Knight José stood on one side of the long table in the duke's hall, because he was in the early morning, so it was time for the duke's family to have breakfast, and the duke warmly invited him to have breakfast with him. This was a very normal thing, José had only drunk water in the morning, and now he was indeed cooing with hunger, but just by looking at the strange scene at this table, José Knight looked at his full plate, but he couldn't eat a bite.

"My lord, I would like to ask you to say hello to my grandfather. The little boy who sat at one end of the long table tried his best to make the gesture of being a host, but his immature voice always seemed strange, and José felt a sense of helplessness when he was brought in to act.

The knight of José may finally understand why the butler can't hide from the "duchess" to meet the duke. The Duchess sitting on the side was as beautiful as when she was young, and the years had not yet been able to bear to erode this beautiful girl, although she was already the mother of a teenage child, she still had the same demeanor, which made Jose, who was full of beard scum, look a little inexplicably shy.

The Duchess sat beside the little duke, slowly enjoying what she had on her plate, and barely raised her head except for a glance or two at her son from time to time, but the knight José still always had a feeling of thorn.

In the end, it was Knight Jose who did not hold back and spoke first, he put down the knife and fork in his hand, put them on the side of the plate, and said: "Lord Duke, I very much hope to tell you that your grandparents are all right, but the reality is that I have to advise you to be strong. ”

Hearing José's words, not only the little duke was stunned, but even the duchess who was sitting on the side lost her elegance and calm, and before the little duke could speak, she asked in a trembling voice: "Please say it again, what's wrong with my father and father?"

"He's fine, it's fine, miss, no, no, I mean Madame......" The Duchess and the Younger Duke's surprised looks startled José, and he hurriedly explained: "The mayor of Valuno is all well, at least for now, and the unfortunate news I just said is that he is afraid that he will be in danger in the coming days." ”

After hearing that their relatives were still well, the Duchess and the Little Duke regained their composure, and the Little Duke nodded slightly, motioning for José to continue.

"If you've ever heard anything about the town of Valuno after you've left your hometown, you ought to know, ma'am. I took on the job of sheriff in town. After seeing the little duke and duchess put down the utensils in their hands and nodded slightly, Knight José straightened his waist and said earnestly word by word: "A few days ago, I and my mercenaries were doing daily patrols around the town, and a poor young man walked deeper, and he rode his horse to the depths of the swamp. It was still cold in the place, and the thin ice on the swamp hadn't melted completely, and the lad's risk of losing his head was exchanged for a message, for he was a Wiegand and Great Pruth who understood the Wiegand language. ”

He told me what he saw from the other side of the swamp: hundreds of thousands of soldiers drinking in the swamp, a few tribal chiefs in top hats whispering what he heard about "massacre" and "looting." He was found as he was leaving, the lad and the sackcloth wrapped around the horse's leg had been hooked off by thorns, and the sound of the horse's hooves alerted the Wiegand people. ”

"But fortunately, the young man has a good ability to play dead. José made a small joke to temper the mood, and then continued: "He was hit by a spear and fell off his horse, and even broke several ribs. But luckily he was able to save his life, and the Wiegand people saw that he was bleeding from his mouth and nose, and he couldn't breathe when he touched it, so he was supposed to be dead, and we rescued him from the swamp. Now he's recuperating on one of my country estates. ”

At this point, although the young little duke still looked puzzled, the duchess already understood the general situation, and she asked in a deep voice: "Knight Jose, you mean, those Wiegand people in the swamp are going to move?"

"Yes, ma'am. I fear that the swamp people are now on their way to besiege Valuno. Looking at the Duchess with a strange change on her face, Jose hurriedly added: "Don't be too sad first, there are mercenaries left by the mayor and me in the town, and they can hold out for a while." But as you know, the town hasn't experienced any war in years, and the whole town can't pull out the army that can really fight all the time. Without foreign help, I'm worried that the town won't last long. I would like to ask your opinion, ma'am. ”

After José finished the long sentence above, he breathed a sigh of relief. Asking him to call the duchess for help was more physically demanding than asking him to duel a young man ten years younger than him. But he also believed that he had made his meaning as clear as he could, and although it was the water spilled by his married daughter, he was also willing to believe that this woman would not sit idly by and watch her parents be in danger.

Thinking of this, Knight José picked up the knife and fork in front of him again and feasted on it. Although the food on his plate had cooled a little, it was still the best meal José Knight had in the past few days, and if nothing he expected, he would not be able to eat any decent food in the next few days. He had made up his mind that whether the Duke borrowed troops or not, he would go back to fight the Wiggens.

Looking at this man with slightly frosted sideburns, Hetty couldn't hate it. Despite the midnight dreams, the figure of the man on horseback would always appear in the poor woman's dreams, and then interfere with her sleep until dawn, leaving only lines of tears on the pillow.

Frankly, the former Duke Ward Arnold, that is, Hety's husband, was not good to her, and it could even be said that he was very gentle. Every time Hetty shed tears, it was always this man who was a little obese who tried his best to make her happy, and in the face of her husband's concern, Hetty could only say that he missed his parents and hometown very, very much, although this man had heard some rumors, but he chose to remain silent about this matter and Hetty.

