"I ...... Your humble servant, Edward Francisco, sincerely hope that you will repeat once more your gracious Highness"

After another hour of leaving the city, Edward, under the personal supervision of the butler Garin the Elder, was finally thoroughly cleaned, and for he had to meet Leo alone, he put on a set of robes of good texture specially prepared for him, but it did not match his sturdy appearance and long messy hair......

Edward trembled and followed the butler to the Grand Duke's mansion, but Leo's first words made him stand on the spot as if he had been struck by lightning, and for a moment there was some disbelief and ecstasy

Leo smiled and looked at the strong man standing at the foot of the steps, the other party and surprise were intertwined, it seemed that the joy that was so strong that it could not be dissolved could not hide from his eyes, and nodded secretly, Leo understood that everything he had worried about before no longer existed, and there was definitely no problem with the naturalization of the highlanders

"Of course, Captain Edward, if it were your request, I would be happy to repeat it again, well, yes, I am very pleased with the performance of you and your people during the employment period, and I admire the tenacity, loyalty, and courage of the Highlanders, so I have made a decision...... Are you willing to be my subordinates, real subordinates? ”

"Yes! Of course we do! ”

After Edward was sure that he was not hallucinating, he roared without any hesitation, he was straightforward but not a fool, if he didn't grasp the thing he dreamed of was right in front of him, I am afraid that the soul of the ancestors would not be able to forgive him for his stupidity

"Boom!"

Even in order to strengthen his persuasiveness in front of Leo, the burly and sturdy leader of the highlands did not care about the hard marble floor under his feet, and knelt down on his knees, just like when he first met Leo, but the mood was completely different from that time......

"I, Edward Francisco, the current patriarch of the Highlands tribe is willing to accept the invitation of the benevolent Highness Leo, voluntarily renounce the identity of mercenaries and be completely loyal to His Highness Leo, the souls of the ancestors will always witness our oath, and all the Highlanders will become the most loyal swords by His Highness's side, if there is a disobedience, the soul after death will always float on the continent, until the world collapses, and cannot return to the ancestral land!"

With that, Edward, with Leo's acquiescence, took a few steps back and asked for a long sword from the Punishment Knight beside him, not caring for the incomparably sharp [Prayer] blade, and kneeling down on one knee to recite an obscure oath unique to the Highlanders

At the same time, he grasped the sword with both hands and slashed it gently, and then Edward stretched out his hands that were gushing blood, and smeared his forehead, chin, neck, and chest in turn under a wonderful rhythm and rule......

Amid everyone's surprise and old Garin's disgust and discomfort, it took Edward a long time to finally complete the ritual, and at this time he was covered in blood with a tattoo that exuded a strange beauty and was completely in the style of the Highlanders, a tattoo of blood......

As if most of his physical strength had been exhausted or because of excessive blood loss, Edward respectfully returned his sword and bowed to Leo again, his body shook uncontrollably, and he gasped for a few words before he spoke

"Virtuous Highlander, from now on, the blood of all Highlanders will flow only for you, and the lives of all Highlanders will be controlled by you, grant us justice and mercy, and you will always gain the friendship of Highlanders, and from now on, the blood-burning flowers from the wasteland will bloom only for you!"

After gritting his teeth and saying this, Edward couldn't hold on any longer, and was about to fall to the ground as soon as he saw the flower, but fortunately, Keith, who was always paying attention to him, quickly stepped forward and firmly supported the highland warrior who moved everyone with his arm

Looking at the other party's somewhat distracted pupils and pale lips, Keith nodded with admiration, tore Edward's robe, and bandaged the other party's wounds with skillful techniques

You must know that at the end of the ceremony, because the blood in the palm of his hand clotted, Edward repeated the act of cutting his body several times, just to have enough blood......

Old Garin also quickly brought honey water with a lot of sugar under Leo's loud order, and then slowly fed Edward with his own hands, ignoring the pungent smell of blood

Perhaps it was the warm honey water that worked, or maybe it was because Keith had bandaged the wound perfectly to stop the bleeding, and after a while, Edward's pale face slowly became a little bloody again

Nodding gratefully to Keith, he gently pushed away the other party's support, and he knelt down on one knee again, quietly waiting for Leo's reply......

