kingdom of nations

Chapter 361 A Way Out?
On the third day after the army arrived in Holmes, their messenger rode into the city. This messenger was a member of the Order of the Good Hall. Although he was old, he had sharp eyes and a bright spirit.

In a way, the Knights of Charity and Holmes have a complicated relationship.

Unlike Damascus, Holmes had fallen to Raymond of Toulouse during the First Crusade, but Raymond did not care about the city and continued his march after looting it, leaving it behind.

Until 1110, Tancred recaptured the area, and for the next thirty years it belonged to the County of Tripoli. The problem was that his successor, Raymond II, was unable to resist the large army of the Zengid dynasty alone, so he made a deal with the Order of the Good—Homs was among the castles and cities he gifted. Ironically, the Order of the Good also failed to live up to Raymond II's expectations, or perhaps the Grand Master of the Good at the time was unwilling to focus all his efforts on Homs in Tripoli.

This city is like a poor, isolated island, not worth his devoted efforts to protect.

Therefore, about ten years ago, it was recaptured by Nurdin. The city had gone through several owners, and the residents were all unambitious and short-sighted people. Otherwise, the Grand Eunuch Miteshkin would not have been able to "buy" it so easily with a sum of money.

The Crusaders hoped they could acquire the city through negotiations, but something horrifying, infuriating, and disappointing soon happened: the messenger was quickly sent out.

He was riding backwards on a mule, completely naked, his body covered in pine resin, even his face.

Feathers, bits of fur, and strips of cloth were stuck to the resin, making him look more like an animal than a human. Two round, bulging objects hung around his neck, like…

The blessed knight exclaimed in shock, "A head!"

Those were two heads, and from the hair color, one could vaguely tell that they were the two servants he had brought with him.

Cesar could no longer care about anything else and spurred his horse to gallop over.

He caught the swaying old knight within range of the city's defenders and quickly led him back to the Crusader camp, while the city's defenders merely watched without firing an arrow.

If this were a world without God's blessing, with only extremely primitive medical skills and herbs, this old knight would surely die.

Fortunately, he was a blessed man after all, and there were many priests here who could heal him. However, the process was extremely painful. They first peeled off the resin covering his face. These people seemed to not care whether he could still breathe. The resin, which had been heated and melted, blocked his eyes, nose, and mouth. When it was peeled off, there was a steaming, bloody mess.

Frederick I saw a piece of flesh mixed with the old knight's unkempt beard—he shuddered and couldn't help but stroke his own beard, "Perhaps I should shave..." he muttered to himself.

Cesar immediately ordered strong liquor—in fact, alcohol he had distilled himself—and told the priests to wash their hands before proceeding. He also dismissed other knights who wanted to help, unsure whether the wounds, which had been briefly exposed to the outside air, would become infected under the priests' treatment. But just in case, they placed the old knight in a vacant wasteland, where Cesar and a volunteer squire with slender fingers and a determined will peel away the solidified resin.

With each piece peeled, the old knight would let out a chilling scream. Before they even reached his chest, he would faint. When they reached his arm, he would wake up, only to faint again. This repeated several times, and he endured unimaginable torment before finally surviving thanks to the priests' best efforts.

The two heads hanging around his neck were indeed those of the two servants he had brought with him.

Moreover, when the old knight awoke, he told them some terrible news. The threat that the governor of Holmes had made in Damascus might actually be carried out by the current governor of Holmes, the Grand Eunuch Mitshkin.

Ibn was only doing this for extortion and intimidation.

The Grand Eunuch was undoubtedly trying to reignite hatred between the Christians and the Saracens, and he did just that—there were 2,367 Christians redeemed by Cesar in Damascus, and the number of Christians in Homs was about twice that number or more.

After all, the Grand Eunuch obtained the city through bribery, and the people in the city were almost completely unprepared for him. So what if he brought an army of 10,000 men?

They wholeheartedly believed that the most ruthless thing the Grand Eunuch had done was to extort and exploit the city's residents, and to bargain with the infidels and the approaching Crusaders. Even their governor had abandoned them and returned to Christian rule, which wasn't so bad. Perhaps in another ten or twenty years, another Emir or Sultan would reclaim Homs.

As it turns out, those who try to go with the flow in a raging torrent will inevitably suffer heavy losses.

The Grand Eunuch had a kind face, and although he was tall, no one would feel threatened when he stood there smiling. But just as the Crusaders set off from Damascus, and the Grand Eunuch's scheme failed—the moment his last army entered the city and he ordered the city gates to be closed, he changed.

