Continental Warriors Yoo Ma

He decided to go across the whole of France first, go back to his hometown to take a look, and then met his old friend Renault.

Hearing that the other party was also tired of the manor life dealing with ignorant tenant farmers and greedy nobles all day long, and was going to Rouen to seek a great future, the two hit it off and set off together.

All the way north, after entering the Champagne region, they encountered wool soldiers in the forest outside Sezanne.

These mercenaries who lost their organization in the Battle of Paris, after recovering, naturally formed large and small armed groups, reduced to wool soldiers, and ran amok everywhere.

With Île-de-France as the center, the smoke of looting spread in all directions, and soon the Champagne region suffered.Renault and Garmon were just two of the many travelers who were unlucky enough to be robbed.

Fortunately, the two were very clever, and scattered the two good horses they had been riding, as well as some belongings, and left them in place to attract the attention of the woolen soldiers.While the gangsters were looting, the two took the opportunity to escape and arrived in Lance smoothly.

At this time, having lost most of their belongings, the two of them, who were cash-strapped, could only buy a skinny old horse and a mule as means of transportation to continue their journey.

As he had already been robbed once, he saw that the sky was getting dark but he had to continue on his way. Lei Nuo said with some concern: "Mirna, the goddess of darkness, mystery and luck, has given us the blessing to make it safe for us to reach the next one at night." The foothold... Hey, although the wool soldiers in Beaumont are not so rampant under the Marquis of Mayouf's rule, I can't feel at ease. If I knew it, I would rest in Bowen for a night."

"Rest? Where do we have extra money?" Garmont has been making a living at sea all year round, and he is much more courageous than Renault. "Arriving in Rouen earlier can save a little more travel expenses. If the exam is over and the results are not announced, we will have to Isn’t it a joke not to sleep on the streets?”

The two complained all the way, and moved forward with fear.

Finally, after the sky was completely dark, they saw a reassuring fire beside the road.

"Welcome to Castle Outerang. Warm and comfortable beds, mellow and refreshing beer, tender and juicy steaks are not available here! You can only do it yourself if you need anything." A man warming up by the roadside asked Renault and Garmon greeted.

This is an abandoned castle. The owner of the castle, Knight Outran, died on the battlefield of the Hundred Years War more than ten years ago.Later, the castle experienced a conspiracy and vendetta by the steward to seize the property of orphans and widows.After a fire, the originally gorgeous castle was completely abandoned.

However, after the war finally ended and the situation stabilized, the castle was used by travelers in the past as a temporary resting place and regained some vitality.Even some refugees who originally avoided living in the wild began to settle near the castle, reclaim the land, and grow vegetables.

Even if it's just a half-destroyed castle, it can give ordinary people a sense of security in this world where wool soldiers are rampant, and there are monsters from other worlds in the wild.

"It's enough to have a free roof and walls." Garmon looked at the castle with satisfaction, and walked in with Renault.

The originally magnificent castle hall has long been in a mess.At this time, strange travelers like Garmon and Renault were sitting around a fire and chatting.

It is now mid-October, and the weather is getting colder.After Garmon and Renault settled down, they each took dry food and joined the chatting crowd.

The orange flames were jumping, and the pyre made crackling noises from time to time, giving people an extremely reassuring atmosphere.

Chapter 290 Too many people to live in

As soon as they sat down, the two smelled a tempting aroma of meat.

I saw a large pot on the bonfire, and the broth in the pot was gurgling and making appetizing sounds.A halfling was pouring carrots, onions and other vegetables into the pot. Finally, a rather precious one took out a bottle from his arms and added some reddish-brown powder into the pot.

"Spice? Which one?" Garmon, who has been doing business at sea all year round, can naturally smell it, the smell that is worth a thousand gold.

"This is a secret seasoning made by mixing thirteen kinds of spices in certain proportions." The halfling looked proud, "Your nose is pretty good."

At this time, someone else explained to him: "This halfling is the steward of a noble gentleman. In order to thank us for giving up all the second floor, he is willing to share food with us."

"It's so delicious! I didn't expect that I could taste the deliciousness of spices in this life! You guys are really timely." Another strange traveler said, swallowing his saliva.

noble?

Garmon and Raynor took a look at the halfling, and found that he was accompanied by two bear-like followers.Although he was only equipped with a leather breastplate and a saber, his capable demeanor was obviously no ordinary guard.

However, there is no such thing as a coat of arms that reveals his identity on the other party's body, so he can't tell his history.

"A big man of unknown origin."

"But there's nothing malicious about it."

The two exchanged information quietly.

It is understandable that the old man who insists on his own identity does not want to share a room with mud-legged people when he sleeps out.If Garmon and Renault also achieved a class leap one day and became nobles, they would definitely not want to be squeezed among a group of commoner travelers like they are now.

At least, that big man didn't use force to simply and rudely drive others away in order to monopolize the space, but exchanged food, which showed that the other party was still a reasonable person.

At this time, the broth in the pot has been boiled.The halfling ordered one of his followers to ladle soup for the crowd, while another began to distribute bread.

