Chapter 289 The Golden Duke
Chapter 289 The Golden Duke
In the afternoon.
The Saint Lilith arrived at the prosperous port.
Unlike when they set out yesterday, the Northern Fleet has now returned to port.
When Jiang He came to the side of the ship from the captain's room, two huge ships came into view. The main guns on the bow were no less powerful than the Yonggu cannon. There were four decks and a total of 360 gun ports. The full load of personnel was estimated to reach about 2,000 people.
The second-class cruiser, known as the mobile fortress on the sea, is undoubtedly the main force of each fleet. When the first-class golden battleship cannot hide, it is the absolute protagonist on the naval battle stage.
Ten third-level destroyers and more than forty fourth-level frigates were lined up at the port waiting for supplies. Tens of thousands of workers were transporting supplies and dismantling goods. Soldiers rushed to the taverns in the city outside the port like mountains. The singing of nightingales seemed to echo over the city.
At this moment, the bustling port is so noisy that it is almost like a market.
Roland was the first to disembark.
Jiang He turned around and said, "There must be two officers on board at all times. Wuhe will be responsible for selling six sets of constructed armor. Half of them will be used as salaries, and the other half will be used to purchase supplies. You can go to the outer city to relax, but the evil soldiers should try to act with the officers. Zhuang Ya will be with Lao Hei. Call me directly if you have any questions."
"Understood." Everyone said in unison.
Jiang He got off the boat and saw Roland having a cordial conversation with a white-haired butler on the shore. Although he was old, his facial features were unusually soft and distinct, and his ears were pointed, which showed that he had elven blood.
Next to the two of them was a young beauty with elegant temperament, long smooth hair falling from her slender back, eyes like crystal emeralds, a tall and outstanding figure, and a gorgeous long dress embellished with jewels.
She watched the two of them chatting with a faint smile.
When the elf butler saw someone coming, he made an invitation gesture to Roland and then took the initiative to step forward to greet the guest.
"Mr. Rhine Augustus, I am amazed by your bravery. The master was full of praise for you this morning."
"Nice to meet you." Jiang He shook hands with the other party with a slightly strange expression. This guy was actually just an ordinary great knight.
The elf butler introduced sideways: "This is Miss Olivia De York, a family member, the master's granddaughter, and the most beautiful emerald in the prosperous port."
"Hello, Baron Rhine."
Olivia smiled and put her hands behind her back, revealing some inside information in her words.
"Nice to meet you."
Jiang He shook hands with the other party, which was much more normal. With his strength as an apprentice knight, he could be temporarily labeled as a socialite.
Roland reminded quietly: "Rhine, kiss the hand!"
Jiang He calmly stretched out his hand and put his hand on it.
At the harbor shore, Roland and the old butler were stunned when they saw this.
Olivia was stunned for a moment, then felt a little embarrassed. If it weren't for the lady's etiquette in social occasions, she would have turned around and left.
Jiang He said expressionlessly: "I ate a golden apple. I don't know if it will affect this young lady. Please forgive me."
Humiliating a direct descendant of the DeYork family in person could be a big or small matter.
The elf steward's eyes were wandering. The golden apple was filled with cursed poison, and specific potions needed to be taken regularly every month. This was done by Count D'York, and it caused Rhine's strong dissatisfaction. However, he was relieved. After all, a powder keg that was ignited but temporarily held back would usually explode violently.
Olivia glanced at the elf butler. She knew without asking that it was probably someone in the family who was causing trouble again. Little Earl D'York was the Duke's eldest son and heir, as well as her uncle. However, the Duke had recently devoted too much energy to his youngest son, causing opposition from some guys.
A brief silence passed.
Olivia took someone's hand, bent down and kissed it, with a dignified and elegant posture. She believed that this was her duty to the family.
"Your beauty is intoxicating."
Jiang He nodded, still looking slightly dissatisfied.
Roland politely turned away. Although it was said that if the master insulted the minister, he would die, Olivia was just another member of the family. He was the Duke's great knight and would only be loyal to one person in his life.
"Hahaha, I think what happened today will become a beautiful story. Ladies and gentlemen, please move to Castle De York. There will be a grand wedding ball tonight." The elf butler stepped forward to smooth things over.
A servant brought war horses and the four men left the shore.
As you step into the city gate, you will see straight and wide stone slabs, and the sounds of horse hooves and pedestrians' footsteps intertwine. Most of the houses on the street are made of bricks and stones, with crisscrossing wooden beams and towering spires. Fountains gurgle in the square, with water splashing around the sculptures, and various stone statues of great knights appear lifelike.
The cries of hawkers could be heard from shops on both sides of the street, the aroma of bread lingered in the air, and children were playing around, waving wooden swords and pretending to be knights dueling.
