kingdom of nations

Chapter 71 To Egypt!

Chapter 71 To Egypt! (2)

Although he accepted the young master's request, Longinus had no hope at all.

Caesar was right. There were indeed some people who always regretted and resented that they could not hold the "selection ceremony". They always blamed all the setbacks in life on the stinginess of their relatives and the greed of the priests. Even Longinus, when he lost his servants, horses and armor in the Holy Land, hated his father and brother in a drunken state.

But afterwards, he met many people who had similar experiences as him - they came to the Holy Land, looking for opportunities, but could never succeed. Not to mention those who were violent and vicious by nature, even those who were originally kind - some of whom even helped Longinus - could not escape the curse.

A bad situation, complicated human hearts, and an invisible darkness in the future can make people collapse overnight.

Some people joined the Knights Templar, but they could only become the lowest-level foot servants and menial workers, or stable boys, just like Longinus had done in the Knights Templar.

They harbored a glimmer of hope, thinking that if they could participate in the battle, they might be noticed by the Grand Master of the Knights or the priests in the Knights Templar and be promoted to the position of squire.

Some people were only able to return to their hometowns because they swore an oath to kill a certain number of pagans, or in other words, they wanted to have a foundation to establish themselves after returning to Frankish or Apennines.

But the final outcome of these people was not good, at least Longinus had never heard of it - if it had, the rumors in the taverns and the market place would have been heated up long ago.

Many more became beggars, criminals, or both.

They plundered pilgrims, plundered merchants, plundered priests, committed crimes with impunity, and every day was like the last. It was on them that the sword of Longinus was sharpened.

The faces of these people flashed in his nightmares every day, they laughed and stretched out their arms, as if welcoming Longinus to join them.

Among them were Longinus's friends (whom he had met after arriving in Alaska) and his enemies, who said, as if in a blessing or a curse, that Longinus would eventually become one of them.

If Longinus suddenly woke up in a sweat, it must have been after he had stabbed a man to death, turned over his body, and saw his own face.

But since following his little master, he had fewer nightmares like this, but he hadn't had any sweet dreams worth mentioning.

As Longinus knelt at the altar with his back bent, he thought that if he was not chosen, which was the most likely scenario, he would pretend to break his leg and stay in the castle of Gaza Rafa.

Of course, this would prevent him from repaying his young master's debt or fulfilling his vow to kill the three Saracens, but he knew that Cesar had asked him to perform the "Choose Ceremony" just to gain a glimmer of hope in the brutal war that would follow - he was always so kind.

Longinus shook his head. He raised his eyes and gazed at the crucifix of Jesus Christ and the saints surrounding him. He could not help but recall the scene of him leading the pilgrims through the pine gate, the black oak gate and the cedar gate.

What was he thinking when those devout people knelt on the ground, shedding tears, wailing and confessing their sorrow?

Thinking about money.

How much is a man, how much is a woman, and the Isaacs three times as much; how much is a misdemeanor, how much is a felony; how much is it to touch the baptismal stone, how much is it to step into the Crucifixion Square, how much is it to lift the woolen cloth from the Holy Sepulchre.

Want something holy? How much does a candle cost? How much does a cross cost? Even a stone or a handful of sand has its own price.

A man like him would not be surprised even if the ground cracked and he fell directly into the lake of fire. How could he expect that the saints high in heaven would be willing to lower their eyes to look at such a pool of filth?

Before he met Cesar, he had even made up his mind that when he no longer wanted to live, he would grab a horse and rush to Damascus or any place where there were Saracens, fighting with the first person who rushed out, then the second, the third... until they killed him.

In this way, even if he is not anointed with holy oil and does not perform the sacraments, at least he will not fall directly into hell, but will be able to wait for the end of the world in purgatory.

So now he is calm and peaceful.

It was a great honor and surprise to be chosen. If he was not chosen, he would stay in the safe Gaza Sarafa to avoid worrying his young master. So be it, being a servant was not bad. At least with a character like Cesar, he might even have a nice cemetery.

