Heart of the Castle

Chapter 23 Part 5 The Angel with Broken Wings
The news that Sir Mirefis’s manor was ransacked by unknown bandits was placed on the table of Earl Ansair, the lord of Dirk City, on the third day. When the messenger delivered the news, the man with sword dance The so-called Earl with the Sword couldn't help standing up from the throne of the city lord, with an incredible light in his eyes.

"Sir Mirefis's manor was ransacked by bandits? This is just a joke!" Earl Ansair said loudly, slapping the quill on the table heavily, "That old fellow used to be the biggest man near Dirk City. The bandit leader, now there are more than 100 desperadoes in his manor, what kind of bandits can loot there?"

The messenger's body trembled, and he explained in a low voice: "My lord, the source of the news is Captain Kane of the City Guards. There should be nothing wrong."

"Kane and the others saw it with their own eyes?" Earl Ansair's mustache was raised.

"Yes, when the rangers of the City Guards passed by there, they found that the entire manor had been burned to ashes, and there were many corpses. They didn't have enough manpower, so they didn't dare to check it carefully. nearby."

"So...it's true." Earl Ansair walked a few steps in front of the table, with a thoughtful expression on his face, "Although Sir Mirefis didn't comprehend the seeds of battle energy, he is extremely powerful and powerful. He is an old thief who has experienced swords and blood, but his real strength will not lose to ordinary high-ranking knights. From the aesthetic point of view of the nobility, his manor building is scum, but even with the most demanding military From the point of view, it can be regarded as a well-defended fortress, plus there are hundreds of desperadoes who have killed people and seen blood..."

His footsteps stopped suddenly, and he murmured, "What kind of power can destroy him and his manor without knowing it? No, I want to see it myself!" He turned around and ordered The messenger standing under the steps stood by, "You can go down now. By the way, please inform the Commander of the City Guards, Belwar, to send me a team of rangers. I will go to Sir Mirefice's manor to check it out."

It had just snowed, and the road was slippery and difficult to walk on, but for the elite rangers, it did not constitute any obstacle. The thin snow crumbled under the hoofs of the horses, mixed with the soil, and quickly turned into mud.Earl Ansair was galloping his horse amidst the gurgling stream and the rustling of fallen leaves. When he left Dirk City, Flandara's golden face was still in the sky, and the high wall of the manor could be seen in front of him. , the setting sun is almost behind the hills in the west.

Several rangers from the city guard came forward from the woods next to the manor, led by a high-ranking knight in full armor and wearing a golden sword badge, "Your Excellency, I salute you." He knocked on his breastplate and said loudly .

"Tell me everything you have seen, Captain Kane." Earl Ansair jumped off his horse and walked towards the gate of the manor. Captain Kane followed closely and told him the findings of the preliminary investigation. .

"We came here at dawn today after receiving a report from a nearby farmer. Our preliminary judgment is that the manor of Sir Mirefis has been looted. The man himself suffered misfortune. The servants and hired workers in the manor also died." Kane said. The captain's voice seemed a little nervous and dry, and it was heard far away with the sound of footsteps in the twilight. "Because we couldn't tell whether the bandits who looted the manor had withdrawn, we didn't go deep into the manor to investigate, but sent messengers back to the city for help."

"I don't need to say the rest, the messenger has already explained it very clearly to me." Earl Ansair stopped in front of the gate of the manor. Pass one of them.

It was a tall and strong middle-aged man, wearing raw cowhide boots and a sheepskin vest, holding a half-length iron-headed wooden staff tightly in his hand.This thing was originally a self-defense weapon, but it is obviously unable to fulfill its mission now.

"This is Sir Mirefis himself," said Captain Kane. "I know him, and this other is his steward, and also his... assistant in business."

"Is there no business?" Earl Ansair said, this is not a question, and he did not wait for Captain Kane to answer, but squatted down towards the middle-aged man's corpse, ready to check what happened to him dead.

