Chapter 98: The Firestarter and the Firewood (Part One)
The next day, at noon.
The hooves of Ji Ma’s chestnut mare crushed the dew on the ground that had not yet evaporated.
The Kuinas Castle appeared before everyone, standing tall behind its snow-white walls, with the flag of the Duke of the Duchy of Casson fluttering atop its white spires. Numerous banners from various knightly families gathered from across the duchy in response to the duke’s call, fulfilling their feudal obligations.
Flags of different designs stood tall, spreading from the castle to beyond the city walls, waving in the wind and surrounding the duke’s banner.
The armies brought by the knights converged outside the city walls, as there was no space left in the city for troops to garrison. Consequently, dense clusters of tents sprang up outside the walls. Small contingents led by knights armed with lances continually joined the throngs of tents.
The leading knights all wore heavy armor, their gear shining brightly, standing tall and proud, brandishing their flags as if attending a parade. Competitive by nature, no knight wished to be overshadowed by others before heading to battle.
“My lord, please step aside; my lord baron’s troops are eager to respond to the duke’s call.”
A well-dressed squire on horseback bowed towards George, speaking in a humble tone.
George glanced at the banner of his Holy Order troops and thought that, under the circumstances, the Holy Army, which was not participating in the war, should yield to those knights who were. He pulled on the reins, and the unarmored celestial steed he rode stepped aside, allowing his small troop of fifty to stand at the roadside.
“Thank you.”
The squire rode back to his master.
His master must be a wealthy man.
The knight count was clad in shining white full plate armor, draped with a lion’s fur that symbolized valor, and wore a silver statue of a lake goddess atop his helm. Behind him followed more than ten knights in white armor, clad in fine attire and proud steeds.
The knight count kicked his warhorse’s belly, and the steeds bearing the proud knights set off towards the camp.
As he passed in front of George, the knight count turned his helm and glanced at George, noticing the outdated style of his armor, the uneven and dull plate with no adornments. He only looked at the two beauties nearby for a brief moment before arrogantly turning back, dismissing George entirely.
Ji Ma watched the passing knight army and said, “Hmph, just a count.”
No one responded to her; the proud knight, encased in iron, could not hear, and the infantry with their long spears had no idle time to gossip. Eve Frostleaf remained silent.
Ji Ma had hoped to create a scene to add some fun to the boring morning. Spending too much time wandering in dreams made riding slowly feel utterly tedious.
“Alas, how boring,” Ji Ma glanced at George, wanting to find some amusement.
However, it was clear she knew this guy was probably neither happy nor sad… Wait?
George’s eyes, hidden beneath his helm, fixated on the armor of the knight count, watching as the figure disappeared into the camp.
That envious gaze reminded Ji Ma of her elementary school days. Without smartphones, children with comic books held the highest status in class; everyone coveted those comic books. That look resembled George’s gaze now.
“George? George.” Ji Ma nudged him gently with her spear and asked, “Are you envious of their armor?”
“Yes.” George’s voice floated out from beneath his helm. “This armor I’m wearing is too outdated and mismatched. I pieced it together from secondhand plate parts I bought when I was younger and had a smith alter it.”
“I initially wanted to sell it, but considering it’s my first full suit of armor, I kept it as a memento. I didn’t expect I would have another day to wear it.”
“Hahaha.” Ji Ma felt a bit shy and said, “No wonder I thought this suit of armor was quite practical.”
Eve Frostleaf chimed in, “It’s cheap, poorly colored, like that of a beggar.”
“Nonsense!” Ji Ma retorted emphatically. “George is already a servant of the God of Dawn, transcending the mundane; such worldly values are downright ridiculous. I unilaterally declare that George is the most handsome knight present… right?”
“Frostleaf is quite accurate.” George said, “This suit of armor I wear can be aptly called a beggar’s outfit.”
With the duke summoning knights from all across the duchy, they certainly wouldn’t miss the opportunity to show off, turning the camp into a stage, while George stepped onto it in a beggar’s outfit…
“George, as a servant of the good deity, how can you look down on beggars? They are people too; all are equal.” Ji Ma placed a hand on her chest and faked a sense of deep sorrow while glancing at George’s mismatched plate armor. “As long as one’s heart is noble, even if dressed plainly, it doesn’t diminish their nobility, right?”
