Riding and Slashing

Chapter 195 The Northland Conspiracy
Things in this world don't always go as planned.

So it was with Kedron, and so it was with Lady Ursula.

Ursula did succeed in forging an alliance with the Sarleon Kingdom and received the support of the Sarleon Kingdom—she made a marriage contract to Ulrik and signed an agreement with the Sarleon Kingdom as the suzerain state, in exchange for An army of 2000 men led by Lehman.

The army led by Lehman is the majority of the garrison troops in Sarleon City and Seven Forks Fortress, an experienced mixed force.

The trajectory of his and Ursula's movements is also going north through Kewen Village, and then they will directly cross the Jiatu Grassland and enter the Ravencrow Realm.

If they can capture Dawn Furnace City, then the eastern part of the Ravencrow Kingdom will definitely fall into Ursula's hands, and Ursula will rule the eastern part of the Ravencrow Kingdom as a vassal state.

At that time, Ulrik will marry Ursula, and rightfully gain the right to rule Ravensdale.

Of course, as far as Ursula is concerned, she can also use this to gain the right to rule the Sarleon Land-marriage is actually fair to both parties in a sense. As for what will happen in the more distant future, that is up to her. Look at God's will...

But the problem is that Ursula and Lehman failed to capture Dawn Furnace City as they wished.

And the person who blocked her was Earl Stephen.

Ursula originally thought that Earl Stephen would help her, because she had asked Ren to inform Gregory IV of the deal with the Jatu people.

In her opinion, if Earl Stephen learned the truth, he would probably support her, at least not hinder her.

In addition, she asked Ren to return to Fort Dark Falcon to prepare troops first, which could form a two-sided attack with her and Lehman's troops.

If everything is executed properly, it may indeed be what she wants.But the problem is that Ryan failed to meet Earl Stephen.

And Renn failed to return to Dark Falcon Castle...

Darkfalcon Castle used to be the residence of the Falcon Knights. After the Falcon Knights were declared as illegal knights, the people of Darkfalcon Castle have always been hostile to Gregory IV, because the Falcon Knights have been standing in the fight against Kazakhstan. Figure people at the forefront.

Coupled with the prestige of the Falcon Knights in the past, in the hearts of people in the eastern part of Ravens, the Falcon Knights are even more like the National Knights than the Dragon Knights.

But Gregory IV sent troops to destroy the Falcon Knights a few years ago in order to ensure the king's position-or it should be called to suppress the rebels.

This is actually understandable. After all, Ms. Ursula is the chief knight of the Falcon Knights, and this knights will definitely support Ursula, so Gregory IV will of course characterize the Falcon Knights as illegal knights .

Of course, the consequence of such suppression is that the Jatus invaded more frequently—the Dark Falcon Castle, which has always resisted Jatu's entry, can no longer stop the Jatus.

Especially this spring, the Jatu people did not attack the Sarleon Kingdom at all, and all the Jatu troops turned to attack the Ravencrow Kingdom...

The surrounding areas of Darkfalcon Castle and Oldenburg have been severely damaged by the Jatu people in the past few years.

The lord of Oldenburg is Earl Stephen, and the lord of Fort Darkfalcon is the son of Earl Stephen, Lord Faramond.

In other words, Earl Stephen's family suffered a huge loss due to the destruction of the Falcon Knights.

Count Stephen was of course extremely dissatisfied with this, but the king sent troops to suppress the rebellion was beyond reproach, so even if he was dissatisfied, Count Stephen could only endure it, and formed a ranger troop to fight against the Jatus.

The earl's military strength is actually very strong - he is on the eastern border of Ravencrow, and the two counties of Oldenburg and Darkfalcon Castle have to face the Jatu people in the south and the Misty Mountain people in the north. it's over...

It took several months for Earl Stephen to gradually drive the Jatu people out of Ravencrows, and by the way, he also wiped out a group of Misty Mountain People—that is, An Dongjia's plundering team.

However, because Gregory IV was only thinking about how to suppress the rebellion, and completely ignored the life and death of Oldenburg and Fort Falcon, Stephen had been fighting very hard these few months. In order to protect the people under his rule, the earl almost paid Empty house.

