Chapter 462 Montfort
As a border fortress of the Empire, Helmgate not only undertakes border defense obligations, but also serves as a transit market between Bretonnia and the Empire.
Three granite walls form the triple defense line of Hemgate, which lies at the Axe Pass like a predatory triceratops.
Any ground creature attempting to pass through Axebite Pass must figure out how to traverse this large fortress, which has only a single gate.
Of course, underground and sky are still possible.
Judging from the knowledge of the ancient sages in Lynch's mind, this fortress is worthy of praise in a civilization trapped by gravity and not yet completely free from cold weapons.
Helmgate overlooks the narrow passage to the west and east, and the dozens of cannons on the city walls can easily cover all areas in the canyon.
No wonder some greenskins would rather dig holes into the empire than engage in a head-on battle with the fortress.
Just as Eugen was riding his horse towards the city wall, Lynch, who had approached first, had already seen the scorch marks near the city wall. They should be the embers left by the greenskins.
From the outside, there was no sign of the prosperity inside Hemgate. Bretonnia's brandy and wine were exchanged for the Empire's high-end grain and wine. Weapons forged by blacksmiths and cloth produced by farmers on both sides were exchanged every moment.
Even the dwarves have traders here, selling minerals mined from the Grey Mountains in exchange for human grain.
There is no unity among human countries. Lynch knows that this fortress is not only for guarding against greenskins and beastmen, but its greater use is to guard against the empire's neighbors who are ready to make moves.
Even the dangerous Chimaera beasts in the Grey Mountains are not as dangerous as the Knight Principality of Paraon and Montfort.
Bastogne, which is also adjacent to the Empire, is not as aggressive as the Parraon or Montfort people, probably because they are separated from the Imperial Pass by a forest.
Lynch couldn't be sure how much effort the Grail Knights of Bastogne had put in - the capital of Bretonnia was not in Bastogne, but Gilles, the founder of Bretonnia, had once ruled here.
Like the Imperial Reiklanders, they are proud of their birthplace and present themselves as the moral standards of the kingdom.
According to legend, there are more than three digits of Grail Knights living in seclusion in Bastogne, perhaps even close to a thousand.
The abnormal number of Holy Grail Knights has caused Bastogne to have abnormal customs. Although the local nobles are incompetent and only know how to brag about the great achievements of their ancestors, the corruption in Bastogne is the last in all of Bretonnia.
The noble knights all fanatically admired the chivalrous qualities of Saint Gilles, and their stewards and officials would most likely do the opposite. Everyone who came from Bastogne had told stories of corruption being exposed and the people involved being executed by the nobles.
While an individual's nobility could not cover the entire territory, it did make Bastogne seem rather harmless. Their nobles were indeed rubbish, and they hadn't even dealt with the Beastmen tribes in their own woods, and they had to guard against neighboring duchies, so they had no energy to look beyond the borders of Bretonnia.
Humans seem to have an endless greed for land, and every lord is planning to annex his neighbors. Hemgate was built to block the neighbors.
As soon as Lin Qi went out of the west gate of Hemgate, he encountered the robbery of Montfort bandits. A caravan that had just left the fortress was almost captured.
They were called bandits, but in fact they were just noble knights. The peasants who were forced to rebel could not afford to equip themselves with full body plate armor.
They were unsuccessful because Lynch happened to be passing by.
Until now, the guards in the caravan were still thanking the gods because their powerful enemies suddenly fainted and became prisoners.
It was not until he entered the Duchy of Montfort that Lynch realized how barren the land was.
The rulers here can probably only survive by collecting customs duties, because there are very few suitable places for farming within Lynch's perception range.
No wonder they eventually turned into a group of bandits.
The xenophobia of the locals was also rare for Lynch since he entered the Old World. The weak and powerless Eugen was repeatedly ostracized and even almost robbed - after he demonstrated his spellcasting skills, no one dared to do so.
As if they were avoiding a bomb that was about to explode, people had kept their distance from him since they knew he was a mage.
Lynch knew what the passers-by were worried about. The mage was more unstable than a cannonball.
Even the worst wizard apprentice can cause disaster.
Villages along the way were also rare, and they were almost all concentrated near the castles of the nobles, and the entire duchy appeared to be in a state of depression.
Unlike the Empire, Eugen would sigh unnoticeably every time he passed through a village in Bretonnia because he had to pay customs duties.
Every noble set up a checkpoint to collect taxes. Just as Lynch guessed, this place was so poor that they could only collect tolls to make ends meet.
Perhaps not all of Bretonnia is like this, but the experience here left Lynch with a bad impression. Kislev is richer than this duchy.
The test came when night fell, and since the Oracle was still mortal, he needed sleep.
In the Kingdom of Bretonnia, which has an extremely backward system, there are no inns hidden from the sight of the nobles. Even if there are any, they will be destroyed by the beastmen.
People would rather pay more taxes than escape to the woods, because the forests were full of man-eating monsters. Although the nobles devoured their flesh and blood like tigers, they did drive away the monsters that tried to suck their marrow from their bones.
If luck is good and a shrine to the Lady of the Lake has not been destroyed, the traveler can have a place to stay.
Rare and clean shrines usually house the Holy Grail Knights. Even if a shrine is found, passers-by must seek permission from the temple's guardian knight.
The easiest way to spend the night in Bretonnia is to find a village to stay in. As mentioned before, the people of the Duchy of Montfort are too xenophobic, and it is not wise to stay overnight in their homes.
In order to reduce trouble, Eugen was mainly afraid that Lynch would overreact. He didn't want to burn fire along the way, which would make him the legendary disaster star. Other people might not be able to see Lynch and would only put the responsibility on him.
Eugen chose to sleep outdoors. The journey from Altdorf to Montfort strengthened his courage because he was protected like a baby and had a sleepless and extremely powerful companion. Not even a poisonous insect could get close to him.
Fortunately, before the oracle could hesitate to offer his opinion, the two found an inn.
An isolated hotel in the wilderness.
If it were a normal development, at this time a group of ignorant unlucky people would have mistakenly entered the hotel, and after a night of terror, they would all have died tragically.
Lynch's development here was destined to be unsound, and the one who died tragically was the monster that had just opened in the inn.
In just a blink of an eye, the lizard man crushed to death two unknown monsters in the store who were wearing human skins and disguised as humans.
(End of this chapter)
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