Chapter 293: Son

The south gate of Fislate.

Watching Aragorn's receding figure, Allen took his son along the town's flat stone-paved road, preparing to return to Winterburg.

"That big brother has already ruled over so many people, why does he still want to go out and travel? Isn't it better to stay and manage his own territory?"

Albert's youthful voice rang out, asking the question that had been lingering in his heart.

From the age of five, he had to receive a lot of education, and his mother, as Queen, and his father, as King, set an example for him every day.

Therefore, Albert already had an extremely vague concept in his heart of how to become a qualified king.

"My son, Aragorn is not the same as you. Compared to him, you are truly much luckier. Although Annúminas has also gathered over ten thousand people, and in this place of Middle-earth, it can be counted as a force not to be underestimated, but in the distant south, by the side of the sea, there is also a Gondor with a population of over a hundred thousand, where there is a long-lost throne waiting for Aragorn to take back."

As he spoke, Allen gently rubbed his son's hair.

"This is not easy, Albert. I once taught you that power, this thing, seems to be the power of life and death, but in reality, it is extremely fragile and comes entirely from the recognition of the superior by others."

Albert nodded and said.

"Yes, in order to obtain this recognition, one must strengthen oneself while observing the needs of others, and even manipulate the needs of these people. If there is a conflict, one must try every means to choose what is important to oneself and abandon those that are not important. I remember these."

Listening to his son's answer, Allen shook his head and said: "You must think more and identify what is truly important to you. So, think again, why does Aragorn not manage his own territory, but instead go to Gondor and Rohan to travel?"

Young Albert fell into silence; he hoped his answer could satisfy his father.

After a long while, the youthful voice rang out again.

"If big brother's ultimate goal is to take back his throne, then he certainly cannot stay in his territory, because power will not fall from the sky.

Then, his journey this time should be to observe the temperament of the lords of Gondor, and of course, he should also look at the customs and habits of the local residents, so that he can better strengthen himself.

Also, since it is a lost throne, he still has to listen to the voices of the people of Gondor to see if there is anyone still willing to welcome back the old royal bloodline.

Am I right, Father?"

Allen smiled and did not answer his son's question directly.

"At this age, being able to think of these things yourself is already great. As for right and wrong, you still have plenty of time to verify them. However, remember, Albert, sometimes right and wrong are not important, because everyone's right and wrong are different; what is important is actually the stance."

"Alright, stop thinking about these things. Your mother made soup, waiting for us to go home and drink it."

As he spoke, Allen took Albert's little hand, and after a few steps, suddenly pointed to a vendor on the side and said: "Before we go back, do you want to eat a candied hawthorn?"

"Okay, okay, buy one for sister too."

Children always like to eat things that are sour and sweet.

Watching his cheering son, Allen smiled gratifiedly. He was very satisfied with his son; at least there was no trait of cruelty in his nature.

In this place of Middle-earth, cruelty is a character that is bad to the extreme, even for a king.

However, Allen now had plenty of time to stay by Albert's side, to guide him, to teach him, to become a benevolent and wise monarch.

In recent years, there had been almost no war in the north, so he no longer had to fight east and west every day like before.

He only occasionally needed to go to Fatis to observe the situation of the Easterlings.

During the time he lived in Fislate, besides accompanying his family, Allen spent most of his time on simulations.

The most energy-consuming part was studying the Rune Magic from the Pendor Continent and trying every means to realize it in Middle-earth.

This was very difficult and required a lot of effort to research and test, but there had been some initial progress.

At the very least, Allen had figured out how the runes on the Noldor knight helmets absorbed energy from the air and stored it in the gems.

However, how the helmet released energy to protect its master when encountering mental attacks had not been fully mastered.

There was also that necklace named "Vitality." He had also figured out the principle of how the energy radiated to nourish the wearer, but why this energy could prolong life and treat injuries—these were more complex and profound magic.

And this knowledge was researched by Allen day and night, working hard together with those scholars in the Pendor Continent who could manufacture "Anti-Aging Potion." It could be said that he had paid a great deal of wealth and energy.

Of course, there was also a large amount of time.

