Mount and Blade Central Asia

"Moser." Haishar said a name, while observing Ahmed's expression, as if trying to see something from it.

"Mozel?" Ahmed frowned and said uncertainly, "The servant in the castle? What does this have to do with me?"

"You gave him the elixir, and it turned him into a minion of the Green Wind." Haishar had already walked up the stairs as he spoke, one hand on the hilt of his sword, and asked calmly, "Now, where is the elixir?"

"That's impossible!" Ahmed retorted loudly, "I made the panacea myself! It's a legacy of ancient Egyptian alchemy, a secret passed down by the pharaohs, and has nothing to do with the Four Winds! And I've used it myself..."

At this point, Ahmed's eyes suddenly widened. "You suspect I've also been tainted by the Four Winds! Because of Moser's accusation?"

"We're going to perform a screening ritual on you. This is just a precaution, you should understand." Martin Ewing pulled out a small bag of Kaaba black stone powder from his arms. "But first, please hand over the panacea."

Ahmed frowned at the two men, then finally raised his hands calmly: "I will abide by the ancient contract and undergo the screening ceremony. The panacea is in the inside pocket of my coat. I always carry it with me..."

Having said that, Ahmed suddenly looked at his coat. Haishar signaled to Knight Ewing, walked over and felt the pocket of his coat, which was empty.

Ahmed ignored Knight Ewing's supervision and pushed Haishar away. He reached out and fumbled for a long time. His face turned pale in an instant. After a while, he gritted his teeth and uttered a name: "Ali!"

Meanwhile, less than two blocks away from the courtyard, Master Ahmed's apprentice, Tariq Ali Hassan, was squatting beside Rubio, boredly observing the people passing by. "What do you think is going on this time? Mr. Haishar and the others seem quite nervous."

“Who knows? They always seem nervous.” Rubio leaned against the wall, avoiding the scorching sun that made his scalp hurt.

"Have you ever seen a follower of the Four Winds God before?" Ali asked again, and then said with some pride, "I have."

"We haven't been on a field mission yet. I really envy you..." Rubio said with some emotion. He had followed the routine steps to get to where he is today, but he never expected that the castle where he grew up would be destroyed like this.

"You have your chance today." Ali winked at Rubio.

The author says:

Author's Note: I will update one chapter tonight after midnight, and one chapter tomorrow afternoon, keeping the 4,000 words per day.

Chapter 250 Immortal Knight

"Why are we stopping here?...Mozel." A knight wearing a barrel helmet slowly walked towards Mozel. When he said the name, his tone was as if the name Mozel was something dirty.

"Because I want to see my old friends fighting with swords and blood flowing like a river." Moser sat on a piece of dead wood, with his helmet taken off and placed at his feet.

At this time, Moser was sharpening a wooden stick with a dagger, and then using the tip of the stick to pierce the pustules on the back of his hand one by one, letting the pus flow to the ground.

"You waste too much time on your own personal affairs, which will affect your father's plans." The knight's voice was a little muffled, and his pronunciation was unclear, as if there was a saliva-soaked sock stuffed in his mouth.

"My father's great plan contains ten thousand possibilities, and one of them is exactly what I am looking forward to now." Moser looked at the other party with a smile and slowly stood up. Although he was not as tall and bloated as the other party, he was more imposing.

He casually picked up his long sword, turned his wrist flexibly, and let the tip of the sword scrape the ground, splashing dust. The dust just happened to splash on the breathing hole of the barrel-helmet knight, causing the other party to cough violently.

"Do you want to fight me, Khafra? Or do you want to infect me with your ridiculous plague?" When the Moser sword was in hand, the aggressive aura almost instantly expanded tenfold.

Strength and endurance, things he had never possessed, were now readily available, and he cherished every second of control over his weapon.

Because he knew very well what price he would have to pay now and in the future. Sooner or later, his wrists would become like rust and unable to move flexibly, and his steps would be as powerful as a hippopotamus, but clumsy.

By then, he will also become rotten, with muscles and fat mixed together, indistinguishable from each other, just like the fat man opposite now.

