Eagle Byzantium

"Your Majesty, if you lead your team south to Afillon, how can we hold on here?" By the stone wall of the tower window, several officers in uniform found Diognis who was monitoring the soldiers' combat readiness.

Diognis turned back and thought for a moment, "Anglas is located between the Sakarya River and the Harris River. We must not let Gawain take advantage. Now it seems that only one brigade of Gawain appears in Afyon." regiment, the other two brigades are said to have marched from the city of Caesarea, and the route of attack is unknown. Angras may be coveting them. Among them. I left four hundred men to defend the fort, and asked Count Stephen of Fort Germanico in the northeast to lead troops to assist you in defense - that's it! Afyon and Angras are gateway areas, Your Majesty the Emperor. The army still has several days to travel before it reaches the war zone. You and I will fight hard together and we will not let Gawain go even half a step further."

"Yes, Your Excellency Diogenes," the officers replied eagerly.

As soon as he finished speaking, rows of soldiers suddenly stood up under the city wall of Anglas and in the meandering meadows of the river. They raised their war flags and held various firecrackers in their hands. Rows of flames and flying arrows amidst the thunder. , was cast in turn around the entire city wall, causing grass clippings and wild flowers to dance everywhere. Smoke filled the entire Angras Castle, and it suddenly fell into panic and confusion. "An enemy is coming, an enemy is coming!"

"Gawain's army sneaked in so fast?" The guard was shocked. He hurriedly rushed out of the tower with others, followed the battlements to explode the scattered stone fragments, and ran for about dozens of steps. After a crenel, his name was The garrison officer holding an arrow hid behind him, and then He stood up and followed the crenel towards the smoky meandering river below and fired a shot with no accuracy at all. "How could the enemy run directly to the city wall!?" Diognis held the man's shoulders and bent his waist. asked amidst the sharp and whistling firecrackers.

"The enemy has spies mixed in with Afyon's caravan. They were buying Angora sheep at the market below the city two days ago. Now that the war has begun, they have spent money to bribe many local farmers and attracted many enemies to the meander of the river. Occupying the passage," the guard officer roared through gritted teeth.

"Affilon's caravan, damn it!" Diognis raised his bow and arrow, leaning against the stone wall of the crenellation. Many fire arrows trailed smoke tails and passed over his head. "How chaotic is it now? Because The one who just sent me an urgent request for help is Afyon City—Gawain, I am still your primary target for invasion, but I will definitely defend this place and live up to your majesty’s trust!”

On the meandering meadow below Anglas City, the shooters affiliated with the Guardian Brigade and the Red Hand Brigade have all lined up and fired fiercely with various firearms. The smoke and fire are getting bigger and brighter, and they are beaten so hard that they can't even carry them. The first defenders also took the time to see that in the distant valleys behind the smoke, many flags and large groups of troops appeared, riding like a shower towards Angrasburg. Advance together and come surrounded.

Under the eye-catching golden red hand and golden orange flags, Merlot and Branas rode side by side, commanding the team to shout forward: in a blink of an eye, the teams of the two brigades formed a pincer-shaped formation and would be located on the mountain peak. Angrasburg and the outside villages, The passage between the pasture and the market town was completely cut off, and small cart camps were circled everywhere. The soldiers then used their spears to circle the cart camps where they were leaning, and propped up tents or Turkic-style circular tents like stars and dust. A long line of felt tents was built to siege the city.

Several businessmen and farmers laughed, carrying a reward of wine, meat, and leading a few sheep with rich white hair, and came to the camp of the great Earl Merlot with the Christian fish flag, "This is the great patron. The sheep you specifically asked to be sent to Sebastian?" Mero walked out and asked curiously.

"Yes, they are the best sheep. Their wool is first-class." The businessman complimented.

Mero nodded and handed them a money bag, "You did a very good job in infiltrating and leading the way. This is a reward for you."

At the same time, General Branas of Temach of another brigade rode his horse to the camp tent under the twilight, surrounded by German Guardsmen. He pointed at the gray Angrasburg in the distance, " Great Earl, you can give the order, my brigade's crossbows are ready."

Mero soon agreed. At a distance of more than a hundred feet from the Angras city wall, three officers and soldiers of the Guardian Brigade held white flags amidst the sound of trumpets and carried crossbows on their backs to the flat ground. The guards at the back raised their torches, picked up their arrow feathers, and fully drew their bowstrings, aiming at the three men.

Diognis held on to the crenel and watched this scene, as well as the densely packed enemy troops besieging the camp further away.

"The great patron said, you are the most stubborn!" After setting up the crossbows, the leading centurion waved a white flag and shouted in Greek to the captor at the top of the city.

"So there is no need to shoot surrender letters anymore." Diogenes replied loudly, then he took out a birch bow with string attached, then closed his fingers and pulled the full string to his cheek, and there was a "buzz" sound: a bow The arrow with red tail feathers passed over the centurion's helmet like a meteor, accurately shooting off the opponent's feathers. "This is my only answer."

At this time, the bowstring on the crossbow bounced (then the three people dragged the crossbow and fled), and a large arrow without a tuft tied to a wooden tube whistled to the top of Angras City and fell behind the fence. When the soldiers picked it up and took out the sealed letter in the wooden tube to Diogenes, the guard saw that the content inside was written by Gawain himself:

"Diogenes Akritas wrote

I have recovered the mountain where your parents lived in the past, that is, in Elbistan, and found the sentry fort where you were born. The door here is always open to you, but the problem is that you can't take your own steps..."

The lower part of it was torn into pieces by Diogenes without even looking at it and thrown into the wind.

"All soldiers, inspire the imperial army and support me in defending this fortress to the death. As long as we hold on, His Highness Brennus and Count Stephen will soon come to our aid. The emperor's army is behind us and will arrive in five days at most. The main force of the enemy will be firmly nailed here by us..."

But the next day, something unexpected happened. Branas suddenly broke camp with the Guard Brigade and left, heading west. The siege on the southern line of Fort Anglas was suddenly lifted, leaving only the Red Hand Brigade still setting up the formation, which frightened the guards on the tower and confused them.

A correct version can be found in the 16-9 book forum!

"Is this brigade hiding somewhere in the west, or has it sneaked into the city of Afyon, waiting for an opportunity to ambush the reinforcements of His Highness Brennus? Gawain and his generals are best at this kind of tactics, so we must be on guard."

The puzzle soon came. A cavalry army appeared on the hill south of the city with flags, and then arrived at the city wall like lightning. The leading officer shouted that he was a reinforcement from the Pamphylia Military District and asked the garrison officer to put them into Angras Castle to strengthen the garrison. (To be continued ~^~)