blah blah...
A war horse galloped past, shaking the dew that had accumulated overnight on the roadside flowers and plants to the ground.
The knight on the horse was full of anxiety, and kept whipping the horse under him, as if he was still not satisfied with this speed of travel.
But soon, he had to slow down.
Because, a group of sentry cavalry appeared in front of them, and looking at their armor and banners, they were clearly soldiers of the Uman family.
咴Law—
The horse stopped slowly, and the knight on the horse said loudly to the Uman family sentinels surrounding him: "I am the deputy head of the Golden Lion Legion—Knight Louis. Is Earl Uman nearby?"
The leading sentinel captain looked at Louis Knight a few times, nodded and said: "Please follow me."
After a while, Knight Louis followed the sentinel to the camp of the Uman family.
Looking around, Louis found that although the order in the camp was fairly orderly, the soldiers still had a hint of fear and bewilderment on their faces.
Apparently, Earl Uman barely managed to gather the rebellious army after the battalion roar, but the mental state of this army is not good, and I'm afraid it won't be able to withstand a big battle.
"Knight Louis, you are in such a hurry, where are you going?"
Earl Uman looked at Knight Louis with a smile, it seemed that the previous camp turmoil did not cause him much trouble.
Cavalier Louis also put on a friendly smile, stepped forward and said, "Master Earl, I should have the same destination as you."
"Oh?" Earl Uman's eyes flashed, "Where do you think my destination is?"
The smile on Louis Knight's face became brighter, and he said word by word:
"Winter City!"
Earl Uman's pupils shrank slightly, but his face remained unchanged, and he asked lightly, "Why do you think I will go to Winter City?"
Knight Louis shook his head with a smile and said, "My lord, at this moment, let's stop covering it up."
Earl Uman nodded, and said frankly: "Okay, since that's the case, I'll tell the truth. I have an old grudge with Viscount Angelet. You used to be Master Joyce's riding teacher. We don't want to see you Miss Vera will inherit the title of Duke of the North, so cooperation is the best choice."
"That's right!" Knight Louis said excitedly, stretched out his hand, and placed it in front of Earl Uman.
Earl Uman immediately understood, and stretched out his right hand, tightly shaking hands with Knight Louis.
An alliance, here it is.
Louis Knight immediately suggested: "Master Earl, our top priority now is to control Winter City, and we cannot let Vera bring the Golden Lion Army back to the city!"
Earl Uman also nodded in agreement, but his tone was a little dignified: "I found out that the Golden Lion Legion is fighting with the Dawson family's army. Is the battle over?"
Louis Knight sighed and said: "It's over, the Dawson family suffered a disastrous defeat."
Earl Uman froze immediately, and said in a hurried tone: "Then we must rush to Cold Winter City as soon as possible! Do you know how many troops are still in the city?"
"There are only 8,000 city defense troops in Cold Winter City, and their combat effectiveness is not strong. How many troops do you have now?"
"Thirty thousand."
"That...it's really tricky..." Knight Louis frowned.
When he entered the camp just now, he observed that the army of the Uman family was not in good condition. What's more, Winter City is the strongest city in the northern border. The grasp of internal attack.
"Of course we can't attack by force!" Earl Uman shook his head. "The two of us will go into the city first, find Master Joyce, swear allegiance to him, and ask him to preside over the overall situation as the Duke's first heir, so that we can control Rin. Winterfell, put my army in the city."
"Okay! Let's do it!"
After the two reached an agreement, they immediately acted.
Earl Uman handed over the army to the family knights as commanders, while he and Louis Knight led a team of cavalry to the city of Winter.
…
At this time, the cold winter city is shrouded in a chill atmosphere.
The news of the Duke of St. Hilde's death had been spread to Lion's Roar Castle through pigeons, but in order to avoid causing excessive panic, the news was only spread among the nobles, and the civilians in the city were kept in the dark.
Fortunately, since the outbreak of the rebellion at the beginning of the year, Winter City has been under martial law. Therefore, although the security in the city has been strengthened at this time, it has not caused more panic.
After night fell, Winter City was completely quiet.
Because the city defense army had imposed a strict curfew, after eight o'clock in the evening, the streets were completely empty, except for teams of patrolling soldiers.
The thick and heavy city gates have long been firmly closed, and all the tall suspension bridges have been pulled up. The black iron cables as thick as a child's arm look extraordinarily cold in the dim light.
The soldiers of the city defense army on duty at night were used to such a cold night. They didn't know the news of Duke St. Hilde's death yet, so they didn't seem too flustered.
What's more, the tall and strong walls of Cold Winter City gave them a strong sense of security. In their view, even if the rebel army surrounded the city, it would not be easy to capture it.
