Chapter 136, François "Longlegs", Duke of Winford

In early April, along the mountain road behind Baron Jean, a group of knights were riding their horses forward.

Suria did not come here alone. The two kingdom knights led many ranger knights to protect the Duke's daughter. The interior of Britannia, especially the vicinity of the Duchy of Wenford, is not very safe. Although the female knights have elite High-level strength cannot come alone.

The kingdom knights sent by the Duke to protect his daughter are naturally good players. These two kingdom knights have the strength of the elite peak, and they also have their own titles. One is called the bull knight Baptiste, and the other is called the stag knight Gus. Dun, they were all in their thirties, dressed in fine knight plate armor, with long swords hanging from their waists, and shields hanging from the hind legs of their horses, carefully watching the movement on both sides of the road.

Only the Knight of the Holy Grail rode his horse indifferently, chatting with the Duke's daughter: "So, Wenford's security is not as good as expected?"

"Yes, Lord Ryan, we spend a lot of energy on eliminating bandits every year." The female knight rode on her pure-blood elf horse and explained to the baron seriously: "Many bandit fortresses are built in the Principality's On the border, or deep in the forest, we have lost many knights in order to eliminate them."

"No reason?" Ryan complained: "Could it be that the knights of the principality can't solve this threat?"

As soon as this sentence came out, many young ranger knights in the knight team showed hesitation, but because the person in front of them was the Holy Grail Knight, they couldn't say anything, and at most they muttered two sentences: "It's not that we don't work hard! , the bandits are too cunning."

The bull knight Baptiste has a beautiful mustache and a big shaved head. Hearing what Ryan said, the knight said with some embarrassment: "Your Excellency Ryan, please be aware that bandits are very cunning. They often attack villages. Once you hear When the knights gather, they will hide in the depths of the mountains, or the depths of the forest, and hide in those fortresses."

"So you don't know how to attack the city?" Ryan asked again, not wanting to save face for these knights at all.

The virtue of the Holy Grail Knight cannot be questioned, and the knights present were a little ashamed. Seeing this, Suria took the initiative to take over the conversation: "That's right, Your Excellency Ryan, the siege equipment is heavy and difficult to carry into the deep forest or the interior of the mountain. The bandits never confronted us head-on, and it was difficult for us to conquer those fortresses when they defended the castle to the core."

"Hmm~" Ryan touched his chin, but he really thought about this question.

Brittania, the kingdom of knights, the hometown of knights, has the most powerful heavy cavalry unit in the entire old world.

The group charge of knights is indeed powerful in field battles, but it has advantages and disadvantages. In the case of raising knights with all the power of the country, one of the disadvantages is that the kingdom of knights lacks powerful siege weapons and powerful long-range troops. This country has no artillery. When the bandits built their castles deep in the forest or inside the rugged mountains, the heavy trebuchets, unlike artillery, could not be transported into them, and the knights had to dismount to fight.

Therefore, the knights felt quite helpless towards these bandits, and could only defend passively. The cost of recruiting an army was too expensive, and it was not an option considered by the Duke.

Thinking of this, Ryan understood why the female knight found him.

"Does Miss Suria want me to help Your Excellency the Duke solve this problem?" Ryan was still smiling, and he looked calm.

"Yes, we want to ask Mr. Lane to help us, otherwise the raids by these bandits will cause a lot of damage to the principality every year, the people will be displaced, the caravans will be robbed and killed, and the farmland will be destroyed." Her blond hair was pulled behind her ears, her figure was like a blooming iris, her face was full of sincerity and seriousness: "I hope that Your Excellency Ryan can lend a helping hand to us, this is my personal request."

Having said that, Ryan did not hesitate at all, he immediately agreed: "No problem, I agree, Miss Suria and Yuli are both my friends,

The Aintree family are my Ryan Machado friends and have helped me a lot along the way, so I have no reason not to say yes. "

"Great, thank you very much." A smile bloomed on Surya's delicate face.

Ryan also smiled kindly, which was a response.

