"Brothers, where are we heading?"
Derum, caught in the middle, was still a bit confused.
"Obviously, to get whipped."
"Huh?"
"Don’t worry, kid. We know our limits and won’t hurt you seriously, but you need to cooperate, alright?"
"How do I cooperate?"
"You know how to scream? The louder the better."
The Varangian Guards escorting Derum spat disdainfully: "What kind of King’s Envoy crap is this? If it wasn’t for our duty, we’d definitely give him a punch."
The banquet couldn’t continue.
Countless knights were following behind the Varangian Guards.
"That knight stood up to prevent us from being punished. I’d rather take a whipping than stay at the banquet eating and drinking."
"What’s his na?"
"I know, his na is Derum. Last night we prayed together at the Lazarus Sanctuary and today Marquis has knighted both of us."
"That Derum seems to be a Kurd."
The sentint for support seed to suddenly diminish.
In the crowd, a knight suddenly stood up and shouted: "Guys, listen to . Just because Knight Derum is a Kurd, should his courage and integrity be erased? Isn’t it precisely because he is a Kurd that his actions seem more noble and rare?"
"Master Ulm is right!"
The one who stood up for Derum was Chief Winged Cavalry Ulm, whose generosity and integrity were renowned among the lower-ranked soldiers, and many had benefited from him. Naturally, with his word, many responded.
"I urge the lord to retract his decision."
"Even Marquis cannot punish an honest man."
Ulm stood up again, shouting: "My brothers, do you think Ulm shouldn’t receive this whipping? Didn’t he violate military discipline by initiating an attack on the envoy in the camp? Although we all know he did it to defend the dignity of Marquis and his ruler’s honor, it doesn’t erase his fault."
He paused, then continued: "The lord has already rewarded his loyalty and integrity by promoting him into the Heavy Cavalry unit, but correspondingly, his punishnt shouldn’t and won’t be reduced. Do you still think the lord’s punishnt is too harsh?"
The knights, and prospective knights, inevitably exchanged glances.
The most famous unit in the Heavy Cavalry is definitely the Winged Cavalry, the personal guards beside the lord. This honor inspired many with deep envy.
Many of those already in this sequence, who were knighted today, including Winged Cavalry and Armored Archers, shouted aloud.
"I would gladly accept Derum as our companion because, on the battlefield, I can confidently entrust my flank or back to him!"
Unexpectedly causing such a commotion, Derum, still sowhat bewildered, watched the scene unfold.
The Varangian Guards holding the whip quietly reminded him: "So, isn’t this whipping deserved?"
Derum nodded. With his intelligence, he certainly understood that after enduring this whipping, he would be fully accepted by his colleagues—after all, he had reasoned out this aspect when he decisively stood up.
"Then get ready."
...
The whipping was more bark than bite.
Escorted or rather protected by two Varangian Guards all the way to the Wounded Soldier Camp, Derum looked at those white linen clothes hanging dry under the sun, and at the white-robed monks bustling in and out of various tents, and felt a little bewildered.
Derum asked: "Brothers, when can I return to my camp?"
"Forget it, everyone knows you’ve been whipped thirty tis. For now, just stay here in the camp for wounded soldiers and don’t wander around; it will damage the lord’s reputation."
Derum quickly nodded, thinking of Marquis, feeling grateful: "I understand, I won’t wander during this ti."
"Alright, go in, we won’t support you anymore."
After bidding farewell to the two Varangian Guards, Derum composed himself and walked towards the interior of the Wounded Soldier Camp.
He tried to chat with people, but everyone on the road was hurrying with their tasks, making him unsure of what to do. He randomly picked a tent to inquire about the whereabouts of Bishop Urding.
The tent was occupied by two wounded soldiers whose injuries had mostly healed; they were sitting on their beds chatting.
"Soon heading to Egypt, hopefully, we’ll be recovered by then. I’ve heard the land of the Nile River Valley is incredibly fertile; you just scatter seeds without any care, and at harvest ti, you’ll fill your barn."
"In contrast, our holand’s land is too barren, hard, full of rocks, hard to cultivate... Gauls in the barracks always arrogantly mock us for being poor because their land is more fertile."
"Hopefully, this ti we can earn rit and gain a plot, even a tiny piece of Nile River Valley territory. I’ll lease it to tenant farrs and enjoy the nobility’s treatnt while watching them work daily."
"Um..."
Derum coughed lightly: "May I ask, where is Bishop Urding?"
"Bishop Urding."
"You are here; don’t just stand there, pass the gooseneck flask over there, and the basil, St. John’s Wort—also take out the snake at in the nearby jar, don’t worry, it’s dried."
Am I here to learn herbal dicine?
Derum was a bit dazed; he clearly ca to study theology!
"Bishop Urding, were you a herbal doctor before?"
In the eyes of Europeans, many herbal doctors were akin to wizards, feared entities.
But in the eyes of Kurds, herbal doctors were
"No, I was an ascetic."
"An ascetic?"
Derum tried to understand this profound term using what he had heard: "Shouldn’t you abandon everything and chant in a monastery?"
"That isn’t the kind of ascetic I was."
Urding chuckled: "Derum, what do you think counts as suffering?"
Derum thought for a mont and said: "When I was young, I lost a sheep while herding and was punished to go hungry, that felt quite miserable."
Urding chuckled: "Look at that lady."
"She was once a noblewoman with a large manor and scores of servants attending her, yet she still felt miserable,"
"Human desires are insatiable, but pursuing a better life is inherently a qualification God gives us."
"Everyone has things they suffer, this suffering doesn’t beco insignificant depending on their circumstances."
Urding’s deanor was calm and convincingly assured: "But finding joy from adversity is invariably easier than searching for joy in a naturally smooth-sailing life, that’s what an ascetic does."
"I... seem to understand sothing."
Derum tentatively asked: "You an, the beggars who hustle all day for food,"
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