Gerald, Knights, and Kings

In the South, there are not many human-owned territories that directly face the Northlands.

The Empire occupies the widest Northlands, stretching from the West Coast to the Northwind Province, a vast expanse of land directly facing the Northlands. This clear boundary with the Northlands extends eastward to the Griffin Mountains of the Sera Kingdom and the Andara Kingdom.

Further east from the Andara Kingdom, between the Woodlands occupied by the Elves and the Northlands, there are two noble territories that serve as gateways for humans to reach the Northlands.

Dark-Eyed Gerald, and Golden-Eyed Gerald.

Just like the four Carlos bloodline nobles of the Sera Kingdom, both noble lords are of Gerald blood. They are not native nobles of the South lands, but nobles who fled to the South after the War of the Deities Across Planes, when the Northlands flooded into the South.

As nobles who migrated south, their ability to acquire their own territory in the south signified their former power.

Gerald comes from an ancient kingdom, and they are the royal family of that kingdom, renowned throughout the Norris Continent.

Previously, the Norris Continent did not have such a large population; humans occupied only a small territory, and the number of kingdoms was even less than the nine they have today.

Therefore, the Gerald bloodline can be said to be the most elite noble bloodline at the time, and even nobles fleeing south would give them face.

The Gerald members at that time could have entered the lands further South, and could have even relied on the prestige of the Gerald Royal Family to gain the loyalty of a large number of nobles and establish a new kingdom in the South.

But they didn't.

When the Northlands stopped, Gerald's bloodline also stopped, which is now the land located in front of the Northlands, east of the Andara Kingdom, and west of the Woodlands.

Gerald, Ink Eye bloodline is of noble Golden Eye, is not like the other nobles in the Sera Kingdom who split up in order to compete for the legitimacy of the Carlos bloodline.

During the southward march, Gerald's master, the Monarch of the kingdom, led his army to fight against unknown enemies and monsters in the Northlands. He separated his two children who had absorbed the Divine Essence, without telling them who the true heir was.

"When the snowstorm passes, when the Northlands recede, when the Giants retreat, return to our ancestral land, and the flame of our ancestors will be rekindled for you."

The King's order was simple: whoever could lead the Gerald bloodline back to their former land would be the new King.

Savagery and romance are attributes etched deep into the Gerald bloodline; they spend their lives pursuing victory and death.

They believe this is the most romantic and desirable thing in the world.

Many nobles disagreed with this, but they praised the savage courage of the Gerald bloodline.

After the first generation of Ink Eye and the first Golden Eye established the new Count Gerald on this land, there are now the third generation of Ink Eye and the second Golden Eye.

However, romance is about poetry and distant places, while reality is often cruel. After more than a hundred years of development, the Gerald Family has clearly declined.

They were in the place closest to the Northlands, far from the center of human civilization, and very close to the Elves who were unfriendly to humans.

This doomed Gerald to decline, and over the next century, the Gerald bloodline was separated from the Empire and the Kingdom by a huge gap.

I don't know if they even care.

What Ryan was more interested in about this noble territory was that the Gerald noble family had a very special system of knights and monarchs.

What does that mean? It means that, regardless of whether it's the Ink Eye or the Golden-Eyed Gerald territory, there are only two nobles, namely the two Count Gerald.

Apart from that, they were all knights.

All the knights had their own land and slaves. They were soldiers of the Monarch, namely the two Count Gerald, and also the rulers of the lands they owned.

For example, now Ryan has divided his Frozen Earth Territory into thousands of large and small parts without saying a word, and each of his Knight Retainer is the master of one of those parts.

And yet they were merely knights, soldiers, and followers.

When the Monarch needs them, these knights will bring their own provisions, Knight's Greatsword and armor, warhorses and slaves to the castles of great nobles, where they will form the army of Lord Gerald outside the castles with great passion and fervor.

"This is an incredibly ancient romantic system, Knight and King."

This is how Count Pascal described Gerald's lineage. Whether during the Church's rule more than a hundred years ago or now, Gerald still adheres to an even more ancient way of life, one that may date back thousands of years.

Ryan had doubted this method, but Count Pascal told him that it ensured the knights' unwavering loyalty to Gerald.

