Chapter 468 - 333: The Crusaders Attack

Hama City

Eric needed to stay in Hama City for three or four days, until Leif arrived with his army to begin a smooth siege.

Now that his Identity issue was sorted out, if all went well, he could even receive some Dinars for his trouble.

The only problem was that this City Guard job didn’t include lodging. After his shift ended, he had to find a place to sleep on his own.

Worse, because of the approaching "Heretic army," Hama City had imposed a curfew, and Eric had to find a place to stay before it began.

Of course, Eric could have just spent some money on an inn or something, but having been used to getting free room and board with his Cultivator Identity, he was really reluctant to spend money on accommodation.

Besides, why should he spend money when it came to Heretics?

What’s more, the Arabs had already paid for his room and board when they invaded the Catholic World. He was being generous just by not asking these Heretics for the outstanding balance.

Eric had originally planned to just pick a lock, knock out the owner of some house, and sleep there for the night.

However, just as he was standing at someone’s door, about to take out his lock picks, the door opened. He was greeted not by an angry resident, but by an old man with a kind smile, who was sending Eric a friendly signal.

And just like that, the tables were turned on Eric.

"Welcome to the city!" he said. "Do you have any family or friends here?"

Eric said he didn’t. ’This old man is probably a swindler, or some kind of pervert. Just an annoying guy.’

Then again, Eric knew the man probably thought the same thing about him.

Eric wasn’t wearing his City Guard uniform. According to Ahmed, the uniform was state property and could only be worn on duty. He had earnestly lectured Eric that they couldn’t just swagger around in front of the citizens all the time; they had to give the people a break.

Even a field of leeks needs time to recover after being harvested. A few veteran City Guards had kindly informed Eric that several of their predecessors, after spending a fortune to secure official positions, had been too eager to squeeze money out of the citizens to recoup their investment.

As a result, the citizens paid Balha a bribe to deal with those impatient guards, and Balha decisively fired them all. The citizens’ anger was placated, and Balha had tearfully pocketed two payments from the affair.

So now, there was Eric, dressed in old robes, his face bandaged, standing in front of someone’s door in the dead of night.

The scene couldn’t have been more bizarre.

On a side note, Mahmud had told Ahmed to give Eric a suit of Zha Armor as a reward, but there was still no sign of it.

Just as Eric was wondering whether he should knock the man out, the old man continued, "Noble guest, please do not doubt me. It is my master who has bid me wait here and extend the utmost hospitality to all visiting travelers."

Although the old man looked to be of humble origin, he wore clean clothes and was clearly familiar with the ways of a host.

The old man then stepped out of the house, closed the door behind him, and led Eric down the street.

Eric certainly didn’t think an old man could pose any threat to him. Finding the situation interesting, he followed along.

Eric hadn’t followed him for long when the man led him through a heavy gate and down a long, vaulted corridor.

At that point, Eric found himself in the courtyard of an inn. A well stood in the middle of the courtyard, which was bustling with people and animals. It was surrounded by a three-story lodging house.

The old man said, "You may stay here for as long as you wish, be it one night or three months. You will be provided with a bed and food, and your mule will be given fodder."

When Eric asked him how much it cost per day, he refused to answer, saying only:

"You are my master’s honored guest."

"Please tell me the name of this generous host, so that I may express my gratitude to him."

"My master passed away seven years ago. He left all his money to me, charging me to properly receive travelers who come to Hama."

"What is your master’s name? I wish to spread the word of his kindness and good deeds."

"You need only thank almighty Allah. He knows who does good deeds in His name."

So, Eric stayed there.

Whenever he returned from a stroll, he would always find a plate piled high with delicious food.

Over the next few days, Hama City implemented full-scale defensive measures according to Mahmud’s plan. Adult male Christians were driven outside the city to build defensive works like trenches and earthen mounds. Their women and children were kept inside the city as hostages. This would both prevent the men from defecting to the enemy and allow them to be used to steal intelligence from the enemy army.

Yajisiyan began to write a letter reporting the situation to Tutush. Even if Tutush was constrained and unwilling to help, it would allow Yajisiyan to recall his own troops first. At the same time, he also wrote to the surrounding Turkic Lords, calling for a Jihad in the name of Allah to repel the Christians. He further exaggerated the size of the Christian army to ensure the Turkic Lords would take the threat seriously.

In addition, Yajisiyan didn’t fully trust the testimony of Ahmed and Eric, as he knew his subordinates had a tendency to exaggerate. He planned to send a small squad out of the city to scout the situation.

However, the soldiers had been terrified by Ahmed’s alarmist propaganda over the past few days and were unwilling to participate in this "glorious mission." Only after Yajisiyan increased the reward did he finally manage to scrape together nine men.

Eric had been a little worried. Although these nine men were no great threat—Hook Eye, the master of reconnaissance and counter-reconnaissance whom Eric had left in the village to lead the Christian villagers, was more than enough to handle them.

But what if the scouting party discovered something?

What if they found out that it was all Eric’s bluff? That the "Heretic army" that had scared off Ahmed was nothing more than a few Normans leading a band of Christian villagers in a spooky charade?

Then all his work over the past few days would have been for nothing.

In the days that followed, a steady stream of Muslim villagers poured into the city seeking refuge, which put Eric’s mind at ease.

Ever since that group of Counts had split off with their armies, Eric’s forces needed a victory to boost morale. They also needed a proper base of operations, and Hama was indeed a good choice.

Fortunately, God once again smiled upon Eric. On the third day, the scouting soldiers returned—two of the nine came back. On the fourth day, a massive, dark army arrived on their heels, nearly six thousand strong, including Knight’s Squires to swell their ranks.

They formed up in ranks below Hama City. Banners of white with red crosses flew alongside the colorful flags of various families, all fluttering in the wind from the sea.

Eric saw the flag of his own Outville-Gloucester family. Besides that, there were the banners of the Blois Clan, the Montgomery family, and numerous lesser Nobility. Hallowed among them all was the three-lion war banner of England. This long standard had three pointed tails and was made of precious, blood-red silk that rippled like waves.

Attendants with the army also held up icons of the Virgin Mary and Saint George.

Hama City was surrounded by an offshoot of the Orontes River, known as the Sablan River.

Its glory from the Roman Era was long gone; the present-day Sablan River could hardly be called a "river."

For half the year, it was merely a slow-moving channel, winding through plague-ridden swamps before disappearing into the coastal mudflats.

In terms of length, it was now laughably short—a person could probably wade from its source to its end in just over an hour. In terms of depth, it was just as laughable—at low tide, a person could cross it without getting wet past their waist.

The Sablan River drew its water from reed-filled marshes. This humble waterway had become a part of Hama City, nourishing the surrounding wetlands where reeds grew thick and herons hunted for frogs. The local villagers—from the three settlements of Ruba, Bani Musa, and Qaslan—set wicker eel traps in the intersecting streams.

Now, the Sablan River separated the Crusader Knights from Hama City.

Yajisiyan, being an expert in siege defense, had dispatched men to clear and deepen the channel to ensure the river flowed freely and to create more difficulties for the Crusaders.

On the opposite bank, beyond the closed drawbridge, stood two stone watchtowers. Yajisiyan had ordered the Christians to dig trenches around the watchtowers, which he then filled with Archers and Infantry. Farther behind them were the high walls of Hama and the river before them—Hama City’s second moat.