Chapter 98: Funeral and Duel
Three days later in the morning.
The Count's funeral began.
The funeral was not large in scale, but the letter did make King Ulrik realize that he should be cautious and not take any risky actions.
Ulrik had not welcomed the coffin into the city a week ago—he was busy restraining the royal guards who were accused of murdering Oden.
But when the coffin leaves the city, he will lead the way and see Count Oden off for the last time.
This is the courtesy a king should show to a deceased general.
Handfuls of flower petals were sprinkled on Count Oden's coffin and coffin. The king, fully dressed in armor, rode on a horse and led the way, while the Countess and Joanna walked with each other's support.
The guards followed behind them carrying the coffin, which was covered with Oden's double lion shield banner.
The Royal Orchestra played mourning music in the background.
On both sides of the road, the Lion Knights changed into black ceremonial uniforms and performed the knightly salute with their lances raised.
Although simple, everything is solemn and dignified.
Count Oden will not be buried in Sarleon City. According to the Countess's wishes, the Countess's grave will be placed in Kwen Village near Changhe Town. That is the Countess's hometown and the place where she first met Oden.
Therefore, the ceremony in Sarleon City was actually a memorial and farewell, not a complete burial.
The lord followed behind the team, walking with the thoughtful old man Baron Hereward.
Baron Eldred was naturally among the crowd.
He had been engaged in three days of verbal battles, for old Hereward was a very eloquent man, and he was exhausted by the repeated arguments in the throne room.
The long procession moved north along the King's Road and gradually arrived near the city gate, which was the end of the ceremony. Once the coffin left the city, the funeral ceremony was over.
And at this moment, King Ulric stopped, and the team also stopped.
In front of the city gate, in the middle of the road, a young man was kneeling on one knee, with his head lowered and his hands on the sword.
He was dressed in noble dress, but with an heraldic cloak over his body, the emblem being Oden's double lion shield.
This is Charles.
Seeing the team stop, Charles raised his head, looked at King Ulrich, and said loudly: "I am Charles Fletcher, the son of Oden Fletcher! I want to testify that Baron Eldred killed my father!"
"As the son of Oden Fletcher, I will challenge Eldred to a duel of revenge under the witness of Eunomia and Your Majesty! I swear on my blood that I will make the murderer Eldred repent under the sword of revenge! Please, the gods, judge my oath!"
After saying this, he gently cut his face with the blade of the sword, and a trickle of blood flowed out.
King Ulrich looked at Charles in surprise, then looked back at the Countess.
The Countess nodded: "Charles Fletcher is my second son."
Ulrich raised his eyebrows and led the horse out of the way - blood revenge does not require reason or evidence, no one can stop it, and the winner has the final say.
"Eldred, draw your sword!"
"Wait... there's a funeral going on right now. Can the duel be arranged to take place in the arena after the funeral?"
It was Lehman who spoke. He frowned at Charles, but there was no hostility in his eyes.
In fact, this is a reasonable request. Logically speaking, a duel should not affect the normal progress of the funeral.
Leon nudged Baron Hereward beside him with his elbow imperceptibly.
"Sir Lehman, if we wait until the funeral is over before avenging Count Oden, will the Count rest in peace? I think we should do it in front of Oden, Your Majesty, what do you think?"
Old man Hereward understood and walked up.
King Ulrich didn't know what he was thinking. He looked at the crowd behind him, then at Charles, and finally fixed his eyes on Baron Eldred.
Then Ulrich rode his horse and paced out of the city gate, looked around for a few times, and then came back.
"I have completed my funeral procession... Close the gates and open them after the duel is over!"
King Ulrich was indeed still of the same character, wishing for unrest in the world - his funeral procession only stopped at the city gate.
"Eldred, it's time for you to accept the challenge! Do you want to fight yourself or find someone to do it for you?"
The king's meaning was clear, he wanted to watch the duel!
For a king who has always promoted the law of chivalry in the country, this is normal...
But more importantly, thanks to the previous letter, Ulrich had also realized that the city gates had been kept open for the funeral.
So he rode on horseback to take a look - everything was safe and there were no enemies.
Then what are you worried about?
Eldred was indeed suspicious. Old man Hereward had been arguing with him for three days. King Ulric was fed up with it. In addition, he had to overturn the case for his nephew Andrew...
It would be great if Charles wanted to duel with him!
If Eldred died in a duel, this might be a result that everyone would be satisfied with. After all, it was the judgment of the gods, and it was also the only way that would not lead to a rebellion by the garrison of the Seven Forks Fortress.
This is blood revenge, and Eldred must fight.
He had no knights of honor with him, so he had to fight alone, but he was very skilled and was not afraid to fight in person.
However, he was not prepared for this matter. He never expected that Count Oden actually had a son, and he was somewhat panicked.
After drawing his sword, Eldred stepped forward and the two men stood facing each other at the foot of the city gate.
A large group of nobles formed a circle nearby.
The Countess stood in the front, looking at Eldred coldly.
In an inconspicuous corner at the foot of the wall, Riva was dressed as an ordinary maid, holding a basket of flowers in her hand.
The Lord 'looked' at his team panel.
It read: 'Charles (Tax Collector), 99%'.
The specific attributes cannot be seen, but the current life state or physical state is 99%; this percentage can be considered as a combination of physical strength and vitality, so it is probably more appropriate to understand it as 'physical state'.
Only subordinates with specific positions will be listed separately and their activity status will be displayed.
Leon assigned Charles the position of tax officer of Mai Xiang Territory, but in fact, his territory now does not collect taxes at all...
After all, Maixiangling is exempt from all commercial taxes, but we have to wait for several months to pay the agricultural taxes.
There is no other way. The Lord has tried it, and only the regular territory positions will appear in the list separately, such as quartermaster, doctor, stormtrooper, etc.
If there is no normal position, Charles will be judged as a 'Knight of Sarleon', and even his name will not be listed...
However, the fact that he was judged as a knight by the system without wearing heavy armor and only with a light aristocratic dress also shows that Charles's ability is quite good, much better than what he claimed to be "average".
After all, he was raised by Count Oden since he was a child, so no matter how mediocre he is, he can't be that bad.
After becoming an official member of Leon's team, he would have some advantages in certain aspects - he could get bonuses in treatment and healing, and the lord could also directly see his physical condition.
After the crowd of onlookers formed a circle, Charles took action directly, pointing his sword directly at the opponent's vital points and attacking very fiercely.
Charles' swordsmanship is actually quite good, at least above average among the Knights of Sarleon.
But Eldred was obviously a real master. He blocked Charles's straight thrust with one sword, but the second sword injured Charles, hitting his left shoulder.
Current status 91%.
King Ulric frowned.
Li Ang also sighed. The difference in level between the two sides was still too big. It seemed impossible to win without using some dirty tricks.
Looking at the bright sun in the sky, the lord quietly began to move and choose the angle.
Charles could now be called a desperado, he knew that he was no match for Eldred, so after he was injured, he started to attack desperately, fighting for his life with every move.
This is also what he said to Li Ang before - because he is afraid of death, he has to fight harder and kill his opponent so that he can survive.
