After using the same trick to open the second gate of Blakeness Castle, Isabel Walton and nine other night raiders quietly entered a small clearing between the main building and the defensive walls and towers. In front of them is the black, three-story main building, flanked on the left and right by a patrol wall at the top, and behind it is a tower that is also three stories high.

Armed with a custom-made longbow, a leather quiver, a friar's hood, an infantry bust and two swords, Isabel stood in front of the main building, looking up at the main building. She guessed that the main building was supposed to be a prison, and the tower behind her was inhabited by 10 knights guarding the prison. As for the 30 sergeants, they probably lived in the two rows of houses to the northwest and east of the plaza outside the main building.

Several people behind him stood quietly in place, looking east and west, and Fast, who was holding a sword, drew his short-handled battle axe again, and whispered beside the squad commander, "Your Excellency, do you need to find those knights immediately?" ”

Isabel nodded, "Well, we must find the 10 knights guarding the prison and clear them all." ”

"Yes, Your Excellency." Fassy nodded and immediately bowed his head at the others, and the nine night raiders armed with various melee weapons immediately split up and walked briskly towards the main building and the tower behind them.

As the sun rose in the sky on September 1, all 40 Scots guarding the castle of Blakeness Prison were quietly killed in their sleep. Next, Isabel ordered two members of the team to disguise themselves as Scottish sergeants to guard the gate of the square, while the other team members went to all the rooms in the castle to collect the Scots' weapons, armor, personal belongings and other loot.

When it was dark, all the members of the team gathered in the conference hall on the second floor of the tower, except for two members of the team who were guarding the gate of the square disguised as Scottish sergeants. Isabel took a glass of Scottish ale and examined the weapons, armor, and personal belongings stacked on the conference table and on the floor.

Soon, she walked to a window on the south side of the conference hall and turned to look at the crowd, "Brothers, the battle before sunrise today is very good. Before I distribute the spoils, I need to tell you what to do next. ”

Several of the guards who had fought on the western frontier a few years ago smiled as they looked at her, and they seemed to already know what Isabelle's next move would be. Fast who was standing in front of him glanced at the other guards, and said with a smile, "Your Excellency, do you want us all to go to Stirling Castle disguised as Scots?" ”

Pretending to be an enemy army to spy on military intelligence in the enemy's sphere of influence and capture hostages is still very beneficial. Either way, at least Isabel's tactical use hasn't failed so far. Holding his glass, he nodded as he glanced at Fast, "Fast, you're saying a good job. However, we only have 10 sets of quasi-lancer armor, how do you think it should be distributed? ”

Fast scratched his head in thought and muttered, "Uh, Your Excellency, let the skilled men put on the quasi-lancer armor, and the others... Pretending to be a sergeant? ”

"Fast, what if you need to ride to Stirling Castle? I think that the Scottish sergeants, like our sergeants, are not qualified to ride horses. ”

Seeing that everyone did not speak, she said unhurriedly, "Brothers, I will make the people who fought on the western frontier a few years ago wear quasi-lancer armor, and the rest will still wear 'Arman Rivets' and dress up as long archers. ”

According to the three captured rangers, it was only a short ride from Blackness Castle to Stirling Castle to the northwest, which Isabel thought was about two or three hours. Therefore, instead of letting the sneak attack team set off immediately, she hid in Blackness Castle and waited for the sunset to come.

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Isabel and her members of the Raid Team spent their first day in Scotland resting in the castle until just after 5 p.m. Of course, before setting out, she ordered Fast and a few other members of the team to bring the hunting ground keepers to find two freight wagons from several villages near the castle.

Afterwards, 10 members of the team, who had changed into three-quarters armor (quasi-lancer armor), rode on the horses of the castle guard knights, while the rest of the team left Blakeness Castle in the dark of night in two freight carriages. As for the three hunting ground keepers, two were silenced, and one was coerced to lead the party to Stirling Castle.

Since she gave Captain Hawkins a maximum of a week to wait for the ship to stay at sea, she had to complete the mission of spying on Stirling Castle and capturing the Queen of Scots within a week. At this moment, a group of 10 "Scottish quasi-lancers" on horseback and two carriages full of Scottish longbowmen were speeding down the road to Stirling Castle.

The tactic of pretending to be Scottish knights and longbowmen was so successful that few of the Scottish towns and villages they passed through dared to ask about their identity. Despite being a woman, Isabel disguised herself as a longbowman and hid in a carriage. In doing so, she was hidden from almost all the eyes of the Scottish people.

At this time, Isabel did not know everything related to Stirling Castle. Located to the north of the Stirling Princely Borough, Stirling Castle is one of the largest and most important castles in Scottish history and architectural history. Perched on top of a hill and surrounded by steep cliffs on three sides, the castle's natural geography creates a formidable defensive position. Most of the main buildings of the castle were built from the 15th and 16th centuries, some buildings from the 14th century still exist, and the fortifications outside the castle were built until the beginning of the 18th century.

Prior to the formation of a confederation with England in the 17th century, Stirling Castle was one of the most widely used residences of the Scottish royal family, being both a palace and a castle. Several kings and queens of Scotland have been crowned at Stirling Castle, including Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots on 9 September 1543.

Immediately after the death of James V in the Frontier War of 1542, Mary I was escorted to Stirling Castle by her mother, Queen Mother Guise, with a large contingent of knights, attendants and servants. The Queen Mother did this not only to protect her daughter from James V, but also to allow her to complete the coronation ceremony in the Royal Chapel in Castle.