About three centuries ago, on Saladin's march to Jerusalem, there was a castle guarded by the Crusaders, a small but unusually strong fortress with plenty of food and water.

This small citadel guarded the main road to Jerusalem, and when King Gay of Jerusalem was captured at the Battle of Hardin, the castle, which was guarded by only a few hundred men, became an island besieged by a dozen times the pagan army.

Surprisingly, however, the fortress held out, and even after the fall of Jerusalem, it held out for months before finally having to surrender.

Similarly, in the heart of Europe there is a famous fortress called Mantua, a huge fortress that has gradually gained the title of an impregnable castle after hundreds of years of construction by different owners in different eras.

Ironically, however, this castle has been changing hands one after another over the centuries, and every time someone captures this invincible fortress and thinks that they will be the last owner of this castle, its new owner is already secretly peeking at this fat piece of fat.

There is no fortress in the world that cannot be attacked, and the final result of any isolated defense is only to fall. Alexander believed this statement.

"Especially after the advent of artillery."

The latter sentence is Gompati's testimonial.

Zagreb may have been fortified, but Alexander's advice to Helva was to keep him from going toe-to-toe with the Ottomans, and he didn't think Belgrade and Bucharest would be an exception.

Historically, both cities have withstood sieges from the Ottoman Empire, but the reality is not just because they are impregnable.

In 1462, when Mehmed II conquered Constantinople and came to Bucharest, the Ottoman Sultan was in high spirits, but he was repeatedly frustrated in the face of this fortified city, but Mehmed II was not discouraged, he organized a siege and ordered the famous urban cannon to be mobilized to help the country, and the people of Bucharest, who heard the news, in addition to praying for God's salvation all day long, waited for the arrival of those terrible weapons as if facing the end of the world. Then the day of the slaughter of the city.

In the end, it was not God who saved Bucharest, but a group of Balkan farmers.

"If Count Sander thinks that the walls of Belgrade can hold off the Ottoman army, he is a fool." Alexander said to Gompati, "So I had Herva write a letter to the Earl, suggesting that he come out of the city, and that the Count of Sander should be more fit than Helva to be the leader of the land and resist the Ottomans, but it all depends on whether the Count is clever or not. ”

Before leaving Zagreb, Alexander had another secret conversation with Helva.

Alexander can understand Helva's concerns, more than half a century of fear has caused the shadow of the Ottomans to create an indelible fear in the hearts of many people.

They didn't believe they could defeat that behemoth, even if their ancestors had done so, even if Mehmed II, the so-called conqueror of the world, had almost sunk in the Balkans, but they still couldn't help but be terrified when they saw the crescent flag.

"Then don't confront them directly," Alexander said to Helva, "give them the city, give them the countryside, give them everything they want to occupy, but take away the grain, the gold and silver, the wheat that is not yet ripe, leave them not even the slightest useful thing, no cities and mountains, no villages and jungles, as long as you are the duke of Zagreb, then you have irreplaceable influence, which is enough to make you one of the most terrible enemies of the Ottomans." ”

Alexander felt compelled to teach Herva the essence of the great guerrilla tactics of the classics, especially considering that the descendants of the Balkans, who had defeated even more formidable enemies on the peninsula centuries later, felt that Herva had the potential to become the pioneer of professional guerrilla warfare.

The Ottomans were destined to be the rulers of the Balkans, and that rule would last for almost three long centuries, but that didn't mean they couldn't change anything.

Bayezid II's march into Bucharest not only shook the Balkans, but even the West feared it.

No one knows whether the Sultan is really trying to suppress the remnants of Rome gathered in Bucharest or whether he is taking the opportunity to annex the Christian states that are still unwilling to submit to the Crescent Moon, especially since the rather bizarre march route of the Ottoman army is really puzzling.

The taming of the Bosnians came as a surprise to many, and even somewhat to the Sultan himself, as the fierce resistance that he thought might be encountered after crossing the Nausawa River was nowhere to be seen, and what awaited the Ottoman army was not a brutal battle, but a letter of surrender.

This made Bayezet excited but also somewhat regretful, although he was different from his father, as a descendant of the Sultan's family, he still preferred to see the complete conquest of every inch of land here by blood and fire.

However, Bayezid II was not a young and reckless young man, especially in some respects more rational and calm than his father, so the Sultan gladly accepted the surrender request of the Northern Bosnian nobles, and he quickly made his request to the Christian nobles.

The Sultan's army expanded rapidly, and while the Sultan's territory was not allowed to have more armed troops than the prescribed according to the Sultan's orders, the nobles, including the Principality of Caniola, provided the Sultan with an army with a total of less than 4,000, and now the total number of the Sultan's army has reached nearly 82,000 people!

Such an army marched among the mountains of the Balkan Mountains, and from a distance it looked like a great serpent that could not be seen from front to back.

The serpent's tail was still whizzing along the banks of the Naousava River, and its head had already appeared near the Red Fort in the Marquis of Rhois.

No one had the courage to stand up to such an army, and the Ottoman advance, after crossing the Nausava River, turned east and headed straight for Bucharest.

It was at this time that Alexander's army entered Transylvania.

The Mureš River is the largest river in Tracivania, and it joins two other rivers upstream and downstream to form the river that surrounds the northeastern delta of Transylvania, bringing abundant water to this mysterious land of Transylvania.

Terrifying castles, perpetually gloomy weather, and mysterious, noble and bloodthirsty vampires are all that Alexander remembers about Transylvania.

Although he knew that of course this would not be the case, when he entered the land, Alexander was still somewhat shocked by what he saw.

In the distance, something on the side of the road looked like enlarged lollipops from a distance, but when you looked closer, you realized that it was a string of heads poked into sharpened stakes.

