paranoianovel Chapter 846 Arrival
Chapter 846 Arrival
Chapter 846 Arrival
Like Constantinople on the other side of the strait, Galata City was not peaceful last night.
The crusader nobles from Gaul, the Lowlands, and Germania accused each other and argued endlessly.
Some people resented Bela III, some resented the Venetians for deliberately raising the price of the boat ticket, which made them commit such a serious crime, and some people felt that although Lothar was the king of the Egyptian Crusaders, he was not qualified to convict them.
Outside the church in Galata, many crusaders and clergymen repented devoutly all night long.
Many of them were conquered by the divine favor shown by Lothar. They felt guilty for fighting against their Christian brothers, and now they only hoped that Lothar would forgive their sins and send them to continue their cause of fighting against the pagans to atone for their sins.
A hermit from Amiens in Gaul stood up with tears in his eyes and cried out:
"Everyone, we can't continue on the wrong path. The great God-favored monarch, His Majesty Lothar, who defeated Saladin personally, recovered the Patriarchate of Alexandria, and defended the Holy City of Jerusalem, has come to Constantinople in person and vowed to stop this war. Can we continue to be deceived by the devil and deepen our sins?"
"No, we can't continue fighting."
"That's right. Let those stubborn people face the dragon fire of His Majesty Lothar on their own!"
"Venerable monk, please tell us how to repent?"
The monk shouted: "Of course, go to the East and continue the great cause of the holy war!"
"Lord, please have mercy on us deceived sinners, forgive our mistakes, and cleanse our sins. We are willing to swear to fight the pagans to the end and use our lives to glorify your holy name! Amen!"
"Have mercy on me, O Lord, according to your lovingkindness; and according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions."
Bella III, who was dressed neatly and preparing to go to the council hall, happened to pass by the repentant crowd. Upon hearing the words, he wrapped his cloak tightly around himself.
This kind of talk is truly horrible.
Blinded by the devil?
Who is the devil?
He simply didn't dare think about it.
The attendants standing by couldn't help but speak up for the monarch: "It's all Alexios' fault. That cunning Greek is the devil who led us down the wrong path. How could anyone think it was your Majesty's fault?"
The knight on the other side added: "And the Venetians, they are the ones behind all this!"
Bella III glared at his subordinates, quickened his pace and walked through the crowd.
If he were recognized in such a place and attacked by pilgrims and crusaders, even if he defeated these "rebels", his reputation in the Christian world would be ruined.
Soon, Bella, the knights, and the servants arrived at Galata's council hall.
This was originally the upper administrative office of Galata City in the Eastern Empire. After the arrival of the Crusader fleet, it was quickly captured by the Venetians in the city and became the meeting place for the Crusader nobles.
In the hall, many Crusader nobles have gathered together. They form groups according to their friendship and are clearly divided among themselves.
Some of them were drinking, some were chatting, and quite a few Crusader nobles even took out Gwent cards and started playing. They would shout in frustration or joy from time to time, and the entire council hall was as messy as a vegetable market.
Bella III came in and didn't attract much attention at first.
But with the first noble stepping forward to greet them, more and more people began to put down what they were doing and turn their attention to this distinguished person.
"Oh, isn't this His Majesty King St. Stephen? Now we are trapped in Galata, in a dilemma. King Lothar keeps saying that he wants to hold us accountable for our crimes. What good suggestions does His Majesty have?"
Some of the others didn't like this man's weirdness, but they couldn't help but ask: "Your Majesty, what should we do now?"
Bela III suppressed his anger and cursed: "Who would have thought that Losa, who was busy besieging Cairo, would abandon all his affairs at this time and run to Constantinople?"
"Who would have thought that the empress of the Eastern Empire would give half of the empire's laws to a foreign monarch whom she had only met once?"
"If it weren't for these changes, we would have already captured Constantinople. Everyone would be wearing gorgeous silks, holding bulging pockets, and with the support of the new emperor of the Eastern Empire, we would have set out on the road to the East."
"By then, won't all the sins be written off?"
He came to the center of the council hall with great momentum and said: "Since you are here, don't you agree with my idea?"
A Crusader nobleman's eyes turned red and he shouted, "At worst, we can just fight them. I don't believe that Lothar, as the King of the Egyptian Crusaders, can really kill us all."
"Yes, that's right. Lothar is just the second son of a country earl. He took advantage of the good times to occupy the throne of Egypt. Does he want to block the way for us, his successors, to obtain wealth and power?"
The naked words of the two Crusader nobles directly tore off the fig leaf hanging on the faces of many Crusader nobles present.
If Lothar was one of their own, he would be a monarch favored by God. But if he blocked their path to wealth, even if God himself came, he would not be able to gain their approval.
This is the fact, but after the two people finished speaking, the council hall fell into a long silence.
After a long while, someone sneered and said, "Fight him? What can you do? You can't even touch him. That three-headed deformed dragon can melt your flesh and bones in one breath."
"You want to go against Lothar? Do you think you are the reincarnation of Saint George?"
"There's no need for that dragon. We've all heard about the strength of the witch advisory group under His Majesty Lothar. Your Majesty Bella has recruited many talented people under your command. I'm sure you know what that means better than us, right?"
Someone raised his head and stood up, coming to Bella III: "If you ask me, the only thing we can do now is to wait here for His Majesty Lothar to arrive, and then kiss his toes in exchange for his forgiveness."
"Shameless! The Montmorency family is considered to be of distinguished origin, how could such a spineless scum as you be born?"
The man said with a look of disapproval, "Brothers, if we talk about bloodline, the Habsburg family can be traced back to Charlemagne, and they have the same noble blood as us. His Majesty Lothar was able to become the King of the Crusaders in just one year in the Holy Land as the second son of a noble family. What else could this be but a miracle?"
"It took Godfrey of Bouillon, the great guardian of the Holy Sepulchre, three years from the time he set foot in Asia Minor to the time he recaptured Jerusalem and got the crown of thorns!"
"Moreover, the predecessors of the First Crusade faced the Saracens, who were scattered and fragmented, but Lothar faced the Saracen dynasty that was united by Saladin!"
While they were arguing, there were sudden screams from outside.
Immediately afterwards, three melodious dragon roars echoed from far to near.
A group of Crusader nobles stood up one after another. They all knew that the dragon-riding monarch, the new Basileus of the Eastern Empire, the Crusader King in charge of Egypt, had arrived.
"Let's go, let's go out and greet His Majesty!"
The noble who had just spoken, with a joking smile, looked at the noble who had just said "I'm going to fight them", and said: "Of course, if anyone wants to die, I won't persuade them. I just hope they stay away from us when they die, and don't get covered in blood."
"By the way, Your Majesty Bella, you have the highest status. How about you line up in front of us and be the first to see us?"
After he said that, he looked at Bella III's livid face and burst into laughter.
"Don't want to? Then I'll be the first one to come!"
At this time, some of the other Crusader nobles were unhappy: "Why are you the first to come? Here, whether in terms of status or strength, you, the second son of the Montmorency family, can't even get a rank!"