"Sir, the old knight is outside the door and wants to see you."

During the night, Ron opened the curtain of the tent and entered.

"Christopher?"

"Yes, sir."

"You call him in~"

Ron lifted the curtain and walked out, and in a few moments, the old knight was standing in front of Art.

"Young master, I heard from Grenor that the army will have an operation tomorrow."

After motioning for the old knight to sit down, Art said, "That's right, the Duke of Lombardy has sent a group of men and horses to inquire about the situation in the valley. Now that the valley is my territory, how can I allow them to mess around! Art slowly put away the papers on the table and folded them into a stack.

The old knight touched his chin and gray beard, thoughtfully.

"Young master, you and I both know that the Lombard army is strong, I'm afraid~"

Art set his eyes on the old knight and looked him up and down. "Are you worried that after angering the Duke of Lombardy, he will send a large army to attack?"

The old knight nodded slightly.

"You don't have to worry about this, the further you go north of the valley, the narrower the road becomes, the mountains are high and dense, and most sections of the road can only be passed by one person and one horse. Even if the Duke of Lombardy had that heart, he didn't have that ability. Moreover, my province of Wales currently has two corps, amounting to more than 2,000 people. And by virtue of the terrain of the valley and the Lombards, they could not attack so easily. Art said confidently.

"More than 2,000 people?" The old knight was surprised by Art's current strength.

"What, you don't believe it?" Art took a sip from his glass, squinting at the old knight's wide-eyed eyes.

"I'll tell you about these things later." Art said lightly. "By the way, what are you looking for me?" Art asked suddenly.

The old knight slowly got up and said, "Young Master, I'm too old to be useful, but the hunters under me are all good. I hope you will send them out of the valley this time to help your soldiers defend against the enemy. ”

The old knight's idea was simple, he wanted to make up for his mistakes with it.

"Christopher, I know that your men are really good, and I want to reuse them. But this time, I'll just let Greno bring a few men to help us guard the other dangerous places. Those Lombards will be handed over to my soldiers, there are too many people, but it is not easy to spread in the canyon~" Art politely rejected the old knight's proposal.

The old knight sighed lightly, a little lost.

"Christopher, I know what you want. Well, when this battle is over, how about I put your men into my reserves? ”

"Reserves?"

"This is a regiment that I have recently expanded, and it has just been formed. The people inside are all new recruits, and although those under your command have some combat power, they have not received formal military training, and they may not be able to save their lives when they go to war. My Welsh Legion has always used merit as the main basis for promotion, and you don't want to see those under your command have no future after following me. ”

"No, young master. Now that they have sworn allegiance to you, they should certainly be at your disposal. ”

"Well, when I'm done with this little thing, I'll take them back to the north of the valley for adaptation. It's not too early, if you have nothing to do, you can step back first, and I will arrange to defend against the enemy tomorrow. ”

"Yes, young master~" The old knight slowly withdrew from the camp.

…………

Early the next morning, Ron and Hans went to an ambush with forty soldiers carrying a day's rations to the south of the outpost, half a day's journey. Meanwhile, Grenaud took a few hunters and soldiers to the side of the Lamel Mountains to destroy the secret trails that had previously been used by the mountaineers in and out of the valley.

In addition, Arter ordered Bury to take people to the outpost and take command.

When everything was ready, Art called the old knight to his tent.

“…… Christopher, you've been hiding in the mountains for ten years, and you must know a little more about the southern side of the valley. ”

The old knight replied with a smile, "Young Master, we have explored three miles north of the basin and the entire south of the basin, and finally chose the dense forest of hills near the side of Mount Lamel as a hiding place."

"Then tell me about the situation around the places you've been inspecting."

"Yes, sir." With that, Christopher took out a piece of charcoal from his waist and drew it on the table. "This is where we often go hunting," the old knight pointed to the left and right sides of the north side of the basin represented by circles, and the curved line in the middle of the circle represented the stream in the valley. "According to the hunters, the high and densely forested mountains on both sides, often infested with large wild beasts, are our hunting areas, and the mountains on either side extend at least ten miles on either side. There are many streams, rocks, cliffs and waterfalls, which are not suitable for habitation at all. ”

Art lowered his gaze to the old knight's finger, listened carefully, and nodded from time to time.