"Oh, isn't this a baguette?" A small vendor who travels between the Lowlands and Normandy all the year round looked at the golden, wheat-flavored bread in his hand in surprise.

"Baguette, what is that?" Garmon was away all year round and lacked understanding of the changes in the country.

Renault explained to him: "This is a new type of bread invented in Ghent last winter. It is made of pure wheat flour and only added yeast and salt. When it is just out of the oven, it is crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. Wealthy merchants welcome."

"Only the rich can afford it." Garmont quietly hid his dry food—black bread mixed with peas, lentils, rye flour, and acorn flour.

"Gentlemen, these baguettes were purchased in the morning, and the best consumption period has passed at this time-unfortunately, during the trip, due to insufficient objective conditions, we have to compromise on diet. But if you tear up the bread, soak it In the broth, you can also enjoy the deliciousness..." the halfling said eloquently.

Travelers are already satisfied with this kind of high-quality white bread, so they should pay more attention to it.However, someone grabbed the baguette and took two bites, and found that the halfling was staring at him. He couldn't help but feel hairy, so he obediently followed the other party's method, breaking the bread into pieces and soaking it in the soup.

Then, the halfling, who seemed to have obsessive-compulsive disorder towards food, nodded in satisfaction.

"Seven Saints bless your generosity and kindness."

After filling their bellies, the travelers thanked the halfling.The latter just waved his hand, said "it's just the master's order", and then found a corner to sit down.

Food brings people closer together, making the night more relaxing and enjoyable.Soon, the travelers started chatting and laughing, talking about the strange things they had seen or heard.

Garmon, who had traveled all over the world and had seen a lot, naturally became the center of the crowd.After telling a few short stories and enlivening the atmosphere, someone shouted: "Garmont, have another joke. If you can make my stomach cramp from laughing, I'll give you a sou!"

Garmon, who was short of money right now, heard this, thought for a while, and accepted the challenge.

He pondered for a while, and said in a low voice: "One day, the Marquis of La Manche arrived at a small village on march. It was already night, and he was going to stay in the village. He knocked on the door of a private house, and a man walked out of it. The old woman..."

Seeing that the protagonist of the joke is the owner of the land they are in now, one of the most powerful nobles in the kingdom, these commoner travelers, they immediately cheered up.

Now it is the middle ages when the hierarchy is strict and the ideological imprisonment is still firm.But as the saying goes, where there is oppression, there is resistance, and the European entertainers arrange big shots, which is quite good.

The church that clamors for "don't have sex" every day has become a private club that frequently holds "multiplayer sports" in "Ten Days Talk".In reality, when men go to have fun, they often use the cryptic term "find a nun".

As for the nobles at the level of kings and dukes, they were the focus of ridicule and ridicule by the fun people.

Take nicknames for example.

Charles, the king of West Francia at that time, had the nickname "bald", not because his hair was as thick as the 996-year-old programmer in 20 later, but because he didn't have a crown on his head, and his power and status were far inferior to his two brothers.

John II, the emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire, was dark, short and ugly, but he had a nickname, "Beautiful Man".And Charles VI, the mad king of France, was obviously used by the Burgundian faction and the Orleans faction in turn, and was captured by the English. His wife was often rumored to be unfaithful, but he had the nickname of "The Beloved".

Such examples are too numerous to enumerate.To see what true yin and yang are, look no further than the nicknames of medieval monarchs.

Garmon continued to tell his jokes under the focused eyes of the audience:

"Who wants to stay?" the old woman asked.

Ma Youfu replied: "The Marquis of Lamanche, the Count of Rouen, the Count of Beaumont, the head of the Normandy royal family, the chairman of the Northern France Trading Company, the rebuilder and savior of Paris, the banner bearer of the Golden Flame War, the master of glib, Sai The wise man of Rhys, the close comrade-in-arms of the saint..."

Unexpectedly, the old woman was not intimidated by the long list of titles, but shook her head in confusion and said, "There are too many people, I can't live at home, please go to another place."

After Garmont's joke was finished, the audience smacked it a bit, and after thinking about it, they immediately burst out laughing.

Some slapped their thighs fiercely, some leaned forward and backward, some bent down with their stomachs in their arms, and some kept wiping their eyes.

Complacent, Garmon stretched out his hand to take a silver coin from the previous traveler.

"Now the food and lodging during the exam is settled." He thought happily.

But at this moment, he found that the halfling who looked like a butler and the two extraordinary followers were not infected by the joyful atmosphere, but were staring at him meaningfully.

broken!

Garmond thought of the identity of the other party's master, and where he was now, and suddenly had a bad feeling in his heart.

If the other party is an aristocrat who knows or even has a good relationship with the Marquis of Lamanche, wouldn't he suffer if the joke he made today reached the ears of the Lord of Normandy?

Why can't I control this mouth? !

Renault also sensed that the atmosphere was not right, he quickly tugged at the corner of his old friend's clothes, and whispered, "Garmont, you'd better explain..."

