On the distant horizon, dust billows.

On the walls of Kaler Castle, the soldiers nervously bustle back and forth.

This morning, without any warning, Saladin's vast army crossed the border of the two nations, advancing toward Kaler Castle.

The Holy Fire Banner and the dust kicked up by the seemingly endless sea of people covered the sky.

The terrifying sense of oppression made everyone in Kaler Castle tense.

They were well aware of the deeds committed by the castle's master, Count Reynard—plundering Fire Worship caravans, massacring Fire Worship civilians, attempting to defile the Holy Land in Nezha...

Once the castle breaks, none can survive.

Though Saladin is known for his kindness, under his iron-fisted methods, there is never a shortage of slaughter.

Creak——

Over a dozen armored soldiers forcefully push the winch to hoist the heavy drawbridge.

Utterly ignoring the scattered crowds who had already rushed to the vicinity of the city gate, seeking refuge with their families.

"We beg you, open the gates and let us in."

"Our village has been slaughtered completely; those Saracen people won't spare us."

"Limu'er, I am your own uncle, these are relatives and neighbors who watched you grow up, please show mercy and delay the lifting of the drawbridge!"

"Can you really bear to watch your relatives and friends die beneath the city walls like this?"

People crowded beneath the walls, pleading.

On the walls, some showed hesitation, but no one dared to stop the armored soldiers from lifting the drawbridge.

Because it was Count Reynard's order.

Moreover, the enemy's light cavalry unit was watching just beyond arrow reach.

As long as they dared to lower the drawbridge, these cavalry would immediately charge forward, regardless of anything, to seize the drawbridge.

The defending soldiers and recruits, busy like diligent ants, piled rounded stone balls with polished edges next to the catapults.

These small catapults mounted on the walls could launch the stone projectiles in the netting at the other end by cutting the ropes hanging the counterweight.

The Saracens dubbed such catapults as Furies and widely equipped them in their army.

The largest of these were reportedly capable of hurling two-thousand-pound boulders to collapse the walls.

Cauldrons lined the walls, filled with black fire oil ready to pour down and easily destroy a siege ladder.

Others carried wooden buckets filled with sand and water, piling them in front of the battlements to guard against misfires.

Carts delivered the bricks and stones Kaler Castle had stored in advance, accumulating them in the tower above the first gate.

Once the enemy overcame the first gate, the defenders could throw stones down from the tower to prevent the enemy from further breaching the second gate.

It must be said that Reynard has indeed managed Kaler Castle as a formidable fortress.

It is stocked with enough supplies for a thousand defenders to last six months, far from a challenge the Saracens could easily overcome.

Clad in armor, Reynard's face was darkly flushed with anger.

He gritted his teeth and said, "Damn it, I knew Saladin would choose Kaler Castle as his target. He hates me, seeing me as a lifelong enemy, even willing to abandon Jerusalem just to take my life!"

Stephanie, full of determination, this Female Knight, in military attire, with a tall, sturdy figure no less than a Knight: "This is our glory, Reynard.

With the heretics, it's a fight to the death; the more he hates us, the prouder we should feel."

Reynard laughed loudly, "Exactly, Stephanie, let Saladin hate me, for here I will repel his army, and when that time comes, the entire Kingdom will be astonished by my achievements."

After laughing, Reynard grew somewhat nervous: "Stephanie, have the calls for aid been sent out?"

Stephanie, helplessly gazing at her somewhat neurotic husband, nodded: "Yes, it was sent as soon as the scouts finished their report."

Reynard clapped his hands vigorously: "Right, we must also send someone to our little neighbor. I remember he trained a decent squad of armored soldiers, have his Guard Officer dispatch all his troops to aid Kaler Castle immediately."

Stephanie asked confusedly: "Will those Jorgelisburg defenders agree to abandon their own Castle to come to support?"

Reynard confidently said: "They will understand the stakes; once Kaler Castle is breached, their pitiful, dilapidated fortress that a mere gust could collapse can't possibly withstand the heretics' attack!

And as long as Kaler Castle holds, even if some of Saladin's scattered troops slip through, at most they can only plunder a few villages."

Reynard, standing on the walls, kept stroking the cold, rough stone.

A flush of excitement tinged his cheeks: "Come on, Saladin, I know you've always seen me as your nemesis, so let us have a grand battle of honor."

...

Outside the Castle on the Gobi Desert.

White square-topped tents sat amidst the palm groves outside the Castle.

Roaming Saracen light cavalry have swept through the villages near Kaler Castle, with empty houses now filled with soldiers assembled from various factions.

At the edge of the woods, accompanying craftsmen and servants were felling trees, assembling ladders, siege vehicles, towers, and large counterweight catapults.

In the heart surrounded by all tents, within an exceptionally tall tent.

A king wearing golden intricate scale armor and a black turban sits on a gilded throne, listening to the reports from the heads of the various factions.

It's a visage neither handsome nor ugly nor ordinary.

One look leaves an indelible impression.

His cheeks were gaunt, bearing a scar supposedly inflicted by an Assassin bred by a mountain elder.

Behind him hangs a grand map, where two red lines resemble sharp Arabian Straight Swords piercing into the heart of the Kingdom of Jerusalem.

Evidently, this is the ruler of the Ayyubid Dynasty that began in Egypt and now unified much of the Arab Region, with splendor matching the Thousand-year Empire's Sassanid Dynasty—Saladin.

The chiefs and Lords of all factions gradually departed.

Only Saladin and his brother Safudin remained within the tent.

Saladin suddenly recalled something and asked: "Adil, Kaler Castle is the territory of the Renegade, right?"

Adil is the real name of Safudin, Safudin is a shorthand of his full name used by Crusader nobles.

"Indeed, my Lord."

"Reynard..."

Mentioning this person, even a Monarch as composed as Saladin felt a surge of inner abhorrence.

Count Reynard, after becoming the Lord of Kaler Castle, once undertook a significant venture, organizing a navy planning to advance south and attack another Holy Land claimed by the Fire Worship in Nezha.

To extort large sums of money from them.

Although his scheme didn't succeed, his affront to the Holy Land gravely angered the Saracens.

This greedy, despicable, shameless scoundrel, devoid of any knightly honor, has become a thorn in the flesh of many Saracens.

Adil solemnly said, "My Lord, within three days, I will breach this castle and present the head of that villain Reynard, who once dared to insult the Holy Land and repeatedly attacked our kingdom's caravans."

"No, a feint is sufficient."

Saladin, eyeing his brother and trusted general, spoke solemnly: "I indeed hate this despicable and shameless Renegade, but do not forget our aim is to reclaim the Holy City."

"The Generals and Chiefdom leaders gathered under my banner were invited in the name of Jihad (can be understood as 'Holy War'), although totaling over twenty thousand troops, our direct command comprises fewer than ten thousand."

"Adil, my Empire is not solid; we must not lose too much force here, or we may be compelled to retreat shamefully before even glimpsing the walls of Jerusalem."

"That King of Kings residing in Tarsus waits to see me return defeated."

Saladin often boasted of having tens of thousands of troops under his command.

This is indeed true, but it sums up the forces spread throughout the Ayyubid Kingdom, including local garrison troops loyal to their regional Lords and many conscripts to act as cannon fodder.

A long-distance expedition constrained by supplies.

Even as the Kingdom of Jerusalem dispatches over half its troops northward, Saladin's three thousand troops (including some Military Servants) don't hold an overwhelming advantage.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.