Chapter 15: The City of the Eternal Night
"Amber's house with a silver wolf face. The house of David of the gilded lion. The Warren house of the Blue and Silver Moon. The Harold house in the pitch-black tomahawk, the Loppler house in the red sun. The Bonn home of the deep blue crown. ”
——Nursery rhyme "The Six Royal Families"
"Drive~Drive~" A small group of knights galloped on the road cleared by horses, pedestrians, and carts, with thick snow and gloomy weather on both sides, and clouds in the sky so thick that it felt like you could reach out and touch them.
Rhodok and his men galloped down the road, and the old count drank too much wine, and the ice slag on his beard would melt by the old man's hot breath as soon as it froze, and then immediately freeze again in the cold wind.
The city of Eternal Night is just around the corner, and the situation seems to be quite optimistic at the moment, from a distance, the city is not heavily guarded, the walls are still high and strong, but the guards have not increased, only the gate and the watchtower have a few regular soldiers.
Old Rhodok deliberately drunk himself on his own, and it is not easy to show any flaws in this situation. A white-bearded veteran beside him had a terrible face, but his normal facial features revealed a terrifying chill. He was the executioner of Horn Fury, one of Rhodok's few trustworthy men.
Looking at Eternal Night, Rhodok's mind went back to twenty years ago, when he first came to Eternal Night City with his father, who was Jack's grandfather. Remember the first time he met Jora, who was with her aunt and uncle, Grand Duke Paul of Eagle City.
Drinking too much in front of everyone, he kicked Moras Kafala, now the Lord of Castle Demons, for a dance with Jora.
But not long after that feast, the old duke died, and when he returned from the city of eternal night, he fell ill. At that time, his father was sad all day, and Jola soon married him, and Aunt Ennis did everything she could to keep the one-third of the acre for Rodok's cousin. At that time, there were three castle lords under the command of Giant Eagle City who were loyal to Giant Eagle City, and when the city lord of Shenlin Fort raised troops to rebel, Aunt Ennis did not wait for reinforcements from the Amber family, but received a secret report from the Amber family secretly supporting Shenlin Castle.
At that time, Rhodok's father was too old to fight in the war, so Rhodok led 600 soldiers of the Horn of Fury and his childhood friend Rolf, who had not yet inherited the position of general and the title of count from his father, so he only brought a mere thirty men.
The city of the Great Eagle was easy to defend and difficult to attack, and Ennis, who had fought hard with his loyal ministers, was in despair, and the other two castles under his command claimed that they had been attacked by the Deep Wood Castle and refused to come to their aid. Until Rhodok and Rolf suddenly came out from behind the soldiers of the deep forest fort who were desperately attacking the city when they were in danger.
After that battle, Rolf and Rhodok, who had just taken Deepwood, were surrounded by thousands of Amber family's purported reinforcements, and they were invited to Eternal Night along with Ennis and the young Domth.
On the way to Eternal Night City, the three of them felt that they might not survive this time. Anyone with a discerning eye can see that the Ron family, which has a high level of achievement, is being suppressed by the Amber family. However, when they were about to arrive in Eternal Night City, the three of them clearly felt that their treatment had changed.
After arriving in Eternal Night, Rolf and Rhodok felt an unhealable crack in their hearts when they saw their father sitting in the hall of the lord and the old king's false smile.
The incident was interpreted as a personal enmity between a lord of the Kafala family and the Deepwoodburg over a personal feud with the Grand Duke of Paul.
From that day on, the Barracuda followed Rolf, and Coldhorn, Furyhorn, and Giant Eagle City were closely linked. Even how Alan later repaired the relationship, Rodok and Alan were never as close to Rolf.
The Kafala family sits on two castles and seventeen villages and towns are safe and secure in the rear of the Northridge, many years ago, they were the second largest force in the Northridge, they were the Kakaman clan from the Devil's Mountain, and later the Kafala family made peace with the Amber family, and the Amber family divided the territory to the Kafala family, and at the same time, the Kafala family led the Kakaman clan to be loyal to the Amber family. However, as time passed, the large population of the Kakaman people forced the Amber family to think carefully about their current situation.
The entire rear of the Amber family, except for the above-mentioned parts, are mostly members of the Amber family or diehards, so the behavior of Hansai, Furyhorn, and Giant Eagle City has to be said to be actually a means of self-preservation.
"Phew~" Lerma stopped in front of the door of the lord's hall, and the singing and laughter inside could be heard clearly through the door. Old Rhodok turned over and dismounted, and his attendants led the horse to the stable, and Rhodok himself pushed open the door of the lord's hall with a slap from the executioner.
The whole hall was so lively that even the sound of the door pushing could not affect anything, but the cold breath that came with the opening of the door and the suffocating breath of the executioner behind Rhodok still made the whole hall pause, and although the music did not stop, everyone's eyes were attracted.
"Brother-in-law!" Domt, who was sitting in the best position, stepped forward, and the three men at the nearest table in Domt also immediately got up to follow, giving Roddock the respect he deserved. The king could only sit there and smile, and the Marquis of Mott Cafala, who was sitting on the other side of the king, pursed his lips disdainfully.
"Haha!" Rodok smiled heartily, and Domt held each other's arms with both hands, glanced at each other, and hugged him tightly, his cousin was younger than himself, taller than himself, and his high-spirited appearance reminded him of his youth, and he couldn't help but feel that he was really old.
"It's good that you're so young, Domt, I'm old. Rhodok said.
"In a few years I will be forty years old, and I will join the ranks of the old man. Domt smiled, but at the age of his thirties, as the second lord of Northridge, the Duke of Northridge, it was not much in history.
"Is my sister alright?" Domt asked.
"That woman can eat, sleep, and nag, what's wrong, but is my aunt's health okay. Rhodok also asked.
"It's okay, it's just that my memory has been getting worse and worse lately. It's always a bit confusing when I'm older. Domt replied helplessly.
Rodok looked at the three people behind Domt, two of the three were about the same age as himself, and one was about the same age as Domt and looked even a little younger, all three of them were the new lords of the three castles under the Giant Eagle City, and after that battle, except for the Deep Forest Castle, Ennis did not do anything to the people of the other two castles.
The purge was left to Domt, which was also a means for him to establish his prestige, and the process was not easy, and it was not until a few years ago that the purge of the two castles was completed.
The king, who was going to wait for Rhodok to say hello in the past, couldn't sit still, putting aside that history, Allen and Rhodok had a very good relationship. The special national conditions of Northridge have created this situation, the king of Northridge was born to be like a brother to all lords, and the people of Northridge who value feelings should not be kings for the sake of scheming, the old king destroyed all this, and Alan wants to make up for it as much as possible.
"Rhodok!" the king pacing over was followed by the Marquis of Mott, there was no way, the king moved, and it was impossible for him to sit alone on the top again.
"Your Majesty. Rhodok bowed.
"Call me Alan!" Alan hurriedly hugged Rhodok, who was about to salute. Holding Rodok's arm, Rodok looked at Allen, and subconsciously held Allen's arm, regardless of whether there was a mustard in his heart, feelings could not be stopped, and his childhood playmate hugged again, which made Rodok and Allen feel slightly at ease.