The ruler of Mosul sat in his tent, watching the turbaned soldiers and servants singing songs and carrying timber, and looking at the hourglass that could protect him from invincibility, and of course it was sealed in the middle, because he never felt that the city of Edessa was the ultimate goal of his army. He simply longed for the castle to be overwhelmed: to take it and slaughter all the unbelievers inside, so he wanted to save the magical hourglass for the decisive battle of Antioch.

The hourglass sealed on the waist in the middle was blocked, and there was no sound to be made, and the whole scene seemed a little boring, and at this time, Budakis, who was standing beside the prince of Mosul, who was the youngest son of Yaji, encouraged his sharp teeth and persuaded Kobha to take all the troops as soon as possible and rush to reinforce Antioch, instead of staying here and doing nothing.

"Your Excellency, several days have passed now. The unbelievers of this castle have long been frightened by our power, and have abandoned all outer barriers, and have retreated into the city. Not only that, but it is said that all the lords from Malatya to Maraş have begun to tremble when they hear of your reputation, whether enemies or allies. ”

After hearing these compliments, the mighty Kobuha nodded his head frequently, and with great satisfaction, he raised his head and said to Budakis that even the leaders of Danishmond and Rîma had bowed down to him, and had assembled to block the Anatolian plateau and the reinforcements of the Greek king, who might come from Constantinople, and that he could concentrate his forces and completely defeat this group of pilgrims, who did not know the height of the sky.

After speaking, Budakis suddenly felt a heat on the back of his hand, and it turned out to be the honorable Kobuha who caught his hand while talking, and then he saw that the other party's brown eyes full of desire under the thick beard were staring at him.

Budakis looked around at this time—the seat of the prince of Mosul and the entire tent, except for the gorgeous ornaments and weapons, walked around to serve, all the boys with clear eyebrows and gold nameplates, including the Greek with curly hair and shyness, the well-proportioned and slender Caucasia, the Persian with painted lips, and the two who were as strong as black charcoal on their bodies, only a white cloth pocket around their waists, with an unconcealable "might", scarlet thick lips, and copper bell-like eyes, The black Maghreb slaves, holding the golden palm fan, stood on either side of the tent entrance, anyway, the dancers and concubines that they didn't often see.

It seems that the rumors of this prince were entirely true: his subordinates, the emir and the bey, said that he and his wife were mere marriages, and that every time he went on an expedition, a patrol, or a safari, he threw her in the palace of Mosul, but he did not take other beautiful women, but only walked intimately with this large group of boys, and he declared that he would use the scriptures of the Prophet to convert them.

"Your skin is really fair." Kobha said blatantly, "and has not yet grown a horrible filthy beard and hair, it is truly the grave of love." Thou art a pure converted Armenian, where we Seljuks are rich in slaves, and whose father was favored by our Khan, and who is now willing to follow me and enjoy endless wealth and power like the desert of Syria? The city of Antioch will not come to you in any case, but will be inherited by your brother. As he spoke, Kobha, affectionately, took the hand with the huge ruby ring on Budakis's wrist, then his arm, and finally pinched his chin and blew his breath, "How, be my good lamb." ”

"Now the defenders of Edessa City, and the sheep in your sheepfold, can come and slaughter their flesh and cut their hair after a great victory with Antiochus." Budakis can only follow suit, so compromised.

Overjoyed, Kobuha instantly took Budakis into his arms and promised, "On the border between Aleppo and Mosul, there is a large and rich city called Azazadze, and this time it will be yours."

On the banks of the Euphrates, several bridges were connected by chains, and the four thousand of Kobha's most elite cavalry, acting as the vanguard, marched from all over the bridges to the opposite side of the riverbank, and behind this cavalry were tens of thousands of infantry armed with sharp spears, lined up in a dense and long procession, and behind them were five hundred camels laden with weapons and baggage, and as for the light cavalry and infantry from other tribes, it is impossible for any ordinary person to count them.

Kobha rode on a horse decorated with polychrome threads, by a date palm grove by the river, and watched his indomitable procession, in the valley to the north of them were Malatya and Samosata, behind them was Edessa, surrounded by some of the remaining troops, and in front of him, if his elite cavalry galloped past, he could hunt down any Christian who appeared in the port of San Simon or in the mountains west of Antioch.

"Take that port first, and I'm going to cut off the supply of the unbelievers, and completely cut them off from Syria, so that they will be completely trapped."

The Turkic cavalry in front, when they received the signal from the tooth flag, howled and rushed towards the field leading to Saint-Simon with their scimitars—their momentum was completely seen by the Provençals on the watchtower of the fortress at the mouth of the river, and the six soldiers on it were immediately frightened to death, and hurriedly lit the fire of the warning in the direction of the city of Antioch.

But the cavalry, having seen the smoke rising from the fortress tower, did not pay any attention to it, and continued to rush firmly in the direction of Port Saint-Simon.

In the valley of Syria, the group left behind by the Jimagis brigade retreated in fright to two fortresses near the sea and mountains, and a large number of people took refuge in them with their cattle; On the other side, at Fort Alexandria, several mounted sergeants from the Blois Domain, returning from scouting duties, told Count Stephen what they had seen.

The count's face was pale, and when he learned that the cavalry of the Turks had covered the region, and that they all had the best and most imposing horses, he could not muster the courage to attack.

When his brother-in-law Robert. When Curtis approached him and asked him what had happened, the Count of Blois cleared his throat and then said to the trumpeter and herald standing at the door,

"This castle was given to all the infantry to defend, and the two castles of the Grand Duke over there supported each other. Curtis and his knights went to Cilicia and Constantinople, and hurried to the emperor there for help, and along the way, the castles of Gawain and Baldwin will open their way to us. (To be continued.) )