The Duke swung his hammer and struck the railing hard, making a loud "clang" sound, but no one responded, "Maybe the master here is sleeping?" General Neule guessed.

"Let's go in and have a look." Dali suggested.

The castle walls were also pitch black, but fortunately, the dark clouds drifted away, and the bright moonlight splashed down, and I could finally see what I was looking for, and there were three buildings in the castle.

In the center is a large and fortified fortress, with a square tower on the left and right, two suspended stone beams connecting the three buildings, and several ancient minarets on top of the fortress, the sound of wings flapping can be faintly heard, and there must be bats perched on the top of the minaret.

"What a strong fortress," exclaimed the Duke, "if it were in the age of knightly wars, there would not have been a few thousand men who would not have thought of attacking it." ”

Dalí slowed down and began to look around with interest "Great design, the embodiment of the wisdom of the ancients." Even if you break through the outer walls and enter the interior, you will be caught by the arrows of the fortress and the two towers, and the siege weapons will have difficulty entering through the drawbridge, and the attackers will have to attack with flesh and blood. ”

"Fortunately, there are large-caliber cannons now, no matter what kind of castle he is, just collapse directly." General Neule said.

"Yes, gunpowder weapons have changed the shape of warfare, and now it is the era of line formations, so this ancient castle is obsolete and has been replaced by a modern Lingbao fortress."

The group walked to the gate of the fortress, and General Neulai stepped forward and slammed the door with his fist: "Knock knock! Is anyone there? ”

The four of them only heard the sound of insects chirping and the sound of bat wings, but no one answered.

Dali scratched his head: "What's going on?" There should be someone...... Did you go out? "Now, even he himself is beginning to doubt.

Baron Baldwin hung his head and looked at Dali with a reproachful look: "It seems that it was a trip for nothing, but this is good, I can only wait until the day to go back!" Hey, Dali, you guy didn't do a good job of investigating, and you made your majesty suffer!

You! It's best to find a shelter from the wind and rain quickly, and then build a decent bed for Your Majesty, and make a good comeback! ”

With that, he kicked the pebbles on the ground in boredom, and when he raised his head, he suddenly froze and said loudly, "Hey! Look there, it's right in the second window of the tower! ”

The group looked up and saw a strange figure standing in the window, like a woman with a disheveled hair.

The four of them are all warriors who have been baptized on the battlefield, but they are not afraid at all, but they are a little curious.

General Neulai took out his binoculars and looked at them carefully by the moonlight, and then said with a smile: "Haha, it's just a prank, look closely, that face is a canvas bag, and the hair is all made of weeds, and that thing is a scarecrow." ”

"It looks like we've discovered the secret of the castle's haunting," Dalí quipped, "and there's no scarecrow to tell from outside the walls, and the islanders must have thought they saw the ghost, and one by one they were scared and went back to the town's taverns to spread it." “

"Hahahaha! These cowardly hillbillies! Neule burst out laughing, and the dreary atmosphere in the team eased.

At this moment, I only heard a "Oh hehehehe! An eerie laugh came from the top of the spire, and the bats that roothed there flew out in unison, causing all four to draw their weapons in unison.

"! Who? Dare to pretend to be a ghost in front of His Majesty! General Neulai roared angrily, raising his flintlock pistol and pulling the trigger towards the window of the minaret.

"Phew! Bang bang bang! "The projectile shattered a window, and shards of glass fell.

"Come out! You bastard! Don't you like to play pranks to scare people? Wait for me to go up and pull you out and punch you in your front teeth! I'll teach you what true horror is! ”

Neulai's angry shouts echoed through the castle, and seeing that no one responded, he continued to curse: "You'd better get out of here!" Otherwise, I'll bring in the cannons, blast down this damn stone wall, and beat you bastard!" ”

And this time, someone really responded, and a hoarse voice came from the top of the spire: "My lord! I'm sorry! Please don't be angry, I'll come down now! ”

After the man had finished speaking, there was the creak of stepping on the wooden ladder from above, the sound of someone coming downstairs, and soon the lights were lit in the windows of the lower level of the fortress.

"Haha, this coward, scare him out in two sentences!" General Neule said triumphantly.

The sound came to the first floor, and there was the sound of someone unloading the doorgate, and the huge wooden door with nails was slowly pushed open, and Dali, Baldwin, and Neulai all raised their pistols and swords to protect the Duke behind them.

They were greeted by a haggard-looking hunchbacked old man, whose face was covered with wrinkles and age spots, who looked to be seventy or eighty years old, with a crumbling body, a badly deformed back that was raised high, holding a candlestick in one hand and a walnut cane in the other.

Seeing that there was no threat from the comer, the three of them put down their weapons, and Neulai stepped forward and asked sharply, "Old man, are you pretending to be a ghost?" ”

"I did it, my lord, but I have no ill will, I just want to expel strangers from the territory, the cannon you said or something...... Forget it...... Uh-huh-hehe-hehe. The hunchbacked old man's voice was extremely hoarse, which was why he let out the weird ridicule just now, and if the ignorant local islanders heard it, they would definitely be so frightened that they peed their pants.

The duke's sharp eyes swept over the old man, and he immediately saw that this person was humble, and she pushed away the three attendants and came to the old man: "You are just a servant, what about the master here?" He's the one who told you to scare people, right? ”

"You're sharp-eyed, my lord...... Oh no, it's a beautiful lady, you're really tall, ahem. “

He coughed a few times and continued: "The master here...... Lord Stronghall, he doesn't like strangers to visit, so he let me, poor old servant, do it for me, you are the first wave not to be scared away, what a brave, ahem, ahem......"

"Do you know my identity?" The Duke asked.

The hunchbacked old man tried to raise the candle and looked at it carefully: "Well, in military uniform...... The lady of the rich family loves to play this kind of trick, and you must be from the noble allies...... A young lady from a wealthy family? The other three are your bodyguards?"

Neulai couldn't help but interject: "Old man! Playing pranks here all day long, no wonder you don't know anything! The Starfall Islands are no longer part of the League of Nobles, and in front of you is His Majesty the great Duke of Valstad, Sarantos Midnet, who is your rightful monarch! You should be addressed by the honorific title 'Your Majesty'. ”

After hearing the identity of the comer, the hunchbacked old man was so frightened that he almost fell, (oh my God!) This is the legendary princess in costume? The tyrannical woman who defeated the Four-Nation Alliance? It's good to come down and open the door, otherwise it will really be flattened by the cannon! He thought in horror.

The Duke hugged the old man, "Listen, I have something important to talk to your master, you just mentioned Lord Stronghall, he is the master here, right?" ”

"Yes, Your Majesty, this castle is the home castle of the Stroenhold family, but the lord he is asleep, his bedroom is deep in the fortress, and he can't hear any movement outside, do you want me to wake him up?"

The duke waved his hand at him: "No need, we are uninvited guests after all, and it is rude to wake up the master like this."

We are quite tired after a busy day, you go and arrange four bedrooms for us, and I will visit the master again tomorrow morning. ”