----

Longinus was awakened by a group of angry monks. They pulled him up while he was still sleepy and dragged him for a long distance until he was pushed out of the door and the door slammed shut behind him.

He looked up at the dark sky, the few twinkling stars, and the gray sand, and realized that he might have fallen asleep during the "Choose Ceremony".

The wandering knight smacked his lips, feeling as if his throat had swallowed a handful of burning charcoal, dry and parched.

What time was it? Longinus guessed it was the second morning of the ceremonial hour (two or three in the morning), which meant he had spent a day and a night in the church, perhaps even more.

The dark and thin guy laughed. It seemed that his little master was going to be disappointed. He seemed to have just had a nap - although this was probably the most comfortable and enjoyable sleep he had ever had in his life, and he even had a good dream.

In the dream, he was a robber and was imprisoned. Every year, the Roman governor had a chance to pardon prisoners. Of course, he hoped to be pardoned, but he also knew that the hope was slim.

Because in the cell next to him, there was a good man. Although he had never seen this person, he had heard that he was a powerful, yet compassionate and selfless person.

His crime was not murder, rape, or robbery, but his good deeds infringed upon the interests and authority of the Isaac priests and elders.

Especially after he entered Alaska, people rushed to see him, laying palm branches and clothes at his feet, and flocked to him to the temple. Countless people came to listen to his sermons and spread the gospel...

Between a man like this and a lowly thief, everyone knows what to choose.

But the truth is so ironic that the one who was released was not the good guy, but him, the bad guy.

He thought he would run away quickly, but instead, he threw his robe over his head and watched the man being stripped and whipped until he was covered with wounds.

Then, this innocent man was forced to bear the heavy crossbeam and, under the arrows of Roman soldiers, walked step by step from the Via Alaska to the site of the Skull, where he was nailed to the cross. Every blow and stab from the soldiers felt like a stab to his heart. His whole body was numb and he could not move. He wanted to laugh, but found himself in tears...

"You died for me," he murmured, "and I live for you."

"I am Barabbas."

Then, Longinus was awakened by the monks.

He picked up the leather armor thrown out by the monks, put on his weapons, and walked out of the shadow of the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, but he was still a little confused and dazed.

He looked at his fingers, then turned his head to look at his back, legs and shoulders. There was no vision to indicate that he had been chosen. There was no light, no music. It was just as ordinary as every day before.

"I need some water," he said to himself, and then took advantage of the bright daylight to observe the surroundings. On his first day in Gaza Rafa, he had not stopped, and while completing his own work, he also rode or walked to explore the terrain and buildings around Gaza Rafa for his little master.

His little master, Cesar, has an amazing skill - or perhaps many skills.

Anyway, before Caesar, Longinus had never seen a person who could draw a map that was almost accurate based on his description. He even drew curved lines and identification numbers on it to indicate whether the area was a depression or a hill, used shadows to represent lakes, and double lines to represent rivers... There were also some symbols that even Longinus could not understand.

But even if he couldn't understand it, Longinus had to say that as long as he had such a map, he could lead an army to attack Gasaarafa.

Although it is indeed not very beautiful, with no portraits of saints, no lace or decorations, no houses, trees or flags, only bare lines, numbers and letters...but this is the essence of a map.

Caesar revised the map many times and the discarded maps were burned. When Longinus was cleaning up, he found that a quarter of it, probably only as big as a palm, was miraculously preserved intact. After picking it up, he hesitated for a long time and finally hid it in his leather armor.

He remembered that not far from the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, there was a Well Square. As the name suggested, there was an octagonal stone well in the center of the square. The water inside was cold and sweet. Thinking of this, he could no longer bear it and walked there quickly, wanting to drink as much as possible to relieve the heat in his chest.

The square was silent, without a single ghost in sight. Longinus cursed inwardly, remembering that he had no pot or bucket with him. How could he jump into the well and drink water? If he had known earlier, he should have made those priests suffer and knocked on their doors to ask for water.

