Chapter 1115: Chapter 484: We’re Here to Deliver Relief Grain!
Staring at the bloodied eagle banner in his hand, Laine’s gaze was somewhat unfocused. He stood up and motioned to Veronica to leave with him: "You should know about the Red Flame Grand Expedition, also known as the Arabi Holy War, right?"
"Of course, but what does this eagle banner have to do with the Arabi Holy War?" Veronica nodded. The bloody scent in the air made her a bit uncomfortable. Seeing Laine signal for them to leave, she immediately followed him: "Which knight corps does it belong to?"
The Red Flame Grand Expedition spawned the creation of more than a dozen knight corps. Veronica thought perhaps there might be a knight corps she wasn’t aware of?
"No, this knight corps is called the Margaret Knight Order, and the eagle banner, long spear, and flame sun are precisely the insignia of this knight corps. The formation of this knight corps was due to the invasion of Arabi, and Estalian knights formed this order to resist the desert cavalry. At its largest scale, it had three thousand knights." Laine began to speak about the origin of this eagle banner.
"Thousands of knights?! Oh my god, those thousands of knights never formed a Knight Kingdom?! You know, the First Knight King Arthur and his original twelve Holy Grail Knights combined led no more than eight thousand knights!" Veronica couldn’t contain her surprise. Since coming to Laine’s territory to establish a wizard tower, she had been relearning Brittania’s history.
"After the fall of Margaret, the Margaret Knight Order was officially established, and almost all Estalian knights joined this knight corps. They vowed to make the Arabians repay in blood. Thus, during the nine-year Estalian liberation war, the number of people in this knight corps grew steadily, with numerous Imperial Knights and Brittania Knights joining." Laine held the eagle banner as they exited the farmhouse, watching the twilight sunset, exchanging smiles; Veronica continued Laine’s narrative: "It took nine years for the knights to drive all Arabi’s armies out of Estalia, then they pursued the retreating desert troops back to Arabi, even severing King Jafar of Arabi’s head, setting his palace filled with forbidden knowledge and dark creations ablaze, while hundreds of ships carried countless gold, gemstones, amber, beeswax, timber, fur, and other goods from the desert."
"Indeed, both the knights in the Empire and Brittania gained tremendous wealth from this war." Laine nodded, then continued: "For a knight corps in Estalia, the Margaret Knight Order was even more so."
"Then why?" Veronica asked, "Why would this knight corps disappear?"
The two of them mounted their horses, ready to ride to Bilibali for the night.
On horseback, Laine continued: "Because of internal conflict."
"The knights of the Margaret Knight Order not only wanted to expel the Arabians; they also tried to establish a genuine Knight Kingdom in Arabi. For this, they spent a vast amount of human and material resources building castles in the desert, where they fought the fragmented Arabi tribes... But it turned out that they were ultimately not a desert people, losing many strongholds over the years, forcing them to return to Estalia."
"And after that?" Veronica prompted Laine to continue.
"After that? These knights still did not wish to give up. They continued to raise funds and sought the support of the Estalians. Initially, the merchants and nobles of the Southern Realm were willing to support them, but the situation wouldn’t stay that way, as you know, Veronica. With King Jafar dead, the unified kingdom had been destroyed, leading to the resurgence of trade between the fragmented Arabi tribes and the Old World. As significant profits filled their coffers, neither the nobles nor the merchants were interested in further warfare." Laine chuckled bitterly; it was almost identical to the situation after defeating Egil the Red-Eyed.
"Thus, the nobles and merchants began to suppress this group of knights, and the Margaret Knight Order started to face a series of legal pressure and extra tax levies. The knight order’s Grand Master and Knight Commander began to realize they were gradually becoming unwelcome, so the knights made a decision."
"The knights decided to go on an expedition. All who wished to follow the Grand Master on further expeditions embarked on ships and left Estalia, never to return. The Grand Master of the Margaret Knight Order, on the ship, unleashed a vicious curse upon all the rushing merchants and nobles, loudly proclaiming that because the nobles and merchants chose to forget their hatred and abandoned the chance to truly unify Estalia for mere pitiful immediate gains, he cursed in the name of War Goddess Milmedia that Estalia would never be unified until the Margaret Knight Order’s return."
"And clearly, this curse remains effective to this day." Veronica nodded. Estalia and Tiriel in the Southern Realm have never been unified; Estalia remains divided into seven constantly warring city-states. No matter how hard the nobles try, they cannot unify it.
"Oh? You mean Estalia? That’s right! We are all Estalians, but Estalia is just a place name, friend. Here is Bilibali, over there is Margaret, and that way is Saragossa. Where is Estalia? Estalia merely exists on the map."
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