Many armed militias at the head of the city, following Gawain's instructions, began to throw stones at the Norman knights who pounced, and then the side door was also pulled open in a creak.

Haflair, who was hurrying on horseback, vaguely saw the flickering reflection of armor and weapons in the dark passage in the side gate, and thought that Gawain was trying to form a formation here to resist him, so he raised his battle flag and shouted to the Norman knights behind him, "We rush into the city gate and trample the weak Greeks into pulp!" ”

"Whoa!" When all the Norman knights received the order, they threw away their spears, and one by one they drew their swords and raised their swords, and rushed towards the open side door.

Waiting for everyone at the side gate was a large crossbow launcher called "Porcupine", which was controlled and pushed by sixteen men, and was blocked between the corridors of the city gates, and there was no need to aim at all, and when they saw that the corridors were vibrated by the iron hooves of the Norman knights who poured in, they pulled the mechanism - twenty-four large crossbow arrows with a power comparable to the iron spears that flew out, which were sold at a high price by Venice and Ragusa. was intercepted and killed on the spot, several Norman knights behind him were also killed or injured, rolling on the ground, and were trampled by the accomplices who came from behind in an instant, and the knights who were crowded on the small bridge behind were crowded together indiscriminately, and many people were squeezed off their horses, struggling to get up by the stream, and were knocked down and injured by the stones flying down from the city. But the Norman knights, who were sane, continued to crawl over the bodies of their accomplices with extraordinary ferocity, and tried to seize the gate along the corridor.

At this moment, the porcupine ballista has been dragged aside. Gawain sprang down the steps of the tower and ran to the organ room in the gatehouse. Holding a small axe, he cut the rope in one fell swoop. An iron gate fell rapidly in the middle of the tunnel, and smashed into the dust with a thud, and several Norman knights who rushed up to him slashed it with their swords in anger, but to no avail—the Earl of Haverley's half leg, with its crooked intestines, lay across this side of the gate, and the smashed half of his upper body was robbed by the city of Barry.

Here, Tetisius reorganized more than a hundred cavalry. Seeing the death of the commander, the Norman knights, who had lost their fighting spirit, could only re-mount their horses, and some of them walked on foot, crashed and fled along the city walls.

In the city of Bari, many militia soldiers took off their helmets and waved them. He thrust the upper half of Hafrey with his spear and lifted it up, and walked down the street, passing by St. Nicholas's Cathedral and walking straight to the head of the city. He stood on top of it for public display, and when he saw the body of Earl Hafrey, who had died tragically, Tanfred was furious. But there was nothing to be done, and Bohemond, who commanded the whole army on the hill there, was also angry and unable to hold himself on.

Then. In front of everyone, Gawain was wrapped in red feathers and holy armor. Standing beside Hafrey's corpse, he shouted to all the people above and below the city, "Isn't the enemy not prepared to spare the lives of all those in our city?" Then this is what happened to them, and the soldiers of Bari were not prepared to spare the lives of any Normans, and I did not need any ransom. This is only the beginning, and the enemies captured at the gate just now, regardless of whether they are knights, servants, servants or craftsmen, will all be brought to death! ”

Then, with a hand, Gawain raised his hand, and his military servant Muzafiadin ran down from the tower, and then took the bow and arrow from the mercenary of his name, and stood fifteen paces away from the body of Count Hafrey, and fired three arrows in succession, which pierced the corpse's skull, "Feel the horror, his head has been shot through by the infidels, and he will go to hell after death!" ”

Afterwards, one by one, the Tekopo mercenaries stepped forward and shot the corpse of Earl Haverley into a flaming "hedgehog" with fire arrows until it burned into a ball of fire, which was visible to all enemies and friends.

In the bloody battle, Tancred was still forced back by Diognis's brave fight. However, the Norman army captured almost all the positions and fortifications outside Bari, and their servants razed and destroyed the Byzantine army's fortifications and stables, and began to prepare for the next direct attack on the city. Gawain also succeeded in withdrawing most of the remaining men and horses into the city and continued to hold on.

Bohemond's losses were unusually heavy: nineteen knights were killed, including Hafrey, and nearly three hundred infantry were killed or wounded, and as for the dozens of people captured by Gawain, none of them were left behind, according to the oath of the other party, and all of them were slaughtered at the head of the city, where everyone could see, and the corpses and heads were thrown under the city.

Bohemond, who was also red-eyed, also killed more than 100 captured wounded soldiers in front of the battle.

Now in the whole city of Bari, the terror of leaving no prisoners pervades the camps of both sides of the enemy, Gawain is regarded as a butcher by the Normans, and Bohemond is regarded as an executioner by the city of Bari, and the blood feud is bitter.

This kind of terror is beneficial to the Bari militia and the defenders, because today's battle makes it clear to everyone that the city cannot be broken, even if it is a street battle, and the city is guarded to death, otherwise it will fall into the hands of Bohemond, and it will inevitably end in death. But for the Norman knights besieging the city, it was different, they didn't expect that this Gawain was simply murderous without blinking, waving a mysterious sword in his hand, the other party said that it was the holy sword of the archangel, but Bohemond's propaganda was a magic sword - "After the city is broken, I will hold a torch in front of the cathedral of St. Nicholas, which is full of corpses, and burn Gawain's body and the sword, and crush the bones and scatter ashes." ”

However, in the bloody siege battle, killed and wounded, or in the hands of that Gawain, it was impossible to even fight for ransom, and for the first time all the knights felt the collapse of their status: like the Earl of Hafley, they were slaughtered by the calculations of the lowly infantry and the militias, and the corpses were mercilessly humiliated.

The next day, Bohemond tried to launch several small attacks, but they were not successful, and the ladder was quickly knocked down by the city, and the city was still under the city walls, piling up steep earth slopes and sharp piles, so that the siege towers could not get close to the wall, so that the two siege towers were abandoned there, and one by one they were pierced and smashed by the Venetian stone shooters on the towers.

Without exception, several knights who were captured were escorted by Gawain to the conspicuous city, one by one, and then the corpses were thrown down, "Again, it is our side that does not leave prisoners." ”

Bohemond, who was grieved, ordered the army to halt the attack in the next few days, rest and recuperate, and wait for the breach of the city.

Countless pilgrims, men and women, women and children, old and young, from all over Italy and France, heard that the Duke of Apulia was preparing to capture the city of Bari and then sailed to Asia Minor to make a pilgrimage to the Holy Sepulchre. Bohemond said annoyedly. (To be continued......)