Normezi looked at the woman standing across from him in disbelief, of course he recognized that this woman was indeed the queen, although she looked embarrassed and embarrassed now, but it was not wrong that she was indeed the queen.

But this was not Normezi's concern, what he wanted to ask was how the queen had suddenly arrived at St. John's Abbey.

Although it was only 20 franca from Naples, it was far enough for a woman like the queen that it was not even an exaggeration.

Moreover, according to rumors, the queen was under house arrest, and Normezi did not believe that the queen's ability could escape from the heavily guarded palace and then trek alone for 20 fats to find him, either on foot or on horseback.

This was not just difficult for the queen, but completely impossible.

So how did the queen get to St. John's Monastery, and at such a time.

"I was kidnapped, and at first I didn't know who had taken me, and they took me out of the palace and put a hood on my head, which was an insult, and only an executioner would wear a hood," the queen said nervously, sometimes without getting to the point, but Normezi listened as patiently as he could, trying to find clues in the queen's words.

"You said you didn't know at first, so you must know who kidnapped you by now?" Sure enough, Normezi found something.

After a while, the queen, who had slowly calmed down, tore at the messy clothes on her body, and then made herself look the only bit of majesty: "It's Gombray, he imprisoned me in a house and didn't let me see anyone, but then one of his soldiers took my advantage," the queen said and stroked her fingers with some pity, the two precious jewels she was wearing on them were gone, and the queen felt as if she had no clothes on her bare fingers, "I gave him a reward, Then he quietly let me go. ”

"Right here, let you go?" Normezi is still a little suspicious, he does not suspect that Alexander kidnapped the queen, thinking that by doing so, the Modillo family can completely take the opportunity to control the power of the whole of Naples, Normezi even thinks that it is a little strange that Alexander did not kill the queen, but what makes him more concerned is whether the queen escaped as she said because she was clever and bought off the guards, not because someone deliberately let go, if it is the latter, then what is Alexander's purpose.

Then he smiled slightly after only a little thought, because he thought he had mastered Alexander's intentions.

"Stupid woman," Normezi looked at the queen who was still deliberately maintaining her dignity, he wanted to tell himself that this distant relative would not be able to do it for long even if her husband had not had an accident, but now looking at the queen, he felt that this was a gift from God, "Your Majesty, you have suffered so much, what you need now is to have a good rest, please rest assured that things will pass soon, you are safe here, St. John's Abbey is impregnable." ”

The queen's emotions were a little excited because of Normezi's words, she stood up and stretched out her hands to hold Normezi's palms and nodded, and at the same time kept saying words of gratitude to him, she was grateful for the support of this relative to her at this time, and even more grateful for his loyalty and persistence, and if he could continue to help him regain control of the kingdom of Naples, the queen promised to let Normezzi take the position of chief minister of the kingdom of Count Mordillo.

It wasn't until the queen was helped away by the maid that Normezzi shook off her sweaty hand that had been held for too long.

"Ambitious women are so nasty," Normezi whispered to himself in disgust, "without mentioning your husband from beginning to end, as if he were dead or never existed." ”

"My lord, it should be a good thing that the king is here, isn't it," one of his men asked, a little puzzled, "at least we have a better name." ”

"But this good thing was given to us by the same Gombray, so I wonder if there is some conspiracy behind it." Normezi looked up at the towering stone walls of the monastery around him, which were apparently so strong that he suspected that even a cannon might not be able to collapse them.

Wait, cannons?

Something suddenly occurred to Normezi, and then he remembered the legends about Montina's army in Bucharest, some of which repeatedly mentioned that Montina's army seemed to be very good at using artillery.

"Keep an eye on the outside, maybe Gombray is preparing to attack." Normezi immediately became nervous, he had said that the monastery had not been captured in nearly 400 years, but there had been no artillery during those sieges before.

Alexander observes this famous building from a very close distance to the monastery, and he has the impression that in a few centuries the monastery will become a famous tourist destination in Naples, receiving many tourists every year, and the people of this place are also very clever, they have taken advantage of the strange location of the monastery to create a rather new tourist program.

"Master, you're too close." Schell said a little nervously, he lay down not far from Alexandria, staring carefully at the monastery in the distance, the strong muscles of the Balkans were slightly tensed, ready to throw the old man to the ground as soon as he noticed the abnormality.

"Don't worry, they won't find us," Alexander said, pulling the gray scarf he was wearing, a garment often worn by sheep herders in the countryside of southern Italy, especially in winter, and this kind of generous cover could be worn both to protect against the cold and to be used as a blanket to spread directly on the ground or cover the body overnight, "as long as we don't move, they will find that they are not ......"

In the distance, a puff of smoke rose from the hole in the monastery wall, followed by a sharp whistling from far and near, and a bush of low trees not far in front of Alexander shook as if someone had suddenly punched him, and then kicked up a cloud of dust.

"Lord beware!" Schell grabbed Alexander's legs with both hands and dragged him down the slope where he was standing, and the two of them rolled down the slope like ripe apples, and by the time they were scrambled to their feet by a group of hunters, their clothes had been scratched by stones and branches in several places.

Alexander couldn't stop panting, he looked at the guard officer who jumped up immediately and looked completely fine, and couldn't help but shake his head a little annoyed: "Shel, next time there is such a thing, you just need to push me to the ground, if this slope is steeper, I think probably the two of us will be unlucky." ”

"But the enemy is shooting," Schell shook his head stubbornly, "and have you ever thought that if they used artillery instead of muskets, I think many people would want to be captain Busako." ”

The Balkan prophecy frustrated Alexander, but it reminded him that something like Busako's, although a coincidence, may not happen again in the future.

"Let all of you find a scarf to put on," Alexander commanded, "and tell your companions that they can begin." ”

Schell nodded and left immediately, watching the Balkans leap between the rocks like nimble goats and disappear quickly, and Alexander looked at the top of the slope to peek out from the roof of the monastery.

The Monastery of St. John, known as a paradise for escapists, is not far from the city of Naples, but it is famous for its rugged terrain and near-isolation.

"Normezi has really found a good place," Alexander said, looking at the monastery that stood alone on the top of the hill, and if from the place he occupied, there was no other route to the top of the hill except a road, "let our men move the artillery as close as possible." ”

"My lord, the power of the artillery may not be of much use, after all, the cannon we brought is too small." Ofleiyi looked at the puff of smoke that was still staggering along the mountain road behind, it was two eagle cannons, and although it might be enough to deal with the infantry, it was obviously a little too strong to deal with such a strong fortress.

"That's why we have to get as close as possible," Alexander thought for a moment, pointing to the slope he had fallen down before, "and there is the place where the cannon is set up, where Normetti and his men can see the muzzle." ”

It was very difficult to push the artillery up the steep mountain road, and the gun carriage, which had damaged several wheels, made a worrying creaking sound, and the ropes tied to the gun rings were tight, and when the wheels of the gun carriage were stuck in the stones, the soldiers in front of them who were pulling the ropes shouted loudly and desperately pressed their heels against the stones to prevent themselves from rolling down.

"These two cannons are enough to blast open that gate," shouted one of the soldiers, his forehead shining in the sun, "and we rushed in and killed the sons of bitch." ”

"Are we going to shoot at the Abbey?" The companion next to him asked a little hesitantly, "This is the residence of the believers of Jesus Christ, and there are many monks in it." ”

The soldier's words caused a whisper of discussion, and many soldiers couldn't help but show hesitation.

"Maybe we should talk to the Earl, we can find a way to attack it, and it's not good to hit the monastery with artillery," said the soldier, reaching out and touching the cross on his chest, "You know I'm very religious. ”

"Am I not religious enough?" The soldier before threw away the rope he was holding and pushed his companion hard: "Do you think I'm the kind of person who would desecrate the monastery?" ”

The artillery, which had been thrown on the road to block the road of the team behind because of the quarrel, began to slide down with a muffled sound because no one was dragging it, which made the Balkans, who were about to fight, immediately stop the quarrel, and they shouted and grabbed the rope again to stop the artillery from sliding, and at the same time stared at each other fiercely, showing a look of "you wait".

"My lord, the soldiers seem to be hesitant to attack the monastery," Ofleiil whispered to Alexander, "and this does not bode well. ”

Alexander looked at the soldiers who seemed to be whispering as he walked, and a shadow could not help but pass through his mind.

Ofleiil's words reminded him.

Although the Balkans are more Orthodox, they have an instinctive reverence for the Church due to years of religious upbringing, or it is more appropriate to say that they are afraid, but these are nothing, after all, they are Orthodox Christians.

But the Neapolitans, the Sicilians, and even Castile and Aragon, which are known as the bastions of Christ, will face these two countries that have just recovered from centuries of Moorish rule by strong religious beliefs, and their intense and even fanatical pursuit and worship of religion will become many obstacles and difficulties in his path.

If this problem cannot be solved as soon as possible, then what are the chances that even Montina's army will have in the face of a strong enemy like Gonzalo in the future, and the Spanish army, which will be almost invincible in Europe for 150 years?

Alexander thought to himself and set his eyes on the monastery of St. John at the top of the hill.

Unlike Oflair, who feared that it might be too much to lose and lose time, Alexander never thought that the monastery was so difficult to conquer, that no fortress could avoid the fate of its fall, and that sometimes the more seemingly unconquerable a fortress was, the more dangerous it was that people could not see.

The presence of the Balkans made the rebels in the monastery a little nervous, although they had already spotted the Montina army before, because they were still far away, so they could not see clearly, and when they saw the fierce Balkans, some of the rebels could not help but exclaim.

"St. John's Monastery is the strongest fortress of all, no one can break through here," Normezi shouted loudly to the people around him, his words quickly calmed the uneasiness of his subordinates, looking at his men who were still nervous, but still holding their weapons, Normezi excitedly shouted from the narrow low window to the Montina army outside: "Come on, you barbarians, let me see if you brag about defeating the Ottomans!" ”

The figure of Montina's army flickered on the mountain road outside the junction, and as several soldiers tried to approach the slightly open area in front of the abbey, a scattered but dense burst of gunfire instantly brought a cloud of gunsmoke from the stone walls of the monastery.

The Balkans immediately retreated, but two men were still hit by the flying buckshots.

Looking at the Balkans, who hurriedly dragged their wounded companions back to the back of the junction, there was an instant burst of cheers in the monastery.

"See, they're not invincible," Normace shouted to his equally excited men, "let's teach this young master of the Mordillo family a lesson, and let him know who they have offended." ”

Encouraged by the roar of the rebels ran around, some of them crowded in front of the windows and shouting at the enemy on the mountain road, others climbing ladders up the wooden roof of the monastery and standing on top of them in all sorts of defiant gestures towards the Montina below.

The queen could not help but be a little frightened when she heard the thudding of the roof, but she was a little excited to hear the cheers outside, and after a moment of hesitation, the queen hurriedly wiped her face with a little incense, and then pushed the door open and went out into the corridor.

A man dressed as an officer ran by, and the queen immediately stepped forward and waved her hand with a majestic look

"Stop, I have something to ask you," said the queen, speaking to the man, and seeing the confusion on his face, the queen had to identify herself, "I am your queen." ”

The officer looked the queen up and down, as if he were looking at something new, and he could not help but anger the queen, who was already in a bad mood, and she angrily rebuked the unreasonable soldier: "Didn't you hear me, I am the queen, and I order you to take me to Count Normezie." ”

"Yes, Your Majesty." The officer replied with a somewhat strange tone that reminded the queen of some distant place, and then waved to the queen to follow him.

The queen followed angrily, she felt that this man must have been recruited by Normezi from some country place, otherwise how could he be so barbaric and unreasonable.

The queen could detect that Normezi seemed to be a little surprised by her appearance, but if she looked closely, she would see that Normezi was actually more attentive to the officer who had brought her.

"What really happened to the Count?" The queen asked anxiously, and then she saw through the window the Montina soldiers in the distance at the intersection outside, which made the queen immediately nervous, "They're going to attack?" ”

"Perhaps, so it's not safe for you to be here, and you'd better go back to your own room, Your Majesty." Normezi did not hide his impatience, for the queen was now nothing to be feared, her husband was said to be unconscious, and she herself had been imprisoned for her failed seizure of power, and had it not been for the conspiracy of the Gombray to release her, the queen who had lost power would still be under house arrest in the palace.

The queen apparently noticed the change in Normezi's attitude, and she was almost angry, but she had to endure the present situation.

"Can we hold this place?" The queen asked with some concern, she did not know why Alexander had let her go, but thought that if she had fallen into the hands of that Gombray again, she might not have escaped so easily.

"Rest assured, Your Majesty, this monastery has never been breached since it was founded."

Normezi tried her best to make herself look pleasant, but even then the queen could see that he was already very impatient, which made her secretly clench her fist so that her joints were already painful, and she had to let go of her hand helplessly, and said in a pretended majestic tone: "Count, I trust that the king will remember your loyalty, and believe that when we have eliminated Modilo and his henchmen, who have deceived my son and tried to monopolize power, I will recommend that the king make you the chief minister of the kingdom." ”

The queen's words caused a strange look to appear on Normezi's face, and he looked at the queen and muttered as if to say something, but after glancing at the officer not far away, he shook his head a little strangely: "I beg your pardon, you may have misunderstood, what I have done is by no means to obtain a high official from the king, even if it is such a throne as a chief minister." ”

After saying this, Normezi did not wait for the queen to speak, but beckoned two soldiers to protect the queen and go down the attic.

The queen was somewhat annoyed as she was carried down the steep wooden ladder by two soldiers, and when she inadvertently looked up, he saw Normezi and the officer before him standing side by side looking down at her.

"What was the Count of Montina thinking, why did he send the queen here?" The officer asked puzzled, his tone not showing much respect for Normezie, but sounding a little questioning.

"I don't know what that guy is going to do, but are you suspecting something, or are you doubting me?" Normezi looked at the officer with a heavy face, "I promised Ferdinand to help him get Naples, not to get any reward from your king. ”

"Actually, weren't you tempted when the queen made a promise?" The officer unceremoniously debunked Normezi's words, "And please don't speak of yourself as noble, you just want to take revenge on your grandfather for becoming the regent of Naples because of the Modillo family's obstruction." ”

Hearing the officer's words, Normezi, whose face was even more gloomy because he had been poked in the sore spot, looked at the officer coldly, but after being silent for a while, he still changed the topic: "Don't worry about the queen, no matter what tricks that Gombray wants to play, it is useless, St. John's Monastery cannot be breached, so all his plots are in vain." ”

"I hope that as you say, Count, we will hold out until King Ferdinand's army arrives, and then you will have a chance to take revenge." The officer looked at the Montina army still blocked behind the intersection and smiled with a little disdain, but he did not underestimate the enemy, "But be careful, this man is said to have defeated Bayezette." ”

"If that were the case, he would have known that St. John's Monastery was not Bucharest."

Normezi said confidently, and his voice was accompanied by the fierce sound of cannons coming from outside the monastery.

The Eagle cannons of Montina's army were finally brought up the mountain.