But then an idea occurred to him. He could pull the cotton shirt out from under the leather armor, lower it down with a rope, soak it in water, and then pull it up. This water would undoubtedly have a smell, but to be frank, Longinus had even drunk mule urine when he was lost in the desert, and his own smell would not necessarily be more disgusting to him than that.

But when he reached the well, he kicked a wooden barrel.

Longinus's expression immediately darkened. He did not believe that the people here would casually discard a wooden barrel. For the common people, a wooden barrel was a legacy worth passing on, and it was also an indispensable piece of furniture for every family and even every individual.

He walked slowly to the barrel and picked it up. There was still some water shaking inside. He lifted the barrel and drank from it. The flame immediately went out and his eyes and ears became more sensitive.

The wandering knight heard a whistling sound like the wind blowing through sand, a whooshing sound like wood burning in a stove, and a creaking and pinging sound like a door hitting the frame, along with the iron hinges on it. These sounds were very small, and if it were a careless or cautious person, they would definitely be ignored.

For a moment, Longinus just wanted to leave immediately. He had seen many such things before and never meddled in other people's business.

Why bother? If he was injured, he had no money to hire a priest to treat him, and could only rely on sand and cloth to stop the bleeding. He also had a fever, and it was only with God's blessing that he cooled down by leaning on the cold stone slabs - he didn't dare to bet that everyone he rescued was a good person like Cesar.

But he thought of his young master, who said he would go before the brutal Templars and persuade him to abandon his castle, and then go before King Amalric I and persuade him not to massacre the people in the castle - all for some humble people he had never known, and who might never know that someone was willing to sacrifice his life for them...

He stood there for what felt like a hundred years, but it was only the time it took for the wind to dry the last drop of water from his cheek.

Longinus suddenly turned around and strode in one direction. It was an abandoned house, which might have been a bathing hall used by the Saracens who originally occupied this place to wash themselves. After the Crusaders occupied Gaza Sarafa, all the buildings used by these pagans to desecrate the holy place were demolished - of course, with the exception of those magnificent and vast temples.

Only some ruins remained of the bathhouse. Anything of value had been removed. There were no doors or windows, only a broken ceiling and still standing walls. As soon as Longinus turned around the towering half-man-high bricks and stones, he could see the situation inside with the dim light from outside.

The whistling sound like the wind blowing through the sand came from the covered mouth of a young girl, and the whirring sound came from the heavy breathing of the thugs, the sound of doors hitting the frames, and the sound of iron hinges came from their chain mail, shields and weapons.

Without anyone's explanation, Longinus understood at a glance that the girl might have sneaked out to fetch water at night when everyone was asleep.

As for the reason, there is no need to say much. As the army gradually gathered in Gaza Rafa, the preparation time became longer and longer. No local people dared to approach those cowhide tents anymore, and King Amalric I also received constant complaints - from pagans, Isaacs, and Christians.

But these things were never avoidable. When Longinus was still in his hometown, even the smallest territorial wars would inevitably cause farmers and craftsmen to suffer.

There were three knights in robes and chain mail. One of them held the girl tightly to prevent her from shouting, while the other two held long swords and looked at the newcomers vigilantly.

After seeing Longinus dressed as a wandering knight, their expressions suddenly relaxed, and even showed a hint of impatience. One knight put down his sword, then fumbled on his belt a few times, took out a silver coin and threw it over.

Longinus did not catch it, and the silver coin fell to the ground, spinning a few times.

"That's not bad, bastard," the knight said. "Take your money and get out. You have no place here."

"Who is that girl?"

"A Saracen, and a heathen whore," answered the other knight, and the girl twisted her body wildly, and opened her eyes wide, and tears like dew flowed from her large dark brown eyes.

"We are just about to win her over with pious kisses and hugs," said the man holding her. Only then did Longinus realize that the guy was not a knight, but a priest in chain mail.

"She will become pious and a good Christian," the priest continued. "If she won't, or if anyone disturbs this sacred ceremony, they will all go to hell."

He watched with satisfaction as the wandering knight hesitated, then bent down as if to pick up the silver coin.

But the next moment, he screamed!
(End of this chapter)

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