Medieval Gacha Lord-Chapter 80: Ways to Make Money

Chapter 80: Ways to Make Money

The melodious wolf howl, mournful and lingering, eventually faded. By the time Lothar arrived, alerted by the commotion, Hans had already neatly donned the equipment he had taken off.

He picked up the bent arming sword from the ground, his face full of heartache. Although his quality had leaped to five-star, this arming sword, which had accompanied him to this world, had not been enhanced; it was still just an ordinary weapon.

"Don’t feel bad about it. I’ll have Marlus forge a good sword for you." Lothar approached the werewolf’s corpse, somewhat amazed at its massive size. He looked at Hans and asked, "You killed it?"

"Mm." An expression that was a complex mix of expecting praise and fearing blame appeared on Hans’s face.

’Still a child at heart,’ Lothar thought with a sigh, but his face showed a stern expression. "Next time, remember to notify me in advance. Don’t act rashly. Prioritize your own safety above all else."

Hans scratched his head, somewhat embarrassed. "My apologies, Milord. I was indeed a bit reckless this time. But I just wanted to figure out how the werewolves of this world fight. You know, I’m not a native-born member of the Two Sicilies Wolf Clan; I don’t have any knowledge of how werewolves are supposed to fight. Besides, transforming like this isn’t very convenient."

Lothar nodded. "Indeed, there are extenuating circumstances."

The Winged Hussars were one hundred percent loyal to Lothar. But his current subordinates were not all Winged Hussars.

Hans pointed to the black werewolf’s corpse and said with emotion, "This was a pitiful fellow. I heard his confession. During a full moon night, he couldn’t control his werewolf nature and killed his own wife and son. When he awoke, he found the scattered remains of his wife and child lying at his feet. One can imagine how agonizing that must have been. He tried to seek redemption in the Holy Land, but unfortunately, the Heavenly Father did not answer him. Before this infidel temple, he used the wrong gestures to ask for help, so naturally, he wouldn’t receive a response either."

"Indeed, a pitiful man." Lothar sighed. Werewolves eating humans was certainly detestable. But the werewolves of this world were also cursed individuals; many of their evil deeds were beyond their own control, which made them seem somewhat pitiable. However, pity was one thing; if he encountered another, he would still have to kill it.

Hans said with some regret, "Milord, if he could have controlled his bestial nature, I originally wanted to recruit him for you. A werewolf of such a massive size would be like an ever-victorious war chariot on the battlefield."

Lothar shook his head. "The werewolves of this world are bloodthirsty by nature. I wouldn’t dare recruit one as a subordinate; otherwise, I’d be excommunicated the very next day."

"Men, carry this werewolf’s corpse back."

He intended to take this wolf corpse back for Fringilla to study. In many legends of this world, anyone bitten by a werewolf would be infected and become a new werewolf.

But Lothar felt this claim was unreliable. If werewolves truly possessed such zombie-like infectivity, they would have long since overrun everything.

Just then, a series of footsteps sounded from the distance. A group of people carrying lanterns slowly approached. Their attire was clearly foreign. A well-informed Winged Hussar whispered, "They are Turks. Count Raynald employs such a troop under his command, called Ghazi warriors, I think."

’Turks?’ Lothar frowned.

The various Turkic tribes constantly migrating westward had mostly submitted to the Sasanian King. The Sasanian King, with a wave of his hand, had enfeoffed them with Asia Minor, which originally didn’t belong to them, as their pastureland.

And the Turks lived up to their valiant reputation. Over the years, they had continuously expanded their influence in Asia Minor, squeezing the Eastern Empire’s power until only coastal cities like Nicaea remained.

This meant that the Turks’ sphere of influence was generally in the Asia Minor region, not the Levant. How had they ended up in Jerusalem?

(Note: Levant refers to the eastern Mediterranean coast.)

The leader was a Turkic man dressed as a noble. He asked in broken French, "What happened? I thought I heard a wolf howl. Did a wild wolf break into the city?"

Lothar gave Ulm a look. Ulm immediately understood, urged his horse forward two steps, and said sternly, "Halt! Come no closer! This is Grand Master Lothar of the Royal Knights. Infidels, return to your residences at once, or we will consider you suspicious individuals!"

A Ghazi warrior drew his straight sword and said angrily, "Insolence! How dare you be so rude to my master!"

The Winged Hussars behind Lothar also immediately drew their swords.

The Turkic noble quickly waved his hand. "Don’t misunderstand! I have no ill intent! I was merely worried that a vicious wolf might have entered the city and threatened our own safety."

