Prajna

Footsteps sounded behind him.

Otto, his older brother, came to his side and said with a smile, "I knew you'd be here. Whenever you're troubled, you always like to come here for some air."

"This really is a fine place. The view is wide open, and it clears the mind."

Lothar frowned. "What do you want with me?"

Otto smiled gently. "Brother, I just feel like you're a little nervous."

"You're overthinking it. What do I have to be nervous about?"

Lothar said it somewhat against his true feelings.

In his previous life, he had never even slaughtered a chicken himself. Now he was about to travel far away, take up guns and swords, and fight enemies to the death. How could he not be nervous?

"Lothar, the Crusaders are a sacred cause. The Holy City is surrounded by wolves and on the brink of disaster. We fight for God. This is our mission."

Otto paused, his tone turning wistful. "If the Emperor hadn't been excommunicated by His Holiness the Pope, Greater Germania would surely have begun mobilizing as well."

Lothar let out a soft sigh.

"Otto, do you truly think the Crusaders are so sacred? A group of people travels thousands of miles to another man's home to burn, kill, and plunder. Can that really be called justice?"

Otto frowned and replied without hesitation, "His Holiness the Pope said that killing heathens does not count as killing people. We are saving them from falling into the Devil's embrace."

"Heh."

Lothar smiled, remembering how, during the Fourth Crusade in his previous life, those western bandits had not only turned their spears against their Christian brothers, but had even conquered Constantinople and brutally burned, killed, and plundered it.

The Eastern Empire's Orthodox faith and Catholicism were both Christian brothers, after all.

"You're right. I've been thinking too much."

Lothar turned and left, with no interest in arguing with someone from this era. He feared that if he said too much, Otto would take him for a blasphemer.

In the blink of an eye, the day of Lothar's departure arrived.

He brought along two carefully chosen attendants, packed up a full set of equipment, led his Nisaan warhorse, and arrived at the castle gates.

One of the attendants was a crossbowman named Ryan, while the other was a shield infantryman named Moder. Both were standing soldiers of Eagle Fortress who had undergone years of training and possessed exceptional combat skills.

The packhorses they led were needed to carry equipment and supplies.

Strictly speaking, neither of them counted as "attendants."

Knight attendants, as reserve nobles, could be considered local gentry in the countryside.

Some impoverished knights used this to amass wealth, accepting the children of townsfolk as attendants in exchange for money, while those townsfolk used it as a means of rising in status.

But Lothar had only just become a knight. If he truly wanted two knight attendants, it would be difficult to find suitable candidates in such a short time, and they would not be particularly practical either.

Knight attendants were Light Cavalry who had to follow their knights into a charge. They needed proper warhorses, and the supplies they required would only be greater.

Moreover, in narrow mountain terrain, against bandits they might encounter, two genuine knight attendants would clearly not be more effective than two soldiers.

Before leaving.

Count Werner solemnly handed him a wax-sealed letter bearing his private seal. "Lothar, during the Battle of Montgisard, I followed His Majesty Baldwin beneath the radiance of the Great Cross and charged the Egyptians. We tasted the fruits of victory and struck down heathens several times our number."

"Even today, I often return to that day in my dreams."

"Remember this: His Majesty Baldwin is a born king. He is worthy of your brave service, and it will certainly be more than worthwhile."

"Take my letter and convey my greetings to Your Majesty. Tell him that Werner of Swabia offers his highest respect to the lord he once served."

Lothar accepted the letter and nodded slightly. "I will, Father."

Baldwin was Baldwin IV, King of Jerusalem.

In the world of Lothar's previous life, some considered him a peerless genius, while others believed him cowardly and mediocre—the so-called Battle of Montgisard was supposedly nothing more than wild nonsense fabricated by his personal knight.

But Baldwin IV of this world truly possessed extraordinary military talent and personal charisma. After all, not even Emperor Henry had received such lavish praise from Count Werner.

After bidding farewell to Count Werner, Lothar set out along a mountain path with his two attendants, Ryan and Moder.

They had not gone far when the sound of hoofbeats came from behind them.

Otto rode after them on a warhorse and looked down at Lothar from above.

"What is it?"

Lothar raised a brow.

Otto fell silent for a moment, then tossed a cloth pouch to Lothar.

Lothar caught it and gave it a shake. A crisp, pleasant clinking immediately came from the heavy purse.

"Where did you get so much money?"

Otto said in a muffled voice, "I stole Father's two favorite silver goblets. The rest is the savings I've accumulated over the years."

Lothar said with some amusement, "Heh, Otto, aren't you afraid I'll come back alive and compete with you for the inheritance?"

