In the Imperial Calendar, September 2513, the fleet anchored at Shark Bay in the port of Cofa, a famous Bretonnian knightly port located in the Araby Sea. This port had been the starting point of the legendary Red Flame Crusade, and the beginning of many knightly wars. Even after the Red Flame Crusade ended with the death of the Araby king (also known as the Sultan) Jaffar, the wars continued. Bretonnians, alongside Imperials, Estalians, and Tileans, fought for centuries, battling the remnants of any who sought to claim Jaffar's title.
Now, the long-range fleet had temporarily stopped at this port to resupply before continuing their journey to Ulthuan.
"Welcome to 'Voyage of the Soul 3,' brought to you by the Enterprise and Ryan," the Knight King stood at the famous Cofa docks, muttering to himself. "Well, yesterday we set out from Marienburg after handling everything, and now we need to resupply here before continuing to Ulthuan."
"Yesterday? We left Marienburg in August, and it's already September. Are you messing with time now?" Julius, Ryan's brother-in-law, walked down from the deck, staring at Ryan with a confused look. "Your Majesty, I think your sense of time is off."
"Qin calendar, one day is one year in the mortal realm," Ryan joked with a mischievous grin, making little sense.
"Qin calendar?" Fugen, who had also descended from the ironclad ship, appeared as elegant as ever. "And what land is that?"
"It's a place that cannot be seen but can be felt," Ryan laughed, noticing that Sulia and Olica were also coming down from the ship. He changed the subject quickly, "Enough of that, we won't stay here long. Take a walk around, but we'll continue our journey soon."
Araby, a land of exotic spices, perfumes, coffee, cocoa, carpets, shawls, honey, and ivory goods, was once a unified kingdom. However, after Jaffar's death in the Red Flame Crusade, it fractured once more into smaller states. Today, the Empire and Bretonnia control the northern, richest parts of Araby, while the remaining ten or so Arabyan Sultans or Emirs are content to govern their city-states autonomously. Any attempts at unification are quickly quashed by Old World armies, teaching them that Araby cannot be unified.
As Ryan disembarked, he met with the three Grand Masters of the Bretonnian Knightly Crusade stationed in Araby. The Grand Masters, along with their knights, came to pay homage to their king, and Ryan offered them words of encouragement and praise.
In addition, there was another group Ryan needed to address—the knights from noble families who, for four generations, had failed to produce a worthy knight. After Ryan issued his royal decree, many of these noble families had no choice but to send young knight apprentices—or, more accurately, a group of useless individuals—to report to the king.
To put it bluntly, Ryan considered these men too cowardly to even serve as cannon fodder. Coupled with their noble habits, they were difficult to manage. Thus, Ryan assigned them to the Araby Crusade, to be used by the expeditionary forces.
In reality, this was a way to get rid of them—sending these weaklings off to die while selecting the few with potential and training them into capable warriors. Ryan knew that, like all nations, Bretonnia faced issues of land consolidation. Even if freedmen managed to gain independence, nobles would slowly reclaim wealth and land.
Could this problem be solved? Not really. Except for periodically letting people die, human history was a cycle of repetition.
But in this world, the issue of land consolidation was overshadowed by far more terrifying external pressures and threats. Endless wars prevented the population of the knightly nobility from exploding, as the nobles personally led their troops into battle. Ryan's task was to weed out the worthless knights, easing internal conflicts. Whether serfs or nobles, their primary duty was to defend their homeland. Chaos invasions, greenskin raids, beastmen, and Skaven invasions were not just a matter of swapping masters.
These pampered knights couldn't handle the harsh desert life in Araby. When they saw the king, many teared up, complaining about the excessive wars, grueling training, poor living conditions, and the terrible food. They asked Ryan and Sulia if they could return to Bretonnia.
"More sweat in peace, less blood in war. Hardship and simplicity are the essence of knightly spirit," Ryan said with a smile as he shook hands with the noble knights. Then, he and Sulia visited the knights' camp to inspect their food.
In a large pot, a stew of potatoes, beef, and carrots simmered.
"How long does this need to cook?" Ryan asked, stirring the pot with a ladle.
"Three hours," replied Morgan Brightflame, Grand Master of the Brightflame Knights, standing nearby.
"It's a well-known dish," Ryan nodded and returned the ladle.
"Your Majesty, skeleton armies from the deep desert are clashing with greenskins from the Southlands near Golden Oath City. Both sides have committed massive forces, and the battle has been raging for months," Morgan reported.
"Have you engaged?" Ryan frowned.
"No, we've followed your orders strictly," Morgan assured. "We haven't gotten involved."
"Good. Unless the greenskins or the Tomb Kings attack first, let them fight it out among themselves," Ryan mused. "Also, my men need the experience of battle."
"We understand. These pampered men could use some desert sand to toughen them up," Morgan grinned. "Thank you for sending us fresh recruits. Would you like to see the Foreign Legion?"
"Sure."
Ryan and his companions then inspected the Bretonnian Foreign Legion stationed at Cofa. The legion was originally formed during the Red Flame Crusade, composed of Imperial, Estalian, Tilean, and even Arabian soldiers, established under the command of the then-Knight King, Jules the Just. Initially numbering around a thousand men, the legion had since grown to over three thousand soldiers across three battalions. They were highly effective fighters but also demanded high pay.
Ryan had the authority to deploy this force, but he had no interest in bringing them back to Bretonnia at the moment. They would remain in Araby to continue their campaigns.
After two days of resupplying at Cofa, the fleet resumed its journey across the open seas toward Ulthuan.
