Chapter 94: Blood Revenge
The next day, in the castle hall of Brave Shield.
"That's the whole thing, Countess. Charles just wants you to agree to let him use the name Fletcher."
Leon and Charles ran at the fastest speed for a whole day and arrived at Yongdun Castle.
The Countess was a rather kind old lady of ordinary appearance.
Perhaps because she was used to seeing life and death on the border, the Countess was not overly sad when she heard the bad news.
In fact, she behaved a lot like Hereward—her expression was well controlled, but she choked up when she spoke.
This is probably a common problem among high-ranking nobles of this era. They are used to hiding their emotions and don't want any of their feelings to be seen by anyone.
The Countess did not show much aversion to the existence of the illegitimate child. She even observed Charles carefully and calmly handed him a glass of water.
"Well, Charles, can you give me a proof that you are Oden's child?"
After calming down, the Countess asked Charles calmly.
"I want blood vengeance on Eldred! Therefore I need my father's last name, otherwise I cannot challenge him to an open duel, ma'am. I think this proof should be enough."
Charles knelt on one knee in front of the Countess and looked up at her, his eyes bloodshot but quite determined.
Taking blood revenge in the name of his son and provoking a duel may be the only way to avenge Count Oden at the moment.
In the continent of Pendor, including in medieval Europe, duels for blood revenge would definitely be supported by the vast majority of nobles, and revenge for one's father was exempt from punishment.
Once an enemy is identified and qualified to challenge a duel, the challenged party must accept the challenge. Of course, high-ranking nobles can ask their sworn knights to accept the challenge .
But as long as the enemy is not dead, the challenge can continue until one of them dies!
Even if the king killed someone, you can still seek revenge on the king - but the chances of winning are slim, as the king has many knights...
In fact, this is an important reason why nobles would not kill each other easily. Even if two countries were at war, as long as the defeated side did not seek death, the leading nobles would rarely be killed.
Of course, this is different from the Celestial Empire, which has been a unified political system with Confucianism as the outer layer and Legalism as the inner core since the Han Dynasty.
A unified country would not have the logic of blood revenge, because the emperor ordered the execution of the most death row prisoners. If avenging one's father was not a crime, then the emperor would be in great danger...
But in Europe, where principalities are everywhere, kings and nobles are essentially the same, and the core idea of this "chivalry" is to prevent people from killing nobles easily and to consolidate class rule.
Charles wanted to publicly avenge his father in the name of Oden's son, so he needed Oden's surname and a status above knight.
Only a noble could challenge a noble to a duel.
At the same time, this can also prove that he is indeed Oden's son - otherwise who would do this, not wanting the right of inheritance, but risking his life.
The Countess nodded: "Okay, child, I promise you. You can use Oden's flag and surname. I hope you can come back alive..."
After saying this, she still had no expression, but the first tear finally flowed from her eyes.
The old woman did not make things difficult for Charles; she might have been more generous than Auden had imagined—of course this was mainly because Auden was no longer around.
A countess would certainly not be stupid enough to persist in such a situation.
In fact, the Countess was probably quite smart. Like Hereward, she probably realized at the first moment that Charles Fletcher's presence could actually protect her daughter.
"Sir Leon, why are you here? Just to help your knights get their surnames back?"
After the Countess calmed down for a while, she asked about Leon.
"I did it for my own safety. Charles and I have common enemies, and I have more enemies than he does... When Count Oden was alive, he promised to help me keep an eye on Archduke Alma, but now..."
Li Ang spoke very honestly. He would not deceive an elderly widower.
"But I'm just an old woman. I can't help you deal with a duke..."
The Countess shook her head slowly.
"Then I'll be frank. I plan to buy the jurisdiction of Ralph's knight's territory. I know that you are in charge of the Earl's territory."
Leon pointed toward the west of Yongdun Castle.
The lord's intention was clear - he wanted Ralph and his rangers to completely break away from the jurisdiction of Brave Shield Castle and accept his own funding.
Leon was too familiar with that camp, it was impossible to feed the army there.
Although the Horn Summoning Rangers are a self-contained system, their own expenses still need to be supported by nearby towns.
Ralph was able to station troops there thanks to the support of Count Oden's Brave Shield Castle.
Now that Oden is gone, the Countess might hand over the management of Brave Shield Castle to someone else - such as her son-in-law Rayman.
But it is obviously impossible for the Horn Summoning Rangers to accept the management of the deputy commander of the Lion Knights, so the rangers may have to return to Changhe Town to set up camp.
That's basically equivalent to giving Alma a strong army - it's impossible for someone like Alma to be unable to control the Rangers under such circumstances.
Therefore, Leon wanted to buy the jurisdiction of that territory, turn himself into the superior manager of that knight territory, and make the rangers willing to serve him.
Of course, the deal was possible mainly because Earl Oden was dead and Ralph had no one to be loyal to.
