The cavalry leader saw a silver light flashing from the carriage. He realized the gravity of the situation, but it was too late.
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Zhu Chi was simply a lunatic. He alone endured the pressure of the cavalry approaching, waiting until the distance between the two sides was reduced to within shooting range before he lifted the crossbow.
“Look out——”
The leader shouted.
Zhu Chi pulled the lever with hands covered in moleskin gloves. The axle in front slipped off the catch in the nut. The nut rolled and the bowstring was released (TN: not sure if I got the terms right). A flash of cold light shot out from the carriage like a meteor, and in a blink of an eye it came to the defenseless knights. The sharp arrow flew through the air, piercing the chain mail at the next moment.
Blood sprayed up, the leader’s grip on the rein loosened and he fell from the horse. The warhorses coming from behind trappled over his body.
“Crossbow!”
The other knights were shocked and angry.
As we all know, the crossbow was called a “cursed object”.
With simple training, ordinary farmers could even use it to shoot down knights. Even the finest chain mail could not hold up against it. Therefore, as early as more than three hundred years ago, it was absolutely forbidden to be used in warfare.
The anger of the knights had no effect on Zhu Chi in the carriage.
His pale blue eyes seemed to freeze into ice.
The sharp metal arrows pierced through the air continuously.
The rest of the cavalry fell one after another. They mistakenly believed their master’s words and regarded the lone King as a prey to be captured and killed. But at this time, the lonely carriage was no longer an easily obtainable reward, but a terrifying devil.
The cavalry became frightened and began to want to retreat.
Suddenly, the carriage body shook violently. Zhu Chi was not so lucky this time, and his shoulder slammed into the wall of the carriage firmly and his lip was cut by a tooth. He stuck out his tongue and licked it, tasting a familiar rusty flavor.
Under the moonlight, the last cavalryman could see the face of the person holding the bow in the carriage.
The King, regarded as “cruel but worthless”, had a delicate and pale face, a trace of scarlet on his thin lips, and a cursed weapon in his hand, appearing as if he had come from hell.
The cavalryman shivered and lost the courage to fight alone, turning his horse around and rushing into the night.
At this time, the crazed steeds had already rushed towards the wooden fence at the entrance of the canyon, pulling the carriage with them.
The soldiers guarding behind the wooden fence were frightened by the out of control carriage, throwing themselves out of the way on either sides. The steeds with white steam blowing out from their mouths and noses looked like the devil’s mounts, driving through the fence with the carriage in tow.
Thanks to the King’s carriage being made of hard oak and metal, it escaped the fate of falling apart, but only just.
The canyon was neither long nor short, and they had quickly arrived to the end of the stretch.
“Your Majesty! The bridge has been cut off!”
As soon as they had rushed out of the canyon, the Master of the Households was shocked by the scene in front of him, his face going pale. He frantically pulled the reins backwards, trying to stop the horses, his voice even changing a little because of panic.
Out of the gorge was the winding Doma River. At this time, it was midwinter, and the river bank and the river surface were frozen over. The moonlight gleamed on the blue and white glacial river, and it was clear that the bridge that was originally erected on the river surface was cut in half, leaving only a few holes in place where a thin layer of ice had just formed.
“Go around it!”
There was no time for Zhu Chi to see the situation of the river with his own eyes, still he sternly made the order.
As soon as the last word fell, suddenly the sky seemed to spin.
“Your Majesty, Your Majesty!”
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At the last moment, the Master of the Households barely just managed to change the direction of the galloping horses. The carriage slid around the ice hole and across most of the river, leaving a long white mark on the smooth ice. But when approaching the river bank on the other side, the connection between the carriage and the front axle completely broke apart.
The carriage was thrown out and overturned on the ice.
The Master of the Households had followed William III on the battlefield, and his reaction was fairly rapid, jumping out onto the ice at the last minute without any damage.
But there was no time to rejoice for his luck, the Master of the Households rushed to the overturned carriage in horror.
“Your Majesty!”
His voice was sharp and anxious.
“Shut up.”
