A gust of cold wind blew through the snow-covered pine trees on the small hills. The branches, which had been overwhelmed for a long time, finally shook their shoulders as if they were relieved, and sprinkled the new snow that had accumulated on their bare branches to the ground like flowers. .
It's not dark yet, and the golden and red sunset is splashing on the earth. At this time, between the withered hay and the white "blanket" of snow, a hungry hare can be seen carefully looking for food in the snow.
"Buzz!"
With the sound of a bow and arrow being taken off the string, a small but very conspicuous red stain appeared on the snow, and then, a rustling sound of stepping on the snow came from a distance.
"Ha, I got you!"
A rather small hand, wearing a large leather glove stained with dried blood, grabbed the gray rabbit's long and lifeless ears, lifted it up, and then removed the plug on its body. The flying arrow.
"Hehe, let's see where you run." The owner of the hand said to himself in a voice that had not completely changed.
But suddenly, feeling relaxed and comfortable at this time, he pricked up his ears again. Like a conditioned reflex, he bowed his body and stared motionlessly at the road protruding from the forest beside the farmland in the distance. He suddenly returned to the way he had just been hunting with a bow. The state of a hare.
"Gah, gah!"
The crisp and dull rustling sound of the horse's hooves on the snow startled a group of crows resting on the trees by the roadside.
The crows cackled and took off, as if they were using their own hoarse voices to welcome the visitors in the forest in their own unique way.
"That's... Lord Hofmann and Lord Simon!?"
Little Klein, who was bending over to carry the rabbit in the snow, opened his eyes wide and stared in disbelief at the fat figure riding out of the forest in the distance and the figure behind him that he missed day and night.
"We're back."
The fat man's face and ears were red from the cold. Although he was wearing a large scarf, he could not hide the excitement in his heart.
"Yes, it seems that the village chief and little Klein did a great job at home. If I remember correctly, when we left, this area was still a large area of abandoned farmland that had been retaken by weeds and had not yet been controlled by weeds. The reclaimed woods." Simon said happily as he carefully looked at the reclaimed farmland outside the familiar yet unfamiliar village.
"My Lord, thank you for your blessing, allowing us to safely return from Dresden to Sir Simon's legendary and prosperous territory." Gabriel looked around, talking to a country farmer who had never been out. He is generally full of curiosity and expectation about all this, not like a former mercenary who has traveled half the continent. He seemed to want to imprint all this in his mind and remember it forever.
"Hey, Lord Simon, are those small earthen bags with big crosses inserted in them all graves? People in our area usually just put a small cross in front of the tomb after they are buried. This is the first time I have seen such a big one!" While riding a packhorse loaded with trophies and luggage, Dee looked doubtfully at the small pits covered with hay that could be seen at regular intervals in the fields, where huge oaken crosses were inserted.
"That's the Holy Pit. God's blessings are brewing in it, helping us achieve a bumper harvest of food." Simon explained to Pedi while suppressing a strong smile.
What would Pedi think if he knew now that these "monstrance pits" were filled with fermenting human and animal excrement?
"So that's it. This is a holy sign from my loving and kind Lord!" Pedi held the reins with one hand and couldn't help but make the sign of the cross on his chest with the other hand. Seeing how pious he was, Simon couldn't bear it and gave up the idea of telling him what was in the pit.
"Forget it, it's not a big deal. Just as Jesus could turn water into wine at the wedding of a Jewish couple in Cana, my almighty God can also turn excrement into fertilizer in the village of Verde. It's no different." Simon thought so.
Everyone continued to ride forward, and soon Simon saw the small hills in the distance and the wooden castle on the hills.
After several months of construction, the outer wall of Fort Verde on the hill now seems to have remained unchanged. Anyway, Simon did not expect Ryan to build a stone fort wall with the budget he left.
Although Simon gained a lot from his last battle with the Vikings, it was still too little compared to the huge funds required to build a series of stone castle walls.
However, what makes Simon happy is that the village of Verde at the foot of the hill is basically surrounded by a new wooden fence. Unlike before, when you come out of the mud path in the forest, you can see the bare houses in the entire village at a glance. .
The current village of Verde seems to have the most basic prototype of an early castle. The outer village under the hill is surrounded by wooden walls, and is connected to another ring of walls of the wooden castle on the hill, interlocking with each other.
The road that originally ran straight through the center of the village bifurcated into two, one leading to the newly built wooden fort gate on the outer wall of the village, and the other going around the outer wall of the village and connecting to the north-south merchant land by the river.