Why? Gargoyle Count told Ryan that the current territories of the two Earls of Gerald did not originally belong to them, nor were they conquered by them. Rather, they were occupied by the former Guardian Knight of the Gerald Royal Family King they came to the South.

When Gerald fled to the South, the ancient knight offered the land to the two Count Gerald.

This is Gerald's romance: Knight and King.

If one day in the future, a Count Gerald leads them back to the lands of their former kingdom, most of these knights will become nobles. They are knights now because they have not yet fulfilled their promise to the King who remained in the Northlands more than a hundred years ago; they have not yet returned to their homeland.

In ancient times, people like the Pope the Church the Thirteen Knights, the Hero King and the human heroes who followed him, all lived this way.

They built their own glory in the midst of blood and fire, and only when the dust settled did the knights become nobles.

Ryan was astonished by this manner. Count Pascal also told him that he was the Gerald of the past, Gerald with the resources and prestige of a kingdom, while the two current Gerald nobles were far less powerful than before.

Why? Because that land cannot support too many knights, nor can it produce a majestic Monarch.

According to the ancient traditions of Knight and King, how many slave families were needed to support the birth of a knight?

Ten households, in the simplest way of calculation, means that it would take ten households of slaves to barely support one knight.

If the knights wanted to be less strapped for cash, they would need at least thirty or fifty households to pay for them.

Supporting a knight with over a hundred people is already a high price to pay. And when you come to the South, how many thirty or fifty households does Count Gerald, who is located in front of the Northlands, have?

Furthermore, if we exclude the direct lands and population controlled by the monarch himself, at most, the number of knights under the command of either Ink Eye or Golden Eye Count Gerald would not exceed five hundred.

This is the quantity that can only be achieved under extreme pressure.

What can a small number of people do?

Not to mention the wars that broke out between the Northwind Province and the Orcs, even the internal wars that broke out in those years involved more than five hundred knights.

To put it simply, the army that Ryan currently commands is enough to wipe out both Count Gerald.

"According to the past of this world, they are not weak, but the War of the Deities Across Planes has changed too much. A new era has arrived, but Gerald is still immersed in the past that has been eliminated."

Count Pascal, also one of the oldest nobles, was in stark contrast to Gerald in terms of keeping up with the times.

This also shows that not every nobleman can stand at the forefront of the times; most nobles are swept away by the waves.

Ryan still managed to glean something from it.

"Is the Church of Dawn planning to support Gerald?"

After thinking for a moment, Count Pascal nodded.

"That's about it. The Church has suffered several defeats in the Andara Kingdom, and they are beginning to realize that they lack sufficient control over the Northlands."

"They need more power to reclaim the faith in this land."

"In the the North of this third of the land, the Empire blocked all the Church's means, and the vast hills to the south of the two kingdoms also prevented the Church from acting freely, which led to the Empire taking advantage of its proximity to subdue the east."

"The Sera Kingdom has already demonstrated the gap in resources between itself and the Andara Kingdom, and it is highly unlikely that it will be a match for the Andara Kingdom. If the Gerald Noble Territory is defeated by the Empire, then the the North one-third of its land will be completely unrelated to the Church of Dawn."

"How can the Church allow the Empire to repeatedly allow the Faith of Light to occupy the soil of Dawn?"

"Therefore... in this year's war, the Church is more concerned with regaining the faith of the Andara Kingdom, while the Emperor is keen to conquer the Thousand Lakes Province in the South."

Ryan roughly understood the situation, but it seemed that His Majesty the Emperor was a bit greedy. He didn't want to shift the focus of the war, yet he was unwilling to give up the hard-won victory in the the North. He wanted to have it all.

For this purpose, the Wyvern Legion and the Gargoyle Legion were also dispatched.

"The Crusader Atonement Army...?"

Ryan thought that this army was most likely his biggest opponent this year.

"It's so annoying, they won't even let us farm properly."

Gerald Noble Territory, Dark-Eyed Count Territory.

"This year's grain harvest is going to be poor again, and the knights are already fearful."

Dark-Eyed Count Zedon Gerald sighed and put down the wooden board in his hand. It recorded that the amount of grain planted this year was less than last year, and it was easy to imagine that the joy of a bountiful harvest in the fall would also disappear.

The reason for this is, of course, because of the war.

