The sea breeze at the end of summer is soft and refreshing.

On the blue sea.

A large convoy of ships laden with sailors and lightly armed soldiers was heading for the island of Cyprus.

Painted with lifelike golden double-headed eagles on the wide white sails, sailors from the Kherson Military District (Crimea) and Latin (Romania) operate these fully loaded transport ships.

This is a transport fleet from the Eastern Empire, responsible for dropping the army under Lothar onto the island of Cyprus.

The cargo hold of each ship was filled with livestock, grain, ordnance, armor, and other goods, some sponsored by the Empire, and some prepared by Lothar himself.

They had set out from the port of Jafa, and today was the second day of Lothar's departure from Jerusalem.

On board are Latino sailors from Wallachia, mysteriously telling the soldiers of Lothar bizarre tales and legends.

And I admired the frightened looks on the faces of these fully armored and very elite soldiers.

They are the so-called Latinians, the descendants of the northern Dacians and the people of the old empire, and in terms of blood, they are probably the purest descendants of the ancient empire.

"In Wallachia, at midnight, if someone knocks on the door, don't answer it."

"Because if you respond, the vampires outside your door will be invited by you and will break down and suck your entire family to dry corpses."

The sailor described it vividly.

Lothar listened with relish: "If he had not been a sailor and had become a bard, he might have a better future, though he would have been a little uglier." ”

"My lord, is he telling the truth?"

Judge Ned Stark's face tensed, and he asked, a little frightened, "I mean, what do we do with vampires if we face them?" ”

This is clearly a folk rumor similar to the myth that vampires will be restrained by garlic and silverware, and will not even be able to walk in the sun.

Ordinary people, even hiding in a room made of iron sheets, can easily be torn apart by vampires.

The only thing you can do is to close your eyes and wait for death.

But Lothar wouldn't say that.

just said: "It's the same as "The Witcher", it's just a setting." In fact, only with the use of magic gold can this kind of ghost be restrained. ”

The gold of this world restrains all creatures with magical powers.

Although vampires may not be considered creatures, the rich stale atmosphere is very similar to the undead returning from the tomb, but it is obviously not related to evil spirits and ghosts.

Otherwise, how could Nishaya say that transcendent biology, even among wizards, is a vast and profound science.

Probably because of the mutual restraint, the number of magic gold is not small, and the price is often cheaper than the same weight of gold.

It's a pity that even at this price, ordinary civilians can't afford to buy a magic gold weapon.

The fleet sailed slowly.

It's getting late.

There was a mist in the air.

This made the captains and sailors vigilant, not to watch out for reefs and whirlpools, but to be careful of the Cypriot fleet, which could be dispatched at any moment.

After all, this convoy of transport ships is all big-bellied Kirk ships, and they will definitely suffer heavy losses in the face of the kind of galleys equipped with fire oil tanks, ballistas, and very maneuverable.

These soldiers under Lothar's command are all a group of landlubbers, and they can't be equipped with iron armor on the ship, so even if they fight with the enemy, they can't have much advantage.

It's just that Lothar didn't panic.

He had the breath of the dragon and the ability to "stir the wind", and he was not completely without the power to resist on the sea, otherwise he would definitely choose to set off with the Crusader fleet.

Then.

A black owl, like a sharp arrow, swooped out of the mist, and a white ripple set off on its tail.

The woodland archers beside Lothar immediately raised their longbows and pulled out a golden golden arrow from their quiver, which was also where most of the Lothar's gold was going.

He raised his hand: "Don't be nervous, it's your own people who are here." ”

The owl landed on the deck and thuded into a witch in a graceful red dress.

Anna glanced at the burly woodland shooters with some disgust.

No one will have a good impression of something that can threaten their life.

Especially the sorcerers who cherish their lives.

During this time, the woodland shooters were well nourished, and after rigorous training, they were able to draw a hundred-pound woodland longbow.

The power of the bow and arrow pierces a tree, and it can also penetrate a soldier wearing armor with a shield in the back.

The problem is that it doesn't last.

This is just like many Dongfang fierce generals in the martial arts arena, who can carry hundreds of pounds of stone locks, but it is impossible to build a weapon weighing hundreds of pounds for themselves.

The woodland shooter can now only fire the bow eight times in a row at most, and his arm will tremble so that he can't hold the bow steadily, not that he can't continue to shoot, but the accuracy is not guaranteed.

Anna walked towards Lothar with graceful steps, and said thoughtfully: "Lothar, look at your double-headed eagle banner, and say that you don't have an eye for the empire?" ”

Lothar was a little helpless.

His double-headed eagle, partly borrowed from the Habsburg eagle emblem, and partly from the coat of arms of the two territories of Lothar, is completely different from the double-headed eagle of the Empire.

