Mount and Blade System: Start from Pioneer Lords

“You better watch your mouth!”

Penny scolded, then pointed to the surrounding noble knights:

“These are all vassals of the Southern Territory. They are all loyal to my father and respect him. Everyone is willing to sacrifice their lives for the Iseli family.”

“If something happens to me, then my sister will grant all your loyal knights their wish!” Onaya completely dismissed this. If they were truly loyal to the old Duke, why did they oppose the old Duke's decision to let Lia inherit the title, ultimately leading to the current situation?

The surrounding Southern Territory nobles fell silent, without rebuttal.

As things stand, this is the reality, otherwise they wouldn't have called Onaya here.

“Madam Onaya, we are not here to discuss titles or anything. We brought you here to write a letter to your sister.”

The slightly obese Panto stepped forward, his full face making him look very amiable, but his tone was very calm: “Don't rush to refuse.”

“Because this letter is beneficial to both of us.”

“What do you want me to write?”

Onaya asked calmly.

“Trial by combat!”

“We demand that this war be decided by trial by combat.” Panto said decisively.

Hearing this, Onaya almost couldn't help but laugh, simply looking around at the Southern Territory nobles, “What makes you think my sister, who has victory within her grasp, would play this boring game with you?”

“Madam Onaya, believe me, she will.” Panto took a deep look at Onaya, then looked at the bright moon outside the tall French window.

“The Three Gods of Justice are fair. They will not let the righteous be humiliated, nor the innocent be wronged. They will stand on the side of justice and interfere with the outcome of the trial by combat.”

After speaking, Panto piously clasped his hands together towards the Milandi Church, then looked at Onaya and said: “If we lose, then it proves that we are all wrong. We will release you and declare that Lia is the true heir to the Southern Territory, and if your sister loses, they only need to retreat.”

“Duchess Flina will take White Fort without losing a single soldier, and can completely solidify your right to inheritance.”

“No ruler would pass up such an opportunity.”

Hearing this, Onaya frowned.

Trial by combat is an ancient custom of Deber, or rather, the entire medieval continent.

People believe that the gods of justice will stand on the side of justice and interfere with the outcome of the trial by combat.

Therefore, the victor in a trial by combat is considered just and innocent and should not be subject to any accusations or sanctions.

Daring to sanction the victor in a trial by combat is a serious act of blasphemy.

In that era when gods appeared at any time, trial by combat once became a way of judging justice recognized by everyone on the medieval continent.

Because the gods did indeed interfere with the direction of the trial by combat.

Even countries would use trial by combat to determine whether starting a war was just.

But as the gods disappeared, the former glory of trial by combat was gone, and it had become an ancient custom. Now, knight duels are all the rage.

Onaya didn't expect the other party to come up with this method to save the current situation.

However, after thinking about it, the other party's request was indeed beneficial to both sides.

This would allow Lia to completely solidify her status as heir. If anyone dared to refute it, it would be completely blaspheming the Three Gods of Justice, and even the king could not bear the crime of blaspheming the gods.

“Penny, is this also your decision?”

Onaya looked up at Penny on the Duke's throne.

“That's right.” Penny looked pious: “I believe the Earth Mother will not allow any of her believers to suffer unfair treatment.”

Just as these Southern Territory nobles thought, Onaya also believed that the Ice and Snow Goddess would not allow her, a child of the Northern Territory, to suffer unfair treatment, otherwise she would not have allowed Lia to escape from Corwyn and arrive in the Northern Territory safely.

“I will write it, but whether my sister will agree in the end is not something I can decide.”

She said coldly.

The Red Viper Orolen quietly watched all of this in the hall, his eyes flickering.

He was half responsible for the rapid fall of Corwyn, because the western wall he was in charge of fell too quickly, leading to a complete collapse of the defense line, forcing them to retreat to White Fort.

But he couldn't be entirely blamed for this. No one expected that there would be such a monster on the other side.

One sword swing, and the brothers under his command were cut down like weeds on the side of the road.

He was also frightened by this and directly took people to run away in the chaos.

He didn't tell these nobles about this, because it would only make them understand that most of the responsibility for the collapse of the defense line was on him.

