The next day, Brave Shield Fortress castle hall.
"Countess, that's the whole thing, Charles just hopes you can agree to his using the surname Fletcher."
Li Ang took Charles and ran as fast as possible for a day and arrived at Brave Shield Fortress.
Countess is a rather kind old woman with a very ordinary appearance.
Probably because he was used to life and death on the border, Countess was not too sad after hearing the bad news.
In fact, she behaved very much like Herriwold - her expression was well controlled, but she choked up when she spoke.
This is probably a common problem among high-ranking nobles in this era. They are used to hiding their emotions and do not want anyone to see all their feelings.
Countess did not show much disgust with the existence of the illegitimate child. She even observed Charles carefully and calmly handed Charles a glass of water.
"So, Charles, can you give me a certificate? Prove that you are Oden's child."
After calming down, Countess asked Charles calmly.
"I want to initiate blood revenge against Eldred! Therefore, I need my father's surname, otherwise I cannot provoke a public duel, madam. I think this proof should be enough."
Charles knelt down on one knee towards Countess, looked up at Countess, his eyes were bloodshot, but quite firm.
Carry out blood revenge and provoke a duel in the name of your son. This may be the only way to avenge Count Oden at present.
In the Pande Continent, including in medieval Europe, dueling to avenge blood relatives will definitely be supported by the vast majority of nobles, and avenging one's father is exempt from guilt.
Once the enemy is identified and qualified to initiate a duel, the challenged party must challenge. Of course, high-ranking nobles can ask their Oath Knight to challenge.
But as long as the enemy is not dead, the challenge can continue until one of the parties dies!
Even if the king kills someone, you can still take revenge on the king - but the chance of winning is slim, as the king has many knights...
In fact, this is an important reason why nobles do not kill easily. Even if the two countries are at war, as long as the defeated party does not seek death, the leading nobles will rarely be killed.
Of course, this is different from the Celestial Dynasty. Since the Han Dynasty, Celestial Dynasty has always been a unified politics based on Confucianism and law.
A unified country will not have the logic of blood revenge, because the emperor has ordered the killing of the most death row prisoners. If he is not guilty of avenging his father, then the emperor will be in great danger...
But in Europe where principalities are everywhere, kings and nobles are essentially the same, and the core idea of this "chivalry" is to prevent people from easily killing nobles and to consolidate class rule.
Charles wants to publicly avenge his father in the name of Oden's son, so he needs the surname of Oden and the status of a knight or above.
Only nobles can challenge nobles to a duel.
At the same time, this can also prove that he is indeed the son of Oden-otherwise, who would do this, without inheritance rights, and risking their lives.
Countess nodded. "Okay, kid, I promise you. You can use the flag and surname of Oden. I hope you can come back alive..."
After saying this, she still had no expression, but finally shed the first tear in her eyes.
The old woman did not embarrass Charles, she may be more generous than Oden imagined - of course, this is mainly because Oden is no longer here.
A Countess would naturally not be stupid enough to refuse mercy in this situation.
In fact, this Countess is probably quite smart. She is probably just like Herriwold, and she immediately realized that the existence of Charles Fletcher can actually protect her daughter.
"Lord Li Ang, then why are you here? Just to help your knights get their surnames back?"
After Countess calmed down for a while, he asked about Li Ang.
"I did it for my own safety. Charles and I have a common enemy, and I have more enemies than him... When Count Oden was alive, he promised to help me keep an eye on Grand Duke Alma, but now..."
Li Ang was very honest, and he would not deceive a lonely old man.
"But I'm just an old woman. I can't help you deal with a duke..."
Countess shook his head slowly.
"Then let me tell you straight, I plan to buy the jurisdiction of Ralph and Knight's Territory. I know that you are managing Mr. Earl's territory."
Li Ang pointed to the west of Brave Shield Fortress.
The Lord's intention is obvious - he wants Ralph and his rangers to completely break away from Brave Shield Fortress's jurisdiction and accept his own funding.
Li Ang is too familiar with that camp. There is no way to feed an army there.
Although Horn Summon Ranger Corps is a self-contained system, their own expenses also need to be supported by nearby towns.
Ralph can garrison troops there only because of the support of Brave Shield Fortress from Count Oden.
But now that Oden is gone, Countess will probably hand over Brave Shield Fortress to someone else to manage it - such as son-in-law Ryman.
But it is obviously impossible for Horn Summon Ranger Corps to accept the management of deputy commander Lion Knight Order, so the Rangers may have no choice but to return to Long River Town to be stationed.
That is basically equivalent to giving Alma a strong army - it is impossible for a person like Alma to be unable to control the Rangers under such circumstances.
Therefore, Li Ang wants to buy the jurisdiction of that territory and turn himself into the superior manager of that territory Knight's Territory, so that the rangers are willing to serve him.
Of course, the main reason why such trading is possible is because Count Oden is dead and Ralph has no one to be loyal to.
That piece of land was originally sold by Li Ang himself... but now, what he wants to buy is not an empty territory, but a Ranger Station.
The sentries of Baron Heriwold were originally stationed in Long River Town. Taking advantage of the opportunity of Herriwold to bring them to White Deer Fortress, Li Ang also planned to keep the sentries in White Deer Fortress for a long time.
