Chapter 131: The Newcomer Baron

The wandering knight Lops and the lady knight Surya immediately charged towards the cyclops with their lances and spears, followed closely by Alfred. Ryan was about to join them when Julius stopped him.

"Not everything requires the intervention of a Grail Knight, Ryan." Julius shook his head calmly, then spurred his horse forward, shouting, "For the lady!"

Ryan, awkwardly holding his warhammer, not sure whether to raise it or lower it, felt somewhat embarrassed.

The cyclops, roaring, lifted a large chunk of broken stone and hurled it at the group, which Lops and Alfred swiftly dodged.

The stone smashed into the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.

The ranger knight, shouting the name of the lake fairy, found his horse spooked and leaping high to avoid the incoming rock.

The young ranger knight, evidently lacking in horsemanship, issued a forward command to his horse, which instead tried to retreat, leading to the knight being struck by the rock and falling to the ground with his horse, wailing in pain.

Fortunately, his full plate armor seemed sturdy, likely resulting in only bruising rather than fatal injuries.

"For the lady!" Lady knight Surya, with her bright golden hair flowing behind her helmet, spurred her pegasus into a charge, hitting the cyclops's right leg with her lance. The cyclops retaliated, but Surya pulled on the reins, causing the pegasus to fly up and glide out of the way beautifully.

"Watch this!" Lops slashed at the cyclops's left leg with his halberd, then quickly dodged away. Alfred, attempting another strike, had to evade as the cyclops's palm came crashing down.

Defeating the cyclops would take many hits from them, but it would only take one hit for the cyclops to crush them into pulp.

The cyclops, wounded in both legs, stumbled and reached out to brace itself.

Julius charged into the fray, the formidable kingdom knight aimed his lance at the cyclops's heart. His steed, sensing its master's intent, charged at full speed.

As the knight and his pegasus passed by the cyclops, the sharp lance pierced the cyclops's chest and broke off, leaving the creature to fall to the ground, clutching its chest.

With a turn in the air, the Antrell siblings struck together, delivering a fatal blow to the cyclops.

The battle quickly ended, leaving behind only the wreckage of a windmill and a barn.

After sheathing their swords, Ryan noticed the Antrell siblings seemed to recognize the young man. Julius motioned for the young man to rise and asked coldly, "Thierry?"

"Grandmaster Julius!" The young man quickly got up, somewhat sheepishly.

"What made you decide to face a cyclops alone?" Julius's tone was harsh. A cyclops was at least a high-level elite monster, not recommended for solo combat.

"I'm ashamed to say, a serf sought my help, saying a cyclops had come here..." The ranger knight named Thierry explained, embarrassed, detailing the events.

Thierry, an eighteen-year-old ranger knight in training at Winfort Academy, filled with youthful enthusiasm and ambition, rushed to the cyclops's challenge without considering the strength difference or the danger.

Youthful folly, Ryan thought, shaking his head.

Brittany's young ranger knights often charged headfirst into battle without considering the consequences, leading to heavy casualties among them.

However, from another perspective, this was also an effective way to control the noble population and ensure survival of the fittest.

The education of knights in the kingdom encouraged this behavior.

"A knight without a horse is no knight. A horse without a knight is no warhorse. This is Brittany, where horse and knight, serf and noble, exist together."

—The first Knight King, Arthur

Nothing made knights prouder than defending their home and country. When evil and darkness approached, Brittany's knights would not sit in their castles, behind high walls, waiting to die. They would mount their steeds, raise their lances, and bravely face any invader. The knightly spirit and faith in the Lady of the Lake ensured no cowards among them.

In this regard, Brittany's nobles were stronger than those of the Empire, many of whom preferred to delegate generals rather than fight themselves.

"Ah! You must be Sir Ryan Makado, the Grail Knight! An honor to meet you!" Thierry suddenly recognized Ryan, excitedly rushing over to shake his hand. Ryan, having no choice, shook his hand and asked the question on his mind: "Why is there a cyclops here?"

"I'm not sure, but I heard that recently there have been several golden-armored giants roaming around Jean Baronet at night, attacking any beastmen they see. After the beastmen tribes in the Charlon Forest suffered heavy casualties, they avoided Jean's territory, hence their presence here," Thierry explained, scratching his head.

Ryan suddenly understood something.

Arriving at a crossroads, Ryan saw his future domain, Jean Baronet, laid out before him.

The lake fairy had been generous to Ryan, providing him with a barony that could be described as prosperous: a town of two to three hundred households, fields crisscrossed with paths, a vineyard, a horse farm, and a castle perched halfway up a hill.

This was his future domain, Ryan thought, looking over the entire baronetcy from a high vantage point.

Beyond Jean town, the fields were dotted with villages. Ryan estimated many villages surrounded Jean Baronet.

"Jean Baronet consists of one town and five villages, with a population of over a thousand households. It's overseen by two kingdom knights and five ranger knights," Ryan read from his baronial charter, detailing the exact size of his domain.

"To the north of the baronetcy is the Charlon Forest, home to numerous beastmen tribes. To the east, it's close to the Duchy of Winfort; to the south, it borders the Kakasong Duchy. The area near the lake fairy's sanctuary to the south poses no significant threat. To the northwest, along the Shinon River, is the route to the Duchy of Bordelaux; to the southwest, it connects to the Duchy of Brionne by road. Mr. Ryan, please be cautious of Estalian invaders still fighting Duke Theodoric in the Duchy of Brionne," Lady knight Surya advised before she and her brother bid farewell to Ryan and returned to their duchy.

In other words, this place was a battleground. Aside from the supportive Duchy of Winfort to the north and Kakasong Duchy to the south, enemies could come from many directions, Ryan frowned.

The baronetcy was indeed a rich land, but also full of challenges.

Entering the castle was simple. After proving his identity, a noble in charge greeted him. The man, about forty years old with a thick beard, introduced himself, "You must be Sir Ryan? I am Gaspard, the tax collector here."

"Hello!" Ryan shook hands with him. He had learned from the Brittany court that the lake fairy had assigned him a tax collector, a clergy member of the Order of the Holy Maiden. Although he was heavily influenced by the lake fairy, Ryan trusted him.

This was essentially an assistant sent by his lady.

Sometimes, when the lake fairy said she "would not interfere," it was merely a formality. The goddess was accustomed to deeply involving herself in mortal affairs, a habit not easily changed, especially for her chosen champion, Ryan. At most, some matters could be negotiated due to his strength and importance.

"Welcome, Sir Ryan. After your long journey, I've arranged for the castle to be cleaned. There are many matters requiring your attention, which you can choose to review immediately or rest and address later," Gaspard offered, presenting a ledger and various documents for Ryan's inspection.

"I'll review them in the castle," Ryan nodded, preferring to address some issues immediately, though they first needed to enter the town.

At the town gate, all the citizens and serfs had gathered. In Brittany, serfs served a lord who provided them with land. During peacetime, civilians' harvests were surrendered to the lord, and the serfs' share depended on their lord's character.

Brittany wasn't always like this.

During the reigns of Taillefer and earlier Knight Kings, Brittany had many self-sustaining farmers classified as serfs but lived better than today's serfs. They owned their land, were free from excessive taxes and forced labor, and enjoyed more rights.

However, starting with the Doltan Tower incident and the ensuing civil wars among the dukes, the self-sustaining farmers largely disappeared. Although Knight King Taillefer later addressed this issue, the fact that the dukes had swallowed the lands was undeniable.

Subsequent kings, John I and John II, were true tyrants. Under their rule for about 130 years after Taillefer's death, Brittany engaged in numerous knightly crusades abroad, even battling green-skinned armies in the southern wastelands.

In the catastrophic Battle of Badwater, Brittany lost over 8,000 knights and 20,000 conscripts.

Thereafter, to appease the greatly affected dukes, John I and John II delegated much power to them, leading to the dukes engulfing the self-sustaining farmers' lands. It's important to note that whether a knight was a Grail Knight or adhered to the Eight Virtues had no bearing on land annexation. Grail Knights might treat serfs with slightly lower taxes and land redemption, but that didn't mean they would forgo land annexation.

As such, serfs longed for the rule of Grail Knights, seeing them as their only light and hope in dark times.

Unfortunately, Grail Knights were few, and most guarded the Lady of the Lake's sanctuaries.

Jean town had about 300 permanent residents, consisting of low walls and hundreds of simple houses. The town had an inn, restaurants, various guilds, a temple of Shallya, and a barracks.

A short mountain path led to Ryan's baronial castle, a large structure built into the hillside with a water source behind it. The castle, made of massive stone walls, was divided into an outer court for the garrison and tax collector and an inner court for the lord's family and servants.

Ryan, refusing help, pushed open the heavy doors himself, the dust causing Lops and Alfred to frown. The four-story inner court showed signs of decay and damage, but overall, it was habitable.

"Was there a baron here before?" Ryan asked Gaspard.

"Yes, Sir Ryan, but since the last baron died in battle thirty-three years ago, no new baron was appointed. The Marquis of Ascot has managed the area since then," the middle-aged man replied.

Ryan nodded, understanding that baronies were not hereditary in either Brittany or the Empire. Upon a baron's death, a duke could reclaim the land, either for personal use or to reassign.

The current legal claimant to Jean Baronet was Marquis Connally-Ascot of the Duchy of Winfort, Ryan's nominal superior—though only in name, as kingdom knights had no authority over Grail Knights.

Marquis Ascot's castle was about thirty kilometers east of Jean Baronet, within the Duchy of Winfort.

After briefly arranging their temporary accommodations, Ryan headed to the inner court's hall and said to Gaspard, "Let's begin."

"Very well, Sir Ryan."

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