Krafft's Notes on Anomalies

It can only be said that Westminster Castle is indeed the military center that defends Dunling. Its response capacity and efficiency are much higher than expected. When Kraft was still packing the washing equipment that day, he received the message that the personnel were complete and ready to go tomorrow morning. news.

When Kraft arrived the next day with Coop and his luggage, he saw a team with more horses than people. The partially armored or chain-mailed riders carried one or two extra horses, which were driven by retinues and carried armor and sundries.

There were more than thirty people in total, and according to his observation, the packages on these horses carried at least seven or eight sets of full-body armor. If it is a normal situation, the number of affiliated persons must correspond to multiples.

According to what Internal Affairs Officer Wilbert said before departure, they wanted to bring more people, but the more people the better. An extra group of infantry would only slow down the speed and turn the fast march into a muddy trek. , and give the other party more time to react.

…

"It's actually impossible to bring more people." Martin and Kraft were walking side by side in the middle of the team. They had been traveling on this relatively good road for more than two days and were approaching the not-so-remote destination.

"The town of Hudson is not big, and the manor is just one of the temporary residences on the Duke's travel route. It is usually maintained by very few people, and only when it is about to be put into use will someone come to prepare it in advance. There is no time to receive a large number of visitors at this time. supplies.”

"Actually, there are quite a few of these people. We don't need too much pressure to collapse if we are frightened." After two days of getting along, Kraft is quite satisfied with the quality of this team.

They are able to consciously maintain formations, follow regular guard rotations at night, wear armor at a high rate, and carry medium-range direct-fire weapons such as crossbows and short bows that are suitable for use in small-scale conflicts. To sum up, it is a professional team with no shortcomings and is quite perfect.

The slight sound of metal friction kept ringing under Martin's robe as the horse jolted. It was made of chain mail and covered metal sheets. "Although this is somewhat inconsistent with the spirit of a knight, I can't say completely." do not worry."

He acts insecure. After dissecting the leader of the pagans, they also opened another body. The situation is better than the former, but the sight of the body surface being intact but most of the inside being eaten away... is like an invisible leech sticking to a corner of the soul, giving me a sickening chill every time I realize it.

"Ha, Martin! I can't even remember the last time I saw you scared." The rider in front turned around and let out a harmless but loud laugh, which directly hit the pain point.

"Barrow, ride your horse. I remember how you fell off the horse last time. Don't force me to tell you again."

The interruption from his companion diverted him from his slightly gloomy mood. Martin directed the team to slow down to give the horses a chance to rest. Taking advantage of this, he took out something tightly wrapped in cloth and handed it to Craft with a leather wallet with a buckle.

"I trust Barrow and the others. We have served together under the Duke for some years and know each other well." As he spoke, he showed Craft the same leather wallet on his belt, indicating that he could hang it here.

"But it is foolish to believe in the incompetence of the enemy. Call it cowardice, or a little intuition, Diego's thing always makes me feel bad. And those who have not been found, especially his followers, should be left alone. Diego is the last person who should be lost in the woods these days."

"I very much agree with your idea. You should be strict with your enemies." Kraft followed his example and hung the leather tube on his waist. It was the size of a pencil bag and seemed to contain something long and slender like a pencil. Combined with the tightly wrapped thing, he had some guesses.

"This is?"

"Just in case, it's also a gift. I believe you will like it." Speaking of this, Martin showed a mysterious smile.

Kraft separated the cloth strips wrapped on the surface. Inside was a smooth reddish-brown wooden handle and body, equipped with metal parts and a bow. It was in a folded and stowed state, less than half an arm's length.

He had seen Martin use something similar, but this one looked significantly more refined, with silver decorations and wood carvings. It looked like a branch stretching and flapping with silver oak leaves as wings.

"A one-handed crossbow? I really didn't expect this." I'm sorry to say it, but in fact, Kraft wanted one when he first saw Martin take out this thing on the boat.

Unfortunately, I could tell just by looking at it that it wasn't cheap, and it had nothing to do with my own affairs. I didn't find a chance to get one. I didn't expect that I got what I wanted here.

"There are special arrows in the leather tube. This thing is fairly accurate within fifteen steps and has great power. The only pity is that in order to fold the crossbow, it is not as strong as similar arrows, and the effect is ultimately inferior."

"Thank you, I like this very much." This is definitely the most desirable gift he has ever received. Kraft couldn't put it down. If it weren't for the inconvenience now, he would have wanted to find a target to try it on right away.

With the company of new toys, the rest of the journey seems less boring. When the sun was high in the sky, everyone could already see the floating logs while drinking by the river. They were the products of the lumberyard in the forest not far away. They were transferred to the town of Hudson for free by water logistics. A fence made of leather logs Protected settlement.

Of course, the Duke's resting residence would not be placed together with the town. The main body of the manor is a two-story building near the edge of the forest, with a low stone wall to protect the shady vineyards. A simple fence encloses the area, which includes a small patch of woodland.

The caretaker, who was about to fall asleep, was awakened by the sound of horse hooves and ran into the building and called out the sad-looking manor steward.

He ran over with his muddy sleeves rolled up, and was relieved to hear that he was not here to inform the Duke of his itinerary. Then he led them into the building and rambled about some things in the manor.

Probably thinking that the team was here to inspect the situation of the manor, he talked about things like this year's rain, the quality of the grapes, the preparation of firewood, and the fact that the forest output sent by the town was not as good as in previous years. He didn't have time to go to the mayor and the villagers for the time being. tax collector.