"Coincidentally, I don't have any ambitions to look forward to the territory of the East and the West."

Anna snorted lightly: "If you are interested in the empire, it is only right to join earlier, and the olive branch I threw to you will always be valid." ”

She looked around.

His eyes lingered on the ship of the veterans who remained for a long time, and his eyes were fixed on the golden eagle emblem in the flag bearer's hand—it was clearly the same as the lost eagle flag of the Empire.

In the midst of Lothar and his army.

Anna saw the lost prowess of the Empire.

It's not in the blood.

Just like Latina, the Latinos on the Apennine Peninsula have long lost the glory and glory of the martial arts of the ancient empire in Anna's opinion.

In a trance, Anna remembered a man, the man who was called the last of the empires, the Vandals of North Africa, the Visigoths of Iberia, and the Ostrogothic kingdoms of the Apennines.

Belisarius.

Anna murmured softly, "If you wish to be Belisarius, I assure you, Your Majesty will never be Justinian." ”

"Miss Anna? What did you just say? ”

Lothar whispered.

Anna came back to her senses and greeted everyone without changing her face: "Lady Prajna, Lady Jeanne, it's a pleasure to see you again." ”

"And Miss Fringilla, you haven't taken the initiative to talk to me lately."

Anna pretended to be aggrieved, and her gaze swept over Cellynina with some vigilance: "Is this a generation of new people replacing old people?" ”

In Cellynina, Anna sensed a strong sense of threat.

It makes her sit on pins and needles.

On the surface, Anna didn't show anything, but she made up her mind that she would not be able to meet with Lothar easily in the future, and it was one thing to recruit Lothar for the empress, and it was another thing to save her own life.

If anything, the latter is more important.

Fringilla couldn't be straight, and she was angry: "I know you're busy too, so let's just be more interesting and don't pester you all day." ”

Anna choked on her.

In the past, when she was busy, Fringilla often called for correspondence at inopportune times.

She finally couldn't hold back and asked, "What is the name of this beautiful young lady?" ”

Cellynina's voice was polite and distant: "Just call me Cellynina." ”

She wore a hood that covered her ears and a cloak from the tail behind her buttocks, and as a half-wolf, she couldn't switch between wolf and human like Hans did.

Lothar spoke: "Anna, if you have anything to say, you can say it directly, the military is busy, what are you doing here with me?" Teach me the follow-up spells recorded in the spell books? Or are you here to deliver the baby? ”

"No, just to come and see you, coordinate your fleet by the way, and land at the right opportunity."

Anna said in a relaxed tone: "You haven't started to make that magic item yet, it's a huge project, and I can devote myself to it when it's over." ”

Lothar nodded, and said, "I think you should participate in the upcoming sea battle, with you, you can ensure the victory of the sea battle." ”

Anna rolled her eyes: "That's not going to work, it's too dangerous." ”

Lothar Stopper.

"Your high-level magic, almost legendary Great Wizard, is it overly cautious?"

"Caution is the only way to live long, a little fool like Nisaya, without my protection, would have died long ago I don't know how many times."

This sentence is very much to Lothar's appetite.

"Indeed."

Lothar no longer dwelled on this, but asked, "Apart from me, the princes of the Crusaders, who else has answered your call?" ”

"The combined forces of the Hospital and the Knights Templar, as well as some small Crusader lords, there are no big names, all of them add up, there are more than two thousand people."

Lothar thought thoughtfully: "In this way, I still have a good chance of coming out on top?" ”

Anna shook her head and said: "Yes, but there is not much hope, after all, the fleet sent by your crusaders is a vital force, but the two sides may not be able to fight in a short time." Hopefully, you'll be able to land at night tonight and get straight to the island before the enemy fleet can react. ”

"If you go deep alone, will it be dangerous?"

Lothar frowned.

The ships were carrying limited supplies, and it was obviously impossible to anchor to the shore and set up camp in the light of the steady stream of supplies that followed.

Once landed, it was necessary to give full play to the "fine traditions" of the crusaders and "eat the enemy."

This is not in line with Lothar's usual style, but he only hesitated slightly, and then eliminated the hesitation in his heart, his ability is limited, and when considering problems, his own people must be in front.

Moreover, eating the enemy does not necessarily mean plundering civilians.

There were still more yeoman farmers on the island of Cyprus, and the empire's territories in the Balkans were almost all serfs, and the tinkle of poverty.

The granaries of the rich merchants and landlords are the best targets.

Anna said lightly: "Relax, Isaac has only been on the island of Cyprus for a long time, at most he has a personal guard that is relatively capable of fighting, and the rest are local garrisons, and their strength is very average." Moreover, there is a high probability that I will not be willing to fight you to the death for the sake of Isaac's ambitions. ”