After defeating the invasion of noble soldiers, the fame of the monastery spread throughout the surrounding towns and villages.

In particular, the story of the sword in the stone, after being added to the vinegar by the travelers, has been rendered into a variety of stories, almost every story is different, but it is generally about the weak monastery inhabitants led by an angelic knight who wields a sword in the stone, and defeats countless evil noble soldiers. This was confirmed by the noble soldiers who fled back to their homeland, preferring to admit that they had been defeated by angels rather than that they had been beaten all over the ground by a group of hillbillies, who accused them of deceiving them: the nobles told them that it was an altar of heresy, but now it seemed that it must have been the place where the angelic sword had fallen, otherwise why would they have been defeated. @%

Early the next morning, messengers were sent from the surrounding towns to report the good news to Abbot Innocent, offering that he would be able to leave the nobles and be placed under the monastery. They also made sense to do so, if they were the domain of the nobility, they would suffer if the enemy attacked, and conversely, if they were the jurisdiction of the monastery, as long as the abbot was not too active in the disputes between the nobles, no one would generally harass his domain. Innocent politely refused the merger petition of these people, and if he agreed, there really would be no possibility of negotiation with the nobles.

Tywi Knight should have told Innocent what I said. I was embarrassed to see the dean, so I hid myself in my hut all day, and asked the Kugit and Copernicus to help me with the message, hoping that Innocent would follow my advice. My actions are indeed to sow discord between the two deans. It makes me feel uneasy, but I can't help it. If Innocent doesn't feel threatened. He wouldn't really think about helping Varankov.

Krusetel and I often sat cross-legged on the dirt floor, kneading clods of earth to resemble the mountains surrounding the tributaries of the Ryazan River. Discuss how we can get my plan off the ground. While we were chatting, a priest looked around and left without saying a word. The next day, when I went there again, the Lothar brothers came to us. I know that this man is the best officer in Innocent, and I naturally know what he did when he came to us. After watching it for a while, Lothar joined us in the conversation.

"You said there were more than twenty days left. Right? He asked me, pinching his chin.

I've only told the two deans and Master Tivey, and I'm sure Innocent has already summoned his officers to deliver the news.

"Yes." I said to him, "Once this time is exceeded, Varankov will be powerless to continue to resist, and Prince Giovanni will die." Then everything we did before was in vain. ”

"It's not 'us,'" said Lothar, looking down at the mud without looking up, "it's 'you' who have done everything in vain." ”

"Lord Innocent will become bishop because of this."

"The bishop's crown is good, but if it is worn on the head of a dead man. It's not good-looking. Take a few hundred people to provoke the parliamentary soldiers? Why do we do such stupid things. ”

"Because it's worth it. Master Philip would have recommended Abbot Innocent for the post of Bishop of the Valankov region. ”

"The letter has been sent." "Lord Innocent hopes to have to get Bishop Philip's confirmation before making plans," Lothar said. ”

"No," I shook my head. "It was too late. Lord Innocent may not have understood the meaning of the letter. In the letter, Giovanni said that to prove that Lord Innocent was really a trustworthy man, it was necessary to wait until the prince and his soldiers were under the protection of Innocent. You can only see it when you board the boat. In other words, even after receiving the letter. If Prince Giovanni and the Duchy of Valan had ended up with it, Philip would not have admitted to receiving the letter. At that time. Philip will not protect Lord Innocent, who will have to face the wrath of all the nobles alone. ”

"Alarmist." Lothar frowned, "Tell me what's around there." ”

The Kugit and I immediately began to explain to him the topography of the tributaries of the Ryazan.

