kingdom of nations

Chapter 92: Fustat (Part )

As soon as Cesar ran back to where the boat was stranded, he saw the first flame burning from a corner of the palace. It was not a torch or a candle. He knew it at a glance. After all, he had seen and passed through these flames countless times in the previous siege.

It was a paraffin oil fire.

He immediately boarded the boat and paddled desperately, his head buzzing. He should have discovered it long ago - the number of residents in the city was too abnormal. Even if a large number of them escaped, many more died in the siege that lasted for several weeks, or hid because they were afraid of being killed by Christians. It shouldn't be so few.

Now it seems that they were probably prepared to perish together with the Crusaders. When the Crusaders were still in Bilbao, the city of Fustat had already made preparations. If they could not defend the city, they would try to lure in their enemies, then burn the city and perish with them.

Therefore, the only people in the city are those who are willing to sacrifice themselves for this final outcome.

These flames were as unstoppable as the plague that spread across Europe three hundred years later. Out of sight of the Christians, piles of clay pots were quickly broken, flowing on the ground and spreading in all directions. The Saracens lit them - and then, as if in an instant, everywhere was lit up.

They didn't seem to be burning in palaces, temples, or mansions, but seemed to be burning in Cesar's heart. He was filled with anxiety and didn't care about anything else. He bowed and prayed to the saint. Although he didn't know his name until now, his protection still came to him immediately as every time, giving him extraordinary strength and reaction speed, and the boat broke through the water like a flying arrow.

Even so, he still felt it was too slow, too slow.

When he could see the pier, he didn't even have time to slowly moor the boat to the shore. Instead, he stood up from the boat and jumped into the water. He swam ashore quickly and then leaped through the fruit-filled fig forest like a panicked deer.

The tall, black tree trunks, like picture frames, divided the now-burning palace into tiny red patches. The lake reflected the flames. As he walked, the two opposing images grew larger and smaller. He looked around anxiously, searching. Were there any survivors? Had they escaped?

The hall where they held the banquet faced the lake, but it was obvious that Shawar did not leave this obvious clue, or he did it on purpose so that they could not guess what he was going to do... - The main material in petroleum brain work is light oil. The reason why it can be used in naval battles is because it can float on the sea and burn.

The same is true now on the lake.

Cesar saw people, but unfortunately they were not the ones he expected. Instead, they were a group of Saracen guards. Their faces were no longer respectful and docile as before, but fierce like a demon. They held scimitars and crossbows in their hands, and waited for anyone who dared to rush out of the palace with a smile full of satisfaction.

At this moment, Cesar had slowly approached a guard. Thanks to the former Caliph, they had built steps very close to the water in order to watch the fish and feed the swans by the lake. Cesar grabbed the guard's ankle, dragged him into the water, and slit his throat.

Before his companions could react, Cesar swam in another direction. A guard saw his figure swimming underwater - like a big fish with silver scales. He shouted and pointed at the water surface. Another guard was running over quickly, holding a spear in his hand. When he saw the bright color, he stabbed it down fiercely.

He stabbed it, but it was like stabbing a strong crocodile. The spear even bounced out of the water and slipped from his hand. Cesar grabbed it with one hand and thrust it into his lower abdomen. He fell down. His companions raised their crossbows, but like the javelin, the arrows were of no use.

Cesar had passed him by like a gust of wind, and he rushed straight towards the palace that was spewing flames.

Everything inside had turned crimson—the marble pillars, the cedar floors and windows, the bronze chandeliers, the richly patterned and exquisite carpets, the velvet cushions, and the chairs and low tables inlaid with gems, gilded, or silver-plated.

Cesar saw the dead, some young women and servants, some of them were crawling or lying on their backs, but all of them were facing outside the palace, as if they had been killed while fleeing.

He vaguely heard someone screaming, but the place was filled with thick fog and raging flames, and he had no way of identifying the direction.

"Baldwin! Baldwin!" he cried at the top of his voice. "Let me know where you are!"

Fortunately, Baldwin wasn't far from Cesar. Hearing Cesar's cries, he immediately hurled his Spear of St. George. The spear, blazing with white light, whistled out from the flames and struck a eunuch squarely in the throat. He collapsed clutching his throat, his hand still tightly gripping a cleaver. He had intended to sneak up on Cesar, but he hadn't anticipated his own death, even before the young Christian.

He could only watch helplessly as Cesar ran towards the place where the spear was thrown.

He wanted to say—it was no use. The whole city would burn tonight.

The Caliph's palace was made of stone bricks, marble, bronze and precious metals. Logically, it should not have burned so rapidly, but the person who led the conspiracy used a large amount of naphtha.

Naphtha, a substance refined from petroleum, is inherently a highly flammable and explosive liquid. Adding sulfur and yeast to the mix makes it even more potent. While it can't compare to later explosives, it's still enough to turn the palace into a veritable inferno. Furthermore, burning naphtha not only produces deadly heat—the halls are filled with a pungent odor and thick smoke. These fumes stung people's eyes and throats like countless tiny thorns, causing them to cough, tears to well up, and breath to choke.

