Chapter 638: A Conversation in the Military Camp and the Baron's Help

Jier wiped his mouth, stood up, and followed the two Priests.

Xueya Steer also moved to stand, but Jier pressed his hand down, signaling him to continue eating. After all, this matter primarily concerned him, and there was no need to involve Xueya Steer.

Kendall Baron was just about to dismount and return to the separate house specially provided for the military Commander where he had been staying for the past two days, when he saw two Agricultural God Priests walking toward him.

By the light of a nearby fire basin, Kendall Baron recognized one as a Military Priest, while the other he did not know, though both were young Agricultural God Church Priests.

"Perhaps a Priest from the local church has joined in?"

He thought this, but soon realized it was not the case.

"Good evening, my lords. This is an Agricultural God Pastor who has traveled here from the Southern Province, named Priest Luosa-Bata'er."

Priest Kela'er, representing the Kendall people's own church forces, introduced the stranger beside him to the two Nobles.

Priest Bataer knew he had to show respect at this moment, or at least not offend these two, so he performed a gesture unique to the Agricultural God Church.

He clenched both fists, separated them to the left and right, posed as if holding something with the left in front and the right behind, and then bowed his waist. This ritual movement imitated a farmer plowing the land and was considered a relatively formal one.

Kendall Baron and Knight Kela each returned the gesture according to their own status and rank.

"Is there something the matter? Since this Priest Bataer comes from the Southern Province, perhaps you could introduce us to the current actual situation in the Southern Province?"

As the Baron spoke, he led the group slowly toward the interior of the military camp.

Jier took two quick steps back to where they had been eating to pick up Priest Bataer's travel luggage with one hand, gave Xueya Steer a gesture indicating he would return to their quarters after finishing his meal, and then jogged to catch up with the others.

The group talked as they walked, and the Baron even casually raised a bright orb of light from a ring to illuminate their party.

The house where the military Commander lived alone was different from where the ordinary Soldiers lived; it was situated right against the camp wall, rather than within the rows of red-tiled brick and wood houses inside the perimeter.

It was a large, detached brick and wood house abutting the wall. Because the Baron himself had many personal guards and attendants, rows of tents for them to spend the night were pitched outside this house specially provided for the Baron's temporary stay.

These tents tightly surrounded the detached house; to approach it, one would either have to walk along the wall or use the narrow passage left between the tents, all for the purpose of serving and guarding Kendall Baron at close range.

The carriages the Baron had traveled in earlier had all been driven to the edge of other walls within the camp, where the Kendall army's logistics carriages were now parked, a scale of logistics that left even the local Mengtuoka Soldiers tongue-tied.

But those with even a slight understanding of military affairs found it unsurprising; after all, the Kendall people were an army that had marched from very far away, so such logistics strength was a normal display.

If there were fewer carriages, it would have been the knowledgeable ones who found it strange.

As the group walked toward the main hall on the first floor of the house where the Baron was staying, Priest Bataer continued to explain his previous encounters.

Having found Jier, the newcomer, he might have been thinking about how to phrase this to the Nobles and Knights who were Jier's superiors, so he did not focus on describing the suffering the village had endured, because the people listening to him now were not Jier the warrior, and he could not use the suffering of the masses to solicit sympathy.

Thus, after briefly stating the reason for his arrival, Priest Bataer focused on describing the help the Agricultural God had provided him and the Church's attitude toward the matter.

Priest Kela'er also chimed in at the right moment, stating that he himself had received the Agricultural God's calling and communication on his journey south, and that he could represent the Kendall County Agricultural God Church in supporting Priest Bataer's actions in this matter.

"Oh? You can represent the Kendall City Agricultural God Church?"

After entering the hall of the house where he was staying, Kendall Baron casually took off his magnificent Cloak and handed it to the attendant who was always waiting by his side.

Although they had only just entered the house, the attendants who had returned to the camp ahead of the Baron's carriage train had already lit the stone fireplace in the hall. The dried and chopped firewood, now of a suitable size for burning, was roaring with flames, constantly radiating heat throughout the hall.

Crack! The surface of the firewood in the fireplace emitted the crisp snapping sound of burning, carbonized wood.

As the Baron spoke, he sat in the main seat, a high-backed wooden chair, beside the fireplace in the hall.

