Inside Homs City.
Faruksha's aged face had grown even more furrowed; he was the son of Saladin's elder brother and the Governor of the Homs Region. That he was entrusted with guarding such a strategic chokepoint showed how much Saladin trusted this man.
These days, the situation inside Homs City was worsening by the day.
The Crusaders' assaults came one wave stronger than the last; more than half of the able-bodied men conscripted to defend the city had been killed or wounded, and they had been forced to draft soldiers from the Jewish Quarter, whose residents had previously been exempted from military service by paying extra taxes.
Fortunately, these people—who, according to Legend, had betrayed the "Prophet Eisa" worshiped by the Frankish barbarians—were never truly accepted by the Franks either. Now the two sides were thoroughly lashed to the same boat, each harboring its own schemes, yet compelled to lean on one another.
"Uncle, Homs won't be able to hold out much longer."
