I Became The King Of Crusaders [EN]: Chapter 208

The War to End All (3)

Jerusalem

“Fight without stopping! Don’t let the Saracens get over the walls!”

“Your Majesty, please go below. It’s too dangerous here.”

Marshall said, deflecting an incoming arrow. Enemy arrows and boulders rained down around them.

The arrows beat against the walls like a torrential downpour.

“So, you’re saying it’s not dangerous below?”

Henry II coughed.

He lay in a litter [a type of portable bed or couch carried by poles], holding a crossbow. When he shot, servants handed him a reloaded crossbow. Soldiers around him held shields to protect the litter.

“I’ve lived on the battlefield my whole life. I can’t back down from this little bit of danger.”

“Your Majesty, but…”

Marshall shut his mouth.

Henry II’s side was rotting, turning black.

Once it turned this black, it was only a matter of time before death came.

Henry II probably knew that better than anyone.

Marshall bit his lip and shouted at the surrounding soldiers.

“What are you doing! Bring more shields!”

“Listen, Marshall.”

Henry II said.

His voice was so faint that Marshall had to put his ear close.

“I’ve fought for England for decades. I collected taxes and distributed them, and kept the lords in check. And…”

He coughed.

“I’ve tried to run a fair court. But hasn’t the Lord always forsaken me?”

“The Lord has never forsaken Your Majesty.”

“Then why did Baldwin come to England to judge me? Why did the Saracens win in Damascus?”

“Who can know the Lord’s will? But Your Majesty has safely come to this holy city.”

Marshall replied.

“If the Lord had truly forsaken Your Majesty, you wouldn’t have made it here.”

“That’s right. Then I still have work to do.”

“…”

“Isn’t a king who dies at the hands of the enemy better than a king who dies groaning in bed? It’ll help morale, too.”

“Your Majesty! What are you…”

“You fools, get out of the way! Are you trying to keep me from shooting my crossbow?!”

Henry II shouted at the soldiers in front of him holding shields. Startled by his roar, the soldiers flinched and stepped back.

“Stop! Put the shields back up!”

Marshall jumped over the litter and shouted, but it was too late. Three arrows pierced the gap.

Two hit the litter.

One struck Henry II in the neck.

“Your Majesty!”

Marshall pressed his hand to the wound, but couldn’t stop the bleeding.

“Are, are you afraid of death, Marshall?”

Henry II muttered, spitting blood. He looked at Marshall and smiled weakly.

“My tomb is here, in Je, Jerusalem…”

Marshall stared at the king, frozen. The next moment, he reached out and closed the king’s wide-open eyes.

“May you be saved, Your Majesty.”

He waved his arm.

“The King of England has passed away! Long live the King!”

A murmur spread across the walls. English knights and soldiers flocked to the litter.

“The King has passed away! Long live the King!”

“Defend Jerusalem! That was the last order His Majesty gave!”

Even as the shouts rang out, arrows fell everywhere.

“Stop them from getting over the walls!”

The number of approaching Muslim soldiers only grew. They crashed against the walls relentlessly, like waves.

* * *

“Saladin has built a solid siege. I’ve sent out scouts several times, but I haven’t found a gap yet.”

Count Joscelin said, lowering his telescope. The area around Jerusalem was filled with black dots.

It was hard to even make out the walls.

The thousands of flags were intimidating just to look at.

“So, you’re saying it’s hard to break through with our current forces? We have over fifteen hundred if we combine our cavalry.”

Alexios asked.

He turned to look at King Lalibela.

“I don’t remember such a strong Crusader force gathering in the Levant [historical geographical term referring to a large area in the Eastern Mediterranean].”

“The same goes for Saladin. There hasn’t been a sultan who’s led such a large army until now.”

Count Joscelin replied.

“If Saladin hadn’t been so concerned with the supply lines, the situation would be better. We could have cut off the supplies and starved the great army.”

“But even that’s difficult.”

“A guard almost the size of the main force is protecting the supply lines.”

