The besiegers of Château d'Dol were a Flemish nobleman named Drogo de la Beaufger, whose wife was a niece of the Duke of Normandy, and although it was not a happy marriage, it gave him a dowry and the trust of the Duke of Normandy, the most precious of all. However, in times of change, the task of being alone could become a source of disaster at any time - the main force of Otto, Count of Pontilville, was still in Nantes, and the news of the flight of his son Alain Loufus from the sea had not yet arrived, and Drogo did not expect an enemy on his western front, and his Flemish and Normans were routed by a surprise attack by Hughey's Northumbrians.

Outside the scarred tower, Edgar meets the Earl of Rennes, Geoffrey Grenona, the illegitimate son of the Duke of Alain, the half-brother of the Duke of Conan and the Duchess of Havis, who has been fighting against the Normans and the House of Pontilville after the death of his brother-in-law, the Duke of Hoel, and two nephews.

In the hall of the castle, the king of England, dressed in clean robes, meets another unexpected figure. A richly dressed lady was introduced to the King of England by the Earl of Wren, the widow of the Duke of Alain of Brittany and the Earl of Mann, Lady Bertha, from the House of Blois.

When King Edgar asked why she was here, Lady Bertha replied: "I am not far from the grave when the Normans and Pontilville poisoned one of my sons and two grandsons, but if I do not come out, who will avenge them?" ”

The King of England nodded in sympathy, and then added, "We will help you fight the Normans and restore the freedom of Brittany, but I don't know what the situation is now?" ”

The Count of Wren ordered the attendants to light candles, and then took out a map drawn on a parchment scroll, this slightly dusky map was inlaid with a thick layer of wool felt behind it, and the edges were reinforced with chain iron rings, and the Count Geoffrey pointed to the map: "Your Majesty, at present we have only the army of Hug da Franche to the east, and the majority of the Norman forces are concentrated in the direction of Rouen. And to the south of us, the disobedient regent Count of Pontilville has five thousand men in Nantes. ”

The King of England stared at the map and frowned slightly: "After fighting us not long ago, Alain Lufus has less than a thousand men on the run, but if we go south, they may re-land at any time and threaten our rear. ”

At this time, Madame Berthor suddenly spoke: "If Your Majesty can set out in a few days, my knights can come from Mann to support and guard the castle of Dore." ”

"How many troops can Madame provide?" King Edgar was a little unsure, after all, Alain Lufus was cunning and familiar with the terrain, and if he made a mistake, he could be attacked on his back.

"About twenty knights, plus five hundred men from the border of Ponterson with the aid of King Philip, are enough to hold on." This noblewoman's words surprised Edgar a little, when did Philip send troops?

Probably seeing the confusion of the King of England, the Earl of Wren explained: "Lady Bertha originally set out from King Philip's court to Brittany, but the Normans were too fast, and the French king's army had not yet arrived, and we were besieged. ”

"What about the Count of Anjou?"

"Your Majesty, Count Fulke has made an agreement with King Philip that as long as he is guaranteed control of Mann, this hungry wolf will not intervene in our war."

After confirming the situation on all sides, the king of England finally made up his mind: "I intend to leave three hundred men here, and to go south before the arrival of the French king's army, I need some men who are familiar with the terrain, and if we come to the city by surprise, the enemy will not have time to assemble, and then we will crush them one by one like parted fingers." ”

The Count of Wren replied, "I will go with your Majesty to Nantes, and no one is more familiar with this road than I am." ”

Hughed was a little unhappy that he had been left behind to defend himself, his warriors were veterans of the Iron Dance, and now these sharp swords could only be dusted on the walls, and he looked at the distant shadow of the army, and secretly prayed that Alan Lufus had better come with all his army, so that he could be useful.

Within a few days, William Chemaruen, Duke of Normandy, marched east to pursue the rebels, while the Count of Mortan continued to follow his brother Horsehead, who was more eager than the Duke to capture Ralph de Guerle and Roger Fitzwilliam in order to clear Odo's stigma.

The rebels lost most of their baggage at Rouen, and now only the remnants of the defeated army fled all the way, and after the road to Paris was blocked, they had to turn back and try to flee into Flanders.

"It's useless, he's bleeding too much, stop torturing this poor worm." Roger Knight said to Ralph.

"His father was my adoptive father, and together we were knights, and now he is lying like worms in this hellish place, and we are being chased around like wild dogs by the mongrels ......"

"Do you still want to dig a grave for him? Stop complaining, we must hurry or you and me will fall next. Roger interrupted impatiently and threw another rabbit leg over, "We can't stay here for long, eat something, and then we'll have to go on our way, I hope the Boulognes haven't discovered us yet." ”

Where they rested was against a fig tree, but the leaves had long since fallen to let alone any fruit, and from time to time some snow fell from the bare branches, and struck the Normans in the hair and shoulders.

"It's freezing cold, how far can we go as a hundred?" Ralph couldn't help but speak again.

"Then you should be glad that our men are almost lost in Rouen, otherwise we would have to worry more about it now."

"Is your sword still there?" Ralph asked suddenly.

"Of course, but what's the use of having a sword without food?"

Suddenly, the knights and soldiers in tattered armor noticed a large group of dark shadows appear around them.

"What people!" Roger leaped to his feet, moving as swiftly as a startled deer.

"Is it Lord Roger and Lord Ralph?" A lord on horseback shouted loudly from a distance.

Ralph raised his shield vigilantly, while desperately trying to identify who the other person was.

Several knights on the opposite side stepped through the snow like swallows, and it was not until they came closer, through the crystal light of the snow, that Ralph recognized that the lord at the head was the Count Eustace of Boulogne.