The Sun King's Evidence

PS. We apologize for taking one day off tomorrow, the first day of the Lunar New Year.

PS2. Happy New Year’s Eve to all my friends who read this book!

The combat effectiveness of a mercenary group is generally compared with that of the regular army.

When the combat effectiveness of the mercenary group exceeds that of a standard earldom's army (the maximum mobilization capacity of a standard earldom consists of sixty knights, five hundred cavalry, one thousand five hundred swordsmen or archers and other standing armies, the temporarily recruited captains Spearmen and peasant soldiers are not included), mercenary groups are generally called mercenaries.

Of course there would be no mercenaries in a place like Nord. Such a remote country could not support powerful mercenaries, and the Empire and Britannia did not need them either, because they had more powerful knights as standing armies.

Only in Marienburg or the southern countries are mercenaries rampant, such as the Iris Guards of Marienburg. This army consists of more than 6,000 cavalry and more than 10,000 infantry. It is the main force guarding Marienburg. strength.

It is worth noting that knights should not be confused with cavalry. Knights are a title, a title, and a guarantee of combat effectiveness. Cavalry is just a general term for soldiers who fight on horses.

A standard knight unit includes several mounted retinues, even trainee knights, and multiple knight retinues.

"Of course it's not comparable." Estelle smiled disapprovingly. The half-elf was also someone who had seen big scenes: "There won't be a mercenary group of that level in Nord, Mr. Lane."

Oliver saw that Ryan was quite interested in the Gray Blade Mercenary Group: "Mr. Ryan, you want to know about Birger?"

"'Gray Blade' Birger is indeed quite famous." Ryan was riding on his horse, thinking in his mind.

The Blood Ax Mercenary Group has suffered too many losses. It is not an exaggeration to say that Theresa has brought disaster to this ordinary mercenary group. Boris's injury has not fully healed yet - even Ryan doubts whether it can still be fully healed.

With the loss of Boris, deputy commander Wilt had to shoulder the heavy burden. It is not a concept for a mercenary group to have only one elite level and two elite levels to help each other, especially when the mercenary group has already cooperated with the beastmen. In the case of heavy blood loss during the battle.

Theresa was unaware of this, but Ryan knew that the Blood Ax mercenary group was no longer reliable. If he wanted to go south, he would have to consider the combat effectiveness of the Gray Blade.

No matter how strong he is, he is still alone. There once was a very powerful knight in the empire. He also relied on his own strength to announce 28 complicated tax collection items in his knight's manor, forcing the peasants to They can't survive.

The ending is that the powerful knight was rushed into his house by the peasants, then tied to a scarecrow in the field, and burned into a mummified body.

So is this knight not strong enough? Was he being attacked?

No, this knight is very strong. He blocked the door and killed dozens of mobs.

But everyone gets tired. For example, even if a hundred unresisting pigs are put there for this knight to kill, he will probably be exhausted by the end of the killing.

Ryan must also try his best to prevent this situation from happening. He is neither invincible nor immune to fatigue. He is also human.

In a blink of an eye, the banquet location arrived.

The evening banquet was held in the lord's longhouse in Velarde. At night, it was completely dark. The door of the two-story lord's longhouse was wide open. The torches on the roadside illuminated the snowy road. Several trainees Well-trained guards guarded the door, and a roasted whole lamb was hung on the fire at the door. Golden grease dripped into the fire drop by drop, and sparks flew everywhere.

It smelled quite delicious~ Ryan saw a guard swallowing a mouthful of saliva while looking at the plump mutton, and laughed happily.

His smile immediately attracted the guard's attention: "Good evening! Mr. Lane! Please come in! The Lord is already waiting for you inside!"

"Good evening~" Ryan handed the reins of his Pinecone (his horse's name) to the guard's hands and walked swaggering inside.

Oliver and others also wanted to follow him in, but were immediately blocked by a cold halberd: "Sir, please show me your invitation letter!"

A hint of embarrassment flashed across Oliver's chubby face, and then he immediately showed a standard business smile. He took out a note stamped with the lord's ring from his white bear fur coat and handed it to the guard: "Okay Yes, sir."

This invitation was valuable and took Oliver some work.

The guard wiped away his previous respect, and his expression turned arrogant. After he confirmed that the ring was correct, he handed the invitation back to Oliver's hand: "Keep your hands and feet clean, profiteer, don't make trouble inside, otherwise Don't blame my halberd for drinking your blood!"

