“…… You say it's also strange, that bastard was still shouting for our lives before, why did he take the initiative to return the wild boar? On the way back to camp, Burry muttered repeatedly. From time to time, he looked back at the boar, whose limbs were tied to a stick, and was carried by two soldiers.

Hans, who was walking in front, was silent, he was not happy that he had "caught" his prey, he was thinking about how to explain to Art the hapless soldier who had been shot by the mountain people, and what made him even more nerve-wracking was the incomprehensible reaction of the natives.

Hans knew in advance that there was such an indigenous tribe in the south, and before leaving, Art made a special trip to tell him not to approach the territory of that group of people, so as to avoid conflict with them, and to report back to the valley immediately if there was anything abnormal.

"Hey, I said you kid, I asked you, you look like a deaf person." Bury asked as he ran briskly to catch up with Hans, patting him on the shoulder.

Hans looked back at the corpses of the soldiers lying on the improvised stretcher covered with sackcloth, and then said to Hans: "I told you a long time ago, don't mess with those mountain people. Now what do you say, I haven't seen the Lombards yet, and a soldier died first, and the adults will definitely blame us~"

Looking at Hans with an anxious face, Burry suddenly had a flash of inspiration in his mind. Said: "Otherwise, we will say that this guy fell down the hill during the hunting and was accidentally pierced through the neck by a wooden stake~"

Hans stopped, looked back at Burry like a fool and shouted, "Do you think those adults in the Chinese army are fools? I can't see the arrow wound so obvious~" Hans shook his hand away.

Burry touched the back of his head and sighed lightly, "I can be regarded as having a way to think of it~What are you yelling about~"

On the second day, Hans sent a few soldiers back to the valley and wrote the situation on birch bark for the soldiers to take back with them to the Chinese army. In addition to the guy who was wounded by an arrow in the lower leg before, there were also soldiers who unfortunately died this time.

…………

A few days later, one of the soldiers returning to the valley was reported to the Lord's mansion, and Ron, who had been waiting at the door of the mansion, looked serious.

In the evening, Ron reported the news from the southern outpost to his master, and after learning the news of one death and one injury at the southern outpost, Art was furious~

"After going in for a while, explain the situation in the briefest words, Lord Earl is not in a good mood, don't be verbose." Ron gave the order to the nervous-looking soldier lightly.

"Yes~Yes, Ron~"

"What's the panic? Follow me! ”

Ron led the soldiers into the official quarters on the first floor of the mansion......

“…… This is the case, Lord Count. We confronted the men, and not only did they get us out of the jungle safely, but they also returned the prey to us. But during the confrontation, there seemed to be a sound of short conversation on the mountain from time to time~"

Art slowly lowered the birch bark in his hand and set his eyes on the soldier.

"How many people are on the other side, and what are the weapons and equipment?" After a moment, Art asked.

"Back to Lord Earl, those people are hidden in the dense forest, and they can't judge. But judging by their voices, there were about forty of them. ”

"Forty~" Art groaned slightly. Last time, I also encountered this group of mysterious guys with Ron, but fortunately these people didn't embarrass them.

Art originally didn't want to rush to clean up this tribe, but now these people dare to openly kill people, thinking that the power must not be weak. Once these Lombards are allowed to remain here for a long time, it will inevitably cause more trouble.

Immediately, Art ordered the soldiers to change their horses at once, and returned to the south of the valley to inform Hans, telling him to keep watch for the men and horses hiding in the shadows to avoid being attacked.

On the second day, Art summoned Angus and Kazak to the valley fort, intending to consult with them on whether to send troops to expel the barbarians who were entrenched in the dense forests at the southern end of the valley.

“…… My lord, according to what you said, the combat strength of that group of people should not be weak. They did not confront us head-on, nor did they allow us to come near their territory, and perhaps these men had also taken refuge in the mountains to avoid being wanted by the Lombards. Angus, who was sitting at the table, analyzed.

"Sergeant Major, you have a point. What are these people clearly trying to avoid? Art touched his chin thoughtfully, the person who can abandon the fertile basin and hide in the mountains must also be fleeing.

"My lord, I have an idea, I don't know if it's feasible~" After a while, Kazak, who had been listening to the conversation between the two, spoke.

"Tell me about it." Art tapped his fingers on the wooden table.

