Chapter 269: 264: Affermative

"Yes." Abdullah answered loud and clear. "My admiral."

Antonius gave Antonius a pat on the shoulder. "I am sorry my brother, but I need you to depart soon, and there will be no departure ceremony for you. Only me, holding a cup of Cyprus grape wine, I hope you don't mind."

"That is more than enough." Abdullah replied with his hands trembling. "That is more than enough."

Antonius gave him a hug and continued. "Anjelo, I need you to start giving speeches, propaganda, awards or what ever ways you have to motivate the mass public convincing them to stand with us giving their firm support once again. And, do help me pick out those rats hiding under the carpet like those who are spreading rumours or sending intelligence for foreign powers, I here by give you the right to execute them on the spot once found."

"Leave it to me, admiral." Anjelo acknowledged. "Although I am old, but my eyes are still eagle sharp."

"Alexios, my 'investor', I am sorry, but it seems like you will have to postpone all plans to create the codex of law. You got a more urgent thing to do now. I need you to assist our new calvary tutor Khalid in going around purchasing slaves with horse riding skills, all expenses shall be reimbursed by me later on."

Khalid hurriedly bent forward to bow towards Alexios but is stopped by the grinning Alexios in the middle reaching his hand forward. Khalid hesitated for a bit but still reached his hand forward too, the two hands shake firmly standing for a new corporation between the two men.

"And also, I will need you to import all the necessities in preparation for the battle later, raw resources like metal, wood, leather. Weapons, arrows, armours, medications, bandages and even people, as long as you see these things and it is up for purchase, buy them, we don't have the time and effort for morale values now. And also, always keep an eye looking on the price of wheats, barley, oats and rye, there will be some bastard who will take advantage of the crisis and try to make the crop price fluctuate to gain benefits for themselves… If you catch any one like this, I grant you permission to execute him on the spot. "

"Worry not my lord." Acknowledged Alexios. "I don't think any one can compete with me in trying to control the gran's price, I earnt my first bucket of price through this…"

Antonius gave him a stare halting Alexios' words making him grin shyly scratching the back of his head.

"Now, the most important task…. Helio! Come out!"

Helio, who is standing there silently in one corner, totally did not expect the admiral to call the name of a pawn like him, quickly came in front.

"Helio, I know that you are a untalkative person always being taciturn in conveying your ideas. Yet I can see that you are the most careful and conscientious lad captain even with an educated back ground, always being able to finish your work exactly as what I have instructed and with honesty too. Thus, now I have a work that is right for cautious people like you, and this work shall decide the fate of this city, tens of thousands and people, you and…" Antonius pointed towards himself. "Me."

Helio nodded and stood upright waiting for his orders.

"First of all, I must tell every one of you, that I am going to meet the Ottomans in out field combat, I will not be seating inside the city waiting for my destiny to come."

"What?"

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"Admiral are you serious?"

"Admiral I urge you to re…"

"There is no need for that." Antonius sighed looking around. "Let me be a dictator this time round, I shall not change my mind. Now, Helio, I need you to construct a defensive fort near the village of Diavata which will serve as our back done and reliance when we are out there combating the Ottomans, as I will need to try to force the Ottomans in to a long term stand off with me wasting their resources dragging them until they collapse and retreat, or, in a worse case scenario, force them to attack the fortification. I am sorry Helio but I can only give you two month, can you do it?"

"I can." Helio replied and said no more words.

"Good… Abraham! I need you to go east wards out of the city with only four hundred men, and construct an outpost under the Mount Chortiatis near the village of Anthoupoli, in case the Ottomans decide to launch an surprise attack from the north passing all the way through the thousand meter high mountain. And one out post in the east side near the village of Thermi, if the Candarli Halil Pasha decide to do a round about going all the way there to sneak to our back."

"Affirmative, admiral."

With all the missions being assigned the people scrambled in to their respective works, leaving only the admiral Antonius wandering about in the government house with out a goal. He might look like he is in his usual state being that confident brilliant strategist Antonius in front of others, but within him he too is like a lost lamb seeking a way out of this. A hundred thousand people! It is a hundred thousand enemies! Almost the entire population of Genoa, since when has he confronted so many enemies in his life alone before? Looking back at history there has only been a handful of battles that one side has more than a hundred thousand people involved, and the usual result is always the same with the weaker side getting crushed.

Antonius moved up and down the government estate feeling lost looking at all the lavish Mosaic arts and the various artefacts decrypting famous historical events and Jesus Christ. When he saw the mosaic art decrypting the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, he stopped in his path an groaned. "Oh, Jesus, Jesus, how I wish that you are real, so you can come down and help me through all these problems?" Then, suddenly some thing caught his attention, it is another art piece showing the historical battle of Thermopylae, a similar battle to the one he is facing now, with only few amount of people against a hundred thousands foes. Thinking about this battle his eyes shined and glittered thinking of another idea, and thus he decided to.

Go take a bathe.

Well, since Thermopylae is always known for its boiling sulphur spring, and Antonius too like all other people he too also needs to take a break some times. So, Antonius went back and changed in to another set of normal clothing that would make him blend in perfectly to the surrounding environment among the crowd, and sneaked out of the government building while other people are still busy with their tasks, heading straight towards the down town to Bey Hamam, now renamed to Paradise Bath, to relax himself. 

After striping naked for the hot bathe, Antonius caught sight of this large two men sized bronze mirror right on the middle of the wall, apparently made for visitors to look at their appearance considering the fact that many people in this era does not own a mirror at home. Antonius looked left and right seeing that there are no one in the surrounding, went in front of the large mirror and began flexing his muscles, appreciating the beautiful body shape of himself, and he saw his ding dong and two grape shot shells hanging there and sighed. "Ah my old pal, until when can I final use you?" 

Just as Antonius is there looking at his pacs and muscles, a child and an elder, supposedly his grand father, walked past and the grand son exclaimed. "Hey! Look! Papa! That man has got a very long ding dong!" 

Hearing this Antonius immediately covered himself and went in to hiding with his face blushing red, and waited until the two people walked away in to the bath laughing, then did he dare to peek his head out and go inside the bathe too trying to forget all that embarrassment just now. 

However, it just seems like he is having an exceptionally bad luck today, just as he settled down in a hot bathe stimulating a spring soaked in perfume and traditional medications getting ready to fully relax his tense muscles and mind, he heard a familiar sound coming right in front him. Yes, it is the grand father and his grand son just now, chatting and playing over there merrily depicting a harmonious image of family having fun time together. Feeling Antonius' sight, the grand father and son smiled and waved towards Antonius, and Antonius had no choice but to wave back and grinned embarrassingly. 

Now he has no choice but to stay seated here trying to forget the embarrassment. While at least it is not all bad with the laughter of that kid making him remember himself when he is young.

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