That piece of land was originally sold by Leon himself...but now, what he wants to buy is not an empty territory, but a ranger base.
Baron Hereward's sentinels were originally stationed in Changhe Town. Taking advantage of the opportunity that Hereward brought them to White Hart Castle, Leon also planned to keep the sentinels in White Hart Castle for a long time.
Only by retaining the powerful army of the Horn Summoning Rangers can he ensure his own safety.
The best opportunity to retain this army is to avenge Count Oden, the leader of the Horn Summoning Rangers.
"Sir Leon, I promise you that this was the land you conquered. I know that. But I also hope you can promise me one thing..."
The Countess sighed. She did have the final say on the matter, but she also made another request.
"I hope you can guarantee that the murderer who killed Oden will die! No matter who he is! Oden said that you are the only master he has ever seen in his life. I know you can do it!"
The Countess finally couldn't control her sad expression, and tears flowed from her eyes.
She is actually far from being as calm as she appears.
"Please promise me! No secret power deals. I just want the murderer to die in front of me! If you can do that, I can give you that territory... I'm even willing to give you Brave Shield Castle as well!"
Li Ang closed his eyes tightly and then opened them again, his throat feeling a little dry.
"Ma'am, I promise you, but the murderer's life is not that valuable... If I do succeed, you can give me Fletcher Village."
This is not the Lord's generosity. There is a huge difference between "even willing" and "willing"...
On the contrary, if you take the initiative to ask for a village, there may be hope.
…
Charles will depart for Sarleon with the Countess.
And the lord returned to Maixiang Territory alone.
As soon as he returned to Maixiang Territory, he received good news - the eastern front troops of the Bacchus Empire that attacked White Deer Castle officially withdrew.
This may be the only good news in the first half month of the new year.
After the sentinels from Changhe Town arrived at Bailu Fort, General Agasson led the troops of the Bacchus Empire in a full retreat.
Ralph's rangers watched all the way and confirmed that the enemy had retreated two hundred miles away - this was indeed a complete retreat.
It was Amy herself who brought the news.
After confirming that the enemy had retreated, she originally came to the lord to "seek advice".
Lehman and Ralph came over with her, escorting her.
Charles' identity has been confirmed, and there is no need to hide it from anyone anymore. Leon told them the news of Count Oden's death.
But when they understood the situation, they immediately had differences of opinion.
"I have to go to Brave Shield Castle... Baron Leon, goodbye."
Leiman thought about it for a while and decided to leave with some hesitation.
"Lehman, stop! You are the son-in-law of Count Oden, and you have an obligation to avenge him! The place you should go is Qicha Fortress!"
Ralph was extremely unhappy with Lehman's reaction - there was not a trace of sadness on Lehman's face.
Leon also frowned. Lehman's behavior was indeed unfair to Count Oden, who had always been considering his future. Oden was even unwilling to have a head-on conflict with Alma because of this.
"Sir Ralph, of course I know I want revenge! But the problem now is that the Earl has passed away. How will the Jatu people react when they learn of this news?"
Leiman frowned. It seemed that he cared more about the safety of Brave Shield Fort...or rather, the army of Brave Shield Fort.
But Lehman was also right.
The death of Count Oden will bring about a series of chain reactions.
When Oden was still alive, the Jatu people didn't dare to attack Brave Shield Castle, but now that Oden is dead, who will guard the border?
"Fuck the Jatu people...you are..."
Ralph became visibly angry and his face flushed.
"Ralph! You go take over the defense of Brave Shield Castle... This is what you should do. Protecting Changhe Town is your duty!"
Leon interrupted Ralph's innocent words and started to make arrangements directly.
"Lehman, you have to go back to Sarleon City immediately. You have to go to preside over your father-in-law's funeral early."
"As for Qicha Fortress, I will go there to take a look. Let your Lion Knight go with me so that you can also know all the results."
Although these two men were not his subordinates at all, Li Ang's arrangement was obviously reasonable. The two stopped arguing and each led their team away.
Only after they walked away did Li Ang begin to arrange his men.
"Anson, Leslie, you are responsible for staying in the territory. If the crossbowmen or merchants come back, pay them according to the price we agreed on."
"Sarah, go ask Governor Justus to write a letter... Ask him to copy it exactly as I wrote it, without , and then send it to Baron Hereward."
Leon gave Sarah a piece of parchment.
"Hmm..." Sarah glanced at the contents of the paper : "Sir, if he doesn't write it..."
"Don't want to write? If he doesn't write, I'll castrate him!"
Leon handed Sarah a small curved knife - the same one he had used to kidnap Justus.
Sarah nodded and went.
"Amy, come with me to Qicha Fortress. I think it's up to you to solve your brother's troubles."
"Li Ang...Teacher, my brother shouldn't be in any big trouble. My mother will definitely be able to protect him."
Amy did not look nervous at all, and seemed very sure that Lord Andrew would be safe.
