In the past few days, Simon stopped the construction of the castle, gathered the new recruits, and continued to train the new recruits in their individual combat skills and teamwork in the shield formation.
Simon also often said, "Sweat more in peacetime and bleed less in wartime." But he hopes the recruits understand that they are actually fighting for their families and land and property.
The recruits also knew that they would have their first bloody encounter with the enemy in a few days, so they trained with extra effort.
"Good practice, that's it. I hope you don't run back, pee your pants, or be a despised coward when the time comes." Simon looked at some recruits who couldn't help but laugh, and immediately said loudly, "Everyone will feel brave, pat their chests and say no, it's just killing people, so what? I don't ask too much. I can firmly remember the skills you usually practice, and protect yourself and your teammates on the battlefield. Killing the enemy is enough."
"That's it for today's training. Gather in front of the tent tomorrow morning and go out to suppress the bandits!" The fat man walked forward and said loudly.
"Hey, Old Bauch, Master Simon actually thinks that we will be scared by a group of bandits and even pee our pants! Doesn't this look down on us?" After the queue was disbanded, Hann complained to Old Bauch with some dissatisfaction.
"Huh?" Old Bauch glanced sideways at Han with his gray-blue eyes, shook his beard, and put the buckler behind his back, "I had the same idea before I killed someone on the battlefield for the first time."
"What? Could it be that you were afraid at that time?" Han En became interested and quickly asked old Bao He.
"Hey, I'll tell you later after you've been on the battlefield and killed someone. Now if I tell you, you'll have to stand and talk without hurting your back and laugh at me for being cowardly and afraid of death." Old Baoch didn't say anything, just held the axe. Put it on your waist and walk to the counting house.
Strictly speaking, these equipment were purchased at Simon's expense and are Simon's property. Therefore, except for the recruits who stayed vigil that day, the other recruits would put their equipment in the temporary weapons warehouse in the basement of the tent after training every day.
"Tch, it's just an excuse for being weak back then." Han En curled his lips, put the weapon in the basement of the tent, and went home to get the bowl and spoon.
After the disbandment, Simon did not go back directly to the hunting house, but walked to Hunter Bill's house.
"Thank you, my lord!" Bill felt so happy after taking the two Denier silver coins handed over by Simon.
These days, the two young men sent by Simon have mastered the essentials of archery and can serve as archers on the battlefield.
"You deserve this. When we go out tomorrow morning, I hope you can bring your bows and arrows, as well as your two "apprentices", to go with me to suppress the bandits. This is considered war labor." Simon squinted his eyes and slowly said.
Hunters usually hunt in the forest. In addition to paying a huge amount of taxes and prey to the lord, he also had to provide him with more than two weeks of labor as an archer during the lord's war.
"Okay, sir. I used to be an archer in the private wars between the lords in Lorraine, and I know exactly how to do it." Hunter Bill patted his chest.
Early the next morning, the recruits came to the door of the tent with various emotions. Some people were nervous and sat on the ground without saying a word; some were relaxed and comfortable, as if they were about to go out for an outing, discussing and joking happily; a few older guys had only numb faces and leaned against the wall expressionlessly. Not a word was spoken.
"Lord Lord and Hoffman are here!" A recruit pointed to the dirt road not far away.
"Line up!" Fatty shouted from afar.
"Hurry up, hurry up, be careful that Hoffman kicks your butts!"
The recruits were in a panic and confusion for a while, but when Simon and Fatty walked to the door of the tent, the queue was already standing neatly.
"Very good, today is much faster than usual." The fat man smiled, took out the key and opened the door to the counting house.
Some of the new recruits breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that they were not kicked by the fat man.
After all the recruits received their weapons and equipment, Bill, who was wearing a leather armor, and two other young archers also arrived.
"Everyone obeys the order," Simon, who was fully armed, clapped his hands. "The new recruits lined up in front with shields, and the archers behind. Little Klein and Bill went to the forest to explore the road first, and be careful not to disturb the enemy."
"Let's go now!" The fat man also took off his buckler from his back and followed the recruits on the right side of the queue.
…
In the forest at the junction of the villages of Verde and Wessel, the morning light shines through the dense branches and leaves on a camp built on an abandoned logging cabin. Several guys wearing dirty black and gray short robes were talking quietly in front of the campfire in the center of the camp.
The camp was surrounded by bandits patrolling and standing guard. Some were carrying hunting bows, while others were carrying long axes.
The bandits who were on duty last night were all sleeping in the simple little shelter in the camp. In the logging cabin, there was a bandit leader wearing an old Norman helmet, a leather shawl with knife marks, a damaged chainmail with dried blood stains, and a rusty sword at his waist. Apparently he had just woken up, adjusted his equipment, and opened the dilapidated wooden door of the logging cabin.
"quack"
As soon as the door of the cabin was opened, a black crow crowed on the branches of the old tree in front of the door and flew away with a plop.
"What a damn unlucky morning! If I had a bow now, I would have shot it down and roasted it." The bandit leader cursed and shook his head.
"Boss, the wheat paste is ready!" A sharp-eyed bandit sitting by the campfire immediately picked up a wooden bowl, scooped out a bowl of hot wheat paste, and handed it to the leader.
The leader took the wheat paste and was about to patrol the forest when the bandit with a lewd smile on his face stopped him again.
"If you fart, hurry up!" The bandit leader was a little impatient.
"Boss, at midnight last night, Jack Longaxe led our brothers who were ambushing on the roadside to ambush a group of people. At the cost of the death of two brothers, we killed five guys who looked like caravan guards and captured them Weapons and equipment, as well as a cartload of malt liquor and sundries, were all piled up in the abandoned mine." The bandit said vividly.
"Oh? Really?" The leader stroked his golden goatee and asked with interest.
