Dahab.

This desert ancient city, under the earthy yellow city walls.

The flag flutters.

People neighed and horses chirped.

Rauf's armoured army came from the armies of various subordinate vassals, most of whom wore only cloth and came from Bedouin nomads in the desert.

There were also a great number of levies, unclothed and armoured, with only a spear in their hands.

These complex armies, at this time, were all gathered under the command of Rauf the Impaler.

At a cursory glance, there are no less than five thousand!

Rauf took the summons from the falconer, glanced at it, and a trace of contempt rose in his eyes: "Zahn, this coward, seems to have been frightened by that Frankish barbarian, and actually claimed that it was useless to attack those fortresses, and wanted to withdraw his troops. ”

"That's not going to work! Send a falcon to him to summon him that he must take at least three fortresses on the border of the Franks, and that he will not be allowed to retreat unless the enemy army is overwhelming. ”

He looked back at the back, the army in formation, and not far away, the Bedouin nomads who had been recruited to rob the pearl of the Red Sea, the port of Aylah, who had heard the news.

A tribal leader on a white horse and wrapped in a turban came to Rauf and put his hand on his chest: "The flame burns forever, Lord Rauf, will we be punished for the fact that the governor of Adil has forbidden us to go to war with the Franks?" ”

Rauf smiled and said, "But Lord Adil didn't say that you weren't allowed to fight back, honorable Chief Mosanko."

The barbaric and unreasonable Frankish lord named Lothar has seized my sibling's territory, plundered his wealth, and enslaved our Zoroastrian brethren to convert to paganism. ”

"It is a humiliation that no godly believer blessed with the Holy Fire can bear."

Chief Mosanko was stunned for a moment, nodded and said, "That's right, but Ila Harbor is..."

"What is this?"

Rauf's voice was cold, like a poisonous snake in a cave: "Is this the territory of the Franks?" ”

Mo Sanke hurriedly said: "No, of course it belongs to you, the noble Aladdin family." ”

A smile appeared on Rauf's face.

"Oh, that's good."

He raised his sword, inlaid with jewels and jewels, and shouted:

"Sons of the Holy Fire, the impudent Franks have taken possession of our holy places, plundered our wealth, slaughtered our brethren, and raped our women."

"These barbarians from the barren lands of the West, locusts who destroy civilization and whose greed will never be satisfied, are now ambitious and waiting for an opportunity to attack us."

"As the feudal lord of the Hejaz and South Sinai, in the name of the Holy Fire, I call you together to take revenge on your enemies."

"On the day of the capture of the port of Ella, everyone is free to plunder, and the harvest is all personal!"

The cheers of the mountains and the tsunami rang out.

Mosanko looked at the complacent Rauf and wanted to persuade him, but he saw that his expression was slightly cold, and he said loudly: "Push those traitors out and behead the sacrificial flag!" ”

One by one, the Saracens, who were handcuffed in chains, were pushed and shoved by Rauf's guards to the city.

These were all bought by Mueller, or they have always been in contact with Mueller, and often interrogated Mueller in private.

At the moment, he didn't know how to expose it, and he was all arrested by Rauf.

With an order.

All men and women of all ages were strung on wooden stakes.

This tragic scene is that even the tribesmen who still believe in the old gods and worship blood sacrifices are a little chilling.

Rauf snorted coldly: "This is what happens to traitors. ”

The tribal leader did not dare to persuade him again, and bowed his head and retreated.

Rauf looked at this scene with a smug expression.

Zahn was sent to attack the fortresses on the enemy's border, of course, for the sake of making a noise.

It's a very simple strategy.

Zahn was the outcast he threw out.

There is a certain weight, but throwing it away is not enough to hurt oneself.

"Is Mr. Minomett ready?"

Standing behind Rauf, wearing human bone earrings and collars, the evil dark wizard smiled and said, "Of course, the great scorpion god can't wait to accept the blood offering. ”

Mosanko was startled by this terrifying character who had a very low sense of presence, but as soon as he noticed it, he felt a chill all over his body.

With the roar of wild beasts, more than a dozen huge manticores, carrying riders, rose into the air.