Now, hearing them mention something about trial by combat, the demonic figure from the morning appeared in his mind again.

He couldn't help but shudder. If the other party participated in the trial by combat, they would have no chance of winning.

These damned Southern Territory nobles didn't understand at all that such a powerful enemy was no longer something that any dog-shit god could decide the outcome of.

He was an orphan, mixed in the slums, so he didn't believe in any gods and was an infidel.

Therefore, he could see everything more clearly and was not blinded by stupid faith.

As things stood, he finally knew that the Southern Territory was a sailboat about to sink. No matter what he wanted to do, it was best to make plans early.

In addition to the losses and those who ran away, fortunately he finally gathered two thousand mercenaries.

And currently, he already had a plan.

It's just that the time hasn't come yet.

Before long, a letter was sent from White Fort, which was blocked by the Northern Territory Southern Expeditionary Army. After layers of transmission, it arrived at a tent outside Corwyn City.

……

This tent was not eye-catching in appearance. The only feature was that it was large enough, but it was full of the leaders of this Northern Territory Southern Expeditionary Army.

If at this moment there was a great magician with extremely high magical attainments, casting a spell like Atlas Giant Spirit, a giant hundreds of blades high would step down.

It would be enough to solve Corwyn's predicament and the entire Northern Territory Army would collapse on its own.

But in fact, that's just thinking. This level of magic, even in the era of flourishing magic, could only be cast by legendary magicians.

That's something that these still half-baked magicians can use.

When Flina was young, she studied swordsmanship in the royal court, and even worked as an adventurer who lived in the open air for a period of time. Therefore, she didn't eat like those noble ladies, who only ate exquisite food.

Although the beef in the plate was roasted a little too old, she still ate it with relish.

However, the sudden letter interrupted her time to enjoy the food. Taking out a white handkerchief unhurriedly and wiping her red mouth, she slowly removed the wax mud and smoothed out the rolled parchment in her hand little by little.

However, when she saw the first sentence, she couldn't help but frown.

The other nobles also stopped eating and looked at their lord.

They all knew that this letter came from White Fort, but they were very curious about what content made Madam Flina's expression change so much.

After reading it carefully, Flina's face had returned to calm, and there was even a little smile on her face.

This made the nobles also smile. Earl Ando took the initiative to ask: “Lord Flina, what did this letter say?”

Flina asked the maid beside her to hand it down. Soon everyone read it, and finally it was the turn of the lord who was burying his head in gnawing on the sheep's trotters.

He wiped the oil off his hands and opened it to take a look.

“Ho, trial by combat? I'm wondering if these people's brains have been eaten by goblins.”

He immediately whistled, and the disdainful smile on his face couldn't be concealed.

As if taking the lead, whistles rose and fell in the tent. Clearly they were all nobles who had learned the most rigorous etiquette, but at this moment they looked like a group of hooligans teasing women on the street.

“I like this way.”

The Pandaren patriarch took a hard bite, the sharp teeth instantly tearing off a large piece of the thigh bone in his hand.

Currently, except for Lord Li beside him, he has never been afraid of anyone in a one-on-one fight.

“Perhaps they are already fighting beasts in a cage making their last struggle.” Lia couldn't help but cheer, her face full of smiles.

As if she had already seen her mother reunite with her.

It's no wonder they were so excited.

Trial by combat might have been the case in the past, when the gods would indeed interfere with the competition, but now it is completely based on personal bravery to determine the outcome.

Not to mention the distant past, Earl Ando's fighting spirit in this tent is extremely profound, and he is also a well-known expert in the Northern Territory.

There is also Earl Montvert from Wolf Island, who is said to be able to deal with five or six hill giants alone.

Although they didn't like the Pandaren because he was a half-orc, his strength was undeniable.

Not to mention……

They collectively focused their eyes on someone who, after reading the letter, lowered his head and concentrated on gnawing on the sheep's trotters.

If you want to say who is recognized as the number one in strength, then everyone present would definitely recommend this Lord of Highcliff Fort.

All the way south, not to mention his previous achievements, even the current ones are enough to shock the world.