In addition to Teclis's phoenix flagship, the fleet consisted of four ships: Fugen's ironclad flagship Saint Sophia, Gold Wizard Kareem's flagship Burning Scimitar, Ryan's ironclad flagship Enterprise, and the Randuin.
With the troops back on board, the long voyage continued.
Ryan could hear murmurs of complaint from the soldiers—after barely two days ashore, they were back on the ships. He only smiled and didn't respond.
Accommodation aboard the ships was indeed a challenge. Ordinary soldiers were crammed into the "soldier's quarters," sharing iron bunk beds three levels high, which made for uncomfortable rest. Knights and officers shared cramped three-person rooms, while only senior commanders like Bertrand and Davout of the Old Guard had single rooms.
The king's suite aboard the Enterprise was located in the rear of the ironclad ship. It was a small suite, about 80 square meters, with a private bathroom, kitchen, dining room, and a bedroom. Though somewhat narrow, it was a luxurious space by warship standards.
After inspecting the ship's conditions and the soldiers' food, Ryan returned to his royal suite.
As he opened the door, he found Olica and Sulia sitting on the couch, chatting. Sulia looked delighted as she greeted him, "Dear, you're back! What's the news?"
"Nothing much," Ryan muttered, dropping his cloak on the rack and flopping onto the couch with a sigh. "Why can't time just speed up? I wish we'd arrive in Ulthuan tomorrow."
"Ryan, be patient. If Ulthuan were so easy to reach, why would we need to go to so much trouble?" Sulia, wearing a semi-transparent white Bretonnian blouse and black velvet stockings, smiled as she caught him and let him rest his head on her lap. Though she was tired of the long sea voyage, Ryan's presence always brightened her mood. "Didn't Teclis say it would take another half month to reach Ulthuan?"
"Master~ let me help you relax," Olica offered. She wore a purple dress and white stockings, her amber eyes filled with excitement. The dark elf's seductive aura contrasted with Sulia's elegant demeanor. She began massaging Ryan's shoulders. "It's not easy to reach Ulthuan, master. Without a High Elf navigator, it's impossible to find Lothern."
"So troublesome," Ryan grumbled as he pulled Olica into his lap like a pillow and rested his head against her. "I wish I could just sleep until we arrived in Ulthuan."
Olica was as soft and cuddly as a sweet little dumpling.
"Master, you can't slack off like that!" Olica playfully kicked off her high heels and snuggled into Ryan's arms, her voice sweet. "Haven't you decided how to handle the High Elves yet?"
"We'll figure it out when we get there," Ryan replied, holding his soft, fragrant pillow and turning to Sulia with a smile. "Sulia, are you regretting coming along? Life at sea is boring, isn't it?"
"Any place with you
is interesting," Sulia replied, blushing slightly as she watched Olica snuggling into Ryan's lap. Though she tried to maintain her dignity as the queen, she leaned on her husband's shoulder. "I came of my own will. Are you going to leave me behind?"
"How could I dare? You're my queen," Ryan laughed, holding Sulia close while embracing Olica. He looked around the small suite, which had just enough room for a table, a sofa, and two wardrobes. "This is nice."
"Nice? Really? You didn't even ask the dwarves to build a bigger bedroom!" Sulia pouted, annoyed. The queen had been upset about this.
Because the king's suite had only one bedroom, Sulia had been forced to share the bed with Olica and Ryan, which led to… rather awkward situations at night.
"A battleship is still a battleship, meant for war, not for luxury," Ryan joked as he held Olica close, massaging her small, delicate feet covered in white silk stockings. "Though I have to admit, Teclis's phoenix flagship and that Arabian wizard's Burning Scimitar are more like palaces. Oh, how I wish I had a fleet like the High Elves."
"Master, why not just get a Black Ark?" Olica suggested with a playful smile. "I know how to perform the rituals. Just sacrifice fifty thousand slaves…"
"Olica! Ryan is a Knight King! He can't do such things!" Sulia quickly interrupted, scolding Olica. "We already have ironclads."
"Yes, the ironclads are enough to deal with our cousins," Olica sighed, realizing that Ryan wasn't interested in her idea. "At least for now. Besides, if not for Teclis aboard his phoenix flagship, it wouldn't stand a chance against this dwarven ironclad."
"Hmm? I've heard that the High Elves' Star Dragon Fleet is the most powerful navy in the world," Sulia said, intrigued. "How does it compare to the Dark Elves?"
"The High Elves' Star Dragon Fleet is indeed stronger, but only when they have dragons!" Olica scoffed, clearly unimpressed. "How many dragons do they have left? When I was captured, it was only thanks to two Sun Dragons that they turned the tide and took me. Otherwise, I would have sent them all to feed the fish."
Ryan and Sulia both wanted to ask Olica more about her past, but the dark elf merely smiled and closed her eyes, snuggling deeper into Ryan's arms. "Master, if the time comes, I'll tell you everything."
"Alright," Ryan grinned mischievously. "Sulia, we have some time before dinner. How about the three of us…"
Sulia's face flushed red as she instinctively wanted to refuse. But after everything they had been through, she hesitated, unsure of what to do. Just then, a knock came at the door.
"Your Majesty! Lord Fugen, Lord Pirazzo, Lord Julius, Lord Felix, and the Gold Wizard have all boarded. They said they need to speak with you," Davout, commander of the Old Guard, called from outside.
"Alright, tell them I'll be there shortly," Ryan replied loudly.
"Understood!"
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