paranoianovel Chapter 813: March into Cairo
Chapter 813: March into Cairo
Chapter 813: March into Cairo
Time flies, and two months have passed in the blink of an eye.
During this period, Lothar's conquest of Egypt progressed steadily.
Hans, Baron Charles, Veneto and others were sent out by Losa, each leading a separate army.
In fact, the most suitable ones to take charge are Orhan and Giovanni, but these two people have their own things to do in their timelines, and it is impossible for them to put everything aside and be summoned for a long time.
Thanks to the propaganda and bribery of the Shadow of Darkness, the Copts' will to resist was not strong. Many times, they chose to surrender on their own initiative before the army arrived. Among them were even many Saracen nobles who voluntarily converted to Christianity.
Losa also chose a gentle approach towards these people and set them as examples.
There were a few who resisted stubbornly, but after the dragon Radon flew over, their hot-blooded brains would cool down sufficiently. The truly fanatical holy warriors would have gone to the battlefield without waiting for the call.
After suffering several major defeats, they are unlikely to survive.
Now, it is time to reach the last important node in "liberating" Egypt - retaking Cairo.
Cairo, located at the southernmost tip of the Nile Delta, is the hub city for ruling the entire Egypt.
At this time, it had fallen into the hands of Buri, the half-brother of Saladin and Adil and the governor of the Faiyum province. He and another brother, Turanshah, who controlled the province of Upper Egypt, supported each other.
After clearing out the resistance in the Nile Delta, Losa rested for a while, then summoned an army of tens of thousands and marched towards Cairo.
Cairo, East Palace, Golden Hall.
This was once the place where the Patriarch of the Fatimid Dynasty received his ministers. After the fall of the Fatimid Dynasty, it became Saladin's palace in Cairo.
Saladin's younger brother, Governor Bri of Faiyum, was sitting cross-legged in the magnificent hall at this time: "My friends, the barbaric king of the Franks will soon be at the gates of our city. Their knights are extremely fierce, and they have the help of the dragon. Even my two brothers are no match for them. Many lords from all over the country have abandoned their territories and fled overseas with their wealth and families. Now, what should we do?"
A Saracen general said confidently, "Your Excellency, do not worry. There are still 30,000 warriors in Cairo who are willing to sacrifice their lives for the holy war. We have sufficient food and military supplies. Your brother, Governor Turanshah, has another 20,000 troops on his way to Cairo. By then, we will have 50,000 troops to defend the city. The Franks will never be able to take Cairo in a short time."
Governor Brie smiled bitterly, but he was not so confident: "Although the Franks only have 10,000 people, the most terrifying thing about them is never their number."
Dragon, witch.
In his opinion, this was the key to how the small Crusader nobleman was able to transform himself into the most powerful Crusader prince in less than a year.
A wise man wearing a mitre asked, "Have you written to King Saladin?"
Governor Buri shook his head and said, "It's useless. My elder brother only trusts Ahmed (Adil) among all his brothers. At this time, he has to face the double threat of the Crusaders in the north and the Sassanid Empire. How can he spare the energy to support us?"
The Saracens practiced polygamy, and there were many female slaves who could give birth to children, so these half-brothers did not have a close relationship with each other.
Compared with European nobles who often died out, the Saracens' polygamous system, coupled with the nomadic habits of their bloodline inheritance, often caused severe turmoil when the monarch changed, and fighting and infighting between fathers and sons, and brothers were everywhere.
They just had a bad relationship.
The atmosphere suddenly became tense. Many Saracen generals who prided themselves on their bravery and had hunted scorpion-tailed lions, griffins, falcons and other extraordinary animals actually had no fear for the so-called dragon that could "cover the sky and block out the sun."
In their view, this is nothing more than losers and cowards blindly boasting to their enemies in order to mitigate their guilt.
However, the main elite troops led by Adil and Saladin were defeated by the Franks one after another. They still recognized the strength of the Franks.
A general said worriedly, "Sir, Governor Adil had previously recruited most of our elite troops. Although we have incorporated the Cairo City Guard, our numbers have increased instead of decreased, but our combat effectiveness has definitely decreased."
