For most civilians at the bottom of society in the world of Rigar, the three concepts of cavalry, knights, and noble lords are often indistinguishable.
When you encounter a person riding a horse and wearing full plate armor, you subconsciously think he is a knight. This is a common impression. Even on the East Coast, where plate armor is relatively cheap and has a higher penetration rate, similar things are happening one after another.
Mercenaries rarely actually wear a complete set of plate armor, as we've mentioned before. But this is only from a broader perspective. The equipment of some top war mercenary groups is not inferior to that of the country's knights. If they can afford it, they will indeed arm themselves as much as possible.
But wearing full body armor does not mean that you can transform into a knight.
Mercenaries wearing full body armor are still mercenaries. Although they are high-level mercenaries, they do not have the qualifications of knights.
The same goes for cavalry. In some duchies of Suomir and the standing army system of the Padrosi Empire, cavalry and knights coexisted. The relationship between the two is somewhat ambiguous and complicated, but if you know a few key points, you can still distinguish the two.
First of all, knighthood is a title. It is a way of life and a code of conduct. The cavalry is a type of military force.
All knights are cavalry, but not all cavalry are knights.
This concept of class actually did not exist on the East Coast in the past.
The concept of the knight class originated from Sivalier, the country of knights on the west coast. The latter did not have a standing army system like the empire. Therefore, it emphasized the heroism of martial arts, and the noble knights took the lead.
Through maritime trade and international exchanges, and under the common desire of mankind for heroes, this trend spread and fed back into the society on the east coast. And it developed over hundreds of years and became an essential social class.
The way Suomir and Padrosi differentiate between the two lies in financial resources and status - this is a legacy that extends to the present day during the ancient Laman Empire: the cavalry units in the standing army are equipped and horses provided by the kingdom or the imperial military, while there are Only those who can afford a full set of plate armor and an excellent war horse are qualified to become knights.
Specially customized plate armor is naturally much better than mass-produced armor in all aspects. And considering the cost of large-scale equipment, compared with the Padrosi Empire, the Suomir Kingdom, which has less financial resources, most of the cavalry in the territory are only equipped with light helmets, breastplates, small shoulder pads and half-arms of some limbs. Armored light cavalry.
Knights are naturally heavy cavalry. Most people who become knights have the financial resources to afford an excellent war horse and a set of full-body armor. This natural filtering condition tightly ties knight qualifications to the upper class - but it is also inappropriate to equate knights directly with lords and nobles.
As we mentioned earlier, knighthood is a title, not a title. Although the vast majority of knights are of noble origin, only a few who have been granted qualifications for their meritorious services are civilian knights. But bloodline and noble title are different.
Knights are closely related to religion. When he is promoted from a squire and given the title of knight, he should receive the symbolic shield and sword from the local religious personnel. And he vowed not to violate the expectations of the gods and the Lord.
The relationship between knightly titles and noble titles is somewhat similar to the relationship between knights and cavalry. The title of nobility, even the lowest baron, represents at least one barony, which is a lord. In contrast, although many knights were born into wealthy nobles and worked as lords, royal families, and churches, they were usually the second or third sons who were not eligible to inherit.
Obtaining a title as a knight is something similar to a boy's coming-of-age ceremony in countries where knight culture is popular on the east and west coasts. Female knights and even female knight leaders are not uncommon in Suomir, where women have a high status. A baron or even a duke also has the qualifications of a knight, but they usually use their noble rank as the honorific title. Calling a duke a knight could be an offense or a compliment, depending on the preference.
——In any case, this is the reason why the grand leader of the Dragon Wing Knights, Menisdogui, is the pinnacle of the royal family's direct military force, but he is just a knight.
His background is not low, he is the heir of the marquis family in Suomir. But he is the third son and has no right to inherit the title and territory of the Marquis.
The title of knighthood is only a baron, which is a benefit only for the grand leader. It is a lifelong title given after promotion, a royal reward for the loyal Dragon Wing Knights. Mainister's fiefdom is a manor located near Heinzworm. It is more like a home than a territory. He cannot make a profit by operating his own territory like other barons. This manor and this knighthood are more honorary than practical.