This eldest lady is gentle and can speak. She and the family behind her have repeatedly expressed goodwill. Ryan has no reason to refuse. The Aintree family has helped all the way from Marienburg to Britannia He is a lot.

The virtue of chivalry does not allow him to turn a blind eye to this, and he is shameless who is only willing to accept benefits but not to pay.

Entering the interior of the Principality of Wenford, the air is filled with sweet fragrance. This Principality is surrounded by the Oracle Mountains. The Chinon River originates from the depths of the mountains. The land here is fertile and wild, and the climate here is cold in winter and cool in summer. wine estates and olive oil workshops.

Looking up, only the sun is warming the earth in the blue clear sky, hardworking serfs are farming, and the road paved with stones is full of travelers, caravans and villagers.

"What a land full of vigor and vitality!" Ryan praised: "This is simply a paradise on earth."

Hearing the praise of the Holy Grail knight, the ranger knights and the two kingdom knights felt honored, and the stag knight Gaston immediately responded loudly: "Exactly, Lord Ryan, whenever I see this I am willing to dedicate my life to this land, and when I am out fighting, Ms. Winford is the firmest belief in my heart."

Along the broad road, the knights headed towards Helenhild, the capital of the Duchy of Winford.

This is a huge city like a garden, built in the middle of the river valley, the clear water of the Chinon River flows through the fields next to the city, and the family of the "Pure White Horse" of the Aintree family hangs on the high gate The coat of arms, the golden crown of the duke is located on the coat of arms, telling the ancient history.

The houses in the city are all made of bricks and stones, with white walls and red roofs. The streets are extremely lively with people coming and going. Many trees are planted in the middle of the streets, and flowers and shade are everywhere.

The Duke's castle is located in the depths of the city, backed by mountains. The towering city walls and pointed towers form the giant castle of the Duke of Wenford. This huge castle has three floors inside and outside, showing a conical rise, with a circumference of thousands of meters. And built of towering granite stones, it is a symbol of wealth and power for His Excellency the Duke.

The castle is close to the Chinon River, with a square main castle in the middle, and six conical huge turrets on both sides, surrounding it. The 30-meter-high pure white horse statue in front of the main castle gives people a strong visual shock, as if in the past The first Duke Winford, who followed Arthur to fight in all directions, returned to the world.

On the road, among the flowers, and in the square, bards and acrobats were performing various shows. The knights passed through the main gate of the castle, and the lush sea of ​​flowers came into view, but Ryan and the others were not here. Instead, he followed the Duke's daughter straight to the inner court, where he would pay a visit to the Great Knight of the Sanctuary, the Knight of the Holy Grail, and the Duke of Winford "Long-legged" Francois Antry.

Today's luck was not so good, His Excellency the Duke did not stay in the inner courtyard of his own castle, the loyal maid told the Duke's daughter that the Duke was tasting wine in the gazebo outside.

"Mr. Ryan, please go to meet with your father first, and I will meet you after I get dressed." The Duke's daughter tactfully said that she wanted to stay first, and Ryan nodded kindly: "Okay."

Then, under the guidance of the bull knight Baptiste and the stag knight Gaston, along the marble courtyard, Ryan came to the gazebo in the castle.

The gazebo in the castle was built on a hill, and standing in the gazebo was enough to overlook the entire Helenhild and even the surrounding fields.

In front of the gazebo, there was a long queue of people, and countless suitors were queuing up to be received by His Excellency the Duke. Among them were leaders of various trade unions, businessmen from other places, manor owners from the Duke’s territory, and even some from the Duke’s territory. The wandering knights outside of Brittania are all eager to see the Duke himself, either to sell themselves, or to talk about their difficulties.

They were going to be disappointed today, as Baron Jean, who was wearing a full set of Britannia baronial dress and the badge of the Knight of the Holy Grail on his chest, asked to see the Duke, so the guards and knights who were on duty in the castle were immediately notified by the Duke : Today's meeting is over, and the two Holy Grail knights will discuss an important matter.

So with unwillingness and regret, those who waited had no choice but to disband on their own.

