Eagle Byzantium

Gawain and Anna could hardly believe their eyes - the naval warships coming from Chalcedon Fortress actually stopped rowing and beating drums, the Roman fire-shooting equipment was covered with covers again, and all the crew members The sailors stood on the deck and watched their ship leave.

"Father..." Anna turned around and saw that amidst the sound of the horn, Alexios's huge ship began to retreat, heading towards the royal dock, where the red remaining clouds flew across, reflecting the The gray-white woods and water were like her father's temples. Tears immediately flowed down her face, and she lay gently in Gawain's arms, watching the outline of the imperial capital Constantinople slowly dissipate in the sunset. For a while, the only sound left was the sound of wheels hitting the water.

On the grassland between Chivit and Nicaea, the cold light of the scimitars of the Turkic slave soldiers of the Roman Kingdom rose. The neck of an escaping pilgrim was cut off, and blood flew several feet. The chopped wood was scattered and fell to the ground. He walked into the grass under the hooves of the slave soldier's horse, and then the slave soldier pulled He took off the mask that covered him, put the scimitar back into its sheath, with a proud expression on his face, then got off his horse, used a dagger to cut off the head of the pilgrim who came out to collect wood randomly, and tied it to his saddle - in There were already seven or eight bloody heads hanging on it.

Then, the slave soldier continued to move the horse's hooves, pulled the reins, stood upright on the saddle, and galloped towards the pilgrim's camp at the foot of the mountain, holding the skewered pilgrim's head in his hand, as if to show off himself Like a horseman, he came to the wooden fence of the camp.

Thousands of pilgrims, men and women, covered their faces and watched this scene, as if waiting for the cruel judgment. Seeing the slave soldiers approaching, in the commotion of fear and anger, they all stood up and looked at the people standing on the horse. The slave soldiers on their backs galloped over wantonly, and then shook the bunch of heads. After being thrown into the wooden fence through the air, he laughed and ran away again.

People knelt down around the bunch of human heads rolling on the mud floor. Those who recognized their relatives even cried loudly. Is this the tenth or twentieth time? Throughout Christmas today. The pilgrims who went out to collect supplies, whether they were men, women, old or young, were killed everywhere by the elite slave soldiers sent by Giliki Arslan, and their heads were thrown back to the camp like this as a demonstration. It's a provocation, and it's also an intimidation.

"One day has passed, we must go to war!" Forcher was furious, "Tit for tooth."

"Please wait for one more day. People from the Chiwet camp will report that there are dozens of small boats carrying soldiers and horses sent by Grand Duke Gawain to the shore today." As a result, Walter had not finished his words. Reynold interrupted impatiently, "Tomorrow morning, forty thousand pilgrims, armed with weapons, will come out of the camp and form an array. To defeat the provocation of the despicable pagans, there is no need to wait for the insignificant Gawain, otherwise he will Take away our merits."

"please......"

"Walter, all five hundred cavalry are handed over to you. Set up a formation on the plains leading to the Nicaea passage!" Forcher and Reynold at the same time, did not give the old knight any chance to speak, and commanded said in a tone of voice. Questions and angry looks from all directions were directed at Walter, the chief flag officer in the center of the whirlpool, the old knight with gray beard and hair. I can only lower my head and stop defending.

"The rest of the people were divided into six square formations. Forcher and I each commanded three, and marched in columns from the dense forest on the side of the plain. Under the guidance of Knight Walter, together with Surelman's army, we stood in front of the canyon. decisive battle!"

The morning star had just disappeared, and 40,000 pilgrims from Germany, West Francia, Denmark and other places, the vast majority of whom were men, all held up simple weapons, sang hymns loudly, and lined up in a dense queue. He left the camp, followed Fulcher and Reynold's plan, and started walking towards the woods that blocked the view in front of the pasture.

A sharp-eyed falcon stood alone on the fence of the camp and saw the marching team filled with smoke and dust. Then it flapped its wings and flew, roaring and circling between the mountains and plains. Finally, it flew higher and higher, and came to The castle on the steep mountain that changed hands twice fell into On the shoulders of the Armenian Pak'ad, the bald man looked at the unconcealed march of the pilgrims below and grinned, "Hurry up and report to the Sultan that his provocative plan is successful. You can Form an array in front of the canyon and defeat this group of bandits who don’t know the heights of the sky.”

At the same time, in front of the port of Chiwet, many sailors of the Dalian Company were standing in the cold wind in the early morning. Luo Bai was on the beach, watching a strange ship docking, and their Grand Duke was standing on it.

Gawain jumped onto the shore first, and then the cabin door opened, and the sailors in the boat picked up Anna, Agnes, Muzafiadin, the Slavic hunter, and Sabina one after another.

While Anna was still expressing her feelings, Gawain was already quickly asking about the situation of Andodat, who came to meet him, "It's very bad. Your general manager Mero has led the army towards the battlefield at full speed, and Ander Lord Lev organized ships and returned to the other side of the strait to continue transporting troops. "I am here, accompanied by only a dozen brothers and about thirty or forty sailors. The entire Chiwet camp is trying to escape or go out to fight the Turks to the death. "The confidential officer is very tired. , but we must also speak faster and report the situation in this area to the Grand Duke as soon as possible.

