Ainz Ooal Gown: Noble Knight

Tina has stopped crying.

She opened her tear-filled eyes wide and looked at the crooked, almost falling flower on Rune's hair.

She smiled brightly, like a piece of candy suddenly melting in her mouth.

Two rows of small white teeth gleamed in the sunlight, and her eyes curved into two crescent moons.

"Lord, you're so handsome!" she exclaimed, then turned around and skipped away.

After running a few steps, he turned back and waved to Rune.

Then she kept running towards her friends who were waiting for her by the edge of the field.

Rune watched her run away, then raised his hand and took the flower from her hair.

Only three petals remained. One of them fell down again while he was picking the flower, swirling in the air a few times before landing in a crack in the stone pavement.

He carefully put the flowers into his pocket.

Rune looked up and gave Sebastian a slightly embarrassed smile.

"I'm sorry, Sebastian. I'm sorry to have shown you this side of me."

Sebastian shook his head.

"I was serious."

The old butler's voice reached Rune's ears clearly.

"You are truly radiant right now."

I could sense the seriousness in the handsome old man's expression.

Rune suddenly felt a chill run down his spine. 'No, please don't say such cheesy things to me.'

He can't do things like going up to a man and having another man on top of him.

Chapter 24 The Society Dies (Seeking monthly votes qwq)

Fortunately, Sebastian quickly changed the subject.

"How did Lu Enxian manage to get them to do this...?"

Sebastian held back the honorific that almost slipped out, but struggled to describe the expressions of his subjects.

The old steward's light gray eyes gazed at the children waving at Rune from the edge of the field, and finally uttered a single word.

"...So full of life?"

Rune followed Sebastian's gaze and saw the children playing.

"It's very simple. With 50% tax revenue, they can survive; with 30% tax revenue, they can live very well; and with 10% tax revenue, they can... live like human beings."

This is a complex problem.

Rune could have answered with more elegant words, perhaps by discussing theories about human rights and the social contract.

Or quote philosophical sayings from Fables and Proverbs.

But Rune only gave a brief answer, saying he was afraid of raising Sebastian's favorability too high, which would cause their friendship to deteriorate.

Sebastian nodded, inwardly thinking, 'Mr. Rune is truly humble.'

He knew that although Rune made it sound simple, very few nobles could actually do it, or were willing to do it.

Rune led Sebas on a brief tour of the territory.

He visited the group of women who had been rescued from brothels and were newly settled in the territory.

They were assigned to a newly opened residential area on the edge of the territory. The houses were newly built, simple but clean.

Several women were sitting in the doorway sunbathing. When they saw Rune coming over, one of the older women stood up and bowed to him.

Rune stopped and said a few words to her.

Sebastian could sense that the numbness in her body had lessened considerably compared to when she was in the dungeon.

Rune didn't linger. After confirming that they weren't being treated differently, he turned and left.

Finally, Rune led Sebastian to the horse farm in the territory.

The horses' hooves pounded the hard ground, producing a dull echo.

The wooden fence surrounding the racecourse was worn smooth by time, and several banners of the Eindora family fluttered in the wind.

The cavalrymen were fully equipped and ready to go.

Two hundred cavalrymen were all assembled, their warhorses standing in four rows, the riders wearing mithril-plated armor, with straight-bladed longswords at their waists, and small round shields and short spears hanging beside their saddles.

The armor plates gleamed with a dull silver-gray luster in the sunlight, indicating that the equipment was in excellent condition.

When Rune arrived in front of the cavalry formation, two hundred cavalrymen simultaneously raised their right hands, clenched their fists, and pounded them on the plate armor on their left breasts.

boom!

A series of muffled thuds, as if the same giant heart was beating.

'Yam-me-lo!' Rune could only cry out helplessly in his heart.

But it was to no avail. The two hundred cavalrymen, before Rune and Sebastian, chanted in unison, "Offer your heart!" in the otherworldly language.

"Heart Sasagiyo!"

Two hundred voices merged into a torrent, echoing across the empty horse arena. The warhorses snorted in surprise at the sound, but the riders held the reins firmly and remained motionless.

