Mistveil City.
This originally vibrant trading city felt a bit like chaos during this period.
The entire city was filled with various armed men, causing the merchants in the city to complain, and the vendors and 'craftsmen' on the streets to live in a state of poverty.
Those armed men were all subordinates brought by the lords of Fieltzwe. Although their clothes and weapons and equipment were diverse, they all had one thing in common - they didn't bring money with them when they went out, but they especially liked to 'buy' things.
Although King Vidis once enacted a law, no matter who it is, taking goods without paying will be regarded as robbery.
However, those axemen who have just transferred from pirates and those guerrillas who have been engaged in smuggling business for many years basically do not take this kind of law seriously.
Besides, at this juncture, merchants don't dare to sue the lords...
Mistveil City's merchants all know that these lords were recruited to fight - King Vidis will definitely not deal with them at this time.
So Mistveil City Most of the shops are now closed, and this prosperous city seems to have turned into a military stronghold without any fireworks in just a few days.
King Vidis is in a very bad mood.
It was not because of these small problems of Mistveil City, nor because of the upcoming war with the Lionheart Kingdom, but because he requested assistance from his hometown, but he did not receive any reinforcements from Vanskery.
Mistveil City's lord hall is currently holding a banquet.
This is a typical Vanskery pirate-style leader's party - a spacious hall with an all-wood structure, a large and long wooden dining table, and a group of wild men with long beards drinking ale.
Most of the leaders of Fieltzwe are from Vanskery. As long as they are not fighting, this is basically how they live their lives.
"Aiding, are you saying that Queen Angus no longer intends to support us?"
King Vidis touched his bald head and tucked the remaining yellow hairs on his temples behind his ears. Then he took a sip of ale and the yellowish liquid in the wooden wine glass dripped down his messy beard.
The Queen Angus in his mouth is Vanskery's current Queen, who is also the pirate king in the true sense, because she controls the pirates' beliefs - Valhalla.
Vanskery is a large island in the ice sea, located northwest of the Pande Continent. It is also the hometown of most Fieltzwe lords, including Vidis.
Before becoming the lords of the Pande Continent, most of their families had been pirates for generations.
They believe in Sea Gods.
In the myth of Sea Gods, warriors who die in battle with weapons can enter Valhalla, where there is endless wine and countless beautiful female warriors searching for heroes on the battlefield.
In mythology, the female warriors who search for heroic souls are called 'Valkyrie', which is also Valkyries.
It is said that they are all virgin warriors chosen by the gods who swear to serve the heroic spirits. They will bestow all wonderful things on the dead in battle and lead them to Valhalla.
Therefore, although many people have lived in the Pande Continent with their families for several generations, most lords on the west coast will still return to Vanskery from time to time - they want to pay homage to their ancestors and brothers, that is, those 'heroic spirits who died in battle'.
Of course, the more important thing is that they must make offerings to Valhalla, otherwise Queen Angus has the right to deprive them of the qualification to enter Valhalla in the future.
These days, being in charge of cemeteries and cemeteries can threaten many big bosses...
"Queen Angus does not intend to let Vanskery's fleet support us. She believes that we have settled in Pendor and will no longer cross the sea, which violates Vanskery's ancestral precepts. She even called you a 'bald man who betrayed his faith'... and called me a 'farmer trying to farm'..."
A middle-aged man with red hair and beard sitting opposite Vidis shook his head and said.
This middle-aged man has his red hair and beard neatly trimmed. He is the neatest among the many lords in the entire hall, and he is not so "heroic" when he drinks.
This is 'Red Sword' Aiding Earl, Fieltzwe, one of the highest-status lords, and Light Roar Bay is his territory.
"But I saw Queen Angus's guards in your army..."
Vidis didn't care about the title of 'bald man'. He pointed at his eyes. "Aiding, couldn't you have reached some secret agreement with that Her Majesty the Queen behind my back?"
He said it very seriously, but his tone was a bit joking. Vidis obviously has great trust in Aiding and has a very good relationship with him.
"Yes, there is indeed a secret agreement..."
Aiding sighed and nodded, "I sacrificed myself again, sweating and giving up my life in exchange for Queen Angus's mercy..."
"Ahahaha... she slept with you again?!"