Brie frowned and said, "Of course I know that. Tell me what you are planning."
The general added: "I heard that Governor Turanshah has an elite group of Mubarizun warriors under his command. They are best at surprise attacks in front of the battlefield. If we can find out the location of the enemy chiefs and kill their leaders in battle, the enemy will naturally retreat."
Mubarizun means duelist in the Saracen language. He is usually responsible for dueling in front of the battlefield, similar to the "warrior of the Eastern dynasties". He had made great achievements in conflicts in Asia Minor, the Eastern Empire, and the Sassanid Empire in the Mesopotamian region.
Buri's expression softened a little, "That's a good idea. Turanshah has always been at odds with Adil, and we were perfunctory in responding to his call for help before. Now he has more troops left than us.
Cairo is the last barrier to stop the Franks from moving south. If he doesn't want his territory to be destroyed, he will definitely try his best to meet my demands."
"Actually, sir, this may be an opportunity. His Majesty's health has not been very good recently. Among his sons, except for Crown Prince Afdal who is somewhat decent, Prince Aziz and Prince Zahir are both useless."
Burri said hurriedly: "Now I don't care about these things anymore. I just want to defend Cairo and prevent the sacred altars and temples from falling into the hands of pagan demons."
He still had some self-awareness. He was able to make the Crusaders retreat, thanks to the blessing of the holy fire, not to mention defeating the Crusaders, beheading the enemy chief, being named heir by Saladin, and becoming the savior of the Saracen world.
That's all nonsense.
Governor Bri hesitated for a moment, then said: "You all need to know that it is impossible to fight against the dragon without the help of a wizard, but all the nearby spellcasters have been recruited by my brother. Now, only some pagans are left."
Everyone immediately understood that Governor Brie was referring to those charlatans who still believed in the ancient Egyptian polytheism. In fact, many Saracens also believed in this in private, but that was something they would never say openly.
They put their hands on their chests and said, "In order to protect the sacred altar, we have no choice but to cooperate with the pagans. The Lord of Holy Fire will forgive us."
On the banks of the Nile.
It is still in the dry season now, and the quiet and clear Nile River is simply breathtakingly beautiful.
It’s a pity that the huge army formation gradually approaching in the distance cast a layer of dust on this beautiful scene.
At the forefront were still the Winged Hussars in distinctive armor. The Crusader flags and double-headed eagle flags fluttering in the wind scared the people on both sides of the Nile River so much that they shouted "The Frankish devil is coming" and fled in all directions.
So far, Lothar, who was originally just a vassal of Transjordan, has newly incorporated territories into his control, including the Sinai Peninsula, Damietta and Semanud, the entire Nile Delta region, as well as Alexandria and the coastal towns to its west.
The traditional Egyptian region only included the Cyrenaica Corridor further west of Alexandria, the Upper Egypt region in the Nile River Valley, and scattered oases, and the chiefdoms were still in the hands of the Saracens.
In terms of area alone, the area of Egypt occupied by Losa at that time was about the size of the Sinai Peninsula, but it was all the prime areas. As long as he could take over Cairo, Giza, Fayoum Oasis and other territories, and then go upstream, conquering the Nile Valley would be a natural thing.
On the dragon's back, Lothar grabbed a bone spur on Ladon's back with one hand, and the cloak with a double-headed eagle pattern on it fluttered in the cold wind.
Following Prajna, Ladon also completed his own advanced trial. The process was very simple, with only Lothar and Ladon participating. They both went back to the ancient mythological era and participated in the war between dragons and Titans as giant dragons.
Although the process was difficult, it actually did not require much technical skills. After all, in yesterday's world of giant ships, the final outcome of this battle was already the victory of the dragon.
The two little Karamis just finished the whole process by paddling.
At this time, its body size has increased dramatically and has reached more than 40 meters. It is definitely still a lot smaller than the 100-meter dragon in its heyday, but it is also a real mature dragon.
After unlocking the Devouring Dragon skill, he can swallow the enemy into the space inside his stomach. Before Lothar obtained the six-star template, it is hard to say who is stronger between the two.