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Seeing that his opponent had lost the will to fight, Aenarion also stopped cautiously.

"Prove it to me."

Yurielle nodded, and slowly crawled to the back of Astariel's stone sculpture, staring into the stone's eyes. Suddenly, circles of gray magic ripples spread out from her eyes. This petrifying gaze could turn people into stone, and also turn stone back into people. However, she only lifted some of it, leaving Astariel's

The head was restored to flesh and blood, but the body was still stone.

"Now, can you believe me?"

Yurielle said warily.

"You have proven your strength. It is not worth fighting you for a mere nest. The price is a bit high. As long as you return my sister to me, I will return your lover to you and we can go home."

"Okay, but why do you want this nest?"

Aenarion nodded.

"Here are all kinds of stone sculptures that our mother has collected for thousands of years, and there are even many extinct animals. We also spent our childhood here. Do you need a reason to come back and live here?"

Yurielle frowned.

"As for the silver you dug up, we don't live in human society, so it's worthless to us."

"In that case, we can follow the example of the Roman emperor and your mother and draw up an agreement. As long as you don't harass my miners, I can return the nest to you to live in, and those sculptures will also be yours. I will also give you enough food every month - but it can't be the flesh and blood of intelligent creatures."

Aenarion thought about it and originally wanted to ask the other party to use anti-petrification rays to restore the sculptures, but then he thought better of it. It might not be a good thing for those antiques that had been sealed for hundreds or thousands of years to come back to life.

For example, the ancient Greek and Roman soldiers who made up the majority believed in Roman Greek polytheism, and they might even believe in the Roman god of war Mars, that is, Khorne. They were pagans, and they were the kind of pagans who regarded Catholicism as an illegal paganism and would offer blood sacrifices to the blood god when they saw it! If they were to let it go, it would be extremely difficult for them to do it.

Moreover, when they woke up and found that their empire was gone, it was hard to say what impact this blow would have on their spirit. Those who lived in a more modern era could still try to recover.

"That's a very generous price. So, what do we need you to do? Fight?"

"That's right. In addition, you have to help me transform some of the stone sculptures back into humans. We can slowly negotiate this. Some of the stone sculptures you like can remain unchanged."

Yurielle thought for a while. Gorgons are big eaters who can really swallow an elephant. As their size increases, their hunting needs are also increasing. It is good to have someone to keep them. Moreover, the opponent is really strong. She really cannot defeat the current Athenian lord and his men and take back her mother's nest.

Look at my little sister. Even though her mother died, she did not starve to death. Instead, she grew fair and tender. She was even willing to help the prisoner bite herself. It seems that the food is very good.

"Deal, but when I go to the battlefield, the sculptures formed after I turn my enemies into stone will belong to me."

"No problem. I have one condition. Sisina is too young. Your mother didn't teach her many of the Gorgon's moves. She is your sister after all. Please help teach her."

Aenarion agreed without hesitation.

Euryale nodded in satisfaction. After being defeated, she immediately attached herself to Aenarion, a very capable meal ticket, and completely lifted Estalie's petrification. Aenarion also pulled out the two swords that pierced Medusa's scapula, exchanged hostages, and reached a cooperation agreement. The two hybrid Gorgons returned to their childhood nest and began to divide their mother's legacy - the tens of thousands of stone sculptures.

Sisina was not very interested in these sculptures, she preferred to stock up on food. Medusa and Yurielle liked this pile of stone sculptures very much, and divided them up. These ancient Greek sculptures belong to me, these Persian sculptures belong to you, this mind flayer is quite rare, huh? There are even some extinct saber-toothed tigers and European lion stone sculptures here.

"Are there any high-elf stone sculptures from the Orthodox Christians in the last few hundred years? It would be best if they were civil servants or blacksmiths. I have no way of controlling the villages and corners of Athens right now. I'm in urgent need of a large number of grassroots officials, and there's also a shortage of blacksmiths and the like."

"We Gorgons have very high tastes. We wouldn't bring back every stone sculpture to display. Officials might keep them for display. Blacksmith? There can't be a blacksmith! Let me think about it - you should be able to use these stone sculptures."

The two sisters had great fun dividing the inheritance. From among tens of thousands of stone sculptures, they selected more than 300 sculptures of high elves that looked astonished and terrified.

