Drawing Cards in the Middle Ages to Rise in Ranks

Early morning.

The garden echoed with the sound of birdsong.

Having finished breakfast, Losa was engrossed in reading a book wrapped in faded old parchment.

From his furrowed brow, it was clear that this reading session was not going smoothly.

The fact proved that his original assumption was correct.

Anna had no intention of holding back; this magic book encompassed everything, thoroughly explaining the structure and principles of each flame attribute magic, roughly counting, it included at least twelve spells.

But the problem was, Losa couldn't understand it.

Blood Magic was not the same system as the magic of this world. Even if there were commonalities, someone like Losa, who knew the "what" without knowing the "why," could not figure them out.

Moreover, with those complicated specialized terms, understanding this book thoroughly would clearly require a professional teacher.

At this point.

A cold voice of Prajna came from behind Losa.

She handed the changed sheets to Losa, naturally lowering her voice, and said, "Find a place where no one is around to wash them."

Losa took the sheets.

He looked somewhat puzzled at this woman, as if nothing had happened in the past two nights.

She maintained her usual aloof demeanor, but seeing Losa staring at her continuously, she couldn't hold back and softly said, "Yesterday, when I was washing the sheets, I almost got caught by Jeanne."

Losa chuckled and said, "Alright, I'll go now."

Prajna was quite fluid.

Probably such a cold-as-ice person, when melted by warmth, can't help but become like a gentle brook, trickling softly.

So the sheets indeed needed changing.

As for burning them directly?

Many more days lie ahead, so how can we waste things like this.

Losa took the opportunity to hold Prajna's hand, interlocking their fingers, the delicate touch reminding him of the scenes from the past two nights.

She struggled a bit, but finding she couldn't break free, she whispered helplessly, "Stop messing around."

Losa regretfully said, "Tonight, Furin is coming back to sleep."

"You still want more?"

"Yeah."

Prajna frowned, thought seriously for a moment, and refused, "No, I don't want to be exposed this early; how long have we been together? Sleeping together this quickly is already very excessive."

She could even imagine the embarrassing words Jeanne would say upon learning this.

Though she could pretend not to hear as she usually did, it worked before because she truly didn't care, but this time, she really did care.

"Alright then."

Losa embraced the wooden basin, ready to leave.

"Wait a moment."

"What is it?"

Turning around, cold lips pressed against his face, she whispered, "I didn't want to explain initially, but considering you might misunderstand, the Ghost Race doesn't have that kind of thing."

For a moment, Losa didn't know what to say.

"Go on."

Watching Losa's slightly sneaky figure departing, a slight smile crept onto Prajna's face — indeed, still quite cute, my dear.

...

Jeanne rode atop a horse named Grape of Akhal-Teke breed.

She glanced sternly over the few armored cavalry archers before her.

All of them were wearing round-topped chain armor face-covering helmets, exposing only their eyes and nostrils; inside, they wore a collar ring chain armor with an outer layer of cotton zha armor, the rear adorned with a majestic purple cape.

The towering stallion beneath them was also clad in horse armor, with linen strips protecting even the horse's belly, leaving only a tail visible.

Just having such an armored cavalry wear their gear correctly takes hours, needing special attendants' help; ordinary farmers couldn't fasten such horse armor.

This horse armor's head armor, neck armor, chest armor, and body armor appear as a whole but are actually detachable, requiring sequential assembly.

Truly an expensive troop!

That's Jeanne's evaluation.

For the same price, Jeanne felt she could establish a lightly armored cavalry archers unit, a plate-armored heavy cavalry (shock cavalry), and a melee cavalry unit.

Not to mention, even a single purple cape could exchange for a full set of a knight's armor.

Although the individual combat ability may not match Byzantine-style armored cavalry, taking three-to-one, she felt confident she wouldn't lose.

"Tell me, what battle style do you generally employ?"

A cavalry archer replied, "Knight Commander, we employ a wedge formation, with the front five rows of cavalry all wielding nail hammers, and the rear cavalry using riding spears on both sides; inside are us, the heavy armored archers."

"We often employ frontal charges; upon engaging, we heavy armored archers shoot at the enemy to disrupt their formation, and after contact, we can either shoot at close range or switch to secondary weapons like the nail hammer and wolf fang club to charge the enemies."

Jeanne pondered, "It sounds like a mobile and protected heavy infantry phalanx on horseback."

"But you must have seen the winged cavalry; their fighting style is entirely different from the comrades in your memory, have you figured out how to coordinate with them?"

The heavy armored archers exchanged puzzled looks.

Having switched professions, they were excellent soldiers, but that didn't mean they could integrate tactical memories, innovate, and make breakthroughs.

Jeanne showed no mercy, "I'm warning you, don't deem the stuff in your heads as valuable treasures.

The Eastern Empire's armored cavalry has never been rebuilt on a large scale since being wiped out. The Emperor of Constantinople even began hiring Latin knights.

What's the implication?

It means that your tactics have been abandoned by the times."

A cavalry archer, somewhat discontented, retorted, "We don't need to coordinate with the winged cavalry at all; we just need to be placed in front of the enemy, engage in long-distance confrontation with their light infantry, and lead the charge using melee weapons."

Jeanne frowned, her voice becoming sharper, "What a good intention to highlight the weak parts while concealing the strong—a thoroughly foolish idea!

Flanking charges, rear charges, each prove more effective than a frontal charge; if you are only assigned frontal charges, why equip you with warhorses?

In cavalry warfare, the winged cavalry will naturally block for you; you just need to move to the appropriate locations and make a charge against the weakest enemy points, understood?"

The cavalry archers, somewhat exhilarated, replied, "Understood!"

Some points others easily grasp, yet personal thought constraints make it hard to change perspectives.

Jeanne snorted, muttering quietly.

"A bunch of rookies."

Winged cavalry, Varangian Guard, retained veteran soldiers, all grew through the brutality of battle, merging combat memory into elite prowess.

The armored cavalry archers along with the woodland archers, in Jeanne's eyes, though seemingly experienced, still amounted to rookies at heart.

"This afternoon, head to the recruit camp for training. The Lord has bestowed upon you combat skills, but it doesn't mean you can relax without worries."

Jeanne, with a stern face, scolded angrily.

The cavalry archers were so scared, they didn't dare breathe heavily.

Jeanne gave a light snort, squeezed her horse's sides gently, and headed towards the city, recently feeling as if she had missed something every time she left the mansion for too long.

"These days, Lord seems to have quite a lot of private moments with Losa."

"Damn, this repressed woman, could she have already succeeded in her plans?"