Crusade against the Pope

Chapter 174 Leisure time
A group of spearmen who were somewhat skeptical of evil gathered together, formed a spear formation, and rushed towards Garys with their spears pointed.

The spears flashed coldly and stabbed towards him like a dense forest.

However, Gailis had no intention of retreating. Instead, he shook his body suddenly and rushed straight towards the gun formation.

Just when the spear almost touched him, his figure suddenly disappeared.

The people around looked around in a daze, and only heard a barely audible sound of breaking through the air. When they saw Garys again, he had appeared in the center of the spearmen.

In an instant, another seven sword lights flashed by like lightning. Garys swung the sword so fast that no one could see clearly.

The morning sun finally broke free from the horizon, and its blood-red glow spread across the earth.

In this scarlet light and shadow, blood splattered wherever the sword passed, and blood flowers bloomed in the air like morning dew.
The morning sun in the sky is as red as blood, and blood flowers are blooming on the ground!
Such a group of spearmen fell to the ground one after another, shocking the people around them to retreat to the side, not daring to approach Garys again.

Inspired by this, both the militia of Arnon and the citizens of Karak fought bravely and gained the upper hand on the battlefield.

At this time, the news that Adil was moving westward also spread. Those soldiers, who had no firm will to resist, turned around and ran away, following Adil's figure.

All of a sudden, thousands of soldiers in the barracks began to flee without any explanation.

Fleeing, killing each other, trampling each other... things got out of control in such a moment.
At this time, the Second Jerusalem Company, which had been on standby for a long time and was fully equipped with horses, together with some other scattered cavalry units, began to pursue the defeated enemies.

The purpose of the pursuit is mainly to force the enemy to find it difficult to regroup, try to weaken the enemy's manpower, and prevent Adil from regrouping in a short period of time.

……

Such a battle was watched by countless citizens standing on or outside the city walls.

When the battle was over, many citizens joined in the cleanup of the battlefield.

After the battlefield was cleaned up and the soldiers escorted the prisoners back to Karak, the city gates were even covered with carpets.

The victory of this battle actually completely established the fact that from now on, the city of Karak will completely abandon its allegiance to the Reynards and join the camp of the Second Kingdom of Jerusalem.

Before, perhaps many citizens or legislators had doubts about whether they could keep their property in this chaotic situation.

There were even quite a few capitulationists, but after witnessing Gellis's series of miracles and the army's great victory, many people became full of confidence about the future.

Even some Muslims in the town began to support Gairis.

Consider it a prophet, consider it a revelation for this age.

In such a situation, the rescued city gradually returned to its former tranquility, but some things in the city were irreversibly changed.

Isabella strolled through the streets of Karak City, with an indescribable emotion surging in her heart.

This city, which was once full of mystery in her eyes, is now finally explored by her personally.

Those unattainable dreams are becoming within reach with every step she takes now.

The girl held Garys's hand, a smile on her face, and she walked with brisk steps, fulfilling her childhood's little desire.

Walking on the neat road paved with volcanic stones and passing a crossroads, Isabella suddenly pulled Gailis and pointed to the street next to them.

"Over there, I heard there's a candy store over there."

During those dark days, the old maid in the castle would always whisper to her stories about the streets and alleys as she looked out over the town from the tower.

Those stories, whether sad or happy, seemed to be woven into the few rays of color in the dark time, carrying her endless yearning for the outside world.

Gailis let the girl lead him as they wandered through the streets. Looking at her eyes that were slightly shining with excitement, he could feel the girl's genuine happiness.

Then, Garys added something inappropriate: "Well, that store closed a few months ago."

But even so, it didn't affect Isabella's mood.

After all, she had been separated from Garys for a very, very long time.

And the city of Karak, a city that she could only look at but not get close to in the past, is indeed a place suitable for traveling together.

Unlike the medieval cities that are rumored to be filled with filth and chaos, the cities along the eastern Mediterranean coast often inherit the municipal system and urban planning left over from ancient times.

In this small town, the neatly paved cobblestone roads are comfortable and smooth to walk on, and the carefully designed drainage system prevents the city from smelling bad.

Even many shops on the street have resumed business as usual.

When the shop assistants or bosses saw Garys being dragged by the girl, they all had strange expressions on their faces, but they still greeted them in a friendly manner and invited the young man and woman to come into their stores.

Isabella selected a few of them and walked in, only to find that the shops in Karak City had a much richer variety of goods, even compared to the bustling shops in Alhadi Town.

Not only the hard soap with rose scent, not only the exquisite metal kerosene lamps, but they even found Song Dynasty porcelain that had traveled thousands of miles across the ocean.

