Chapter 730 The Sword Matches the Hero
At night, the lord's hall of the inner castle of Solonborg.
The noisy music was mixed with the noise of the guests attending the banquet talking loudly, and the whole hall was extremely noisy at this time.
Servants and servants shuttled around every corner, and the last delicacy prepared for the banquet - half-year-old wild goat meat from the southern valley of Burgundy - was brought to the guests one by one.
At this time, Art, the Lord of Wellsburg, and his distinguished guest, Earl Balian, had just walked out of the study room in the inner castle. A moment ago, when the drinks and food were half ready, Art eagerly invited Balian into his study room to ask about the recent war situation on the Western Front.
Because he is about to prepare for the next southern expedition, Art must find out whether this friendly army fighting alongside him still has the will to continue fighting the Lombards. After all, the Provence people have gained a lot in the past month. If the bones of the friendly troops are softened by the candied fruits in front of them, the back of the Welsh Army will no longer be as safe as before.
After receiving a positive reply from Balian, Art finally breathed a sigh of relief. After all, with only the strength of the Welsh Army and the Palace Guards, against the Southland Lion who had not yet completely fallen, the outcome was determined. When the two walked to the corridor leading to the inner castle hall, the sweet Burgundy country music came from inside from time to time, interrupting their thoughts from the conversation.
Father Robert, who had been lingering outside the gate for a long time, saw that the protagonist had arrived and hurried forward to greet him.
"My lord, Earl Balian, you two are finally here~"
After Robert said this, he politely stood to one side and bowed slightly to the two of them, and then winked at the guards standing outside the door.
"Is everything ready?" Art asked.
"Yes, my lord, the food and drinks are all ready, and all the guests and officers attending the banquet are also here." Robert came one by one,
Following Art closely.
When the few people were less than ten steps away from the lord's hall, the guard guarding the door immediately shouted to the unaware guests inside: "The Earl of Art, the lord of Wellsburg, and the Earl of Balian of the Principality of Provence have arrived—"
As soon as he finished speaking, the hall that was extremely noisy a second ago suddenly became quiet. The guests and officers attending the banquet stood up one after another, and turned their heads to look at the door.
When the sound of neat footsteps and the collision of armor chains appeared outside the gate, Art, dressed in gorgeous regular clothes, and Balian, dressed in military uniform, appeared in everyone's sight almost at the same time.
Matt strode into the door and walked straight towards the big leather chair at the top. Balian, who was the host and guest, followed closely behind and walked to the first seat on the right side of the main seat.
"Everyone, please take a seat!" Art glanced at everyone present, his eyes were less cold and a little more warm than a wartime meeting. Then he raised his right hand and motioned for everyone to sit down.
On the right side of the long oak table, Balian and his trusted officers sat down one after another. On the other side, the senior officers of the Wells Corps and the key generals of the Palace Guards Corps were arranged on the left side.
Att's fingers kept tapping on the table. For him, there was no place more gratifying than to hold this celebration banquet in his own family territory.
Clearing his throat, Art stood up slowly and said, "Everyone, those attending this celebration banquet today are all warriors who have fought bravely against the Lombards. Some of you are from remote mountain villages in northern Burgundy, some are from refugee shacks in the city, and some are from unknown places in Provence. But," Art paused for a moment and continued. Said: "Heroes don't ask where they come from. Because it is us humble little people who have defeated the arrogant Lombards time and time again, causing them to flee and lose their city and territory!"
"Yes!"
Everyone in the Lord's Hall excitedly slapped the table and echoed Art's excited shouting.
"It was us who defeated the Lombards in less than two months and occupied more than half of their land!" Ate waved his arms and shouted loudly.
Everybody stood up one after another, unable to contain their excitement, and beating their chests.
"Today, this celebration banquet belongs to all of us, and to every soldier who has paid the price with his life in previous battles." In this joyous occasion, Art still did not forget those low-level soldiers who died in foreign lands for him to regain his family's territory.
"Yes, the glory belongs to everyone!" Balian, who was on the side, was inspired. He deeply admired Art's remarks and echoed loudly.
"Glory belongs to everyone!"
"Glory belongs to everyone!"
Att turned to look at Balian and nodded slightly to greet him.
"Yes, the glory belongs to everyone! Those who survive enjoy the fruits of victory, and the dead will always be remembered by future generations! Now, raise your wine glasses, let us cheer for the living and pay tribute to the dead!"
"Cheer for the living and salute the dead!"
Everyone raised their glasses together, shouted loudly, and then drank the wine in the glass.
