The most important thing in the dense forest is dead branches and leaves, and if you are wearing armor and stepping on the ground, you will hear a clear crisp sound. Even on a summer night when insects are chirping, as long as the person's consciousness is clear, this abrupt sound is easy to distinguish.

"Sophia, it seems that our worries are indeed not unnecessary......"

The attendants were informed in advance, and they all held their breath, as long as the soldiers were opened, they would scatter and flee as quickly as possible.

If the Ottomans had dared to plan such a risky ambush, they would probably not let anyone go in order to ensure their chances of success. Doing so will maximize the distraction of the ambush.

"There were about fifty or sixty of them...... At least the burqa chains...... Not good! Your Majesty, rush out! ”

The secular knights who stayed by John's side and guarded closely were judging the general situation outside the camp by listening to the ground, but no one expected that the Ottomans did not guarantee the success rate and carried out direct assassination, but chose to shoot indiscriminately at all the camps.

Fortunately, the Ottomans were not large in number, and the rain of arrows was not dense enough. The secular knights, though unshielded, secured John and Sophia safely behind an exposed rock by the pond.

It's a dead end for the Ottomans' arrows, but a secular knight with two teenage children is too conspicuous in the clearing. The Ottomans even gave up shooting at the king's tent and gathered behind the rock where John and Sophia were hiding.

This group of sudden assassins had a premeditated plan to restrain the pace of the secular knights with two against one.

The enemy had a numerical advantage, and the Assassins were able to use their bows and arrows to suppress the secular knights. All of a sudden, Morey and the others were struggling.

"Come prepared......"

John leaned out of the boulder, and there were already a dozen Assassins in armor of different colors covering each other. Although the coat of arms does not appear to belong to the Ottoman Empire, the heavily accented Turkic language used in their communication reveals a lot.

"Brother......

"It's okay, it's okay, don't worry too much......" John held Sophia's hand tightly as he observed the situation around him.

Behind them is the pond. Although neither he nor Sophia are landlubbers, how fast can two little children swim? Even if you can get away for a while, this forest is not in front of the village and behind the store, and after the physical strength is exhausted, sooner or later it will be the fate of being captured alive by the pursuers.

But the rest of the secular knights were almost all entangled, and the Assassins who came did not pay attention to attacking at all, but kept retreating to defend, but when the secular knights were about to throw them off to help, they would immediately stick back to them.

Their purpose is already very obvious, the life or death of the secular knights is not their relationship at all, once they lock on John and Sophia, they will stop at nothing to achieve their goal.

"Your Majesty, they have investigated very clearly, their goals are clear, and almost all enemies are moving closer to us."

The palms of the secular knights were also a little sweaty, and it was absolutely impossible for them to be ordinary mercenaries who could contain them for such a long time. Even the average Ottoman regular army did not have such combat effectiveness.

From the weapons used by these people and the unique way of fighting, there is almost only one answer.

"Brother, they are the Sultan's guards."

"Just by virtue of the momentary laxity of the rebels during the plague, they dared to pull the last hole card in their hands to Epirus to complete an assassination that was not so easy to succeed...... This is the way Muhammad acted? It's not good to be too impulsive. ”

"But we're at the end of our rope now, aren't we?"

Ahead, five or six Sultan guards had already broken through the not-so-strong defenses of the secular knights, and they had no attendants of handmaidens in their eyes, pointing straight at the boulder where John was.

"Your Majesty, swim across this pond. Find a bush in the forest and hide it first...... It was not so easy for the Ottomans to find it in the dark. The secular knight beside John drew his two-handed sword, "But Your Majesty, don't resist even if you are discovered." Since the Ottomans were so careful, they would not have wanted two corpses. Through negotiations and representations, there will certainly be room for manoeuvre. ”

"Do you think that with the character of Muhammad, if I killed his father with his own hands, he would have spared me like this? Besides, with the current strength of the Ottomans, is it necessary to negotiate with the empire? John ripped off the cross around his neck, "Since His Majesty the Pope thinks that I am God's shadow in the mortal world, let God decide our fate." You, take Her Royal Highness Princess! ”

"Your Majesty, you ......" the secular knight took the life of a sultan's guard in a flash, and then took two steps back, "Living and dying with Your Majesty is a vow we have already made, and we have no reason to take the princess with us." ”

"Rest assured, Muhammad must have wanted my life more than a princess. And in your oath you must obey my commands absolutely! Right now! Walk! ”

As long as John could contain the pursuing Ottomans, it was indeed possible for Sophia to evacuate under the protection of the secular knights, and the mare Forbers, although not able to support a knight in fit, would be more than enough to take Sophia away. It is impossible for the Sultan guards to infiltrate Epirus with men and horses.

"Sophia, be obedient, as long as you return to the village of Biyes, you will be safe."

"Sophia?"

"Sophie ......"

Bang –

The deafening sound suddenly resounded throughout the forest.

One of the Sultan's own soldiers, who was rushing towards the boulder, fell straight down in an instant, and there was a thumb-sized blood hole in his chest, from which blood gushed out continuously.

"How can the crown prince of the empire, the co-emperor, the future Basilius, be used as bait?" As a few wisps of black smoke rose from her cuffs, Sophia took a few steps back, eventually unsteady on her feet and sat down on the ground by the impact.

She turned her head with tears in her eyes, the massive recoil of the armhole nearly dislocating her tiny arm.

"What are you doing?!" John grabbed Sophia's hand and said angrily.

The after-effects of using the armbands were completely exposed, Sophia's arms were still shaking, and there were several burn marks on her wrists where the armbands were tied.

It's a clever self-defense trick that Urban has fiddled with in his spare time, because excellent stability can have a surprising effect. However, because the bomb load is only one round, and the recoil is huge, it must not be used easily unless it is absolutely necessary.

The side effects of the armbands Urban had repeatedly reminded Sophia when he delivered it, and it was absolutely impossible for Sophia not to know it, and she still did it, the only explanation was to focus the attention of the Ottomans on him, and in such a dark night, the dazzling sparks and loud noises could easily attract the attention of most people.