That's the case, Master Cooper. Father Hamish, who had just returned from Tignets at dark, gulped down the wheat cereal with minced meat in it and reported to Cooper what he had learned from the trip. Roughly concluded, this group of people came to the valley. The reason why they wantonly killed people and set fires and deliberately destroyed them was to deter the people of the county on the one hand, and to test the valley's reaction on the other.

Cooper didn't speak immediately after hearing this, but paced back and forth in the doorway of the Lord's Hall of the Wooden Castle. Keep brushing the gray beard on his chin. Whenever he had a big decision, Cooper would always brush his chin and mustache, as if this would give him more peace of mind. Judging from what Hamish said, the reason why the bandits have not yet made a move on the valley must be that they have not yet figured out the situation in the valley and do not dare to attack rashly.

"Poof~" As Father Hamish drank the last mouthful of minced wheat paste from the bowl, Cooper stopped walking and looked at the children who were playing outside the door. After Hamish burped in satisfaction, Cooper stepped forward.

"Father Hamish, you said those guys were going to do something to the valley?" Cooper didn't want to question Father Hamish's words, but he still expected Father Hamish to give him a negative answer.

"Dear Master Cooper," Father Hamish continued, wiping the residue of wheat paste from the corner of his mouth, "from what I've seen of that guy and what he's done to those soldiers, that bastard is definitely a tough guy to deal with! Hamish scolded.

"Master Cooper, in my opinion, whether that bastard is actually coming to attack the valley or bluffing, we have to prepare for the worst. Don't forget, if they do, there is no telling how many of them will be slaughtered. Moreover, all that Lord Arte has worked so hard to lead everyone to build up may also be ruined. When the time comes, how will we explain to the adults~Hey~" Hamish said and sighed deeply.

Cooper didn't know, after all, every brick and tile here had an inseparable relationship with him, and he had already regarded this place as his second home, not to mention his grandson, as well as Mrs. Lottie and the little young master. If he really let that group of bandits come in, Madame Lottie and the young master have three strengths and two weaknesses, and Cooper will never forgive himself.

"Now, we have to mobilize all our forces to protect the valley." At this time, Cooper, who was standing at the door of the lord's hall, turned his back to Hamish and made the strongest determination.

Early the next morning, Cooper summoned a group of civil affairs officials, led by Scott, the temporary commander of the garrison, on the first floor of the main hall of the Wooden Fort in the Valley. In addition, Lottie, the hostess of the valley wooden castle, and Hamish, the priest of the valley, also attended the meeting.

"Ladies and gentlemen," said Cooper, with a courtesy salute to Lottie, "according to the news that Father Hamish brought back yesterday, we have analyzed that the bandits are indeed likely to attack the valley in the near future. As soon as Cooper's words came out, although the officials had been mentally prepared, they still talked about it because of this bad news.

"Be quiet, everybody," Cooper continued, "I can understand your feelings at this time, but worry won't solve anything. The civil affairs officials were silent at this time. Lottie looked at Cooper and nodded. She now finally knew why her husband had chosen Cooper as civil governor. This old man, who is already a little old, is not only down-to-earth, but also good at reassuring people.

"~ So, we should now mobilize all the forces we can to defend the valley. This is where the core interests of the adults lie, and as long as the valley is still in our hands, then it will not be too late. ”

"Master Cooper is right," Hamish continued, "and we only need to do one thing this time, and that is to gather the strength of the county to defend the valley. The intention of the group was obvious, and by destroying the valley, the adults were cut off from the back road, and the adults were forced to withdraw their troops from Kodor. They are not mountain bandits at all, but sent by the Thorne court to destroy our homeland! Hamish said excitedly.

"Are you willing to watch as the bastards kill your wives and children, take your food, and take your land?" Hamish was so excited that he was about to stand on the table in the wooden castle hall.

"I don't want to!"

"I don't want to!"

The crowd replied in unison.

"Good!" Seeing that the civil affairs officials were mobilized by Hamish's words, Cooper continued. "Ladies and gentlemen, there are only about seventy defenders in the valley who really have some combat ability, and the other two hundred are only used as auxiliary forces to deter those bandits. These people are certainly not enough. Therefore, I suggest that since the focus of this defense is on the Valley Territory, we should transfer all the county soldiers and garrison peasants who assist in the defense of Wincheston Manor, Lane Manor, and Southwest Farm back to the Valley to standby. In addition, some peasants and soldiers in the territories of the county were dispatched to assist in the defense, and all the salaries and expenses during the period were paid by the civil administration. ”

"Ma'am," said Cooper, turning his head to Lottie, beside him, "I beg you to inform Madame Galvin of Sapburg at once, and ask her to send some of Sapp's garrison to help with the present predicament in the valley." ”

"Old butler, don't worry, I'll leave this matter to me." Lottie stood up and said to Cooper. As the hostess of the valley's wooden castle, Lottie naturally hopes that she can do her part for the valley.

"In addition, I have decided to gather the disabled veterans of the previous Welsh Regiment from the battle to replenish the defending army." Everyone talked about it and expressed their puzzlement.

"Ladies and gentlemen, although these veterans are a little disabled and can no longer go out to fight, their combat experience and command ability are not comparable to you and me." Everyone suddenly realized.

"Therefore, I decided to let them lead some of the peasant soldiers separately and be responsible for this defense~"

The meeting continued until noon, and after Cooper had assigned tasks to everyone in the room, everyone went about their jobs.