King Vidis laughed and patted Aiding on the shoulder, "You've been attracting women since you were a kid..."
"...Her Majesty the Queen is going crazy trying to have a baby. I dare not refuse her. She has found many men, but obviously this is not a problem with men - the third child she gave birth to at the beginning of the year was still a stillbirth. I think she is cursed..."
Aiding did not laugh, but sighed, "So, she is really not in the mood to lead troops to support us. But fortunately, the sweat I put in is still useful, and Queen has not forgotten our annual offerings... She asked me to lead the guards to find one of her 'favorite concubines'. If found, Her Majesty the Queen will send troops to assist us."
"Queen's beloved concubine? She's not a sissy, is she?"
Vidis shook his head. "I don't want to deal with the kind of man who screams like a chicken."
"No, that guy is not only not a sissy, but he is also a very powerful swordsman."
Aiding dipped his finger into some wine and drew on the table. "He charmed Queen with his handsome skin, defrauded many Heroine Warriors from Vanskery, and now Deer Qi Village is stationed in the south... In fact, you should have heard of him, that guy used to be famous in the Pande Continent."
"Who? I have never seen many swordsmen who are more handsome than you... my most handsome friend."
King Vidis looked at the lush red hair on Aiding's head with some envy.
"Milgan Kilik."
Aiding curled his lips and was not impressed by Vidis's statement. "That prodigal son among flowers, it was indeed him who assassinated Duke Alma - he admitted it personally in front of Her Majesty the Queen."
"He actually ran away to Vanskery. No wonder no one could find him at the beginning. You mean, this guy deceived Her Majesty the Queen? Queen Angus handed over the troops to him, but he took the female soldiers away?"
Vidis became serious. He did know Milgan's reputation, and he tried to find Milgan after Alma died.
Alma and Vidis are friends. It was Duke Alma who promoted the alliance between the Lionheart Kingdom and Fieltzwe.
Vidis may not be a very good king, and may even be a bit cruel at times, but he always believes that one should be loyal to all his friends - this is also the way of thinking of most Vanskery people.
When a friend is killed, it is natural to find the murderer.
"That's right... you don't think that Her Majesty the Queen would really lend me her guard just because she slept with me, do you? Queen's Guard is here to hunt him down... or, in other words, to get back Milgan--Queen seems to have a lot of affection for him. That guy's ability to deceive women can be said to be unparalleled in the mainland."
Aiding Earl said, picking up the wine glass and taking a sip. "But I don't really want to give back Queen's guards... These guards should become glorious Fieltzwe warriors, and so do those Heroine Warriorss..."
"You plan to kill Milgan, and then blame Queen's Guard Ruffians for this, so that they don't dare to go back?"
Vidis obviously has a lot of experience in committing crimes, and he knows Aiding Earl quite well, so he immediately thought of a routine.
But then, he warned, "But you can't do this with your own hands. Queen Angus is already dissatisfied with us. If the news leaks out, you will never want to go to Valhalla again, and it will also implicate me."
Faith is still very important. Although the existence of Valhalla restrains Vidis and others, it also allows the Vanskery pirates under his command to fight bravely and not be afraid of death.
Generally speaking, the benefits brought by Valhalla far outweigh the burdens it brings. King Vidis will naturally not offend Queen Angus.
Moreover, Vidis himself does believe in Sea Gods.
"Of course I can't do it myself... In fact, I already have the best candidate..."
Aiding Earl smiled, "I found the regicide - he didn't dare to go back to Gondor's Nagasu Castle, so he came to me Light Roar Bay."
"Provoking Inna... is he in your hands?"
To be honest, King Vidis actually really wants to arrest Inna and send him to Lion City to negotiate peace. He actually doesn't want to fight a big war with the Lionheart Kingdom now.
This is not because Vidis is a coward, but because most of the lords of Fieltzwe are pirates, and no one is a coward in naval battles. But fighting against the Lionheart Kingdom's cavalry on land... is indeed quite difficult.
But right now, Aiding Earl obviously has other plans.
Vidis looked at 'Calamity Seeker' Gondor who was having a drink with someone at the other end of the hall. "Gondor knows about this? Don't get into a fight with Gondor..."
King Vidis and Gondor have a very good relationship - Gondor once saved Vidis's life in a battle.
