The Knights of the Dawn were originally the national knights of the Buckley Empire.

Of course, it's no longer the case - they were outlawed by the Buckley Empire a few years ago and banished from the Buckley continent.

Because their devotion to the Goddess of Justice is so fanatical that in the minds of those members who are overly obsessed with the Goddess, the standards for blasphemy have reached the point of nitpicking.

They committed countless unimaginable atrocities – they burned countless innocent merchants, farmers, and even nobles at the stake in order to cleanse them of their sins.

And those so-called sins are actually trivial things like spitting, defecating on horses, wandering during prayer, the altar of the goddess not facing the direction of the rising sun, or dust on the statue of the god......

All these things are heresy in their eyes! It's all blasphemy against the goddess!

Anyway, to put it simply, everyone is guilty, and as long as there is any doubt in this regard, then the suspect will be burned at the stake first and let the goddess distinguish.

Of course, there are probably political reasons for this.

The Buckley Empire was transforming from a purely feudal state to a capitalized state, and since the introduction of the musket into the army by Emperor Buckley and the introduction of the plebeian legion system, the status of merchants and commoners has actually improved dramatically.

Because of the existence of the musket, a farmer who has only been training for two weeks can easily kill a knight who has been practicing martial arts for twenty years......

And how cheap is it for farmers to use......

Therefore, the traditional knights based on bloodline, martial arts, war horses and armor are no longer the first choice for the Buckley Empire to ensure combat effectiveness.

Since the source of military strength has changed from knights to farmers, and the sources of military expenses and weapons have changed from nobles to merchants, the status of the common people such as farmers and merchants will naturally be improved—although it may not seem obvious, but the nobles must have realized it.

For example, in the event of a class conflict, His Majesty the Emperor may defend the rights and interests of commoners and merchants; For example, most of the policies enacted would be good for the growth of the plebeian population and the development of commerce, but the nobility might suffer losses.

Naturally, the traditional knightly class, which has been declining over time, cannot sit idly by and watch this happen.

And the Knights of the Dawn, in addition to their fanatical beliefs, may well be the last madness of these traditional aristocratic knights in order to maintain their privileges - to enforce their 'justice' in the name of the goddess of justice and purge those 'heretics' who support the New Deal.

But their opposition to the New Deal was so extreme that Emperor Buckley couldn't accept it – who knows if these fools would burn His Majesty the Emperor at the stake for something like not washing their hands before and after eating?

As a result, the Buckley Empire expelled them, abolished this powerful armed force, and even started a civil war for this.

Sir Roland was a member of the Knights of the Dawn.

Sir Roland was not actually a Buckley, he was born in an obscure village in the Bacchus Empire, where snake worship was once rampant, and snake cultists often forced villagers to sacrifice blood to the evil god Aziz Dahaka.

Young Roland was unfortunate for the fact that he had witnessed the Serpent cultists taking away his parents in the shadows, when he was only ten years old.

But he was also lucky, and after being orphaned, Roland received the selfless help of a follower of the goddess of justice, who sent him to Buckley to join the Knights of the Dawn, where he received a good education and training in combat skills.

At Barkley, Roland grew into a knight par excellence.

But he is an outlier in the Knights of the Dawn - he has been helped by being a follower of the Goddess of Justice, and he believes in the Lady of Justice more than anyone else. But he believes that the goddess does not give anyone the right to judge others privately, and he does not want to kill innocents indiscriminately for the sake of power.

To this end, Roland swore an oath of honor, never to pursue wealth and status all his life, to be the enemy of evil, and to uphold justice and fairness as his own responsibility.

He made a great wish in the temple of Asterya, and was officially made a paladin.

'Paladin' is not a noble status or title in the ordinary sense.

It actually refers to a pious knight who swears allegiance to the goddess and is willing to abide by the rules and precepts of the Qing Dynasty throughout his life, fight only for his faith, and aim for divine ideals.

It can also be considered an ascetic.

Of course, becoming a paladin of the goddess of justice means that you must not be morally flawed, and you will not aim for wealth and land for the rest of your life, but practice justice all your life.

Such people are naturally very few, so paladins will be respected by most people, and their social status is much higher than that of ordinary noble knights.

But in fact, there are very few people who can become a paladin, or who really want to become a paladin - vowing to fight for the goddess, to abide by the virtues and to strictly abide by all the precepts, this is indeed respected by the world, but nothing good is gained by themselves......

In the Buckley Empire, where the commercial atmosphere is strong, the sense of capital has risen, and the egoistic and colonial mentality has gradually prevailed, and paladins who do not seek personal interests for themselves can even be considered fools.

Especially when the fanaticism of the Knights of the Dawn has ruined their reputation - the Knights are actually known in Buckley as the 'Dawn Fools' because of their fanatical behavior.

