No one can tell what really happened when he heard that the Count of Montina was going to challenge the Sultan.

The chaos at the time even made some people feel so unreal from beginning to end when they recalled it later.

When Alexander appeared in front of the Ottoman camp with only one retinue, countless pairs of eyes were cast on him, and many Ottoman generals had to run around the camp on horseback, and they reprimanded their soldiers to do anything that might dishonor the Sultan, especially the Muserim infantry, who were forbidden to be rude to the European nobleman who suddenly appeared, and at the same time, the news was quickly sent to the Sultan's royal camp.

Because of the Lent ceremony, the soldiers who delivered the letter were kept out of the imperial camp and waited for a long time, which made Alexander stand dry outside the Ottoman camp under the gaze of tens of thousands of people, bathing in the May sun almost all morning.

This is actually very dangerous, Busako's body is already soaked with sweat, not only because of the heat, but also because of the nervousness.

Busako knew that the longer the time dragged on, the greater the danger might be, and after the initial mishaps, the Ottomans would gradually calm down, and if Bayezid II did not show up again, the Ottoman generals might think that the Sultan did not take this challenge to heart, and they would no longer care about the reputation of the Sultan.

Alexander was also very nervous at this time, although he had repeatedly considered the possible consequences before making this decision, and based on his careful study of Bayezid II, he had come to the conclusion that even if the Sultan would not accept his almost ridiculous challenge, he would not just let someone slaughter him outside the barracks, but he also knew that this was indeed a very risky move in any case.

Fortunately, the Sultan eventually responded to his challenge.

Bayezid II was a very peculiar man, in the eyes of many this sultan was very different from his father who had achieved great things, and he did not have many great martial arts in his life, and even in Alexander's impression, this sultan could only be described as "a golden mean" compared to his father and his son.

Compared to Suleiman the Magnificent, who terrified the entire West many years later, Bayezid II was even more inconspicuous.

But such a monarch in the heyday of the early Ottoman Empire was not blocked by the light of his ancestors and descendants in later history, and he also had his own place.

Bayezid II was a very pragmatic man, he would not go on a rampage just for the sake of great prowess, but once he decided to wage a bloody war, he must have seen something in his favor.

It is unlikely that such a person would accept the challenge of an enemy, especially for such an absurd reason, and it is even more difficult to imagine that the Sultan would give up his noble status for the sake of a woman's reputation and fight another person for no reason.

So when the Sultan came out of the camp, many people were taken aback.

The Bucharest nobles, who had already heard the news, even caused a commotion, and they watched from afar the deranged count was talking, and when they saw the Sultan's banner appear, and then a man in a luxurious golden silk robe walked out slowly, many Bucharest people almost shouted out of excitement.

No one knew him, but people immediately realized who the man was, for many immediately guessed that the man was the Sultan himself, both in his demeanor and in his seemingly careless but steady pace.

When he saw the figure of Bayezid II, Alexander's nerves, which had been tense, finally relaxed slightly, in fact, he was not much better than Busako at this time, and even when the Sultan spoke to him, at first he was too nervous to answer.

"So, you're the Count of Montina?" Bayezet's pronunciation was clear, and his Latin with a Roman accent was even more standard than Alexander's, and in fact the Sultan could speak not only Latin, but also Greek and French, and his artistic standards were not comparable to Alexander's: "I know you, your battles at Muresh and the Alger River have caused me a lot of trouble. ”

"This makes me feel sorry for the Sultan, but that is my duty as your enemy." Alexander nodded slightly, and then his gaze met that of the Sultan, who was looking at him with amusement, "But I have come to you today because of a personal vendetta. ”

"Is that what you said about the reputation of the Greek princess?" Bayezid II looked at Alexander rather interestingly, "How do you think I will accept your challenge, knowing that you are now facing a sultan, the ruler of the most powerful empire in the world, the king of kings, the conqueror of countless conquerors, do you think I will have a senseless duel with a little man of unknown origin?" ”

Alexander listened to the Sultan's words with a blank face, he didn't expect the Sultan to be very narcissistic, but when he thought about the Ottoman rulers who had been described as extremely arrogant throughout the ages, he knew that this was not unusual.

The arrogance of the Ottoman Sultan was well known to the world, which even surprised Europeans, and the son of Mehmed II and the grandfather of Suleiman the Magnificent was enough for him to be proud of his origin, not to mention that the Sultan who was overshadowed by the aura of his father and children and grandchildren was not mediocre at all.

"I think you'll respond because it's about the Greek princess." When talking about the Greek princess, Alexander's tone was deliberately aggravated, and he noticed that the Sultan's face with a gentle smile was slightly solemn, which made Alexander sure that his guess was indeed correct.

Bayezid II stared at Alexander silently, and after a while finally said: "That princess must pay the price, since she is the last blood of Valleologo, then she has to bear everything for this status, so I will not let her live in this world." ”

Alexander, who had already known this result, frowned slightly, and from the moment he heard that Sophia was rumored to be a descendant of the Eastern Romans, he knew that one day he would face this danger, and for the Ottomans, the word Greek princess was no longer just a person, but a symbol.

And the Sultan must not allow such a symbol to exist in the world.

Even if it were even a matter of plaguing and justifying the Roman succession by marrying the princess, as had been previously proposed to Bayezid II, such a suggestion was not necessarily more reliable than the outright eradication of the bane.

Rather than growing more branches in the future, it is better to use the most direct method to completely eradicate the troubles.

The Sultan looked at Alexander's eyes with a deep and sharp gaze, he stared into Alexander's eyes, and said slowly but undoubtedly: "I am sure that you are a very ambitious person, and you know that I will do it, but you are willing to take the risk to come to me to challenge, I think I can guess your purpose and tell me what I want?" ”

"And what do you want, Sultan?" Alexander asked rhetorically.

"Bucharest, Greece, Moravia and Hungary, if I could, I would like to see Vienna, but of course my greatest wish is to be able to climb the Seven Hills of Rome." Bayezid II did not hide his ambitions at all: "My goal is to conquer the whole world.

"Whoever wants to conquer the whole world is crazy," Alexander said disapprerovingly, seeing the anger on the Sultan's face, but continued unconcernedly, "Both Alexander the Great and Genghis Khan once dreamed of conquering the whole world, but they did not succeed, Sultan, you may be able to conquer this land, but it is impossible to conquer the whole of the European continent." ”

"Why is it impossible, just kill that little girl in the city, the resistance in this land will disappear, and then my army can penetrate deep into the heart of Europe, and my fleet can even directly threaten Rome and the Vatican." The Sultan looked at Alexander with amusement: "Unless someone can stop me from doing this, then I want to know who this man is, you?" ”

"Yes, it's me."

Alexander smiled, and he nodded.

The Sultan looked at the young man in front of him, who seemed to be unaware of the height of the sky, with a somewhat amused look, and then gently raised his chin for him to continue.

"The proof of what I say is that you will come to me," Alexander was not annoyed by Bayezid II's seemingly dismissive actions, he was confident that he was not wrong, "the reason for my challenge to you may be absurd, but as I said earlier, because it concerns the Greek princess, you will definitely respond to me, we all know what the Greek princess means to this land, especially you, I am sure that you will be able to solve this great problem once and for all, Surely wouldn't mind letting the prestige and influence of a Greek princess matter more than ever. ”

Alexander's words made the Sultan's eyes become indifferent, and he looked at Alexander coldly, although fat but very strong, his body was straight, and Bayezid II looked more majestic and imposing at this time.

The Sultan could not help but admit that Alexander spoke to his heart.

For him, the Greek princess was already a fish in his net, and at such times he not only did not mind the influence of that princess on the whole of the Balkans, but even hoped that it would be even greater, and it would be better for all the Balkans to regard her as their last and only hope.

Then he would destroy and crush this hope in front of everyone, and he would make the Balkans understand that the last little dream in their minds had been shattered, and that the last of the legendary descendants of the Roman Empire, whom they had pinned their infinite expectations, had been completely evaporated under his merciless saber.

The Sultan wanted everyone to know that the last blood of the Roman Empire would fall along with the city called Bucharest, and that he needed to fundamentally eliminate the last resistance of the Balkans.

And the young man in front of him seemed to know what he was thinking, so he also attracted his attention in the name of the Greek princess.

"You are ambitious, but unlucky," Bayezid II looked at the young man in front of him, "you will be the brightest figure in Bucharest because of this, but how long do you think your glory will last, when my cannon blasts through that wall, it will be your end, and at that time, the more you get from that girl, the greater the price." ”

Alexander nodded, then shook his head slightly.

His gaze met the Sultan's deep gaze, and then he raised his hand slightly, first making a reassuring gesture to the guards beside the Sultan, and then stepped back two steps and slowly drew the saber at his waist.

Immediately, there was a sound of weapons unsheathed among the Sultan's guards, and at the same time, a group of Ottoman musketeers standing in the distance raised their muskets, and the muzzles of countless black holes were aimed at Alexander.

"I swore to protect her, and swore to give her glory that no one else had, and I remember saying these words to her when we left Sicily," Alexander said to the Sultan with a seemingly relaxed look at the sword on his arm, "and I thought that one day she would live like a noblewoman, so that those who once despised her would have to compliment and flatter her beauty and happiness," and as he said this, Alexander looked back at the distant wall, and his expression became unusually solemn when he turned his head again." But now, she has more than I promised her, and what I can do is not to give but to protect, to protect herself and all that she has now and in the future. Sultan, I am here to tell you that no one can destroy what Sophia has now, let alone threaten her life, not even the Ottoman Sultan, who is known as the King of Kings, should not be delusional about being able to do so, I will stop you, and if you insist on doing so, I will make you pay a high enough price. ”

Bayezid II looked at Alexander with some surprise, he did not expect that this young European would be so bold to threaten him in person, which made the Sultan not only surprised, but more angry but curious.

He didn't believe that the young man was crazy, but he couldn't think of how this man could dare to offend him so much other than that.

"Count, I have changed my mind," Bayezid II shook his head slightly, "I will not punish you for your relationship with that Greek princess, I will let you suffer for your offense to me today, and that punishment will make you regret your rudeness to me today, remember, from now until the moment when the city of Bucharest is captured, my words will come true at any time." ”

With that, Bayezid II looked at Alexander's sword and slowly turned and walked towards the camp.

"Sultan!" Behind him, Alexander suddenly shouted in a loud voice, which made everyone's eyes turn to him again, looking at Bayezid II, who stopped but did not look back, Alexander said loudly, "Alexandre Juliant Gombray!" Keeper of the Lighthouse of Sicily, Lord of Agri of Florence, Regent of Pisa, Count of Monttina, please remember that if there is one person who prevents you from fulfilling your desire to become King of kings, it is me! ”

Listening to the words coming from behind him, Bayezid II slowly turned his head half-way, as if to turn away, but in the end he did not look back.

"You will be remembered by history as much as this city, and I will let you die a glorious death, but unfortunately you are destined to be only a small footnote in the history books to prove the process of conquest."

After the Sultan finished slowly, he walked towards his camp with a light step.

Alexander looked at the back of the Sultan as he faded away, and he knew that Bayezid II was right, that there were too many people like him in the centuries-long history of conquest of the Ottoman Empire, that countless people who tried to stop the Ottoman Empire's huge war machine like a monster had been ruthlessly crushed into dust, and that under the vast frontier that the Ottoman army had trodden was the bones of countless losers who tried to stop this huge thing.

"But I'm not them." Alexander whispered that he knew that neither the Sultan nor the Bucharest would believe him at this time, and no one believed that he would be the one to stop the monster of the Ottoman army, so Alexander just continued to whisper, "Then let us see." ”

Alexander turned and jumped onto Pagasos's back, and on the way back with Busako, he noticed several detachments of Anatolian light cavalry cruising near him, but he was not worried.

The pride of the Ottoman Sultan was such that Bayezid II would not tolerate anyone hurting him, and the Sultan might even want him to live until the day the city of Bucharest fell.

In the distance, the gates of the fortress of Bukuri were also opened, and a group of hunters stood in two columns on either side of the gate.

When Alexander walked up to them, all the hunters raised their spears forward at the same time, and the sharp spears that were stacked against each other formed a long corridor above Alexander's head.

Alexander dismounted from his horse and slowly passed under the corridor, and as he passed, the spears parted like open gates, and under the fortress gate, a man was waiting for him.

The knight of Djilas looked solemn, and when Alexander walked not far in front of him, the knight bowed.

"Count, today is Ramadan for the Ottomans, and they will not attack," Djilas said softly, looking at Alexander's slightly puzzled gaze, Djilas continued, "So if you want to propose to the princess, now is the time to do so. ”

Listening to Djilas's words, Alexander just smiled.

He continued to walk forward, and as he passed by Djilas, Alexander turned his head slightly and whispered to him, "You are wrong knight, I don't need to propose, because Sophia is already my wife." ”

Then, in the stunned astonishment of Djilas, Alexander strode with the huntsmen into the gates of the fortress of Bukur.

At this time in the Bucharest Cathedral, the Patriarch of Bucharest was holding a thick book of literature and carefully studying it, while his mouth kept muttering: "A blessed holy marriage, this is a blessed holy marriage." ”

It was also on this day, in distant Montina, that Ulliu, dressed as a traveler, quietly left the castle of Montina.

May 1499 came.