When these two people stood together, people around them suddenly discovered that they had striking similarities.
The sage on horseback looked down at Constantine silently, while the knight captain also observed Henry carefully with his eyes of the same color.
He is also about 1.9 meters tall; he also has black hair and gray-blue eyes. Although there are differences in their faces, Henry has straight hair and Constantine has curly hair, but even the weapons they use are the same big swords.
The two people who were extremely similar in appearance and temperament were facing each other in silence, as if they were an ancient dragon and a legendary monster, making the people around them almost forget to even breathe.
——But that’s it.
"Brother Constantine!" Margaret's eyes suddenly lit up as she stuck her little head out from behind, and she shouted loudly. Then she jumped over the carriage and ran directly over and hugged the knight in black armor. long.
"Uh-" Even though he was as calm as he was, he was still in a daze for a while because of this episode. When he reacted, Constantine put on a dumbfounded expression and stretched out his hand covered with gauntlet to carefully touch Margaret's little head.
"I heard that you ran away from home, I didn't expect you to come here." The knight commander smiled fondly and shook his head, while Henry on the other side also turned over and fell off his horse and began to care about Mira, as if he had briefly But the exchange of glances that made the air freeze was just the other person's illusion.
"Are you okay?" After all, they share the same sorrow. After returning to the team, Filippo and Mira received many people's concerns. Horno observed human activities curiously, while Bao sat in the carriage as usual and showed no reaction.
"Master Chief." The old butler Ferruccio, who had been holding the battle in the middle, also came forward on horseback. The moment Constantine met his eyes, he bowed respectfully and said.
"It's the young master's army." The old butler took a long breath after taking a glance, and many knights around him also lifted their visors and saluted Ferruccio after they were lifted from the high alert state.
"Instructor." "Hello, Chief." From the title to a series of previous events, it is clear what kind of role Ferruccio is in the aristocratic circle of the Padrosi Empire without going into details.
Everyone felt relieved to meet such a team of more than thirty knights with extraordinary combat capabilities, especially since these were related to Margaret and her party. Ferruccio immediately went over to communicate with them, and people like Henry and Mira who had come into contact with large legions understood that their combat effectiveness was only one of the benefits.
More than 30 fully armed heavy cavalry require a considerable number of infantry and logistics support personnel. In other words, in terms of supplies, it is estimated that the unit led by Constantine can also take care of the already dusty people.
After the news in this regard was announced by the knight commander, the surviving villagers could not help but dance and shout long live the empire again, which was completely different from the previous appearance of hating the imperial nobles.
Time passed quickly after several battles. The interior of the village, which was already shrouded in fog and had extremely low visibility, was now even darker in the evening in the blink of an eye.
After carefully observing the exhausted merchants, mercenaries and villagers, Constantine and Ferruccio discussed and decided not to risk rushing back to their army's camp tonight, but to camp on the spot. After sending two outstanding knights back to notify the garrison, the remaining people used the houses and other buildings in the village to temporarily reinforce the defense.
No one else, including the sage, expressed an opinion in this regard. Only by understanding one's own status and when should one speak and when should one not speak can conflicts be reduced. As a mercenary guard inside the caravan, he could occupy a dominant position, but now that he has merged with the noble knights, of course the right to speak and leadership is in the hands of their protectors.
The tired merchants, Moreau and his group of mercenaries followed the guidance of the imperial knights and began to rush towards the temple. At the same time, many knights dismounted and were cleaning the surrounding battlefield before the sun completely set.
Mira sat peacefully on the ground with her eyes closed, while Henry stood with his hands folded and silently observed the entire army.
Many knights have removed parts such as gauntlets and helmets to gain more flexibility. They are familiar with this as if they have done it many times, but it is actually not common for knights to clean the battlefield.
This kind of work is usually done by civilians or even low-status infantrymen in the army who are slaves, cleaning the battlefield and collecting corpses. Even if these corpses were indeed colleagues in the imperial army, few noble knights were willing to get their hands dirty and personally collect their corpses.
And not only that - Henry's eyes stayed on the middle part and on the neatly arranged people beside him - under the command of Mikhail, the knights were checking the battlefield, searching for those who had not been damaged by previous attacks. Helmets, breastplates and other weapons were removed from the rotting corpses and set aside.
Only the ordinary soldiers took off their equipment, and no one touched the knight in silver armor whose thigh was stained with blood.
