Eagle Byzantium

Many armed militias on the city head, following Gawain's instructions, began to throw stones at the rushing Norman knights, and then the side door was pulled open with a creak.

Harvey, who was walking quickly on horseback, vaguely saw the flashing reflection of armor and weapons in the dark corridor in the side door. He thought that Gawain was trying to form a formation here to resist him, so he raised the battle flag high. , shouted to the Norman knights behind him, "We rushed into the city gate and trampled the weak Greeks into pulp!"

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah" After receiving the order, all the Norman knights threw away their spears, then pulled out their swords one by one, raised their swords, and rushed toward the open side door.

Waiting for everyone at the side gate was a large crossbow launcher called "Porcupine". It was controlled and pushed by sixteen people. It was blocked in the corridor of the city gate. There was no need to aim at it. When they saw the people pouring into the corridor, When the iron hooves of the Norman knight vibrated, they triggered the mechanism - twenty-four large crossbow arrows, as powerful as the flying iron spears, were sold at high prices in Venice and Ragusa. They rushed forward along the corridor, people The screams of the horses suddenly came to mind. The armor of the Harfrey at the front was torn to pieces, and the flag was broken. He and his horse were immediately intercepted and killed on the spot. Several Norman knights behind him were either dead or injured. They rolled to the ground and were instantly killed. They were trampled by the accomplices who came from behind, and the knights who were crowded on the small bridge behind were crowded together randomly. Many people were squeezed off their horses and struggled to get up by stepping on the stream. They were knocked down and injured by stones flying from the city wall. However, the Norman knight who regained his consciousness continued to crawl over the corpses of his accomplices with extraordinary ferocity, and tried to seize the city gate along the corridor.

At this moment, the porcupine crossbow cart had been dragged aside. Gawain rushed down the steps of the tower and ran to the mechanism room in the middle of the gate tower. He raised his hatchet and cut off the rope in one move. An iron gate in the corridor fell rapidly, and the roar smashed up the billowing dust. Several Norman knights who rushed forward angrily slashed it with their swords until the flames flew everywhere, but to no avail - half of Earl Humphrey's leg, with a bent The twisted intestines lay on one side of the iron gate and half of the upper body was smashed on the other side. It was snatched away by the city of Barry.

Here, Titicius reorganized more than a hundred cavalry, circled back, shot and wounded many of the Humphrey detachment who were still tired on the bridge. Seeing the death of their commander, the Norman knights who lost their fighting spirit could only Able to get on horseback again. Some walked on foot, collapsed and fled randomly along the city wall.

In the city of Bari, many soldiers from the militia took off their helmets and waved them. They used spears to pierce the upper half of Haverley's body, lifted it up, and walked on the street. They passed by the Cathedral of St. Nicholas and went straight to the top of the city. They stood his body on it for public display and saw the body of Count Humphrey, who was dangling and died tragically. Tancred was furious, but there was nothing he could do about it. Bohemond, who was commanding the entire army on the hill over there, was also so angry that he couldn't control himself.

Then, in front of everyone, Gawain, wrapped in red feathers and holy armor, stood next to the body of Halfrey, cheering and shouting to everyone above and below the city. "Aren't the enemies not prepared to spare the lives of everyone in our city? Then this is their fate. The soldiers of Bari are not prepared to spare the lives of any Normans and kill them without mercy. I don't need any ransom. This is just First of all, all the enemies captured at the city gate, whether they are knights, sergeants, servants or craftsmen, will be brought up and executed!"

Then, Gawain raised his hand, and his military servant Muzafiadin ran down from the tower, then took the bow and arrow from the mercenary named Tekobo, and stood fifteen steps away from the broken body of Earl Humphrey. , fired three arrows in a row, and the arrows penetrated the corpse's head, "Feel this horror, his head has been shot through by the infidel, and he will go to hell after death!"

Subsequently, the Tecopo mercenaries stepped forward one by one and used fire arrows to shoot Count Haverley's body into a burning "hedgehog" until it burned into a ball of fire, which was visible to all enemies and friends.

After a bloody battle, Tancred was forced back from the bridge by Diogenes' heroic fight. However, the Norman army captured almost all the positions and fortifications outside the city of Bari. Their servants razed and destroyed the Byzantine army's fortifications and stables, and began to prepare for a direct attack on the city. Gawain also successfully withdrew most of the remaining troops into the city and continued to defend the city.

Bohemond's losses were extremely heavy: nineteen knights were killed, including Harfrey, and nearly 300 infantry were killed or wounded. As for the dozens of people captured by Gawain, according to the other party's oath, not a single one was left. , all of them were slaughtered at the top of the city where everyone could see, and their bodies and heads were thrown under the city.

Bohemond, who was also red-eyed, also killed more than a hundred captured wounded soldiers from the city in front of the battle line.

Now in the entire city of Bari, the terror of taking no prisoners permeates the camps of both the enemy and ours. Gawain is regarded as a butcher by the Normans, and Bohemond is regarded as an executioner by the city of Bari. There is a sworn blood feud.

This kind of terror is beneficial to the Bari militia and the defenders, because today's battle has made it clear to everyone that the city cannot be broken, even in street fighting, and the city must be defended until death, otherwise it will inevitably fall into the hands of Bohemond. A fatal ending. But it was different for the Norman knights who besieged the city. They didn't expect that Gawain was killing people without batting an eye, waving a mysterious sword in his hand. The other party said it was the holy sword of the archangel, but Bohemond's propaganda But it was the magic sword - "After the city is defeated, I will personally hold a torch in front of the Saint Nicholas Cathedral where there are piles of corpses, and burn Gawain's body and the sword, crushing the bones and scattering ashes."

However, in the bloody siege battle, they were killed or wounded in battle, or fell into the hands of Gawain, and it was impossible to even obtain a ransom. For the first time, all the knights felt the feeling of identity collapse: just like Earl Humphrey. Like this, he was brutally killed by the despicable infantry and militia, and his body was humiliated mercilessly.

The next day, Bohemond tried to launch several small attacks, but none went smoothly. The ladder he climbed up was quickly pushed down by the city. At that time, the city was still building steep slopes and sharp piles under the city wall. , so that the siege towers could not get close to the wall smoothly, so the two siege towers were abandoned there, and were pierced and destroyed one by one by the Venetian catapults on the towers with stone bullets.

Without exception, several of the captured knights were escorted to a prominent city wall by Gawain. They struck each one with a sword and then threw their bodies down. "I reiterate, we are the ones who take no prisoners."

The distressed Bohemond ordered the army to stop attacking in the next few days, rest and recharge, waiting for a loophole in the city.

Countless pilgrims from all over Italy and France, men and women, young and old, women and children, after hearing the news that the Duke of Apulia was planning to capture the city of Bari and then sail to Asia Minor to pay a pilgrimage to recover the Holy Tomb, they also came to the siege camp one after another to prepare. Take the Duke's free ship and "drive them away, so that the army's food and morale will soon be exhausted." Bohemond said angrily. (To be continued ~^~)