Chapter 653 Marching

In Yorkshire, 200 miles north of London, by a clear stream, Tofei and the others slapped the cold water on their cheeks, enjoying this rare relaxing time. The sound of hoofbeats kept approaching. They turned their heads and saw a sorrel English pony in the distance carrying a soldier galloping towards the bridge. They couldn't help but stop what they were doing and pay attention to this person The dynamics of a ride.

At this moment, a soldier rushed to the bridge and found Odegar, one of Harold's guards and recruiting officers, "My lord..." He hurried over and approached Odegar full of worry. After muttering a few words in a low voice, Degas immediately turned around and climbed on the horse to continue running towards another camp.

"Hey, everyone stand up!" Odgar yelled, "Let's go, stand up!"

The militiamen who were resting by the stream showed a trace of boredom and impatience, but there was nothing they could do. They stood up obediently and looked at their leader suspiciously.

"Leofric, because of your achievements in killing the leader of the Viking berserkers, I will promote you to be the captain. You swear as you march." Odegar leaned out half of his body from the bridge, pointing at the tall and thin man. Leofric ordered.

"What's so urgent?" Leofric didn't care too much about his promotion. Anyway, he would turn back into a farmer after hitting the stick. At most, it was just more rewards. What he cared about now was what happened. What happened, he asked the question everyone wanted to know.

"The Normans are coming!" Odgar said anxiously. "They have invaded after the fighting season, and they have landed in Sussex!"

"Sussex?" The young Tophy suddenly raised his heart and blurted out. That was their hometown, and all their relatives were in the village of Crowhurst near Sussex.

"Stand up, let's go." Odegar raised his arms and shouted.

"Do you know where they are now?" Tophy asked, "Where are they in Sussex?"

"According to the intelligence of spies who kept coming from new horses along the way, they appeared in Pevensey, Sussex... and then quickly occupied the neighboring town of Hastings." Odegar was a little emotional, The Earl of Wessex is the heartland of the new king, and now it has been taken by the Normans almost without a single soldier. This is undoubtedly a major blow to the English, and the enemy did not attack London immediately but Establishing a stable rear here means that the surrounding villages that lack the protection of young and strong are exposed to this group of Normans who are also descendants of Vikings in the name of brutality...

The Britons, who don't have enough time to rest, are now in such desperate need of warriors that those purely for subsistence or money are allowed into the army, regardless of their previous allegiances - leaving some previously defeated but forced to join the army. The remaining Vikings who hid nearby responded to their call to do their old job as mercenaries and joined the team of their former enemy King Harold of England.

As they marched day and night, Harold's army grew weaker and weaker.

Tophey and Leocliffe and the others walked through the dense forests of the north, and many who stopped fell and died of exhaustion. The rapid march exhausted the army. "We rest here." Odegar was different from the previous urging when he came, this time he yelled at the militiamen asking them to rest instead of rushing back desperately.

Tofei, who was breathing heavily with his mouth open, rested his hands on his knees, worried about his new wife Judith, he raised his head and looked at Odegar eagerly: "In this way, we won't be able to go back to the south in time."

"I order you to rest." Odegar also replied panting, and sat down on the ground.

The rapid gallop made many soldiers unable to control themselves and vomited out. Some soldiers even vomited yellow-green bile.

In contrast, the situation of the few Viking warriors assigned to Odegar's team is much better. He said to Odegar: "Actually,

If you will send ships to Norway, I believe there will be more Vikings willing to join. "

"It's too late, and we need to have a winter rest." The disheveled Odegar replied friendly to the previous enemy - the Vikings, who usually have no bottom line in plundering, have a good reputation after accepting employment. good.

"Your king?" the Viking asked.

"I haven't heard from him for two days." Odegar said sullenly.

Leo Cliff, who had quite dark circles under his eyes, looked at him upon hearing this, "I hope he is running for more troops." Odegar added.

"Hope?" The Viking grasped at these two words, but Odegar was no longer willing to answer.

