I Became The King Of Crusaders [EN]: Chapter 211

Became the King of the Crusades – Episode 211 (211/215)

The Will of God (1)

Silence blanketed the outskirts of Jerusalem after the battle. I stood in the center of the battlefield, taking a deep breath.

“It’s over.”

A single charge.

The Crusader knights did what they did best.

An unstoppable charge towards the enemy. I simply pointed them in the right direction.

“I knew Your Majesty would return.”

Balian approached me.

His face was smudged with soot in many places.

“It’s finally over.”

“It’s finally over.”

But there was no time to celebrate. There was still work to be done.

“Gather the wounded and the dead. We must engrave the names of all the dead on the memorial stones.”

“There won’t be any room left on the stones. If there are more battles later…”

“There won’t be any more for a while. I promise you that.”

I said.

Enough blood had been spilled.

It was time to put an end to this endless fighting in Jerusalem, Mecca, Medina, Damascus, and Egypt.

“Saladin cannot avoid his downfall now. A Sultan in name only, having lost Egypt, Mecca, and Medina.”

I focused on undermining Saladin’s authority rather than confronting him directly. If I had been a few days later, I would have failed.

“This victory guarantees decades of peace.”

Balian sighed.

“But in a hundred or two hundred years, new blood will flow in Jerusalem.”

“Wouldn’t even a short peace be better than this war?”

I replied with a smile.

I learned one thing while studying war history at the military academy.

That eternal peace does not exist. But short periods of peace certainly do.

“That’s all I wanted to give to Jerusalem and to you. The rest is up to our descendants.”

I’m not a Frankish person in the first place.

Nor a Christian.

‘But I am the King of Jerusalem.’

As a king, I should do this much. The thought brought a smile to my face.

Then I heard a commotion. Turning my head, I saw a woman in bright silk clothes.

Theodora.

“Baldwin.”

“Theodora.”

We looked at each other in silence for a moment. I could feel her emotions without needing to use my sixth sense.

“Let’s go to the palace.”

She smiled.

“Your son is waiting for you.”

* * *

The battle in front of the walls ended a week ago. Jerusalem has been in a festive mood ever since.

The streets were filled with drunk people, and the guards turned a blind eye to the commotion this time.

Those who had lost family and lovers also soothed their sorrows with alcohol.

“Long live Jerusalem! Long live King Baldwin!”

Lavish banquets were held in the palace every day, continuing the festive atmosphere. Exquisite food and drinks. Jesters to liven up the mood.

More kings and emperors gathered in one place to enjoy the banquet than ever before in history.

“We have over ten thousand Saracen [a medieval term for Arab Muslims] prisoners from Egypt and Jerusalem. Just thinking about how much ransom we’ll get…”

“It’s not about reducing the sacred rights, but about making things more stable in the future…”

Wine glasses went back and forth across the tables. Richard and young Henry grabbed Marshall and asked about their father.

How Henry II met his end.

“Yes, he asked to be buried in Jerusalem. If the people of England hear that news, they will be furious.”

“Why worry, brother? We can just take his heart back to England, can’t we?”

I looked at each person in the room one by one.

Luark, Alexios, Lalibela, young Henry, Richard, Balian, Joscelin, Raymond, and so on.

So many people came to Jerusalem. I wonder how the Third Crusade will be recorded in history.

Eygue muttered behind me.

“I wish Sir Hugh was here.”

“That old man would probably be gulping down the elixir.”

I nodded. There were many people who weren’t here.

I wish Baldwin IV was still alive.

How would he have reacted?

‘We conquered Egypt and Mecca and defended Jerusalem!’

He would probably be happy.

I had done more than he ever wanted in his life.

The Kingdom of Jerusalem, which he had struggled to maintain, now stood as the strongest nation in the Levant [a historical geographical area encompassing the Eastern Mediterranean].

And there was even an heir to the kingdom.

The baby sleeping in the cradle came to mind. The little baby who smiled while holding my finger.

Then young Henry stood up abruptly. His face was already red, as if he was very drunk.

When he got this drunk, he didn’t stutter.

“By the will of God, we were able to defend Jerusalem.”

He raised his glass.

“For the holy city of Jerusalem and its glory.”

“And for Henry II, the King of England. May he find salvation.”

Everyone raised their glasses high.

As I was drinking the elixir, Philip looked at me and asked.

“We have saved Jerusalem, but the expedition is not over. Tiberias is still in the hands of the Saracens, isn’t it?”

He continued.

“With the troops gathered in Jerusalem now, we could easily conquer Damascus as well.”

I put down the glass I was holding.

Philip of all people was saying that?

And the emotion I felt with my sixth sense was genuine.

I thought he would say we should go back quickly since we had defended Jerusalem.

‘Something has changed.’

Did Philip also have a change of heart because of this Crusade?

Richard nodded and chimed in.

