"Sir, the old knight is outside the door and wants to see you."
At night, Ron opened the curtain of Art's tent and walked in.
"Christopher?"
"Yes, sir."
"You ask him to come in~"
Ron opened the door curtain and walked out. After a while, the old knight stood in front of Art.
"Master, I heard Greno say that the army will take action tomorrow."
After Art motioned the old knight to sit down, he said: "Yes, the Duke of Lombardy sent a team to inquire about the situation in the valley. The valley is currently my territory, how can I allow them to mess around!" Art slowly collected the papers on the table and folded them into a pile.
The old knight stroked his gray beard on his chin, thoughtfully.
"Master, you and I both know that the Lombard army is very powerful, I'm afraid~"
Att set his sights on the old knight and looked him up and down. "Are you worried that if you anger the Duke of Lombardy, he will send a large army to attack?"
The old knight nodded slightly.
"You don't have to worry about this. The further you go to the north of the valley, the narrower the road becomes. The mountains are high and densely forested, and most sections of the road can only be passed by one person and one horse. Even if the Duke of Lombardy has the heart, he doesn't have the ability. Besides, our province of Wales currently has two legions, totaling more than 2,000 people. And we can rely on the terrain of the valley to deal with the Lombards, so they will not be able to attack so easily." Art said confidently.
"More than two thousand people?" The old knight was surprised by Art's current strength.
"What, you don't believe it?" Art picked up the wine glass and took a sip, then glanced sideways at the old knight with his eyes wide open.
"I will tell you these things slowly in the future." Art said lightly. "By the way, why did you come to me?" Art suddenly asked.
The old knight stood up slowly and said: "Master, I am old and no longer useful, but the hunters under me are all very skilled. I hope you will send them out to the valley this time to help your soldiers defend against the enemy."
The old knight's idea is very simple, he wants to make up for his fault.
"Christopher, I know that those people under your command are indeed very capable, and I intend to reuse them. But this time I will ask Graynor to bring a few people to help us guard other dangerous places. Leave those Lombards to my soldiers. There are too many people, and it will be difficult to spread out in the canyon~" Art politely rejected the old knight's proposal.
The old knight sighed softly, a little disappointed.
"Christopher, I understand what you mean. How about this, after this battle, how about I organize those people under you into my reserve regiment?"
"Preparatory regiment?"
"This is my recently expanded legion. It has just been formed. The people in it are all new recruits. Although the people under you have some combat ability, they have not received formal military training and may not be able to save their lives on the battlefield. Our Welsh Legion has always used military merit as the main basis for promotion. You don't want to see those under you have no future with me."
"No, Master. Now that they have sworn allegiance to you, of course they should obey your orders."
"Well, after I finish handling this small matter, I will take them back to the north of the valley for adaptation. It is getting late, if you have nothing to do, please retreat first, I have to arrange to defend against the enemy tomorrow."
"Yes, Master~" The old knight slowly exited the camp.
………
Early in the morning of the second day, Ron and Hans took forty soldiers and carried one day's rations to an ambush half a day's journey south of the checkpoint. At the same time, Greno led several hunters and soldiers to the side of the Rammel Mountains to destroy the secret trails that the mountain people had used to enter and exit the valley.
In addition, Art ordered Bury to take people to the checkpoint and take command.
After everything was arranged, Art called the old knight to his tent.
"...Christopher, you have been hiding in this mountain for ten years, so you must know more about the situation in the south of the valley."
The old knight smiled and replied: "Master, we have explored the three miles north of the basin and the entire south of the basin, and finally chose the dense forest on the hill near the side of Mount Lamel as a hiding place."
"Then tell me about the situation around the places you visited."
"Okay, sir." After saying this, Christopher took out a piece of charcoal he carried with him from his waist and started drawing on the table. "This area is where we often go hunting," the old knight pointed to the left and right sides of the north side of the basin represented by the circle, and the curved line through the middle of the circle represented the stream in the valley. "According to the hunters, the mountains on both sides are high and densely forested, and are often visited by large beasts. This is our hunting area. The mountains on both sides extend at least ten miles to both sides. There are many streams, rocks, and cliffs and waterfalls, which are not suitable for living at all."
