vncnus Page 28
Page 28
He hadn't walked far when he sensed something was wrong.
The houses around were brightly lit, but no one was walking on the street.
Arthur thought that although the North was in the season of long winter nights, it was only dusk now, and the streets should not be so quiet.
But the further he went into Qingfeng Village, the more strange things began to happen.
The houses and roads that came into view began to show obvious signs of decay.
The ground was covered with broken bricks and potholes of all sizes, as if a fierce battle had just taken place.
This puzzled Arthur.
"Xu~"
At this moment, the black-haired horse Night Shadow beneath him let out a low neigh.
As the master who had lived with Nightshade for many years, Arthur could tell that Nightshade's hissing was expressing discomfort.
Immediately, the black-haired Ma Yeying became agitated, shaking his head and refusing to move forward.
Seeing this, Arthur was puzzled, but he had no choice but to dismount.
He then raised his hand to stroke Nightshade's sideburns to soothe it.
As he stroked Nightshade's sideburns, Arthur noticed that several pairs of eyes were peering at them through the slightly ajar windows of the surrounding houses.
He couldn't help but frown, finally understanding why Nightshade had been so irritable earlier.
It was these prying eyes that carried an undisguised malice.
Horses are more sensitive than humans, and therefore they can feel uncomfortable and irritable.
With this in mind, Arthur decided he wanted to find out what was going on in the village.
So, he led the now-calmed Mo Binma Yeying to the front door of a villager's house.
"Where in Qingfeng Village can I find a place to stay overnight?"
Arthur knocked gently on the door and expressed his purpose in a friendly tone.
Soon, there was movement behind the door.
"Crench!"
The thick wooden door in front of Arthur opened with a screeching sound.
But the homeowner behind the door seemed very wary of outsiders; he opened the door halfway and only showed half of his face from behind it.
"Hello there!"
Looking at the half-face with a gloomy expression, Arthur had a premonition that he would be turned away, but he still forced himself to greet him.
The person behind the door was a rugged-looking middle-aged man. He noticed Arthur's light armor and the tall warhorse he was leading, and questioned him:
Are you a knight?
"Yes, I am a wandering knight."
Arthur deliberately concealed his identity as a lord, but still answered the other party with a kind smile.
However, to Arthur's surprise, the other party's expression changed drastically the moment he revealed his identity as the Wandering Knight.
"Bang!"
There was a loud banging on the door, and the middle-aged man behind it immediately closed the door.
In addition, he did not forget to berate Arthur:
"Wandering knights, get out of Qingfeng Village! Qingfeng Village does not welcome wandering knights!"
The middle-aged man's reaction puzzled Arthur.
Confused, Arthur left and chose to visit the next villager.
This time, Arthur chooses to change his identity.
"Hello! I am a knight of the kingdom..."
"Bang!"
"King of the Kingdom, get out of Qingfeng Village! Qingfeng Village does not welcome King of the Kingdom!"
Still no luck. Arthur didn't give up and continued to visit the next place, changing his identity again.
"Hello! I am a church knight..."
"Bang!"
"Church knights, get out of Qingfeng Village! Qingfeng Village does not welcome church knights!"
After repeatedly hitting a wall, Arthur came to the conclusion that:
Knights are not welcome in Qingfeng Village.
Finally, Arthur led the dark-haired horse Nightshade to the entrance of a tavern.
He stopped there, carefully observing the scale of the tavern's architecture, and guessed that the place probably offered bed and breakfast services.
Arthur guessed that this was probably his final destination.
So he took out the rope he carried with him and temporarily tied the black-haired horse Night Shadow to the hitching post at the entrance of the tavern to prevent it from running away.
Immediately afterwards, Arthur pushed open the tavern door and went inside.
The tavern was also brightly lit, with the firewood in the central fireplace burning brightly, casting an orange glow over the entire space.
Before he entered, there were two tables of middle-aged men sitting together in the tavern.
They put their arms around each other's shoulders, joked around, and clinked glasses to drink malt beer.
It's easy to tell from their coarse linen clothing that they are local villagers.
The villagers' faces were beaming with simple smiles, and their rough hands were gesturing from time to time, clearly immersed in this rare leisure and joy.
However, the laughter and chatter of the drinking villagers abruptly ceased as soon as Arthur entered the tavern.
Everyone in the tavern turned their attention to Arthur, who was wearing light armor.
