I Became The King Of Crusaders [EN]: Chapter 192

< 192. Masyas and Alamut (2) >

“What are you doing! Establish the siege lines quickly!”

The Atabeg [governor] of Aleppo.

Masoud shouted, brandishing his sword.

Thousands of soldiers marched forward at his command, slowly encircling the walls of Hama.

“I will personally bestow three hundred dinars [gold coins] upon the first to breach the walls!”

The soldiers responded with a roar upon hearing his words.

Masoud bit his lip.

‘This is the perfect opportunity to avenge both Saladin and Baldwin.’

It was only a few years ago that Saladin besieged Aleppo to subdue him.

At that time, Baldwin pretended to provide supplies but colluded with the Assassins to seize Hama and Homs.

He had been forced to kneel before Saladin and had even lost two major cities to the Franks [Europeans, often referring to the Crusaders].

The situation had only worsened since then.

‘They’re even trying to blame me for the failure of the Jihad [holy war]….’

The general Masoud had dispatched, Abul Heija, had not only been defeated in battle but also captured by Baldwin.

Saladin used Abul Heija to shift the blame for the Jihad’s failure onto Aleppo.

[The failure of this Jihad is solely due to the lack of support from Aleppo!]

Masoud’s authority dwindled day by day.

“If I can reclaim Hama and Homs and eliminate the Assassins, even Saladin won’t be able to say a word.”

“The Atabeg speaks the truth. Wasn’t Saladin originally just an Egyptian Wazir [high-ranking official, similar to a Prime Minister]?”

The generals nodded beside him.

“If this expedition is successful, the citizens of Damascus will follow the Atabeg once more.”

“Isn’t the rightful owner of Damascus the Atabeg?”

“Yes, my father was the first to occupy Damascus.”

Masoud growled.

When his father, Nur ad-Din, was alive, Saladin was merely a vassal dispatched to Egypt.

That man had seized power by taking advantage of his father’s death.

“We must reclaim Homs and Hama as quickly as possible before Saladin notices. Then we can deal with the Assassins and the Franks simultaneously.”

At that moment, a general rushed over.

“Scouts have just returned! Frankish forces are approaching, leading a caravan of hundreds of camels!”

“Camels? How many enemy cavalry are there?”

“Less than a hundred. The rest are just camels and infantry. Only about a thousand in total….”

“They must have hastily gathered troops from other cities.”

“I don’t think so. Would they come to fight us with such a small force?”

Masoud stroked his beard.

“So many camels. Are you sure they were Franks?”

“Yes, we confirmed the Frankish banners.”

Then other generals chimed in.

“They’re clearly trying to buy time and wait for reinforcements. Before they gather more….”

“It’s better to defeat them piecemeal. I know that much.”

Masoud replied with a growl.

After all, the only ones to worry about were the Frankish knights.

Infantry and camels were no threat, no matter how many there were.

“If there are so few, it might be a supply convoy from another city.”

Masoud said.

“They probably don’t know that Hama is under siege yet. Would the Franks bring so many camels if they were expecting a battle?”

“Your insight is truly remarkable, Your Excellency. We didn’t even consider that….”

“Whether it’s a supply convoy or a relief force, what we have to do is the same anyway.”

Masoud waved his hand dismissively. He mounted his horse and added,

“Leave only a small force to maintain the siege. Let’s crush those who are coming first.”

* * *

“But we can’t abandon our allies!”

“I’m not telling you to run away. I’m just telling you to pretend to run away.”

I said, looking at Garnier.

“This operation can only succeed if we lure the enemy as close to the camels as possible.”

The cavalry would pretend to escort the camels, and as soon as the enemy appeared, they would flee.

Then the enemies would surely rush towards the camels.

Until now, the Franks had only used camels as supply carriers and had never deployed them in battle.

‘That’s the chance.’

To unleash a barrage on the defenseless enemy.

“If the enemies ignore the flames and charge straight through….”

Garnier said.

“Kang and the other soldiers will be massacred. Hundreds of camels will be seized.”

“If they do exactly what they showed during training….”

I pointed to the camels and soldiers.

Kang was running around, making final checks on their readiness.

“They can withstand thousands. If things get really bad, we’ll have to call back the retreating cavalry.”

That would make it difficult to pursue the enemies, but it would protect Kang and his men.

Then Richard chimed in, munching on an apple.

“Battle is ultimately a contest of who succumbs to temptation.”

He said.

“The outcome will depend on how foolish the enemy commander is. The Saracens [Muslims, often used during the Crusades] will be confused when they see a tactic they’ve never seen before.”

“Then the chances of success are higher.”

I replied with a smile.

Masoud Atabeg.

In fact, Masoud had a stronger claim to legitimacy than Saladin. He was the son of the famous Islamic hero, Nur ad-Din.

‘But in both the original history and Last Crusaders, he was an insignificant figure.’

He lacked both the political acumen and the combat command ability to avoid being constantly dragged around by Saladin.

In contrast, I now had Richard and William Marshal.

The two strongest warriors in Europe.

“I will entrust the command of the cavalry to the Duke.”

I said, looking at Richard.

“But I will decide the timing and location of the attack.”

“I understand. If you say so, I will follow. By the way, this is my first fight since coming to the Levant [historical geographical area encompassing the Eastern Mediterranean].”

