Alien Knights

The side hall of the church in Muxi Town.

There was a knock on the door of "Tuk Tuk".

After Todd agreed, Huggins pushed the door open. The former pointed to the seat and signaled the latter to sit down first.

"Is everything settled?"

Hearing the priest's question, the man's expression looked a little heavy: "The monks who are proficient in medical skills are treating the wounded, but one knight was too seriously injured, and finally failed to survive."

Todd sighed, drew the holy cross on his chest, and then looked around the side hall. Rachel, Alfonso, Friar Joe, and Huggins were all watching him, waiting for his next words.

"About Queen Mary and Baron Cumberland, I believe everyone already knows..." Todd sat on the chair, touched the bridge of his nose with his hand, and said in embarrassment: "Let's think about it, what should we do next."

Seeing that the others were silent, Alfonso straightened his spine and chose to be the first to speak: "When I was a secular knight, I served in the Baron Cumberland's army for a while. In my opinion, the Baron is a man of noble character. I trust his character and judgment, and I think they should be given shelter."

Huggins raised his head and glanced at Todd, opened his mouth slightly to say something, but finally gave up.

Rachel's ears were listening to Alfonso's words, but her face was facing the ground. Her eyes rolled around and looked at the monk beside her.

Joe, who has lived in the monastery for a long time, has been in contact with monk brothers and pious people. He has always been an outspoken person who speaks out when he has something to say. He refuted the remarks of the knights of the Holy See on the spot: "Before we discuss asylum, shouldn't we first talk about self-protection? There are more than a thousand unarmed residents in Muxi Town. Taking in the fugitives from the kingdom at this time is tantamount to pushing these residents into the melting pot of war!"

Alfonso was a little anxious. He braced his body and stood up and said, "Are we going to die? Just hand over these knights to those butchers?!"

Cultivator Joe rubbed his chin with his hand, and said uncertainly, "Maybe we can find a few small boats in the town and give them some necessary supplies to get them out of here."

Rachel spoke at this time: "When those barbaric soldiers outside asked for the fugitives, if they knew that we let them go, guess what those angry guys would do?"

Alfonso slammed his fist on the wooden table in front of him and said loudly: "If they dare to do that, I will fight to the end and defend justice and honor with sword and blood!"

Seeing the discussion among the people in front of him, Todd put his right hand on his cheek and asked suddenly: "I heard from the Baron that the Holy Acropolis is going to declare war on the Silver Ring City?"

After hearing this, Huggins quickly stood up and said, "According to the news brought back by the merchants recently, the armies of the two countries are indeed gathering towards the border."

Todd fell silent again.

—————————————

"You have the right to hate me..."

Cumberland, whose upper body was covered with bandages, was sitting in the chapel of the church. He looked at the speaker—Queen Mary who was dressed in common clothes. The old man frowned: "If you are talking about my son, then I'm afraid I will disappoint you."

With the help of his subordinates, Cumberland put on his armor again.

He took out the cross that once belonged to Herman from his pocket, placed it in the palm of his hand, and gently rubbed the surface of the pendant with the pulp of his thumb. Then, he looked at the wailing wounded and the corpses covered in white cloth in the chapel, and sighed heavily.

"Think about how many people struggled and fell in vain between disease and pain, instead of dying gloriously on the battlefield." Cumberland took the cross back into his arms and looked at the bewildered Queen Mary: "My son, he died with the glory of a knight in battle, protecting people who seemed to him more important than life."

Seeing the miserable conditions of the knights around her, the queen closed her eyes in despair, buried her face deeply in her hands, and sobbed softly, "Me? I'm just a sinner."

"Your Majesty the Queen!"

Cumberland's roar woke up the woman who was immersed in grief and self-blame.

"If you deny your own value, you are denying my son's sacrifice!" The old man lifted the long sword at his waist, strode towards the door, and left a sentence: "Live, find a reason for yourself to live!"

Cumberland pushed open the gate, walked to the square in front of the church, glanced at the curious crowd not far away, and asked in a low voice to his subordinates, "Have the pursuers arrived?"

"The cavalry company of the Eastern Legion has arrived. There are about 25 "lancers". They don't seem to plan to enter the town, but are constantly wandering and patrolling around here."

("Cavalry" is the smallest European cavalry unit in the Middle Ages. It generally includes one heavy cavalry, two horse archers, and one light cavalry. This composition will vary according to the country and era.)

