Baron Antayas also learned of the Swabia Grand Duchy's shocking conspiracy against Burgundy Earl from the captured bandits and rescued villagers.
To ensure the stability of Ars堡, all the troops that had recovered the lost territory were stationed there by Baron Antayas. Art's Patrol Team was also kept by Baron Antayas to assist in defense, at a daily salary of fifty fenny. Every day, he would ride with Ron and patrol around Ars堡 with the cavalry led by Sir Drude to prevent surprise attacks from the Swabia army.
During their stationing at Ars堡, Baron Antayas dispatched cavalry with urgent reports for the Court, sending them to Besançon in the north. Art also took the opportunity to write a letter to the Court Minister of Public Security, reporting on all the situations since his appointment as Patrol Officer. According to Baron Antayas's wishes, their letters stated that the cause of the war was Baron Antayas leading the army to rescue and resist the bandits from Bore Mountain who attacked Ars堡, and from the captured bandits, they learned of the Swabia Grand Duchy's conspiracy to invade the border, instigated by the Lombardy Grand Duchy. They requested the Court to quickly dispatch troops to guard various locations on the eastern border.
For the next seven or eight days, there was no unusual activity around Ars堡. Baron Antayas also brought some Medical Officer and priests from various parts of his territory to Ars堡 to treat the officers and Soldiers wounded in battle. Although the Patrol Team also received a Medical Officer, Art refused the help of that Medical Officer, who always resorted to surgery and bloodletting. Instead, he insisted on cleaning the wounds and changing the bandages for the wounded Soldiers every day, and at night, he would quietly apply crushed herbal mud to the Soldiers with external injuries. Despite Art's best efforts to treat the wounded Soldiers in the Patrol Team, the Soldier who was scalded by boiled feces had already developed skin ulcers and ultimately did not survive.
As of now, three Soldiers in the Patrol Team have died in battle. As the weather gradually warmed, the bodies of the fallen Soldiers could not be preserved and transported back to Valley Wood Fort for burial. Art had no choice but to find a flat piece of land outside Ars堡 and simply bury the three fallen Soldiers.
The Patrol Team suffered too many casualties. Although Odo fully supplied the Soldiers with abundant food and tried various ways to boost morale, even occasionally adding light beer to the Soldiers' dinners, the Patrol Team Soldiers inevitably became depressed due to the deaths and injuries of their comrades and the extreme tension that snapped their nerves.
Art was powerless in this regard, as many of the Patrol Team Soldiers were just ordinary farmers, herdsmen, and laborers a few months prior.
On the fifteenth day of guarding Ars堡, there was still no unusual activity around. Baron Antayas was somewhat unable to sustain the enormous daily consumption of a nearly hundred-man army, and the farmer-Soldiers, whose service was nearing its end, felt that the spring wheat had just been sown and needed weeding and irrigation, so they clamored to go home. Baron Antayas had no choice but to leave Internal Affairs Knight Drude with ten City Guards to garrison Ars堡, which only had twenty-odd villagers left, and then disbanded all the conscripted troops…
The night before the army was disbanded, a banquet was held in Ars堡. Everyone received pork, lamb, and light beer purchased from various places from the Baron. The Lord's Wood Fort was even more lively. In addition to the leaders of each team, some Soldiers who had made great contributions in the battle to retake Ars堡 were also invited to the banquet.
After three rounds of drinks, Baron Antayas came to Art with his cup and drank a beer with him, saying, “Art, are you really leaving? If you can stay and help me guard for another month, I am willing to provide for your food and drink, and also pay you a lump sum of one thousand eight hundred fenny as military pay. Just one month, and once I return and recruit enough troops and farmers to garrison Ars堡, you can leave.”
Art stood up and refilled the Baron's cup, then raised his own cup in return and replied, “My Lord Baron, it will be the greatest honor of my life to repel the demons of hell alongside a great warrior like you. I will forever sing your praises. As for your invitation for us to garrison, please forgive me for not being able to accept, because the duty entrusted to me by the Court is to patrol the Southern Territory and maintain public order. The war here has ended, but the Southern Territory is still in turmoil with refugees and bandits rampant. I must return to the Southern Territory to fulfill my duties.”
Art saw disappointment in Baron Antayas's eyes. It was highly possible that Swabia would invade with a large army, but currently, the Baron had no available troops. His small number of City Guards needed to guard Andermatt Fortress, a strategic stronghold in the southeastern mountains of the Earl, and the other troops in his territory would need a long time to recover after the battle to retake Ars堡. Before the Court reacted, he would need at least a month to recruit troops and farmers to garrison this border stronghold.
Art lowered his head and pondered for a long time, then looked up at Baron Antayas and said, “My Lord, I have a way to alleviate your current predicament. I wonder if you are willing to listen.”
“Tell me.”
“Since last year, a large number of refugees have poured into various parts of southern Tinietz, and I will be patrolling the Southern Territory to maintain public order in the coming time. If you trust me, you can allocate a sum of money and provisions to me, and I will recruit refugees and troops for you in various parts of southern Tinietz…”
A hint of joy flashed in Baron Antayas's eyes. He pulled a wooden stool next to Art and sat down, asking, “Tell me specifically how you will recruit refugees and troops?”