"There are cliffs on the left and right sides of the middle of the basin, but it is not easy to judge because of the high mountains and dense forests. Hunters also rarely go around the sides from the north to hunt. On the south side of the basin there is only one main canyon leading to the outside of the mountain, and you know what is going on the way, so I'll tell you about both sides. The old knight glanced up at Art.

"yes, okay." Art was humbly taught.

"The southern canyon is split in half on both sides of a great axe, and most of the time the width can accommodate up to two horses in parallel. The cliffs of the Ranges of La Mer are flanked on either side, overgrown trails on one side, and rushing streams on the other. The flanks of the mountains gradually lower the further south they go, with a number of large and small basins in between, each slightly flat, never exceeding three acres. Further south you will reach the southernmost valley entrance of the valley. Out of the valley, it is the border of Lombardy......" The old knight told Art all the situation in the valley in one breath.

"Is there any other way north up the mountain to get into the valley?" Art asked, thinking about the situation described by the old knight in his mind.

"The whole valley is overgrown with trees, and the sides of the canyon are the most steep. Except for the fact that it is accessible along the canyon, other trails such as animal trails do not enter the valley at all. Unless~"

Art was suddenly startled and quickly asked, "Unless what?"

The old knight stroked his chin and said, "Unless that person has wings and flies into the valley~"

With that, the two looked at each other and smiled.

It was incredible that these words could come out of the mouth of this unsmiling old guy in front of him. Unexpectedly, the old knight in front of him, who was more than half a hundred years old with a gray beard and a wrinkled face, although he had experienced strong winds and waves and had been hiding in the valley for ten years, could still be so witty and humorous, it was really rare. Perhaps it was because of this mentality that he was able to lead his people to survive in this valley far from the war.

"Young Master, this valley is inaccessible and there is no fertile land, why do you attach so much importance to it?" The old knight asked casually.

Art laughed lightly, took the half of the charcoal from the old knight's hand, and drew it on the table.

A moment later, the entire valley was depicted by Yat.

"You see, this is the place on the northern edge of the valley bordering Tignets in the south of the Princedom of Burgundy, and this is where we are now~"

The old knight blinked, and stretched out his hand to look south along the north side of the valley. "Young master, if the valley is really opened, then there is no need to make a detour from Lombardy to the north!"

Art put down the charcoal in his hand and nodded.

"But," the old knight's face suddenly sank, "I'm afraid the Duke of Lombardy is bound to interfere with your plans." In addition, that bastard of Wad will definitely be secretly sabotage~" The old knight stopped his mouth as soon as he was halfway through his words.

As soon as he heard the word Valde, a hateful look suddenly flashed in Art's eyes.

"Christopher, you don't have to worry about that. That bastard robbed my Wells family of castles, and one of my goals in opening the valley was to reclaim what was mine. Even if he doesn't come, I'll go find him! ”

The old knight bowed his head and said silently: "May my lord bless Young Master Art~"

…………

It was noon, nearly half a day's journey from the basin to the south of the valley, and a dozen Lombard soldiers with swords at their waists were sweating profusely as they trudged through the mountain paths. After entering the valley, the group sometimes rode horses, sometimes dismounted and walked. Several soldiers took turns with machetes to clear the way.

"Sir, how long are we left~" A Lombard soldier who kept wiping the sweat from his forehead and dragging his heavy steps followed behind gasping for breath asked with difficulty. The cotton and linen pants on the lower body were also cut into one by one by thorns.

The Lombard officer, who was walking in the middle, glanced back at the disheveled guy and scolded: "You bastard, I am not tired of shouting, you still dare to shout in front of me!" Don't keep up with me yet! The Lombard officer raised his whip and struck it. The soldier was so frightened that he fell back.

"They all lifted my spirits, my eyes widened, and I wrote down the terrain around the valley. As long as we complete this mission, the Duke will be rewarded! The leading officer said to the soldiers in front and behind.

"Good!"

The group replied loudly, and the sound spread throughout the valley.

…………

“…… Listen, Ron~" A soldier wearing a hat made of weeds and leaves on his head said to Ron, who was lying on a large rock and chewing grass roots.

