The early morning sun shone through the window, and Alexios opened his hazy eyes.

The ceiling is adorned with angels, holy and beautiful, but there is hell and Satan watching in the darkness.

There was a gentle knock from the attendant at the door, aggressive, slow and hurried.

The Imperial Supreme slowly got up, put on his gorgeous clothes, and was fully dressed.

There were no eunuchs left here, and Alexios was not so delicate as to need the eunuchs' attendants.

It is easy to go from thrift to luxury, and it is difficult to go from luxury to thrift!

"Come in!"

"Your Majesty!"

The royal guard pushed open the door and handed over a scroll of paper sealed with a red eagle's head as a emblem.

A cursory glance reveals bad news one after another.

Alexios put down the tome, its contents weighing heavily on his heart.

The Sultan of Rûm, Arslan, concluded an alliance with Saladin, the Ayyubid Sultan of Egypt.

The two pagan monarchs of the East decided to work together against Constantinople and Jerusalem.

Just this short line of words, the Imperial Supreme's heart shook.

However, the emperor laughed at himself, how could he let himself do what he wanted, while the Seljuks sat back and waited to die!

Arslan was a natural prospect for allies.

But what I never expected was that the Seljuks and Saladin would come together so quickly.

The covenant between the Empire and the Heavenly Dynasty seems to have reached the ears of the pagan lord.

It's natural for both sides to make some moves, but it's too fast, too fast!

There is also news that Saladin besieged Aleppo when the emperor was fighting against the Seljuks last year.

In the end, Saladin succeeded in taking the city.

Alexios was once again deeply powerless.

Saladin set out from Egypt and bought Syria for fifty thousand dinars.

The soldiers of Damascus, a famous city in the Middle East, fell bloodless into the hands of pagan monarchs.

And that's not all!

The lord of Aleppo, Saleh, died of illness last year, and Saladin took the opportunity to join the army.

After being besieged for many days, he negotiated with the defending Zangi to exchange five cities for the gateway to Syria.

The pagan monarch taunted Zangi, who had surrendered the city: "I took a gold coin and gave him a silver coin." ”

The keys to the Gates of Heaven fell into the pockets of the pagan monarchs, and the power of the enemy grew stronger.

Now the Crusaders in Jerusalem are surrounded by Egypt and Syria like sandwich biscuits, and there is a possibility that they will be crushed to powder at any moment.

Saladin's army of 200,000 is eyeing the Heavenly Dynasty!

The situation is spiraling out of control.

Especially after the alliance between the Romans and Egypt, the Imperial Army will be delayed in Anatolia.

Probably nothing could be more distressing than that!

The Supreme of the Empire sighed slightly in anguish, Jerusalem is in danger!

This was not what Alexios wanted, and King Baldwin's illness was worsening, and it was difficult for him to personally command the Crusaders against the pagan armies.

Among the rest of Jerusalem, except for Barrian, Guy of Lusignan and Reynard of Chatilon were all fierce and belligerent fervent crusader generals.

Faith is like life, and they don't know how terrible their enemies are, like Baldwin, and they don't know how to be afraid.

Once the power of the dynasty fell into their hands, the Crusaders were bound to provoke Saladin.

Without the support of the Imperial Army, Alexios had nothing to think of by rushing into war with powerful heretics but to bring destruction.

"I hope the Knights Templar will restrain their desire to kill!"

"At least don't challenge Saladin until the Imperial Army is free."

Maybe it's a nice luxury!

……

The main city of Nicaea grew farther and farther away from the Emperor's sight, and the Imperial Army rode away at a rapid pace.

The eight chief officers of the hussars, all gathered and dressed in civilian clothes, followed the Imperial Supreme and left Nicaea.

The horses galloped, and a group of knights galloped across the plains to their distant destinations.

By the time the knights reached a small village, where smoke was already curling, it was time for dinner.

The dismounted knights walked in this small village, and the people along the way were all powerful, and it was easy to see that they were from military background.

The commanders of the hussars did not know the purpose of following the emperor this time, but the excellent discipline kept them all silent.

There must be someone here that the emperor wants to meet.

In a courtyard, quiet, without any luxurious decorations, very simple.

The dilapidated farmhouse, the place where the inferior lived, the first impression of the Imperial soldiers.

Everyone had doubts in their hearts, but they did not hesitate to follow in the footsteps of the emperor.

Alexios looked at this and sighed silently.

"This should be it!"

"John Vitas?"

Looking at the man sitting opposite him in the courtyard with his back to him, the emperor had a keen intuition that this person was the person he was looking for.

The man who turned his head was full of wrinkles on his forehead, with a resolute look and sharp eyes like an eagle.

Several Imperial Army officers were all Ichirin, a battle-hardened warrior.

Although the years have left a deep mark on this man, it can be seen that he was also a handsome and dashing samurai when he was young.

"Everyone!"

"Villains are not welcome in my home!"

Old John's face remained unchanged, and his expression was calm, without joy or anger.

"Remember me?"

Alexios, ignoring Old John's unkind tone, came straight to him.

It was the first time he had seen the former general of the Imperial Army.

Old John, who squinted his eyes, looked at it for a long time, and his eyes gradually became solemn.

After thinking about it for a while, it seemed that he had thought of something, and he didn't speak for a long time.

"My Majesty!"

"Is that you?"

In an uncertain tone, Old John was already a little unfamiliar with the young man in front of him.

"The best general of the Imperial Army will also forget his own monarch?"

The Emperor made a joke, moved a stool and sat down opposite Old John, and the two looked at each other.

"Are you okay?"

"You see my situation!"

"It's not good, it's not bad."

Old John fell silent after speaking, the last time they met was when the two armies faced each other, and he was on Andronica's side.

"The Imperial Army fought the Seljuks last year, and it was tough!"

Alexios spoke to himself, and regardless of Old John's wishes, he was straightforward.

"My Imperial Hussars have had a big problem in their confrontation with the Rum's court Ghulams."

"Hussars can't defeat Ghulam!"

"We need to recreate the Imperial Paladin!"

"The Empire shouldn't need us, right?"

Old John's tone was dull.

"I buried Andronica and forgave his two grandsons!"

"But no more!"

"The paladimentaries are bound to be rebuilt, and I have come to you simply because you were once one of the best generals in the Empire!"

"Led by you, it will not disgrace the prestige of the palaziers since the Justinian lineage!"

"Are you coming?"

Old John looked at the emperor fixedly, and handed a knight's sword across from him.

"The sword forged by Anthony, the master of the Imperial Army, will serve as the sword of the next Commander of the Imperial Palazsars."

The long-lost passion has not yet reached the time to withdraw from the battlefield.

"I couldn't have been better to continue drinking the blood of the infidels!"