flstandardbreds Chapter 738 Cultivation
Chapter 738 Cultivation
The carriage rolled over the smooth cobblestone streets of Wyndam, the wheels making a continuous, dull sound as they rubbed against the stones.
Yuris sat upright inside the carriage, his body leaning against the hard wall, without moving, letting the frustration in his heart surge like a tide, making it almost impossible for him to breathe.
His destination was the palace in Midland, but the closer he got to that palace that symbolized royal power and glory, the stronger his dissatisfaction and bewilderment became, almost to the point of bursting out of his chest.
The root of all this lies in a series of recent actions by King Midland that he could not understand.
For reasons unknown, the king promoted the Eagle Band, a group of mercenaries, and hailed its members as heroes who protected the kingdom. Discussions about the Eagle Band could be heard everywhere, as if these mercenaries from humble backgrounds had become the most praiseworthy force in Midland.
What Yuris found even more incomprehensible was that the king specially invited Griffith, the leader of the Band of the Hawk, to the palace for recuperation, giving him far more treatment than ordinary nobles.
In Yuris's view, this practice was utterly absurd. No matter how skilled the Band of the Hawk was in battle, they were just mercenaries who did things for money and did not deserve such a high reputation. Griffith was just a mercenary leader, so what right did he have to live in the palace and enjoy the care of the royal family?
In all his years, he had never seen the King of Midland make such an illogical decision. Which of those noble families, whose lineage had lasted for generations, hadn't shed their blood for the kingdom? Yet now, a foreign mercenary had stolen the limelight from them, which made him feel both absurd and furious from the bottom of his heart.
The carriage continued its steady journey. Yuris closed his eyes, trying to calm his emotions, but those chaotic thoughts just wouldn't go away.
Just then, a sharp commotion suddenly broke the silence inside the carriage and interrupted Yuris's thoughts.
Yuris frowned, reached out and pulled back the curtain of the carriage window, looking in the direction of the sound, trying to see what was happening outside.
As far as the eye could see, a carriage bearing the coat of arms of a noble family was blocked in the middle of the road by a group of soldiers.
The equipment of these soldiers was completely different from that of the city defense troops that Yuris was familiar with. Both the style of their armor and the weapons they carried were distinctly different.
He recognized at a glance that this was a patrol team formed after the king implemented his new policies, a new force used by the king to maintain order in the city.
Before Yuris could take another look, the patrol soldiers had already swiftly opened the door of the noble carriage and dragged the person out without a word. The person struggled, but was no match for the soldiers' strength and was quickly forced into a carriage made entirely of sheet metal. The whole process was swift and decisive.
Yuris watched this scene. He knew this patrol team all too well; it was one of the core measures of the King's new policies.
The king completely separated the patrol team from the traditional city defense force, no longer allowing the city defense force to interfere in the city's daily cases and law enforcement affairs. All street management, violation handling, and security maintenance were all entrusted to this brand-new patrol team.
To ensure the smooth operation of the patrols, the king also promulgated many new rules and regulations, detailing every aspect of traffic within the city.
For example, at crossroads in the city, passing carriages had to stop and wait for patrolling soldiers to wave signs before they could proceed according to instructions; they could not act on their own.
These rules are detailed and strict, completely breaking the previous state of unrestrained traffic within the city.
However, once these rules and regulations were implemented, unavoidable problems quickly surfaced.
Most of the patrol members were ordinary people, and they simply did not have enough confidence to enforce the law when facing the nobles who were high and mighty in the city.
When a noble family violates the new rules, and the patrol officers step forward to stop them, whether the other party cooperates or not depends entirely on their mood. More often than not, the noble children will only scold them with disdain, or even threaten to retaliate against the patrol officers' entire families.
Those ordinary patrolmen were just trying to make a living, and they were powerless to resist the oppression of the nobles.
For a long time, more and more patrol members have chosen to resign and leave out of fear of retaliation. This newly formed team once faced a predicament of massive personnel loss and near paralysis.
Upon learning of this, the king neither compromised nor withdrew the new rule, but instead resorted to his last resort.
He ordered the recruitment of men from outside Wyndam, and even from abroad, to fill the vacancies in the patrols.
Among the large influx of foreigners, the Huldharns became the primary targets for recruitment. They have become the largest foreign group living in Wyndam, and in a short period of time, a large number of Huldharns poured into Wyndam and joined the patrols.
The local Huldlanders had a long-standing feud with the noble class of Midland, and the two sides had always been at odds, with constant friction.
Now that the king has granted them the legitimate power to enforce the law, along with a stable salary, allowing them to openly and legitimately attack the Midland nobles, the Heldrans are naturally not going to let such an opportunity pass them by.
The recruitment slots for the patrol team were snapped up instantly as soon as they were released.