From the shore to the city, and from the outer city to the inner city, the prosperous port is the second largest port in the Stuart Kingdom, with a population of nearly one million. Fort De York is much more magnificent than Viscount Heru's Castle, and it looks like a small city.
Olivia rode alongside someone, an old noble who would not allow the guest to get lost or embarrassed, her duty was to entertain the great knight beside her, a strong man who had killed Silver Sword Rosad and deserved to be treated with respect by the D'York family.
The four of them arrived at the castle. The first floor was the banquet hall. The high dome was visible in the darkness, and the rough stone walls were full of dents from the rubbing of time. Several weathered brocades hung around it. The colors were dull, but they still outlined the prosperous hunting scenes of the knights in the past. Gold and silver threads were interspersed between them, occasionally reflecting a cold light.
The banquet hall was brightly lit with candles. Members of the Knights of the White Rose stood solemnly on both sides, wearing full armor like guards. The surface of the metal had a dark and gloomy luster, and their gauntlets and breastplates were engraved with family emblems.
"It looks like the banquet is about to begin." The elf butler smiled and invited the three to step in.
Hundreds of distinguished guests were conversing in the banquet hall. The lively scene made the knights look like sculptures. In the corner, a band was playing gentle music. But at a glance, Jiang He saw an old man sitting on a big chair at the end, drinking from a glass. He was wearing armor and was out of place with the people who were talking and dancing. He looked strong, burly, and shrewd.
The executive officer's exclusive tip gives the information.
[Name: Duke of York]
[Challenge Level: LV50]
[Gold Energy: 10350]
[Ordinary Creatures in the Golden Age]
[Power: 46]
[Physique: 49 (real)]
[Agility: 45]
[Spirit: 42]
[Charm: 19]
[Gold Field: Pale Rose]
[Ultimate Energy Property: Sharp]
[Equipment: S-class Sea Secret Treasure · Wan Lei (Ultimate Grade), Titled Knight-class Constructed Armor, First-class Battleship · White Rose...]
[Skills: Sword Master LV27, Golden Body, Knight's True Form - White Rose, Knight's Virtues - Honesty, Honor, Bravery, Soul...]
[Note: This person possesses the blood of a sea snake (perfect physique) and has a resistance to water-attribute attacks of over 50%]
Jiang He withdrew his gaze. Duke D'York was so powerful that he was almost as powerful as half a Rosad.
Ordinary creatures in the Silver Age, with all attributes exceeding 21.
Elite creatures of the Silver Age, one of their true attributes reaches 30.
The pinnacle creature of the Silver Age, with all attributes exceeding 31.
According to the 30% damage reduction that the silver body can cause to lower-level life forms, Jiang He suspected that even with the Everlasting Sorrow Dragon Spear, it would be difficult for himself, who is at the peak of bronze level, to cause serious damage to the gold body.
……
The Duke noticed the gaze and looked back. With Roland and Olivia beside him, the identity of the new guy was obvious.
"Father, Baron Rhine is more handsome than I imagined. I thought he would be a big and strong man." A young man of only eighteen or nineteen years old beside the big chair tilted his head and spoke. He was the only family member who could stay here. As the youngest son, he had received unimaginable attention in the past six months.
The Duke was known for his majesty, but at this moment he chuckled gently, "Your elder brother is very strict in doing things, and this little guy should be dissatisfied now. From now on, the Wizard Tower will allocate you a bottle of purification potion every month."
The purification potion made by the great wizard with great effort can alleviate various curses and is of excellent quality.
As for the compensation that the De York family gave to Rhine, it was the title of a baron and a fiefdom.
Brownie hesitated for a moment and said, "Baron Rhine is very young. I think it is more appropriate to tie him down with friendship."
The Duke nodded and taught: "It's good that you have your own opinions, but you need to use different methods to treat different people."
"Back then, Roland was admitted to the Knights Guard because of his military merits in the colonies, but the mad prince whipped him because of his blond hair. A young man who loved Stuart and fought loyally for the kingdom for ten years ended up with such a result. If you were him, what would you think?"
Brownie hesitated for a moment and said uncertainly: "Hatred and anger?"
The Duke chuckled and replied, "Probably, but I feel more confused."
"Roland's first half of life was completely denied. All the sadness, regrets, and pain from the ten-year war will be vividly remembered. He doesn't want these to lose their meaning, so when I extended the olive branch, he became more loyal, even to the point of being pathological, hoping to prove that he was right. At the same time, he hated the royal family even more."
The Duke's tone became a little more solemn. "But Rhine Augustus is different. His age and strength are beyond the scope of a minister. The old elf's secret agent said that he has mastered the secret art of disguising his strength. But now it seems that he is indeed a seventeen-year-old knight."
Brownie looked up and said, "I think we should choose a direct descendant to marry him.
