In Saladin’s royal tent, chiefs from various tribes and minor feudal lords gathered together.

Saladin sat at the central throne, listening to the complaints of the chiefs below: “My King, today most of those heavily wounded were our people.”

“Prince Zahir led my troops into battle, and in just one round, we lost half of our men and horses. This is due to the Prince’s poor command, so I request to personally lead the troops in the next battle.”

The chief from the Tunis Chiefdom pleaded earnestly.

He did not want his cavalry to be cannon fodder any longer. Matching light cavalry against the elite heavy cavalry of the Franks, what kind of “genius” idea was that?

In his heart, Zahir was just a fool!

A hyena born of a lion!

Zahir angrily retorted, “How is this related to my poor command? If only your soldiers had a third of the valor of my Mamluks, they could have held these Franks at bay for a little longer, and these Frankish cavalry would be surrounded and annihilated by Adil’s Mamluks following closely behind!”

“You!”

The Tunisian chief was filled with rage: “Is it only the fault of my troops, those without armor, carrying only bows and javelins, and has nothing to do with you, the commander?”

Zahir was still somewhat unconvinced.

But Saladin stopped him: “Silence, Zahir!”

He politely said, “To the Tunisian chief, I will give you a third of the spoils of Kaler Castle as compensation, now please forgive my son’s offense against you.”

The Tunis chief quickly bowed his head, placing his hand on his shoulder: “Thank you for your generosity, My King.”

Below, another chief stood up and said: “My King, we can no longer waste time like this. We came upon your summons to participate in the Jihad and have delayed too long. Today I received news from my territory in Yemen that a neighboring chiefdom is eagerly preparing for action against my territory. If this goes on, I can only choose to withdraw.”

Immediately, someone echoed: “Indeed, My King, those Frankish cavalry are not to be feared. All it takes is a detachment of cavalry to intercept them. We must win this battle quickly.”

Saladin was silent for a moment, nodding:

“Rest assured, gentlemen, within three days at the latest, I will engage the Crusaders in a decisive battle. By then, they will surely be exhausted.”

After reassuring these chiefs and sending them off.

Saladin returned to his throne, his expression somewhat solemn, his fingers lightly tapping on the papyrus on the table.

He intended to fight a decisive battle with the Crusaders.

And his army, on paper, was clearly at an advantage.

But the tactics adopted by Baldwin IV were indeed too cautious. The once high-spirited young monarch now seemed to be made conservative and obstinate by illness.

In Saladin’s eyes, Baldwin IV’s strategy was akin to chronic suicide!

Yet he also knew that to forcefully attack this army devoted to defense would incur great losses.

It must be known that these minor chiefdoms, though numerous, often sent only a few hundred troops, totaling just over ten thousand, and many have already been lost in the siege warfare.

The remaining over twenty thousand soldiers were mostly his own troops, especially those four thousand Mamluk cavalry. Once severely damaged, his rule over Syria and Egypt would be shaken.

On this land, too many forces were lurking in resistance to him.

Therefore, Saladin was hesitating at this moment. He was unwilling to retreat because another fruitless return would undermine his prestige.

But he also did not want his forces to suffer severe damage, which would equally undermine his prestige. A lion of the plains, once it loses its claws, might even be devoured by hyenas.

His kingdom, although vast in territory, was not as stable as it seemed on the surface. In Syria, remnants of the Zengi Dynasty were still lurking, secretly colluding; in Egypt, heretics opposing him were ready to raise the banner of rebellion at any moment; the chiefs of Hejaz and Yemen, too, only nominally submitted to him.

And then there’s the Sassanid King!

This nominal ruler of the Zoroastrian world, possessing the most powerful empire in Central Asia, hung like a sharp sword over Saladin’s head, causing him sleepless nights.

Feeling somewhat weary, Saladin casually asked: “Adil, how do you think we should win this battle?”

“My King, the Frankish infantry are not as elite as we imagined. Most of them are pilgrims, temporarily mustered and armed.”

“As long as we defeat the enemy’s main army, that wandering Frankish cavalry, no matter how brave, cannot create a storm.”

Adil paused slightly, and continued: “And as long as we can eliminate the last elite force the Franks can muster here, more chiefdoms will be willing to join the Jihad, to serve you.”

The Kingdom of Jerusalem occupies the most prosperous part of the entire Eastern Mediterranean coast. The lords here are far richer than those poor relatives in Western Europe.

This is a piece of fat meat, enough to tempt those lords scraping a living in the desert.

Saladin was silent for a moment, calling: “Adil, my brother.”

