The caravan, which should have returned to the valley three days prior, finally rushed back to the valley on the sixth day of Art's return, and this time, the caravan not only brought back few goods and profits, but even suffered several casualties.
The incident originated a month ago when the caravan was hired by Lord Galvin of Sap Fort to transport a batch of miscellaneous goods (non-southern goods) from the northern reaches of Provence, bypassing Brigge County, a neighboring county of Tinietz, to Lucerne. The caravan had many guards and decent weapons, so small groups of bandits and outlaws along the way dared not harass them, and the journey was smooth.
Twenty days ago, Sartre and Lawrence, the caravan managers who had completed their escort mission, purchased a batch of grain in Lucerne, intending to transport it back south to earn a high price difference. As per Art's request, they also recruited some young, strong warriors and thirteen half-grown orphans along the way, preparing to return to the valley.
Everything was fine until they returned to Tinietz County City ten days ago. However, after entering Tinietz County City, the caravan, flying a black flag with a white deer head, was accosted by a group of ruffians. They claimed that the caravan's grain was stolen from several villages north of Tinietz and demanded its return. Sartre and Lawrence completely ignored these scoundrels, directly ordering the caravan guards to chase and beat down several of them on the spot. Then, more than twenty city ruffians and thugs armed with clubs surrounded the caravan. In this desperate situation, it was Sir Jerry, Viscount Pierre's Attendant Captain, who, with the city guards, drove those ruffians away.
What followed was even stranger: several grain merchants in Tinietz City, who had been short on grain, refused to purchase the caravan's grain at market price, instead lowering their offers, some even below peacetime grain prices. After two days of staying and lobbying in Tinietz City, they still couldn't sell the grain. Finally, Sartre had no choice but to approach Viscount Pierre in Art's name. However, Viscount Pierre's public granary in the city was not short on grain. Unable to resist Sartre's earnest pleas, Viscount Pierre finally bought more than a dozen carts of grain at a price slightly higher than the acquisition cost.
From Viscount Pierre's vague hints, Sartre already knew who was behind the obstruction of the caravan, but Sartre remembered Art's words about temporary forbearance, so he simply treated it as if the caravan was returning with empty carts and didn't bother to pursue the matter.
However, what followed was not just an obstruction but a stab in the back.
Despite being cautious along the way, as the caravan, with empty carts, passed through a Birch Forest south of Ryan Village, it was unexpectedly attacked by a group of bandits. These bandits did not intend to wipe them out; they did not block the caravan's path but instead rushed out from behind the caravan, ambushing and killing several guards who were bringing up the rear…
"My Lord, those bandits were definitely hired by Dean. His original intention might have been to teach us a lesson, to make us never dare to trade on this route again, but they didn't expect that our caravan guards this time included several warriors of extraordinary combat power. We are fortunate to have had Lord Lusignan and the two warriors, Klaus and Smith. If they hadn't voluntarily stayed behind to hold off the bandit pursuit, I'm afraid more than three guards would have died in the caravan…" Sartre, still shaken, reported the encounter in the Birch Forest to Art.
In that ambush, Lawrence, the caravan manager responsible for bringing up the rear, sustained a sword wound, a gash from his left shoulder all the way to his right chest. Fortunately, a layer of leather armor protected him from immediate death, but due to excessive blood loss, Lawrence fainted in the carriage before the caravan could even reach Wood Fort. Additionally, three other caravan guards bringing up the rear sacrificed their lives in that Birch Forest to resist the bandits' charge. However, after three deaths and one serious injury, the battle turned around because the three newly recruited warriors accompanying Sartre at the head of the team turned back to the rear to stabilize the situation and cover the caravan's escape from the bandits' pursuit.
"Sartre, you go and get some good rest first. I have already arranged for Thomas to treat Lawrence and the injured guards. I will handle this matter. You hand over those orphans to Cooper for placement, and then call those three warriors here." Art comforted Sartre with a few words and sent him to rest.
Soon, the three newly recruited warriors followed Ron into Art's wooden house.
The leader was a man with long hair and a short beard, wearing a cotton robe under a half-body chainmail, with a chainmail coif hanging from his neck. Over it, he wore a blood-stained dark gray cloak, on which a howling wolf emblem was faintly visible. A long sword hung from his waist, a short sword was tucked into a cowhide belt, and a pair of spurs were attached to his long leather boots.
The two men following closely behind him included one dressed in worn, single-layer patchwork animal hides, with a tattered cloth belt around his waist, and a pair of rabbit fur winter boots below his tight trousers. This man was simply dressed but carried a fine horn longbow and an exquisite deerskin quiver. The other man, around thirty years old, was burly with two long scars on his face, wearing a leather armor that had been mended countless times. A broad-bladed greatsword hung from his waist, and behind him, a rhomboid-headed war hammer and a small, iron-studded round shield, covered in arrow holes and hack marks, were slung.
The three men had different appearances and varied clothing, but their eyes all held an undeniable murderous aura, an aura that belonged only to survivors who had experienced battle and slaughter.
