The Ten-Nation Coalition Army

Inside the opulent Royal Palace in Belgrade, Serbia Regent Sigismund von Habsburg was currently gathered with the cabinet ministers appointed by Laszlo.

They were discussing the Emperor's call to arms.

Unlike the solemn expressions on the faces of the cabinet ministers, Sigismund was quite relaxed.

Not long ago, he had crossed the Alps with his wife, then sailed across half of the Adriatic Sea from Northern Italy.

Afterward, they landed on the coast of Croatia and trekked for a long time before finally arriving at the famous "Gateway to Europe," Belgrade, in the distant East.

Here, he received extremely high courtesies, and his economic and political status greatly improved.

Only a few days after these wonderful days, his nephew's imperial edict arrived in Serbia.

This made him a little nervous, but more so excited.

He needed to earn Laszlo's trust by achieving merits, which would ensure his position as Serbia Regent would be long-lasting and stable.

Compared to the ambitious Sigismund, the cabinet ministers of Serbia were not as optimistic.

Originally, Bulgaria accepting the rule of an Austrian Regent who had fallen from the sky had been their constant topic of conversation and a source of amusement.

Who would have thought that not long after, they too would welcome an Austrian Regent, and this Regent was a cousin of the Regent of neighboring Bulgaria, both from the same lineage.

It was said that Regent Sigismund lost his father in childhood and was raised by Regent Frederick of Bulgaria...

Such a close relationship, coupled with Sigismund's deep personal friendship with another neighbor, the Duke of Macedonia, seemed to indicate that his arrival was a great boon for Serbia.

At any rate, the Serbian Regent's cabinet was still in the process of adjusting to this new Regent.

Who would have thought that the Emperor would issue a call to arms at this time, along with an imperial edict sent simultaneously?

The imperial edict was for the Serbian cabinet, while the call to arms was for Sigismund personally.

Although he had not yet received a personal investiture from the Emperor, he was undoubtedly an important member of the newly re-established Dragon Knight Order.

This call to arms was specifically for the members of the Dragon Knight Order scattered throughout Eastern Europe.

As the first official call to arms for the Teutonic Order, Laszlo thoughtfully listed the identities and names of all members on the call to arms.

These individuals, in order of rank, were:

Regent Frederick of Bulgaria, Regent Sigismund of Serbia, Prince Vlad of Wallachia, Prince Stefan of Moldavia, Governor Frankopan of Croatia, Governor Kosac of Bosnia, Duke Anthony of Macedonia, and Despot Thomas of Morea.

Hmm, it seemed a strange member had snuck in at the end.

But there was no need to worry, because Morea was also an important part of Laszlo's Balkans strategy.

The order of this list was also quite deliberate.

Leading the list were two members of the Imperial Family, who were also the core of the Balkans defense circle.

Following closely were two powerful monarchs of vassal states, who were also indispensable allies.

Next were two regional governors with a dual vassal relationship.

Because Croatia and Bosnia were actually incorporated into Hungary with the title of Kingdom, and then converted into governorates.

Therefore, Croatia and Bosnia could actually be considered vassals of vassals, i.e., two vassals of Hungary, a co-ruled nation of Austria.

These were also important defensive forces in the Balkans.

As for the other two major governors of the Kingdom of Hungary—the Governor of Slavonia and the Governor of Transylvania—their situations were more special.

Slavonia was a governorate established in the border region between Croatia and Hungary, and it was part of the Kingdom of Hungary.

Until a few months ago, the Governor of Slavonia was still concurrently held by Laszlo's maternal uncle, Ulrich.

He had always sent representatives to manage Slavonia for him.

After Ulrich's death, Laszlo fully inherited his legacy, and the position of Governor of Slavonia became vacant.

Laszlo had not yet had time to select a suitable candidate to serve as Governor of Slavonia.

So he appointed John Tuz, Ulrich's former representative, as interim Governor to manage Slavonia.

Since he was an interim Governor and not a former imperial official, he naturally had no chance to join the Dragon Knight Order.

As for the Governor of Transylvania... Laszlo did not extend an invitation to Hunyadi, even though his father, Janos, had been an absolute core member of the Dragon Knight Order.

And now, Hunyadi had become the target that the Dragon Knight Order would collectively fight against.

Following the two governors were the two weakest members, the Duke of Macedonia and the Despot of Morea.

However, Anthony, who was far away guarding Outer Austria on the western frontier, obviously could not personally lead his army to answer the Emperor's summons.

As part of the Bulgaria Kingdom, the army of the Duchy of Macedonia would also be incorporated into the Bulgarian army and placed under the unified command of Frederick.

In fact, the Dragon Knight Order should have had another member, Skanderbeg of Albania, but he politely declined the Emperor's invitation.

Laszlo only felt a slight regret about this and did not push too hard.

If Skanderbeg didn't want to join, then so be it; he was already old and frail anyway.

After he passed away, Albania would likely immediately become a scattered mess again, and it would be at Laszlo's mercy.

Whenever he thought of such things, Laszlo couldn't help but exclaim, "It's good to be young."

Here, Sigismund carefully counted the nations on this call to arms, plus the Emperor's own army, forming exactly ten nations.

Austria, Bohemia, Hungary, Croatia, Bosnia, Serbia, Bulgaria, Moldavia, Wallachia, and Morea.

Hunyadi probably never imagined that he would one day be besieged by a ten-nation coalition army, did he?

Thinking this, Sigismund's expression became even more relaxed.

Archbishop John, who was beside him, couldn't bear to watch any longer and spoke up to remind him, "Your Excellency Regent, please read Emperor's instructions carefully."

"Oh, alright."

Sigismund snapped out of his fantasy of crushing Hunyadi and impressing his nephew Laszlo, and began to carefully examine the Emperor's specific requirements for him.

"This is... to gather the Serbian Army and cross the Danube River, attacking the Hunyadi Family's territory from the southwest direction," Sigismund continued to read Laszlo's instructions, "Advance cautiously, and if possible, seize the Timisoara Fortress when the opportunity arises, to clear the way for the main army."

"The Timisoara Fortress is easy to defend and difficult to attack; Emperor has given us a tough challenge," the military commander said with some concern. He unfolded the map in front of everyone and pointed to Timisoara, which was clearly marked on the map.

This was an important gateway to Transylvania and a crucial passage from the Hungarian mainland into Transylvania.

As a former important Hungarian border town that echoed Belgrade, Timisoara was located not far north of Belgrade.

The Ottomans had also besieged Timisoara multiple times but were repelled by the Hungarian Border Guard.

Under Janos's many years of construction, Timisoara had already become the second strongest fortress on the Hungarian border defense line, second only to Belgrade.

If Hunyadi sent troops to hold this place, the Emperor's main army would not be able to smoothly invade Southern Transylvania.

Sigismund immediately realized that his burden seemed to be quite heavy.

After all, the territory controlled by the Hunyadi Family was across the Danube River from Serbia, so he and Hunyadi would definitely be the first to fight.

He had originally thought of gaining some military merits by following his nephew's main army, but now it seemed the task he had to complete was quite crucial.

Sigismund put away his relaxed expression, replaced it with a serious face, and made arrangements for the cabinet members, ordering them to gather the army and prepare provisions and military supplies within a few days.

Once all this work was completed, he would personally lead the Serbian Army across the Danube River and launch the first attack on Hunyadi.