Both Ezio and Petruccio grew up in Florence, and both of them were a little nervous and uneasy when they left their hometown for the first time.

As a member of the Assassin Brotherhood, Maria learned about the situation no later than Giovanni.

The next morning, Mr. and Mrs. Auditore took Federico and Claudia to see off the two departing brothers.

Federico put his arm around his two younger brothers by the neck, whispering to comfort them.

Claudia, completely unaware, seemed very uneasy, and she repeatedly asked her mother what had happened.

Giovanni looked up at the sky, clapped his hands lightly and reminded: "The goodbye that should be done has also been done, let's go." ”

Turning his head to look at Lu Xiao, who had already put on his hood, Giovanni solemnly asked him: "Lu, Ezio and Petruccio will be handed over to you." ”

Lu Xiao also replied: "Okay, I promise to send them to Mario unharmed." ”

Leaving the city for the first time, Ezio and Petruccio, who shared a horse, crossed the city gate and kept looking back.

In the morning sun, the city of Florence looks beautiful, and the towers of the churches are still visible, but the smoke of the cooking stove obscures the two men's gaze at the Auditore Mansion.

Lu Xiao waited silently for five minutes before waking up the two brothers who stopped to look back: "Two, it's time for us to go, believe your family, this separation is only temporary, and when everything calms down, you will return to the city again." ”

"Think of it as a trip to Monteriggioni to see your Uncle Mario."

Ezio took a deep breath, turned his horse's head and nodded to Lu Xiao, his previous bohemian temperament was obviously restrained, and his demeanor looked a lot more mature.

"Let's go, Petruccio, hold on to the reins."

"Hmm."

……

Just as Lu Xiao rode alone through the wilderness in 1475, on the way back to Monteriggioni, Ezio and Petruccio experienced first-hand how dangerous the wilderness could be in this era.

"Whoosh!"

Lu Xiao, who was riding on a horse, let go of the half-open bowstring, and the arrow that quickly cleared the air pierced the back of the head of the last robber who tried to block the road and rob, and the bandit group of more than a dozen people was destroyed.

"Gott~"

Petruccio's pale face bent over the side of the avenue and retching, the first time he saw a bloody corpse, the mild-mannered teenager was very uncomfortable.

Strange to say, Lu Xiao did not have such an overreaction when he participated in the defense of Monteriggioni, and he quickly adapted to the tragic battlefield full of corpses.

Ezio also appeared to be calm, and even took a sword in his hand to kill two robbers who tried to attack Petruccio.

Seeing Lu Xiao squatting down and groping for something on the corpse, Ezio asked with a frown as he helped Petruccio down his back with his hand, "What are you doing?" They're dead. ”

"Look for clues to determine if there is someone behind these robbers."

Lu Xiao rummaged through the bodies of more than a dozen members of the bandit group one by one, but found nothing, which made him breathe a sigh of relief.

At least it proves that the Templars did not take the departure of the two Ezio brothers very seriously.

"Let's go, keep going, and try to get to Auditore this afternoon."

Monteriggioni is just a small castle in Tuscany, not far from the city of Florence, even if they take care of Petruccio, who is not good at horseback riding, Lu Xiao and the three of them only took a few days to get to Monteriggioni City.

Mario had already received Giovanni's letter through the Flying Pigeon, and he personally stood at the city gate to welcome Lu Xiao and his two nephews.

After a year of not seeing him, Mario didn't look the same as before, and as soon as Ezio and Petruccio dismounted, he burst into laughter and strode up to hug each other.

"Ezio, Petruccio, welcome to Monteriggioni, you didn't have any trouble along the way, did you?"

The last time Ezio and Petruccio saw Mario was very young, and they had no memory of Mario's appearance.

Seeing the blank eyes of the two nephews, Mario was stunned and slapped Ezio on the back: "What? Don't know me anymore? I'm Mario. ”

Ezio grinned at the big hand that Mario slapped on the back, and he reluctantly replied, "Uncle Mario, it's been a long time. “

"It's okay along the way, I only encountered a group of robbers who blocked the road and robbed, as well as a small number of beasts that tried to attack at night, all of which were solved by Lu Yi."

Mario rubbed Petruccio's hair dotingly, and finally let go of the two and walked in front of Lu Xiao.

Clapping his hands heavily on Lu Xiao's shoulders, Mario nodded with satisfaction: "Compared with when you left a year ago, your body is stronger, it seems that you haven't relaxed your exercise because of the bustling and extravagant city life, it's good!" ”

Ezio tugged at the corners of his mouth and complained: "This guy is also boring enough, I asked him to go to the brothel with him several times to relax, but he was refused." ”

"Hahaha!"

Mario laughed and waved for the three of them to follow: "Ezio, it seems that you are a typical city man who indulges in enjoyment, I'm afraid Monteriggioni is going to disappoint you, there are no brothels here, but I promise you won't be bored during this vacation." ”

"Giovanni entrusted me with strict training in the letter, you have just arrived today, I will give you a day to rest and adapt."

"From the day after tomorrow, get up at 5 a.m., and during this time I will teach you how to fight as a man and how to protect the most important things with your own hands."

Ezio's expression suddenly stiffened: "...... Ha? 5 o'clock?! ”

……

Arrange for a servant to bring the depressed Ezio and the exhausted Petruccio into the guest room on the second floor, and Mario leads Lu Xiao into the study and begins to talk about business.

"Lu, I should have held a banquet to entertain you after a long absence, but the current situation does not allow us to relax, let's get straight to the point."

Mario took out a map and spread it out on the table, reached out and tapped heavily on a castle: "San Gimignano, the fiefdom capital of the Pache family." ”

"Due to the feud between Auditore and the Pache family, the two sides have gone back and forth in the past ten years, and I have led troops to attack San Gimignano many times."

"San Gimignano today is completely different from what it used to be, and the strength of its defenses is simply unparallel."

Mario pursed his lips and said with a pain: "Maybe it's Rodrigo's bridging, the Patch family has newly purchased a large number of cannons, and San Gimignano is armed to the teeth by them, and it is almost impossible to break through the defense of the city wall with a frontal hard attack." ”

"The scouts I sent infiltrated the city and there was no response, eighty percent of them were more than lucky, to be honest, I really didn't know anything about this well-defended city."

Although Mario is the leader of the Italian Brotherhood of Assassins, he has never learned the orthodox skills of infiltration and assassination due to his personal personality, and behaves more like a brave mercenary leader in battle.

Lu Xiao smiled understandingly: "I understand, I'm here to help you this time." ”

"Florence cannot be lost, and the Medici family cannot fall, and for this we need more detailed information from San Gimignano."

"I'm going to infiltrate the city myself, but I need your support and feints to help me distract some of the soldiers defending the city."

Mario smacked his chest hard: "No problem! I have surveyed in advance, and there is a partial defect in the wall near the Simon de San Gimignano, which the Pache family has not had time to repair. ”

"I will lead the mercenaries to attack from the east gate, attract the defenders as much as possible, and the task of infiltrating the city will be left to you."