For well-known reasons, the text was revised for a period of time, and the outline of the future will also be adjusted, so the update will be interrupted for the time being, and it will not be in the future...... Because I don't go out on National Day, I keep manuscripts at home......

By the way, on October 1st, I will enter V, open a new volume on the same day, and the adventure begins!

At the lavish feast, His Majesty the Norman King of the Highlands generously announced that the jousting tournament, which had lasted about three months, would be postponed to six months, "until my dear friend returned to Castle Thunder with him and his knights." He said aloud, winking at Berdwin under his thick, curly eyebrows—and the nobles, though most of them were rather dismissive, full of jealousy and hatred, had smiles on their faces, and raised their glasses in celebration in aloud, and for a moment the flattery abounded.

Birdwin respectfully expressed his sincere gratitude to His Majesty, and according to the King's expectation, he would receive fifteen hundred knights and four thousand soldiers from the nobles and princes loyal to the King before the damp heat invaded the royal capital, and then five hundred knights and two thousand soldiers from Duke John before the autumn came, so that, together with the existing strength of Thundercastle, he had in his hands an army that was arguably unprecedented in the past, second only to the King. And the king promised that he would receive the title of an earl and a fief, and when Princess Leona became the Norman master of the Highlands, marry the descendant of one of the twelve nobles and give birth to a male heir, no, two, or more. If one of them could afford to hold on to Thundercastle, Berdwin would be able to deliver Thundercastle and return to his own territory to spend the rest of his life with his wife and children.

Of course, they don't have children yet, but there will be, boys, girls, gray-haired, yellow-haired, barking around your boots or apron, like a pack of fat puppies, Baldwin pinched his glass, thinking that his son would be a nobleman and not a farmer or a hunter, and that his daughter would be a nobleman's wife, and her dowry would shake the princesses of the royal capital.

The fiery atmosphere reached its peak when the king bestowed upon Berdwin a broadsword made of a dwarf, and the amused courtiers immediately fought against a rusty, long-abandoned piece of armor, with only the upper body and no lower body, which they fastened to a stake. The lord of Thundercastle left the table, took a slightly drunken step forward amid the shouts of the crowd, and swung his broadsword—Kerry had suddenly issued a warning, but it was too late, the knight of Tyre's slash had always been as powerful and swift as a thunderbolt, and the broadsword was so sharp that the blade slashed into the armor like a piece of rotten wood, splitting it in two in an instant, from the left shoulder to the right armpit.

Then the people heard a terrible scream, what a terrible scream, and I am afraid that after a thousand years, anyone who passed through this land could hear this terrible cry - blood and entrails flowed from the armor, as if it were holding a living person, and oh my God, a living person indeed.

Several knights swooped down vigilantly, and removed their armor, revealing a horrible corpse, a deformed man the height of a five-year-old child, so that the courtiers could stuff him into half a suit of armor - he had been a well-loved courtier of the old king, but since the new king came to the throne, he had ceased to be so likable that the people had almost forgotten about him, and he had been wrapped in dog skins for many years and mingled among the dogs, eating the dogs' leftovers, and stealing the milk of the. Evidently the new king's courtiers had kidnapped or coaxed him out—probably the latter, for he had not spoken out of his armor, and perhaps he thought it was a good opportunity to win the new king's heart.

He wore a badly faded red and blue coat with a pom-pom peaked hat, not yet fully dead, his huge head swollen and white like a toad soaked in salt water, his eyes protruding from his sockets, cloudy tears, his hands clutching his belly, and a few feet away, his feet still kicking slightly from his leggings, and a knight in pity pulled out a dagger and stabbed him in the throat, ending his pain.

Baldwin took a sharp step back, he had faced thousands of orcs, he was used to bloody killing, but he had never wanted to vomit and flee like he did now—and the people looked at each other, not knowing what to do with the scene, including the malicious courtiers, if it weren't for the sudden giggles of one of the most comical hunchbacked dwarfs.

As he danced, he sang a ballad in praise of the valiant knights, and it must be said that the ballad that had soothed countless knights and their subordinates now sounded so ironic. But Princess Diane duly laughed behind her feather fan, and then Duke John, and then His Majesty, so that the nobles and knights were at last able to get out of that awkward atmosphere, and they returned to their places, and sat down— The servants carried baskets and picked up the corpse of the deformed, his body piled up with the bones left over from the food, a hound that came out took his heart, and several half-dozen dogs fought over the intestines and liver, and then someone spread soot and sprinkled corduroy and lavender on the blood-soaked ground. When the fresh and plump eel was delivered, almost everyone ate it as if they had forgotten about the accident.

"Don't worry too much," said His Majesty to the uncertain Baldwin, "they always do," he said, "and last time they caught a poor fellow by the hand and foot, and threw him into the hearth—the servants who cleaned the hearth had scrubbed for a long day before they had finally cleaned the grease that had adhered to the stone bricks—and they always did, either because of this or because that one died, but fortunately there was always something new. ”

Princess Diane on the other side only smiled sarcastically, the smell of blood in the air lifted her spirits, and she turned her head to look at the place where the white-robed mage had been—he and the elf had already left, and in their place sat two trembling knights who were stolen this little time to hurriedly fill their bellies with all kinds of delicacies.

