"Where's that aristocratic bastard?" Woolfher, the Earl of Benicia's bodyguard, roared angrily and rushed in front of the captured Norman Earl, his sword in his hand, almost stabbing the Earl of Surrey in the cold.

The English knights in charge of the guard stood at the end of the furious northern warrior, shielding the Earl of William de Warren behind them, glaring at Woolfher.

"Stop!" Edgar arrived just in time, and he was immediately anxious when he saw this scene.

"My lord, please ......" The guard's explanation was interrupted by the prince, and Edgar merely motioned for them to lay down their arms, and Woolfhel had no reason to refuse, so the tension was halted for a while. Edgar glanced at the Earl's Guard, a knight who had trained with the eldest son of the Count of Benicia for half a year in his barracks, serving as the right-wing standard-bearer at the Battle of the Yor. He fully understood the current situation, as the guard of the Count of Benicia, this knight was obliged to continue to fight to the death after the death of his master, and if he survived, he must avenge the Lord regardless of life and death. Uhtred was mortally wounded in this battle, and since the squire failed to protect the eldest son of the Count of Benicia, he must avenge him in order to clear his name.

Edgar grieved for his comrades, but when Sarri surrendered, he had promised the lives of the other party in public, and he could not let Woolhull complete this revenge. The Northumbrian guards didn't say a word, just stared viciously at the Norman nobleman who had suddenly unleashed the arrow, much to Edgar's annoyance.

The embarrassing scene was suddenly broken by a knight who rushed over: "My lord, Uhtred...... He ......"

The panting sound made Edgar's heart sink, and Woolfher broke free from the crowd and ran in the direction of Uhtred, with Edgar following closely behind.

The eldest son of the Count of Benicia was covered in blood, his jaw twitched, and he trembled with the arrow, as if it was about to tear his cheek, and he twitched and made a faint voice: "It's so cold......"

Edgar watched as Uhtred lost his life in the agony, and only his face ruined by the arrows seemed to tell of his own misery. Woolfher threw down her weapon, knelt on the ground, hugged the body of the young knight and wept bitterly. Edgar was silent, although he had seen the brutal deaths of many young people, including some scenes of shredded flesh by shrapnel grenades, the scene in front of him still touched him, and Edgar silently waited for the crying of the earl's guard to cease before drying his eyes: "Woolfher, you rest for the night, and when the people of Erie arrive, return to York with Uhtred's body." Again, I command you to escort the Earl of Surrey into the hands of the Count of Benicia, only to tell him that I have promised the life of this captive. ”

Woolfher nodded with a glazed look in her eyes, and her hands were still stained with sticky blood clots, and she didn't move. The knights of England all around him understood his pain, and some remembered that the guards of King Harold must have died in the same way when their lord was shot on Mount Senlack.

Edgar's mood was difficult to calm down for a long time, he didn't understand the Anglo-Saxon "royal companion" before, until he witnessed it and realized what this kind of partnership with the same meal and night meant, the guards are not servants, nor bodyguards, they are the flesh and blood of the king and the lord, any disappointment of the flesh and blood means shame, and if the prince is accompanied by ten guards who live and die together, he can even laugh at the pride of a million heroes.

Dead knights are like broken swords, no matter how glorious they once were, they can only die with the grass and trees, but Prince Edgar still needs to maintain the rest of the battle. After breaking the Norman blockade, he sent Martin "Scud" back to Erie to interrogate Hereward and agree on a subsequent evacuation time. The losses of the English and Danes in the moors were great, but the number of people who needed to be evacuated was still not low, and Edgar planned to defend Byrne for five days and then immediately return north, so the rest of the time was very tight, and Herriward's men had to withdraw from the island before the whole army of Bishop Odor arrived.

After changing into the clean robes that once belonged to the Earl of Surrey, Edgar fell into a deep sleep of exhaustion. At dusk that day, Martin, who had sneaked to the island of Erie, informed his master of the news of the opening of the northern route, and Herry Ward, who was trapped on the isolated island, was immediately overjoyed, he licked his fingers, stretched out vertically, and then said to Martin: "The wind is favorable, we will set sail at once, and dock north in advance." ”

The English rebels on the island were resolute, and under the order of Hereward, they quickly loaded all the wounded and sick on the ship, and carried the booty materials that could be taken with them to the cabin, and in order to avoid startling the grass and snakes, they did not burn the dock forts on the island, and set out in batches. The moonlight shrouded the ships of the English through the mist on the water, but there was silence all around, only the sound of the wind on the sails and the oars on the water came to his ears from time to time, and Hurry Ward looked south at Erie, and remembered his uncle's situation, and sighed softly, but he did not expect that he would once again have to leave his homeland and go into exile.

After stopping the ship on the shore, Martin rushed in the direction of Bourne, and he approached the vigilant English sentry: "I am Martin, Lord Hereward's squire, and take me to the prince." ”

After recognizing him by the moonlight, the Englishman was surprised, but took him to Edgar's tent. At this time, it was already the second half of the night, and the prince slept very deeply, and when he was finally awakened, Edgar sprinkled cold water on his face, and his long hair was also soaked before he recovered his spirits: "Martin, aren't you going to Erie Island?" ”

"Yes, sir. My host has arrived. Martin replied.

"So fast!" Edgar was taken aback, apparently unprepared.

"My lord said that the moorland is full of enemy troops now, and it is safer to leave tonight."

Edgar nodded, draped a slightly wide pale yellow woollen robe over his body, picked up a slice of cheese from the table, and said as he ate, "Now take me to your family." ”

When Herry Ward met Prince Edgar outside the Norman camp, he didn't recognize him at first sight, the young nobleman was dressed in a Norman robe, and he behaved more like a nobleman from the continent except for his beard. After Martin introduced the prince, Hereward saluted, but remembered what he had heard King Grufiz of Wales say to Edward the Confessor when he was younger: "A Norman mongrel." ”

After hearing Edgar's voice, Hereward suddenly realized the current situation: the other party was not King Edward, who had exiled him in the first place, and he was not the mercenary who followed the Welsh and prepared to attack Earl Harold sent by Edward. He dispelled these distractions, and listened to the young prince of England say to himself, "Your Excellency's subordinates have arranged to rest in the camp, I wonder what your lordship plans to do in the future?" ”

There was a scar on Heriward's handsome face, which was slightly hideous, and he suddenly drew the long sword from his waist, an abrupt action that caused the English guards behind Edgar to draw their swords and stand on guard. I saw this England Sain raise the sword in his hand, and once again bent his knees and saluted Edgar: "I am just a homeless exile, and I only hope that your lord will accept this sword." ”

Seeing this, Edgar nodded, pushed away the knights who were protecting him, and stepped forward and said, "I, Edgar of Wessex, accept your service, and from now on you will have the right to rest in my banquet hall, eat and drink with me, and fight in the same column." I will treat you just as I would all the warriors of the banquet hall, and if you are victorious, you will share glory and treasure, and if you are defeated, you will drink blood and die. In the name of the Throne of England and St. Edward, you will be the squire and knight of Prince Edgar of England. ”