The attendant knocked on the door of the room, and after a "come in" was heard, he pushed the door open and entered.
"Good morning, Jazz!"
The attendant saluted respectfully to the person standing in the room. That was the master he served - Viscount Auston Klein.
The young Viscount with brown hair smiled and responded, "Good morning, Bowman."
Judging from his complexion and meticulously dressed clothes, he had been up for a long time.
The attendant said in a slightly "blaming" tone. "You can sleep a little longer. After all, we discussed it so late at the meeting yesterday, and there is no need for you to go on duty on the city wall now."
Viscount Klein shook his head. "As a knight, even if there are no external constraints, you cannot relax your requirements on yourself."
Bowman felt infinite admiration in his heart, he really thought he was a strict self-discipline.
The squire Bowman is the eldest son of a low-level knight family near Thorn Fortress. He has just turned 16 this year. In order to make his son a knight, his father sent him to the Dodge Family for training when he was 8 years old. Bowman and a dozen other friends spent 8 years boarding at the Dodge Family. When Old Duke had nothing to do, he would often personally train these young knights and teach them skills in combat, equestrianism, etc., and their education in literature, etiquette and other knowledge was taught by the Duchess.
This year, the south launched a rebellion led by Duke Giles. Thorn Fortress in the territory of the Dodge Family suddenly became the first line of defense to stop the rebels from moving north. Bowman, who had grown powerful, also followed Duke Dodge to station at Thorn Fortress.
The rebels in the south were busy cleaning up the lords who were still loyal to the Royal Family around them, and did not attack Thorn Fortress for the time being, and Dodge Family's troops were not strong enough to take the initiative. Princess Princess Catherine, who was cleaning up the barbarian harassment on Eastern Highlands, immediately sent a cavalry team to help them defend the fortress.
After a period of high tension, we received bad news. Because Crystal Radiance's granary caught fire and suffered huge losses, Kingdom Army's main force was unable to go south for the time being. They could only send an advance force led by Viscount Klein to help them strengthen Thorn Fortress's defense force.
It was at that time that Bowman was recommended to Viscount Klein by Duke Dodge and became a squire, starting the second stage of his journey to becoming a knight.
Viscount Klein stretched out his arms, "Sorry to trouble you, Bowman."
Bowman immediately said, "Where, this is what I should do."
Then he went to the armor stand in the corner of the room, took off a component hanging on it, and put it on Viscount.
In fact, the armor on the stand is just a pair of casual armor, which Klein can do by himself. However, it is the duty of a knight's squire to help the master put on the armor, and it can also make the squires more familiar with various types of armor, so in the first year of becoming squires, they must do this job.
Bowman helped Klein put on the armor very neatly. He was already very familiar with the steps.
"This damn war really makes it impossible to relax at all."
Klein complained in his heart. In fact, he didn't like the feeling of walking around in armor all day long, but after all, he was on the front line and there was nothing he could do about it.
"Let's go, follow me to Duke's place for breakfast."
The two walked out of the room one after the other.
As soon as they came to the corridor, they met Viscount Lester who turned around the corner, the cavalry commander who was first assigned by the princess to rescue Thorn Fortress.
Viscount Klein was the first to say hello, "Good morning, Lester. Thank you for your hard work for being on duty all night."
Attendant Bowman also immediately presented his luggage to him.
"Yeah."
Lester just gave a faint hum, but there was still no expression on his face.
Bowman couldn't help complaining in his heart again. "Isn't this adult born with facial paralysis?"
He has never seen Lester smile in daily life. He does this to his subordinates, colleagues, and even Duke, always with a cold face.
Klein, who has worked with Lester for many years, is used to it. He has long understood the habits of his colleague.
The three of them walked together to the hall of the fortress castle, where Duke Dodge invited them to have breakfast yesterday.
Klein asked as he walked, "Nothing happened last night, right?"
Just when he was fully expecting the answer of "no", the other party disappointed his hope.
"Yes."
Klein asked in surprise, "What happened?"
At this time, the troops in the fortress cannot stop the rebels from attacking with all their strength.
Lester said, "A scout covered in blood escaped back, but there were 6 other people who set out with him to explore the enemy's situation."
"Did he detect anything?"
Lester shook his head. "He fainted just after he came back. He had his wounds treated by doctors. Fortunately, he saved his life, but he hasn't woken up yet."
Klein showed a sympathetic look. "May Father in Heaven have mercy on him. This is the first time that the scouts have suffered such heavy losses, right? He probably ran into an enemy that far outnumbered him."
But then he said strangely, "As a scout, shouldn't it be a basic skill to detect and determine the strength of the enemy and ourselves in time? Even if you encounter a superior enemy, as long as you retreat in time, the entire army will not be almost wiped out. Are all the people released this time novices?"
Lester shook his head again. "No, they are all veterans, so this is a big loss."
"It seems that we can only ask about the specific situation after he wakes up."
"Yes."
The two soon arrived at the castle hall and found Duke Dodge already sitting inside waiting for them.
"I've kept you waiting for a long time, Duke."
"I'm sorry."
The two men quickly greeted the Duke.
Duke Dodge waved his hand and said, "It's okay. I just got here. Besides, it's still early before the time we agreed on. Come and sit down quickly."
After the two thanked them, they came to the table and found a seat to sit down. Their attendants stood behind each of them to listen to the master's call at any time. Only after the person they served finished eating could the attendants start to enjoy their own breakfast.
While waiting for breakfast, Lester reported the scouting matter to the Duke.
"Well... this is really a huge loss. These are not farmers who have just put down their hoes and picked up their spears. It is still very difficult to train a qualified scout."
The Duke was obviously a little distressed.
"Sir, what I'm worried about is that the other side may have stepped up its counter-reconnaissance efforts and concealed its large-scale mobilization and true deployment by hunting down and eliminating enemy scouts. Therefore... this is likely to be a prelude to a large-scale attack."
Klein expressed his judgment, and Lester sitting next to him nodded in agreement.
Duke Dodge frowned. "Your worries are not unreasonable. The fortress must be prepared at all times. After breakfast, I will issue an order to inform the officers of each unit of the situation."
Klein further suggested. "The rebels have been stationed opposite us for a long time without attacking, which has caused some generals in the fortress to relax. I think you should call the officers of each unit to talk face to face and let them know the seriousness of the matter."
Duke Dodge stroked his beard and secretly admired the young man in front of him.
He was about to speak when suddenly a guard ran into the hall.
"The scout who came back last night woke up and said he had something important to report."