Priest Kela'er did not sit down, but first bowed to the Noble Baron before saying, "My Lord, if it is only regarding this matter, I can represent the Kendall County Agricultural God Church to which I belong."

The Baron and Knight Kela looked at each other and both laughed, finding it amusing.

"Then tell us about it? Jier, you come over too. You are the army's little vanguard; why are you standing so far away when it concerns you?"

Kendall Baron beckoned to Jier at the hall entrance, telling him to come over and sit.

Jier did not stand on ceremony; he just hadn't wanted to interject into their conversation, even though the true subject of this conversation was himself.

After putting down Priest Bataer's luggage at the door, he strode over, and Jier sat directly on a wooden chair with a backrest next to Knight Kela. This chair had seen some years, its surface worn smooth by people's bodies and clothing, but it was very sturdy overall; he sat down, and the chair didn't even wobble.

The two Priests looked at each other, and after Jier sat down, they followed suit and sat on chairs, though they both sat on the other side at the Baron's hand.

On the left were Knight Kela and Jier, and on the right were the two Priests.

Priest Kela'er spoke first: "My Lord, perhaps next year we can open several more farms on the north side of Kendall City." Priest Kela'er considered for a moment and continued: "The Farmers needed for the farms can be organized by the Church. As for the ownership of the farms, you two can make a proposal."

The Baron chuckled; these people from the Agricultural God Church were always like this, conducting small interest exchanges.

But actually, this was fine; several relatives in the family who did not have specific positions in the city could be arranged here, saving them from always pestering him to arrange positions within the city.

Although it was very normal to arrange one's own family relatives into various positions in the city, which could increase control over the governed city, he knew clearly what the specific ability levels of his family's relatives were.

The family's main power and influence were in Kendall City, so naturally, unsuitable people could not be placed there. In the management of Kendall City, one must carefully select people with suitable abilities and different backgrounds.

And farms were quite suitable.

A farm was almost a separate little society; the various management tasks were easy, but there were all sorts of trivial matters all year round, which could easily consume the energy of those few in the family.

So they wouldn't keep bothering him.

Thus, Kendall Baron looked at Knight Kela to see what requirements this mentor of Jier's Knight Training had.

Knight Kela received the look from his old friend and knew that Kendall Baron didn't care about this matter and would be satisfied with a small gain. But he was different; he thought highly of Jier, this young man. If this war could temper the young man, Jier would certainly take over part of the territory and power responsibilities within the county.

Then he would be tied to their chariot.

"Hmm, must it be Jier?"

Knight Kela's words left the two Priests opposite him looking puzzled.

"What do you mean?"

Knight Kela took the hangover drink handed over by an attendant, sipped it, and said: "Why seek out Jier? He is but an ordinary young man currently undergoing Knight Training. The Agricultural God Church has certain connections with many family Knights in the Western Province or the Southern Province in various places, right? Why seek out such a young man from the Northwest Province?"

The Knight glanced at the Baron and then said: "Today I went with the Baron to attend the banquet hosted by Mengtuoka Viscount, and at the banquet, I saw many local young Knights. Each one was very heroic and enthusiastic. If they heard about the Changmai Village incident, they would surely prepare fine weapons and warhorses themselves, and appropriately use force and family connections to rescue the captured Villagers."

The Baron shook the wooden cup of the hangover drink in his hand at the right moment: "Just as the Bards sing, a young Knight hears of suffering, receives the calling of the gods, draws his sword and takes an oath, determined to rescue the Villagers in suffering. Then, through twists and turns, he meets all kinds of companions, thinks of all kinds of methods, defeats all kinds of villains, and finally rescues the Villagers. Ah, a hero story that will be sung locally for a long time."

Everyone present coughed awkwardly a few times.

Knight Kela felt the Kendall Baron's face was even redder and guessed there was still some drunkenness, so he urged the Baron to drink more of the hangover drink.

Priest Kela'er smiled awkwardly: "My Lord, you are really joking. Everyone knows that most of those stories are made up by Bards, and some stories with real prototypes have also undergone a lot of artistic modification before being performed and sung to the masses. Where is real suffering ever so easy and simple?"