Having said that, Joscelin sighed.

The only hope left to them

Was for Baldwin to return with his knights.

“Has there been any news from His Majesty Baldwin yet…”

“We haven’t heard from him since he left Eilat. Arabia is a faraway land.”

Alexios replied.

He turned to look south.

Arabia.

Wasn’t that the land that even the Roman Empire at its height had never conquered?

“Even if we send a messenger, they’ll arrive almost at the same time as the main force.”

“We can’t rule out the possibility that the expedition failed. Even with the reinforcements I sent, Mecca is a big city.”

King Lalibela said.

He looked at the two men with calm eyes.

“It’s not a place that can be easily occupied with such a small force. If the expedition failed, shouldn’t we protect Jerusalem even if we have to negotiate with Saladin?”

“Are you saying we should give Egypt back without even fighting?”

Alexios asked, frowning.

“We can’t undo all the blood that’s been shed so far. Think about how many Roman soldiers have died…”

“Our Abyssinians (Ethiopians) have shed no small amount of blood either. But if we lose the battle, we’ll lose Jerusalem. Then what good is Egypt?”

“…”

Silence fell.

Count Joscelin slowly opened his mouth.

“For now, we have no choice but to trust His Majesty Baldwin. He wouldn’t have gone to Mecca without certainty.”

“Yes, let’s just prepare to break through the siege. First, let’s double the number of scouts…”

At that moment, a Roman messenger ran up and knelt.

“What is it?”

“I heard that the King of England arrived in Ascalon this morning!”

“The King of England? What are you talking about? Henry II is already in Jerusalem, isn’t he?”

Joscelin, Alexios, and Lalibela.

All three looked at each other with wide eyes.

“Well, that’s…”

The messenger said in a cautious tone.

“Young King Henry, the son of Henry II, has come to the Levant leading knights. Moreover, King Frederick of Germany is also arriving at the port soon…”

“Frederick is coming here?”

“The public sentiment in Europe must have moved. The news of Jerusalem must have spread.”

Joscelin muttered with a bright expression.

“That’s ridiculous. Even so, they couldn’t have come this quickly.”

“The European knightly orders have been informing about the Third Crusade since before the siege began.”

Joscelin said, mounting his horse.

“Now that His Holiness the Pope has also offered support, how can a Christian stand idly by?”

“So, the two Roman Empires are participating in the Third Crusade. Isn’t that right?”

King Lalibela said with a smile. Alexios also smiled and replied.

“One of them is a self-proclaimed empire, though.”

The cavalry commanders gathered around them in a circle. The sound of horses breathing filled the silence.

* * *

Red Sea

“I’ll have to make you a real apprentice later. To have the transport ships ready so quickly.”

I leaned against the deck and looked outside.

Just one day.

To think that we could arrive at Eilat from Mecca in just one day.

The hardships of riding camels to Medina and Mecca felt like a joke.

As expected, ships are the most comfortable.

“The Zagwe Kingdom’s ships are like toys compared to Venice’s. If I hadn’t prepared the ships in advance, we would have had to walk back to Eilat.”

Aeguk said.

“But can we really trust the Abyssinians (Ethiopians)?”

“There’s no reason not to trust them.”

I shrugged.

Ethiopian soldiers were managing Mecca and Medina in our place.

They were the direct army following King Lalibela’s orders.

“We’ve left a few of our knights behind, so they won’t do anything stupid.”

I think I heard that the Ethiopians invaded Mecca before and failed.

Is this a success after hundreds of years?

Then Richard came up on deck. He wasn’t wearing anything on his upper body.

“I was bored, so I tried rowing a bit, and it was more fun than I thought. How about you join me?”

“I’ll think about it if I get bored.”

I replied with a smile.

“There’s no time to rest yet.”

“You’re thinking about Jerusalem. There’s no point in worrying; it’ll only give you a headache.”

Richard shrugged.

“It’s enough to assess the situation and make a plan when we get to Eilat.”

“…”

Richard was right.

