Chapter 15: Ferrchelen Knight Order

After riding for about three days and nights with almost no sleep or rest, Dean left the bounds of Yorkshire and entered the bounds of Hosh County—fortunately, he had two horses for transportation; otherwise, Dean would definitely have been locked inside when Yorkshire entered a “lockdown” state.

Although he had that appointment letter and could leave smoothly, the items on his body could only remain at the level of an Apprentice Knight; let alone the trophy Hand Crossbow and Crossbow, even a Longbow would seem very conspicuous. Dean was certainly unwilling to accept such a loss.

After all, no one wants to see a loss for no reason.

As for the Corpse of that Spy?

After riding for about one night that day, Dean did not sink it into water but threw it into a forest where there were no towns or villages nearby—the beasts of the night were enough to help him deal with any traces; the surrounding droppings made Dean certain that there were quite a few carnivorous animals in that forest rarely trodden by humans.

And this was exactly what he needed.

Three days of nearly continuous travel made Dean feel fatigue far beyond imagination—and such fatigue also reminded Dean at the same time that he was no longer the Lone Wolf of Hagaslo who made people turn pale at the mention of his name, but just an Apprentice Knight heading to the Ferrchelen Knight Order; at least, in terms of physical Strength, this was the case.

Therefore, after entering the first town in Hosh County, Dean rested in an inn: a hot bath, a soft bed, and steaming hot food; of course, his horses were also resting—top-grade fodder and the scrubbing by the inn Attendant made the horses, which were just as dusty as Dean, look brand new.

Of course, this was based on having enough Silver Horns.

And thanks to the purses of those York Cavalry, Dean did not need to consider exchanging the stolen goods on his body for Gold Pulton before arriving in Vauban County.

Twenty-two days.

Dean traveled at his fastest speed from the central region of the Emerald Kingdom to Vauban County, the northernmost of the Four Northern Counties of the Emerald Kingdom, bordering the Snowplains Dense Forest and facing the White Night Kingdom across the Northern Ice Plains.

Similarly, his destination, the station of the Ferrchelen Knight Order, was located within the Tier Territory of Vauban County.

And going from Vauban County to Tier Territory took another three days—the roads covered in ice and snow between towns and villages delayed Dean for the vast majority of the time.

Including the day spent in Horn Town, there were only four days left before the thirty days stated on the appointment letter—it took twenty-two days, naturally because he restocked some items, and the things he carried became increasingly heavy, causing the horses’ speed to drop unconsciously by quite a bit; otherwise, Dean could have arrived within twenty days.

However, even so, Dean was much better off than in his previous life—one must know, in the previous life due to money issues, he did not have horses; although he could catch some carriages with kind people, he ultimately arrived at Tier Territory forty-five days later, exceeding the limit by a full fifteen days.

Although that was already his greatest effort at the time, that Ferrchelen Knight Order Regiment Commander, who abused his power for personal gain, unceremoniously gave him thirty lashes with a Whip, and then threw him to a sentry post fifty li away from the Ferrchelen Knight Order station to stand guard; exhausted and injured, lacking clothes and food, Dean clearly remembered he fell ill directly.

And this was just the beginning!

About two days later, the trusted subordinate of that Ferrchelen Knight Order Regiment Commander kicked open the door, threw him, burning with fever, into the snow, and then took away the Longsword he carried with him—for those so-called Knight attendants, the standard Longsword of the Central Knight Order was a rare sharp weapon.

Just when Dean thought he was going to die, the trusted subordinate of that Ferrchelen Knight Order Regiment Commander returned, looked at him who hadn’t died, and with a sinister smile, stabbed him hard in the stomach with a Dagger.

Then, he left again.

And this time, when Dean thought he was undoubtedly going to die, he was saved by Baron Tier and his group who happened to come out hunting.

It was just that Baron Tier, who had a fairly good heart but was quite a snob, did not truly help him; after hearing his story, he only asked slightly about that Ferrchelen Knight Order Regiment Commander, and after the other party indicated they would investigate strictly, he lightly sent him back to the Knight Order station.

Everything that happened afterwards, naturally, goes without saying.

In fact, before the Blood Moon War broke out, Dean suffered inhuman treatment—insults and beatings were already commonplace, and real food couldn’t be eaten once every two days; however, perhaps because that Ferrchelen Knight Order Regiment Commander worried the Baron would ask about it again, he didn’t actually kill him.