"Okay, you go in!"

Estelle subconsciously clenched her fists, but Mats patted him on the shoulder and shook his head.

Ryan didn't know what happened behind him. When he walked into the longhouse, he found that it was already full of people. The large wooden table was filled with food, ranging from simple bread and stews to roast chicken and some rare food. The servants kept bringing out various kinds of food with iron cutlery. The guests sat on long wooden chairs and drank barley wine from earthenware cups and mugs. They were so happy.

“Here’s to a victory at the docks!”

“Cheers to the prosperity of Kalzenhaven!”

"Cheers to the great Lord Velarde!"

"Why... no matter what, let's have a good time today!"

Most of the people here are soldiers who participated in today's Battle of the Pier. Many of them are even wrapped in bandages, but this can't stop them from drinking. There are also a few who are invited, such as... one The lady standing at the door.

"Teresa?"

"Lian! Are you here?" The sorceress seemed to have an instinctive aversion to such a scene, so she just stood at the door with her staff and did not move. However, Ryan was just looking at Theresa's dress, and couldn't help but feel... There was a sense of surprise.

Teresa is a standard beauty in every sense, especially her outfit today - a classical silk skirt with canary flower carvings is worn on the woman's body, and a snow-white fox coat is draped on her shoulders. A pair of creamy white pointed-toe high-heeled shoes with sapphires inlaid on the tips sparkled in the longhouse.

The woman's calves are wrapped in a pair of black ultra-thin stockings, and her smooth and jade-like skin is even more beautiful through a layer of hazy stockings.

Are they stockings? Ryan stared at the woman's stockings and took a second look.

The sorceress's family is really rich.

Silk stockings are an invention of alchemy. This popular alchemical product among women is an out-and-out luxury product. It turns out that stockings can only be made using unicorns from the fairy lakeside unicorns in the fairy sanctuary of the lake in Britannia. Down, or the best spider silk from the underworld can be alchemically synthesized. Silk stockings, a luxury product that can not only modify the figure, protect the skin, but also cover up some shortcomings, has become a crazy pursuit and favorite of aristocratic women. of high-end goods.

Only in recent years, the empire has finally made some breakthroughs in this field. I don’t know why, but the Imperial Engineering College has also been able to produce a small amount of silk stockings. However, Emperor Franz Friedrich ordered that the technology be banned from being transferred to the market every year. The number of silk stockings was always very small. For example, Ryan remembered that his adoptive mother had to spend twelve gold dinars to get one pair. They were so precious that they would only wear them when participating in major events.

Ryan's eyes naturally caught the attention of the sorceress. She found that the man's eyes were on her calves and feet. Teresa raised her slender eyebrows: "You don't know how hard it is to stare at a lady like this." Aren’t you a gentleman? White Wolf Knight Mr. Lane?”

"No, I was wondering why you were standing at the door. Why don't you go in and find a seat?" Ryan asked curiously.

For some reason, the sorceress felt secretly dissatisfied when she saw that the man didn't say much about her attire. This dissatisfaction was quickly put into words: "After watching it for so long, aren't you going to say something? ?”

"Well, it's you who doesn't let me stare, and it's you who wants me to stare. Dear Theresa, you are making it difficult for me." Ryan said helplessly. He took a deep breath and his face changed. Must be serious: "I can't find words to describe your beauty. I can only say that you are particularly charming today. Miss Theresa Trowick, will you be honored to guide you to this banquet?"

"Hey~ if those men could talk like you, the communication between us in Jialan and them might be much easier." The sorceress was finally satisfied.

"Tch~ If you, Jialan, could stop this confused way of getting along with each other, the communication between us and you would be much easier." Ryan complained mercilessly.

"I know, I know, I'm already changing... Is there any quiet place? The smell in the house is a bit strong and the sound is a bit loud." Theresa followed the man towards the house: "I don't want to follow They were crowded together, and you came a little later than I thought."

"Yes, we encountered something unexpectedly. Come with me." Ryan led Theresa towards the inside. The long room was very deep, and rows of tables and chairs were filled with soldiers and local officials. Today The bloody battle on the pier made most people get to know this famous rising star. Everyone raised their glasses to him, and Ryan raised his left hand to show a smile, indicating that he heard.

