A Crusader with System in the Middle Ages

Emma held her breath and darted out from around the corner.

An arrow shot out, striking the young soldier squarely in the forehead.

”Huh? I haven’t even tried yet, so why’d you fall down?”

The older soldier let out a drunken hiccup, his eyes half-open as he watched the young soldier fall stiffly before him.

The alcohol had numbed his brain, preventing him from processing what had happened. Then, he felt something splash onto his face.

He touched it with his finger.

”Hey? You youngsters have no manners. You can’t hold your liquor, so you spit on me...? Huh? Why is this spit red...?”

He didn’t get to finish his sentence. An arrow struck him in the forehead.

His body fell stiffly to the ground.

”This liquor... is really strong. Good... good stuff...”

Emma: ”...”

Even though both shots had been beautiful, for some reason, she felt no sense of accomplishment.

But there was no time to dwell on that now.

Emma ran to the stables, her cold fingers fumbling frantically with a knot. All the while, she kept a constant watch on her surroundings.

Faint noises from the surroundings occasionally reached her, making her even more frantic.

Finally, she undid the knot.

She felt so tired; she had never been this exhausted before.

She wanted to just throw away the tether, but then she wouldn’t be able to tie up the horse later. So, she hastily coiled the rope and sloppily tied it to the saddle straps.

The horse belonged to a soldier. She needed to adjust the stirrups, but there was no time to think about that.

She swung herself onto the horse’s back. The stirrups were too low for her feet to reach. She could only clamp her legs tightly around the horse’s belly and lean forward.

She pulled the reins tight and kicked the horse’s flank hard.

It was a warhorse. Its reaction was swift. It bolted out of the stable, and as it galloped past Richard, Emma expertly grabbed his arm and pulled him up onto the horse.

The stable’s location wasn’t far from the city gate, so as long as they kept sprinting, they could get out of here quickly.

The warhorse was fast. By the time the passing soldiers realized what was happening, they were powerless to stop them. By the time they found suitable mounts of their own, Emma had already charged out of Xialing City and vanished without a trace.

”Where should we go?” Richard asked, clutching at Emma’s clothes.

”I was about to ask the same thing.”

Although it was an extremely important question, hearing it come from Richard’s mouth made Emma want to strangle him.

She knew the feeling was irrational, but the thought arose nonetheless.

Emma had to admit her mental state was a little unstable right now.

Just a week ago, everything had been fine. She was still the Count’s eldest daughter, and her brother was still the Count’s heir.

But now everything had changed. That bastard EDe had declared her father a traitor, launching a treacherous sneak attack that went against all Knightly Spirit. Her father was now a prisoner, and she and her brother had become homeless rats.

Her father, the great Earl of Hereford, how could he possibly be a traitor?

’It had to be EDe’s father, that detestable Sir Savary, stirring up trouble before the King.

Yes, that must be it. I’ll go see the King and get to the bottom of this. Maybe there’s still a chance to turn things around.’

Her grandfather had given his life to save the young King. Even if her father had made a mistake, the King would surely make arrangements for Richard.

”We’re going to London.”

”But we have nothing. We’ll starve to death on the road, sister.”

”Then we’ll rob people.” Emma had never thought she would one day say such a thing so brazenly.

”Th-that goes against the Knightly Spirit, sister.”

”But we are not Knights now.”

”But you said last time that everyone should be a...”

”That was then, this is now. Richard, you will listen to me, or I’ll sell you.

I’m going to teach you your first lesson right now. When your sister is talking, you don’t talk back. You will learn to shut your mouth!”

...

Ever since Robert repelled Earl Hugh of Chester, they had, surprisingly, not encountered any troops on their way to Luton City.

The journey was so peaceful it was almost unsettling.

However, with time being tight, they could only attribute it all to luck.

They had arranged to rendezvous with Arno in a village near Luton City. However, they ended up encountering Arno’s main force in Luton City—no, to be precise, inside Luton City.

They were laying siege to a castle.

Many castles in the Middle Ages were built within cities. Of course, some castles encompassed an entire city, but this type was rare, as it was equivalent to adding another layer of walls for the city, which cost a great deal of money.

Ordinary nobility couldn’t possibly afford it.

Such a design would also spread the castle’s original garrison thin.

The castle in Luton City was of the latter type, and fortunately, Arno’s army was now within the city walls.

But to call it a siege was a stretch; it was more like a standoff. Arno’s side had merely erected some barriers and earthen ramparts outside the castle.

Of course, the lingering bloodstains and arrows on the ground in front of the barriers indicated that a battle had taken place here not long ago.

”Didn’t we agree to meet in the village? Why have you started attacking a castle?”

Robert dismissed his knights, letting them rest for a while in the city, and looked toward Arno, who had come to greet him.

”It all happened very suddenly. We were passing by here three days ago, originally intending to find a village to camp in, but the citizen representatives of Luton City invited us to stay in the city, expressing their support for our campaign.

And they were willing to support us in attacking the castle inside the city...”

Arno hadn’t finished speaking when Eric interrupted him.

”They weren’t ’willing to support you’ in attacking the castle. They ’demanded you’ attack the castle, didn’t they?”

As Eric’s words fell, Arno’s expression grew awkward. He scratched the back of his head and didn’t respond immediately, which clearly confirmed Eric’s suspicion.

”I was thinking, Luton City is a strategic pass on the way to London City. If we could take this place, we could both intercept reinforcements from the north and west, and also supply our siege of London City. Even if the siege failed...

I could retreat from London to Luton City. From there, I could link up with Suffolk, Essex, and my uncle Count Moretan’s core territory in Dorset, forming a blade that would sever London’s connection with the northwest of the United Kingdom.

But as a result...” Arno lowered his head.

”The result is that you discovered that even with the citizens’ support, you can’t take this castle quickly.” Eric finished the sentence Arno couldn’t.

”You’ve only besieged it for three days. If we can’t take it, we just give up. We’ll rest here for a day, and tomorrow we head straight for London.”

Robert didn’t seem to care at all. The battle with Hugh that day had given him a great deal of confidence.

Eric noticed a middle-aged man dressed as a common citizen standing beside Arno.

”He is...”

”Oh, that’s Staler, a representative of the citizens of this city,” Arno explained to Eric.