And it is not hereditary.
If Manisto's son wanted to become the Grand Master, he could only start from the lowest level of attendant. It may bring some convenience, but whether the son can truly inherit his father's business depends on whether the members, the archbishop and Her Majesty the Queen agree.
The team continued to move forward.
As we mentioned before, knighthood is a way of life and a code of conduct.
In its birthplaces of Silvalier and Avenella, due to the chaotic political situation on the west coast, many so-called chivalry is actually not as pure as that on the east coast.
The code of chivalry, which is closely related to religion, is almost regarded as a sacrosanct rule in the Aurora region, which has the most religious beliefs.
Regardless of whether they are men or women, members of the Dragon Wing Knights are extremely particular about every move they make. You can easily feel it when you are surrounded by these people - if this is a team of Sivalier knights, then they must have started discussing and chatting among themselves at this time. In comparison, the Dragon Wing Knights were extremely quiet. They moved as one body. Although their number exceeded 70, they made less noise when they moved than 10 West Coast Knights.
Under the command of Grand Commander Weimar Manisto Longyi, the team dispersed quietly.
Four groups of 6 people totaled 24 people, and they dispersed to the left, right, and front. At the same time, the central array is also divided into three parts, the forward, the main array and the defender. The knights on the flanks loomed in the path and formed a fan-shaped early warning mechanism with the forwards sent by the central array to prevent anyone from sneaking up too close.
This is a textbook-like precise and stable formation arrangement.
The six-man team on the flank consisted of two rangers and four spearmen. One of the spearmen also carried a horn for early warning.
Wearing full body armor and light helmets, they are not easy to kill immediately. Even if it is a winch heavy crossbow that can penetrate plate armor, you need to know that penetration is not the same as killing. Without armor, a light crossbow can kill a person, but with armor on, fatal injuries become flesh abrasions.
In the adventure that our noble lady who is far away in Parnilla loves at this time, it is not an exaggeration to describe a heroic figure who is covered with arrows and continues to fight. This situation was actually just because the armor effectively blocked the arrows, so that although the visual effect was amazing, they actually only suffered some flesh wounds.
The heaviest winch crossbow among individual long-range weapons requires several rounds to kill a knight. Once they are attacked, they will definitely find ways to notify friendly forces immediately.
The dragon-winged knights, holding the reins in one hand and leaning their spears on their shoulder armor with the other, were advancing at cruising speed at the front.
They carefully swept the surrounding ground. It was not easy to hide even a few people in the empty Suomir Forest. You can see very far away at a glance on the forest floor, which is devoid of shrubs.
The lance is held tightly against the shoulder and can be quickly mounted on the lance mount to launch an attack if necessary.
The spears they carried this time were only about two and a half meters long. Compared with ordinary lances, which are at least 3-4 meters in length, they appear to be extremely lightweight.
The thick and long lance is a heavy weapon. On the one hand, it takes into account the impact required to face the enemy's heavy cavalry. On the other hand, it also has the intention of having a longer length to hit the enemy at a longer distance.
The two-and-a-half-meter light spear will be hit by the enemy infantry's pole weapon if they are not careful. In comparison, the longer lance allows the knights to kill them before they enter the opponent's attack range.
However, the heavy and long lance needs to be carried by an attendant or a carriage, and it can only be passed at the moment when the charge is about to be launched. In this situation where mobility and being carried by the knight himself for a long time have to be considered, it naturally becomes a less suitable weapon.
The heavily armed cavalry, which included more than half a ton of men and horses, charged, and their lethality was extremely astonishing.
Paired with a heavy hardwood battle lance shaft and a quenched and hardened spear point, even the hard steel armor that dwarf craftsmen are proud of will be pierced or even completely pierced by the power of iron hoofs and knights' charges. Knock.
The heavily armored charging knight is the top level of power that an individual human soldier can master. This is no exaggeration.
