The Marshes of Guadyaze are still so foggy, even in the early autumn, they are always covered in haze during the day and evening, because of the humid climate of the marshes, but to outsiders who enter the marshes, it seems that there is always some terrible monster hidden in the foggy darkness.

The icons on the road into the swamp had been destroyed before, and Don Bavi had the obvious markings broken before leaving his domain, and although they must have kept some secret notes to make contact with the monastery in the swamp, it would be dangerous to walk through the swamp without someone familiar to guide them.

Most of the swamps look like half-dry mud pools, but many of them are bottomless traps, and every step forward in such places is an adventure, especially for those in armor and heavy weapons.

In the Balkans, Alexander's army officially relied on the special terrain of the swamps to delay the elite Ottoman troops with fewer troops, and although they eventually lost the battle, the Ottomans, who had the advantage in strength and weapons, also paid a heavy price.

It was a triumph of being able to use the terrain flexibly, and now, James Columbus was facing the same problems as the Ottomans.

Fortunately, he didn't have to face an enemy armed to the teeth, but only had to think carefully about how to get through this terrible swamp.

The Guadyaze marshes are low-lying and a large river that often floods the muddy wetlands, and when the river overflows, Guadiaze turns into a sea of water, even those who barely manage to be flooded.

It's September, and it's the time of the floods, and from a distance, Guadyaze is completely submerged in the muddy and muddy floodwater, and large areas of bare tree trunks stand on the water, looking indescribably strange.

It was impossible to see the monastery deep in the swamp from where James stood, and the trunks of the trees in the swamp were the only "sight" except for the drifting mist, but it looked like an eerie picture at all, and there was no beauty to look forward to.

"The people who live here are insane," said a man, taking the last sip of rum with the bottom of the jug in his hand upright to his mouth, and then he threw the jug on the ground, wiped the wine from his lips, and said to James, who had been looking at the swamp, "I don't know who got you this job, but I said that this place looks a little wicked." ”

"It's not a good place, but our money is there." James nodded, he also felt that the people who lived here really had a problem with their brains, but thinking about it, it was probably this person who was so important that the Duke of Don Bavi hid her in such a ghost place that even the slightest faint-hearted person would not want to come to.

"If you can guarantee that we will get a large sum of money, then we can still take a risk," muttered his companion, these pirates who had made a great name at sea had become obsessed with money to the point of paranoia, and they often did not need to exchange their lives for the opportunity to gain wealth when they pursued every gold coin, and now that they heard that they could get a large sum of money, the swamp instantly became less terrible.

"Someone doesn't want us to find her, but they never think it's a bunch of pirates who come looking for her."

James smiled, he already liked this life, although he could have the opportunity to open up the new world with Columbus that Alexander said, but he preferred to continue the free and exciting pirate life, which was not just wealth, but a kind of enjoyment, so that he even thought that even if he found the legendary undiscovered magical land, he probably wouldn't stay on land for long, because it would make him feel firmly bound to the ground under his feet, And what he likes is to stand on the deck and face the sea that is always full of unknowns, horrors, and also makes him feel refreshed.

James looked at the companions who came with him, these people were his most trusted, and they were also a group of nimble hands and feet, of course, the stupid and stupid ones were almost dead, watching these people prepare things quickly, he instructed the companions next to him: "Go find a few clothes suitable for young women, don't be too flashy and ordinary, after all, it is too dazzling to walk so far with a nun." ”

"So what we're going to rob this time is a nun, is she pretty?" The companion opened his mouth to reveal a mouthful of black and yellow, a face that had been drinking and being rough from the wind and sun on the sea, and the red rosacea nose in the middle of the face looked funny.

"I don't know, but I don't want to tell everyone to be honest when they see that woman, I don't want to cut their necks because someone did something stupid."

James's words made his companion's face change slightly, he knew that the leader was not joking, James Columbus's name was probably not known to many people, people were more familiar with his brother Christopher Columbus, but if "Blackbeard" was mentioned, it was a different matter.

Cruel, cold, ruthless and greedy, this is how the pirate Blackbeard is described, but as his companions know well, these words do not really describe the horror and horror of James Columbus.

Under the seemingly chaotic but well-defined division of labor of a group of pirates, several wooden rafts were quickly tied, all of which were made from the trunks of nearby improvised trees, and the trunks were connected by vines that could be found everywhere, which was a very simple job, but it was not easy to complete in such a short time.

