“My Lord, it seems that Geoffrey fellow has completely lost his mind!” Odo raised his shield, blocking the arrows raining down from outside the city.
Baron Geoffrey had indeed gone completely mad. He never imagined that Talburg’s defenders would stealthily detour in the dark of night to raid his rear camp. He had thought that since the scoundrel had come with his own heraldic banner to negotiate a surrender, he would at least retain a shred of knightly honor and faith. However, that despicable fellow had set up a conspiracy from the very beginning.
The temporary camp was destroyed, all siege engines and provisions were completely burned, the camp's craftsmen were massacred, more than a dozen Soldiers were mostly dead or wounded, and the camp's peasant Soldiers and laborers were either dead, injured, or fled. When Baron Geoffrey arrived at the camp, all that remained was widespread wailing and an unquenchable sea of fire.
Baron Geoffrey lost his sanity once again.
That night, he led over twenty cavalrymen, more than forty infantrymen, a dozen archers, and all surviving peasant Soldiers and laborers in a desperate assault on Talburg’s gate. Lacking siege engines and shield protection, Geoffrey’s army suffered attacks from both Talburg and the flanking Marquis Platform. After leaving seven or eight corpses, Geoffrey had no choice but to sound the retreat, dragging his wounded Soldiers away.
But Geoffrey did not give up the siege. He commanded all his archers and cavalrymen (knights) capable of shooting bows to continuously fire arrows at Talburg’s outer wall, completely disregarding the consumption of arrows.
After a volley of arrows, Geoffrey saw no movement from Talburg, not even a single light arrow returned, as if they were ignoring Geoffrey’s army below the city.
Geoffrey’s stubbornness flared up again. He knew he could not conquer Talburg, so early the next morning, he began to organize his Soldiers to assault the Marquis Platform on Talburg’s flank.
More than twenty dismounted cavalrymen (knights) and dozens of infantry archers took turns attacking the Marquis Platform. The Marquis Platform was defended by a squad of peasant Soldiers, who failed to hold the Marquis Platform under the enemy's strong attack, having lost the protection of traps (which had been successively dismantled and filled by the enemy). They could only lower ropes from the side of the Marquis Platform and retreat back into Talburg under the cover and support of Talburg's bows and crossbows. However, before retreating, they poured lamp oil and set the wooden Marquis Platform ablaze.
At noon on the second day after the rear camp was attacked, Baron Geoffrey stood on the leveled base of the Marquis Platform and fired a volley of arrows at Talburg.
Art raised his shield, blocking several arrows shot from the small hill on the flank, then took a heavy, diamond-tipped arrow wrapped in cloth handed to him by Ron. He drew his horn longbow, nocked the heavy arrow, pulled the string taut, and aimed at Baron Geoffrey.
“Whoosh—”
A heavy arrow flew towards Baron Geoffrey, drawing a distinct arc. The Attendant Captain next to Geoffrey quickly raised a wooden shield to block it in front of the Baron.
“Thud~~” The heavy arrow, with its trembling fletching, embedded itself in the shield.
After a moment, Baron Geoffrey pushed aside the Attendant Captain blocking him, broke off the heavy arrow embedded in the shield, and took out the letter from the arrow shaft—
“Gather sixty thousand fenny within a month to redeem your only son. —Your vile enemy.”
Baron Geoffrey’s bloodshot eyes began to blacken, then his mind became chaotic, and he fell to the ground with a thud. Several personal guards quickly carried Geoffrey down the small hill.
In the evening, the Swabia army, which had besieged Talburg for nearly a month, dejectedly carried the unconscious Baron Geoffrey away from Talburg…
---------------------------------------------
In Glarus County, thirty miles Southwest of Talburg, Viscount Herries held a letter sent from Talburg. The main content of the letter was a report that the Swabia army besieging Talburg had been defeated and retreated to Biertun Fort.
The sword hanging over Glarus County finally lowered, and Viscount Herries let out a long sigh of relief.
During the nearly month-long siege of Talburg, everyone in Glarus County was in danger. Viscount Herries continuously conscripted Soldiers from his territory and stockpiled provisions. Glarus County, being in a mountainous region, could not compare to Biertun Fort in terms of population and rich produce. Excluding the troops dispatched to the northern front, the remaining standing army in the entire county was less than a hundred men (with some Sentry Outposts still requiring Soldiers to guard them), and Glarus County City itself had fewer than eighty Soldiers stationed. The peasant Soldiers and manor guards from the various village forts and manors in the county combined amounted to only one or two hundred people. There were neither rugged and dangerous terrains to block the enemy, nor abundant provisions and supplies, and even the stationed Soldiers were insufficient. Facing the Swabia Grand Duchy's army, which could invade at any time, Viscount Herries truly broke out in cold sweats several times and cursed the scoundrels in Talburg who had poked the lion's backside countless times.
