CHAPTER 308: CHAPTER 2: LANDING AND TURNCOATS

The moonlight is hazy.

The thin mist shrouding the shore seems to cast a mystical veil over the bright moon.

The escaping girl is blocked by her protector in front of her, looking despairingly at the pursuing soldiers closing in.

"Get away, don’t come near us!"

"Calm down, boys. Aronia was personally chosen by Isaac, Your Majesty’s Standard Bearer. In the future, she will live a life a thousand times better than now."

"Think about it, little girl. You’ll live in the palace of Nicosia in the future, leading a life free of worries, and the commoners will bow to you in salute."

"Hand her over to us, and I promise the safety of the three of you."

Indeed, there are three people.

Two half-grown boys, holding scythes and hoes, protecting the girl, angrily chastising the soldiers with nervous expressions.

"What are you blabbering about? Everyone knows that once a girl enters that tyrant’s palace, she can never come out alive!"

"He counts as nothing, Your Majesty. We all know that only the Emperor of Constantinople is the true Emperor!"

The soldiers dismissively say, "Boys, stop spouting nonsense. Now, cease your romantic escape and obediently come back with us."

A soldier lifts his head, subconsciously rubs his eyes.

He stares at the misty sea with a face full of suspicion.

"Lucius, what are you looking at?"

The soldier called Lucius suddenly opens his mouth wide, pointing to the distance: "Look... look, where did that ship come from?"

The crowd follows his gaze.

Discovering, there are numerous ships breaking through the mist and sailing towards the shore.

The soldiers exclaim in shock: "It’s the Double-headed Eagle Banner, it’s the fleet of Constantinople. They’re coming to punish the rebellion!"

"What should we do?"

"Isaac is truly a false emperor. I don’t want to lose my life here for the ambitions of those big figures."

"Quickly go notify Lord Turriados. Whether we welcome the king’s army or strike them while they’re not yet stable, we must let the lord prepare early!"

At this moment, the soldiers have long ignored capturing this little girl. In their eyes, Isaac won’t be an emperor for many days.

The boys look towards the girl: "Aronia, what should we do?"

The girl is beautiful, with a maturity beyond her years. Upon hearing, she only thinks for a moment before decisively saying: "We stay here."

...

Anna has left.

Briefly staying on the ship.

No intention of getting involved in the war.

This is also the norm among Wizards. Most Casters are reluctant to get involved in mortal wars. This seems to be an unwritten rule, a kind of pride that precious gems shouldn’t clash with earthenware.

The narrow bay here is obviously not an excellent natural harbor, but as a landing place, it is barely usable.

Due to guarding against the hidden reefs on the shore, small dinghies hanging on the sides of the ship are lowered, transporting the first batch of a hundred-man team to the shore.

These experienced old soldiers, upon landing, immediately start digging with shovels to establish rudimentary defensive structures.

Then, a larger-scale landing occurs.

No one stands out to stop them. The originally expected potentially thrilling landing phase doesn’t encounter any disruptions.

The soldiers orderly begin setting up camp.

Some attendants wield long-handled scythes, harvesting nearby grass to mix into the feed for their mounts—this also serves as a close combat weapon.

In fact, scythes, flails, these kinds of weapons are all modified from farm tools.

Losa, in his camp, picks up a smoked eel, pairs it with a piece of white bread, and chomps down heartily, occasionally washing it down with sips of wine.

The meal isn’t yet finished.

Knight Ned then escorts three half-grown youths to the tent entrance.

"Sir, we’ve caught three spies."

Losa looks at the two trembling boys and a girl whose clothes are torn by thorns.

He frowns and says: "Knight Ned, this looks like two boys on a date with a girl—even though that is degrading, how does it relate to spies?"

Ned hesitantly replies: "Apologies, Sir, I don’t understand their language, but they were hiding in the grass, spying on the camp from afar."

A young man loudly says: "We are escaping. That Isaac sent people to seize Aronia as his toy, but everyone knows, no woman can see the light of the second day once she enters Isaac’s palace."

Losa furrows his brow.

His Greek has become quite proficient; this is a recent achievement from studying with Prajna, high Spiritual Power leads to quick learning efficiency.

"Since you’re escaping, why spy on our camp?"

The girl calmly asks: "Are you the Crusaders punishing the usurper?"

Losa nodded and said, "That’s right, we’ve been invited by the esteemed Barcelona, Regent Empress, Ragaya Ducas, to eliminate the self-proclaimed false emperor on the island."