The severed heads were cut straight through the stakes and then drilled through the skulls, the stakes' white-shaven tips covered in blackened filthy blood and all sorts of unknown marks.

A flock of crows stood on the skulls and pecked at the contents of the skull, many of which had empty eye sockets, not knowing if the eyes had been gouged out or eaten by wild beasts and birds.

To the surprise of Alexander and his army, this horrific situation was seen not in one place, but outside many villages.

Hanged people can even be seen on the roadside trees outside some villages, and when the wind blows, the stiff corpses will sway around, which makes Montina's army, who have seen many lives and deaths, very creepy.

"This is a paradise for heretics, are you sure that duke here really believes in God?" Gompati asked in amazement as he looked at the string of human head stakes he had just passed.

"The Duke of Wallachia, Chesses, is indeed a believer in God," Alexander nodded affirmatively, and he wondered a little whether he was convincing himself, "Speaking of which, this duke is famous, yes, quite famous." ”

Can you not have a name, the original form of a vampire?

Alexander cursed in his heart, whether it is official history or wild history, the description of the Grand Duke of Wallachia Tzepes has never been positive, cruel, cold, greedy and capricious, few people can be described with so many derogatory terms, but these do not seem to be enough to fully describe, and finally in all kinds of false descriptions, the Grand Duke of Wallachia has become synonymous with vampires.

"It is said that Chipes is now in Bucharest," said Alexander, looking at the army in the distance as it was advancing along the lowering terrain, and from some rumors from Bucharest, he received the rather unexpected news that the Chipes of Wallachia seemed to be very enthusiastic about Sophia.

Does this mean that I have one more rival in love, or a rival with a huge territory and armament, and from time to time he may gracefully stick out his fangs and bite someone else's neck?

Grand Duke Tsepes of Wallachia is a very strong opponent indeed.

Of course, he didn't really think that Chipes was a vampire, but as the Grand Duke of Wallachia, Chipes of Transylvania was a clear contender.

What kind of thoughts King Ladislas II of Hungary had for Sophia was something Alexander was always worried about.

Whether it is a Greek princess or a Greek Joan of Arc, these titles are not at all a talisman for Sophia, especially the latter.

Joan of Arc was ruthlessly betrayed after being squeezed out of the last use value, and even the French themselves could only face it with silence and evasion when it came to the fact that Joan of Arc was betrayed by the great nobles, rather than refuting it with reason.

Will Sophia be the next Joan of Arc?

Alexander told himself that he would never allow this to happen.

Fort Riverbank is a small place, a town in a bay on the east bank of the Muresh River.

In the early years, it was once the place where the original Grand Duke of Wallachia, Vlad, trained his troops, so a small fortress was built in this village and town.

It was only later that Vlad was killed in battle with the Ottomans, and the place was deserted.

Whether Vlad of Wallachia was the originator of vampires, Alexander did not know, but his habit of cutting off people's heads as sugar gourds had already been seen.

Thinking of the man with the title of Piercing Duke, Alexander didn't have a good impression of his son.

The locals were clearly suspicious of the Balkans, and looking at the cold eyes cast by the streets, Alexander instructed his men to be more careful.

"If they dare to do anything, I don't mind teaching them hospitality with a musket." Gompati looked at the villagers on the side of the road, "But what do you think the nobles will do to us, my lord?" ”

"The people in Bucharest?" Alexander smiled, "They will think that we are reinforcements from Rome, and of course they may think that we are here to make trouble for them." ”

Alexander said as he glanced at Gompati, who looked puzzled, and smiled slightly.

Ladislas II must have heard of him, but the king must have mixed feelings about his arrival.

As for the affair between Maximian and the Fuggers, Alexander believed that Ladislas II could not have heard of it, and that the great copper mines of Hungary were so important that it would be strange for the Hungarian king to say that he had no idea about it.

So should we make an idea on it, Alexander rode his horse and touched his chin and fell into deep thought.

The barracks at Fort Riverbank are located on a hillside outside the town, from where you can look down on the town and the valley of the Muresh River.

Patches of lilacs spread over the hillsides, making the valley look vibrant, but perhaps because the impressive "landscape" of this place is so unique, even the lilac-covered hillsides seem to have a slightly strange smell.

The house in the barracks was in disrepair and leaking everywhere, and at night the wind became more intense and fierce, and Alexander stood in front of an empty broken wall wrapped in a cloak and looked at the town looming in the dark valley below.

The Bucharest side should have known of his arrival by this time, and as for what happened in Zagreb, they should have heard the news.

So what will Ladislas II and those nobles do next?

Alexander thought to himself that he didn't mind intriguing with the Hungarian king and the Roman remnants, but he hadn't come from afar to entangle with them.

He had to take Sophia away from the Balkans, and just think of Bayezid II and his near-invincible army, and Alexander felt that the best option at this time was to find her and flee away.

A faint sound of horses' hooves came in the wind, and Alexander leaned slightly to look at the path on the hillside outside the wall, and in the distant reflection of the shimmering river he saw what appeared to be a man riding up the hill.

The man had apparently alarmed the sentry outside the camp, and it wasn't long before Busako arrived with a soldier.

"My lord, our sentinels have caught someone." Busako whispered to Alexander.

"Who is it?"

"My lord, the man said he was from the Red Fort and was going to Bucharest." The soldier handed Alexander a crumpled letter: "This was found from him." ”

"Red Keep?" Alexander pondered for a moment and remembered the place: "The Marquis de Rois's Red Castle?" ”

Alexander opened the letter as he asked, and he was stunned.

"What's going on, sir?" Busako asked cautiously.

Hearing Busakó's inquiry, Alexander had a look of strangeness on his face: "Marquis of Rhois, he has declared himself the successor to the Bosnian throne. ”