The Besieged Castle

"And your name?"

Logan had the jailer bring over a chair and sat down, asking in a gentle tone.

"Bell! Sir, my name is Bell!"

Bell answered with a trembling voice, clearly not having recovered from his earlier fear.

"Where are you from? Who do you serve? Why are you here? If I find you lying, the same punishment will be inflicted upon you!"

Logan's expression remained unchanged, still peaceful, but his words sent shivers down Bell's spine, making him tremble.

"Please don't do that!" Bell pleaded.

"Then tell me the truth, without any concealment!" Logan said, expressionless.

"I am Bell from Goer Castle, serving Baron Lobean Gavin of Goer Castle. He ordered me to come here to find an opportunity to figure out the location of the gate switch. He wants me to secretly open the castle gate and let them in when they attack!"

"Are you sure you're not lying?" Logan stared intently into Bell's eyes, applying pressure. People usually show irregularities when lying, and as a spymaster, he naturally knew all about them.

"Yes, my lord, I swear to the Holy Father I am not lying, everything is true!" Bell exclaimed.

Logan carefully observed Bell's expression and demeanor as he spoke and found him to be acting normally.

"Very good, you've earned my trust! Now you don't have to worry about being punished!" Logan said, then hastily left the dungeon.

He knew that if this information was true, he had to inform the Baron immediately. At this moment, Morland Castle had fewer than ten guards and a dozen free folk acting as defenders, making its defenses extremely weak. If a Baron launched a full-scale attack, it would be difficult to hold out even with the help of a sturdy castle.

"Baron! Get on your horse and deliver this letter to the Baron immediately! Be quick! The Baron must know this news tonight!" Logan said, then immediately went to Lady Moreland, Reiner's mother. When the lord was away, it was usually the lord's wife who managed the territory's affairs. Reiner was still unmarried, so his mother was the one in charge.

"Respected Lady!" Logan knocked on the door.

After gaining permission, he entered Lady Moreland's room.

"Lady, there is an urgent matter I must report to you!"

"What's happening? My dear Mr. Logan?" Lady Moreland asked. She knew he was the spymaster appointed by her son, and his presence here surely meant something important.

"It's like this, Lady. You know I caught an unidentified person on the city wall today. After my interrogation, he confessed to his actions. He is a spy from the neighboring Goer Castle, south of Morland Castle. He plans to open the castle gate and let them in when Baron Goer attacks our castle!"

"A crisis is upon us! The Baron is leading the army in the north to resist the Krad People's invasion, and we don't know when the enemy will arrive in our territory. We must organize a strict defense! Because I don't know if there are other spies lurking in our castle! Lady, I came here hoping to get your cooperation to order the guards to be vigilant!"

Lady Moreland nodded after listening. As the former Baron's wife, she often managed many things. After hearing Logan's words, she took the matter very seriously and replied, "Alright, Mr. Logan, I will order the guards to increase their vigilance according to your suggestion. I also hope you can try to control the situation within the castle and not give others an opportunity!"

Baron was a squire in the castle. His father had spent a large sum of money to send him to Reiner's castle, hoping that one day he could earn a salary on the battlefield and become a knight, even if it was just a knight without land.

For ordinary people in this era, even becoming a knight of the lowest rank was extremely difficult. While it wasn't quite like ascending to heaven, it was definitely far beyond what ordinary commoners could achieve.

Countless free folk sold off their property to join nobles or knights, just hoping to one day become a true knight.

He galloped furiously on his horse, the whistling cold wind piercing through his thick cotton coat and into his bones. Despite the extreme cold, he didn't slow down. The letter sealed with wax was tucked into his embrace. Although he didn't know what was written inside, he knew it must be of crucial importance.

If he could deliver it to Reiner in time, perhaps he could even receive some reward.

The winter night was even darker, with no light from the moon in the sky. The torch in his hand flickered erratically due to the horse's speed.

Meanwhile, at the border between Goer Castle and Morland Castle, a short fiery serpent was advancing towards Morland Castle. This was precisely the army led by Baron Lobean of Goer Castle, preparing to attack Morland Castle.

This force consisted of nearly three hundred men. To organize this army, Baron Lobean mobilized all adult males in his territory who could fight, except for his seventy regular soldiers and ten knights. The rest were light infantry composed of free folk or conscripted serfs.

This war was kept secret, so Viscount Lobean did not allow accompanying merchants or camp followers. Besides essential supplies, no extraneous baggage accompanied the troops.

"Have you noticed anything unusual?" On the walls of Morland Castle, Logan, dressed in simple leather armor and holding a longsword, asked the guards on the wall.

"Nothing unusual, my lord, we haven't found anything amiss!" the armed free folk guard replied.

"Very good, stay vigilant! Someone might try to launch a sneak attack on us!" Before Logan could finish speaking, a flicker of light appeared in the dark, silent snow.

"What's that! Oh my god!" The guard beside him gasped, his mouth wide open. He hadn't expected such an unexpected situation to actually occur.

"Damn it!" Logan slammed his fist on the battlements and cursed in a low voice, "These wretched bastards! They've come after all!"

"Blow the horn immediately!" Logan commanded the guards.

A soldier immediately grabbed a bronze horn from the gatehouse control room, took a deep breath of cold air, puffed out his cheeks, and blew the bronze horn, signaling danger.

A high-pitched, sharp sound rang out. The soldiers guarding the arrow towers nearby also blew the bronze horns equipped on their towers. The metallic horn sounds reverberated and echoed above the castle, causing a wave of panic among those who heard them.

The faint, intermittent sound of the bronze horn spread outwards, reaching the Goer Castle army not far from the castle.

Baron Robert frowned, knowing he had been discovered. However, he quickly relaxed his furrowed brow. It didn't matter if he had been discovered now; they would be spotted by the defenders on the walls soon anyway. He was well aware that the castle's defensive forces were very weak.

Therefore, whether or not they had been discovered no longer seemed important.