Losa reached out habitually to pat Hog's shoulder.

The sensation in his palm was an even colder chill than Prajna's, making one shudder. But it didn't pass through the other's body as expected.

It seemed that Captain Hog, although looking like a ghost, actually possessed a physical form.

"Captain Hog, let me first talk to you about the current situation."

Losa chatted with Hog for a long time, discussing the plan to let him navigate the Ghost Ship in the Red Sea, clear out the pirates, maintain the trade routes, and safeguard the appointment of Eira Port.

Hog grinned, revealing a mouth full of yellowed teeth typical of sea wanderers: "Sorry, sir, although I'm happy to accept your appointment, I suspect that once I appear too frequently on the Red Sea, those Saracen merchants might rather take the land routes than enter Eira Port."

Losa furrowed his brow: "That's indeed a problem. The reason I want to reclaim Eira Port is to collect trade taxes here; if the merchant ships stop arriving, the revenue here would be cut by three-quarters."

"But your Ghost Ship cannot be included in my naval fleet because, with my identity, openly being associated with controlling the Ghost Ship as the Dark Lord is absolutely not permissible, even if it's true."

Captain Hog was silent for a moment, then said: "Sir, I will try my best to maintain balance, allowing the merchant ships to come and go while clearing out the pirates in the Red Sea—you know, merchant ships only need to hoist the black flag to become pirates, I can't guarantee the task's completion."

"In any case, protecting Eira Port is the priority. As for the pirates, eliminate them if possible, but there's no need to force it."

Losa spoke in a deep voice.

He discussed with Hog the idea of forming a galley fleet for coastal defense for a while.

Then he decided to stand up and go to see the development status of the Saint Lazarus Order that had already been relocated to Temple Mount.

He also had to spend some time to sway the Patriarch of Jerusalem to bestow the title of Archbishop of Alandler to Urding.

With the independence of the Jerusalem Church, convincing the Patriarch should suffice without needing intervention from the Pope City.

Of course, Urding couldn't leave Jerusalem because he had to occasionally visit the Royal Palace to treat Baldwin IV.

This wasn't a major issue, as Archbishop William of Tyr also stayed in Jerusalem every day.

…

Temple Mount.

Devout pilgrims supported each other as they climbed the mountain.

Clad in tattered sackcloth, with a green cross pinned to the chest, Ascetic monks stood at the door of a small chapel, guiding pilgrims who came for treatment to the various prayer rooms converted into clinics.

This was the new territory of the Saint Lazarus Order on Temple Mount.

Losa sat in the innermost room, the one belonging to the Grand Master.

Urding was sitting opposite him, humbly lowering his head: "My Lord, I am glad to see you again."

"I am glad too."

Urding raised his head and scrutinized Losa: "Since I last saw you, the dark aura around you has become even heavier."

Losa furrowed his brow: "Do you have any admonishments for me?"

Urding smiled and shook his head: "My Lord, with Lady Jeanne by your side, I don't believe you'll fall into darkness; it's just the power of the dark attribute is very corrosive to people, you must beware."

Losa chuckled: "I thought you had faith in me—turns out it's Jeanne you trust. Thanks for your concern; I will be vigilant."

"Now tell me, how is the Order's situation recently? I remember it seemed pretty good when I last returned to Jerusalem."

Urding gave a neutral response: "What do you think?"

"On my way here, I saw quite a few pilgrims, and there are many monks wearing green crosses in this small chapel."

"Indeed, the Order's development has been fairly rapid, but the donations we receive are too little; even if every member follows my ascetic lifestyle, it's still somewhat inadequate."

Losa's heart skipped a beat: "You wouldn't expect me to fund you, would you?"

He indeed had some savings, but that was meant to build his fleet in the Red Sea.

The original plan was to establish a merchant fleet in the Mediterranean, but now, occupying Eira Port and having talents like Captain Hog, he naturally had to change his plans.

Urding earnestly replied: "My Lord, we are a poor order, but collecting herbs, feeding monks, providing free treatment to pilgrims—all require a lot of money."

"The rapid expansion of the Order to its current scale wouldn't have been possible without these efforts."

Losa furrowed his brow deeply: "Even those destitute pilgrim donations wouldn't amount to much money—is there suppression from the Templar Order involved?"

Urding shook his head: "No, sir. Grand Master Gerard is a devout believer and, besides you and His Majesty the King, he is currently the largest donor to the Order—he seems to want to ally with us to oppose the Hospital Knight Order."

"Just like the Hospital Knight Order allies with the Teutonic Order to oppose the Templar Order?"

"Exactly."

Losa's fingers tapped on the table: "Explain your current predicament in detail."

Urding carefully chose his words and began: "The Order excels in new medical practices, but our start in Jerusalem has not been smooth."

Medical practices of this era tended to focus on "spiritual healing," which meant housing patients in church shelters for day-and-night repentance and prayer.

At most, clergy would perform some rituals, recite theological texts, smear some holy anointing oil or sprinkle a few drops of holy water, or apply some soil.

Besides this, popular was the "humoral balance" theory.

This theory likely originated from Ancient Egypt but was prevalent in Europe, believing human ailments were due to imbalances in bodily fluids.

The most known treatments under this "humoral balance" theory included bloodletting, enemas, and induced vomiting.

Sometimes, hot irons were used to sear wounds.

Though there were accidental successes, like using hot irons or hot oil rinses for wound sterilization.

Yet without using opiates or similar sedative herbs, the process was similar to torture.

In the army, the majority died due to these rescue methods.

Survivors lost half of their lives.

Even Baldwin IV, as king, had to endure such torment, illustrating the prevalence of this treatment.

Thanks to their geographic position at the junction of East and West, combining Greek and Eastern medicine, Saracen and Jewish doctors in the Levant Region possessed decent medical skills during this era.

However, due to their exclusivity, they were rarely willing to treat heretics, and Christians were unwilling to accept their treatments.

This is the challenge faced by the Saint Lazarus Redemption Order—even though Urding healed some nobles with his special ability, he still couldn't quickly change people's perceptions of new medical practices.

"So most Christians willing to trust you are destitute low-level pilgrims, with even the civic class being scarce, right?"

Urding nodded: "That's right, sir."

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