Senmut walked somewhat despondently down the streets of Damietta.
Along the way, everyone who saw him would lower their heads and hurriedly avoid him. No one spoke a word to his face, yet it seemed as though everyone was mocking his incompetence.
The guards stationed at the City Lord's Hall took the reins from his hands with a complex expression: "General, the governor and the lords are already waiting for you inside."
"I understand."
Senmut glanced at the painted window frames and slowly walked into the magnificent marble hall.
Sure enough, as soon as he entered, he was greeted by the questioning voices he had anticipated.
"Senmut, you have squandered Damietta's last elite forces, and now with only over ten thousand troops remaining in the city, how can we resist the numerous, well-equipped Frankish soldiers?"
The speaker was a close aide of Governor Iben, a Jewish man from Iberia, known as Maimonides.
