Ctesiphon is the first heroic city in the Zoroastrian world.

It has a population of over half a million people, and during the heyday of the Sassanid Empire, millions of people, including tourists, settled here.

An endless stream of caravans from the East and the West made trade transit here.

The nomads of the north, the princely states of Tianzhu, the Turkic tribes of Asia Minor, and the mountain people of the Caucasus are called Chennagong every year.

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This is also the source of the title of King of Kings of Sasansan.

The white-robed eunuchs carried the chariots on their shoulders, and the noble King of Kings was sitting cross-legged on this gilded ivory chariot, overlooking the mighty Tigris River under the city walls.

He threw a crystal clear pomegranate into his mouth, chewing it and asking, "How's Saladin's offensive going?" ”

Palace Minister Mustafa said respectfully: "He is still stopped under the city of Caleborg, and he is not allowed to enter an inch." ”

The Sassanid Empire was a **** state, the King of kings, both a secular ruler and a recognized patriarch for all Zoroastrians.

The king of kings of Sasansan, Bahram VI, breathed a sigh of relief: "The bravery of the Franks is something that I must also recognize, and it should be my duty to recover the lost holy land, but..."

His face was a little pale: "This Saladin, why does he dare to launch jihad?" Isn't that the authority that the Holy Fire bestows on the Patriarch? ”

Only the instrument and the name cannot be faked.

The King of Kings is very conflicted, on the one hand, he is too lazy to recover the holy land far away from Ctesiphon, because he cannot obtain real benefits; On the other hand, I don't want others to do this great thing on my behalf.

Mustafa said in a deep voice: "My lord, it is the desire of the people to recover the Holy Land and take revenge on the brutal Franks, and Saladin is also taking advantage of the situation. If so, his reputation will be skyrocketing, but it will still not be comparable to yours. And if it doesn't, the chiefdoms under his command that have been forcibly integrated will rebel again, and the huge kingdom will fall apart in an instant. ”

Bahram VI snorted coldly: "Not only that, but if he loses his army in front of the Franks and suffers a defeat, I will personally lead the army and crusade against him!" ”

Mustafa said in a low voice: "My king, in addition, there is another matter, the khans of the Eastern Liao Kingdom (Western Liao) sent an envoy to invite you to ally against the newly rising Tatars in the steppe. ”

"Heh, the Khitan lord is unwilling to pay tribute to me, a few years ago, he also supported my unsuccessful brother, planning to split the land and divide the territory, how can such jackals and beasts be worthy of an alliance with me?"

Bahram VI was dismissive of this.

His eyes and energy were all focused on the shores of the Mediterranean, and Saladin, whose fame would rise after taking Jerusalem, was in full swing to catch up with him, the king of kings.

Mustafa advised: "My king, the momentum of the rise of the Tatars in the steppe is indeed terrifying, and it is said that even the overlord of the East, the country of gold, has suffered one defeat after another in front of the Tatars. ”

The Sassanid king laughed and said, "The territory I rule over is not counting those fortresses and walls, but there are thousands of big cities with names and surnames!"

My men and horses gather together, and throw their whips into the Tigris, and they will cut off the flow of the river.

Didn't the Tang Empire, which was once prosperous, still fall in front of my ancestors? Just the Tatars, let them go with the Liao dog-eat-dog! ”

...

Far from Jerusalem, this is a city in the Northland, in the boundless tundra and the Black Forest, and the mother city of the Rus' states, Kievan Rus'.

A majestic man with his upper body naked threw the head of a giant beast on the frozen ground outside the court.

The beast's skull was covered in black triangular scales like the branches of a spear, and it was stained with scraped flesh.

The head fell to the ground, and a white mist suddenly emerged from the broken neck, and the blood that flowed out was like boiling oil, squeaking.

The Patriarch from Greece was taken aback and stammered, "Heavenly Father, Your Excellency, how can you personally lead your troops to fight the evil dragon regardless of your own safety?" ”

Grand Duke Vladimir, Vsevolid III, opened his arms and showed his unscathed chest to the Patriarch: "Haha, it's just an elephant-trunked dragon that flew in from the north for the winter, a little creature with a maximum of two cows in size, and my guards nailed it to death in the cave with a round of throwing spears made of demonic gold." ”

"Temper its head and make it into an ornament, and I will take it back to Vladimir to show my subjects my prowess."

His eyes were sharp, and he suddenly thought of something, and said, "I know that the Greek Emperor sent you to recruit more Varangian guards.

But I warn you, that you must go to my designated Duchy of Rus' to recruit men according to my wishes, and you must not be tempted to fan my guards.

Otherwise, I would not mind leading my army and joining forces with the Bulgarians to storm your city of Constantinople and capture your Greek Empress to pour wine and warm my bed. ”

The Grand Patriarch was stunned, nodded again and again, and said, "Your Excellency, rest assured, I will not go against your will." ”

The so-called Patriarch, in fact, is an ordinary Orthodox priest, who was captured by Grand Duke Vladimir many years ago in this bitter cold place, and now it has become the link between Constantinople and the Rus' states.

...

Montreal City, Transjordan.

When the knights walked out of the castle again, their faces still filled with fear and disbelief.

"Heavenly Father is above, and there is really an evil god at work?"

"That lizard-like corpse we saw underground, is it really Lord Humphrey?"

"This will not be fake, I have followed the lord since I was a child, and he has a broken little toe, and there is a deep scar on the back of his neck, which was cut by the hook sickle when he used to play."

"What kind of character is this Baron of Lothar?"

"Have you ever thought that there are only two possible people who can kill the Evil God Scroll?"

"One is a saint, and the other is a genus of another evil god."

"No, maybe the two female scrolls next to him are powerful witches? Didn't the Germanic emperor build a tower of witches? ”

The faces of the knights were wonderful.

They said to their squires and sergeants, "Stand down, Baron Lothar is innocent, he is not a murderer, but a hero worthy of respect." ”

"I'm sorry, my lord, but we misunderstood you."

Lothar said generously: "It doesn't matter, no one can imagine that the lord they are loyal to will be bewitched by the evil gods, which is a rare thing in the whole continent. ”

Someone knelt down on one knee in front of Lothar: "My lord, please forgive me for being disrespectful to you. ”

Lothar said with a magnanimous face: "It's you, knight, I forgive you, but the duel between you and my subordinate Piping still has to go on as scheduled." ”

The knight with a face full of acne suddenly looked bitter: "Ahh

"Ladies and gentlemen, my family's female scroll was frightened and is still unconscious, and the matter of electing the guard officer will be handed over to you, and I have to go back and take care of it as soon as possible."

After saying that, Lothar really left with Prajna, without the slightest idea of getting involved in the rule of the city.

Looking at Lothar's back.

Someone whispered: "I'll just say it's a witch, if it's a mistress, he won't be so blatant, if it's a wife, he won't be unknown in the aristocratic world, and if it's a maid, there's no need to care so much." ”

"Oh my God, it's not surprising that an emperor, a king, or an archduke can command the allegiance of a witch, but he's just a baron."

"It is imperative that the officers of the guard of Montreal be elected immediately, and as Baron Lothar has said, the maintenance of stability in Montreal is the most important thing at the moment.

In the event of a riot, or if it is impossible to provide adequate supplies for the crusaders who have come from afar, His Majesty will not forgive us for our negligence, if the Earl forgives us for failing to protect our little master. ”

The knight said in a fierce voice, "When the time comes, we will all be hung on the gallows." ”