How to Live as a Wandering Knight

Valor and honor have a tendency to spread like a contagion sometimes. Especially if intoxication is involved.

As a few of the most intoxicated and glory-hungry northern knights began shouting about following Biorarn east, one by one, more rose.

What the group had initially thought to be the drunken ramblings of knights was now starting to be taken seriously as the number of pledges grew.

“Good. I shall also go east. For faith and glory!”

“For faith and glory!”

‘𝘏𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘴?’

Johan was bewildered by how things were unfolding. Bewildered was probably an understatement as well.

Knights who had been drinking happily suddenly decided to up and leave to the east to punish some lord who had wronged Johan’s fleet?

Johan was starting to wonder if they had all been poisoned by the beer and wine.

Despite Johan’s confusion though, the situation was now beyond the point of no return.

The empowered position of the Order due to the long civil war in the Empire. The fervor for faith that had spread because of that. The desires to gain new glory and wealth in the resource-rich East. . .

The knights who were joining the cause were not doing so for a single reason. It was the culmination of many things that had exploded to the surface due to Johan’s assassination attempt and Biorarn.

‘𝘈𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘳 𝘢𝘴 𝘐’𝘮 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘥. . . 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢 𝘣𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨.’

Johan couldn’t complain about someone else deciding to fight his battles against those who had wronged him, as strange as it all was.

While the knights hugged each other and shouted about honor and faith in their drunken stupor, Johan tried to realistically assess the situation.

‘𝘐𝘴 𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘳 𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘤?’

Eastern Expedition.

Just the words alone would make some people’s hearts race. Devout nobles, or knights, perhaps.

Sometimes for pure religious reasons, sometimes for political reasons, and sometimes due to the schemes of certain conspirators, several Eastern Expeditions had taken place.

It had been almost a hundred years since the last one, but it wasn’t an unrealistic plan.

In fact, the Eastern Expeditions had always achieved something each time they had been undertaken. There were still a few petty kingdoms in the east that had been founded by nobles from the Empire.

‘𝘈𝘭𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘌𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯 𝘌𝘮𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘧𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘦, 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘦𝘹𝘢𝘨𝘨𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥.’

The image of the East was often distorted and exaggerated. Johan had heard such things when he had been in Vynashchtym as well.

That the Sultan’s lands were so vast the sun never set, or that he was so wealthy that he could fill a giant palace with gold.

But after socializing with various people in Vynashchtym and hearing their stories, Johan had learned that the Eastern Empire was just another place where people lived.

While the vastness of their land did allow the feudal lords to field and command armies that would shock those in the west, they were not as large as the rumors and stories made them out to be.

There were also many areas in the East that the Eastern Empire had no influence over. Various tribes and petty kingdoms would often even join hands with outsiders from the west to further their own interests.

‘𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘧𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦, 𝘐 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦. . .’

Looking at it this way, it didn’t seem impossible. All the group had to do was travel by land or sea to the fiefdom of the usurper, conquer it, and return.

Of course, Johan knew it wouldn’t be that simple.

‘𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦’𝘴 𝘢 𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘦𝘶𝘥𝘢𝘭 𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘌𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯 𝘌𝘮𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭. . . 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯’𝘵 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘤𝘵 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘶𝘯𝘧𝘰𝘭𝘥. 𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦.’

Johan lifted his head. As he watched the knights continue to pledge themselves to the cause, he suddenly had a thought.

‘𝘞𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘨𝘶𝘺𝘴 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘥𝘨𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘴𝘰𝘣𝘦𝘳 𝘶𝘱?’

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In fact, the opposite happened. The pledges grew even larger after the banquet was over. Knights who hadn’t been able to attend the banquet directly rushed over after hearing the rumors and pledged to join.

The priests were also greatly moved after hearing the news. They went around spreading the word and giving sermons about it.

Even the debauched men who normally ran away at the sight of a priest stopped to listen to the exciting stories this time.

Word of the event that had taken place outside the tournament grounds spread far and wide before three days had even passed.

“An envoy from the Republic has arrived, your excellency!”

“. . .If he fails to manage his expression when he enters, I might end up cursing.”

Johan said as he raised his head, having been in a meeting with the wizards and scribes.

They had been discussing which route to take for the Eastern Expedition, where to aim for, and what the situation over there was like.

Of course, for the Republic, the Eastern Expedition was something to be celebrated. It was good news for them in every way.

Whether it was transporting their ships or selling them supplies, or even guiding them around the area. . .

On top of all that, with the pagans in the East fighting amongst themselves, it would be easier for the Republic to sail the seas.

Knowing all this, Johan couldn’t help but feel annoyed that the envoy from the Republic would enter with a cheerful expression on his face.

Fortunately, the envoy from the Republic was a tactful one. As soon as he entered, he exclaimed in a serious and mournful voice,

“How dare they send assassins after your excellency! That cowardly wretch shall never be forgiven! May he be cursed for the rest of his days!”

“Thank you. What brings you here?”

“For this Eastern Expedition, the Republic shall provide sailors. They are excellent fellows who know not only the Eden Sea, but also the more distant seas to the east. No matter what Your Excellency Count sets out to accomplish, we shall aid you as old friends!”

‘𝘏𝘦’𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵.’

Although he said it like that, it felt like he was asking him to fight the Eastern Empire. Johan chuckled. Well, if Johan was in his position, he would have done the same. . .

“I am moved to tears by the kindness of my old friend. We shall accept your aid gratefully.”

“Yes! Please call upon us whenever you wish. We shall move in accordance with your excellency’s army and support it. Just as we have done many times before!”

As soon as the envoy left, Suetlg and Caenerna spoke up.

