Chapter 767 Promise
In the evening of that day, soldiers from both sides cleaned up the battlefield, gathered the bodies of the dead soldiers together, and buried them at the foot of a nearby mountain. Robert, the military priest, was ordered by Art to take some church clergy to two burial sites to pray for the dead men.
As it was getting dark, the temporary camp at the foot of the mountain was brightly lit. Thousands of military tents are scattered at random, and more than a dozen patrol teams in and out of the camp shuttle among them.
· Around the camp, the sentries in charge were patrolling back and forth on war horses. Occasionally, one or two teams of spear-wielding infantry teams of more than ten people would fill in the gaps when the sentries left.
Tonight, Art will announce to everyone at the banquet the news that the mercenary army has joined the Wells Army.
At the southwest corner of the camp, the men and horses of the heavy division of the Wells Army were busy preparing drinks and food for the dinner amidst the scoldings of Spencer, the head of the heavy division.
"You guys, go and arrange the tables and chairs for the adults to dine at once. You, and you, send these barrels of good beer to the camp immediately. Make it easier for me!"
Happy since it was still dark, Spencer didn't even have time to drink. At this time, my throat was so dry that it burned with the slightest bit of fire. The beads of sweat that kept rolling down his back had already soaked the coarse linen clothes that were close to his body.
Wiping the sweat from his forehead, he took off his leather armor and threw it onto the wooden barrel beside him.
As the heat in the whole body was dissipated, a chill came over him instantly.
“Ah, comfortable!” Spencer sighed. Then he picked up the wooden spoon in his hand, put it into the deep copper pot in front of him, took a small mouthful of soup, and put it into his mouth.
"Pet, spray, snort, it's so delicious."
Wiped a handful of the residual juice around his mouth, he picked up the clay pot filled with coarse salt and carefully shook it twice on the side of the copper pot. Then he picked up a wooden spoon and stirred it up. After more than two months of recovery, he was able to do everything he was familiar with again. This feeling made him satisfied.
Pick up a small piece of soft stewed venison and stuff it into his mouth. The hot juices burst out and made him scream, looking very funny.
After a smooth operation, the venison in the pot mixed with the soup was quickly poured into a large bowl. After a while, the venison, along with six or seven other kinds of food, were sent to the camp where Art and others were dining. When everyone participating in the banquet entered the dining tent one by one, the mellow aroma of wine mixed with the smell of the food instantly aroused the greed in the stomachs of these high-ranking officers.
Art walked straight to the chair that was exclusive to him at the top. Looking at the sumptuous food in front of him, he couldn't help but sigh: "Ha! Such delicious venison!"
After taking a look at the people present, Art immediately greeted, "Everyone, please take a seat!"
"Thank you, sir!"
At the dining table, Earl Balian, who is equal to Art, was placed in the first seat to the right of the main seat. Beside him were a group of high-ranking Provençal officers who followed him. Opposite Count Balian, the mercenary captain Gray Wolf, who was a guest at the banquet, was placed in the first position on the left, and the deputy commander of the mercenary group, Glenn, was right next to the gray wolf. Going down on both sides, the officers at all levels of the Wells Regiment and the Palace Guards were seated in order.
There are more than forty high-ranking officers ranging from legion commanders to company captains and above.
Seeing that everyone was seated, Art raised the glass cup in his hand, stood up slowly, and said loudly: "Everyone, today is a special day. With the addition of Lord Gray Wolf, our Wells Legion has added another general. After drinking this glass of wine, from now on, the brothers of the thousands of mercenary legions outside the tent will be our own."
“Congratulations, sir!” everyone replied in unison.
"Cheers!"
"Cheers!"
The guests at the meeting raised their glasses together. After a while, the sound of drinks pouring into their throats, everyone's faces were satisfied.
After a sip of good wine, even though Gray Wolf has been fighting in the north and south for many years, he still couldn't help but ask when faced with such a fragrant beer: "Your Majesty Earl, this wine~"
At saw Gray Wolf's satisfied expression, he did not deliberately show off, and said directly: "This is a beer produced in my territory, named after my family name. The raw materials are all from the northern valley, brewed from the sweet spring water in the mountains."
After hearing this, Gray Wolf put the rim of the cup to his nose and shook it slightly. It was full of lingering fragrance and said excitedly: "This is definitely the most delicious beer I have ever drunk in this world!"
"Hahaha——."
Everyone laughed loudly.
At this time, Earl Balian intervened and said jokingly: "Lord Gray Wolf, you are not the only one who has the same opinion as you~"
Afterwards, another burst of laughter came. Seeing that everyone was in high spirits, Art spoke again, "Everyone, I can't guarantee anything else. All the brothers here who are fighting alongside me will have enough wine!" After that, Art waved his right hand, showing his heroism.
