European modulation mode

"That's right, little girl. This is not your Eastern Roman palace, but Ottoman territory. Watch your mouth. It doesn't matter whether you live or die. Just don't drag us down."

Under the cover of night, Mariana looked around anxiously. After confirming that there were no familiar ships around, she ordered the sailors to lower the landing board.

"I can only take you so far. Hurry and get off the ship in the dark. There may be other ships of the Slayer War Gang nearby. Don't let them see you."

Aenarion took a deep breath, pulled the chain around the leopard woman's neck, and made the leopard follow him down the boat. The three elves, Artemisia, Irene, and Indrognir, followed closely behind. He finally left the ship of the Slaanesh pirates, and his feet finally stepped onto the stable and unshakable land.

Finally got rid of the pirates' nest!

The workers who were still working late at night at the Turkic dock were a little curious about the four people and the leopard, but they didn't say much. There were also people who raised tigers, so it was not strange to bring leopards to the street. Several dark elves in silk clothes came over, looked at the big golden cat, said a few words in Turkic, and hurried away.

"what did they say?"

Aenarion was curious.

"He warned you to hold the leopard girl's chain tightly and not let the beast hurt anyone, otherwise you will be captured and beheaded. The Ottoman prince is leading his Janissary Corps to parade and inspect Izmir these days. Otherwise, these people would not be so vigilant. Normally, no one would care if an Arab Gisyanki rode a red dragon on the street."

Artemisia touched the Leopard Girl's head. The world was so wonderful. A few days ago, this girl was one of her biggest enemies, but now she let her touch her obediently.

"Prince Osman? Let's find a hotel to stay in first. We can go check him out tomorrow when we have time. He must be an ogre. I'm curious about what an ogre looks like."

Aenarion excitedly led his group away from the dock. Under the light of the stars, the moon and candlelight, rows of gray and red brick houses were arranged into neat streets, extending to the end of the field of vision under the shade of palm trees. Even though it was late at night, there were still many pedestrians on the streets.

Some elves dressed in Turkic clothes were leading some elves dressed in Greek clothes or Germanic white people wandering in the streets with chains. Owning slaves seemed to be a strange and normal thing for them. With his Turkic dress and the leopard girl in his hand, he perfectly blended into the crowd. If he could speak Turkic, he would look no different from these dark elves.

The group randomly found an inn run by a dark elf. For safety reasons, Aenarion took out three silver coins and booked a large room for five people for three days.

"Well, we got rid of the pirates. Although we lost the Christian paladin Zir, Aenarion's strength has greatly increased. With the help of Artemisia and Leopard, it won't be difficult to go to Venice."

Entering the wooden house, Irene tiredly took out a roll of parchment from her body and slowly unfolded it in front of everyone. On it were detailed maps of the Greek Peninsula and the Anatolian Peninsula. The port city on the map, which had long been conquered by the Ottoman Empire and renamed Izmir, was still stubbornly marked as Smyrna in the Elvish language by the high elves, as if in this way, the former glory of the empire would never disappear.

When the map was fully unfolded, there was a dagger hidden at the end of the paper scroll. I don’t know where the maid put the thing. She was really good at hiding it.

“Smyrna is located in the center of the western coastline of Asia Minor. It is now completely the territory of the Ottoman Empire. The islands in the Aegean Sea are divided up by the Venetians, Genoese, Florentines, and the Knights Hospitaller.

We now have two choices. We can find a ship in Smyrna and go directly to Venice to marry the bride despite the rampant pirates in the Aegean Sea. Although the risk factor is high, it is very fast. "

Irene pointed to the Aegean Sea sandwiched between Greece and Asia Minor, and then to the Queen of Cities sandwiched between two continents and two seas: Constantinople.

"Or we can take a safer land route, go north along the west coast of Asia Minor, cross the Bosphorus, return to Constantinople, ask Your Majesty for some stronger guards, and then go to Venice for the marriage. This route is safe, but very slow."

“The first way.”

Indragnir said firmly.

"The burden on the empire is already heavy. Brother may not be able to put together a new guard team. If we go back, it will only cause more trouble for you. The five of us are now second- and third-level professionals, and that leopard is extremely ferocious.

Moreover, I must appear in the sight of the Empire or Venice as soon as possible to tell them that I am fine, otherwise, the marriage between the two sides may add to the trouble. It is possible that after we return to Constantinople, Governor Dandolo will think that I am dead and marry a princess from another kingdom. "

Irene did not reply, but turned to look at Aenarion.

, Artemisia and Nidalee both listen to him, and he is now the real leader of the action.

"If what His Royal Highness said is true, then let's take the first route. Remember your agreement, a 40-meter-long galley, and the corresponding seamen and sailors."

Aenarion considered it, and chose the first path.

Anyway, I have traveled through time and space, so I might as well enjoy life first. With all my modern knowledge and the noble profession of a spellcaster, it will not be a problem for me to make a name for myself. There are so many fantastic creatures and strange stories in this world. I will send this little guy to marry first, and then captain a ship. It will be nice to travel the world while doing business and making money.

Several people were chased by the Venetians for a whole day, and then fought a civil war. They were all exhausted at the moment. After finishing the discussion, they fell asleep immediately after their heads touched the pillows. When they woke up, it was already noon of the next day. Their mana was finally restored after a good rest.

Aenarion gave an order to turn the leopard back into human form, and holding her chain, he went to the restaurant on the first floor of the hotel with the other three hungry people. Artemisia seemed to be very familiar with the Aegean coast. She ordered some traditional Izmir food in Turkish: a bucket of fermented yogurt, ten bagels spread with honey and sesame seeds, a plate of fresh grapes, a plate of fresh vegetables, a plate of roast lamb sprinkled with salt, and a plate of stuffed ibex: stuffed ibex is a bit like roasted oysters, but they don't add chili and garlic, but salt and lemon, and some strange seasonings that Aenarion couldn't taste.

It tastes weird, but edible.

Chapter 27: Green Radish is also a Luo

Just as a few people were eating, a passionate song was quietly heard outside the door. It was very soft at first, but after Aenarion ate two shellfish, the sound had become very loud and was getting closer and closer. The sounds of countless suonas, war drums, and horns woven into a magnificent war song.

Ancestor, grandfather, lineage, father.

Ancestor, grandfather, lineage, father.

Always brave, Turkic people.

Your army is famous all over the world in any era.

Your army is famous all over the world in any era.

Turkic people, Turkic people.

Turkic people, Turkic people.

I love your motherland with deep affection.

Destroy your enemies and bring them the humiliation they deserve.

Destroy your enemies and give them the humiliation they deserve!

"Someone said yesterday that Prince Osman was inspecting Izmir. He should be the one to take charge of this event."

Artemisia continued to eat, showing no interest in the prince's patrol. Aenarion curiously dropped his knife and fork, threw the leopard's chain to Artemisia, and walked out of the hotel, wanting to see what the ogres who ruled this multi-ethnic empire looked like. Coming to this Turkic city, he saw all kinds of elves. This Ottoman prince and the army protecting him must be ogres, right?

Aenarion walked out of the inn and found teams of fully armed high elves standing on both sides of the wide street, protecting the safety of the military band and Prince Osman. A large number of Turkic elves stood on both sides of the street, waving enthusiastically to welcome Prince Osman and his high elf army.

These high elf soldiers are extremely tall and strong, each of them is more than two meters tall. They wear Middle Eastern-style plate chain armor and walk on the streets. Thousands of extremely strong iron rings are firmly fixed together by rivets to protect their bodies. Parts such as the chest are even more mixed, with large pieces of curved iron plates fixed to further enhance the defense of the armor.

Outside the plate chain mail, they wore a blue Turkic felt coat with the hem dragging to the ankles. On the extremely bright blue clothes, a strange crescent-shaped totem was woven with white lines. They held Atkan scimitars and iron shields in their hands, and carried a huge composite longbow and two bags of feather arrows on their backs, looking very majestic.

The white turban on his head stood tall like a white tower. A red star and crescent flag and a blue crescent flag fluttered in the wind at the same time. The red star and crescent was the flag of the Ottoman Empire, and the blue crescent was the legion's eagle flag, with a line of Turkish characters written below.

XIII Janissary Legion: The Ultramarines.

How come the Ottoman prince’s army is fucking elves???

"See? Those are the core forces of the Ottoman Empire, the Janissaries."

Artemisia, wearing Turkic clothing and holding the well-behaved Leopard Girl, slowly walked to Aenarion's side, looking at these high elf compatriots with complicated eyes.

"The Janissaries are a professional army composed of slaves. The hateful Ottomans levied blood taxes in the areas they conquered and their vassal states, and selected young local children to join the army. These children were trained by Ottoman officers from an early age and went through 4 strict training and assessments, including religion, culture, swordsmanship, musketry, and horseback archery. After completing all of them and having at least professional levels, they became qualified Janissaries.

That’s right, the weakest Janissary is also a level four professional, on the same level as the Leopard Woman.

When the Janissaries were first established, there were a total of 20 legions, each with a fixed recruitment area. These slave soldiers were completely transformed into Ottomans in 19 training sessions. They believed in the Sufi sect of Turkic Muslims, called themselves Bektashi monks, and had their own fortresses.

Taoist temples, and fixed recruitment sites.

