Riding and Slashing

Chapter 138 Have You Met an Old Hooligan?
While the convoy was resting, the lord encountered a large-scale event.

It was the eighth day of May, a festival that belonged to the goddess Damia.

There is a tall stone goddess statue in the small square of Yimer village, and the villagers are gathering to pray to Damia, the goddess of harvest.

This is the traditional custom of the farmers in the south of Pend. After planting the seeds, they will pray for good weather.

At the same time, since this is also the season when the winter wheat has just been put into storage, everyone has food, and the busiest sowing period has just ended, so this festival has another meaning.

Goddess Damia is not only the god of harvest, she is also known as the goddess of protection. Her "protection" also means the life of her descendants is endless, so young men and women will also gather at this time to find the right one. The opposite sex drinks and dances.

If both men and women feel that the other party is okay, they can go to the neighborhood together and have a chat alone. If the two sides can talk well, they can swear an oath under the statue of Damia, and the local tribune will directly confirm the relationship between the two on this day. engagement.

If the courtship is successful on this day, it will be more meaningful and legal for the followers of Goddess Damia to be blessed by Goddess Damia, the local lord and all the villagers.

It doesn't matter if you can't negotiate, you can come back and dance and look for it. It's a big courtship day.

But this is a more harmonious and civilized one. There is no such thing as snatching marriage, and it is more like a modern ball.

But this event full of beauty and hope is very dangerous for the lord, because the lord saw an old acquaintance next to the statue of the goddess-General Kryon.

"Amy, don't turn your head... I think I saw General Kryon, we have to get out of here quickly."

The territory of this famous imperial general was Karen Deer Castle, but most of the people under his rule moved to Imer, and it was probably because of this that he appeared here.

This taciturn general on the battlefield is now standing in the middle of the crowd with a few Radiant Cross plague exorcists.

They were unarmed at the moment, and they were offering tributes such as ale to the statue of the goddess with headbands made of straw.

This should be the request of Emperor Marius. Probably at this time, all consuls and generals will bring farmers to worship Goddess Damia.

General Kryon was a member of the Knights of the Radiant Cross, and he obviously had a high status in the hearts of the farmers—this could be seen from the fact that he walked into the crowd without any weapons.

However, General Kryon seemed a little absent-minded, and seemed a little anxious.

After completing his ceremony, he even yawned and turned his head to look around, as if he had something in his heart.

Seeing that General Kryon has been looking around, the lord certainly does not want himself to be discovered. After all, the two countries have not yet signed an armistice agreement, and they are still considered hostile countries.

Caravans would definitely not be a problem. Most Bacchus lords would not take the initiative to attack a caravan carrying three noble banners, especially a general like Kryon from the Knights of the Radiant Cross.

In fact, the village of Immel welcomed the caravan on this beautiful day, and some people planned to drag the people in the caravan to dance together, but the hunks of Mettenheim were too big to be harassed.

Sarah has already joined the singing and dancing ceremony of the villagers. As a bard, she will respect any main god, so she played the piano in the small square.

——If you don’t play the piano, you can’t do it. Many men in the village are staring at her. If you don’t play the piano, you have to be invited to dance...

It's courtship festival after all...

Sarah is very calm. She has been to Bacchus before, and it is not the first time she has encountered this festival, so she can adapt.

But the lord can't take the lead, General Kryon has seen Li Ang, he knows that this is a kidnapper...

So, taking advantage of not being discovered, the lord took Amy and planned to hide quickly.

Li Sadilan was peeping behind the big tree at the entrance of the village at this time. When he saw Li Ang turn around and come out, he covered the hood on his head and greeted him.

"My lord, have you encountered an enemy? Do you need me to kill that guy?"

The elf killer's recent work attitude is quite proactive...

"No, this is someone else's territory, don't mess around, we can just guard the carriage outside the village."

The lord doesn't want to cause trouble, he just wants to avoid it.

Sarah was a bard, and at this present festival she was very popular, and nothing could go wrong.

The people of Mettenheim need not worry either.

Although the hunks were rough and fierce, these villagers showed no hostility towards them. After all, Mettenheim mercenaries were often seen in Bacchus territory.

As the hostile countries of the Buckley Empire, the people of Mettenheim and the Bacchus are actually natural allies, because the Bacchus Empire and Buckley have always been hostile.

In fact, the Bacchus Empire is hostile to most countries...

Although today's Bacchus is a little bit downcast compared to before, but after all, his ancestors were richer - the wider the ancestors, the more enemies there are.

So now Bacchus probably only has the only ally with Mettenheim.

The Bacchus Empire was the first stop for most of the Mettenheim mercenaries to seek a living in Pendor.

However, according to Frederick - the current bid of the Bacchus is too low, and it can't keep up with the fraction of the Fieldsville.

In fact, the lord understands very well that the city of Fieldsway is generally chaotic, and there are more commercial and trade activities, so the demand for big bodyguards must be stronger.

However, Bacchus had sufficient troops due to Emperor Marius' reforms in recent years, and now there is not much demand for mercenaries, so most of the people from Mettenheim will eventually go to the western coast to pick up business in Filtzville.