On the contrary, it was Ursula who provided Stephen with some intelligence support during this period—of course, Ursula actually only made some attitudes to win Stephen's allegiance, mainly to prevent Earl Stephen from dealing with her rebels.

But everything is afraid of comparison. On the one hand, the king, who is responsible for protecting his vassals, did not help them at all. Instead, he focused on suppressing the rebellion in the face of Jatu's invasion; Extended a helping hand to Stephen, even if the support is not much...

Under such circumstances, Count Stephen became more and more dissatisfied with Gregory IV, and even began to protect Ursula's rebels.

Although Earl Stephen is kind and kind, and has always been extremely loyal to the Ravencrow Kingdom, no matter how kind and kind people are, they still have a temper.

However, in the eyes of Gregory IV, he has never been able to find Ursula, and has been unable to wipe out Ursula's rebels, because Count Stephen did not cooperate—the king felt that Count Stephen lacked the necessary respect for him and loyal...

At this time, Gregory IV got the news of the civil strife in the Sarleon Kingdom, and heard that Fawcett had publicly pledged his allegiance to Ursula, and was also named a 'Grand Duke of Lion Lake Realm'.

For Fawcett and Ursula to meet, of course Baron Kedron was the matchmaker. However, none of them knew that this was an 'opportunity' created by Ursula for Gregory IV on his own initiative.

For Gregory IV, this is of course an excellent opportunity, because this situation means that Ursula's rebels are in Lion Lake City, and Lion Lake City's defection to Ursula also gave him an excellent excuse...

If you can take the opportunity to capture Lion Lake City, you can kill two birds with one stone - you can not only solve Ursula's rebel army, but also capture the northern part of the Sarleon Kingdom!

Coupled with the civil strife in the Lion Kingdom, the chances of success are quite high!

So Gregory IV wasted no time. He reached an agreement with the Jatu warlord Zakar, using Earl Stephen's Oldenburg and Darkfalcon Castle in exchange for the support of the Jatu people.

Gregory IV wanted to march to Sarleon, and Earl Stephen naturally had to obey the call. This was equivalent to transferring Earl Stephen's army and giving Oldenburg and Darkfalcon Castle to the Jatus!
He could directly cross the Jiatu Grassland to attack the northern area of ​​the Sarleon Kingdom, and quickly take down Lion Lake City before the Sarleon Kingdom resolves the civil strife and reacts.

In fact, in the eyes of Gregory IV, it is cost-effective to exchange the cooperation of the Jatus at the expense of Fort Oldenburg and Fort Darkfalcon——Ursula's rebels have been operating in this area for a long time, and this area is a rebel area. Army territory.

And Earl Stephen's family is 'covering the rebels' again.

For Gregory IV, these disobedient and rebellious sites are used for trading, which can be regarded as 'waste utilization'.

Earl Stephen naturally didn't know about this deal - if he knew, he might rebel immediately...

Therefore, if Earl Stephen knew of the existence of this deal, then the Earl would definitely return to the army to expel the Jatu people, and fully invest in Ursula.

Ursula would be able to take the troops of Fort Oldenburg and Fort Dark Falcon, plus Lehman's troops, to easily capture the currently relatively empty Dawnforge City.

Not only that, but she can also cooperate with Earl Stephen to block the return of the army of the Ravencrow Kingdom - if you want to return to the Ravencrow Realm, you can only go to Fort Oldenburg or Fort Darkfalcon.

In other words, Ursula was not only able to occupy the eastern part of the Ravencrow Kingdom, but was also sure of holding it!
But things in the world are always full of surprises...

A few days ago, before Sir Wren arrived at Earl Stephen's camp, Li Ang had led his troops to fight Earl Stephen in a not-so-intense frontal battle.

——The number of troops on both sides is about the same, but the elite level is very different, and the battle is not fierce at all.

The bows and arrows of the Noldor elves controlled the battlefield at a distance of 100 meters. The precise rain of arrows prevented the two sides from progressing to the stage of hand-to-hand combat. The battle ended after only a few minutes.