“Let’s march with the army as soon as the banquet is over. What more is there to fear?”

“….”

I paused to gauge the atmosphere.

We needed to retake Tiberias somehow.

It was Count Raymond’s most important territory. Like in the original history, he gave up Tiberias and even his wife to defend Jerusalem.

‘But there’s no need to take a large army.’

Saladin wouldn’t try to defend Tiberias in the current situation. Having suffered a major defeat, he would give up without a fight.

‘If he only had Egypt, he would have prepared a counterattack somehow….’

Now Egypt was in my hands.

And Mecca and Medina.

Now he had no funds to raise an army, nor a political base.

In fact, he only had the title of Sultan left.

“Saladin will also try to retake Mecca and Medina. We can get Tiberias back without a fight.”

I had other concerns.

‘Dragging out the expedition here will only cost more money.’

Maintaining the knights and soldiers required enormous salaries. If the kings spent all the money they brought, Jerusalem would have to pay.

But Damascus needed to be dealt with somehow.

After thinking, I looked at everyone and slowly opened my mouth.

“Mecca is currently controlled by soldiers from Abyssinia (Ethiopia), but…”

With that, I looked at King Lalibela.

He bowed his head and replied.

“My hand is your hand. Whatever decision you make, my kingdom and I will follow.”

“Thank you. Then let’s send an envoy to Saladin first.”

Fortunately, Saladin wasn’t a fool. He wouldn’t stubbornly continue a war he had already lost.

“If Saladin chooses war, then let’s give him war. But enough blood has already been shed.”

I said.

“Now is the time for us to set the terms of peace.”

* * *

Outside Damascus

Heyyas Village

“Allah is the one and only God, the God of mercy and compassion.”

“That is correct.”

Saladin murmured with his eyes closed. The scholar continued to recite the Quran.

The servants carried water-soaked towels and placed them on the Sultan’s forehead.

His illness was getting worse day by day.

Since the defeat in Jerusalem, he had been lying in bed, unable to get up.

Al-Adil, who had entered the room, knelt beside him.

“The scattered troops are gathering again. There are still many who follow you, brother.”

“….”

“Tiberias is in our hands. We can lure them there…”

“And Mecca and Medina are in Baldwin’s hands. What good is Tiberias compared to the holy sites?”

Saladin spat out.

He gestured, and the scholars and servants all left the room.

“It’s time to end the war, Al-Adil. We have lost.”

He added.

“We fought, and we lost. That is enough. Now the Emirs [Arabian governors or military commanders] will try to exploit the gaps. They would rather see Mecca burn. That way, they can start a new Jihad [a holy war].”

“….”

“A divided Muslim cannot fight Baldwin. More blood will flow in vain.”

“Then does that mean we have to give up Al-Quds (Jerusalem) as it is? Weren’t you the one who said you would give your life to take it back?!”

“And I gave my life. As did countless other Muslim soldiers.”

Saladin murmured.

“It will be difficult to even defend Damascus right now. We no longer have the luxury to attack.”

“Then what should we do?”

“Send an envoy to Al-Quds. I will negotiate with Baldwin myself. The person who started the war must end it.”

“Baldwin will not come.”

Al-Adil said.

“If he hears that you are ill, he will bring his army.”

“No, Baldwin will not do that.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“That guy is similar to me. So he will definitely come to see me.”

“…I will follow the Sultan’s orders.”

Al-Adil said as he stood up.

Saladin closed his eyes tightly, watching his brother leave the room.

A ripe fruit fell to the ground with a soft thud.

* * *

Jerusalem

“This is a trap.”

Eygue and Garnier said almost simultaneously.

“To come this deep and have a conversation alone. It is clearly a trap to target His Majesty.”

“Isn’t it all a lie that he is sick?”

“Saladin wouldn’t tell such a lie.”

I was lost in thought, looking at the letter. The contents were simple.

Saladin’s letter asking to discuss the conditions face to face.

He said that he was not in good condition due to a fever, so he asked me to come.

‘In the original history, Saladin also drove back the Third Crusade and soon passed away.’

There were records that he had been ill several times before. This time, there would also be the shock of losing the war.

Garnier sighed when he saw my face.

“I will go and tell Sir Luark first.”

He said.

“If you go with the Knights Templar and the Knights Hospitaller [two of the most famous Christian military orders], it won’t be too dangerous.”

“Saladin may be trying to assassinate His Majesty as a last resort. A cornered rat will bite anything.”

Eygue chimed in.

“I would rather disguise myself as His Majesty and go.”

“Saladin has met me before, so that won’t work.”

I replied with a smile.

“And Saladin knows very well that if I die, Mecca and Medina will burn.”

The conditions I would demand from him were already set.

I have no intention of changing them.

It wasn’t for nothing that I conquered Mecca and Medina by force.

“Then let’s go and end this tiresome war.”