Only by retaining the strong army of Horn Summon Ranger Corps can he ensure his own safety.
The best opportunity to retain this unit is to avenge Count Oden, the leader of Horn Summon Ranger Corps.
"Lord Li Ang, I promise you, that was the land you conquered. I know this. But I also hope you can promise me one thing..."
Countess sighed, she could indeed make the decision on this matter, but she also made another request.
"I hope you can guarantee that the murderer of Oden will definitely die! No matter who he is! Oden said that you are the only master he has seen in his life. I know you can do it!"
Countess finally couldn't control his sad expression, and a line of tears flowed down from Countess's eyes.
She is actually far from as calm as she appears.
"Please promise me! There is no need for any secret deals, I just want the murderer to die in front of me! If you can do it, I can give that territory to you... I am even willing to give it to you along with Brave Shield Fortress!"
Li Ang closed his eyes tightly and opened them again, his throat was a little dry.
"Madam, I promise you, but the murderer's life is actually not that valuable... If I really do it, you can give me Fletcher Village."
This is not a magnanimous lord, there is a big difference between "even willing" and "willing"...
On the contrary, if he takes the initiative and only needs a village, there may be hope.
Charles will set off for Lion City together with Countess.
The lord returned to Wheat Fragrance Territory alone.
As soon as he returned to Wheat Fragrance Territory, he received good news - the eastern front troops that Bacchus Empire attacked White Deer Fortress officially withdrew.
This may be the only good news in the first half of the new year.
After Long River Town Sentinels arrived at White Deer Fortress, General Agason led Bacchus Empire's troops in a comprehensive retreat.
Ralph's rangers watched all the way and confirmed that the enemy had retreated two hundred miles away - this was indeed a complete retreat.
The person who brought this news was Amy himself.
After confirming that the enemy had retreated, she originally came to the Lord to 'study'.
Ryman and Ralph escorted her over.
The identity of Charles has been confirmed. Now there is no need to hide it from anyone. Li Ang told them the death of Count Oden.
But when they learned about the situation, they immediately had differences.
"I have to go Brave Shield Fortress...Baron Li Ang, take my leave."
Ryman thought about it for a while and decided to leave with some hesitation.
"Ryman, stop! You are Count Oden's son-in-law, and you have the obligation to avenge him! The place you should go is Seven Forks Fortress!"
Ralph was extremely dissatisfied with Ryman's reaction - there was no trace of sadness on Ryman's face.
Li Ang also frowned. Ryman's behavior really made him feel sorry for Count Oden who had always considered his future. Oden was even unwilling to have a head-on conflict with Alma because of this.
"Sir Ralph, of course I know that I want revenge! But the question now is that Lord Earl has passed away. How will Gatu people react after learning the news?"
Ryman frowned. It seemed that what he valued more was Brave Shield Fortress's safety... or, in other words, Brave Shield Fortress's army.
But Ryman is right.
The death of Count Oden will bring about a series of chain reactions.
When Oden was still alive, Gatu people didn't dare to have any idea of Brave Shield Fortress. But now that Oden is dead, who will guard the border?
"Fuck you Gatu people... you are..."
Ralph became obviously angry and his face turned red.
"Ralph! You go and take over the defense of Brave Shield Fortress... This is what you should do. It is your obligation to protect Long River Town!"
Li Ang interrupted Ralph's speechless words and simply started making arrangements.
"Ryman, you must return to Lion City immediately. You must attend your father-in-law's funeral as early as possible."
"As for Seven Forks Fortress, I'll go there and take a look. Let your Lion Knight go with me so that you can know all the results."
Although these two people were not his subordinates at all, Li Ang's arrangement was obviously reasonable and the two no longer argued and led their respective teams away.
After they were far away, Li Ang began to arrange his subordinates.
"Ansen, Lesley, you are responsible for staying in the territory. If the crossbowmen or merchants come back, you will pay the price agreed before."
"Sarah, ask Governor Justus to write a letter... and ask him to copy what I wrote without changing a word, and then send it to Baron Heriwold."
Li Ang gave Sarah a piece of parchment.
"Well..." Sarah glanced at the content on the paper. "Sir, if he doesn't write..."
"If you don't write it? If you don't write it, you'll castrate him!"
Li Ang handed Sarah a small curved knife - the same one he used when kidnapping Justus.
Sarah nodded and went.
"Amy, come with me to Seven Forks Fortress. I guess your brother's troubles will have to be solved by you."
"Li Ang... Teacher, my brother should not be in big trouble. My mother can definitely save him."
Amy didn't look nervous, and seemed very sure that Lord Andrew would be safe.
Thanks to Master Aext for the 1500 points;
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Thanks to notmortal and Torrent SAM for the reward of 500 points;
Thanks to Qingli Yanyuke, I Will Always Love Sluokai, Book Friends 2021****0444, Book Friends 2022****9069, Book Friends 2022****4192, Book Friends 2020****1127, Qingyue Qingxue, Beard Resurrection Liu Xuande, Yan Nanyu and other adults for their rewards~
These chapters are a bit complicated to write, but things will get better soon! Don't worry, adults!