Poets are fond of singing the praises of the adventurous life of sailing, and in fact any Viking knows how tedious a voyage can be at sea, and if there is anything more boring than floating in a sea of foam with a strange smell, it is to anchor in the harbor with a whole fleet without leaving the cabin.

Aldric did his best to pass the time by eavesdropping on conversations, and at the same time to gather valuable information, sometimes the secrets of the mouths of some squire or more inadvertently revealed were worth more than a gold-sealed waxed princely edict. But these days, most of what Odrik hears is news of war, and he has heard no less than ten versions of General George Palaioleg's surprise attack on the Normans, and then there are more inconspicuous things, but perhaps more important—such as mercenaries everywhere.

In the dead of night, he would smile wryly and indescribably, and he might be able to gather the direction of the kings' armies, or even the fetishes of the nobles' bed, but without freedom, this information is nothing.

Sometimes he was happy to see a fat cat climbing aboard the boat, and although he had been trained not to give out his feelings easily, he would always remember the feeling, the warmth of re-contact with life in the outside world, like a person who had been suffocated for a long time suddenly gaining a breath of air.

Another new hobby is playing chess in the head, and he seems to have formed two separate personalities, not sharing each other's destiny, which may illustrate how crazy a thinking mind can do when faced with the danger of rust. However, when he had forgotten everything about the world, as if the cabin was the whole world, the air of freedom rushed into the corner where he was.

On that day, something earth-shattering happened, and no one knew where the chaos began, but the Venetians, who had always shown that they had been in the grip of wisdom, could not control the situation, the emperor's army was defeated in the suburbs, the walls were full of panicked men, the ironclad cavalry who had lost their armor fled all the way, and General George, who took the initiative to attack, could not re-enter the city, so he could only flee with the army - except for the emperor's chief of the horde, only the Venetians were left in the entire city of Dirakium, except for the emperor's chief of guard.

With the withdrawal of the main Byzantine forces, the city was already in danger, and the fleet began to stir first, with some ships leaving the port without saying hello, and the guards on Aldrik's transport ships were drawn to join the city defense.

God-given timing! The Englishman escaped from the prison where he was imprisoned, and he cautiously remained in the city, surviving the siege by stealing stables, and after the Venetians surrendered the city, the spy escaped the smoky fortress in the most proficient Norman language.

Half a month later, the English spy appeared in Alexios' royal tent, and he noticed that the emperor frowned slightly when he entered, which made him realize the filth on his body.

But Alexios had long been accustomed to the scruffiness of the barbarians, and in fact the seven thousand Seljuks in his camp were enough for him, and these reinforcements from the Sultan were quite neat by herdsmen's standards, but in the eyes of the Greeks they were nothing more than a stinking harpy.

"In addition to these things that we have known for a long time, what other information do you have that is worth the Empire's money?" Alexios asked with the utmost patience, cursing to himself in his heart, it was a waste of time, he had thought that a traitor from the Norman camp would say something worthwhile, and now he was not going to listen any further.

"How's the matter with Count Capua?" This sentence succeeded in piquing the emperor's interest.

After obtaining a sample of Nomisma, Odrick spoke again.

"You say Prince Capua is hoarding troops?" Alexios looked skeptical, he knew that no one would pay for such a thing, and the Norman obviously had his own plans.

"Your Majesty can confirm for yourself." Oderick judged from the fact that the emperor was able to accurately know the current situation in Rome that the other party had such ability.

"Well, if it's true, you'll get paid enough." The emperor has fallen into deep thought.

"If this piece of information is of some use to Your Majesty," the English spy did not leave obediently, "I don't need these coins." ”

"What do you want?" It was the first time the Emperor had begun to examine the defector himself, and a spy who didn't want money was one of the strangest things he had ever seen.

"I just ask Your Majesty to hire me and let me join your Praetorian Guard." Alderick spoke his terms in his heart, he had heard about the loss of the Varangian Guard, and in addition to his spy profession, he was also a squire of the lord and had received orthodox knightly training.

"As long as you can pass the test, but if you fail, we won't pay you another penny."

"As Your Majesty wishes." The English humbly bowed their heads and retired.

The Emperor pondered in the candlelight, the Normans were marching on Macedonia, all the way to Macedonia, and such a victory could not be prevented by a rebellion in the rear.

He remembered the news of Henry IV that Odric had begun to talk about, and the Venetians, of course, would not tell all the information about Italy, but he had other ways of doing so.

"Then let Rome fall, only then can Robert's army be reversed." Once Alexios had made up his mind, he began to plan the details.

"We need a sum of money, and it should be the Teutons who spend it." The Emperor was well aware of Henry IV's cunning, and he was not so arrogant as to think that he would know better than the other how to take Rome, but the Prince of Capua was different, a fool who had no faith but only succeeded by men.

However, for the sake of a reminder, Alexios decided to inform Henry of the Capuas' movements, even though he was convinced that the matter could not be separated from the actions of the Teutons behind the scenes.

Emperor Alexios, who had been defeated at Dillakium, did not remain in his camp on the shores of Lake Ohrid, but hurried back to the capital, squeezed a large sum of money from the Church with a strong hand, and shipped the gold coins totaling nearly 400,000 nomisma to Italy, but fortunately, the Venetians still controlled the Strait of Otranto, which was done very quickly. For the Venetians, once the Normans conquered Constantinople, all their previous investments were in vain, which was by no means acceptable.

Odrick faced another accident when he completed everything from the use of weapons to the equestrian tests until sunset under the aggressive gaze of a white-robed sword-wielding officer, and then heard a message that made him fall asleep.

"What, the Varangian Praetorian Guard no longer exists?"