Cursing aside, during the siege of Talburg, Viscount Herries still squeezed out a small force of twenty men from the Glarus city garrison, led by a direct knight, to support Talburg. However, this force was intercepted and turned back by eight cavalrymen sent by Geoffrey just ten miles west of Talburg. Additionally, he had also tried to transport a batch of arrows and weapons to Talburg via mountain trails, but these arrows and weapons ultimately became a boost for the Swabia army's attack on Talburg.
Although he knew Talburg was a strong defensive line for Glarus County, Herries never dared to send all his limited defenders to support Talburg. Therefore, he could only silently pray that the fellows stationed in Talburg could hold out for a few more days, preferably until the Court could spare the effort to send troops to support Glarus County…
Such anxious days continued until the arrival of this victory report.
Viscount Herries was ashamed of the vile tactics of that fellow in Talburg, but no matter what, Talburg held, and the crisis in Glarus County was largely resolved. As for the enemy forces coming from the southern trade route of Glarus County, he was not so worried, after all, there was still a County City and two castles blocking them to the south, and the enemy would not easily reach Glarus County.
Viscount Herries picked up the silver goblet on the table and took a large drink. After putting down the goblet, he kindly said to Ron, who delivered the letter, “Young man, go back and tell Sir Art that I congratulate him on his achievements. I will state his outstanding military accomplishments in the victory report submitted to the Court. Additionally, I will prepare some supplies for the troops and defensive weapons for the city; you can take them back with you.”
Ron bowed to Viscount Herries and then said, “Thank you, My Lord Viscount. I will certainly convey your generosity to my Lord. Also, Talburg is short on medicine, and during the enemy’s siege, a number of wounded Soldiers appeared who need to be arranged for treatment in Glarus County. Please show them mercy.”
“Of course, they are all the bravest warriors and deserve the best treatment,” Viscount Herries readily agreed.
After delivering the letter and arranging for the wounded Soldiers, Ron led the remaining Jason and Leide of the Sentry Cavalry, along with a four-wheeled carriage loaded with weapons like arrows and short spears, and food like fruit wine and smoked meat, back to Talburg…
………………
Two days later, at the Besançon Court, ninety miles Northwest of Glarus County City, an urgent wax-sealed letter from Glarus County on the Southeast border was delivered to the desk of Lord Deputy of the Court, Earl Baldwin, through layers of Court guards and scribes. Baldwin picked up the seal on the desk and opened it. The letter briefly described the main military achievements of Talburg’s defenders and then reported the defeat and retreat of the Swabia army, with Talburg remaining intact. Of course, Viscount Herries did not forget to add his prominent role in the defense of Talburg in the letter; according to the words in the letter, it seemed as if Talburg was able to hold out entirely due to his strategic planning. Although he knew there would be exaggerations in the letter, Earl Baldwin would not dwell on it too much at such a time. After all, Talburg had held, the Swabia army had been repelled, and the crisis in Glarus County was resolved, so Earl Baldwin no longer needed to divert troops from the fiercely contested northern front to reinforce Glarus County.
Earl Baldwin called his Attendant and handed him the victory report, saying, “Give this letter to the scribe and have him record the military accomplishments of everyone in Talburg. Also, go tell Dean that the peasant Soldiers and military supplies don’t need to be sent to Glarus County anymore; send them directly to Wald City in the east. They are about to face a major offensive from the Swabia Northern Army, and they need support more.”
“As for Glarus County, have the messenger take a message back, telling them to continue supporting Talburg. Tell Herries and Art to strictly guard Talburg and not allow the northern front to be threatened by the enemy from a commanding position.”
………………
One hundred ninety miles South of Besançon, on the edge of the dense forest North of Valley Wood Fort.
The Old Butler Cooper had already returned here with six empty iron-clad four-wheeled double-axle carriages. Accompanying the Old Butler were two merchant caravan members and four Andermatt Fortress coachmen.
It turned out that half a month ago, after the accompanying merchant caravan completed the trade of goods brought from Talburg and returned to various places in the South to purchase southern goods, Cooper left Sartre and Lawrence to manage all matters concerning the accompanying merchant caravan. He himself, along with a merchant caravan guard and a small merchant familiar with the roads, went to Andermatt Fortress to ask Baron Antayas to send people to assist him in retrieving the six carriages hidden in Swabia territory back to Valley Wood Fort.
Baron Antayas read Art’s personal letter and gladly accepted the fine steel longsword and leather armor Art gifted him. He then readily agreed to Cooper’s request, finding two merchants who regularly traveled to the southern border of Swabia to conduct small businesses, and sent them with several mules and horses to accompany Cooper’s group, disguised, into Swabia to retrieve the carriages. For safety, Baron Antayas also dispatched five of his elite city guards to secretly protect Cooper’s group.
