I Became The King Of Crusaders [EN]: Chapter 209

Became the King of the Crusaders-Episode 209 (209/215)

The War to End It All (4)

Jerusalem

“Get the wounded down below the walls, quickly! Refill the oil!”

Balian shouted, pulling arrows from his armor. No matter how many he pulled out, new arrows kept appearing.

“They’re getting more aggressive every day.”

He glared beyond the walls.

Saladin pressed the attack relentlessly, despite the heavy losses.

The ground below the walls was piling up with the bodies of Saracen soldiers. The Jerusalem side was also suffering increasing casualties.

The only consolation was that no lords or nobles had died since Henry II.

King Philip also continued to command from atop the walls.

“The battle isn’t over yet. We can mourn the dead after we defeat the enemy.”

That was his reply upon hearing the news of Henry II’s death.

The King of England hadn’t even had a funeral yet. The knights and soldiers who followed him fought even more fiercely.

An officer rushed to Balian.

“We’re running out of arrows! If this keeps up…”

“That’s no reason to conserve them. After this battle, we’ll go outside the gate and collect them.”

Balian frowned.

“We had so many stockpiled, how are we already running out?”

The fierce battle gradually subsided as time passed.

Both the Saracen and Jerusalem soldiers grew tired, and their momentum waned.

As the sun dipped towards the horizon, a trumpet sounded—the Saracen signal for retreat.

The soldiers on the walls all sighed in relief and collapsed.

“Go outside the walls and collect the arrows! Volunteers…”

As they were tending to the wounded and carrying away the dead, someone shouted.

“L-look over there!”

A murmur spread among the soldiers.

“What’s going on?”

Balian turned his head and flinched. Queen Theodora was walking towards the walls.

She wasn’t alone.

A baby in her arms.

Everyone knew who it was.

“The Prince is here!”

* * *

“The battle may have stopped, but arrows could fly at any moment, Your Majesty.”

“I can handle that much risk, Lord Balian,” Theodora replied with a faint smile. She walked towards the walls with the baby in her arms.

The knights and soldiers around her knelt one by one.

“It’s the Prince! The Queen has brought the Prince!”

“What?”

The area below the walls was crowded with soldiers. All of them looked at the kingdom’s heir with curious eyes.

“I heard you’re preparing for street fighting. Is the situation that bad?”

“They’ve dug too many tunnels. We’ve dug counter-tunnels, but it’ll be difficult to catch them all in time,” Balian replied.

“If that happens…”

“The walls could collapse.”

“Yes, then we’ll have no choice but to stand soldiers like a wall to block them. If we can’t even do that, it’ll lead to street fighting.”

Balian nodded with a grim expression.

“If the city is captured after street fighting, the Saracen soldiers won’t stop looting. Saladin won’t be able to stop them either. Maybe we should negotiate now…”

He shook his head.

“I’m sorry, please forget what I said. I must be lightheaded and talking nonsense.”

“I understand what you’re trying to say. But if we lose Jerusalem…”

Theodora said.

“We’ll have no choice but to lose everything. We’ll lose our authority and end up fleeing to Cyprus.”

“…”

Balian sighed softly.

He knew Theodora’s words were true.

The reason the Third Crusade gathered was because Baldwin showed the will of God.

If Jerusalem were taken, their reputation and authority would inevitably be damaged.

“Have you decided on the Prince’s name?”

“Amory.”

Theodora replied, looking at the baby.

“Amory. Baldwin and I decided to name our son Amory.”

“Then he will be Amory II.”

Balian said.

“Your Majesty and the Prince shouldn’t be in such a dangerous place. If a catapult stone were to fall from anywhere…”

“I’ll be back soon, so don’t worry too much, Lord Balian.”

With those words, Theodora approached the soldiers.

The soldiers all hurriedly stepped back and made way for her.

Theodora held the baby high in the air. The wide-eyed baby giggled as if it was fun.

“What you are risking your lives to protect today is not just this child!”

She shouted.

“Your families and lovers inside the walls, the pilgrims—the fate of everyone in Jerusalem is in your hands!”

A long silence followed.

The rustling of chainmail and the sound of swallowing could be faintly heard.

And then someone shouted.

“The Prince isn’t crying!”

“He’s not afraid of the Saracens!”

Soon after, the soldiers’ laughter and cheers followed. They all knelt before Theodora and the baby.

“Let’s protect Jerusalem!”

Theodora looked at Balian and smiled.

“I told you there was nothing to worry about.”

She added in a small voice.

“Baldwin will return.”

* * *

They say there are faces that are welcome just to see.

Young Henry and I shared a hug like family who hadn’t seen each other in a long time.

“I-I’ve been waiting, Baldwin.”

“I didn’t expect you to come so soon, and with Emperor Frederick as well.”

“Y-you told me not to come to the Levant [the region encompassing the eastern Mediterranean], but the L-Lord’s will seems to have been different.”

This time Richard stepped forward.

He also shared a deep hug with his brother.

“If you’ve come, who’s ruling England now?”

“M-Mother is in charge. There are other b-bishops, so there shouldn’t be any major problems.”