But by becoming a paladin, you can no longer be at the mercy of others - the paladin will not be loyal to the king, but to the divine right and faith, and at the same time have the responsibility to pass on the faith and combat skills of the entire order.

By no longer pursuing power and wealth, but only serving the goddess, the paladin could not obey anyone's commands, and Roland would not be ordered to kill innocent people.

After becoming a paladin, Roland also intends to correct the behavior of the Knights of the Dawn - his dedication to true justice and fairness is very different from what other members of the Knights of the Dawn do.

But this correction gradually turned into a divide.

The differences are so big that they are facing each other.

When everyone is lying, the only truth is a lie; When all people are evil, the only good becomes evil.

As a result, Sir Roland was banished by the Knights of the Dawn, and even offered a bounty for his arrest.

Roland had to flee Barkley and return to Pander.

As a paladin, the black and white coat of arms on his chest was originally a symbol of honor, but now it has become a symbol of want......

The last paladin of the Knights of the Dawn was hunted down by the Knights of the Dawn as a rebel, and the situation in this world is always so incredible.

However, Roland did not despair.

Along the way, Sir Roland dreamed that Astalia, the goddess of justice, asked him to correct the fallen Knights of the Dawn and exorcise all evil from the earth.

He dreamed that Asterya called him 'the only Knight of the Dawn'.

The Goddess of Justice also tells him that when justice and justice return to rule the earth, Astarya will return.

It was his lifelong belief and he never doubted it.

Therefore, he is still firmly fighting heresy, still charging the bandits who kill the common people, still helping the poor and the poor, and still maintaining an unflawed morality.

Although he is still on the run, still being hunted down, he will not fall as long as justice and light do not come to Pande.

"I believe that after the night comes the dawn. One day, Astalia, the goddess of justice, will return to the earth...... It is a pleasure to fight alongside you to banish heresy, Lord Leon. ”

Sir Roland gave a standard chivalric salute and was about to take his leave.

"Wait, it's your loot, you should bring ......"

The lord handed the broad-bladed knife that was more than two meters long to Roland.

Leon certainly respected such a devout disciple, a true paladin who dared to charge any heresy alone - and Roland's skills seemed to be worth making friends for.

As for Roland's story, the lord believed it, as he himself had heard a female voice calling herself Asterya not long ago. Although he was not sure if it was the goddess of justice or not.

But Roland shook his head and rejected the loot: "Although there is no sin in the weapon itself, I am not good at using it...... You can keep it, it's not convenient for me to carry it. ”

"But, Sir Roland, where are you going? You're going to correct the Knights of the Dawn...... But how can you do it alone? ”

Leon threw the broadsword to Klose, jumped off his horse, and took a cavalry spear from the cavalry behind him and handed it to Roland.

"To be honest, I don't know how to accomplish this mission right now...... But I'll definitely do it! Thank you for your gift. ”

Roland was obviously a very polite person, and when he saw Leon dismount and talk to him, he quickly rolled over, took off his helmet, and bowed down to take the ordinary riding spear.

The lord sighed, "You have to guard against hunting, you have to deal with heretics, you have to help the needy and practice justice, and you have to correct the Knights of the Dawn...... Pander is full of your enemies, but you are alone and have no allies - I don't think the nobles of Pande will help you either, how can you do this? ”

Roland bowed his head and fell silent.

But after a moment, he raised his head again, his eyes still bright: "There will always be a way...... Perhaps, I can re-establish a new Knights of the Dawn. ”

The lord shook his head and smiled, "Then you have to get a station first, right?" And building a knight is no different from carving out a territory, it takes a lot of dinars, and you don't look like a rich man......"

Roland, of course, was not a rich man, and in fact he was almost penniless as he insisted on helping the poor while on the run.

This time, Sir Roland frowned: "This is indeed a problem......"

"I will help you, Sir Roland. But I hope that you will fight for me without going against the will of the Goddess of Justice. I can guarantee that you can refuse any unrighteous battle you deem. And you can oversee me so that I don't become depraved. ”

Leon is once again in the solicitation mode, a staunch paladin who has served the goddess of justice all his life and will not swear to any lord.

But as long as he doesn't do things that go against his beliefs, such people will be more reliable around.

The Lord Lord wouldn't believe most people's oaths, but he believed in the faith of people like Roland - Lord Roland didn't even want any loot, he really did it purely to purge heresy.

Moreover, he believes in justice, and the more friends he has, the better, at least he can rest assured that he will be handed over his back on the battlefield.

As for whether the lord would occasionally sneak up on something less righteous - Leon had countless ways to make his actions at least appear righteous......

Sir Roland thought for a moment, "Thank you, Lord Leon, for you are right, I do need help. If it is as you say, I am certainly willing to fight side by side with people like you. But can you lend me a sum of money? I saw a terrible tragedy in Threnmis, to the south...... People there need help. ”

"Seramis? What's going on there? ”

"Almost all the young people there were killed, and the village was looted...... I can see that it was the work of those heretics who blasphemed the goddess, and that the flesh and blood armor of those heretics just now may have come from there. It was the Goddess who showed me where they were, and I came here. And now there are only some dying old men left in Serenmis, and I want to help them, but I can't do anything. ”

The lord's heart sank, and he could realize that it was most likely the king's acquiescence to the Prophet's legion!