The expression on the corpse was grim. Even though Mirefis was ugly when he was alive, he looked even uglier after death. A stern wound cut from his right shoulder near his neck to his abdomen, almost splitting his entire body into pieces. The two halves are connected only by a few tendons and skin.The wound was covered with dried blood clots, Earl Ansair picked up a little bit with his hand, the sticky feel was faintly dry, telling him that the death of this person was not short.

"A sharp sword." Earl Ansair commented. "One blow was fatal, and Mirefis was not given any chance."

Even from his point of view, this sword is fierce enough.Judging from the situation at the scene, Sir Mirefis was obviously attacked by surprise, otherwise what he held in his hand should not be an iron-headed cane, but a long-handled flail he is good at using.But he was not assassinated unprepared. The sturdy iron-headed cane once stood in front of the sword that killed him, but it was chopped off in the middle like a straw, and the fracture was so smooth that it even had burrs. nothing.

"Good swordsman, but the sword is better." Captain Kane put forward a different opinion, "There is no trace of fighting spirit left on the wound. If two people have the same weapon, there may be a fight."

"There is no trace of vindictiveness left, so it may not be that the person who did it does not have the power of vindictiveness." Earl Ansair straightened up, and said in a flat voice: "It may be that person thinks that dealing with an opponent like Mirephith is still difficult." There is no need to use fighting spirit; it is more likely..." His voice sank, "That kind of fighting spirit is shameful."

"Your Excellency, what kind of vindictiveness is shameful?" Captain Kane asked in surprise, "Even the Fiercefire vindictiveness from the abyss can be obtained by beheading high-level demonized knights, isn't it shady? "

There was a cold smile on Earl Ansair's face, "It's not Fierce Fire Fighting Qi, but there is a kind of Fighting Qi that no one can cultivate, or..." He walked towards the depths of the house, and the last few words were light Like a whisper. "...no living person can."

There are corpses lying everywhere in the mansion of Sir Mirefis, and it can be seen that the servants here did not resist. After entering the gate, a pile of dead bodies lay down in the courtyard, and each corpse held a machete or an ax in its hand. Weapons, the smell of blood is so strong that it makes people sick.Dozens of crows were vying for this rare delicacy, and they were not afraid of people. It wasn't until Earl Ansair and others came to the side to drive them away that they flew away amidst a burst of hoarse cries of dissatisfaction.

There is usually only one fatal wound on these corpses. Earl Ansair carefully observed the direction and order of the corpses falling to the ground, and in some places, he gestured a few times with his hands to guess the direction and angle of the attack.This time his observation duration was shorter, and when he straightened up, his face had become cloudy.

"A butcher-like army, the number is not large, but the worst people have the skills close to high-level knights, and wear heavy armor." Earl Ansair slowly expressed his judgment, "Lord Most of them don't even have the ability to parry, and a few who have reached the level of quasi-knights can barely block a sword or two, and then they are cut in two by the terrible swordsman who killed Sir Mirefis. .”

"This is simply unbelievable, Your Excellency the Earl." Captain Kane was full of surprise, "A team of high-level knights? Such troops are rare even in the most elite knight orders in the capital. , How could Sir Mirefis provoke such an army?"

"It can't be judged." Earl Ansair replied with a wry smile, "It is estimated that the dead Sir Mirefis didn't figure it out, otherwise if they pulled up the drawbridge and defended it with strong bows and crossbows, it would be a disaster." There is still a little bit of possibility to sustain it.”

"You are right, even a team of high-ranking knights cannot cross the moat under the rain of arrows." Captain Kane nodded repeatedly.

"There are no more clues here, Captain Kane, now let your rangers search for survivors separately, and check to see if there are any traces left by that troop." Earl Ansair ordered, "But It is estimated that nothing will be found, whether it is the survivors or the traces left by the murderers, it is difficult to leave behind. Because the time of the battle is too short, it is almost over when it started."

(End of this chapter)