Garmon, with cold sweat on his forehead, smiled awkwardly at the halfling who only reached his waist, but was particularly oppressive: "Dear sir, in fact, the joke I just made was not original, but I heard it from the Cossacks along the Don River. Yes. The main character of the joke is actually an Ottoman sultan..."

"Oh, you think the Marquis of La Manche is like those pagans in Asia Minor?"

"No, I just think that the great achievements made by the Marquis for France can be compared with Murad I who conquered Greece, Macedonia, and Thrace in lightning..."

"Forget it, I'm just a halfling, I love delicious food, but I don't know anything about your human king." The halfling waved his hand and asked, "Listen to your talk, you have a lot of knowledge, have you been to many places?"

Seeing that the other party's attitude was a little slow, Garmon became more cautious and replied: "I have worked on a Portuguese merchant ship for more than ten years and have been to many places."

"Then you must know a lot about sailing?"

When talking about his field of expertise, Garmon immediately eloquent.Speaking of fun, he rummaged in his backpack and took out a delicate crystal ball.

There is an exquisite sailing ship model stored in the crystal ball. Although I don't know how to put it in, it must involve magic and cost a lot of money.

"Sir, look. This is my improved design based on the current galleon. I lowered the height of the forecastle and stern, and lengthened the hull to make it more adaptable to the wind and waves on the ocean. Ships, mostly designed for the sea conditions of the Mediterranean Sea and the Baltic Sea, cannot adapt to the wider ocean..."

"Well, my master should be interested in this topic." Although the halfling didn't quite understand what he heard, he nodded frequently, as if he had forgotten the previous offending joke.

Garmon struck while the iron was hot, and pulled his old friend Raynor over: "Although my friend doesn't know how to sail, his knowledge of agriculture can amaze even druids. He discovered a secret, as long as the turnip This root crop regenerates quickly on fallow land..."

"Garmon!" Seeing that the "coup" he had studied for many years, the secret that was intended to be used as a step forward, was easily revealed by his friend, Renault immediately covered the other's mouth.

The halfling didn't take it seriously: "Don't worry, sir, if your method really works, my master will definitely not treat such a talent badly."

As soon as he finished speaking, there was a loud voice from outside.Immediately afterwards, someone ran in in a panic and shouted: "Wool soldiers, wool soldiers are here!"

Chapter 290 Three Book of Thousand Laws

The word "wool soldier" seemed to be the most terrifying curse, causing the travelers in the hall to suddenly look terrified.The timid ones have already started fleeing, while others with a little more courage have started unorganized actions.Some people took out their daggers for self-defense and prepared to rely on the narrow entrance of the castle to resist.Several other small traders who had spent several nights in this castle, who were familiar with the environment, rushed towards the gate of the castle.

The castle has a moat more than four meters wide and three meters deep, which can discourage bandits without professional siege facilities.Although the suspension bridge has long been damaged, as long as the wooden boards put on the trench as a temporary bridge are removed in time, it will be safe tonight.

Another group of people, including Garmon and Renault, just sat there and focused their eyes on the halfling.With the help of his noble master, the wool soldier's problem would be solved easily.

"Uh... Sir, why don't you go upstairs and inform the lord that there are news about the appearance of the woolen soldiers?" Garmon asked tentatively.

The halfling didn't pay attention to the vicious gangsters who ravaged France. He just wrote and drew in his notebook and said, "Don't worry, gentlemen, don't panic. My master already has the means to deal with it. Well, the wool soldiers are rampant. , still leaves a serious psychological shadow among the people. This needs to be remembered..."

Seeing that the halfling was so calm, Garmon and Raynor looked at each other, reluctantly relieved.

However, the two still quietly packed up their things, moved to the window, and prepared to escape through the window and sneak into the woods if they saw something bad was going on.

Soon, all the wooden boards in front of the gate were removed.With the protection of the trenches, travelers in the castle, feel a little more at ease.Within a few minutes, more than a dozen uninvited guests came to the castle.

The leader rode a tall horse, wore shiny plate armor, and held a long sword inlaid with gold and silver, showing off his might.

"Listen, people in the castle, surrender immediately and donate your belongings. I can give you a merciful death, otherwise, there will be endless torture waiting for you!"

"Go to hell!" Someone in the castle cursed back, and then raised a homemade wooden bow and shot an arrow at the leader of the woolen soldiers.

It's a pity that this weak arrow did not cause any damage, but completely enraged the opponent.

Garmond and Renault secretly thought that they would suffer.

In this era, weapons such as one-handed swords could not cause any effective damage to knights in plate armor unless they pierced through the gaps in the armor.Therefore, one-handed weapons with strong armor-piercing capabilities, such as Morning Star Hammer and Tomahawk, are more popular.If you look at it from another angle, if a warrior is willing to use a one-handed sword, then he is either an embroidered pillow who does not understand actual combat, or he is actually a professional who can rely on extraordinary strength to make the long sword in his hand even It has the lethality to easily break through the fine plate armor.

Sure enough, the irritated leader of the wool soldiers cursed angrily, and the long sword in his hand suddenly ignited a faint blue flame.He leaped directly from his horse and crossed the ditch where the travelers relied on their greatest strength.