone Pa.s.s.
Perhaps the warhorse that Baron Dylan raised himself could be compared to the warhorses that they rode on.
“This is really Kant.”
He gulped. He thought of the last two times when the Oasis Lookout sent people to here, there were not these many heavy cavalries. Moreover, all of them were elites, who were comparable to the va.s.sal cavalry that served under Baron Dylan in the Stone Pa.s.s.
As a va.s.sal knight, he was also a little unwilling.
But he had to admit it.
In fact, whether it was their weapons and equipment, or the warhorse they rode, these 40 heavy cavalries were much better than them. Their differences were like between a real n.o.ble and a wanderer.
“Unfamiliar troops, please stop!”
He gulped. Although he knew that it was Kant and Manid, he still did not give the order to open the city gates, instead, he shouted, “This is the territory of Dukedom of Leo, the Stone Pa.s.s in the North County, Baron Dylan’s estate. If you want to enter, please state your intentions and show sufficient goodwill!”
Kant led 40 heavy cavalry soldiers. One could tell that they were valiant and elite troops by looking at them.
He did not dare to casually put them into the Stone Pa.s.s.
If not for these city walls, even with those peasant recruits and armed militias, over a thousand people would not be able to stop these 40 heavy cavalry soldiers. They would be ma.s.sacred one-sided, even if the va.s.sal knight himself would not make any difference if he joined the battle.
This was an absolute advantage in quality.
Hearing the va.s.sal knight’s question on the city wall, Manid looked at Kant.
This was diplomatic language.
At the same time, it was a way to show each other their ident.i.ties.
Kant nodded at him. “You go.”
“Understood,”, Manid replied.
After getting Kant’s permission, he urged his horse forward. Looking at the va.s.sal knight on the city wall, he shouted calmly, “This is the second son of the Archduke of Leo, Cameron, the baron of the Dukedom of Leo, the lord of the Nahrin Desert, Lord Kant!”
The va.s.sal knight on the city wall had long seen that Kant was at the bottom.
His face was covered in cold sweat.
As he sent someone to inform Baron Dylan, he gritted his teeth, he struggled to open his mouth and said, “Your Lords.h.i.+p, Baron Kant, May I ask why you led your troops to the Stone Pa.s.s? Forgive my rudeness. To allow your 40 heavy cavalries entering Baron Dylan’s estate, we have to be reported and approved by the Baron.”
Kant said to Manid, “Tell him that I understand.”
“Lord Kant expresses his understanding.”
Manid nodded, he immediately replied, “Our purpose here is to carry out trade. I hope that you can inform Baron Dylan that we are leading these 40 heavy cavalries only to deal with the large number of Jackalans in the Nahrin Desert to prevent the goods from being plundered. I hope that both sides can understand each other.”
After exchanging a few more words, the person who informed them finally returned.
At the same time, Baron Dylan and his va.s.sal knights were also here. They were all wearing mail armors and were all in high spirits. Their faces were glowing. Compared to when Kant first saw them, not only were their equipment upgraded, but their physiques were also stronger.
It was obvious that they had been living well recently.
Baron Dylan came to the city wall.
The va.s.sal knight wiped the cold sweat off his face and reported everything in a low voice.
“You did well. When you go back, ask my butler to give you 20 great silver coins.”
Baron Dylan nodded. Although his face was expressionless, it made the va.s.sal knight feel at ease. “If there is such a situation in the future, you should still do this. You represent the Stone Pa.s.s. This is very good.”
“Thank you for your compliment.”, the va.s.sal knight was delighted. He bowed his head to express his grat.i.tude and then left.
Baron Dylan did not care about him anymore.
Instead, he lowered his head to look at the 40 heavy cavalry soldiers who were in formation 100 meters away from the city wall.
There was a hint of surprise in his eyes. He also looked at the full set of chain armors, the Sarrandian helmets in their arms, and the strong physique and the majestic warhorses. There was a hint of desire in the depths of his eyes.
These were the heavy cavalry soldiers that even he did not have.
However, he quickly regained his calm. His emotions were very stable.
“Open the city gates!”
Baron Dylan waved his hand and looked at Kant below. He then swept his gaze past the peasant recruits behind him. There was some indignation on his face, there was also a slice of reprimand in his tone. “That is Baron Kant. Have you all forgotten? This is the friend of out Stone Pa.s.s! How dare you not open the city gates? Open them now and let our friend in!”
“Understood.”, the peasant recruits did not dare to refute.
They had no way to refute.
As they opened the wooden bolt that held up the city gate, the iron chain pulled open the city gate.
The two heavy wooden gates were slowly opened. Baron Dylan also walked down the city gate. He brought the va.s.sal knights behind him to come down and personally greet Kant and the others, his tone was very happy. “Dear Little Kant, I feel that we haven’t met for a long time. I’m so happy to see you again!”
“I’m happy to see you too, Uncle Dylan.”
Kant had a sincere smile on his face, as if he was not angry about what had happened before.
The two of them chatted as they walked arm in arm into the Stone Pa.s.s.