After a glass of fine wine, Art suddenly felt a refreshing sensation in his throat. Since the war between the two sides, drinking this glass of wine made him feel the most happy.
"Warriors, enjoy yourself! Tonight, the glory belongs to you!"
"Thank you, Lord Count!"
When Art announced that the banquet had officially begun, these sergeants who usually fought decisively on the battlefield relieved their heavy burdens, raised their wine glasses, and clinked glasses with the people around them to drink and talk loudly~
When the music sounded again, several living people The jumping guy was already dancing to the beautiful melody, showing off his agile dance moves as his companions beat the tableware rhythmically.
"Ron, why are you still standing here?" Art turned to the captain of the guard behind him and asked.
"Master, I am your bodyguard, I~"
"What am I! Get out of here and go drink with the brothers in the legion!"
"But～"
"Don't worry about me, go ahead!" Art waved his hand and said to Ron.
"Thank you, sir!" Ron said and walked towards Colin and others on the left who were drinking to their heart's content."
Looking at the high-ranking officers under his command talking and laughing, Art was very happy.
Normally, as the commander of the legion, he is very strict and cold-hearted towards the group of men who follow him in battles. When the war ended, he was able to get along with these guys like friends without any differences.
Even Balian, who was sitting aside, couldn't help but praise Art's way of leading troops. While his officers were mingling with the senior officers of the Wells Legion, Balian picked up the wine glass and took a sip of the wine in the glass. He couldn't help but ask: "Earl Art, I have always been curious,
How did you get these guys to fight with you regardless of life and death?"
At looked at Balian who was standing aside, he slowly put down the glass cup in his hand, raised the corner of his mouth, and said, "I would like to ask Count Balian, why did your soldiers follow you to fight the Lombards?"
Faced with At's rhetorical question, Balian did not refuse, and after thinking for a while, he replied: "Money~ and hatred!"
"That's right, money!" Art stood up and walked to Balian and continued: "Most of the guys under me come from poor families. Ever since they followed me, I have never been stingy about using money to reward their hard work and hard work. Although they are also driven by money to work for me, I give them higher and more generous rewards than others, so they are more willing to follow me and work for me."
Facing this Provence friend who once fought side by side, Art did not hide his true inner thoughts, but told him frankly.
This greatly moved Balian. After entering Wellsburg, Balian made a special trip to the Provence young peasants and soldiers garrison camp led by O'Dowd. When he first arrived outside the military camp, he saw the soldiers standing guard in front of the camp gate wrapped in fine armor, with a hint of murderous intent in their eyes, and no trace of peasant soldiers on their bodies. This made Balian think that he was in the wrong place. If Baron O'Dowd hadn't come out to greet him, Balian wouldn't have even believed that these young peasant soldiers had transformed enough to fight the Lombards.
In just over a month, Art trained this young eagle into a tiger and wolf warrior that could go into battle to kill the enemy. After hearing Art's opinion just now, Balion suddenly realized it.
"No wonder the thousand young peasants and soldiers I gave you changed so much in just over a month, almost making me think I was in the wrong place~" After Balian said that, the two looked at each other and laughed. In the middle of the banquet, Art gave instructions to the guards behind him, and several people brought forward several wooden boxes placed on the wall.
"Earl Art, what are you doing~" Balian was puzzled.
"Lord Balion, you will know soon." A smile appeared on Art's face.
Others put down the wine and meat in their hands when they saw this, and their eyes moved back and forth between several wooden boxes.
When the guard placed the heavy wooden box on the table, a pleasant sound of metal collision echoed in the hall.
He glanced at the several wooden boxes in front of him, then glanced at everyone, and then said to the guards: "Open all the boxes for me!" When the cover was removed, the golden coins inside were instantly displayed in front of everyone·
"Everyone, this is my heart. Everyone here today has a share in seeing it!"
「多谢大人！」
「多谢伯爵大人！」
众人躬身捶胸，言语里满是无法掩饰的激动之情。
"Earl Art, what are you~" Balian was so surprised that he didn't know what he was doing.
"My friend, this is my wish. If it weren't for you and a group of Provence brothers fighting on the Western Front, how could I have regained my family's territory so quickly."
"But~"
Balian wanted to shirk it again, but Art stopped him immediately. Then he called the guards behind him to bring over a beautiful matching sword. "A sword matches a hero!" Art picked up the long sword, then offered it with both hands and handed it to Balian.
"This is?"
"The sword of Count Terman, the leader of the Lombard court! Looking at the whole of Provence, only you can be worthy of this sword!" Art lost no time in complimenting this old friend.