Chapter 950 - 173: Enemies Everywhere
"Demon Dragon! It’s a demon dragon ridden by the Franks!"
The palace servants and maids scattered in all directions.
The Kasaji Guards didn’t hesitate to draw their swords and kill, desperately trying to maintain order. Some clever eunuchs and attendants hid directly in cisterns or wells, believing this would surely save them from the dragon’s flames.
In reality, this was impossible.
The Ladon Dragon Flame, with its triple traits of being highly poisonous, cursed, and fiery, would not increase the survival rate even if these people hid in cellars or wells.
Faced with such a crisis, ordinary people might as well sit and wait, praying for luck to shine upon them—at least they wouldn’t face the danger of being trampled.
The two soldiers guarding the palace gate suddenly exclaimed, "Your Majesty, you..."
At some unknown time, the now emaciated Saladin had once again donned his resplendent golden scale armor. He brushed aside a Black Eunuch attempting to support him, walked with slow but steady steps to the courtyard.
Clang—
He drew the sword from his waist and shouted, "Losa, and the beast under you, do you want to claim my life!"
The aged and emaciated lion roared at the new king in the sky.
The new king riding the demon dragon clearly saw him, but no matter how Saladin provoked and roared, Losa’s gaze remained only cold.
The demon dragon circled around but never unleashed its devastating dragon flame, instead flying off in the direction it came after a few minutes.
I will claim your life, but not now.
It’s not only to preserve this beautiful palace, but Losa also wants to defeat Saladin fair and square, shattering the enemy’s illusions.
"The heretics’ demon dragon was scared away by Your Majesty!"
"Holy Fire Everlasting, the Most High and Great!"
The palace guards’ morale was lifted, their faces showing relief at having survived the disaster, shouting for those who had hidden to come out.
...
Meanwhile, the Crusaders’ vanguard had already begun camping outside the city.
Excluding the garrisons left by Losa in towns along the way and the infantry too slow for long-distance raids, Losa commanded nearly forty thousand Crusader soldiers, with the vanguard numbering over five thousand.
They first dismantled wagons, built simple stockade walls, and then, using these as a base, went dozens of miles away to gather timber, needed in large quantities for expanding the camp and constructing siege weapons.
The Saracen scouts, guided by hawks, would occasionally appear to launch attacks.
Even unremarkable hunters and woodcutters might suddenly release arrows.
Among the people of Damascus, besides the agricultural Bedouins, Arabs, and Kurds, the largest group was the former citizens of the Eastern Empire. Originally followers of the Eastern Orthodox Church, most had converted to the heretics over the years.
The proportion of Orthodox remnants was significantly lower than that of the Coptic Church, which had always maintained a presence in Egypt.
Marching along, the Crusaders had become accustomed to such crises.
...
As the chief Sipahi Cavalry, Gallio had now risen to the position of a mid-level officer under Losa’s command.
He joined the reconnaissance team and now led an entire troop of Sipahi Cavalry to gather water around the villages near Damascus.
Before even approaching the village, the watchtower...
The news of the Crusaders’ approach spread widely, and even remote villages had long received the news and built tall watchtowers, constantly manned by militiamen.
Gallio now spoke three languages, not only Coptic, which most Egyptians knew, and Saracen, but also Turkic, a new skill granted by the Sipahi Cavalry profession template.
"Everyone, my men and horses have been on the road for days and are exhausted. I hope your village can provide us and our mounts with the necessary water sources."
"Who are you? Mercenaries serving our king?"
Gallio didn’t truthfully reveal his identity. The characteristic Eastern-style armor of the Sipahi Cavalry made them appear quite different from the usual Frankish attire, resembling more the Turkic mercenaries prevalent in Saladin’s army.
Gallio was about to nod when he noticed the lookout on the watchtower suddenly cry out.
In the distance, a plume of dust was rolling in.
Dozens of Saracen riders were speeding toward them like a gust of wind.
"It seems the possibility of resolving this peacefully is gone."
Gallio’s eyes turned fierce. This former loader was now a brave and skilled warrior; otherwise, he couldn’t have joined the dangerous reconnaissance team.
More than thirty Sipahi Cavalrymen accompanying Gallio also quickly took down the small round shields and weapons—mostly javelins, longswords, short-handled hammers, and war axes—from their saddles, rather than the long pole weapons commonly used in frontal combat.
Gallio selected ten men from among the thirty and ordered them to dismount, using the wagon filled with water jugs they brought as defensive structures, guarding against the villagers who still didn’t know their identity.
With that, he led the remaining twenty Sipahi Cavalry to charge toward the oncoming Saracen riders.
The difference in numbers was about half, with at least fifty enemies, all wearing turbans and proficient in small-scale combat as Saracen scouts.
The moment they appeared, Gallio realized there must be their hawks within the clouds. This was the team the Saracens used specifically to strangle them and blind the Crusaders’ eyes.
"It seems the possibility of resolving this peacefully is gone."
Gallio’s eyes turned fierce. This former loader was now a brave and skilled warrior; otherwise, he couldn’t have joined the dangerous reconnaissance team.
More than thirty Sipahi Cavalrymen accompanying Gallio also quickly took down the small round shields and weapons—mostly javelins, longswords, short-handled hammers, and war axes—from their saddles, rather than the long pole weapons commonly used in frontal combat.
Gallio selected ten men from among the thirty and ordered them to dismount, using the wagon filled with water jugs they brought as defensive structures, guarding against the villagers who still didn’t know their identity.
With that, he led the remaining twenty Sipahi Cavalry to charge toward the oncoming Saracen riders.
The difference in numbers was about half, with at least fifty enemies, all wearing turbans and proficient in small-scale combat as Saracen scouts.
The moment they appeared, Gallio realized there must be their hawks within the clouds. This was the team the Saracens used specifically to strangle them and blind the Crusaders’ eyes.