Although the dark purple velvet dress dress was quite attractive to the men at diplomatic banquets, it also allowed the mercenaries who were ambushed in all directions to catch their targets well.

Even if the walls of the secular knights were almost impermeable, when a dense rain of arrows scattered around the barrier, there would always be a fish or two that slipped through the net. John, who was holding Sophia's left arm, suddenly felt his body sink, and when he turned his head, Sophia's other hand had covered her lower abdomen, and half of the shaft of the arrow was exposed.

The soft lining of the inner lining can prevent slashing at close range, and the protection against arrows is quite worrying.

Blood dripped down the little girl's fingers and fell to the ground.

"Your Highness!" Morey glanced behind him with his spare eyes, and immediately pulled a few people beside him, "Shield wall!" Shield Wall! Let His Highness evacuate! ”

Although Sophia was silent, her pale face had already exposed the pain she was suffering at this time, and the few mercenaries on the side witnessed this scene and became even more fanatical. Crazy to break through the defenses of the secular knights.

"Your Highness...... Your Highness? Kalujie held a short knife in one hand and looked around vigilantly, and stepped forward to support the other half of Sophia's body for John. This obviously premeditated ambush, if it was only to attack or even kill the royal family of the Eastern Empire, then whether it succeeded or not, in the future, it would definitely become a mortal enemy with Rome.

"Let's ...... Brother...... Let's go ......" The little girl laboriously bit out a few words, muttered something that no one would listen to, and simply stopped wasting her strength.

The shield wall array greatly reduced the mobility of Morey and the others, but also put John and the others under safer shelter. The drowsy twilight gave John one last chance to escape.

As night fell, taking advantage of the fact that the secular knight in front of him relied on the advantage of armor to tear a small hole, Morey dragged John, stepped over a corpse, and rolled into the bushes. In order to buy time, he had to choose to reserve a few knights in place to "buy time" for the escape of the royal family.

This move obviously caught the attention of the other side as well, and their charge became even more frantic and more reckless.

Because Sophia's injury will inevitably slow down the speed of escape, Morey will naturally not take the royal family to the road and wait for the other party to pursue.

"Your Majesty...... You take the princess and the princess and the lady Kalujie and slide down this half-slope and go south. It's still a few days away from Sinvaze Pass. Leaning against a boulder, Morey threw a map at John on the other side, "They have set up an ambush near the town of Güsin, and our road to Hungary will never be safer anymore." Sinvaze Pass, where the Serbian border patrol had set up a fortress, at this time although the soldiers had been evacuated, with the terrain and the city walls, we could have more time to defend and wait for reinforcements. We will buy you time, rest assured, we will meet when the time comes! ”

After leaving two secular knights for John as guards, Morey drew his knightly sword again: "Remember, Your Majesty! Don't leave any trace of your previous visit. The attitude of these guys is obviously inevitable! ”

The mud on the ground hadn't completely dried up at this time, but the situation forced it, how could there be time to think about anything else?

John cautiously sideways Sophia, letting the little girl lean against his side to minimize the possibility of secondary damage during the slide, and then gritted his teeth and rushed down the hill.

Scattered branches and sharp thorns from the dwarf bushes shaved John bloodied, and he needed to avoid contact with the rocks as much as possible. If you are not careful, you will probably be killed on the spot. Thankfully, the elevation of the hill was moderate, and after a few thrilling collisions, John finally stepped on the ground again with a scar.

It's already deep in the forest, and there's no trace of anyone to be found. The only way to find out the direction is to rely on the occasional ray of moonlight that pierces through the cascading sea of trees.

"Your Majesty...... Are you okay? Kalujie rubbed her calf, which was a little swollen from the bump.

"Hurry first. Arrow wounds must be treated as soon as possible. ”

The presence of soft armor at least makes arrow wounds less fatal, but iron arrows are very susceptible to rust. In such a damp and dark dense forest, the probability of wound infection also increases exponentially. While it may be a waste of time to explain how it all works to Carujie, stopping the bleeding is a consensus on everyone.

Any open flame may reveal its position in the dark, and the other party is obviously ambushed by blood, so naturally it is impossible to have only one ambush team.

In addition to the threat of wild beasts and miasma, it is safer at night than during the day. After several hours of walking through the dense forest with Sophia in her arms, the secular knight who was in charge of clearing the way finally found a cave in a field of vines and long birch trees where she could take refuge temporarily. After making sure that there were no traces of fresh bear feces or snakes, everyone finally relaxed their tense nerves a little.

……

Although it is known that the Ottoman siege network has not been relaxed much, the number of light cavalry sentries entering and exiting through the side gate of Trabzon has more than doubled. The cost of a long war is incalculable, and Nikephoros must use this method to determine how much it is worth to maintain it.

The barriers of Trabzon will not be easily broken, but if it continues to drag on, it will be a terrible burden on the empire's economy.

"Unless the rest of the Ottoman territory is threatened, these forces should not immediately withdraw from Trabzon." Livia tapped his knuckles on the table and said helplessly, "The vast majority of peasant conscripts can be maintained with only a very small salary and sufficient rations, but the standing army is more expensive. It's just that it doesn't matter where these people are stationed, it's better to choke the throat of the empire and make both Pontus and the Balkans uncomfortable. ”

"Of course I do. What I need is a solution to this situation!" Nikephoros cupped his forehead, "You've seen the situation, too. Trabzon's levies had almost lost their weight, and if they couldn't get rid of the besieging army, how long could Constantinople hold out. ”

"It's not like there's no way out. While it is impossible for us to crush the besieging army head-on, we can use some simple techniques. However, I would like to ask you to be wronged, Your Excellency. ”

"As long as I can get the Ottomans to retreat, I can personally pay any price." Nikephoros looked up and looked into Osini's eyes, "I hope you have a guarantee of success." ”

"No stratagem or conspiracy can guarantee absolute success, but we can use the safest kind."

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