But Moser had no regrets. Only those who have experienced illness know that the most desperate thing in the world is to watch one's body being eaten away by the disease, becoming weaker little by little, with no end in sight.

Even if he can no longer use a sword, he can still use a battle axe.

, Warhammer, it was all worth it.

Khafra unsheathed his battle axe from his back. The double-edged axe, its blade half the size of a shield, raised it breathlessly and roared, "Moser, I will fight you..."

Moser hadn't been able to become a knight, but at least he had received comprehensive training in the castle of the Eagle of Order, and he was a leader in his time, his sword ready to pierce his enemies as they raised their weapons and roared.

So Khafra didn't even have time to utter the last word before the sword blade had already pierced through the breathing grille of the helmet.

But the helmet was made of fine iron after all, and the sword itself was thick, so the blade only penetrated to a depth of two knuckles, piercing Khafra's mouth right in the middle.

Inside the helmet, Moser's sword blade cut Khafra's upper and lower lips from the upper and lower sides, split the swollen fat tongue in the middle, and stabbed the only two remaining asymmetrical front teeth into it.

"Be careful with your words, Khafra. This is the second time. Next time, I will take your life directly. Your ability is not worthy of the gift given to you by your loving father. Remember my words." Moser swung the blade left and right in a playful manner, cruelly enlarging the wound, then drew his sword and left, leaving large patches of yellow-green pus and blood on the ground.

"Set up camp! Set up the cauldron! Tonight, we are going to boil the plague pus soup!" Moser swung his sword in a beautiful sword flower, but unfortunately the stains on the mottled rusty sword could not be shaken off at all.

But Moser no longer cared. He stuck out his tongue and licked the blood, then smiled disdainfully.

When Moser walked past the soldiers, they had already begun to set up camp in accordance with his instructions with slow steps.

This was a small but very deadly army, half of them half-dead and half-dead.

To this army, Moser was a stranger. He appeared suddenly and became their leader, but it didn't matter. Apart from the twenty-five immortal knights, the rest of the army was struggling to breathe the next breath. They had no time to care about such things.

And to Moser, this army was equally unfamiliar.

After that night in Mecca, his understanding of the world was shattered, and he suddenly became an immortal knight favored by the Green Wind. After a brief competition, Mozel defeated all competitors and became the leader of this army.

If it was just the Green Wind, then as an apprentice of the Eagle of Order, it wouldn't shock Mozer that much, because in history there were quite a few Knights of the Eagle of Order who were corrupted, including scholars.

What really shocked Moser was that in Cairo, Sultan Nasser personally conferred on him the title of Immortal Knight and granted him land, manors, and slaves.

Undead slaves...

The sick slaves were kept in a state of neither life nor death by the power of the green wind. They toiled tirelessly in the manor mills and on the Mamluk lords' merchant ships, until even their souls lost their color.

The Eagle of Order Fortress stationed in Cairo knew nothing about this. They were completely deceived by Sultan Nasir and focused all their attention on investigating the followers of the Dark Wind.

Of course, this cannot be blamed on the incompetence of those knights and scholars, because at the ceremony of Mozer's coronation as the Immortal Knight, high-level members of the Eagle of Order were also present, and they had long been corrupted.

Moser still remembered how those knights and scholars fell to the unknown plague. It took only three days from infection to death. The fortress had become a dead zone, with only rats as big as cats running around among the corpses, picking and gnawing at the parts they liked.

From that day on, Mozer knew that the world was hopeless and that the Eagle of Order was just a ridiculous, hopeless organization.

How humble were they? So humble that Moser's purpose in coming here wasn't even to destroy his former companions. His goal was the panacea that Ahmed had stolen from Egypt.

It is said that those corrupt scholars tried countless times but failed to recreate the panacea, but Ahmed succeeded. Because of this incident, seven or eight corrupt scholars were sent to the altar, burning day and night without relief, and turned into eternal candles.

Moser didn't know whether his extraordinary promotion was related to the panacea. He only knew that if he failed, he would be the next candle to fall into eternal sleep.

Chapter 251: Military Preparations

"So, the truth of the matter is that the strongest knights and the wisest scholars in your dignified Order Eagle organization have all been fooled by a little apprentice?" Li Rufeng sat in his high-backed chair, feeling as if he was listening to a story from Qidian.

