Pepin rode his warhorse, holding his head high as he passed in front of a group of heretic pilgrims. His steed was draped in elaborate horse clothing adorned with his personal emblem of a red bull.

Today, after much deliberation, he decided to withdraw from the Royal Knight Order and become an "Honorary Knight," which was a nominal membership that relieved him of obligations and the "salary" that came with it.

He hoped to pledge fealty to Losa and become a Knight of the Fief.

On one hand, he greatly admired the Lord who had once led them to a series of great victories.

On the other hand, he believed that serving Losa promised a far better future than remaining in the Royal Knight Order—for in less than a month, Losa had been elevated from Baron to Earl of Transjordan.

If not for the mismatch in age, he would have suspected Losa to be the illegitimate son of Baldwin IV.

Entering the city.

Pepin was taken aback.

"Heavenly Father above, is this Hebron truly so prosperous?"

Many Jerusalemites had never visited Hebron in their lifetimes, as it was a holy place for heretics, full of those with whom they were supposedly at swords' points.

To the north, Bethlehem (also translated as White Cold) was quite different, attracting a stream of pilgrims each year as the birthplace of Jesus Christ.

Baldwin IV once wanted to enfeoff this place to Losa.

But after privately discussing it with Losa, he decided to abandon the idea.

Because Bethlehem was full of churches, countless properties belonged to the Church, with only a third of the city available to Losa, a secular lord.

Even Jerusalem had to donate a quarter of its tax revenue yearly to the Holy Sepulchre Cathedral.

This rule was established during the time of Godfrey of Bouillon, the first King of Jerusalem (who merely styled himself as the Holy Tomb Guardian, yet was an uncrowned king).

And Losa, with his current power, had no means to encroach on Church properties.

He was not a King of France of a previous era, daring enough to create the Avignon captivity.

In this era, church authority was still at its peak, and a command from the Pope could even leave the Emperor of Great Germania, from the Hohenstaufen dynasty, overwhelmed.

But Hebron was different.

No matter how much he meddled with the local heretic magnates, it would merely be seen as the acts of a zealot inheriting his father's ways.

He planned to "cultivate" Hebron with precision, transforming this city filled with heretics into a foundation for his rise, and from there, gradually gaining control over the entire Earl's Domain.

It would be a very long process.

Once these internal affairs were handled, Losa would then consider external expansion; he wouldn't rashly provoke borders like Reynard, and when he decided to fight, he would ensure a sufficient chance of victory.

"Ulm!"

Pepin immediately spotted Ulm standing outside the Lord's Hall, having just helped the local heretic magnates retrieve debts and about to report back to Losa.

"Pepin! What brings you here?"

Ulm, along with a group of Winged Cavalry, surrounded him.

"I resigned from the Knight Order."

Ulm, astonished, asked, "Why? You had already been promoted to Standard Bearer, with such a bright future ahead, so why quit?"

"Ha, not being near the Lord feels uncomfortable no matter what. Anyway, the Lord is still the Grand Master, so staying with him is no different from remaining in the Knight Order."

He chatted and laughed familiarly with the Winged Cavalry members.

The camaraderie forged on the battlefield, in the absence of conflicting interests, was quite solid.

Ulm hurriedly said, "Come with us quickly; the Lord is hosting a banquet. You've arrived just in time."

At this moment, in the great hall, Losa was cheerfully conversing with a baron clad in a red cloak adorned with a golden Fire Dragon Badge.

This baron, reportedly related to the Wessex Royal Family of Albion, was named Argon Rudolf, the most powerful baron in the Earl of Transjordan's domain—the Lord of Petra.

He had also accepted Losa's command during the recent war with Saladin, and the two had formed a bond through fighting side by side.

His domain was far from Hebron, but he followed the royal entourage back to Jerusalem.

He initially planned to visit Losa, but upon hearing from Hans that Losa had already gone to his fief, he immediately set off with his retinue and knights.

Upon seeing Losa for the first time, he quickly approached, kissed the signet ring on Losa's finger, and knelt with one knee to show his allegiance.

"Lord, I, Argon Rudolf, am willing to serve you. Please accept my allegiance."

Losa hurriedly helped him up, performing a display of "deep fealty between lord and vassal."

This was also the reason why Losa hosted the banquet.

Although he received the titles of Lord of Hebron and Earl of Transjordan, these vassals had previously pledged allegiance to Reynard.

This meant that even though Losa became their lord by law, until they expressed allegiance to him, they were still considered Reynard's vassals.

Even if they refused to fulfill their obligations to Losa, others would have no grounds to criticize.

Losa only has the authority to crusade against him and cannot appeal to Baldwin IV, as this would involve external forces and inevitably cause backlash, tarnishing his reputation.

This matter is inherently an internal affair of the Earl's Domain of Transjordan. If he cannot resolve it himself, he would be seen as the King's mouthpiece, a lackey, and a henchman.

In this era, that is not a good reputation to have.

Even King Philip of Gaul remains as the Lord of Gaul Island (the royal demesne surrounding Paris, similar to a direct-controlled province), and the vast territories beyond are not under his control.

The nobles of this era generally believe that it's best if the king manages his own affairs without meddling in the matters of vassals or summoning them unnecessarily; ideally, they would remain distant acquaintances until death.

Facing a foreign invasion would be a special circumstance.

Therefore, Losa's current top priority is to accept the allegiance of all vassals.

Fortunately, Losa, leading the Kingdom of Jerusalem, and the knights of the southern territories, achieved exemplary results.

Many of them naturally harbored favorable feelings towards Losa.

Furthermore, with the upgrade of the Seated Angel Statue, it was able to increase goodwill among direct vassals, so those coming to pay their respects were quite deferential to Losa.

However, deference does not mean they did not also hold him in slight contempt.

In their eyes, the majesty of this new feudal lord was far less than that of the formidable Count Reynard of the past.

But that, conversely, was a reason to be relieved.

No one wants a powerful feudal lord over their heads; as vassals, they wish for decentralization, but as lords, they hope to strengthen control over their knightly territories.

This is human nature; even Losa did not want Baldwin IV intervening in his court affairs casually.

At this moment, Pepin strode forward and knelt before Losa, saying: "My lord, I have relinquished all positions and titles within the Knight Order, only wishing to serve under your command."

The atmosphere in the hall quieted down.

Because they all knew they were about to witness a sacred knighting ceremony.

Losa did not hesitate; even if it was akin to buying a horse with gold, he had to be generous this time, not to fool around with something like a mill or a bridge as a fiefdom.

He placed the sword on the other's shoulder and declared loudly.

"Pepin, you have served under my command and made numerous contributions, but because you were a knight of the Royal Knight Order, I couldn't bestow an estate upon you. Now, since you have chosen to pledge allegiance to me, I now confer upon you the lordship of Negev."

Negev was a village with nearly six hundred people and a small copper mine.

It was considered a top-tier knight's fiefdom.

Of course, once Pepin was later converted into Winged Cavalry, he essentially could only play the role of a tax collector in Negev.

Simply put, it meant that Losa extracted more tax from vassals with deeper local control.

He wouldn't be stingy with the salary that was due.

While Losa could completely refrain from paying the transferred soldiers, or even let them work under other lords and hand over the money to him later.

Even capitalists would shed tears listening to this.

But Losa was not a Devil!

The transferred soldiers were more loyal, but it did not mean Losa would exploit that loyalty.

Wouldn't that mean "good people should be under the gun" again?

Loyalty deserves to be rewarded!

No matter how that loyalty came about.

Baron Argon praised: "Knight Pepin, I remember you, you are indeed a valiant warrior. My lord, I must congratulate you on acquiring a strong supporter."

Everyone suddenly realized and started toasting and congratulating Losa.

Flattery cost nothing, and a cascade of praise was showered upon Losa. If his spirit weren't reasonably resilient, he might easily lose himself amidst the flattery.

Things proceeded very smoothly.

All the vassals saluted Losa amicably, including those heretical magnates, who swore with eloquent flattery to deliver an extra portion of tax by the end of the month.

No one jumped out to give Losa a chance to fall flat.

This was also understandable.

How long had it been since he sent the invitation?

Those who arrived swiftly had naturally intentions of goodwill.

If they truly meant to slight Losa, not coming would have sufficed.

After hosting and bidding farewell to these people.

Andreas cheerfully remarked: "My lord, the tribute they brought was quite substantial, especially Baron Argon, who gifted you with no less than ten uncastrated stallions."

Losa smiled and said: "Laine, the Stable Chief, must be overjoyed. These are the first batch of stallions in the domain."

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