The residence of the Royal Knight Order is located in a side hall on the east of the Jerusalem Royal Palace, where there is a dedicated prayer room, lounge, and arena.
However, this place is not a small fortress like the inner city residences of the Templar Order and Hospital Knight Order, and is not suitable for defensive reliance.
As Losa stepped into the residence, the system notification sounded:
You have activated a new milestone: [Leader of a Regiment]
As a high-ranking noble in the kingdom, you have taken up the position of Grand Master of a Knight Order, marking a new beginning. May your journey on this path go further.
Requirement: Become a Grand Master of a Knight Order, with the number of cavalry in the order not less than one hundred. (91/100)
Losa was slightly taken aback, experiencing a pleasant surprise.
He didn’t recall designing a milestone before.
The milestone "Leader of a Regiment" is actually quite easy to accomplish, just handle the "employment" process for the winged cavalry under him.
The Royal Knight Order is a secular knight order, not a military monastery, hence joining it doesn’t require lifelong vows nor strict procedures.
Baron Godfrey once had "private soldiers" in the knight order, who were transferred into the Jerusalem Knight Order along with him.
In the courtyard in front of the hall, the new recruits were undergoing training.
Losa observed for a moment, when the Inspector and Financial Officer, wearing red and white cloaks, quickly stepped out from the palace to greet him upon receiving the message.
Before coming, Losa had consulted Baron Godfrey to roughly understand the organizational framework of the Royal Knight Order.
The Inspector and Financial Officer, as the main logistics officers of the knight order, were imperative to meet first to grasp the current state of the knight order.
The Inspector, also acting as the Clothing Officer, supervises the order’s ceremonial protocols and is responsible for procuring attires, typically standard hoods or ceremonial outfits.
Additionally, he organizes the inheritance of deceased knights and soldiers, sending them back home as per their wills.
The Financial Officer, as the name suggests, manages the knight order’s finances, including but not limited to extracting tax from the kingdom’s domain and paying the subsidies of poor knights (essentially their salaries), along with all expenditures.
"Grand Master Losa, I am Andrew de Porty, Inspector of the Royal Knight Order, from Valois of Gaul. It’s an honor to be received by you."
The speaker was a middle-aged man dressed smartly like a knight. Chapters first released on novel(ꜰ)ire.net
"I’m the Financial Officer, Richard de Huisen, from Catalonia of Aragon."
This one had a noticeable civilian appearance, not wearing armor but a red and white vestment robe with a hood, displaying a more refined demeanor, a rarity in this era.
It’s noteworthy that in this era, many clergy are fierce beings capable of wielding the Cross to strike their foes.
"Pardon, my Latin isn’t great; can we converse in French?"
While speaking, Losa said, "Andrew, handle the joining procedures for my subordinates and order cloaks matching their armor. Until the cloaks are finished, have the Royal Knight Order’s blacksmith emblazon the armors with insignia for identification."
Andrew immediately complied: "Please, everyone, follow me."
Once the group left, leaving only Losa, Prajna, and Furinjira, he inquired:
"Richard, Saladin’s army is soon to arrive, the war may begin by tomorrow. I need to know the current combat capacity of the Royal Knight Order."
Richard pondered briefly, then said:
"Grand Master, the Royal Knight Order has 84 knights registered, but more than half have returned to Europe as honorary members."
After a pause, Richard continued: "Currently, there are 34 knights in Jerusalem, including yourself. The number of their attendants is unclear, with only 50 registered, resulting in roughly eighty cavalry in total."
"Additionally, some knights and their attendants garrison in various royal domains, but they likely received His Majesty the King’s summoning decree and will soon head to the Holy City."
"As for soldiers, the Royal Knight Order has 504 soldiers registered, with 200 dispersed in various royal domains. They might be called back along with the knights, or not, which I cannot ascertain."
Losa nodded, expressing approval: "You are quite sensitive to numbers, it’s apparent you’re a meticulous person."
Richard slightly bowed, saying: "I’m the family second son and studied for three years at the church school in Chambery. Compared to complicated scriptures and chants, I prefer numbers."
"I’m also the family second son, I’ve even forgotten the names of many of my brothers sent to monasteries."
