Chapter 155 Thorn Fortress 1
The attendant knocked on the door of the room, and after a "come in" was heard, he pushed the door open and entered.
"Good morning, Sir!"
The attendant saluted respectfully to the person standing in the room. That was the master he served - Viscount Oston Crane.
The brown-haired young Viscount responded with a smile: "Good morning, Bowman."
Judging from his complexion and meticulously dressed clothes, he had been up for a long time.
The attendant said in a slightly "reproaching" tone: "You can sleep a little longer. After all, we discussed it so late at the meeting yesterday, and there is no need for you to go on duty on the city wall now."
Viscount Klein shook his head: "As a knight, even if there are no external constraints, you cannot relax your requirements on yourself."
Bowman felt infinite admiration in his heart. He really thought that he was a strict self-discipline.
Squire Bowman is the eldest son of a low-level knight family near Thorn Fortress. He just turned 16 this year. In order to make his son a knight, his father gave him away when he was 8 years old. Bowman and a dozen other friends spent 8 years boarding in the Dodge family. When he had nothing to do, the old Duke would often personally train these young knights and teach them how to fight and fight. Equestrian and other aspects of skills, and their education in literature, etiquette and other knowledge is taught by the duchess.
This year, a rebellion broke out in the south under the leadership of Duke Giles. The Thorn Fortress in the territory of the Dodge family suddenly became the first line of defense to stop the rebels from moving north. Bowman, who had grown powerful, also followed Duke Dodge. Came to the Thorn Fortress to garrison.
The rebels in the south are busy cleaning up the lords who are still loyal to the royal family and have not attacked the Thorn Fortress for the time being. The Dodge family's troops are not strong enough to take the initiative. Princess Catherine is cleaning up the barbarian harassment in the eastern highlands. His Highness immediately sent a cavalry team to help them defend the fortress.
After being highly nervous for a period of time, we received bad news. Because Jingyao’s granary was on fire and the losses were huge, the main force of the Kingdom’s army could not go south for the time being. They could only send an advance force led by Viscount Klein. Help them strengthen the defense force of Thorn Fortress.
It was at that time that Bowman was recommended by Duke Dodge to Viscount Klein to become a squire and start the second stage of his journey to knighthood.
Viscount Klein stretched out his arms, "Sorry to trouble you, Bowman."
Bowman immediately said: "Where, this is what I should do."
Then he went to the armor stand in the corner of the room, took off a component hanging on it, and put it on for the Viscount.
Actually, the armor on the stand is just a piece of casual armor, and Klein can do it by himself. However, it is the duty of a knight's attendant to help the master put on the armor, and it can also make the attendants more familiar with various aspects of the armor. It is a kind of armor, so in the first year of becoming a squire, they must do this job.
Bowman helped Klein put on the armor very neatly. He was already very familiar with the steps.
“This damn war really makes me unable to relax at all.”
Klein complained in his heart. In fact, he didn't like the feeling of walking around in armor all day long, but after all, he was on the front line and there was nothing he could do about it.
"Let's go, follow me to the Duke's place for breakfast."
The two walked out of the room one after the other.
As soon as they came to the corridor, they met Viscount Leicester who came around the corner, the cavalry commander who was first assigned by the princess to rescue the Thorn Fortress.
Viscount Klein was the first to say hello: "Good morning, Lester. Thank you for your hard work on duty all night."
Attendant Bowman also immediately went to him with his luggage.
"Yeah."
Lester just hummed lightly, but there was still no expression on his face.
Bowman once again couldn’t help complaining in his heart: "This gentleman is not born with facial paralysis."
He has never seen Lester smile at his subordinates. That's true, that's true for colleagues, and even for the Duke, always with a cold face.
Klein, who has worked with Lester for many years, is used to it. He has long understood the habits of his colleague.
The three of them walked to the hall of the fortress castle together, where Old Duke Dodge invited them to have breakfast there yesterday.
While walking, Klein asked, "Nothing happened last night, right?" Just when he was fully expecting the answer of "no", the other party disappointed his hope.
“Yes.”
Klein asked in surprise: "What happened?"
At this time, the troops in the fortress could not stop the rebels' all-out attack.
Lester said: "A scout covered in blood escaped back, but there were 6 other people who set out with him to detect the enemy's situation."
"He detected something. What's going on?"
Lester shook his head: "He fainted just after he came back. He had his wound treated by a doctor. Fortunately, he survived, but he hasn't woken up yet."
Klein showed a sympathetic look: "May the Father in Heaven have mercy on him. This is the first time that the scouts have suffered such heavy losses, right? He probably ran into an enemy that far outnumbered him."
But. He then said strangely: "As a scout, shouldn't it be a basic skill to detect and determine the strength of the enemy and ourselves in time? Even if you encounter a superior enemy, as long as you retreat in time, the entire army will not be almost annihilated. Release it this time Are all of them newbies?"
Lester shook his head again: "No, they are all veterans, so this is a big loss."
"It seems specific. We can only wait until he wakes up to ask.”
“Yes.”
The two soon arrived at the castle hall and found that Duke Dodge was already sitting inside waiting for them.
"I have kept you waiting for a long time, Your Majesty the Duke."
"I'm sorry."
The two people quickly greeted the Duke.
Duke Dodge waved his hand and said: "It's okay. I just got here. Besides, it's still early before the time we agreed on. Come and sit down quickly."
After the two thanked them, they came to the table and found a seat to sit down. Their attendants stood behind each of them to listen to the master's call at any time. Only after the person they served finished eating could the attendants start to enjoy their own breakfast.
While waiting for breakfast, Leicester reported to the Duke about the scouts.
"Well...this is really a huge loss. These are not farmers who have just put down their hoes and picked up their spears. It is still very difficult to train a qualified scout."
Duke Obviously a little distressed.
"Sir, what I am worried about is that the other side may have strengthened its counter-reconnaissance efforts and concealed its large-scale mobilization and true deployment by hunting down and eliminating enemy scouts. Therefore... this is likely to be a large-scale The prelude to the attack.”
Klein expressed his judgment, and Lester, who was sitting next to him, nodded in agreement.
Duke Dodge frowned: "Your worries are not unreasonable. The fortress must be prepared at all times. After breakfast, I will issue an order to inform the officers of each unit of the situation."
Klein further suggested: "The rebels have been stationed opposite us for a long time without attacking, which has made some generals in the fortress relax. I think you should call the officers of each unit to talk face to face and let them know the seriousness of the matter. "
Duke Dodge stroked his beard and secretly admired the young man in front of him.
He was about to speak when suddenly a guard ran into the hall.
"The scout who came back last night woke up and said he had something important to report."
(End of this chapter)