After nightfall, the campfire of the Dalian team was fierce, and there were patrolling squads everywhere, and on the mountains adjacent to the river bank, they were equipped with sentry posts and beacon fires. Anna lay on the couch, feeling restless at the arrival of her father's envoy during the day, and she knew that her father's apparent immobility actually meant that he had raised the butcher's knife against her and Gawain.

"Anna, not asleep yet?" Agnes, who was on the couch over there, turned over and asked softly.

"Well, I'm praying to the Lord and the Virgin," Anna whispered, and then said no more, as if she were really doing it.

At this moment, the torches on the other side of the curtain suddenly shook, and with a booming sound, the two girls were startled, and Anna saw that it was a tall figure printed on it, and it was obvious that it was Gawain's, and it was the big barbarian who was calling out to her. So Anna, who was still praying just now, immediately put on a plain robe, jumped down, and ran out of the tent.

Agnes was silent, and then she rolled over with her back to the couch on the other side, wrapping the blanket tightly.

"Today's envoy is obviously lying, I estimate that your father has assembled a large army and is preparing to block our back road, to cooperate with Theodoro to destroy the Dalian army, so they have sent people to paralyze me in advance, and it is estimated that the command of the army is long out of the hands of Branas or Mikhail - time is running out." In a secluded corner behind the tent, Gawain put his arm around Anna's shoulder and said.

"I know, I know that, so we're going to convince the Paulineites that they should still have a fortress in the mountains of Paphragonia." Anna's voice was a little distorted, a sign of her inner turmoil or agitation.

"Hmm. Crossing Paphragonia, marching to the west bank of the Harris River. Passing through the cracks of the forces of all sides, we are heading in the direction of Ankara. In this way, all the pursuers were left behind, and Baldwin was rendezvous, and he was on his own without being calculated by Bohemond. ”

Then, Gawain suddenly felt a soft feeling in his chest, it was Anna who hugged him tightly, and his small and soft body made him touch her equally soft hair with his hand, and Anna buried her little head in the crook of Gawain's arm. "No matter what, if you can't succeed, I will send you back to your father, those words are false, so Anna you can still be a bride again, virgins are always valuable" Before he finished speaking, Gawain shouted, a sharp pain, Anna's teeth bit her chest, and her head kept swinging. She whined to express her anger and protest against the big man's words, "Release Anna, let go"

But Anna whined. The bite became more ferocious, and Gawain held back the pain and hugged her tighter. "Oh well! Let's rush over together, together! It doesn't matter where the land of the Seven Ridges is. I'll go with you, what's the point of abandoning you at this time? It's me who is confused and selfish! ”

I heard this. Anna really stopped biting, but pulled out her little hand and patted Gawain's shoulder blades, becoming more and more anxious again and again, Gawain realized that the hug just now almost suffocated the other party

In the camp, Kabeamia also couldn't sleep all night, she hesitated, "What if you turn against Theodoro during the battle?" Join forces with him, divide Trabzon to continue the fight against the heretical emperor and Gawain, and then take the opportunity to return to Armenia to preach the teachings, develop the believers, and make a comeback, after all, Armenia is the cradle of the rise of true believers, and it seems that this path is much more feasible. The consul paced back and forth, but when she thought of the arrangement of the camp during the day, she could not help but be discouraged—she was only eight hundred men, surrounded by the camp of the Dalian infantry, and the camp of the Dalian cavalry, which she feared the most, on the side of the road, and if she had acted rashly, she was afraid that she would be chased and annihilated before she had crossed the Harris River.

Suddenly, from outside the tent came the fierce neighing of war horses, "Ah! It's Gawain's silver steed! The female consul was very familiar with this, and was so frightened that she hurriedly hid behind the curtain, and held the handle of the bulltongue sword tightly, and then the warriors of the Gawain Guard ran out of the tent, "Your Excellency the consul, please come out!" ”

"St. Paul's aside, could it be that the thoughts in my head just now will leak out? Or is Gawain not at ease with me and wants to execute me? As the shouts of the guards warriors became louder and louder, Kabeamia's mood became even more panicked, but she had no way to resist, so she stubbornly poked out half of her head from behind the curtain, and saw that under the starry night, Gawain was indeed riding on the back of Quicksilver, surrounded by Saxon and Varyag warriors with the murderous spirit of Songming, and her followers had already hidden in other tents, and no one dared to step forward to stop this evil god.

Helpless, Kabeamia could only slowly come out and come to Gawain's horse.

"There's no time to explain, get on board." Gawain pointed to Sabina, the black mare next to him, and motioned for Cabeamia to step forward.

