บท 52: The Landragon Household
The Porfield Kingdom was an influential country in Albion. It was located in the North of the 'Human' continent, with access to mountains, forests and the ocean. Natural resources were plentiful, and although the weather was harsh, there were few species hostile to human life.
As a result, many merchants came and went from the kingdom, leaving the nobles with plenty of riches from taxes.
The Porfield Kingdom was of course known for its knight heritage.
Surprisingly, the royal family used to be a prominent Magus Household. Over the centuries, the royal family members lost magic affinity, and even if they did awaken it, most heirs would never even reach the beginner rank acolyte realm.
It was difficult to ally politics and magical studies.
Recent changes in Albion also made it more difficult for magic powerhouses to rise. Knight Households were usually quite fervously opposed to acolytes in general, although they would bow and respect magi like they would respect Grand Knights.
The Porfield Kingdom was thus famous for its [Royal Knight Academy]. Knowledge about knight training was widespread in noble households. Everyone treated knights as powerhouses. They respected them, loved them and even turned them into heroes. The same couldn't be said with acolytes.
It was only natural.
Although acolytes possessed great magic, those who stood out were usually necromancers and dark path acolytes. They would strike villages, make human experiments or stay in their laboratories all day long.
It was completely different from knights who patrolled in cities, subjugated monsters and sparred in huge arenas.
Nobles were also respected a lot. And nobles were usually part of Knight Households.
When Arthur had been sent to the Ivory Tower, he had cried and even felt the urge to commit suicide. Not only the Ivory Tower was an infamous place where countless teenagers were sent to die, it was in a foreign, exiled island where monsters were bred. Even if he were to survive, he would return as a mere acolyte.
Arthur was the youngest of his family. He had two older brothers: John, the eldest, and Victor.
His father, Frederick Landragon, was an eminent and proud intermediate-rank knight who had accumulated a considerable amount of achievements in the past decades both on the battlefield and the management field. He had led his 100-men-strong infantry army and managed to push back the charge of more than 300 horsemen from the Southern Dayne Kingdom. It was a major victory that allowed the Count Elderwood to expand his territory and more importantly, secure a mine of [Starlight Ore], a magical resource that could be refined to create extremely high-quality armours and weapons.
His achievements on the battlefield earned the Landragon Family a title: 'Guardian of the South', as the Southern Kingdoms could only invade the Porfield Kingdom by trespassing on the Landragon territory. Else, they would have to cross dangerous mountains. It could be done by emerit travellers, but it was impossible to move an army through it, especially when you considered the dangers of the mountain.
John Landragon was the perfect heir. He had been displaying excellent martial talent ever since he was born. His tendency to become savage had been tamed quickly through harsh education, and it had turned into a more perfid, more wicked trait. Over the years, John had become stronger, more refined and much more sly. If he inherited the household, then the Landragon was bound to rise.
Even though it had cost a fortune, Viscount Frederick Landragon had sent his son John to the [Royal Knight Academy], where John made powerful connections and reached the beginner knight realm at the age of 20. Five years later, John had graduated from the Royal Knight Academy, created a small army of 50 horsemen, and he had become a central force of the Landragon territory. Being first in line, very few things could stop him from inheriting the household, to the point that Frederick was already losing some influence.
John was an ambitious man. He had yet to know defeat, and he thus wanted to inherit the household as soon as possible. However, Frederick was still sane and strong, so he had kept refusing his son's preposterous demands. Still, Frederick was a loving father who doted on his two sons.
Arthur had never received his father's son, because his birth had come with a hefty price: the death of Lady Kira, Frederick's one and only wife. This unfortunate accident caused by a lack of hygiene had caused him to receive scorn from his own family, and it caused his cursed exile to the Ivory Tower.
Victor had lived in John's shadow ever since he was born. He eventually reached the beginner rank knight realm, but he had yet to prove himself in battle. However, Arthur remembered how hard Victor was training. In fact, Victor was the only person in the Landragon Castle who had given him advice on how to wield a sword. Although Victor hit him often, it came from a good intention.
The original Arthur never understood Victor's attention. However, it was thanks to Victor that Arthur was alive today. If not for the swordsmanship and knight breathing technique, he would have never walked the path of body refinement. Not to mention reaching the intermediate rank acolyte realm, just surviving in the tower would have proved very difficult.
As Arthur approached the gates, he felt like he had returned home. It didn't make sense. By transmigrating, he shouldn't have any feelings attached to this castle, but it seemed that his body and brain felt a strong attraction to it.
'So this is the ancestral castle that has withstood Southern Kingdoms' invasions for the past three centuries...', Arthur analysed.
It was indeed a magnificent castle. It wasn't overly huge, and the foundations seemed solid enough to prevent regular acolytes from breaking through it. Soldiers patrolling on the walls seemed well trained, most of them having reached Level 3.
[Paul Baker - Level 3 Soldier]
[Allan Smith - Level 4 Preparatory Knight]
Archers were standing on the towers, ready to shoot any enemy coming in sight. Although it was unlikely for any Southern Daynar to come near the Porfield Kingdom, the soldiers were trained to stay focused at all moments.
'Three hundred soldiers, one hundred elite heavy-armoured infantry and 50 horsemen...The military power of the Landragon Family is probably exceeding the standards of regular Viscounts', Arthur analysed.
Yet, it was only natural.
The title of 'Guardian of the South' came with a net benefit: Southern merchants were forced to pass through the Landragon territory. And since there were many merchants, the Landragon family was quite wealthy.
"Who goes there?", Allan Smith asked.
Arthur took out his family sigil and showed it off: "I am Arthur Landragon. Open the gates right now!"
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