Under the pretext of discussing matters, he gathered all the capable generals, scholars, and even those with some wealth and prestige—in short, those with influence—in Homs. Then, with the doors closed, his warriors and soldiers began a brutal massacre in the hall. Saracens, Christians, and Isaacs alike were all slaughtered.

Before the bloodstains in the hall had dried, he sent his trusted men to various places to take away the families and belongings of these people. These relatives and friends were said to have been imprisoned, but in fact only the executioners knew that they had all been taken to the Kurdish castle (the governor's palace and castle in Holmes, which was called the Knights' Castle when Christians ruled here) and secretly executed.

Some cautious and perceptive Christians sensed something was wrong and tried to flee. But by then, all four city gates were closed; where could they go?

The Grand Eunuch, having freshened his clothes and put on a gentle and benevolent face, appeared before the people. His soldiers marched through the streets and alleys, loudly proclaiming his proclamation. He demanded that the Christians come forward voluntarily or be handed over. He did not intend to kill them, but rather to use them to negotiate with the Crusaders outside the city. His words were earnest and sincere, assuring the Christians that they would not be harmed.

He said, "I have heard that the current Christian governor of Damascus is a man so kind that even pagans can receive his mercy."

When they first occupied Damascus, the city's inhabitants were still able to live in peace and prosperity, retaining their homes and property—except for the large number of Christian knights in the city, which made no difference from before.

Moreover, after Ibn occupied Damascus, he used his reputation to rescue all the Christians in the city.

Here, he told a small lie. After all, Ibn was a man who had been called "the Light of Faith," and people even called him the successor of Nur ad-Din. It would be truly shameful for people to know that he and his jackals had let those Christians go simply because they were afraid of death.

Even a man like the Grand Eunuch couldn't help but feel his chest heave and his teeth grit when he said Ibn's name, but he immediately smiled more gently and continued.

"When he left Damascus, he took even more Saracens with him—they were all innocent people who had not been enslaved, but simply left Damascus."

He was such a kind-hearted person.

Some people have doubts: if that's the case, why didn't the Grand Eunuch order them to open the city gates and surrender to the Crusaders?

The chief eunuch shook his head and said, "No matter what, the Saracens of Damascus received ransom money, and some of their temples were converted into churches by the Crusaders."

Wouldn't it be better if we could avoid paying this money and still prevent God's temple from being defiled? He's a good man; we can always persuade him."

Hearing this, people no longer suspected anything.

Many Christians came out, thinking they would only have to spend a few days in prison. Although it was hard, they didn't want to see war break out in Homs, where they also had property, family, and friends. Some of their friends were Saracens.

As they walked into the street, their identities were politely recorded by the soldiers, and they proceeded in an orderly fashion toward the prison. Saracen neighbors or friends rushed up to offer them wine and food, comforting the Christians by saying that they would be released in a few days once the negotiations were over.

The Christians were quite open-minded, entrusting their homes and properties to their Saracen friends and even telling them that some goods might need to be disposed of as soon as possible.

If they could be released after only a few days of suffering, they wouldn't necessarily find it unacceptable.

After all, once the Crusaders take control of the city, their taxes will be significantly lower, and they will also gain many privileges usually reserved for Christians. "That governor is also dealing in rock sugar and Roman cement in Cyprus." These are highly sought-after commodities in Holmes.

Harboring hopes for a better future, they fell into the trap set by the powerful eunuch. Some of them were even unaware of what was happening when they were brought to the city walls the next day.

They thought the Crusaders wanted to see them, or that they would be among the first to be released.

Before the smiles on their faces could fade, their heads had already fallen to the ground below the city wall. They had indeed seen the Crusaders, and the merciful lord once hailed as the Shield of the Holy City, now with only his head hanging from the wall. Then their bodies were pushed off the wall as well.

However, in any case, the severed head cannot be reattached to the body.

By this time, merchants from Damascus—who had some dealings with, and even relatives with, the Christian merchants in Homs—were all enraged by the sight. They rushed over desperately, ignoring the soldiers' attempts to stop them, and shouted loudly at the city walls, hoping to stop such atrocities. But no matter how grief-stricken or angry they were, it was all in vain.

Intriguingly, the defenders on the city wall did not throw stones or fire crossbow bolts at them; they simply watched these madmen with indifference.

More Christians are being pushed onto the city walls; not only the elderly and men, but also women and children are finding it difficult to escape this fate.

