The banquet did not cool down because of Marquis Losa and the King’s departure; people were still singing loudly and indulging in food and drink at the flowing feast.

"Praise Saint Losa for giving us fine wine and delicacies."

Derum drew a cross on his chest, whispered a prayer, and then picked up a roast chicken from the tray and began to gnaw on it. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

He wore a semi-new chain armor shirt, over which was a black coverall he had bought at the market the day before. On his chest, he pinned the golden camel badge he had designed himself.

The scale of the banquet was actually not very high; present were not only Knights but also many attendants enfeoffed by Losa, though clearly not everyone was allowed to attend.

At least, he was the only one from the Shayue Tribe attending this banquet.

Alone, he instinctively wanted to seek the figure of the Ulm Knight in the crowd, but he couldn’t find him for the moment.

"Young man, who are you looking for?"

A rough voice sounded behind him.

Derum instinctively replied, "I’m looking for the Ulm Knight."

But then he realized the voice was actually speaking Kurdish.

The person speaking to him had a rough beard, wore a Saracen-style wide robe, had several scars on his face, and a particularly sharp look in his eyes—Derum could see at a glance that this person was definitely a Divine Archer!

"You... you’re Abdullah?"

"Yes, I’ve heard of you, Derum. The Shayue Tribe was once a large tribe among the Kurds, migrating south about thirty years ago. I thought your tribe had vanished long ago."

Abdullah paid no heed as he grabbed the meat and wine on the table, indulging in them heartily.

"Have you forsaken the Sacred Fire?"

Abdullah grinned: "I’ve sworn allegiance to the Marquis. Whatever he believes in, I follow suit."

He patted Derum on the shoulder: "Kid, don’t be so hesitant. You have nothing to be afraid of, nor do you need to care about what those Franks think of you. Getting along with them well or not doesn’t matter."

Derum wanted to retort, but the words stuck in his throat.

"Then what does matter?"

Abdullah extended his hand and thumped Derum on the chest: "What matters is letting the lord see your talents. Being able to learn the Frankish language shows your keen mind. Being knighted—no matter how it happened—is your ability. You should showcase it and let the lord see!"

"In any case, if you need anything in the future, you can come to me."

This rough Kurdish Cavalry Officer, upon finishing, left with wine and meat to admire the Irish dancers.

As he pondered, Derum suddenly heard someone shout, "My Lord Marquis, you are back!"

...

Among those queued to toast to Losa, one noble wearing a silk robe stood out.

He came before Losa and said respectfully, "Esteemed Marquis Losa, Duke Raymond, and all the lords, on behalf of my master—the King of Hungary and Croatia, Dalmatia, His Majesty Bella III—I extend the highest regards to both of you."

"Honored guest, please have a seat."

Losa smiled at him and had an attendant bring a chair for him.

The Crusader nobles looked at this envoy of the King of Hungary with curiosity, doubt, but mostly indifference.

The Kingdom of Hungary now encompasses the entire Carpathian Basin, including Transylvania, Croatia, and Dalmatia. With three crowns, Bella III is considered one of the most prominent monarchs in Central Europe, but in the eyes of the Crusaders, his status is not considered high.

After all, Hungary, that is, the Magyars, converted to Christianity relatively late; prior to that, the nomadic armies of the Magyars had wantonly plundered the Germanic heartland, and many still view that place as a barbaric and uncivilized land.

Leopold, the Marquis of Austria, the primary adversary guarding the Empire’s eastern frontier, is this King Bella III.

Bella III is also quite a legendary figure.

Much like Conrad of Monferrat, he was once regarded by the Eastern Empire’s Emperor as an important heir, given a daughter in marriage, but, due to his foreign status, missed out on the Emperor’s throne, leaving the Empire in dejection, yet eventually ended up with a royal title.

The difference is that historically, Conrad was assassinated before he was formally crowned King.

Duke Raymond’s tone was somewhat sarcastic: "At this particular time, your envoy’s sudden arrival—does it mean your King is finally planning to contribute to the Crusader cause?"

And even more sarcastically unspoken was that, in Raymond’s view, Hungary had only been converted to Christianity for less than two hundred years since Saint Stephen, a land full of heretical superstitions.

In Raymond’s eyes, although they’ve joined the Public Church, a large number of Hungarian nobility still adhere to the Eastern Orthodox Church, viewing the Great Shepherd of Constantinople or His Majesty the Emperor as their religious leader, completely different from them, the Frankish Crusaders.

Actually, within the Frankish Crusaders, there are still Gauls who look down on the Germanic people, and because the Germanic people are looked down upon, they hold hostility against the Gauls, let alone the Hungarian Crusaders.

Losa understood in his heart, perhaps this person came here to reap the benefits.

Saladin suffered a disastrous defeat, losing thirty thousand soldiers and horses, among which the elite accounted for one quarter. In today’s Europe, any major country would view this as an injury to the bones and a heart-wrenching cost.

In years past, when the Roman Empire occupied the entire Mediterranean coast, it lost twenty thousand legionaries in the Teutonic Forest due to Valus, which drove Octavian insane, shouting daily, "Valus, return my legion."

Therefore, the intention of this Hungarian envoy seems obvious without even asking.

However, the speed at which he received this news is too fast. If there wasn’t a teleportation array, Losa thought it was likely the Hungarian envoy just happened to stumble upon this event.

Losa smiled and said, "Please sit, honorable guest. I’m very willing to hear your intentions, while also extending sincere greetings to the King of Hungary who has selflessly aided the Crusaders."

The envoy replied respectfully, "My lord has decided to take over the holy cross from His Holiness the Pope and participate in a new round of Crusades. However, the chaotic situation in the Balkans, the conflicts between the Bulgarians and Greeks, are really worrying."

Now, in the lands occupied by the Hungarian Kingdom, a considerable portion used to belong to the Empire.

"In this matter, as a general of Cyprus, you must have heard, right?"

"You are not a Magyar, are you?"

"I was born in a small city-state in Croatia."

Losa smiled lightly, thinking that this person’s manner of speaking is completely different from the chiefs and leaders in Hungary.

"It’s better to speak directly, honorable guest."

"Could you postpone the Crusaders’ advance this time? You should know, the Saracens in Egypt still have a large-scale army. It’s too difficult to achieve victory with only the Holy Land’s Crusaders."

Surely here to reap benefits.

Losa coldly smiled in his heart. The benefits brought by regaining the Alexandria District are enormous. Even without mentioning the prosperous Egypt, just the prestige and honor of regaining Egypt is enough to tempt every Christian king.

Just like the words Saladin said when he recaptured Jerusalem in the film Kingdom of Heaven—what does Jerusalem represent? Worthless, yet of supreme value!

Previously, the kings of Europe were indifferent to the Eastern Expedition, merely shouting but not taking action, mostly because of the fruitless return of the last Crusade, with many losing their homes due to the long distance.

But now, it’s arguably the best opportunity in hundreds of years since Egypt fell into the hands of heretics to regain it.

These kings, who originally only occasionally paid attention to the situation in the Holy Land, are likely to soon become restless—they should be the ones Baldwin IV warned about as the most probable to seize his achievements.

"May I ask, how many troops did your lord gather, when can they set off, will they sail from Croatia or travel by land through the Eastern Empire? Have any of the European Monarchs been consulted or agreed on a time?"

The envoy was speechless.

The news was only transmitted back through the Hungarian Kingdom’s casters, how could they respond so quickly.

His face turned red, but he still stammered, "Two... no, thirty thousand elite Hungarian cavalry are ready, just waiting to negotiate the rental price of transport ships with the Venetians before departing immediately!"

Losa coldly sneered, looking around at those faces with mocking expressions: "Honorable guest, do you dare to swear on the True Cross that what you said is all true without a single false word?"

Seeing the envoy sweating profusely, Losa sneered coldly and was about to leave.

"Marquis Losa, aren’t you afraid of losing this battle, burying the Christendom’s greatest hope of reconquering the Alexandria District in centuries?"

Losa abruptly turned back, not angry; his current role no longer relies on roaring or showing a fierce angry face to demonstrate his majesty.

"Mind your words, envoy. This hope was earned by me and numerous Crusader Soldiers through bloody battles. When we risked our lives against the heretic warriors amidst the endless desert sands; when Saladin’s claws attacked Jerusalem time and time again; when those unarmed pilgrims were captured by heretics and sold into slavery..."

"Where were you and your king then?"

Losa’s voice was powerful and firm, leaving no room for this person.

"You... you’re insulting a noble king!"

"If he is displeased, let him come find me in the Holy Land!"

Losa coldly snorted.

As his words fell, countless Crusader nobles and knights surged forward, shouting fiercely in anger.

"Marquis, you’re right. If your king is dissatisfied, let him come!"

"Mind your words. Does a Magyar’s dog also have the qualification to bark arrogantly at the great Holy Spear Guardian? Didn’t your master learn any manners in the Greek woman’s bed?"