bookandnovel Chapter 887: Enemies Everywhere
Chapter 887: Enemies Everywhere
Chapter 887: Enemies Everywhere
"Holy Fire! It's the pagan dragon!"
"Run!"
The servants and maids in the palace fled in all directions.
The legend of the dragon became more terrifying as the Crusaders advanced and refugees poured into Damascus. Radon's ferocious appearance made them even more terrified.
Many people fought for a reservoir or well where they could hide.
There were also some daring ones who wanted to take advantage of the chaos to plunder the palace’s property.
The Kasaji guards were willing to kill people with their swords in order to maintain order.
Many of these battle-hardened elites had participated in Shemail's experiments with "Dragon Blood Warriors". They knew very well that under the dragon flames, even if they hid in a reservoir, they would be evaporated in an instant.
What's more, the Ladong Dragon Flame, which possesses the triple properties of poison, curse, and flames, is far more than just high temperature.
When faced with such a crisis, ordinary people would be better off just sitting there and waiting, praying for good luck to come. At least they won't be in danger of being trampled.
The two soldiers guarding the palace gate suddenly exclaimed: "Your Majesty, you..."
At some point, the emaciated Saladin put on the gorgeous golden scale armor again. He pushed away the black eunuch who was trying to support him, and walked slowly but steadily into the courtyard.
Keng——
He drew the sword from his waist, raised it and shouted: "Lothar, and the beast under your crotch, do you want to take my life?"
The old and thin lion roared at the new king in the sky.
The new king riding the dragon obviously saw him, but no matter how Saladin provoked or roared, Lothar still looked at him with indifference.
The dragon circled in circles but never spewed out destructive dragon fire. After a few minutes, it flew away in the direction it came from.
I will take your life, but not now.
Not only to preserve this magnificent palace, Lothar also wanted to defeat Saladin fairly and shatter all the enemy's fantasies.
"The pagan dragon was scared away by your majesty!"
"The holy fire burns forever, supreme and great!"
The morale of the palace defenders was boosted. With expressions of relief at having survived the disaster on their faces, they shouted for those who were hiding to come out.
"Your Majesty, please return to your room."
"His Majesty?"
The black eunuch hurriedly supported Saladin's arm. He could feel that his old master was getting weaker. His light body was like a piece of thin paper, and he could easily support it with one hand.
"I'm fine, help me in."
Saladin's voice came from under the visor, revealing an unconcealable fatigue.
At this time, the vanguard of the Crusaders had already begun to set up camp outside the city.
Excluding the garrisons left by Lothar in the towns along the way and the infantry whose mobility was too poor to make long-distance raids, Lothar commanded a total of nearly 40,000 Crusaders, and the vanguard alone had as many as 5,000 people.
They first dismantled the carts and built a simple wall, and then used it as a support to go to dozens of miles away to cut down trees. Whether it was to expand the camp or build siege weapons, a large amount of forest resources was needed.
Guided by falcons, Saracen scouts would occasionally emerge to launch surprise attacks.
Even some inconspicuous hunters or woodcutters may suddenly shoot an arrow.
Among the people of Damascene, apart from the agricultural Bedouins, Arabs, and Kurds, the majority are former subjects of the Eastern Empire. They originally believed in Eastern Orthodoxy, but after so many years, most of them have converted to paganism.
The remaining proportion of Orthodox Christians is much smaller than that of Copts, who have always occupied a place in Egypt.
Although not all pagans were willing to fight the Crusaders to the death for their beliefs, many pagans were unwilling to conflict with the Crusaders and were even willing to take the initiative to provide some supplies.
But the Crusaders could not tell the difference between fanatics and ordinary people, so they had to be wary of any strangers they met.
This is the disadvantage of fighting deep in enemy territory.
As the chief Sipahi cavalryman, Galio has now become a middle-level officer under Lothar.
He joined the scouts and now led an entire troop of Sipahi cavalry to collect water from the villages and towns around Damascus.
Before they even got close to the village, the militiamen on the watchtower sounded the alarm.
The villagers who were working outside quickly returned to the village. The militiamen locked the village gate, picked up bows and arrows, and climbed up the wooden wall.
Recently, the news of the approaching Crusaders has been spreading like wildfire. Even remote villages and towns have received the news long ago and have built tall watchtowers, with militiamen on duty at all times.
Galio now knows three languages, including Coptic and Saracen, which most Egyptians know, as well as Turkic. This is a new ability that the Sipahi cavalry career template has brought him.
At this time, he took the initiative to step forward and spread his hands to indicate that he was not carrying any weapons: "Everyone, my people have been traveling for days and are exhausted. I hope your village can provide us and the water we need for our mounts."
The militiamen breathed a sigh of relief: "Who are you? Mercenaries serving our king?"
Galio did not tell the truth about his identity. The unique oriental armor of the Sipahi cavalry made them look quite different from the common attire of the Franks. They looked more like the Turkish mercenaries that were widely present in Saladin's army.
"Yes, we are Turkic riders hired by Saladin."
Galio was about to agree when he noticed that the lookout on the watchtower suddenly exclaimed.
In the distance, I saw a cloud of smoke and dust.
Dozens of Saracen riders were galloping towards this side like a hurricane. They had a clear purpose and immediately sped up their horses after approaching quietly, apparently knowing their whereabouts long ago.
"It seems that the possibility of a peaceful solution to the problem has disappeared."
Galio's eyes turned fierce. This former loader has now become a brave and skilled warrior, otherwise he would not have been able to join the most dangerous scout team.
More than 30 Sipahi cavalrymen who followed Galio also took off the small round shields and weapons carried on their saddles - mostly javelins, long swords, short-handled hammers, battle axes and other short weapons, rather than the long-handled weapons commonly used when facing the enemy head-on.
Galio picked out ten more men from the thirty or so and ordered them to dismount and use the carts filled with water jugs they brought as defenses to guard against the villagers who did not yet know their identities.
After he said that, he led more than twenty Sipahi cavalrymen and rushed towards the Saracen riders who were galloping towards them.
The difference in numbers between the two sides was about half. The enemy had at least fifty men, all of whom were turbaned Saracen scouts who were proficient in small-scale combat.
The first moment they appeared, Galio realized that there must be their falcons in the clouds. This was the team that the Saracens used specifically to strangle them and cover the Crusaders' eyes.
"Kill them, they are damned pagans!"
A Saracen rider rode his mount to the wooden wall, roaring loudly.
The militiamen were obviously a little panicked. Damascus had been peaceful for a long time and there were usually no bandits or riots. There were several wells in their village and there were many people. They didn't need to compete with other villages for water like the desert tribesmen did.
Even though this man revealed the identities of Galio and his group, they simply did not have the courage to take the initiative to fight against these Crusaders who were said to be about to launch a siege on Damascus.
Rumors can deceive people, but battle reports cannot.
First, Egypt was lost, and now the Crusaders are marching straight in and are at the gates of the capital. Who doesn't know what this means?
boom--
The cavalry of both sides have also started fighting.
More than a dozen people fell in the blink of an eye. As scouts who had been on a long journey, they were not equipped with heavy armor. At most, they wore a chain mail lining or leather armor under their outer robes.
Galio smashed the Persian spiked helmet worn by a Saracen rider with his hammer, and the man screamed and fell off his mount, rolling in the sand.
These Saracen scouts are quite difficult to deal with. Most of them are recruited from Bedouin tribes who still maintain nomadic traditions. Although they are not good at large-scale military operations, they are extremely brave in small-scale combat.