Chapter 5: Arrival at the Provincial Capital of Xihe

Nevertheless, as knights personally selected by the Count of Eagles to serve as Lord Weilin’s escort, they were bound to fulfill their duty and repay the Eks family for their upbringing.

Standing at the edge of the training ground, Weilin gazed from afar at the twelve knights two hundred meters away. He understood at once that these were the bodyguards his family had assigned to him.

He walked toward them, observing as he went.

All twelve were very young, roughly between the ages of twenty-four and twenty-eight—a testament to their exceptional talent.

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, these twelve would become his right and left hands in the days to come.

Weilin knew well that to train a squad of bronze-ranked knights from scratch would cost tens of thousands of gold coins at the very least. And unless these twelve were gifted to begin with, no amount of training would save them from mediocrity.

At the edge of the training ground stood a priestess of the Goddess of Life. Upon seeing Weilin approach, she raised her staff and intoned solemnly, “Under the witness of the Goddess of Life, let the oath commence.”

“Draw swords,” Belder commanded in a loud voice.

The other eleven knights unsheathed their longswords, placing them vertically before their chests, and saluted Weilin with unwavering gazes.

Seeing this, Weilin also drew his personal short sword, holding it upright before his chest, his expression grave as he faced the twelve.

“I, Belder.”

“I, Andrew.”

“….”

“Swear upon my honor, under the witness of the Goddess of Life, that I shall do all in my power to fight for the one before me, fulfill my duty, uphold the spirit of knighthood, and where my sword points, there my path shall lie.”

“I, Weilin, as the one to whom you swear, accept your fealty, pledging never to abandon you. Let the Goddess of Life bear witness.”

A sacred radiance shimmered, enveloping all thirteen.

Invisible bonds intertwined, binding the destinies of the twelve to Weilin.

“The vow is complete. May the great Goddess of Life watch over you,” proclaimed the elder priestess, before leaving to rest, guided by a steward.

All thirteen sheathed their swords at once, marking the end of the oath.

From this moment forth, these twelve high-ranking bronze knights were joined to Weilin’s fate—for better or for worse.

“Gentlemen, you have chosen me, and I shall not let you down,” Weilin declared.

He looked over each of the twelve, committing their faces to memory.

Then he walked directly to the chest where weapons were stored, opened the lid, and revealed a set of superior-grade knight longswords.

“As your lord, this is my gift to you,” he said. “Furthermore, each of you may choose one of the Red Phosphorus steeds here as your mount. I hope you will become my sharp swords, carving out new lands for me.”

“Thank you, my lord,” the twelve replied in unison.

Unseen to them, from a window in the main keep, the Count of Eagles watched the proceedings.

Angus was deeply gratified by his fifth son’s actions.

One must be generous to those who swear loyalty—not miserly—so as to win their hearts as swiftly as possible.

On the battlefield, it is always your knights who will take the blade for you.

Neither your wife, your children, nor even your brothers would do so.

This was a truth Angus had come to understand over the past thirty years.

“Prepare yourselves. Tomorrow morning, we depart Windsor Castle for the provincial capital of West River Province.”

“We obey your command,” the twelve answered, striking their right fists to their chests and bowing their heads respectfully.

Watching them leave, Weilin began to inventory what remained, then ordered the servants to load everything onto the carriages outside the secondary keep where he lived.

Afterward, he made his way to the main keep to bid farewell to his mother.

After all, he did not know how long it would be before they met again.

His fourth brother, for example, had left five years ago and had not returned once, striving in some unknown corner of the world.

Silent for long, then astonishing all at once.

That was how Weilin described his fourth brother, whose perseverance and talent truly deserved such praise.

He kept pondering how to say goodbye to his mother.

Unawares, he found himself at her door.

He gently pushed the door open and saw his mother, Alisa, sitting by the window, weaving a silk scarf by the sunlight.

The head maid standing beside her noticed Weilin’s arrival and quietly whispered a few words.

Alisa set down her work, looked up at Weilin.

Though he had prepared many words in his heart, he found himself unable to speak.

“Mother, I will be leaving tomorrow.”

“Yes, I know. My fledgling hawk has grown and is ready to soar, to pursue his own path. I hope you will return in glory.”

“That day will come, Mother.”

Weilin stepped forward, embracing his mother in a final farewell.

A thousand words melded into that single embrace.

After some time, Weilin left his mother’s room, the scarf she gave him in hand.

He then went to his father’s study to announce his departure, receiving his father’s advice and blessing.

Having said farewell to his parents, Weilin returned to his room, instructing his two underage guardian knights to prepare for tomorrow’s journey.

…

On April 3, Year 9720 of the Age of Radiance, at the east gate of Windsor Castle, Weilin, clad in light cloth armor, sat atop a tall Red Phosphorus steed. He gazed back at a corner of the castle and ordered loudly, “Move out.”

At his command, six carriages, twelve knightly escorts, and two underage guardian knights formed a simple caravan, departing Windsor Castle for the provincial capital of West River Province.

West River Province lay in the southern heartland of the Kingdom of Ilia, spanning nine hundred and fifty thousand square kilometers, containing two marquisates, three counties, and more than a hundred baronies and viscounties scattered as buffer zones between the five great noble domains.

To avoid the hostile forces lurking in the Sahakros Mountains of the Iron Eagle domain, Weilin chose to take the detour through the adjacent forested territory, steering clear of enemy ambushes on the road to West River Province.

Though this added more than two hundred kilometers to their journey, it was preferable to having his fledgling power destroyed in its infancy.

After more than ten days and six hundred kilometers, Weilin and his party safely arrived at the provincial capital—a great city of four hundred square kilometers, directly governed by the royal family, ruling over an area of ten thousand square kilometers and home to more than two million inhabitants.

Patting his mount, Weilin looked up at the city’s thirty-meter-high walls, three meters higher than the towers of Windsor Castle.

In the sky above, griffin riders passed by from time to time.

He recalled that the Eks family also maintained a griffin knight corps—one hundred and twenty strong, with every member at the intermediate silver rank.

In this world, all professions, broadly speaking, were ranked from lowest to highest as apprentice, bronze, silver, gold, soul-will, legend, and so on. As for the extraordinary ranks beyond that, he knew nothing yet.