Their relations.h.i.+p was very close.
Behind them, Manid led the camel caravan to enter first. The bulging sack on the camels’ back made the smile on Baron Dylan’s face deepen. However, when he carefully swept his gaze across the 40 heavy cavalry soldiers, a hint of fear appeared in the depths of his eyes.
The stone floor of the Stone Pa.s.s had already been swept clean. At the very least, the dirty dirt was gone.
The refugees with colorful faces were still waiting in the straw shacks on both sides.
When they saw Kant and Baron Dylan riding on their horses, they looked at them expressionlessly. They only bent their backs and placed their hands on their chests casually. There was not much so-called sincerity in them. It was as if they were just dealing with them.
Baron Dylan also pretended not to see them.
These lowly peasants were simply dispensable to him.
When he returned to the official residence built close to the mountain range, the soldiers guarding the door walked over and took Baron Dylan’s Warhorse.
There were also servants who came over and helped to take Kant’s warhorse.
“There’s no need.”
Kant declined politely. He turned his head and said to the Sarrandian hors.e.m.e.n behind him, “You guys take the horses to the stable. There’s no need for so many people to follow me. At the Stone Pa.s.s, Uncle Dylan’s estate is very safe.”
“Haha, of course, Little Kant. You can treat it as your estate here!”
Baron Dylan laughed loudly.
The Sarrandian hors.e.m.e.n automatically divided into two groups. Thirty people led their warhorses and followed the servants to the stable at the back. The remaining ten people stood behind Kant. It was obvious that they wanted to follow him as a guard.
Baron Dylan did not mind. He waved his hand and said, “Come in, all of you. It seems that you are good lads.”
“Of course.”, Kant nodded with a smile.
However, he still arranged for Manid, “Manid, you go and deliver the goods to Uncle Dylan’s trade caravan leader.”. As he said that, a slightly apologetic smile appeared on his face, “This time, I brought a lot of goods. It might be a little troublesome.”
“Hahaha, I am not afraid of trouble!”, Baron Dylan laughed loudly.
The more goods he brought, the more he earned.
The profits from the last batch of refined white salt made him so excited that he did not sleep for a whole night.
“I asked someone to arrange dinner.”, Baron Dylan said as he held Kant’s arm like an elder, the smile on his face became brighter. “If you had come earlier, I would have been able to hold a banquet to welcome you. But tomorrow, I will also invite the famous gentlemen from Stone Pa.s.s to hold a grand banquet.”
“Thank you so much.”, Kant pulled his hand out without leaving a trace, a smile on his face.
They walked into the slightly depressing official residence.
This building was actually built with the specifications of a small fortress.
Although it was not as tall as a castle, with the complete defensive facilities and the narrow gateway, a few hundred elite soldiers would be enough to guard this official residence and ensure that the Stone Pa.s.s would last until the last moment.
They entered the Lord’s Hall.
Torches were lit one after another and inserted into the blackened stone wall.
On both sides of the long table in the hall, the lord’s main seat and the guest’s table each had a silver three-p.r.o.nged candlestick. The three candles on the candlestick were lit, emitting a steady and bright light.
“Don’t you miss it?”
Baron Dylan smiled and invited Kant and the ten Sarrandian hors.e.m.e.n to take their seats.
At the same time, he brought his va.s.sal knights to take their seats as well, with a smile on his face, he said to Kant, “These are silver candlesticks bought in South County, and these honey candles are all rare luxuries in our North County. However, you are the son of Archduke Cameron, so you should have seen a lot of these things.”
“Very good.”, Kant nodded with a smile. He sniffed slightly, but his brows were slightly furrowed.
“What’s wrong?”, Baron Dylan noticed his furrowed brows. The smile on his face was slightly restrained. He frowned and asked, “Little Kant, did you discover something?”
“Honey candles?”, Kant asked.
Baron Dylan’s expression was a little awkward. He turned his head and glanced at the chubby butler next to him, who had a blank look on his face. He had an answer in his heart. Baron Dylan’s face was pale, however, he still nodded and said, “That’s right. When I was buying it, the merchant from South County told me that this is the purest honey candle. It’s also the favorite candle used by the n.o.ble families of South County at the banquet.”
“Well, Uncle Dylan, perhaps you have bought a not-so-pure honey candle.”, Kant shrugged slightly.
Baron Dylan was puzzled. “Is it a fake?”
“No, it is indeed a honey candle.”, Kant shook his head, he frowned and said, “But the texture is not pure. It should be the wax liquid that melted after the original honey candle was burned. After it was collected, it was heated and melted, then reprocessed into a honey candle. From the light and the pungent smell produced by this candle, it can be known that this is a fake made by those merchants.”
“These dirty b.a.s.t.a.r.ds from South County actually dared to lie to me!”, Baron Dylan seemed to be very angry.
Kant’s expression was regretful and shame, “This is a small trick of those merchants from South County. It can be considered a scam. I didn’t expect that Uncle Dylan, you also encountered it.”