The convoy stopped at the edge of the mountainous area, and several captains gathered around Art.
"Baskazak, take your squad and escort the convoy, wounded Soldiers, and prisoners back to Talburg. Tell Odo to strengthen the defenses. From now on, be prepared at all times for an attack on Talburg by the Swabia army."
"Tuba, you take the Fourth Squad and two peasant Soldier squads, then select some strong fellows from among the serfs and slaves. Starting from here, dig pits along the way for me. Dig them deep and wide, and make them random. Also dig some pits at the edges of the hillsides, then insert some pointed wooden stakes into the deep pits to make the enemy suffer a bit, preferably making it impossible for them to move an inch."
"Pattes, you lead the Third Squad with tools and go search the surrounding area for any possible detours. If there are any, set up traps and snares on all of them, just like the wolf traps I taught you when hunting in the Valley Mouth."
"Sergeant, has Ron returned?"
"Not yet, but the other two scout riders have returned. I've sent them to stand guard to the east. I'll go check the south in a bit. Ron and Jason should be on their way to catch up with the main force."
"Good, go meet them immediately. I'm worried they might have encountered the enemy."
Angus responded, mounted his warhorse, and galloped towards the direction Ron and Jason had scouted. The others also went to carry out the tasks Art had assigned...
...
It was almost dawn, fifty miles south of Bilton. When a swift horse, borrowed from a village fort near Biertun Fort, braved the night to reach the Southern Manor, Baron Geoffrey, who had toiled hard all night, was sleeping with his head on the manor lord's secret mistress's belly.
Upon learning the grim news of Biertun Fort's sudden attack, the Attendant Captain, terrified, rushed directly into the guest room where Baron Geoffrey was staying, woke up the drooling Baron Geoffrey, and reported the devastating news of Biertun Fort's fall and the complete slaughter of its defenders.
Baron Geoffrey broke out in a cold sweat, his sleepiness completely gone. He jumped out of bed, grabbed the Attendant Captain's collar, and roared, "What the hell are you saying?!"
The Attendant Captain was also a bit stunned, stammering, "My Lord~ Biertun Fort has been captured, the defenders killed, the castle looted, and the Madam and Young Master have been~"
"Have been what~ Speak quickly!"
"The Madam and Young Master have been captured by the enemy~"
"Ah!!!" Baron Geoffrey collapsed onto the bed, then slowly got up after a long while. He regained some composure after drinking a cup of wine offered by the manor lord's mistress.
"Go quickly and prepare a few swift horses. We'll hurry back first. Everyone else, assemble immediately and set off for the return journey."
"Hurry up! What the hell are you still standing there for?!" Geoffrey pushed away the woman clinging to him, pulled the Attendant Captain, and rushed out of the room towards the army camp outside the manor...
At noon, seven swift horses, frothing at the mouth, galloped back to Biertun Fort. Geoffrey almost dragged himself into the castle.
Howls and cries filled the entire castle. In the streets, civilians in twos and threes were transporting the stripped bodies of the defenders to the cemetery outside the city. Some bodies were surrounded by wailing relatives, and scattered items lay strewn across the streets. The better-off houses on both sides had broken doors, and their interiors were in disarray.
Before returning to the inner fort, there was still a pile of tables, chairs, benches, and old clothes that the enemy hadn't taken away in the open space. The inner fort's gate was already broken, and on both sides of the entrance, there were a few piles of ashes from burned straw.
Inside the inner fort, the surviving servants were still tidying up the chaotic Lord's Hall. Everything decent in the entire inner fort had been stolen, even the iron candlesticks on the walls and the Baron's armchair were taken.
On the way back, the messenger had already told Geoffrey that the attackers of Biertun Fort were a Burgundy army disguised as a Quartermaster Corps. After capturing the castle, they killed all the defenders, plundered all the supplies in the castle, and then brazenly disappeared into the western mountains with over a dozen oxcarts and horse-drawn carriages laden with treasures.
Baron Geoffrey immediately thought of the Burgundy army stationed at Talburg, and he also guessed that the so-called "bandit gathering" was just a conspiracy by the Burgundy army. They had tricked Geoffrey's main army to the Southern Manor and then used the opportunity to launch a surprise attack on the undefended Biertun Fort.
"Bastard! Devil! Scoundrel!" Baron Geoffrey stood at the entrance of the Lord's bedroom in the inner fort and roared three times at the empty room, his anger mixed with deep humiliation...
An hour later, seven warhorses, not yet fully rested, endured their fatigue and the kicks of their masters' spurs, galloping towards the western mountains.
----------
On the carriage road east of Talburg, a few withered leaves were gently blown up by the breeze, revealing a thin layer of new soil beneath them. The gradually setting sun scorched the earth, and the hot, glaring afternoon sun made it difficult to open one's eyes.
The dust raised by seven swift horses filled the entire carriage road. Leading the way was Baron Geoffrey's Attendant Captain. He wore fine iron chainmail, a chainmail coif on his head, and a blue checkered surcoat. He held a cavalry spear in his hand and carried a long sword at his waist, looking very majestic.
"My Lord, further ahead we will enter the mountainous area. I am worried that the enemy might set up an ambush by the road. Should we gather the main force before entering?" The Attendant Captain reined in his horse and turned to Baron Geoffrey, who had followed closely behind him.
Baron Geoffrey stopped his horse and observed the road and its sides for a while. There were no signs of an ambush, but since the enemy could conceive of the "bandit gathering" conspiracy, he couldn't guarantee that there were absolutely no enemy plots along this road.