There are not only villains who bully the weak young man and stage a comeback as a strong man, but also those underage confidants who have been lurking in the enemy camp for more than ten years, who are smart since childhood, able to endure and act well, and, well, are also villains.

"I'm not the strongest knight..." Haishar emphasized, trying to save face for the organization.

"I'm praising you." Li Rufeng was almost choked to death by Haishar's answer. He looked at Master Ahmed again, "The panacea has been stolen by Ali, and it's almost certain that Ali is a follower of the Green Wind?"

"It is not certain yet whether Ali is a follower of the Green Wind. He has always been by my side. If he is

"I couldn't have failed to notice the followers of the Green Wind." Ahmed shook his head and expressed his suspicion. "By comparison, this opportunity created by coincidence in middle age is more like the style of the Azure Wind. Only the faith of the Azure Wind can be spread through books."

Ahmed said with some guilt, "I briefly kept a book that recorded the rituals of the Azure Wind. Because its contents were obscure and difficult to understand, and it contained a lot of information about ancient Egypt, I didn't destroy or seal it immediately."

"Maybe... Ali was bewitched by the blue wind at that time." Ahmed sighed. Sometimes the relationship between him and Ali was like that of father and son.

Ali was not an orphan adopted by the organization, but came from a noble family with noble blood. That family existed even longer than the Eagle of Order. In every generation, one of their descendants would be sent to the Eagle of Order organization to become an apprentice of scholars.

It was not the first time that Ahmed had taught an apprentice as a teacher, but it was the first time he had seen a kid as smart as Ali. Moreover, the other party was also experienced enough in dealing with people, which saved Ahmed a lot of trouble on his journey.

Ahmed often treated Ali as his own son or nephew, but he never expected that he would...

"Have you ever considered the possibility that Ali was already a follower of Azure Wind before joining you?" Li Rufeng said directly as Ahmed introduced Ali's background. "I mean, we can't assume that everyone in that family is a follower of Azure Wind, constantly trying to sabotage your organization, and you haven't noticed it yet?"

"As a hypothetical possibility, I can't completely refute your point, but practically speaking, it's almost impossible." Ahmed didn't explain further, simply saying, "If those followers of the Green Wind are after the panacea, we must find Ali before they arrive."

"According to ancient records, I spent three years searching for clues to the Panacea Elixir, and another three years collecting its ingredients. After the elixir was complete, I conducted countless experiments..." Ahmed's tone changed from calm to excited, and his expression changed from gloomy to bright. "I am a scholar of the Eagle of Order. I have witnessed countless times the dangers hidden behind those miraculous powers. I know the Panacea Elixir is no exception, so I have been observing..."

"I believe that since the power of miracles exists in this world, humans will pursue and explore them at all costs. Over the centuries, someone will, by chance, discover a way that benefits humanity without causing any harm, right?" Ahmed seemed to be questioning both himself and Li Rufeng. "I originally thought the panacea was the answer. It's so stable and so safe. Whether used on animals or humans, it hasn't caused any adverse consequences..."

"That's why I dared to use it on myself!" Ahmed's tone regained its composure, but with a sense of despair. "In the end, I couldn't escape the Four Wind Evil Gods' tricks."

"Let's find Ali first before we think about anything else. Everything is still uncertain right now." Li Rufeng didn't want to comfort a frustrated scholar at this moment. He turned to Haishar and said, "Ali is just a child. Even if he has surrendered to the Four Wind Gods, he's not a big threat on his own. Leave him to me. You and your men, one person will stay behind to coordinate and watch over Ali. The rest of you, prepare for battle."

"My men are experts in guerrilla warfare and mounted archery. I can't give up this advantage. Haishaer, can I trust you?" Li Rufeng said to Haishaer, "I will give you my cavalry. You will lead them to harass that unit along the way. They're few in number, but they pose a great threat. I want you to guarantee that if they dare to split up and advance rashly, we'll wipe out the smaller unit."