"Hmm~ what's wrong?" Ron asked, turning his head to open his eyes.

"It's like there's a voice coming from the valley to the south." The soldier was still listening.

Ron rolled over from the rock, spat out the grass in his mouth, and leaned down to listen. After a while, he said, "Quick, you take someone to the south to have a look, it may be that the group of mongrels from Lombard are coming." If there is a situation, report it immediately. ”

"Yes! You come with me! The soldier called the other guy up, and the two of them disappeared into the bushes with a single arrow.

"Everyone else has listened to me, cut off the heads of these bastards for me, and I must not let one go!" After the two soldiers who had gone south to check had left, Ron whispered orders to the soldiers who were lying in ambush on either side of the road. "Once the mongrels are in our sight, greet them with bows and arrows. For the rest, rush up and cut it all down for me! ”

"Yes!"

"Let's all take their places."

After a short time, the two men who had gone to check it out of the bushes returned to the ambush site and came to Ron's side.

"Ron, it's them, sir."

"How many are there?" Ron asked, turning his head.

"No more than twenty."

"Okay, give the order and tell the guys to wait for that bastard to enter the encirclement before you do it. You take a few people to the south to find a place to hide, and if anyone escapes, kill them on the spot! ”

"Yes, I'll go right away~"

…………

The dozen or so Lombard soldiers who were struggling through the bushes were unaware of the danger ahead, and were approaching the encirclement of Ron and the others step by step......

Suddenly, a soldier in charge of pathfinding in front hurriedly reported: "Sir, here are horseshoe prints!"

The leading officer hurried forward to check. "Where?"

"Here." The soldier peeled back the grass, and a deep horse's hoof print was revealed in the dirt.

"Alert!" The Lombard officer then gave the order. The rest of the men drew their short swords at their waists after hearing the order and looked around.

"Depending on the situation, these horseshoe prints have only been left in recent days. Someone passed by a few days ago. The Lombard officer analyzed the soldiers who had come up with him.

"Sir, wouldn't we have been discovered by those people a long time ago?" A short soldier asked.

In the grass, a pair of eyes were fixed on the Lombard officer, who was called the chief, and the arrow in his hand was already on the string.

"It's possible~" The leading officer touched his chin and frowned slightly. If you return to Lombardy like this, you will inevitably be rebuked by the Duke of Lombardy. Simply go north to investigate, and once you encounter the enemy, you can return.

"You see, the horseshoe prints are still very fresh, and even if the group had discovered us, they would not have been able to send troops so quickly. No matter how fast it is, it will take four or five days. I saw that we continued north for two days. Send two people to explore the road first, and if there is any hostile situation, report back immediately, and it will not be too late for us to retreat when the time comes. ”

Several soldiers beside him nodded slightly, agreeing with the officer's opinion.

"Okay, move on!"

In this way, the group gradually stepped into the trap waiting for them to throw themselves into the net.

As the Lombard soldiers advanced, several Welsh legion soldiers who were hiding in the surrounding weeds quietly followed......

…………

"Ron, they're coming!" A soldier who was closely observing the situation ahead suddenly said to Ron, who was beside him.

Ron then rolled over and looked in the direction the soldier was pointing.

"Archer prepare!"

All the people who were lurking on call focused on the Lombard soldiers who had already entered the ambush circle one after another.

"Ready~"

"Put"!

With Ron's order, a dozen soldiers armed with bows and arrows immediately stood up and loosened their tight strings. In an instant, a dozen trembling light arrows flew towards the group of Lombard soldiers who came into view, and they immediately shot six or seven.

"There's an ambush!" The Lombard officer, who had escaped the catastrophe, suddenly shouted. At the moment when he drew his sword, a sharp blade had already pierced out of the bushes behind him and penetrated his neck~ After the officer fell, Hans slowly stood up, his eyes were calm and abnormal, as if he had slaughtered a sheep.

Suddenly, the Welsh legionnaires who were ambushed in the bushes appeared in front of the Lombard soldiers who had not yet reacted......

As a short shout of killing ended, this ambush battle, which ended in less than a bite of food.