Of course, his relationship with Aiding Earl is also very good.
The king Vidis is actually more like a big brother in the world. He is not supported by the Fieltzwe lords because of his strongest fighting ability, but because he has many friends who are willing to help him.
For example, Aiding, such as Gondor.
Probably because of this, he was able to become a king from a pirate leader - those leaders with the strongest combat effectiveness basically died in the Hall of Valor when they were still in their prime.
"Gondor wishes his son would do more big things - he is now bragging about his son's 'accomplishment' of killing the king... Besides, he doesn't need to enter Valhalla, what he believes in is Goddess of Prosperity Terra."
Aiding shook his head and simply shouted, "Gondor! Friends, come and have a drink with us!"
'Calamity Seeker' Gondor was drinking ale with two strong men with disheveled hair, and then the first one showed the bottom of the cup. It seemed that he won.
Then he staggered over and said, "Aiding... Do you want to have a drink with me?"
"No, I just want to tell you that I found your son... but he doesn't plan to go home."
The relationship between Aiding and Gondor is not particularly close. If both Aiding and Gondor have a brotherly relationship with King Vidis, then he and Gondor can only be regarded as friendly colleagues.
This is mainly because of origin and belief - Gondor was originally from Lion Territory, and most of the lords of Fieltzwe were from Vanskery pirates. Valhalla did not leave a place for the people of Lion Territory, so his relationship with the lords from Vanskery was not particularly good.
In fact, Gondor is a rather miserable lord. He once asked Three Prophets about his future, which means he turned his back on Goddess of Order, so people in Lion Territory will not agree with him; and his origin determines that people in Vanskery will not really agree with him...
But Fieltzwe people all recognized his strength and were afraid of his madness on the battlefield. No one dared to provoke this Calamity Seeker easily.
Calamity Seeker is actually very lonely.
Therefore, in order to integrate into Fieltzwe, Gondor believed in Fieltzwe's local god of prosperity--Terra after becoming a lord. dimension. Su Li.
This is an image of a girl covering her key parts with a garland, holding a pitcher in her hand, pouring out the morning dew. This goddess represents the yearning for a good harvest, and also represents the expectation for a prosperous age.
This is the belief of farmers in the western part of Pendor, and it is also the official belief established by King Vidis when he founded his country.
But Vidis himself does not actually believe in Terra. This is just a national policy, the same as Emperor Marius's promotion of Damia, the god of protection and harvest.
The main purpose of establishing Terra as the main god is to reassure the farmers of Fieltzwe.
Otherwise, if it is ruled by a group of pirates with different beliefs, the west coast may not be inhabited in a few years.
Aiding said before that Queen Angus called him a 'farmer trying to farm'. In fact, this is the reason - Vidis still believes in Sea Gods, still wants to join Valhalla, but what he promotes in Fieltzwe is agriculture Goddess... Queen Angus will naturally be very dissatisfied.
And Gondor is the first Fieltzwe lord who publicly expressed his belief in Terra Goddess.
For this reason, the relationship between Gondor and Vidis has become closer.
The lord who is the first to understand the national policy and actively express his support will of course be closer to the monarch.
But Gondor is still lonely - Fieltzwe can really regard him as a friend. In fact, Vidis is the only one, and Aiding can probably count him as half.
These one and a half are all his friends.
This is especially true for his godson Inna - he is also from Lion Territory and has different beliefs. Gondor finally has a true friend because he saved Vidis's life, but now Inna has no friends at all. The only one among his peers who regards him as one of his own is Gudri.
But I just regard him as a brother and it is a family relationship.
So Inna was willing to leave everything behind and go to Lion Territory to find true love.
"Aha! Inna is at your place? Then I'm relieved... I know he doesn't want to go home. Come on, have a drink for King Ulrich!"
It seems that Gondor indeed regards Inna's regicide as something to be proud of.
"Gondor, let's get down to business."
Aiding raised his cup towards Gondor: "Inna is now the regicide. You should understand... He gave it to us, Fieltzwe, and himself. Trouble is coming. He can no longer be a lord, or even appear in public... But I have a plan that can help him, which is equivalent to helping you - this will make both you and Inna eligible to enter Valhalla."