Drawing Cards in the Middle Ages to Rise in Ranks-Chapter 466 - 246: The Calm Before the Storm

The sun was blazing.

Losa lifted the flap of the tent, and a rich scent of sweat hit his face.

Looking around, the tent was already filled with various Crusader princes, and as his gaze swept over them, everyone nodded in greeting.

These days, the Crusaders and the Saracens remained in a state of confrontation.

On the second day of the duel, perhaps due to the pressure of rumors, Saladin did not send Torle to fight again, and Venezia won easily, earning back a victory, but the Crusaders’ morale did not increase much.

The reason was simple. The enemy kept cannibalistic evil beasts that ate ten Saracens every day, and the Crusaders were still worried about facing these beasts on the battlefield.

After that, the two sides fell into a state of standoff with no end in sight.

It wasn’t until the enemy army approached the city of Gaza and the news of Eira Port breaking the enemy’s main fleet came that this military council was convened.

"Marquis, I heard that in the Battle of Eira Port, an army of the dead appeared. They came from the sea and defeated the heretics— is this true?"

Losa’s expression shifted slightly: "The heretics are ignorant and easily influenced by rumors. In reality, it was just the coastal defense fleet of Eira Port. They were hiding in advance and took advantage of the overcast weather and the fog on the sea to make a decisive move. To the heretics, wasn’t it horrifying like evil spirits from Hell?"

"I see."

Gerard remarked meaningfully, "I thought the Marquis’s ability to train elite Winged Cavalry, Square Shield Infantry, and other elite troops already made him a unique talent in military training. Little did I expect the city’s militia and the crew on the ships to be equally elite and brave."

Losa replied impassively, "The enemy is weak, just a group of pirates. The Templar Order has many merchant ships, so they must be more familiar with these pirates’ combat capabilities than I am."

Gerard smiled, "Heh, indeed. Pirates on the sea rely on their knowledge of the terrain, using small boats to come and go like the wind. But I’ve never seen pirates sailing three-decker ships."

Losa chuckled lightly, "Didn’t Isaac of Komnenos hire a fleet of pirates sailing three-masted ships?"

"But everyone knows that fleet came from Brindisi and the Pisa City-States."

Baldwin IV said sternly, "Grand Master Gerard, Marquis Losa, this is a royal council meeting, not a place for idle chatter."

"Apologies, Your Majesty."

Losa looked at Gerard, whose flag had lowered, knowing full well that Gerard was definitely suspicious of his identity. As a devout Grand Master of the Knight Order, his devotion to the Heavenly Father was beyond doubt, and any suspicions of Losa’s possible "collusion" with evil spirits would not simply dissipate.

But Losa did not care about this.

Now that he had grown formidable, and with the situation in the Holy Land precarious, even if Gerard were suspicious, he could not take action against him.

"Let’s hear what everyone thinks of the current situation."

As soon as he finished speaking, Knight Stephen, Princess Sibilla’s military aide, stood up and said:

"Although the Marquis held Eira Port, there are still tens of thousands of Egyptian troops under Adil at the city of Gaza. If we cannot quickly defeat Saladin and reinforce Gaza, once it falls, how can Jerusalem’s long-neglected fortifications withstand the heretics’ heavy artillery?"

Losa was not surprised that Knight Stephen was the first to stand up.

Gaza and Jaffa both belonged to Princess Sibilla. Out of duty and loyalty, as Sibilla’s servant, even if temporarily working under Losa, he had to stand up for reinforcement at this moment.

Before the meeting began, Knight Stephen had privately informed Losa.

Someone immediately chimed in, "Knight Stephen is right. Currently, eighty percent of the Kingdom’s forces are gathered here, and the heretics are exploiting the situation. If we don’t swiftly conclude this struggle with the Saracens, do we intend to split our forces and send reinforcements?"

Baron Goffrey frowned, "That’s exactly what Saladin wants. He wants us to become impatient and attack his camp, fortified with crossbow cannons, chevaux-de-frise, wooden fences, and watchtowers, and leave countless corpses at the enemy’s gate!"

Guy abruptly said, "But we must do something. We’ve heard Marquis Losa’s suggestion, but did the duels with the Saracens truly boost the soldiers’ morale? I don’t think so!"

Godfrey sneered, "Baron Guy, if you think duels are useless, should we instead dig up some wood and claim it’s a Holy Spear fragment, or tear off a piece of decayed linen and call it the Holy Shroud to boost morale? What we need are warriors, not a group of frenzied lunatics; the latter can only cause trouble!"