"Since these guys have a certain amount of combat power and have a lot of numbers, why don't we try to summon them into your command. These men certainly know more about the situation in the South Valley than we do, and if they are willing to be loyal to you, it may be helpful in the future construction of the South Valley. ”

"What if they have no intention of being loyal to me?" It was Angus who asked the question.

"Friend or foe! I must have absolute control over that place before the Lombards intervene, and if they refuse to surrender, they will perish. "Art doesn't intend to leave a scourge on the border.

Lombardy is by no means a weak country, half of Provence was almost annexed by Lombardy a few years ago, their combat power is strong, since they have set their sights on the nascent princely state of Burgundy, then this fertile valley may have become fat in their eyes, rather than being beaten passively, it is better to take the initiative.

Early in the morning of the third day, one hundred soldiers of the Welsh Legion, led by company commander Colin, assembled at the valley fort, along with fifty crossbowmen.

Ron gently pushed open the wooden door of the earl's private weapons room on the second floor of the mansion, "Sir, Colin and Smith have been assembled, can you open it?" In addition, Spencer's baggage convoy will depart from Beiguan early tomorrow morning, carrying two hundred men and half a month's worth of grain and grass, and then follow up. ”

With Lottie's help, Art fastened the belt around his waist and turned around to straighten his sword, "Let Colin and Smith pull out at once, and arrive at the Wellsburg construction site at noon to repair." ”

"Yes, sir." Ron first answered, and then asked, "Master, should we bring more men and horses?" After all, I don't know the strength of the other party. ”

Art chuckled softly, "I didn't bring these people to deal with that indigenous tribe, if it was just for that tribe, it would be enough to bring a few of you." ”

"Select six cavalry from the guards to follow me south, and the rest of the guards will be organized into a cavalry company and let them train with the cavalry." Art said a few words and strode out of the weapons room.

"Madam, you can help me persuade the master to at least bring more guards~" Ron looked at Lottie with a look of help.

Lottie shrugged, "It's your men's business to fight, and it's useless to look at me." But if you hurt your master, I won't spare you. ”

Ron's face was full of helplessness, and he immediately turned to catch up with Art.

............

The second time he set foot in the south of the valley, but this time he went from being an explorer to a conquering lord.

The mountains on both sides are still so towering, the rivers in the valley are still so meandering, and the land between the valleys is still so barren, but because of the comings and goings of the army and the baggage teams, this is no longer the isolated barren valley.

The road became easier, at least Art and his cavalry of the Earl's Guard did not have to dismount and cut down the vines, and a barely horseback road shortened the time to the south of the valley to two and a half days, and when the trade road was opened, they could ride from Willsburg (city) to the southernmost part of the valley in a day and a half.

The makeshift outpost camp in the south was small, so Collin's hundred men and Smith's fifty crossbowmen were stationed near the lake in the basin. First, the land here is flat, the terrain is open, and the water source is convenient, which is suitable for camping. The second is to show the knives and axes to the indigenous tribes deep in the mountains on one side of the basin.

However, the second purpose had been achieved in advance, and the indigenous tribe had already begged for peace with the garrison at the makeshift outpost before the arrival of the Ath's army.

“..... Lord Earl, they have sent the bastard who shot our soldiers, and beg us to forgive them for their sins. Hans bowed his head deeply, and no longer dared to look at the count, who was sitting at the head of the tent.

Art listened and did not speak.

The tribe was terrified when they had killed their soldiers, and within a few days sent the head of the murderer, along with a large number of precious skins and mountain goods, begging the garrison not to pursue the blame.

The stakes were so high that Hans did not dare to make a decision, so he only left his head and expelled the "messengers" who had come to beg for peace.

Arte's silence made Hans nervous to the extreme, he thought that Art was angry about the soldiers damaged in the battle, and knelt down: "My lord, my subordinates are not doing things well, let the soldiers die before the battle, please punish them."

Art was awakened by the sound of kneeling, glanced at this guy, and said coldly, "It was your commander Reg who asked for this task for you and gave you the opportunity to make meritorious contributions. I told you to be wary of the natives, but you exchanged one of my soldiers for a boar. As for the crime, it is impossible to behead the capital. ”

Hans buried his head in the ground again.

"However, I will save you from death if you have made outstanding military achievements, and you will be fined one year's military salary as a pension for soldiers who died in battle, and you will be demoted to the position of deputy commander of the squadron, and concurrently lead the commander of the garrison, and you will be guilty of meritorious service." Art had no intention of digging into Hans's guilt.

