Crusade against the Pope

Chapter 169 Garys's prophecy came true

The air was hot and dry, and the sunlight was like an invisible blade, cutting the earth, causing it to crack and dry up.

The city of Karak stood on a high platform in the distance like a lurking beast, and its ochre-yellow walls seemed somewhat dazzling under the scorching sun.

The wind on the plateau blew through the sand and cracked soil, raising dust, causing Adil to squint his eyes.

A member of the Ayyubid family, Adil served as an officer in the Zengid dynasty.

After Nur ad-Din's death, Adil defected to Saladin without hesitation and helped his brother rule Egypt.

In this hot land of the Middle East, it seems that it has never been a theorem that the son inherits the family line after the father's death.

Loyalty to the Sultan personally often far outweighs identification with the dynasty.

To be precise, these dynasties in the Middle East are not countries at all, but just warlord forces.

For a warlord, it is very rare to not betray before his death.

Therefore, it is difficult to find a dynasty in this land that can last for more than three generations...

In this case, it is impossible to say that Adil has no ambition.

But if he wants to seize the throne of Sultan, he needs enough strength to suppress his nephews.

If the city of Karak could be captured with minimal sacrifice, it would naturally be great for Adil.

In fact, he did not bring too many troops with him.

In the desolate land of Transjordan, once the army exceeds 4000, it becomes quite difficult to maintain it.

"Malik, organize another siege. This time the scale should be larger. We need to put more pressure on this city and force them to make a decision as soon as possible."

Adil turned around and gave these instructions to the young man next to him.

The young man nodded in response and turned to dispatch the troops.

According to Adil's instructions, this time it was not a tentative attack, but a real demonstration of their military strength to Karak City...

……

Under the same scorching sun, an indescribable tense atmosphere was brewing in the square outside the church in Karak City.

Etienne was sweating profusely. Everything was fine, but suddenly someone in the crowd accused him of being a murderer.

As everyone knows, Etienne has always been kind to others, a good man who doesn't even dare to kill a chicken!

"Where did I kill anyone?! How did I kill someone?!" Etienne widened his eyes and tried to seek support from the onlookers, but his words fell on deaf ears.

However, just when he was about to argue, another voice suddenly sounded.

"Get down here now! You murderer!"

The voice was hoarse and low, completely different from the previous accusation, and came from a different direction as well.

Etienne quickly scanned the noisy crowd and confirmed that it was not the same person. Cold sweat slid down his back, and anxiety gradually devoured his reason.

In response, Etienne shouted, "Come here, catch that guy who slandered me out of thin air!"

However, there was dead silence all around and no one responded.

The high walls of the church cast long shadows in the sunlight, shading the small area of ​​ground beneath Étienne's feet, but he felt as if there was nowhere to hide.

Etienne is just a member of the municipal council. How can he raise any private soldiers in the city?

The soldiers who were responsible for maintaining order ignored his calls.

What's worse is that those two voices were just the beginning. More and more people joined the ranks of condemnation, and angry shouts rang out one after another in the square.

Etienne looked at the citizens around him, trying to find some support in their eyes, but people just blankly avoided those who spoke out.

Soon, several strangers were isolated from the crowd and stood directly in front of Etienne.

These five men were of different ages. Some had a lame leg, some were blind in one eye, some were strong and sturdy, and some had ugly faces and stubble.

They were dressed in tattered clothes and exuded a vile aura.

Étienne's throat went dry; he had never seen these people before.

The five of them surrounded Etienne and several of the congressmen who were traveling with him without saying a word.

The next moment, they pulled out several bulging purses from their pockets and threw them heavily at Etienne.

Etienne subconsciously reached out to block it, but he was still a step too late.

Heavy money bags came flying at him from all directions, and one of them hit him hard in the face.

The burning pain caught him off guard and he staggered back a few steps, almost falling.

The scattered copper coins fell to the ground like rain, making a crisp sound of metal colliding with stone slabs.

"It's him!" the five men shouted in unison.

"He paid us to kill Father Gillis!"

For a moment, all the citizens who saw this show were at a loss.

What happened? Just now, Congressman Etienne said that he would get to the bottom of this matter, and then five people suddenly appeared, threw money bags at him, and said that Congressman Etienne was the mastermind behind the murder?

"All this blood-stained money was given to us by Etienne!"

"Now, we don't want it anymore, so give it back to him!" Just as they had rehearsed long ago, these people shouted in unison once again, and then recounted the whole incident in vivid detail one by one.

How did Etienne find the broker, how did the broker find the five of them, how did the five of them subcontract the task layer by layer, and how no one was willing to kill the priest.

