Mount and Blade System: Start from Pioneer Lords

The wilderness was swept by a biting cold wind, the boundless wasteland adding to the desolate atmosphere.

The arrival of a group of people, however, added a touch of vitality.

Seen from above, a black-armored guard of no more than fifty men could be seen with perfect formation, every move seemingly controlled by a single person.

This visual shock reverberated in everyone's heart.

Sir Skye, lost in thought, was startled, never expecting the Highcliff Fortress guard to display such cohesive prowess.

Especially considering they were a group of Orcish brutes.

You see, Orcs naturally possess individual martial strength, but getting them into neat formations is harder than making a nun break her vows.

"Li Wei, you really gave me a fright," Leah's voice came, but the sparkling look in her eyes as she stared at the Highcliff Fortress guard clearly indicated that there was no blame in her words.

Leah had heard tales of Highcliff Fortress defeating enemies ten times their size with inferior forces, but such word-of-mouth accounts often exaggerated the truth.

However, after witnessing the elite troops of Highcliff Fortress firsthand, she realized that the stories reaching Whiteflow City were entirely true to their name.

She extended her fair and delicate hand to Li Wei, and the lord readily obliged, holding her hand and helping her down from the carriage.

"Even in faraway Whiteflow City, the deeds of Highcliff Fortress are constantly heard; Li Wei, you've become the hottest topic in taverns," Leah said with a bright smile, unable to hide her excitement.

"Achoo!"

But as soon as she finished speaking, the noble lady in the long dress sneezed.

Leah had anticipated that the wilderness would be colder than Whiteflow City and had worn a thickened long dress, but she still underestimated the cold wind, which felt like being targeted by the undead, chilling her to the bone.

Just as she was at a loss, a warm lord's robe was draped over her, the furry collar made of unknown beast fur warming her cheeks.

The sudden appearance of the robe made her heart flutter, her face flushed, though it was hard to tell if it was from the cold.

"The Northern Lands are colder than Whiteflow City; the cold wind here is like a scraping steel knife, drilling straight into your collar." Taking off his own robe and draping it over Leah, Li Wei smiled slightly, "Miss Leah, please don't mind that I've worn this robe."

"Li Wei, what will you wear then?"

Looking at Li Wei in only a linen white shirt, Leah was touched and worried, quickly trying to take off the coat to return it.

It wasn't that she was being coy; even wearing a thickened long dress, she could feel the cold, let alone Li Wei in a thin shirt.

If her only vassal fell ill, it wouldn't be right from any perspective.

"Don't you know me? With my physique, let alone this cold wind, I could jump into an ice lake in the Arctic Ice Plains and swim around to warm up."

Li Wei proudly flexed his biceps.

He wasn't lying; his physique was already superhuman, immune to heat and cold. He wore this robe because, being poor, he didn't have any decent clothes and could only wear the robe that Bai Ruisi Tina had specially embroidered as a return gift.

Seeing Li Wei suddenly lose his noble demeanor and look like a commoner, the corners of Leah's lips couldn't help but curl up slightly, "I'm more familiar with you as you are now."

After carefully examining Li Wei's graceful and agile cheetah-like figure, Leah didn't mention returning the clothes, only tightening her collar.

"I'm a lord now, after all, so I have to maintain a bit of an image."

Li Wei stretched lazily, originally wanting to put on airs and maintain the image of a noble lord.

But it was too tiring, so he simply stopped pretending.

"Miss Leah, let's set off back to Highcliff Fortress; it's quite cold out here."

Although Li Wei wasn't afraid of the cold, he had to consider the people of Highcliff Fortress; the Orcs in iron armor were practically wearing blocks of ice.

Only their strong physiques allowed them to endure, but Li Wei didn't want to freeze his precious treasures.

He had invested at least three or four thousand gold coins into this team; each one was a golden goose.

"Alright." Leah nodded; they had already traveled for seven or eight days, camping in the open, and the soldiers, without carriages to shield them from the wind and rain, were exhausted and in need of a good rest.

Li Wei held her slightly cold hand, preparing to help her onto the carriage.

