Cosenza is a small town, and it is too young compared to Naples, and more than a few centuries ago it was almost a desolate wilderness.

Hundreds of years ago, when the first Count of Cosenza founded the city here, they were just in time for the Arabs to attack, and their brave offensive not only allowed the Arabs to take Sicily, but their forward tentacles even reached the western shores of the Mediterranean.

All the city-states of the Italian peninsula were terrified, believing that they might eventually be conquered by the Moors, as Granada did.

Fortunately, despite the fierce strength of the Arabs, when they got to Sicily, they were tied to the island.

They were so interested in enjoying the huge spoils of war that almost no one was willing to continue their attacks across the sea to the mainland, but in the hope of gaining more in Sicily, and because of this thought, the generals of the Arab Empire ended up sending less than half the army to the mainland as they had set out from the southern shores of the Mediterranean.

Eventually, the Arabs were stopped in front of the beach by a coalition of Italian city-states motivated by fear, and the thousands of casualties convinced the Arabs of the dangers of attacking the mainland, and they soon retreated to Sicily, where they enjoyed their victory.

It was after that battle that the ancestors of the Cosenza family were given this territory.

Although Kosenza is already inland, there is still a small corner near the southeast corner of the territory that protrudes into the sea like a curved hook, and the Tyrrhenian Sea can be faintly seen from the ridge formed by the branch veins that extend from the northern foot of Vesuvius.

The volcano's ridge is so tall that it keeps the wind blowing from the sea in its back, so when you cross the ridge and enter the city of Cosenza at the foot of the mountain, it's as if you have suddenly entered a sweltering blacksmith's shop from a cool garden.

Even if you look down from the top of the mountain, you can see that the city at the foot of the mountain seems to be soaked in a mist.

Perhaps to defend against another Arab invasion, Cosenza looked like a huge barracks, not only were the houses made of stone unusually strong, but also the years of fighting against the Arabs had created an unspeakable fear of the Arabs' seemingly inexhaustible number of troops, so the then Count of Cosenza divided the city into different small pieces with a tall wall, and each area was connected by a very narrow gate, which had the advantage of even if one part of the city was breached. Other places can resist, but the bad thing is that the city is just tied up, and it hasn't expanded for hundreds of years.

"But we have more than enough for our people to live on," explained Tsusha in the carriage, "and there is the largest hunting ground in the territory, with the famous mountain antelope, and other small animals, and if you want to hunt beasts, we have bears here." ”

Listening to the introduction of the countess, Alexander couldn't help but nod his head to express his satisfaction.

The ease of leaving Beluni allowed Alexandria to enjoy the trip, but his decision to leave Naples at this time was not just to help the Florentines escape, but the death of Gondoza made him suddenly the focus of attention from several parties, whether it was the king or the Duke of Ferdinand, who needed support from Aragon to secure their position or have some plans.

And Alexander knew that he could not really support either of them, and if he did, he had to choose the king.

Because as far as he knew, King Ferdinand II of Aragon had already coveted Naples for a long time, and a young and reckless stupid king really met Ferdinand's needs.

And only Alexander knew that the young king's life was coming to an end, and that it might not be long before he heard of his death, and if Frederick asked him anything, he could not do it, and even if he could, he would not be able to agree.

"We have enough granaries," said to Alexander, as the procession passed through another stone gate, "and the lords of Naples had built several large granaries in Kosenza in order to prevent the Saracens from invading and besieged them, so our castle was very strong. ”

Alexander groaned slightly, and only then did he realize why Modillo was not at all nervous when he heard that there was a possible famine, perhaps because it had been too long or some people had deliberately or unconsciously concealed it, and even the Neapolitan nobles were not very aware of the granaries in the territory of Cosenza.

After all, as a nobleman loyal to the lord of Naples, the Cosenza family lasted for hundreds of years, but the ruler of Naples had changed more than one dynasty.

In particular, Modillo, the current Count of Naples, is a person who is almost as close to the royal family.

Kosença Castle is located at the highest point of the city of Kosencha, and behind the castle is a steep cliff, some of which are built directly on the rocky rock jutting out of the cliff, and even half of the city wall is connected to the cliff.

Such a castle is easy to defend and difficult to attack, but once it is besieged, if there are no reinforcements outside, it is a dead place.

As the carriage entered the gate with its sturdy gates, and looking up at the sharp wedges sticking out of the bottom of the gates overhead, and at the deep ditches just passed under his feet, Alexander knew that if the gates fell in the face of a strong enemy, the castle would become a strong cage that could not be entered or exited.

"The people of the Cosencha family don't think so," said Jossa unfazed Alexander's speculation, "we have enough food, there are at least five water sources in the castle, and our walls are thick enough to withstand enemies who are several times or even ten times more than ourselves, and we have done so before." ”

Josha's words made Alexander nod in disagreement.

With strong fortifications and adequate supplies, as long as it is not betrayed from within, such a castle is indeed difficult to take without enough troops and time.

For the vast majority of attackers, this is a contradiction.

Enough troops meant consuming more supplies, so time could not drag on for a long time, and the reduced army in order to save supplies would not be enough to complete the task of capturing such a fortress.

"So Fort Kosenza has only been breached once since it was founded, but that's because of traitors." Jisha said proudly.

Alexander nodded again, but before he could speak, a middle-aged man on a horse and wearing a sleeveless leather vest appeared in front of them at the sound of horses' hooves.

The man's hair was short, the small beard on his chin made his face look a little long, and his arms were strong and strong, and when he urged his horse to approach, Alexander had the illusion that he was being targeted by something.