The conscripts of the various departments who saw this scene once again let out bursts of exclamation and cheers.

As the most powerful predators in the desert, they don't know how many livestock and people are captured by manticores every year, and now they are confident that Rauf can drive such a powerful beast.

They are gathered here not for any Zoroastrian compatriots, or for any holy place or not.

In fact, a considerable number of the Bedouins in the Sinai Peninsula believe in the sacred fire and the old gods, and there are even many tribes who do not believe in the sacred fire at all.

They are willing to fight with Rauf just for the sake of robbery.

Aqaba.

Galleys docked in the harbor.

Ramour, the confidant of Rauf the Impaler, anxiously awaited the summons of the falcon.

As soon as Rauf's army arrives in the city, he must attack from the sea and attack the port of Aylah.

Then.

With an eagle's chirp.

The falcon swooped down from the sky.

Lamor opened his hand, too anxious to put on his arm guards, and when the falcon fell, its claws were suddenly deeply embedded in his skin.

"This damn brute."

With a curse, he threw the falcon to his servant and unfolded the letter that the falcon had tied to its legs.

A smile suddenly appeared on his face: "Immediately board the ship, we are going to teach those damned Franks a profound lesson!" ”

Zahn looked at the summons flying in from the southwest, his face a little ugly.

The Mamluk leader next to him was a little puzzled: "Lord Rauf wants us to capture at least three enemy border fortresses, what is this for?" ”

That kind of simple rammed-earth fortress does not take much time to break through, and there is no need for siege equipment.

But the cost of building such a fortress is very low, and even if it is laid, it does not make any sense.

Zahn was silent for a moment.

"It's obvious that Rauf is about to launch a full-scale attack on the port of Aylah," he whispered. ”

"We're just bait."

"I have long found out that something is wrong in Dahab City today, and it seems that my brother, has always been on guard against me."

Zahn didn't know that if he was still as reckless and arrogant and reckless as before, his brother would not be so defensive of him.

"So what do we do now?"

Zahn said angrily, "What else? Wandering under the hands of some monarch, hoping to be taken in as a vizier? We simply don't have a choice! ”

"Give the order to go down and surround the fortress ahead!"

The so-called fortress is really short.

It was not a defensive stronghold, but merely a rudimentary shelter for the nearby villagers, allowing the militia to use the walls to delay a little longer until reinforcements arrived.

Such a small rammed-earth fortress, which could only accommodate a few dozen people at most, was already overcrowded at this time.

Nearby villagers, all the ages of the family, are crowded inside.

People neighed and horses chirped.

The cries and smells of sheep, camels, chickens, ducks, and livestock mingle.

Otto listened to the child's cry in his ears, and said with some irritation: "Why haven't these Saracens retreated? What did they want to do, ignoring the peace treaty signed between Saladin and King Baldwin? ”

Petty border clashes are not worth mentioning at all, and the border fiefdoms of the Kingdom of Jerusalem are full of such sights.

Ulm was bandaging his wounds, and when he heard this, he said with a solemn face: "Perhaps, those Saracens really intend to tear up the peace treaty and attack us. ”

Zahn led a group of Mamluk guards to the front of the fort.

Although he had expected it, he couldn't help but sneer: "Look, what Rauf wants me to capture is such a mound of mud. ”

The leader of the guards asked, "Your Excellency, are we going to attack?" ”

Zahn looked at the hussars and militiamen who climbed to the city wall, shook his head and said, "What kind of attack, attack a fart, send people to cut down trees and make siege weapons." ”

The leader of the guards was puzzled: "My lord, if you want to build such a fortress, you don't need a siege weapon at all, you just need to find a wooden stake to smash the gate." ”

Zahn sneered, "Does it make sense? ”

"Rauf wants us to be bait to seduce the main force of the Franks so that he can take advantage of the opportunity to attack the port of Ella, and we just need to pretend to be here."

"Falconier, keep an eye out for the enemy coming from the south, those winged cavalry are extremely fast, and if we find their tracks, we will retreat immediately."

Zahn found that he could not rely on anyone now, only the Mamluk Praetorian Guard, which had been trained with a lot of money.