In the evening, Art led the horse back to the cabin. Due to being disturbed by other chores this autumn, Art's hunting was not as rich as last year. The barley reserves harvested in the autumn also decreased sharply due to the arrival of the Scott family. But it was even more disappointing.

What Art was worried about was not the food and drink of everyone in the valley, but the drastic changes in the external situation that made him feel that the time had come. However, he was weak and hiding in this deserted place. How could he take advantage of the chaos and rise.

"Emma, ​​Ron is nowhere to be seen during this time. If he isn't helping to build the cabin, where does he go all day long?" Art asked Emma, ​​who was milking the goat.

When Emma saw Art returning from hunting, she quickly stepped forward to take the reins, bowed to Art and said: "Back to Master, Ron has been wandering in the mountains and forests during this time. He said that even if Master doesn't accept him as a follower, he will

I want to recover the lost prey for the master."

"Nonsense, why didn't you tell me earlier? Do you know how dangerous this forest is? What should I do if a guy who knows nothing goes into the mountains alone and is targeted by wolves? What should he do if he encounters a brown bear and wild boar?"

I was very anxious when I heard it.

"Cooper, Scott, come in." Art faced the two people outside the wooden fence who were digging the foundation for the new wooden house.

"If you don't tell me such a big thing, what will you do if something happens to Ron!!! Do you know how dangerous it is in the forest?" Art became more and more angry as he spoke.

The two of them stood quietly in front of Art without saying a word. After Art's anger subsided a little, Cooper said softly: "Master, Ron is a child who knows shame, and he is also a stubborn child.

He insists on going into the mountains to hunt a deer and bring it back to the master, and we can't dissuade him. Besides, he is no longer a child, he knows what he is doing."

When Art was losing his temper in the cabin, Ron was holding a wooden spear as long as a person in his left hand, and holding a wild goat tied with hemp vines in his right hand and dejectedly entered the small yard. He still didn't hunt the deer...

...

Everyone stopped talking and looked at Ron.

Ron drove the wild sheep into the sheepfold, dragged his tired pace and tattered clothes to Art and said: "Master, I am useless, I failed to hunt the deer..." Ron said

He buried his head deeply covered with old and new scars.

Art looked at Ron, then at the wild sheep in the yard, and all his annoyance disappeared. He looked at old Cooper, then at Scott, and then asked Ron in a soft tone:

"Can you ride a horse?"

Ron was confused by the sudden question: "Sir, I've never ridden a horse, but I used to ride a donkey."

"Pack it up and go on a long trip with me tomorrow."

............

After dinner, Art called Old Cooper who was preparing things for tomorrow's trip and said: "Cooper, I will be out for a long time this time. During this time, you have to take Scott to guard this place and stay in the cabin as much as possible.

Nearby, remember not to go out of the dense forest on the north side of the valley. It's very messy outside now. In addition, the work in the fields has ended now. During this time, you have to clear away the trees and weeds near the wooden house, level out a clearing, and then add more

Cut down some wood and build a long log house, just as I told you before."

Old Cooper nodded repeatedly after listening to Art's words, and then said to Art seriously: "Master, are you really ready?"

"Cooper, the troubled times have arrived. This is the last darkness before dawn." After saying that, he held up the fine-grained Utz steel sword lying on the wooden table with both hands, rubbed the row of inscriptions on the sword, and said to himself silently.

: "Until the lamb becomes a lion."

At noon the next day, Old Cooper and the Scott family bid farewell to the two people who were about to go out in front of the gate of the small courtyard.

Art didn't know how long it would take to get back from this trip, so he made full preparations.

Yate wears a semicircular iron helmet on his head, a long gown inside, a cowhide light armor, a bearskin turtle on the outside, cowhide boots on his feet, and an iron dagger stuck at his waist. Under him is a maroon horse with a left front saddle.

A riding bow and a sheepskin water bag are hung on the horns, and a fine steel sword and a small leather buckler hang on the right side; a sheepskin felt blanket is tied behind the saddle.

Ron was also wearing a hooded gown, a sheepskin jacket, and cowhide boots. He had a dagger and a wooden-handled dagger hung on a cowhide belt around his waist. He was wearing a green mule, with a water bag hanging on the front and a water bag hanging on the back.

A large bundle of fur mountain products and large pieces of smoked venison were tied, and a horse mattress cover was tied to the back of the saddle. Inside was a patchwork animal blanket, a bag of wheat bran, a deep-bottomed copper pot, two sets of cutlery, a few black breads and some scattered items.

thing.

