"waste!"

A loud roar echoed in the hall.

A group of people are gathering in the Duke's Mansion in Center City, where Duke Ferdinand's birthday was originally celebrated.

Sitting at the main seat in the hall was the heir of Duke Ferdinand—Earl Maltz of Kent. Sitting on both sides were the vassals of the Kent family and the vassals of the original Duke Ferdinand who already regarded Maltz as the master.

At this moment, the earl was staring at a man kneeling at the foot of the steps—his son Jayce Kent.

Jayce lowered his head and knelt on the ground motionless, enduring his father's anger.

"The prestige of our family is about to end in your hands!"

Maltz Kent was extremely distressed, this defeat was really an unbearable blow.

How many enemies have suffered by the past generations of Patriarchs, relying on their hard-earned strength? After a long and difficult journey, the strength of the No. 2 family in the Northwest Gulf was finally established step by step.

Whenever Maltz Kent recalled the glorious achievements in the family history, a kind of pride surged in his heart.

Now, his son personally shattered this pride.

An army of more than 8,000 people was beaten to pieces in one battle, and only more than 2,000 people escaped with Jia Aisi, which is really shameful!

How will others see your family in the future? Looks good, but a vase that breaks when you knock it? All kinds of bad adjectives kept popping up in Maltz Kent's mind.

"You said that there is a fire crossbow on the opposite side, and I specially dispatched more than 1,500 archers to you. Those archers have been trained for many years, and they were all ruined by you, a piece of trash!"

Maltz Kent scolded his son angrily, with a painful expression on his face.

Not only the invisible prestige, but also the real military power, was also ruined by this son. Although this archer unit originally belonged to Duke Ferdinand's unit, as the heir of the Duke and the actual controller of Center City, this unit actually belonged to him.

Unlike ordinary miscellaneous soldiers, this archer unit has two afternoons of training every week. How can the loss of such an "elite soldier" not make him feel heartache?

The "royal representative" Emerson Wilder saw that his uncle had a tendency to continue scolding, so he quickly stood up and persuaded him: "Uncle Kent, no one can say for sure what happened on the battlefield. Cousin Jais must have been deeply involved. Reflect on it. Now that we have suffered setbacks, we can't let ourselves get into trouble."

After Emerson spoke, other people in the hall also persuaded.

Maltz Kent sat down again, breathed a sigh of relief, and asked him, "Is there any news from Jingyao?"

Emerson replied cautiously: "It hasn't been reported yet. The royal family is busy dealing with the rebellion in the south, so they probably can't take care of things in the northwest."

"Hmph! I just hope they don't care about it. If our 'His Majesty the King' gets in the way again, I don't know how long it will take to clean up these thorns!"

Although he suffered a defeat, the outcome of the war always depends on the overall strength of both sides, and he has absolute confidence in this.

The earl's mood gradually calmed down, and he regretted his gaffe just now. He was about to become a duke, so he should not show his emotions or anger.

He softened his tone and said to Jia Aisi: "Okay, my child. Just like little Emerson said, no one can tell what happens on the battlefield. I can tolerate temporary failures. You should get up first." !"

Only then did Jais stand up, silently walked to the side and stood aside, and quietly gave Emerson a grateful look as he passed by.

"Father, please allow me to gather a group of troops again, I must wash away this shame with my own hands!"

"Don't worry, let's send people to the other side to find out the situation first! On the one hand, we need time to think about how to deal with the Fire Crossbow and Thunder Hammer. On the other hand, spring plowing is coming soon, so it is not suitable for war."

…

After discussing with the vassals, Maltz Kent ushered in an unexpected guest—Northwest Bishop Leonard.

This surprised the earl. The bishop usually spends his days preaching in the church and dislikes dealing with nobles like them. What made him take the initiative to visit?

Could it be? A bad idea came to the earl's mind, and he quickly called a confidant guard to tell him, "Take care of my little friend and our lord duke."

Looking at the back of the guard leaving, the Earl comforted himself: It's okay, I'm usually so careful.

He went to a small reception room and ordered his servants to lead the guests here.

…

Leonard followed the servant slowly into the reception room, and immediately saw Maltz Kent who was already waiting for him inside.

The heir to the duke stood up and said, "Welcome, welcome. As soon as your lord bishop comes in, the entire duke's mansion will be bathed in the light of God."

"Your Earl is joking, the glory of the Lord of Light shines on each of us at all times~lightnovelpub.net~ Leonard bowed slightly and saluted him, facing Maltz · Kent, even the bishop of his region had to be a little cautious.

The two sat down as guests and hosts, and Leonard suddenly felt a little uneasy.

Although the other party had a smile on his face and a fireplace was still burning in the reception room, Leonard felt a burst of coolness both physically and mentally.

Especially when he cast his eyes on the earl, this feeling was even more obvious.

He had met the person in front of him several times before, but this time when he had a close contact with him, he found that the earl gave people a very different feeling than before.

What kind of person is this?

Thin face, well-cut beard, and a calm and graceful temperament, these places are no different from ordinary middle-aged nobles.

One thing is surprising, the count's face is not as rosy as a healthy person, but as pale as a seriously ill person, but his eyes are indeed piercing, as if they can spew out flames, just look at those eyes , no one would doubt that the Count was a man of great energy and vitality.

It is so strange that such contradictory features appear in the same person.

"My lord bishop is here to visit, is there something?"

The earl's question brought Leonard back to his senses, "Oh, I'm sorry."

He considered his words, and said slowly: "It is indeed something I have come to disturb the Earl this time."

"My lord, please speak." Maltz Kent still had a kind tone.

Leonard said what he came for: "I wonder if you can arrange for me to meet the Duke?"

"Oh?"

Lord Maltz Kent narrowed his eyes.