The adjutant shook his head.
Jennings frowned and shifted his gaze to the enemy troops outside the city, only to unexpectedly discover a small group of people emerging from the Imperial army and slowly walking towards the city gate.
Filled with doubt, Jennings looked at the leader of the squad, a stocky imperial official, who walked to the city gate and shouted, "The great and merciful Saladin is willing to give you one last chance before the wrath of Allah descends upon you!"
Persuade them to surrender?
Jennings clenched his fists and pounded them against the city wall beneath him.
After a moment, he said in a hoarse voice, "Have those guys come up to the city wall in gondolas."
The adjutant was taken aback, then hurriedly advised, "Sir, negotiating with infidels, if word gets back to the parish, it could damage your reputation!"
Jennings turned and glared at his adjutant, then growled in a low voice, "I know! But at a time like this, feigning negotiations is the only way we can buy time!"
Looking at the imperial army before him, Jennings gritted his teeth and said fiercely, "As long as we can hold out until reinforcements arrive..."
Randall watched everything unfolding on the city walls, a vague sense of foreboding creeping into his heart.
That invincible emperor of the empire could not possibly be unaware of the principle that speed is of the essence in war. Last night he used light cavalry to raid the city gate, but today he sent out envoys to persuade them to surrender. What kind of conspiracy is behind this?
Late that night, in the camp of the Ayyubid Empire.
Ilam, the commander of the Qasaghi guard, came to Saladin's tent and requested a meeting.
After the guards reported this, Ilem found the Imperial Emperor reading by lamplight in his tent.
“Caliph, the envoy sent to persuade them to surrender has returned.”
Upon hearing this, Saladin looked up from his book and saw a face as black as the bottom of a pot. He then laughed and said, "Let me guess, they neither agreed to surrender nor openly declared their resistance."
"Those cunning old dogs are just trying to stall for time!" Elem said indignantly.
Saladin showed no surprise or anger. He put down the book in his hand and said to his trusted general, "The enemy has not made any mistake in choosing to do this at this time."
Upon hearing this, Ilem tentatively asked, "In that case, can we skip the persuasion and just start fighting tomorrow?"
Saladin nodded slightly and said, "Good, we can start the war tomorrow..."
"Excellent!" Ilam rubbed his hands together excitedly. "Caliph, just give the order, and I guarantee I can..."
"Don't forget what I told you before."
"ah?"
Saladin slammed his fist on the table and hissed, "I allow you to attack Lone Rock, but you cannot take it!"
Upon hearing this, Ilem's face immediately fell.
Saladin ignored him and instead turned his gaze northward, muttering to himself, "Judging by the time, it's about time Lone Rock City heard the news."
At this moment, in the barracks of Lone Rock, Regent Jennings stood before a table, gazing at the enormous map before him. Having not rested for a long time, he sported dark circles under his eyes and appeared somewhat pale.
"Today is the second day since the messenger set off. There should be news coming back by now." Jennings looked at the map while recalling everything that had happened in the past two days, feeling that he had missed something important.
A series of hurried footsteps interrupted his thoughts.
"My lord! My lord! The messenger has returned!"
Jennings looked up and saw the messenger standing at the door. His eyes widened, and he roared, "Let them in!"
The sentry who came to deliver the message said with a troubled expression, "Sir, only one messenger has returned, and some... others have also come..."
Jennings paused for a moment, then quickly moved aside the sentry at the door and strode outside.
Upon stepping outside, the first thing Jennings saw was a knight he had never seen before. He was short and stout, wearing black armor embroidered with a cross-shaped protective umbrella pattern.
On the knight's back lay the messenger from Lone Rock City, barely breathing, his fate unknown.
Anxious Jennings ordered his men to take the messenger from the knight while loudly demanding that a doctor be summoned.
The messenger, sent to seek reinforcements, was shot in the chest by a musket and covered in blood. He opened his bloodshot eyes, looked at the Regent of Lonely Rock City, uttered only one sentence, and breathed his last.
"The Imperial fleet... landed in the north three days ago..."
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