Art stood up and approached the man with long hair and a short beard, staring at the emblem on his blood-stained cloak, and asked, "Are you a noble?"
"Sir, my father was a Knight, but I am just one of his many unremarkable sons."
"What is your name?"
"Lusignan Felcher."
"Are you a Holy Order Sergeant?" Art noticed the Holy Cross emblem on the hilt of Lusignan's sword.
"I went to the Holy Land with the Church three years ago, but I was sent back in less than a year." Lusignan answered very directly. Years ago, he had indeed, under the praise of those priests, gone to the Holy Land with the ambition to make a name for himself and participate in the fight against infidels, but he was injured and sent back home in less than a year.
"Why did you join my army?"
"I just finished an employment contract on the Swabia border and heard that someone was recruiting Soldiers in Lucerne, so I went to try my luck. I also learned about your achievements and background from them. Anyway, it's all about risking your life for a living. Your reputation and achievements are good, and you can offer a decent salary, so I have no reason to refuse."
"Very good. I know you are a good mercenary, but I don't know if you are a qualified Soldier. I will send someone to test your strength another day."
After Art finished speaking, he walked to the side of the bow-wielding man next to Lusignan, scrutinized him from head to toe, and asked, "Are you an archer?"
This man was clearly not good with words and stammered for a while before answering, "My~ Lord, I~ am Smith~ I am an~ archer."
Seeing that the man next to him couldn't articulate a sentence for a long time, Lusignan took over and replied, "My Lord, this man is named Smith, an archer. He's a stutterer. He followed me here because he owes me a lot of money. From now on, his salary must be given to me."
The man named Smith swallowed and said, "I'm~ not~ a stutterer, I just~ don't speak~ fast."
"Whatever, I'll just call you Stutterer." Lusignan glanced at the archer.
Art patted the archer's shoulder and said, "If you owe him money, then you have to work hard to earn money and pay off your debts as soon as possible."
The archer chuckled a few times.
Then Art walked over to the last man. The two terrifying scars on this man's face already proved his past bravery and achievements.
"You are Klaus, right?"
"Yes, My Lord."
"Are you covered in scars and wounds?"
"Yes, My Lord!"
"Why did you leave the army? You don't seem like a deserter." Art had already guessed that this man named Klaus must have come from the military.
"I was originally a heavy infantryman in a mercenary legion. For years, I've been fighting meaningless wars with them, fighting enemies one day and employers the next. I grew tired of it and wanted to find a good place to settle down." Klaus had left the mercenary army and followed the caravan to join Art after hearing about Art's extraordinary achievements against the Swabians on the southeastern border.
"Hmm, good, stay." Art did not say much to this tough man.
Art observed the three men standing in the room for a while, then turned to Ron and ordered, "Ron, go and call the Sergeant in."
Ron took the order and left. Soon, Angus ran into the small, private house.
"My Lord, you sent for me?"
"Sergeant, these three are newly joined warriors to the army. Take them to participate in ten days of basic new Soldier training with the other new recruits. These three are different from ordinary new Soldiers, so you and Odo need to pay special attention to them." Art emphasized the word "attention," and Angus, who had been in the military for many years, naturally understood Art's meaning.
"My Lord, new Soldier training? Do we still need to participate in new Soldier training?" Lusignan looked incredulous. As a Sergeant who had participated in the Holy War, he came to pledge allegiance to a newly knighted Lord and was still treated as a new Soldier for basic training.
"Lusignan, if you are unwilling to participate in basic new Soldier training, then you can immediately take the reward money for helping me resist the bandits and leave here." Art said coldly. He knew that this man named Lusignan was a very rare and excellent warrior, but an arrogant young master with noble blood was not what he wanted. If he could not be sincerely loyal, he would rather lose an excellent warrior with a divided heart.
Lusignan had not yet answered when Klaus turned and left the wooden house, walking towards the training ground outside Wood Fort.
"Hey, I say~" Lusignan looked at Klaus's departing back, cursed silently in his heart, then turned to Art and said with a smile, "My Lord, I didn't say I wouldn't train, it's just that you shouldn't treat us like new Soldiers~" With that, Lusignan pulled Smith and followed Klaus to the training ground.
Angus looked at the three backs, then turned to Art and said, "My Lord, I just heard Sartre talk about the combat achievements of these three men when the caravan was attacked. They are the sharpest blades, and we must use them well."
"Sergeant, don't forget that the long sword at your waist has two edges. The sharper the blade, the easier it is to wound yourself."
Angus nodded, "So you want Odo and me to sharpen their blades?"
"Yes, our army is still very short of battle-hardened warriors like them. These few people will become the backbone of the army in the future. I don't want them to bring the bad habits of noble armies into my army. I want to ensure that every Soldier of ours is of one heart and mind with me."
"Alright, I understand then. I will pay special attention to those three!"
Angus left the wooden house to "attend to" the three new warriors on the training ground, while Art sat back in his reclining chair, quietly contemplating the many matters to come…