She cast an inquiring look at her son, and Dylan pouted helplessly and nodded, indicating that he had arranged it.

Kerribben and Cremar had left their seats as the hunchbacked dwarf had begun to sing, but they had not gone far from the hall, and it was a very faux pas for the invited guests to leave the table before the host had left the table, not to mention that the host was still a king, one of the elves' allies, but it was still okay if he just walked under the eaves, after all, some guests often had to vomit and urinate.

"Wang Du was not like this originally. "While the old king is still alive...... "The present master of the Norman Highlands was not very clever in his means of ascending to the throne, and he compromised with too many people for the sake of the crown, Don Cree, John, Diane, Fouquet, Dylan...... It wasn't that he didn't know that it was like drinking to quench his thirst, but he was too eager to hold the adamantite scepter studded with solid stone and blue gems.

The former undead was noncommittal, and there were too many similar things seen before or after he became an undead. In his mind, the Norman court of the Highlands was quite lovely, after all, it was only an unfavored courtier who was stuffed into the armor, and in his father's court, the one who was stuffed into the armor was probably the son of a king, and in the Mentor's mage tower, he was cut in two by a broad sword and died in agony for about a cup of tea, which might be considered a kind of luck - at least better than being eaten alive by the devil or a demon.

His silence was misunderstood by Kerryburn, "Normally, such a feast would last three days," Kerriben explained, with some comfort, "but from tomorrow onwards, we will have a choice, after all, Berdwin is their main target." The elf paused for a moment, for he thought uncontrollably about what had just happened, which was so disgusting - as a sharp-eyed elf, he could hear something breathing and trembling in the armor, and at first Carey thought it was a cat in the abandoned armor, he didn't expect it to be a person - but he stood up and shouted a warning, but unfortunately it was too late, and the people around him were shouting loudly...... It's possible that this was just a prank among courtiers, a bloody prank, as the Norman king of the Highlands said, but Carey thought it was more directed at Baldwin.

Baldwin is a follower of Tyre, and this will be a stinger pressing against his heart.

The feast would last for three days, but only a handful of people were allowed to stay in the royal court, surrounded by twelve fortresses, and it was clear that Duke John, Princess Diane, and her son Dylan, and some of their cronies, as well as the protagonist of the feast, Berdwin, and his wife, friends, and servants, were all qualified to do so.

After a brief bath, Berdwin was led by the maid to his and Penny's room, which was large and beautiful, with more than a dozen pieces of furniture.

Penny sat in front of the dressing table in a rose-red silk robe, with a dazzling silver mirror in front of her, her wet hair falling behind, and two maids were busy drying them—one of them kneeling on the ground with expensive muslin, and she herself was busy polishing and grooming her cheeks and lips.

She became beautiful, but it was strange to Berdwin, he almost didn't recognize his wife anymore, no, not just that she had dyed her straw-colored hair black, it wasn't that she had put lead powder on her face and rouge on her mouth, her change was more in her heart, and Baldwin could feel it.

But at least tonight, Birdwin wanted to spend his time in peace, he sat down on the edge of the bed, drew the broadsword that the king had given him, and carefully wiped the shiny blade with a piece of deerskin, the smooth blade leaving no blood, but he always felt that the blood of the rigoster had seeped into the weapon, and if it had not been given to him by the king and his best friend, he would have broken it and buried it with the victim.

Baldwin felt that Penny was a stranger, and Penny had the same thoughts: Was this her husband, was it the man she had once loved, and why did she feel only fear and nausea when she saw him?

He had killed a poor, innocent man without the slightest remorse, his eyes were as dark as ashes with cruelty and tyranny, his skin was so rough that it hurt at the first glance, had his hair and beard always been so messy, could there be fleas in it, or bed bugs? He was so old, with wrinkles as deep as ravines and dense as cobwebs, and scars that distorted and discolored the skin around him, like the mouths of monsters. Why did she sleep side by side with such a cruel and terrible man before?

Penny walked up to Berdwin softly, and quietly slipped into the thin woolen blanket, and after a while his breathing became even and steady, and Baldwin breathed a sigh of relief, the night of reunion was always warm and pleasant, but today he really just wanted to rest well - he took a bottle of winter wine from his skin, unmixed with water, and the transparent water flowed through his throat and turned into burning magma - it was almost a custom, since he had destroyed Thundercastle with his own hands.

Although he had forcibly evicted the city's inhabitants before, he knew that not everyone wanted to leave their homes, that there were not only orcs but also his people under the gray rocks, and that he had not really protected those who trusted him. Birdwin had thought more than once, regretting why he hadn't sent more troops to protect his people, or sent mages and troops to patrol the inhabitants of Thundercastle before they stepped into that tunnel, and even if it was only once, those people would survive well with their families.

