Chapter 124 The Last Paladin
The Knights of the Dawn were originally the national knight order of the Barclay Empire.
Of course, that is no longer the case - they were declared an illegal knight order by the Barclay Empire a few years ago and were expelled from the Barclay continent.
Because their devotion to the goddess of justice is so fanatical, in the minds of those members who are overly obsessed with the goddess, the standard for blasphemy against the goddess has reached the point of nitpicking.
They committed countless unimaginable atrocities - they sent countless innocent merchants, farmers and even nobles to the stake in order to cleanse themselves of their sins.
The so-called sins were actually some daily trivialities - such as spitting, horses urinating and defecating everywhere, distraction during prayer, the altar of the goddess not facing the direction of sunrise, or dust on the statue...
These things are heresy in their eyes! They are blasphemy against the goddess!
Anyway, to put it simply, everyone is guilty. As long as there is any doubt in this regard, the suspect should be sent to the stake and let the goddess make the final decision.
Of course, this is probably also due to the political system.
The Barclay Empire was transforming from a purely feudal state to a capitalist state. Since Emperor Barclay introduced muskets into the army and began to implement the civilian legion system, the status of merchants and civilians had actually been greatly improved.
Because, with the existence of muskets , a farmer who had only trained for two weeks could easily kill a knight who had practiced martial arts for twenty years...
And it’s so cheap for farmers to use…
Therefore, traditional knights whose inheritance is based on blood, martial arts, war horses and armor are no longer the first choice of the Barclay Empire to ensure combat effectiveness.
Since the source of military forces has changed from knights to farmers, and the source of military funds and weapons has changed from nobles to merchants, the status of civilians such as farmers and merchants will naturally be improved - although it may not seem obvious, the nobles will definitely feel it.
For example, when class conflicts arise, His Majesty the Emperor may protect the rights of civilians and merchants; for example, the policies promulgated will mostly be beneficial to increasing the civilian population and developing commerce, but the nobles may suffer losses.
The traditional knight class, which had become increasingly corrupt after a long period of peace, naturally could not sit idly by and watch this happen.
The behavior of the Knights of the Dawn, in addition to their fanatical beliefs, is most likely the last madness of these traditional aristocratic knights in order to maintain their own privileges - to implement their "justice" in the name of the goddess of justice and clean up those "heretics" who support the new policy.
But their actions against the New Deal were so extreme that even Emperor Barclay could not accept it - who knew whether these fools would send the emperor who implemented the New Deal to the stake just because he did not wash his hands before meals or after going to the toilet?
Therefore, the Barclay Empire expelled them, abolished this powerful armed force, and even started a civil war.
Sir Roland was once a member of the Knights of the Dawn.
Sir Roland was not actually from Barclay. He was born in an inconspicuous village in the Bacchus Empire, where the Snake Cult was once rampant. The followers of the Snake Cult often abducted the villagers and sacrificed their blood to the evil god Aziz Dahaka.
The young Roland was unfortunate. He once witnessed in the dark how the Snake Cult followers took away his parents. He was only ten years old at that time.
But he was also lucky. After becoming an orphan, Roland received selfless help from a believer of the Goddess of Justice, who sent him to Barclay to join the Knights of the Dawn, where he received a good education and combat training.
At Buckley, Roland grew into an outstanding knight.
But he is an outlier in the Knights of Dawn - he has received help from the followers of the goddess of justice, and he believes in the goddess of justice more devoutly than anyone else. But he believes that the goddess has not given anyone the right to judge others privately, and he is unwilling to kill innocent people for the sake of power and profit.
For this reason, Roland swore an oath of honor that he would never pursue wealth and status in his life. He was determined to fight against evil and take it as his responsibility to uphold justice and fairness.
He made a vow in the temple of Astalia and was officially named a paladin.
'Paladin' is not a noble status or title in the ordinary sense.
It actually refers to a devout knight who swears allegiance to the goddess, is willing to abide by the rules and regulations throughout his life, fights only for his beliefs, and takes sacred ideals as his goal.
Can also be considered an ascetic.
Of course, becoming a paladin of the goddess of justice means that one must not have any moral flaws and must not aim for wealth and land throughout one's life, but rather practice justice throughout one's life.
Such people are naturally rare, so paladins are respected by most people and their social status is much higher than that of ordinary noble knights.
But in fact, there are very few people who can become a paladin, or who are truly willing to become a paladin - swearing to fight for the goddess, upholding virtues and strictly abiding by all the commandments can indeed gain respect from the world, but one will not gain any benefits...
In the Barclay Empire, which has a strong business atmosphere, capital consciousness has risen, selfishness and colonial mentality have gradually prevailed, and paladins who do not seek personal gain will even be considered fools.
Especially when the fanaticism of the Knights of the Dawn has ruined their reputation - because of their overly fanatical behavior, this Knights Order was actually secretly called the 'Dawn Fools' in Barkley.
But once you become a Paladin, you no longer have to take orders from others - a Paladin will not be loyal to the king, but to the divine authority and faith, and at the same time have the responsibility to inherit the faith and combat skills of the entire knight order.
Since they no longer pursue power and wealth and only serve the goddess, the paladins do not have to obey anyone's orders, which prevents Roland from following orders to kill innocent people.
After becoming a Paladin, Roland also intends to correct the behavior of the Knights of the Dawn - his dedication to true justice and fairness is completely different from what the other members of the Knights of the Dawn do.
But the correction gradually turned into a disagreement.
The disagreement was so great that it reached the point of resorting to swords.
When everyone is lying, the only truth is a lie; when everyone is evil, the only good becomes evil.
As a result, Sir Roland was exiled by the Knights of the Dawn, and a bounty was even offered for his capture.
Roland had to flee Barkley and return to Pendor.
As a paladin, the black and white emblem on his chest was originally a symbol of honor, but now it has become a wanted sign...
The last Paladin of the Knights of Dawn was regarded as a traitor and hunted down by the Knights of Dawn. The situations in this world are always so incredible.
However, Roland did not despair.
During his escape, Sir Roland kept dreaming of the goddess of justice Astalia, who asked him to correct the corrupt Knights of the Dawn and eliminate all evil from the earth.
He dreamed that Astalia called him 'the only knight of the dawn'.
The goddess of justice also told him that when justice and fairness once again ruled the earth, Astalia would return.
This was his lifelong belief and he never doubted it.
Therefore, he still firmly fights against heresy, still charges at bandits who harm civilians, still helps the poor and the needy, and still maintains impeccable morals.
Even though he is still on the run and still being hunted, he will not fall as long as justice and light come to Pendor.
"I believe that after the night comes the dawn. One day, the goddess of justice Astalia will return to the earth... I am glad to fight alongside you to drive out the heresy, Lord Leon."
After saying this, Sir Roland performed a standard knight's salute and prepared to leave.
"Wait, this is your trophy, you should take it with you..."
The lord handed the two-meter-long broad-bladed knife to Roland.
Leon certainly respected such a devout believer, a true paladin who dared to charge against any heretic alone - and Roland's skills seemed really worthy of making friends.
As for Roland's story, the lord believed it because he himself had heard a female voice claiming to be Astalia not long ago. Although he was not sure whether it was the goddess of justice.
But Roland shook his head and refused the spoils: "Although the weapon itself is not sinful, I am not good at using this kind of weapon... You keep it, it is not convenient for me to carry it."
"But where are you going, Sir Roland? You want to correct the Knights of the Dawn... but how can you do it alone?"
Leon threw the long-handled broadsword to Klose, jumped off his horse, took a lance from the cavalryman behind him and handed it to Roland.
"To be honest, I don't know how to accomplish this mission right now... but I will definitely do it! Thank you for your gift."
Roland was obviously a very polite person. When he saw Leon dismounting to talk to him, he quickly turned over, took off his helmet, and bowed to take the ordinary lance.
The Lord sighed: "You have to guard against being hunted down, deal with heretics, help the poor and the needy, practice justice, and correct the Knights of the Dawn... Pendor is full of your enemies, but you are alone without any allies - I guess the nobles of Pendor will not help you either. How can you do all this?"
Roland lowered his head and remained silent.
But after a moment, he raised his head again, his eyes still sparkling: "There will always be a way... Maybe I can rebuild a new Knights of the Dawn."
The lord shook his head and smiled: "Then you have to build a base first, right? Besides, establishing a knight order is no different from developing a territory. It requires a lot of dinars. You don't look like a rich man..."
Roland was certainly not a rich man. In fact, he was almost penniless as he insisted on helping the poor and the needy during his escape.
This time, Sir Roland frowned: "This is indeed a problem..."
"I am willing to help you, Sir Roland. But I hope that you can fight for me without violating the will of the goddess of justice. I can guarantee that you can refuse any war that you think is unjust. In addition, you can supervise me so that I will not become corrupt."
Leon once again started recruiting. This paladin with firm faith would serve the goddess of justice all his life, and he would not swear to serve any lord.
But as long as you don't do anything that goes against his beliefs, such a person will be more reliable to have around.
The lord would not believe the oaths of most people, but he believed in the beliefs of people like Roland - Sir Roland did not even want any spoils of war, he was really just trying to eliminate heresy.
Moreover, he believes in justice. The more friends like him the better. At least they can trust him with their backs on the battlefield.
As for whether the Lord would occasionally do something not so just, Leon had countless ways to make his actions at least appear just...
Sir Roland thought for a moment and said, "Thank you, Lord Leon. You are right. I do need help. If it is as you said, I am certainly willing to fight alongside people like you. But can you lend me some money? I saw a terrible tragedy in Serenmis in the south... The people there need help."
"Serenmis? What's going on there?"
"Almost all the young people there were killed, and the village was looted... I can see that it was done by the heretics who blasphemed the goddess. The flesh and blood armor on those heretics just now might have come from there. It was the goddess who pointed out their location to me, so I came here. Now there are only a few elderly people left in Serenmis. I want to help them, but I can't do anything."
The lord's heart sank. He realized that it was most likely done by the King with the consent of the Prophet's Legion!
Ulric... How is the way he uses heretics to deal with rebels different from what his father, the Mad King, did?
"How much do you estimate it will cost, Sir Roland?"
"It will cost about 8,000 dinars to resettle them. It was a big village, but there is almost nothing left. At least a thousand people died... Now there are only a few hundred elderly people who lost their children."
Sir Roland calculated and frowned.
Eight thousand dinars, of course the lord can afford it.
But Li Ang didn't intend to do so.
This act of charity seems noble, but in fact it is useless and will kill more people - if the dinars are given to those old people, bandits and scoundrels will swarm in after just one or two days, and none of the old people there will survive.
“Sir Roland, giving money won’t solve the problem, it will only allow thieves to run rampant and kill them.
You can bring those people to my territory, and I will let them farm to support themselves. The old people may not be physically strong, but at least they have sufficient agricultural experience, which is exactly what I need.
You adhere to the principles of the goddess of justice, which is very respectable.
But you should also learn the law of Eunomia, the goddess of order - let everyone play a role in establishing order, and thereby establish orderly groups and laws to protect the people. "
The Lord extended his right hand: "Each goddess has her own meaning. A single belief will only make the goddess fall into the abyss. You have been in the Knights of the Dawn for so long. You have seen what your former colleagues did. You should understand this. Simply giving money for relief is a kind of arrogance in itself. Sir Roland, you should forget your noble status, so that you can truly understand the mission given to you by the goddess of justice."
Sir Roland was struck by lightning.
After a long time, he stretched out his hands and held Li Ang's hands tightly.
"Master Leon, thank you for your teachings. I know what to do now. The goddess must have guided me to meet you here. The goddess knows that you will give me true advice!"
This bearded middle-aged man in his fifties had excitement in his eyes.
Like a teenager.
"I am Astalia... Fight for justice, child."
Leon recalled the goddess' voice again. Perhaps the goddess was indeed guiding him, and also guiding himself, so that he could meet the last paladin of the goddess.
'Sir Roland has joined your party'.
…
This battle did not get the best result expected, and the three prophets were taken away by the Lion Knights.
The Sarleon cavalry and mercenaries were also frustrated - all the Doombringers had died in the battle, and they had not succeeded in capturing any women.
Nearly a hundred people were killed or injured, but almost nothing was gained.
Because of their retreat and fear when the three prophets broke through, the lord did not give them a good look and did not even let them clean up the battlefield.
Leon ordered his troops to take away the weapons of the Three Prophets and the Winged Hammers of the Doombringers, and plundered most of the spoils, leaving only the bodies of the Doombringers to the cavalry and mercenaries.
Those doombringers were all very rich and carried many valuable things on them, such as the night-shining pearls that the lord had obtained, as well as their own jewelry, gold bars and some Noldor goods.
These things are worth at least 10,000 dinars, which is considered a good harvest.
However, before leaving, the Lord generously gave the leading knight under the Duke of Alma a chance: "You should know that with your cowardly behavior just now, I shouldn't let you get any benefits..."
The knight remained silent. They had volunteered to go to war, but they were afraid on the battlefield. This was indeed a huge stain and a loss of honor.
"But now, I can give you an idea... You have suffered heavy losses here, and Duke Alma will most likely cause trouble for you. But if you lead your troops back to Lion Lake City and swear allegiance to Lord Fothert, I think he will most likely be able to keep your position, and you can even move up a level. I can help you write a letter to Fothert and ask him to accept your surrender."
As he spoke, Leon took out a bag of jewels and said, "This is your travel expenses. Madam Bella is the heretic leader under the Three Prophets. Duke Alma knows about this but does not report it. He will definitely not be able to return to Lion Lake City in the short term. You should seize the opportunity... Am I a good friend?"
The knight's eyes widened suddenly. After a few seconds of silence, he accepted the bag of jewels and nodded: "Lord Leon, I understand what you mean . Thank you for your reminder and help. I will repay you!"
That bag of jewels was worth only about a thousand dinars. This was not a bribe. The lord was just giving him travel expenses.
What Li Ang really meant was to let him take the troops stationed in Changhe Town, and while Alma was involved in a heresy lawsuit, return to Lion Lake City and stand with the eldest son of the Horton family again.
Li Ang had no idea of attacking these garrisons. Their families were all in Lion Lake City and it was impossible for them to stay. The best way to deal with them was to send them back to Lion Lake City.
