The Youngest Prince Of The English Royalty House [EN]: Chapter 39

[Red River (1)]

-Anatolia, Rum Sultanate-

Anatolia, a region connecting Asia and Europe, also known as Asia Minor.

Islamic forces were defending the Rum Sultanate (an Islamic state established to check the Eastern Roman Empire).

Christian forces aimed to destroy the Rum Sultanate and defeat the infidels near the Eastern Roman Empire.

These two massive forces clashed in a great battle here.

“Kill the Islamic bastards!”

“Slaughter all Christians!”

“Allahu Akbar!” (God is the greatest!)

“Deus Vult!” (God wills it!)

They raised scimitars and greatswords against each other, killing the enemy.

-Clang. Clang.

The sound of swords clashing.

Neigh.

The sound of a horse crying, having lost its owner.

-Swoosh.

The sound of something being cut.

-Thud.

The sound of a head rolling.

Killing each other without asking or reasoning!

This was the battlefield.

“Is this the power of Islam?”

“It’s too gruesome!”

Christians, who had confidently joined forces from the East and West, seemed to be gradually understanding the meaning of war.

They were now losing countless comrades.

Experiencing the crisis of death vividly, they finally realized that they had underestimated the ‘Holy War’ all along.

The Holy War is a sacred war waged in the name of Jesus Christ, but they realized it was a war that required shedding a lot of blood.

However, there were people who smiled amidst this gruesome melee.

“Hahaha! Yes, this is it.”

“The battles so far have been too boring.”

“To think someone would appear who can match my swordsmanship.”

“These Islamic guys are pretty good, aren’t they?”

Crusaders who thought they were having boring battles due to their clear superiority in strength.

And there were others who were remarkable in a different sense, crusaders who naturally cut down Islamic soldiers without fear or desire.

Killing enemies with emotionless expressions like executioners, they didn’t care even when their comrades were crossing the River Jordan [a euphemism for dying] one by one in the distance.

They simply and efficiently sent their infidel Islamic friends to hell.

And among them, the most outstanding were the Young King Henry and Duke Geoffrey of Brittany.

“Crusaders of England, cut down the enemies!” This was the confidence of the Young King Henry.

“Retreat, and you will not escape execution.” This was the coldness of Duke Geoffrey of Brittany.

The Young King Henry shone with confidence for various reasons; his leadership restored the morale of the soldiers.

Geoffrey prevented soldiers from deserting with his sharp eyes, showing the sight of summarily executing soldiers who were frightened and ran away.

Each with a different appearance, they were defeating the Islamic army.

‘These guys…’ Henry II felt complicated emotions as he watched his sons.

They were once enemies who started a major rebellion and tried to stab him in the back, but at least in this place, they could be called Christian ‘comrades.’

They might rebel again later, but the fact that they were on the same side now was more important.

The Young King Henry looked at his father and said, “Your Majesty seems quite relaxed, even though your body must have become quite heavy.”

A remark mixed with sarcasm.

“Not yet… I am not old yet, so don’t even think about plotting.”

-Swoosh.

Henry II instantly beheaded an enemy.

“Don’t do it yet,” he glared sharply at his rebellious son.

He was over 50, the age when medieval monarchs retire from the front lines, but what does that matter?

The Holy Roman Emperor is also trying to fight well, just like in his youth.

Anyway, the battle was fierce.

Alexios II, who had not been on the throne of the Eastern Roman Empire for long, was also exhausted and covered in blood.

At this time, the Eastern Roman Emperor asked the general, “General Konstefanos, has the late Emperor been fighting battles like this?”

It was so difficult that he thought of his deceased father.

“The late Emperor fought countless bloody battles like this, but… we have the advantage because the infidels have not yet properly joined forces.”

The Eastern Roman general was right.

They became a coalition called the Sword of Ishmael to fight against the Crusaders, but in addition to the existing Sunni-Shia conflict, the Islamic coalition, the Sword of Ishmael, had been fighting for power in Persia, Iran, Iraq, India, and other places until recently.