As we sat down to discuss, every once in a while, a group of pilgrims of a dozen people would arrive at the settlement, and every day at least sixty or seventy people would arrive at the monastery, and sometimes one hundred and fifty people, some of whom would just come and kiss the sacred stone of the sword in the stone, and then leave, and a considerable number of people would donate their possessions to the monastery in exchange for citizenship in order to settle down. There are two ways to settle in the monastery, the first is to donate a considerable amount of property, and you can freely buy land, open a house, accept employment in the town, and after a year of living, you can join the guild; The other way, much simpler, is to join the Oak Knights, serve for the Order for four years, and then get a house to live in the settlement and a piece of arable land outside the city. One of Innocent's conditions was obviously deceitful, the land in the city was so tight, most people were crammed into warehouses and lying in a row, some even slept on the streets, and it was only possible to arrange adequate housing for everyone, and the size of the monastery would have to be at least doubled, if not more.

Of course, Innocent used the reputation of the sword in the stone in exchange for people's trust in him for the next four years. Anyway, the first people to receive housing and farmland need to serve for four years before they can do it, and before that, Innocent only needs to think about how to feed the ever-expanding Knights.

On the third day, some of the merchants who looked like Nords unloaded thirty-one boxes of weapons and armor from the ship, and then left the ship empty, without taking any goods with them. This makes me a little uneasy, and I fear that these Nords are from the Zenda Alliance. If the Chanda Alliance had already cooperated with Innocent, then it was even less likely that Innocent would have run to help Prince Valan. The Chanda Alliance must have hoped that when they conquered Creel, the Vecchians would be able to kill each other and not be able to go south, and that was what they wanted. If Giovanni is allowed to go to Creel at this time, on the one hand, it will allow the Chanda Alliance to face Prince Valan directly, and on the other hand, Vekia will no longer be at war, and maybe more Vicchians will enter Creel one after another. That's trouble. However, the Nord merchant is not necessarily a Chanda merchant, even if he is a Chanda merchant. I'm sure they won't know our plans right away.

The number of the Knights was close to nine hundred, most of whom had only a spear and a coat of arms embroidered with oak. But three hundred of them were well-armed soldiers, mainly armed with iron equipment brought by captured noble soldiers and merchants.

Innocent released all the captured soldiers and nobles a few days later, and when they were released, Innocent asked the inhabitants to send them away with the utmost courtesy, and the elite troops of the Oak Knights made a way for them in front of and behind the captive procession. The soldiers of the Iron-clad Oak Knights made the noble soldiers' downfall even more embarrassing. Innocent hoped that the return of these soldiers would spark greater enthusiasm for the pilgrimage, while also sending some goodwill to the surrounding nobles. What satisfied Innocent the most was that more than a dozen of the captured noble soldiers had returned to the settlement under the leadership of a minor nobleman after leaving the settlement. Said they wished to join the Oak Knights. This minor nobleman was a distant relative of the boyars, who only held the title of ranger in the village, but he was the first nobleman to defect to the Order. This made Innocent very happy, and he dreamed that the nobles would be able to join the Oak Knights as fashionable, which would make it easier for him to deal with the nobles.

In the process of the rapid growth of the Oak Knights, I don't know if it was because of the lack of weapons, or because the Wikibians themselves are a people who are good at using bows and arrows, Dean Innocent sent bows and arrows to almost everyone. Every day many soldiers of the Oak Knights stand in dense queues at the request of the veterans. Shoot an arrow into a clearing in the distance. In close-range concentrated shooting, each soldier hardly needs to think about accuracy, they only need to ensure a general angle and sufficient speed to complete the killing of the enemy. In the same amount of time. The difference between ten arrows falling from the sky and a thousand arrows falling from the sky is almost worlds apart. The Wikibians' tradition of using the longbow made them accustomed to this kind of training, although they were unhappy with the concentration of shooting required by the knights. But they obeyed it well: only when the knights shouted orders, they concentrated on shooting at a piece of land. Outside the settlements. Every day five or six hundred people practiced archery there, even the well-armed infantry. Also practiced there. Archery was a physically demanding task, and almost every soldier returned to the settlement exhausted. However, the food in the monastery was very good, I could smell the smell of baked beans and smoked fish every day, and the soldiers recovered quickly.

For nearly a week, Innocent didn't see me again.

