Mount and Blade System: Start from Pioneer Lords

"Like me?"

Earl Andow sighed, discarded the sunflower seed shells, clapped his hands, and looked earnestly at the Lion Hunter Knight: "Don't even mention resembling you. If cultivating the 'Holy Word Codex' in this era could achieve even one-tenth of your current effect, then Debey wouldn't have the so-called Three Gods."

"Li Wei, do you know that since the decline of the Holy Knights, even mastering the 'Holy Word Codex' to its peak only provides a twelvefold increase in power compared to ordinary people? And I can briefly achieve this increase with a burst of battle aura, although the consequences are severe."

"The main issue is that the 'Holy Word Codex' is notoriously difficult to cultivate, especially in the later stages. Among the Holy Knights currently serving in the Holy Light Church, none have reached the final stage of Temple Knight. The vast majority are basically at the third stage, 'Radiant Moon,' and there are very few at the fourth stage, 'Scorching Sun.'"

"Cultivation is much more difficult than battle aura, yet they are often beaten senseless by those using battle aura. This is why it has fallen out of favor. If the Holy Light Church didn't need the Holy Knight Order as a gimmick, it would probably have become history long ago."

"That's not right. Holy Knights aren't just physically exceptional; they have Holy Light within them and can also practice divine magic. In some ways, they can even be considered alternative spellcasters."

Li Wei interjected, a hint of doubt on his face.

Last time, he had learned two divine spells from Fatir, the genuine Holy Light Church Saintess, and he had been holding back from using them, waiting for the crucial moment to make a grand display.

"It seems your little sweetheart hasn't told you about this," Andow said with a smile, glancing at the lord before continuing: "The concentration of Holy Light within a Holy Knight is tied to their physical constitution. In this era, Holy Knights of the same rank have physiques that are less than one-tenth, or even one-hundredth, of what they were during their glory days. The same goes for their Holy Light!"

"This means they can't cultivate those powerful Holy Light divine spells at all, and can only use low-level spells like Holy Shield Protection and Holy Light Healing."

"Alright."

Li Wei lowered his eyes, speechless.

He thought there was some hidden drawback he didn't know about, but it turned out to be a lack of mana.

Feeling the dense Holy Light within him, almost bursting out, the lord didn't continue the topic.

When he had just successfully condensed the Holy Light seed, he could use Holy Light to envelop his whole body and run around as a light bulb for quite a while.

As this Holy Light seed continued to condense Holy Light within him, growing stronger every moment, he had long lost track of what level he was at.

He only knew that if he were to calculate based on the two Holy Light divine spells he had learned, the consumption probably wouldn't even keep up with his recovery.

"Gentlemen, I apologize for interrupting your conversation, but may I join you?"

A female voice came from behind, as clear and melodious as a nightingale's song.

The moment he saw the person, the lecherous smile on Andow's face vanished instantly, replaced by the impeccable smile of a nobleman, and he bowed slightly: "Miss Lyia, you are too kind."

His noble demeanor and tone were perfectly executed, and even the most fastidious etiquette teacher in the royal court wouldn't be able to find fault.

"Good day, Miss Lyia."

Li Wei also greeted her.

Then, he walked with a smile toward a large figure behind her.

"How is Orak doing lately?"

Li Wei bumped fists with the Orc Shaman.

He had kept Orak by Lyia's side to follow her orders and hadn't brought him along.

"Lord, everything is fine except for getting rusty," the Orc Shaman said with some resentment.

"Li Wei, Master Orak has been constantly mentioning wanting to participate in the battle while in the rear," Lyia said with a smile. "Now that I'm in the center of the army, there's no danger, and there's no need to waste a combat master to protect me."

"That's true. Lyia, you'll stay with Fatir from now on. You should have a lot to talk about."

Li Wei nodded.

"I still have some military affairs to complete, please excuse my departure," Earl Andow said, knowing that the following topic wasn't suitable for him, and he excused himself and left.

"Orak, you should return to the team as well. Zart and the others should be sparring in the open space."

Li Wei waved his hand and sent the Orc Shaman away as well.

When there were no outsiders present, the two opened their arms and hugged gently, then separated.

"I heard Littlefinger died?" Li Wei asked.

"Yes. Aunt Frelina and I were invited to rest at Dreadfort. During the banquet, the accompanying servant found him dead in a brothel," Lyia rubbed her temples, her tone heavy. "In a rage, the old Earl had all the prostitutes in the brothel who had contact with Reid Tedber put on the gallows."

"What does this have to do with the prostitutes?" Li Wei shook his head.

People laugh at poverty but not prostitution, and most prostitutes in this world are sold to brothel owners by slave traders, forced into it.

"Not necessarily. The prostitute who entered the room with Reid that night was never found afterward. Some say she ran away for fear of being punished by the Earl, while others say she was an assassin who escaped after completing her mission."

Lyia provided deeper intelligence.

"A troubled time," Li Wei said with some emotion.

"The harder part is yet to come. We are no longer welcome here," Lyia sighed.

"Oh? Who doesn't welcome us?" Li Wei asked.

"Nobles, officers, soldiers, everyone in the North despises us," Lyia said, looking at the officers and earls pouring into Kalia Town, her face full of helplessness.

"Because I'm handsome and you're beautiful, they don't welcome us? That's too unreasonable!" The lord touched his face, indignant.

It seems that being handsome is also a crime these days.

If that's the case, then his crimes are too numerous to count.

"Pfft." Even Lyia, whose heart was full of worries, couldn't help but laugh at the lord's thick skin.

"Li Wei, although I admit that in terms of appearance, you are no worse than those beautiful elves, you are still too narcissistic."

"I'm no worse than those pretty boys in any way," Li Wei angrily corrected the inaccuracy of the statement.

Lyia didn't dwell on this matter. She continued: "You know, nearly 70% of the nobles in the North believe in the Ice Goddess, and we have been labeled as members of the Holy Light Church."

"And..." She looked at the lord seriously: "Among a group of Northerners, as long as the two of us are Southerners, you know, it's like two poor, helpless kittens mixed in with a group of dogs, very obvious."

"As a result, you were the first to take down a town, you defeated three high-level mages, and you captured a military noble."

"This makes them jealous and even more repulsed by us."

"Especially your speech, it was like a raging fire that ignited dry straw."

Speaking of this, Lyia tucked a strand of golden hair behind her ear, and the Tulip of the Highlands smiled, "Li Wei, I'm very happy that you said those words."

At that moment, even Li Wei, who had been bombarded by many beauties, couldn't help but lose his mind for a beat before recovering.

He said: "Please continue."

"Your sentence, 'Only I am your liege,' completely gave these Northern nobles a reason to attack you to Aunt Frelina."

Li Wei was indeed ennobled as a pioneering baron by her, but it was only for less than a day before Colwyn changed.

Her grandfather, the Duke, who was preparing to make her his heir, suddenly fell ill, her mother was taken away by Damon's men, and she was about to be captured.

This world is realistic. Normally, people would turn a blind eye to this situation, and she would go to the pioneering territory afterward.

But what did this baron do? Facing Damon, who had already controlled Colwyn, he still brought her out alone and safely sent her to Whitewater City, where her aunt was.

Afterward, Aunt Frelina, as the Duchess, rewarded this baron she had ennobled with various things, and even gave him the honorary title of the North.

What did the other party do? He still didn't betray her and secretly sent people to protect her, and even expressed his support in action.

If it weren't for this Lion Hunter Knight's tough attitude, she probably wouldn't even have been able to come south with him.

Therefore, Lyia's gratitude for this was beyond words.

Any smart person would not choose to invest in her, an heir who had nothing but an empty title, but the other party still went ahead without hesitation.

It must be Old Tess who reported it, Li Wei raised his eyebrows.

In fact, he didn't hide what he said at the time. Not only the two Earls, but also some Northern soldiers and people from Highcliff Castle heard it.

"It doesn't matter. This is what I thought anyway, so I said it," the lord spread his hands.

"Besides, even if I didn't say this, would these Northerners welcome us?"

"This southward journey is ostensibly to help us regain the title, but they know very well what it's really for."