Even though they mobilized a large army, they were not well-coordinated, and they were at a disadvantage physically, as they had traveled a long distance to save the Middle Eastern Islamic forces.

But even so, perhaps the ‘skills’ they had cultivated in the arid desert were not in vain.

With the determination to prevent the fall of the Rum Sultanate at all costs, they were defending Anatolia.

“Damn Islamic bastards, they’re stubbornly holding out.”

As everyone on the battlefield felt fatigue, the Crusaders heard the news of Prince John’s victory.

Of course, Henry II pressed the self-destruct button towards the Young King Henry and Duke Geoffrey of Brittany.

“Did you hear? Our youngest has achieved another feat.”

**

“So.”

The news came that the Caliph [a supreme religious and political leader], who could be called the emperor of the Islamic Empire, had massively participated in the Crusades.

‘Brothers, Father, you’re going to have a hard time, and a new Islamic fleet appeared before us.’

But what can you do now?

Roar.

The Christian fleet, which had already defeated the elite Islamic fleet once, roared.

The pirate king of Sicily, my youngest brother-in-law, shouted, “There’s a lot to plunder, let’s go, you bastards!”

They plundered properly.

“That was easy.”

They won again, but as I’m fighting a naval battle, I’m worried about the old emperor who supposedly drowned in the original history.

I’m talking about Grandpa Friedrich next to me right now!

“Your Majesty, please be careful not to fall into the water. If you take my words lightly, something terrible will happen.”

“Are you cursing me right now?”

“I’m just worried.”

I’m serious. To prevent Emperor Friedrich from falling into the water like in the original history, I, the truly great Safe Zone, have a lot of work to do.

**

I fell asleep in a good mood, but I had a nightmare for the first time in a while.

‘The End.’

World War III, no different from Judgment Day.

Born between a French mother and a Korean father, I wanted to escape to France, the country of my birth mother and the aunt who raised me, but I couldn’t.

The disaster of world war that broke out after a long peace was so terrible and cruel.

In that chaos, ordinary people became ordinary corpses.

After losing all my loved ones, I faced death.

If the next life is allowed, I desperately wanted to become the safest person.

‘Duke of Ireland, you must wake up. How long are you going to sleep? Even I, the Holy Roman Emperor, woke up this early, but you are so carefree. Go back and read Proverbs 6:6 again.’

To come and mention the verse, ‘Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise!’ from the morning.

But do you really have to come all the way to the cabin to wake me up?

Because of the two voices, “Ugh…” I started my day as Safe Zone from sentimental John.

If Constantinople is the city of longing that people talk about, the port of longing is the port of Alexandria.

This place has been a center of commerce for a long time since Alexander the Great ‘liberated’ Egypt from the Achaemenid Persian Empire.

It is also a major trading port and naval military base in the Middle East, flowing with milk and honey.

Of course, the port of Alexandria is the ‘honey’ that we, who won the naval battle, will take.

We need to repair several ships there, stockpile supplies, and secure food.

“Attack the port of Alexandria.”

“Oh, before attacking Acre. You came here because of that reason, I know?”

“Your Majesty, we must take profits since we fought hard.”

Yes, before attacking Acre, we need to rest a bit and get some supplies.

‘It doesn’t matter if there’s an ambush fleet.’

Preparations for various variables have already been discussed with Charles and Godfrey.

At times like this, we won’t use unconventional strategies, and there’s no way the elite fleet is here.

They will surely build a fortress on the sea to defend Acre.

‘The enemies are probably planning to exert all their strength in Acre, a key port, even if it means giving up the port of Alexandria.’

And another naval battle broke out.

No, this wasn’t a naval battle; it was just the Christian fleet saying, ‘You still haven’t come to your senses, have you?’ and giving the enemy a good lesson.

Besides, the elite Egyptian fleet wasn’t here either.

An Egyptian military port without the Egyptian fleet is a complete free pass!

They couldn’t beat our fleet even with the elite fleet. How could they defend the port of Alexandria with a second-tier fleet?

Of course, there’s no time or room to infiltrate the inland cities of the Ayyubid Sultanate.

We just need to take what we need as if we’re shopping.

Yes, this is ‘collecting dues.’

The frightened Egyptians begged, “Please save us. We are just subjects who believe in Allah.”

The aftermath of the Crusaders mercilessly killing people in the Middle East during the 1st and 2nd Crusades seemed to still remain.

Of course, I am not Bohemond I, who indiscriminately massacred people during the First Crusade, but Safe Zone!

So, after controlling the Crusaders, I spoke to Emperor Friedrich first.

“Your Majesty, there should be no indiscriminate massacres and looting here.”

“Why?”

“Because they believe in Islam, but they are ‘Egyptians.'”

“Yes, there aren’t only Islamic guys in the Egyptian region.”

Egyptians. Of course, unlike ancient Egypt, the people of Egypt in this era are quite mixed with Arab blood.

If we unconditionally exclude them, things will become difficult.

During the 1st and 2nd Crusades, they ignored this and massacred them to their heart’s content, and they saw a lot of blood!

And the really important fact is that the majority of people living in Egypt, of course, believe in Islam, which is widespread in the Middle East, but this place was Alexandria, one of the five major Christian dioceses.

In this important port city of Egypt, ‘Coptic Christians’ [an ethnoreligious group indigenous to North Africa who primarily inhabit the area of modern Egypt, where they are the largest Christian denomination in the country], who can be said to be indigenous Egyptian Christians, were hiding.

“Come to me, all you persecuted Coptic Christians, and I will give you rest.”

The Copts, who will be mistreated even in the 21st century, are the most needed people for me right now because they are Christians for now.

I immediately sent them on a route to Ireland.

**

Since what we had to do was simple looting anyway, we can’t stay in the port of Alexandria forever.

“It’s the army of the Ayyubid Sultanate!”

“Retreat!”

There was no need to fight unnecessary battles either.

After resting, we now came out to the sea again because a new battle would begin in front of the sea where Acre is visible.

The enemies appeared before us.

“Your Highness, they have prepared a lot.”

Like that great one fortress, the remaining fleets, including the Egyptian fleet, blocked the military port of Acre like living gatekeepers.

I could feel their desperate will to protect this place no matter what, even if they died.

Whoosh.

The flags with the crescent moon drawn on them fluttered in the blowing sea breeze.

Come to think of it, I realize anew that the Siege of Acre seems really difficult.

In the Third Crusade of the original history, Richard the Lionheart was unmatched, but I didn’t know it was such a difficult task.

Maybe the last naval battle was just lucky.

Now that I think the real battle has begun, my shoulders began to feel heavy.

“Don’t worry.”

Then someone put their hand on my shoulder.

“Your Majesty?”

It was the Holy Roman Emperor Friedrich I.

“John, you’ve done well so far. Now, this old man should step up.”

The old Emperor Friedrich, who blurred his words like that, opened his mouth, shining his wrinkled eyes.

“Even you guys think my words are right, don’t you?”

The electors of the Holy Roman Empire, who had been silently watching my fight by the Emperor’s side, replied in a sharp voice, “Your Majesty’s words are wise.”

“John, now watch my ‘imperial power’ well.”

Until now, Grandpa Friedrich with the red beard, who had been quietly watching me, the senile old man began to step forward as the Holy Roman Emperor, shining with a sharp radiance.

At that moment, I thought of the words of a French philosopher who was active in the late 18th century: ‘[The Holy Roman Empire is] neither holy nor Roman (Voltaire)!’

The Holy Roman Empire. Looking at it now, it seems to be holy and Roman.

You were wrong, Voltaire.

**

While John was falling for the Holy Roman Empire, there was someone smiling coldly somewhere.

He thought with a sneer, ‘The moment the hunter becomes the hunted… they tend to panic.’

Heroes like Gilgamesh, Achilles, and Alexander were just humans who couldn’t achieve immortality after all.

So, some people planned to have one person die on the battlefield during the chaos.

If they die in a holy war, how honorable would that death be?

Perhaps, everyone would think so.

Red River (2)