Imel's attitude towards the caravan is very good, everyone doesn't need to worry, the only one who needs to worry about General Cleon is actually only Li Ang - mainly because he once kidnapped two governors in front of Cleon , are dangerous elements.

In fact, it was just a coincidence. In the entire Bacchus Empire, there are only a few people who can know the lord Lord. It is said that it is not so easy to meet...

Including Amy, no one knows, except for the two kidnapped governors.

Li Ang told Amy not to look back, just to cover himself-at this time, taking a girl to leave with him is the least conspicuous way.

However, just as the lord was about to sneak out of the village with Amy, the absent-minded General Kryon seemed to see Amy with a musket on his back.

He probably didn't recognize Amy either, but he probably knew muskets--this is a weapon owned by Barclays.

So, the general said a few words to the people around him, pointed to this side, and then several pest repellents ran over here.

"Teacher, they seem to be targeting me...you leave the village first, and I will send them away."

Amy glanced at it calmly, and then sent the lord and Lisa Dilan away.

She knew that General Kryon must know the Lord Lord.

But she herself had been on the heights of White Hart Castle back then, and none of these Radiant Cross exorcists had ever climbed the city walls, so it was impossible for them to recognize her.

Amy's eyesight is pretty good, or it's a girl's instinct-she can tell at a glance whether someone is staring at her or at someone else.

So Amy turned around and greeted the exorcists.

Li Ang put on the hood and covered half of his face, and walked out of the village with Lisa Dilan, avoiding the eyes of General Cleon.

"Several gentlemen, you seem to be chasing me? What's the matter?"

Amy stood in front of the exorcists with a smile.

"This lady... well, sorry, you don't look like a Buckley...but the general asked us to ask, are you from that caravan? Where did the firearms on your body come from?"

Seeing Amy pointing it out directly, the exorcists felt relieved. After taking a serious look at Amy, their attitudes seemed much more friendly.The question was also very direct, it didn't seem hostile, it was just an ordinary question to a stranger.

"I'm protecting the caravan. Are you trying to rob my matchlock gun? This is my trophy. If you dare to mess around, I swear I will fight you to the end!"

Amy glanced sideways, and took a step back pretending to be on guard.

"No, no, no, we're just curious, nothing else. Good afternoon, welcome to Goddess Damia's festival, beautiful lady..."

Several plague exorcists quickly smiled, and then retreated directly. They didn't want to be misunderstood as robbers.

And since it's a 'trophy', it's obviously hostile to the Buckley Empire, so it's fine, it can be returned.

Amy looked back three times step by step and slowly walked out behind her, watching the exorcists return to General Kryon.

Then General Kryon looked at Amy, but suddenly seemed to be interested, and walked over by himself.

And he was in a hurry.

Amy simply stood and waited again.

She already knew that Kryon's subordinates would not do anything to her. It was said that the members of the Knights of the Glorious Cross were basically decent.

But General Kryon frightened Amy with his first words...

"My dear lady, may I treat you to a light meal?"

hiss……

Amy is really a little confused now, she is indeed often encountered when invited to dinner by men, and all the knights of the Lion Knight and White Hart Castle want to invite her to dinner.

However, being invited by an old man in his 50s, except for her father Godric, that really never happened...

But Kryon looked very serious on his face, and he didn't seem to have any flirting intentions, did he?

Even if this festival is special, it should be an invitation to dance, right...

The Sergeant Major of the Knights of the Glorious Cross shouldn't be that kind of person, right?
"This... You should be General Kryon, right? Is there anything you can do with me?"

Amy shook her head in disbelief, evaluating Kryon's age in her heart.

At least fifty or so, it is estimated that the children are much older than themselves...

This age is not suitable for a girl to invite to dinner, right?

"Ah, don't get me wrong, I'm not very good at talking... I just want to ask, you don't seem to be married yet? I hope you can help me..."

General Kryon seems to be not very eloquent, and he probably doesn't know how to deal with women at all...

Amy was sweating.

Sarah should be good at handling this kind of situation, but Amy has never had this kind of experience, and she doesn't know what to do at all!
"General Kryon, I don't plan to think about marriage yet... Well, I still have something to do, so I'm leaving..."

Amy looked around, Sarah was still playing the piano, and she would be unable to get away for a while.

So she ran to Sarah - she knew that Sarah was very good at dealing with these troubles.

Sarah saw Kryon's movements, and obviously also saw the embarrassment on Amy's face. She stood up and apologized to the men around her, and then greeted her.

"Alas... Miss, this is a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding... I didn't mean that, I just..."

Kryon also looked embarrassed. Although he was not very eloquent, he must know in his heart that Amy must have misunderstood.

But he could only call a few times behind, but he couldn't explain clearly.

Sarah didn't hear what Kryon said, and saw Amy running over with a stiff face, and hugged Amy: "What's wrong?"

"This general actually asked me if I was married, and even said that he would treat me to dinner... Have I met an old hooligan?"

Amy's flustered look made Sarah laugh.

Sarah has been watching Kryon's reaction, knowing that there should be no problem, after all, no big noble will play hooligans in front of the people, what a shame...

