CHAPTER 61: CHAPTER 54: TRAITOR WITHIN

As Leonard stumbled through his story, the situation gradually became clear.

The desert bandits Leonard spoke of were a long-established gang primarily composed of Zoroastrian followers, running rampant in the Jordan desert for many years.

Relying on their ability to come and go like the wind and their familiarity with water sources and oases in the desert, they often attacked villages when the border patrols were absent.

They extorted a great deal of wealth, cattle, sheep, and grain from villagers who were already living in poverty.

Occasionally, they would also rob the few passing merchants or poorly guarded noble estates.

Even Count Reynard, the lord of Kaler Castle, could do nothing about them.

Leonard was also unfortunate. He set out this morning with five soldiers, intending to buy warhorses in a wealthy village under the jurisdiction of Fort Montreal.

There was a large horse market there.

The behind-the-scenes owner of the horse market was Count Reynard’s wife, Countess Stephanie, a woman praised as the iron-blooded rose in a skirt, a knight in her own right.

Count Reynard would sometimes concentrate and sell horses there that he had seized by raiding Ayyubid caravans or defeating the Bedouin tribes.

Shortly after they entered the territory of Fort Montreal, they encountered this band of robbers.

Losa furrowed his brows tightly, a solemn expression on his face: "Leonard, are you the only one who returned? How many did we lose?"

Leonard immediately knelt to the ground, crying bitterly: "My lord, we... suffered no losses. They found out that we were soldiers under your command, took the money, and left."

Losa was slightly startled.

He didn’t know whether to be happy or unhappy.

Happy that no one died.

Unhappy because, in this era, human life was worth nothing.

Losa pondered, "Montreal Castle is also Count Reynard’s fief, isn’t it? Do they have nothing to say about this ’robbery in the territory of the Count of Jordan’?"

Count Reynard was undoubtedly a powerful noble in the Kingdom of Jerusalem, but Losa had little contact with him.

Since being propelled onto the kingdom’s political stage by Baron Godfrey, Losa had been deeply branded with the King’s Faction, becoming a flag bearer for Baron Godfrey.

At least, that’s how it seemed to outsiders.

Leonard hurriedly said, "My lord, I paid my respects to Count Reynard’s wife, Countess Stephanie. She was once the sole mistress of this land, and Count Reynard rose to his noble status by marrying this lady."

Losa tapped the table expressionlessly: "Get to the point! I don’t need you to explain how this former Duke of Antioch, Reynard, was ousted from his ducal position and then rose again through marriage."

Leonard said fearfully, "Countess Stephanie did not meet with me, but one of her knights told me that a new army would be organized soon to eradicate these bandits, and I should return to await news."

"Await news?"

Losa sneered.

As a neighbor, Countess Stephanie of Jordan should, in principle, engage in ’social visits’ with either a visit or an invitation to a banquet.

But it had already been three days since he arrived in Jorgelisburg, and no invitations had been delivered.

Either he was looked down upon, or Reynard harbored hostility towards him.

Losa believed the latter was more likely, especially since Belian defeated Guy, worsening the relationship between the King’s Faction and the Empress Faction, and he had clearly sided with the King’s Faction.

"I don’t have the patience to wait around."

Losa secretly calculated that the wealth accumulated by this group of desert bandits over the years must be considerable. If he could find their lair...

The current fiscal deficit of the territory would surely improve.

Additionally, the issue of warhorses needed urgent resolution.

Otherwise, even if he had money, he couldn’t train the Winged Cavalry.

Losa hoped to train at least twenty Winged Cavalry in a short time to form a significant battle force.

But to eliminate this group of bandits, the number of cavalry in the territory was still too few.

The newly trained Winged Cavalry numbered only three, including Hans and himself, making a total of five.

Relying on these five to find and defeat the swift desert bandits in the vast desert was a fool’s dream.

If these bandits were so easy to deal with, Count Reynard, a powerful noble, wouldn’t be at a loss against them.

"Leonard, do you think there’s any collusion between these desert bandits and my subjects? Or at least, some of them might have joined them?"

Losa suspected an inside job.

Leonard looked terrified: "Heavenly Father above, I swear, neither I nor my fellows have any collusion with these bandits. Those bandits are shameful heretics, and if we dared collude with them to seize your wealth, we would surely be cast into the Fire Prison and tormented by the Devil for ten thousand years!"

Losa shook his head: "I’m not talking about you; I’m talking about the subjects! In those six villages, especially in the one with half of the people being heretics, there may be someone colluding with these bandits."

Leonard sighed deeply in relief: "Yes, my lord, I also believe they have a problem. These wretched people, not only do they not appreciate your generosity but they repay kindness with betrayal; they’re utterly damned!"

Losa sneered coldly: "Don’t you think that precisely because they appreciated my generosity, they refrained from taking your lives?"

"Otherwise, why should a band of gangsters that wouldn’t hesitate to offend Count Reynard hesitate to offend a mere Baron of Jorgelisburg like me?"

At this moment.

Losa suddenly heard a notification:

You’ve accomplished a milestone: Model Fief (Your fief has at least two thousand acres of land and a population exceeding 200 living above the subsistence line).

You’ve activated the next milestone: Model Territory (Your territory has a population of at least a thousand above the subsistence line and over two hundred wealthy individuals).

You’ve received a Three-star special item: "Statue of the Archangel."

Statue of the Archangel: When you place this item within the bounds of your territory, all residents’ loyalty towards you will slightly increase, while their favorability towards your enemies will slightly decrease.

Losa pondered for a moment and realized this was most likely because he stopped imposing heavy taxes on the Zoroastrian inhabitants, allowing the heretics living under his rule to improve their living standards, eventually reaching the benchmark of 200 individuals above the subsistence line.

As for the two thousand acres of land...

Here, the vast desert was abundant with grainy sand, and even though Jorgelisburg only had six villages, the land area was probably equivalent to some Earl’s Domains in Western Europe.

"It appears that the current state of Jorgelisburg is still dire, with less than a fifth of the population being able to fill their stomachs."

Losa furrowed his brow.

Sustenance was the basic condition for human survival.

Losa’s fingers lightly tapped the table: "Reducing taxes further is impossible; it’s imperative to find new sources of revenue. Meanwhile, the desert bandits frequently extorting my subjects also need to be dealt with urgently."

Losa quickly devised a plan.

Since these swift desert bandits were hard to catch, why not lie in wait for them instead?

He looked at Leonard, still kneeling on the ground, and said in a deep voice: "Leonard, you’ve lost the wealth I entrusted to you for purchasing warhorses. How do you intend to repay your debt?"

Leonard, trembling with a sobbing voice, said: "At your discretion, my lord, I only ask for your mercy to forgive my sins after death and to allow this devout believer to ascend to the Celestial Kingdom."

Losa stood up, towering over him: "Do you know what disappoints me the most? That you did not fight and merely watched my entrusted wealth slip away from your hands without resistance; such an offense I cannot forgive."

Leonard choked up, saying: "My lord, there were too many of them. We couldn’t have been their match. I assure you, we are no Judases; we just..."

"Enough, Leonard. I will give you a chance to atone for your sins. Whether you live or die depends on it."

Neither did Losa entirely blame him.

No one wants to run into bandits.

If they had fought, they would have perished, and the money would have been lost anyway.

Yet, clear rewards and punishments were qualities a lord must possess, and Losa could not let this slide without consequence.