"Lord Baron, that's Winchester Manor." Pointing to the adjutant in front of him, Nick whispered to Doyle, who was watching.

"Okay, tell the brothers, rush in and kill all the mongrels in it in a while, take away everything that can be taken, and burn all the fires that can't be taken away."

"Don't worry." The corners of Nick's mouth were raised, and his eyes showed a slit, staring deadly ahead. Because I had long heard that Wincheston Manor was very wealthy, and the business territory of the Dean family was all over the country, it was natural that there were a lot of gold coins waiting for them here. Thinking of this, Nick snickered in his heart.

From a distance, there were only two peasants on duty at the gate of Wincheston Manor at this time. The two guys on the high wall inside the door on weekdays have long since disappeared at this time. Yesterday, the valley leader sent someone to inform the county guards who assisted in the defense, except for the two peasant soldiers who were on duty outside the gate, gathered all the peasant soldiers of Wincheston Manor and most of the peasant soldiers of Ryan Manor and Southwest Farm to return to the valley to assist in the defense, in order to resist the gang of bandits who attacked the county town before.

"No, how come there are only two people at the door of such a large manor?" Looking at the situation in front of him, Doyle had some doubts.

"You mean they have an ambush?" Nick leaned over and asked.

"At very moments, it's better to keep an eye on it. So, you take two people to touch it first, and then I'll rush in with the brothers. ”

"Man~Lord Baron," Nick said in a slurch, "If there is~There is an ambush, then we don't ~"

"You still dare to tell me the conditions!" Doyle slapped Nick on the forehead, "Don't go yet!" When the time comes, your benefits will be indispensable. ”

"Yes, yes, yes! I'll go right away. Hearing Doyle say this, Nick immediately beckoned the two brothers and reached for the gate of Wincheston Manor.

At this time, the two peasant soldiers standing at the door were completely unaware that danger was approaching......

Doyle, who was hiding in the wheat field, watched his men approach the two unbelievable creatures. In a matter of moments, the two peasant soldiers had fallen in a pool of blood, and the three of them opened the gate and walked inside.

After a while, one of the soldiers who had followed Nick came out of the manor gate and beckoned the rest of the group to pass.

"What? There are only two peasant soldiers on such a large farm. Looking at the four or five gray-haired manor servants and farmers kneeling on the ground in the courtyard, Doyle yelled at Nick.

"Lord Baron, everyone is here." Nick looked at the old men and women on the ground and said to Doyle.

"Say, where did everyone else go?" As he spoke, Doyle drew his broadsword and pointed it at the neck of an old farmer, making the old man tremble. These guys, who thought that the enemy would not kill them, regretted it at the moment.

"Back ~ Back to my lord, those peasant soldiers were transferred back by the people of the valley yesterday afternoon. The rest of the farmers also fled back to the valley with their families to take refuge. As he spoke, the old peasant's throat trembled. Several of the other kneeling on the ground were already sweating on their foreheads, for fear of being wiped by the sharp sword.

"What?" Doyle was puzzled.

"Lord Baron, are you ......," Nick whispered in Doyle's ear.

I saw Doyle's eyes widen and widen, and he almost rolled out.

"What you mean is that the garrison in the valley is weak at this time, and the people from these places have to be transferred back to the valley to defend themselves." Doyle was thoughtful.

"That's right, Lord Baron, this is the only reason why the peasants here have returned to the valley, and that it is their core interest."

"Hmph," Doyle smirked sinisterly, thinking about what to do with the valley. "It seems that my previous judgment was correct, that priest was really bluffing."

"What are you doing in a daze, take all the good things in it away for me, and burn a fire that can't be taken away. Also, do you see those wheat fields outside? It's all ruined for me. ”

"Yes, Lord Baron~"

Since the valuables and important supplies such as food and other important materials in Wincheston Manor had been transported back to the valley for storage yesterday, the entourage searched the manor inside and out and only found money and goods worth less than 2,000 fennigs, plus some daily necessities such as iron candlesticks.

"Sir, we found some of these things, and there was nothing in them except some furniture and farm tools." Nick handed the goods to Doyle.

"This group of mongrels must have transported all the valuable stuff back to the valley." Doyle was furious. "That's fine, when the time comes to break through the valley, I'll let them all spit it out for me!"

Looking at the old guys kneeling on the ground, and then at the thatched hut in the corner of the courtyard, Doyle motioned for his men to drive a few old things in and lock the wooden door.

"Ignition!"

"Yes!"

With Doyle's order, the thatched hut was set on fire by the attendants, and for a while, several people in the house struggled desperately and screamed, knocking on the wooden door and shouting for help. The people outside just stood there motionless, admiring their masterpiece.

"What are you doing in a daze, burn me here!"

"Yes, Lord Baron!"

As puffs of green smoke rose, the once tall and prosperous Wincheston Manor was scorched by the raging fire, the wooden roof and windows continued to fall, and the sound of wood bursting was heard from time to time, and the stone walls were scorched black by the fire......

"What are you doing in a daze, hurry up and move these things to the city wall." Scott, who was preparing supplies for the enemy at the Beiguan Military Fort, instructed the peasant soldiers who had just set up a wagon to pull stones and rolling logs from a distance.

Since Cooper assigned the task, Scott has stepped up the defense of Beiguan Military Fort and Boulder Town, and he does not dare to relax for a moment. Although he had never participated in the battle, as a key civil affairs official, he could only rush up at this time. Because behind him is his own home, as well as his family...... 166 net

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Chapter 439: Defending Against the Enemy