Cumberland thought for a moment, then said in a deep voice, "It seems that those guys are not stupid enough to turn against the church."

"My lord, what should we do now?"

The baron looked back at the cross on the top of the church in Muxi Town: "I need to talk to someone."

—————————————

Todd sat at the table in the commentary hall, frowning at Cumberland, who was walking around the room, visiting at random.

At last he couldn't bear it any longer, and asked, "Master Baron, I heard that you want to see me?"

Cumberland looked back at Todd, and the old god sat across from him, and said calmly, "Father, don't call me a baron. You and I should understand that my title will be deprived sooner or later."

Todd shrugged indifferently: "Okay, Mr. Cumberland."

The old man stroked his silver beard and looked at the immature face opposite: "Father Todd, maybe you don't know, I have been paying attention to you since the start of the heresy trial. Counting, this should be the fourth time I have seen you..."

Todd interrupted the other party in surprise: "Four times? There are so many?"

Cumberland counted with his fingers: "The first time was at the heresy trial meeting in the cathedral, the second time was at the queen's dinner, the third time was when I invited you to the palace, plus this time, exactly four times."

Todd was stunned, and then asked: "The queen's dinner? Is that the gambling game? Are you there?"

"That's right, from the time you jumped out of the carriage to the time you left with that alien girl, I've been there." The old knight nodded, raised one eyebrow, and a narrow smile slowly appeared on his face: "I was wondering if you would send that girl to the Inquisition. It wasn't until I saw the nunnery next to the church today that I realized that my guess was right."

Seeing the expression of "They're all men, I understand you" on the old man's face, Todd couldn't laugh or cry.

Cumberland stood up and looked out through the blinds of the room. After turning around, he looked solemn: "Father Todd, let's get down to business. I want to take my men to the church and join Muxi Town."

Todd's heart skipped a beat, and he said calmly, "Want to join the church? Compared to a small place like Muxi Town, shouldn't there be many better options?"

Cumberland shook his head: "The St. Ke Cathedral in Silver Ring City can't provide shelter at all; the war lunatics in St. Acropolis City, I have fought with them for so many years, there is naturally no place for me to shelter there; as for Lone Rock City, it is too far away. After much deliberation, only Muxi Town is the most suitable place..."

Todd spread his hands towards the old knight: "Mr. Cumberland, as you can see, facing the enemies outside the town, it is difficult for Muxi Town to even protect itself, so why accept you?"

"Cleaning up the cavalry outside the town is not a problem for me." Cumberland walked to the bookshelf, took out the top "Bible", stretched out his finger and wiped the cover, and a thick layer of dust adhered to the skin.

Todd laughed when he heard the other party's "rhetoric words". Cumberland's next words brought a smile to his face.

"I have an infantry regiment of two hundred men on their way here. 』

———————————————

"The cavalry outside the town have started camping." Todd said to Cumberland, "What are your plans?"

The latter looked at the setting sun, and said slowly, "I plan to do it tonight."

Todd suspected that something was wrong with his ears: "Tonight? Are you sure? Everyone in your subordinates is injured! Your army hasn't arrived yet!"

Cumberland stretched out his index finger and shook Todd: "Wars are often not the imaginary confrontation between two armies. As a commander, you need to think outside the box."

Todd looked at the old knight's "sure" look, and kindly reminded him: "I heard from Huggins that those cavalry are from the "Oriental Legion", which is the most elite guard force in the Silver Ring Kingdom. Your army only has two hundred people, and they are all infantry. You are at a disadvantage in terms of military strength."

Cumberland laughed loudly, and said in a calm voice: "Victory depends on ability, not strength."

Seeing that the other party didn't appreciate it at all, Todd became angry: "Mr. Cumberland, it is not a good thing to underestimate the enemy and be proud."

The old knight patted him on the back: "This sentence is true. Whenever you deal with your enemy, you should always remember to leave a way for yourself. However, in this battle, I think I have the advantage."

Todd opened his eyes wide and looked at each other in confusion.

Cumberland glanced at the door of the church, and said slowly: "What the enemy wants is here with me; what I want, the enemy doesn't even know."

Todd seemed to be listening to a bible, completely unable to understand, hesitantly said: "Are you sure you don't need help?"

"No need, Father, I have encountered more dangerous situations than this many times. You might as well take this battle as a test to see if my old bone is qualified to join Muxi Town."