Lothar said loudly, "You need not concern yourselves with Jerusalem’s public security! A curfew has already been issued in Jerusalem. Please return to your residence immediately!"

The Turkic noble didn’t press further and said straightforwardly, "Alright, I understand. Please, by no means misunderstand our intentions. We shall leave at once!"

The departing Turkic noble, Prince Jandar, had a somber expression. "Prince Jandar, shall we make a move?"

"Restrain yourselves for now!" The Turkic noble addressed as Prince Jandar had a greedy glint in his eyes. "To think there would be a werewolf in this infidels’ holy land! A pity... how can we steal its corpse from these Franks?"

Not all Turks had converted to Zoroastrianism; every ethnic group had its share of stubborn traditionalists. For instance, among this westward migrating group of Turks, a considerable number still clung to the Shamanistic faith of Tengri. And Prince Jandar was one of them.

In Shamanism, there was an ancient technique to infuse the essence of beasts into warriors to create a batch of beast-blood warriors; this was why Prince Jandar coveted the werewolf’s corpse.

Watching the group depart, Hans said, "There’s something fishy about those Turks."

Lothar nodded. "Indeed. His eyes kept darting towards the black werewolf’s corpse. If the infidels in Jerusalem weren’t already on such high alert, I would have just arrested them without a second thought, regardless of anything else."

Jerusalem’s prosperity after that horrific Crusader massacre years ago was inextricably linked to its inclusiveness. Baldwin IV was also committed to maintaining peaceful development between the two faiths.

As a member of the King’s Party, he couldn’t possibly act like Count Raynald, indiscriminately attacking infidel merchant caravans or even robbing and killing nobles.

***

Early the next morning, news that the Royal Knights had killed a werewolf quickly spread throughout Jerusalem.

Last night, that terrifying wolf howl, so piercing it had echoed through more than half of Jerusalem’s urban area, was still fresh in many people’s minds when they awoke.

Lothar was waiting. Perhaps before long, Archbishop William himself would pay a visit, partly to verify the truth of the matter, and partly, presumably, to request the werewolf’s corpse. The corpse might then be publicly burned, and a grand event held for it, to boost morale.

At this moment, Fringilla stood at the highest point of a palace castle tower. She walked on the outer wall as if defying the rules of gravity, a sight that made Lothar’s heart pound with trepidation.

"You big dummy, can’t you give Milord and me some space alone?"

"Protecting Milord is my duty."

"You weren’t following Milord all the time yesterday!"

Banu’s brow furrowed. Finding herself unable to argue, she simply did as she usually did: chose silence.

Fringilla said angrily, "You tricky woman! Whenever you hear something that doesn’t please you, you just pretend to be deaf and dumb!"

Lothar then stepped in as a mediator. "Most of the spoils obtained from the bandits have already been transported to Jerusalem. Those damaged weapons and armor, with the current shortage of military equipment in Jerusalem, all sold for a good price. I plan to use this money to acquire a few workshops."

Fringilla looked somewhat surprised. "Milord, are you confident you can defend Jerusalem? If the city falls, won’t your workshops also be destroyed?"

"Precisely because war is imminent, many workshops and shops owned by infidels are being sold off at low prices. Even if I purchase the workshops, I won’t start operations immediately. I just plan to take over their skilled workers." fɾēewebnσveℓ.com

Lothar planned to introduce block printing to print theological classics. Paired with improved papermaking, in the devout Jerusalem, he wouldn’t have to worry about sales. Even if many commoners were illiterate, they would still be good as souvenirs.

Furthermore, improving dyes was also quite simple. Thanks to the prevalence of short videos in his previous life, Lothar knew of many methods for improving dyes, such as using grape skins to produce expensive purple cloth. The reason purple dye was so expensive now was because dyers used a dye made from the juice secreted by a type of shellfish gland, which was extremely rare.

It was just that this business was too profitable. Lothar pondered for a long time and still decided that before he became a king, he had to keep this idea buried in his mind.

In his previous world, the King of France dared to accuse the Knights Templar’s emblem, which was two knights on one horse, of homosexuality and then annihilate them.

This was sufficient proof that wealth without strong armed protection was always at risk of being seized by others.

Actually, Lothar didn’t want to be both fulfilling the duties of Grand Master, laboring all day, and also racking his brains about making money. But he had no choice. Jorgklusburg was simply too barren. Its only specialty product was dates and other agricultural crops, and the yield wasn’t even high enough to exchange for grain to feed all his subjects.

Of course, that iron ore deposit Marlus had discovered, if developed, would also be a decent industry.

It was just that all these things had to make way for war.

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