It seems that the villain is targeting me.

The arrow did not hit her. At the critical moment, the Red Moon Knight arrived in time and chopped it away.

Hongyue was shouting something to the knight outside the house, but Xiaoniao could no longer hear him.

A nerve in her head was twitching, and her chest felt like it was being pressed hard by something, making it impossible for her to breathe. The pain of suffocation made Xiao Niao instinctively want to grab something, but her fingers were so numb that she could hardly clench them.

She didn't even realize that she had lost consciousness for a few seconds.

When Xiao Niao's body was shaking, the Red Moon Knight immediately reached out and hugged her, and then his face showed an extremely panicked expression.

Xiao Niao's body was stiff, his lips were purple, his right hand was unconsciously clutching his chest, his back was uncontrollably arched, and he was curled up in Hongyue's arms.

Her eyes were not completely closed, but she could not see anything clearly. Her brain was blank because of the feeling of suffocation. Her pupils were dilated and unfocused, and cold sweat broke out on the back of her neck.

Hongyue was completely panicked. She tried to pry open Xiaoniao's hands that were tightly clenched around her chest, but found that the other person's wrists had no strength at all. She could only let her pull his arms apart, and his skin was frighteningly cold.

Xiao Niao lost consciousness for a short time, only about ten seconds. Soon his body trembled and he exhaled with a trembling breath.

She slowly closed her eyelids and fell softly into the arms of the Red Moon Knight.

The Red Moon Knight bent down and held her carefully, gently as if he was treating a fragile and precious piece of porcelain. She could feel the chaotic heartbeat deep in the bird's chest.

Red Moon Knight didn't know what was happening, but instinctively felt that Xiao Niao was 'alive' again - it was not until now that Red Moon realized that her hands were shaking, as if she had also suffered the same pain as Xiao Niao.

After a long while, she observed the expression on the bird's face and slowly asked, "Sir? Are you okay?

"

Hongyue's voice was filled with fear: "Are you hurt... How do you feel now?"

Xiao Niao gasped for breath, her fingers trembling as she placed them on the Red Moon Knight's shoulders, shaking her head slightly.

"...I'm fine, I just felt a little uncomfortable in my heart...I'm fine now." Xiao Niao closed his eyes and leaned softly in her arms, "Hongyue...don't tell anyone else."

"But--"

"...What's the situation outside?" Xiao Niao tried to cheer himself up. "How many assassins are there? What are our casualties?"

"Those men were not assassins, sir," the Red Moon Knight replied, "but rather lousy bandits who saw anyone passing by and wanted to rob them."

The Red Moon Knight suddenly remembered the arrow he had just broken.

She didn't know why Xiao Niao suddenly became like that, but that group of bandits really threatened Xiao Niao's life. She cursed herself in hatred in her heart, wondering why she had to leave at that time.

Xiao Niao had no strength left in her body, and her eyes were blurry and she couldn't see clearly, but the words of the Red Moon Knight still reached her ears.

Xiao Niao breathed a sigh of relief: It wasn't an assassin, just a bandit.

Fortunately, fortunately, things are far from the worst. Her whereabouts have not been discovered yet, and she should still be safe.

She cannot be discovered by those people for the time being, so that the plan can proceed smoothly - Xiao Niao already has a new plan in mind as to what to do next.

But before that, she still has to fight against her broken body.

Xiao Niao didn't know whether it was a heart attack or shock, but at that moment half of her body was numb and she couldn't move, and she could hardly breathe. She felt extremely uncomfortable.

The Red Moon Knight helped her stand up slowly, and Xiao Niao took a while to regain her balance.

She looked at the worried Red Moon Knight again and whispered a warning.

"Remember, don't tell anyone else." Xiao Niao said, "Especially... don't tell Gwen."

Chapter 106: Little Bird: Every time I think of it, I have to slap myself

This morning, William Gardner, the Lord who ruled over the Riverlands, received some particularly bad news.

The captain of his guards delivered an expedited letter to him, bearing the emblem of a griffin.

When Earl William saw the pattern on the envelope, his heart skipped a beat: it was a letter from the palace, which asked him to lead the family knights to the battlefield in the name of the emperor and join the "holy war to defend the orthodox royal family."

In addition to these, the letter also stated a request to requisition food from the people and castles under his rule - if he was willing to do so, the emperor would give the Gardner family generous rewards after the victory and grant him the title of duke.

After William finished reading the contents of the letter, he threw the envelope onto the table, supported himself on the table with his hands, and leaned over to look at the letter.

Earl William did not show too much surprise, he just thought calmly: Here it comes.

The letter from the royal family asking for help from the local lord finally reached him.

Before this, he had been pretending to be deaf and dumb, avoiding what was happening in the outside world as much as possible, and trying his best to maintain stability and tranquility in the territory.

William Gardner did not want to fight, especially not in the Riverlands, but the moment the army from the capital set foot on his land, everything was no longer under his control.

