After the duel was aborted unexpectedly, the tavern lady Sally Cooper thought of going to greet Isabel or have a few words. However, the other party stayed with the lord's wife and the sword-carrying attendants of the lord's family to talk about something, and Sally saw that she had no free time, so she decided to go back to the tavern to continue her business.

Just as she was about to leave, she found a crowd of strange adult men with swords, daggers, daggers, axes, hammers, and arrows. Living in the North, it is common for everyone to carry one or two weapons out of the country to distant places, and no one breaks the law by carrying a weapon out.

Sally mistook these men for civilians in her own county or other counties, and therefore did not doubt their identity. Just as she saluted a few businessman-looking men and was about to leave, several men dressed as hired servants blocked her way. Sally didn't understand what this meant, and glanced at the group of "hired men" with her hands on her hips, "Hey, don't you want to leave?" The duel is over. ”

One of Matthew's fellow thieves came out from among the hired men, smiled and said to Sally, "Ma'am, our chief would like to invite you to stay for a glass of ale and to talk about something of interest. ”

At this point, Sally still hadn't figured out the purpose of the group. Just grinning and smiling nonchalantly, "What, your leader has taken a liking to me and wants me to be his mistress?" ”

"Well, I don't think he's interested in mistresses."

"Oh, since you don't want me to be his mistress, then let you get out of the way, I'm going to go home and nurse my son." After Sally finished speaking, her hands crossed her waist and straightened her breasts up on the outside of the neckline of her tights.

"Ma'am, I don't want to joke with you, we just want you to help us with something." The thief in the woolen merchant's costume didn't even have a smile on his face, but said coldly.

Sally looked at the expressionless men with all kinds of weapons in confusion, and gradually sensed that something was wrong. She began to suspect that the men were either trying to rape her or kill her. An almost innate fear of savage, rough men came to mind, and he blinked at the "wool merchant" who was speaking to him and smiled gently, "My lord, please forgive me for being rude. Whatever your leader wants me to do, if I can do it. ”

The "wool merchant" turned his head and nodded at the two hired men, and then looked at her coldly, "Ma'am, don't worry, as long as you stay quietly with our people, we won't hurt you." ”

"Damn it, did I get taken hostage of thieves?" Sally Cooper, who couldn't fight and didn't have weapons, still planned to fight to the end, after all, the place where she was was only half a mile from the lord's castle.

"What do you want to do? Want to take me hostage? I tell you, half a mile away is my lord's castle, and are you not afraid that the lord will send men to catch you? ”

"Your lord... It's just a nobleman, even if he wants to send someone to arrest us, he has to spend a lot of money to hire foreign cavalry and sergeants. By then, do you think your lord will still be able to catch us? Matthew's accomplice turned his head and shouted at the two hired men armed with one-handed swords, "Hold her, don't let her run." ”

———————————

John Neville, the eldest son of Baron Latimer III, glanced at Karl, who was standing a few steps away, and said coldly, "Boy, you wanted to kill your Excellency in the dueling arena just now. Now you're coming to join us, what do you want to do? Are you going to stab you in the back? ”

Isabel glanced at Karl, who bowed her head slightly, knowing that the young man who had no scheming had been moved by her beautiful words at this time. He looked at John, who was a fellow enemy, with a calm face, and said to Carl, "Carl, stay with the sergeant behind you, you can't do anything without my orders." ”

"Yes, Your Excellency." Karl respectfully agreed, then walked up behind Isabel with the tip of his sword in his hand and stood with the sergeant in his hand.

"Godmother, you're really not worried that this savage brat will kill you?" John asked in a whisper as he followed Isabel.

"Don't you see that he has surrendered to me?" Isabel rolled her eyes at her godson.

By this time, the 10 light cavalry of the security patrol had completed the task of outflanking Matthew and his men, and lined up in a line on the south side of the Swell River in the clearing. As long as Isabel's men can withstand the desperate efforts of this group of rebels in the middle, the light cavalry that cut off the rear can easily cover the past from behind and completely crush the rebels' offensive.

Several of the former accomplices gathered around Matthew looked in the direction behind him, and were a little alarmed at the sight of a platoon of light cavalry on standby. An accomplice hurriedly called out to Matthew, "Chief, our retreat has been cut off, what now?" ”

Matthew stared unhurriedly at Isabel and the others who were walking in front of him, "Don't be afraid, as long as we don't do anything, they won't do anything to us." ”

"You know these noble squires won't kill us?"

"Stupid, the nobles have no right to kill us, they can only drive us out of the nobles' territory."

The leader of the thieves, who seems to know the rights and laws of the nobility, does not realize that he and his men have broken the law. Even if the retainers and guards of the Duke of Richmond, led by Isabel, could not kill them directly, they could decide whether they were guilty or not through the two county magistrates.

Soon, the two opposing sides came into contact in the open space south of the dueling arena. When Isabel looked at Matthew and the others who were about ten paces away with a serious face, she also found Sally standing in the crowd surrounded by thieves. Looking at Matthew calmly, he asked word by word, "What's your name?" What did you bring your people to Richmondshire for? ”

Matthew held the hilt of the saber at his waist in his left hand, took off his hat with his right hand, bowed to her slightly, and replied with a smile, "Good day, Miss Isabel." My name is Matthew Bisle, and we're here just to visit the northern counties. ”

"Travel? Are you trying to do something illegal in Richmondshire? ”

"Illegal? Miss, I don't think you have the right to stop us from staying in your lord's land, do you? ”

What Matthew and the others had done before, Isabel didn't know. Even though she knew it was a group of thieves, she had no evidence to accuse them. If there had been no wrongdoing on her part, she could only expel them from the Duke's domain as unpopular with the Duke of Richmond.