The current port camp is indeed similar to what the confidential officer said. The mountains and plains are full of crying and helpless people and miserable bonfires. They don't know who is winning and who is losing in the battle with the Turks in the camp ahead. Some are praying loudly. Some gathered at the seaside and looked out, hoping that the Lord or the Greek emperor would come to rescue them.

Anna was standing in the direction facing the imperial capital, thoughtfully. At this time, Agnes quietly walked behind her and said, "Please let me follow in your footsteps from now on."

"Thank you and your ship." When Anna turned around and spoke, it was obvious that she was not a mere hunter's daughter, but a noble girl who had received an extremely good education. But suddenly, Anna's leg felt hot, and Agnes's hand touched it gently. Before she could react, the girl with pale eyes raised her head with a seductive smile. His fingers followed Anna's neck and then held Anna's ears. Then she closed her eyes and brought her lips closer.

"Alas..." Anna was stunned immediately and stood there blankly, allowing Agnes to attack quickly.

"Pa", there was a soft sound, and Agnes felt something was wrong. Then she opened her eyes - what she kissed was a slender man's finger, undoubtedly belonging to the expressionless Gawain who was standing between her and Anna. Then, Gawain pushed her half a step back from Anna, "Anna doesn't have such a hobby, stay away from her." He finished. Gawain raised two Byzantine gold coins and stuffed them into Agnes's palm. "This is the commission for the ship, but I think you can go back. You must be a well-born woman from a well-off family."

The angry Agnes glared at Gawain who had ruined her good deeds. Covering her lips with her hair, "Who cares about your money? I am a descendant of the famous Roman family Plani who has been in the city of Antioch for nine centuries. I am a wise and noble person who has been favored by the goddess Minerva. family."

Sure enough, Anna quickly connected the Plani family with her impression: this family was very famous in Syria in ancient times. Later, after the massive invasion by the Crescent Cult, their family moved to Asia Minor, and they owned extensive land in Gallipoli and Lesbos Island, even in the era of Orthodox Christianity. Plani still claims to be a family blessed by Minerva, the goddess of wisdom, and is especially famous for its expertise in manufacturing various instruments and ships. However, their patriarch has now lived in seclusion on the island of Lesbos and is no longer very involved in government affairs. .

After Anna quickly whispered to Gawain, "Is this the reason why you came out of Lesbos Island to seduce girls of the same sex as you? No wonder the etymology of 'lace' comes from this island." Gawain said sarcastically.

But Agnes didn't care at all. Instead, he publicly stated, "Yes, I am a follower of the tenth Muses, Sappho. (Sappho. An ancient Greek female poet, known as the tenth after the Nine Muses. Founded in Lesbos , only admitted female students, and later became the originator of lesbianism). I came to Quangu because I fell in love with a beautiful nun in my hometown, which made my grandfather angry. "

"Oh, then it's not good for you to change your mind. Hurry up and ride this ugly sunfish of yours back to your island to show off to your grandpa and see if he can agree with your relationship with the nun. This is not a Sahara. Under the moonlight in front of the blessing flowers, where I was playing the piano and talking poetry with my female disciples, there were all the murderous Turkic pagans in front of me." Gawain pointed to the wheel ship parked on the shore and ordered Agnes to be kicked out.

"Huh, that's funny. Are you jealous? I didn't expect that a tall and rough Varyag barbarian like you would have such delicate emotions. But it seems that you are not qualified to accuse me at all." Agnes replied He came over and asked, pointing to the golden silk bag hanging in front of Gawain's neck.

The two of them were like thunder from the sky and fire from the earth. Andodat and Muzafiadin were constantly directing the personnel and dispatching them, as if they were already numb to this situation.

Gawain was not interested in quarreling with Agnes anymore. He climbed on Sabina's back, pulled the bridle, and glanced at Anna. The eldest princess obediently walked over, holding up the skirt, and then Being pulled onto the horse by Gawain's hand, Agnes was so angry that she almost went crazy, but she could only carry her luggage and follow behind on a little mule.

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"Hey, Andodat, aren't you surprised? The girl the Grand Duke brought this time is amazing." Looking at this scene, the Turkic military servant said quietly.

"Ha..." the former novice monk responded with empty eyes and a lazy tone, "How far can a widow of a famous family in the empire, the wife of the emperor's chief of guards, and a consul of a heretic believer go? ..." Then Andodat was stunned. , he suddenly thought of some of the letters he had handled, and then twisted his neck and saw Muzafi'adin's face full of "you know" expression, stammering, and his teeth were fighting fiercely, "Could it be, could it be, The princess in the emperor's purple chamber..."

Muzafi'adin raised his finger according to the custom of the Turks, indicating that this was exactly the case.

The rising sun filled the wilderness outside Nicaea, and the war drums in the distance suddenly sounded. Gawain rode on the horse, Anna sat in front, and galloped towards the place where the sun rose, "Your Highness, there is a battlefield ahead, so to speak. Ashamed that you had to face such a tragic situation in the first place.”

"It's okay, big barbarian, our journey has officially begun."

"Well, it's officially begun." Gawain said and folded his arms. He was afraid that Anna would be blown by the cold wind.

(End of this volume) (To be continued ~^~)