He kept him alive, even though he was worse than a dog.

However, that was only in his memory!

And this time…

Dean let out a cold snort.

…

Four days later, after the morning sunlight completely spread over the earth, thoroughly dispersing the snow mist wandering in the mountains and forests, Dean, with a Longsword at his waist and carrying a leather backpack, walked outside the only town in Tier Territory—unlike those Marquises and Earls, Baron Tier, who only held the title of Baron, had only one town and four villages as his Territory, and this was the level achieved through three generations of accumulation.

Otherwise, it would be even more shabby.

Similarly, because of the Territory, the armed forces this Baron possessed were not many; apart from his personal guards, there was only the Ferrchelen Knight Order.

However, although it was named a Knight Order, apart from the Regiment Commander who possessed the Strength of a true Knight, the rest were just a collection of soldiers formed by some Knight attendants and young and strong men from within the Tier Territory, totaling one hundred people—and in fact, for various reasons, this number was less than fifty, and this was already including Auxiliary Soldiers and miscellaneous soldiers.

As for why such a situation occurred?

Naturally, it was the “good deed” done by that Ferrchelen Knight Order Regiment Commander—eating empty pay, the other party had been doing this for the ten years before Dean arrived.

And the reason he could go undiscovered was naturally because of someone else’s help: the Tax Officer of Tier Territory.

In fact, this person was the second one Dean had to get rid of after coming to Tier Territory.

Who was the first?

Naturally, it was that Ferrchelen Knight Order Regiment Commander.

After leaving the town for about ten kilometers, a military camp gradually appeared before Dean—that was the station of the Ferrchelen Knight Order.

A Military Camp with a tower, surrounded by wooden fences.

Old and broken was the biggest feature here.

And the Guard standing in front of the camp, although trying his best to straighten his chest, hunger made him too weak to do better; his whole person looked listless, especially with that bone-chilling cold wind; even during the day, it made this Guard shrink his neck shivering uncontrollably.

However, after seeing Dean approaching, the Guard still dutifully gave a loud shout—

“Halt, this is the station of the Ferrchelen Knight Order… who are you?”

Perhaps because he saw the Longsword at Dean’s waist, this Guard paused in his tone and asked slightly nervously; Tier Territory, located on the border of the Emerald Kingdom, often encountered people carrying weapons.

Even though Dean didn’t look like a bandit or Barbarians, thinking of his own skills, this Guard looked at the approaching Dean and couldn’t help swallowing a mouthful of saliva, and furthermore, moved his steps back slightly.

He already had a plan: once something was wrong, he would immediately run towards the depths of the Military Camp.

As for so-called glory?

He was just a Farmer serving in the military within the Territory, not a real Knight; where would glory come from?

However, fortunately, Dean’s next words comforted him.

“Central Knight Order, Apprentice Knight Dean, reporting for duty!”

Dean said this, his voice loud and full of vigor, making the Guard, who was born a hunter, stunned, and then he hurriedly gave a sloppy military salute and said respectfully: “Greetings, Lord Knight!”

“I want to see your Regiment Commander!”

Dean said directly.

“Yes, Lord Knight!”

This Guard, born a hunter, nodded and ran towards a sentry box on the side—the sentry box was a house-like structure built with wooden planks, just a bit simple.

However, in this ice and snow, such a simple building could also provide enough warmth; moreover, there was a brazier inside—the smoke coming out from the cracks in the window made Dean very sure that there was such heating equipment inside; of course, that Regiment Commander Potts would definitely not be in this sentry box.

“What the hell Lord Knight, in the Ferrchelen Knight Order, apart from Regiment Commander Potts, where is there any Lord Knight!”

A cursing voice came from inside the sentry box, and then a Guard different from the previous listless and shivering one walked out—this was a Guard wearing a cotton-padded jacket over leather armor; a trace of alcohol on his body further explained what he had been doing inside the sentry box.

And in his hand he held a sheathed short sword; the leather Sword Sheath was already worn out, but he held it in his hand without caring at all, and pointing the tip of the sword at Dean, he said: “So it’s you, this audacious guy, daring to impersonate a Knight? Tsk, and daring to carry a weapon, don’t you know Tier Territory forbids carrying weapons privately? Hand it over!”

This slightly drunk Guard spoke while looking at the Longsword at Dean’s waist; suddenly, his eyes lit up, and disregarding everything, he grabbed towards the Longsword at Dean’s waist.