"It's okay Amy, he shouldn't be malicious."

Of course, Sarah could tell at a glance that Cleon had no messy thoughts, so she went forward and let Amy hide behind her.

"General Kryon, I know you, but you seem to scare my sister."

"Sorry, ladies, I'm just... well, to be honest, I'm looking for a suitable dance partner for my son, and this lady happens to be... well, I don't know how to put it..."

Kryon's face became even stiffer. He originally came to invite out of politeness, but he really couldn't speak...

Sarah was quite surprised: "My lord, how could you come forward in person for such a thing? And it's in the environment of so many people..."

Indeed, for nobles, this kind of thing is usually done by maids.

A great lord would not invite a girl in public, no matter what the reason was, even if the girl was a commoner or a mercenary, for Kryon's status, this would be very impolite behavior.

Sarah took a closer look. This general was wearing the costume of the Radiant Cross Plague Exorcist, Imperial Infantry Armor, and did not wear a coat of arms. Only the Plague Exorcist behind him was holding his military flag.

The military flag is a golden falcon, which is the iconic flag awarded to the leader of the natives of Pendor after the reform of Emperor Marius. The meaning of peaceful coexistence of nations.

So Sarah understood right away—Kryon was a high-ranking military officer from a civilian background, and he might not pay much attention to the etiquette among nobles, and he didn't know Amy was a noble girl now, so he probably thought Amy was a businessman or a mercenary.

"I know this is a bit impolite. I'm worried that you will never see your caravan again after leaving. I'm really a little anxious...it's like this..."

It turns out that Kryon's son, Lord Dean, is 33 years old, but has never been married.

And Emperor Marius once issued a decree that if a man over 32 years old or a woman over 28 years old has never been married, he will be convicted of a crime and need to serve hard labor-this is a policy formulated for the purpose of increasing the population, and it belongs to the category of equal treatment. Everyone has to abide by it, including the consuls.

Emperor Marius also specifically stipulated that old cows were not allowed to eat young grass, and that the age difference between husband and wife should not exceed 25 years. Both couples who violated the rules would have to go to jail, so as not to increase the population and waste resources.

Cleon himself was a staunch supporter of Emperor Marius' reform, so of course he had to abide by the law. As a result, his son was sent to three months of hard labor by himself last year...

If his son doesn't find a girlfriend this year, he will have to go to the mine to move stones for another three months...

As a father, Kryon certainly loves his son, and he himself hopes that his son will get married quickly.

But Lord Dean is stubborn...

Dean was the first beneficiary of Mario's reforms. After graduating from the Royal Academy in Siyuan City, he became a believer in Damia, the goddess of harvest, and was particularly good at water conservancy projects and agricultural construction.

From the age of 20, he has been involved in agricultural construction all over the Bacchus Empire, and has been quite effective.

For this reason, he has accumulated a lot of meritorious service, and was named the lord of Yimer—this place has been stable for more than [-] years, and there are many wastelands around it, which is very suitable for farming.

However, I don't know if Dean is selfless or has a wrong orientation. Anyway, he has not been interested in women for more than ten years...

Kryon had already arranged dozens of blind dates for him, including noble girls and beautiful commoner girls, but none of them were successful.

Dean looked down on ordinary girls, he felt: "Just talking to them is a disaster, I can't stay with a woman who screams at the sight of a sword, and they have no knowledge and are too stupid to communicate. "

General Kryon said those were Dean's words.

The students of the Royal Academy may really look down on the village girl...

So Kryon was quite anxious - he thought that his son probably liked knowledgeable and talented female warriors.

It's really hard to find.

And after meeting Amy, he felt that this seemed like a good opportunity!

Because Amy is now carrying a gun and a sword, just intuitively, she is definitely not an ordinary girl.

Just by looking at it, one can feel that this is a cultured female soldier - she can't play with a musket without a bit of knowledge, and she is not humble or arrogant in the face of a few soldiers, which also shows her courage.

Moreover, a general like Kryon who has experienced many battles can tell that Amy must have seen the flames of war and been on the battlefield.

So Kryon felt that this was definitely someone his son liked, and it probably met Dean's expectations.

He didn't know that this was Godric's daughter, Amy claimed to be 'protecting the caravan', he thought Amy was just a mercenary.

There is really no need for a general to go around in circles with a mercenary to play aristocratic etiquette. It is normal to talk about things - just like the uncles and aunts in the park who are looking for a partner for their children.

Sarah has already started to shake her head: "General, in your capacity, you can find a willing girl in the village first, directly make a marriage contract with Lord Dean, and then solve it slowly after you are freed from guilt... At most, you can dissolve it later Engagement."

General Kryon nodded with a sad face: "That's what I thought! But Dean is a little...a bit stubborn! He's not interested in those women, and he doesn't want to listen to my arrangements. Today was a good opportunity, he I am a believer of Goddess Damia, and I also arranged for an older girl who was also troubled by the law... At first he agreed, but today he went back on his word and hid at home—but if we don’t solve this matter, half-hearted He will have to go mining again in a month!"

(End of this chapter)