This year, the people under his command have paid four taxes: one grain tax and three war taxes. Most of the food that the farmers had left over from last year was used to pay taxes. If the spring plowing cannot proceed normally this year, there will be famine in the city by winter.

Because it was very close to the capital, William did not dare to resist paying taxes, because the capital's army could reach his city in just a few days.

The current emperor may not be very good at solving problems, but when it comes to whipping his subjects, he is as fierce as if he has been injected with chicken blood.

And at this juncture, the capital city had to send the main labor force in its territory to die on the battlefield: it was said that they were requisitioning the people, but anyone with a little bit of common sense knew that they were recruiting cannon fodder.

This was a letter asking him to take sides, but from the moment he saw it, the balance in Earl William's heart completely tilted in the opposite direction.

He heard that Gwyneth Tudor would never disturb the residents in the city after breaking through the city walls. Some people did not believe what she said and offered food to avoid being robbed, but she sent them back as they were.

Originally, these actions of Gwen seemed nothing special when viewed individually, but with the precedent of the emperor of the capital city plundering the residents' food rations, the people suddenly felt that the Queen of Thorns was so wise that she was unparalleled in the world.

So, when it comes to matters like public opinion, your own efforts alone won't make much difference.

We still have to rely on the support of our peers!

Earl William sighed in his heart, but when he saw the unfortunate letter again, he still felt very troubled.

He had already decided to stand on Xiao Niao's side, but he didn't know how to respond to the emperor's call: feign illness and refuse? Or simply pretend he didn't see it and just drag it out?

Hejian is of great strategic significance.

The emperor would never let him go. If Earl William pretended to be dead for too long and never responded, it was very likely that the army collecting grain would appear directly under his city walls.

Just as the Earl was struggling in his study, the Grand Secretary suddenly opened the door and hurried in. He whispered to William, "Master, Butcher has returned and is looking for you."

Earl William was shocked and quickly asked the Grand Secretary to bring the person to the study, and told him to come in through the secret passage so that others would not see anyone entering his study.

The Grand Secretary sent the servants away and acted as carefully as possible, leading Xiao Niao and Red Moon Knight into the study.

"Butcher," Earl William came forward upon seeing Xiao Niao, "Why did you suddenly turn back? This is too risky. Did you get discovered along the way?"

Xiao Niao shook his head at him: "The journey was not smooth. Our way was blocked by the army and there was no way to get through."

"No wonder," Earl William also frowned. "I've heard that rumor too. Once those people in the capital knew you were in the Riverlands, they would definitely try every possible means to trap you."

He paused for a few seconds, picked up the letter on the table and handed it to Xiao Niao: "... Let's not talk about this, Butcher, come and take a look at this letter."

Earl William directly handed the letter from the royal family to Xiaoniao to read. This was undoubtedly an expression of his position. The moment he handed over the letter, he had already made his choice.

Xiao Niao saw the griffin ink on the envelope, but she was not too surprised. She just reached out to take the letter and read it quickly.

After a while, a very subtle expression appeared on the bird's face.

Count William didn't notice this detail, but said to himself: "How should I respond to this letter now? Ignoring it directly will definitely alert the emperor. What do you think of me pretending to have tuberculosis..."

Xiao Niao held the letter in his hand and shook it up and down, saying, "It's well written. Promise them."

William continued, "Or maybe chickenpox would be fine? An infectious disease wouldn't force me to send troops, would it? Huh?!"

"Ah," William Gardner stared at Xiao Niao blankly, "Ah, ah?"

Xiao Niao put down the letter in his hand and said, "You heard me right. This letter comes at the perfect time. Please write back and tell them that the entire Gardener family will serve the royal family."

Earl William had the expression of an old man on the subway looking at his phone, his brows furrowed so tightly that they could kill a mosquito. He stared at Xiao Niao for a long moment before asking, "...What do you want to do?"

Xiao Niao did not hide anything and she told William her plan in detail.

This time, the Earl was silent for an even longer time, and it took him a long time to find his voice: "This is indeed an idea, but do you know how much infamy you will bear if you do this..."

Xiao Niao didn't even blink: "I don't worry about too much debt, and I don't feel itchy when I have too many lice. Don't I get scolded enough?"

Xiao Niao: "You don't have to worry about it. I was the one who proposed this matter, and I will definitely be responsible for the outcome. If you are really worried, you can use my banner when the time comes."

"That's crazy," William couldn't help but raise his voice. "Even if you succeed, what good will you get? Don't you know what the emperor is like? If she then-"

"I don't care." Xiao Niao said nonchalantly.

Earl William was choked and speechless.

He hesitated for a moment before giving up and saying, "Okay, whatever you want."

Xiao Niao's gaze swept across the room and silently fell on his hands.

Earl William asked the last question: "...should we inform Tudor about this?"