Earl Stephen lost more than 100 people again, and then withdrew directly with this cavalry unit.

Since Earl Stephen retreated to the north, the lord did not order to pursue him. His purpose was not to annihilate the Ravens, but to ensure the safety of Fletcher and Fort Yongshield—he knew that the Jatus had already arrived. , because several ebony gauntlet knights in distress have already fled to Fletcher Village, and a beacon has also been lit on Fort Yongshield.

Three beacon fires, which means that the number of Jatu people may be beyond imagination, even hard to count!
Dumbledore returned to Fort Valonshield alive, but only thirty or so of the best ebony gauntlet knights remained beside him.

He had gone to lure the Jatu people before, originally just to make a gesture and see if there was a way to get some spoils, but no one thought that the Jatu people would actually dispatch such a terrifying number...

Baron Leofric allowed him to leave Castle of Valor, but now Dumbledore didn't want to run away anymore—the loss was too great, and there was no good end to going back to Cliff Bay, he might as well stay in Castle of Valor to fight Jato people.

When Sir Wren rushed to the vicinity of Fletcher Village, there were no troops from the Ravencrow Realm here, only the tents of the Jatu people—countless tents!

Thirty miles north of Fletcher Village, which is where Earl Stephen's original camp was, stretches northward to the end of the line of sight. As far as the eye can see, there are all Jatu tents—those that can be pulled by a horse, with The wheel kind!
Judging from the scale of this camp, the Jatu people dispatched at least 5000 people. It seems that this is not for looting, but more like a family migration!
Ren had no way of knowing where Earl Stephen was, and he didn't dare to look for it.

In fact, he didn't bother to look for it at all - he was discovered by the Jatu people as soon as he came here, and he was chased and killed for more than ten miles all the way.

Renn of course fled in the direction of Fletcher Village, because the other directions are grasslands, so he couldn't escape...

But he actually failed to escape in the direction of Fletcher. The troops he led couldn't outrun the Jatu people on the grassland. They were overtaken by two Jatu centurions a few miles away from Fletcher's village. To the siege.

However, Sir Wren was lucky, and an army with the banner of the golden griffin on a black background rescued him.

And this is a female army.

It was the Griffin Sword Mercenary Group led by Amy and Sarah who saved Ren.

When he was rescued by the female soldiers, Ryan thought in a trance that what he encountered was a falcon claw—except for not wearing the sky blue falcon overalls, the female explorers really looked like falcons as a whole claws.

They are also all women, and they all use female crossbows, the same adventurer helmets, the same fighting style, and the same courage and fighting power that is not inferior to any man.

When the Jatu cavalry saw this female troop, they gave up besieging Rennes and evacuated directly-this kind of behavior is not normal, and the difference in military strength between the two sides is not that big. It is likely that two centurions will hold back this female army, and then continue to increase the number of troops.

This direct evacuation reaction looked like they were unwilling to start a war. Ren probably just bumped into them by accident and was beaten up.

"Thank you for your rescue, ma'am..."

Still in a daze, Ren kept looking at the female army. He saw the leader Amy, but Amy was observing the departing Jatu Centuries at this time, and did not approach Ren.

"Rescue? Maybe...the golden eagle in blue...you are the Falcon Knight? If I remember correctly, the Falcon Knight seems to have been destroyed by Gregory IV a few years ago? Why is the Falcon Knight still chasing Gray Goree IV fighting?"

Sarah walked up to Ren, looked at Ren's shield and horse coat, and beckoned to let the female soldiers surround Ren with bad eyes.

She thought that Ren's small team came from the cavalry under Earl Stephen.

"I am Falcon Knight Ren...but I did not follow Gregory IV, ma'am, you may have misunderstood...I am not from the Ravencrow Kingdom now."

Ren looked at the ebony military swords in the hands of the female soldiers, and spread his hands: "It seems that you are not Falcon Claws... I thought it was Urwit, the god of the North, who guided me to find Falcon The remaining sergeants of the Knights."