For example, the Sixth Legion: Iskandar Dire Wolves. The name of this legion comes from Alexander the Great, the Macedonian Empire who once conquered most of the known world. The recruiting place of their legion is the old land of Macedonia. The entire army is composed of Serbian werewolves living in Macedonia and the more barbaric and brave Macedonian wild elves. I remember the legion commander was called Leman Rus Pasha. After completing the nineteen trainings, those werewolves became more violent and bloodthirsty than each other. They were not comparable to Mariana's werewolf pirates.

This legion is the 13th Legion: The Ultramarines. The legion commander should be Roboute Pasha. Their recruiting area is the Thracian region around Constantinople, and they are composed of pure high elves.

In addition to elves, they also recruit children of other races. The Eighth Legion of Scarlet Lords and the Ninth Legion of Ghouls and Demons recruit soldiers from Wallachia, a vassal state of the Ottoman Empire, and Transylvania, further north. They recruit vampires, ghouls, corpse demons, liches and all other undead demons from there, which makes these two legions look very scary just from the outside. "

"Um, why are all the professional soldiers in the Ottoman Ogre Empire foreigners? Where are the ogres?"

Aenarion was curious.

“Because these elven slaves have no roots in the Ottoman Empire and can only rely on the Sultan’s authority, they are relatively loyal and more trustworthy than others.

As for the ogres, they formed cavalry. The heavy cavalry of the Ottoman Empire was entirely composed of ogres. These ogre nobles would tame a monster called the [Mortal Tooth Beast], which was a small mammoth. Although it did not have a long trunk, its tusks were even larger than mammoth teeth. They rode these beasts, wearing exaggeratedly thick armor, and formed the infamous Sipahi cavalry, rampaging on the battlefield.

All Sipahi cavalrymen love to decorate their armor, robes, pointed helmets, and even weapons with gold, which looks glittering and very conspicuous on the battlefield. "

As the two chatted, a huge open-air carriage, surrounded by janissaries, slowly appeared at the end of their sight.

Four pure white horses without a trace of mixed hair pulled the carriage slowly forward. A man wearing golden plate chain mail and a green felt coat, basking in the bright sunshine, waved to his people.

Aenarion raised his head curiously, wanting to see what this Ottoman ogre prince looked like.

He looked very tall and strong, about three meters tall, with a dull yellowish skin, but a tall and slender figure, and a handsome face and two long ears under his onion-like white turban - how could this prince be an elf??? Where was the promised Turkic ogre???

"That's Sultan Murad's child: Muhammad. His father is a pure-blooded ogre, but his mother is an elven slave girl. This makes him half ogre and half elf. It looks like he inherited the height and skin color of an ogre, but the appearance and figure of an elf."

Seeing Aenarion's disappointed look, Artemisia showed a rare wicked smile on her cold face. She had known for a long time that there was not a single ogre in this group of Turkish prince guards, but she just didn't say it.

At this moment, Aenarion suddenly remembered something.

This mixed-blood is called Mehmed, the son of a sultan, and his mother is a slave girl... He is the famous Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, Mehmed the Conqueror II? The one who conquered Constantinople three years later?

The Sultan of your Ottoman Empire is an elf, the professional army - the Janissaries are elves, and 80 to 90 percent of the population are also elves. So what is the difference between you and the Eastern Roman Empire composed of Greek elves? Is it true that even green ivy is also ivy?

Chapter 28: Letters of Marque

Disappointed, Aenarion envied Muhammad's pomp and circus, with thousands of professional soldiers protecting him, a full military band to entertain him, and a luxurious vehicle pulled by four white horses...

"That's what a real man should do."

Aenarion said enviously that according to Artemisia, among every hundred people in this world, there would be only one professional such as a warrior or a barbarian; and among every hundred professionals, there would be only one noble spellcaster with the ability to cast spells such as a warlock, a paladin, or a duskblade.

I have been selected from among thousands, and I may be able to achieve something great in the future. I will be surrounded by thousands of professional soldiers, sitting in a luxurious carriage pulled by four or even six white horses, and traveling with the love and support of the people.

Aenarion looked for a while, then returned to the hotel and ate the rest of his lunch. This sumptuous meal for five people cost a total of three Grosso silver coins. It was unclear whether this was expensive or cheap according to the price of goods.

"Ah, finally I can eat fresh food. There are only preserved foods and freshly caught fish on the boat. Fresh food in the city tastes better."

Artemisia rubbed her belly with satisfaction and said, "So what should we do next? Go to the port to find a ship? Nidalee and I can't go, it's too conspicuous. The Slayers have also been reselling goods and slaves at the port of Smyrna these days. I don't want to see old acquaintances again after I fake my death and leave. Be careful. They have a privateering license from the Ottoman Empire. They rob ships from the city-states in northern Italy under the Sultan's order. It is legal in Ottoman territory."

