Raphael is Leon's enigmatic brother.

Ever since he met Leon in the village of Fletcher, he has always admired Leon.

Most of the young people admired the fierce warriors, especially those who grew up on the edge of the Gatu steppes.

Back then, Leon stood in a pool of blood with his whole body red and black, and when he took off his helmet and spilled a large splash of blood, it has always been deeply imprinted in Raphael's heart.

He also carried the overlay in his saddle bag at all times, and whenever he was afraid or nervous, Raphael would take it out and look at it.

Although his father, Ralph, was also a fearless warrior, Raphael did not admire his father too much......

It's probably dark under the lights.

People are always like this, they can't see the idols around them, but they don't forget those who they don't know well.

Raphael really didn't know Leon - he was a little confused now, he didn't quite understand why Leon wanted him to give gifts to the Gatu.

Yes, gifts, free gifts, the kind that don't need money.

A king, and probably the most powerful king on the entire continent at the moment, would actually give a gift to a group of savage raiders......

And these gifts are precious.

There are spices and wines from the Bacchus Empire, artwork made by the Noldor elves, glassware and velvet from the western part of the Lion Realm, sea salt and salted fish from the Lion Lake area, tulle from Singal and certain expensive medicines......

There are even a couple of luxury carriages.

Moreover, His Majesty Leon even said that if Zakar was willing, he could even send dozens of luxurious villas to Zakar - the Gatu warlords above the commander of a thousand soldiers, one counts as one, and everyone has a share.

In other words, these gifts given by Li Ang include all aspects of clothing, food, housing and transportation, and they are all high-end goods, the kind that ordinary people can't afford.

Seriously, Raphael was a little envious - he couldn't afford anything else but the salted fish in Lion Lake City......

For the people of Gato......

It's a waste.

However, no matter what he thinks, Raphael will still strictly follow Leon's requirements, after all, His Majesty Leon has just made Raphael a knight of oaths - not a knight of the Duchy of Lion, but a knight of the kingdom of Neopande, directly loyal to Leon himself.

This is a rare achievement, because Leon does not have many direct subordinates, and even fewer Knights of Oath who have personally knighted him.

The people who had been following Leon before are now all big shots.

Eric is currently the Minister of State of the Duchy of Lion, Lord of Barranli, and Deputy Commander of the First Legion of the Kingdom of New Pander - the First Legion Commander is Leon himself. Although he has never been knighted, being able to serve as the political governor of the entire Lion Realm is at least equivalent to the status of an earl.

Charles is Lord Fletcher and has just inherited Shield Castle from Hereward, and is currently the Shield Warden - also unknighted, but still in charge of a county.

Anson, the Knight of Radiance, after taking out the Serpent Cult army with the Order of the Phoenix, Leon personally acted as a guarantor, making Anson a member of the Knights of the Radiant Cross, and officially appointed Anson as Lord of Karen Deerburg - no knighthood, but also in charge of a county.

Klose, now the commander of the Second Legion of the Kingdom of New Pande, and the head of the Knights of the Silver Hand. Since he was still a native of Mettenheim, he was unable to accept titles and fiefs from the kingdom of Neopande. In other words, he was only a knight of oath who owed allegiance to Leon, and this knighthood was granted privately. But there is no doubt that his status as a legion commander is also equivalent to that of the earl.

Including Risardillan, the Noldor Elf, who is now Lord of Ameraburg and Pavlon, and the Commander of the Guards of the New Pander Kingdom, who is also in charge of a county.

Former Dusk Knight Jocelyn, currently the Chief Instructor of Recruits in the New Pander Kingdom, is in Long River City to set up the Third Legion of New Pander 'Mortal Legion'. If nothing else, when the legion is trained, he will also become the commander of the legion.

In total, Leon has only enshrined so many knights of the oath, which is too few compared to other kings - but all of Leon's knights are actually earl-level figures.

And now, Raphael has been given the same opportunity as these predecessors.

Along with this opportunity was Sigismund Sinclair, now the commander of the Freikorps, Sergeant Major of the Silver Hand, and the head of supplies and troops for the 'Mission', Leon asked Sigismund to escort Raphael and the expensive gifts.

Let someone who is good at running do the work of a guard...... To be honest, Raphael always felt a little uneasy.

