Eagle Byzantium

Patriarch Anselm followed Babalon's peasants to support the advance team. In just half a day, he reached the northeast side of the Kastabala front line. At the ferry there, a group of Ginat cavalry was cheered by the peasants. Inside, the horses hoofed up and came in front of everyone. Under the shade of a willow tree, a pontoon bridge was set up on a tributary of the river, through which one could lead to the Grand Duke's camp.

"Master, can the castle tower over there shoot flaming arrows?" When the cavalry arrived, an old farmer with a gray beard asked, pointing to the tall gray tower in Kastabala City over there.

"No, all the Saracen mechanics in their city have fled to join us, and there is no one to make those kind of nitrate rockets for the Ani people." the cavalryman replied.

"What about the Ani cavalry? I heard that they robbed Mr. Polybi's castle some time ago and killed many of our farmers. Damn this group!" Beside the old farmer was a middle-aged man, leaning on a mule driver. Wooden Whip seemed indignant, but in fact he continued to the second question carefully. It was obvious that he was also afraid of the Armenian cavalry.

Ginat, who was leading the horse, held the horse's bit and waved his whip, somewhat boldly but also a little impatiently, "Fellow fellow (he said this in German, obviously imitating the tone of the Germans), you really can't express yourself. Mr. Cai, look at your cowardly appearance. The road ahead has been cleared by our cavalry. The enemy is shrinking and they will be eliminated sooner or later. So just walk forward boldly!"

The roar of laughter rang out, and the group of Babalon farmers also took courage, holding up simple self-defense weapons modified from farm tools, and followed this small group of cavalry, stepping on the swaying pontoon bridge, pushing vehicles and driving livestock: Their military experience is actually much more than that of farmers from other countries. Many of them were previously soldiers of the Grand Duke. The teams built fortifications and transported grain, just like the craftsmen in large hospitals and colleges also polished stone bullets for the Grand Duke's cannons. Therefore, they were not unfamiliar with bloody battlefields and dead bodies, and they were quite self-defensive. Ability and courage, at least know how to dig trenches, and also know how to form a formation around the baggage train to fight against the enemy's stragglers.

Soon, across the river, Anselm saw several farmers starting to lie next to a dead body (probably that of an Armenian cavalry) lying in the grass, collecting valuables. The horses and armor had long been taken away, and they They began to peel off the blood-stained clothes from the dead body. The guard among them had a beard, his neck turned around, and his eyes were cunning. Uneasy, this made Anselm feel chills all over. He felt that it would be dangerous if he continued to follow this group of farmers, so he took a few servants and started walking along the river southwest of the castle - five miles away, there was the guard. He arrived at the siege position of the brigade first and could safely pass through the Seleucid army's camp before going to see Gawain for advice.

"Master Patriarch, can the Grand Duke of Anatolia really capture this castle? It's really big, it's really big." On the way, Anselm's servant was carrying the box and kept looking at Cass over there. Tabara's long strip of city walls and rows of towers made people marvel and question.

Then, a sharp roar suddenly came from the sky, as if coming from the clouds, which scared everyone and crouched down. The patriarch was also so frightened that he subconsciously lay on the donkey's saddle, and then the whole world They were all shaking and shaking as if they were hit by a meteorite, or like an earthquake. This is near the city of Mamistra, which has always been an earthquake-prone area. It is not impossible for such a disaster to occur at this moment. But the "earthquake" passed quickly: when the patriarch's servants stood up from the ground, holding on to their trembling feet, they saw that the river in front of them was still trembling, and the people of Castabala Castle over there A tower is shrouded in huge smoke and dust, and its shadow moves in people's eyes. This is by no means an illusion.

Anselm and the servant were both dumbfounded. They just stood there and waited for a moment. Then the roar ripped through the sky again, and then there was the roar of explosion. The soil under their feet floated again, making the ground float again. The man could hardly stand still, and the donkey whined and tried to escape, but Anselm grabbed the reins and beat him. "Where's the tower? Where's the tower?" The servant carrying the box looked horrified. In the direction of his finger, the tower that was there just now had disappeared. Then a terrifying sound came from the distance, as if many people were coming from The top of the mountain is accompanied by falling rocks, like falling to the bottom of a valley.

"I heard that Gawain now possesses a terrifying and mysterious giant stone cannon. It should have destroyed the tower just now, and all the guards inside should have been killed." Anselm hurriedly crossed himself on his chest. "In this way, it is definitely not impossible to capture this Kastabala Fort within time."

Next, the Patriarch drove the donkey and walked forward for several miles. He saw the camp of the Guardian Brigade, and happened to witness a horrific fight: many ships with sails sailed out of the castle water gate. The upper deck is full of heavily armed The soldiers, shouting and clamoring, formed a dense formation and rushed towards the small island raised in the middle of the water at the bend of the river. It was obviously guarded by Seleucid soldiers. This group of people took the boat to counterattack. To recapture this natural blockade stronghold.

"Oh my God, this is what a battle between ships looks like." Anselm's servant was both frightened and stopped to watch with great interest - on the water on both sides of the river, soldiers from both sides of the ships were crowded on their respective sides. On the high bows of the ships, dense arrows were fired at each other. Once the ships of both sides collided, many people burst out shouting, jumping to help each other, waving tomahawks and halberds, and fighting savagely. The injured person is like falling from a building, hitting high water columns on the water surface, and then disappears after a burst of blood appears on the water surface along with the heavy armor.

"Wow!" Later, Anselm shrank his shoulders and screamed in horror at the same time with several servants, because in their eyes, sticky flames suddenly spurted out from behind the earth mound dug up from the edge of the river bank. , like a hydra feasting: the flames are terrifying The length and curvature, as well as some indescribable sound, are like hands controlling them from invisible places, "the devil's fire whip, Satan's flaming snake." This is Anselm who has some literary attainments. The judgment metaphor issued is very appropriate - it poured water on the ships in the city. On the deck, Anselm watched helplessly. The soldiers engulfed in flames seemed to be motionless at first, as if they were stunned, but soon they were holding their burning bodies and heads in pain, colliding with each other, and some Some couldn't help but jumped into the water, and some fell on the deck until they were Burned alive - soon, all the ships were burned and stranded on the beach of the river island. The dead bodies were piled on top of each other, exuding flames and smoke, floating around the ships, the bows of the ships were tilted, and they were charred. Anselm's nostrils seemed to be able to smell it from a distance. What can be confirmed is that the city's breakout offensive was all over, destroyed by the terrifying "defensive fire" of the Guardian Brigade.

This is what Anselm's masters and servants saw during their pleasant day's journey. (To be continued ~^~)