On the return journey, Cooper’s group also encountered several groups of mountain bandits and brigands. Thanks to the five Soldiers sent by Baron Antayas who rushed out in time to kill the bandits, Cooper’s group was able to return safely to Andermatt Fortress.
Baron Antayas was quite righteous. To ensure Cooper could return safely with the carriages, he not only lent Cooper several livestock to pull the empty carriages but also sent several strong coachmen armed to accompany them.
“Scott, you don’t need to ask anymore. My Lord is well, and Ron is also safe. We’ll talk about the rest when we get back. First, have someone hide the carriages. These are treasures, Swabia army’s supply wagons, each capable of pulling two thousand pounds of goods.”
“Oh, right, quickly have someone return to the Wood Fort to prepare some meat and wine. These coachman brothers were sent by Baron Antayas to escort the carriages. Let them eat, drink, and rest well. Tomorrow, they still have to take the mules and livestock back to Andermatt Fortress.”
Cooper said, dusting himself off, as he gave instructions to Scott and Lynn, who had received the news beforehand and came to greet Cooper.
Scott arranged for people to unload the carriages and hide them in the dense forest, then led Cooper’s group back to Valley Wood Fort.
Since Art left the Wood Fort with his army, Scott had arranged for several Wood Fort guard peasant Soldiers to be stationed here.
Now, all the wheat in the Valley Land fields has been harvested. The grain produced from over a hundred acres of fertile land fills the large and small warehouses of Valley Wood Fort. Only a portion of this grain was returned by the farmers to the Wood Fort for spring planting; the rest belonged to the farmers themselves. All this grain belongs to the farmers, but considering that a large amount of grain stored in simple sheds in the Valley Land would be unsafe, after leaving enough rations, the rest of the grain is temporarily stored in the Wood Fort’s warehouses. However, the farmers can take this grain at any time.
“Old Butler, where are My Lord and the others now? How are they doing?” After returning to Valley Wood Fort and settling everyone’s food and lodging, Scott couldn't help but ask Cooper a few questions.
Cooper drank a large gulp of fragrant meat broth and wheat porridge, wiped the soup from his beard, and patiently told Scott, “My Lord has led an army into an abandoned military fort on the Southeast border. They also raided Swabia territory and obtained quite a few spoils of war. When the accompanying merchant caravan left, My Lord and his men were stationed in the military fort.”
Cooper paused, then continued, “Ron is also safe. He has earned many military merits in battle, and My Lord now highly values him. You and Emma can rest assured.”
Scott was much relieved to learn that Lord Art and his son were both safe. He was about to ask more, but Cooper changed the subject and asked about matters in Valley Wood Fort, to which Scott answered one by one.
“Now that the wheat has been harvested, besides continuing to reclaim wasteland, the people in the Valley Land also need to build the Valley Land village. Now that the farmers have some grain, they can build more thatched huts in their spare time. Firstly, farmers with wives and children can live separately, and secondly, after My Lord returns, he will certainly continue to recruit refugees to farm in the Valley, and we still need to provide food and lodging for the newly arriving refugees.”
Scott nodded in agreement.
“The merchant I brought back is named Niel. He was rescued by My Lord from the enemy. He has a leg injury and difficulty moving, so he cannot work with the merchant caravan for long. Although this person has some merchant-like traits, he is honest and reliable, and most importantly, he can read and write a few words. I will have him work in the Valley. In the future, he can handle the registration and record-keeping of personnel and supplies in the Valley. Provide him with food and lodging, and his salary will temporarily be paid as a Wood Fort guard peasant Soldier.”
“Okay, I will arrange it,” Scott replied.
Cooper took out a letter from his Arms and handed it to Scott, saying, “This is a private letter from My Lord to Lord Galvin and Miss Lottie of Sap. Send someone to deliver it to Lord Galvin in Sap, along with the jewelry, ornaments, and silk I brought back. Tell him it’s a greeting from My Lord from the battlefield.”
“I will have Lynn personally take people to Sap,” Scott replied.
“Oh, right, when leaving Talburg, Ron also asked me to bring some things back for you. They are in this satchel. You can take it home later,” Cooper said, standing up to retrieve the satchel placed by the door and handing it to Scott.
Scott’s face lit up with a smile, but he grumbled, “This fellow, just wasting money.” Then he laughed and took the satchel from Cooper’s hand.
Cooper looked at Scott’s smiling face and said, “Ron is a good boy. I didn’t misjudge him back then.”
Cooper remembered something else and said to Scott, “Also, I have to set off again tomorrow to catch up with the accompanying merchant caravan. You can accompany me to the Valley Land to see it later. I won’t have time to go to the Border Outpost. Have Lynn go to the Outpost when he returns from Sap, and tell Simon and the others that My Lord is well, and have him guard the Border Outpost well…”
“Yes…”