“Mother has finally gotten her hands on the kingdom.”

Richard chuckled and turned to look at me.

“What do you think? Do you think it’s okay for our mother to be in charge of England?”

“There couldn’t be a better person for the job.”

I replied with a smile.

In the original history, Eleanor ruled England while Richard was away.

She managed the kingdom excellently with her unique political sense. And now the King of France, Philip, and Frederick are also here with the Crusaders.

‘There shouldn’t be any major problems for a while.’

Now it’s time to talk to Frederick.

He was standing at the front of the procession with a man who looked similar to him.

The Lionheart, Henry.

Emperor Frederick’s rival, whom I had supported in England.

‘Did they reconcile in the meantime?’

Henry greeted me with a smile.

“I heard you conquered Mecca. That’s a great achievement. Isn’t that right, Your Majesty?”

Emperor Frederick didn’t answer and just coughed.

Still reacting uncomfortably to me.

I understand since I beat him badly in Italy. But he shouldn’t make that face.

I hugged Henry and then approached Frederick.

“With Your Majesty here to save Jerusalem, there couldn’t be more reliable help.”

“Baldwin, let me be honest,” Emperor Frederick said gruffly.

“If the lords hadn’t risen up, I wouldn’t have come all this way myself. The ecclesiastical authority [religious power] you spread has eaten away at the empire.”

He continued.

“And even though I helped create the Knights Templar, you continued to support Henry.”

“Well, I thought the Teutonic Knights were knights who gathered voluntarily.”

Henry was just wearing a sly smile next to him. It seems they came on a crusade together and decided to reconcile.

The German lords must not have been able to handle the continued civil war.

Well, the best is the best.

“But now that Your Majesty has come with an army, shouldn’t we save Jerusalem?”

“…”

Emperor Frederick sighed.

“That’s not wrong. I’ll forget all the insults you’ve made to me and the empire so far. What good is it if the holy city of Jerusalem is taken away?”

His words didn’t feel very sincere—an emotion as if he had no choice but to come.

But Emperor Frederick isn’t someone who would give up credit.

Henry interjected.

“We came in a hurry, so there aren’t many infantry. The Empire and England are mostly knights.”

I nodded at his words.

They wouldn’t have had time to summon infantry in a hurry.

Each with about three to five hundred cavalry.

Pure heavy cavalry.

And if you add the squires supporting them, the number doubles.

“Cavalry is what we need most right now anyway. Even if there were more infantry…”

As I continued to speak, more people approached: Alexios, Count Joscelin, and even King Lalibela.

Joscelin knelt before me.

“It’s all my fault, Your Majesty. If only we hadn’t been defeated in Damascus…”

“I have no intention of blaming the past. It wasn’t your fault in the first place.”

If I had to find someone to blame, it would be my misjudgment. I thought Henry II and Philip alone could hold Saladin.

But it wasn’t the worst situation.

“Jerusalem hasn’t fallen into Saladin’s hands yet. That’s what’s important.”

Then Alexios interjected.

“How did you conquer Mecca? To take the Saracens’ holy land so quickly…”

“I threw them some bread. They kept getting food, so they surrendered on their own.”

“You threw them bread, what… are you joking right now?”

“As I always say, I only speak the truth.”

I replied with a smile.

Alexios looked at Richard, but he just shrugged.

“Some of the intermediate steps have been omitted, but it’s true. He surrendered by throwing bread.”

“There will be plenty of time to talk about Mecca later. Let’s focus on the current situation first.”

I said, looking at the people gathered—England, the Eastern Roman Empire, the Holy Roman Empire.

What a diverse group of people.

“Count Joscelin, how many enemy troops are besieging Jerusalem?”

“Counting the camels, there are roughly 50,000 to 70,000 troops—a scale I’ve never seen before.”

Then Richard interjected.

“So, what’s the ridiculous plan this time? Are you going to throw bread with catapults again?”

Soon after, even Alexios joined in.

“Or wouldn’t it be possible to cut off the supply lines first and dry them up? If they run out of food, they’ll eventually surrender.”

“That would be one possible plan, but we don’t know when Jerusalem will fall.”

I shook my head, looking at them. It’s almost a miracle that Jerusalem has held out so far.

If we hadn’t prepared in advance, it would have fallen into Saladin’s hands long ago.

There was no time to delay.

“There’s no need to rely on plans anymore. With so many cavalry gathered, why should we fight passively?”

With those words, I looked at Richard. My gaze then turned to the cavalry marching behind him.

“What’s the easiest and fastest way to save a besieged city?”

“Attack the besieging enemy. What could be simpler than that?”

Richard smiled, as if he understood what I meant.

A charge against the enemy.

That was the specialty of the Lionheart.

No, to be precise, it’s the specialty of all European Frankish knights.

“It seems like the opportunity to warm up has finally come—a charge with so many knights.”

“I’ll be at the forefront this time, too.”

I nodded.

The time for cautiously testing the waters is over.

Iron and iron.

Strength and strength.

The time to end everything with a head-on fight.

To get everything, you had to risk everything.

Jerusalem.

The second life I got.

“And I believe you will all stand by my side.”