Rune stood on the platform, feeling Sebastian's gaze on his back; he was experiencing a silent social death.

Normally, the feeling wasn't so intense, but when Sebastian stood by and watched, the shame burned like sunlight magnified by a magnifying glass, searing the back of his neck.

"They're quite spirited, aren't they, the army of Aindora?"

Sebastian's voice came from behind, a perfectly normal assessment.

But Rune always felt that Sebastian was holding back a laugh.

He glanced back quickly. The old butler's expression was flawless, not even a hint of a smile playing on his lips. But it was precisely this flawlessness that made Rune even more suspicious.

"Yes...yes."

Rune could only force himself to shake off the embarrassment and try his best to make his voice sound normal.

Unfortunately, Sebastian didn't quite understand this emotion.

Standing behind Rune, he looked at the proud young cavalrymen and felt that although the ceremony was somewhat special, it could indeed demonstrate the cohesion of an army and its loyalty to its lord.

If Ainz were present, he would probably feel sympathy for Rune, since the death that Pandora Actor brought to Ainz was no less than what he was seeing now.

But Sebastian lacked this experience.

Rune took a deep breath, suppressing those chaotic thoughts.

He raised his head and glanced at the queue in front of him.

Rune's gaze lingered on a face for a moment.

Tachimi stood in the queue, his bronze dagger gleaming at his waist. The boy's back was ramrod straight, and his heartfelt reverence and anticipation almost overflowed.

As if sensing Rune's gaze, Touchi straightened his back even more.

Rune looked into those azure eyes, somewhat unable to meet their gaze, and turned his head slightly away, concealing the emotions within.

He cleared his throat, ensuring his voice carried clearly to every corner of the horse farm.

"Gentlemen, you all already know our destination. The Dragon Kingdom, our ally, is a country being devoured by orcs. Its people are being eaten, and its land is being ravaged by war."

He paused for a moment, his gaze sweeping from the first row to the last.

"In the previous years' eastern expeditions, some of you shed blood, some were wounded. Some of your comrades fell there and never returned."

Silence fell over the ranks. Several veterans lowered their heads, their fingers gripping the reins tightly.

"But you also saved many people. The elderly, children, mothers, and fathers. Those people survived and rebuilt their homes under your protection."

Rune's voice was steady, without any impassioned tone or desperate shouting.

But it was precisely this ordinariness that made every word resonate deeply in the hearts of everyone present.

"We're going again this year. Not for any great cause, but simply because there are people waiting for us there. That's all."

Rune raised his right hand, clenched his fist, and pounded it on his chest.

"Set off."

Two hundred cavalrymen pounded their fists on their hearts once more. This time there were no slogans, only the resounding, uniform impact of their fists, like a deep rumble of thunder.

The army set off in a grand procession. The horses' hooves clattered on the stone pavement, making a continuous, crisp sound as they passed through the streets of the territory and along the roadside where the people stood to see them off.

Rune rode at the very front, his golden hair fluttering slightly in the wind.

Sebastian rode beside him, silently watching the valley exit draw ever closer.

The old butler's expression was calm, but his light gray eyes reflected the vast horizon in the distance.

He then recalled a saying that Lord Tapchimi had taught him.

"Helping the weak needs no reason."

Chapter 25 Departure to the Dragon Kingdom

Depart from Aindora Territory and head to the Dragon Kingdom.

There are three routes to choose from.

The fastest route is to head southeast, first reaching the king's direct territory of Yelantil, and then traversing the Kaz Plains from Yelantil to reach the Dragon Kingdom.

However, this route has a fatal flaw: the Kaz Plains will naturally spawn numerous undead.

If you were to cross the Kaz Plains directly, and were unlucky enough to encounter a large number of roaming undead, it would inevitably result in pointless casualties.

Another route is to march northeast from Yelantier, reach the Bahars Empire, and then head south to the Dragon Kingdom.

However, the Bahars Empire and the Kingdom of Riestij have always been enemies, and the nobles of the Kingdom obviously cannot lead troops through the Empire.

Aiding the Dragon Kingdom is a noble act that benefits humanity, and the Blood Emperor, known for his wisdom, might agree to let them pass.