Then Priest Bataer coughed lightly: "My two lords, this is the will of the Agricultural God; we cannot fathom the arrangements of the gods. Just like my previous experience, the Agricultural God let me wait for a newcomer in a tavern here, and I waited for a long time. Among them were doubts, speculations, dissatisfaction, pain, and other emotions that tormented my body and mind. But in the end, the newcomer came. The gods have their own arrangements for this, and we need not doubt the meaning within."

Kendall Baron gave a disdainful snort at this kind of church talk, but said nothing more beyond that.

Today, from the banquet of the Montuoka Viscount, he heard quite a lot about the war in the Southern Province.

Those present at the time were all nobles like him; these locals were exceptionally well-informed, but as long as the news concerned the Southern Province, none of it was good news that could put one at ease.

Here and there another batch of refugees had flooded in, here and there the customs duties had increased by another twenty percent, and here and there a caravan had lost a team for no reason, with even the investigators sent to look into it disappearing as well.

It was not that he had any intention of retreating, but Kendall Baron felt that he had to be cautious and careful before he arrived at the capital of the Southern Province to join the war. When the situation was unclear, it was best not to commit the army in his hands into the battlefield.

"The gods have their own arrangements, hmph hmph. Jier, what do you think?"

Kela Knight looked toward Jier beside him and asked him.

Jier rubbed his hands and shrugged his shoulders: "It doesn't matter to me. The suffering villagers must have someone step forward to save them, right? You can't just leave them be, can you? Besides, I haven't moved around for a while, and my hands are a bit itchy."

"You fellow, your hands are a bit itchy? You had best not fall into bloody slaughter. As a Knight, you must actively control everything about yourself. Not just your strength or your body, but also your thoughts and your spirit."

Kela Knight said a few words, and Jier nodded and accepted them all.

Jier then said: "There is just one question: what is the number and scale of the enemy, and specifically how many people are going to act together to save those trapped villagers?"

Bata'er Jiaoshi saw everyone around him looking at him, and he became nervous, struggling to recall the possible scale of that routed army: "Uh, approximately, roughly, maybe two hundred people?"

"Nonsense!"

Kela Knight scolded, though it was unclear who he was calling nonsense.

"Hmph, then how many people has the God of Agriculture prepared to rescue the villagers?"

Facing this question from Kela Knight, Bata'er Jiaoshi was stunned. Only then did he realize one thing: the gods had let him come here to find the comer, and he had found him, but then what? The gods had said nothing more; it seemed that finding Jier, this comer, was enough.

Only then did he suddenly realize what an absurd thing this was.

In a short moment, Bata'er Jiaoshi's head was covered in sweat, though he did not know if it was because he was too close to the fireplace.

"Nothing to say? If Jier were a formal Knight like me, two hundred routed soldiers would not be impossible."

When Kela Knight said this, Bata'er Jiaoshi's eyes lit up again, but he immediately realized that he could not drive such a Northern Knight who had his own interests and stance; this Knight likely had the responsibility of commanding an army and could not possibly abandon his troops to run off and rescue villagers.

Subsequently, Kela Knight looked at Jier beside him and asked generously: "Jier, do you think you can handle an enemy of this scale?"

But it was beyond the expectations of everyone present.

Jier's answer was exceptionally arrogant.

"I think it's possible? As long as the terrain is complex and I have enough auxiliary strength here to help me. It's not impossible to give it a try."

Jier's face was a bit flushed, and the smile he revealed while speaking made everyone who saw it feel a bit strange.

Kela Knight rolled his eyes; he felt that Jier might have become inflated after achieving success in his Knight Training.

But Kendall Baron smiled; for a subordinate Warrior to be this confident was not necessarily a bad thing. He suddenly snapped his fingers, instantly attracting the attention of everyone in the hall.

"Everyone, Jier's bravery is something we should support, is it not? To tell the truth, behind every seemingly impossible task, what really supports the person doing it to actually complete it is not anything else, but three key points."

The Baron held up one finger: "Firm belief and spirit."

Then he held up a second finger: "Sufficient preparatory strength."

Finally, he held up a third finger: "Finding the correct solution."

The Baron faced the gazes of everyone present and said: "Xiao Ji'er has this bravery, and since he started becoming active last year until now, he has also defeated many difficult enemies along the way. So he has the conviction and the spirit."

"As for the solution for your operation this time, that requires taking measures according to the actual situation at the time, experience and wisdom, insight and ideas, and so on."

