Chapter 43: Ambition
Chapter 43: Ambition
In the open-air camp, bonfires burned in clusters. The Kurdish cavalrymen sat relaxed on the ground, replenishing their water and food.
From time to time, someone would laughingly boast about how many enemies they had killed during the day.
This time, every one of them had reaped a rich harvest. If they were in a feudal country, each of them could purchase a manor in their hometown and become a manor lord.
But unfortunately, the Kurds were a nomadic tribe. An individual, even with wealth, could not survive alone. They had to huddle together for warmth.
Lothar sat on a woolen carpet spread on the sand, holding an earthenware pot of meat broth and sipping it slowly. "I wonder if word of Kaukab's death has spread. And I also wonder if we'll be attacked by Sa'd al-Din and his Mamluks on our return journey by the same route."
Mamluk referred to slave soldiers, similar to the "Ghilman" that had been prevalent for centuries, but even more elite. Kings had their Mamluks, and governors also had their Mamluks.
Saladin's Khassaki Guard, in particular, were the elite among Mamluks, and a rare force within the Zoroastrian sphere capable of confronting Crusader knights.
In terms of combat effectiveness for a similar number of troops, Crusader knights were undoubtedly among the best of this era. Princess Anna Komnene of the Eastern Empire once described them in her writings: a knight from the Crusade could make a hole in the walls of Babylon.
This was enough to show how formidable Saladin's Khassaki Guard were.
"News of Kaukab's death won't reach the Ayyubids that quickly, unless they can rely on falcons in the sky to deliver messages." Abdullah, clutching a Damascus scimitar with a silver pattern, sliced off a piece of roast lamb rib from the rack over the campfire and stuffed it into his mouth. Grease dripped onto his thick beard as he said, somewhat indistinctly, "But the other lords loyal to the Sasanian King will definitely react immediately. They will be more vigilant and much harder to deal with."