"There's no lie, boss." The bandit licked his dry lips with his tongue. "We also captured an old brewer who looks a little rich and can use it for ransom. The best thing is, the brewing My daughter is really pretty, if we hadn’t known the rules, a few brothers who couldn’t control themselves would have fucked her on the dirt track.”
"Ha! Jack Longaxe did a really good job this time! This time I rewarded him with a barrel of ale, and I'll give it to the girl after I'm done." The bandit leader drank the wheat paste in one gulp and threw away the bowl. Back into the hands of the bandit.
"What? How have I ever missed your reward?" The leader looked at the slightly disappointed bandit. "Each of the brothers who participated in the ambush last night has a Denier silver coin. You can all go after Jack Longaxe is done. Refresh."
Ignoring the guy who was beaming with joy, the bandit leader walked briskly towards the abandoned mine beside the camp where trophies and prisoners of war were piled up.
…
Behind some large bushes not far from the camp, Simon and his group were squatting quietly, waiting for news from Hunter Bill.
Some recruits had heavy beads of sweat dripping from their heads, holding bucklers and hand axes tightly in their hands, and listened uneasily to the distant voices coming from the distant camp.
"Sir," Hunter Bill bent down with little Klein, peeled away the bushes, and quietly returned to Simon, "I just did some reconnaissance. There are twenty-one people in the bandit camp, and most of them are still sleeping. There are seven people patrolling around the camp. The remaining three or four people are on duty at the entrance to the abandoned mine behind the camp."
"That's it," Simon squatted behind a bush and thought carefully, "Bill, you first take two archers to kill the sentry outside, and then imitate five rapid crow calls as a signal, and I and I Hoffman then led the recruits into formation and rushed into the camp to catch them off guard!"
"Okay, Master Simon!" Hunter Bill agreed, crouched behind the recruits, and carefully emerged from the bushes with two nervous young archers.
"Master, what about me? I can go kill those bastards on sentry duty!" Klein held the hunting bow, an arrow in one hand, and looked at Simon anxiously.
"Shh, keep your voice down." Simon raised his index finger in front of his mouth. "Just follow me. When the battle starts, shoot arrows at the side and behind to kill the bandits in the camp."
"But..." Little Klein was a little unwilling.
"There is no but," Simon saw that little Klein was about to argue with him and immediately interrupted him. "Even if Bill and the others were accidentally discovered, they could still rely on their tall and strong bodies to fight against the bandits on sentry duty. And you This little man has thin arms and legs. If he fights, he might go to see God, so how can he kill Vikings to avenge your father?"
Little Klein shrugged his little head and stopped talking.
"Eat more meat and grow taller quickly. When you can stand on your own, I won't stop you even if you want to go out to be a wandering knight." Simon patted little Klein on the shoulder and consoled him.
…
"Aim at the point and don't alert the people in the camp." Bill looked at the young archer nocking his bow and aiming at a sentry bandit who was leaning sleepily on a tree not far away. "It's best to shoot an arrow." Shoot him in the head or neck. Otherwise, he will die immediately and scream in pain, and everyone will be exposed."
The young man's head was sweating, and his hand holding the bow was shaking and trembling.
"Don't be nervous, I will shoot an arrow at the same time. Even if you don't kill him, I will make up for him." As he said that, Bill took out an arrow from the quiver and skillfully connected the bow with the young man. Everyone took aim at the bandit.
But the young man who was half-paid failed to shoot an arrow.
"No, no, I, I can't do it." The young man lowered his bow hand and gasped for air, his pale face covered with sweat.
"What are you thinking about?" Bill squinted, lowered his bow, and looked at the young man.
"He, he is also a living person, he also has a family, and he has seven emotions and six desires. This, this is completely different from the feeling when hunting. This is not killing a chicken or a deer, this is a human being!" The young man's mouth was a little twitchy. green.
"Stupid," Hunter Bill stretched out his hand to hit the young man on the head, but thinking of how cowardly he was the first time he killed someone, he finally sighed and retracted his hand, "Think about it for yourself, if you don't kill him today, Maybe he will go to the village tomorrow to kill your parents, rob your property, and rape your sisters. How can a woman be kind to a guy who has done all kinds of bad things like this?"
"me……"
"Haha, if you can't take this step today, you will never be considered an archer. At most, you will be a coward who knows how to hunt." Bill sneered, "Master Simon spent such a high price to train two people who know how to hunt. This guy will make people laugh to death if he talks about it! Don’t think of him as a human being, just think of his head as a pumpkin and shoot it with an arrow, easily.”
After hearing this, the young man became less nervous, his pale face gradually turned rosy, and his breath gradually returned to peace. Although the hand that was holding the bow was still trembling slightly, it was much better than before.
"Heyman, you come too, the three of us shoot him in the head at the same time." Bill also set up his bow and aimed at the sentry.
"My God, that's a big pumpkin, a big pumpkin..." Another young man muttered to himself, tremblingly raising his hand to raise his bow.
"Whoosh"
With the sound of three weak arrows, the sentry bandit was hit in the face by an arrow, which was inserted into his eye socket. Another one penetrated his throat, and red blood was continuously spurting out. The last shot hit his chest, instantly staining his gray cloth red.
The poor bandit died on the spot, knelt down in front of the tree, and rolled slowly down the slope. Fortunately, it was a little far away from the camp. The sounds of various birds, springs, and wind blowing branches and leaves in the surrounding woods covered up the faint sound of arrows and the sound of human bodies rolling down.
"vomit"
Looking at the body that rolled not far away from them and exuded a strong smell of blood, the two young men couldn't bear it anymore and started to vomit.
"Spit up, spit out, you'll be fine once you pass this level." Bill smiled and patted their shoulders. He knew that two new young archers were born today.
