flstandardbreds Chapter 208 Religious Blackmail
Chapter 208 Religious Blackmail
There was a long queue at the entrance of the Fire Dragon Knights' headquarters in Nord City. Most of the people in the queue were young men who had just shed their immaturity. Most of them were apprentice Fire Dragon Knights who had just turned eighteen and passed the assessment of the Knights' Order.
Looking at these new recruits who were full of hope for their future life as knights, Edward, as the leader of the knights, was happy that his knight order would soon be injected with a batch of fresh blood, but this joy could not dilute his inner depression.
Although Edward's position in the Fire Dragon Knights should be the highest, the reality is that both within the Knights and among the people, as a centurion under his command, Grunberdo's reputation is far higher than that of his immediate superior.
Wherever the Fire Dragon Knights went, the people cheered Grunberudo's name loudly, but there were very few cheers for Edward, as if Edward was intentionally left aside.
Although Edward gradually adapted to this situation over time, the huge gap still made Edward feel uncomfortable every time he saw Gulenberudo.
He knew very well that this feeling came from his unwillingness and jealousy, but he could do nothing about it. The love that Grunberudo had gained from the people was built by him stepping on the corpses of Yoda's invasion. Even Edward himself admired this from the bottom of his heart. At the same time, he felt guilty and ashamed of his incompetence. He should not have volunteered to take the position of leader of the Fire Dragon Knights, otherwise he would not be so aggrieved now.
Of course, this situation would only make him depressed. He was also thinking about whether he should choose a suitable time to quit the Knights Templar and live an ordinary life somewhere outside Nordland. By the way, he could wait for one of his brothers to inherit most of the inheritance and title of his father who didn't care about him at all and then rush to Nordland to get some benefits.
Then the news that Archduke Haakon was going to pass the title to Grunberdo dealt a heavy blow to Edward, who had just recovered.
What puzzled him even more was that his father was planning to marry his concubine, Edward's mother, to Gulenberudo.
Although Edward knew that several generations of grand dukes had married their concubines to their subjects in order to gain closer relations with them, he could not believe that Grand Duke Haakon would actually marry his mother to his subordinates. This made his good brother, who was originally his subordinate, become his stepfather after just one order. In Edward's opinion, this matter was not only bizarre but also endlessly absurd.
At that time, the angry Edward went to the palace more than once to find his harsh and cold father, but was rejected by his father and blocked by the palace guards. This made Edward, who had no good impression of his father, feel disheartened.
These days, Edward has been thinking about why his father would do such a thing. What on earth could make Gulenberudo give his title and concubine to this minister who obviously had no connection with him? However, every time Edward thought about it, he was filled with endless anger, angry that his father was so cold-blooded that he did whatever he wanted and completely ignored his relatives.
The flames of anger continued to spread in his heart until they spread to other people, such as Grunberudo in the vortex. Edward's previous jealousy of Grunberudo gradually twisted and turned into hatred for him.
But years of friendship did not make Edward vent his anger on him immediately. Just as he could not see his own future clearly, Edward did not know how to face his brother.
Just as Edward was struggling, a sound of horse hooves came from the end of the street. A Grant soldier was seen galloping on the street. The residents hurriedly hid in the alleys on both sides to prevent the galloping horse from knocking them away. After the cavalry left, the whole street was in a mess. The residents hiding in the alleys looked around the street and walked out of the alleys cursing after confirming that the cavalry had left.
"That's the direction of the palace."
Looking at the direction where the cavalry left, Edward expressed confusion, because this kind of cavalry galloping in the capital only happened when the Yoda people besieged the Nords when he was a child, and it never happened again afterwards, whether in war or peacetime.
"Is there going to be another war?" Edward suddenly had this thought in his mind, but he quickly rejected it. The Yoda people had been driven into the sea a few years ago, and Grand Duke Haakon had long since surrendered to the King of Midland. There were no enemies around Grant that could directly attack the capital. After throwing these distracting thoughts out of his mind, Edward continued to focus on the task of guiding the new soldiers.
"How far is it?"
A carriage with the Duke's family crest printed on it was speeding towards the broad road leading to the outskirts of Nord City, with two teams of cavalry guarding beside it. The cavalry in front loudly shouted at the residents in the middle of the road to retreat to the sides to prevent them from affecting the progress of the Grand Duke's carriage.
In the carriage, Archbishop Haakon discussed with Archbishop Grant how to explain this blunder to John.
"Can't we just say he was Yoda's assassin as before?" asked Archbishop Grant, who was sitting opposite Archduke Haakon.
"The Yodas were fought off by others. If you tell them that there will be Yoda assassins here in a few years, will they believe it?" Archduke Haakon retorted. The matter of Yoda assassins could be used to deceive the residents who had never left the island. John's navy circled the routes of Grant and Yoda every day. John certainly knew whether there were Yodas coming or not.
Seeing that this plan failed, Archbishop Grant suggested:
"Why don't you just tell Marshal John about your plan? Since we are all trying to eliminate the pagans, I'm sure Marshal John will understand."
