As soon as the deacon saw Theognes, he reprimanded him with a scowling face, "Your Excellency Caesar is furious that you have failed to do your duty and allowed people to commit the crime of murder in the mansion. ”

This frightened Theognes so much that his teeth were fighting and he did not dare to say more, and then the deacon pressed him, "What about the woman who kills with the sword?" ”

"If she escapes, I'll catch her in the future." The officer swore an oath.

"Then what do you do when you come back, Your Excellency Caesar doesn't want to see you anymore." The deacon was cold.

"However, Bohemond is still in the palace, and I will escort him to the capital to meet Your Majesty, who is the greatest enemy of Your Majesty's request."

As a result, the deacon's reply made Theogneston feel five thunderstruck, "What Bohemond?" I warn you, don't continue this kind of joke that dishonors Caesar's reputation. ”

At this moment, the guards and even Gawain and Peter and others were dumbfounded: such a big living person walked into the mansion of the dignified vice emperor, and then disappeared without a trace?

Diognis did his best to suppress his emotions, and he admonished the deacon, "Allow me to say again, this Bohemond is a key criminal who has plagued the empire's seas and towns for many years, one of the leaders of the Norman bandits, the son of Guiscut, and a lifelong enemy of His Majesty the Emperor, I don't care about Caesar's desire to capture his merits, but I must leave it to me to escort him to the imperial capital, otherwise this cunning bandit chief will be difficult to control." ”

"Commander, I warn you again, you should not have seen what happened today, and it was the same before, that is, in Caesar's mansion, there was never a person like Bohemond who came and stayed." The deacon replied with a solemn expression, "Even if you and Caesar were confronted face to face in the presence of His Majesty the Emperor, it would not change this assertion—but do you really want to do that to Caesar?" My friend, you need to rest and don't make the mistake of going crazy. ”

Hearing this, Theognes stood still for a long time, when suddenly he sensed something, and roared, and went up the stairway under the wall, like an angry leopard, and then he was on a high plane behind the battlements of rock and brick, and the waves of the sea were surging, and out of the small port of Gallipoli came out a swift ship that sailed out.

On the deck of the ship, Bohemond the red-bearded stood with a provocative smile, looking at the warden standing on the battlement, and waved goodbye to him, and soon the ship was further and further away, quickly disappearing into the sky, in the direction of Greece.

Diognis held the hand of the battlement, trembling, he really could not think of the Maculinus who served as Caesar of the great empire. Ducasse, whose meritorious title is so glorious, his position and fortune so remarkable, his family heritage so long, and his duties and obligations so noble, would actually let go of the bandit chieftain who has plagued the country's territory for so many years! Could it be that in his eyes, there is no people, no country, and no emperor?

"Bastard, what the hell are you thinking!?" The warden cried out in grief, his voice almost drowning out the raging waves, and his fist struck the old scarred walls until blood flowed, and his eyes were almost on fire, and he ran down the stairway by the tower and walked back to Caesar's mansion with anger and courage.

"By doing so, Caesar is tarnishing and damaging the cause of His Majesty the Emperor."

"You are crazy, little catcher, dare to speak so disrespectfully, even if I go to report to Caesar now, he has the right to put you to death on the spot." The deacon's anger was indescribable when he heard Theognes' indignation.

As a result, Diognis beat his chest, "I pursued Bohemond for three months, I got the emperor's edict, and now Myacollinus has directly let him go, maybe in another year, two years, Bohemond will gather more Norman bandits to invade our country, I want to ask, can the reason why Myaulinus did this convince me, convince the emperor?" ”

"Get out of here, lowly fellow, get out of front of Caesar's mansion, and the bureaucrats and generals inside will be willing to prove that what you say is false, so keep your mouth shut, and your head will be free to turn around your neck to-morrow - Caesar has no reason to explain it to people like you." As the deacon spoke, the guards of the courtyard also stepped forward one after another, wanting to push away the guard, Gao Wen and the others.

The guards were pushed around, and the tendons on their necks burst out with anger, "I served in the border fortresses of Anatolia at the age of thirteen, my father was killed twelve years ago in the battle of Durazo to cover His Majesty, and it was the Norman bandits who pursued His Majesty, and all the rivers of Asia Minor flowed with the blood of a lowly warrior like me, but they raised you silverfish to the fullest—if I could do it again, I would have watched with joy at the Sakarya River, Look at the heads of Myacollinus and his father, cut off by the sabers of the Turkic pagans. ”

The Isuriya mercenaries of the guard clamored and beat the guard who was still cursing until he bleed from the nose and mouth. "Enough!" The deacon gave the order to terminate all things lightly, and then he threw a pair of boots and a box on the sidewalk in front of the mansion, "These new boots are Caesar's condolences to you, and this box contains a guide to transit, and now you can leave, Caesar's kindness to you ends here, he doesn't like ungrateful fellows, really, inferior people will never experience noble spirits and pursuits." ”

Then, when the gate of the mansion was closed, Theognes wiped the blood from his nose in the sun, picked up his boots and guide, and walked slowly to the low wall opposite the road, and sat down with Gawain and Peter, and then he hung the guide on his belt, and then took off his old boots, which were full of holes, and threw them aside, and put on the new boots that Caesar had given him.

"Are you still willing to accept that Caesar's gift?" Gawain asked curiously.

"Caesar is always the vice-emperor of the empire, the co-ruler personally appointed by His Majesty, and the guide chosen by the citizens of Rome, I can question him, but in the end I cannot disobey him." This is Diognis' interpretation.

"You Greeks are like that?"

"Shut up, you are not allowed to call us Greeks, we are Romans, Romans!" The captor said in annoyance, and then he stood up, "I am going back to Asia Minor, and now that Bohemond has been released, I have neither the power to appeal to Caesar, nor the face to go to His Majesty the Emperor, and this guide is useless, and I have lost my status as a captor, and I am going to disappear into the wilderness of Anatolia." ”