"I remember. They were officials of Eastern Roman Athens several hundred years ago. At that time, the Angelos family had just seized power. They didn't know the agreement between the emperors of previous dynasties and my mother. They didn't pay tribute for a month. As a punishment, my mother petrified all the officials and soldiers of Athens and brought them back to her lair."

Yurielle recognized the emblems of the two men at a glance. It seemed that this Gorgon had lived for a long time and had a wide range of experience.

Aenarion nodded, revoked his hidden information, and openly revealed his dual elite identities - he had recently disguised himself as a member of the Angelos family, and his disguise had become more and more handy. With these two elite professions, who would dare not believe it?

As the anti-petrification beam spread, three hundred high elves who lived hundreds of years ago were transformed from eternal stone sculptures into living flesh and blood. The elven officials woke up in shock and stared at everything in front of them in a daze. Hundreds of years were just a moment for them.

"Your abilities and the emblem on your chest mean you are from the Angelos royal family? That's not right. I am the governor of Athens. I have followed His Majesty Isaac for many years. I have raised all the children in his family.

Big one, I don’t remember what you look like.”

The leading official looked at Aenarion and his wife in confusion.

"Times have changed, elders."

Aenarion respectfully addressed them as elders, and he and Astariel narrated the events of the past years one by one. These Orthodox Christians heard that it had been two or three hundred years since they were sealed in the stone, and that their families and forces had long since disappeared. Even the Eastern Roman Empire had changed from a behemoth that spanned the Eurasian continent to a city huddled in a corner of Constantinople. They suddenly felt dizzy and could not stand steadily with looks of astonishment. The elves sat on the ground in great frustration, lamenting the decline of the empire.

"My dear uncles, don't be depressed. 1,600 years ago, Hannibal killed most of the Roman soldiers in one battle. 1,200 years ago, the Eastern Empire and the Gallic Empire tore the entire Roman Empire into three parts. 250 years ago, the Roman Empire was directly destroyed by the Latins!"

"But so what? Whenever the empire is in danger of collapse, there are always countless heroes and people who save the empire. This time is no exception. Now is the most dangerous time for the empire. We should join hands and face the national crisis together!

Now, I have taken my soldiers and recaptured Athens from the Latins! I have recaptured Thebes! However, after years of war, we have completely lost our grassroots control over Athens, and the official management system has completely failed. I need all the elders to join me in governing this land. "

"Let him be driven."

Three hundred high elves knelt down and pledged allegiance to the current Lord of Athens. After all, the other party was also Angelos, and they had no psychological barriers to being loyal to the descendants of His Majesty Isaac. Moreover, they really had nowhere to go now. Only by swearing allegiance to the Lord of Athens in front of them could they regain a place in today's world.

At this point, Aenarion had obtained the first piece of the puzzle to establish his effective rule.

Chapter 169: Lioness and She-Wolf (Part 1)

Aenarion recaptured the Three-Headed Gorgon and had his own huge monster. He also obtained three hundred basic officials, which enabled him to effectively rule Athens. The Great Silver Mine of Laurel, after a day of interruption, started operating again, providing him with a steady supply of silver. This silver mine may be the largest silver mine in the Balkan Peninsula, without a doubt.

However, huge profits also bring huge troubles.

In the eyes of the Ottomans, Athens was a piece of chicken ribs, tasteless to eat and a pity to abandon. This place was at the end of the Attica Peninsula, huddled on a small peninsula, and had no strategic value. Aenarion could use the two passes of the Pindus Mountains to block the Ottomans from moving south.

The Ottomans could also pass through those two mountain passes, forcing him to stay in Athens all his life and never be able to break out of the Pindus Mountains, just like the story of Ji Han. Moreover, Athens is much poorer and smaller than the Sichuan Plains, and more than 100,000 people have been captured. Now the population of Athens combined is not as large as that of Edirne alone.

But now, Athens has unearthed such a huge silver mine. Such an obvious signal has even attracted the Gorgon hiding in the mountains. The Ottoman Empire's attention has also been focused on this silver mine. Aenarion's Principality of Athens suddenly has huge strategic value and has truly entered the sight of the Ottoman Empire.

A week after conquering the Gorgon, the whole of Athens entered October, the farming season of the Mediterranean climate. The two castles in the north could no longer be repaired, and all the farmers had to go back to farm, otherwise they would starve to death the following year. At the same time, urgent news came from Thebes in the north that Osman had sent a heavyweight envoy to the half-built Delphi Bastion in the north.