James's pirates were apparently accustomed to the flustered rhythm of working in a hurry, and they even made fun of each other, but after listening to James's order, they were silent for a while.

As he pushed it ashore, James smiled with satisfaction as he looked at the raft that had fallen into the water, first sinking downwards and then steadily floating on the water.

The roads in the swamp were secluded and dangerous, enough to stop the invasion of large armies, but the swamp could not stop the floods, let alone the people who used rafts to enter them while they were flooded.

James didn't know what was so special about Sister Alfort that Alexander ordered her to be taken hostage, but knowing the terrain of the Guadyaze marshes, he devised the plan in a short time.

This is arguably due to the coincidence of the season, but James himself prefers to seem that Alexander had also thought of it before.

Don Bavi probably didn't think that someone might take advantage of the flood to flood the swamp to enter this area, but probably in his mind, if someone really knew about the existence of Sister Alfort, they should not have the patience to wait until such a season to do it, and once he tried to force his way into the swamp, then the swamp would not only swallow up the invading uninvited guests, but also give him time to rush to support after hearing the news.

And when he revealed the news about this nun to Alexander, he hoped that Alexander could get more support from the pope, but he obviously did not expect that this crucial trump card in his hand would become Alexander's goal.

Rafts broke through the murky water and paddled deep into the swamp, and as the haze broke through, the silhouette of a tall building loomed in the distance, and the pirates seemed to smell the gold coins, knowing that they would be paid a large sum for the sale, enough to splurge them for a while.

As for their leader, many people find it difficult to understand what Blackbeard James is thinking, it is said that he is now studying desperately, which is not like a pirate, but it has nothing to do with them.

James was indeed learning, and he felt that he needed to flesh out his knowledge more and more, and from Alexander he already knew that the Duke had great ambitions, the most typical manifestation of which was the desire to possess the magical land of the future.

It's just that James knows that if it is really a vast land as Alexander said, it will inevitably lead to the competition of various maritime powers, and James hopes that he can have a place in this competition in the future, so he is obviously not up to such a heavy burden as a pirate leader now.

James is eager to lead a fleet, and if the Duke can give him that opportunity, he may become another figure in the Columbus family who will leave his name and footnote in history.

Navy Commander James Columbus, not the pirate Blackbeard James, this is his dream now, so he spares no effort to serve the Duke of Thessia in order to one day fulfill this long-cherished dream.

The monastery in the distance was clearly visible, and James raised his hand to stop his advance.

The raft was anchored in a forest over a watery river, which was not easy to spot because of the gloomy weather, which also gave him the opportunity to take a closer look at the monastery.

"Chief, this is not easy to deal with," muttered the fellow who led the rosacea, "even if some women stand on it, they can drive us down with their crutches." ”

"You think gold is so easy to get," James said angrily, he still hoped to be able to take these accomplices who were already handy to become a real navy in the future, but he also knew that this was not realistic, many people were destined to part ways in the future, but at least for now these people had to listen to him, "Let's wait until the evening, this is a monastery and not a castle, don't worry, there will be a chance." ”

The wait always seemed so long, and when the cloudy sun finally turned west, James woke the snoozing pirates, and he brought the raft closer to observe the monastery at the edge of the woods.

The monastery was built on a raised ground in the middle of the marsh, and the flood had already submerged the dry land that had been used as a small pier into the swamp, and now the waves were a little stronger enough to beat directly on the closed monastery gates, and even the higher ground was mostly flooded.

This would have allowed the raft to be rowed almost all the way to the base of the monastery wall, but then they would have little place to stay.

"We've got to find a way to climb up." James whispered.

"I don't care if I climb the mast, but this wall is not easy to climb," said the rosacea, embarrassed, "I thought I could go in by knocking on the door, but now it seems to be a real trouble." ”

"If it's as simple as going to a brothel in San Diego, do you think we'll still have the money?" James mocked as he paddled the raft and watched quietly around the abbey from afar, until he finally spotted a large stone wall that was apparently much darker than the walls elsewhere.

As the light was dim and almost out of sight, James looked closely at the stone wall, and at last he saw a small hole in the wall about three or two people high.

