Chapter 237: The Eccentric From The Forest
“Seriously…”
Lun Tai put on a piece of armour over his body and moved for a bit before frowning. He said, “The defensive capability of this item is too low. I can rip it apart with my bare hands.”
“Don’t think too much about it, big bro,” said Bei Tai with a casual expression. “This is made with the smelting techniques of the medieval era after all.”
“However, I feel that this William is not a bad character,” said Lun Tai. He jutted his head outside the tent and checked the outside area. After determining that there was no one around, he turned back, pulled out a pack of cigarettes, took one for himself and threw the pack to Bei Tai.
After lighting up the cigarette, Lun Tai took a puff and slowly said, “He has a bit of the magnanimity of a King. Additionally, he is also quite generous.”
Bei Tai smiled as well and said, “That’s right. I think he’s quite a pleasing fellow as well. Thankfully, the system asked us to protect him. If the system had wanted us to kill him, I may feel reluctant to do so.”
Chen Xiaolian who was listening in to their conversation by the side could not restrain himself and he let out a laugh.
“Guild Leader, what are you laughing about?” Bei Tai turned his head around and asked out of curiosity.
Chen Xiaolian sighed and looked at Bei Tai. He then spoke in a very serious tone, “You truly think that this William is a good person?”
“Err, he seems quite good.”
Lun Tai knitted his eyebrows and asked, “This person… … is there a problem with him?”
Chen Xiaolian thought about it and said, “Let me put it this way. Since this is a historical type instance dungeon, our strength lies in knowing the true character of these historical figures. Take William for example. All I can say is he is by no means a good person that people would like.
“Just think about it, he made promises to give lands that did not belong to him yet in order to gather such a mighty army to fight for him. He brought this vast army across the sea, from France and into England to seize the throne. In the historical records, it was written that he made deals with a lot of people.
“For example, he made a deal with the Pope, resulting in the Vatican throwing their support for him to seize the throne.
“He made a deal with the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire.
“He also made a deal with the Norwegians, convincing the Norwegians to send their troops the same time he did. From a military strategy point of view, this move of his had forced his opponent Harold to split his army to fight off the Norwegian army in the north.
“According to history, William was able to defeat Harold in battle. That was largely because the Norwegians had weakened the battle strength of Harold’s army.
“A man with such diplomatic cunning could never be a good man.”
Lun Tai and Bei Tai raised their head as they listened with interest. “And? What else did this William did?”
Chen Xiaolian thought about it and said, “In one of the records, there was this event about him.
“William had brought the army with him to invade England. When he was walking down the ship, he accidentally slipped and fell onto the beach.
“At that moment, he was being looked upon by everyone present, his subordinates and his generals. That careless action of his was something that would undoubtedly cause his image as a King to fall.
“However, this William was a very smart one. He did not immediately get up. Instead, he quickly knelt down on the beach. He plunged both hands into the sands and shouted out loudly, “Look! This is the land of England! The land bestowed to me by God!” After saying that, he grabbed a handful of sand to his mouth and kissed it.
“As a result, not only did his subordinates did not laugh at him, that move increased their feelings of loyalty and support for him!”
After saying that, Chen Xiaolian gave a faint smile and said, “Don’t you fellows feel there is something familiar with this scene?”
Lun Tai was momentarily stunned.
Chen Xiaolian continued, “If we are to look at the history of our country, there is one man who is somewhat similar to this William.”
“Who?”
“Emperor of Wei, Cao Cao!”
Cao Cao!
This name was obviously one they were familiar with!
One may say that Cao Cao was a man of deep intellect and strategy. However, it was impossible to call him a good person.
At that instant, someone called them from outside the tent.
Chen Xiaolian and his team of three moved out of the tent and saw a few Norman soldiers standing outside. One of them was holding onto a shield emblazoned with two lions. He cast a deep look at Chen Xiaolian and said, “Follow me. An important person wanted to see you.”