Aenarion did not dare to delay. Now, his two armies, each consisting of a thousand men, were stationed in Martinum and Delphi, two bastions that blocked the mountain pass. He was not afraid of a sudden attack from the enemy. He took a hundred elite rangers assisted by the Eastern Roman Empire and quickly went to Delphi.

This time, the Ottomans did not send a large army. The whole of Greece had entered the farming season, and they were no exception. They only sent two elite companies, but these two hundred people were all composed of level eight professionals! Each of them was a company commander-level strongman.

The first company, all members were wearing triple armor, soft cloth armor, close-fitting chain mail, and fine plate armor covering the entire body, all painted a pitch-black color, with rust on the edges of the plate armor and painted with terrifying scarlet blood runes, and even added a pure robe with a six-winged angel printed on the outside. The sides of the lion helmets were decorated with huge terrifying scarlet wings. Each dark angel looked extremely majestic and terrifying.

As for the second company, each member wore two layers of heavy oriental-style armor, and a blizzard-colored fur cloak on the outside. The armor and clothes were decorated with large amounts of fur and leather. Everyone rode a Macedonian dire wolf that was larger than a horse, and the creepy wolf howls could be heard one after another.

"Look, their flag, on the black flag, there is a six-winged angel embroidered in red, gold, and white, symbolizing killing. This is the battle flag of the First Legion, the Dark Angels. However, the top of the flag is not a spear, but a golden Ottoman crescent. This represents this company, the most powerful company in the legion! It is usually the direct guard of the legion commander! It is the inner ring Lion Guard Company of the First Legion, the elite among the elite!"

Astariel said in shock.

"The top of the other company's flag is also

It was not a spear, but a golden crescent moon. On the blizzard-colored banner, a giant wolf's head was embroidered in black. The Sixth Janissary Legion: Iskander Dire Wolves, stationed in Macedonia. The standard for joining their legion was very strict. It must be composed of Slavic beastmen, and must be in wolf form. The golden crescent moon represented that this was the most courageous and combative wolf guard company of their legion! Why did the two most courageous and combative companies in the two legions come? ? ? "

"Is that the Duke of Athens on the top of the city? I heard that you dug up a huge silver mine in Athens! I once learned a Chinese proverb from the nomadic merchants on the grasslands: A man is innocent unless he possesses a treasure."

A Janissary riding a giant white wolf walked out slowly, surrounded by many wolf guards. Beside him were three smaller white wolves. He spoke in an extremely heroic voice.

Her voice was low and magnetic, with a hint of terrifying intimidation, like the roar of a ferocious and terrifying beast in nature.

Aenarion looked in the direction of the voice. It was a tall woman full of animality and savage instincts. She exuded a shivering primitive aura. Under her golden ponytail hair, on her wild and untamed face, her eyes flashed with frightening ferocity like a wolf! Just a glance at her made him feel like he was falling into an icy cave, as if he was walking in the wilderness, being stared at and surrounded by a large pack of wolves.

Her tall and muscular body was clad in a breastplate made of the scales of an adult white dragon, with a full piece of white wolf hide wrapped around her shoulders. Her sturdy arms and thighs were completely exposed, with white muscles shining with wildness and strength in the sun, forming lines of feminine and elegant figure.

This Janissary is not so much a woman as a female beast that exudes an extremely dangerous aura from head to toe.

"My God!"

Astariel looked at the Janissary riding the giant white wolf, her eyes widened in horror and she let out a scream.

"That is the Lord of the Sixth Legion! The Wolf King, Leman Russ!"

"Hey? Are you the traitor of the Angelos family, Estariel?"

Leman Russ shook his ears and keenly caught the sound from a hundred meters away. He roared at the city wall with a terrifying roar that made people's blood freeze! The terrifying beast roar even turned into substantial sound wave energy, scaring the defenders on the city wall to retreat again and again. They lost their balance in fear and sat down on the ground!

"I give you a chance, surrender, or die!!!"

"Stop yelling there, you she-wolf, this is not how you negotiate."

The Lord of the First Legion, the King of the Seraphs, and the current War Marshal of the Ottoman Empire: Ryan, surrounded by the dark angels, walked gracefully to the front of the battle, his cold and ruthless tone like the eternal ice of death.

She was tall, with a full body of pitch-black plate armor that wrapped around her graceful and proud body. A large black and red winged helmet covered her cold and beautiful face, revealing only a pair of terrifying eyes that burned with golden flames.

