When Losa came out of the Royal Palace, Baron Godfrey was already gone.
A servant handed him a note, on which was written the address of Baron Godfrey's residence in the Holy City.
The servant said that the baron invited him to visit after he handled his current matters.
Suddenly stepping out from the dim court into the blazing sun, Losa instinctively shielded his eyes.
He mused inwardly, no wonder many of the Crusaders' nobility in the hall had adopted the Arabian style of dress.
He felt he indeed needed an Arabian-style "Kufiyeh" loose white robe, along with a white headscarf.
In his ears, the system's notification sounded: You have activated and completed the milestone—"I Have a Little Manor."
Description: The manor is an important component of a lord's estate, as well as a crucial channel for the lord to gain income.
The beginning is always difficult, but you have obtained your first manor. How far behind could the second and third be?
Activate the upgraded milestone: "Real Estate Mogul," acquire ten manor estates, or workshops. (1/10)
You have received an opportunity to draw a card.
Losa's mouth curled slightly; indeed, after arriving in the Holy Land, even without gaining a fief, the opportunities to draw cards have increased.
The number of milestones he had designed in the past was indeed too numerous, to the point where even he couldn't remember many of them.
The long-waiting Furinjira outside came forward first: "What's the matter, smiling so happily?"
"Nothing much, just obtained a manor estate in Jerusalem City where we can stay, no longer needing to lodge at inns."
Furinjira's face showed a hint of joy, but then she put on a stern face and snorted coldly: "Merely a small manor, and it can make you so visibly delighted?"
"Back then, I resided in the Royal Palace of the Blood Royal Court, which was built by the Great Monarch of Blood with tens of thousands of werewolf laborers over three whole years."
"Compared to it, the Royal Palace of Jerusalem is nothing more than a rustic country lord's farm."
Furinjira tried hard to appear more reserved and noble, but Losa was unimpressed by her act and casually brushed her aside.
"Yes, yes, my Princess."
Prajna watched the scene indifferently, showing no emotion on her face.
Yet Losa smiled gently at her.
For Prajna, he always held a special affection, as she was the one who had started from nothing with him, accompanied him through every day and night, listened to his deepest thoughts, like a friend, or perhaps even family.
Of course, one cannot exclude the possibility of a bit of romantic affection between them.
To be with a woman of Prajna's looks day and night, if there was no hint of affection, you might as well be an eunuch in the Eastern Empire's court.
Losa stepped forward in front of everyone and said in a deep voice:
"Everyone, today I was granted an audience with His Majesty the King, and I swore my loyalty to him. His Majesty has given us a manor as our residence in Jerusalem."
"That's wonderful, His Majesty truly favors you, my lord!"
"I've heard many knights from Gaul are denied even an audience with His Majesty!"
"My lord, it seems you are on the rise."
Hans, Laine, and Model were all beaming with joy.
The citizens also felt a sense of honor.
Since they followed Losa, traversing oceans to the Holy Land, their fates were closely tied to his.
Losa gave them life, they could live; Losa asked them to die, they would have to die.
From a legal standpoint, they were freemen, but in fact were no different from peasant slaves, because Losa was the lawmaker who could change his word anytime.
Those barely considered "free" were indeed the artisans and merchants in the Free City-States.
"Master Losa, since you've got a manor, shouldn't we start farming?"
Someone asked nervously.
If they could avoid fighting and killing, it would be much better.
Even in places like the Austrian Border Territory, not everyone is a fierce and combative warrior.
"I'm afraid not."
Losa shook his head: "The manor His Majesty bestowed upon me is not a knight's fief, but a villa-style estate, it can house people, but lacks land and peasant slaves."
Obviously, it doesn't meet the criteria of a "fief" and can't help him activate the system.
"I see."
That person looked disappointed.
Among the male townsfolk, his character was the softest, trembling even when he held a knife to cut down bandits.
"Your name is Dieter, right? I remember your name."
Dieter mumbled softly, "It's Tver, sir."
Losa's tone was slightly restrained as he continued, "I know you don't like war, but you must understand. If in the future, I acquire a fief and grant you land, will you be able to defend your land?"