Geoffrey thought for a moment and said to the two cavalrymen he had borrowed from the Southern Manor lord behind him: "You two, scout westward along this carriage road. Return immediately if you encounter the enemy. We will wait here for the main army to arrive."
The two cavalrymen were merely guards temporarily hired by the manor lord; they were unwilling to take risks for someone else, especially since Baron Geoffrey was not their employer.
One of the cavalrymen glanced at the calm carriage road, then looked at the surrounding hills, and declined, "Baron, this road ahead is not very safe, there might even be ambushes. Master Chares only asked us to return to Biertun Fort with you, he didn't say we had to scout into enemy territory~"
Baron Geoffrey pursed his lips, took out two silver shillings from his Pregnant and threw them to the two men. "If you can find any useful information, I'll give you two more."
The two cavalrymen picked up the thrown silver coins, examined them carefully under the sun, then smiled and put them into their pockets. With a fawning smile, they said, "Don't worry, Baron, we two brothers will definitely make it to the foot of Talburg's walls, and perhaps even capture a tongue to present to you for a reward."
With that, they bypassed the Attendant Captain in front and spurred their horses forward. Their horsemanship was excellent, and their warhorses kicked up dust and galloped westward.
Watching the two cavalrymen disappear into the distance, the Attendant Captain felt a fondness for their talent and said to Baron Geoffrey, "My Lord, although these two fellows are a bit slippery, they are indeed good men. After they return, you might consider hiring them for our service."
Baron Geoffrey gently nodded, watching their flying figures.
No sooner had their words fallen than there was a sudden loud thud from the road. The figures of the two warhorses suddenly disappeared from the calm ground, followed by a chorus of neighing warhorses and human screams...
Twenty miles away, Talburg was bustling with activity.
The army Soldiers and laborers stationed at Talburg originally numbered over ninety. With the addition of the accompanying merchant caravan that had not yet left and the prisoners released from Biertun Fort, Talburg now housed over one hundred and thirty people. Furthermore, the inner fort's dungeons held a group of captured enemy Soldiers and several captured artisans.
Odo and Cooper, who remained at Talburg, were working non-stop. Odo had to arrange the returning army throughout Talburg to strengthen defenses, receive the brought-back prisoners and captives, and also be responsible for settling the wounded Soldiers and preparing food for the returning army. Quartermaster Spencer, under Odo, was already seeing stars from exhaustion.
The army that raided Biertun Fort brought back a large amount of spoils. These items were too diverse, and Cooper and Sartre, responsible for inventorying and cataloging, could only roughly organize and record them. Goods that could be quickly sold for high prices in the Northland were selected aside; the accompanying merchant caravan would leave with this batch of goods before the Swabia army attacked. A small quantity of weapons and armor, some tools, and a large portion of food that could be used for Talburg's defense or to maintain the fort's operation were piled in the inner fort's hall. These items were temporarily managed and dispatched by Odo's Quartermaster Corps to meet the fort's daily expenses. Items like clothing, furniture, copper pots, and ceramic jars that were not immediately needed and difficult to sell were stored in the repaired fort warehouse, to be taken back to Valley Wood Fort when the army eventually withdrew from Talburg.
Talburg's defenses had already been meticulously deployed during the army's raid on Biertun Fort. A trebuchet on top of the inner fort's tower was modified by carpenters to be pulled by four people, and next to the trebuchet were several piles of stone projectiles the size of ceramic jars. Along the outer wall's walkway battlements, every five paces stood a Soldier holding a short spear and carrying a round shield, with a neatly stacked pile of stones beside each defending Soldier. Another combat group of Soldiers patrolled back and forth on the outer wall. Both arrow towers on the outer wall's front face were stocked with ten bundles of arrows, and each arrow tower was garrisoned by four temporarily assigned archers and crossbowmen.
An oak door leaned in the fort gate's archway. In case of enemy activity, the gate would be fitted into the archway's groove and secured from within by two thick bars.
The wooden bridge over the pit outside the fort gate had been converted into a simple drawbridge, with two thick ropes diagonally pulled across the outer wall's front face, operated by two Soldiers for raising and lowering.
On the small hillside to the front right of Talburg, the platform now had three Soldiers and five peasant Soldiers stationed there. This position was equipped with six longbows, two crossbows, and eight hundred arrows. The gentle slope in front of the platform was covered with scattered pits and traps of various sizes, and the earth and stone on both sides of the gentle slope were dug out to form walls. If the enemy wanted to occupy the platform, they could only attack from the front, up the trap-filled gentle slope.
On the main road east of Talburg, Angus and Ron galloped back. Upon seeing Art, they reported that the two enemy cavalrymen who had scouted ahead at the Valley Mouth in the mountains had fallen into the traps they had set all night. "Lord Art, your years as a hunter have not been in vain. Now, the carriage road from the eastern Valley Mouth five miles west is entirely covered with traps and pits. Even if the enemy doesn't step into the traps, just filling those pits will take them an entire day." Angus's face showed irrepressible excitement.
Art also chuckled a few times, then said to Angus and Ron, "Sergeant, Ron, you two take a few Soldiers with good archery skills and nimble legs to the east to ambush the enemy. You must lie in wait, and when a suitable opportunity arises, shoot a few arrows from afar. If the enemy sends troops to pursue, immediately retreat into the hills, and when the enemy Soldiers return, you stick to them again and harass them. It doesn't matter if you kill the enemy, as long as they are on this road, don't let them have peace. From now on, you are hunters dealing with wild wolves in the forest, and they are the prey..."