Money is useless in the valley, so Art takes all the money away because he will need a lot of money next...

...........

The sky has turned gray and black, and from a pile of huge rocks in the wasteland, the clang of iron tools can be heard.

"Ron, don't ignore the sword in your hand. Remember to keep your feet stable. Place your feet shoulder-width apart, step forward with one foot, point the toes of your front foot forward, rotate your back foot externally, and sink your waist slightly."

"When holding the sword, place your right thumb on the sword. Don't feel weird, just do it like this. Okay, now try to chop me in the pear position..."

Ever since the two of them arrived here before sunset, Art began to teach Ron the most basic swordsmanship. Unfortunately, Ron had never had a foundation in swordsmanship. Ron could not achieve what Art wanted until it was dark all around.

The most basic effect. However, as a farmer's son, Ron has a lot of brute strength. Although he doesn't have any technical skills with the sword, swinging the weapon with his brute force can still help a little.

After an afternoon of "cutting, stabbing and blocking", Ron's limbs were sore and his face was white and his lips were purple. He never thought that practicing swordsmanship was so hard. But he didn't want Master Art to feel that he was too weak, so he forced himself to hold on.

Go and light a fire to cook, feed the mules and horses...

Art found it funny to see Ron limping and holding on, but he had no intention of helping him. If Ron could become a farmer's son with peace of mind, perhaps Art would relent, but since he chose to become his own

Follower, then he must withstand the test and grow quickly, because there will not be much time left for Ron to grow...

On the second day of their trip, the two of them were almost approaching Tyniec.

Along the way, the two of them experienced the impact of the war in the south. After riding north for less than half a day after leaving the huge pile of rocks, there were people fleeing in twos and threes from time to time on the business road leading to the north. Most of them were in ragged clothes and as thin as dry wood.

, many of them simply couldn't make it to the next populated place, and corpses lying in bed can be seen on both sides of the road from time to time.

Even if they are lucky enough to reach the next village or manor, they will either be expelled by the devil as an evil spirit that has invaded their body, or they will be used as serfs or even sold as slaves by the lords because they are unable to pay the huge "transit tax". They are also extremely greedy and cruel.

The lord led his troops to massacre the refugees, plundered property, and kidnapped people.

Winter is approaching, and the journey north will be even more difficult...

The two of them avoided large groups of refugees and the hunting lord's cavalry. When they arrived at the outskirts of Tyniec, it was already noon on the third day. At this time, Tyniec was already in chaos.

At the foot of the city wall, the refugees had built a messy circle of shacks with dead branches and weeds. There was a pottery pot on the bonfire, and some unknown soup was boiling in it. When Ater and the two rode by on horseback, these people either looked up or raised their heads.

At first, they looked at them in a daze or stretched out their hands to beg. Their spirits were listless and their faces looked hungry. Among them were women holding babies who were waiting to be fed.

"Two handsome gentlemen, look at my beautiful daughter. All I need is a Fenney." When Art and Art walked out of the edge of the refugee shantytown, a middle-aged woman who looked like a fat pig grabbed Art's reins.

Art followed the fat woman's hand and pointed towards him. Several skinny and trembling girls were sitting at the door of a shabby house. Art stared at the fat woman wearing heavy and inferior perfume in front of him with disgust, and turned his horse.

The head and the reins broke free from the fat woman's hands.

The ferocious light in Art's eyes made the fat woman feel nervous. She quickly moved out of the way, spat at the backs of the two people as they left, and then started looking for the next target.

"Help~" Just as he was about to leave the refugee area, the screams of women and children suddenly came from the edge of the refugee camp on the right. Ron immediately pulled out the short sword from his waist, and Art also put his hand on the hilt of the sword.

superior.

"Go over and have a look." Art said to Ron beside him, and then the two of them rode towards the remote place where the sound came from.

From a distance, Art heard the muffled sound of sticks hitting flesh. He turned around the corner of the city wall and saw five city gangsters wearing shabby linen beating a man. The man had been beaten until his face was bloody, but he still defended himself.

His wife and daughter, Art made a cautious gesture towards Ron, then bent down and tried to avoid the dead branches under his feet, but Ron accidentally knocked over a broken clay pot, which made an abnormal noise, and the gangsters

He stopped what he was doing, stood up and looked back.

"Come on, they found us." Art gritted his teeth and drew out his sword and ordered to Ron. He was already sure that these people were urban gangsters who bullied the weak.