I became more and more agitated, and sometimes when Lothar came to ask me questions around Valankov, I seemed a little uncomfortable. Crusedle took the trouble to explain to Lothar what we saw: where there were stones, where there was mud, where there was a forest, where there was a three-meter-high stone wall. I found Lothar interested in a gentle slope sandwiched between a river and a ridge.

"You can't camp in this place." Distraught, I said, "You don't have the means to get the materials here, and even if you had the means to get the stones and timber there, the camp would be very small, and there wouldn't be enough room for the Valans to settle in." ”

Lothar didn't answer me, but continued to ask about the situation around the place.

I stood up, and when I was feeling a little bored, I suddenly noticed the abbot approaching from a distance with five nuns, all of whom were about the same age, all of them no more than thirty years old. As they walked up to me, the dean glanced up at where I was standing, and there was more indifference in her eyes than the last time I had seen her. When the nuns walked by, it was like a cold wind blowing around me. I feel like I've provoked this dean, so it's better to pay attention lately.

For the next few days, I didn't see the dean. Every day, the settlement looks different, and it's probably one of the fastest changing places on the continent. The shacks in the refugee camp have been removed by the soldiers and replaced with tent camps in the shape of military camps, with identical white or beige tents covering the ground, but the fly in the ointment is that there are no special manure tanks built here like in Xiaodonghu City, and the settlement is becoming more and more smelly as the population increases. The arrival of the pilgrims made the town no longer fit, outside the city walls. The yurts and huts that had disappeared for fear of the attack of the noble soldiers reappeared. Pilgrims began to live outside in large numbers every day. These pilgrims would go inside the city to kiss the stones, and then return outside the city to pray behind closed doors.

Two soldiers passed by me while chatting. From their conversation, I knew that the Oak Knights numbered more than a thousand, and that five hundred of them were armed even with the noble soldiers, leaving behind the armed farmers of the council soldiers. Such a statement is an exaggeration, some of these people are indeed well equipped, but after all, they are a minority, and most of them are very poorly equipped, otherwise, there is no need for Dean Innocent to equip everyone with bows and arrows, which are used by light infantry.

"Lothar." At the end of the day's conversation, I asked him, somewhat puzzled, "Is Lord Innocent embarrassed, he has almost received thousands of family property, why does he need his soldiers to carry bows and arrows?" He should have bought more armor, helmets, shields, and short swords. ”

"These people don't know how to wield a sword even if they wear the full armor of a knight and go to battle." "But Vicchia was born to shoot arrows, and we want to use their strengths, not exaltation of their weaknesses." Victor. ”

"Come on, don't tell me that. What exactly does Innocent think? He neither rejected me nor replied to me, what exactly did he mean? ”

Lothar smiled disdainfully. "Your mouth is not secure. You always want more people to know about your plan, or to let people know who you've convinced, which is a very poor technique. It's like a young man thinks to tell his rival. The girl has already secretly married him, and she can make her rival get out of the way. Victor. Sometimes your analysis is accurate, but you yourself are often the first to disbelieve it. Otherwise, why are you so impatient? ”

"Innocent agreed?" I was pleasantly surprised.

Lothar didn't speak, "No comment. He stood up, "But you've got enough of things in the monastery. If you want to borrow the power of the monastery, you should not use petty tricks to divide it. I don't like you at all, Victor the Valan, and I'm telling the truth. As soon as you come here, you want to be the center of this place right away, it's disgusting, are you a fucking prince or who? Remember who you are and be respectful of the people you meet, or you will die an unknown death one day. After this siege, I hope I will never see you again in the monastery. ”

He's hated me all these days, but he didn't show it until today, this guy really does look like a veteran. I guess what he wanted to say was Innocent's advice to me.

After Lothar was gone, I finally couldn't help but laugh.

While sharpening the ends of a thick wooden stake more than three meters long with an axe, Elon asked me, "What are you laughing at?" ”

"Don't you know what Brother Lothar means? Innocent is about to send troops. ”

"He scolded you just for the sweet fruit you were given?"

