After the speech at the village's northern gate, the last knight came to express his goodwill to him.
However, Sir Willhem was even younger than "Sir Davis." He had no son to send him, so he hoped to bring back his younger brother, who had become a bard, and have him serve in Tervain Village as a court musician or court poet.
Sir Davis, played by Ergons Tevalin, naturally accepted with pleasure.
Before their conversation had ended, Adamson arrived before them with a cuirassier whose helmet was adorned with a red flamingo feather.
"Young master, the Baron's messenger says that the Baron's forces are still thirty miles from Tewain Village. We are to prepare to receive them."
"Understood! Arrange for this knight to go down and rest."
The cuirassier with the flamingo feather had barely spoken before he was sent away to rest. The soldiers who had only just gone up less than two hours earlier were assembled once again.
This time, just as Ergons had requested, the troops gathered without being divided into camps. All the knights assembled in one place, while all the combat soldiers and auxiliaries stood behind them with spears, ten paces away.
Everyone intended to welcome the Baron's arrival in their best condition. Some genuinely hoped to leave a good impression, while others had their own motives. Only they knew what those were.
The Baron's carriage convoy arrived amid a cacophony of noise, but suddenly stopped a mile away. At that point, the knight with the red feather was sent back, accompanied by William Adena.
The Baron did not ride on horseback and advance with the army. He sat in his carriage. Seeing the dark, grim formation gathered at the village entrance through the opened carriage curtain, he curled his lips into a smile.
"Old Nova's son is no simpleton. The Church must have put in quite a bit of effort behind him!"
With permission granted, the cuirassier messenger had already rejoined the formation. William Adena came to the side of the carriage driver's bench. "My lord, Ergons is waiting for you."
The Baron's gaze paused. William's frankness was a signal of sorts, and the Baron understood that Nova's son was indicating that he knew he was Ergons, not Davis.
He neither wanted nor coveted the right to inherit Tevalinburg.
"He's an understanding child. That boy has worked hard. Let us enter the village."
Only then did the convoy set off again, approaching the troops that were waiting for inspection with their spirits high and their chests thrust out.
"William, you are truly skilled at training troops. I almost can't bear to leave you here in Tervain Village."
When the Baron received these nobles, he naturally offered them praise. In reality, most of it was all conventional talk. Only when he reached William Adena did he specifically say a few extra words.
William Adena showed a grateful expression. "Wherever you need me to be, Baron, I will be there."
But what he was actually thinking was, Are you planning to send me back to keep guarding your gate?
The Baron's gaze did not linger. After praising and encouraging everyone in turn, he finally stopped in front of Ergons Tevalin.
"Nephew, you have truly grown through your experiences. You are already the most outstanding member of our Tevalin Family's younger generation. I am proud of you."
After some polite pleasantries, the Baron moved into the command tent that had long since been prepared for him. Soon afterward, the Baron's chamberlain conveyed the Baron's order.
"The troops have finished assembling. Follow the river and conduct protective patrols of every village within the territory.
"If you discover traces of pirates, attack them proactively. Everyone will set out after resting for one night."
When the order reached Ergons Tevalin, he was frowning as he pondered the problem. Seeing his young master's tightly furrowed brows, the messenger heavy cavalryman did not dare say much.
"William, I have sensed that the army of the Swedish Count is gathering near Tervain Village. It seems they intend to capture Tervain Village and then surround Tevalinburg."
The moment he said this, everyone in the room was shocked.
In truth, this was not a prophecy. He had received a system notification: a large enemy force had been discovered near Tervain Village.
Looking at the map, he saw a force of nearly three to four hundred men surrounding the estate outside Temalin Village.
This was a typical act of retaliation!
The Church and the County of Tervain had previously planned to use Tervain Village as a hiding place and launch attacks in all directions from Tevalinburg.
Now, they no longer needed your assistance. They had come to fight directly.
They had to provide aid, but sending just the dozen or so of them back would be useless.
If they wanted to relieve the village, they had to bring the entire army back.
But once they involved the Baron's entire force in the rescue, how were they supposed to explain it to this group of assembled nobles?
That was the key problem.
He was not prepared to expose all of this right now.
"Young master, we have to go back! Like you said, there are several hundred people. Can my father and the others hold out? You are a Divine Favor—couldn't you take us back there all at once?"
"Stop crying! Do you think the young master won't go back? He is trying to think of a way!"
William interrupted Adamson's tearful plea, then voiced his own concern. "The human heart is the most unfathomable thing of all. There are simply too many of these people. Who is human and who is a ghost? No one can say for sure. Young master, if you reveal a miracle before them, there may be serious trouble."
"There will indeed be trouble, but there should also be room to maneuver. William, go and get... No need. He came himself."
Before William could understand what his young master meant, the pastor entered. "I hope I am not disturbing you. I couldn't find you anywhere. I didn't expect you to be holding a pre-battle meeting."
"I received a carrier-pigeon message. My village has been surrounded by the army of the Swedish Duchy. My village has only that few people, so we can hold out for two days at most.
"Even if we wanted to return normally, we probably would not make it in time. And with so few people, we likely would not be of any use."
The pastor looked puzzled. A carrier-pigeon message? What did that mean?
He reached out and gathered Pastor Ramses by the shoulder. "That is not important. I simply raised a kind of bird that can deliver messages. That is not the point."
Ramses was held by the shoulder, his entire body somewhat dazed. He was a pastor, after all. When had anyone ever held him so firmly, like a courtesan?
But he was merely a frail pastor. He really was dragged along by Ergons, unable to move away in the slightest.
Ergons wore an encouraging expression and coaxed him kindly. "Do you want to become the Pope? No, I should say that I want to give you the chance to become the Holy Light's representative in the mortal world. Do you want it?"
The pastor felt offended. What did the Holy Light have to do with this? Wasn't that the Church's business? What right did a muscle-bound brute like you have to say it?
Ergons did not give him a chance to lash out. Gritting his teeth, he used the command on him anyway.
There were only two uses of the Level 2 Permit left this month. One of them was being wasted here.
"Experience the Holy Light!"
Press CTRL+X to grant the troops experience and rapidly upgrade them into elite troops.
For a level-four low-level character like Pastor Ramses Bolton, one upgrade directly took him from a level-four Field Priest to a level-eight Battle Priest, completing a qualitative leap.
Golden light from the upgrade enveloped him. Ramses Bolton suddenly felt a huge amount of knowledge being transmitted into his consciousness—the understanding of the Holy Light and the experience of battle.
When everything ended, he was even unwilling to open his eyes, immersed in these revelations.
"The Holy Light has not abandoned me!" Ramses Bolton cried. His entire being had been renewed, and his physique had grown much stronger.
Large tears rolled down his cheeks. He was almost on the verge of breaking down.
Once his emotions had stabilized and he opened his eyes to look at Ergons before him, things became somewhat awkward.
Deep down, he wanted to believe that the person before him was himself a miracle. But years of learning within the Church and his own understanding of the Holy Light told him that something seemed wrong.
Ergons Tevalin had never expected ordinary people to be easily influenced by him, while professional clergy would instead refuse to believe it in their hearts.
William had already drawn his sword beside them. He seemed to understand as well—this man had no intention of bowing down and pledging allegiance.
That was careless.
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