"That's it, see?" James pointed to the hole in the wall that was slowly flowing down the crack in the wall from the inside, "You can get in from there." ”

"That's a good place," said rosacea, a little embarrassed, "probably the whole monastery will be poured out of there." ”

"This is the only way, what do you want to do, wait for the people inside to open the door and invite you?"

James said as he rubbed his chin and wondered what to do, and after a moment he waved his hand to everyone around him to row the raft farther away.

"Listen, once you enter, take the front courtyard wall, as far as I know, the gate of this monastery is sealed, so don't try to open it."

"What's going on with this monastery, did the people inside swear something, or did they hide some treasure? Actually sealed the gate. ”

Someone asked, but couldn't get an answer from James.

In fact, James did not know who the Alfort Sister Alexander was talking about, but he remembered the words of Alexander's letter: "Complete this task, and you will get the reward you want most." ”

What James wanted most was his own armed fleet.

Although Alexander had promised him that he and Columbus would each lead a fleet to explore the secrets of the new colony, he preferred to have a fleet under his own command.

For Alexander's promise, James believed.

At first he had come to Iberia only as Alexander had beknownt, and now he had enough wealth to despise the possessions of many nobles.

Night finally fell, several rafts silently rowed across the water, the sound of the raft hitting the shore was a little loud, the people on it involuntarily bent down, when they found that there was nothing unusual, they immediately carefully leaned down the slippery muddy slope to the wall of the monastery.

After stroking the wall for a while, rosacea motioned for a tall companion to crouch down, and then climbed up on his shoulder.

"Be careful not to get yourself stuck in it," James advised, "but it should be wide enough." ”

"Maybe it's wide enough, but it smells so choking." Rosacea grumbled and struggled to climb up, his cloth-wrapped hand gripping hard at the stone that had been corroded with feces and urine for years, and it took all his strength to finally grasp the edge of the hole in the wall.

Watching the rosacea figure struggle to fade into the gutter's entrance, James waved his hand at the others and waited.

The sewer openings of the monastery are often not very elaborate, and in some places there is even a large hole leading directly to the outside, and James believes that this convent is no exception.

The wait was long, and some people around him were already getting impatient with impatience, but James had been patient.

This is the result of his years of piracy career, in the sea full of unknowns and dangers, in addition to nature, what is more terrifying is the threat from opponents, sometimes the result of not being able to hold back is that it is likely to change from a hunter to a prey.

A barely audible sound came from the wall overhead, and James immediately looked up to see half of a figure leaning out of the dark wall.

"Alright, let's go."

Once they were sure that the path was indeed clear, the pirates began to climb up on the shoulders of the big men.

Looking at the figures disappearing into the holes in the wall, James smiled with satisfaction in the night.

The deep darkness of the night concealed too much, and the convent in the depths of the Guadiyaze marshes was completely shrouded in this darkness, and the flood had turned the marsh into an ocean, forcing the nearest people to leave.

So no one noticed what was happening in the swamp in the middle of the night, and no one smelled the smell of blood in the night breeze that blew that night, except for the peculiar smell of the swamp.

It was not until a long time later, when the men who usually brought food to the monastery arrived on time, that they realized that they could not open the gates of the monastery under any circumstances, and that the whole monastery was like a dead tomb.

When they finally had the patience to venture into the wall, they found that there was no one left in the convent except for the large area of bloodstains that looked black and dry.

All the people in the convent seemed to disappear from the world overnight, which made the monastery, which was already mysterious in the minds of the locals, even more confusing.

Gradually, the legend of the monastery of the Marshes of Guadiyaze became a terrifying tale.

It wasn't until many years later that a young man from the East, interested in this ancient Spanish legend, planned to visit this famous monastery in the Iberian interior, which was said to be haunted

On this night in September 1501, a group of people were rowing a raft from a river that had been opened by flooding into the upper reaches of the Gwadar River.

The boat, which had been docked on the shore for a long time, immediately threw down several soft ladders, and a group of people climbed onto the galleys, one of whom was a large man with a long strip wrapped in a blanket on his shoulder.

Then the rafts were broken up and dismantled, and looking at the trunks of the trees flowing down the river, James exhaled softly.

Everything was done in secret, and he believed that no one would know the whereabouts of that Sister Alfurt until she was sent to Alexander.

The galleys soon left shore and disappeared into the night.

This is the upper reaches of the Dal River, which flows through Seville, far from Toledo.