Only after the girl's curiosity was satisfied did the two of them sit down on the street side of a store.

The waiter came up to ask, and Isabella took out a few glittering dirham silver coins.

"Please give me one candy and two glasses of shabbat."

After a while, the sweet candies and cool Shabbat were served. The two sat on a bench outside the store, enjoying the quietness of the street.

Gellis stared at the candy on the wooden plate, glanced at the street, and looked at Isabella again, and they picked up the slightly expensive sweet drink together. The shabbat, which exuded the fragrance of flowers and fruits, became more refreshing in the breeze.

Everything in front of him made him feel dazed.

It was as if he was not in some medieval ancient city at this moment, but as if he was just traveling in an ancient city in a foreign country.

Garys took a sip and savored it with his eyes closed.

The sweetness of sugarcane juice, the freshness of pomegranate and lemon, the unique aroma of crushed rose petals...all of these are perfectly intertwined in the cool liquid, penetrating into the heart like a summer breeze.

The raw materials needed to make a cup of Shabbat can all be found on the outskirts of Karak. The manors outside the city where a variety of crops are grown are the irreplaceable treasures of this town.

In the brief moment that Gellis closed his eyes, he could definitely feel a breeze blowing.

When he opened his eyes again, Isabella had already come close to him, getting close to Garys.

In the moment when Garys was stunned, the girl raised her head and pecked him lightly on the lips.

Months of accumulated longing were condensed into a short sentence at this moment.

"I miss you."

"I miss you as well."

The two of them smiled at the same time again, raised the Shabbat together, and enjoyed this rare leisure time.

"Isa." Gailis suddenly turned his head.

"Ok?"

“There is actually an Islamic bath outside the city.”

"Yes, in the valley below the city."

"It seems to be working in the next two days. Let's go take a shower later."

A hint of surprise flashed across Isabella's face, and then her eyebrows curved, and her eyes were as crystal clear as dewdrops in the morning light.

……

The Quseir 'Amra bathhouse in Transjordan, built sometime between 723 and 743, is one of the oldest surviving Islamic bathhouses.

……

The medieval Islamic bathhouse was a type of public bathing complex that originated from the Roman and Greek bathing traditions.

Generally speaking, Islamic baths, as a source of income for many mosques, are unlikely to receive non-Muslim bathers.

But when Garys said he wanted to take a shower, who would stop him?
What's more, the main residents of Karak are Franks. If they want to make money, they must open it to Christians.

Although women did not typically visit bathhouses in early Islamic history, by around the 10th century, bathhouses in many locations offered separate times or facilities for men and women.

This bathroom in Karak City is separated into men and women, with separate compartments for men and women to facilitate use by people of different genders.

Therefore, it was not Isabella who entered the bathroom with Gérice, but several old men including Amédée, Antoine, and old John.

The layout of this bathroom is somewhat similar to a 21st century Chinese bathhouse.

After Garys and the other three entered the bathroom, they first went to the undressing room, where they took off all their clothes except for a loincloth.

After coming out of the undressing room, the four of them first went to the greenhouse, where they washed their bodies with warm water before heading to the hot room.

This hot room was filled with steam and was very hot, a bit like a sauna in later times, but not as hot.

Among the four men, Garys was the youngest and could not stand the heat as well as the other three.

When they sweated a lot in the hot room together and were then led back to the greenhouse, the master had already prepared soap to rub them.

Feeling the master's powerful hands massaging his back, Garys couldn't help but feel extremely comfortable. This was a kind of relaxation he hadn't enjoyed for half a year.

The lactic acid accumulated from various daily exercises made him feel sore and refreshed as the master gave him powerful massage.

Compared with Isabella's little hands, only a professional master like this can be more effective.

However, what made Gailis feel a little regretful was that this Islamic bath did not have a bathing pool after all, which made it lack a bit of flavor.

Although Islamic baths originated from Greek or Roman baths, unlike Roman or Greek baths, bathers usually need to wash themselves with running water instead of soaking in stagnant water.

In this situation, Garys chatted about many topics with the three middle-aged and elderly men.

The core of the topic basically revolves around how to deal with the manors outside the city, where there are a large number of serfs.

　Second update: Today is the last day of the holiday. In the afternoon, I had a good meal, got my hair trimmed, did a dandruff removal, and then went for a walk in the park.

　　Therefore, I don't have time to write additional chapters. I can only leave it for now and do it after I'm in better shape.

　　I currently owe 3 more chapters, and I’m anxious.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)