At the edge of the camp of the cavalry company, the sentries saw that it was His Excellency the Grand Duke, and they all bowed their heads and saluted, and Gawain rode on the fast silver on the high fu over there, and the unknown female consul followed, and the warriors of the guard did not follow, but held swords and axes, standing on the road under the high fu to surround the guard.

The gray-blue mist of the sky and the twinkling stars began to sink slowly, and the sun had not yet risen, so that the Harris River below mingled with the woods and rocks on both sides, like a stretch of black abyss, with only the bridal army and the army camp of Theodoro on the opposite side, with bright torches.

The consul dismounted and stood in the grass, and Gawain threw herself off her horse, and then stood only a few feet away from her. The dew and mist wrapped around the skirt covered by Kabeamia's robe, the coolness rushed to her heels, and then to her back and chest, like a cold and cold snake, wrapped her so that she could not breathe, she trembled her eyelashes, looking at Gawain in the blurred night, the sword also reflected the blue light, was it really going to execute herself? It wants to run, but it can't move, like a prey whose head is stared at by a lion's eyes and is so frightened that it can't move.

Immediately after, she could clearly smell the breath exhaled by Gawain, and was approaching her step by step, Kabeamia's knees began to weaken, and several thoughts flashed in her head in an instant: to die generously, or to kneel down again and admit that she was willing to be the other party's "holy sister"? It's impossible, it's impossible, don't be stupid Kabeamia, this bastard has already fallen under the princess's skirt, don't men like that fair-skinned and petite type, if you beg now, I'm afraid you will really die in humiliation!

In the end, the female consul made up her mind to "die calmly", she sneered, threw down the bull's tongue sword (because she knew that it was useless to use this to fight against Gawain), tied her hair in a high bun, and then turned to the side, not looking at Gawain, but at the river and the stars on the earth, then closed her eyes, raised her neck slightly, exposed it in the direction from which Gawain stabbed it, made a magnificent posture, and waited for Gawain to swing his sword and cut off his head.

As a result, there was no sound of the sword slashing through the wind, but a "coo" sound, and Cabeamia twitched in fright, and then she opened one eye.

The sight in front of her stunned her, Gawain actually prostrated himself in front of her, raising his hand up, this was a gesture begging for her favor, this was an even greater fright, Cabeamia hurriedly took two steps back, stabilized her figure, and watched all this in amazement.

"Holy sister, please listen to me"

"Shameless, who is your holy sister!" Kabeamia's throat trembled.

"Alright then, Your Excellency the Archon, please help me, help me."

Kabeamia's face was on her face, and she didn't know what kind of expression it was.

"The princess didn't come to archaeology, but I eloped from the palace, and because I had fought against the emperor before, and I wanted to establish myself as the king, so now the whole back road is full of soldiers and horses from the emperor, and they will only cooperate with Theodoro to destroy me. But once I am destroyed, the Paulineans will surely be finished, don't beat Theodoro, he is the most devout Orthodox warrior, and if I perish, he and the emperor will burn you all at the stake. Gawain lowered his head, but his tone was very quick and swift.

"How do you know I'm playing Theodoro's mind just now! No, what do you say, the princess was abducted by you? Shameless, shameless, Gawain. "Kabeamiya was very weak at first, and then very angry.

"Isn't this also the Turkic Gazi tradition you admire? As far as I know, the Turks, Saracens, or Roman frontier warriors would take the wives or daughters of their enemies and take them for themselves. ”

"So many Gazi have been killed in revenge by the fathers and brothers who plundered the women - you are no exception, Gawain, you brown bear who only knows how to run amorous!" Cabeamia invented this very figurative word, closed her eyes and shouted at Gawain without hesitation.

"Yes, Your Excellency Archon, you have learned the right lesson, but even if it is a bear, we must continue to survive, whether it is the Dalian Brigade or the Paulians, so we will go south to Paphragonia, and go south to join a brigade of pilgrims who are friends with me, where the Emperor is beyond the reach of the whip, and we will settle down after finding a base, and of course including the Paulians, I will explain everything to the Holy See in the city of Rome, whether it is proselytizing or maintaining the faith, I will deal with it, what do you think? For only you can master the mountain trails of western Paphragonia, where there are also your scattered castles where the army can be fed. ”

"And what about the princess, did she let you convince me, or did you make your own decisions?" The consul's tone was soothing, but the question was sharp.

"Treat it as a secret pact between me and you, and Her Royal Highness the Princess entrusts me with her safety and hope."

"Enough!" Kabeamia interrupted, Gawain looked up, and saw that she was looking at the rising sun on the other side of the mountain, her black hair was gently swaying, and then her pretty face slowly turned to the side, looking at herself, "The secret covenant is not impossible, but I want you to convert, not us - yes Gawain, you have to convert to the Paulians, right now." (To be continued.) )