The prisoners were interrogated again. Amy used Aphrodite's protection without reservation, trying to coax words out of their mouths. But the result was disappointing. They had no idea what was going on in Southampton, nor Bjorn's plans, nor even how many people were on their side.
Of course, as long as they contact Alfred, all their doubts will be answered - but now they have doubts about whether Alfred is still in Winchester.
From Southampton to Winchester, you can't avoid the forest in the middle. Ella didn't dare to enter there rashly. The scabbard of Alfred's sword was placed in front of Ella's desk. Every time Ella looked up, she could see the blood stains on the scabbard.
Ella conducted four reconnaissances.
Ella's first thought was to use a hot air balloon, but the forest is in the north, and the wind these days has been northeasterly. Although the wind direction will change as the altitude increases, the soldiers cannot clearly see the situation in the forest as the altitude increases. And the wind has been really strong these days. The hot air balloon flying into the sky would soon spin violently, almost knocking down the soldiers on it several times. By the time the hot air balloon landed, the soldiers on top were so dizzy that they were about to vomit.
Ella could only send out a ground reconnaissance team. She sent a total of more than ten groups and hundreds of people before and after. None of those soldiers came back without landing, and they all brought back the same report: no trace of anyone was found.
But no one is absolutely impossible. The number of bodies on the streets of Southampton is far too few for a city's population.
For the third time, Ella decided to give up exploring the forest for the time being and directly sent a team through the forest to Winchester to gather information. Then what she was worried about happened: the investigation team was never heard from again.
Ella felt as if she had been thrown into a cave full of snakes, but the cave was still filled with fog and she couldn't see anything clearly.
This feeling makes one's hair stand on end. And Aila's army stalled.
In order to dispel this fog, Ella gathered the officers of the army together to discuss feasible plans.
"Is there anyone willing to take the initiative to stand up!" Ella slapped the table hard, "As long as we can find out the situation, I will not only give you a knighthood, but I will even give you five points on your graduation exam!"
As the saying goes, under heavy rewards, there will be brave men. A pirate strode out from the crowd:
"Leave it to me! With this mountain ax in my hand, Bjorn will never come back!"
"Okay!" Ella patted the table.
Immediately another pirate stood up:
"No, you should leave it to me! With this Shuofeng Hanmang knife in my hand, I will kill Bjorn under his horse within three swords!"
"How heroic!" Ella gave a thumbs up, "With you two generals here, why should I be afraid of Bjorn!"
"But what we are discussing now is not investigation intelligence?" Amy complained at the side, "Without intelligence, where are you going to find Bjorn?"
The two pirates stopped talking.
Glahid sighed and stood up:
"Leave it to me. Many of my archers are brought from Britain. Although this mission is very dangerous, when it comes to familiarity with the terrain, no one in the army can surpass them."
"Hmm... It seems to be the case. But you already have a knighthood, Glahid, and your grades are all perfect." Ella scratched her head in embarrassment, "If you succeed, what reward do you want?"
"Maybe the credit this time is not enough." Glahid said, "But, I want to be a general who can command the army."
Everyone was surprised. Glahid's current identity is a count, and he already has his own troops. The "general" he mentioned was obviously not this kind, but referring to Ella's military ministers.
Looking at the entire territory of Ella, Glahid is indeed the most outstanding general. But to give him such an important position, Ella felt that something was missing. Just when Ella was hesitating, Dast's voice suddenly came from outside:
"Go, go, go! A group of archers, what kind of reconnaissance!"
Dast's identity is Ella's swordsmanship teacher, so he was not invited to attend this meeting. But he was probably drunk again, so he pushed aside the soldiers at the door and staggered in.
This time, Glahid was really angry: "Dust! What are you doing here? Do you think the archers I trained will not be able to fight if they enter the forest?"
"I don't know if you can fight in the forest! But when you just said that this mission is very dangerous, I know that you shouldn't do this job!"
Dust burped and drunkenly slapped his hand on his chest.
"King of Sweden, let me do this job. Not only did I find out the situation for you, I will bring back as many soldiers as you give me. If there is one less person, you will hold me accountable! I don't want any credits either. I don’t want a title either. Just be like this archer. If you think I can use it, let me be a general when you come back!"
Ella was a little surprised: "Master? You also want to be a general?"
"Are you kidding me? Have you ever led an army?" Glahid shouted loudly, "You are just a street gangster!"
"A street gangster? I'm a knight!" Dast shook his hand and slapped his chest again, "White knight! The princess of the Qi Qiu Empire personally sealed it. What, is it enough?"
"Where did the knight class come from in the Seven Hills Empire?" Glahid laughed, "Is your princess from a fairy tale, or has she read too many fairy tales?"
Seeing that the two were about to fight, Ella suddenly said: "Grahid, step back."
Glahid was a little surprised: "The King of Sweden...this?"
"I would be most at ease if the master is willing to handle the investigation mission." Ella looked at Dust, "But you have been drinking most of the time since you came to Sweden. I thought you wanted to live a safe life. , Peaceful days. Do you really want to go to the battlefield?"
"I have been wandering around for ten years and have never done any serious work. However, King of Sweden, you will go to the Seven Hills Empire to regain the throne in the future, right?"
Dust's body was a little unsteady due to drunkenness. He found a pillar to support his shaky body, tried hard to swallow the feeling of vomiting, and then raised his bloodshot eyes:
"If I become a general, when I break the wall of Theodosius, can I take a princess home?"
Amy smiled knowingly: "It depends on whether you can control the princess. She is very strong."
】
"How many people do you need to complete this task?" Ella asked, "I will prepare it for you."
"It has nothing to do with the number of soldiers. I want to personally select the soldiers who perform the mission from each battalion."
"King of Sweden, do you really want this drunkard to go on a mission?" Glahid shouted from the side. "Even if he has strong investigative capabilities, it doesn't mean he can command a reconnaissance force, right? If I read that right, he was born a civilian. , have you never led troops?"
"When I had to face Sigurd, I had never led an army. But I won. I know the master's strength. If you want to try, just try boldly."
Ella stepped down from her seat and solemnly handed the crowbar in Dust's hand.
"Listen, Master, just to complete this mission, I can only let you become an officer. If you want to become my general, then you must complete it with great distinction!"
"Okay." Dast drunkenly took the crowbar from Ella and asked, "When will you let me select soldiers?"
"When you sober up," Ella said, "Grahid is right, you are not allowed to drink during operations. If you want to become a general under me, you must remember this."
"Okay...it looks like I...can get some more sleep."
Dast threw the crowbar, fell down, and fell asleep in front of many generals.