When a pregnant woman was brought up, even the Saracen executioner hesitated for a moment, but he turned back and his scimitar still accurately beheaded her. The pregnant woman's screams were frozen in her chest, and then she fell from the high city wall, literally torn to pieces.

"My God, my God, what are they doing? Have they gone mad?"

Philip II couldn't help but shout, while Richard pursed his lips. Frederick I, with a serious expression, gripped his son's arm tightly. "This is war, real war!" he whispered.

Even when they captured Konya, the capital of the Turks, the Turks in Konya did not press all the Christians against the city walls and kill them one by one, but did so under their watchful eyes.

The people of Holmes did this because they had no intention of continuing to live; they wanted to fight the Crusaders to the death.

The Grand Eunuch had also reached the city wall, surrounded by scholars and warriors. They were not Homsians, but men who had sworn to God to avenge their Sultan Nur ad-Din and restore the glory of the Saracens. They had followed the Grand Eunuch all the way from Apol to this place—ironically, only one man who was not a man had not changed his ideals.

"That is……"

"The spear of the Holy City and the shield of the Holy City," the Grand Eunuch answered the question from those around him.

A black horse and a white horse, along with their riders, were galloping rapidly towards them. Baldwin let out a loud shout and, as his eyes met those of the Grand Eunuch, threw the spear in his hand, which gleamed with a bright white light.

The crowd gasped, and some rushed forward to block the Grand Eunuch's path, but the sacred spear moved faster than thought, piercing through the Grand Eunuch's chest in an instant!
People shouted, but the Grand Eunuch instinctively raised his hand and gripped the spear tightly, preventing it from penetrating any further. Ignoring the burning and stinging sensation in his hands, he pulled the sacred weapon from his hands.

Although St. George was not a prophet among the Saracens, he should have been a respected and beloved scholar. His achievements were legendary even among the Saracens, and his spear was both pure and sharp.

The Grand Eunuch stared at it for a long time, until it turned into a speck of light in his hand. The Christians expected him to fall or show signs of pain, but the Grand Eunuch simply and calmly removed his robes. He wasn't even wearing armor—he showed his body to the people inside and outside the city, and the hole pierced by St. George's spear was disappearing.

After the servants wiped his wounds, they were completely healed. The Saracens who saw this cheered and were overjoyed, while the Christians remained silent.

“I will kill all the Christians in the city, and their cries will be the prelude to this war.”

After he finished speaking, he left the city wall. In fact, only a small number of the Christians were pushed onto the city wall and killed; most of them died in prison or in the square.

At this point, the people of Holmes realized they had been tricked by the Grand Eunuch, who had pushed them onto a path of no return precisely because he feared they would make peace with the Crusaders.

Now all they could do was hold Homs. If they couldn't hold Homs, even Cesar wouldn't be able to stop the Crusaders from fighting back with blood and teeth once they entered the city. The Homs people cried and screamed, even more furious than the dead Christians, but it was too late. They had to fight.

Cesar escorted Baldwin back to the camp. The corpses that had been pushed off the city wall had been collected (the guards did not stop them or take the opportunity to kill them). After identification, it was found that among these people were not only ordinary farmers and craftsmen, but also merchants and scholars who had lived in Holmes for a long time and were trusted and valued by the former governor, as well as dozens of priests.

By doing so, the Grand Eunuch had cut off any possibility of negotiation between the people of Holmes and the Christians.

Although he knew this was inevitable, Cesar's heart was still heavy, and Baldwin placed his hand on his shoulder.

"It's okay, I can adjust."

While their enemies included cowards like Ibn who clung to life, they also included selfless and ruthless heroes. From the perspective of Christians and some of the people of Holmes, the Grand Eunuch was an unpardonable criminal, a vicious devil, and a despicable man who betrayed their trust.

However, from the perspective of those who advocated for war and Nurdin's supporters, he was an unparalleled and loyal subject, and the 10,000-strong army he led was probably not just some remnants or soldiers hired by the Grand Eunuch as they had initially expected—but rather the elite troops that Nurdin had entrusted to the only trustworthy person.

Holmes might be even more difficult to attack than Damascus, and to make matters worse, an urgent letter from Gasarafa was delivered to them by carrier pigeon.

Richard was the first to start cursing as soon as the news was announced.

Baldwin's cold gaze then turned to Philip, the Grand Master of the Knights Templar, inside the tent.

The salad dressing method has been embraced.

(End of this chapter)