On the tower of the south city gate, several officers of the city defense army were still quietly playing the Gwent card, and standing beside them were the confidantes who were in charge of watching the wind.
But suddenly, the police whistle sounded at the top of the city, scaring several officers to tidy up the game in a hurry, and then took up their weapons and rushed out.
"What's the matter?" the officer asked out of breath.
The soldier pointed to the bottom of the city, and there was the sound of horse hooves, and then dozens of shadowy cavalry were approaching the city gate holding torches.
When the team of cavalry came under the high city wall, a familiar voice came up:
"I am Louis Knight, deputy head of the Golden Lion Legion, please open the city gate!"
The officer in charge of the night obviously recognized Knight Louis' voice, so he shouted loudly:
"I'm sorry, Lord Louis! Your Excellency the Duke has orders. It is strictly forbidden to open the gate of Winter City at night. Therefore, I will put down a hanging basket to pick you up."
"Two! Count Uman is beside me!"
Because when Earl Uman surrendered to the Golden Lions before, Knight Nelson sent someone to report to Winter City, and sent the heads of Penny and Lawrence, so at this time, Earl Uman was an officer in the city defense army. He is no longer a traitor in his eyes.
However, if Earl Uman came alone, the officer may not be willing to let him go. After all, this guy has a history of betrayal, so he must first report to his superiors before making a decision.
But because Knight Louis was personally accompanying him, the officer did not suspect him, and ordered someone to put down the two hanging baskets and pick up Knight Louis and Earl Uman.
After entering the city, the two of them didn't stay on the tower, and immediately rushed to Lion's Roar Castle.
After entering the castle, they were told that Master Joyce had already fallen asleep.
Cavalier Louis was a little impatient, and even asked the housekeeper Delinden if he could wake up Master Joyce.
But the butler shook his head indifferently, signaling that everything will be discussed tomorrow.
The two had no choice but to go to the guest room to rest under the leadership of their attendants.
The night was dark, but Knight Louis tossed and turned and couldn't fall asleep. Distraught, he simply got up and wandered around. Then it was discovered that the light in Earl Uman's room was still on, and it was obvious that the earl hadn't slept either.
So Knight Louis knocked on Earl Uman's door.
Earl Uman welcomed him in, poured two glasses of water, handed one of them to Knight Louis, and then asked, "Who does Steward Delinden support, do you know?"
Cavalier Louis took a sip of water and said with some hesitation: "It should be Joyce. After all, Vera was sent to Yeville by the Duke of St. Hilde very early to learn arcane arts, and she probably doesn't have much friendship with the housekeeper."
"Perhaps." Earl Uman also calmed down now, and suddenly felt that the plan between himself and Knight Louis was a bit rough after careful consideration.
After thinking for a while, Earl Uman thought about it and said, "I think we don't need to rush to see Master Joyce tomorrow."
"Why?" Knight Louis stood up from his chair anxiously.
He thought that Earl Uman was afraid, and quickly persuaded him: "It's already reached this point, even if you regret it, it's too late!"
Earl Uman stretched out his hand and pressed down, signaling Knight Louis to be calm, and then said in a deep voice: "The steward's lack of cooperation made me realize that the previous plan was a bit too rough, and we must first find out the situation in the city.
For example, who dominates the current order in Winter City? Who is in the hands of the city defense army? What is their attitude
Plus, there's the Church... I remember the Northern Diocese just got a new Archbishop? Do you know this person? "
Louis Knight shook his head irritably and said, "Of course we can do this if we have enough time, but don't forget that the Golden Lions are retreating. Can that army really stop the Golden Lion Army?"
"You misunderstood me..." Earl Uman was about to explain, but suddenly stopped.
Knight Louis was wondering when he heard light footsteps outside the door.
Boom boom boom!
The two looked at each other vigilantly, and then Earl Uman stepped forward to open the door.
"Housekeeper Delinden! You are so late, what's the matter?"
The old butler of the St. Hilde family stood outside the door expressionlessly. He smiled slightly when he saw Earl Uman, and said, "Are you two still asleep? I happen to have something I want to show you."
"Oh?" Earl Uman frowned and said hastily, "Please come in."
The housekeeper, Delinden, walked into the room, nodded to Knight Louis, and said with a smile, "Knight Louis, you are here too."
Then he took out a roll of parchment from his pocket, and said lightly:
"The Duke of St. Hilde once made a will, two, would you like to see it?"
"will?!"
Earl Uman and Knight Louis couldn't help exclaiming suddenly, their eyes fixed on the parchment in the old butler's hand, and they couldn't move away anymore.
(end of this chapter)