CHAPTER 67: CHAPTER 60: THE CENTER OF POWER (DOUBLE-LENGTH)

Jorgelisburg, inside the Lord’s Hall.

The large door was suddenly opened.

Leonard rushed in hurriedly and took a seat, the evening breeze he brought in made the lamp shadows flicker.

Causing the elongated, distorted shadows to be cast behind the long bench of every eligible attendee.

In the center of the hall, a long table was already filled with delicacies and fine wine.

Losa sat on the central throne, above him was a massive single-headed eagle emblem, the eagle’s wings spread perfectly behind Losa.

The aroma of roast lamb, cheese, and wine stirred one’s desire.

But no one lifted a fork or knife; they all watched Losa.

Sitting on the lord’s throne, Losa raised a sheet of paper bearing a red wax seal, revealing the King’s seal to the attendees.

"His Majesty the King’s summons has been issued, everyone must arrive in Jerusalem within the stipulated time."

Hans’s expression was somewhat gloomy: "Sir, during this period, the development of the territory has been on track, our power grows daily, but it’s clearly not enough... From what I know, Saladin’s army numbers in the hundreds of thousands, with our current strength, it’s hard to play a role in this battle."

Faces were filled with worry.

They couldn’t even imagine what hundreds of thousands truly meant.

This far exceeded their understanding of a war.

Losa shook his head and said, "Not as exaggerated as hundreds of thousands; while Saladin has many troops, most are untrained recruits, the elite main army is only ten to twenty thousand."

Reputed strength and actual strength are entirely different matters.

"He cannot possibly mobilize his entire force to attack Jerusalem; the climate of the Holy Land cannot accommodate a campaign of that scale."

Facts proved his initial choice to train armored soldiers was correct.

If starting from scratch to train cavalry, in two weeks at most they’d train a batch of mounted infantry, more costly and useless.

Though this strategy was correct, it didn’t have much significance.

His power was still too weak now.

Laine spoke: "Sir, Jorgelisburg is not the frontier, it won’t easily face threats from the enemy, so I suggest bringing all available soldiers; this would be a considerable force, and even if the battle is lost, they can cover your retreat."

Leonard quickly expressed agreement: "Indeed, sir, in Jerusalem, you need a strong army for support, otherwise those snobbish nobles will look down on you!"

Losa pondered for a moment, then shook his head:

"A professional army of over a hundred is indeed not weak for a lord, but on a battlefield of tens of thousands, it’s like a grain of sand in the Jordan River."

"If the battle is lost, routed troops will flood in like a tide, easily dispersing them. So whether to bring them or not, it makes little difference; leaving them in the territory ensures safety here."

Losa briefly thought, then decided, "All armored soldiers will stay in Jorgelisburg; I’ll bring only ten Axe Guards and Winged Cavalry."

The Axe Guards are the local name for the "Varangian Guard," as the Eastern Empire also has an official Varangian Guard, calling them by that name wouldn’t be appropriate.

Though seeing their equipment, one can tell it’s a heavy infantry force modeled after the Varangian Guard.

"Model, you stay to manage things, including daily recruitment for Winged Cavalry and Axe Guard, the original plan to recruit only ten is canceled."

"Yes, sir."

"Leonard, what did you find out? Has Saladin’s assassination of the Sassanid King’s vassal just been left unresolved?"

Leonard lowered his head and said:

"Reportedly, not long ago, Saladin met with the King of Kings of Sassan at the border; he acknowledged his subordinates acted independently, killing Kokb, and expressed willingness to compensate."

"He also recognized the Sassanid King’s sacred status as the Great Shepherd of the Fire Worship, sending many carts of gold and silver treasures, beauties, and fine steeds as gifts. After two days of negotiations, the Sassanid King withdrew his troops."

"Saladin... a truly formidable individual."

Losa sighed longingly.

If Saladin hadn’t acknowledged the matter, it would have given the Sassanid King an opportunity to make a fuss.

On the contrary, Saladin admitted it, lowered his stature, offering gifts as compensation, forced by the Zoroastrian World’s desire for internal unity, leaving the Sassanid King without a chance to exploit the situation.

Moreover, this did not diminish Saladin’s majesty.

On the contrary, it greatly intimidated those who originally believed "Saladin is a man of knightly integrity, won’t do anything against us."

"Marles, you also stay in the castle, speed up the production of armaments, improve the manufacturing process of armor and weapons."

Marles nodded and said: "Understood. Additionally, sir, the armor crafted for you is completed; that special Armed Sword only needs the final quenching."

"Good, excellent!"

Losa nodded and said, "Let’s dine, after this meal, we’ll depart for Jerusalem tomorrow morning."

The new armor crafted for him by Marles is a brand new half-body plate armor.

Wearing this armor, underneath it donning another piece, specifically fitted with Armed Clothing made of chain armor in the areas of weaker protection.

Its defense capability is only slightly better than the previous chain armor, but its flexibility greatly increased.