This was not just out of respect for the nobles, the sage observed them silently - the breastplates of the regular infantrymen of the Imperial Army were all one-size-fits-all or only divided into large and small sizes, and were adjusted through shoulder straps and belts. The same style can be seen in the weapons store in Parnilla, but the version sold in that high-end store is better made and has a certain degree of edge decoration. In comparison, the military What is distributed are only rough and crude mass products.
As for the full-body plate armor of the imperial noble knight, every part is tailor-made for him.
Not to mention other people, even the knight himself needs to work hard to stay in shape. If he gains too much weight, he will be in the embarrassing situation of being unable to wear his armor.
——What was taken down and collected was uniform-sized armor and various weapons that anyone could use.
Anyone with a discerning eye knows what these knights are planning. They have no intention of bringing a group of commoner villagers with uneven equipment, businessmen, and mercenaries with poor equipment. They clearly intend to renovate this part of the equipment. use.
Pragmatism, informality, and formality.
——This is a force that can fight a hundred battles.
It is not the kind of army that only has gorgeous equipment, and although the training is excellent, it is generally very rigid and only acts according to the methods taught in the textbook.
The fit between their individuals and their equipment has reached a very high level, and they can still move freely even though they wear more than 20 kilograms of armor. Many knights walked around and were busy as if they were not wearing armor. It was obvious that their physical fitness and experience had reached an extremely high level.
He is also very good at thinking broadly, and he knows how to adjust plans according to the actual battlefield environment.
If you add in the background-Henry turned his head and looked at Mikhail. This young man of Luan mixed race is now very different from his original naivety with a hint of idealism. He has become much more mature. But this still cannot explain the fact that an outsider - despite his status as a former church knight - can become a knight in the Padrosi Empire, and is obviously the deputy in this team.
In addition to Mikhail's own ability, after many twists and turns, it turns out that it still has a lot to do with the leader of the team.
The character of Constantine is of great importance.
Whether it is combat ability, leadership ability, judgment of the situation and many other aspects, this person should be at the top level. But for such a character, Henry could not find any relevant traces in any records.
Yes, he had been away from the East Coast for a long, long time, but not so much that he knew nothing about it.
After all, history always repeats the same mistakes, and a behemoth like the Padrosi Empire is almost a world leader. If there is a little bit of news, even if you are on the west coast, you will hear about it.
And this is where the doubt lies.
Constantine's personal character is obviously not limited to the level of a knight commander.
And it was like he suddenly appeared from nowhere. Before actually meeting because of this incident, such an outstanding talent was unknown. Even the sage on the east coast did not listen to anyone. mentioned.
Low-key, but extremely capable. People with extraordinary abilities usually cannot keep a low profile unless they do so deliberately and are preparing for something. As the Laman proverb goes: "If you don't make a sound, you will be a blockbuster." Henry narrowed his eyes slightly, and Constantine reminded him of a person.
A strange tacit understanding arose between these two people who had clearly met for the first time.
The sage did not express some of his inner thoughts, and Constantine seemed not to care about him at all, busy here and there, directing others to prepare for camp in a relatively safe place.
"What is supposed to come will always come," he whispered, and then withdrew his thoughts.
"Get up." Seeing Mira sleeping against the wall with her neck crooked, Henry rubbed her head.
"Well -" The Luoan girl yawned loudly, then rubbed her eyes and slowly stood up.
Several dead bodies inside had been carried out by the villagers themselves. Constantine's knights used their spears as poles, and every two people carried one one in front of the other, with a large pile hanging in the middle. wearing a breastplate helmet and walking towards the interior of the temple.
Although the huge ruined temple is relatively dry compared to other areas, it was actually built in a wetland. The broken second-floor windows and dome openings let in sunlight, and the ground was covered with not only moss but also weeds. Fortunately, even if the total number of people is over sixty, the temple that seems to be built for the people of this entire region still has enough space to accommodate them.
"Wow!" The knights casually threw the collected armors, helmets, and weapons onto the damp and insect-infested ground on the first floor. Also piled here are some less important materials unloaded from the horse.
Mira and Henry walked in. There was a pool of water on the temple floor. It was obvious that they had cleaned up the blood and dirt left by the battle. The rusty torch rack fixed to the stone pillar was refilled with fuel many years later. After the fire was ignited, the interior of the temple became much brighter and more comfortable.
The mercenaries and merchants who had entered first were heading towards the second floor under the command of the knight. The second floor where the statues were originally placed is away from the wet ground and relatively safe. Counting the platform at the corner of the stairs, this is where most of them will rest tonight.
There was enough space for people to lie down, but if you also included more than forty horses and caravans, there was no way to accommodate it. Therefore, the merchants had to leave their carriages outside, take off the reins and pull their precious horses indoors, while a small group of knights also found two or three other better stone houses nearby and moved in with their horses. .
While dispersing pressure without causing overcrowding, it can also serve as a mutual warning outside.
When all this was completed, all the garrison tasks could be handed over to others for the first time in a long time. Mira, Filippo, who were already exhausted, as well as the other mercenaries and merchants, fell into a deep sleep.
The elf girl Horno and Barrow stayed quietly in a corner. The reason why the two of them did not attract any attention after the two parties merged was not only because the sky was dark and both parties were tired, but also because both she and Barrow wore hooded.
In the current situation, extraneous consequences must be avoided. This was Henry's idea. When he followed the footsteps of Mira and Filippo and rushed here but noticed that there were other living people ahead, the sage decisively asked Horno to cover his hood.
The existence of elves is really too unfamiliar to the people. Who knows who among them will suddenly get confused and confuse those who are good at magic with those who are good at necromancy, thinking that Orno is a corpse that insults their compatriots. Responsible for all this.
Even if this were not the case, the outstanding appearance of the elves would be enough to cause some unnecessary trouble.
Although there is reproductive isolation between humans and elves, they cannot produce offspring, and the elves themselves have very high combat effectiveness. But precisely because of this, Henry did not want conflict even more.
Conflict develops into fighting, bloodshed, and even death. This is how a lot of hate is born, and that's the last thing they need right now.
The forest is big and there are all kinds of birds. A team of more than a dozen people has different personalities. There are villagers, knights and their own original team. There are too many variables. Any factors that may cause problems must be avoided as much as possible.
It's not that Henry doesn't want to believe that people's hearts are inherently good.
He just couldn't help it.
No matter how bad things get, there are still people who will find ways to continue doing whatever they want.
When a city-state is about to fall or a country is about to be defeated, it is common for lawless thugs to break into stores, smash, loot, burn, kill, and loot. Many people tend to vent their anger on others when they are under pressure or life-threatening.
This is not bravery, nor is it bloodthirsty.
The sage set his sights on the highlanders, especially Lono, who looked embarrassed.
Of course he recognized who this person was, and the current series of actions of the villagers and the series of actions they had done in the village before were all the most typical examples.
"The most terrifying thing is not the warriors who refuse to return, but the cowards who stick together."
This is human nature.
Time passed slowly, and when everyone else had gone to their respective places, lay down and fell asleep deeply, and only the vigilant knight was still walking around lightly, the sage was still sitting alone on the edge of the second floor of the temple.
The silver moonlight hit him. He took off his armor, and Kramer placed it nearby within easy reach, still wrapped in linen.
The clear chirping of insects gradually began to sound for a few hours after everyone fell asleep. The sound that would normally make people feel irritated was now as soothing as a lullaby.
Because even this tiny insect is a real living thing and a symbol of life, which is the opposite extreme from those dirty and putrid dead spirits.
"Tap, tap, tap." Footsteps approached from behind.
Henry didn't need to look back to know who it was.
"Donglang-" A big hand grasped the translucent wine bottle and handed it to him. The liquid inside swayed left and right with the movement, making a muffled sound.
"Do you want to drink?" Constantine asked.
"Thank you, but no." Henry did not look back.
"That's your loss." The knight tilted his head, and then sat down next to him, with his legs hanging in the air.
"Take—" He opened the cork, then tilted his neck and drank directly.
Constantine, who had taken off his full body armor and was wearing only a simple leather armor while drinking heavily, looked a bit more wild and free-spirited than the elite and capable person before.
Henry raised his eyebrows, then picked up the small cup from the side and took a sip of the tea made from the leaves of fruit trees picked on the road.
This was recommended by Horno, a local. According to her, elves often drink this fruit tea, which helps them meditate.
The two people, whose backs were very similar, sat side by side without saying a word, just minding their own business, one drinking fruit tea and the other drinking strong liquor.
Time goes by slowly like this.
Keep passing.