Richard smiled, rotating his shoulder.

“I must see if the Lord will grant me victory.”

* * *

Two hours later

“Everyone, stand by!”

Kang shouted, holding a flag in his hand. The rumbling sound gradually grew louder.

‘It’s too early to wave the flag.’

We had to unleash the attack when they were deep within range.

If we attacked too early, the enemies would run away immediately. At that moment, the surrounding cavalry began to ride backward.

“Our allies are retreating!”

“Don’t panic! It’s all part of the plan! Our cavalry will return!”

The officers shouted from among the camels.

Meanwhile, enemy cavalry appeared on the opposite ridge.

Seeing the Frankish cavalry retreating, they immediately began to charge.

The sound of hooves approached Kang and his men.

The enemies, spotting the camel train, turned and charged straight towards it.

An attack aimed at the spoils.

“Everyone, stand by…!”

Kang glared at the enemies.

Just a little more. But not before they come in too deep….

“Fire! Fire!”

With a ting-ting sound, spheres flew through the air. As those that hit the ground shattered with a crash, flames erupted.

“First shot impact confirmed! No correction needed! Fire for effect!”

“Keep firing! Keep firing until the jars are empty!”

This time, an even greater number of spheres engulfed the Saracens.

At the same time, acrid smoke rode the wind. The foul smell of cloth, armor, and flesh burning in oil.

Kang covered his nose with a green cloth, trying to ignore the stench.

Looking through his telescope, he saw panicked enemy soldiers.

They seemed torn between continuing their advance and retreating.

Meanwhile, large and small spheres rained down on them relentlessly.

Far more than Kang and his men had ever trained with.

“We must break their momentum before they get close! Adjust angles from 1 to 40! According to the angle indicators….”

Kang gave orders, watching the signals from the observers.

The signalman next to him waved flags, relaying orders to each camel.

The angles were adjusted to match the approaching enemies.

“Good!”

Kang shouted, watching the enemies falter and retreat.

How much had they trained for this moment?

For the past few weeks, Baldwin had spent most of his days with them.

From the Arabic numerals used by the Saracens to geometry.

Due to a shortage of manpower, even the priests from the monastery had come to teach geometry.

A systematic suppression, not just blindly firing at the enemy.

Baldwin had even given them a unit name: Divine Fire (Ignis Divinus).

Thanks to this, more and more volunteers flocked to them.

But the atmosphere wasn’t always good.

As time went on, those who disapproved of them also increased.

“Those who should be defending the holy city are dragging camels around like Saracens. Isn’t that a disgrace to the kingdom?”

“Aren’t they all commoners anyway? I heard that the leader is a former bandit.”

“Such an important task to such a man. I wonder if His Majesty has made a mistake, tsk tsk.”

Kang and his men ignored such jeers and continued to train.

Spending nights with the camels and learning about them from the Saracens.

The result was this.

“They’re running away!”

“Captain! We drove them away!”

Cheers erupted from everywhere.

The camels, which had been sitting indifferently, looked around with surprised eyes.

“Everyone, calm down! The battle isn’t over yet!”

Kang, having shouted that, turned around.

Baldwin was issuing orders to the other cavalry to pursue.

But there weren’t enough of them to pursue all the retreating enemies.

Kang looked at his adjutant and said.

“Let’s finish the fight we started.”

“Yes? How do you mean, finish it?”

“The camels are still in good shape, aren’t they? They’ve just been sitting.”

Kang replied, standing up.

“I have a tactic I used to use when I lived in the mountains. Divide the archers into two groups, and while one group provides cover….”

He waved his hands.

“The other group approaches the enemy and shoots arrows.”

“You mean….”

“While one side provides cover, the other chases the enemies.”

“But even so, it will be difficult to catch up with the enemy cavalry. And don’t we have to make the camels sit down to shoot the jars?”

“Yes, it will be difficult to catch up with the cavalry. But we can easily catch up with the plodding infantry.”

Kang said with a smile.

“Let’s get His Majesty’s permission first.”

* * *

‘This ended much faster than I expected.’

I lowered the telescope I was holding.

Only twenty minutes since the battle began.

The enemies who had been rushing towards the camel train, both cavalry and infantry, were all starting to flee.

Bodies engulfed in flames were scattered across the sand.

Richard shook the axe in his hand and said.

“This is easier than I thought. So, where should I strike?”

“Most of the enemy cavalry are gathered in the northeast.”

I pointed to one side of the desert.

Perhaps Masoud or other high-ranking commanders were there.

“I’ll leave that to the Duke.”

“I understand. I’ll be back soon.”

Richard waved his hand, and Marshal and the other knights gathered.

As expected, without a moment’s hesitation.

Then, Aiguy tapped my shoulder.

“Your Majesty, look over there. Kang is sending a signal.”

Looking through the telescope, I could see colorful flags waving.

I calmly interpreted the signal.

“P.e.r.m.i.s.s.i.o.n. t.o. c.h.a.r.g.e. r.e.q.u.e.s.t.e.d.?”

What does that mean?

He wants to charge now?

“What on earth is he thinking? If he’s planning to ride a camel and swing a sword….”

“I don’t think that’s it.”

Could it be what I’m thinking?

I ordered a permission signal to be sent.

“Let’s just give him permission.”

After all, the outcome of the battle was already decided.

It would be good to try everything.