"In this battle, no prisoners will be taken, no survivors will be found. All bodies will be burned and the cremation site will be marked. I will perform a purification ceremony for each body after the battle," Li Rufeng instructed again. "I've already sent someone to notify Saladin to lead the Kurds for support. Before they arrive, delay the enemy as much as possible."

In fact, in addition to sending people to inform Saladin, the villages around Aleppo also received Li Rufeng's war warning. He asked the residents of these villages to seek refuge in Aleppo within three days.

In addition, he also asked the managers of each village and gathering point to take inventory of the property left in the village. If any damage occurred during the war, Li Rufeng would provide compensation.

Of course, this is also because the group of Green Wind believers who tried to attack Aleppo were small in number and of a special nature, so Li Rufeng could make such a bold statement.

Li Rufeng estimated that they would not scatter and plunder wealth like ordinary armies after besieging the city. On the one hand, their numbers were too small, and on the other hand, this group of people also came for wealth. Li Rufeng could take this opportunity to see the character of the leaders of the surrounding villages and gathering points, which would not cost much money.

In addition to arranging his personal guards to continuously search for Ali in the city, Li Rufeng used the wartime mechanism to imitate the Tang Dynasty's market system, dividing the city of Alepo into grids, requiring each grid to close its own entrances and exits, and select market leaders to ensure a clear comparison of the residents and households in their jurisdiction, and impose curfews and traffic restrictions.

Especially the water wells, Li Rufeng assigned special people to guard them all to prevent incidents such as poisoning.

In addition, some time ago, there was a lot of stockpiling in Aleppo.

There is a shortage of firewood and fuel, so Li Rufeng plans to have all soldiers drink only boiled water and wear masks from today on to prevent the followers of the Green Wind from making trouble in secret.

The author says:

Author's words: It reminds me of the old game "Plague Inc.", where washing hands and boiling water are the first hurdles for viruses, haha.

Chapter 252 Arrangement

The city of Aleppo is suddenly about to go to war again, which is definitely a big deal for the residents of the city. After all, during the last war, most of the residents in the city moved to the Jingguanchang next door. But considering that the people defending the city now are the Mongols, these people have a strange sense of security.

On the victim side, their impression of the Mongols was too profound, and the Mongol military exploits were too widespread in this land. They boasted about the fact that the Mamluks had stopped the Mongols from marching across thousands of miles into Egypt for two hundred years...

For the new immigrants, the invincibility of the warriors under Sultan Timur had become a common habit, and they had little reaction to the impending war.

On the one hand, the towering walls of Aleppo gave people confidence. On the other hand, as the governor, Li Rufeng had transformed the daily activities of the town from "housing security" to increase prosperity to "militia training" to speed up militia training.

Li Rufeng vaguely remembered the crude town construction interface of the original Mount & Blade series, where only one of construction and daily activities could be effective. But at least in his current use, both could be effective at the same time.

Moreover, the four options of daily activities seem to have their own hidden bonuses. For example, when the "guaranteed housing" daily activity is in effect, there are few accidents during the construction process of new immigrants who are building their own homes, and few people complain about the current situation that they can only sleep in tents for the time being.

After switching to the "Militia Training" option, Li Rufeng could clearly feel that the residents in the city accepted the fact that war was coming more quickly, and the enthusiasm of new and old citizens to sign up for militia training also increased significantly.

From Li Rufeng's personal perspective, the bonus from the system seems to be more reflected in the form of psychological suggestion. For example, under the "guaranteed housing" state, new immigrants may have received the psychological suggestion of strengthening construction safety, so they are extra cautious, and then because of their anticipation for their new home, they can tolerate their current situation better.

The daily activity of "militia training" strengthens people's desire for bravery, etc. Although this explanation has no practical effect, trying to use known facts to understand the unknown is an important means for mankind to move towards civilization.

Since Li Rufeng occupied Aleppo, the number of residents in the city has gradually exceeded 6,000. The rise of a city will inevitably cause a population siphon effect on the surrounding areas. Coupled with the bonus from the system buff, Aleppo has developed rapidly.

Among these 6,000 people, 150 became militiamen. They were the people that Muzaffar had publicly recruited before. These people were mainly used to replace the Mughals to stand guard at the city gates, intersections, and official agencies, and were responsible for daily public security.