Everyone present clapped their hands and applauded, stood up one after another, raised their wine glasses and clinked them in Art's direction.
During the banquet, the officers who participated in the banquet sometimes raised glasses to drink together, sometimes ate large pieces of meat, and laughed happily. The lively scene lasted until late at night·
After a night of drinking and feasting, Gray Wolf and his senior officers were already drunk and unconscious, and they returned to their respective camps with the help of servants.
The other people participating in the banquet were not greedy for drinks and remained awake throughout the whole process. Because before the banquet started, Art had already ordered that no one should get drunk and cause trouble.
Hence, after Gray Wolf and others left, the rest returned to their respective posts and camps step by step.
It was a peaceful night.
It wasn’t until noon on the second day that Art opened his tired eyes in a daze. After putting on his armor, he simply ate some minced meat and wheat porridge, and then walked towards the perimeter of the camp accompanied by Ron and his guards.
When we arrived at the camp where the mercenary army was located, the shouts of the mercenaries being drilled could be heard from time to time~
"Kill! Kill! Kill!"
With rhythmic shouting, the group of mercenaries lined up in a neat queue completed a series of killing and slashing movements, with great momentum.
Him Right in front of the queue, a familiar figure caught Art's eyes - Gray Wolf, the leader of the mercenary army, wore a single layer of armor on his upper body, exposing his entire arms. He walked back and forth in front of the mercenaries, correcting the drills of his soldiers from time to time.
"Listen to me, your movements must be fast, your strength must be strong, and your shots must be accurate! Only in this way will you have the greatest chance of defeating your opponent~"
Looking at the scene in front of him, Art stopped, crossed his hands, and looked at the way the mercenary leader trained his soldiers with interest.
What surprised him was that while the soldiers of the Welsh Legion were resting, these guys who had just joined were training under the scorching sun.
And there was no trace of dissatisfaction on the faces of those soldiers, which made Art think to himself, "How did the guy in front of him make these soldiers willingly obey his orders?"
Compared with this guy who was good at conquering and fighting, the ruthless methods he used to train soldiers in the past seemed not worth mentioning.
Just as the few people were looking at it, the gray wolf raised his head and looked in the direction of Art. Then, after giving some instructions to the officers around him, he jogged all the way towards the direction of the few people~
"—Your Majesty the Earl!"
In the blink of an eye, the gray wolf had already stood in front of Art, bowing down to greet Art.
"What are you~" Art pointed at the mercenaries who were still continuing to train.
Gray Wolf looked in the direction of Art's finger and smiled slightly, "Reporting to your lord, this is the rule I have set over the years. During the war, daily training is exempted. But once the war is over, their training must continue as usual, even if it is windy, rainy, or the sun is scorching overhead."
Matt nodded approvingly and said without thinking: "It's no wonder, a discerning person can see the gap between your men and those third-rate mercenaries at a glance."
Gray Wolf wiped the sweat from his forehead, looked a little serious, and said: "Thank you, sir. They are all living from hand to mouth, and I don't want them to lose their lives in vain on the battlefield."
Art patted Gray Wolf on the shoulder, "Okay! If you have time, you can train the soldiers under my command. I believe that with your help, their combat effectiveness will still have a lot of room to improve."
Then, the gray wolf followed Art, telling the story of how he was captured after following his master on the expedition, how he fell in love with the daughter of the pagan leader, and how he later left there with his troops to fight for others.
Matt was quite surprised that the life experience of the guy in front of him was full of legends, but he was also impressed by his decisiveness in dealing with affairs and battles.
When a few people walked to a hillside, Art suddenly stopped, turned around and sighed: "——-Man, I really didn't expect that on the surface you look like a ruthless character who kills people without blinking an eye, but there are so many dangerous and exciting stories behind you."
Gray Wolf pursed his lips and said with a smile: "I used to have deep faith in God, but since I lost my last bit of dignity, I only believe that my destiny is in my own hands."
"That's right! If we didn't fight against fate, we would have been buried deep in the ground and turned into a pile of bones."
The gray wolf nodded repeatedly after hearing this.
For Art, being able to have an in-depth communication with the guy in front of him made him more confident that his choice was correct.
Raising his hands to block the dazzling sunlight, Art looked at the endless hills and plains in the south, and sighed: "Look, those rolling hills and plains in the south are really vast. I wonder what the scene around Milan is like~"
At this time, the gray wolf knelt down on one knee and shouted loudly: "Don't worry, sir, I will help you conquer the entire Lombardy!"
At quickly helped him up and said happily: "Okay! I feel relieved with your words. Once Milan is captured, I will fulfill my promise and let you have a territory of your own in your homeland."
"Thank you, Earl!"