In this process, the construction of the Lion Knight Order and the Griffin Knight Order had gradually improved.

Of course, it was impossible for all of them to be formal knights; most were still newly recruited apprentice knights.

However, even as apprentice knights, their combat effectiveness was quite considerable. After all, their initial instructor was a Noldor Elf. However, Risadilan quit after doing the job for less than two months, complaining that the work was too boring.

Having no other choice, Allen hired an instructor from Elaklai at a high salary, ensuring the daily training of these apprentice knights.

At the same time, the weapons and equipment of the Knight Orders were also replaced on a large scale; the armor was lighter and had better defense, and the weapons were sharper, with increased destructive power.

Even the horses were replaced with Gatu Warbeasts, famous for their impact power on the continent.

All aspects had been strengthened to a greater or lesser extent.

If they were to slaughter each other on the battlefield, even these apprentice knights could defeat the Lion-Hunting Knight Order of Calradia head-on.

It was not that Allen favored one Knight Order over another; it was entirely because the humans of the Pendor Continent had stronger physical fitness and could wield heavier weapons and wear thicker armor, so the combat power they possessed was even more powerful.

The Swadian Knights did not have such conditions, or rather, fundamentally speaking, the two were not the same species at all.

This was something that couldn't be helped.

Now, the Griffin Knight Order and the Lion Knight Order could be considered initially established, with the number of people controlled by Allen within five hundred. If there were sacrifices or retirements, they would be supplemented after selection.

However, Allen did not force the requirement that one must be a noble to join. As long as the physical conditions and age were met, and one was willing to abide by the creed of the Knight Order, then all would be treated equally and could join.

Especially the Lion Knights, unlike the Griffin Knight Order's duty to protect the royal bloodline, the creed Allen set for them was loyalty, bravery, protection, and firmness.

Their main task was to protect the stability of the kingdom, to strike at the increasingly chaotic situation of rebel armies and bandits, as well as those wandering knights who were exploring in name but plundering in reality.

The current Pendor Continent could be said to be getting more and more chaotic. To maintain the stability of the commoners, a huge price must be paid.

In fact, the Kingdom of Ravenstern still had two Knight Orders: the Horned Call Ranger Knight Order in Long River Town, and the Ebony Knight Order stationed in Qiaoyan Bay.

However, the Horned Call Rangers did not have high recognition of Allen, and after the duel between the two kings, they swore not to participate in the conquests between countries. These were warriors of noble character who were unwilling to join in the fighting of their own people killing their own people.

Now, the Horned Call Ranger Knight Order's slogan was to protect the border, and they intended to stay on the border of the kingdom wholeheartedly in the future to protect the commoners.

Moreover, the establishment of this Knight Order was a spontaneous act by the nobles and residents of Long River Town, and they did not accept the dispatch of the kingdom.

Even though Allen was now the lord of Long River Town and had obtained the recognition of this Knight Order, he could command them in the face of foreign enemies, but he could not meet the conditions for summoning.

After all, these rangers were unwilling to participate in the King's expedition.

But this was no problem. As long as there was a war on the border, they would still gather under the royal flag and fight bravely in the grasslands and forests.

Moreover, the cost of maintaining this troop was simply negligible compared to the Lion Knights and the Griffin Knights.

In order to keep the wealth in the national treasury in a healthy state, Allen felt that if they couldn't be summoned, they couldn't be summoned; it wasn't that important. Having two to replace each other was enough.

As for the Ebony Knight Order, they were a private organization themselves, and most of their members were merchants and commoners who hated the Noldor or coveted the wealth of the Elves, and they were not subject to the kingdom's dispatch.

Their station was also a piece of land purchased in Qiaoyan Bay with a large amount of gold coins. After Allen became King, he immediately declared them an illegal Knight Order and began to hunt them down in the Kingdom of Pendor.

After a flurry of activity, Allen captured a large number of illegal knights and also obtained a lot of Ebony equipment. In the operation, the Elves gave Allen unprecedented help.

Aldaria even brought her personal guards and ran out of the forest, galloping on the plains of the Kingdom of Pendor, chasing this Knight Order that had harmed the Elves.