Zhu Chi climbed out of the carriage, pressing the ice with one hand and covering his head with the other. He was panting, and puffs of white mist came out from his mouth. His head had yet to recover from the vertigo.
Seeing that he was safe and sound, the Master of the Households knelt down on the ice with a “thud” and stretched out his hand to make a sign of the cross on his chest: “The Holy Lord bless, the Holy Lord bless.”
He cried with tears of joy.
“Get over here.”
Zhu Chi nearly laughed with anger at the other.
The Holy Lord could bless anyone except for someone like him who sold his soul to the devil.
“Oh!”
The Master of the Households came back to himself and hurriedly went to help Zhu Chi up.
Fortunately, this place was already close to the river bank, and the ice layer was frozen hard. With the support of the Master of the Households, Zhu Chi stepped on the river bank.
The carriage had been damaged. One of the four horses pulling the carriage had broken its neck and one had broken its leg. The remaining two had some minor injuries and were currently stomping their hooves nervously on the river bank.
Zhu Chi ordered the Master of the Households to burn the carriage while he held his wrist and looked across the shore.
He saw fire had begun to appear in the canyon on the other side. Those people had finally reacted. They stopped by the river, not daring to cross the ice like Zhu Chi did. The water level in the Doma River was very deep, and the river was often turbulent under the ice layer. No one knew whether a step would break through an ice hole.
When the carriage was burned, the Master of the Households caught sight of the crossbow thrown on the ice.
His face changed but he dared not say anything.
There was a fire here, and torches also lit over there.
Zhu Chi watched for a while before sneering. He said to the Master of the Households: “We leave.”
………………
Mohn Castle.
This was where the Doma River and the Naxi River meet, and Mohn Castle was the well fortified riverside fortress here.
Under normal circumstances, even if nobles were imprisoned, their life in prison would not be too bad, and it may even be rather decently luxurious. However, in the past month, the old Duke of Buckingham, as the King’s only uncle, was imprisoned in the notorious prison of Mohn Central Tower.
The Mohn Tower was full of torture, blackmail, biting cold temperatures, and an even more dirty environment.
The old Duke of Buckingham was the half-brother of William III and had followed William III on the battlefield for 30 years. He used to be a very radical military strategist, but during the years when he assisted his nephew in state affairs, the old duke gradually settled down and became extra cautious.
A month ago, his son was defeated in an expeditionary invasion against the Kingdom of Bressi. Not only did he lose three important towns, but he was also captured.
The ransom to be paid to the Kingdom of Bressi was 20,000 pounds, which was a jaw-dropping amount.
This defeat made the people very angry, and a rumor spread:
——The old Duke of Buckingham accepted a bribe from the enemy country and deliberately had his son lose the battle because he knew that the King would not give up his cousin.
Hearing this the King in the palace was extremely offended.
So the Duke of Buckingham was tightly imprisoned in Mohn Tower.
However, these were only superficial reasons.
“Have you shown him the execution order given by the King?”
The owner of Mohn Castle, Earl Walter, was responsible for guarding the old Duke of Buckingham.
“He has seen it.”
The earl’s butler replied.
“Did he agree to choose us?”
“No.”
The old Duke of Buckingham only glanced at the command and threw it on the ground, closing his eyes without saying a word.
Earl Walter snorted coldly and cursed: “Then let him go to hell……”
“I don’t know why, my lord.”
The butler hesitated and spoke cautiously.
“I feel a little uneasy, as if something bad is about to happen.”
“The guillotine and executioner are all ready.”
Earl Walter said contemptuously.
The earl even had the leisure to make a cold joke.
“He can’t escape this catastrophe——unless the King arrives in person.”
You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e ir on tr ee bl oo ms. c o m )
AN: The Legrand’s economic system is based on England around the 13th century: pound, shilling and penny are the units. 1 shilling = 12 pence, 1 pound sterling = 20 shillings. The only coins in circulation are silver pennies. 240 silver pennies equal the same pound. The average income of an aristocrat was about 200 pounds a year, and even a person with an annual income of 20 pounds was relatively rich. Therefore, the 20,000-pound ransom offered by the Kingdom of Bressi would be considered a sky-high price, which is jaw-dropping.
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