Ulrike ...... What is the difference between his methods of driving heretics to settle the rebels and what his father, the Mad King, did?

"How much do you estimate it will take, Sir Roland?"

"It would take about 8,000 dinars to settle them, it was a big village, but there was almost nothing left, at least a thousand people died...... Now only a few hundred elderly people who have lost their children are left there. ”

Sir Roland did the math and frowned.

Eight thousand dinars, of course the lord can afford it.

But Leon wasn't going to do that.

This act of charity may seem noble, but in reality it will kill more people than it will be, and if the dinar is given to the old people, it will only take a day or two for the bandits and scoundrels to come and not a single old man will survive.

"Sir Roland, handing out money will not solve the problem, it will only allow thieves to run amok and kill them.

You can bring those people to my territory, and I will let them farm to support themselves, the old people may not be physically strong, but they at least have plenty of experience in agriculture, and I need them just right.

You are respectable for your adherence to the principles of the Goddess of Justice.

But you should also learn the law of Yunomia, the goddess of order, to let everyone play a role in establishing order, and in doing so, to establish an orderly community and legal principle to protect the people. ”

The lord stretched out his right hand: "Each goddess has a meaning, and a single belief will plunge the goddess into the abyss. You've been in the Knights of the Dawn for so long, and you've seen the actions of your former comrades, and you should understand that. Merely giving money for relief is a kind of arrogance in itself. Sir Roland, you should forget about your nobility so that you can truly understand the mission that the Lady of Justice has given you. ”

Sir Roland was struck by lightning.

After a long time, he stretched out his hands and held Li Ang's hand tightly.

"Lord Leon, thank you for your teachings, I know what to do. It must have been the Goddess who guided me to meet you here, and the Goddess knew that you would give me true counsel! ”

This uncle, who was nearly fifty years old with a full beard, had a gleam of excitement in his eyes.

Like a teenager.

"I'm Asterya...... Fight for justice, kid. ”

Leon recalled the voice of the goddess again. Perhaps, the goddess is indeed guiding him, and she is also guiding herself, so that she can meet the last paladin of the goddess.

'Sir Roland has joined you'.

……

The battle did not end as expected, and the Three Prophets were taken away by the Lion Knights.

The Lion Realm cavalry and mercenary groups were also frustrated—the Doom Inducers were all dead, and they had not succeeded in capturing a single woman.

Nearly 100 people were killed and wounded, but almost nothing was found.

Because of the retreat and fear they showed when the Three Prophets broke through, the lord did not give them a good face, or even let them clean the battlefield.

Leon had his troops take away the weapons of the Three Prophets and the winged hammers of the Doom Inducers, and looted most of the loot, leaving only the bodies of the Doom Inducers to the cavalry and mercenaries.

The Doom Inducers were very rich, and they carried a lot of valuable things with them, such as the Night Pearls that the Lord Lord had gotten, as well as their jewelry, gold bars, and some Noldor goods.

These things are worth at least 10,000 dinars, which is quite a reward.

However, when the lord left, he still gave the leading knight under the Duke of Alma a chance: "You should know that with your fear of war just now, I shouldn't have let you get any benefits......

The knight was silent, they had applied for battle on their own initiative, but they were afraid on the battlefield, which was indeed a huge stain and a loss of honor.

"But for now, I can give you an idea...... If you lose your troops here, the Duke of Alma will most likely trouble you. But if you take your troops back to Lion Lake City and swear allegiance to Lord Forsette, I think he'll probably be able to keep your position, and even make it to the next level. I can help you write a letter to Forsert and ask him to accept your offer. ”

As he spoke, Leon took out a bag of jewelry: "This is for you." Lady Bella is the leader of the heresy under the Three Prophets, and Duke Alma does not know about it, he will definitely not be able to return to Lion Lake City in the short term, you can seize the opportunity yourself...... I'm a friend enough, right? ”

The knight's eyes widened suddenly, and after being stunned for a few seconds, he accepted the bag of jewels and nodded: "Lord Leon, I understand what you mean, thank you for your reminder and help, I will repay you!" ”

The bag of jewels was probably only worth a thousand dinars, and it wasn't a bribe, the lord did just give him a coil.

What Leon really meant was to let him take the troops stationed in Long River Town, take advantage of Alma's heretical lawsuit, and return to Lion Lake City to re-side with the eldest young master of the Houghton family.

Li Ang couldn't fight the idea of these garrisons, their families were all in Lion Lake City, it was impossible to stay, and sending them back to Lion Lake City was the best way to deal with it.