The Abducted Count

The Moreland Family's castle was a small stone fortress, its outer walls a little over three meters high. Soldiers could stand atop them and attack enemies outside.

There were also two earthen-and-wooden arrow towers around five meters tall on either side, where Archers could fire upon enemies beyond the castle walls.

Reiner sat in a chair in the study, casually flipping through a Knight Novel. A moment later, there was a knock at the door.

"Baron, the Count's messenger has arrived!"

"Let him in!" Reiner said. The study door opened, and after the guard bowed, he closed the door and stood watch outside.

A knight approached, clad in slightly battered armor with a bandage tied around his shoulder. His disheveled appearance left Reiner puzzled. Why was the Viscount's messenger in such a state?

"Uh... dear messenger, what happened to leave you like this?" Reiner asked.

"Honored Baron!" The man looked deeply pained as he said, "In truth, I should have given my life for my lord's safety, but I had no choice. I fled shamefully, but only because I hoped my master could be saved!"

"What happened? Please, take your time," Reiner said. The memories in his mind allowed him to accept everything about this world without difficulty, and even his mannerisms and tone of speech closely resembled those of his former self.

"Please, my lord, save my master! It may have been a group of outlaws from your territory. You are the only one I can turn to! If my master had not attended Viscount Mora's banquet, this would never have happened!"

His words were somewhat incoherent, but the general meaning came across clearly enough.

Reiner pondered for a moment, then called to the guard outside, "Go summon Sir Cord. I have something to discuss with him!"

After a while, Sir Cord arrived in the study. When he saw the bedraggled knight, he cast Reiner an inquisitive look.

After hearing the explanation, Sir Cord said furiously, "Damn it! The Red Dwarves must have done this!"

"There were forty of them, around forty. Their equipment was poor, but my master only had six knights, including myself, and several squires. They launched a surprise attack on us. We were not wearing armor, and their arrows inflicted terrible losses. I was the only one who found a Warhorse and escaped!"

This time, he spoke far more clearly, allowing Reiner to understand the enemy's strength.

Seeing their puzzled expressions, Sir Cord explained, "Over the past two years, a detestable band of brigands has appeared in the territory. They seem to have wandered here from another region. Many merchant caravans passing through have been robbed or forced to pay tribute, reducing the territory's income considerably. We have tried several times to gather troops and wipe them out, but every time, they slipped into the forest and escaped!"

Having said that, Sir Cord added even more bitterly, "Your previous coma was caused by those damned men! They saw that you had only two squires with you and set their sights on you, striking your head with a stone and knocking you unconscious. Fortunately, I had already received word that you were returning and led several knights to meet you. That was the only reason you escaped disaster!"

"So that was it!" Reiner suddenly understood. He had been wondering what had caused his coma, and now Sir Cord had finally given him the answer. There was actually such a band of outlaws in his territory.

At that moment, however, Reiner noticed a concealed flicker of amusement in the Count's messenger's eyes after hearing those words.

But he did not think much of it, assuming the man was simply happy that his master might be saved.

"Forty men!" Reiner narrowed his eyes and silently considered the number. Such a force posed little difficulty for him. Setting everything else aside, his greatest support was the five Crimson Gryphon Knights. As one of the system's most elite troop types, if Reiner had two hundred Crimson Gryphon Knights, he would even dare charge an army of ten thousand.

In fact, Reiner had every reason to believe the Crimson Gryphon Knights could wipe them out without suffering a single casualty. Their armor was far beyond this era; Plate-Chain Composite Armor was absolutely not something bandits wielding inferior iron weapons could break through.

Ding! Quest issued: Eliminate the outlaws within the territory.

As the lord of this territory, you must never allow circumstances beyond your control to exist within it. Eliminate them!

Quest reward: Two Junior Blacksmiths, 15 exquisite Recurve Bows.

Seeing the system panel appear before him, Reiner smiled faintly. As expected, although his system was rather basic, it could still issue quests.

Perhaps because this was his first quest, the rewards were quite generous. The fifteen exquisite Recurve Bows aside, the two Junior Blacksmiths alone pleased Reiner greatly.

The Empire's northern border was rich in iron ore. Large and small iron mines were scattered everywhere, and there were no fewer than five large mines established and operated by the royal family alone. Even the Moreland Family's territory had a small iron mine, where more than a dozen miners excavated ore each day before it was smelted together.

That was why even ordinary Moreland Family guards could afford armor combining leather and chainmail.

As for the two Junior Blacksmiths, their attributes were extremely good. Reiner had browsed many things in the system from the start, and a single Junior Blacksmith required as many as ten merit points to exchange for.

That was already half the price of a Crimson Gryphon Knight. After all, this was a skilled profession, so such a high price was reasonable.

A Junior Blacksmith could produce five high-quality Longswords or fifteen spearheads each day. As for a full suit of chainmail, one could be crafted every ten days.

That was an excellent pace. Even with the Moreland Family's four blacksmiths, producing a full suit of chainmail took more than twenty days.

Seeing these rewards only strengthened Reiner's resolve. He immediately said to the other man, "Rest assured, I will not stand by and do nothing! I believe no nobleman with a conscience would allow another nobleman to be humiliated by lowly outlaws!"

"Thank you so much, honored Baron! My master's safety rests entirely in your hands!"

Reiner led the fleeing knight out of the hall and toward the center of the castle.

After the order to assemble the troops was issued, everyone had gathered by the next morning.

At the castle's center, the soldiers had already assembled: sixty armed guards wearing leather-and-chain composite armor and carrying two-and-a-half-meter spears, along with twenty Archers armed with hunting bows.

There were also eleven knights mounted on Warhorses. The knights who held their own fiefs had ridden their Draft Horses to Morland Castle within two hours.

Each of them wore a full suit of four-ring chainmail, with a scale-mail vest added over the torso in particular, greatly enhancing their protection. After all, the Moreland Family's territory possessed an iron mine, and any noble would gladly improve the equipment of his knights.

Besides them were the Crimson Gryphon Knights, clad in imposing armor. Their formation was so orderly that, despite numbering only five, they carried themselves with the disciplined bearing of an entire army.

All the soldiers knew that these five powerful-looking knights in exceptionally fine armor served Lord Reiner, and so they regarded them with great respect.

Reiner inspected the troops before him, then looked at the Crimson Gryphon Knights. Satisfaction was clear on his face. Adopting the manner of speech common to this era, he shouted, "Soldiers! Outlaws are ravaging our territory! The dignity of the Moreland Family has been challenged, and they have even abducted a noble Count!"

"Now is the time to take out the trash! Destroy them! The soldiers shall receive forty percent of the spoils! Now, march with me!"