At the end, Velarde and his wife were sitting at the long table in the innermost place. In addition, upon seeing Ryan's arrival, the lord in his fifties stood up: "An important guest is here! I Let me introduce to you, this is my friend 'Bald' Norman's son, 'Sledgehammer' Ryan! He is also our hero today, the hero who can win the battle of the pier today! Cheers!"

"Cheers!" A silver wine glass filled with wine was circulated in the hands of everyone at the long table. Everyone took a sip after getting the wine glass. When Ryan and Teresa sat down on one side of the long table, the guard chief Lao Ritz just handed the silver wine glass to Ryan's hand: "Mr. Ryan, please~"

"Thank you~" Ryan took the glass and took a sip gently.

Teresa's face turned green when she saw Ryan seeming to hand over the wine glass after finishing the drink. This silver wine glass had been passed around the table. God knows how many stinky men's saliva had been stained with it. She subconsciously Draw back.

"Hahahaha~" Ryan laughed. He did not pass the cup to Teresa, but passed her and handed the cup to the next person. He also helped the sorceress to explain: "She never drinks much, because this It’s not good for concentration.”

Spellcasters must concentrate when casting spells, and Ryan's statement is correct.

After several rounds of drinking, Velarde gave an order and the banquet began to move freely. Almost everyone stood up and raised their glasses in twos and threes. Everyone loudly discussed a series of things that had happened recently, from the prices of commodities to It covers everything from what is popular in upper class society to the war against the northern barbarians.

"No way, this is Nord's custom. If Mr. Velarde wants to show off his set of silverware, then according to the custom, everyone must take a sip from the wine glass." Ryan was pulling Theresa to bite her ear: "Don't worry, I know you don't like it."

"Oh~ I've had enough. I really regret coming to this banquet. I even dressed up specially for it." The sorceress's high heels were thin and long. She stood behind Ryan: " Oh my god, there are only three fireplaces in such a big house..."

"Is it cold?" Ryan led her to a fireplace. The two men who were warming up next to the fireplace immediately stepped aside and gave up their seats against the fireplace to the two men.

"Sometimes it's like this. We need a reason to bring everyone together. A business, a sale, and even some tacit understandings and contracts are negotiated in this environment." Ryan casually picked up the plate from the side. He broke off a drumstick from the roasted chicken and bit off half of it in one bite: "I'll go over there and take a look. You can rest."

"I know this better than you!" Teresa watched the man walk away and continued to lean against the fireplace to warm up. Her body had not recovered. Today's dress was really cold, especially without boots. Although the outer calves and feet are wrapped in stockings, they are nothing more than nothing.

But her quiet time didn't last long, and was soon broken: "Beautiful lady, can I buy you a drink?"

The woman raised her head in displeasure.

Unexpectedly, the person standing in front of her... was a handsome guy. He had blue eyes, a high nose bridge, and the lines on his face looked very harmonious. He had black hair in the middle and was tied into a small ponytail, with a band on one eye. Wearing a pair of round-framed lenses, he was dressed in a set of imperial aristocratic attire, including a loose shirt, tight pants, fashionable shoes, and a hat with a white feather on it.

Before Teresa could react, he began to introduce himself: "I am honored to introduce myself, my name is Ike, Ike Albrecht, from the Empire, you can just call me Ike. "

"Okay, Mr. Ike, my name is Theresa, Theresa Trowick, thank you for your kindness, but..."

"I think I have to introduce myself to you, Ms. Teresa!" Unexpectedly, this handsome guy did not give the sorceress a chance to refuse, and continued on his own: "I am a knight... okay , a trainee knight, but I already have my own horse and armor, as well as a family crest, look!"

After speaking, Ike showed his family crest to the sorceress. On his family crest, a dove held an arrow in its mouth and flew over a kite shield.

"Thank you Mr. Ike, it's just that I now..."

"Let me tell you about my glorious deeds! Beautiful Miss Teresa! My story is long. The most famous thing is the Wenler attack and defense three years ago. I participated in that battle. War, following the White Wolf Knights, they launched a charge towards those hateful barbarian bastards..." The handsome guy immediately talked about his glorious history.

It’s over! I met a difficult person! Teresa rolled her eyes, and the sorceress's slender high heels drew circles on the wooden floor of the house...

I wish you all a Happy New Year! Happy family and all the best!