The Earth Church priest's famous magic is to summon stone giants. These creatures from the elemental plane are ten blades high, and their bodies are made of giant stones. Their defense and attack power are equally sharp.

They are thorough meat grinders on the battlefield and can even sway the victory or defeat of a small battle. Only magic can deal with these guys.

As a result, they were hacked and chopped to pieces by someone, turning into a pile of rubble.

Afterwards, when they learned that the reason why they were able to capture Corwyn so quickly was also thanks to this Lord of Highcliff Fort, they collectively went to the western wall, looked at the fragmented city gate and battering ram, and after confirming with the soldiers who had personally witnessed how the city gate was broken, they collectively remained silent like the marble statues of White Stream City in the Northern Territory.

Afterwards, they left without saying a word, just instructing the soldiers under their command to respect the Lion Hunter Knight and not to provoke him.

There is no doubt that the other party's strength has definitely reached an unimaginable level.

They even suspected that this Lord of Highcliff Fort was a giant in human skin, otherwise it was completely impossible to explain how such terrifying power could be contained in a thin body.

This is unreasonable.

Now that such a strong man is on their side, it is definitely something worth celebrating.

They have now come to a conclusion in their hearts, that is——“The people of the Southern Territory are seeking their own death. Even if it is a trial by combat, the Northern Territory Southern Expeditionary Army will win a complete victory!”

While the nobles were excitedly discussing tomorrow's trial by combat, Lia quietly patted someone's thigh with her small hand, “Li Wei, do you think Penny and the others really want to use trial by combat to solve these things?”

She naturally hoped that the other party really wanted to use trial by combat to determine the outcome, then with Li Wei she could not lose.

This blind confidence completely came from personally witnessing the incredible things the other party had done.

But she was also afraid that this was just a guise for Penny and the others, intended to cover up their ultimate purpose.

“When the other party proposes to solve the problem with trial by combat, it is best that they really do.” Li Wei wiped his mouth, satisfied with a glass of frozen sour plum juice to relieve the greasiness, and then continued: “They have no choice. Now they are either beaten into the city by us, or it is trial by combat.”

“But no matter which one, they are destined to be losers, and victory will only belong to us.”

Speaking of this, Li Wei's eyes looked to the south, and his brows furrowed slightly: “To be honest, the reason why we can win so easily is entirely because Damon is trapped in the southern border.”

“We have all seen that demon with our own eyes. It is difficult for me to imagine how huge these demons are, that they can drag down more than 100,000 main forces of the Southern Territory and have not returned to aid until now.”

In good conscience, frankly speaking, his and Flina's ideas were, no matter what demons there were, even if the undead came, they would have to take Corwyn down first.

Complete the established strategic goal before considering other things.

This behavior may be recorded in history by scholars afterwards, and denounced as selfish and self-interested people who disregard the racial crisis.

But he and Flina were obviously very similar in one point, that is, compared to the immediate benefits, they would not care about the so-called evaluation.

Forced melons are not sweet? If it were Lord Lord, he would have to twist ten or eight melons directly, regardless of whether they were sweet or not, as long as they quench their thirst.

The same is true for the demon incident. If we cease the war and jointly fight against the demons, then after defeating the demons, the results will be full of many uncertainties.

On the contrary, taking advantage of the other party's empty defenses, taking Corwyn down first, and then there will be room for maneuver whether to advance or retreat.

“I don't know how Aunt Flina will solve this matter.” Lia also looked worried.

As Flina said before, at worst she would withdraw her troops and return to the Northern Territory. These demons would have to take down the Southern, Western, and Eastern Territories plus the royal court before they could reach the Northern Territory.

Therefore, Lia was a little worried that the other party would take down the Southern Territory and get everything they wanted, and might withdraw their troops.

At that time, these demons will still be resisted by the Southern Territory as a bridgehead.

“Don't think too much, our king will obviously not sit idly by and watch all this happen.” Li Wei comforted, and his brows also relaxed a lot.

He was obviously a little worried about the sky, and there were tall people to support him when the sky fell.

Highcliff Fort is now just a rural mountain village with a thousand soldiers. What demons and undead are not his concern.