Dahab.

Under a sand-eroded pale yellow city wall.

Flags fluttering.

Rauf's fully armored main army, along with troops from various subordinate vassals, most only clothed in fabric, from the Bedouin nomads in the desert.

Rauf's expression was cold: "Zane, that coward, it seems he's been scared out of his wits by that Frankish barbarian, hesitating at the border."

"This won't do! Send a hawk to deliver a message, at the very least we must capture one of the Franks' border fortresses, otherwise he needn't return."

He turned to look behind, at the well-organized army, and not far away, at those Bedouin nomads summoned by the prospect of plundering the gem of the Red Sea—Eira Port.

A tribal chief on a white horse, wrapped in a turban, approached Rauf, placing a hand on his chest: "Holy Fire Everlasting, Sir Rauf, Governor Adil prohibits us from starting a war with the Franks, should we then...?"

Rauf smiled and said: "But Lord Adil never said we couldn't counterattack.

That barbaric and unreasonable Frankish Lord has seized the land of my brothers, plundered his wealth, and enslaved our Fire Worship brethren, forcing them to convert to another faith."

"This is a humiliation that no devout follower under the protection of the Holy Fire can tolerate."

He raised his embedded jewel and gem-studded sword, shouting:

"People under the protection of the Holy Fire, these barbaric Franks have occupied our Holy Land, plundered our wealth, slaughtered our brethren, and violated our women."

"These barbarians from the impoverished western lands will never be satisfied in their greed, as they ambitiously seek opportunities to attack us."

"And today, as the Feudal Lord of Hejaz and Southern Sinai, I summon you in the name of the Holy Fire to take revenge against our enemies."

Thunderous cheers erupted.

The tribal chief showed signs of worry, looking at Rauf, who was full of zeal, wanting to persuade him more, but saw his expression turn cold as he loudly ordered: "Bring out those traitors, behead them as a sacrificial offering!"

One by one, shackled in chains, the Saracens were pushed forward by Rauf's personal guards to the base of the city.

These were either recruited by Mueller or had been in contact with him in secret, often sending him messages in private.

Now, however, for some unknown reason, they were captured by Rauf.

With a command.

They were all subjected to the punishment of impalement.

Rauf snorted coldly: "This is the fate of traitors."

The tribal chief dared not persuade further and withdrew with bowed head.

Rauf watched this scene, his expression filled with pride.

A simple strategy of diversion.

Zane was merely a sacrificial lamb he had cast aside.

"Is Mr. Minot ready?"

The Black Wizard behind Rauf, wearing human bone earrings and necklaces, with a sinister demeanor, smiled and said: "Of course, the great Scorpion God is impatiently awaiting the offering of blood."

Accompanied by the roars of beasts, over a dozen giant Scorpion-tailed Lions, bearing riders, took to the sky.

Seeing this, the various recruit soldiers once again exclaimed and cheered, as the most powerful predators in the desert, each year, they didn't know how many livestock and humans would be carried off by Scorpion-tailed Lions, now finding that Rauf could command such powerful beasts, boosted their confidence.

They cared not about the Fire Worship brethren.

In reality, a significant portion of Bedouins in the Sinai Peninsula follow both the Holy Fire and the Old Gods, and many tribes don't believe in the Holy Fire at all.

They were willing to follow Rauf to battle simply for the plunder.

...

Aqaba.

A fleet of galley ships moored at the port.

Lamoer—the trusted officer of Piercer Rauf, anxiously awaited the hawk's message; once Rauf's army was near the city, he would need to attack Eira Port from the sea.

At that moment.

Accompanied by an eagle's cry.

The hawk swooped down from the sky.

Lamoer stretched out his hand, too anxious to remember to wear an arm guard, the hawk's talons embedded deeply into his skin as it landed.

"Damn beast."

He cursed, tossing the hawk to his slave, and opened the message tied to the hawk's leg.

Instantly, a smile spread across his face: "Immediately set sail, we must give these damned Franks a stern lesson!"

...

Zane glanced at the message from the southwest, his expression somewhat troubled.

Beside him, the Mamluk chief was puzzled: "Sir Rauf wants us to at least capture a border fortress of the enemy, what's the purpose of this?"

Such a simple rammed earth fortress wouldn't take much time to breach and requires no siege weapons.

Yet the cost of constructing such a fortress is minimal; even if captured, it's of no significance.

Zane fell silent for a moment.

Spoke quietly: "Obviously, Rauf is launching a full-scale attack on Eira Port."

"We, are merely the bait."

"I already noticed something was amiss in Dahab City today, it seems my brother has always been wary of me."

Little did Zane know, had he not been his usual reckless and arrogant self, his brother wouldn't have been this cautious of him.

"What should we do now?"

Zane fumed: "What else can we do? Wander under some king's domain and hope to be taken in as a Vizier? We have no choice!"

"Relay the orders, surround the fortress ahead!"

The so-called fortress was indeed very small.

It wasn't a defended stronghold, just a simple shelter for nearby villagers, allowing the militia to delay some time using the walls.

This small rammed earth fortress could accommodate at most dozens of people and was completely overcrowded at the moment.

Nearby villagers, whole families were squeezed inside.

Human cries mingled with horse neighs.

The sounds and smells of sheep, camels, chicken, ducks, and other livestock mixed together.

Otto listened to the children's cries in his ears, irritably said: "Why won't these Saracens just leave? What are they planning, ignoring the treaty signed by Saladin and King Baldwin?"

Border skirmishes were hardly worth mentioning, similar scenes could be seen everywhere in the border fiefs of the Kingdom of Jerusalem.

Ulm's expression was solemn: "Perhaps these Saracens really intend to break the treaty and launch an attack against us."

Zane led his Mamluk personal guard to the fortress.

Though he had expected it, he couldn't help but sneer: "Look, this is the ramshackle mound made of mud that Rauf wants me to capture."

The personal guard chief asked: "Sir, should we launch an attack?"

Zane looked at the Winged Cavalry and the militia climbing the wall and shook his head: "Attack what, the hell with attacking, send people to cut trees and make siege weapons."

The personal guard chief was puzzled: "Sir, to capture such a fortress, there's no need for siege weapons, just a stake to break the gate."

Zane sneered: "Is there any point?"

"Rauf wants us to act as bait, luring the Frankish main force out so he can raid Eira Port, we just need to put on a show here."

"Hawk Trainer, you must constantly watch for enemies approaching from the south, and immediately report once they are near."

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