"As for preparatory strength, come here."

Kendall Baron said this and summoned a personal attendant who was waiting by the wall in the hall at that moment.

"Go to my carriage and fetch the Dagger box that is on top of the valuables."

"Yes, Master."

The middle-aged attendant accepted the order and simultaneously took the ring token that the Baron had tossed to him while giving the order, only then walking out of the hall.

"What are you doing?"

Kela Knight looked at his old companion with a puzzled expression, and the others did not know what the Baron was up to either, except for Kela'er Spirit who was somewhat thoughtful.

"I am increasing the possibility of this operation being completed! Don't you think Jier cannot handle those numerous routed enemies alone? I am supporting him with a Magic Tool that can be used for battle; now, don't you think things might be a little different?"

Kela Knight was left smiling bitterly by this move from Kendall Baron; he had not expected that Kendall Baron would not only agree to Jier temporarily leaving the army this time, but also follow a strange local Priest of the God of Agriculture to who knows where, to rescue who knows how many troublesome Villagers.

Not to mention whether it could be completed, after Jier finished this series of things, who knew when he would actually return.

Kela Knight had to lean into the Baron's ear and whisper this thought of his.

But the Baron waved his hand and answered Kela Knight in the same low voice: "You think it will be delayed? No, I don't think so. It is spring now, and I think that before summer begins, the counterattack of the Southern Province this year won't even be able to start. Those border nobles of the Southern Province suffered a defeat last year, and their strength is greatly damaged; they can only rely on foreign armies like ours that have traveled from afar, or the armies of powerful nobles in other parts of the Southern Province."

The Baron used his fingers to make a gesture of things being tangled together: "Think carefully, how much time and how many things will it take for the mutual probing, finding allies, interest negotiations, and finally forming an army to set out? The Southern border war was caused by the discovery of a large iron ore vein. Outsiders like us can directly use the priority rights and agreed discounts of the iron ore mined to lure them in, and then send them home after the war ends, but what about the other local nobles? After the war is fought, I cannot guess how many of those border nobles will survive, nor can I judge how many of them were killed by conspiracies of their own people."

Kela Knight was silent for a moment: "This war is truly a place that lacks honor."

"No, the lost honor will be won back on the actual battlefield; no one will be interested in the interest struggles and calculations behind the scenes. The common people!"

The Baron shook his finger triumphantly: "They only like grand war narratives, the hot-blooded slaughter of Warriors, key battles that influence the situation, and are curious about and obsessed with the 'heroes' blown up by each side."

"In short, the nobles of the Southern Province will definitely launch a war this year; it is impossible for them not to send troops, this is the general trend. But how long they will drag it out is hard to say. But I guess Xiao Ji'er will definitely make it back in time after this trip."

The Baron gave a mocking smile as he said this.

Kela Knight sighed with a speechless expression.

War is just like this; the more parties involved, the more troublesome things become.

Soon, amidst the two Priests whispering with their heads lowered, Jier rubbing his hands with a flushed face, and the two noble Knights talking in low voices, the Baron's personal attendant who had just gone out returned with a Wooden box in his hands.

When the attendant was outside the door, he was followed all the way by a Baron's personal guard, and only when the guard stood at the door and saw that the personal attendant was indeed taking the precious Magic Tool to the Baron himself did the guard confirm it, salute, and walk away to return to his post.

"Master, the item has been retrieved."

The attendant presented the Wooden box and simultaneously returned the ring token the Baron had given him.

The ring token was the ring the Baron always wore on his finger, the one engraved with his own noble crest. This thing was generally used as a signature mark on letters; a small magic mechanism was installed inside, and after the ring face was pressed onto paper, it could leave a noble crest mark that looked like it had been burned and simultaneously carried a magical shimmer.

Of course, this ring that could represent him could naturally be used as a token for handling affairs.

The Baron handed the Wooden box directly to Jier: "Open it and see. This thing was something you captured in a mission before. A Magic Fire Dagger named 'Heart Fire'."

Jier opened the Wooden box, and sure enough, inside lay a beautiful Magic Dagger neatly wrapped and protected by velvet.

The surface of this weapon shimmered, looking as if it were heaving a sigh of relief at finally being able to see the light of day once more.