These patrolmen, who were from Heldran, had no scruples when enforcing the law. If they encountered nobles violating the rules, they would not hesitate to forcibly stop the carriages, drag the people out of the carriages, and if anyone dared to resist, they would beat them with sticks and then detain them, waiting for the nobles' families to send someone to pay bail to ransom them.
This method of law enforcement was far from dignified, even appearing crude and rude, and was considered a great disgrace by the aristocratic class. However, the effect was remarkably significant, and the security situation in Wyndam improved at a visible rate.
While dealing with the nobles' violations, the patrol team also took the opportunity to eliminate the gangsters who depended on the nobles for survival.
Although most of those arrested were low-level gangsters and the core members were not targeted, the phenomenon of collecting protection money in the city has been greatly reduced, and the lives of ordinary people have become much more stable.
Yuris slowly lowered the curtains, shutting out everything outside. The annoyance in her heart lessened, replaced by a complex mix of emotions.
He leaned back into the carriage, sighed silently to himself, and muttered to himself:
"Each generation is worse than the last."
He didn't agree with the king's actions, but at this moment, he inexplicably understood the king's feelings.
The nobles of Midland today are no longer the same as their predecessors, who were skilled in warfare and governance.
Most of the aristocratic children today are of low character, idle and pleasure-seeking all day long. They have lost the integrity and ability of their ancestors. Not to mention shouldering the heavy responsibility of marching and fighting or handling government affairs, they even have great difficulty managing their own lives. The whole group exudes a weak and pathetic atmosphere.
It's no wonder the king abandoned these nobles and instead relied on external forces to restore order. If it were him, he might also have been disappointed with such nobles.
……
On the platform, Guts was practicing his sword swings as usual.
He gripped a heavy two-handed sword, his arms straining as he slashed downwards repeatedly. His movements were simple yet powerful, devoid of any superfluous techniques. Each strike carried real force, repeated continuously as if he were pouring all his emotions into the sword.
“Gess”.
A voice broke the silence on the platform, which was filled only with the sound of swords being wielded.
Guts stopped swinging his sword, looked up, and looked in the direction from which the sound came. He immediately saw Griffith standing at the bottom of the steps.
Griffith, leaning on his cane, walked slowly and limped up the steps, each step sluggish from his still-healing injuries. It took him quite a while to finally reach the platform and come to Guts' side.
"You can already wield a sword?"
Griffiths looked at the sword in Guts's hand.
"Your injuries are clearly more serious than mine."
Gus did not respond immediately, but remained in the same position.
"I'm sorry about what happened yesterday. I heard everyone came to see me."
Griffith then spoke.
After speaking, he walked to the railing of the platform, leaned slightly against it, and gazed into the distance, as if talking to himself:
“Those ministers come to see me frequently, as if they have done me a great favor. To be honest, they are very annoying.”
"But I think this is something we can't help."
Griffiths finally spoke, his voice calm and devoid of any extra emotion.
The two stopped talking and leaned against the railing side by side. Silence fell around them, broken only by the faint sound of the wind. There was no awkwardness, only a tacit understanding that needed no words.
After a moment, Griffith spoke again, breaking the silence:
"I never imagined that a monster like Zod could exist in this world."
He paused, then continued:
"But this also proves that there are things in this world that are beyond human perception, such as the God of Light."
Upon hearing this, Guts turned his gaze from the distance to Griffith and slowly spoke:
"It might be some kind of demon."
"Maybe, who knows?"
Griffiths responded.
Gus's thoughts drifted back to the scene when Zod left. Before leaving, Zod had pointed to Griffith's chest, stared at the red stone, and said something. That scene remained in his mind.
After a few seconds of silence, Gus asked the question that had been on his mind:
"By the way, what is this thing?"
Griffith lowered his head, raised his hand to pick up the red stone hanging from his chest, and gently touched the surface of the stone with his fingertips:
"I don't know either. It must be for exorcising evil spirits. I should thank that fortune teller for giving me this."
Gus stared at the red stone, remaining silent for a long while before speaking again, his tone carrying a seriousness he himself was unaware of:
"It seems I owe you another favor. But why? Three years ago you said that I was just an ordinary soldier to you, but you always saved me when I was in the most danger. Why is that?"
Upon hearing this, Griffith raised his head, looked at Gus, remained silent for a moment as if in thought, and then spoke:
"I have my own reasons, do you want to hear them?"
"No, I..."
Gus was about to refuse, not wanting to ask for the other party's reasons.
Just then, an aged voice came from above the steps, clearly reaching their ears and interrupting Guts.
"Griffiths, your injury is healing very quickly."
Gus and Griffith both looked up at the top of the steps.
King Midland stood at the top of the steps, with Count Yuris close beside him. Their gazes fell on the two men on the platform, watching them silently.