He probably wanted someone to urge him, but Martin was not here to care about this at all, so he nodded and skipped without any concern.

As for the town, the butler shook his head and said that there were too many things going on in the manor and too few people. He didn’t have much time to hang out there. The only interactions between them were short-term contacts such as handing over items. It was really difficult for him to know anything about it. .

"Okay, I understand." Martin pressed his forehead and threw the luggage to the entourage, reining in his horse and turning around. "Leave them to arrange the room first. I remember there is a church in the town. If you still have time in the afternoon, you can go and ask first. . If the guy we’re looking for is here, the people from the local church won’t be slower than us, right?”

Kraft pulled Coop up, and the two of them followed half of the team, turning their horses and running toward the town of Hudson.

What is unexpected is that the religious atmosphere in this medium-sized town is quite strong. Before coming, they were all mentally prepared to encounter a situation where no one cared about the church and the pagans established another branch, but in fact the situation was exactly the opposite.

At least the facade of the church in the center of the town is well maintained, with pebbles paving the way. Several transplanted lilies in several flower beds are in bloom in season, and there are a few clusters of different-colored embellishments, which seem to be some kind of wild flowers.

Kupp had never seen such large white flowers in the north. He was a little surprised when he came closer to admire them, but found that the "wild flowers" dotted around them were not round like flowers, and the "flower stems" were white. He was stunned for a moment and realized that these were actually brightly colored mushrooms used to fill the gaps.

Such a unique combination made him feel a little strange while being surprised. He lost interest in watching and quickly followed the team.

Kraft entered the church first. It was already afternoon, and he thought that such a small church would require some trouble to open, but the sound of sermons was echoing inside the open door.

The bald, middle-aged priest wore a wrinkled white robe that had not been ironed. He held a large holy book in one hand and narrated a certain apparition story immersedly on the stage. From time to time, he changed his hand to hold it.

There were actually more than ten people on the rows of chairs in the hall listening to the Lord’s teachings. It was hard to imagine that this was a scene that could happen in this town on a non-Sunday day.

Regardless of the etiquette or the necessary respect for the church gods, interrupting the priest's sermon at this time is extremely impolite and can easily cause disputes. You can only sit down in the back row and wait for the priest to finish the event. Or come up and ask again during the interval.

The priest on the stage noticed that someone was coming, looked up to see them and smiled in greeting. He used his free hand to make a ring on the chest for Martin and Kraft who were leading the way. Then he lowered his head and continued to talk about the scriptures. There were no interruptions to the activity because of their clothing.

"... Then St. Jaeger said: 'This is the king you have chosen.' At this time, the voice of the Lord echoed in his mind, 'No, Jaeger, this is not the man I want to choose. Don't be fooled by appearance. Confused, the human soul is the most important.'

I saw that the seven sons in this family were all tall, handsome, and extraordinary in style. When each one came to Saint Jaeger, Saint Jaeger would doubt whether this was the king chosen by the Lord. However, the Lord’s answer is always: ‘No’.

Their hearts are not strong enough to complete the test and draw the sword..."

Kraft listened for a long time before he found a part he seemed to recognize. He tilted his head and whispered to Martin: "Is this the story of His Majesty being selected for the sword? Is the original text in the holy book that complicated?"

"I don't know, I haven't read it either." Martin whispered guiltily. He was a knight who knew common words and arithmetic. If he wasn't interested, who would have no problem listening to this.

"At this time Saint Jaeger was confused. He asked the father of the family: 'Are all your sons here?'

The father replied: "I have a youngest son who is tending sheep in the wilderness and has not come back." ’ Hearing this, Saint Jaeger was delighted and went to the wilderness to find the smallest and thinnest child.

At this glance, he knew that this was a person who could obey the Lord’s teachings and see the Lord’s kingdom. In the land named Noss from now on, the replacement of the throne was not a struggle for power, but the favor of the Lord..."

The temperature was just right in the afternoon, and Craft dozed off in the back seat. To put it more abstractly, it is roughly the story of a good-for-nothing young sheepherder who received a golden finger from heaven. Under the blessing of God and the guidance of his grandfather, he pulled out the famous sword in the stone, defeated the old nobles and the old king, and became a benevolent new king. .

It has a certain storytelling quality, fully demonstrates the basic views of divine right of kings and the supremacy of God, and is full of backwardness.

The alien souls had become desensitized to the explosions and ignition points in this world ten years ago. Now it was difficult to fall asleep on the spot, so they could only glance around to sustain their consciousness.

Observe the pillars, beams, rows of chairs, and then look at everyone here, and finally turn to the priest. From his refractive bald head, you can see the wrinkled white robe on his body, and the church symbols on his chest have partially faded.

【Something seems wrong】

The priest finally ended his long story, dismissed the townspeople, and walked towards the outsiders who obviously had something to do. Kraft stopped Martin, stepped forward and took the initiative to hold the hands that were trembling slightly after holding the holy book for too long.

"Father, is it not easy for you to live in this remote place?"

"Ah? No, no, it's all to spread the gospel of God..." The town's priest was completely confused by this unfounded enthusiasm, and the blond knight in front of him was shaking his hand with increasing strength, making his finger bones hurt. , I can’t get my hand out no matter what.

"Look at the pair of wing rings on your robe. The color of the wings has faded?"