Chapter 374 7.28 Bonur Elan

It was late at night.

Alfred didn't have much time to waste.

There were 1,000 troops following Clint into the Yun Province. When the seawater completely filled the Baiyun Valley, most of them could not resist the siege of the "drowned people" for too long.

In order to save the lives of his adoptive father as much as possible, Alfred had to lead the reinforcements as soon as possible. Therefore, at this time, he could only choose to go to a manor and then lead the troops to Yun Province.

After a brief three-minute thought, he did not choose to go to a Viking farm again.

This time he chose a castle.

**

In terms of area, "Salt County" is half the size of Loki's former territory "River Valley".

However, despite its small area, 80% of the land in Salt County is fertile soil that is easy to cultivate. Even the uncultivated wilderness is much better than the barren frozen soil of the Scandinavian Peninsula.

The sufficient arable land makes the province have 8 castles belonging to the nobles.

After occupying the province, most of the English nobles were expelled, and only one was left by Loki.

The reason is simple, this "Bonuel Elan" is Elizabeth's uncle.

As one of the few relatives in the Elan family who can get along well with Elizabeth, when the Vikings divided the spoils, Elizabeth had implicitly marked whether her uncle could keep the castle that her ancestors had worked hard for more than ten generations.

As the savior of the entire Viking family, Loki always obeyed Elizabeth's words. Therefore, Bonuel Elan became the only Mercian in Normandy who could keep his territory.

Through a brief conversation at the dinner table, Alfred learned that the reason why Elizabeth was willing to help this relative was that this uncle donated about 500-1000 gold pounds to the Oxfordshire Orphanage every year to maintain the daily expenses of the orphanage.

In the cause of "charity", most Mercian nobles are willing to participate in it, but almost all of them are only enthusiastic for three minutes. Only this "Bonur" has been sending money on time every year for more than ten years.

At the dinner table, Elizabeth mentioned it casually. Loki had more than 10,000 official business to deal with in his mind, so he didn't pay too much attention. Only Alfred sneered twice and didn't comment.

The castle ruled by Bonur is located on the main traffic route from north to south in Mercia.

Here, he built the largest market in the province, and relying on the merchants and people coming and going, it gradually developed into the largest market in several nearby provinces.

In addition to the market, in recent years he has also developed brothels, casinos, theaters, and even a large public bath. Within 10 years, this emerging city called "Sheffield" may even replace the Seawatch Fortress and become the largest city in Yan County.

Considering the transaction volume alone, the wealth that this market can bring him every year is close to 100,000.

But this miser only took out a few hundred gold pounds to help his niece.

Such a person can't be called generous in any way.

The fundamental reason why Alfred chose to go to "Sheffield" under Bonur's command was that he wanted to fight against the strange creatures in the "Cloud Province". Simply relying on swinging an axe to chop was too tiring.

There were many "insect-attached people", and the "drowned people" were like tree stumps without weaknesses and immortal.

Looking at the entire province, only "Sheffield" had kerosene that could kill enemies on a large scale, and black gunpowder sold by Tang merchants.

This was a weapon for slaughtering large groups of densely stationed enemies.

If the 2,000 light cavalry in the city could be taken out, and militias could be recruited at the same time, all the kerosene and black gunpowder in the city could be urgently requisitioned.

When the Vikings slaughtered the insect-attached people, the casualties would be greatly reduced.

**

Alfred's idea was good.

However, he forgot a crucial point, Bonur was not a Viking who had been following Loki for a long time.

His compatriots being surrounded could not arouse any empathy from him. After the army entered the city, he was in a daze for an hour before waking up from the bed and getting dressed.

Out of respect for his adoptive mother, Alfred did not get angry immediately. He honestly explained his purpose to his uncle.

However, what he got in return was a few ruthless ridicules.

"Your Highness, do you really think of yourself as a Viking?"

"What do these beasts have to do with us, whether they live or die?"

"What's more, all the English people are eager to stay away from the hot potato of 'Yun Province' as much as possible, and you are still actively getting close to those damn French people?"

"Didn't Ecbert tell you how those French bastards pressed us to the ground and humiliated us 12 years ago?"

After saying these four sentences, Alfred's face gradually darkened.

All his tolerance for Bonur was based on only one point.

His last name was Elan.

He was the uncle of his adoptive mother.

In Wessex, no noble dared to speak to him like this. In Alfred's 15 years of life, he lived under the wings of Ecbert and never received any teachings from the "elders".

Unexpectedly, the first time in his life that he was taught a lesson by a relative came from an outsider from Mercia. What made him even more angry was that this person was actually the younger brother of the "honest man" Elan.

Alfred suddenly felt that the blood in his body was burning at the same time.

15-year-old youths are full of youthful vigor. Seeing that the long night is about to end, if he cannot return to Yun Province before the sun rises the next day, old man Clint and all his men will lose their lives.

He is Loki's adopted son.

When his adoptive father is not in the province, he is the acting lord of this land. Clint, Wolf Eye Sicord, and Feis Sea Claw are all his people.

The chivalry engraved in his bones forced him to do everything he could to send them home safely.

With a light sound, he pulled out the "Soul Breaker".

"Bonur Elan, I warn you in the name of the Duke's adopted son! All nobles in the Normandy region must always respond to the Duke's call for battle!

If you disobey, I can immediately confiscate your property and execute you on the spot!"

Bonur glanced at him contemptuously.

"Hehe"

"Hehe"

"Your Highness, this is Normandy, not your hometown Wessex! You must see clearly that everything Duke Loki got today was given to him by my Elan family!"

"Without us, he is nothing!"

"Hehe, a bunch of rough northerners who have some hooligan fighting skills, killing our compatriots and occupying our land!"

"If the evil god can wipe out all these northern bastards, I will build ten temples for this great evil god tomorrow!"

Stretching out a slender finger with a sapphire ring, he pointed to Alfred's forehead.

"Boy, remember this!"

"Although we are not of the same clan or surname, you and I are both English! Don't think that just because those Viking wolves played with you for two days, you can stand with those pagans!"

"It's a pity that you are not my biological son. If I had a son like you who recognized a thief as his father, I would have long ago..."

Bonur didn't finish his words, because he suddenly found a cold foreign object piercing his chest.

Looking down, it was the sword in Alfred's hand.

"You"

The cold-blooded young man ignored him. He drew out the weapon cleanly and neatly, and in the blood rain that filled the sky, Bonur Elan screamed and fell to the ground and died miserably.

Alfred shook off the blood drops on the "Soul Breaker" and looked at a servant behind him.

"What's your name?"

The young servant was obviously shocked by the scene in front of him. The corners of his mouth trembled, and he said his name tremblingly.

"Okay, from now on, you are the acting ruler of Sheffield! I need you to do a few things for me."

Although it was dark, the soldiers in the barracks and most of the shops were asleep, and Alfred completed all the purposes of his trip within an hour.

The attendant walked into the barracks with Bonur's token and summoned all the troops stationed there, totaling 3,000 infantry and cavalry.

In addition, he also mobilized 30 carts of kerosene and more than 20 barrels of black gunpowder from the warehouse. All the supplies were urgently loaded onto carriages by the militia and followed the troops to the outside of the city.

Alfred had the identity of "the Duke's adopted son", and the attendant held the city lord token on Bonur's waist, so they did not arouse any suspicion.

Of course, he would not be stupid enough to announce to the whole city that the city lord had died in his hands.

So far, when he walked out of "Sheffield" with 4,000 troops and sufficient supplies, the darkness before dawn had arrived.

He had gathered all the troops needed for a counterattack.

The decisive battle with the "Cult of Dagon" is just around the corner!