Matt lowered his gaze to where the old knight was pointing, listened carefully, and nodded from time to time.
"There are cliffs on the left and right sides of the middle of the basin. It's just because the mountains are high and the forests are dense, so it's not easy to judge. Hunters rarely go around from the north to the two sides for hunting. There is only one main canyon in the south of the basin leading to the outside of the mountain. You know the situation on the road. Let me tell you about the situation on both sides." The old knight raised his head and glanced at Art.
"Well, okay." Art accepted the instruction with an open mind.
"The two sides of the southern canyon seem to be split in half by a giant axe. Most of the time, the width can accommodate up to two horses walking side by side. On both sides are the cliffs of the Rammel Mountains. On one side is an overgrown path, and on the other side is a fast-flowing stream. The terrain on both sides of the mountain gradually becomes lower as you go south, and in the middle There are some large and small basins in between, and each slightly flat area will never exceed three acres. Continuing further south, you will reach the southernmost mouth of the valley. Beyond the mouth of the valley, you will reach the border of Lombardy..." The old knight told Art all the situation in the valley.
"Is there another road going north along the mountains to enter the valley?" Art asked after thinking about the situation described by the old knight in his mind.
"The whole valley is densely covered with trees, and the sides of the canyon are the most dangerous. In addition to being able to enter along the canyon, other trails such as animal trails cannot enter the valley. Unless ~"
Matt was suddenly startled and asked quickly: "Unless what?"
The old knight stroked his beard on his chin and said: "Unless that person has wings and flies into the valley~"
After saying that, the two looked at each other and smiled.
It was incredible to Art that these words could be said from the mouth of the unsmiling old guy in front of him. I didn't expect that the old knight in front of me, who was over fifty years old, with a gray beard and a wrinkled face, could still be so witty and humorous even though he had experienced great storms and had been hiding in the valley for ten years. It was really rare. Perhaps it was because of this mentality that he was able to lead his people to survive in this valley far away from the war.
“Master, this valley is inaccessible and has no fertile land. Why do you attach so much importance to it?” the old knight asked casually.
Matt smiled slightly, took half of the charcoal from the old knight's hand, and started drawing on the table.
After a moment, the landscape of the entire valley was painted by Art.
"Look, this is the place where the north of the valley borders Tyniec, the southern border of the Burgundy Kingdom. This is our current location~"
The old knight blinked and stretched out his hand to look south along the north side of the valley. "Master, if the valley is really opened up, then there is no need to detour through Provence from Lombardy to the north!"
Ate put down the charcoal in his hand and nodded.
"But," the old knight's face suddenly darkened, "I'm afraid the Duke of Lombardy will definitely interfere with your plan. In addition, that bastard Ward will definitely sabotage it~" The old knight stopped mid-sentence.
As soon as he heard the word Walder, a look of hatred suddenly flashed in Art's eyes.
"Christopher, you don't need to worry about this. That bastard robbed the castle of my Wells family back then, and one of my purposes in breaking through the valley was to get back what originally belonged to me. Even if he doesn't come, I will go find him!"
The old knight lowered his head in silence and said silently in his heart: "May our Lord protect Master Art~"
...
It was noon, nearly half a day's journey from the southern basin of the valley, and a dozen Lombard soldiers with swords on their waists were sweating profusely as they trudged through the mountain trails. After entering the valley, the group sometimes rode horses and sometimes dismounted and walked. Several soldiers took turns clearing the way with machetes.
"Sir, how long do we have until we arrive~" a Lombard soldier who kept wiping the sweat from his forehead and dragging his heavy steps behind, gasping for breath, asked with difficulty. The cotton and linen pants on his lower body were also torn into strips by thorns.
The Lombard officer walking in the middle looked back at the disheveled guy and scolded: "You bastard, I'm not even tired of shouting, but you still dare to shout in front of me! Why don't you follow me!" The Lombard officer raised his riding crop and slapped him. The soldier was so frightened that he stepped back.