"What's going on? Is it the Sheriff?" The gangsters saw two sword-wielding warriors suddenly jumping out from behind the city wall, but unlike the town guards they usually saw, the two men were wearing animal skin armor. They hurriedly

He picked up the stick and turned around to charge towards Ater and the two. Suddenly there was a clear sound of the collision of weapons.

"Oh~~." Art held a long sword in his right hand and a dagger in his left hand. He used the long sword to attack and defend with the dagger, and he used his bow from left and right to kill the gangsters. Seeing that Art was forcing the gangsters back, Ron also

Xue Yong surged up, relying on his brute strength to slash with his dagger, knocking a gangster in front of him to the ground in two or two strokes. The other gangsters stopped when they saw their companions being chopped down.

"Get out of here!" Seeing that the gangsters had been frightened, Art shouted loudly at the gangsters, waving his long sword.

Several gangsters quickly picked up their bleeding companions who were lying on the ground and fled away...

Ron stepped forward to check on the man surrounded by women and children. The man was slumped on the ground. When he saw Ron coming up, he quickly pushed himself up, dragged his wife and daughter to their knees, and kept talking.

Thanks for the life-saving words.

? Ron stepped aside, and Art came to the man, looked at him and asked, "Are you refugees fleeing the war?".

??"Sir, we are villagers from Alsburg in the Poge Mountains in the southeast. In autumn, more than twenty bandits came down from the Poge Mountains. They killed the lord and occupied the village fort. The bandits were in the village fort.

He does all kinds of evil. I fled here with my wife and daughter. As soon as I arrived, I was targeted by these gangsters. Not only did they want to steal my belongings, but they also wanted to take away my wife. Fortunately, two adults saved my family's lives.

~" The man took a piece of rag handed over by the woman and pressed it against the bleeding wound on his head.

After seeing that the man and his family were okay, Art asked them to leave the place quickly to prevent the gangsters from coming back to seek revenge.

A small incident did not change the two's plan. When they arrived at the southern city gate of Tyniec, the gate guards who knew Art well had been dispatched to eliminate the bandits, so they had to pay the full commercial tax before they could enter the city.

After entering Tyniec, I found that the city was already overcrowded. The inn called the Liberty Buffalo was now filled with wealthy businessmen and gentry who had fled from the south.

The lingua franca of Wei'er yelled at the bartender asking for drinks; pimps and homeless beggars can be seen everywhere on the streets. The slums in the northeast and the slave markets in the northwest are already crowded with homeless people and slaves for sale; although

The Sheriff worked tirelessly to patrol the streets and alleys with the town guards, and the number of thefts, robberies, and murders increased instead of decreasing.

The chaotic situation has seriously affected the normal operation of the city's commerce. Many caravans and vendors are unwilling to come here to trade. The large influx of population and the decline of commerce have made the city's public security chaotic and tax revenues have dropped. Therefore, the Lord's Hall has to raise commercial taxes.

They also imposed a tax on entering the city and collected more taxes to hire soldiers to maintain order.

All of Art's furs and mountain goods this time were exchanged for less than 250 copper pfennigs, but Art didn't care too much. This amount of money should be regarded as the cost of the two people's trip north.

That night the two of them spent four pfennigs and spent the night in a leeward spot in the free market. The free market was patrolled by tax officials and tax collectors and was much safer than other places in the city. The two had a good sleep.

Early the next morning, the two of them swallowed a piece of rye bread with a large bowl of oatmeal paste at a stall in the free market. As the sun just rose, the two of them packed up and set off out of the north gate, heading towards Burgundy.

Advance towards the most prosperous city of Lucesien in the south of the country.

The two of them traveled non-stop, and after passing Letstre and Engelberg, they arrived in Lucerne at noon on the third day. From Provence to the County of Burgundy, Ron had seen a fortress, but he was still amazed by Lucerne.

The width of the city of Seth, the density of the population, the grandness of the urban structure, and the prosperity of commercial trade made me unable to help but open my eyes wide and look around.

Lucerne Castle has a circumference of about two miles. The city wall is fifty feet high and fifteen feet thick. The road on the top of the wall can accommodate two horses driving together. There are towering stone towers at the four corners. There are towers every 150 feet on the wall.

There is a horse-faced and arrow tower. There is a 20-foot-high and 15-foot-wide inlaid hanging grid on the east, west, and south sides of the city wall. Behind the hanging grid is a huge iron-clad oak door; outside the city is a moat surrounding three sides, and there are shops in the city.

Lined with buildings, squares, churches, monasteries, and lord's halls, they are connected by wide and flat paved avenues...
Chapter completed!