“Important person? Who is it?”
“You’ll know once you get there.”
The soldier’s attitude was very cold.
His attitude did not surprise Chen Xiaolian.
Be it ancient times or modern times, the military forces had always held a biased view toward outsiders. Chen Xiaolian and his team of three were suddenly brought into the Norman army after displaying their strength. However, until they prove that they are worthy of the soldiers’ trust in the battlefield, it was only natural for them to show a cold attitude toward Chen Xiaolian and his team.
“Do we all go?”
“Together! All of you will be going!”
After he was done talking, the soldier showed no interest in saying anything more with Chen Xiaolian. He turned around and walked away.
Chen Xiaolian exchanged glances with his team before following the soldier.
…
The camp of the Norman army was located behind the central area of the wooden stronghold. That was also the best location within the wooden stronghold. It occupied the highest spot in the area and was protected on both sides.
After arriving beside a huge tent, Chen Xiaolian noticed that the soldiers in the surrounding tents were all lined up. Moreover, it was apparent that they were all preparing for battle.
The soldiers helped each other to put on their armours, sharpen their swords and inspect their equipment.
Some mounted soldiers held onto their saddles and left quickly.
“Inside, go in.”
The soldier who led them here pointed toward the largest tent before turning around and left.
Chen Xiaolian looked at Lun Tai and Bei Tai. He said, “Let’s go. You two follow behind me. Be careful.”
One glance was sufficient to tell them that this tent belonged to someone of importance. Surprisingly though, there was no one standing guard outside.
There was not even someone to inform of their arrival.
Chen Xiaolian hesitated for a moment. He let out a cough while standing outside before pulling aside the tent curtains and then he stepped inside.
The first feeling he got was that this tent was bigger than he had imagined.
Perhaps it was because the furnishings here were too simplistic.
All Chen Xiaolian could see was a simple bed. Other than that, there appeared to be almost nothing else.
There was a set of armour in the corner and a map hanging in the middle of the tent. The map was made using sheepskin; and although the map was simple in appearance, it was possible to see that it was a map of England.
Other than that, the tent was so simple that it appeared humble.
There was no atmosphere of aristocracy within it.
It was then that Chen Xiaolian heard a voice.
“You’re here? Just sit wherever you want. If you don’t feel like sitting, then standing is fine.”
It was only after hearing the voice did Chen Xiaolian discover that there was a person sitting on the bed within the tent.
A peculiar feeling suddenly beset Chen Xiaolian!
This person… … it would appear that he had failed to notice him earlier.
He had clearly been sitting right there. And yet… … back then, when Chen Xiaolian had inspected the tent, he seemed to have unintentionally ignored this person’s existence.
He was clearly right in front of him!
However, it was only until Chen Xiaolian heard his words did he finally manage to see him!
It was a very strange feeling!
He was a middle-aged man.
He slowly stood up, revealing his tall and thin stature. He had fairly good looks and he sported a long beard.
Let’s put it this way, his temperament and attire gave off the impression that he was like Gandalf from Lord of the Rings.
“Gentlemen, ah. I should address the three of you as… Garen, Jarvan and Daisy Xin from Demacia, correct?”
Chen Xiaolian and Bei Tai did not show any reaction to those words. However, the corners of Lun Tai’s mouth twitched. However, considering the situation, he did not say anything.
“If I may ask, sir, who are you…” Chen Xiaolian carefully looked at the man.
“You all should have saluted me. However, considering that you do not understand decorum, just forget about it.”
The middle-aged man had a pair of eagle like and seemingly supernatural eyes. Under the gaze of those eyes, Chen Xiaolian could not help but feel uncomfortable.
“Then, my Lord, the reason why we were summoned…”
“By the order of the King, you fellows are temporarily assigned to me… … mm, it is just a temporary arrangement.”
The middle-aged man gave a faint smile.
