Drawing Cards in the Middle Ages to Rise in Ranks-Chapter 610 - 382: Lionheart’s First Battle

On the dim and yellow dirt road, a contingent of over a thousand well-equipped Crusaders was trudging with difficulty.

The Delta, blessed by the Nile River, brought endless vitality, but it couldn't change the arid and hot climate here. Most of Richard's followers were new Crusaders who had just arrived from Europe to the Holy Land, and for them, including the horses brought from Europe, it was tough to adapt to the climate here.

Moreover, Richard's territories Aquitaine and Anjou, although famed in Europe for horse breeding, especially the Frisian and Norman horses, did not bring a single horse with them due to the need to minimize the damage to the Teleportation Array when Richard and his Personal Guard came here.

This meant that the entire Crusader force, despite having over three hundred knights and attendants combined, had just over a hundred cavalry, while the rest had to fight on foot like soldiers.

"With Your Majesty leading us, we can also take a grand city like Damietta."

Currently, the urbanization level of Europe is quite low; even in large cities like Londenwick (London) and Paris, the population is barely below thirty thousand, far less than Damietta.

Except for the Apennine Peninsula and Southern Iberia controlled by Berbers, the vast majority of European cities have populations of less than two thousand. Most lords live in large rural areas, and what are called cities, in Losa's view, at best could be named "small towns."

However, Damietta, as one of Egypt's most important port cities, had a pre-war population close to one hundred thousand. Even after many fled post-war, it still had nearly eighty thousand. Once stabilized, it could become a source of wealth and taxes.

"Our target is Semanud City. This city must belong to Your Majesty, but if we fight bravely in this battle and achieve military success, perhaps Your Majesty would grant us Bules Port."

The Knight optimistically speculated.

Although unaware of whether Bules Port and Semanud City are wealthy, they believed that the East was filled with wealth; even a small city from the Egyptian perspective was much richer than their European territories.

"Ha, your vision is too shallow."

A Baron from Aquitaine sneered.

"Once we assist His Majesty in conquering all of Egypt, would a mere small port still be worth contending over?"

The Knight, leading his horse on foot, couldn't help but retort, "Even if His Majesty conquers all of Egypt, would he still stay in the East? If His Majesty leaves Egypt, won't this still be territories of Eastern nobles like Marquis Losa?"

"Why not?"

The Baron retorted, "Compared to European territories, this is practically a Celestial Kingdom on Earth, the promised land gifted to us by the Heavenly Father. Every Gaul warrior should govern this land."

Someone immediately responded, "Indeed, the rich lands occupied by the Saracens are so tempting that even His Majesty might be moved."

Many have abandoned their original titles and ranks, coming East to become kings and lords.

Some noble Crusaders even funded their expeditions by selling off their previous titles. Many of them found that if they failed and wanted to return to Europe in disgrace, their original territories had quite possibly been seized by relatives or siblings.

Like Richard's great-grandfather, Fulk V, who left Anjou and Maine behind to inherit the Kingdom of Jerusalem's throne.

Or the Outville Family in the Kingdom of Sicily — during the First Crusade, Bohemond and Tancred, these uncle and nephew, successively became Dukes of Antioch, naturally unable to care for their original territories, which were inherited by members of the Outville Family.

If Richard truly obtained the title of King of Egypt, there's every possibility he would remain in the East, continuing to expand his own kingdom. After all, only in the East, are there so many heretics for him to conquer, and the East is wealthier, although difficult to adapt to the climate, but the newly arrived Crusaders have already been dazzled by the prosperity here.

The Knight, leading his horse, couldn't help but retort, "But Your Majesty is the noble King of Albion and the distinguished Lord of Aquitaine and Normandy..."

From the bottom of his heart, he didn't want Richard to abandon his kingdom for the riches of the East; he considered that utterly irresponsible.

But as he spoke, he grew less confident because he knew such a possibility wasn't implausible.

Though Richard was a powerful and revered king in Europe, holding sway in Albion, a kingdom that converted to Catholicism quite early and held a dignified title in Christendom.

But in reality, to raise the military funds for the Eastern Expedition, Richard had already searched every nook and cranny and was heavily in debt.

If Richard handed over this mess to his brother, the titular Monarch of Ireland, Count John of Mortain, and ran off to the East to become King of Egypt, it was indeed a very plausible scenario.

Thinking this, he couldn't help but cast his gaze toward the front of the convoy, the only towering figure on horseback, draped in a bright red cloak and wearing a golden crown helmet.

Richard's mood seemed very good, humming a Gaulish folk song. Despite being the Monarch of Albion, he couldn't even speak the language of Albion; the language used in his court was Gaulish.

Suddenly, a shrill eagle cry pierced the sky.

He looked up at the dot traversing the clouds, soaring high in the sky, and snorted coldly, "Is this the proud falcon of the Saracens?"

Speaking, he dismounted and said, "Count Fuller, bring me my spear!"

The Count's Guard Captain frowned and handed over a short spear wrapped in white linen, which was tied to the saddle: "Your Majesty, the Queen has advised you to use this magic artifact sparingly."

"It's fine, just a mere magic artifact,"

Richard grasped the short spear, and the linen instantly turned into dust, revealing the short spear beneath, emitting a dark red glow and inscribed with many ancient letters—a magic spear said to be used by the demigod hero Cu Chulainn from Celtic mythology. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

"Watch carefully, warriors of the Crusaders!"

Richard raised the short spear high, suddenly leaned back, and hurled it fiercely; the flying spear instantly shot like a red lightning bolt towards the clouds, and a shrill cry from the circling falcon above was heard as it was hit accurately.

He opened his hand again, and the short spear miraculously returned to his hand, with the giant bird of prey, almost human-sized, skewered on its tip.

"Long live His Majesty's valor!"

"By Saint Michael above, His Majesty's divine power is truly awe-inspiring!"

Richard smiled lightly amidst the Crusaders' flattery, tossing the short spear back to Count Fuller: "Clean this beast up; given its size, it should be enough for a meal."

Europeans have a tradition of eating large birds; peacocks and swans are excellent delicacies, and eating this majestic falcon would certainly be a prestigious affair.

He then ordered the Crusaders: "The eyes and ears of the Saracens have been removed by me, but this also means the enemy has spotted us. They will likely send troops to meet us. Next, we will rest here to conserve our energy, wait for the enemy to arrive, and then..."

He raised a hand, clenched his fingers tightly: "Devour them!"

"Heavenly Father bless us, we shall triumph in this battle!"

"Victory!"

The Crusaders cheered, eager to prove themselves, as many of them, having just arrived in the Holy Land, believed the Saracens were not as formidable as rumored.