The birch forest looks like it is stained with a thin layer of light snow, and the crystal white trunks make the forest look like a beautiful snow scene and moving ice sculptures.

As the mountains progressed, the trees became thicker and thicker, and the road that could still be recognized in front of them was gradually covered by the thick fallen leaves on the ground, and as you entered the depths of the trees, even the sun overhead was obscured by the large canopy branches, and even in winter, when the leaves had already fallen away, it was difficult to see the direction of the sun when you looked up.

Strangers walking in the depths of such a forest will quickly get lost, except for the trees that look the same everywhere, and those who walk here will become confused and even panicked because they have lost their direction.

The birch forest in winter is bleak, but it is full of solemn beauty, but such a place has a terrifying secret.

In the depths of this vast birch forest, there is a swamp, and the fallen leaves accumulated over the years cover the ground and become fresh fertilizer, making the land fertile and soft, but it is dangerous and terrible, even in winter, when the seemingly hard land is stepped on, the ground will quickly denigrate, and then the cold muddy water will tightly wrap around the legs of the unlucky, whether it is the legs of a man or the four legs of an animal, they will be unable to extricate themselves from stepping into this bottomless abyss, and the consequence of the panic struggle is to sink deeper and deeperWhen the legs are completely sunk in, the body that cannot borrow strength will sink faster, and when it reaches the chest, the victim will gradually lose consciousness and strength due to suffocation, and then it will gradually drown the neck, at this time the victim can no longer breathe, the last struggle to open his mouth wide can only be to pour mud into his mouth, then his nostrils and eyes, when he finally does not have a top, there may be a few strands of hair floating on the surface of the swamp, but eventually it will be completely submerged with the mud squeezing down to the middle, so that the swamp will calm down, There is no longer any trace of a life that has been devoured.

Such a place is so terrible that for many years almost no one dares to come to the swamp deep in the woods.

But this is only "almost", and there are still some brave people who are willing to stay or even live here, and through the birch forests and the terrible bottomless swamp that makes a clattering sound in the cold wind, you can see a camp of no small size on the other side of the woods.

The camp is made up of a row of birch trees made of local materials, and the walls and roofs of the colorful birch trunks make the whole camp blend in with the surrounding woods, and it is not easy to find the camp in the forest unless you are very close to it.

Outside the camp was a small enclosure made of tree trunks, and an equally low lookout with leaves on the top rested between two adjacent birch trees, from which a man in a thick leather robe stood and stared into the distance.

The movement in the distance of the camp caught the attention of the lookout post, who first looked closely, and when he saw the group of people clearly, the lookout post immediately loudly signaled to the people in the camp below.

The whole camp suddenly became lively, and both people outside and inside the houses rushed to the camp gate, and many people shouted to see those who came back.

The procession drew closer, first in sight, and then in a clear sight, and when they saw the vehicles they were driving, the people could not help but let out a cheer of joy.

"God willing, may they all come back safely."

A tall old man said a little nervously, which drew a retort from another old man next to him, who was slightly younger than him but also had a gray beard.

"We should be happy for their bravery, not to say such cowardly words, I want to say that you are really getting more and more timid now."

"I'm not cowardly, I'm just worried," the tall old man looked at the old man next to him dissatisfied, "You must know that my father even faced the harshest excommunication in order to convert to the Vatican, and it is because of this ......"

"It is because of this that your family can become noble, you have said this many times," the gray-haired old man said disdainfully while looking at the team getting closer and closer, with a smile on his face, "You must know that the real nobleman will not always deliberately mention those old things, my family has been a noble person many years ago, and our family tradition is to tell our children and grandchildren what kind of responsibilities they should bear as nobles." ”

The tall old man's face flushed, and he knew that he was being ridiculed for being an upstart, which made him angry, but before he could say anything more, the leader of the group had already stepped onto the plank bridge over a stream in front of the camp and came to the camp gate.

"Our hero is back!" The gray-haired old man shouted first, and his shout caused another burst of cheers, and the people, who had been waiting impatiently, immediately rushed towards the procession, and the people were anxiously looking for their families.

"Don't worry, everyone will come back." A man in a cylindrical felt hat and a musket pinned to his waist shouted to the crowd, and his words caused a round of laughter all around, when several slightly richly dressed men who looked like they were standing came from the crowd.

Seeing these people, the man's face immediately put away a smile, and he respectfully bowed, and the tassels on his felt hat hung down at a right angle to the brim.

"God bless you all come back safely," a middle-aged man with a pure gold medal around his neck stretched out his hand with a gemstone ring for the man to kiss, and then he looked at the team behind him, "Tell us about your experience on this trip, you must know that the birch forest and the mountains have blocked too much news, and many things we still don't know." ”

"Your Excellency," the man smiled at the look of anticipation, and then slowly put away the relaxed look on his face, "If I want to be honest, the Bosnian side is not good right now, and I am talking about the north, because the south has long been completely occupied by the infidels. ”

There was a low sigh, and the middle-aged man known as the Viscount drew a cross on his chest with a solemn expression.

"Let's talk about the north, then," the viscount beckoned the man into the camp with him, "we've been hiding here for a long time, and now we all want to know what is going on outside. ”

"You don't have to hide here, after all, with your status, even the adults in Zagreb have to be respectful to you." The man in the felt hat replied with a little playfulness, but seeing that the viscount's face did not improve because of his words, he gradually put away his smile.

"There are people in Zagreb who may be hoping that I will die soon," the viscount shook his head disapprovingly at the man in the felt hat, "you know, I am in the way of too many of them. ”

"But you are ......"

The man in the felt hat wanted to say something, but was stopped by the gesture of the viscount, and he led the people to the open space of the camp and stopped and asked: "Tell me about what everyone is interested in, what is the current situation in Northern Bosnia, Knight Morko?" ”

"It's a bit bad," the knight named Morko looked around a little discouraged, "I know you want to hear good news, but it may disappoint you, although there are still many people in Northern Bosnia who are resisting the Ottomans, but both in size and in the army, many of them are only spontaneously resisting but no one leads them, and those great nobles may fight with the infidels today, and tomorrow they will enthusiastically call the envoys sent by the Sultan brothers, so it can be said that no one has completely stood up. ”

"Oh."

A whisper of disappointment came from all around, and the joy of the team's return could not help but become a little low.

"But it's not all like that," said the Moleko knight, bowing slightly to the viscount, "and your cousin is braver, as we were about to return, we heard that he had recently attacked the docks that the Ottomans had set up on the north bank of the Naussava River, and that his army had driven the Ottomans directly into the icy water for them to bathe, and that he had burned all the supplies prepared by the Ottomans on the docks, which the Sultan had prepared for his expeditionary army. ”

"Roa??" The Viscount asked a little thoughtfully and then nodded, "It seems that he did it, and he is probably the only one in the whole of Northern Bosnia who is so brave, tell me what else he has done?" ”

"A lot has been done, and people are now rumoring that he might become the new king of Bosnia."

Knight Morco seemed to realize that he had said something wrong, and the atmosphere around him instantly became slightly condensed.

Some people's eyes looked at the calm Viscount, while the tall old man behind Morco had already secretly poked his son in the waist.

"Okay Morco, you're tired too, go rest with your friends." The viscount did not say anything more when he saw the old man's movements, and when he had finished his order, he made a gesture to the people around him to follow him, and then turned and walked towards the largest house in the camp.

"You fool, didn't God create you with a body and not a head?" As soon as the Viscount walked away, the tall old man immediately grabbed his son's shoulders and walked towards his house, as if realizing the problem in his words, the old man first stopped and drew a cross reverently, and then scolded in a low voice: "God forgive me for saying such disrespectful words, but how can you say anything about a king or a king in front of the viscount." ”

"Dad, I just said it in passing, and it was the Viscount himself who wanted to ask." The Moorko knight struggled secretly while looking around, "Daddy, don't you do this, I'm a knight and a captain appointed by the viscount, you have to save some face for me." ”

"Bullshit's face, you have already made the viscount unhappy, maybe your captain will be gone tonight, as for your knight, don't forget that your father and I gave it to you, at most I will take it back." The old man chattered endlessly, until he saw a young woman looking at them with concern at the door of his house.

Seeing the woman, the father and son froze in place instantly, and after a while, the old man remembered something and quickly let go of the hand that grabbed his son, and smoothed his son's wrinkled clothes.

"Oh...... That Morco, don't forget the Viscount's orders, you must know that this is the lord's trust in you. The old man told his son with a careful preoccupation, and then blinked as soon as he turned around.

"Don't worry, Dad, I mean Father, I will definitely do what the Viscount orders." The Moleko knight also hurriedly responded seriously, and when he saw the old man enter his house, he turned to the young woman and bowed, "Please forgive the honorable Miss Alosia, I didn't know that you were here." ”

The young woman was beautiful, and looked like a ripe apple, and even in this camp of birch forests that looked like a place of refuge, it was still possible to distinguish her from the others in a different dignity.

The woman didn't make a sound, just looked at the Moulko Knight quietly and with a little amusement, until she saw that the Moleko Knight seemed to be a little uncomfortable because she was uncomfortable, and then she broke the silence and said with a smile: "Did I disturb your father and son?" ”

"No, not at all," Morko said quickly, but looking at the woman's quiet gaze, the knight finally smiled bitterly, "Actually, my father is teaching me a lesson, because I just said something I shouldn't have said." ”

"Is it because you said to my uncle about Rowa? The Marquis may be king? The woman asked with a smile, and when she saw Morco nodding with a wry smile, she frowned, "You are indeed a little stupid, you know, only a stupid person like you would say in front of the son of the Duke of Zagreb that another person might be king." ”

Morko shrugged helplessly, he felt that he had done nothing wrong, after all, it was the viscount himself who wanted him to tell him about Northern Bosnia.

The young woman known as Miss Alosa didn't seem to be really angry, she first said it very seriously, and then smiled mischievously.

"But you're not wrong, after all, it's this forest that my uncle can rule now after he escaped from Zagreb."

Aloxia's words made Morco not know how to respond, and for a moment the two fell into a slightly awkward silence.

Then, just as Miss Alosa was trying to break the awkward atmosphere and find a topic, Morco seemed to suddenly remember something, and let out a soft "ah-oh" from her mouth.

He bowed to Miss Alosia, and said urgently, "Miss, I suddenly remembered something that I did not tell the Viscount, and I must go and report it to your uncle quickly." ”

"Then we can go together," Miss Alosa straightened her chest at once, "you know that my uncle should be in a meeting with the others at this time, and if I don't go with you you you will probably have to wait a long time, so I can help you, of course, first of all you have to say something really important. ”

"I don't know if it's important, but I think it's necessary to report it to the Viscount."

Hearing Morco say this, Miss Alosa nodded, and then walked ahead with a steady pace that even in such a seemingly remote camp, and led Morco towards the Viscount's house.

The Viscount was indeed in a meeting with his henchmen, but his mood was not high, and most of the time he was alone in his meditation except for listening to the comments of his men.

"Your Excellency, you must make up your mind," said one of his men to the viscount, "if you continue to hide, Rois?" You may indeed become the new King of Bosnia, and your last chance to return to Zagreb may be gone. ”

"But what should I do?" The Viscount looked at his men helplessly, "You should know when the rebels took advantage of the pagan invasion of Bosnia to drive us out of Zagreb? Blind to my situation, I know that he would actually prefer to see the Helva family expelled, after all, now he may become the king of Northern Bosnia and even most of Croatia, do you think he will let go of such a good opportunity, he has more than enough troops and endless money to spend, and I have what I have, except for a group of courtiers who are loyal to follow me, I have nothing now. ”

The Viscount's words silenced the rest of the room, they knew that the Viscount was right, as the Helva family with the best chance of inheriting the Croatian throne, whether it was for the old and young of the Kingdom of Bosnia or for the current Ruva? The marquis was too much of an eyesore, so when the Orthodox Christians of Zagreb took advantage of the war in the south to launch a riot in Zagreb and kill the Duke of Helva, who had converted to Catholicism, and expelled the duke's son, Rova, who was a relative? The marquis just watched coldly, and did not save him when he saw death.

"What else can I do with Roy now? Or is it someone else vying for the throne of Croatia or even Northern Bosnia? Viscount Herva looked at his men with some blankness, and seeing their silence, the Viscount smiled self-deprecatingly, "The only thing I can rule now is this camp, and I can't even go to the provinces that are still loyal to me without an army." ”

The Viscount's words plunged the room into a depression, and everyone's hearts sank, until a slightly tentative voice came from the door: "My lord, maybe there is news you would like to hear?" ”

Everyone's eyes turned to the door, and when they saw Morco standing with his niece, the viscount's eyebrows wrinkled imperceptibly, but he still nodded: "Knight, do you have anything to say?" ”

"Your Excellency," said Morco, as he went into the house and looked at everyone, "we heard the news on our way to rob the Ottoman convoy that it seems that a Roman army had arrived in Bosnia, led by Count Montina. ”