I was a knight in the Middle Ages

The morning mist shrouded the mining town's platform like a veil, and the white smoke from the steam locomotives mingled with the smoke from the distant mines.

Alpha stood at the front of the armored train, its chainmail covered by a scarlet cloak that fluttered in the wind.

Behind Alpha, the obsidian warhorses of the five thousand Berserker Knights were pacing restlessly along the railway tracks.

The clanging of horseshoes against metal sounded like a lament for this farewell.

"My lord, it's time to set off." Kuntai's voice came from behind.

The leader of the Berserker Knights handed Alpha a bronze helmet, the griffin relief on the visor gleaming coldly in the morning light.

No, Kuntai now has three regiments under his command, so he should be a brigade commander.

As Alpha took the helmet, his gaze swept over the mountain of minecarts at the end of the platform—the mithril ore that had not yet been transported was now covered with a thin layer of dew.

This team is quite different from the ones of the past.

Evelyn's dwarven blacksmiths, gnome mechanics, and elven artisans had already infiltrated the Misty Mountains.

According to reports, they have built a secret workshop there and are attempting to fuse mithril with magic to forge a legendary new type of heavy armor.

Now, only Melissa and Mevan, the two elves, remain by Alpha's side. They carry longbows inlaid with moonstones and quivers filled with poisoned elven arrows.

Several dwarves squatted at the junction of the carriages, smashing the damaged parts of the chariot with rune hammers, sparks flying everywhere.

Most notably, the dark elf scouts lurked in the shadows.

They wore cloaks that changed color with the light, and the poisoned daggers at their waists gleamed with an eerie, ghostly blue.

Several druids stood on the train's roof, barefoot on the metal, ivy entwined around their fingertips, ready to summon the power of nature at any moment.

As the whistle blew long, the wheels began to turn slowly.

Alpha removed his helmet, letting the mountain wind tousle his silver hair, and took one last look at the mining city that held countless ambitions and conspiracies.

The faint sound of explosions echoed from the depths of the mine, as if the earth was bidding him farewell.

As the train rounded the last bend, the outline of the mining town finally disappeared into the morning mist.

Alpha put on his helmet and pulled down his visor heavily—the road ahead was unknown, but he knew that he would not let his second chance at life go to waste.

As dusk fell on the port of Constanta, the salty sea breeze carried the mournful sound of ship horns across the dock.

Rowling's fingers, gripping the parchment map, turned slightly white until that familiar black cloak appeared at the end of the pier.

The gilded sword at Alpha's waist reflected a cold gleam in the setting sun, and behind him followed a fully armed guard, their leather boots clattering rhythmically on the wooden planks.

"Lord Alpha, what brings you here?" Rowling staggered forward to greet him, the sea breeze ruffling her hair and brushing against her salt-stained cheeks.

She remembered that Lord Alpha had said he would cross the inland to spy on the military deployments of Romania and Bulgaria, and his sudden appearance at this moment was truly alarming.

Alpha removed his obsidian-embellished leather gloves and gently pulled Rowling aside: "Things have changed."

Alpha gazed at the shimmering sea, where several merchant ships were raising their crimson sails adorned with family crests. "The Ottoman fleet has blockaded Istanbul; the Black Sea has become a dead sea. The situation in Second Bulgaria and Romania has changed; they must have been instigated by someone, and the inland areas are unsafe."

Rowling gasped. This news meant that the original strategy had been completely changed, and the reasons for the change were probably intriguing.

Rowling watched as Alpha unfolded the newly drawn map, a bronze paperweight pressing down on Constanta's position: "We'll make this our core base, build a 10,000-strong army within three months, and simultaneously construct the most fortified commercial fortress in Eastern Europe."

The newly added red lines on the parchment snaked like venomous snakes; "The railway must go south, first opening up the ports of Varna and Burgas, then plunging into the heart of Thrace."

"But what about Bulgaria's attitude, sir?" Rowling pointed to the winding coastline on the map. "This detour will triple the distance, and..." Her voice trailed off, "The coastal defense line is too long; Ottoman privateers could attack at any moment."

Alpha suddenly laughed, a chilling sharpness in his eyes: "Risk and opportunity go hand in hand."

Alpha drew his sword, its tip slicing sparks across the map. "They thought we'd be trapped inland, but they never imagined we'd tear through the southern defenses with our steel railroads. Meanwhile, our newly built steel chariots are equipped with advanced artillery; any enemy who dares attack us will face the most severe retaliation."

