On the streets of Montreal.
The patrolling soldiers enviously watched the bustling public bathhouse: "He truly is ’Generous’, I’ve never seen a Grand Master treat his subordinates to a bath! Those lofty noble lords, none of them ever treat us as humans?"
"Scott, did you see it? At noon, the waiter from ’Oak and Hazelnut’ tavern brought in cartloads of beer and grilled at, they probably can eat and drink until evening!"
The companion wearing the white head cloth sighed: "Indeed, serving under a noble like Baron Losa is much better than roasting in the sun and eating sand all day under Lord Hanfry."
"I heard this Royal Knight Order just defeated the Saracen Slave Cavalry that raided Tafila, it’s truly inspiring!"
"Is it true?"
The guard exclaid: "Previously, when those slave cavalry were parading arrogantly around Montreal City, Lord Hanfry and those arrogant knights didn’t dare say a word, and now they’ve been defeated by this army?"
"How could it be false?"
"Don’t you know I, Honest John, never lie?"
The man vividly started describing the scene he spied: "I saw with my own eyes the action happening, Saracen-style scale armor and broken swords densely packed on the carts, and they were stained with blood. If they hadn’t defeated the Saracen, where else could they have gotten these spoils?"
The companion mused: "Indeed, the people under Baron Losa, when they entered the city, each of them murderous, the cloaks stained with dried blood, clearly just experienced a battle!"
"Baron Losa really is a formidable character, but why have I never heard of him before?"
To show off his knowledge, the man began bragging to his companion: "Hey, to be honest, my uncle’s neighbor’s sister’s husband is a standard-bearer under this lord, I’m telling you, this Baron Losa is no ordinary noble, unlike those useless ones. Rember that desert bandit group that even Sir Reynard couldn’t deal with? It was Baron Losa who eradicated them."
"Those cavalry with feathers on their backs under his command are all seasoned experts, better than those noble knights!"
Speaking with exuberance, spitting as he spoke.
Suddenly soone shouted: "Co quickly, guards, guards co quickly! Another person has died!"
"Another person dead?"
The two guards exchanged glances, and Honest John, who had been bragging earlier, imdiately lowered his voice: "Wait, don’t go yet, lately a lot of strange deaths have occurred in the city, I tell you, it’s definitely the Evil Spirit in that dry well doing it, let’s wait until it leaves, then we can go and pretend to be busy..."
Scott hesitated: "How can we go on like this?"
John shrugged: "Why not? Catching Evil Spirits is the priests’ job, it’s got nothing to do with us soldiers. Heavenly Father will forgive us."
...
At the overcrowded public bathhouse, it was jamd with soldiers who had just bathed, feeling refreshed, gathering around the long tables, exchanging cups, tearing into the grilled at bought from inns and taverns.
The knight lords gathered in several rooms in the innermost part of the bathhouse, where special provisions awaited, sipping chilled wine soaked in the water well.
The soldiers only had beer.
"Have you heard? This ti, Lord Losa is going to knight a group. This ti, I killed two Saracen cavalry, do you think the lord will promote ?"
"You’re dreaming, I killed three and I don’t dare to dream like that!"
"You bastard, where did you kill two? When I was charging at the front with the Axe Guard, you were busy digging gold teeth from dead people’s mouths!"
A group laughed and boasted about their battlefield experiences.
Adding up all their claid achievents, the number could reach a staggering thousand, while Zahir’s cavalry barely totaled over three hundred.
Just then, the soldiers sitting inside quieted down.
Silence spread quickly like a contagion throughout the bathhouse, soone puzzled asked: "What happened? Why is everyone silent?"
"Is the lord done with his bath?"
Gulp.
A nearby companion swallowed and muttered: "Heavenly Father above, where does this beautiful woman co from?"
Prajna and Furinjira appeared one after the other from the inner room.
Prajna, rarely seen without a veil, wore a white ard robe and held a black shield in hand, her tall figure completely eclipsing Furinjira behind her.
"She’s so tall, the tallest woman I’ve ever seen."
"She’s so beautiful, her beauty makes panic, she truly is the Devil from Hell!"
"Indeed...I still prefer the Devil."
"Heavenly Father above, please forgive my sins."
In this era, Devils’ images are often extrely beautiful because they tempt mortals.
While Angels’ images are mostly ugly, causing people awe and fear.
The soldiers whispered among themselves.
Soone lowered his voice: "Look at that black shield, Heavenly Father above, I distinctly rember her on the battlefield, using one hand to topple an armored Slave Cavalry."
"She... is the Iron Knight beside the lord? I always thought her armor looked odd, I never imagined she was a woman!"
"Impossible, how can such a powerful woman possibly exist?"
A Winged Cavalry mber solemnly declared: "You should all control your eyes, this is the bodyguard Witch beside the Grand Master, possessing unfathomable terrifying power, you should all know how miserable it is to offend a Witch."
The Winged Cavalry also made quite an impression on the battlefield, initially subject to criticism. After one battle, even those proud knight lords had to admit the Winged Cavalry’s performance exceeded theirs greatly.
Soone suddenly realized: "No wonder when I followed the lord charging on the battlefield, I thought I was exhausted but then new strength erged; I thought it was Heavenly Father’s blessing."
The scene quieted down, people quickly lowered their heads, not daring to look anymore.
Soone whispered: "No wonder the Grand Master is still unmarried at this age, if the Devil looks like this, I’d choose the Devil too."
Knights and soldiers stared wide-eyed but dared not approach or chat.
In the battle against Saracen Cavalry, Prajna alone killed nearly twenty well-trained Mamluk Cavalry, second only to Hans in feats.
The nickna "Iron Knight" was known throughout the Knight Order.
Had it not been for her profession as a Heavy Iron Guard, most of the attribute points automatically allocated to Endurance and Physical Strength with each upgrade, and restricted by her mount.
Given enough ti, she could single-handedly break through enemy ranks, if she were an Eastern person, one would think of a term – the valor of a hegemon.
Although Hans was also a Defense Type retainer, his profession as a Heavy Armor Warrior made his attributes more versatile, better at clearing miscellaneous tasks.
Yet if the two were to face off, the victor would only be Prajna.
Prajna paid no heed to others’ gazes.
She halted under the eaves outside the public bathhouse.
Because of her short legs, Furin who was chasing her struggled to stop in ti and almost slamd into Prajna’s back, grumbled: "What now, big dummy?"
Prajna gazed into the distance, softly said: "Can’t you feel it? A special aura."
Furinjira furrowed her brows, nostrils twitching: "It stinks, what is it?"
"Unknown, resembles an Evil Spirit, but emits intense heat, perhaps so unique spirit body in this world—you should eliminate it."
Furinjira seed puzzled: "Why ?"
Prajna naturally replied: "Because I need to protect the lord, Hans the little werewolf isn’t adept at dealing with such spirit bodies, who else but you?"
Furin snorted: "I’m not going, if you want to go then go yourself."
Prajna said blankly: "Do you think a lazy, always reluctant to do anything slacker is charming, or a sensible sister who helps the lord is more charming?"
Furinjira imdiately showed a tempted expression: "What you said...might actually make sense."
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