Northern Thrace, Constanta Fortress.

Emperor Alexios was writing to his brother-in-law, John Ducasse Jr., and the news from the front was very favorable, and the Pechenegs were ambushed by Angelo, the commander of Meisembria, on the way to Fort Johann (Preslav), and the remnants of the men had to flee to the coastline after losing the possibility of advancing westward. Since Conductor Meisembria had been recommended to him by John, Alexios thought it would be a good introduction to at least send the following message to the newly decorated High Chief Noble: We still trust you.

The long rebellion destroyed the fortresses, post stations, watchtowers and beacon systems of the Northern Military District, and since his succession to the throne, Alexios has tried to restore the administrative system of villages and towns in various places to give priority to the efficiency of military supply, but in this withered war zone, the defense system built by successive Roman emperors after the fall of Bulgaria is no longer able to maintain, and intelligence is mainly obtained by military reconnaissance.

However, Emperor Alexios apparently had his own judgment on strategy: once the enemy escaped the Hajmos Mountains, he would be surrounded by the Black Sea and the Esther River, which was the southern border of the West Mesopotamian Military District, the impregnable fortress of Constantia was just between the fugitives and the Esther River, and there was a Roman fleet cruising in the direction of the Black Sea, and the enemy had to turn west again if he wanted to flee to the north bank of Ist.

"Tetisius, tell Caesar that we will only give him half a day, and then we will leave."

"Where are you marching, Your Majesty?"

"Drista ......" the emperor's voice almost tinged with a hint of nostalgia.

Drista, the famous fortress known in ancient times as Dorostollen, was the gateway to the opposite bank of East, and the main city was surrounded by large and small fortresses along the river, where the Grand Duke Svyatoslav was besieged by Emperor John Tsimisis for sixty-seven days a hundred years ago, and after the victory, Emperor John himself gave the city the name of the warrior saint and renamed it Fort Theodor.

If he can deal with the invaders here, he can recreate the exploits of the Macedonian dynasty, and even march along the Iste River to Morava on the upper Danube, fight the Diračium garrison on both sides, and capture the Serbian traitor who claims to be emperor back to the capital's hippodrome exhibition, where Alexios Komnenos will become the same world liberator as Aurelian, Justinian, John Tsimisis, and Basil II.

One by one, the provinces of Rome will return to us, and no one will dare to speak of our dealings with the infidels - they will weep and repent and kiss our feet like oiled slaves, for we will once again be masters of Asia and Europe.

His dealings with Maliksha were not without trouble, and even within the royal family were not without opposition, but none of this mattered, and victory would be the best proof of this.

Black Sea coast, northern pass of Meisembria.

The late summer sun shines between the mountains and the sea, and in the shadow of the majestic mountain passes, the sparkling sea constantly reflects the daylight, reflecting the fine armor of hundreds of Roman cavalry.

"The horseshoe prints are new, and it's another brigade." The Valachian interpreter shouted to the Angus commander on horseback.

"If we have more men, we can just set up an ambush here...... "Kyriakush flicked his whip angrily, causing the Cuman mercenaries to laugh with contempt.

"We've been chasing for a day and a night, and now we have to rest." Angus pretended not to hear, and explained to himself, "The terrain here is dangerous, and if we chase it down, if we are ambushed, none of us can escape." ”

Hearing this, the Cumans did not say a word, urged the horse to run in the direction of the rock cliff, and disappeared completely after the horse was in the middle of the mountain, and after half an hour, a black shadow appeared on the top of the cliff, shrunk up, carved up, and merged with the mountain stone.

Angus was a little relieved, knowing that he was going to take the Ming Di on duty for the night, so he began to order the cavalry to set up camp, and then the attendants unsaddled the Latin cavalry, and carried large barrels to the vicinity to draw water and drink the horses. That night, Angus made three rounds of the camp, and until he heard the crows screaming in the distance, he had some foreboding, but he was tired and constantly attacked, and fell into a deep sleep wrapped in dark black chain mail.

The next day's march was still uneventful, the nearby villages were supposed to be inhabited by some Pechenegs, who were struck away by the emperor after they were settled in the Wallach aborigines, probably the concept of farming was completely inconsistent with the nature of these people, after the rebellion broke out, many people left one after another, or went to the rebels in the north of the mountain, or went south to venture into the city, in short, the Latin cavalry could not find a donkey or a bag of flour here, and the kind of clean country girl could not even think about it, This reminded the soldiers of the days when they were stationed in Adrianople.

It has been several days since the solar eclipse, and the unbearable heat of the nomads will subside at any time, Angus knows that he has no chance to gain any more victories from the enemy, and he intends to chase him to the north of Mount Haimos and start returning, honestly joining the emperor's main force, after all, his performance will be easier for the emperor to see in the next big war.

Maeve's green shadow flashed in the distance, Angus took off his lock hood, and the sound of crows suddenly intensified, and he could only see the dark green water looming in the mountain pass ahead.

"Come with me, bastard!" The girl's voice trembled, as if she had been greatly frightened.

It was years before Angus saw a more terrible scene on the outskirts of Nicaea, but until now, nothing could compare to everything here, the headless corpse of the master blacksmith was once the evil spirit in the deepest part of his dreams, and yet this canyon was literally densely covered with thousands of headless corpses!

"O God!" Gillick cried out at his fingertips, then jumped up as if he had touched a leper, and a look of disgust shot at Kiriakush beside him.

Red apples are picked. Unfortunately, the words of the Cumans came true, and two or three thousand captives, including bureaucrats, scholars, artisans, and slaves from the Roman Empire, were all plucked by the barbarians here.

A hundred horsemen walked alone through the blood-clotting execution ground that stretched north, the black smoke of flies swirling on the rotten flesh, and the figures of ravens everywhere, constantly carving their long sharp beaks into the vertebrae, creating the most cruel art in the world.

The miserable weeping came from the wind, echoing among the pile of headless corpses, and it was simply chilling.

This is a long letter written by the Scythians in Roman blood, and the meaning could not be clearer: the wolves have gathered again, and the roles of hunter and prey will be redefined.

"Retreat!" Angus ordered through gritted teeth.