"According to custom, you would need to send a knight loyal to you to fulfill this obligation on your behalf and on behalf of Terra."
"We could choose... from among the new recruits..."
"Aside from inheriting my father's title, my own title is the knighthood he bestowed." Karl interrupted him, a smile appearing on his face.
"I haven't appointed any other knights, so who could I send in my place?"
He stood up and swept his gaze over the new recruits in simple leather armor, who were training nearby in formation and physical conditioning.
Then he looked at the five people beside him—Dalton and Phillip, who were already wearing the plate armor of the Holy Blood Angels.
"In my opinion, this is an excellent opportunity to show the strength of Terra to all the lords of the kingdom and to announce our rise."
"At the same time, it's also a unique opportunity for you... to let my future soldiers experience the true tempering of blood and fire."
"Flowers that aren't afraid of wind and rain cannot be grown indoors. Only on the battlefield can a true steel backbone be forged."
When Dalton heard this, his eyes became serious, and he immediately grasped Karl's deeper meaning.
He nodded heavily and asked in a deep voice: "Lord Karl, should we pack immediately and head straight to the Ellander border?"
Karl shook his head, the corners of his mouth curving into a cold arc, his eyes sharp as knives.
"No, the border can wait. The king's summons must be taken seriously, but before that... we have two old scores to settle."
"The two lords of Dornedale and Carriras. We need to pay them a proper visit."
"They raised the price on the materials we were acquiring and, in that despicable way, plundered the money from my people, who had a little abundance thanks to the tax exemption!"
"Whatever they took, I want them to spit it back out tenfold with interest!"
He looked at Dalton with a clear and decisive order: "Go prepare. Assemble all the fully equipped Holy Blood Angels."
"We'll go first... to teach those greedy vampires a profound lesson."
"Let the newly joined boys focus on their training and assign some people to garrison the fortress."
"Yes, Lord Karl." Dalton's eyes lit up with fighting spirit, and he accepted the order without hesitation.
He sharply turned around and faced the Holy Blood Angel knights who had gathered behind him to hear the news, dressed in dark red uniforms with engraved white wings on their left shoulder armor.
The plate armor of the group reflected the cold light of the sun, and the team of over sixty people stood solemnly in place.
Dalton quickly walked through the crowd and pointed: "You... you... and you... twelve of you will stay."
"You are responsible for guarding the fortress and ensuring Terra is secure. Everyone else comes with Lord Karl!"
"We will live up to the blood of El!!" The remaining expedition members, not designated to stay, roared in unison, their voices like thunder.
......
Karl was at the head of the team, riding on a black divine steed—the horse he had won in the competition, Night Wind.
He himself wore a particularly conspicuous set of plate armor, not the dark red of the Holy Blood Angels.
Instead, it was a dazzling gold, like the rising sun, with a huge S-shaped symbol engraved in the center of the breastplate—a symbol he had specially created for himself.
The plate armor shone in the sun; even if others were far away, the light it reflected could pierce their eyes.
Behind him were fifty Holy Blood Angels, including Dalton and Phillip.
They rode horses that had been purchased previously, uniformly and silently following their lord.
The horses' hooves pounded the road, producing a dull, rhythmic roar, kicking up swirling clouds of smoke and dust.
Wherever the procession passed—whether pedestrians on the road or merchant caravans—they hastily avoided it, casting glances full of awe and fear.
Karl's first target was Carriras, located south of Terra.
But everything went much more smoothly than Karl had expected.
He had originally planned to go directly to the manor of the Lord of Carriras for a friendly consultation and negotiation over compensation.
As a result, the team soon entered the territory of Carriras.
On the main road leading north, he unexpectedly encountered a similarly heavily armed group.
The other group was small—only five people—and the leader was well-dressed, adorned with plate armor and family heraldry, followed by four knights.
One of them also carried a banner depicting the Carriras family. It seemed the direction they were traveling was towards the Ellander border.
These five had clearly also spotted Karl's large, intimidating knights.
Frightened by the dark red armor and the swift momentum, they quickly reined in their horses and stopped in place.
The five men looked suspiciously at the knights who had suddenly appeared, unsure if they were friends or foes.
With a rough estimate, the opponent had dozens of knights in full plate armor...
A knightly team of this size, considering all of Temeria, was a military force not to be underestimated.
Dalton reacted immediately; without Karl's order, he waved his hand forward.
The Holy Blood Angels behind him silently spread out, forming a semi-circular encirclement, trapping the five Carriras knights in the center.
Dozens of men against five—this vast numerical disparity brought a suffocating sense of oppression.
Bakari, the Lord of Carriras, trapped in the middle, immediately felt cold sweat break out on his forehead.
He pretended to be calm and quickly removed the armor covering his face, revealing a face that looked somewhat composed due to worry, but was now filled with panic.
He looked around at the silent but menacing dark red knights.
Finally, he directed his gaze to the front of the other team—the man on the black horse, dressed in dazzling golden plate armor, as conspicuous as the sun.
The corners of Bakari's mouth twitched, and his mind raced, searching his memory for all the powerful nobles of Temeria.
Aside from the king and Duke Seward of Ellander, he couldn't think of any other lord who could have such a large and well-armed knightly force.
Such an armed team was enough to rank among the top three in the kingdom...
"Your... Your... noble knight, this... is there some misunderstanding?" Bakari's voice trembled with a slight, barely perceptible quiver.
"I am the Lord of Carriras, Baron Bakari, responding to His Majesty's order to serve on the border."
His gaze was always fixed on the knight in golden plate armor, his tone becoming increasingly humble: "I do not know... I do not know who you are?"
Dalton heard Bakari's question and did not answer for Karl immediately.
Instead, he turned his head slightly and asked Karl for instructions with his eyes.
╔══════════════════════╗
📘 Want more?
Join me on Patreon for bonus chapters
and early access!
🔗 https://www.patreon.com/cw/OverlordD
╚══════════════════════╝