Hans received the grace of God, "Thank you, Lord Earl, for your life, and your subordinates will be loyal to death." ”

"I trained you to die? Get out of here, personally take someone to find out the situation of that tribe, and block all the roads from that tribe to the outside world for me. Tomorrow evening. ”

Hans was relieved and hurriedly ordered to withdraw from the tent.

After Hans left, Ron took a half-step forward, "Sir, since those natives have already begged for peace, shall we send someone to talk?" ”

Atmo leaned on the armrest of his chair, "No, you can pick a few soldiers to go south out of the valley tomorrow and spy on the movements of the Lombards outside the valley, but so far the Lombards have not sounded, and the Lombards are our fierce rivals." ”

"As for the natives, they'll send someone more."

............

Before the sound had passed, a group of seven or eight men appeared at the edge of the basin, and they seemed to be carrying one man on a plank.

In less than ten days, more than 100 elite soldiers were stationed in this basin, and the natives who had been hiding in the mountains for nearly ten years finally couldn't hold their breath.

A patrol rushed out of the makeshift camp and surrounded the mountain team......

After a while, the leader of the team was carried into Art's tent, yes, by the way, because the fellow was bedridden.

"Honorable Lord Count of the Marquis of Burgundy~ Our head man is seriously ill and cannot walk, but for the sake of his people's lives, he personally begged the Lord for his life, hoping that the merciful Lord would let us go." It was a middle-aged man who knelt down and spoke, his Burgundian language very stiff.

Art didn't speak, his eyes fixed on the old man on the plank bed.

Familiar, really familiar, desperately searching for memories in my mind......

“...... Lord Earl~ We are willing to pour out all our atonement...... Lord Earl? Lord Earl. The man on his knees saw that Art was completely distracted.

Art suddenly got up and raised his hand to stop the middle-aged man's words.

He hurriedly stepped out of the chair and came to the old man lying on the plank, and looked at it carefully for a long time.

"Christopher?" Art speaks northern Lombard.

"It's ~ me." The old man is weak.

"After so many years of evasion, the time to come is still coming." After the old man finished speaking, he closed his eyes and waited for fate......

More than a decade ago, Fort Wayne, north of Lombardy, was the domain of the Baron of Wales.

At that time, Christopher was still a vassal knight of the Wells family.

However, when the old Wells returned from the Holy Land and was murdered by tricks, the old knight, who had sworn allegiance to the Wells family, chose to sit back and watch the Wells family fall......

This is a more chilling disregard than betrayal.

"Young master, I am ashamed of the Wells family, today I will atone for your sins with half my old life, please kill me and spare my people." The old man opened his eyes and looked at Art with pleading.

To tell the truth, after more than ten years of integration, Art now has little memory of the Wells family in Lombardy, and he does not have much hatred for the old man on the sickbed in his heart.

Silence, complete silence in the military tent.

Art didn't know what to do for a while, and things were more than he expected. Originally, he wanted to combine grace and power and then take the indigenous tribe under his command, but now the plot is reversed, which caught him off guard.

Art's silence made the old man on the plank bed palpitate, and he only thought that Art would not let go of his people.

"Young master, please forgive my people for the loss of their son for the Wells family, they are all poor people who can't stand the devilish rule of Burley and fled with me into the mountains." As soon as the old man said that, he took out a small short knife from his cuff and aimed it at his heart to stab it.

Frightened, the clansmen next to the old man immediately stepped forward to snatch it.

Ron on the side glanced fiercely at the guard in charge of the search, "What are you still doing in a daze, give me the weapon!" ”

Art raised his hand to stop.

"Christopher, you're now half-dead, and killing you will atone for your sins? Can you make up for your sins against the Wells family? Can you buy back the lives of your people? ”

"Young Master~ What do you mean?"

"I remember that your son left an only son when he died in battle, and if that little guy is still alive, he should be fourteen or fifteen years old this year, right?"

"Young Master~" The old man cried loudly.

Seeing that the fire was almost over, Art suddenly reprimanded angrily, "Christopher, when the Wells family was in trouble, you turned a cold eye and watched the Wells family being slaughtered. Today, on behalf of the Wells family, I punish you! ”

With that, Art pulled out the sword at his waist.

A few guards in the military tent held down the two retinues beside the old man.

The old man closed his eyes and waited quietly for the sharp sword that had been hanging for more than ten years.

Nation!

The sharp sword in Art's hand instantly cut off the wooden plank above the old man's head......

After a while, the old man opened his eyes.