The Ottomans were waiting for them.

Chipes believed that his judgment was correct, or rather Alexander's.

Judging from the situation on the battlefield, Cepes soon discovered something rather strange, which made him more certain about the enemy's intentions.

When Morko's feint finally caught the attention of the Ottomans and caused their army to move in the direction of Bukrčani, which, although far from Bukrčani, would have left with a wide enough gap to leave, Tsepes and his army quickly set out in the direction of Bukrčani.

Bukrtsany is the last riverside fortress near Dembvica, and because it is located on a reef that juts out into the river, it is not built irregularly, but forms a vague triangle along the topography of the reef.

The fort had two sides facing the river and the other facing the bank, and two fortification-looking forts were built on two walled walls facing the river, while on one side of the bank were placed several bronze guns mounted on rough wooden racks instead of on special gun mounts, as on the river side.

The caliber of these guns was not very large, and some were not even much larger than the Eagle guns, but due to the terrain, the side of the fortress facing the river bank could directly threaten the fortress only through a dense forest and then through a road that was not very wide.

This created favorable conditions for the men of the fortress to concentrate their fire, and because Bukrtsany still had to provide grain granaries for several thousand men of Dembvica, there was a recess in the fortress on the side of the fortress facing the river, leading to a small pier on the river.

But now the gates of the small pier and the waterway on the river have been closed, and there are many people standing on the fort wall on one side of the shore.

The people watched with concern the smoke and dust that was being raised from time to time in the distance of the woods, and they knew that two armies were fighting cruelly under the smoke, but they could not be busy, and the people of Bukrchani knew that they themselves were in fact a thorn in the side of the Ottomans, and at least their grain depot could cause a lot of trouble for the Ottomans.

The city of Dembvica is not very large, with less than 3,000 men, women and children in the city, but because it has been a holy place in the Balkans for so long, it is common for Balkans to come here from far away to make a pilgrimage to the tomb of Brother St. Cyril, and perhaps because of the turmoil of the times, people are more eager for comfort from the faith, so there are many pilgrims all the time.

Perhaps inspired by the miracle of the St. Cyril brothers, some pilgrims chose to stay, and they formed different large and small orders in Dembvica, some dozens of people and some only a few, but the large orders of hundreds of people also exist in Dembvica, and there are two.

One of them is the famous "Dragon Knights" in the Balkans, and all the famous names of this order are because there is a very famous member among them, his name is Vlad III, the ancestor of the legendary vampires.

After his death, Vlad III was placed in the cemetery of the Dembvica Church, where he was guarded not only by the cross and the angel, but also by his comrades-in-arms and friends.

The Dragon Knights are one of the two largest orders in Dembvica, and a semi-armed order, whose members believe that God has chosen and tested them to stop the Ottoman invasion, and that their strong faith in God will give them unimaginable powers.

These orders were of varying numbers, but they all had a very strong faith, and because they had been stationed in Dembvica for many years, they had no less affection for the small city than the inhabitants of the city, and when they heard of the arrival of the Ottoman army, the members of the order immediately asked the city officials for permission to arm themselves for the defense of the Holy Land, and while the officials were still hesitating whether they needed to do so, some of the most radical orders began to look for blacksmiths and workers to make them the weapons they needed to defend the city.

The Dragon Knights and another order called the Ichishinkai, relying on the wealth they had amassed from the members of the Order over the years, not only quickly armed themselves, but also began to issue weapons to some residents and other small orders who were worried about the fall of the city.

However, this gave the defenders of Dembvica some confidence, believing that they would be able to hold the city as long as Bucharest could send reinforcements in time.

It's just that although the addition of these orders has indeed strengthened Dembvica's defenses, another problem has crossed them, that is, the food that Dembvica himself can provide cannot feed so many people.

These orders do not usually buy food from Dembvica, because these orders have some kind of relationship with the Patriarchate of Bucharest, and most of them still buy food from Bucharest.

But now, Dembvica was in danger of being surrounded, and getting grain from the river from the grain depot in Bukrčani became the hope of the people of Dembvica.

As for how long Bukrtsani will last, it is not time to consider.

The Ottomans apparently knew this, so their left flank marched towards Bukrčani in a detachment, and a large number of siege equipment were also brought towards Bukrčani.

Both Dembvica and Bucharest immediately realized that the Ottomans were the first to capture or destroy Bukrčani, a food supply base.

Bukrcani's men were equally nervous, their defenders were small and at least alone against the large Ottomans, and although the terrain was fairly favourable, and the castle's grain depot was stocked with enough supplies to support a town of a few thousand men like Dembvica for months, they knew that if reinforcements did not arrive in time, they would end up dying.

Unless they were willing to abandon the fortress and evacuate Bukrchani from the river, if that grain depot would surely fall into the hands of the Ottomans.

"It's the man from Chipes," said an officer whispering to Bukelcani's guard, and seeing that the guard's beard trembled slightly, the officer pointed slightly under the fort wall, "and those men were scattered from his ranks by the Ottomans, and they made it clear that they were the men of the Grand Duke of Wallachia." ”

"Does he claim to be the Grand Duke of Wallachia?" A thick snort came from the guard's nose, "The son of Vlad Cepes, his grandfather was an illegitimate child, and his father was a brutal fellow, but now he actually calls himself the Grand Duke of Wallachia?" ”

"He's here to help us," said the officer, with some embarrassment, "and we need reinforcements, otherwise we ourselves will certainly not be able to defend ourselves against the Ottomans." ”

The defender stretched out his hand and twisted his thick beard, it was clear that the situation in front of him gave him no choice, and the appearance of Cepes undoubtedly gave a glimmer of hope to Bukirchani who was facing difficulties, but it did not make him feel better.