At the same time, the Elves were also very interested in the equipment on the Ebony Knights. After all, they also understood the principle of knowing yourself and knowing your enemy to win every battle.

Once they finished their research, Allen would have Ebony equipment to use.

As for now, the members of the Ebony Knight Order had disappeared in the Kingdom of Pendor, and it was estimated that they had fled to other countries.

Some time ago, spies lurking in the Empire reported a little information, saying that these guys had started to appear in Boshi Cheng, probably wanting to spend money to buy land in the Empire.

Of course, Marius I might not agree to them, because the Empire had always been avoiding large-scale conflicts with the Noldor Elves.

Moreover, this Emperor was now in a state of being overwhelmed.

Because during the standoff between the Empire and the Kingdom of Ravenstern, the Snake Cult quietly landed three armies of over a thousand people on the coast, just waiting for the Empire to appear in a situation where both sides were hurt, so they could take advantage.

Now, they hadn't taken advantage, but were defeated in one battle by the army led by Marius I. The lucky cult members who escaped dispersed into dozens of small groups, causing destruction and preaching their doctrine in the coastal areas of the Empire, becoming a problem even harder to deal with than the large army.

Even if the administrative efficiency of the Empire far exceeded that of the Kingdom of Pendor, it was estimated that it would take a huge amount of time to clean up these cult members who were stirring up trouble.

Of course, this kind of trouble wouldn't cause Allen to lose his hair for the time being.

Now, the Griffin Knight Order and the Lion Knights could all be summoned, and he was preparing to put the simulation of the Magic Continent back on the agenda.

Initially, in order to obtain the Qi Stone, Allen agreed to Ragnar's recruitment and decided to help the Kingdom of Nord fight against the invasion of the Dark Cult.

It was just that this matter had been shelved since he agreed to it, and more than ten years had passed. In other words, time over there did not flow; otherwise, the Kingdom of Nord would have been gone long ago, and King Ragnar would probably have come over to scold him a few times even in a dream.

Now, Allen possessed much more powerful strength than in the past. Analyzing from the information he had gathered, it should be more than enough to single-handedly take on the three major commanders of the Dark Cult, and even if the other side's priests were added, he should be able to hold his own.

At the same time, the Lion Knight Order and the Griffin Knight Order could be summoned, and a thousand elite cavalry could be sent to raid the enemy's rear at any time. On the battlefield, such an advantage was enough to determine the victory of a battle.

On the Magic Continent, Allen still had an Earth Stone he hadn't obtained, and at the same time, his status there was only a mercenary group leader, not even a noble.

Now, the strength Allen possessed was already not bad. After repelling the Dark Cult, he could entirely consider establishing a country on the Magic Continent; perhaps he could summon a third Knight Order.

Allen had even thought of the members of the Knight Order, recruiting the Free Knights of Zendar. Although their physical fitness was not as good as the Griffin Knights or the Noldor Elves.

But they all knew how to use Qi. If the situation was critical, the combat power that the Free Knights could erupt in a short period of time could even rival the Twilight Knights.

When Allen appeared again in the Kingdom of Nord, that is, the camp near Sargoth, a heavy and tense atmosphere rushed towards him.

Because in this world, he had just ordered his subordinates yesterday to fully prepare for battle, so countless people were running around in the camp, and shouts and scolding were heard one after another.

There was a lot of preparation to be done before the battle: weapons had to be maintained, equipment had to be checked, and even the horses and the donkeys pulling the carts had to be fed something good to store a little fat for the busyness to come.

By the time they were truly on the road, all that remained was consumption, and it would be difficult to get replenishment again.

And after Allen signed the contract with Ragnar, the task he received was to lead the team to reach Herus Fortress, located between two mountain peaks, in the fastest time possible, and rendezvous with Haringoth stationed there.

While guarding against the Dark Cult's attack on the fortress, he was to wait for the kingdom's next instruction.

Warhorses neighed and people were bustling. After Allen received enough supplies in Sargoth, he led his team and set off towards Herus Fortress. ===== CHAPTER 294 =====