Archduke Haakon nodded after hearing this, then waved his hand and said:
"No, I don't know what kind of person he is. If he is a vengeful person, then I won't be able to go back."
While the two were discussing, the carriage drove out of Nord City and headed towards a camp consisting of white tents not far outside the city.
The movement at the city gate was soon known to the soldiers in the camp, and soon a team of cavalry rushed out of the camp, followed by a group of infantry who cooperated with the cavalry to stop them.
Seeing that the road ahead was blocked, the cavalry on Grand Duke Haakon's side immediately said:
"Our Grand Duke Haakon is discussing some matters with Marshal John. Please convey the message quickly and do not waste my master's time."
Upon hearing this, one of the cavalrymen immediately returned to the camp. After a while, the cavalryman returned the same way and said in the direction of Grand Duke Haakon:
"Those in the carriage can go, and the others can wait where they are."
Seeing this, Grand Duke Haakon had no choice but to order the cavalry to stay where they were, while he himself took a carriage to the interior of the camp.
Along the way, Grand Duke Haakon saw that all the soldiers in the camp were wearing uniform armor, holding various gleaming weapons, and various cannons parked on the side.
The more Grand Duke Haakon looked, the more frightened he became, because these signs showed that the soldiers on Grant Island were no longer of the same generation as those on the mainland. Even if the people of Grant Island were very tough, they would probably not be able to defeat such a well-equipped army.
Led by the cavalry, the carriage stopped outside a large tent. After Grand Duke Haakon and Archbishop Grant got off the carriage, they entered the tent under the escort of soldiers on both sides.
The first person that caught Archduke Haakon's eye was John, who was sitting opposite him, followed by a group of generals including Flammar and the captains of various Isus ships.
"Give Archduke Haakon a seat." Seeing that the main person had arrived, John ordered people to find two seats for him and Archbishop Grant opposite John.
After the two of them sat down, John asked:
"Please explain, Grand Duke Haakon, why are there so many assassins in your territory?"
When Archduke Haakon heard this, he immediately replied according to what he had prepared in the carriage:
"Marshal John, you don't know that although our soldiers do have the upper hand on the front battlefield, those pagan assassins are very cunning and are assassinating high-ranking generals in the army everywhere. We are completely unable to defend against this."
"but."
Suddenly, Archduke Haakon changed the subject and replied:
"I have found the reason. There are a group of pagans in the territory who informed the assassins of the officials' travel routes and provided cover for them after the assassins succeeded, helping them evacuate the scene."
"Oh? Then do you know who it is?" John continued to ask when he saw this. As for what Haakon said before, John only believed part of it. It was true that this group of assassins assassinated officials, but John certainly did not believe that they could do it so brazenly in broad daylight and it had nothing to do with Archduke Haakon.
"It's the centurion of the Fire Dragon Knights, Grunberdo!" At this time, Grand Duke Haakon suddenly proposed a name that shocked John.
"This man was the descendant of a pagan, and relied on disguise and merit to become one of Grant's senior generals. The assassins used this network to attack many high-ranking military officials." Archduke Haakon was relieved when he saw that John did not take any action, and explained with certainty.
"Oh, so that's how it is." After listening to Archduke Haakon's explanation, John sighed. When Archduke Haakon thought he was about to be freed, John said another sentence that made Archduke Haakon's heart fall to the bottom again:
"So there are still many pagans in your direct territory over the years. As a believer of the Lord, is this how you manage the territory?"
John continued after asking:
"I just asked around. You have a Benetic witch here. She seems to have a very high reputation among the local people. I also asked your officers. Some of them are not believers of the Lord!"
At this point, John slammed the table hard, and while the other party was startled, he stood up and asked Archduke Haakon excitedly:
"You haven't educated the islanders in these years. If you had done something, the island wouldn't be like this now. Am I right?"
Haakon was so frightened by John that he stood up from his chair. At this moment, his whole body was trembling with fear. He had a lot to explain, but when he saw John's eyes staring at his prey like a wolf, all the words he wanted to say were forced to swallow back into his throat.
As for leading the army to resist, let alone whether he could get out of the tent now, even if he led his soldiers to fight John with real swords and guns, it would probably be a miserable victory at best, and in the end he would be excommunicated by the French King's Office and would never be able to set foot on the mainland again.
Seeing Haakon trembling and unable to speak, John's face returned to his original expressionless look and he consoled him:
"I am a kind person. As long as you sincerely repent, I believe that the Lord will forgive your sins..."
An hour later, Grand Duke Haakon, supported by Archbishop Grant, got on the carriage with a piece of paper in his hand and drove out of the camp.
Inside the tent, John smiled with a look of having gained an advantage when he saw Haakon had left.
After the contract was signed just now, John not only received a sum of money as compensation, but also increased the lease period of Chusda to 99 years. The Issu merchants present also got the trade license they wanted.
It can be said that everyone except Archduke Haakon was happy.