Xiao Niao shook his head: "The news can't be spread now, and the fewer people who know about this, the better."

I won’t tell her, Xiao Niao thought to himself.

------

-

It was very abrupt, and there was that ominous feeling.

It was as if a needle had pricked a spot on the tip of her heart. The wound was small but dripped blood painfully, causing her breath to become stuck in her throat and her mind to be filled with indescribable panic.

This feeling seemed to have grown stronger since the army entered the Riverlands.

Gwyneth tried hard to ignore the ominous premonition in her heart. She looked into the distance and felt something dangling gently beside her earlobe, which brought a slight itch. She quickly gathered her thoughts and refocused her attention on the scout in front of her.

The scout was reporting the battle situation to her. "My Lord, the scouts have already conducted reconnaissance. They have gathered all their troops near the Sancha River. They estimate the infantry force to be around 30,000, not the 50,000 they claimed."

Gwyneth made a rough estimate in her mind and found that the result was within her expectations.

As the situation changed over the past few months, she and Xiao Niao carefully estimated the number of die-hard supporters the Hamilton family could win over, and expected that they would be able to gather about 10 legions of troops in the final battle.

Only lords can train and support cavalry, and now basically half of the lords in the empire have turned to Tudor, and the other half still belong to the royal family, so the cavalry strength of both sides is not much different.

But in terms of the number of infantry, Gwyneth had a full 6,000 fewer men than the enemy.

Gwyneth glanced again at the man half-kneeling on the ground waiting for a reply

The scout asked, "Any news about Butcher? Can you confirm his safety now?"

The news that the little bird had gone to the Riverlands actually came from Gwyneth. A speculator with ulterior motives had sneaked into her employ. While working for her, he secretly sold the information to the royal family, playing both sides and making bets.

Gwyneth dealt with the traitor who leaked the information in a very cruel way, and took the opportunity to purge the internal forces - but no matter how she remedied the situation afterwards, the information had already been leaked.

Since then, she has never received any letter from Xiaoniao, nor has she received any news about her.

"We can't confirm Lord Butcher's safety yet," the scout replied. "The Imperial Army has been very defensive lately. Our men can neither get in nor out."

Gwyneth responded with a hint of disappointment, but she didn't blame the scout. She simply ordered, "Report any news concerning Butcher to me immediately... Go and inform the other generals of the Imperial Army's strength and deployment."

A military mobilization of this scale cannot be concealed. When the two armies come into contact, the comparison of their respective troop strengths can be clearly seen. Gwyneth knows the situation on the opposite side, and her own troop strength situation will obviously be known to the enemy generals.

The current battle situation is still difficult and is far from being secured. Gwyneth's staff and generals felt a little heavy after listening to the scout's report.

Gwyneth may indeed be an excellent cavalry general, and the central region is also a plain terrain that can best bring out the advantages of cavalry, but she has almost no experience in commanding large-scale army operations.

But it is different for the royal family. After all, they had conquered the country with real soldiers and horses. Even if the brightest star has fallen, there are always a few capable people in this huge country.

They were almost being chased out to the city wall, and the royal family naturally realized that the situation was not good. After several uncles, nephews and nephews fought for power and stabbed each other, they actually sent out their two most powerful veteran generals.

Although these two veterans are not as skilled in military operations as General Banur, they are also leaders in this field - they are experienced and battle-hardened people, and the line they form will not be easily broken through.

At the same time, the Hamilton family put all the troops they could muster into the battle, and they gambled their lives on it.

Gwyneth's side is at a disadvantage in terms of numbers, and coupled with the lack of experience of the coach, it is hard to say what the outcome will be.

There is only one thing that is certain: this will be a tough battle.

Even though she had won more battles than she lost in the previous battles, and even had a glorious record of three victories in one day, Gwyneth still couldn't help but feel nervous when it came to the decisive moment.

She knew that she could not lose even once, while the royal family could lose countless times. Even if they were defeated in this battle, they could retreat to the capital and rely on the strong city walls to continue to fight Gwyneth.

Gwen couldn't afford a war of attrition or a protracted war. Her army had come here after a long journey. Not only was they at a disadvantage in numbers, but they also couldn't sustain their food supplies for long.

The decisive battle is bound to break out in a very short time, and she may only have one chance. If she cannot kill the opponent in one go, all her previous efforts will be in vain.

But Gwyneth is not without a backup plan. She has a secret ally in the Riverlands.

Gwyneth thought: There has been no news yet, Levi should have turned back and met up with their allies.

When two people get along for a long time, they will have such a tacit understanding: without words or deep thinking, they can guess what the other person will do next with just a glance or even just subconscious intuition.

Gwen was already familiar with the bird's way of thinking. She knew that when the situation changed, the bird would also adapt to the situation.

No news is the best news, which means that the bird has hidden itself and has not been caught by the royal family.

She is safe now.

This gave Gwyneth a sense of relief from the bottom of her heart.