"As far as I know, Falcon Claw doesn't believe in Urvet, and the God of the North may not be able to guide you in the Sarleon... You're not from the Ravencrow Kingdom 'now', ha... Knight Ren, Of course you are not a Ravencrow now, because you have been captured by me."

It was Amy who was talking. She looked at the dozens of riders under Renn wearing the iconic short skirts of the Ravencrow Kingdom, and then looked back at the two Jatu Centuries going away, and said thoughtfully. .

Afterwards, Sir Wren was taken to the camp where the lord was.

When passing the bridge, Sir Wren watched with straight eyes another team that shocked him to come out of the village to meet Sarah—it was the Noldor army led by Neuer. The sword female soldiers switched defenses and took over from the returning female soldiers to patrol across the river.

"...The scale of the Jatu people is beyond our imagination. With their military strength, they can launch an attack directly, but why do they stay on the opposite side and camp..."

The lord is discussing with Raphael and the others with a serious face in the camp at this time.

But even Raphael, who was most familiar with the Jatu people, didn't know what the enemy's intentions were, so everyone could only shake their heads.

"My lord, we are back..."

Sarah and Amy brought Renn to Leon: "We met him on the other side of the river and was besieged by Jatu people. This guy led dozens of Ravencrow riders, but said he was not from the Ravencrow Kingdom... These Rin Crowland men really can't lie..."

Li Ang turned his head, reached out and handed Amy a glass of water: "Did the Jatu people not set any traps elsewhere?"

"No, we circled around. Except for the north, there are no Jatu people in other places. It's just that this guy is being hunted down...and the Jatu troops besieging him are behaving strangely..."

Amy described to the lord the scene where the Jatu people retreated when they saw them.

"Did the Jatu people change their temper? Seeing so many women, they actually retreated?"

Raphael came over with a puzzled look on his face: "This kind of situation has never happened before. The Jatu people will usually take women away, even if they suffer losses for this, they will not give up-their fighting methods are usually The loss is very great, and we have always relied on the kidnapped women to reproduce!"

"I probably know the reason why the Jatu people did this... Your Excellency the lord!"

Sir Wren finally had a chance to speak, and he also saw that Li Ang was the leader here.

"what is the reason?"

The lord motioned for Ren to continue.

"King Gregory IV of Ravencrow reached an agreement with Jatu warlord Zakar. The Jatu people will make a gesture of attacking the Sarleon Kingdom, but in fact their army will enter Ravencrow Realm and occupy Darkfalcon Castle... "

Ren was hostile to both the Jatus and Gregory IV, so he would naturally not hide these news.

"So, the Jatu people are arranging suspicious soldiers for a show? Just to cooperate with Gregory IV's attack on Beibu Gulf? No wonder they don't attack us..."

Li Ang immediately reacted, but then he shook his head: "But we went out to test, and the thousands of tents set up by the Jatu people are all real! They really have thousands of people here! If Gregory four Shi just let the Jatu people plunder Dark Falcon Castle, I am afraid that the Jatu people may not be able to cooperate with him at such a high price..."

"Gregory IV provided the Jatu people with more than ordinary looting opportunities... He wanted the Jatu people to completely occupy Darkfalcon Castle, and he would give the entire county to the Jatu people! At the same time , He also promised that after occupying the Beibu Gulf of the Sarleon Kingdom, he would give all the land west of Eagle Claw Castle to the Jatu people for horse herding—he would give all the hundreds of miles of hilly grasslands to the Jatu people."

Ryan said quickly: "I heard these with my own ears. They were negotiating on the bridge south of Oldenburg, and I happened to be hiding under the bridge at that time. I swear on the dignity of a knight, I said It's all true."

The lord's face gradually became gloomy: "Gregory IV... can this behavior be regarded as a king? Give the country's land and people to the looters?"

"My lord, I can understand the intention of that Ravencrow King..."

An Dongjia raised his hand at this time and pointed to the map on the wall: "He probably wants the Jatus to block the Misty Mountain in Dark Falcon Castle... The north of Dark Falcon Castle is where we went down the mountain before."

(End of this chapter)