Chapter 0003: Versailles

Greyrock Mountain is located in the northern part of the Golden Rose Kingdom. To the north lies the Blue Danube Plain of the Macedon Kingdom, and to the east is the Grey Plains that border the two countries. To the northwest is the Mediterranean Sea, the largest inland sea of Lafa Continent. Continuing northwest leads to the sacred island that every king in Lafa Continent desires to conquer. Only by passing the test of the guardian dragon can a king be crowned as an emperor in the Hall of Divine Sanction by the Pope, commanding the world. Alas, the Golden Rose Kingdom has not conquered the sacred island for over three thousand years. Unable to conquer the sacred island, the Golden Rose Kingdom can at least bully the Macedon Kingdom. After years of warfare, it has taken a corner of the plain north of Greyrock Mountain and downstream of the Blue Danube Plain. This corner, because it is everywhere adorned with the "Golden Flower Flag" representing the Golden Rose Kingdom, is called the Golden Danube Plain. Part of the Greyrock Mountain County is located on the Golden Danube Plain, and the Red Leaf Town, the fief of the Oldington family, is also situated on the Golden Danube Plain. Oldington and his party set out from Grey Iron Castle and had to cross the largest city in the Golden Danube Plain, Little Versailles. The capital of the Golden Rose Kingdom is called Versailles. To signify the importance of the Golden Danube Plain, this city was also named Versailles, and for differentiation, it is referred to as Little Versailles. After a day of traveling nearly five hundred miles, they arrived in Little Versailles. Parker and the four others were so exhausted that their horses were gasping, but Oldington's horse, Red Bean, was only slightly panting, thanks to its powerful endurance from the magical beast bloodline.

Little Versailles had a wide moat and high walls. The Golden Danube Plain lacked rugged terrain, situated in this strategically important area, Little Versailles had to continuously widen its moat and fortify its walls. Only four gates remained on all sides, with strict checkpoints, and city officials carefully reviewed the identity documents of every passerby. However, no official stopped Oldington and his party. This was because the decorations on their horses, the shield of One-Eyed Parker, and the chain mail and leather armor they wore were all embroidered or engraved with the noble crest of the Yarrow family. The red maple leaf served as the main body of the crest, shaped into a shield. The shield was embroidered with an abstract symbol of the iris, with a silver wolf clad in lightning on either side. This was the iris crest of the Yarrow family, personally designed by Oldington's great-grandfather.

The heritage had only been passed down for three generations. However, in this part of the Golden Danube Plain, throughout the entire Danube Province, the iris crest could pass through all cities, which was one of the powers of the nobility. The checkpoint officials bowed and watched Oldington and his party enter the city. Nearby residents began to whisper among themselves.

"That's the iris crest; is that the son of the Baron of Red Leaf Town on the chestnut horse?" "I remember the name, Oldington." "Did you see his attendant carrying the swallowtail flag? This future baron is already a cadet knight." "He has cultivated martial arts!" "The Yarrow family is the descendants of dragon knights; shouldn't they cultivate martial arts?" "That young master is really handsome." The nobility is both loved and hated, especially in a world of magic and martial arts, where nobility is not only noble in status but also strong in power.

The houses were compact, and the layout was not very reasonable. However, there was no phenomenon of dirty water flowing as Oldington had imagined in the city. He had initially thought that this world was very similar to the European Middle Ages on Earth, dark and dirty. But obviously, the existence of magic and martial arts made the direction of this world unknown, revealing a different prosperity, a unique splendor that belongs to this world.

"Edward Street, eh, that's right," Oldington and his party arrived at the central square of the city, looking at the majestic Little Versailles Temple and turned directly into a narrow street on the left. He looked back at the dense crowd prostrate on the square, and many memories of the original owner surged. These people were praying; they were the elect of the three gods, providing faith for the Little Versailles Temple. The priests of the temple would collect faith to support the blessed Nymphs and Muses within the temple. As for the Nymphs and Muses, they were a kind of magical creature, only owned by the nobility. Nymphs could evolve into Muses, and Muses could evolve into Valkyries. Valkyries, like mythical beasts, were the strongest battle companions of knights. Knights could blend their bloodlines with mythical beasts, and they could also blend their bloodlines with Valkyries to孕育 powerful bloodlines.

Moreover, compared to mythical beasts that can only be ridden, Valkyries could unlock more positions. As a noble, who wouldn't want to have a Valkyrie? His thoughts wandered slightly, and they had arrived at 126 Edward Street.

This street was lined with three-story townhouses similar to terraced houses, belonging to the residential areas of nobles and city officials. There were small courtyards in front and back of the houses, usually converted into stables, as horses were the main means of transportation here, akin to private cars on Earth. As the sky grew dark, the magical streetlights on both sides of the street were lit, casting a faintly yellow light that barely illuminated the street.

At the front door, there was a rope bell. One of the guards pulled the rope, and soon a voice came from inside, "Here, here, guests, please wait." A creaking sound, and the slightly rusty door opened, revealing an elderly butler in a butler's uniform sticking his head out. Seeing Oldington, he lit up with surprise and exclaimed, "Master Oldington!"

"Butler Morris," Oldington smiled slightly.

"Master, please come in. I'll notify the lady immediately and have Moria go to fetch the master back. The master has been invited to drink by the tax collector. The little master has been talking about you many times; he will be very happy to see you," Butler Morris said, already quite old and talking in a rambling manner.

Once Oldington and his party entered the gate, he only then saw the swallowtail flag in the guard's hand and exclaimed in surprise, "Master, you have already been promoted to a cadet knight?"

"It was yesterday."

"Blessed by the three gods, the Yarrow family has a successor, and Masters Orenol and Oldington will be very proud of you," the butler turned around and shouted, "Moria, Monica."

"Grandpa," a pair of young maidservants rushed out of the building.

Seeing Oldington, they bowed quickly, "Master Oldington."

"Moria, go to the Thorn Flower Tavern and fetch the master back. Tell him that Master Oldington has arrived, and that Master Oldington has been promoted to a cadet knight. Monica, come and feed the horses and arrange rooms for the four guards," the butler arranged the work skillfully and led Oldington into the building.

As soon as they entered the hall of the building, they saw a little boy of about seven or eight years old running over, "Oldington!"

Behind the little boy, a relatively young woman, her hair tied up, already dressed as a lady, came down the stairs quickly.

"I heard Butler Morris's loud voice; it's really you, Oldington. Let my aunt take a look; our little iris has grown taller; has he reached 1.8 meters?" the lady walked over to Oldington's side, not very tall, reaching only to his chest.

"1.81 meters, Aunt Flora," Oldington smiled and greeted, and then patted the little boy who had wrapped himself around him, "Ostago, don't hold my leg; you're eight and a half years old now. You should learn some basic etiquette of a squire: stand up straight, sit up straight!"