The young girl hastily pulled the boys to kneel on the ground: "Please, distinguished sir, my companions and I hope to receive your protection."

Losa looked at Prajna.

She gave a barely noticeable nod.

Prajna had the ability to discern lies, though not exceptionally, but combined with Losa’s Beast Intuition, the possibility of these three children lying was minuscule.

Losa waved his hand, "Take her and her two admirers down, give them a meal, and assign them some chores."

He didn’t expect to obtain any useful information from these three young people. Predictably, someone would soon come to have a conversation with him.

A thousand-strong army landing here could not go unnoticed by nearby cities.

Therefore, it wasn’t long before a cavalry with the Double-headed Eagle Banner patrolled the vicinity, keeping neither too close to provoke nor too distant.

Hiberland spoke, "Sir, shall we deploy to drive them away?"

Losa’s newly expanded hundred-man light cavalry intended for scouting had yet to complete their training, and the Winged Cavalry, as fast as light cavalry, hadn’t been deployed this time.

But the squires of the Teutonic Order were quite competent light cavalry.

"No need. I didn’t expect to hide from them. I think the enemy’s leader will soon send someone to engage with us."

Losa swallowed the last piece of smoked fish along with the soft bread.

"Give the order, have the entire army take shifts to build a simple camp and be wary of possible incoming attacks. We will rest here tonight."

After a while.

Someone of considerable importance seemed to have arrived on the hillside.

A light cavalry, carrying a red banner with a yellow chariot wheel, galloped towards them.

Jeanne jokingly said, "Ha, it seems the local lord’s ancestors must have driven a chariot for an emperor or won the empire’s Great Arena chariot championship."

The arriving cavalry was immediately surrounded by fully armed soldiers, and he raised his empty hand, indicating he was unarmed.

"Who is the most distinguished person here?"

He shouted in accented Greek.

"I am the Count of the Transjordan region, Losa. You may have heard of my name. Invited by the esteemed Barcelona, I lead my loyal subjects to fight against the usurping tyrant."

The cavalryman’s face showed a hint of surprise, "It’s an honor to meet you, Count."

"My lord is Turriados from the ancient ’Aglastos’ family, the administrator of Limassol. He wishes to meet you."

"Where is he?"

"He has arrived at the frontline by chariot and looks forward to meeting with you."

Losa replied, "How many guards can I bring?"

The cavalry grinned, "My lord swears on the family honor that no foul means will be used to harm such a distinguished person like you. Rest assured."

"Ha, you sure speak well."

Losa chuckled, not making it difficult for him, and said, "Prajna, Chelina, Furinjira, you three come with me. Jeanne, I leave things here to you."

"Rest assured."

Jeanne lightly tapped her chest armor with her Iron Gloves, producing a metallic clang.

Losa mounted his warhorse and made his way up the hill.

In the distance, a portly middle-aged noble wearing a red toga-style silk robe approached Losa.

The two exchanged a few courtesies before quickly getting to the point.

"The former General of Cyprus, Lord Ioannis, was murdered by Isaac, that treacherous rebel. We had to feign loyalty. Now, with the celestial army here, I am willing to immediately set things right and assist in subduing the traitor."

At this point, the Empire’s bureaucratic system had decayed to a severe degree, with a top-down regime turning into a feudal system not much different from other European Countries.

Generals of military zones, stewards (inspectors), and major administrative district governors had been replaced by feudal nobility.

Nominally, they were still part of the military generals, not regional lords.

"That is excellent news, Lord Turriados. I need you to quickly gather enough supplies, fine fodder, materials for constructing siege weapons, and to keep this information contained. I hope to siege Nicosia before Isaac can react and capture several critical fortresses."

Turriados hesitated briefly before agreeing readily to Losa’s request.

"Lord Turriados, your contributions to our army will be truthfully reported to the esteemed Barcelona, granting you amnesty."

Turriados squeezed a fawning smile, "Count, young and talented, if you manage to capture the tyrant this time, your career will prosper in the Empire. I will rely on you for patronage then."

"Definitely. I have deep connections with a Purple Robe Princess of the Ducas Family. At that time, I will certainly put in a good word for you in front of Barcelona."

The two exchanged pleasantries for a while before each returning to their respective camps.

Losa looked at Prajna.

Prajna slightly nodded, "He didn’t lie; he genuinely wishes to provide logistical support for us, but his stance is not firm enough."

Losa gave a sound of acknowledgment.

"That would be splendid."