Otto leaped down from his warhorse and came before Lothar.

He patted Lothar on the shoulder, hesitated, then reached out and ruffled Lothar's short hair. "If it truly comes to that, we'll each rely on our own abilities."

"To be honest, I really hope you return safely."

Lothar fell silent for a moment, then smiled. "I'll return."

"But not to compete with you for the inheritance of some tiny county."

"When that time comes, I'll accept your salute with a title more prestigious than Count of Argau."

Otto laughed as well, his laughter open and hearty. "You certainly will, Lothar. I believe you'll accomplish great things. The Habsburg family will be proud of you."

Lothar nodded.

The smile on his face gradually faded. He swung himself onto his horse and lingered no longer.

"I'm leaving."

He murmured the words without looking at Otto's expression again. Without waiting for the two attendants leading the packhorses behind him, he urged his mount into a gallop along the mountain path.

From this day onward, he was a wandering knight.

But unlike the vast majority of wandering knights, who were penniless, he had an excellent set of knight's armor, a hand-and-a-half sword, an arming sword, a lance, a warhorse, two packhorses, and two fully armed attendants.

Such a force would be welcomed in the service of any lord.

Behind him, Otto made the sign of the cross and murmured softly, "May Heavenly Father grant my brother Lothar good fortune. May he be unstoppable on the battlefield, untouched by blades and arrows."

By evening.

Lothar and his party arrived at a Small Town at the foot of the mountain to rest. This place still lay within the County of Argau and was Count Werner's direct domain, never granted as a fief to anyone else.

At the Habsburg family manor in the Small Town, Lothar impatiently entered a sealed room, opened the system, and chose to summon his chief retainer, "Prajna."

Golden light immediately blazed within the room.

Dazzling, noble.

Majestic, cold.

It was as though a deity had descended upon the world to deliver salvation to mankind.

After a long while, the light faded.

A tall woman in a black, anachronistic Motorcycle Suit, holding a black triangular shield, stared directly into Lothar's eyes.

The woman's information slowly appeared in the system.

Prajna:

Quality: Legendary

Level: 1

Intimacy: Indifferent

Strength: 18

Agility: 12

Vitality: 30

Endurance: 30

Mental Power: 15

Talent: Stone Wall (Upon activation, Prajna becomes immune to all physical damage for the next three seconds.)

Inspire (Upon activation, all allies within a three-hundred-meter radius centered on Prajna gain +10 Endurance.)

Skill: Fierce Battle (Prajna drinks deeply of blood and death. After consecutively killing ten enemies, she gains a fifty percent boost to all attributes for the next minute.)

Thorns (Requires Elite Advancement to unlock.)

Hell Gate (Requires Elite Advancement to unlock.)

The black-haired woman was truly tall. Even compared to Lothar, who stood over 1.8 meters, she was in no way inferior.

She met Lothar's gaze at eye level and asked with distant indifference, "Are you my Master?"

It seemed this chief retainer held no particular respect for him.

Lothar's expression was somewhat awkward. He had personally created the intimacy system, after all.

In the game, increasing intimacy not only unlocked more voice lines, but also gave retainers percentage-based increases in combat power and unlocked bond talents shared between the player and retainer.

But in reality...

This woman named Prajna, who wielded a great triangular shield with a demon face, was a gatekeeper of Hell in her backstory. Would she truly submit to an ordinary newly made knight like him?

Although she had not undergone the cultivation of vast quantities of materials and was still far from possessing the invincible power described in her backstory, with none of her high-tier skills unlocked.

Even so, merely by overwhelming him with her attributes, she could knock down a well-trained knight like him with one hand.

Lothar remained outwardly calm. "That's right, Lady. I summoned you here."

Fortunately, Prajna merely furrowed her delicate brows before bowing her head in allegiance. "Then from this day onward, I shall fight for you, My Lord."

Lothar secretly breathed a sigh of relief and asked, "Prajna, where did you come from?"

Prajna frowned. "My Lord, as the keeper of the Gate of Hell, I naturally came from the Gate of Hell."

Is she following the setting from her backstory?

Lothar frowned slightly. "Lady Prajna, you don't seem to think much of me."

Prajna gazed at Lothar. No joy, anger, sorrow, or any other emotion could be seen in her eyes. She merely said, "My Lord, whether I think highly of you or not, I will use my shield to block every open and hidden attack aimed at you. For I exist because of you, and serving you is only natural."

"That is enough."

Lothar drew his knight's sword and rested it against her shoulder. "I accept your allegiance, Lady Prajna, and... in the future, I will prove to you that I am a qualified lord, worthy of the loyalty you have given me."