"Open the door quickly, Sir Simon is back!"
The fat man clamped his horse's belly tightly, rode quickly to the newly built wooden gate of the village, and shouted loudly to the archers standing guard on the wall beside the gate.
"What? Is this Mr. Hoffman?"
Wearing a studded leather helmet, heavy armor and a leather jacket with repair marks, a young archer carrying a single bow and a pot of feather arrows poked his head out and was shocked when he saw the person clearly.
The archer immediately turned away with joy on his face, leaned down and shouted to the wall below with his head lowered: "Hann, you idiot, wake up, Master Simon and Master Hoffman are back!"
"Oh my God!" An exclamation came from behind the big wooden door. Then, after a rustling sound behind the door, the heavy door was pushed open from the inside out by two militiamen standing guard.
"Ah ha, long time no see, Han. Your face is a lot rosier and your body is much stronger!" The fat man met Han's eyes as he opened the door. This reminded him of the militia training in the summer. Han's eyes were dull, his face was sallow, and he was skinny.
Now Han's eyes are bright and bright, and his dirty white face is rosy with health. He is wearing a Viking-style goggle helmet, a thick armor and long-sleeved chain mail. With a Viking buckler on his back and a Viking sword on his waist, and a pair of Northland leather boots on his feet, he looked full of energy.
"Hahahaha, looking at you like this, those who came to the village for the first time would have thought that Master Simon had raised a group of Norman pirates to help him defend the village if they didn't know better!" Miller, who was riding a packhorse behind, burst into laughter.
Although Simon didn't say anything, he felt full of accomplishment in his heart at this time. He was very satisfied to be able to train and nurse a group of thin, ragged farmers into what they were today.
Simon huffed and passed through the large wooden door. Only then did he realize that the "wooden wall" surrounding the village of Verde was not just a wall. Behind the pointed wooden wall, there was the same wooden scaffolding and wooden planks as behind the wall of Fort Verde. The footpath allows soldiers and archers to patrol and garrison the wall.
At the same time, he also discovered that eight new wooden longhouses had been built beside the village wall. Simon guessed that this was a house built for the refugees received from Cologne, or his new serfs and militiamen.
After it snows, Verde Village has a different kind of beauty. Everything is covered with white "wool". The road in the center of the village was covered with various footprints and dirty snow. Simon saw several children holding snowballs on the roadside and smashing them against each other amidst laughter and laughter.
Under the afterglow of the setting sun, wisps of green smoke drifted out of the half-open windows of many houses. It was farmers warming themselves by fires at home or burning firewood for cooking. Simon didn't know.
"God bless, Master Simon is back!"
"Good day, my lord Simon!"
"Good day!"
After entering the village, Simon met many familiar and unfamiliar faces.
After a brief moment of silence, those who had never seen him before followed the old leaders and greeted Simon in a decent manner.
"Master Simon!" An old but powerful voice came from the small square in the center of the village. Simon turned around and saw that it was the village chief.
I haven’t seen him for a few months, and the village chief’s sideburns and beard seem to be a bit whiter than before. He was wearing a red Viking sweater that he captured last time, a very warm animal skin hat, and a pair of large fur boots, stepping on the remaining snow on the ground as he walked over.
"My lord, you are finally back. I have a lot of things to tell you! But don't worry, these things are basically good things!"
"Really? That's really good. Come on, village chief, it's too cold here. It's not a good place to talk. Come to my house and talk in detail." Simon smiled brightly, feeling that he had never defeated the arrogant Sir Grobber was never happier than he was today.
Everyone walked towards the wooden castle on the hill. Along the way, the village chief kept talking like a barrage of words.
"Sir, a few weeks after you left the village, a group of people and supplies led by monks from the Cologne Diocese came to our village of Verde. Not only did they bring eighty refugees to serve as your serfs, they also brought a We received a batch of building materials and a few monks who were knowledgeable about architecture to help us repair the church and the longhouse for the serfs to live in. In addition, they also brought a batch of food and winter clothing, as well as a hundred textures. Excellent Denier silver coins. By the way, the most surprising thing is that they brought a respectable priest to our village of Verde!"
"That's it!" The smile on Simon's face became much smaller, and his excitement was mixed with new worries.
As expected, the bishop of the fief of Cologne did not break his promise and sent himself refugees and supplies. He also helped him build a church and a house for the refugees to live in.
But the new priest, God knows, is a stubborn, conservative and rigid old monk. If it is really such an old antique, then it will be difficult to explain or fool it into something new in the future.