In the salty, damp sea breeze of Constanta, Alpha, like a lurking falcon, remained hidden in the shadows cast by the port tower for three whole days.

During these three days, Alpha focused on remotely guiding Rowling and Mars in preparing for the construction of several large-scale, modern naval ports across the Black Sea.

After all, the Ottoman Empire was also constantly patrolling the Black Sea coast, and once they discovered it, the situation would not be so optimistic.

This planned naval port will not only be able to build new warships, but also convert merchant ships, making it a key pivot point for turning the tide of the maritime situation.

According to Mars, due to the strong monopoly and high-pressure control of the Ottoman Empire, most of the once prosperous shipyards and ports along the Black Sea coast have fallen into decline and silence, and the once skilled craftsmen have lost their jobs and are struggling to make a living.

Alpha immediately decided to seize the opportunity and dispatched Mars to invite coastal boatmen and shipbuilding technicians to participate in the port reconstruction work.

For artisans who have been out of work for a long time, this is undoubtedly a welcome rain after a long drought, a precious opportunity to regain their skills and revitalize their lives.

Once the three-day period was up, Alfa immediately set off.

Alpha led the Berserker Knights of Quinte along the coastline, accompanied by a railway construction crew, heading towards Varna along the winding coastline.

These strategically important port cities will become key nodes in Alpha's strategic layout, and Alpha plans to station elite troops there.

Knowing that confronting the Ottoman Empire head-on on land was unwise, Alfa pinned almost all its hopes for the future on its naval power.

The navy has become his only trump card. If the navy fails, Alpha may only face the fate of leaving home and seeking a new path.

The salty sea breeze of late autumn, carrying the lingering chill, swept across the breakwater of Burgas. Fishing boats with tattered canvases swayed in the shallows, and the faded flags on their masts were a microcosm of the empire's decline.

Alpha stood on the mottled stone pier, gazing at the wooden boats in the port area, the longest of which were no more than twenty meters long.

These fishing boats, barely making a living, silently testify to the Ottoman Empire's century-long maritime dominance.

Those merchant ships and warships that should have been navigating the Black Sea were now firmly bound by two steel chains outside the Dardanelles and Bosphorus Straits.

"General, the Seventh Engineering Team has completed the laying of the railway sleepers; only the laying of the rails remains." The adjutant's report interrupted his thoughts.

As Alpha turned around, hundreds of railway builders were carrying sleepers under the scorching sun in the makeshift shed behind him, their sweat-soaked linen shirts clinging to their backs.

This once bustling seaside commercial port has now become a desolate fishing port due to the empire's deliberate blockade, with only a few scattered collapsed clock towers remaining to show its former glory.

The corruption of the Ottoman Empire had long since seeped into its very bones.

While fishermen at the bottom of society were struggling to survive in storms, the Sultan's court in Istanbul was using plundered gold to build new palaces and Black Sea trade taxes to construct luxurious harems.

The navy's budget was skimmed off at every level, leaving it barely enough to maintain the blockade of the strait.

Those steel fortresses floating in the strait not only blocked the Black Sea's shipping lanes, but also the livelihoods of the countries along the coast.

The military deployment and port renovation of Burgas were completed in the seventh day.

Alfa rode on his Akhal-Teke horse, watching the winding dirt road heading west disappear into the morning mist.

The sound of the army's footsteps and the wheels of horse-drawn carriages awakened the slumbering wilderness, and the dust they raised reflected a shimmering golden light in the rising sun.

When the spire of Plovdiv finally pierced the horizon, the news brought back by the scouts plunged the entire army into a brief silence.

Further south, the Balkan Mountains stretch out like a giant dragon, and their treacherous terrain caused the engineering corps to estimate that the cost of railway construction would more than triple.

At the former governor's residence in Plovdiv, Alpha unfolded a yellowed sheepskin map.

In the flickering candlelight, Alpha's fingers repeatedly traced the markings of mountains and rivers.

In the distance came the sound of Mash's messenger galloping on horseback, while outside the window, soldiers were planting torches in the ground, the sparks forming a band of light, like the new hope that the empire was about to ignite.

The dark purple encrypted letter slowly unfolded on the tactical terminal, and the information transmitted by Mash made Alpha's fingertips tighten slightly.

