Bursa in Anatolia is on the western coast of Asia Minor, and it takes no more than a day to arrive in Bursa from Constantinople by warship.

Its strategic location, combined with thriving trade at sea, made it a formidable pillar of the Eastern Roman Empire in western Anatolia, and the 1st Legion of Emperor Alexios' descendant was now based in Bursa.

Although Edmund, the commander of the area, was a Varangian from the north, Alexios promoted him to the commander of the new army and was responsible for the western defense of Anatolia.

Edmund now rested on Mount Ulu, covered in snow and ice, and a little green was fragile in the snow, and a rudimentary stone beacon had been erected.

Tall, burly in the snow, Edmund looked into the distance, the kingdom of the Turks.

It's been a hundred and ten years since the Imperial Army lost that land, and now the fire of paganism is everywhere there, and the eyes are full of enemies.

"Whew."

Edmund took a breath of hot air, how long had it been since he had breathed such a breath of ice and snow, and the huge palm holding the battle axe was bruised, and he was a little solemn when he remembered the information sent by the spies a few days ago.

The nomads of the eastern steppes began to move, and little by little, they converged like a stream of sand to Konia, the capital of Sudan, under the leadership of their respective Gazi.

The current situation is like a barrel of oil, and if someone sends a little spark, it can ignite the fire of war in Anatolia.

Thinking of his colleague, Khayyam of the Second Legion, Edmund frowned again, the Second Legion had followed the emperor westward for nearly a year, and now the counterinsurgency war was over.

However, the Second Army has not yet returned to its station, and is still resting in the imperial capital of Constantinople, and it seems that the rebels of the Bulgarians and Alexei were too fierce, and the Second Army was greatly wounded.

Now that the Legion Commander Khayyam has gone to the Black Sea to receive the slave soldiers gifted by the Cuman Khan, it will definitely be a long time before the Second Legion returns after replenishing the new soldiers.

The defense of the entire Anatolia was on Edmond, much to his annoyance, and he never had to think about strategy before becoming the commander of the legion.

Now that the northern town of Amasra is extremely empty, who will the Turks choose if they suddenly attack? Is it the North or the West? Is it the empty Amasra or the Bursa where he is stationed.

Who will Arslan's fox choose? Is it to eat Amasra and then turn around and destroy his legion? Or will he destroy his First Legion first, the only formed force in all of Anatolia?

As a veteran of the Battle of Myleo Sephaloon with Emperor Manuel, Edmund can still recall his memories.

At that time, the emperor gathered the most elite troops of the empire, and also brought the servant army of the Duchy of Antioch, as well as the steppe cavalry of the Hungarian king Bella, and the army was at its peak.

Unfortunately, the final battle ended in defeat with the Imperial Army's offensive thwarted.

Emperor Manuel almost lost his fighting spirit before the end of the battle, but thanks to the Imperial Paladins led by Andronica at that time, a bloody path was opened to avoid the total annihilation of the army.

"I'm here for that battle!"

Edmund muttered to himself, the horror of the battle, when he was only the Emperor's bodyguard, and now the hero of that battle, Andronica, had been killed for the rebellion.

And the last elite ace of the empire, the ironclad palsaders, was also brought back to the imperial capital by the emperor and abandoned, and now it is almost in a state of disbandment.

"My lord, there is an urgent report from Bursa City!"

The herald who appeared on the hillside broke Edmund's thoughts, and he was a little surprised, secretly saying that the Turks couldn't bear to send troops now?

"Your Excellency, His Majesty Alexios has arrived!"

"What did you say?"

Edmund almost thought there was something wrong with his ears, and he hurriedly asked again.

"The ship of the great Imperial Caesar has arrived in port, and now His Majesty's personal army is ashore."

The herald of the Legion brought a piece of news that left Edmund stunned, and at this juncture, the Emperor had arrived?

Edmund could no longer care about the beacon tower that was still being built, and he decided to go back to the city of Bursa first, and if necessary, he had to persuade the emperor to leave Bursa, where war was likely to break out.

However, he was not worried about the emperor's safety, Bursa was close to the coastline, there were warships, and the emperor could retreat at any time.

……

The coastline is densely dotted with a large number of warships, the port has changed from the original guard to the open, and the soldiers stationed there are standing up straight with their heads held high, and they are here to meet the emperor's review.

The Emperor's ship, the Constantine, docked, and this battleship was built for the Emperor by the master craftsmen of the imperial capital, unlike the average medium-sized warship in the Eastern Roman Empire, which could only carry 200 people.

The battleship had a capacity of up to 600 men, and it was a three-deck giant ship, and the Imperial Navy's standard Greek fire throwers were installed on it, and the moment the sails on the battleship fell, the soldiers of the harbor were overshadowed by a huge shadow.

When the deck was lowered, all the soldiers in the harbor knelt down to praise the holy name, the hunting flag fluttered in the wind, and Alexios walked slowly down from above.

The lengthy rhythm of the imperial rituals had actually made him impatient for a long time, and he had always been interested in changing the cumbersome etiquette of the Eastern Roman Empire, especially the kissing boot ceremony.

This was made by Emperor Justinian the Great during his reign, and after the children from peasant families were in high positions, they liked to humiliate the dignity of others more than the original purple-robed nobles.

"Edmund isn't there?"

Seeing that there was no general of his own in the crowd, Alexios was a little strange and asked.

"Praise be to you, Eternal Ruler Basilius, the Legionnaire has gone out this morning, and he should now oversee the construction of the beacon tower on Mount Ulu."

The chaplain of the army, John, answered the emperor's questions.

"Send for him to come back, I will see him before noon, and by the way, with proper etiquette, I will receive a monarch here!"

John was stunned on the spot, the emperor's words were too informative, he couldn't accept them for a while, and when he came to his senses, Alexios had already gone into the city with his guards.

"Meet a monarch here? Why not Constantinople? ”

Although John is a high-grade pastor, don't look at the church as brothers, a low-level like him can't access top-secret information.

"If only Elder Isidore were here!"

John was a little annoyed by his clumsiness, and he better pass it on to Captain Edmund.

……

When Edmund walked into the Doge's palace in Bursa, the Emperor was sipping delicious mead with a little blush on his face.

People who have been bumpy at sea always have to find ways to ease themselves.

"You're here, Edmund, it's been a long time!"