"Miss Countess Cosenza."

The man spoke expressionlessly, his voice sounding a little stiff, and when he came to the carriage, he suddenly lowered his body, and before Alexander could react, he grabbed Jisha and dragged her from the carriage to the horse!

First she screamed, then she started laughing, she hugged the middle-aged man tightly, and then began to kiss him on the cheek.

Alexander looked at this scene expressionlessly, although according to his thoughts, maybe the girl in front of him would call him brother soon, but now seeing her so close to other men in front of him, he still felt an indescribable awkwardness.

Alexander didn't think that the "this is my father" farce would happen next, because he had already heard Jossa calling the man's name: "Kesel".

"So you're finally willing to come back?" The middle-aged man hugged Jisha and looked at it carefully, and then he looked at Alexander, "I can see that you are already jealous and want to duel with me, but this also shows that you and Jisha are not familiar with each other." ”

"Why do you say that?" Alexander asked.

"Because," the middle-aged man smiled slightly, "she apparently didn't tell you that I was her brother, Kaisel Kosenza." ”

Alexander's mouth opened slightly, he looked at the middle-aged man in front of him who could obviously be the father of both of them, and then thought about the Count of Cosenza who could have such an eldest son, he seemed to know for a moment how George Anne's ridiculous life came about.

"Josha's mother is my father's third wife," explains Kesel Cosenza, turning his horse's head and moving slowly with them, "and though I don't like her mother, I like my little sister." ”

Alexander nodded in understanding, imagining that Modillo would be able to marry his sister to an old man who could be her father if he could give his sister to King Enrique of Castile.

"...... are you, then?" said Kessel Kosenza, glancing at Alexander.

"Alexandre Giuliante Gombray, emissary sent from Sicily to Naples."

Kesel seemed a little distracted for a moment, and then put on a smile: "Welcome to Kosenza, since Shosaken invited you to come, I think at least she thinks you are someone to be valued for." ”

As he spoke, he raised his hand and whispered, "Believe me, she's the proudest girl I've ever met, and my father has always been worried that she would rather go to the monastery than marry any man in the future. ”

"Kaiser~" Jisha turned around and patted her brother's arm with some reproach, "I just think those men are too stupid, like that Alfred, if the men are like him, I would rather go to the monastery." ”

"Your words will make my father sad," said Keisel, looking at Alexander, who was clearly interested in the young man who had been brought back by his sister, "You don't look like a Sicilian. ”

"I grew up in the monastery," Alexander was able to say what he had thought about a long time ago, and compared with the trials he would face in the future, although he was only facing an unskeptical inquiry like Kesser, he was still cautious and did not dare to be careless. ”

"A hermit," asked Kesel, looking at his sister with interest, "have you heard, Shosha, that this friend of yours is like an Adam who has just come out of the Garden of Eden, perhaps even more pure than Adam." ”

"I don't think so, he knows how to use a sword, and he's interested in weapons," he said, looking back at Alexander, "I think he might be better suited to the battlefield than the monastery." ”

"Then you may be disappointed," Keisel said, looking at Alexander with the eyes of an expert, "I can assure you that it will only take me a few breaths to bring down this friend of yours." ”

"Don't compare yourself," Jossa glanced at Alexander with a slight pride, "Keisel is the best swordsman in the whole of the South, and even those swordsmen in Venice have a lot of respect for him." ”

Alexander looked at the elder brother with a little surprise, although he could somewhat perceive that this person was not so simple, but he did not expect that this person would not be so simple.

Alexander didn't think that Jossa was boasting about her brother, and although he didn't know how powerful Keisel was, he had heard of what she meant about the Venetian swordsmanship.

For a long time, people always believed that the knights of the Middle Ages relied solely on the size of a wild bull and a random rampage to fight the enemy to the death, and this misconception led to the fact that many people often died unexplained after going to war.

Because they always think that by relying on the sturdiness of their armor and their strong body, they can unscrupulously defeat and even torture those opponents who seem to be much smaller.

But in reality, when they face some opponents who are really good at killing skills, their armor and strength simply can't save their lives.

Most of these killing techniques are the true combat experience of thousands of battles on the battlefield, and although many of these experiences have been lost with the death of the user, there are still some well-known schools that have been handed down, the most famous of which is the famous Venetian sword school.

The Venetian Sword School was named after a group of people who lived in Venice who were skilled in swordsmanship, and although they were not a group, they gradually gained fame because they knew each other well and often met and communicated.

And Alexander knew about these people because Bochum, the captain of the Sicilian city defense, had studied under one of these experts.

He learned some useful sword skills from Bochum.

But he always remembered what Bochum had said to him when he was teaching those techniques: "A word of advice, if you meet an opponent who claims to have learned the sword from the Venetians, whether his words are true or not, run away, or else it may be the last time you will fight a sword in your life." ”

Alexander always remembered this sentence, especially after defeating Alfred cleanly using the techniques taught by Bochum, and instead of being complacent, he had a deeper understanding of the words of the mercenary captain.

Because the thought that even a mercenary like Bochum, who is really not afraid of death, is so jealous of those Venetians, it can be seen how powerful those people are.

But now in a castle in Cosenza, he actually met a figure who is said to be comparable to the Venetian swordsman, which surprised Alexander and couldn't help but be interested.

It's just that the proud look of Jisha makes him feel uncomfortable.

Although he really had nothing to do with the countess, seeing this "sister" praising her other brother in front of him, Alexander felt that he began to look at Kaisel unpleasantly.