“That seems to make some sense,” George pondered for a moment, “but I still feel like a beggar.”
“You’re falling, falling! When Gregory finds out, he’ll surely roast me over a grill.”
George tugged on the reins and led the group forward into the city, saying, “I now miss my super Gothic armor. I had planned to save up, buying parts one by one, but thought it better to buy it all at once so the smith could make it fit better. I held back my impulse, slowly saving up credits and gold, sometimes imagining myself in that armor in bed, getting so excited that I couldn’t sleep…”
Thinking about George’s super Gothic armor and the gold it brought in made Ji Ma break out in a cold sweat at the back of her head.
George continued, “In the end, I finally saved enough gold and credits and got in touch with a master dwarf smith. I sent him my body data and designs, and he replied, saying I seemed to be someone who pursues perfection. Why not come to me directly, as that would make the armor even better?”
“I held back for another month, accumulating enough for travel expenses and time off work, before heading to the smith’s homeland alone. After fifteen days, he told me the armor was ready, and I was so excited I couldn’t sleep all night…”
Ji Ma felt a drop of cold sweat on her forehead. “Hahaha… I never expected George to be so passionate about armor.”
“Many boys dream of donning sturdy armor and riding elegant steeds, looking gallant,” George said. “My dream is just more intense than others.”
“A noble steed, a shiny suit of armor, and an all-white horse, along with a beautiful lady on its back,” Ji Ma blinked and said. “You see, what you lack is only a shiny set of plate armor, but you have a lovely, lovely lady.”
Ji Ma’s tone held a hint of sourness, referring to Eve Frostleaf, who stood silently beside them, emanating a chill, causing people to unconsciously keep their distance. Even the chained, barking mutts tucked their tails and scurried away.
George felt warmth in his heart as he looked at Ji Ma, opened his mouth as if to say something, but then fell silent, eventually saying, “Hearing you say that makes me feel good.”
The sunlight bathed him, and he radiated a faint glow, the brilliance concealing the dents in his armor. For a moment, he resembled a knight descended from the sun, drawing many gazes.
Ji Ma secretly let out a sigh of relief; as long as George did not mention that damned armor again, everything would be fine.
George seemed like a little sun that wasn’t too blinding. As the army passed through the camp, more than half of the troops knew of George’s arrival.
The previously “cutting in line” knight count stood on a small hill, gazing down at George.
“My lord,” a proud knight spoke. “He is a holy warrior of the Holy Order; using light to adorn himself is utterly despicable. I must challenge him.”
“Wait a moment.” The knight count’s hand rested on the hilt of his sword.
A well-dressed squire hurried over, kneeling before the knight count’s horse, gasping for breath, and said, “My lord, I’ve learned that he is George the Dragon Slayer.”
The knight count immediately pulled his hand off the sword hilt, tugged on the reins, and turned his horse’s head, saying, “Let’s go.”
No one opposed, including the previously proud knight, and no one voiced dissent.
No one asked to cut in front of George and his group anymore as they finally reached the city’s main gate, where the knights reported in. Each knight stood proudly with their family banner, the coat of arms emblazoned on their shields, riding their horses, reporting their family names, titles, and their own names to the scribe.
As George had just arrived, someone rode in on a fast horse. Before the horse had fully stopped, they dismounted and knelt on one knee before George, with one hand behind their back and the other holding up a scroll of parchment. The wax seal bore the emblem of the Duke of the Duchy of Casson.
The wax was fresh.
“I, your valiant and sporting lord, hope you’ll read this personally.”
As the messenger prepared to rise, he extended the letter to George.
But George had already dismounted and took the letter with both hands, crushing the wax seal before unfolding the parchment.
Ji Ma leaned over, resting her hand on George’s shoulder to read the contents of the letter. It initially expressed humble apologies for being unable to welcome George promptly due to busyness, and later requested George to temporarily set aside his obligations to the Holy Order to fulfill the feudal duties of the Hammer clan, promising extreme gratitude in return.
Due to George’s father not bringing troops but sending gold and “a group of shameless and cowardly soldiers fighting for money,” the letter bluntly expressed dissatisfaction with George’s father.
After all, in the knightly virtue-following nation of Bartò, mercenaries fighting for money were deemed dishonorable.
Ji Ma remarked, “It seems your father has a good head for business.”
George shook his head, saying, “It’s useless; he only brings shame to the family.”
His tone was ordinary, as if his surname was not “Hammer.”
Gold in this world is not omnipotent, nor completely useless; there are too many critical things that cannot be bought with money; beasts cannot be defeated with gold.
At the end of the letter, it directly stated that if George joined the army, the duke believed George Hammer would be more suitable to inherit all the lands of the Hammer clan, indicating that quite plainly.
Ji Ma asked, “Is your brother wary of you?”
“Not just my brother, but also his mother and father,” George said. “I can understand their wariness; whether I like it or not, there will be proposals for me to inherit the family lands.”
“That’s normal; the law of primogeniture doesn’t apply to the strong.”
“But I still dislike them.” George returned the letter with both hands to the messenger, saying, “Please return this letter and inform the duke that I, George Hammer, have come here to fulfill my Holy Order obligations to eradicate evil.”
“Yes, my lord.”
The messenger rode away, and George needed no further reports as someone approached to arrange a place for the Holy Army.
Ji Ma said, “George, oh George, didn’t I tell you? The strong do not need shiny armor to prove themselves.”
“That makes sense, but I remember you never said it.”
“That was the implied meaning.” Ji Ma stretched her legs and said, “This is the treatment that the strong should have, right? Happy?”
George replied, “If I could wear the super Gothic armor, that would be even better. That set was also quite good, but it’s being repaired. If you can help me get the super Gothic armor, I’d be very happy.”
Ji Ma quickly changed the subject, “Oh, look, the city gate is open. Let’s hurry in.”
The gates opened for George, and someone informed him that Gregory had just returned to the city and was waiting for him personally at Kuinas Castle.
The group set off, entering a city crowded with farmers. All around were peasants seeking refuge from the countryside, with children clinging to their mothers’ skirts, mothers leading sheep, and fathers pushing carts laden with their families’ belongings.
People filled the streets, and in the open alleys lay others, with only straw beneath them.
To escape the rain, they had constructed makeshift frames with wooden boards covered with straw, creating small “tents” one had to crawl into to sleep. The muddy and soft dung-covered dirt roads were lined with these tents, and those sleeping inside found their faces level with the filth on the road.
Some barely had their noses above the muck.
Eve Frostleaf felt uneasy, disgusted and pitiful; she turned her head and saw another row of “tents,” then turned again to see farmers kneeling by the road with their hands uplifted, while frail human children crawled at their feet.
Eve Frostleaf was constantly reminded of herself, turning her head again until she could do so no longer, finally just raising her eyes to the only clean sky in this filthy, dark world.
George sighed, “The duke could do better; he could simply leave it to the clergy of the Holy Order.”
“At least it’s not as bad as being dangled from trees by beastmen, having chunks of flesh cut off while still alive.” Ji Ma had not an ounce of sympathy. “The duke still adheres to chivalry; you see how many knights have to stay outside the city while the peasants can enter seeking protection from the walls.”
George said, “Knights simply look down on being with peasants. If they drive the peasants out of the city and live within the walls themselves, they would consider themselves cowards relying on the walls.”
Certainly, the castle standing behind the city was an exception as it was inherently a place for knights.
In this perilous world, cities of the Kingdom of Bartò were always built attached to castles.
Kuinas Castle loomed halfway up the mountain, surrounded by the front half of the city, with a wide stone road splitting through the city directly connecting to the castle, ensuring that knights could quickly rush out from the castle.
As Ji Ma and George’s group approached the stone road, a company of knights on warhorses, clad in silver armor and white capes, came into view. Leading them was an old man in armor covered by a red robe and with a white beard.
Ji Ma couldn’t see his face clearly but felt a wave of heat wash over her, akin to stepping into a house on fire.
The leader was none other than Cardinal Gregory.
His face was thin, sporting a goatee; though aged, his eyes sparkled brightly, flashing with a silver gleam.
Gregory pulled on the reins and looked at Ji Ma, gazing intently for several seconds.
Ji Ma felt flames closing in from all directions. She gave a slight smile, dropping her disguise to reveal her horns, stretching out her wings, and letting her tail grow and swing freely, forcing the formless flames to retreat as she revealed her true form.
The white-armored knights all halted their horses, gripping their sword hilts, spear shafts, and divine symbols, watching the succubus warily.
Cardinal Gregory finally shifted his gaze away from Ji Ma and focused on George.