"Oh, they decent people have this problem. Because they are worried that they will scold you and be embarrassed to see you again in the future, they will endure it all the time. When something happens, they will scold. The only thing that can only change now is that Innocent is ready to agree to send troops. ”

"You kneeling people have so many problems, no wonder the chief asked me" Elon suddenly shut up.

I guess it was Victoria's request to him, but I wonder what he was doing sharpening this thick stake. "This is the camp fence? No, it's too thin to make a fence at all, and what are the ends sharpened? It's too thick to make a spear. ”

"How do I know?" Elon swelled his muscles again, swinging his axe and slashing, "It's a good deal for the people of the monastery to take this kind of two-pointed stake, ten for a glass of wine. ”

"If you want to drink, I can give you money."

", the wine and urine that others give away are almost unpalatable, and it's still delicious from your own axe, haha."

Next to the triumvirate tavern, piles of sharpened wooden stakes at both ends. There were also many stout men around who were chopping the stakes, which were neither thick nor thin, sharpening the ends, not knowing what they were going to do. Dozens of ** men with upper bodies were swinging giant axes there, and the owner and proprietress of the Triumvirate Tavern were trembling with fear, both of them were wearing helmets, and the Yingluo on the helmets was shaking all the time, and they had a shield on their chests and backs, which were tied to their shoulders with ropes.

I didn't sleep well that night because the people outside kept tossing and turning until late. The next day, the men got up early again, and the trumpets and snare drums came and went.

I frowned and was awakened by a drum beat, trying to fall asleep again, but I didn't feel sleepy anymore.

Wait, drum beats!

I got up, put on my clothes and trousers, put my foot inside my boots, took my saber from the wooden frame, and ran all the way down the stairs. On the carpet on the first floor, the female companion that Elon brought back was lying naked, but Elon was nowhere to be seen, which looked really bad, and I pulled a cloth to cover the woman. Walking to the back of the door, I pushed it open with all my might.

Army!

A whole marching army!

Helmets covered their hair, and as they went, they looked like a large piece of iron fruit floating on a river of black iron. At the front were the spearmen, so dense that they marched like a forest before my eyes, each with an oak pennant embroidered on it, and behind the spearmen were well-armed hoplites, their armor glowing with cold light, and many even had helmets to cover their faces. After the first two groups passed, they were followed by an endless army of archers, some of the longbowmen held their bows vertically, the longbows were like curved spears, and the ordinary bows and arrows were hung in the quiver at their waists, and the ranks of archers were so long, I waited for a long time and did not see the end of them. Behind them were more than a hundred horsemen, driven by carts loaded with arrows, grain, and stakes.

I woke up the two Kugits and made them dress up at once, ready to go with me to Varykov. As for Copernicus, I advised him to stay here and wait for the end of the battle.

When I met Innocent, he was standing on a high platform in the middle of the square with his hands behind his back, and behind him stood the dean, the knights of Tyvi, and the new knights of the past few days.

When the wind blows, Innocent's black robe is blown up and dashing by the wind, but his gorgeous hat stays firmly on his head, showing his majesty.

And all the people went out of the city to pay attention to him, and even to cheer for him.

More than 1,200 people! More than 500 infantry and more than 700 archers. I think I'll always remember Innocent's grace.

"Lord Innocent." I was a little speechless, "And the dean, I'm so sorry."

"No need to speak," Innocent waved his hand, "do you know how to shoot an arrow?" ”

"Yes."

"Very well, you are now at the mercy of Brother Lothar, and you must not question any of his orders."

"Okay." I knew that there was no point in talking more, so I immediately joined the marching group with the Kugits, and before I went out of the city, I found Copernicus talking to Innocent on the high platform, and then, when I entered the gates, I could not see them.

It was raining in the sky, and when I looked up at the sky, the raindrops fell on my face.

This does not bode well, we are going to delay.

Thankfully, we're finally on our way.