The tavern was eerily quiet, making Arthur, who had just stepped inside, feel as if the lively, joyful atmosphere of the previous moment was an illusion.
Arthur could feel the same malice from the villagers when he had repeatedly run into obstacles in their eyes.
But he chose to remain calm and walk steadily toward the front desk of the tavern.
"Hello! I need to book a guesthouse for one night. I will be leaving first thing tomorrow morning."
Before anyone could kick him out of the tavern, Arthur quickly explained his purpose to the waiter behind the counter.
This time, although others could tell he was a knight just from his attire, he did not reveal his name.
But, the next moment.
The situation that Arthur didn't want to see still happened.
"boom!!!"
A bearded villager stood up and slammed his wine glass on the table, breaking the silence.
Then, he raised his other hand and pointed unabashedly at Arthur standing next to the front desk:
"Get out of this tavern, sir!"
"Get out!"
"Get out!"
Soon, more people in the tavern began to shout the same demands.
"Sir Knight, although the tavern has available guesthouses, we are sorry."
The receptionist gave Arthur an embarrassed look:
"Qingfeng Village has a rather special situation, and we are unable to process your check-in."
Why is Qingfeng Village so hostile to knights?
Seeing that the waiter wasn't as difficult as the villagers, Arthur finally asked him about his doubts.
"This...?"
"boom!"
Just as the waiter at the front desk was about to tell Arthur the answer, the sound of the tavern door being opened again interrupted him.
Arthur looked back.
A blond young man walked in through the door. He was tall and handsome, with thick, slightly messy blond hair that added to his unruly air.
The other person was about the same age as Arthur, and Arthur was so shocked when he first saw him that he could hardly remain calm.
This is because the other party not only looks and has a very similar physique to him, but also wears the same light armor knight's attire.
In a daze, Arthur seemed to see a substitute for himself.
And at this time.
The middle-aged man who had been yelling at Arthur and trying to drive him away immediately called out the blond youth's name after he appeared:
"Gawain, you bastard, how come you haven't been killed by the Shadow Monster yet!"
Chapter 33 The Heart of a Knight, Gawain
"Hehehe! Thanks for your concern, Uncle Sam. I almost ended up in the Shadow Monster's mouth."
Faced with the uncle villager's malicious insults, Gao Wen not only didn't get angry, but instead showed a bright and cheerful smile, and even touched his head embarrassedly.
As soon as Gao Wenchu appeared, he transferred all the malice that the villagers had shown towards Arthur to him.
The villagers inside the tavern, upon seeing Gawain's carefree, silly grin, unleashed an even deeper malice.
"Gao Wen, how many times have I told you, don't come to Qingfeng Village!"
Someone threw their wine glass at the blond youth and started cursing.
"Brothers, grab your weapons and get this bastard out of here!"
Someone picked up a pitchfork, a farm tool lying at their feet, and charged menacingly toward Gao Wen.
Even the receptionist who had been relatively friendly to Arthur lost her composure the moment she saw Gawain appear.
"Get the hell out of the tavern right now!"
Seeing this uproar, even Arthur, who was standing at the front desk, was stunned.
He realized that this blond youth, Gawain, who looked and dressed very similarly to him, was very likely the source of the hatred knights in Qingfeng Village.
Arthur guessed that with the current conflict erupting in the tavern, he probably wouldn't be able to settle down properly in Qingfeng Village.
He decided to leave this place as soon as possible.
So Arthur secretly activated the "Flame Lion Breathing Technique," mobilizing the abundant life force within his body to adjust his physical condition to its optimal state.
He then displayed superhuman speed and reaction ability, quickly passing by the villagers who were rushing towards Gawain, and ran out of the tavern before they could react.
After arriving outside the tavern.
Arthur didn't have time to untie the ropes binding Mo Binma Yeying, so he drew his sword and cleanly cut the ropes.
He then skillfully mounted his horse, ready to pull the reins and leave this troublesome place.
To Arthur's surprise, the blond youth Gawain, who looked and dressed very similarly to him, managed to escape the villagers' sudden attack and block his way.
"What do you want to do?"
Arthur stopped pulling on the reins and looked intently at the other person.
"Lord Blackrock, I need your help!"
To Arthur's utter surprise, Gawain directly revealed his identity.
A surge of emotion welled up within Arthur.
He couldn't help but develop a strong interest in Gawain.
So, after a brief moment of thought, he gave his answer: