Jorgelisburg.

Overlooking the land from the topmost tower of the castle, a vast desolation stretched out, like the valleys formed by the earth's fissures, bearing the marks of Jordan River's altered course.

Two light cavalry riders kicked up dust as they raced towards the castle.

The guards in the tower immediately shouted, "Someone is coming, perhaps the lord's messengers. Dispatch someone to inquire about their identity and open the gates."

The geographical location of Jorgelisburg is quite advantageous, surrounded by flatlands, making it impossible for a large army to approach unnoticed by the guards atop the tower.

Just two light cavalry riders, evidently not coming with ill intentions.

Noise erupted below.

Guard Officer Model, wearing a red and white cloak, listened to the guard's report and questioned, "Messengers from Kaler Castle? We have no dealings with Kaler Castle, let them in."

The iron grating creaked and rose.

"Thanks to" the indifferent relations between Losa and Count Reynard, despite being neighbors, communication between the two places was scarce.

Jorgelisburg, far from trade routes, had long seen no visitors.

The two messengers walked in somewhat nervously, hesitated, and then saluted Model, "Are you the Guard Officer of Jorgelisburg?"

"Indeed, state your purpose, messengers of Kaler Castle."

Model regarded the two messengers with a cold expression, clearly not expecting good news.

The two messengers exchanged glances.

This wasn't their first time in Jorgelisburg, but the place was starkly different from before, with sturdy, new stone walls crowned by towers equipped with trebuchets.

And inside, tall fortress-like structures, and this lavish all-stone Lord's Hall.

Completely unlike the dilapidated small castle of the past.

This castle, despite being smaller in scale, did not seem inferior to the Kaler Castle, which Count Reynard had spent heavily to construct.

What does this indicate?

This Baron of Jorgelisburg must have a solid background and astonishing resources!

Thus, the message they carried seemed to be an act of provocation.

After hesitating for a moment, the messenger composed himself and said, "Sir Guard Officer, I am under orders from my master, the illustrious King of the Dead Sea, Lord of Hebron and Transjordan, the great Patron of Kaler Castle, Montreal, Adir, and Tafila, Count Reynard de Chatillon, to demand the conscription of all Armored Soldiers of Jorgelisburg to assist Kaler Castle."

"Ha, if I recall correctly, your master's noble titles do not include the Baron of Jorgelisburg?"

Model sneered at the notion.

The messenger intensified his tone, "This is the will of Count Reynard, you better decide carefully, for making the wrong decision will only bring trouble to your lord."

The other messenger angrily retorted, "We treated you with courtesy, yet you are so insensible, offend my master at your peril, lest we send soldiers to chastise!"

With a mighty slap on the table, Model retorted, "Indeed, Count Reynard's power is considerable, boasting thousands of troops, one of the most prominent Great Lords in the Kingdom of Jerusalem."

"Moreover, he is cruel and volatile, often raiding passing caravans and villages trading with heretics—many lords fear him."

"But what relevance does this have for me?"

"The army of Jorgelisburg answers only to the orders of my lord, Baron Losa; not a mere messenger, even if your master himself were present, it would not alter my response."

"Who dares cause a disturbance in Jorgelisburg?"

A gruff voice sounded timely.

A giant wearing only shorts pushed open the door and entered.

His bronze torso, muscles bulging like marble, wielding a large hammer the size of a human head, the sheer presence instantly stunned the two messengers.

Is there such a towering figure in the world?

The legendary Cyclops of Rhodes Island must be akin to this?

"Is it you two?"

The giant lowered his head, staring down at these little figures.

"No, no, no, we were just having a pleasant conversation with the Guard Officer, sir."

"Please, spare me, I am only acting under orders."

Seemingly overwhelmed by the pressure from the giant Marles, one of the messengers, barely five feet tall, knelt to the ground with a thud.

Model smirked, "Ha, Sir Marles, please kindly remove these poor souls, lest they soil this sacred ground out of fear."

Marles nodded, "Happy to serve."

With that, he grabbed a messenger in each hand and tossed them out the door.

The two scrambled onto their mounts, too terrified to leave even a threatening word behind, hastily departing from Jorgelisburg.

As for how they would report back, naturally adding fuel to the fire, elaborating on their cold reception at Jorgelisburg to Count Reynard; whether their master might provoke this evidently formidable Baron of Jorgelisburg in the process?

Such concerns evidently did not enter their consideration.

...

In the empty wilderness.

A thousand-strong army was advancing slowly.

They bore the Black Eagle Banner and Jerusalem Cross Banner.

The red and white cloaks unified the entire army.

Unlike the northward campaign.

Heading North, the route traversed the Kingdom of Jerusalem's territories, all along the Mediterranean coast, the prime part of the Levant, with supplies readily available.

But advancing eastward, aside from replenishing once at Bethlehem, the march was long and barren, difficult to find water and supplies.

Consequently, Baldwin IV divided the entire army into several contingents, moving sequentially to alleviate logistical and supply pressures.

Otherwise, this nearly fifteen-thousand strong force from Jerusalem might lose most of its combat capacity to thirst before even encountering the enemy.

They would rendezvous in the city of Montreal, subsequently merging all forces to march towards Kaler Castle, besieged by Saladin.

The Royal Knight Order led by Losa was the first contingent to set out.

At this moment, he rode at the forefront alongside Hans.

He pointed to the village ahead and smiled, "Hans, this is your fief, you haven't visited it yet, have you?"

Hans's surname, Sego, derived from this village.

Hans lamented, "Not only have I not visited, but I also haven't seen a penny of tax revenue in my pocket."

Losa, righteously replied, "Men with money turn wicked. I feed you, clothe you, house you, why do you need money? Besides frolicking, what else is there?"

Hans opened his mouth and lightly sighed, "Lord, you always have a way to persuade me with your clever reasoning."

Knights not residing in their fiefs is commonplace in Jerusalem, rather than lavishly spending resources to build a wooden castle here.

It's better to delegate the tax collection duties to Tax Collectors and take a cut for oneself.

On tax collection days, the Tax Collectors (often local Chiefs) would bring warriors hired with money to levy taxes here.

Losa looked towards the Inspector and inquired, "Andrew, legend has it the Saracen court maintains a massive army of Scorpion-tailed Lions and colossal War Elephants armored in iron, will we see them on the battlefield?"

Inspector Andrew de Porty shook his head, "My lord, this is my first face-to-face engagement with the Saracens. Previously, I only fought small skirmishes."

"You might inquire Richard, though he holds a civilian position, he has served in the Knight Order longer and might know some news."

Losa called Richard from the back of the troop and asked again.

"There might be armored War Elephants, but the likelihood of Scorpion-tailed Lions is very low. Saracens tried taming these beasts but never succeeded."

Richard replied.

The troop rested briefly in Sego Village and then resumed their journey.

Losa dispatched Ulm as a messenger to Jorgelisburg, he sought to assemble the newly trained Winged Cavalry and Varangian Guard into the troop, and incidentally bring over the armor Marles crafted for Prajna.

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