Earlier, Chen Xiaolian caught hold of a key word among the details that the mounted soldier had told them.
False King Harold.
That and the red coloured flag depicting two lions of the Norman family…
With those details, it was not hard to come to the conclusion.
This point in history was something that Chen Xiaolian had told Lun Tai and Bei Tai before.
It should presently be the month of October in the year 1066.
Not long ago, something happened to England. The last King died without leaving any heir behind.
While the last King was still alive, he had once promised to pass on the throne to two different people.
One of them was Xian Yin’s ancestor, the master of the Norman family of the time, the aristocrat with the rank of Duke, William – this man was the cousin of the King who passed away.
The other person was the little brother of the King’s wife, or the brother-in-law. His name was Harold.
These two fellows claimed legitimacy in inheriting the throne.
However, the King’s brother-in-law, Harold was a native aristocrat from England. He who resided in London was able to get an advantage due to his close proximity to the King. After the King passed away, Harold immediately succeeded the throne.
As for Xian Yin’s ancestor, the Duke William, he was in a less favourable position – he resided in France and Normandy was his territory.
His rival obtained the throne ahead of him, causing William to become extremely furious. Thus, he launched a war, bringing his army with him, crossing the sea from France to invade England!
This was the…
War for the throne!
“William? Xian Yin’s ancestor?” Lun Tai looked at Bei Tai, who recalled something. He said, “I remember our discussion from earlier. Since the Sword in the Stone was held by the Norman family… … then, there is the possibility that the legend of King Arthur was based on the life story of William…”
“That is correct,” said Chen Xiaolian. He nodded his head and said, “This Duke William was indeed a very powerful character. His military talent was extremely outstanding. Additionally, he was the first King to unite all of England through military might. Thus, I too speculate that the story of King Arthur was made based on him.”
Pausing, Chen Xiaolian slowly said, “Judging by this situation… … it seems that the settings by the system had automatically placed us into the Norman family’s camp. In other words, we now carry the identities of the soldiers under the army led by Duke William, Xian Yin’s ancestor.”
“In other words, the so-called war for the throne requires us to help William defeat that Harold and take over the throne? We must also ensure that William do not die?” Lun Tai was quick to figure out that aspect.
“I believe that is the case,” said Chen Xiaolian as he nodded his head.
After saying that, Chen Xiaolian suddenly frowned.
If this is truly the case…
This instance dungeon’s quest do not appear all that difficult.
Because… … according to history, the war ended with a complete victory for William. Not only did he win the war, he also managed to have Harold killed off in the battlefield!
If that was the case, even if he, Lun Tai and Bei Tai were to stand by, observe and do nothing, the result should be the same as that recorded in history.
William would win this war for the throne.
If so… … this instance dungeon’s level of difficulty would be way too low.
Chen Xiaolian did not consider himself as the bearer of Heavenly defying luck like Xia Xiaolei. He didn’t think he could simply sleep his way through an instance dungeon.
…
The system automatically assigned the three of them into William’s camp.
William’s army was divided into several parts: The Norman army owned by him, the Duke of Normandy and his two allied forces, the troops from Brittany and Flanders – these two were under the rule of French lords. They agreed to help William after he promised them benefits for helping him with the war.
In addition, William also recruited a large number of mercenaries to help him with the war.
Clearly, the identities assigned to Chen Xiaolian and his team were those of the mercenaries.
The sheepskin flag on the carriage appeared to be the mark of one of the mercenary teams.
Thus, when Chen Xiaolian and his team entered the wooden military stronghold, they did not face any obstructions. After the garrison inspectors inspected them and their carriage, they waved them through.
Along the way, they asked around and found out that the mercenaries were assigned to the southwest corner of the military stronghold.
The mercenaries were obviously just a motley crowd. The tents there were varied and were a complete and utter mess.
Along the way, Chen Xiaolian saw some mercenaries pulling down their pants to pee right beside the tents.
Not far away, he observed that there was a campfire and a pot placed above it, cooking something for dinner.
Some soldiers brought water from the distant river.
This was the medieval period and the armies were lacking in the strict discipline of the later era.
Thus, Chen Xiaolian was able to observe some men fooling around noisily along the way. He also saw some soldiers drinking, singing and dancing.
There were also dirtied soldiers fighting in the mud while onlookers placed down their bets.
This place did not resemble a military camp, but rather a vegetable market.
Majority of the mercenaries wore rather worn-out clothes and equipment. Only a minor number was able to wear metal armour. Most of them wore leather armour. Some were even wearing thick robes over their body by wearing several layers.
The moment he entered the encampment, Chen Xiaolian saw several soldiers in seemingly uniform ensemble walking over.
Those soldiers were equipped with shields. The surfaces of the shields were emblazoned with the crest of the Norman family. Clearly, those soldiers were members of the Normandy regular army.
Those soldiers were here to collect the grain.
The mercenaries took on the task of procuring supplies. When they returned, they must follow the law set by the camp to turn over half the supplies to the Normandy regular army.
