"A.D. 1127...... Don't be surprised by the truth, because the whole country knows about it. On that Sunday, when the crowd was chanting, 'Lord, wake up, why do you sleep?' and all of a sudden they heard and saw wild hunting patrols, and those hunters were tall and black and terrible, riding black horses and black horses, and carrying hounds as black as jets, and eyes as big as cups and plates, and terrifying. Such a scene, as seen from Peterborough Deer Park, as far north as Stamford, traversed through the woods, and the clergy could still hear the horn of the hunt that night. - Anglo-Saxon Chronicles

It was late at night, and darkness shrouded it. Only the south and the east have two fiery dragons, like two antlers, and the southern one is much thicker.

King Kruto felt that both teams on the opposite side had come to a standstill, but they were both like beasts lying in ambush, ready to pounce at any moment.

The opportunity was fleeting, and Kruto decided to leave the place before the enemy could attack, his voice was dark and majestic through the thick chains: "Attack!" ”

Under the command of King Kruto, the Slavic army pressed on the occupied camp, and the King of England was on this slope at this time.

Edgar didn't know if he was lucky or unlucky, his reinforcements had arrived, and from the southern fire, he could identify the columns he had trained with his own hands, but before they could arrive, he needed to hold off the enemy's desperate breakthrough.

"Get out of the way." Edgar finally made up his mind, he would not risk himself in a situation where he was in front of him, and he had made enough mistakes today, and he did not need to lose most of the elite to exchange the two thousand men in front of him.

"......But, Your Majesty," Count Otto's voice was almost impudent, but was interrupted by Edgar in advance.

"Now move closer to reinforcements, and then launch a pursuit." He pointed down with his iron gloved left hand, "Collect the troops after dawn." ”

The king's insistence discouraged the Saxon count from holding back the enemy, but this decision did not convince the Germans, especially when the corpses were found in the ruins of the village the next morning.

"Did Kruto escape?" Edgar asked calmly, holding a Saxon dagger in his hand.

"Your Majesty, we didn't find him." The one who answered was Count Rodrigo, and his tone seemed a little ashamed.

On the ground, a louse crawled out of Hereward's beard, and a decayed tooth loomed, and Edgar remembered the death of Earl Gerspatrick, a lord with a battle axe in his hand, full of princely dignity. And now the Saxon dagger in his hand is more suitable for hand-to-hand combat, in that kind of fierce conflict, there is no room for a tomahawk to wield, only such a sharp blade can pierce the abdomen and bring fear - a weapon suitable for Hereward.

"It doesn't matter, take me to that Henry." Edgar finally let go of the dagger that belonged to Hereward, which was still stained with dark blood, but the former owner was exhausted.

"Your Lord's body must be brought back to Peterboro at once, and then handed over to your wife." Before leaving, the king explained to Martin, who solemnly bowed his head.

After a day and a night of fighting, almost all of the king's guards were wounded, and Edgar himself seemed a little sluggish, and he did not want to see the exile in this way, so he braided his hair by the well and washed the blood from his face.

When he arrived at Prince Henry's camp, Edgar saw a young man of weak appearance, who was indistinguishable from the Germans in all aspects of his appearance and clothing.

This exile was the eldest son of the previous king of the Slavs, and Edgar was almost inconceivable that this was the one who discovered Kruto's plot and saved himself?

Edgar greeted the Slavic prince cautiously, and after listening to his story, it happened that one of the captives had been brought into the camp by Seon from Mercia, presumably on Rodrigo's instructions, and he confirmed the story from the captive, who had apparently been tortured.

"How did His Highness's spy know about this?"

"Your Majesty, there are still some Christians among my countrymen, and one of Kruto's wives accidentally leaked that conspiracy, and then her maid revealed it to my spy." As he spoke, he handed Edgar a piece of jewelry that shone with the sparkle of a gemstone.

"This is a gift from the King of Denmark to Kruto?" Edgar played with the jewel, his expression a little uncertain.

"A Danish treasure in disguise, a gift from a king."

Edgar looked closely at the other man's face, the young man was less like a master liar, more like a rich kid with little political experience, he was dressed in gorgeous clothes, and wore silver armbands, but his smooth hands seemed to imply that all these decorations were not earned by himself, but by others.

"It seems that the King of Denmark has made a dying wish." He muttered to himself that Osbjörn's audacity was a kind of humiliation to him, and that the death of Hereward made him even more guilty - that the Danish viper invited him to join the Confederacy, but wanted to attack and kill him by the hand of the Slavs, so that even if the English were angry, they would never think of the head of the Danish king, after all, the Danish priests were also killed by the infidels, perhaps this was also part of Osbjörn's plan to cleanse the Danish church of England without leaving a trace?

At this time, the Slavic prince Henry was curiously looking at the almost hideous King of England, in his mind, this majesty was his best hope to regain the throne, although the Duke of Saxony was generous, after all, he could only provide shelter for himself, and this was the real nobleman in front of him.

"Your Majesty?"

Edgar's musings were interrupted by Henry's eager voice, who threw the almost crushed jewelry on the table, looked up and said, "Your Highness, rest assured, needless to say, Your Highness's kindness, even for the sake of the good of the Holy Church, we will definitely fulfill Your Highness's wishes." ”

After leaving the contented Prince Henry, Edgar returned to his station, sat down and began to write a letter, and after writing the last line he called the guards and told them to send the letter to Norway at once, and then he seemed to feel a sigh of relief that since the King of Denmark had forgotten his old promise, he was justified in doing so: "That Hamlet should also return home......

The nearby knight Edwin couldn't help but ask, "Your Majesty, who is Hamlet?" ”

"Nothing, we just greeted King Olaf of Norway," Edgar replied slowly, "and by the way, to Prince Knut of Denmark." ”

Not knowing who Hamlet was, King Olaf or Prince Cnut in exile in Norway, Edwin quickly asked his more concern: "How are we going to get revenge next?" ”

"Wait, first to make the enemy fearful, then to feel hope, then to destroy his hope." The king said quietly, sending a shudder to Edwin.

For the Slavs, it was the gods who fled back to their homeland under the pursuit of Rodrigo's cavalry, so no matter how much King Kruto assured them that the Christians would send an army to retaliate, the tribes did not want to stay, they had completed their military service this year, and it was not even the season of war, everyone just wanted to return to the warmth of their homes, besides, didn't the Saxons not come yet?

Kruto watched in despair as his army vanished, and the massive Lübeck fortress was like a sweet prey, waiting for the enemy to stretch out its claws.

At Christmas Day, King Kruto seemed to have the luck that his enemies would not use their troops on their holy day, and almost at the same time, Edgar's troops were directed to the east bank of the Elbe.