Haru glanced at all his men who looked at each other and shared a nod. They had come to an agreement on their discussion.
"So we have come to an agreement then?"
"Yes sire, the agreed terms could not be any more fitting, especially in a godless world that has not seen the light of Christ."
Haru held up the paper, the document that would hold the details of what the Orders and the Duke had agreed on.
I, Duke Haru of Whirlingpool, together with the Grandmaster of the Templar Order, and the commanders of the Knights Hospitaliers and the Teutonic Order, hereby declare that the Kingdom of Thore shall be renamed the Duchy of Whirlingpool.
I, Duke Haru of Whirlingpool, hereby declare that lest the King of England arrives here to seize power, the citizens of the Duchy of Whirlingpool will answer to the authority of God, the Church and the Duke of Whirlingpool alone.
I, Duke Haru of Whirlingpool, hereby declare that the city of Thore be renamed to the city of Whirlingpool.
"These three statements will act as the basis for the rest of the Duchy's establishment in this new world. These will be declared in public tomorrow at midday." Haru said as he rolled up the scroll and tightened it with a red ribbon, before setting it aside. "But sadly, that was only the easy part of our meeting. Now we must speak of our next move against the Black Dogs, and that is not an easy task to accomplish."
Haru stared at the knight commanders, who were all analyzing the map on the table. Even though the Crusader army was vastly superior to the Black Dogs in terms of morale, quality and fighting ability, the enemy had numbers and resources, which was all they needed to defeat the Crusader army. They needed a plan, which Haru had much trouble figuring out.
"Well knights, what is your proposed plan? I cannot do this alone, as much as you may think so."
"Well milord, before your arrival, three knightly orders have made separate plans." Grandmaster Oswald replied. "Though we had yet to agree on a plan during your absence."
"Let's hear it then."
The Hospitalier commander moved up to talk as he then gestured to the map on the table.
"Sir, the Hospitaliers wish to claim the lands outside the walls of Thore. If we were to reclaim the villages outside, we would help restore order and boost public support for our cause."
"That's quite the excellent plan Sir Rene Antoinette, but how do you plan to execute it?"
"Sire, as one of the commanders of the Hospitaliers, I can command about 300 men, while bringing about one to four knights with me. These villages only require about 65 men to reclaim."
"Hmmm… Quite thought out, but should your men get ambushed?"
"We have the advantage of mobility, sire. The Black Dogs lack horses and cavalry, we should be able to outmaneuver them."
"Excellent work Sir Rene, I will take note of your plan."
"My thanks, sire." Sir Rene said as he backed up.
Grandmaster Oswald then moves up to the table as he then places a dagger on one area of the map and then another area of the map.
"These areas are lands that are unknown to us. Though the locals have given us much information about the continent, I have noticed that there are areas that the locals claim that even the Black Dogs dare not go to. What I ask is that we may scout the area around Thore before making any major moves on the enemy."
"Good thinking, I suggest you bring about 120 men on horseback, and no more. As not to catch unwanted attention. I trust the rest of the operation to you."
"You have my gratitude, milord. That is all." Grandmaster Oswald replied as he stepped back.
"Milord?" the Teutonic commander called as he stepped forward.
"Herr Weiss von Schnee, what do you wish to say?"
"If I may be so bold, there is actually one thing we managed to agree on."
The Duke was surprised to hear that.
"Even with training the levies, our numbers would still fall short in fighting a long-term campaign against the Black Dogs. Which is why I suggest that we gather help from the neighboring kingdoms."
"Are you suggesting we make alliances with these strangers?" Haru asked in a surprised tone, realizing that the other Orders agreed to it. "And the others agreed to this?"
"Well, yes and no. We were thinking of gathering recruits from splinter factions who broke off from their original kingdoms."
"That's also a good idea, we do need to swell our numbers if we are to stand up against the Black Dogs. But where should we start?"
The Teutonic commander then points to one area of the map, in the northeastern area.
"We shan't trust the nation of Dark Elves, they were responsible for the conjuration of the Legion."
"If anything, they should be slaughtered once we have the chance." Grandmaster Oswald voiced.
"We estimated about one thousand rebels ripe for recruiting, if we are lucky." Sir Rene added in.
"One thousand men?" Haru asked disappointedly, before turning to his assistant, Ruby. "Ruby, tell me, what are the numbers we face?"
"W-We've estimated about ten to twenty thousand men alone, with even more monsters backing them up."
"Deus adiuva nos omnes…" Grandmaster Oswald muttered. (God help us all)
"God be with us, that's more than twice our army size!" Haru expressed in horror. "Even if we are to succeed in fighting off the men, what of the monsters and demons?"
The men had an intense discussion of what to do, before a timid voice broke their discussion.
"M-Milords, if I may. I wish to share information that may be of use."
"Well go ahead Ruby, the floor is yours."
Ruby walks up to the table and points to the south.
"W-We aren't the only kingdom who is threatened by the Kuro Inu." Ruby said as she pointed to an area below Thore. "To the south, the Kingdom of Dragundaala still holds strong against the demon advance. The ruler, a wise dragonness named Lady Xiaolong who had the foresight to prepare against the growing threat."
"Interesting…" Haru commented. "Does that mean our southern borders are secure?"
"I-I'm not sure… Lady Xiaolong distrusts all males, there is no guarantee until you prove your good intentions to her."
"Noted, carry on."
