THE ARMORED RAIDERS SWEPT DOWN upon the sleeping manor¹. It was a large stone house in a neighboring duchy, miles from the nearest town.

I will make them pay, Black Cross promised. No man is bold enough to steal from God. Especially not the true relics² of Christendom.

At first, there was a yip of dogs as the massive chargers thundered out of the calm night. Then torches lit up the darkness and everything went ablaze⁴.

The horsemen set fire to the stables, horses bucking⁵ and neighing in fright. A few terrified workers who had been sleeping there ran out and were mowed⁶ down by the blades of hard metal charging by.

The manor burst alive with light. Six dark knights⁸ dismounted and two of them crashed through the heavy wooden door with their axes. Black Cross burst inside with his men.

The knight⁷ of the manor appeared in a doorway⁹ inside. His name was Adh俶ar. All France knew of this old man, this renowned¹⁰ fighter, who still stood with a strength that spoke¹¹ of his past. Behind him, his wife huddled¹² in a bed gown. The knight had donned his tunic¹³. It bore the purple-and-gold fleur-de-lis of the King.

Who are you? Adh俶ar challenged the raiders. What do you want here?

A piece of gold, old man. From your last campaign, said Black Cross.

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1 manor
n.庄园，领地
参考例句：
The builder of the manor house is a direct ancestor of the present owner.建造这幢庄园的人就是它现在主人的一个直系祖先。 I am not lord of the manor,but its lady.我并非此地的领主，而是这儿的女主人。

2 relics
[pl.］n.遗物，遗迹，遗产；遗体，尸骸
参考例句：
The area is a treasure house of archaeological relics. 这个地区是古文物遗迹的宝库。 Xi'an is an ancient city full of treasures and saintly relics. 西安是一个有很多宝藏和神圣的遗物的古老城市。

3 relic
n.神圣的遗物，遗迹，纪念物
参考例句：
This stone axe is a relic of ancient times.这石斧是古代的遗物。 He found himself thinking of the man as a relic from the past.他把这个男人看成是过去时代的人物。

4 ablaze
adj.着火的，燃烧的；闪耀的，灯火辉煌的
参考例句：
The main street was ablaze with lights in the evening.晚上，那条主要街道灯火辉煌。 Forests are sometimes set ablaze by lightning.森林有时因雷击而起火。

5 bucking
v.（马等）猛然弓背跃起( buck的现在分词 )；抵制；猛然震荡；马等尥起后蹄跳跃
参考例句：
a bucking bronco in the rodeo 牛仔竞技表演中一匹弓背跳跃的野马 That means we'll be bucking grain bags, bustin's gut. 那就是说咱们要背这一袋袋的谷子，得把五脏都累坏。 来自辞典例句

6 mowed
v.刈，割( mow的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
The enemy were mowed down with machine-gun fire. 敌人被机枪的火力扫倒。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》 Men mowed the wide lawns and seeded them. 人们割了大片草地的草，然后在上面播种。 来自辞典例句

7 knight
n.骑士，武士；爵士
参考例句：
He was made an honourary knight.他被授予荣誉爵士称号。 A knight rode on his richly caparisoned steed.一个骑士骑在装饰华丽的马上。

8 knights
骑士； （中古时代的）武士( knight的名词复数 )； 骑士； 爵士； （国际象棋中）马
参考例句：
stories of knights and fair maidens 关于骑士和美女的故事 He wove a fascinating tale of knights in shining armour. 他编了一个穿着明亮盔甲的骑士的迷人故事。

9 doorway
n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径
参考例句：
They huddled in the shop doorway to shelter from the rain.他们挤在商店门口躲雨。 Mary suddenly appeared in the doorway.玛丽突然出现在门口。

10 renowned
adj.著名的，有名望的，声誉鹊起的
参考例句：
He is one of the world's renowned writers.他是世界上知名的作家之一。 She is renowned for her advocacy of human rights.她以提倡人权而闻名。

11 spoke
n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说
参考例句：
They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。 The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

12 huddled
挤在一起（huddle的过去式与过去分词形式）
参考例句：
We huddled together for warmth. 我们挤在一块取暖。 We huddled together to keep warm. 我们挤在一起来保暖。

13 tunic
n.束腰外衣
参考例句：
The light loose mantle was thrown over his tunic.一件轻质宽大的斗蓬披在上衣外面。 Your tunic and hose match ill with that jewel,young man.你的外套和裤子跟你那首饰可不相称呢，年轻人。

14 plundered
掠夺，抢劫( plunder的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
Many of our cultural treasures have been plundered by imperialists. 我国许多珍贵文物被帝国主义掠走了。 The imperialists plundered many valuable works of art. 帝国主义列强掠夺了许多珍贵的艺术品。

15 flicked
（尤指用手指或手快速地）轻击( flick的过去式和过去分词 )； （用…）轻挥； （快速地）按开关； 向…笑了一下（或瞥了一眼等）
参考例句：
She flicked the dust off her collar. 她轻轻弹掉了衣领上的灰尘。 I idly picked up a magazine and flicked through it. 我漫不经心地拿起一本杂志翻看着。

16 futilely
futile（无用的）的变形； 干
参考例句：
Hitler, now ashen-gray, futilely strained at his chains. 希特勒这时面如死灰，无可奈何地死拽住身上的锁链不放。 来自名作英译部分 Spinning futilely at first, the drivers of the engine at last caught the rails. 那机车的主动轮起先转了一阵也没有用处，可到底咬住了路轨啦。

17 chapel
n.小教堂，殡仪馆
参考例句：
The nimble hero,skipped into a chapel that stood near.敏捷的英雄跳进近旁的一座小教堂里。 She was on the peak that Sunday afternoon when she played in chapel.那个星期天的下午，她在小教堂的演出，可以说是登峰造极。

18 Christian
adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒
参考例句：
They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。 His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

19 shrine
n.圣地，神龛，庙；v.将...置于神龛内，把...奉为神圣
参考例句：
The shrine was an object of pilgrimage.这处圣地是人们朝圣的目的地。 They bowed down before the shrine.他们在神龛前鞠躬示敬。

20 shrieked
v.尖叫( shriek的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
She shrieked in fright. 她吓得尖叫起来。 Li Mei-t'ing gave a shout, and Lu Tzu-hsiao shrieked, "Tell what? 李梅亭大声叫，陆子潇尖声叫：“告诉什么？ 来自汉英文学 - 围城

21 mighty
adj.强有力的；巨大的
参考例句：
A mighty force was about to break loose.一股巨大的力量即将迸发而出。 The mighty iceberg came into view.巨大的冰山出现在眼前。

22 crumbled
（把…）弄碎， （使）碎成细屑( crumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 衰落； 坍塌； 损坏
参考例句：
He crumbled the bread in his fingers. 他用手指把面包捻碎。 Our hopes crumbled when the business went bankrupt. 商行破产了，我们的希望也破灭了。

23 masonry
n.砖土建筑；砖石
参考例句：
Masonry is a careful skill.砖石工艺是一种精心的技艺。 The masonry of the old building began to crumble.旧楼房的砖石结构开始崩落。

24 blasphemy
n.亵渎，渎神
参考例句：
His writings were branded as obscene and a blasphemy against God.他的著作被定为淫秽作品，是对上帝的亵渎。 You have just heard his blasphemy!你刚刚听到他那番亵渎上帝的话了！