Within a few days, shortly after the completion of the wooden bridge that Gawain had stunned the enemy, the Pilgrims' defenses beneath the city of Antioch were strengthened by a steady stream of supplies. At this moment, the sun has moved to the position of the Aries Palace, and the spring of Antioch and even the whole of Syria is beginning to arrive, and the offensive and defensive camps are working hard and secretly preparing to gain an advantage over the enemy in a decisive battle that may arise at any time.

In the wee hours of the morning, between the Norman camps, under the blue-gray sky, the distant mountains disappeared into undulating and crooked black lines, and Bohemond's armor reflected a faint light, and he stepped on the stirrup, held the saddle, and sat on the horses, and behind him about two hundred Norman horsemen, all wearing nose helmets and fur covers, and the tail of the tooth flag was slightly in line with the wind, constantly telling the direction of the wind in front of Bohemond's eyes.

The Duke of Apulia coughed softly twice, and looked back at the campfire and green smoke that remained between the camps, and his nephew Tanfred came over, and said to him in the cold wind, "Uncle, please wait a few days, I have sent a letter to Barak, the consul of Edessa, asking for help, and the gold will be paid soon." ”

The red beard was glued to the frost and snow, and the emaciated Bohemond expressed his gratitude to his nephew, and said that after paying off the interest on the Pisan debt, he would share the rights and interests of Antioch City with Tancred, and establish a strong and continuous Norman kingdom here.

Then Bohemond tightened the bridles of his mount, and the Norman cavalry behind him coughed and the horses gasped, and all the two hundred Norman cavalry, with an equal number of Calabrian lightly armed soldiers, carrying axes and bows, formed a column and walked out of the camp at St. Paul's Gate.

Engraved at the same time. The Marquis de Raymond also led a cavalry of seven hundred Provençals across the newly erected bridge and arrived at the camp of the Golf Brigade, where Gawain held his bearded mouth with a caged hand armor wrapped in leather and tied in leather. Breathing a white air mass between his fingers, he climbed the gatehouse with a frown, first staring at Raymond's team stepping among the withered grass, and then looking at the direction where the sun was about to rise in the distant mountains, the light exposed between the mountains and under the clouds was dark purple, like a winding snake, slowly tracing upstream, with a looming light. Stained the clouds into uneven fish scales.

Gawain then took a breath, took out the sundial given by Azje He, observed it carefully, and then turned his ear sideways, and then asked Mellot, the camper, "Is there any thunder in the sky?" ”

Mellot listened carefully and said that she was not sure. It stands to reason that today is a clear day.

The Provençals below, have raised their flags. Impatiently shouted that the party in Gawain's camp should come out quickly, so as not to delay their return time: because the food and straw supplies that had been stored in advance in the various camps had consumed two-thirds of the scale, the priesthood of Ardmar asked Gawain, Raymond, and Bohemond. Each of them sent part of their troops, assembled and followed the route planned in advance by Stephen, Count of Blois, from the iron bridge to the port of Saint-Simon, to escort the supplies that had arrived during this time. The route was considered safe by Ademar and allowed to bypass the pilgrims' camp, which was crowded with civilians, merchants, and motley people, and where the baggage caravan had previously passed had been maliciously looted.

With a creaking sound, several cloaked servants pulled the latches and iron cables of the door, and along the downward slope, the gate of the camp was opened, and about two hundred Jinat cavalry from West Cilicia, screaming and pulling the reins, led by General Orson, whose black flag of "middle finger" was very conspicuous, ran out of the camp, and then joined the Provença, along the west bank of the Orontes River, across the river from Bohemond's men and horses, and marched side by side, in the direction of the Iron Bridge Fort.

By this time, the sun had risen halfway, and Gawain's face was flushed, and he and Merlot looked at the glittering mosque spire on the Acropolis of Antioch almost at the same time, where the faint sound of the Crescent worshippers could be heard in the wind.

The walls of the Acropolis tower have become uneven after thousands of years of sun and rain, and the front of it is obscured by the sun on its back. Okhilt, dressed in a tattered robe that only covered his body, barefoot revealing his deplaque, thin body, his hands and feet were chained, and he was pushed to the tower by several Turkic soldiers, and the wind blew, and the poor old man trembled.

Then there was a long grinding sound of the iron ropes against the wall, and the old man was violently pushed down, and fell down in a straight line against the wall of the tower, splashing dust and falling again, and then suddenly stretched up again at a fixed point, and then his bare feet swayed back and forth, from side to side, and on the wall of the city was stained with the blood worn by the patriarch's feet.

"He wants a cross, so give him this shape!" The Turkic soldier who stepped on the battlement of the tower looked down and laughed, "I heard that the enemy besieging the city is gambling on when this one will be finished." ”

Okhilt instinctively lowered his head and looked at the city road beneath his feet, where an Armenian soldier in a helmet was looking at him with his eyes raised and complaining.

This was the fourth time that the other party had looked at him, and the Patriarch could almost remember the time and place of duty of the different garrison soldiers, "Prajit, my child. ”

"Yes, my father." The Armenian mercenary replied on his back, with his hand on the edge of his iron helmet, in such a whisper and timidity that the Patriarch could scarcely hear clearly.

"You should have fled to Cilicia back then, lest you see my miserable appearance, and both enemies and enemies are wondering when I will die."

"No, it won't last long, today our Wang Yaji will have a great victory." Amid the growing chanting around him, Pragit continued to whisper, "If he gets the victory he desires, it will stir up forgiveness, and perhaps let you go." ”

"Child, your king is my lord, not Achi, for a tyrannical and treacherous man will never be king."

Before the words could be stopped, a shadow suddenly passed over the head of the patriarch, and Prajit hurriedly walked away with his spear on his shoulder—a bright red and dazzling crimson flag, hung on the tower, facing the head of the patriarch, and then waved in the wind.

"What is this?" The Patriarch marveled in his heart.

On the Shengquan Stone Fort on the top of the hill opposite the acropolis, several soldiers in charge of observation also stood up one after another, held the pheasant, and looked at the scarlet flag that was constantly fluttering on the spire of the tallest tower in Antioch, "Go and call Pak Ade to come up." ”

"What's that?" When the father and son of Pak Ade, who were stationed here, carried a curved saber, climbed the observation tower, and followed the antioch gable and the rock defense that coiled up, they saw this flag that was obviously a signal, and they were also very surprised. (To be continued.) )