Chapter 957 - 80: The Fall of the Eagle
Damascus Royal Palace.
Compared to the noise inside and outside the city, the atmosphere inside the Royal Palace was eerily quiet.
The Kasaji Guard had shut the palace gates tightly, silently sharpening their weapons, preparing the arrows for the final slaughter, and their own fate.
No one believed they could still achieve victory, but no one was willing to lay down their arms.
In the silent deep palace, Mujit, covered in bloodstains, slowly came to the sickbed.
"Your Majesty, His Highness the Crown Prince has died in battle. He said he died protecting his father and Damascus."
The man on the sickbed, who had once been like a lion, was silent for a long time, making one doubt whether his life, long like a candle in the wind, had ended because of the direct confrontation with the Demon Dragon three days prior.
"I know."
The voice was very hoarse, like an iron anvil long unused and rusted.
Mujit hesitated a moment, but still said, "His Highness saw through your intentions."
The room fell into a deathly silence.
After a long time, the old lion managed to squeeze out an unsightly smile on his face, but a drop of cloudy tear clearly flowed from his deep-set eyes: "Ha, no wonder he’s the son I value the most. Mujit, help me up. Have the Franks already entered the city?"
"Yes."
As Mujit helped Saladin up, he felt his hand was so light, as if a gust of wind could blow him away.
"Cough—Mujit, you’re the only one in this city who knows my plan, but I still left you behind. Do you regret it?"
The frail old lion tried to straighten his back, turning away from the sunlight shining from outside the palace gates, yet Mujit clearly felt a stronger oppression than ever before.
He shook his head: "I do not regret it. It was you who rescued me from the desperate situation of being unable to have enough to eat or warm clothes to wear. Now it’s just giving this life back to you; this is the fate I pursue."
Saladin chuckled lightly: "Then stay with me, together."
"Your Majesty, how would you arrange for the womenfolk in your palace?"
"Give them some money, and tell them if the Franks make it difficult for them, use it to ransom themselves. After that, they should stay in Damascus for a while and not visit relatives immediately, as Damascus will be the safest city for a long time."
Although Crusader military discipline was nothing commendable, with heretics’ women they usually either killed them directly or kept them to extort ransom, rarely—at least on the surface—committing acts of violence against them.
"What if other Frankish Crusader Princes breach the royal palace first?"
Saladin shook his head: "No, that young man won’t allow others to challenge his authority."
"Dress me in armor."
Saladin let Mujit put on his armor and walked him to the hall’s exterior.
He looked at his loyal soldiers, remaining silent for a long time.
Finally, with Mujit’s support, he came to the city wall.
He saw the most prominent figure among the crowd, surrounded by those so-called "Winged Cavalry" with feathers on their backs, heroic and imposing—a remarkable young man indeed.
Even though they stood opposed, even though it was this young man who destroyed his dynasty, Saladin still found it hard to harbor much resentment.
Generosity, justice, mercy...
Sometimes he felt this young Crusader Prince was another side of himself.
"But what you have done far surpasses me."
He took out a ceramic bottle from his arms, and then, with a carefree laugh, swallowed the magic potion inside without hesitation.
As the magic potion entered his stomach, Saladin almost immediately felt the power that once belonged to him return to this broken body.
He opened his arms and shouted loudly towards the city below: "I am Saladin, the lord of Damascus and Aleppo, the heretic leader that all you Franks hate the most. Who dares to take my life!"
A sickly flush crossed his face, as the frenzied power of the magic potion ignited his last flame of life.
"Your Majesty!"
Mujit was shocked, wanting to pull Saladin back, but was easily pushed aside.
Saladin waved his hand: "Mujit, this is my choice. After I die, let them lay down their arms and surrender. Enough people have died in this war."
Mujit was silent for a moment and shook his head, saying: "Your Majesty, you ask too much; if they were willing to surrender, they would not have retreated to the palace, laid down their arms, and taken off their armor to return home, which is much safer than staying here."
People say the Franks are savage and brutal, and the Frankish King Losa is a Demon King born from the Fire Prison, leaving no grass where he has passed.
But the Kasaji Guard, as Saladin’s core forces, knew better.
The Franks were brutal, but that Losa was not the violent Demon King living on human flesh as the legend claimed.
But even if laying down arms would mean survival, they still chose to accompany Saladin to death.
Saladin smiled wryly: "Then come with me."
Saladin looked at him, and he looked at Saladin.
The occasions when they actually talked could be counted on one hand, but Losa and Saladin always had an unspoken tacit understanding.
For example, neither ever used extraordinary powers causing excessive civilian casualties...
Losa gave up seeking justice for war in this era early on.
The soldiers, earning meager or even no wages, felt uncomfortable without earning some war profit even Losa himself found embarrassing.
Hence, he chose to open the treasury in Alexandria, using his own wealth to support them, while enforcing stricter military discipline.
...
"Unfair?"
"Fool, what makes you think you can breach a fortified city like Damascus?"
"Your Majesty, you can’t do that. I am a noble, the Baron of Kaler Castle and Montreal, you—"
By now, who doesn’t have—
Just like in the Kingdom of Jerusalem and Antioch, where numerous "sons-in-law" emerged because the family patriarch died in battle, leaving a woman in charge who couldn’t fulfill vassal obligations, so they had to "marry" a son-in-law in.
Reynard ascended to Duke of Antioch this way, and after losing that title, he became the Count of Transjordan the same way.
But after all, he was just a son-in-law, and after Lady Stephanie died, he had to face the Torun family’s other male members vying for his position.
Losa, now King of Jerusalem, naturally wouldn’t allow Reynard to continue occupying Kaler Castle and Montreal, but as a monarch, he wouldn’t easily return the place to the Torun family either.
The dispute would drag on, considering so many male members in the Torun family, who should inherit? Divide the inheritance, or primogeniture? Each had their standpoint.
For instance, Reynard originally wanted to occupy Kaler Castle and Montreal by invoking the "iure uxoris" clause in the "Empire Law" widely used in his native Southern Gaul, which allowed a husband to obtain corresponding rights and status through his wife’s power.
Unlike the "Salic Law" widely applied in Northern Gaul, which restricted female heirs.
Not only did the nobles of the Holy Land harbor deep hatred toward the Saracens, each having families of "heroic martyrs", but so did the common folk.
The origins of Frankish slaves throughout the Saracen court were obvious without asking.
The Saracen residents and Jewish people who tragically died in Jerusalem during the First Eastern Expedition are likewise—
Not only did the nobles of the Holy Land harbor deep hatred toward the Saracens, each having families of "heroic martyrs", but so did the common folk.
The origins of Frankish slaves throughout the Saracen court were obvious without asking.
The Saracen residents and Jewish people who tragically died in Jerusalem during the First Eastern Expedition are likewise—