Chen Xiaolian frowned and said, “But… … the King had said that we are his personal guards. Tonight, we would be given the honour of protecting him.”
“That honour will certainly be bestowed upon you fellows. However, there is a more important honour to be had tonight,” said the middle-aged man with a smile on his face. It was a smile that carried traces of cunning and peculiarity.
He slowly walked toward the middle of the tent where the sheepskin was hanging. He stared at the surface of the sheepskin while stroking his beard and said, “Just now, I realized that you were looking at the map, Garen. You understand the map?”
“A little.”
“When you put it that way, you are someone who knows how to read? That is no simple matter,” the middle-aged man said in a meaningful tone.
Chen Xiaolian’s heart trembled… … he was standing out too much!
In the medieval period, the rate of literacy was very, very low!
Even among the aristocrats, there were many who did not know how to read and write.
Not to mention… … he was supposed to be a lowly-born mercenary.
“All right, I have no intention of inquiring about your secrets. Everyone has their own secrets after all, isn’t that right?” The middle-aged man let out a smile.
He pointed at a spot on the map and said, “Look, this place is London… … and this is where we are now!”
Next, he drew a line between them.
“The false King Harold already knows that we are here… mm, we had deliberately let that information spread out to make him panic. If my guess is right, with his character, Harold would hastily gather an army to march over. He is an impatient fellow.
“Our scouts report that the first of Harold’s army had begun marching out from London. That is the vanguard army.
“They are hurrying to come over here.
“This army is responsible for the actions before a battle takes place. They will rush here, select a good place to station themselves and monitor us. Then, they will wait for reinforcements and Harold’s main force to arrive before engaging us in a decisive battle.
“Harold in an impatient man. He hopes to engage in a decisive battle to utterly defeat us and solve this problem.”
Chen Xiaolian had been maintaining his silence. He waited until the middle-aged man was finished talking and saw that he was looking at him.
It was only then did Chen Xiaolian slowly spoke up, “My Lord, the reason you told us all these is…”
“I proposed a plan, which had gained the approval of the King and his generals. The contents of the plan is: To form a raiding force that will set off immediately. Before Harold’s vanguard army arrives, this force will ambush them! Eliminate them! Deliver a heavy blow to Harold, which will not only greatly weaken his troop’s morale, it will also increase ours.
“This plan was decided upon yesterday. The reason Tayloff went to the mercenary camp to recruit men was for the sake of this plan. That fellow only knows how to flatter others; in the end, he failed to gather up enough men and could only recruit a hundred men.
“However, we could make up for the number after the appearance of you three men.
“I made a request to the King to send his personal guards to join the raiding force – that includes you three gentlemen.
“As for me, I will be the commander of this raiding force. In other words, from now on, you will be following my orders.”
Chen Xiaolian became silent.
This represented a conflict in his plans.
Although helping William’s army win the battle was one of the quests…
It was more important to protect William!
Chen Xiaolian knew full well that since he was here, it was highly likely that there were other game participants in the enemy camp!
If the enemy decided to target the head, things could end up badly.
Chen Xiaolian was more worried about William’s safety more than the battle ahead.
“The order of the King cannot be changed. Since you have sworn your allegiance to the King, you must accept his orders.”
The middle-aged man cast a sharp gaze at Chen Xiaolian and revealed a meaningful smile.
Chen Xiaoian weighed his options and quickly made his decision.
He had no way to change the situation… … if he stubbornly insisted on staying by William’s side, it would likely only arouse suspicions or something else.
If so… … then, to battle!
“All right, we will obey your commands – since that is the will of the King.”
After saying that, Chen Xiaolian looked at the middle-aged man and asked, “Sir Commander, how should we address you?”
The middle-aged man gave a faint smile before speaking out a name.
The name caused Chen Xiaolian’s face to reveal shock!
“My name is Merlin. They all call me the ‘Eccentric from the Forest’.”
Mer, Merlin!
King Arthur’s Merlin?!!
…
