Just after 4 a.m., Isabel Walton galloped all the way to the northeast of the county, outside the village of Hartforth. At the edge of the stream where she had last conspired with Sir Alexon Congreve, she met with Sir and several strange knights whom she had never met.

A knight standing to the right of Ferguson on horseback holds a torch, and the light of the torch illuminates the faces of the two men who meet. Isabel sat on her horse and nodded at Ferguson, who was also on the horse, and said, "Good morning, Sir." ”

Ferguson nodded and said, "Good morning, ma'am." ”

"So, these are your brothers, Sir?"

"That's right, ma'am, they're the best berserkers. You can also call them devils from hell if you will. ”

After Ferguson finished laughing, several knights in different costumes, armed with spears and shields, and wearing knights' swords and battle axes, laughed in unison. Isabel smiled the same way, and then said, "Sir, I can see that they are the best knights. Of course, after this battle, it will be more accurate to judge who is the best knight. ”

Ferguson glanced around at the crowd around him, then looked at her and said, "Ma'am, I think we should go, there is still a long way to go from here to the village of Westwick." ”

Isabel nodded in agreement, and then followed the group of knights at a rapid gallop towards their intended goal. After about 40 minutes, they quietly stopped outside the village of Westwick, less than 5 miles from Barnard Castle. Under Sir Alex Ferguson's command, they dismounted and led their horses into a small grove of woods to the southeast of the village.

After concentrating the horses on the southern edge of the grove, each entered the pre-planned ambush with food, water or wine, and various weapons. Isabel and Ferguson sat behind a fallen tree trunk, their eyes staring intently at the east-west path leading to Barnard Castle outside the woods in front of them.

Ferguson pointed to the left side of the road, then to the right and whispered, "Ma'am, on the left is the road to Barnard Castle, and the gratuity army will come from the right." ”

Isabel observed the road in front of her, which was still a few dozen yards away from their ambush site, and after a moment's thought, whispered, "Sir, as far as I can see, our ambush location should be 50 to 60 yards (about 46 to 55 meters) away from that road. Well, can your men charge to the nearest place before the gratuity army puts up an effective resistance? ”

Ferguson took a small piece of beef jerky and chewed slowly, looking at the empty and silent road in the dark night, and thought, "I don't think there will be much of a problem." Because my men are running very fast, and at the moment it is in the dark. ”

Then he added: "Madam, even if there were casualties among my men during the time they were rushing towards the enemy, I believe that more than half of them would have been wounded or killed. ”

"Well, no matter what, we're going to get through this dangerous open area in the shortest possible time." Isabel nodded.

"Don't worry, ma'am. My men have already inquired about the situation of this honoraria army, and no longbowmen will follow this army into Barnard Castle today. Ferguson, after inspecting the road, retracted his sticking head.

"Why? Had there ever been a longbowman who had followed the gratuity army in the past? ”

"Yes, ma'am. Barnard Castle was manned with longbowmen, so Lord Darlington would rotate them in the same way that knights and sergeants were regularly rotated. ”

"Sir, what you said is more important. If there are longbowmen in the gratuity army today, let me deal with them. ”

"Thank you, ma'am. Uh, Isabel, I've always wondered how you did it that day? ”

"What? Sir, you mean what happened that day at the archery training ground? ”

Ferguson leaned against the trunk of a tree and glanced at his brothers who were sitting in groups of threes and twos not far away. He took a sip of wine from the cowhide water bag he had at hand and said, "Yes, I've never seen a lady shoot 13 arrows in a row. ”

Isabel also took out some beef jerky from her flax pocket and ate it, and said with a soft smile as she ate: "Sir, have you heard of the 'rebel' who carries the Scottish sword and is revered by the Scottish people, but is hated and hunted down by the English? ”

"Let me think about it. Ma'am, are you talking about William Wallace, the Scotsman of the Scots during the reign of His Majesty King Edward I? ”

"Uh-huh, sir, you know this man too?"

"Actually, I've heard some Scots tell the legend of Wallace."

"Oh, sir, I mean to say that Wallace's swordsmanship and horseback riding and archery skills were learned from a priest."

Ferguson glanced at her, shook his head and said with a smile: "It seems that the method of our King Henry VIII using European Burgundians as his mercenaries can indeed produce unexpected results on the battlefield. ”

Isabel replied leisurely: "If Edward I had not used brutal repression against the Scots, William Wallace, a hero from a small Scottish aristocratic family, would probably not have appeared." ”

"Isabel, you won't understand, it's an era that requires force to survive."

"Of course. If this great monarch had not appeared in the history of the kingdom, there would have been no glorious victory in the early part of the Hundred Years' War. ”

After eating something to replenish their strength, and drinking enough water or wine, the Ferguson brothers began to show an unusual, primitive human instinct for battle in words and behavior.

Isabel casually observed these Vikings, the knights of Danish descent, but she couldn't help but feel anxious. Because the battle of life and death that began immediately was strictly an operation carried out by taking advantage of the dark conditions of the night. Since it is a night battle, it is necessary to secretly engage the enemy with a calm action, and then deliver a fatal blow to the enemy.

And Ferguson, who was sitting next to her, seemed to have a hearty expression on his face that he was eager to fight and enjoying the battle. Isabel coughed lightly and said calmly, "Sir, before I came here, I heard you say that your brothers are berserkers?" ”

Ferguson laughed, "Yes, we are all descendants of Viking berserkers, and fighting can make us look strong and terrifying. ”

"Well, Berserker, I like that title. Still, sir, I hope you can remember under what conditions this battle took place today. ”

"Isabel, you and Sir Augustine always look at everything so calmly. It seems that you are indeed a special Christmas gift from God to Sir Sir. ”

"Sir, you know what I'm talking about. Choosing to fight in such conditions requires silence, thinking of yourself as a tree here, a wind here. In this way, we will be able to reduce casualties and kill more enemies by surprise. ”