The Duke laughed, "The golden apple I took out is not poisonous. It was just your brother's decision."
Brownie's face was gloomy, and he made no secret of it. According to the current situation of the family, the selected legitimate woman would definitely be close to him, the youngest son who was highly valued. His eldest brother had the mentality of "destroy it if he can't get it". The poison hidden in the golden apple reduced Baron Rhine's initial goodwill towards the family to the freezing point. Under such a situation, marriage would be worse than slavery, and no strong man would be willing to do it.
"Then why didn't you stop him?"
The Duke tilted his head calmly.
When the old king was alive, he had no intention of opposing the royal family, so the training of the heir took a conservative approach.
But the situation has changed, and the Mad Prince is simply an unacceptable time bomb, so the heir needs to take a pioneering approach, or at least be able to stand on his own and command operations.
Compared with seven sons and an even larger number of daughters, the only advantage of the youngest son is that he is young and has strong plasticity.
But this does not mean that he has completely given up on his eldest son, whom he had carefully nurtured. If his "preference" for the younger son can force the eldest son to break free from his original constraints, then it is not impossible for the former to become a victim.
As a titled knight, he had the leisure to watch the competition among his sons and eventually select a qualified and satisfactory heir.
There was no emotion in the Duke's eyes; the gentle smile and the elder's teachings seemed to be in vain.
[Why do you think it’s you who’s the only one?]
Brownie felt the pressure that made him extremely painful, and he could even read the meaning in his father's eyes.
The Duke ignored the other party's previous inquiries and said, "In the war with Wyatt, you are the nominal commander of the fleet. The specific command is still controlled by the Earl of Rock and the Earl of White Sails. I will not leave the prosperous port."
Brownie asked with a complicated expression: "Father is a titled knight. His departure will make the outcome uncertain."
The Duke smiled softly and said, "As the heir, you need to identify your true enemies. If I go down, the Bourbon Kingdom will have to consider the possibility of a national war, so when the war starts, there will definitely be a titled knight facing me."
"And our enemy is the royal family. This war is intended to be a demonstration, to warn certain nobles of the Bourbon dynasty not to interfere in the upcoming war. There is a big difference between aristocratic wars and national wars. Why should I help the royal family fight a national war?"
The Duke said resolutely: "If you want to fight, you have to become king first."
"What if we lose?" Bronny said bluntly, perhaps because of the indifference shown by the other party before, his tone was very sharp.
"Then just stay in the chaotic corridor." The Duke really laughed this time, "A bunch of losers want to live in the inner city of the capital, are they worthy?"
……
"The nobles of the Corridor of Chaos are all brave warriors."
Olivia led Jiang He to introduce the mural.
"The four earl families all have great knights at the peak of their powers. Among them, the Rock Earl has reached this level himself. One earl guards the Chaos City in the north of the Chaos Corridor, another is in charge of the New World colony, and the other two are here today."
Olivia noticed that many ladies and girls were secretly looking at the people around them, but her presence obviously made these guys restrained.
Jiang He then asked, "Whose wedding is today?"
Olivia smiled and replied, "The Duke's youngest son, my uncle Brownie. As for the girl, she is an illegitimate daughter sent by the Wyatt family. Of course, she is nominally a legitimate daughter, but her fate... may not be very good."
In the center of the banquet hall, a girl in a blue dress was dealing with greetings from all directions. She had the ignorant eyes of a moose, and was surrounded by her personal maid and teaching maid.
Every chaotic noble looked at her with eyes full of pity or malice, and some even showed amazement.
At this critical juncture when war was about to break out, Miss Wyatt dared to come to the banquet. The nobles didn't know whether to call her brave or ignorant.
Olivia led Jiang He to meet and talk with the chaotic nobles one by one. Thanks to the death of Silver Sword Rosad, everyone seemed very kind until a middle-aged man as tall as an iron tower appeared.
"Want to have an honorable duel?" Earl of Rock said enthusiastically, "Before I met you, I had never felt threatened by a knight."
Olivia explained in a low voice that the honorable duel was a tradition passed down for thousands of years in the Old World. The knight who lost the duel must lay down his weapon from then on, otherwise he would be unanimously hated by the knights. The Earl of Rock was an extremely warlike fanatic.
Jiang He naturally would not accept such a useless invitation.
"Count, you are not as free as you think."
"The sword is in my own hand."
"Not necessarily. I'm afraid that in the Duke's eyes, my position has already been determined. Once we duel, you won't be able to decide where to stand. Think it over before inviting me next time."
Jiang He passed by the other person.
Earl of Rock was a bit embarrassed, he had no intention of taking sides in the battle for succession. As a top knight, the Duke would not allow him to go down and cause the balance to completely tilt. Perhaps what the other party said was right, his sword was not always in his own hands.
(End of this chapter)