Unexpectedly, Miss Leah shook her head: "Li Wei, I'll ride with you; it's stuffy to stay in the carriage all the time, and I can enjoy the scenery of the wilderness."

The lord naturally agreed; Leah was the most honored guest of Highcliff Fortress these days, and as long as she was happy, she could do whatever she wanted, focusing on keeping the liege lord in a good mood.

"Miss Leah, this is not befitting of your status."

At this time, the personal knight accompanying her couldn't help but offer a subtle reminder.

Li Wei glanced at the knight, who was about one and eight-tenths of a 'ren' tall, shorter than him, with a sturdy build, red hair, and a slightly youthful face, probably around twenty years old.

His hands were calloused, indicating he was a swordsman who diligently practiced swordsmanship.

Li Wei knew exactly what he was thinking, which was that he was worried that Leah being with him would put her safety in his hands.

"Sir Kael, please put that thought away." Leah's face was serious, "Baron Li Wei is definitely the person I trust the most."

For Leah, even her own aunt, the Duchess of the Northern Lands, was not as trustworthy as the knight she had personally knighted.

Li Wei hadn't even tied her up and handed her over to Damon in exchange for wealth back then, let alone now.

Kael stopped, at a loss for words.

He had been temporarily promoted by Duchess Fulina and appointed as Leah's personal knight, his duty being to protect her safety.

Therefore, he naturally couldn't stand by and watch Leah and the Lord of Highcliff Fortress leave together alone.

But Leah's determination made it very difficult for him.

"Knight, if I had wanted to, Miss Leah's guardian knight would have been me, and you? You'd probably still be serving as someone's squire."

Li Wei just smiled and spoke of his and Leah's unknown past.

When he was first knighted, Leah had repeatedly invited him to become her guardian knight, but he had refused because he had no interest in women.

Hearing this, Kael was somewhat surprised.

A guardian knight, in terms of status and closeness, was a more special position than a personal knight.

Generally, they were chosen from companions who had been with them since childhood, growing up with their monarch, and the relationship between the two was self-evident.

Kael couldn't believe that the Lord of Highcliff Fortress could still be invited to become a guardian knight after adulthood, and he looked at Leah in disbelief, wanting to seek verification.

"That's right, I wanted to invite Baron Li Wei to become my guardian knight, but he refused." Leah nodded as a matter of course.

These were all facts, and there was nothing that couldn't be said.

Compared to Li Wei, this knight named Kael actually had many things that displeased her, but as a superior, she wouldn't show it.

Kael looked dejected; it turned out he was the superfluous one.

The Lord of Highcliff Fortress and Miss Leah had known each other for a long time.

Actually, it wasn't his fault; everyone knew that the Lord of Highcliff Fortress was Miss Leah's vassal, but no one knew the specific relationship between the two.

Helping Leah onto his docile yellow horse, Li Wei then took Skye Knight's rather handsome black horse; he had been eyeing it for a long time and had wanted to ride it.

Li Wei lagged slightly behind Leah, and the two slowly headed towards the distant Highcliff Fortress together.

The people of Highcliff Fortress and the Whiteflow City guard were clearly separated, trailing far behind the two.

Because Leah's actions clearly indicated that she wanted to say some private words with the Lord of Highcliff Fortress, no one would be so tactless as to follow too closely.

Kael buried his head and followed lifelessly at the back of the large group, when a voice came from the front.

"Hey, boy, you're not just going to be so depressed, are you?"

Looking up, Kael smiled bitterly and called out, "Sir Skye."

Skye came to Kael's side, and the two walked side by side, "When I was your age, I was also a personal knight for someone, and I know exactly what you're thinking."

"Miss Leah is indeed very beautiful, and her personality is also very gentle, understanding, and often such girls are very charming…"

He didn't continue to speak, just blinked his eyes and smiled.

Kael's face flushed, wanting to refute, but that would violate the knight's code, so he could only remain silent with a cold face.

"Hehe." Skye had already seen through his heart and said to himself, "I also used to be a personal knight for a very beautiful monarch. To be honest, every man likes beautiful women, and I naturally admired my monarch."

