Warhammer Divine Throne

”...” Laine suddenly understood something.

Continuing to walk forward, Baron Gene’s Domain unfolded before Laine.

The Lake Fairy was quite generous to Laine; the barony she had arranged for him could already be described as prosperous. A town with about two to three hundred households, crisscrossed fields, a vineyard, a horse farm, and a castle standing halfway up a mountain.

This is my future territory. Laine sat on his horse at a high point, gazing into the distance at the entire baron’s domain.

Looking far into the distance, besides Gene Town, there were also some villages in the fields. It was roughly estimated that many villages surrounded Baron Gene’s domain.

”Baron Gene’s Domain consists of one town, five villages, and the registered population is approximately over a thousand households. It has two Kingdom Knights and five Ranger Knights under its command.” Laine took out his baron’s enfeoffment document, which detailed the size of this fief.

”To the north of this barony is the Charon Forest, where many Beastman Tribes roam. The east of the barony is very close to the Winford Duchy, the south borders the Kakasong Duchy, and this side poses no great threat as it is close to the holy land of the Lake Fairy. The northwest, along the Xinong River, leads towards the Boldro Duchy, and the southwest connects with the Borelion Duchy via roads, Laine, please be aware that invaders from Estalia are still at war with Duke Theodoric in the Borelion Duchy; be extremely careful.” This was the advice of the Knightess Surya, who then, along with her brother, bid farewell to Laine and returned to her duchy.

In other words, this place is a land of four wars, except for being backed by the Winford Duchy and the southern Kakasong Duchy, there could be enemies in many places. Laine frowned.

This place was indeed a rich land but also full of challenges.

The process of entering the castle was quite simple. After proving his identity, a noble who was in charge of managing the place immediately came out to greet him. He looked around forty, with a thick beard: ”You must be Lord Laine? My name is Gaspardon, the tax officer here.”

”Hello!” Laine reached out to shake his hand. He had learned from the Brittania Court that the Lake Fairy had arranged for a tax officer for him. This was a clergy from the Saintess Order, and though he bore the colors of the Lake Fairy, he could be trusted.

This meant he was the aide sent by his Lady.

So sometimes, when the Lake Fairy said ”won’t interfere,” it was just a polite statement. The Goddess was accustomed to deeply involving herself in worldly matters, and her habit wouldn’t change easily. Since he was her Divine Chosen Champion, even more so, at most, some matters could be discussed due to his strength and importance.

”The journey must have been exhausting, Mr. Laine, I’ve already arranged for the castle to be cleaned, and there are many things that require your personal attention. You can choose to inspect them immediately or rest and review them another day.” Gaspardon took out a large ledger and various documents, asking Laine.

”I’ll inspect them as soon as I get to the castle.” Laine nodded. Some things he better review immediately, but for now, they needed to enter the town first.

At the town gate, all the townsfolk and peasants had turned out. In Brittania, peasants served a lord, who would provide them with a place to live. During peacetime, they would farm and submit their harvest to the lord, and what the farmers could keep depended on their lord’s personality.

Actually, Brittania wasn’t always like this.

During the reign of Taylor and previous Knight Kings, there were still many self-cultivating farmers in Brittania. Although they were also classified as peasants, they lived better than the current peasants, at least owning their land, without having to bear harsh taxes or corvée labor, and having more rights.

But ever since the Dor Tower incident, where the dukes erupted into a civil war, self-cultivating farmers disappeared on a large scale. Although later Knight King Taylor tried to address it, the fact that the dukes had already swallowed the land was undeniable.

Thereafter, John I and John II were the true tyrants. During the 130 years or so under these two kings after Taylor’s death, Brittania was spent with grandiose pursuits, continually launching Knightly Wars to venture abroad, even battling as far as the southern wastelands against the Green-skinned Army.

In the catastrophic Battle of the Evil River, Brittania lost over 8,000 knights and 20,000 conscripts.

Since then, to appease the dukes who suffered great losses, John I and John II delegated many powers, and the dukes then swallowed up the self-cultivating farmers’ land. Here, it’s important to emphasize that whether it is the Holy Grail Knights and land acquisition is irrelevant, or whether possessing eight virtues has nothing to do with land annexation. Holy Grail Knights, at most, treat peasants with relatively low taxes and land redemption, which doesn’t mean they will give up land annexation.

It is precisely because of this that peasants longed for a Holy Grail Knight to become the ruling Master Knight of the land, as this meant a great deal.

Many Knight Lords collected the Ten-Nine Tax from peasants (90% handed over beyond basic subsistence), while Holy Grail Knights generally were not so harsh.

Any dispute among peasants, once intervened by a Master Knight, would result in someone being hanged, the severity of the crime made no difference. For Master Knights, as long as a peasant was criminal, there was no worry over the severity of the punishment, only a Holy Grail Knight wouldn’t, as justice would be served when they listened in court.

Besides these benefits, this was another reason why Laine was so welcomed. The peasants’ longing for the rule of the Holy Grail Knights was genuine. In these dark times, the Holy Grail Knights were their last remaining light and hope.

Unfortunately, the number of Holy Grail Knights was scarce, and the vast majority remained guarding the holy land of the Goddess.

Gene Town had a permanent population of about three hundred households. The small town was composed of low city walls and hundreds of simple houses, yet was complete with inns, restaurants, and various guilds. There was also a Shalya Temple and military camp within the town.

At the end of the town, a short mountain road led up to Laine’s Baron Castle. The castle covered a fairly large area, constructed halfway up the mountain, with a water source flowing behind the mountain. The entire fortress was built of massive stone walls, divided into an outer and inner courtyard. The inner courtyard housed the lord’s family and his servants, while the outer courtyard’s towers and walls were enough to station the garrison and tax officer.

Laine declined others’ help and opened the heavy door with his own strength. The incoming dust made Lops and Alfred frown. In many places inside the four-story castle’s inner courtyard showed decay and damage, but overall it was still habitable.

”Has Gene had a baron before?” Laine asked Gaspardon.

The middle-aged man of forty immediately replied: ”Yes, Mr. Laine, but ever since the last baron died in battle 33 years ago, there hasn’t been another one appointed here. Usually, it is managed by Marquis Ascot.”

Laine nodded; baron titles were not hereditary, whether in Brittania or the Empire. When a baron died, the duke could rightfully reclaim the territory, use it personally, or enfeoff it to another.

The current legal claimant to Baron Gene’s Domain was Marquis Connelly-Ascot, under the Winford Duchy. He would be Laine’s nominal superior—of course, only nominally, as Kingdom Knights couldn’t command a Holy Grail Knight.

Marquis Ascot’s castle was located about thirty kilometers east of Baron Gene’s Domain, within the borders of the Winford Duchy.

After making simple arrangements for their temporary accommodations, Laine proceeded to the hall in the inner courtyard and said to Gaspardon, ”Let’s begin.”

”Yes, Lord Laine.”