Crusade against the Pope

Chapter 71 Mahdi

Zayd accepted Gellis's suggestion and chose to let the caravan stay in Skarl Village for a few more days.

Normally, Zayed's caravan would not stop in such small villages that were not on the trade route.

On the one hand, it is difficult to enter or exit such a small village, and it is a long detour for the caravan. On the other hand, the purchasing power of farmers is actually quite limited these days.

In some areas where the land is more fertile and the exploitation is not so outrageous, farmers occasionally have a few dollars left over to buy some cloth, daily necessities, or replace farm tools.

But in Transjordan, according to Zayed's experience over the past few years, most farmers here are just a step away from extreme poverty.

The heavy land tax took food from the farmers, and the high head tax made it difficult for the farmers to save.

In the long-term sustainable overfishing, the lives of farmers are already extremely difficult. How can they have extra money to consume?

The rural areas of Transjordan are like a pool of stagnant water, rotting in the stagnation and constantly strangling the new hope within.

But in the village of Skar, Zayed saw a different atmosphere.

It’s not that this place is richer than other places, but the people in this village are different from those in ordinary Frank villages in their lifestyle and spirit.

First of all, in Zayd's opinion, the village of Skar is more like a large military camp than a village.

Normally, which village would have men and women separated? Besides ordinary civilians, there were also quite a few people in armor, constantly moving around the village to maintain order.

As for those who were digging earth in the river channel, they looked more like prisoners of war.

Slaves, not really.

After all, Zayed could see hope and brilliance in those people's eyes. It was as if their hard days were about to end.

Considering the progress of digging the waterway, they may have been promised that they would be set free at the end of the project.

Secondly, the villagers seemed to have endless work to do.

He forged iron, made bricks, repaired houses, and did carpentry work, but when he was working, he did not seem to be slacking off because of the pressure of life. Instead, he worked with an interest and inexplicable passion that Zayd could not understand, striving for perfection.

Moreover, the people here don't seem to be particularly distinguished between noble and humble.

Many people dressed as knights, when they met villagers on the village roads, at most the villagers would make way for them and the knights would say hello in a friendly manner.

There was no hostility between them, nor was there a clear distinction between high and low status. Although there were still some barriers, compared to other places in the world, the knights here were already very approachable and without airs.

Furthermore, Garys, the man who had saved his entire caravan, clearly had a special status in this village.

When everyone greeted Garys, they were all sincere and enthusiastic, but there was no fixed etiquette. It can be seen that they truly respected Garys from the bottom of their hearts.

When I think of Garys's performance on the battlefield, coupled with what he called himself when we first met.

Zayd clenched his back teeth and sucked in cold air.

It was indeed Garys's self-introduction that would cause a Shiite Muslim like him to have some special associations.

Returning from [seclusion], being related to the savior Jesus, possessing a force far beyond that of ordinary people, rejecting tyranny in this land, and being loved by the people from the bottom of their hearts. After all this, it was hard for Zayd not to think of that word, or that identity, that is, Mahdi.

But, is it possible that the love of the people was actually bewitched by Gairis' extraordinary power, and his identity was even more terrifying than Mahdi, for example, he was Messiah Dajjal?
“Whoever denies Mahdi denies Allah, and whoever accepts Dajjal denies Allah.”

If Messiah Isa is the Islamic counterpart of Jesus, then Messiah Dajjal is the Islamic counterpart of the Antichrist.

As night fell, the moonlight shone faintly through the thick clouds, illuminating Zayd's face.

He couldn't help but express many doubts. He was not sure whether that Gellis was the Antichrist. Whenever he recalled the moment of their encounter, he became a little afraid unconsciously.

Then when Gillis appeared, the moist air seemed to become heavy.

When Zayd thought of Gellis's self-proclaimed claim and the great power he displayed, he felt helpless and panicked, as if he was involved in a conspiracy beyond human understanding.

Zayd felt that if he continued to think about Garys's identity, his sanity would inevitably collapse bit by bit. Those light green eyes with black pupils were like a nightmare, always hovering in his mind.

Restraining the inexplicable panic in his heart, Zayd lay down in his tent and forced himself to sleep.

However, not long after he fell asleep, he woke up from his dream.

He dreamed of the Antichrist, a being who commanded armies, could heal the sick, resurrect the dead, make the earth flourish, and stop the sun and moon. To those who followed him, the Antichrist Dajjal was a true god.

That being will lead his army to conquer everything within sight. Even the towering mountains and the Red Sea that separates the earth will be powerless to stop their advance.

On the eve of the end of the world, these people were invincible.

But in the end, the Antichrist is only a false savior, and when the Mahdi appears, the Antichrist Dajjal will only end in failure.

That brave and invincible man alone can fight the Antichrist Dajjal and make him melt and disappear.

Mahdi will then unify the world and establish an unprecedentedly large caliphate.

However, what really horrified Zayd was that in his dream, both the Antichrist and Mahdi had light green eyes with black pupils and were young men with light blond hair.

Tormented by his own groundless delusions and unable to sleep, Zayd finally chose to leave his tent and walk in the village.

The dark clouds in the sky had not yet dispersed, and the sound of splashing water could be heard from the river not far away.

When he arrived at the riverside, he noticed that there were already people patrolling back and forth here.

That person seemed to attach great importance to the excavated dry river channel and kept stopping to examine and watch something.

After hearing Zayd's footsteps from afar, he turned around and looked over.

At this moment, Zayd's face suddenly panicked, and behind that man, a pair of eyes emitting green fluorescent light suddenly appeared!

Judging from the height of its eyes, it couldn't be a human, it could only be a wolf!
"Be careful!" Zaid shouted.

　Today is the third update, celebrating Sanjiang (actually it’s because I owed a monthly ticket and didn’t pay it back)
　　
　
(End of this chapter)