… … … …
At noon the next day, on the road back to Andermatt Fortress from Ars堡, several armies, leading cattle and horses and carrying money, provisions, and wounded and seriously ill Soldiers, rushed back to Andermatt Fortress, and then each returned to their respective territorial villages and settlements.
Seeing no outsiders around, Odo could not suppress the excitement in his heart. He spurred his horse to Art, who was at the head of the team, and quietly and excitedly reported the gold and silver treasures dug out from the stable next to the Lord's Wood Fort when they left Ars堡, “My Lord, we made a fortune this time!!”
Art only told Odo and Ron the secret about the bandit leader's hidden treasures, which he had interrogated from him during the war, and asked them to keep it a secret. When they were stationed at Ars堡, there were too many people, so Art had not taken out the treasures hidden by the bandit leader in the stable. But on the night before their departure, Art uncharacteristically took the initiative to stand guard, and while everyone was asleep, Art took the opportunity to send Odo and Ron to quietly sneak into the stable and retrieve the treasures.
The bandit leader did not deceive Art. The gold, silver, and jewels hidden in the stable were much more than what was plundered from Ars堡. After a preliminary count, there were five gold ingots, forty-five silver marks, and sixty-three deniers, totaling over thirteen thousand fenny. In addition, there was an ivory-gilded gold cross with a silver chain, two small gold wine cups, three silver dinner plates, one emerald bead, one agate necklace, and one exquisite porcelain vial. Even Art, who had seen the world, could not estimate the value of these exquisite and beautiful treasures, but their value should not be less than the coins.
As they advanced, at a fork in the road near Andermatt Fortress leading west, Knight Croy rode his warhorse into the Patrol Team and found Art, saying, “Art, I won't follow the main group back to Andermatt. I'll go directly west from here, and I'll reach Berningken in a day and a half. I've already said goodbye to My Lord Baron, and I'm saying goodbye to you again. If you visit Berningken in the future, I will definitely welcome you with the highest courtesy.” The middle-aged Knight Croy was one of the few nobles who were willing to befriend the commoner Art. Croy himself was skilled in battle, so he thought highly of Art and the Patrol Team he led, who had formidable combat power. In addition, Art had spoken favorably for Croy when distributing the spoils of war, and the two had frequent interactions during their stationing, establishing a good personal relationship.
Art dismounted from his horse and respectfully bowed to Sir Croy, bidding him farewell, “Respected Sir Croy, I will forever remember the camaraderie of fighting alongside you and sharing life and death. May God bless you.”
After a simple day of rest inside Andermatt Fortress, Baron Antayas fulfilled the remaining two-thirds of the military provisions he had promised Art. In addition, he prepaid Art one thousand fenny to recruit refugees and troops. Art also promised to recruit thirty refugees and fifteen Soldiers for Baron Antayas within twenty days, and in return, Art would receive five hundred fenny or equivalent provisions after the task was completed.
Early the next morning, Art organized all the supplies and led the Patrol Team on their return journey.
The twenty-one people, one carriage, and two horses and two mules that came had turned into eighteen Soldiers, some standing and some lying down, fifteen captured laborers, four fully loaded carriages, four horses, two mules, and one cow, as well as food and goods carried by everyone on their shoulders and hands.
The cost was great, and the harvest was also abundant…
After a day's journey, Art ordered Odo and Bass to lead the livestock, carriages, supplies, and Patrol Team Soldiers to escort the prisoners back to Valley Wood Fort for rest. Firstly, to continue treating the wounded and restoring morale, and secondly, to bring the closely guarded prisoners back to Valley Wood Fort and hand them over to Old Butler Cooper, so that the prisoners could atone for their sins by doing hard labor. Art had already told these redeemable prisoners that as long as they honestly worked as slaves and toiled diligently, they could regain their freedom in the future.
Art himself, along with Ron and Kazak, who were skilled in horsemanship, carried some money, jewels, and the heads of several bandit leaders and sub-leaders, and galloped north. After the war, the Soldiers could rest for a period, but Art himself could not rest; there were still many things waiting for him to do.
… … … …
The three galloped for less than two days and arrived at Tinietz. At this time, Tinietz was again seeing a large influx of refugees from the south, and public order here was even more chaotic. Every day, refugees who stole, robbed, or caused trouble were arrested by the City Guards, and Tinietz’s prison was already overcrowded.
Several months had passed, and the aftermath of the “raid” on Wincheston Manor began to appear. When Art and his companions arrived at the Tinietz City Hall, Viscount Pierre refused to meet Art and ordered the new Public Officer to inform Art of the Court's penalty decision, which commanded Art to return all property from Wincheston Manor and prohibited him from entering Winston Manor territory.
Art, of course, could not carry out this soft penalty decision, but the heads he brought did not even earn him a single copper coin. Furthermore, Viscount Pierre explicitly sent someone to tell Art not to expect any further weapon or material support from Tinietz City, because the Lord Deputy of the Court had privately strictly ordered Pierre to isolate this Patrol Officer personally appointed by the Minister of Public Security. To avoid offending the Lord Deputy, Pierre had no choice but to obey.
The heads of the bandit leaders in his hands were useless, and Tinietz County City no longer welcomed the Patrol Team. Art had no choice but to give the bandit heads to the new Public Officer of Tinietz County and then withdraw from Tinietz City, spending the night camping in the wilderness north of the city.
Art and his companions, having been rebuffed in Tinietz, continued north towards Luzern.