No matter how much I worry now, I can’t change the situation in Jerusalem.

I can only hope that the preparations I’ve made so far will work. Then a sailor waved his arm and shouted.

“Merchant ship! Ships sailing from Eilat!”

When I went to the front of the deck, I saw dozens of ships. Venetian ships coming towards us.

“Supply ships going to Mecca and Medina.”

The ships that have been supporting us for the past few weeks. The ships were moving slowly, as if they were loaded with cargo.

The ship at the head of the line approached quickly.

“Send a signal! What are they saying?!”

“They say they have urgent news to tell Your Majesty.”

The captain said, lowering his telescope.

“It’s not easy to put ships together in the middle of the sea… It must be urgent news.”

“Then please do it as quickly as possible.”

After a few minutes, a plank was placed on the transport ship that had barely matched its speed. The man who stepped on it and crossed over was a familiar face.

As soon as I saw him, the words came out of my mouth.

“Marco!”

* * *

“I was so worried about what would happen if something happened to Your Majesty.”

Marco said, wiping away sweat. Richard shook his arm as he looked at him.

“Yes, what’s the situation in Jerusalem now?”

“Saladin’s army is still besieging the city. The Basileus (Emperor) and King Lalibela are trying to break through the siege, but…”

“So, they haven’t fought yet.”

“Yes, I think they’re hesitating because the difference in forces is so great.”

At my words, Marco nodded and continued his explanation.

“And Young King Henry of the Kingdom of England has come to the Levant. I gave them our ships first, but… Emperor Frederick has also arrived leading knights.”

“My brother came to the Levant? And the Redbeard Emperor (Frederick) came too.”

Richard burst out laughing, then looked at me with a dumbfounded expression.

“Then virtually all the Christian monarchs have gathered here. Isn’t that right?”

“I didn’t know Young Henry was coming, but it’s surprising that Emperor Frederick came.”

I nodded.

I distributed related propaganda to the European knightly orders before starting the expedition.

If European public sentiment had moved, it wouldn’t be strange for these other lords to come.

But Frederick wouldn’t have let this opportunity pass.

‘Now is the perfect time to put pressure on them, with the King of France and the King of England away.’

Marco scratched his head.

“Well, there’s news that the lords have risen up because of the Holy Land Bonds.”

“Because of the Holy Land Bonds?”

“They say they can only get their money back if they protect the holy city of Jerusalem… At the news that Jerusalem was in danger, they scraped together knights and set sail immediately. Rather, the kings joined later.”

“…”

I understood Marco’s words a beat late.

“That’s how it happened.”

“What do you mean, Baldwin? They came because of the Holy Land Bonds?”

Richard tilted his head.

Well, it’s natural to show that kind of reaction. I didn’t expect it either.

“The knightly orders are guaranteeing that the Holy Land Bonds will be exchanged for cash.”

I said.

“And the knightly orders are virtually based here in the Levant.”

“If Jerusalem is in danger, they won’t be able to exchange the Holy Land Bonds for money. I can understand that.”

Richard replied, stroking his beard.

“Then wouldn’t it be better to sell the Holy Land Bonds at the lowest possible price? Even if you take a little loss. It seems more difficult to bring an army like this.”

“That would be the most rational choice. But it won’t be that kind of atmosphere.”

“What kind of atmosphere?”

I continued the explanation. The situation in Europe that I guessed was actually simple.

‘If Jerusalem is in danger, the Holy Land Bonds will just become scraps of paper!’

From a capitalist point of view, it would be profitable to dispose of the Holy Land Bonds at a low price in this situation.

But the Holy Land Bonds had more meaning than just paper bills.

Using the Holy Land Bonds meant showing support for Jerusalem.

“If they sell it all off because the Holy Land is in danger, what will happen to their face and authority?”

“The people and the church won’t allow it. The more they’ve secured in the past, the greater the damage will be.”

Richard muttered.

He burst out laughing as if he understood my words.

“So, they can’t just sit still and watch their money disappear. So, they brought knights to help.”