The Orcs have launched a full-scale invasion. Although the Empire dealt with it quickly, the Andara Kingdom is still at war with the Rhino Orcs, and the Gerald Noble Territory is also fiercely fighting against the Minotaurs Gnolls.

These Orcs bullied the weak and feared the strong, picking on the easy target.

However, unlike the Empire and the Andara Kingdom Gerald Noble Territory, when the Orcs invaded here, the nobles of the South lands had to provide them with support. Although manpower was scarce, resources were not spared.

But war depletes resources, and Gerald was nearing his breaking point.

"How about we borrow some men from the Elves? They definitely wouldn't want to see us fall to the Orcs; those proud Elves despise the Orcs."

Standing in front of Dark-Eyed Count was his brother, Dirk Gerald, who was offering advice and suggestions.

"We haven't been able to find those Elves lately, and the Church's Crusaders are arriving soon; they'll help us deal with the Orcs."

At this point, both of Gerald's descendants seemed somewhat helpless.

They welcomed the help of the Church's army; more than a hundred years ago, their ancestors had launched an attack on unknown monsters in the Northlands in the name of the Lord of Dawn.

They were devout Dawn Believers, but they also understood that the Church of Dawn's Atonement Army was not a legitimate army.

They are heinous sinners of the Church.

The entry of such an army into their territory is hardly a good thing, especially for a highly traditional noble state like Gerald.

What was Uncle Merlan's reaction?

Dirk asked, referring to Uncle Merlan as another Count Gerald, whom most people call the Golden-Eyed Count to distinguish him.

The two families used to have a good relationship, but ever since Zedon Gerald became the third Dark-Eyed Count, Golden-Eyed Count has often used his seniority to teach Dark-Eyed Count, which has caused the two families to become quite estranged.

"Who knows what he's doing? Maybe he's preparing for the arrival of the Crusaders."

"They're here..."

Dirk hesitated, knowing his words might offend Dawn, but he still said:

"We will end the war with the Orcs, but soon, I fear we will have to declare war on the Andara Kingdom."

As noble territories, whether it be an empire or a kingdom, they are all behemoths to them, so they are naturally always on edge, paying close attention to what their neighbors are doing.

They were well aware that the Crusaders had not come to help them fight the Orcs.

"The Pope wants to reclaim the faith of the Andara Kingdom and then launch a holy war against the Empire from the east. We are destined to declare war on the Andara Kingdom."

"The knights are exhausted."

Helplessness appeared on the faces of the two brothers almost simultaneously.

"When will we be able to return to our ancestral land?"

Dark-Eyed Count sighed, feeling that his dream was far away. The Gerald bloodline had struggled for over a hundred years, but the goal seemed to be getting further and further away. He wondered if his ancestors would blame him.

The count was helpless; he could only be swept along by the overwhelming force between Royal Authority and divine authority. He tried everything he could, but could only watch as the arrival of the Crusaders drew ever closer.

Until that day finally arrived.

The Crusader Atonement Army consists mostly of cunning villains, with a smaller number being unfortunate souls abandoned during the power struggles on Holy Mountain. However, after being transformed by the Abyss, they have gradually forgotten their former human nature.

They are more cruel and have a greater thirst for killing.

The Church of Dawn used the Path of Dawn to absolve their sins, but after it ended, they were unwilling to leave these notorious fellows in the South lands, lest they arouse resentment, so they threw them to the the North to annoy the Empire.

This army has neither reverence nor gratitude towards the Church of Dawn. If it weren't for extraordinary means restraining them, they would probably have already marched to the Holy Mountain and surrendered to the Empire.

This is obvious, yet no one knows that the Crusader Atonement Army is in the hands of a devout Dawn Believers.

Leading the Crusaders was an old man with white hair that was neatly combed. He walked barefoot on the ground, not fast, but so fast that none of the Crusader Atonement Army members behind him dared to overtake him.

The Church of Dawn's methods of judging sinners are impure, so it cannot obtain pure Dawn sinners. However, this old man has never wavered in his Faith of Dawn, which is unlike the kind of person the current corrupt the Church could have.

Aven Griffiths was the name of this old man. He was a priest who used the Divine Art of Dawn to punish himself in every action, atoning for his sins. The shackles fell upon him, and the priest's devout faith spread the glory of the Lord.

(End of this chapter)