Chapter 73: The Leak of the Baron of Loughborough

Pierre swung his sword heavily, the blade piercing through the gaps in the enemy's armor, embedding deeply into the flesh, causing blood to spurt out.

Watching the enemy fall, Pierre scanned his surroundings again. All the enemies around him had fallen, and the knights who had charged with him were collecting spoils and counting their captives.

This time, luck did not follow Pierre. He didn't capture a single knight, which made him feel very frustrated. If this were modern times, it would be like investing public funds but not earning a penny, giving the feeling of working for nothing.

"Pierre, you ran for nothing this time, huh?" Guillaume rode up to Pierre. "Did you get hurt?"

"Thank God, not a scratch, but I didn't earn anything either," Pierre complained.

Guillaume came to his side, patting his shoulder. "Don't always think about these things, young man. You have many more opportunities to go to the battlefield. If you always think about making a fortune in one battle, that's impossible."

Pierre understood Guillaume's words and knew they were true, but he still felt upset, feeling like he had lost out. To vent his frustration, Pierre kicked an enemy corpse hard, as if to release all his anger on it.

"The surcoat on this man..." Guillaume's gaze turned to it. "Is this the coat of arms of the Baron of Loughborough's family?"

"Guillaume?"

A prisoner not far away suddenly spoke. Guillaume turned around, looking at the prisoner, and his face showed a surprised expression. He quickly walked over, looking at the prisoner's face.

"Sebastian, what are you doing here?"

From Guillaume's tone, it was clear that the two were acquaintances. The knight named Sebastian said, "I had no choice. My territory is caught between the Earl of Derby and young Robert. If I didn't follow them, my land would suffer. But what a coincidence, what brings you here?"

"Me?" Guillaume pointed at himself. "My original position was taken by old Roches from Anjou, so the king sent me to follow Prince John, and the prince is now in Lancaster."

After hearing this, Sebastian showed an enlightened expression, his beard moving along with it.

"Then please send my regards to the prince. I really had no choice." Sebastian patted his warhorse. "Your knights are indeed fine lads. Maybe it's just that I'm old. If it were in the past, I wouldn't have been captured so easily."

Guillaume nodded. "Of course, you were quite a hand in your youth. By the way, what's going on over there? Why has young Robert been staying in Rochdale without moving?"

Upon hearing Guillaume's question, Sebastian suddenly displayed a mysterious expression, as if he was hiding a huge secret. Leaning towards Guillaume, Sebastian whispered, "The Earl of Derby has been imprisoned!"

The surrounding knights watched Guillaume's changing expression, finding it more thrilling than any drama they'd seen in a whole year. They began whispering among themselves, curious about what Guillaume had heard.

At that moment, Guillaume felt his brain working at lightning speed, almost as if it were evolving. The information was so overwhelming that Guillaume's brain, accustomed to decades of use, struggled to keep up and nearly overloaded.

Seeing Guillaume's astonished expression seemed to please Sebastian. He leaned in again, continuing to reveal the internal secrets from young Robert's side.

"The Earl of Derby was coaxed into joining the rebellion from the start. When we arrived here, we found that Prince John had already deployed his troops. The Earl of Derby began to cause trouble, feeling that young Robert had deceived him. He argued with young Robert in front of everyone."

"Young Robert has a bad temper. He knocked the Earl of Derby down on the spot and had him imprisoned."

"The problem is, even though the Earl of Derby is not very capable, he has good relations with many nobles. Young Robert imprisoning him like this has naturally upset us. I'm relatively fine, but the knights from Derbyshire are the ones causing the most trouble."

Guillaume listened intently, his face revealing an extremely focused expression. 

Sebastian, encouraged by Guillaume's attention, continued, "Now, young Robert can't control the knights from Derbyshire, and those of us who were forced to come here don't want to follow him anymore. Rumors are spreading throughout the camp, like young Robert wanting to kill us all or something, and everyone is very worried."

Sebastian had effectively exposed all of young Robert's vulnerabilities. Initially, Guillaume knew nothing about the situation on young Robert's side. But with the intelligence provided by Sebastian, it was as if he had been given a pair of x-ray glasses.

Once the fog of war is lifted, the entire game becomes infinitely simpler.

"By the way, where did your army come from? We had no idea that Prince John had such a force in England. Is he planning a rebellion too?" Sebastian continued to mutter.

Guillaume responded kindly, "No, this army was brought by the prince from Ireland. I'll convey your regards to the prince, Sebastian."

This was essentially a polite way of telling Sebastian to leave. 

Despite his tendency to talk a lot, Sebastian wasn't a fool. Realizing he was still a prisoner, he nodded in agreement. Watching Guillaume walk away, the knight who had captured Sebastian felt a bit at a loss.

"Are you a friend of Sir Guillaume?" the knight asked.

Sebastian shook his head, "No, I'm not his friend. When I was young, I captured him multiple times during tournaments. I demanded ransom until he was nearly bankrupt, which is why he joined the royal guard."

The knight was stunned by this revelation and dared not lay a hand on Sebastian.

Meanwhile, Guillaume found Jacques. 

"I've just learned some incredible information. We need to hurry back and report to the prince," Guillaume said with a serious expression.

Jacques asked curiously, "What information?"

Guillaume took off his helmet and glanced back at the chaotic battlefield. It wouldn't be long before young Robert's soldiers discovered the scene, and they needed to leave quickly. 

More importantly, the information Sebastian had given Guillaume needed to reach John as soon as possible. The strategic value of this intelligence could not be underestimated; it would influence John's next move and potentially change the course of the entire war.

"Regroup the troops!" Guillaume ordered loudly, calling all the royal guards to gather.

Jacques raised the banner high, following closely beside Guillaume, leading the unit away from the enemy camp. Their original destination was their camp located southwest of Rochdale.

"Everyone, return to Lancaster!"