“Surely you don’t plan on listening to that?”

“Your Excellency Count. You can’t trust the people of the Republic. . .”

“Both of you can relax. I have no intention of listening to him.”

Johan’s words put not only the two wizards at ease, but the others as well.

“I have no intention of going east while fighting the Eastern Empire head-on. We can just take a different sea route. It might be a bit of a detour, but it’s not like it’s impossible.”

Merchant ships from Johan’s southern fiefdom were already sailing that sea route to the distant east, so there was no reason an army couldn’t do the same.

There was no need to go near the Eastern Empire’s shores and pick a fight.

“But it’s likely that quite a few knights will choose to go by land.”

Everyone nodded at Caenerna’s words.

Johan was a rational man who preferred to avoid unnecessary battles and advance quickly towards his goal, but not everyone was like that.

The Empire, to the east, and further east.

After passing through the lands of the nomads, through Vynashchtym, and even through the Eastern Empire’s territory, they would reach the lands of the feudal lord who had stolen Johan’s fleet. It was their destination, but the path itself had significance.

Knights who had gone on Eastern Expeditions in the past had taken this land route.

The priests even went so far as to call it a pilgrimage, so it was clear that quite a few knights would choose to take this path.

“And more than anything else, it’ll be profitable.”

Suetlg had a point as well. The fact that there was a lot to plunder along that land route was another advantage. For poor knights or mercenaries, it was an advantage that was hard to resist, since they were passing through the Eastern Empire.

“Do you intend to stop them?”

“It would be difficult to stop them, and I have no intention of doing so. Of course, those who lack the ability will fall away along the way, but knights with their minds properly set will likely find their way to the destination on their own.”

It was only natural that unskilled mercenaries and knights would fall away along the way.

In any case, the main force that would be of use was a properly formed army, and those capable of leading such an army would have the ability to traverse the path.

Rather than worrying about the others, Johan needed to focus on his own expedition first and foremost.

“The silver mine issue has been settled, and the dwarves are building the castle for us, so we should head south. We shall inspect the army at the fiefdom and set off once we’re ready.”

Everyone nodded at Johan’s words. The fiefdom at the southern tip of Johan’s peninsula was a transport hub that was not only good for trade, but also for launching expeditions. It would be more than enough to inspect the army and set off.

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While there were those like Johan who were making rational preparations, there were also those who were making impulsive decisions. In fact, those people made up the vast majority.

“In my dream, God appeared before me and told me this! There is glory in the East! If you go east, all your sins will be forgiven, and you shall have everything you desire!”

“Ooooh. . .!”

Quite a few people gathered to listen to the sermon of a mad monk. Normally, they were mercenaries who would ignore him and snicker, but given the circumstances, even the madman’s words seemed convincing.

“Is what he’s saying true?”

“It must be. All these feudal lords are going on an expedition to the East, so at the very least we’ll be able to join them. Think about it. They say the easterners cover themselves in silk and bathe in bathtubs of gold while pouring perfume. How rich must they be? If we just conquer a single town. . .”

“Let’s go east! To the east!”

They set off without making any proper preparations. It was a sudden departure that no one had anticipated. They had quite a large group, but they were easily defeated.

They were either picked off by rogues and monsters, or chased away by the feudal lord of the region after angering him. . .

Thanks to that, the feudal lords in the East who heard the news later laughed at the foolish western barbarians.

“Master, according to the merchant, the atmosphere is strange! Apparently there are as many knights coming this way as there are grains of sand on the riverbank. . .”

“Are you still falling for such wild rumors? How long has it been since the Empire fought us? Do you think they can go on an expedition like that so soon? No matter how greedy they are, it’s impossible.”

The feudal lord’s words seemed reasonable, and the slave who had brought the news was rendered speechless.

“But there are indeed some fellows trying to come this way. . .?”

“You mean those fools who couldn’t even make it across the ocean and sank to the bottom? If they do something like that a few more times, there won’t be anyone left in the west. Don’t worry! It seems they have a lot of complaints because we took their ship, but soon they’ll miss it so much they’ll send another one. Where else are they going to get goods from?”

Despite the various signs, the feudal lords in the East refused to accept it. In fact, even Johan, the person most directly involved, still found it absurd, so it was even harder for the feudal lords to believe.

The people who had been fighting so fiercely not long ago were coming all the way to the distant east once more, spears in hand!

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“This place changes every time I see it.”

Iselia nodded happily at Johan’s words. Even if he had all the fiefdoms in the world, the Coolia County held special significance for him.

Many merchants had been invited and given special privileges, so the port was thriving, comparable to any other.

“Your Excellency Count!”

Scribes rushed over after hearing the news. The count’s return, leading his army from afar, was already the talk of the town.

“You’ve all worked hard.”

“No! If it weren’t for the kindness Your Excellency Count has shown us, how could we have accomplished such a thing?”

“It’s also wrong to be too humble. Calm down and stand up.”

The scribes who stood up after getting off the floor noticed something strange about the army behind them and looked puzzled.

They were familiar with Johan’s personal guard, the veteran mercenaries and nomads.

However, on one side, there was a group of mercenaries lined up in a gloomy atmosphere, as if they were prisoners. Not only were they unarmed, but they were also being watched, making them look more like prisoners than mercenaries.

“But Your Excellency Count. Who are they?”

“Ah. Those are mercenaries who committed crimes.”

“Is that so? Shall we prepare a new tent to confine them?”

Given the number of people, it would have been better to prepare separate barracks outside the city. However, Johan shook his head.

“They shall wash away their sins with labor.”