"Odegar, we have a good rest." The pale Tophy hurriedly reminded, gasping for breath.

"We can't travel like we did when we came to the north. The road is getting rough. We have to conserve our energy and don't bother me anymore." Odegar, who was sitting on the ground, looked away impatiently.

"What about Crowhurst?" Tophy insisted.

"It's just a small village with less than ten families, and England is a country." Although Odegar was deeply hurt, for the sake of the overall situation, his answer seemed a bit ruthless.

"Please at least let me go back." Tofei begged.

"If those few people are allowed to look for their families, we won't be able to win this battle, so it's hard to allow it." Odegar lowered his head, and Tofi couldn't see his expression clearly, so he turned around and turned to Leo Cliff asked for help, but found his best friend staring blankly into the distance - there seemed to be some thick smoke floating there.

The militia team stopped talking, spread out and lowered their figures to slowly surround the thick smoke. The sun shone through the forest, and the mottled light reflected on the open space. They finally found that it was a white horse tied to a tree. There was a leisurely park beside the tree, and a group of tan horses were roped behind the white horses, and the smoke was rising from the ashes of a burned wooden cart nearby.

But at this time, the Anglo-Saxon militiamen were all focused on the backs of the two horses, and the sound of mosquitoes and flies was buzzing. They surrounded the two horses, making the tails of the two horses sweep from time to time. moving.

"What is this?" Leo Cliff asked with some uncertainty.

"The Normans did a good job." Odegar answered the new militia leader's question with a gloomy expression.

On the white horse, a female corpse leaned over the white horse, surrounded by mosquitoes and flies, her scorched feet hung down from the horse, and her unburnt messy hair hung on the horse's back, leaving behind Skeletal faces and blackened bodies.

The corpse of another tan horse was even more pitiful. The charred corpse was lying on its back on the horse's back. The big mouth seemed to accuse the inhuman abuse it had suffered before, telling everyone its pain.

Odegar stepped forward and looked at the charred corpse on the horse. He lifted off the covering clothes on the ground, and there were all charred corpses underneath.

"This is a message for your king." Several Vikings looked at each other and said.

Odegar looked around at all the militiamen present, and said in a sad tone, "I want all the soldiers here to see the corpse of this village woman," his tone gradually became more intense, "That's why we have to fight!"

"Go back to Crowhurst Village, kid," Aodejia looked at Tophy, who was a little dazed, "Go back to the south and see our village."

"No, there must be fraud in it. They sent the bodies of these women here just to provoke you to rush back to fight." The Viking mercenary, who is familiar with the Normans and also derived from the Vikings' means, calmly suggested.

After dismantling the female corpse from the white horse, the rest of the militiamen have begun to place the remains of these dead women, so that their bodies are no longer exposed to the broad daylight and they can be buried in the ground.

Odegar ignored the Vikings who were talking, but looked at Tophy who was at a loss, and ordered: "If you are not afraid of meeting the Norman scouts, go back to the south. Ride on this a horse."

"Leofric," Odegar continued to order, "don't forget that you are the captain, go with him, be careful, if you encounter a Norman, don't fight, just run!"

What did Leofric want to say to Odegar? But Odegar interrupted him and shouted: "Let's go!"

Odegar turned around and took two steps, then turned back to look at Leofric, and instructed: "If you get to Crawhurst, if you find any surviving women, take them to the monastery, Noah The Man people definitely don’t dare to harass these hermit’s courtyards easily, try to find as many men as possible, tell them, we will send a large army over, but we need more men, go ahead.”

"I don't know which way leads to Crawhurst." Leofric stretched out his hand, asking for help from Odegar who turned away.

"We will find a way. We have to follow the path of those who have fish luck, and take the path that goes up and down before you smell the sea salt." Odegar replied.

"The smell of ashes will help you find your village," a Viking added, only to receive a glare from the Anglo-Saxon, and he shrugged and returned to his ranks.

Leocliff looked solemn, turned his head, mounted the white horse, and sat behind Tophy, who had already gotten on the horse and couldn't wait.