Even for a tribal leader like Li Rufeng, using cavalry to stand guard was too luxurious.

Now this number has doubled to 300 people, and will continue to increase until it reaches 500 people.

In addition, Li Rufeng also plans to draw another 200 militiamen from the surrounding villages. Li Rufeng will assign these people to people he trust to lead according to the size of a hundred-man team.

For example, Marida Val, the female mercenary, Avid Said, the hunter brought back by Li Rufeng from outside, and settlement leaders such as Piri Reyes who had cooperated with him before, or veterans who had served in the army before. If there were any remaining people, they would be handed over to Muzaffar and his group of tax officials.

If possible, Li Rufeng did not intend to let those tax officials lead troops to fight. On the one hand, the lack of distinction between military and political affairs would easily cause chaos. On the other hand, it would be simple to find a few people who could use knives, but there were too few people who could write.

As for cavalry generals, Li Rufeng really had no shortage of them. Although his own confidants Habashibuhua and Huluchirjia did not move into the city, they would go to the city to visit him every few days. The former was a veteran soldier who had seen blood, and the latter was a wolf cub who had seen blood and was worthy of trust.

The reason why Li Rufeng handed them over to Haishar was because he was afraid that they had never dealt with such strange enemies as the followers of the Corrupted Green Wind and would suffer losses accidentally.

In addition, there are the Kurds. Li Rufeng has counted them and said that as long as they shed enough blood, they will be brothers on equal footing with the Mughals. Saladin himself probably couldn't sleep well because there was not much bloodshed in the last expedition to Mardin.

But it doesn’t matter, there’s still time to make up for it this time.

Li Rufeng had no prejudice against the various ethnic groups in this land. Even if they were black slaves, as long as they were loyal to him, he would treat them equally, but people always had their closeness and distance.

Compared with the cavalry of Li Rufeng's army, Li Rufeng felt that he could emotionally accept the bloodshed of the Kurds.

But to be on the safe side, Li Rufeng picked up a pen and wrote a letter to Qinggelinayan, explaining the situation and asking him to prepare for support. Then he gave the letter to Jialalhun and asked him to deliver it as quickly as possible.

"Anyone can do the job of delivering letters! I want to stay in the city and fight with you!" Jialalhun refused Li Rufeng's order, "I want to stay and fight, Shaman! Just run back to deliver the letter!"

, Danggertai and the others will laugh at me, I can’t leave!”

"Think carefully, swords and knives are merciless on the battlefield. If you stay, don't expect me to treat you specially." Li Rufeng actually disliked subordinates who disobeyed his orders. His personal guards who were in tune with him and absolutely loyal greatly increased his satisfaction with his subordinates.

"I would rather die on the battlefield than let them laugh at me as a coward," Jatalehun said firmly.

"In that case, you will temporarily join the militia as a squad leader. If you perform well, I'll promote you to centurion." Li Rufeng wrote a note and handed it to Jialhun. "The militia's top priority right now is to find a child named Ali. You are Qinggelinayan's younger brother. I have to say, that child is extremely dangerous..."

"Remember that monster we encountered at the execution ground after we attacked Mardin City? That child possesses similar abilities. I'm telling you all this so I don't want to make things difficult for me later." Li Rufeng emphasized to the young man eager to make a contribution, "If you're unlucky and do encounter that boy, call for backup immediately. Do you understand?"

Hearing Li Rufeng's description, Jiatalhun swallowed his saliva. He had also been to the execution ground that day and had seen it clearly...

Fear and a sense of absurdity attacked Jatalehun at the same time, but he nodded vigorously. In the face of honor and power, fear was not worth mentioning.

Everyone was arranged by the corrupt green wind

Maybe my recent irregular sleep schedule has infected me with the flu virus my son brought back from kindergarten. Now we both have a fever and cough. Tonight's update will be postponed for now. I will update as usual tomorrow night.

Chapter 253: Militia Enters the City

Aiman ​​is 25 years old and is already the father of four children. Thanks to the kindness of the new lord, Aiman's family is living a much better life this year than in previous years. At least the new lord never deducts the weight of grain when collecting it, and the price is also higher than in previous years.