At the same time, Cabeamia heard an earth-shattering noise that startled her out of her tent, the wind blowing her long black hair, and the female archon could not believe her eyes as she looked at the walls of Sophia engulfed in flames.

At the sound of the horn, hidden behind the wooden fence, two of Gawain's Greek infantry companies, and two infantry regiments (Latin vulgus) sent by Godfrey, together with ladders, rushed towards the dead corner of the city wall where the fire shooters were not guarded, and then set up the ladder, and then climbed and attacked, among them, Bramson and Giovanni, who had just recovered from their injuries, and a ladder with shields and swords rushed up, "Watch out for the stones that have been thrown, hillbillies of Lombardy!" ”

"The merit of the first attack this time is mine, don't even think about Bramson, you ruined house of Germany."

In another dead end, Baldwin was struggling to command the Frankish infantry to attack the city, and the shouts of killing shook the earth, and the Byzantine army, which had been guarding the city walls, could no longer bear it, and they did not suffer any serious blows in the battle around the battlements, so they lost the courage to fight to the death, and began to abandon the towers and posts, and fled in all directions. Over there, Isaac, still drunk, climbed up to the central tower with a pale face, where several of his generals were holding back the enemy, "Your Excellency, Your Excellency, the barbarians of Franks and Gaul are attacking, and Your Excellency must make up your mind and take the lead in blocking the enemy back with the army." ”

"Plug back the fire! Where's my Guardian Fire! Burn all the enemies to death. Isaac didn't answer the request directly, but shouted and pulled the ropes from the traps one by one. Then he pulled out the blackened broken tails, which were still smoking. Then the venerable Sebastoprat was so depressed that he threw the broken rope on the ground. This expression was visible to every officer present.

And the Roman military code clearly reads, "For the general, don't let your bad expression be exposed to your subordinates, because everyone entrusts their fate to you, and no one likes to see such an expression, if you do, it will be the beginning of the collapse of the whole army." ”

The fact is that the Byzantine defenders in the fortress city soon collapsed, and the Turkic cavalry abandoned their horses and stables. Isaac, who had gathered in a hurry to hide his face, gave up his blocks and towers, and retreated to the small town facing the hill to the east of the city. The companies of the Franks and Gawain rode inside and outside the city walls, especially the two Greek companies, the "Archduke of the Dead" and the "Nemesis", who burst out with their own bravery in the face of the embarrassment of their compatriots, "We are from Calabria, and have fought against the Norman bandits." Unlike your group of weak chickens. Then he stabbed with spears and cut down with axes, killing many of the defenders until it was getting late. Under the orders of the officers, he occupied several key towers and small fortresses, and eyed the small city that Isaac had escaped.

Most of the city was conquered. The following went into a state of street fighting, under Godfrey's orders. The Frankish soldiers began to set fire to the Byzantine troops hiding in the houses, and it turned out that it was night. So he drove the soldiers into the town.

At the foot of the tower that had just been taken, the soldiers in their smocks held torches for light, and Godfrey of Bouillon, his brother Baldwin, and Gawain met together, "It's not the time to fall out with the Greek emperor completely, Lord Duke, you need to prohibit looting and killing." Gawain leaned his sword and shouted to Godfrey.

The Duke nodded, expressing his approval of the restraint on the priesthood, "Except for the soldiers who went out to garrison tonight, the rest of the team temporarily withdrew outside the city to rest. ”

Soon, Samuelfa, who was wounded and captured, was thrown on a mule cart by the soldiers of the "Nemesis" company and pulled in front of Gawain, "Your Excellency, he confessed that he was the Roman fire engineer of this fortress. ”

"Heal him, don't let this one die." Gawain made a brief request, and the soldiers agreed, and then pushed the mule cart to the camp outside the city.

At the junction of sunset and night, at Fort Sophia, the distant mountains faded their colors, the city burned everywhere with residual flames, soldiers with helmets came and went, and the dead and wounded were all sent to the breaches of the collapsed walls, the former were buried, the latter stripped of their weapons and armor, and banished from the city. And run to Isaac in the small town. Komnenos, with bloodshot eyes, ordered the cavalry loyal to him to defend himself and charge out in the early hours of the morning, before the city was completely captured.

"Your Excellency, this strategy is possible." At this time, even Andronicus. Branas also approved of the Emperor's idea. So Isaac was very moved, patted the epaulette armor (the armor on the shoulder) of Branas, and said that the post of vanguard officer was given to the young general, "Be sure to protect me and stand out." ”

In the castle field of the small city, where bonfires were lit all night, Branas carefully selected about five hundred cavalry as the main force to break through to the east, "march along the Plivensus River behind the castle, and then go to Adrianople, where the rest of the army will be met, and be sure to protect His Excellency Sebastoprat!" Everyone cheered up and answered in unison, after all, Fort Sophia was a big city, and the enemy should not have come to block the road to the east.

On the watchtower on the top of the hill behind the town, a few of the remaining defenders complained: Your Excellency Sebastocraert is guarded by cavalry, and he will definitely be able to escape from here, but it is difficult for us to say, we may die in battle, or we may become prisoners, and even if the Frankish barbarians do not kill us, they will tear off our armor and collect our weapons, in which case we will be killed by bandits everywhere in the run, and our bodies will be thrown into the wilderness.

But even now, their superiors still ask them to hold on to this isolated mountain, because it has a bird's-eye view of the river road behind the entire Sophia Fort, and can serve as the "eyes" for the breakthrough in the future.

"If we see fireworks in the third tower of the town, we wave our flags here, and also light the flames, and instruct Your Excellency Sebastoprat to break out with his cavalry to the east. Know, no! A petty Byzantine officer with a sword said, and the others leaned against the wooden fence and the fire tunnel, answering feebly.

Then a man stood up, and then he lifted the candle to illuminate his stunned expression, and on the path below the hill sandwiched between the gray and white bushes and trees, there seemed to be a group of dark, men and beasts, approaching their watchtowers.

He looked down the path, but saw that the meanders of the Plivensus River flowing through the castle were filled with boats of the kind that were common to the local Slavs, and countless people carrying pine lights to the shore (to be continued). )