"All that's left is to come up with a good name, dear Earl of the Borderland. Pen | fun | pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ”

Indeed, the name should naturally be more high-sounding, on the one hand, it can boost the morale of the members, and on the other hand, it can also make the ignorant masses who do not know the truth feel awe. You've had an idea for a long time, haven't you? Sebastian, you came up with it first. ”

It is true that the name has been in the mind of the Count of the Ridlingen Empire for many years, but only the magic sword "Irtrosa" knows that he originally only regarded this as a boring fantasy, but now that he suddenly has the opportunity to realize it, he will naturally do his best.

"It can be called the 'Desperate Soul Knights of Our Lady's Prayer', or simply the Knights of the Absolute Soul. ”

Hearing the name, Salian said to Sebastian with a twinkle in his eyes.

"Oh, you have chosen Our Lady as our patron saint!"

"Yes, in the middle and south of the empire, the greatest number of people believe in Our Lady. ”

"Well, and it points out the helplessness and frustration of our imperial knightly class, it is appropriate! It seems that when I will go to the Papal States, and let His Holyceum personally give us the 'Golden Edict', and in the future we will also receive a copy from the Emperor, and with such a double guarantee, we will be as solid as a rock!" Salian was clearly very pleased with the name, and he found Sebastian to be a rare talent.

Before they knew it, it was getting late, and Salian had been talking excitedly all day.

The joy of meeting a close friend made him reluctant to leave just like that, and since he had set a goal, he had to implement it as soon as possible. At the same time, in order to avoid detours, the programme of action is also important. After much deliberation, Salian finally decided to camp in Sebastian's fortress for a few more days, during which time the basic policy of the Order would be determined.

Thus, on the afternoon of October 20, 2492 AD, in a secret room in the Freising Fortress, the first members of the Order of the Absolute Soul were sworn in: Count Salian von Hohenstringen, Count Sebastian von Riddlelingen, Baron Manstel von Barenberg, and Miss Lorana Eth Schönecker, as well as Baron Welden as a witness. Although the order claimed to be a Church order, the boys and girls did not swear to the Lord or other saints, but only to the Tutonian nation.

Through the brainstorming of the members, the "Knights of the Desperate Souls of Our Lady's Prayer" was determined to be a semi-secret group, which meant that they did not have to actively identify themselves, but they did not need to deliberately conceal their identity. The emblem of the Order is determined to be a bright red coat of arms on the base, on which is painted a funnel cross. The slogan is "Revival, Mutual Aid, Guard".

In order to achieve a high degree of consistency in the goals of membership, members must be Tutonians, regardless of social hierarchy or gender, and they need to absorb all Tutonians who have aspirations. New members must be recommended by old members to join, and they are not allowed to leave the group without permission.

Although the Order was founded and had few personnel, a preliminary organizational structure has now been appointed for future development. The highest decision-making body is the Council of the Knights, composed of the senators, the senior prefects, and the commanders of the various sub-orders that will be formed in the future. But Salian needed someone of this ability.

There are nine senior officers in the Order: Grand Master, Deputy Master, Pope's Deputy, Registrar, Treasurer, Military Officer, Medical Officer, Inspector and Quartermaster. At the behest of Salian, Count Sebastian von Riddlelingen became the first Grand Master, while Salian, who wanted to hide himself, only held the position of military officer, Baron Manstel von Barenberg, a disciple of the former Imperial Treasurer, became the treasurer of the Order, and Miss Lorana Eth Schöneke became the quartermaster. The vacant posts of senior officers and the various ranks under them will be filled in the future. Of course, the Papal Delegate needs to be recognized by the Holy See before it can be established. It's up to Salian to use his brains.

That night, in the camp's marching tent, Yulia, who slept beside Salian, asked his brother why it had occurred to him so much effort to establish a knighthood. Yulia was present the whole time when they were founding the Knights, as she poured tea and water, and Salian had nothing to hide from his Itkanria girl.

"Brother, what kind of knight order do you have the energy and money to build, it's enough to be the emperor yourself!"

"Hehe, how come you think the same as the two staff sisters! The emperor is of course the ultimate goal of our aristocratic family, but the unscrupulous ascendant will only become the laughing stock of history!"

"Aren't there a lot of people who will help your brother, there are several financial resources alone!Even if it is difficult to buy votes last time, I think it should be enough to win all the opposition with this money to win over the terror knights and small lords in the south!?"

