I Became The King Of Crusaders [EN]: Chapter 162

< 162. The Holy City (2) >

Outside Mecca

“Here we go again.”

Luark muttered with a frown. The Knights Templar and Renaud’s knights were at it again, brawling.

It was the third time in two days.

“Everyone, stop!”

He waved his hand and shouted.

“What is this disgraceful behavior with Mecca right in front of us?!”

“Commander! These guys tried to attack the pilgrims leaving Mecca!”

“Is that true?”

Luark approached Renaud’s knights and asked.

“You heard the order that pilgrims are not to be attacked, right?”

“Only Lord Renaud gives us orders.”

“And I made an agreement with Lord Renaud.”

Luark looked at the knights. They were openly ignoring him.

“Anything else to say?”

Luark turned his head towards Mecca, the holy city of Islam.

The area around the fortress was even more desolate than Jerusalem, with just a few branches, dry palm leaves, and wells.

The pilgrims and merchants who had been there had all taken refuge inside Mecca.

“Hey, Commander Luark. Why are you so afraid of the Saracens [a term used by Europeans during the Crusades to refer to Muslims]?”

Renaud’s voice echoed.

He strode forward, clad in chainmail.

“Anyway, those guys ran all the way here without even putting up a proper fight. If we just wave our swords a few times, they’ll throw the gates open.”

“If we spend one more night here, we’ll run out of supplies. Then there won’t be any hay to feed the horses,” Luark said.

“The knights and soldiers are already exhausted from the heat. We must retreat quickly before their reinforcements arrive.”

“So, you’re saying we should attack the pilgrims because we lack supplies?”

Renaud pointed to Mecca and shouted.

“We promise to let the pilgrims go safely, and then, when they come out, we’ll catch them all and cut off their heads.”

He burst into laughter.

“Then we can sit still and get supplies and loot. Am I wrong?”

“No Saracen will come out willingly just by hearing your name,” Luark said, looking at the fortress. After landing on the coast, they had advanced to Mecca without much resistance.

The Saracen armies they encountered along the way all ran away as soon as they saw them.

“Since the signal tower was built, the speed of delivering news has increased. By now, Saladin is probably bringing his army,” Luark said.

“We must retreat before we are surrounded by them.”

“I didn’t know that you northerners were such cowards, running away like scared rats before even fighting.”

Renaud scoffed. The knights standing behind him burst into laughter.

“Why shouldn’t we attack the Saracen pilgrims? Did they pay you not to attack them?”

“Besieging a city and attacking unarmed pilgrims are completely different actions. I don’t mind taking their money, but you’re just going to kill all the pilgrims, aren’t you?” Luark growled.

“Do you really not know what kind of reaction the Saracens will have if you do that?”

“Besieging Mecca is as good as doing that already, you dimwit,” Renaud pointed at Mecca and said.

“Now that we’ve come all the way here, let’s go up to Medina, where the tomb of their prophet [Muhammad] is! If we dig up his tomb and piss on it, there’s nothing more satisfying than that.” He added.

“And you said Saladin is coming? It’s even better that the prey comes out of the cave to attack us.”

“…”

When Luark didn’t answer, Renaud smiled with satisfaction.

He shouted towards Mecca.

“Hey, you dirty Saracen bastards! Where is your precious Allah?!”

His voice echoed off the fortress.

“Go and tell that Muhammad of yours to come and help you! I’m going to cut off all your heads soon!”

After shouting that, he turned his head and laughed.

“Don’t you know the walls of Jericho [a biblical reference to a city whose walls fell after being circled and shouted at]? Saracens collapse just by shouting. They run away just by shouting.”

“You’re out of your mind.”

“I’m out of my mind?! Me?!”

Renaud rushed at Luark and shouted. Both the Knights Templar and Renaud’s knights drew their swords.

“Do you really think I don’t know why His Majesty the King sent me here, and why you came along?” Renaud said.

“He must have deliberately driven me into a dead end and wanted me to die. But I’ve come all the way to Mecca like this. This is all the Lord has proven. That I am justice.”

“…”

Luark, who had been glaring at Renaud, slowly opened his mouth.

“We will depart for the coast before sunset today. It will take time to go around Yanbu and Rabigh. You can stay here if you want.”

Turning his head, he walked towards the Knights Templar. A high-ranking member approached Luark.

“Commander, are you really going to leave them behind?”

“Let’s see what happens. I also have orders from His Majesty.” He muttered.

“It would be more beneficial for the kingdom if Renaud died here.”

At that moment, scouts on horseback rushed in, scattering dust.

“Saracen cavalry is approaching! At least a thousand!”

“Damn it. The timing is perfect.”

Luark cursed and sent out a gathering signal. The scattered Knights Templar rushed in.

Renaud’s knights did the same.

Renaud approached and shouted.

“Now we can’t even run away! How about it, are you ready to fight?!”

“We are always ready to fight. Don’t even think about running away!”

“Do I look like I’m trying to run away?”

Renaud shouted loudly to his subordinate knights. The knights waved their swords and cheered for him.

The horses snorted and raised their front hooves.

“I’ll show you what a true warrior is.”

* * *

Three hours later

“Did they all run away?”

Al-Adil looked at Mecca in front of him. The fortress opened, and pilgrims and merchants poured out like a tide.

They all approached Al-Adil, knelt down, and expressed their gratitude.

A subordinate officer nodded and replied.

“They fell for the decoy tactic right away. There was no need to deploy the lancers.”

“No matter how good the armor is, it’s useless if the head is bad.”

Al-Adil said with a smile. He stretched out, feeling refreshed.

“A proper victory in years. My brother will be pleased too. How many ran away?”

“The enemies with wings on their backs resisted fiercely to the end. They didn’t fall for the decoy tactic and broke through the siege right away…” The subordinate officer said.

“It seems they have retreated to the coast. The pursuit team is behind them, so they will be caught soon.”

“Wings on their backs. Those are the Knights Hospitaller [a Catholic military order]. They are the biggest among the Franks [a historical term for Western Europeans].” Al-Adil said, rubbing his forehead.

“It seems that their commander was the only one with a brain. Did you catch the rest?”

“A detachment led by Al-Sabah captured Renaud. He abandoned his men and fled to the outskirts of the desert.”

“It’s enough to have captured Renaud.”

Al-Adil smiled. He shook hands with the approaching pilgrims and citizens of Mecca one by one.

“That’s who my brother wanted. The rest of the small fry don’t matter much.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the subordinate officers stepped forward.

“I will cut off that guy’s head right away, General! Please give me that honor!”

“My cousin lost his life at his hands! If you allow me, I will personally…”

“I know how you all feel.”

Al-Adil said, raising his hand. He looked at each of the excited subordinates.

“But that guy attacked Mecca. He tried to defile our Muslim holy city.” He said, looking at the fortress.

“His fate will be decided directly by my brother, the Sultan.”

* * *

Jerusalem

“So, there’s no other information besides that.”

I looked at the map on the table.

Eilat, the Hejaz region connected through the Red Sea.

In the center of it were Mecca and Medina, the birthplace and holy land of Islam.

This place was nominally under the rule of Saladin, but in reality, it enjoyed autonomy.

‘It’s the same in other places too.’

The only lands Saladin actually ruled were Damascus and Egypt. Most of the remaining areas were ruled by emirs, that is, feudal lords.

“That’s right for now. In the first place, it takes time for information to arrive via the Red Sea.”

Ganier nodded.

“Even if they besieged Mecca, it would be difficult to get over the fortress. Even with proper siege weapons, it would take months.”

“It would be a problem if they killed the pilgrims…”

I tapped the table. Entrusting Renaud with the Mecca expedition was just an event to unite the people.

A throwaway card to divert attention.

But I didn’t expect this result.

‘Was Mecca’s defense that bad?’

Even though I advertised it far and wide before leaving for the expedition, Saladin must have been quite angry.

“Commander Luark will stop that from happening,” Ganier said.

“It would be no problem if Renaud died in Mecca altogether, but…”

“If he comes back unscathed, there could be a problem. So, I told Commander Luark in advance.”

I ordered Luark to deal with Renaud when there was a suitable opportunity.

But it was necessary to prepare for any unforeseen circumstances.

“For now, we have no choice but to wait until definite information comes in.”

“I agree, Your Majesty.”

Ganier sighed.

“Right now, the integration of the Council and the Knights is enough to overwhelm us. The friends from Germany are also clamoring for the approval of the new knight order as soon as possible.”

“The Teutonic Knights [a German Catholic military order]. Wouldn’t it be better to announce the creation of a new knight order and the Council at once?”

I stretched out.

Come to think of it, Aygue also wasn’t a formal knight yet.

I remembered what Hugues had told me. He told me to take good care of Aygue until the last moment.

He said he fell in love with a baron’s daughter.

‘Knights must remain chaste until they die.’

That was an unchangeable rule unless they left the Knights. I need to talk to Aygue about this too.

I leaned back.

Since returning to Jerusalem, I had been running too fast to catch my breath.

“The Council. There couldn’t be anything more to celebrate than that.”

I said with a smile. You have to play when you have a little time.

“How about declaring a festival to commemorate it?”

“A festival. It is certainly necessary to change the atmosphere, but…”

Ganier stroked his chin and looked at me, his fierce eyes reminiscent of when we first met.

“Isn’t Your Majesty just wanting to rest?”

“How could that be? A king who declares a festival because he wants to rest is…”

“I heard from Aygue. He said you haven’t been training properly lately because you’ve been spending time with the Queen.”

“…”

Instead of answering, I scratched my head. This is a bit awkward.

“A healthy mind resides in a healthy body. No matter how much of a king you are, you must not neglect hunting and exercise.” He added, pounding his chest.

“While we’re on the subject, how about going to the training ground right now?”

“Wait a minute…! How dare you speak to the king like that…!”

Before I knew it, I was already half-dragged away. The ‘training’ was over a few hours later.

When I barely returned to the bedroom, Theodora greeted me this time, with a bright smile on her face.

That meant only one thing.

“Let’s just hold hands today… Wait a minute!”

Sadly, the king’s duty was endless.

I talked with Theodora about affairs of state until late at night.

“So, there’s a possibility that Renaud or Commander Luark was captured.”

“If they advanced to Mecca, there’s a high possibility they were surrounded. In the first place, there weren’t many troops.”

I nodded.

“We can’t know for sure yet.”

“Even if Lord Renaud is an enemy of the royal family, it could be a problem if he is captured by Saladin.”

Theodora got up from the bed and asked. The blanket flowed down her body.

“If we’re not careful, the people’s criticism could be directed at the royal family.”

“That depends on how you package it.”

I answered with a smile. Anyway, the plan was already in place.

If Renaud comes back alive, the Mecca expedition will naturally become my achievement. But if that bastard is caught…

‘Even a dead villain has its uses.’

Just as a tiger is skinned when it dies, there was plenty to skin from Renaud.