In the middle of the forest, the ambush of the Ottoman Sultan's guards on the crown prince turned into a war of annihilation after the arrival of Vasika.

But the secular knights suffered heavy losses in this ambush. In addition to Morey's minor injuries, the secular knights of the twelve-man crew lost one and three were seriously wounded, and the others also left several scars more or less. As the last barrier in front of John and Sophia, this loss is enough to witness the tragedy of the battle.

In addition to the secular knights, the accompanying squires were powerless, and nearly half of them were killed by the Sultan's guards.

"Your Majesty......"

"Tell me, what's going on?"

After bringing Sophia safely to the village of Biyes and settling down in the manor, John breathed a sigh of relief: "What happened to Epirus these days?" Can the Ottomans pass through the obstacles and go deep into the port of Javel, and even have a chance to set up an ambush? ”

Vasika was also obviously a little caught off guard by the presence of the Ottomans, but replied truthfully: "We have no garrison at the fort on the border for the time being, and most of the men of the Phoenix Legion are responsible for the defense of the more populated towns, including Fort Combrigne. ”

"There's no one on the border?" John could hardly believe his ears, Epirus had a long border with Ottoman-controlled territory, and there were countless ways for the pagans to take advantage of the Empire's inattention to penetrate the army, not only posing a great threat to Gombrigne, but also using Epirus as a springboard to control Albania, Morea, and Achaia at the same time.

"Your Majesty, the plague has caused most of the soldiers to lose their combat effectiveness, especially the local militia has suffered too heavy losses, and Epirus is already extremely short of manpower, General Giovanni has to shrink the defensive line in order to ensure the safety of important towns." "As for why we're here...... It was only because Mr. Jeffrey had not received the tax report from Port Javel for a week that the Legion had come over to investigate the situation, and we also heard the sound of muskets and realized that the Ottomans had actually penetrated here. ”

"So it's been more than a week since the Ottoman elite troops infiltrated the Epirus mountains?"

"I'm afraid it's not all, and since there will be ambushes in the mountains just now, there may also be Ottomans in other places."

It seems that Muhammad planted more than one nail in Epirus...... "The gravity of the matter has exceeded John's original assumptions."

Based on the current situation, the people who had previously disguised themselves as port guards in Port Yavel were probably also inextricably linked to Muhammad's Sultan Guards. It was inconceivable to seize control of an important port under the nose of the Empire.

The ambush devised by Muhammad was undoubtedly carefully arranged. Taking advantage of the fact that John and Sophia were not in Epirus, and there was also a gap in Epirus' intelligence network, the well-armed Sultan guards infiltrated Epirus.

He also found the Ebius-Radiance to go to Athens for repairs, and captured the port of Jawell without any combat crews.

Port Yawell is not a military port, and the main force of the Imperial Navy like the Phoenix Fleet does not dock here in normal times. Naturally, Haiphong will be much empty. The rest of the ambush, waiting for the interlocking, in retrospect, was so careful that it made people's scalps tingle, if it had not been for Vasika's erroneous arrival to help, I am afraid that Constantine XI would have launched a vengeful conquest against the Ottomans.

"If Muhammad can really rule out manpower to play ambushes inside the empire, at least it means that for him, the current rebellion is not enough to pose a mortal threat, and this plague has greatly damaged the vitality of the rebels, and this sultan is really lucky to be a headache."

Muhammad ...... It's only been a year, and he doesn't seem to be the reckless man who beats his chest under the walls of Theodosius. Expansion ...... It's still imminent. ”

"Your Majesty, the current size of the army is already a big tax burden, and if it continues to expand, it will not only cause the economy to collapse rapidly, but also affect the professionalism of the army. Recruited from civilians, at most into the local general affairs army, if you want to become a combat force that can go to the front line of the battlefield, it will take at least several years to cultivate, unlike us Wallachians, but we are born ...... war."

"Okay, okay, go back to Gombrine and reconsider, the plague is not completely over, let your cavalry be careful. Let's stop the excavation of the Gombrigne gold mine for the time being, and minimize the damage from the plague. ”

……

Eustina took a basin of warm water and treated Sophia's wound caused by the armband.

As the chief of the court maids, some of the skills that Justina mastered made John a little unbelievable, in addition to some well-understood surgical medicine, cooking, etc., Justina was actually quite accomplished in riding and swordsmanship. It's no wonder that in the midst of the Ottoman siege, she was able to flicker and move while covering John and Sophia to escape behind the boulder and wait for reinforcements.

"Okay, Your Majesty, it's not a serious injury, don't keep staring."

Medieval doctors can be trusted to deal with the trauma of war. It also takes little skill to stop the bleeding and fix the arm. Sophia hasn't woken up yet, probably just a little tired, plus the plague has just healed, and her strength has not fully recovered.

"No...... I just feel a little sorry for this little girl. ”

John crouched down beside Sophia's bed, she didn't seem to sleep so comfortably, and her brow was slightly frowned.

"This ambush was unpredictable, why should Your Majesty blame yourself?"

"Without Sophia's shot, it's a question of whether we can stand here now......"

"If Her Royal Highness the Princess is threatened, won't Her Majesty shoot?" Yustina smiled, she usually saw all the actions of John and Sophia, what kind of feelings were between the two As the chief of the maid, she knew it clearly.

Perhaps the rite of the Holy Marriage, which had been dormant for hundreds of years, would reappear in the palace of Constantine in a few years.

"At the very least, I want Mehmed II to know that he will pay the price for his brazen threat to the Empire."

"Your Majesty...... Calm down, we are not yet capable of fighting alone with the Ottomans on the Apennines. ”

Although Yustina does not take the initiative to talk to John and Sophia about politics, John is somewhat carried away by anger at the moment.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to put the fate of the empire on my hatred......"