Probably it was this kind of care and companionship that touched Herty, she willingly gave birth to a son for this man, although she couldn't fall in love with Ward anyway, but she tried to make up for the family with her love for her son, which was probably the most stable years in her heart. But this fat man with the same good temper as his father did not accompany him for a long time, only in an accident, this man died.

The cause of death was that Hetty liked to see his man ride a horse, and also wanted the man to teach his son to ride a horse, and the man was not a good rider, and in order to satisfy his wife, which was still a valid reason, the man practiced his riding skills desperately until he fell from the moment when a horse fell off the horseshoe because of the negligence of the servants in the castle.

Hetty arranged her husband's funeral with more strength than most people imagined, and only when she watched a few serfs from the countryside bury her husband's coffin step by step, did she shed a tear or two. At that moment, the woman forgave herself, and she forgave the knight in her heart. Isn't that knight just like himself, a poor man who has been looking for an untouchable shadow?

While José was waiting for the Duchess's reply, the Duchess was also waiting for the Little Duke. In those days when the little duke was too young, many things depended on her to be regent in order to handle the affairs of this dukedom. Because she had a father who was the mayor of the town, she never made any big mistakes, but managed the castle in an orderly manner, and everyone acquiesced to the Duchess's rule over the castle.

In any case, Hetty is a smart woman, and as her son grows up day by day, she has begun to consciously delegate power, and she feels that this time the borrowing of the knight of Jose is a good time to exercise the little duke and restore the duke's authority.

The little duke looked at his mother's expectant eyes, and sweat broke out on his forehead and in his heart. Emotionally speaking, this child, who is a few years younger than Vidia, is full of curiosity about everything in the world, and he will not refuse to participate in this war based on interest alone, not to mention that this time he sent troops to save his close relatives, and it is also logically past.

But judging from the responsibility of a duke, it may not be fair to the people of the castle and fiefdom to rush to support a war with a very poor gap between the two sides. No ruler who leads into his own territory is respected, and this is what his mother has taught him since he was a child.

After hesitating for a long time, the little duke glanced at his mother very cautiously, and then made up his mind to Knight José.

"Knight, I haven't met my maternal grandfather and grandmother yet. You can't just let them be behind bars. ”

José swallowed the last bite of food on his plate and arched his hand in the direction of the little duke in thanks.

Looking at the appearance of the knight Jose, the little duke's heart rose with a burst of pride, but the bold words finally changed before he could say anything, "In this way, knight, you can go to my stable and get some horses to arm your soldiers, as well as the equipment in my arsenal, you can take as much as you want." When the little duke said this, he glanced at his mother again, and found that her mother's face had not changed, so he folded the 300 reinforcements he had thought of in half, took a long breath and said: "Also, the guards on the city wall, you can pick and take more than 100 of them." ”

Knight Jose took a deep look at the little duke, for the help provided by this duke, Knight José is still very grateful, although the number is a little less than he imagined, but when it comes to letting himself pick troops and provide arms, this aid is still in the past.

Just as he was about to leave, the hostess at the table said, "You better pick two hundred, and call the butler and the sergeant major to pick people with you, so it will be faster." ”

José didn't say much, but bowed deeply to the little duke and duchess.

When Knight José walked into the castle, he was alone, with nothing but a suit of armor and a wounded leg. By the time he left the castle, he had become the leader of an army.

With this elite centaur provided by the Duke, the knight of Jose finally has the confidence to wrestle with the swamp people.

The knight of Jose thought that he would be the commander and win the first battle in his life, but when the lord appeared in front of him, José was still in second place.

It was an old knight with gray hair, and while he was still standing under his horse, he had the feeling that he would fall to the ground at any moment. However, the armor he wore was the heaviest of the reinforcements José had brought in. The old knight smiled and said to Jose: "I'm really sorry, a lot of age is still coming to steal your limelight, but considering that you are dealing with heavy infantry this time, there is no heavy cavalry officer, I'm afraid it can't be justified, right?"

Without saying any kind words to the José knight, and seeing that Jose had no intention of rebutting, the old knight immediately took over the command and shouted in a loud voice that seemed to belong to this age at all: "Everyone, everyone, cheer up Lao Tzu, you fucking aren't you reincarnated for Lao Tzu! You want to let the heads of those swamp bastards find their place, yes, the position where they can see their ass!"

Under the command of the old knight, in only a quarter of an hour, this mixed unit from several territories stood up with an elite appearance. All the infantry got on horseback - only on the march, of course. The knight of José had the cheekiness to find out all the horses that could be ridden in the ducal castle, which was to play a role for the infantry, and it was completely foolish to expect these untrained miscellaneous horses and soldiers who could not fight immediately on the battlefield.

After riding a horse around this army of 328 people, the old knight nodded to everyone with satisfaction, and said: "We now have an advantage in strength! A man on a horse must be counted as at least three people on the battlefield, and the enemy is only a thousand and eight hundred primitive people! I hope you all give me some breath, and don't be the worst class I have ever led." ”

Looking at the familiar smiling face, the José knight had a feeling of going back to the past, just looking at the forward general of the Chinese army who used to talk and laugh in the desert, and now the gray hair, the José knight couldn't help but have a sour nose and turned his head away.

After the old knight set up his troops, he took the initiative to find Jose. He lowered his voice and said: "You can't fight a big battle with these soldiers, and now everyone's heads are tied to you, Jose, find a way to send a messenger to the town first, this battle, we have to take them by surprise to have a chance of winning."