"To the northern tip of the continent, a warrior culture thrives in the snowy climate, with warriors so fierce that the Kuro Inu have tried and failed so many times to occupy them."
"Wait, are these men raiders or bandits by any chance?"
"Yes, that is what they are popularly associated with. How did you know?"
Haru looked at Grandmaster Oswald as they both shared a nod, same with all the knights in the room. There was one word that came into their minds when they heard the words "snow" and "warrior" in the same sentence.
"Vikings…"
"What is the name of the land of these warriors?"
"G-Gridastadur. Not even Celestine knows what the name means."
"Then there's no doubt that these men are Scandinavian. Even the name sounds Norse." Haru concluded as he then gestured for Ruby to go on.
"A-And here is the land where shield-princess Kaguya came from." Ruby stuttered as she pointed to the far right of the map. "Nicknamed, the Far East, it is ruled by an emperor who commands an army of fearless, disciplined warriors."
"How large is this country?"
"I-I don't know milord, Kaguya never talked about it."
"So men, in light of this new information, what do you suggest we do?"
"I say we still go through with our current plans." Sir Rene suggested. "We can't split our resources like this."
"But surely we can spare a few men to act as emissaries!" Herr Weiss retorted.
"Are you really suggesting that we make an alliance with these stranger nations?"
"As much I'd hate to admit it, we are outmatched in numbers, Sir Oswald. If we choose to fight with what we have now, then we will look like nothing but a bunch of fools who dare oppose the Black Dogs."
"Actually, Herr Weiss has a point, we cannot hope to face our adversaries like this. We need all the help we can get, regardless of who is helping us."
"I'd imagine you agreeing to this." Oswald grumbled. "You were quick to ally with the infidel Mamluks when we faced the Seljuks."
"But even those men had faith and honor! These monsters, these Black Dogs have little to no regard for the damage that they have caused! If you cannot see the good in the people who stand against them, then at least see them as a lesser evil, a necessary evil."
The room was silent as Grandmaster Oswald hung his head and said.
"Fine, we'll do this your way."
"Then we must decide on how we send our emissaries." Sir Rene added.
"A group of men will catch too much attention." Herr Weiss stated. "Knowing the enemy, they might be monitoring for any possible moves on the other kingdoms. We can't risk drawing too much attention while we're still vulnerable."
"So what? We sacrifice security for the sake of covertness and vice versa. What should we do?" Grandmaster Oswald asked.
"How about instead of the emissary having a guard, what if we had the emissary guard himself?"
The commanders were confused at what Herr Weiss just suggested, before Sir Rene realized what he meant and squinted at him.
"Are you suggesting that we send our very own knights to act as mere emissaries?"
"No mere man can traverse this land safely, but a warrior dedicated and loyal to God should be seen to safety by the Savior Himself."
"But we risk losing our precious knights!" Oswald cried.
"Then they have earned their place in Heaven Grandmaster. There was a reason why the knights received the greatest training available." Herr Weiss stated before adding. "And to prove my point, I will personally volunteer as an emissary."
This sparked immense silence as the knights looked at Weiss with a shocked look on their faces.
"Herr Weiss, I did not mean to be so opposed to your plan—"
"This has nothing to do with your opinion Sir Rene, do not fret. I merely wish to see the task fulfilled myself."
"But think of the risks!" Grandmaster Oswald pleaded. "You are a talented young knight with a promising career! A young prodigy should not be so reckless with his life!"
"But who could be a better candidate to undertake such an important mission?"
"But who will lead the Teutonic Knights?"
"I merely am one Teutonic commander among many others. They will do a better job of leading men."
Haru sighed before saying.
"Look, Herr Weiss… We simply cannot accept you going out into such danger, as we do not want a repeat of… the incident."
Ruby was curious on what exactly was this incident that Haru referred to so solemnly.
"That incident did not weaken me in any way. I will go regardless of what you say." Herr Weiss said defiantly, before his face darkened. "Unless you wish to stop me."
The other knights hung their heads in shame as they did not utter any more words against Herr Weiss.
"I will try to search for this Far East nation. The land is practically devoid of demons, I'll be safe for now, there is little need to worry." Weiss said reassuringly.
"… Alright then, if Herr Weiss wishes to search for the Far East, then let him. Who will we send to Grisdastadur? To Lady Xiaolong?" Grandmaster Oswald asked.
"Say… do we still have those Varangian mercenaries?" Haru asked. "They should be good candidates to send to the northern tribes."
"You want to send them?" Sir Rene questioned.
"Why not? The northern tribes are clearly of Norse Culture. It would help them reconnect with their roots, and their cultural similarities will help boost interactions."
"No offense sire, but it's been centuries since the Viking Age."
"But it is our best chance at securing a pact with them." Haru countered, thus ending the debate.
"Who will go to Lady Xiaolong?" Sir Rene then questioned.
"I volunteer. I would like to see this Lady Xiaolong for myself." Haru said straight out.
"Sir! You too? But how about the—"
"We'll settle all political matters before we begin our plans." Haru said, cutting off Rene, and thus changing the subject. "Now we must focus on the task of enforcing the law upon our new citizens."
"And how will we do that?" Grandmaster Oswald asked, leaning forward in interest.
"We will make examples of the ones who think of betraying us." Haru stated simply. "And to do that, we need a little magic on our side."
Everyone then glanced at Ruby, who was bashful at all the attention.