Chapter 172: The Baron's Simple Farmer

Old World, Bretonnia, Baron Jean's Territory, Redfish Village north of the Shinon River.

Early October, deep autumn. The temperature began to drop as winter in Bretonnia was approaching.

The autumn wind was bleak, the forests were dyed in various hues, and a serene aura permeated from the vast fields. The slopes and dams seemed to glisten like water in the clear autumn light. The harvest had almost ended, and the tax officers from the knight's manor had collected all the due grains, leaving just a decent yield. The serfs began chopping wood and milling flour, while also deep plowing the land again to sow winter wheat.

Winter wheat cultivation required a lot of labor and some fertilizer, and most of the yield belonged to the lord, so the serfs were generally not enthusiastic about it.

Fortunately, the lord's tax system was a seventh-tithe, and the taxes set by the Grail Knight lord weren't too heavy. The serfs, after working hard, could still keep some produce. Plus, with the guidance of the Church of the Merciful Goddess, they learned to fertilize the fields with ash or animal manure.

Of course, the richest horse manure cost money. The serfs had to serve two to three days a week at the local knight's manor in exchange for the right to use the mill and some special tools. After completing their service, the knight allowed the serfs to take a small part of their produce home, depending on the situation. For example, after chopping wood, the lord permitted the serfs to carry a bundle of firewood home. The amount they could carry depended entirely on their strength. If a serf was greedy and took too much, causing the wood to fall or hindering their walk, it was considered as forfeiture of the privilege.

Redfish Village had a tall ranger knight known to everyone as Mr. Anglang. It was said he was the elder brother of Baron Ryan, the Grail Knight, and had come here due to some misdeeds, so the villagers were somewhat fearful of him.

This ranger knight was always different. For many years, the serfs rarely saw knights who personally worked in the fields, nor had they seen such a formidable knight lord. After Baron Ryan led his army to participate in a knightly war, the small Redfish Village actually came under the governance of Lord Anglang.

The knight lord's life was very regular, working from dawn to dusk. Every day, he would get up early and bathe in the cold waters of the Shinon River, to the shivers of the serfs. Yet, he shouted with joy. Occasionally, he would slap the river water, and many live fish would be slapped out and taken home by him.

Lord Anglang was incredibly strong, hardly needing others to serve him. He could chop down big trees and develop irrigated fields by himself. He also raised many pigs, chickens, ducks, and geese, patiently making their feed. Under his leadership, Redfish Village took on a new look. The hardworking knight lord made the serfs dare not be lazy, leading to a great harvest this year.

The village's harvest and many fat pigs soon attracted the attention of nearby bandits and rogue knights. They raided Redfish Village on a dark, windy night.

Then, there was no 'after.'

Three waves of bandits and rogue knights entered Redfish Village and disappeared without a trace. No one ever saw them again. The hardworking serfs received quite a few semi-new weapons and equipment, and the adult men were armed.

Since then, serving the knight lord sometimes turned into receiving military training from him. The serfs, holding the captured weapons, began training, starting from basic marching and spear thrusting. Lord Anglang's harsh training made many serfs complain. Each training felt like attending a funeral.

However, Lord Anglang enjoyed seeing their miserable expressions. The most outstanding young men often received meat from him. Considering the hardship of service and training was almost the same, the serfs managed to get by, at least there were rewards.

After witnessing Lord Anglang carry two wild bulls by their tails from the forest to tame them, the serfs became somewhat numb. Anyway, our knight lord is invincible and doesn't levy heavy taxes. Life is bearable.

One deep autumn day, Redfish Village welcomed an uninvited guest.

The guest with shoulder-length white hair rode a pack horse with many bags and a vampire beast's head. He carried two swords, a silver and a steel one, wore a gun on his waist, and donned practical scale armor and a cloak, though slightly worn in places.

The villagers began whispering among themselves.

"That's not the Mission Knight, it's a witcher!"

"What's a witcher doing here?"

"Good heavens, these cursed mutants! They bring misfortune wherever they go! I hope he's not here to investigate."

"Quick, inform the village elder!"

Several serfs rushed to the deeper parts of the village, while the rest looked at the witcher with suspicion but no apparent hostility.

Witchers were everywhere, spread across the continent. Many churches collaborated with witcher organizations. However, as mentioned before, witchers' status was somewhat awkward, so they weren't welcomed, and many humans viewed them with suspicion and fear.

The presence of corruption in a village could lead witchers to take extreme measures.

This witcher seemed to be in his thirties, youthful-looking but with scars across his face, especially a terrifying one from his eyebrow to his cheek. Seeing the villagers' whispers, he was somewhat silent, but he still went to check the village's notice board for any available tasks.

The notice board had only one announcement, about the legend of the Red Blood Knights.

In Bretonnia's nights, undead knights in red armor, wielding shields and lances, often appeared. These undead knights might be followers of the Blood Duke or not. They bore the emblem of a red dragon but were adorned with symbols of death and slaughter. Their weapons, inscribed with dark runes, carved with evil metal, and painted with beastly patterns, emitted a foul stench and continuously attacked villages.

They called themselves the Blood Castle Knights.

These terrifying undead knights could only be opposed by Grail Knights. Whenever Blood Castle Knights appeared, Grail Knights would immediately engage in a great duel with them.

Anyone with information about the Red Blood Knights could report to the lord for a generous reward.

"This isn't a task for me," the witcher, Abel, shook his head. He knew about these blood knights and was warned by his witcher mentor that with his abilities, it was not advisable to take on such a difficult task.

Just then, the village elder appeared, leaning on a wooden cane, and tremulously approached the witcher: "Why have you come, witcher?"

"My name is Abel, from the Empire's Hemgart." The witcher nodded slightly as a greeting: "Do you have any work for me here?"

"Uh, let me think... Our village has been very quiet lately, nothing special happening. I'm afraid you'll be disappointed, witcher." The elder thought for a moment and shook his head.

"Alright then, which way to Jean Town?" Seeing no tasks available and sensing the villagers' reluctance to host him, Abel chose to leave.

After the witcher rode away, a tall and formidable figure appeared behind the elder: "Who was that man? You all seemed quite afraid of him?"

"Lord Anglang!" The elder immediately knelt: "They are witchers."

"Witchers? What do they do?" Anglang, fierce-looking with a shaved head, spoke quite calmly.

The elder explained the role of witchers to Anglang.

"Like the Inquisition? Interesting. So, these people are generally not well-liked, right?" Anglang was genuinely interested: "Interesting. I'd like to talk to him someday... with my axe."

"Um, Lord Anglang, something has been happening recently in the village." The elder hesitated before speaking softly: "Some villagers have seen red knights in the depths of the Charlon Forest, riding flame-spewing black horses."

"Yes, I know. I've seen them too." Surprisingly, Anglang calmly nodded: "Seems like you're not talking nonsense."

"Ah, Lord Anglang, those red blood knights are very dangerous. You mustn't confront them directly. You must call for the Grail Knight lord. Only he can handle the red blood knights!" The elder quickly advised.

"You mean this?" Unexpectedly, Anglang raised a blood-red pointed winged helmet with a withered, abnormal grayish-white skull inside.

"Ah! That's... a blood knight!" The elder screamed in fright and fell to the ground: "Lord Anglang, you defeated a blood knight and killed it?"

"Yes, this fellow was annoying. He's obviously not human." Anglang threw the skull on the ground, muttering as if the blood knight had been a nuisance.

"He disturbed my farming, so I twisted his head off. So weak, really not durable."

"Find a place to hang it up, to keep other annoying creatures from disturbing my farming."

"I'll leave the rest to you. I'm going to get fodder for my cows."

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