Eagle Byzantium

The two who rushed out suddenly disturbed the order of the Turkish soldiers' archery. The arrows brushed and stuck to the side of the tree trunks, carrying flying leaves, and finally fell into the lake of Nicaea.

Gawain's shoulder and waist, Diogenes' back shoulder, were each hit by an arrow, and the arrowheads pierced into the chain links of their chain mail. The huge momentum shook them both violently at the same time, and the laces of the red hand battle flag were shot off and fluttered - Ericson blocked in front of Gawain, and was hit by several arrows in the back. He crashed into Gawain's arms, and grabbed the corner of the red hand flag with his bloody hand to prevent it from being blown away by the wind.

"Ericson!" Gawain tightly grasped the hand of another young military servant, and tears burst out from the corners of his eyes.

The three people hugged each other and fell backwards. There were a lot of bloodstains on the red hand of Farof's military flag totem, covering the three fallen people like a blanket, and the fallen leaves kept falling on it.

"Stop shooting." Hajib raised his hand again in pain, and the Roman archers put down their weapons and retreated to the back of the team. Then he looked at the tragic scene and said, "Go report to the Sultan, we have executed the enemy with bows and arrows..."

In the evening, the lake water rose and soon flooded into the grove. The bodies of Gawain, Diogenes and Erikson were washed by the lake water and floated up. The Roman soldiers dragged Gawain with a hook first, but he held the other two tightly - in the end, there was no way, Hajib sent ten more soldiers and finally dragged the three people onto the dry embankment.

"He fainted due to blood loss." A medical officer from Saracen turned Gawain over, observed him, and said to Hajib, who nodded repeatedly.

Then came Diogenes, and the medical officer had the same opinion.

Finally, it was Eriksson. The medical officer looked at him and shook his head at Ataborg, "His lungs were pierced. He can't survive."

"Bury this red-haired child." Hajib said with some sadness.

Then Hajib looked at the city of Nicaea, which was full of rumbling sounds, as if the Greeks were still fighting among themselves. He added a note to the Sultan who was supervising the battle behind him, "It is better to reorganize the military camp. Nicaea will probably fall automatically in two or three days. There is no need to destroy this great and magnificent city. It will become the most dazzling pearl in the hands of the Sultan."

When the note was passed to Giliki Arsalan, the Sultan smiled with satisfaction. He sat in the center of the tent. The Golden Hand Archon Kabe Amiya had a seat next to him. The court vizier Ibn Mamun stood beside him in military uniform. His warriors held the royal flag used by Constantine the Great horizontally for the Sultan to appreciate.

"Very good. I heard that the Roman Empire has always been a place where the capable are in power. As long as you and I work together sincerely, your doctrine will be able to spread smoothly to Frank and Germany, and I will seize the throne of the emperor and truly raise the crescent flag on the top of Constantinople."

Cabeamia smiled politely, and then the clerk beside the Sultan read out the content of the tall brown-haired barbarian who was betrayed by his comrades and executed by the bow and arrow of Ataber Hajib on the lakeside. The young female consul suppressed a complicated expression on her face. She believed that Gawain was dead.

The speed of the surrender of the city of Nicaea was faster than everyone expected. That night, the plenipotentiary, the kissing maniac, the Nicaea Patriarch named Desiderius, took a small boat with Francesco and followed the city's water gates and lakes to approach the camp of the Turks besieging the city.

Because of the anger of the soldiers who knew the truth, the despicable Barromio had already taken his personal soldiers and about 300 soldiers, and escaped from the side door before the enemy surrounded Nicaea, and went to the emperor's brother. After the other soldiers learned about Gawain's experience, they no longer had the fighting spirit to continue fighting. They were unwilling to work for any Greek nobles, so they discussed retreating from the city and surrendering, and elected the bishop and Francesco as representatives for peace talks.

A church servant stood at the bow of the boat, waving a torch at the shore. After the boat docked, Hajib stood in front of the tent and first received Desiderius, and then led the bishop into the tent. Desiderius saw that Gawain and Diogenes were lying on the couch, covered with white linen shrouds.

"These two warriors died under the arrows of our Turkish army, but their unyielding fighting moved Ben Atabeg, so I allowed the Patriarch of Nicaea to take back their bodies and bury them properly. May your Lord have mercy on him." Hajib next to him deliberately spoke loudly.

After a while, the Patriarch of Nicaea, holding a cross and wearing a robe, came to the camp of the Sultan of Roma under the guidance of Hajib.

At the same time, under the cold moonlight, the lake was rippling, and the boat carrying the "bodies" of Gawain and Diogenes, escorted by Francesco, slowly sailed towards the Nicaea Water Gate.

In the middle of the lake, Francesco heard a voice - Gawain was lying there with his eyes wide open, and he tore off the cloth covering his body with one hand, and his sword was still beside him.

"Baromio has fled in the direction of Nicomedia - by the way, Erikson is also dead, and it was the Turks who buried the child." Francesco sat in front of him and said.

"I'll keep this shroud for him." Gawain spoke with heavy and difficult breathing, enunciating each word and twisting the corner of the rough cloth. "He will need it in three days." After saying this, his eyes were fixed on the moonlight.

There were about 500 soldiers still in the square of Nicaea, lined up in two rows, holding torches, watching Gawain and the guard being put on a mule cart at the water gate and dragged to the front of the Nicaea Cathedral. "The count commander was wounded by an arrow. We will discuss other matters after he recovers. The archbishop has gone to negotiate peace with the Turks." Francesco, still limping, explained to many soldiers beside the wheel of the mule cart.

On the wall of the church, the portrait of Archangel Michael was wearing armor and holding a spear, standing in the clouds. On the "tip" of the spear, a huge ochre gecko was flashing its eyes, staring at the insects flying around under the candlelight, and slowly and calmly approached a motionless prey by sticking to the damp wall, and then suddenly rolled out its red tongue and easily swallowed the unlucky guy.

A correct version at 16-9 Book Bar!

"Poof!" The gecko, which was just swallowing food, suddenly twisted and trembled on all four legs, struggling miserably. A sword blade stuck it firmly on the wall, and several small blue-green flames burst out with a hissing sound. About half an hour later, a tall shadow on the wall stood up...

Diogenes was still in a coma. A big hand reached out and took the rosary beside him, wrapped it around the hilt, and then Gawain walked down the steps of the church.

Several soldiers who were on night watch stood up with incredible expressions and looked at Gawain who had recovered miraculously.