The details of the secret agreement between the Bulgarian royal family and the pirate alliance are clearly revealed—those parchment contracts bearing the double-headed eagle emblem record the dirty deal of exchanging ten years of control of the port of Varna for the support of the pirate fleet.

If Alpha hadn't decisively activated the "Black Rose" special operations team, led by Mashu, to carry out the decapitation operation, the Bulgarian knights would probably already be raising the alarm on the Thracian coast.

The report was chilling: the once magnificent Sofia Palace was bathed in the blood-red sunset, and the Third Prince Hales stood on the steps holding a gilded scepter, with the royal corpses lying haphazardly at his feet.

This Prince Hales, who was rumored to be capricious, actually issued a kill order after occupying the palace, and even the infant princess was not spared.

When the news reached Alpha's command center, the staff debated all night about whether to intervene in the massacre.

Finally, Alpha slammed his fist on the table at the operational meeting: "Let Bulgaria pay for its blood debt themselves; our strategic focus must shift to the Aegean Sea."

On the tactical map, the coastline of the Greek peninsula glows with a deep blue light.

Alpha recalled the negotiation records with Philos, who consistently used the vague term "neutral position" when referring to the Greek Maritime Alliance.

The Allied fleets patrolling near Crete, equipped with super cannons imported from the black market, were like a malignant tumor entrenched in the trade routes.

As Alpha traced the threat markers on the tactical map, he wrote a heavy annotation in his combat log: "The Greek problem is urgent."

The spotlights on the conference room dome cast a long shadow of him, and in the twilight outside the window, the faint rumble of tanks being prepared could be heard.

The Black Sea boasts stunning scenery, with its azure waters, blue skies, and rugged coastline creating a breathtaking panorama.

However, for Alfa at this moment, the scenery along the way became a luxury that it had no time to appreciate.

In Alpha's mind, a grander blueprint is slowly unfolding, and the beautiful scenery before him is merely a small embellishment in the future landscape.

Alpha has entrusted the development of the Black Sea region entirely to the shrewd and capable Phyllis.

In military affairs, Alfia made clear arrangements: the army was to be commanded by the steady and reliable Makino, while the navy was to be led by the brave and decisive Rowling.

Lina was taken away by Alpha to prepare for the formation of a new medical team.

Apart from the essential technical personnel in the mining city, he left all the rest of his elite forces along the Black Sea coast, using them as a solid foundation for his westward expansion.

Alpha's determination is obvious—it wants to establish a deep foothold in the Black Sea and use it as a springboard to achieve a full-scale eastward shift of its influence.

However, the road ahead is not smooth.

The pirate alliance entrenched here is his primary and formidable enemy.

Although the Ottoman Empire's ironclad fleet isolated the pirates' naval forces, the pirate alliance, thanks to its accumulated power, still managed to coerce many small countries into submission.

However, news of Alpha's victory in the mining city, in alliance with the Ottoman army, had already spread among the various factions rife with undercurrents.

This was undoubtedly a very significant "pledge of allegiance," forcing those with ulterior motives to reconsider the Ottoman Empire's attitude before taking action against Alpha.

But Alpha was keenly aware that his enemies were far more than just the pirate alliance.

That seemingly powerful ally—the Ottoman Empire itself—was the most dangerous potential threat.

Alpha's strong rise in the Black Sea will inevitably touch the sensitive nerves of the Empire.

In order to divert the empire's attention and demonstrate its own value, Alpha decided to launch a more enticing plan—to build a brand new mining city in Greece.

This would be an excellent bargaining chip to attract the attention of the empire, and even to make a deal with it.

However, this plan also gave Alpha a lot of headaches, because he knew that this move meant, to some extent, that he had completely surrendered to the Ottoman Empire.

This is tantamount to handing over a "declaration of war" to the Vatican, which will likely bring him an even more formidable enemy.

At this moment, Alpha could only pray silently, hoping that the goddess Athena could mediate between him and the Church and say a few words of justice for him.

Otherwise, if the Vatican were to become enraged, Alpha might really face the predicament of having to "run away".

As his thoughts raced, Alpha and his core team had already disembarked from the train.

This team includes agile elves, highly skilled dwarves, and top technicians from various fields.

They are Alpha's most valuable asset and the cornerstone upon which all future plans can be implemented.

To ensure absolute safety, Alpha personally escorted the team, swiftly and covertly traversing the dense forests, rapidly advancing towards the unknown distance.