"Or do you think that if the heretics come and kill me, your lord, you can remain unscathed?"
"I..."
Tver was stunned for a while.
Losa looked at the others: "Will you tremble in fear faced with the bandits' butcher knives, as before, or will you rise in resistance with the long spears and shields I grant you, relying solely on yourselves?"
"My promise will never change. Once I acquire a fief, you will all be granted land, but the amount will depend on military merit."
"Tver, you coward!"
Someone cursed loudly.
Andreas, who had once been a Knight's personal servant, kicked him hard: "Tver, serving the master was a vow we made together. If you dare to break it, we will not forgive you, and after you die, you will certainly suffer in the Fire Prison!"
Tver said with a face full of grievance: "I didn't, I didn't want to break the vow... I just asked the master. I prefer farming."
Losa patted his shoulder and pulled him up from the ground: "There's nothing wrong with liking farming. When I get the fief, focus on researching how to increase crop yield."
He said kindly, "For now, let's return to the manor granted by His Majesty for rest. We've been on the road for days; everyone has worked hard. The manor is named Constantz, a name given by my father, perhaps because my uncle once served as Archbishop of Constantz."
On the way back, Losa instructed Laine and Model:
"Now that we have a base, we can begin training new troops. Laine, Model, I'll leave this to you two. Remember, the backbone should be our seven... no, six male residents."
He lowered his voice: "You can further assess Tver. If he really can't do it, let it go and let him be a farmer."
"The standard for selecting soldiers depends solely on talent."
He did not care about the physical condition of the pilgrims because it was unnecessary.
Other than malnutrition, anyone who could painstakingly trek to the Holy Land had a strong physique.
Even if they are currently weak, as long as they eat well and rest for a while, they can recover.
He also didn't care about loyalty. Without daring to present certain advanced ideologies to conquer their hearts, absolute loyalty was impossible.
And the beliefs, laws, and moral norms of this era are enough to ensure that the army he builds single-handedly has above-standard loyalty.
Losa stressed, "The illiterate at most can become small officers; prioritize Germanics; otherwise, the language barrier means no combat effectiveness."
Jerusalem lacks everything except the unemployed pilgrims.
The selection range available to him was large.
"We must be proactive; tomorrow we'll put up signs recruiting pilgrim soldiers because the Kingdom is also planning to arm the pilgrims to defend the Holy Land."
"We must select the most outstanding ones among them, remember to say as I told you, promising big rewards."
Losa's tone paused, somewhat resignedly adding, "Our resources are thin, and we can't offer great conditions; we can only promise big rewards."
Laine and Model both nodded repeatedly; they understood the meaning of "promising big rewards."
However, they interpreted this as a promise.
"Regarding the number, set the limit at fifty, each must wear armor, whether leather, zha armor, or scale armor. Besides that, each of them needs to be equipped with a leather-covered shield and a long spear fitted with a refined iron spearhead."
"When purchasing these military supplies, you can find Andreas, who served as a Knight's personal servant and attended Church School for two years; he is adept at dealing with those cunning merchants."
Count Werner armed only a hundred soldiers; he was a Count after all.
Losa does not aim too high; fifty is quite adequate.
This already is a level of armed force that most Knights cannot possess.
"Hans and I will be invited to visit Baron Goffrey's territory. These matters will be fully entrusted to you two; make sure this is done beautifully."
Losa's tone paused and promised big rewards once more: "If this is handled well, you will each lead a team of soldiers as officers."
Both faces immediately showed excitement.
"We will certainly not betray the master's trust."
Losa nodded slightly, furrowing his brows in thought, considering if there was anything he had overlooked that he needed to tell these two.
This time, venturing deeply into enemy territory, he planned to bring only the four entourage members produced by the system.
By four, it was because he hadn't had time to use the newly acquired draw card opportunity.
"Oh, right, when I return, I'll teach you some simple training methods, focusing on strict obedience from the soldiers. You can decide based on your experience whether to adopt them."
He decided to impart some training techniques to both of them; queue drills are effective for strengthening army discipline at any time.