When spring arrives, the roads and land throughout Apulia as far as Bari are re-cemented, and from time to time fine dust is raised, shaking the new vegetation and branches, under the blowing of a few dry winds from the sea.

The horse's hooves wrapped in the farriers snapped, trampling a puddle into a jumping pulp yellow, and the leading Norman knight, who held the red flying leopard flag, slowly drove his horse to the high place, where the outline of the entire city of Bari and the outer positions could be seen. Then the trumpets sounded, and more and more flags, following him, gathered like clouds in the place where the vision was good, and Bohemond, dressed in a shawl of deer's hair and shining armor, finally rode his horse and came here.

Behind him, there was no enthusiasm in his eyes, and there was still a fierce fighting spirit left, "Hey, take a spear and stab Bari through the city of Tancred, fight like an invincible mad bull, for Raul, for your sister, for the shame of Avelsa, slaughter everyone here, even chickens and dogs." ”

"The sword of the expedition to the east will first be washed with the blood of the Greek dogs of the city of Bari." Tancred replied to his uncle without hesitation, and then he clenched and stretched his arms back and forth, "Gawain, see the horror of Tanred after receiving the blessing of anger. ”

"Your Excellency, this time I will also see Gawain's bloody head in person, so I will put down the sword in my hand." Over there, Earl Hafrey also responded with hatred.

At this moment, the storm was surging, and many servants and soldiers of the city of Bari were busy, and at the highest tower, the banner of the Rabran cross fluttered. Theognes was there, monitoring the Norman marching ranks and the arrangement of the camp. "Their infantry is strong enough to encircle the city of Barry on three sides. Now they were doing just that, with an army of archers from Calabria and Sicily, banners that spoke for themselves, about 10,000 infantry, 1,200 heavily armed knights with chain mail, and countless craftsmen and servants accompanying the army. All the Normans have gathered under the city! The warden, who was very skillful at this estimate, jumped off the tower, sat down on the wheel-operated hanging basket, and slid quickly down to the ground. Over there, Gawain was sitting on the railing of the stables with his legs crossed, and after hearing the report of the catcher, "All the walls and defensive areas of Bari City are divided into people, Tetisius and I are the core reserves, Diognis and you and Francisco are the guards of the front walls to keep the enemy back, the Venetians are blocking the harbor and preventing the enemy from entering, Muzafiadin is in charge of the towers as sentries and dispatchers, and Androdat you are the guardian of the guards. Protect the Cathedral of St. Nicholas. If an area is really undefinable, don't sacrifice hard, and retreat to the next line of defense in time. Then, Gawain carried the sword of phosphorus fire on his shoulder. Step by step, he walked up to the top of the city with flying flags, and looked down proudly. The Norman army came from all over the mountains.

Over there, Bohemond and Tancred also instantly saw the eye-catching red hand feather ornament Gawain. Among them, Bohemond raised his head and gritted his teeth, then drew his sword and dismounted. Came to the Red Flying Leopard Army, where a stone thrower had been erected by the craftsman, and the position was so conspicuous that the entire enemy camp could see it, and the entire hill was densely covered with hundreds of Norman knights with flashing armor and spears.

The rope under the trebuchet was tied to the Greek nobleman Mezchos, who had been captured by the Normans, and was hunted down by hounds and light infantry when he was about to hide in the mountains of Calabria, and now his body was tied in the shape of a "large", and was held down by several Norman knights, and was roaring and wailing, Bohemond walked up to him, pointed his sword at the distant walls of the city of Bari, and shouted angrily, to all his subordinates up and down the hill, "I have no ransom demand for the people of this city, and I have not even thought about it!" Then the red light flickered, and Madzjos howled, and his left arm was severed by Bohemond.

"Beautiful Lady Ingranna, I still have my longing for you at this moment! I hope you will know that here a nobleman named Madjos died heroically, with a longing for you. Then Metzjos, whose head was full of pain, continued to call the name of his sweetheart, and then Bohemond continued to howl, and cut off his right arm, then his left foot, then his right foot, sword after sword—in front of tens of thousands of men of the city and the attackers, the local wind was fierce, the grass was rolling, and everyone was terrified, even the former Bishop of Bari, Anselm, who was also riding on horseback and standing under his banner, and was covered with armor.

Finally, Bohemond put an end to the suffering of the lowly nobleman, cutting off his head, and then the servants put the limbs and heads into the stone throwing machine, and with the sound of it, flew all over the sky, and threw it into the garrison of the city of Bari, rolling everywhere, and many Greeks ran in panic, piecing together the corpses of poor Mezchos.

"When the city is broken, everyone will suffer the same fate as him!" Bohemond: This is by no means an intimidation.

Then all the Norman knights let out a wolf's howl, and they struck their spears against each other like a mountain and a sea cracking.

Suddenly, at the head of the city of Bari, the army of the Greeks also pushed three hooded figures, and then the hood was lifted, and looking at the feet tremblingly, Gawain jumped on the battlements and pointed at the three with the sword of phosphorus and fire, "These are all spies sent by Norman bandits to infiltrate our city, and I would have liked to release them from torture in accordance with the laws of the nobility, but the banner of the Red Cross Sword, including the archangel Mikhail, and the saint of the city guard, St. Dimitri, said to me in yesterday's dream - Gawain, the enemy is coming, There is no need to let any of them go, the more blood you sacrifice to the enemy, the more power the sword in my hand can draw, then all the soldiers, the choice is yours, for the sake of the city, you say how to do it. ”

The Bari militia and the Italian company under the city, as well as the Tekopo mercenaries in the city, roared in unison, "Sacrifice the flag, sacrifice the flag, sacrifice the flag!" ”

Several Varangian warriors tightened the ropes in their hands and dragged the heads of the three to the battlements, Gawain raised his sword and fell, blue-green phosphorus fire roared out, and the terrible screams traveled through the sky, the wind and clouds went against the current, and the terrifying neighing of the horses of thousands of Norman knights under the city was like thunder, and the queue kept retreating, mixed with people's curses and shouts.

Soon, Gawain held three skin-like heads tied together, raised them high, and the city shouted like a tidal wave, "St. Michael, St. Dimitri is equal to me!" ”

"Bang", and then the catapult purchased from Venice at the head of the city, using the heads of three Norman spies as projectiles, roared out, crossed the moat, and fell in front of the Norman outpost, smashing up a cloud of dust.

"Prepare for battle!" Francisco stood on the earthen platform beneath the city, and then the Bari militia and the Greek exiles got up from behind the ramparts, clenched their spears in their hands, and shouted for columns to be leveled along the ramparts. (To be continued......)