Finally, Lame Albon burst into tears in public and repeated the conversation between him and the priest.

[“Father! I exchanged the blood of innocent people for money!”]

[The man covered his face and cried like a child who had lost his father, tears streaming down his wrinkled cheeks.]

[He threw all those dirty coins on the ground, making a clinking sound, accusing himself of his crimes.]

[The prophet turned around and looked at the scattered silver coins, then stepped forward, helped the man up, and said in a gentle voice: "Have you ever sold innocent blood? Look, am I not still safe now?"]

[There was pity in his eyes, like a glimmer of light shining into the darkness.]

—Karac 6:5-10
Lame Albon was really crying bitterly, and his heart-wrenching and loud confession conveyed his true feelings to the people around him.

What he said was all true, and therefore particularly convincing.

And the citizens were gradually infected by that emotion.

As for Etienne, he was stunned after being hit by thousands of copper coins.

He put his hands to his face and felt a stinging pain, and his fingertips touched something wet.

It was the blood that oozed out after his skin was scratched by the coin bag. The blood mixed with sweat flowed from his cheek to his chin, then dripped to the ground, mixing with the copper coins scattered on the ground.

For a moment, those copper coins truly became blood-stained money, but it was stained with Etienne's blood.

He tried to open his mouth to speak, but the pain was so severe that no sound came out. The corners of his mouth were broken and the smell of blood filled his mouth.

It was not until a long while later that he came to his senses.

"You...you are a bunch of slanderous bastards!"

"How could I order you to kill someone? You need evidence when you speak!"

"Besides, if you, a cripple, didn't kill Garys, what would this funeral be about!"

Just as Etienne's attention was attracted by the lame Albon, he did not notice that there was an extra person in the shadow of the church spire behind him.

The man took aim for a moment, then slammed another large bag of money at Etienne, hitting the congressman right on the back of the head, causing him to stumble forward.

This time Etienne finally lost his balance and fell into the pile of coins.

What surprised the citizens was that this time Etienne was buried by silver coins.

Those shining silver plates shine brightly under the sun and are breathtaking.

"I testify! It was he who gave me the blood-stained money and asked me to find someone to murder Father Gellis!"

The broker whom Étienne had found at the beginning came out from the shadows under the church spire.

The man held a linen shirt stained with dark red blood in his left hand and a dazzling sapphire in his right hand.

Hearing this familiar voice, Etienne's mind was shocked.

He stared blankly at the silver and copper coins scattered on the ground, and he felt as if everything had stopped. The noise in the square suddenly became very distant, and he could only hear his own rapid heartbeat.

Even the scorching sun in the dry season of July seemed cold and lacking in warmth.

What’s even worse is that someone else came forward to testify.

"I testify! That jewel belongs to Master Etienne! I saw it in his house two days ago!"

"I testify! Turk came to me not long ago and asked me if I wanted to murder Father Gellis, but I refused!"

"I testify to this! I heard Master Etienne, Master Bernard, and Master Hugh discuss how to kill Master Guerris!"

"me too!"

These people were diverse, from Etienne's gardener, to a small businessman in the lower town, to a laborer with only a handful of strength... They all stood up and made their voices heard.

For a while, no one cared whether Garys was really dead or just faking his death.

The citizens only knew that seven members of parliament, including Etienne, had hired someone to kill Guéris, whom they admired the most...

"I didn't, it wasn't me..." Etienne wanted to defend himself, but his words were unusually pale and weak.

If three people can become a tiger, let alone these dozen people, who are all telling the truth as they know it.

The influence of telling the truth is many times stronger than telling a lie!
In public, Etienne, who was buried in copper and silver coins, had no power to refute. The accusations and curses from all directions bombarded his eardrums like thunder, making it difficult for him to breathe.

The congressmen who were traveling with him were also surrounded by angry citizens.

With someone taking the lead, the citizens, with red eyes and ferocious faces, picked up piles of copper coins from the ground, swung their arms, and smashed them hard at the originally high-ranking congressmen.

The copper coin hit the ground, making a sharp and crisp sound.

More coins hit the heads, shoulders and backs of the congressmen, hitting their helpless bodies.

The citizens' anger found an outlet, and the surging tide of anger engulfed every inch of air in the square.

【Ah, you rich people! Howl and weep, for misery is coming upon you! Your treasures have rotted, your clothes have moth-eaten, your gold and silver have corroded; and the rust will bear witness against you and eat up your flesh like a burning fire! 】

—James 5:1-3
The prophecy that Gellis had made in the church before had come true.

　First update. The monthly votes are almost 700. I will update again tomorrow.
　　
　
(End of this chapter)