What was a knight? A sword and shield forged to protect the empire.

——Remember a battle between Legrand and Bressi in 1422

The sky was gray and a summer rainstorm was coming.

A team of cavalry moved under the clouds, passing through the grassland and low ridges, heading towards the Moon River Fortress. The cavalry team held up flags with cold and chilling iron roses on a dark red background. Johan was riding a horse, closely following his father, the Duke of Buckingham. He was sixteen years old this year and followed his father on the battlefield for the first time.

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

The armor visor rubbed Johan’s forehead. He had heard many stories about his father.

His father, the Duke of Buckingham, was described by the maids as the lion of the empire and the most glorious knight in the kingdom. Their words gave Johan a picture of his father on the battlefield, majestic, brutal, and victorious in every battle. Everyone told him that when he got to the army, he would know why his father was called the “Knight of the Empire.”

In the hot humid air before the rainstorm, the Duke of Buckingham remained looking solemn. He asked everyone to arrive at the scheduled place before the rain started. This was Johan’s first march. He tried hard to keep up with his father’s pace, but it gradually became difficult. However, when he looked around, he found that no knight asked for a rest. Everyone rode through the scorching air waves in solemn silence, like a silent torrent of steel.

What guided the flow of the flood was the will of Duke Buckingham.

Johan gritted his teeth, not wanting to show any signs of fatigue and cowardice. He told himself in his heart, you are the son of a lion, and you must behave like a knight of the Rose family.

Finally, before the first drop of rain fell, they arrived at the Moon River Fortress.

The drawbridge was lowered with the sound of the noose, and the knights stepped into the fortress, which had always served as a solid barrier for Legrand in response to Bressi’s expedition.

“We must deal with their heavy cavalry battalion before their reinforcements arrive.”

After arriving at Moon River Fortress, Duke Buckingham did not rest at all. He took Johan and several officers directly to the combat command room to discuss the current situation.

The garrison officers of Moon River Fortress looked at each other. Duke Buckingham’s decision could be called quite risky.

Because Bressi’s expeditionary force had just arrived and had not been exhausted by a long siege, and although Bressi’s heavy cavalry was too stubborn in terms of knightly code, no one could deny their power in frontal charges——otherwise the war between Legrand and Bressi would not have been a stalemate for so many years.

However, no one could raise any objection.

This year, Legrand encountered a rare drought.

Bressi seized this opportunity and launched another expedition. At this time, the wind direction and ocean currents in the Abyss Strait were favorable to Bressi’s fleet. Not long ago, the Duke of Buckingham had just suppressed the Five Ports Alliance in the southeast and forced them to withdraw their overstretching hands so mow they also held a grudge. They must end this fight quickly. The King was still young at this time, and the royal council could only deal with the drought for a short time. Once the Duke of Buckingham left the court for too long, it was hard to say what trouble those nobles would take the opportunity to cause.

They could only choose to believe in the Duke of Buckingham and the prestigious imperial cavalry led by him.

“For the glory of the Rose.”

The Duke of Buckingham raised his hand to beat his heart. He did not have the time to take off his armor, so the iron gloves collided with the armor and made a crisp sound.

Everyone in the command room suddenly looked solemn, and they all clenched their fists and saluted: “For the glory of the Rose.”

——For the glory of the Rose.

When these words were spoken by the Duke of Buckingham, it meant that his decision was irreversible and that the battle was related to the dignity of the empire.

It wasn’t until late at night that Johan had time alone with his father.

Unlike how the Duke of Buckingham was quick and decisive when making decisions, once the combat goal was determined, he almost obssessively considered every possible detail in the battle. From the weather tomorrow, to the impact of heavy rain on the battlefield, to the condition of each soldier’s armor and weapons.

Johan dared to say that no one in the world was more familiar with his army than the Duke of Buckingham.

The Duke of Buckingham could clearly remember the names of all the knights and everything about them… He knew the army well.

“Are you scared?”

Johan accompanied his father up the wall of the fortress. The Duke of Buckingham put his hand on Johan’s shoulder and looked at Bressi’s garrison in the distance.

Johan thought for a while and said frankly: “Somewhat.”

While the Duke of Buckingham was carefully preparing the details of the entire battle, Johan was sent by him to visit the wounded in the fortress. For most of the night, Johan looked at the soldiers who had lost limbs and whose wounds were festering and moaning in pain–—with some even dying. For the first time, he truly felt what war was.

War was not just the glorious achievements of his father in the stories by other people, not just the majestic armor.

There was also maggots, pustules and rotten flesh, as well as corpses.

The excitement of just setting foot on the battlefield was suddenly diluted, and Johan smelled the scent of death.

“It’s normal.” Duke Buckingham patted his son on the shoulder, “Everyone will feel fear, but you have to learn not to be afraid. One day, you will replace me and become the general of the empire. Remember, when you become a general, you have to turn yourself into a fearless lion so that your army can turn into a pack of lions.”

Johan nodded silently.

The Duke of Buckingham looked at his son who had grown taller and smiled slightly: “Do you know the knight’s code of chivalry believed in by the Bressi heavy cavalry?”

“I know.”

“In fact, there is only one code for knights.” Duke Buckingham said, “That is to protect. When we draw our swords, we must always know why we are fighting. It doesn’t matter whether the enemy we kill is strong or weak. There is nothing worth boasting about. Only by guarding what we want to protect can it be considered true glory.”

What was a knight?

The sword and shield forged for the empire.

They could charge or they could guard.

Johan nodded. He still couldn’t clearly understand what his father was saying, so he could only keep it in his heart.

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

As early morning approached, the fortress gate opened, and the cavalrymen with the hooves of their warhorses wrapped in cloth stepped out into the hazy morning mist.

This was the first real battle that General Johan experienced in his life. When the old lion took the young lion onto the battlefield of blood and corpses to teach him a lesson about life, death and glory.

TN: Annnd we’re finished! 💛💜💖🍻🎉

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