"Haha, little Yulia, I think you're going to be a magician in the future, and you can come up with a plan with just a few words from us. But I'll explain the situation to you! Manstel can come up with 300,000 guilders, and Estofalia and Lorana Ise may have more, plus the other allies, it will be as if I have 1.5 million guilders available. It seemed like a lot of money, but I didn't have vast and rich fields, ordnance factories, and horse farms, and I had to spend money on almost everything. ”

"We can feed the war with war, didn't there be many famous kings back then who fought in the north and south just by relying on an elite army without any logistical support?"

"This is no longer the case, my dear sorceress, the scale of modern warfare has become so large that it is necessary to rely on stable supply lines, and the soldiers on both sides are all battle-hardened professional soldiers or mercenaries, and it is impossible to defeat the barbarians with elite legions like the ancient empire. ”

"One and a half million is not a small number, you should be able to give it a shot, brother, you are too cautious!"

"Then I'll do the math for you, first of all, please don't look at the level of status, how much do you think it will cost to hire a terrifying knight of my strength, or how much does it cost to hire a mercenary like Meyer?"

"About the same salary as me and Teresa, twenty guilders a month?"

"Hehe, if our good friend, Baron Barenberg, doesn't have that much money, he only has a set of ancestral armor and weapons, and there is only one old horse left in the war horse, and the rest of the servants are all old and infirm, maybe ten gur guilders are enough. But a man like me, who is highly skilled and well-armed, and who has a few skilled followers under his command, may need fifty gul guilders a month to find, not counting supplies. In the same vein, 'Myer', an elite two-handed sword mercenary who specializes in assaulting infantry phalanxes and defending cavalry, is a war expert who earns double the salary. ”

"The riskiest professions are, of course, the most expensive, I know. ”

"Well, in order to deal with powerful competitors, I think we need at least three hundred elite knights as a shock force, five hundred double-paid mercenaries, and then the other infantry with less training provided by me, together with the ordinary soldiers in my own fiefdom, can be gathered to about five thousand. Finally, there were fifteen hundred cavalrymen of the frontier legions. That is to say, my total strength is 5,500 infantry and 1,800 cavalry. At the very least, you need to buy three cannons to siege the city, and you have also seen that the cannons there in Maximus, although he did not tell me the price at that time, I think these three cannons cost at least one thousand guilders, and they also need a logistics team of hundreds of people, maintenance personnel and escorts. ”

Salian put her arms around the girl in her arms and continued.

"Even if our opponent had asked me to have all of these things in place, one and a half million gold coins would probably be enough to sustain this army of less than 10,000 men for a year, and I could not afford to lose even one defeat, and without replenishment, it would be more difficult for us than it had been when Caesar had conquered Gaul at the end of the ancient republic. I don't have Caesar's abilities, I don't have the strength to do it, my opponents are terrifying knights and magicians like us, and I don't see a glimmer of hope for success!"

"Brother, I think the person who compares himself to the top five famous commanders in history is a careerist himself, right!?"

"Why, I'm just talking about our current strength very objectively. Good sister, we are sleeping, it is late at night. ”

The next day, after bidding farewell to the Count of the Reedlingen Empire, Salian and his party set out on a journey again, and when he visited the other minor lords, he recruited some suitable characters to join the Order according to their pre-planned strategy, and thus calmly came to the Duchy of Vienria along the way.

With the exception of the domains of Archbishop Carl Jung of Meloa, who was a witness to the marriage of Viscount Charles and Miss Margaret, and several imperial counts under the direct authority of the Emperor, the rest of the territory belonged to the Duke of Vienria, Vanne von Hinterfingen. The minor lords here were vassals of the Hintenfingen family, which had ruled Vinenria since the Third Dynasty. Although no one has ever ascended to the throne, with the territory of Vienria larger than the whole of Schwartenn, Hindfingen has always been a force to be reckoned with within the empire. Every candidate who wants to compete for the throne will try to win them over, and Hindfingen has used every opportunity to expand his territory and power. This policy of steady and steady, left and right, is the biggest secret of their family's constant standing in the political struggles of the empire.

It's late autumn, and the temperature is already very low in the highlands of Vienria, and most of the people here are wearing thick winter coats. Salian traveled day and night, regardless of the weather, to catch up on the time he had delayed.