Outside the door, Tydamir also witnessed all this himself, and the barbarian warrior who never frowned even in the face of death was full of horror written on his face at this moment, muttering something to himself

His unusual behavior annoyed one of the Punishment Knights who couldn't concentrate next to him, and grabbed Tydamir of Mune, who whispered in his ear

"Is there anything an adult needs to know? If not, be quiet! ”

Not paying any attention to the knight's rude movements, Tedamir smiled bitterly and looked at the other party to explain

"Bloody Oath...... Damn it, it turned out to be a bloody oath, a special ritual that only this group of madmen have had among all the ethnic minorities who have been fighting for a living since childhood...... Under the oath, it means that the entire tribe to which it belongs will fight to the death with the object of the oath, and even if the clan is exterminated, it will not back down and beg for peace! Or ......"

"Or what???"

"Or the kind of surrender that represents the complete surrender of the highlander to the object of the oath, without any conditions, without reservation, and can endure any treatment, if the lord agrees to his oath, the next moment, with just one order, the highlanders of the entire tribe will not hesitate to pierce the blade into their hearts, even the elderly, women and children! This bunch of lunatics ......"

Subconsciously licked his lips, and the face of the punishment knight rarely showed a little frightened expression, swallowing a mouthful of spit, he let go of Tedamir and said to himself

"Your Excellency will not, I believe that your Excellency will definitely treat every subordinate well!"

In this regard, Leo on the throne in the distance was completely unaware, he looked at Edward who was crumbling and gritting his teeth, but he simply didn't want the other party to continue to suffer, so he took the initiative to get up and walk down without much thought

Ignoring the blood on Edward's body, Leo's strong and warm palm grabbed the opponent's arm tightly and helped him up, waved his hand to refuse the white silk handkerchief handed by the butler, and looked at the warrior in front of him like this, his eyes could clearly reveal some kind blame and touch

"Edward Francisco, mighty and noble warrior, I am flattered by what you have done, and in the presence of all men, I accept your allegiance and that of your tribe, and swear that I and my descendants must treat all Highlanders fairly, and not only that, but this oath will also be written into the laws of the Duchy and distributed to all tribes, which I personally promise to Storm Grand Duke Leo!"

"Your Highness...... I, I suppose that if you do this, those, the warriors of the powerful minority who hide in the wastelands and forests, will slowly come under your command...... Under your command, you will have a terrifying army in the future! ”

After his wish was fulfilled, Edward's heart was relieved and he could no longer support it, and after barely intermittently telling Leo this, his body fell into a deep coma

"Someone!!"

Holding Edward in his arms, Leo yelled even more, and soon, the Punishment Knights who arrived took the loyal warrior from his hands, carefully lifted his heavy body, and several knights rushed to the barracks with rapid steps, where Edward would receive the fastest treatment and care

Leo, who was still a little worried, called out to Old Garin and explained a few words

"You go too, my dear butler, bring more servants, don't save on other things, whether food or medicine, use the best on Edward, I'll have Batar here for the time being, go!"

The silent forehead leader commanded, and old Garin could see that the highland warrior had succeeded in gaining Leo's favor at the moment, and as a good steward, he knew that this time was better than nonsense

After the hall fell silent again, Leo sighed heavily, not that he was bored by the blood that the servants on the ground were cleaning up, but that Edward's oath had inexplicably put a lot of pressure on him, as if another heavy responsibility was on his shoulders

After washing his hands in the silver basin brought by the servant, Leo turned back to the throne, drank a glass of wine slowly, and after calming down, he thought for a moment and spoke to Fain and Keith

"In my name, the Duchy of Pande has established a third legion, the composition of which is mainly highland swordsmen for the time being, and other minorities can be added in the later expansion, in addition, the weapons and armor, supplies, and salaries of the legion are completely equal to the other two legions! Finally, the name of the legion ......"

"Savage power!"

After looking around, Leo stood up, looked at the blood stains on the floor that had not been cleaned up, his eyes were a little complicated, and he slowly spoke after a long time

"The rulers and aristocrats of this world have made the mistake of thinking that these minorities are uncivilized, stupid, and worthy of their slaughter...... What they don't understand is that these lovely warriors value oath and loyalty more than even the most devout of them, and perhaps one day, when this legion rages on all enemies after gaining respect and justice, they may realize who was stupid before......"

Glancing at Finn, who wanted to say something, Leo nodded first, then waved his hand

"I understand what you mean, my dear Grand Master, I will not open the shackles and cages to arm them and impart knowledge to them, this is the only special legion, the legion that can only be in my hands!"

Slightly forehead Fain retreated, since Leo had already planned what he was most worried about, there was no need to say more......

But just as Leo was about to leave, Tydamir walked in through the door with a resolute expression, and in the surprised and puzzled eyes of everyone, the barbarian warrior bowed deeply to Leo

"My lord, I ask your permission to join this newly formed Legion ......" (To be continued.) Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ)