South-west of the port of Aylah, Dahab.

At the residence of Rauf the Impale.

A middle-aged man in a gorgeous white robe with bare feet said goodbye to the owner with a smile on his face.

Rauf's face was a little ugly: "Master Shermail, I am about to crusade against the infidels, do you really want to leave at this time?" ”

The middle-aged man bowed slightly: "Thank you for your hospitality and help, Lord Rauf, but I have also helped you tame a batch of manticores, and we don't owe each other." ”

Zahn, who was standing beside Rauf, spoke, "Master, the Manticore alone cannot defeat that Frankish lord, and he has an evil witch under his command. ”

Zahn had seen the wild manticore be killed with a single shot.

The man known as "Shermel" had a blazing gaze: "There are Demon Blocking Gold, and there are manticores, even if the attack is insufficient, it is enough to defend your territory." ”

"Saladin convened a gathering of wizards in Damascus, and although I have no intention of serving him, it is only there that I can show the prestige of the 'Hamouzai' school."

Rauf's face was a little ugly, but he also knew that he couldn't sway the will of a powerful spellcaster, so he had to say, "I will send ten elite 'faris' (knights) to escort you." ”

Escort?

Shermel's eyes, as if able to perceive people's hearts, looked at Rauf until the other man bowed his head profusely, and then spoke:

"No, I'm not willing to cross Frankish territory, that could cause unnecessary conflict."

He whistled.

In the sky, a loud lion's roar rang out.

A giant manticore, at least twenty meters wide, with its wings outstretched, fell from the sky.

Behind its tail, a crimson, sharp scorpion tail was wagging slightly.

"Goodbye."

Shermael waved his hand.

In the eyes of a powerful spellcaster like him, no matter what faith and race, all are empty.

In addition to the ridiculous priests and falconers who can only rely on worshipping the sacred fire to obtain their meager ability to cast spells, will there be spellcasters who believe in God?

As for the human race, it is not worth mentioning, and they are all classified as mortals.

He straddled the manticore's saddle and nodded slightly to Rauf, and the manticore vibrated its wings, sending the crowd to a staggering wind.

Rauf looked at the back of the manticore, which was far away.

His face was gloomy: "This old thing, I have been respectful to him these days, almost responding to requests, and he is still leaving!" ”

"Why is it that the Frankish lord on the other side can get the help of so many beautiful spellcasters, and I can't even recruit one? What a damn one! ”

Zahn admonished, "Rauf, forget it. ”

"Master Shermael owes us nothing, he has created us a twelve-strong band of manticore-tailed faris, capable of striking at the enemy from anywhere in the air."

"As long as we rely on this Manticore-tailed Faris, we will continue to advance in the Hejaz and annex the territories of those weak lords."

"When the time comes, ask King Saladin for the title of Governor of the Hejaz, and your status will not be much inferior to that of the Governor of Adil in Egypt."

"Huh."

Rauf glanced at Rauf with contempt: "Zahn, you have fallen to this point because you are too weak, I should have known that you were so easily frightened by that Frank, I should not have let you go to garrison Port Ella." ”

Zahn's face was blue and white for a while, his fists clenched, and his muscles burst out.

It seems that he also regrets humiliating his brother so much.

Rauf's tone softened: "Zahn, my territory is now divided in two by the port of Ella, and if I want to return to Ma'anborg, I will either cross the enemy's territory or rely on ships to land at Aqaba, and the Frankish territory will also be under my pocket." ”

He said in a calm tone: "This is destined for me and the lord on the other side to be a situation of never ending from beginning to end. Unless I would rather give up the territories of Dahab and Sinai, but this is impossible! ”

Zahn opened his mouth, but stopped talking.

He felt that he was reluctant to give up a third of his territory, just to make peace with the Frankish barbarian.

If there is a close lord, you can also use the territory exchange to solve this problem.

But how can Rauf, a tyrant with the name of the Impaler, have such a relationship?

"Moreover, it is not only my territory that has been divided in two, but also the entire Ayyubid kingdom, and if I can't take back the port of Aira, he will definitely hold me accountable."

"You know, I'm not one of his faction."

Zahn was silent for a moment.

Saladin is said to be a generous and benevolent monarch, and this is true, but when it comes to power struggles, who dares to make any guarantees?

The Ayyubids did not have much control over the region, but in the Hejaz, if Saladin were to remove him from office, he would be sanctioned for internal expansion.

That would be a disaster.

…

Returning from New Habsburg, Lothar made a tour of Alaandler.

The city, which looks like the Acropolis of Port Ella, has settled down completely.

The cross coat of arms of St. Lazarus fluttered at the head of the city with the double-headed eagle banner of Lothar.

These poor people's orders from Jerusalem, with the help of Lothar, redressed in old chain mail or scale armor, patrolled the city and helped pilgrims who were suffering from illness to heal their wounds and diseases.

The Order of St. Lazarus, which followed the bottom line, actually coincided with Lothar's policy.

The converts of the Diocese of Aramdrer received the land allocated to them by Lothar, but it took time to reap the benefits from the land.

Although they had a place to stand, they were still poor.

The help of the Order of St. Lazarus was a real relief for them, and the fact that Lothar offered converts low or even free rental of farm tools prompted more and more people to convert to Catholicism.

Whether or not they were pretending to be converted was not important to Lothar.

Once they surrender their names, when the Saracens come back, who cares if they are pretending to convert or not?

If it was wartime, Alaandler should now be able to pull out three hundred sergeants.

There are also the Guardian Knights of the Order, these poor knights are definitely not as good as the rich knights, because the squires, equipment, and mounts they carry are inferior to the rich knights, but in terms of personal combat skills, they should not be much worse.

For the poor knight who talked about it would have died a long time ago in a tavern brawl or a trip across the Mediterranean.

In the field, craftsmen are leading their hands to build an irrigation canal.

With a soft sound, the distant water source rolled down the canal.

The onlookers burst into cheers.

"Praise the Father, praise the great Count of Lothar!"

Lothar nodded slightly, and then continued towards Port Ella, escorted by Alandler's city guards.

Truth be told, Lothar didn't want to fight the Impaler right now.

In addition to Hebron and Jörgysburg, New Habsburg, Aramdeler and Port Ella are all on the rise.

Every extra day of recuperation gives you more strength.

If all the territories of the Sinai Peninsula were to be assigned to Lothar now, he would not even have the strength to divide his troops - he would not do so.

Because the governor of Egypt, Lothar's old rival Adil, may have been waiting for this day.

Once Lothar divides his forces and his strength weakens, he will take the opportunity to attack Lothar, anyway, the so-called armistice and peace can always be torn up as long as there is a reason.

"Miss Flynn, you have to work harder when you go back, there are not a few powerful wizards like Miss Anna in this world."

"If you're just so lazy, I'm afraid in the future, you won't even have the power to protect adults."

"In other words, if even the strength of an adult is stronger than yours, you have no need to protect him."

Jeanne teased Flynn who was sitting on horseback, still chewing on biscuits.

In exchange for the angry eyes of the two.

"What do you mean that 'even' me is stronger than Frynn?"

Lothar snorted lightly, "When my dragonborn bloodline is fully awakened and I can turn into a dragon, we will fight it again." ”

At that time, he also plans to complete the mock battle of Constantine XI and change himself to a six-star template - the gap between the two is not as simple as just one attribute point.

This may not be obvious enough from Prajna's performance, after all, she is just a giveaway.

Sensing Lothar's strange eyes, Praruo frowned slightly: "Jeanne, agree to the adult's request, and at that time, I also hope to have a discussion with the adult." ”

Lothar: "..."