Chipes, the son of Vlad, the former Grand Duke of Wallachia who lost his head......

The guard's head couldn't help but bulge, he knew why he was so nervous and uneasy, and the thought of that Vlad III made him tremble secretly with nervousness.

"There's no way he'll know who it was, can he?" The guard suddenly asked the officer beside him in a low voice that only the two of them could hear, and although he had no beginning or end to what he said, he knew that the other party would definitely understand.

"No, in fact, even we don't know who did it, right, at that time, ......" the officer pondered for a moment before using a word that he thought was appropriate, "It's a mess, there are wars everywhere, everyone is only concerned with killing the person in front of them or saving their own life, who can control others." ”

The guard snorted slightly in agreement and in response, and then he turned his head to look inside the fort walls.

"Is that Chipes, will he come to Bukrcány?"

Hearing the inquiry, the officer nodded, and then glanced at the shadows that flickered in the darkness beneath the fort walls.

"I heard that yes," the officer looked back at the smoke and dust that was still rising outside, "and they were going to relieve the siege of Dembvica. ”

The guard hesitated and finally said, "We need their help." ”

"I understand." The officer nodded, then leaned closer to the guard and lowered his voice, "But what does Cepes know?" ”

"What can he know?!" The guard suddenly asked in a stiff tone, "Did he die of his father, you also said that it was so chaotic at the time, who would pay attention to other people's affairs, and Vlad has many enemies, don't you, so do you think he can know who was involved in the killing of his father?" ”

"But I heard that he found the guy who supposedly sold Vlad's head to the Ottomans, and then dried him alive as a dried corpse."

"Cruel Chippers," the guard cursed in a low voice, but waved his hand anyway, "send someone to contact him, we need their help." ”

"But you know that he calls himself the Grand Duke of Wallachia," the officer reminded softly, "and if we ask him for help, we will recognize his status......

"Now it's important for us to defend against Ottoman talent." The guard interrupted the officer in a slightly vicious tone: "Bukrtsany is dangerous now, and if this place falls into the hands of the Ottomans, what does it mean for Dembvitsa and Bucharest, do you know?" ”

The officer's lips moved but he didn't say anything more, and he looked out of the fortress worriedly, his eyes full of worry and gloom.

The army of Cepes advanced rapidly along a dry channel, which was not wide or deep, and under which a large expanse of green plants had grown, which from a distance looked like a green ribbon stretching forward.

Cepes did not know how long he could deceive the Ottomans, or how long Morco would hold out, so he could only do his best to order his army to cross the gaps in the Ottomans' previously laid defensive line and quickly advance in the direction of Bukrčani.

It's just that Chipes's current appearance is not good, or if Bukircani's guard looks at it, he may find that the expressions on the faces of the two men are actually similar.

Resentful and unwilling, Chipes always considered himself much more tolerant than his father, and although he admitted to inheriting the irascible character of the family, he always felt that he was more of a politician than a mere warrior than his father.

But now Chipes knows that the influence of the family is obviously huge, so his mood at this time is also extremely complicated.

Bukrchani's guards were his father's subordinates during his lifetime.

And Cepes has been secretly suspecting that his father's death is related to many people, and that Bukirchani's defender is one of them.

Tsepes would have guessed this not because he had never found the man who had murdered his father, but because not long after his father's death, that man had gone from a modest nobleman to a guard of the illustrious fortress of Bukrčani.

Bukrčani's role was undoubtedly important, as it was seen as a hub between Dembvica and Bucharest, but such a place was handed over to Vlad III's subordinates after his death, which made Tsepes wonder if that man had been loyal to his father before.

After all, Vlad III was ousted shortly after he succeeded to the throne of the Grand Duke, and although he regained the title of Grand Duke, his ruthlessness made him the enemy of all in the land.

When Vlad III died, his men were retaliated against for following such a monarch, but only one of them was not spared, but suddenly and inexplicably soared.

Rache Mota.

The thought of this name Tsepes could not help but throb in his heart, and when he decided to rescue Dembvica, he thought of Bukrcany, or rather the man in the fortress of Bukrcany.

"Your Highness, we are not far from Bukelchani." An attendant shouted from the side, "The fork in the road ahead is the road to Dembvica." ”

Hearing the words of his attendant, Chipes's heart suddenly froze, and he looked forward, and sure enough, he saw two paths leading in different directions.

One leads to Dembvica and the other to Bukrčani.

Cepes took his mount and looked at the two roads, and the look on his face was sunny and cloudy.

"Your Highness?"

The people around him are urging urgently, even a moment at this time is incomparably precious.

Chipes's chest gasped, and finally he pulled the reins hard and let out a muffled roar: "Go to Dembvica!" ”

The Wallachian army continued to advance, and as the team reached the fork in the road to Dembvica, through the dense treetop gaps, Cepes saw the towers of the Bukeltsani fortress behind the woods in the distance.

"I'll be back."

Chipes whispered to no one and then clamped his horse's belly as his mount galloped forward.

At the same time, in the lower reaches of the Dembvica River, after a period of fighting, as Sisugu said, the two sides, which had little choice in the first place, finally gave up the meaningless mutual temptation, and a fierce battle finally began.