Adil showed confusion: “My King?”

Saladin spoke in a deep voice: “I am only a step away from Jerusalem. Help me, win this battle.”

“I will do my utmost, My King.”

Adil responded respectfully.

At this time.

Adil vaguely heard shouts and cries of battle. Since the sound was somewhat distant, he did not react at the first instance.

Someone suddenly rushed to the entrance of the tent, stopped by the Mamluk guards.

He shouted in panic toward Saladin: “My King, the Franks are here, they rushed into our camp, killing everyone they see.”

“What?!”

Their faces changed dramatically.

…

Ten minutes ago.

The sky was dark, and the sudden drop in temperature made Losa feel like a frozen can.

They had already crossed the Crusaders’ camp and come to a gentle slope. Below lay the Saracen camp, dotted with campfires stretching over dozens of miles.

The Knights rubbed their somewhat stiff hands, took the lances and kite shields hanging on their saddles, and armed themselves as both man and horse exhaled clouds of frosty air.

The desert’s low temperature was equally as much a disaster to travelers sleeping outdoors as the scorching sun.

Losa came before the formation.

He urged his steed to gallop in front of the Knights.

The Knights, each with different helmets, raised their lances.

Losa said nothing; he simply drew a cross in front of him, and people understood his meaning — we are granted a miracle, this battle is destined for victory!

Eight hundred cavalrymen lined up, presenting an unimaginable force of intimidation.

Losa saw many familiar faces, nodded to each, and then moved to the forefront, the central position.

The Winged Cavalry spontaneously formed up and followed behind Losa, forming the wedge formation’s spearhead.

Losa raised the Armed Sword crafted meticulously by Blacksmith Malles, and charged down the hillside, toward the endless Saracen camp.

The hooves thundered across the ground.

The Knights, arranged in a wedge formation, lifted their lances adorned with various banners, silently followed Losa to charge.

The Saracen camp was so loosely arranged — at least the section Losa attacked didn’t even have a defensive wooden wall erected.

Perhaps because wood is too scarce in the desert.

It is said that when the Crusaders first attacked Kaler Castle, the Fire Worship guarding army preemptively cut down the forest outside the city, leaving the Crusaders with no wood to build siege weapons.

In any case.

The heroic charging cavalry encountered no resistance and howled into the enemy’s camp like a wild wind.

This part of the camp happened to house troops from the Tunis Chiefdom, awakened suddenly by the sound of hooves, they didn’t even associate it with a night assault at first.

Because, for the people of this era, the concept of “night assault” simply didn’t exist!

Even if someone tried this tactic, the achievable results were very limited, with more serious losses for themselves, so over time, no one attempted it anymore.

If an unexpected move isn’t rare enough, how can it be called unexpected?

But if it’s genuinely effective, how could it be rare?

Losa’s blood-stained Armed Sword severed the neck of a soldier who had just emerged from a tent, without even wearing his helmet, the blood flowed down the blade.

The soldier clutched his throat, his face full of fear and disbelief.

From his appearance alone, Losa could tell the Saracen soldier he killed was someone very young, considered a child in his previous world.

Probably only recently in high school.

But now, Losa’s emotions would no longer be stirred by such thoughts; rather, he was more concerned about how much experience was needed for him to advance to level seven?

Due to the ability to restore physical strength and spiritual power, he had planned to strategically release a big move before leveling up.

The Armored Cavalry charged wantonly.

The night vision capability was practically a cheat.

The Saracen soldiers rushing out of the tents couldn’t even distinguish enemies from allies, forced to fight individually, and retaliated weakly.

“Don’t get caught fighting, stay close to me!”

“If separated from the main force, find the right opportunity to disperse and retreat.”

Losa shouted.

This was just an insignificant corner of the Saracen camp; what he sought were the Saracen stable and the supply grain depot.

Burning the stable would incapacitate the Saracen’s most formidable cavalry.

Burning the grain would force them to retreat immediately.

But the battlefield was so chaotic, in the camp that was effectively street combat, few could hear Losa’s calls clearly.

Some Knights, wearing barrel helmets with only a slit exposed, only realized they were far from the main force after charging hundreds of meters.

Luckily, the enemy had not organized effective defense; realizing this, they began to withdraw and regroup with their comrades.

With the ability for night vision, they wouldn’t run blindly like headless flies.

Losa asked: “Furin, how much longer can the Group Night Vision Technique last?”

Furin replied: “At most half an hour, you must hurry. Also, during this period, I can’t use the Group Bloodfall to enhance you.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep