British hegemon

Chapter 117 The Baron is Critically Ill

Roger, who had just sparred with Olaf using sword and shield, held a tattered piece of fine linen up his back to wipe away the sweat. Roger was used to using a battle axe, but after learning the intricacies of the longsword, he also resolved to practice swordsmanship.

After a period of time, he has made some progress, and now Roger often carries that heavy knight's sword at his waist.

Marne leaned closer.

"Sir, Baldy still has a bit of a hooligan vibe, and when he gets lazy, there's no cure." Ma En's opinion of Earl with the ponytail and Sigurd the black dog has changed slightly. Earl with the ponytail is calm and fierce in training and is a good prospect. Although Sigurd the black dog is a bit stupid, he is still quite diligent despite his single-mindedness.

But Bald Neil always had that thuggish look, always looking for ways to slack off and cheat, and he had nothing but a broken mouth.

"Baldness has its advantages too. We can't judge everyone by the same standard." Roger had already figured out what to do with bald Neil, but there was no need to tell Marn about it now. He changed the subject. "By the way, take the train to the textile factory this afternoon. I had them make two large pieces of wool felt three days ago, soaked in goose fat. They can be used to set up marching tents for this field training."

Maren's face lit up with joy. "That's wonderful! With a tent and a pleated blanket, the cold nights in the wild won't be so unbearable."

Roger nodded. He hadn't expected the winters on Arran Island to be so bitterly cold, with temperatures much lower than in later generations.

"Are the supplies for tomorrow's field training ready?"

Ma En pointed to the barracks next to the training ground. "Each person carries their own weapons and armor, and each person gets a piece of cheese, half a pound of bread, and a pound of oats. Not much stuff, not much trouble."

This was the first field training exercise since returning from Ireland, and it mainly focused on practicing how to conduct irregular guerrilla warfare against the regular English army.

Earl with the ponytail went to the "mainland" to gather intelligence. Roger divided the ten people, including himself, into two teams of four and six. The four-man team played the role of the weaker Scottish army. Their main task was to avoid being surrounded and intercepted by the six-man "English army" and, ideally, to inflict casualties on the enemy from time to time.

In short, it's a "cat and mouse" game. The training location is Roger's 400-acre forest in Gort Hill. Ten people will complete this cat and mouse game within three days. The losing side will compensate the winning side with three days' worth of military pay as punishment. Roger will also give the winning side an additional day off to squander their "spoils of war".

"The side playing the English army can hire hunters from the foot of the mountain as guides, since the real English army doesn't lack Scottish traitors to lead the way." Roger added considerable difficulty to the passive "Scottish army" in this cat-and-mouse game.

"Same as always, you and Olaf each choose three sergeants, then draw lots. I and Sigurd the Black Dog will join the side that draws 'the English army.'"

Roger was about to discuss the extra meal with Marne when a scout on horseback galloped from the direction of Brodick on the southern carriageway. "Is the Baron's Court about to convene? Wasn't it supposed to be in five days?"

The messenger rushed into the manor, stopped in front of the residence to ask a few questions, and then kicked his horse hard, galloping towards the training ground outside the manor.

The messenger was dressed in gray-white cotton armor, wore a disc-shaped helmet, and had a long sword hanging at his waist. When he got closer, Marne recognized him as one of the soldiers under Baron John and wanted to go up and greet him.

The sergeant pulled on the reins, stopping the horse. He circled it once, ignoring Marne's call, and hurriedly reported to Roger, "Sir Roger, the Baron is critically ill. He urgently summons you to the castle."

Roger was stunned for a moment after hearing this.

"How is that possible? Just three days ago, the Baron summoned me to the castle to discuss the cloth trade." Roger was full of questions.

"Yesterday morning, the Baron's arrow wound relapsed, and he coughed incessantly. Father Matthew came to see him and gave him some medicine, which relieved the cough considerably. However, the illness relapsed again late last night, and he coughed up a lot of pus and blood."

"Father Matthew came again this morning to treat him, but it was no longer effective; he just kept coughing up blood violently."

"Sir, I still have to relay orders to the other lords. The Baroness's family has arrived. You must go to the castle to receive orders." The messenger said, turning his horse around and galloping towards the manor gate. He soon disappeared on the road leading south.

Roger was caught off guard by the sudden bad news.

For Roger, the news of Baron John's critical illness was absolutely devastating.

Perhaps because he believed that his younger brother and nephew had died while fighting alongside him, or perhaps because he had changed his opinion of Roger, Baron John had been quite attentive to Roger these days.

Although he was a bit harsh, Roger could feel that Baron John was genuinely trying to help him. In particular, a few days ago, in order to open up sales channels for Roger's textile mill into the Glasgow area, Baron John, as a baron, went so far as to invite and accompany the guild leaders of Glasgow to the island for a visit.

According to Roger's plan, his strength would gradually grow under the protection and assistance of Baron John, and when King Robert the Bruce of Scotland raised his banner, he would have enough strength to join him and become a "subject to the dragon" and advance to a "warlord in troubled times".

But if Baron John were to back down now, his grand plans would face uncertainty once again.

In the rush, Marne had already prepared the saddle, and Roger had just mounted the horse when he suddenly felt something was wrong.

Three days ago, when Roger went to the castle to meet Baron John, the two discussed the elite troop route and guerrilla tactics. At that time, Baron John was still full of confidence and said that he would lead his elite troops into battle this summer to avenge the previous defeat.

Considering Baron John's health condition a few days ago, and linking it to the recent "illegitimate child" scandal, the Baroness's disturbance at the mansion, the Baron's sudden illness after returning, and the Baroness's family's unexpected visit, it all smells like a conspiracy.

Roger immediately dismounted and ordered Olaf, who had surrounded him, "Have all the soldiers assemble, don their armor and weapons, and follow me to the castle."

He then turned to Marne and said, "Go back to the manor immediately, tell the old steward to close the manor gates, and then gather all the able-bodied men into the manor to stand guard. No one is to open the manor gates until I return."

"Blackie!" Roger yelled at Sigurd, the blackie who was practicing longbow with Connor a little further away.

The black-skinned dog Sigurd immediately put down his longbow and ran over. "My lord?"

"Go to my room and bring me the complete set of armor and weapons."

The black dog Sigurd obeyed and ran off to the manor.

Not long after, a series of alarm bells rang out from the manor.

The broken piece of iron hanging from the spire above the manor house's attic has made a sound twice in the past five years.

The first time the bell rang was last summer, when Roger killed the pirate giant Wolf in Brodick, and the Milk House Manor, fearing retaliation, summoned its people to take refuge in the manor.

Just six months later, the alarm bells are ringing again.

As dozens of households poured into the Milk House Manor, Roger, mounted on his black mare, led a troop of fully armed soldiers on the road to Brodick Castle...

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