"Cheer up, keep your eyes open, and write down the terrain around the valley. As long as we complete this mission, the Duke will reward you greatly!" the leading officer said to the soldiers in front and behind.
The group of people responded loudly, and the sound spread throughout the valley.
"Hmm~ What's wrong?" Ron opened his eyes, turned around and asked.
"It seems that there is a sound coming from the valley in the south." The soldier was still listening.
Ron stood up from the stone, spit out the grass roots in his mouth, and also bent his head and listened. After a while, he said: "Quickly, take someone to the south to take a look. It may be those bastards from Lombardy. Report back immediately if there is any information."
"Everyone else, please listen to me. Cut off the heads of these bastards. Don't let any of them go!" After the two soldiers who went to the south to check left, Ron softly ordered the soldiers ambushing on both sides of the road. "Once those bastards come into our sight, use bows and arrows to greet them first. For the rest, rush up and chop them all down!"
"Yes!"
"Everyone, please take your positions."
Not long after, the two people who went to check came out of the bushes and returned to the ambush site and came to Ron's side.
"Sir Ron, it is indeed them."
"How many people are there?" Ron turned around and asked.
"No more than twenty."
"Okay, send the order down and tell the guys to wait until those bastards enter the encirclement before taking action. Take a few people south to find a place to hide, and if anyone escapes, kill them on the spot!"
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"Yes, I'll go right away~"
… ...
A dozen Lombard soldiers who were struggling through the bushes were not aware of the danger ahead, and were approaching the encirclement of Ron and others step by step...
Suddenly, a soldier in charge of exploring the path hurriedly reported: "Sir, there are horse hoof prints here!"
The leading officer hurriedly rushed forward to check. "Where?"
"Here." The soldier peeled back the grass, and a deep horse hoof print was revealed on the soil.
"Alert!" the Lombard officer immediately ordered. After hearing the order, the others drew out the daggers at their waists and looked around.
"Looking at the situation, these horse hoof prints were only left in the past few days. It means that someone passed here a few days ago." The Lombard officer analyzed several soldiers who came up.
"Sir, have we been discovered by those people long ago?" A short soldier asked.
In the grass, a pair of eyes stared fixedly at the Lombard officer called the chief, with the arrow in his hand already on the string.
"It's possible~" The leading officer touched his chin and frowned slightly. If he returns to Lombardy like this, he will definitely be criticized by the Duke of Lombardy. Simply explore further north and return once you encounter an enemy.
"You see, these horse hoof prints are still very fresh. Even if the group of people discovered us, they would not be able to send troops so quickly. No matter how fast it is, it will still take four or five days. From what I see, we will continue to move north for two days. Send two people in front to explore the road first. If there is any enemy, we will report immediately. It will not be too late for us to retreat by then."
Several soldiers around us nodded slightly and agreed with the officer's view.
"Okay, keep going!"
In this way, the group of people gradually entered the trap waiting for them to fall into the trap.
While the Lombard soldiers were advancing, several Welsh Legion soldiers hidden in the surrounding weeds also quietly followed...
Ron then turned over and looked in the direction the soldier was pointing.
"Archers, prepare!"
Everyone who was lurking and waiting focused their attention on the Lombard soldiers who had walked into the ambush one after another.
logph through
Following Ron's order, a dozen soldiers holding bows and arrows immediately stood up and loosened the tight strings. In an instant, a dozen trembling light arrows flew towards the group of Lombard soldiers who came into view, and immediately shot over six or seven of them.
"There's an ambush!" the Lombard officer who escaped the disaster suddenly shouted. The moment he drew his sword, a sharp blade pierced out of the bushes behind him and penetrated his neck. After the officer fell, Hans slowly stood up with an unusually calm look in his eyes, as if he had slaughtered a sheep.
Suddenly, the soldiers of the Welsh Legion who were ambushing in the bushes appeared in front of the Lombard soldiers who had not yet reacted like divine soldiers from heaven...
After a short cry of killing, the ambush battle in which the greater number defeated the less ended in less than a mouthful of food.