"Then the princess and I will live with Aenarion."

Irene originally wanted to let the princess rest while she ran errands, but then she changed her mind and felt that it would be more dangerous to leave the princess alone in front of the two Slaanesh members.

The five people nodded in agreement. Aenarion took out the contract and ordered the Leopard Girl to obey Artemisia's orders. Then the two went back to rest. Aenarion took Irene and Indraognir, who had changed into Turkish costumes, back to the port.

The sun is shining brightly now, and the streets are bustling with traffic, several times more lively than at night. Large ships are filling the huge port, and sailors are busy unloading goods transported here from all over the world and moving them into the city of Izmir. They then load Izmir's specialties, crops, and tea and porcelain transported from the Silk Road onto the ships and spread them to all parts of Europe.

"See those flags with red crosses on white backgrounds? They are the flags of the Republic of Genoa. They are Venice's biggest commercial competitor. We should avoid them. It will be very troublesome if these people in Genoa know our purpose."

Irene pointed to some ships flying the Genoa flag and spoke vigilantly.

"The flag of the Venetians is a red-bottomed golden winged lion flag, also known as the St. Mark flag. Look for ships flying these flags, and try to find large ships that appear to have many cannons and strong defenses. No one dares to rob such ships, unless you encounter a pirate fleet of the size of the Slayer War Gang again."

"clear."

Aenarion looked around the port. Izmir, or Smyrna, was the largest port in Asia Minor and even in the Ottoman Empire. However, in such a prosperous port, he could not see a single ship flying the Eastern Roman flag. It seemed that the ancient empire was really no longer viable.

"Hello, we would like to take a boat trip to Venice. Is your boat favorable? We are willing to pay for the fare."

Aenarion chose a Venetian galley, walked up to the ship and asked the sailors who were chatting on the boat. They were dressed very colorfully, and their hats were decorated with colorful feathers that were bigger than their heads. No one knew who had torn them from some huge beast.

I have encountered this type of 40-meter-long three-masted galley many times. The pursuing Venetians used this type of galley, and the Eastern Roman princess promised me this type of galley. The Venetians mass-produced this type of galley as their own naval warships, and the merchants also trusted its firepower, protection capabilities, and extremely high load-bearing capacity, but its speed was a bit slow.

"The wind is not favorable. Let's go to Egypt. You can ask someone else."

The human sailors shook their heads, their feathers twitching as they rejected Aenarion's request.

Aenarion walked along the pier to the second Venetian ship, where two well-dressed sailors were chatting casually.

"The Genoese are getting more and more disgusting. They recently cut the price of tea from Aurora in Western Europe, forcing us to cut the price as well. Otherwise, customers will go to them, and everyone will make less and less money."

"Who says it's not true? The profits of all those who run this route are declining. Genoa's behavior of harming others and not benefiting itself is really disgusting. After we return to Venice with a full tank of tea, we will report to Governor Dandolo and declare war on Genoa! We must completely defeat them and monopolize this trade route. At the very least, we must recruit some pirates to attack Genoa's merchant ships and burn their goods. High-end commercial warfare means eliminating competitors on a physical level."

"Hello, we would like to take a boat trip to Venice. Is your boat favorable? We are willing to pay for the fare."

After hearing that the other party's destination was Venice, Aenarion asked again.

"The wind is not favorable. Let's go to Egypt. You can ask someone else."

The Venetians refused without hesitation.

"I was just beside you and heard you were getting ready to go back to Venice."

Aenarion frowned in confusion.

"We sincerely want to take the boat and are willing to pay double the fare."

Seeing his lie exposed, the Venetian felt a little embarrassed and scratched his head in confusion.

"Okay, I did lie just now, but we really can't let strangers on our ship."

"Yes."

The other sailor also looked embarrassed.

"In order to carry the three of you, we may have to load 400 to 500 pounds less of expensive goods. The ship fare is not cheap.

What's more, no one can guarantee that you are not spies of the Genoese or the pirates' insider. What if you provide us with the coordinates and we are robbed as soon as we go out to sea? We are just two ordinary sailors and cannot bear this responsibility."

"Then where is your captain? Let's negotiate with him."

Aenarion felt helpless.

"He went to the commercial district to negotiate the price of tea. He should be back in the evening. Why don't you come back in the evening?"

"Okay, thank you."

Aenarion said goodbye to the sailors and went to negotiate with other ships. He looked for seven or eight ships in a row, but the answers he got were that they were not on the way, or they were wary of the identities of the three people and were unwilling to let them take the ship. Indrognir was angry and anxious, and even wanted to expose his identity as a princess of the Eastern Roman Empire in this Ottoman port and take a boat. Fortunately, Irene covered his mouth with her hand.

Damn it, is it so difficult to catch a ride in this place?