But Sigismund was relieved - Leon had explained to him, anyway, if he saw that the situation was wrong, he would just throw down the gift and run, and it didn't matter if the talks with Zakar collapsed, as long as the person came back alive. deliberately asked Sigismund to lead the escort, originally because he was worried that Raphael, a young and enthusiastic kid, would be easy to get into the head......

"Raphael, what kind of person is Zakar?"

Sigismund's question interrupted Raphael's vision of the future.

"How so...... He was a terrible enemy, but he was an enemy of honor and chivalry. To be honest, I don't like him, but I kind of admire him......"

Raphael was somewhat ambivalent about the great warlord Zakar of Cato.

Most people have the impression that the Cato were bloody, murderous, rude savages, and had a special ...... for horses Love.

These impressions are actually true, but they may be a bit one-sided.

On the other side of these labelled stereotypes, the Cato were human beings, and they had love-hate relationships and many good qualities.

It is true that the Cato people are plundering everywhere and are murderous and savage, but this is mainly affected by the environment in which they live - anyone who lives in a society that has to rely on raiding to solve the problem of food and clothing will become the same as the Catu.

In the same way, the difficult living environment has also created some Cato people who are tenacious and unyielding, love freedom, and attach importance to honor and other good qualities.

"Warlord" Zakar is such a heroic man who is completely different from the Cato people in the impression of ordinary people.

Unlike the bloody and brutal 'saboteur' Juda, Zakar commanded the army by his charisma, rather than by fear and violence.

He is outstanding in martial arts, and he is always the first to rush on the battlefield;

He was generous, always giving most of the spoils to those warriors who followed him;

He attaches great importance to honor, and as long as he makes a promise, he will definitely go all out until it is fulfilled.

Of course, he also led the crowd in looting, but he didn't usually kill all the men and then take everything including women and children, as Judah did - Zakar didn't kill civilians at will, and usually left some rations for the village to survive.

A few years ago, Zakhar's tribe was located in the northern part of the Gatu grassland, and Juda's territory was in the southern part of the grassland, so Zakar usually went to the Raven Realm to earn a living, and Juda usually went to the Lion Realm.

The Dark Falcon Castle and Oldenburg in the Raven Realm, including the area around Dawn Furnace City, are actually often extorted by Zakar for money and food, but at least the people there have always been able to live.

And the Lion Realm ...... Just look at the hundreds of miles of wasteland east of Shihu City, there were dozens of villages and towns in that area twenty years ago.

Many things are afraid of comparison, and the shining point of Zakar is quite rare against the backdrop of the saboteur Juda, so he has the respect of both his compatriots and enemies. The young Cato warriors adored Zakar; And the haughty knights of the Raven Realm were in awe of him—perhaps more fear, of course.

In fact, Zakar was only a small warlord at first, and his initial strength was probably similar to that of Drash, who was raising horses for Leon.

But in just over a decade, he became one of the best tribal leaders in the Gatu steppe, and even defeated the strongest Juda, forcing Juda's tribe to move south and give up the best pasture.

This is because Zakar possessed a valuable quality that is rare among other Cato people—the courage to innovate.

Whether it is the Cato people in the steppe, the misty mountain people in the mountains of the far north, or the Dexia people in the desert, they all have one thing in common - traditional conservatism.

Nomads have always given sacred meaning to their way of life - only by freely moving through the steppes and practicing the ancient ways of plunder can they produce true warriors. The so-called civilized people are weak, like lambs to the slaughter, and the Cato are hunters, and they are prey. Although the world is constantly changing, the Gato people are eternal......

These are the words that the people of Cato often put on their lips.

Even after crossing the endless sea from the steppes of Amara to Pande, the Gatu people still cling to their traditional way of life and resist change.

After breaking away from the Osa Emperor and becoming independent of the Northeast Steppe, the life of the Gatu people was extremely difficult.

Due to the fact that the grasslands border the Noldor Forest, and the extremely xenophobic culture and hatred of humans, the Noldor Elves are constantly in conflict with the Cato people.

However, most of the Gato only regarded the Noldor Elves as fierce and ruthless opponents, hated the Noldor Elves for their sophisticated weapons and armor, and never tried to learn the advanced techniques of the Noldor Elves.

Most of the old-fashioned Cato would see Noldor's equipment as a blasphemous Indar that would bring a curse upon touch, and would even destroy or abandon it after it was captured.

And the Noldor elven horse was regarded by them as an evil monster, and for a long time, the Cato people killed the Noldor elf horse when they saw it.