"If they don't welcome us, then they don't welcome us. We're not made of mud now. Anyone who wants to try can come."

Li Wei laughed twice, very coldly.

He wasn't very interested in infighting, especially when a great enemy was present. If someone dared to provoke him, he wouldn't mind teaching them a lesson.

If he really fell out with Frelina, he could just take Lyia and run away again, going into the wilderness.

Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river. With the system backing him up, it wouldn't be long before he could launch another southern expedition, but the target might be the North.

Then, the two chatted about some interesting family matters and sent someone to arrange accommodation for Lyia.

...

As a large number of people poured into Kalia Town, the border town trembled again. All the original residents began to hide in their houses, and many flickering, fearful eyes peered out from behind door seams and wall holes, all praying that these outsiders would leave as soon as possible.

And in a house, someone was single-mindedly feasting.

"Lord, when do you think this war will end?"

The hunched old man sat by the stove, his hands tucked into his sleeves, and asked curiously.

During the past few days, he had learned that this guest was easy to talk to, and his courage had grown.

He just didn't know where the other party had found his residence. These days, because a bunch of soldiers had poured into Kalia Town, he had chosen not to set up his stall for the first time in nearly ten years to prevent accidents and planned to have a good sleep.

As a result, just as the sky was dawning, the door was knocked loudly. He thought the soldiers had come to arrest people and rob money.

Just as he tremblingly chose whether to pretend not to hear and hide under the bed or hide in the closet, the door was kicked open. On closer inspection, he realized it was an acquaintance.

Thinking of this, he looked at the still swaying door and sighed.

"Hard to say, it won't be over for a while anyway," Li Wei said, eating a cornbread.

This thing tasted a bit like a puff pastry from his previous life, so whether it was to satisfy his cravings or to reminisce about the taste of his previous life, he had been coming to the old man's stall for breakfast every day.

Who would have thought that the other party would be resting today.

Good, good, good. I, the hardworking lord, haven't rested, but the breakfast seller has rested.

Have you earned enough money to buy a horse? Have you earned enough money to buy a coffin? Have you earned enough money for your granddaughter's dowry? Can you sleep?

This is unbearable. In the end, the lord directly found the old man's house and decided to make him earn money with tears in his eyes.

"Lord, this is the lemonade I made for you," the girl in the brown dress and white apron put the cup on the table. "Eating this all the time will be greasy, lemonade can relieve the greasiness."

"Thanks," Li Wei said subconsciously without looking up.

The other party's face turned slightly red, and she quickly ran back to make cornbread, but she secretly glanced at the lord, thinking it was hidden.

The old stall owner sighed again when he saw this. As someone who had been there, he knew exactly what his granddaughter was thinking.

Although he didn't know who this person was, his status was definitely high. The most direct manifestation was that a group of people, even those who were very old, were very respectful to this young man.

This was not something they, as commoners, could climb up to.

He couldn't bear to discourage his granddaughter, so he could only choose to turn a blind eye.

The old man took out his pipe from his pocket, rubbed the tobacco leaves, and wanted to take a puff, but realizing that there was still a guest, he regretfully rolled it up in paper and stuffed it into his pocket.

In the end, he could only choose to tell stories and kill time.

"During this time, a group of strong men in very beautiful armor came to our place every day to talk about some Holy... Holy Light something..."

"Holy Light Church."

"Yes, it's this Holy Light Church thing, asking us to believe in a Holy Light Goddess and providing free medical treatment to the villagers," the old man must be getting old, he talked a lot: "To be honest, believing in this thing won't give me an extra copper coin, nor will it fill my stomach. What's the point of believing in it?"

"They asked us to believe in the Earth Mother before, and now there's a Holy Light Goddess. These big shots don't know how to change every now and then."

"However, their treatment is indeed very effective. My legs hurt badly every winter, and they got better after they touched them with their hands."

Speaking of this, the old man patted his legs with a satisfied look.

"Old Ke, you're still the best," the lord gave a thumbs up.

This old man still saw through it, and even took advantage of the stupid big guys' Holy Light treatment.