After finding out about that, Chen Xiaolian was quick to let out a sigh.
This William was simply being too vicious!
At present, he was still not the King of England. In fact, he was the intruder here.
However, he allowed these mercenaries to plunder across the lands of England. Whatever loot the mercenaries obtain, they were allowed to keep half as remuneration… … the other half was to be handed over.
That was tantamount to obtaining a surplus in military spending.
He made use of the enemy’s property to pay for part of the military spending.
Too damned cunning.
In fact, Chen Xiaolian was not aware that William had done something even more ruthless.
He managed to bring such a huge army with him to follow him across the sea to invade England and got his two allies to provide troops for him by making a promise.
If he was successful in seizing the England’s throne, he will grant some of the lands to his aristocrat allies – all they needed to do was to swear their allegiance to him and acknowledge him as the King.
This move from him was the equivalent of… … using the enemy’s property to pay for his military spending!
The soldiers took the half-filled sack of grains from Chen Xiaolian’s carriage – Chen Xiaolian did not do anything to stop them.
Perhaps his show of obedience satisfied the soldiers, leading to them pointing out to Chen Xiaolian where their tent was located.
Their tent was like wise very worn-out. Two people could barely squeeze themselves inside – if three were to enter, then they could only sit inside.
The campfire in front of their tent had already been extinguished and only ashes remained. The one aspect causing a frown to appear on Chen Xiaolian’s face was the scent of urine there.
“The healthcare situation in the medieval period is too horrible,” said Bei Tai. As a military maniac, he was unable to restrain himself from giving a disapproving expression.
Chen Xiaolian glanced at Bei Tai and said, “According to history, William’s army won the war. However, before they could march into London, dysentery broke out among the army.”
“Considering the healthcare conditions, I don’t feel surprised at all. They are drinking water raw,” said Bei Tai with a sigh.
“This is the medieval period, the efficiency of work in this era is low,” said Chen Xiaolian. He furrowed his eyebrows and shook his head. “Drinking clean water would require starting fires. To start fires, they will need to send a good number of people to cut firewood. Consider how big of an army this is. If all of them were to drink clean water, the number of firewood required would exhaust a high number of human strength and resources. Did you think the matter of getting clean water was just a matter of giving out the order?”
One glance at the worn-out tent was enough to make Chen Xiaolian and his team to lose any desire to enter it.
They simply sat outside. At any rate, no one seemed to be coming close by.
Apparently, the mercenary team that consisted of Chen Xiaolian, Lun Tai and Bei Tai was not a conspicuous one. Additionally, they were occupying a very remote location. Nobody came to fight them for it or give them an additional glance.
“Now, let’s discuss things through for a bit.”
The three of them sat around the campfire. Chen Xiaolian had been too lazy to go find firewood. Thus, he simply pulled out a piece of wooden plank from the carriage. After breaking it into several smaller pieces, he started a fire.
Chen Xiaolian turned to face Lun Tai and Bei Tai. “Let’s discuss what we should be doing next.”
“We do not know much about the history of this era,” said Lun Tai as he shook his head. “You should be the one to make the decision. You are the Guild Leader, we will carry out your commands… … Xiaolian, we have faith in you.”
“Yes, Guild Leader. I have long since acknowledged you as a real Guild Leader. Whatever you say, we’ll do it.” These words from Bei Tai warmed Chen Xiaolian’s heart.
He recalled how Bei Tai had disregarded his own safety back in the museum, how he had ran out of his hiding place and charged in to help Chen Xiaolian who had fallen into a dire situation… … this fellow had truly come to consider him as a brother worthy of entrusting his life with.
“Very well. In that case, I’ll give a rough explanation of what I know.”
Chen Xiaolian was silent for a moment. Then, he slowly said, “From what I can understand regarding our present situation, I speculate that we are now in William’s army.
“As for the imminent battle, it should be the one that William waged to seize the throne. It is the great decisive battle in this war.
“In British history, it is known as the infamous Battle of Hastings.
“This battle took place in October of 1066.
“The two parties involved in this battle were William and Harold.
“The number of soldiers on both sides number between six to eight thousand. They could be said to be equal in strength.
“The place where the battle happened… … that place should be known as Hastings.
“The result of the battle was Harold getting killed in action while William won. That battle laid the foundation for him to seize the throne.
“That is why this battle can be considered the decisive battle.”
“Mm, I understand,” said Lun Tai. “But… … if things were to proceed as you have said, then, what are we here for? William would win anyways.”
“Thus, this is the part that poses the biggest danger toward us,” said Chen Xiaolian. He furrowed his eyebrows and said, “If I had to guess… … since the system had set the instance dungeon quest to take place here, then the difference in strength between the two sides, as well as the conditions on both sides would certainly differ from true history.
“Just think about it… … we have joined up with William.
“If so… … on the other side, on Harold’s side, perhaps… … there are other game participants in his side!”
Chen Xiaolian finally revealed a bitter smile and said, “In other words, this second phase is very likely a… … competitive type instance dungeon quest!”
…