March on Cairo

Time flew by, and before they knew it, two months had passed.

During this time, Lothar's conquest of Egypt advanced steadily.

Hans, Baron Charles, Vinetto, and the others had all been dispatched by Lothar to lead troops in their respective regions.

The most suited to commanding independently were actually Orhan and Giovanni, but both had matters of their own to attend to in their respective timelines. They could not abandon everything and remain summoned for long.

Thanks to Shadow of Darkness's propaganda and bribery, the Copts' will to resist was not particularly strong. Often, before the army even arrived, they chose to surrender on their own initiative. This even included many Saracen nobles who had willingly converted to Christianity.

Lothar adopted a conciliatory approach toward these people as well, holding them up as examples.

There were occasionally a few who stubbornly resisted, but once Demon Dragon Ladon flew over, their hot-blooded minds would cool down thoroughly. The truly fanatical holy warriors had long since taken to the battlefield without waiting to be called up.

After suffering several crushing defeats, how could they possibly still be alive?

Now, they had reached the final crucial step in the "reclamation" of Egypt—retaking Cairo.

Cairo lay at the southernmost end of the Nile Delta and was the hub city from which all Egypt was ruled.

It had now fallen into the hands of Buri, Governor of Fayoum Province and the half-brother of Saladin and Adil. He and another brother, Turanshah, who controlled Upper Egypt Province, supported one another.

After clearing out the resistance in the Nile Delta, Lothar rested for a time, then gathered an army of more than ten thousand and marched mightily toward Cairo.

Cairo, Eastern Palace, Golden Hall.

This had once been where the Grand Patriarch of the Fatimid Dynasty received