Now that the merchants and mages sent by Dylan have begun to rebuild Thundercastle, due to the heavy defeat suffered by the orcs this time, Thundercastle can be peaceful for ten or even twenty years, and what the orcs cannot obtain from raiding can only be obtained by trading, more gems, gold and pyroxene will flow into Thundercastle, and a large number of merchants and craftsmen will fill the void left by the dead in the shortest possible time. But they weren't the same people, and the guilt and remorse afflicted Bedwin, and he began to fall asleep on the spirits, and in the drowsiness and darkness of the spirits, he was able not to think or remember.

Baldwin fell into a deep sleep, as if a boulder was crushing his chest in his sleep, just like the people he saw in the tunnel, they were crushed by their legs, they were pressed against their chests, they were powerless in the face of vicious thieves and orcs, and so was Baldwin in his dream, he thought he was roaring but in fact he was like a gnat, he tried to wield his broadsword, but he only caught blood, sludge and broken bodies, an orc raised his axe and slashed at him, and the illusory pain suddenly turned real- He jumped up screaming, a small axe embedded deep in his right arm.

Penny staggered back, and Berdwin looked at her in bewilderment.

"I'm sorry......" she cried, pulling the axe from Berdwin.

Baldwin couldn't stand still, he grabbed the dwarven broadsword, but he didn't even have the strength to pull it out, and Penny had already pounced, she trembled more than Baldwin, only the hand holding the axe was as steady as iron, she had no experience in killing, only slashing indiscriminately by feeling: "Please," she sobbed loudly, and when Baldwin raised her arm to resist, "Please!" she muttered to herself, "Die, please, die...... Please, die......"

Baldwin narrowly dodged an axe that nearly cut his neck: "Why!?" he shouted, "I'm your husband! I'm Baldwin......!" Penny, what are you doing?"

"I'm sorry. Penny said, looking at Berdwin, pained but determined, "Baldwin—it's all my fault...... But I want him to live, he ...... And the kids......"

"What?"

"Me and other people's children," said Penny, "I'm sorry, but Birdwin, I can't let you kill them......" she raised her axe aloft, "I can't." ”

The first thing the maid smelled of blood was when she rushed in, and she quickly removed the copper sheet covering fluorite, and when the light returned to the room, she saw Berdwin kneeling on the ground, holding his wife, Penny.

Scarlet blood almost covered Berdwin's entire body, and Penny's black hair was already soaked, but Berdwin's wound was no longer bleeding, but Penny was bleeding from under her silk robe.

Berdwin clung to Penny, and in the final moments, the anger and survival ** gave him the strength to fight back, although it was only for a moment, but for Penny, it was enough.

"Ah......h

"It's me. ”

"Baldwin, I...... Like ...... Had a sweet dream. Penny said, and then she was silent for a moment, "No," she exhaled as if she sighed, "I think...... That should have been a nightmare. ”

She's dead.

A nightmare, Baldwin looked up slowly, wasn't it a nightmare?

Then he saw the maid standing by, and she was not alarmed, but had some sympathy that was well understood.

"You know, sir. She said bluntly.

"Who ...... that man," Berdwin asked in a hoarse voice, "who is it?"

"Count," replied the maid with a smile, "they all call him Count." ”

Princess Diane shook her fan not so happily, and after His Majesty left the banquet, she chased after her brother as soon as possible, just to remind her brother to pay attention to his daughter, the noble Norman princess of the Highlands seemed to be in love with an illegitimate son of poor birth and mixed blood, but the king just laughed, thinking that this was impossible, that Berdwin could almost be Leona's father, and that he had neither a beautiful face nor a slender figure in addition to being brave and good at fighting, and he was not good at chess. Reading and music, not to mention poetry and dancing, and Leona hadn't been in contact with Baldwin since she was twelve, so could it be ridiculous that she fell in love with Baldwin when she was a child?

Moreover, Berdwin had a wife, and the king thought he knew his daughter very well. She may be a little naïve, but she will never be willing to degenerate to be the mistress of a viscount.

But Diane could still tell that her brother was not as determined as he appeared, and he wavered, just unwilling to let her know.

Taking her time, the eldest princess of the Highlands Norman thought to herself, the king still needed Birdwin, so he would endure and cover up this scandal that had not yet been fully revealed, but one day, he would break it with his own hands, once he no longer needed him, or find out that the sword was hurting and insulting his daughter, his heir and his kingdom.

Diane's only fear is that after Leona succeeds to the throne, Berdwin will become her mistress, and she will rise all the way. Even if he didn't do anything to the eldest princess, jealousy and hatred would torment her to death, she thought for a moment, and smiled slightly, the king still lived for years, and in those years, she could always find one or two solid evidence—even if she didn't, she could forge it.

Her brother wouldn't leave this hidden danger behind.