After a twenty-day siege, a section of Exeter's walls was badly collapsed by the Norman tunnels, and the tunnels leading to the east gate were not yet completed.

The gates, which had been blackened by repeated attacks and filled with arrows, were reinforced by hardwood behind the gates and countered with stones from above.

In the chaotic environment, the bodies of some of the attackers were thrown onto the wooden fence by the wall, and the armor was pierced by arrows fired from outside the city, and some even exposed their intestines.

The attackers threw flints with their instruments and lit an arrow tower, and the English defenders, whose view was obscured by the smoke, could not continue to shoot nearby, so they drew their Saxon swords and began to fight the enemies who were climbing the walls one after another, many of whom were soon seriously wounded, and the defenders sprinkled sand on the blood-covered ground, and drove the enemy down with spears and axes.

In other directions, especially on the side of the Aix, the Normans did not attack, and the town founded by the Romans still retained its ancient ramparts, protecting a bridge and port, and it was difficult to completely blockade it.

King William was very patient, the siege was ready, and his army was finally ready to launch a final offensive once the tunnels at the east gate were dug.

In the half-enclosed city, Leofrick, Bishop of Exeter, entered St. Peter's Church, where Harold's mother, Lady Gisa, was already waiting.

The bishop said to the noble Norse woman: "Madame, the defenders have lost all hope, and the city will face its final fate, so please evacuate it at once so that it does not fall into the hands of the Franks." "Lady Gisa's face turned pale, she had experienced countless ups and downs in the world, once had five sons who were earls, one son was a king, and one daughter was a queen, and now most of them have left the world, leaving only their old selves to protect the women and children of the Godwin family.

Lady Gisa, a devout noblewoman who had given generously to the Church for most of her life, was overwhelmed by her despair, but she immediately arranged for the Godwins and other fugitive nobles to leave.

As the Bishop watched all the exiles' ships sail towards the sea, he recalled the first half of his life in exile with King Edward, the fate of the city, and at a certain moment he remembered the vast collection of books and manuscripts he had painstakingly collected, and he wondered whether he would be able to escape the catastrophe.

The next day, while William was still inquiring about the progress of the tunnels, the envoy of Exeter was brought to him, and the king looked a little surprised, not expecting that the people of the city had surrendered at this time.

Just when the Normans thought that the king would humiliate the envoys and conquer the unruly city with pride, King William suddenly spoke: "We are very pleased with the deference of Exeter, and tell all the English people that the city will not be harmed in any way, and that we will not impose any additional taxes on the English in the city after entering the city, nor will we confiscate the property of anyone other than the Godwin, and that everything will be as it has been, this is the promise of the king of England." The messenger was clearly struck by this sudden leniency, and like the other English present, the conqueror voluntarily renounced his rights, something that had not yet happened.

When the news came back, the whole of Exeter began to cheer, and the church bells rang throughout the city.

King William graciously received all the nobles, bishops, and abbots who remained in the city, and after asking about the whereabouts of Lady Gisa, he quietly continued to accept the nobles' allegiance.

On the other side, Bishop Osborne was ordered to begin organizing the construction of a castle on the northern part of the Roman walls of Exeter for the Norman army.

Before the completion of the fortress built on the Roman walls, the king had already begun to return from Cornwall, and his army was joined by the English army from the southwestern counties, which at once grew in size to 12,000 men, including 2,000 cavalry, 7,000 heavy infantry, and 3,000 crossbowmen and slingers.

However, as an Indian dervish told Alexander the Great, the difficulty of conquest is like stepping on a raw cowhide on the ground, and no matter which side of the foot is flat, the other side will always be upturned.

The situation in Mercia had deteriorated day by day, the Earl of Edwin of Mercia had joined forces with the Welsh, the Earl of Moka had led his troops south, and the Normans of York were now threatened by armies from both sides, and the situation was instantly precarious.

In addition, the king heard rumors from the west that Harold's sons were gathering troops and ships in the court of Diamed in Dublin in preparation for a comeback.

Even more disturbing was the fact that the Northumbrians were all standing behind Prince Edgar, and the news soon spread as the envoys marched across England, who were rallying supporters everywhere, and many English churches were praying for the cause, but fear of King William still prevailed slightly, especially in the regions closer to the south, where the English did not dare to openly rebel against the king.

Now the royal business of the Normans depended entirely on William's genius for conquest, and the giant trees from Normandy had stretched their branches and leaves to the heart of England, as William's mother once dreamed of.

For the king himself, it was also his best chance to wash away the humiliation he had suffered since childhood, and he still can't forget the chaos he had heard and witnessed as a child, the shaving of his throat cut in front of him, and the cruel castration of a Norman nobleman returning from a wedding feast, only to lose both eyes and ears.

Later, the rebellious nobles still laughed at their bloodline, and even their own wives refused to marry an illegitimate child.

Ever since those moments, evil thoughts have tormented William, and all for the sake of today, for the sake of this unprecedented Hongye - an illegitimate child turned the rightful king of England.

Having banished all sorts of distractions, King William called Roger of Montgomery to his side and ordered him to lead a part of Somerset's England to Bristol, fortify the mouth of the River Avon, keep a close watch on the enemy from the direction of Wales, and guard against the landing of Harold's sons from here.

After arranging the defense of the Western Front, the king sent another messenger to Bishop Odo's army to learn about the news from Denmark.

Soon, in the fog, in the Norman barracks, which stretched out their wings like crows, the clamor of military orders and neighing horses shattered the calm of the English countryside.

The movement of hundreds of English troops was accomplished in a matter of moments with efficient orders and commands, and more than twenty Breton cavalry turned northwest with the English, marching perpendicular to the Roman road to Fosse.