She is Luther's biological daughter. She was taken away by ogres as a blood tax at the age of six. She spent her childhood in cruel training and became the leader of the First Legion and the Imperial Warmaster.

Leman Russ closed his mouth unhappily, took a pot of fine wine from his belt, and drank it on the battlefield, while listening to how the great Ottoman warmaster, the leader of the First Legion, would negotiate.

"Aenarion, Duke of Athens, come out of your castle, kneel before me, and offer your loyalty and silver mines. This is your only chance to survive."

"Fuck, you have the nerve to say that to me? What's the difference between your negotiation language and mine? Isn't it just a few more flowery words?!"

Lemanus couldn't hold it back and spat out a mouthful of wine.

Chapter 170: Announcement of Death (Part 2)

Watching the two Janissary legion leaders arriving at Delphi Castle with their personal guards, Aenarion felt an immense amount of pressure. These two legion commanders were like monsters, like two unreachable mountains. Just standing there was enough to make him breathless. His heart seemed to be clenched by two freezing hands, and his clothes were soaked with cold sweat.

He stretched out his fingers tremblingly and used a reconnaissance spell. The Lord of the First Legion, Lion, was a level 20 Paladin, and the Lord of the Sixth Legion, Lemanus, was a level 9 Slaughter Druid + a level 10 Beastmaster. They were all monsters that were only one step away from becoming a legend!!!

Following behind them were the most powerful and elite Janissaries in the entire Ottoman Empire.

The terrifying pressure emanating from the two legion lords almost broke Aenarion.

However, it was already the 15th century, and what was broken by gunpowder was not only the knight class, but also the insurmountable power barriers of professionals.

A level 8 Janissary captain can easily slaughter dozens of level 1 sword-wielding warriors, but when seeing dozens of level 1 musket soldiers, he has to consider whether his armor and flesh can withstand a round of volleys. The chemical explosion damage of black gunpowder can even be comparable to that of a third-ring destruction spell.

If the amount of gunpowder is increased and the ammunition is heavier, the power will be even more terrifying. With the addition of the variable of gunpowder, the 15th century is no longer a legend, but a classical era that can dominate the entire battlefield. If the two legion commanders really want to attack, they should directly pull the first and sixth legions over and drown themselves with the more exaggerated number and quality of troops than their own. They have the ability to do so.

Instead of coming with only his own personal guards, a mere two hundred people, as is done now.

So, why didn't they bring a large army?

Aenarion suddenly realized that it was now October, and there was only one part of farmland in Greece, seven mountains and two rivers. There was very little arable land, but it had to support a large population. Agriculture was very tight, and people would starve to death if they were not taken seriously. He had to send back the corvée laborers who were building the bastions and go home to plant rice and farm. Then wouldn't the dark angels stationed on the plains of Thessaly and the Iskardar Dire Wolves in Macedonia further north have to do the same thing?

They had to cross the Pindus Mountains to go to war. Each Janissary needed at least ten auxiliary soldiers and three or four animals to transport food on the rugged mountain roads. They had no people, so how could they have people? October in the Mediterranean world was not the season for going to war. If they really wanted to go to war, they could only wait until the harvest in June next year. Even if they had a rich family background and abundant manpower, they had to wait until March, when most of the farming work was finished, before they could attack! They still had at least half a year of buffer time.

These six months were enough time for the fallen angel Luther to instigate more Janissaries to rebel within the First Legion. He could also make a lot of things from this silver mine, and even ask for help from the two dragons Constantine and Thomas, as well as the Knights of Rhodes Island... As long as there was enough time, there was still a chance for everything to turn around!

"I instigated a Janissary to rebel and killed so many Ottomans. As the Ottoman warlord, will you really spare me if I surrender?"

Aenarion said in a trembling voice.

"Of course, I swear in the name of the Ottoman Empire's warmaster that I can give you a seaside castle to live in during your retirement."

Ryan said coldly, without a trace of emotion in his voice.

"But, I refuse!"

Aenarion suddenly changed his attitude and fiercely issued the order to shoot. The musketeers, who had been trained for many months, had formed a conditioned reflex under his training. They opened fire directly after seeing the order! Dozens of cannons and hundreds of matchlock guns wove an extremely dense web of death fire in the deafening sound of thunder!

Ryan narrowed his eyes and used a Holy Shield spell. A sacred and magnificent golden barrier appeared in front of his heroic body, bouncing off and blocking all the lead bullets shot at him.

Leman Russ threw out a handful of oak seeds, which instantly sprouted and grew into towering ancient trees that blocked out the sun! He also intercepted the dense fire net fired at him, and the oak trees were shattered and collapsed by the shells and lead bullets, but they failed to hurt the she-wolf at all.

Ryan narrowed her eyes, and the golden holy fire burning in her eyes burned even more vigorously.

"Aenarion Angelos, I think you can only be the Duke of Athens for winter. Pack up and go home."

Ryan waved her hand and retreated with her extremely loyal Inner Ring Lion Guards. As expected, she brought these few people here just to scare him, not to fight.

The wolf king Lemanus was very unhappy. It was really the case that a higher-ranking official could crush a lower-ranking official. She could only obey the orders of the war marshal. Forget it, this season was not the time to fight. If all the Macedonian farmers were conscripted to transport grain, there might be a famine next year. She bared her teeth and let out another terrifying beast roar at the city wall, then reluctantly returned to her own nest with a hundred wolf guards.

Looking at the two legion lords who had returned, Aenarion's heart, which had nearly jumped out of his throat, finally slowly regained his composure. A group of soldiers were also breathing heavily, many of them had trembling legs, and were even unable to stand up. They continued to pray the most devoutly to God.

A suffocating pressure, like an endless ocean, pressed down on Aenarion, making it hard for him to breathe. He only had half a year left to operate.

"Immediately send envoys to ask for help from Prince Thomas of Mystras, Emperor Constantine of Constantinople, Grand Master Hepans of Rhodes, Soul Taker Alleli of Evia, and Valkia of the North Sea! As long as their conditions are not too extreme, we will agree to them! I need to unite all the forces that can be united!"

Aenarion took a few deep breaths and pretended to be relaxed in front of the soldiers to calm their morale.

"The Janissaries are not invincible! Don't forget, forty-eight years ago, they were beaten to a pulp by the Timurids! Several legions were crippled, and two legions even disappeared completely. Their organization has not been restored until now. That cripple can defeat the Ottomans, so why can't we do it? Are we worse than a cripple?"

The Athenian soldiers burst into laughter, the shadows in their hearts were temporarily dispelled, and they regained their confidence one by one. Aenarion distributed land to all the main soldiers, making all of them property owners. If they were defeated by the Ottomans, they would be directly transformed from small landowners into serfs or military slaves. Even if they did not fight for their leader, they would have to fight for their homes.

Chapter 171: Extreme Regime

Aenarion quickly returned to Athens and met with the three hundred officials under Angelos. He used all the historical knowledge he knew, combined the essence and discarded the dross, and came up with a national policy that was very sensational to the people at that time. More than three hundred Roman officials looked at the decree that their duke was about to implement, and they were stunned and looked at each other. The leader

, he said weakly.

"Duke, are you going too far?"

Aenarion glared at him. The terrifying oppression from the two legion lords made him feel like he was dancing on the edge of a knife and could die at any time. This glance was filled with terrifying murderous intent, like a terrifying chaos demon, telling the other party to shut up.

First, increase the standing army.

With the financial support of the Laurion Silver Mine, the small city of Athens actually had 3,000 standing troops, 2,000 of which were heavy armored main forces and 1,000 were garrison guards. However, these people were basically in a garrison state. The two main forces were stationed at the two passes of the Pindus Mountains and in the two bastions of Delphi and Martinum.

Aenarion gritted his teeth, recruited 500 men to serve as garrison, turned all the previous 1,000 garrison soldiers into the main force, and purchased a large number of chain mail and muskets from the Genoese. Amidst the praises of "the boss is so generous", he trained the third Spanish phalanx as a mobile force that could run throughout Athens.

Second, reclaim land and establish centralized authority.

With the standing army loyal to the count, he had the foundation for centralized rule. Those knights and nobles who still existed in Athens and were divided into different territories could not shake his standing army even if they united. What's more, their territories were fragmented and divided everywhere. Therefore, they lost the ability to resist his rule and could only accept his laws and obey him. The Roman officials rescued from the Gorgon Cave, accompanied by teams of soldiers, went to castles, towns, and villages and established an effective foundation for rule.

Aenarion did not make things difficult for those nobles. After taking back their ruling rights over their castles and territories, he retained their direct lands and properties, and incorporated all these elites and nobles into his own army, serving as officers and his attendants according to their abilities. These noble elites generally had one to four professional levels and were stronger than ordinary people.