At this time, Cesar should thank the saint who had favored him. When His grace covered him, he didn't even have to worry about irritation to his mouth and nose. The air he breathed was still as clean as before, just a little bit higher in temperature, and his vision was still clear. If it weren't for the smoke, he might have found Baldwin.

He called out to Baldwin, and Baldwin kept calling out to him. The distance between them quickly closed. When he lifted a collapsed pillar, Cesar realized that this was no longer the hall where the banquet was held. This was probably a small room behind the hall, originally used by the Caliph to spy on ministers or to rest.

------

When the unexpected happened, Amalric I and others wanted to rush outside, but failed. They could only retreat into the small room at the back, overturn the original furniture in the room, and block the only entrance of the small room to resist the flames and enemy attacks.

Surprisingly, Chavar was also a person who had received prophetic revelation. He was surrounded by dazzling light and his eyes were full of madness. He used his fat body as a human battering ram, constantly hitting the obstacles in front of the door. Just when Baldwin and Cesar looked at each other, there was a loud bang and something collapsed.

The Saracens rushed into the room and began to fight the Christians with a seeming disregard for their own lives. Among them were several beardless eunuchs, dressed in rich silks, as if they were going to a grand banquet - in fact, they were going to the banquet of death.

When a person doesn't care about life or death, the power he unleashes is truly terrifying. Bohemond, Duke of Antioch, pierced a eunuch's abdomen, but when he tried to withdraw his sword, the eunuch grabbed him tightly. He was nearly pierced by another eunuch's dagger if Baldwin's spear hadn't been a step faster.

Before Bohemond could say thank you, he started fighting with another Saracen guard. Baldwin wanted to go back to support his father, but was entangled by two eunuchs. Amalric I faced Shawar. The king was so angry that he gritted his teeth and made a chattering sound, while Shawar showed a smug smile.

But a big vicar could not fight against an "Emir". The next moment, Amalric I's dagger pierced Shawar's stomach, but he just looked down and showed a strange smile. Before the king understood the meaning of the smile, he rushed forward and hugged Amalric I.

Amalric I smelled a strong and pungent odor and knew immediately what those wet, sticky things were. He screamed in horror, but was unable to stop a Saracen guard from raising a torch and throwing it at them.

They caught fire instantly, no different from the driest firewood. Even though the king's dagger had pierced the fat and greasy body, Raymond and Bohemond's swords had almost cut off Chavar's arms, and Baldwin's spear had pierced his neck, he still clung tightly to Amalric I like a ball of sticky gum stuck to a piece of wood. The flames burned his flesh and made it sizzle, but he didn't care and just laughed.

He should be proud.

He was vile, he was shameless, he was spit upon, laughed at, despised, so what? He had killed a Christian king, and in this way he had merged with the barbarian leader and gone to hell with him.

"Don't come over!" Amalric I shouted to Baldwin, but Shawar's actions seemed to awaken the other Saracens. They threw away their swords, poured grease on themselves, and set them on fire. Then Baldwin and others followed one after another and launched an attack. Whatever they touched, they would immediately grab it tightly, bite it with their teeth, grab it with their fingers, and wrap it with their knees.

A Saracen guard stared at Baldwin. He knew that this Christian king, Amalric I, had only this one son. This meant that if both Amalric I and Baldwin died here, their country would immediately lose its sole master.

At that time, whether it is Nur ad-Din, Shirkuh or Saladin, they can immediately send troops to fight for this unowned land. Even if they cannot, no matter what the Christian king who finally ascends the throne does, at least in the next few years, he will not have the courage to attack Egypt.

The child didn't notice him at all. He was still desperately trying to save his father. His hands were burned, but he seemed unaware of it.

The soldiers set his body on fire, and as the flames rose, he felt no fear or pain at all. His Saracen blood had already boiled. He pounced on Baldwin and grabbed him accurately. This young Christian man was so slender and so young. If it were on a real battlefield, he would even be willing to spare the child, but as he stood here, he had to turn into a charred corpse.

As he was thinking this, he saw Baldwin's angry face from the shoulder of this body. When he was confused, he realized that the person he was hugging was not Baldwin, but another young man. His hair was rolled up by the flames and thrown into the air by the heat wave, like an unfolded black flag. His green eyes were reflected by the flames, like shining stars. The clothes on his body were burning, but his white skin was not hurt at all.

He seemed like a doll made of porcelain, a creature cast from steel, or a statue made of gold. The flames could not burn him black and dry, but made him brighter and purer. Ah, he remembered that this was the child that Saladin had specifically mentioned and that they needed to let go. He had been called out, but he still came back.

This kind of loyalty is rare.

As he thought this, he fell on his back.

(End of this chapter)