Chapter 409 Duel

In the Saracen camp.

Saladin repeated the message from the slave with some confusion.

"The Crusaders sent a messenger to have a fair 'knight' competition with us?"

When speaking of the word "knight," Saladin specifically used the Frankish term.

"Why should we follow the barbaric traditions of the pagans?"

Takidin found this laughable.

As a Kurd, the bravery passed down from his ancestors also flows in his blood, but unlike the Crusader knights who like to fight alone, both Kurds and Arabs started out as nomads.

For them, the tribal concept is more deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, which means they pay more attention to the strength of the collective.

Saladin just thought for a moment and understood the other party's intention. He chuckled and said: "Are they so sure they can beat us?"

His voice paused slightly and then said: "Then it will be as they wish."

"My king?"

Takidin was obviously surprised.

Saladin shook his head and said: "A duel doesn't mean anything, but it allows us to see clearly what cards our opponent has hidden. Go tell the Crusaders' envoys that we are willing to send people to fight and start a fair duel with them."

Takidin then said: "My king, please ask me to fight!"

He patted his chest. The fat on his broad and round body trembled, making him look extraordinarily tall.

Saladin glanced at his nephew and thought helplessly - "Do you still think you are the same as before?"

In the past, Takidin was a powerful, brave and adept warrior.

But during the time when he was the governor of Egypt, he indulged in sexual activities, and his body was emptied by wine and women. Although he is still strong and strong now, in fact, he has long lost the courage and strength he used to have.

Saladin decisively refused: "Takidin, you are too impatient now."

Takidin said helplessly: "My king, you know better than me how much it costs to maintain such a huge army. No matter how rich Egypt and Syria are, they have their limits."

Egypt seems to have a vast territory, but in fact the real core areas are only Upper Egypt located in the upper reaches of the Nile River and Lower Egypt in the lower reaches of the Nile River, namely the Nile Delta. Most of the rest of the land is inaccessible desert.

Saladin's army gathered here numbered 40,000 men.

Even if each soldier only eats one kilogram of wheat every day and does not eat any meat, he will consume 40,000 kilograms of food every day, which is forty tons.

These are only combatants, not counting the large number of conscripted civilians.

In addition to food, the entire Saracen camp produced dozens of tons of excrement from soldiers and animals every day. It had to be pulled out of the camp in large trucks and buried far away to avoid breeding mosquitoes and flies.

Forty thousand people was not the maximum number of soldiers Saladin could muster, but it was the limit that this land could carry.

If it is a war on the European continent, even if the attackers have assembled tens of thousands of troops, they will often divide the entire supporting army into several, even dozens, or hundreds of branches, and disperse into the enemy's territory to plunder.

Adopt the strategy of feeding on the enemy to reduce the logistical pressure on your own side as much as possible.

If tens of thousands of troops are truly gathered to surround the enemy's city, they will definitely be ruthless enough to injure ten thousand of the enemy and eight thousand of their own.

"If you can take Jerusalem by spending money and food, it will be the most cost-effective deal."

Saladin sneered.

Takidin's idea was correct. The purpose of gathering such a huge army was to fight the enemy quickly. If it took a long time, even if there was no problem with supplies, the lords and soldiers nestled in the military camp would become restless.

Saladin said seriously: "As long as we can win the final victory in this war, I can afford no matter how high the price is."

"Invite Master Shemail and Master Mudriji to come over. I remember that the warrior Master Shemail usually guards the dragon, as well as Master Mudriji's personal guard, are all extremely powerful warriors."

The two armies took up positions and faced each other from a distance.

No one dares to relax.

Even if the Crusaders knew that the purpose of today's battle was to fight the pagans, only God knew whether the cunning pagans would take advantage of this opportunity to launch a surprise attack on their side.

The scorching sun above our heads makes people thirsty.

Many soldiers took out their water bags and took sips of the already hot water, and some knights even started drinking beer.

Lothar rode Eclipse and stood at the front of the team.

This big animal was originally showing off its upright posture to everyone with some arrogance, but after waiting for a long time, it could not let go of its hooves and ran wildly, and gradually became dull and boring.

The company of hussars behind them held lances with flags in their hands.

The flag of the double-headed eagle flapped in the wind.

The feathers on the backs of the hussars are like swans flying high - on both sides of the hussars are fully armed horse archers.

Their armor was so tight that not a single strand of skin was exposed on their bodies.

The armor was so tightly sewn that it looked like a steamer. If Fringilla hadn't cast a group cooling spell on them, they would have had to put on all the armor neatly when the enemy was about to charge in order to ensure their combat effectiveness.

Fighting in this kind of weather, even the light riders did not feel much relaxed.

Derem finally got his wish and became Ulm's attendant. He followed Ulm, who was in charge of the army alone. His mood changed from excitement when he heard that he was going to fight to calmness later, and now he is a little impatient.

He felt like he was back in the boot camp in Hebron. He stood under the scorching sun every day and was exposed to the sun, doing some unknown formation training that seemed to have no effect on fighting in the battle formation.

This is completely different from the war, killing enemies, and making achievements in his imagination.

More like two cowards in a tavern who only cursed at each other but didn't dare to do anything to anyone.

"My lord, I think we should just stand here and yell at those Saracens."

"Save your saliva."

Ulm said helplessly.

He glanced at the light-armored cavalry assigned to him by Lothar. Although they had undergone a short training, they were already considered elite compared with ordinary nomadic cavalry. At the very least, they could understand the flag language and obey orders.

But how much combat effectiveness it has is still very questionable.

This is the reason why even if he is promoted to the commander of an army, he still hopes to return to the combat order of the winged cavalry and become an ordinary cavalryman.

Thinking like this, he glanced with envy at his former colleagues who were still crowding around the Lord like a royal guard.

At this time, the messengers from both sides have completed their notification.

Hans was dressed neatly and took the lead in arriving at the open space in front of the military camps of both sides.

"I am Thorle of the Neva Valley."

The person who came was a warrior wearing a Cuman-style covered chainmail helmet, with only a pair of light blue eyes exposed. It was obvious that he was a Nordic barbarian like a Varangian guard.

The barbarian looked at the Crusader knight opposite who was wearing mirror-like silver-white armor and a barrel helmet decorated with horns like a bull, with an expression of contempt.

He is a powerful warrior with the blood of the Karelian dragon under Master Shemeier. He has long been unable to be described as a human being. Even legendary monsters such as werewolves, vampires, and swamp lichs have been killed by him easily. Passed a few.

Hans said: "I am Hans, the lord of Sego."

Thorle grinned and said: "Your armor and mount are both good. I think they will be my trophies - if they are still intact after this battle."

Under Hans's helmet, there was a sound of urn and urn: "Fighting is not based on words."

The beast's intuition allows him to detect the threat coming from the opponent. This enemy is not easy to deal with, but it will definitely not be more difficult than the madman Veneto.