Are you foolish?

Of course.

But the ancient eastern country that once led the world for thousands of years also did countless more foolish things during the reign of nomads.

It seems that only tradition, gods, cavalry, and raiding are all that the steppe people have.

But Zakar is different.

He was an outlier among the Catutes.

During his many encounters with Noldor, Zakar realized the advanced nature of Noldor's technology, and was greatly impressed by the excellent Noldor compound bow and tough Noldor sword, and he was envious of the fast, strong, and dexterous characteristics of the Noldor Pony.

During an encounter with Noldor, he tried to rip off the weapons and equipment of a fallen Noldor warrior and captured the wounded Noldor Pony despite the old man's curse.

He changed into Noldor's boots, saddled his sword and shield, and rode on the Noldor horse, only to find that nothing had happened......

The so-called curse is nothing more than the old superstitions!

He rode a Noldor elven horse and wore a sleek Noldor outfit to swagger through the Cato tribe.

The older generation of Cato warriors glared at him, cursing at him loudly, and telling old cursed tales; But many young Gato warriors saw their idol wearing Noldor's gear, and the legend of the curse was shattered.

After that, Zakar no longer stuck to the traditions of the tribe, he began to consciously collect Noldor equipment, and began to introduce advanced technology from various countries.

He attacked Noldor's sentries and patrols, changing his young followers into Noldor's boots;

While raiding the Lion Realm, he stumbled upon a strange group of witch archers, who he keenly noticed that their bows and arrows were quite good, and that Cato's cavalry could easily crush their ranks compared to the Noldor elves - so Zakar seized their Darkwood Bows.

Thanks to the introduction of new equipment and Zakhar's ability to lead by example, Zakhar's clan quickly stood out from the crowd of the Cato tribes.

Most of Zakhar's clan consisted of young Gatu warriors, and Zakar gave his young followers a very distinctive name - Zakar Grim Rider.

He received armor technology from the Ravens, and equipped these young men with the Gato Honor Armor, reminding them that they should not forget the honor!

Under the influence of Zakhar, most of these young men grew up to be brave and fearless warriors who valued honor, and gradually became one of the strongest groups in the steppe, and won a series of victories.

Numerous young Cato men from other tribes flocked to join Zakhar's command, and he quickly rose from a minor warlord to a leader in the northern steppe.

The Cato warriors, who still adhered to tradition, had to acknowledge Zakhar's strength, but they were unhappy with Zakhar's deviant practices, so they followed what they considered to be the 'typical' Cato leader, Juda the Saboteur.

As a result, the Gatu split into two groups—the Zakar tribe, who tried to change, and the traditional Juda tribe.

Judah's clan is a typical high-pressure warlord rule, but Zakar is not.

He has always tried to develop the clan into a real state.

And, judging by what he had done in the Raven Realm before, he might be on the verge of success.

If Zakar had been born in the Lion Kingdom, he would probably have become a very successful player, Raphael thought.

"Raphael, if Zakar is really what you say...... Then we might be able to talk to him about business......"

Sigismund said as he stopped abruptly, turned sideways to look at the wilderness in the distance.

"Talking about business? Didn't His Majesty Leon say that our main task is to find out the intentions of the Catotes? ”

Raphael glanced at Sigismund in surprise, and then looked at the wilderness—nothing?

"That's business...... The Gatu people did not loot food or attack villages and towns during this entry, and they hid and did not appear...... To endure such expenses, of course, is to negotiate a big deal...... Raphael, help me to ask in Cato - Lord Zakar, what business do you want? ”

Sigismund kept staring at the moors in the distance, and the volume of his last sentence was particularly loud.

"Your Excellency is really eye-catching...... You'll find me hiding here. ”

Hundreds of people suddenly appeared in the wasteland, all covered in grass.

The leader was a guy with a dark green oil paint on his face, dressed in camouflage - full of Noldor gear, lying in the bushes in the wasteland is indeed difficult to find.

"You can actually speak Pande? That's great! ”

Sigismund smiled, reached out and stroked his chest and owed: "Your Excellency Zakar, His Majesty Leon would like to invite you to dinner with him. ”

"Dinner? Where are we going to have dinner, isn't Leon supposed to be in Changhe Town right now? ”

Zakar smiled: "It's already afternoon, can he fly?" ”

(End of chapter)