"What? Are you saying that on the flank to the Gangara fort, which is guarded by the believers, in the middle of the Harris River, there is an outpost of Danishmund? ”

"Yes, Your Highness Princess, this fortress is called Calabi, and it has an ancient drawbridge at the back end of the deep valley and the rushing river, which spans the Harris River, allowing the army of Danishmond to pass through quickly, and this place has always been the key between the Emir of Danishmond and Paphragonia. As long as we have this fort, the other side will be free to gallop against our army, so that our journey to Gangara Fort will be full of danger of being flanked. ”

"You mean to take this fortress for our army? But is it not wrong for Danishmond to send light cavalry to track us down, but not to declare war on our army? Anna hesitated.

"Your Royal Highness Princess, you are indeed an extremely kind and noble person, worthy of being the Chosen Apostle of God in a purple robe, but in this treacherous and cruel plateau, there has never been a dignified statement, in order to eliminate all possible dangers, you must strike first no matter what!" The words of the Archon of the Golden Hand were unquestionable, and Anna thought about it for a while, and decided to deal with it: agree with Cabeamia and Gawain's plan, and send a detachment to attack Calabi Castle.

The selected detachment consisted of two Greek infantry companies, "Nemesis" and "Hell Blood", and was equipped with a company of craftsmen and archers of the "Holy Sea", and 500 Pauloites and armed regiments, led by Giovanni and Gottschalke, who followed the divergent path without any negotiation or warning. Quickly approached the hill fort.

The Turkic commander in the fort was terrified and hurriedly sent his cavalry to rush across the drawbridge. Gallop to Amasia, "the armed forces of Constantinople." They began to enter Paphragonia and storm our castle, carrying the purple triple cross flag given by the emperor. ”

As for the Red Hand Flag, Gawain deliberately instructed before the war that it was not allowed to be carried, let alone displayed.

Calabi was a hill fort built on a hill, mostly timber and fenced, and a small outpost stronghold, guarded by only a hundred Danishmund soldiers. The craftsmen shouted. Pushed the two "porcupine" archers into range, and then lit the large arrows wrapped in asphalt and fire, and among the rising smoke, the arrows with flames rushed into the wooden door of the mountain fort and wedged them in, because Gawain had "requested" Agnes to change the cluster of arrows from the original triangle. Reformed to a square tuft suitable for destroying armor and city defenses, soon the gates of the hill fort were engulfed in flames. Then, the "Holy Sea" company opened its bow and fired fiercely, covering the two infantry companies. From the main gate and the flanks of the hillside, they formed a column and swooped out, and when they arrived, they directly used the hook and sickle. Knock over the wooden grating hook of the hill fort and place it on the wall with a simple ladder. Avoiding the thorns and iron thorns inserted in the wall, he climbed up densely.

About an hour later. The castle soon changed hands, and four captured soldiers (all under the age of sixteen) crossed the drawbridge with letters from Gawain and bows and arrows, and then the craftsmen of the Dalian army destroyed the bridge with their weapons.

Then, all the other soldiers who had been captured were executed by the wooden fence of the mountain fort.

Gawain's letter to Danishmund bears the seal of the Grand Duke of the Armenian Military District of the Roman Empire, who was the commander of the march in Asia Minor, "The contemptible people have been ordered by the emperor of Constantinople to carry out the sacred mission of expelling all the Seljuks and Turkmens from Anatolia. Calabi is the beginning, and he will one day plough and sweep the caves with the Roman legions, and take Amasia, Conama, Malatya, and Sivas, and conquer the Roman territory. ”

Inside the palace of Amasya, the mighty emir Merrick. Gaz, when he learned that his fortress had been attacked by the Byzantine Romans who had suddenly arrived, and that almost all the defenders had been slaughtered, trembled with anger - at this moment, when the emperor's secret envoy came to his court by means of Trabzon, through the narrow river valley, to demand "peaceful negotiations and exchange of interests", the emir of Merrick could not vent, so he called his slaves to tie up Alexios's secret envoy, and in front of all the courtiers and Gazi warriors, he whipped the secret envoy into a human form, rolled on the floor, and wailed miserably.

"It's all a trick of you Roman dogs, who are secretly carrying out a despicable sneak attack under the guise of humble words, and tell your emperor that the walls of the castle of Amasya are made of the swords and shields of the Turkic warriors, and if he dares to come and touch the mold, I will give him a taste!"

"The Emperor has indeed asked me to bring peace to the Confessions, and he wants to conclude a triangular alliance with General Theodoro and your emir, to deal with the rebellious army and the Sultan of Konya." The envoy was whipped all over his head, but he stubbornly held up the blood-stained diplomatic letters, and tried his best to defend them.

Emile Merrick was also tired, so he gasped and sat back in his seat, holding the cracked whip, "You filthy dog tongue can't tell the truth at all, I'm going to bury you headfirst in the belly of a dromedary!" ”

"His Majesty the Emperor has captured the wife and children of the Sultan of Gilici in the Great Victory of Nicaea, and he is willing to send them to you, Your Excellency, as a guarantee of peace between the two sides, and this is absolutely true." The envoy crawled under the emir's knee and handed over the letter, while the Greek slave next to him unfolded his text, and Merrick became irritable, "Is it to sow discord between Danishmund and Konya?" Your emperor is the best at this. ”

Soon, the emir of Danishmond lost patience and told the slaves to blast out the emperor's envoy, tie him literally to a camel with an insulting banner, and expel him from the palace, leaving him to fend for himself in the wilderness outside. Then the emir ordered the mobilization of all the soldiers of Malatya, Sivas, Amasya, and Kesili, a total of fifteen thousand troops, to cross the Harris River and "annihilate the pagan Roman dogs who dare to touch Paphragonia." ”

At this time, Gawain's army, which had captured the fort of Mount Calaby, did not linger at all, and after destroying the bridge over the river, retreated to join Gawain's main force heading to Fort Gangara.

But soon a Cuman light cavalry herald came running and said to Gawain, "The rearguard of Merlot and Lord Birel has been overtaken by Theodoro's vanguard cavalry, and the two sides are engaged in a fierce battle in the valley seven centuries away!" ”

"What? Theodoro came so quickly. Cavalry company, gather all the horses, I will fight all the strength, the warriors who can ride, and the horses that can be ridden by the warriors, and go to reinforce Merlot and Billel, and I will not lose them. Gawain shouted to the standard-bearer beside him, and at this time Andreev came and asked Ying to bring his infantry and sailor companies and fight with the priesthood.

Danger and fighting have not yet dissipated in this mountainous area. (To be continued.) )