The King frowned, "Mind your words, Baron Goffrey."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Goffrey complied readily.

Hanfry of Tolun spoke up, "Baron Guy does not intend to blame Marquis Losa. I just believe that even if we don’t attack, we must do something, such as... raiding the Saracens’ supply lines?"

Godfrey snorted coldly, "The enemy hasn’t penetrated deeply, and most of the supply lines are within enemy territory, with castles as cover. Plus, the sky is full of enemy falcons. How are we supposed to launch a surprise attack on the Saracen logistics line?"

Losa watched the disputes at the table, frowning in silence.

What Godfrey said was also what troubled Losa greatly.

Saladin’s tactics were so steady, so invincible; for the advantaged side, this strategy of pressing with overwhelming force, aiming to wear down and challenge national strength, was the most difficult to counter with ingenious strategies.

Not to mention, just the group of falcons overhead was enough to cause headaches. If it weren’t for the time needed for information transmission between the falcons and their handlers—time for handlers to filter and report effective intelligence—Baldwin IV might not have won the Battle of Montgisard back then.

Guy’s expression was somewhat irritable: "Then what do we do? Just keep dragging it out like this?"

He didn’t care about the lands of Montgisard; if he could achieve merit, even the few vineyards and farms of the small town of Montgisard were insignificant in his eyes.

But now, with victory elusive and a greater possibility of returning empty-handed, watching his territory face the enemy’s army, he couldn’t help but become irritable.

The Amalric Palace Minister spoke up: "Lord Godfrey, I’m not good at leading troops, but with grain prices soaring, even with the generous donations from several Grand Monasteries, where can we buy sufficient grain in the short term?"

He looked at Losa, saying sincerely, "If it weren’t for Marquis Losa’s Eira Port, still able to steadily transport supplies, in three more days, the army might have to consider disbanding and returning."

Losa frowned.

Although Amalric wasn’t a smart man, what he said was indeed problematic.

Even with the wealth of the Crusader Princes, without the grain exports from Egypt, where could they raise enough military provisions in a short time? Jerusalem was not like Constantinople, able to dispatch supplies from various ’Empire Grain Storehouses’ for support.

It was thanks to Andreas and Captain Hog guarding Eira Port. If Eira Port were lost, Jerusalem’s only sources of grain would be self-production and imports from the Eastern Empire.

Losa nodded, "Indeed, we should do something, but we absolutely must not rashly launch an attack seeking battle with the heretics."

Engaging in a war of attrition with Saladin was certainly not winnable.

Saladin, with the two major bases of Egypt and Syria, exceeded the Kingdom of Jerusalem in both territory and national strength; this was a consensus reached by Losa and King Baldwin long ago.

"If our army suffers a disastrous defeat, or heavy casualties, even if you protect your lands, your fate will only be to become ruins under the heretic’s iron hooves."

Losa stood up, his voice firm and powerful, "Please remain calm; wait two more days, and the opportunity will present itself."

Amid silence.

Guy was the first to speak, "Marquis Losa, how much longer must we wait? Is there no precise information?"

Duke Raymond also spoke, "Perhaps we should dispatch reinforcement to aid Gaza City; the walls are strong, with just three thousand more soldiers, surely we can keep the heretics outside our gates."

Losa shook his head, "Opportunities are fleeting, there’s no precise timing—As for what Lord Raymond mentioned about sending reinforcements, it’s something worth considering thoroughly."

On that day.

Several small lord-led troops departed from the central camp, heading south to reinforce Gaza City.

...

In Saladin’s camp.

A robust voice sounded, "My King, the Franks have divided their forces; is it time to act?"

Saladin shook his head, calmly saying, "Wait a bit longer."

Taqidin said eagerly, "What better opportunity is there than this? The Franks face turmoil in the rear, now they’re splitting forces, doesn’t that prove cracks have formed within, about to collapse?"

Saladin shook his head, "Wait on Adil."

"With Master Salman assisting Adil, capturing Gaza City should be no problem, by then the Frankish morale will further waver. That will be our best moment to strike."

Taqidin, somewhat unconvinced, said, "My King, we lost the battle at Eira Port, who can guarantee my uncle can take Gaza, what if the Franks also have casters stationed in Gaza City?"

Saladin was slightly taken aback, his tone lowering, "Master Salman is unwilling to harm ordinary people; he is a man of principles. If he can exchange for a powerful enemy caster, it would be worth it."