Losa felt somewhat sentimental.
Speaking of which, without waiting for Richard to reply, he continued: "Mr. Richard, excluding soldiers needed to guard the palace, how many can I take for deployment?"
Richard thought for a moment, then replied: "My Lord, the palace is vast and requires a substantial number of guards; during normal rotation, there are at least 150 stationed daily."
"If you wish to lead the Knight Order on an expedition, at most you can transfer three hundred soldiers, and that’s assuming the soldiers dispersed in various royal domains are brought by Knights."
"So, that means three hundred soldiers and one hundred cavalry, right?"
Richard nodded and said, "Yes, that includes the cavalry you brought."
"Richard, tell me about the Commander of our Knight Order; I haven’t met him yet. Hopefully, he’s an agreeable colleague."
The Commander is the deputy of the Knight Order, Baron Goffrey was transferred to the Jerusalem Knight Order as Regent King Raymond’s deputy.
Generally, the Commander cannot challenge the authority of the Grand Master.
But Losa is an outsider parachuting in; if the Commander is uncooperative, he might not render him powerless, but he would surely cause him many troubles.
Richard hesitated for a moment but finally said: "The Commander’s name is Philip von Welf, he is a decent person who trusts his subordinates, and his temper... his temper is quite passable. I’m unsure if he is extraordinary in military talents. But in internal affairs, when Baron Goffrey was the Grand Master, many matters were entrusted to him."
Losa said with interest, "The Welf family of Duke of Saxony, Henry the Lion?"
Richard nodded and said: "Yes, Lord Philip is the uncle of the Duke of Saxony, he is a vassal loyal to the Emperor of Great Germania, possessing an Earl’s Domain in Saxony. Currently, he only fulfills the role of Commander and has not sworn allegiance to His Majesty Baldwin."
It seems this Philip the Commander indeed holds a lofty status within the Knight Order.
"I understand, you may leave now."
Losa watched Richard de Huisen depart, he closed the door tightly; the "employment" of his winged cavalry should proceed smoothly, as he already received a milestone completion notification.
The reward obtained was a Four-Star item lottery ticket.
Without any hesitation, Losa chose to use it.
Inside the room, a cyan light flickered; a moment later, a crystal bottle emitting a cyan glow, filled with dark red liquid, appeared in Losa’s palm.
The dark red blood was viscous, gently swaying in the crystal bottle, resembling a gelatinous luster.
Its name is Wolfman Bloodline Enhancement Potion.
Grade: Extraordinary.
After consumption, the user will gain the bloodline of a werewolf and, if it’s a standard quality attendant, it’s highly likely to advance to Four-Star level, obtaining random talents and skills.
Unlike the werewolf named Abelardo, solved by Losa during the knight tournament.
In the world view Losa created, werewolves are powerful magical creatures equal to vampires, and arguably rivals to the Blood Royal Court.
They inhabit Two Sicilies, hidden in human society but above it, akin to lofty controllers ruling over the masses.
They have influence in various industries.
This is a highly intelligent, relatively high-limited extraordinary life.
Compared to gaining three attribute points per level-up, which corresponds to a Three-Star level, consuming this potion doesn’t seem unfeasible.
But something like a bloodline, being inherently unique, allows one to obtain stronger, more potent, and less side-effect bloodlines through draws.
Hence, Losa only slightly hesitated before immediately dismissing the idea of consuming this potion.
He pondered whether he should give this potion to Baldwin IV; being a long-lived species, werewolves shouldn’t be killed by leprosy.
This would effectively cure Baldwin IV’s ailment.
Yet, he hesitated slightly, knowing Baldwin IV was not a dogmatic theologian nor an extremist religious zealot.
But werewolves are entirely different from witches.
Under the Church’s propaganda, werewolves are complete demons, to be exterminated by anyone, whether public or orthodox believer, Coptic or otherwise.
After a long sigh, Losa said:
"I should give it a try; Baldwin IV has treated me well. If he offers me a peach, I should reciprocate with a plum. If alleviating his suffering from leprosy is possible, it’d be a good deed."
"Moreover, Jerusalem needs a healthy King to reunite the people’s hearts."