Crusade against the Pope

Chapter 3 River Valley
There were five knights, seven servants or attendants, and including Gaillis and Isabella, only fourteen people survived. Even the old nanny who had been teaching Isabella etiquette personally died the night before.

But compared to commemorating the victims of last night, the most urgent task is to find a way for the living to continue living.

Food and water are both life-threatening matters, and the wounded also need a place to recuperate.

Even though Garys had done his best to clean and bandage the wounds of his friendly soldiers, it was inevitable that their wounds would reopen if they continued on a long journey.

With Gellis's understanding of the surrounding environment, he knew that as long as he turned a corner on this Roman road, he would find many almost isolated villages.

After all, this is the east coast of the Dead Sea, and there are quite a few rivers that inject fresh water into the Dead Sea. Especially when spring and winter come, the rainfall increases, and the sweet and clear source of life flows through the wilderness, bringing vitality to both sides of the river.

It is natural that many villages were established on both sides of these rivers.

In these villages, the wounded in their own team can recuperate for a period of time and prepare for their funeral.

Gellis first led the team to leave the Roman road, and after walking for a considerable distance on a small road, they saw the river flowing in the dry valley through a valley entrance, as well as farmlands, villages, and misty smoke from cooking fires.

But no one showed any joy on their face.

At the mouth of the valley, where the village could just be seen, a motionless, pale body was hanging on a dead old tree. The breeze blew the body around and it turned to face the convoy.

The lifeless eyes seemed to be silently accusing something, and even under the direct sunlight, one could feel the chill on the skin.

But unfortunately, he could no longer tell the story of his tragic experience.

It can be seen that the village, which was supposed to be a paradise, may have now suffered misfortune.

Gellis made a gesture, ordering the team to stop advancing, then he dismounted from his horse and called a servant who was only slightly injured to come to his side.

"Simon, come with me."

Gellis didn't say much, but everyone around him knew what he meant. Compared to their counterparts in Europe, the Knights of Jerusalem were more militarily skilled and at least would not make a joke by questioning the necessity of reconnaissance.

At present, there are only a few candidates who are physically able to take on the reconnaissance mission, so it is natural for Garys to decide to do it himself.

He stretched his muscles a little and did some simple stretching exercises, and could feel that the soreness in his body was still there.

But compared to the severe pain an hour ago, the soreness now no longer prevents him from exerting strength like an ordinary person.

Garys nodded in satisfaction. His body's ability to recover was much better than he thought. At least he didn't have to worry about having to stay in bed for ten days or half a month if he moved a little.

After calling Simon and instructing others to keep alert nearby, Gailis lowered his body and walked towards the valley entrance.

The corpse hanging from the tree watched Garys leave.

After entering the valley, what appeared before Garys and Simon was a scene of Shura on earth.

Human corpses spread from the valley mouth to the village. Women were torn from their clothes, raped and gang-raped before their heads were chopped off. Babies were thrown to the rocks and died.

The sun was blazing in the sky, and Garys' hair stood on end. Garys was indeed a knight, but he had never lost his humanity, whether in his past life or in this life. In the past ten years of his knighthood, Garys had witnessed countless deaths.

But killing an unarmed person was beyond his bottom line and was something he could not do.

Simon on the side was also quite shocked, with a confused look on his face. For a moment, he could not think of the reason why these villagers were massacred.

But before collecting the bodies of the villagers, Gailis noticed that there were still signs of human activity in the village not far away, and a wisp of smoke was floating into the sky from the largest house in the village.

The cross on the house indicates the religious affiliation of the village.

After lowering their bodies, Garys took Simon and sneaked towards the village through bushes and woods to avoid possible sentries.

When they approached the village, in addition to smelling a stronger stench of corpses, they also noticed some people in familiar attire wandering around the village.

"They seem to be dressed the same as the Arabs who attacked us last night," Simon whispered.

Garris frowned. These people looked like they were on patrol, but their steps were unsteady and their spirits were listless. They did not look like soldiers at all.

"They should be the Bedouins. They might be the ones who massacred this village," Gailis replied.

Bedouin means people who live in the desert in Arabic. They are a branch of Arabs and have a strong nomadic tradition.

It is not surprising that such a people launched a massacre against the Christian villages under the rule of the Kingdom of Jerusalem.

"But how did they get here? Didn't the border patrol guards find any trace of this group of people?" Simon was confused.

The territory they are in now is the easternmost territory of the Kingdom of Jerusalem. Although it is somewhat deep into the Arabian Peninsula, it is not a place where anyone can enter and exit freely.

Not to mention the fixed patrol teams, the border outposts and castles alone are enough to detect most enemy movements.

"Well, maybe it would be more appropriate to ask Leonard." Gailis answered casually, and then did not go into details on this issue. Instead, he took Simon to carefully observe the situation in the village.

After some investigation, Garys and Simon determined that there were roughly seven Bedouins in the village.

After retreating from a relatively close reconnaissance point to a safer place, Simon said to Garys with a serious expression: "Sir, I think it is best for us to avoid this village at the moment. It is not appropriate for us to fight those Arabs in our current situation."

Gailis nodded in agreement, then said, "But no matter what, I will still go to that village."

Simon looked at Garys in confusion.

And Gailis said: "There are still survivors in the small church in this village. If I abandon them, then those church members will surely die, or at least be sold into slavery."

The sunlight in the sky penetrated the treetops, emitting rays of light that fell on Garys, making him inexplicably look more sacred.

Looking at Garys's resolute expression, Simon subconsciously drew a "cross" with his right hand from his forehead to his chest, and then from one shoulder to the other.

(End of this chapter)