Dragon Wing Knights are proud. Although they behave very politely, you can feel the subtle arrogance of these people from every aspect of traveling together.
They have full confidence in their training and the cooperation of their friendly forces; they have full confidence in the swords and spears in their hands; they have full confidence in the excellent armor they wear.
The only one who can kill a knight with one blow is another knight.
Although they have never experienced any real battles, under the rich experience of the Laman Knight instructors, the Dragon Wing Knights have been trained at all costs. Even those who know the knights and the military very well will find it difficult to learn from their experience. Find faults in your actions.
The term "well-trained" is appropriate for them.
After expelling the Great Swordsman, he made every effort to squeeze out those veteran warriors with questionable positions but rich experience. Although it was not the fault of Mainisto, the leader of the Dragon Wings of this generation, the brain drain caused by this was a foregone conclusion.
Without the war-experienced veterans of Suomir, they followed the script and paid a lot of money to hire noble knight instructors from the Lamanites for guidance. It is inevitable that this will cause dissatisfaction in the country.
Standard cavalry tactical training, various formations, equipment and job matching. The Lamanites have summarized effective combat methods over a long period of time, and this method has been conveyed to these dragon-winged knights through instructors. It can be seen that they have no reservations.
Manisto's command methods and military acumen are as standard as textbooks.
This was the correct practice that the Lamanites had practiced for a long time.
Their actions were impeccable from beginning to end and were a standard cavalry early warning marching array.
Even our Luoan girl looked extremely impressed.
The only person who frowned was our Mr. Sage.
It’s too quiet——
He didn't think those great swordsmen would easily give in and really plan for peace talks, but if they did, they were almost close to the meeting place, but they still didn't see anything.
After thinking briefly, Henry explained the matter to Manisto.
"Didn't you say that you don't take any side?" Captain Longyi's reaction was a bit sarcastic, and our Mr. Sage did not lose face. He shrugged and answered directly. : "I'm afraid of death."
This statement made Mainisdo dumbfounded. He has seen countless warriors, knights and mercenaries, many of whom are motivated to fight to the death for their own sake. But this guy was lucky enough to admit his cowardice directly.
"Oh, you are a cowardly mercenary, but in my opinion, there is nothing to worry about, right?" Adjutant Sig took over from the front, his words were full of confidence: "The Lamanites' cavalry tactics are experienced. Tested by the flames of war. Not to mention unparalleled in the world, at least it has an overwhelming advantage over those Axi who still stick to foot combat."
He said this, looking confident, but our Mr. Sage still didn't quite buy it. He just shrugged again, and then began to observe his surroundings and be more vigilant.
To be fair, there is nothing wrong with what Seager said.
But there is an old saying that goes well:
“The most common mistake the victors of the last war made was.”
"It's about bringing the experience from this war to the next war."
The shape of war has changed in just a few months, and some new weapons have begun to enter the battlefield. They still have a long way to go before they are fully mature, but in some special applications, they also have innovative advantages that past weapons cannot have.
Immersed in the illusion of invincibility brought about by peaceful paralysis and powerful armor, the Dragon Wing Knights were slow to respond. Not to mention them, even the Padrosi Empire did not pay enough attention to this.
Maybe it was because of the extra days of delay that they lost patience, or maybe they were prepared in this way from the beginning. All in all, after 5 minutes of this conversation.
The lakeside town where the meeting took place officially came into view. From a distance, you could see a row of swordsmen dressed as mercenaries standing at the entrance——
Manisto and Sig frowned, and Her Majesty the Queen quickly adjusted her clothes to ensure they were appropriate——
"Something's wrong." The next second after the grand leader said these words——
Her Majesty's expectations.
Failed.
"Why do they have magicians?!"
"Give the order, Your Excellency." Watching a group of people approaching from a distance, the great swordsman with ponytails and red brigand floor armor raised his hand silently.
"Detonate!" The amplified gem of the staff emits a dazzling light.
"Bang!!!!" A earth-shattering roar sounded at the feet of the knights on the left and right flanks.
It drowned out the cries and roars of the men and horses.