Speaking of this, Skye suddenly stopped and didn't continue.

This made Kael, who had been listening carefully, unable to hold back, and after hesitating for a moment, he took the initiative to ask, "What happened later?"

Skye smiled triumphantly; no one knew better than him how to handle these young knights, and then showed a look of remembrance, "Later, I understood one thing: some things are not meant to be yours."

"What we have to do is not have thoughts about things that don't belong to us, that will lead you into an abyss, just guard what belongs to us."

"Isn't that black horse yours?" Kael looked at the figure riding a black horse in the front and asked cautiously to Skye next to him.

Skye was silent, his fists clenched.

Good, good, I kindly came to comfort you, and you're revealing my shortcomings.

Damn Lord of Highcliff Fortress, my Blackie!

Sir Skye kept cursing a certain unscrupulous lord in his heart. Today was the first time he had violated the knight's code and cursed someone in his heart.

He had seen people taking food, taking money, but it was the first time he had seen someone taking a horse.

For a knight, his mount was more important than his wife!

Wasn't this another kind of cuckoldry?

Skye finally sighed, "There's one more thing, if you're not strong enough, you can't even protect your own things."

Skye, who had been harmed by someone, now understood another truth.

If he could beat the Lord of Highcliff Fortress, he would have a knight's duel, teach him a good lesson, and drag him to his mount and ask if he still wanted to ride it.

"Boy, let me advise you, the Lord of Highcliff Fortress is a big shot we can't afford to offend, and Miss Leah is not on the same level as us. There are many beautiful women in the world, there will always be one that belongs to you." Skye patted Kael on the shoulder and said earnestly.

To be honest, on the one hand, he always had a heart to teach young knights, on the other hand, he didn't want this young knight to do something irrational because of impulse and offend Lord Li, causing the entire guard to live in unease.

Finally, for insurance, he raised his eyebrows and said with a wicked smile: "The brothels in Whiteflow City have beauties of all races, as long as you have money, she belongs to you, and every day is different!"

Kael looked stunned, as if he was seeing this knight with knightly virtues for the first time.

"Cough, as the knight commander, I didn't go, I heard it all from Old Gray."

Skye righteously cleared himself of suspicion.

"Believe it or not!"

Looking at Kael, who still looked suspicious, Skye said harshly and left quickly, his back somewhat hasty.

Kael hesitated for a while, mounted his horse, and hung far behind the lord.

On the other side, the two, who didn't care what their subordinates were thinking, were chatting casually.

"Li Wei, I didn't expect you to really develop a territory in the wilderness." Leah's voice was full of admiration.

In recent decades, countless pioneering lords have poured into the wilderness of Debey, but very few can truly gain a foothold.

She knew that those Orcish guards were exchanged by Li Wei from her Aunt Fulina with gold coins, but she didn't expect that Li Wei had trained them to look like this now.

Even Cullen's carefully selected white-robed iron guards were not so elite.

"In fact, you also deserve some credit for this."

Li Wei looked at the dark clouds in the sky and replied.

He felt that it should snow in the wilderness within the next few days, and he didn't know what the difference was between the snow in the wilderness and the south.

"What credit do I deserve?"

Leah frowned, unable to figure out what she had helped with Li Wei coming to the wilderness to pioneer alone while she had been staying in Whiteflow City.

"Those gold coins that served as my starting capital."

Li Wei smiled slightly and gave a hint.

Leah's thoughts were brought back to a few months ago, it was clear that it had only been a few months since she escaped from Cullen City, but now it felt like more than a year had passed, with a sense of remoteness.

After a long time, Leah sighed quietly, carefully examining the young and overly handsome face beside her, "Li Wei, you are really different from back then."

"Haha, of course it's different, I was only one and eight-tenths of a 'ren' tall back then, now I'm one and nine-tenths, but you're still a shorty."

Li Wei's seriousness only lasted for a few words, then shattered with a bang, and he said with a smile.

"That's true, I don't know what you ate to grow so fast, I haven't grown at all."

Regarding this, Leah nodded in agreement.