Inside the gazebo, several ranger knights wearing shiny silver full-body plate armor were standing guard. In the gazebo, a tall and stalwart figure stood with his back facing the visitor. He was slightly taller than Ryan, at about 1.9 meters.

Looking at this stalwart figure, the bull knight Baptiste and the stag knight Gaston never concealed the enthusiasm and love in their eyes. They stood respectfully with their hands down and signaled Ryan to come forward.

"Long time no see, Honorable François-Antry de Winford, Keeper of Winford, Owner of Oracle Hills, and much-loved His Excellency, Ryan Malcador, Knight of the Grail, hereby wish you well Healthy." Ryan bent down, put his hand on his left chest, and extended respectful etiquette to this stalwart figure.

Like his godfather, Winford "Long-legged" Francois is also a truly respectable person. The duke became a knight-errant after he became an adult at the age of 18, and participated in several wars. He won the laurel crown in the martial arts tournament in Kurona, the capital of Tania, and was named a knight of the kingdom. At the age of 35, he embarked on the road to the Holy Grail. At the age of 39, he killed a wyvern and a doomsday bull by himself. After the Holy Grail trial, he returned to the territory and succeeded his father as the Duke of Winford.

The difference between François and the dukes is that this grand duke is extremely good at internal affairs, and his many years of fighting career has never affected his wisdom. Looks like heaven.

His military ability has never been abandoned. 11 years ago, the necromancer Heinrich Kemmler led the army of the undead to invade Britannia. It was Grand Duke Francois who led the knights to block This attack and the complete expulsion of the undead from the borders of Brittania.

"Welcome to Winford, the lady's champion, the guardian of Marienburg, and the winner of the championship duel, Ryan Malcador~" The Grand Duke turned around.

Like Julius and Suria, this duke has bright golden hair and sea blue eyes. His thick short hair makes him look very energetic, finger-wide eyebrows, a high nose bridge, and a beautiful short character Hu was taken care of extremely vigorously. It was hard to imagine that the grand duke was already in his early seventies, and he was so handsome that he looked like a man in his thirties.

But when Ryan turned his eyes to his eyes, the impression of the Duke's appearance had faded away. These are a pair of eyes as deep as the sea. These are eyes that can truly see through people's hearts. Wisdom is in this rough sea. The ocean is rolling, brewing, waiting for the next wave to come.

A silk costume of the Grand Duke of Brittania adorned his stalwart body. It seems that because there is no official event today, the Duke himself is also dressed casually: "I waited for several days and you didn't come to visit me, so I had no choice but to ask you to come here, my Baron?"

The Duke's voice is heavy and full of magnetism, with a strong sense of time.

After confirming that the Duke's face was full of smiles, Ryan replied carefully: "I was negligent. I just arrived in the territory and there are a lot of things. I plan to visit you after I finish."

"A wise decision! This is a qualified lord." The Duke first affirmed Ryan's approach, and then smiled: "You are outstanding. Even though I knew you were Ivan's godson, I didn't expect you to be so outstanding."

"Reality is always more incredible than imagination, my duke." Who knew Ryan smiled a little unnaturally: "I didn't expect that there would be such a day, when I felt desperate in the championship showdown, it was the lady who gave me the answer." gave me the strength to fight on."

"And your feats along the way have been worthy of the name of the lady's champion. This is the reason why I welcome you. Sit down. In this beautiful spring, there is nothing more refreshing than drinking a glass of fine wine together." The Duke turned towards The waiter serving behind him made a gesture, and the waiter immediately served two ivory cups. A bottle of very old wine was opened, and the dark red wine was poured into the jade-white ivory cup: "This is from 1462. Younger wine, for the ladies!"

"For the lady!" Ryan took the wine glass, the red wine tasted full-bodied, with a long history, and a strong smoky and roasted smell.

"Emmm~truffle mushroom, mint, leather, black cherry, and a little dwarf miner's smell, soft and firm, with distinct layers." Ryan tasted it with his eyes closed.

Before Duke Winford could reply, a surprised voice came from behind the baron: "I really didn't expect that Lord Ryan is still a person who understands wine?"

The baron subconsciously opened his eyes and turned to look behind him.

updated!