Isaac, who had ascended the watchtower at Fort Sophia, saw the grand pilgrim army in the wilderness below, and to his surprise, the 40,000-strong army was not a patchwork of peasants like the hermit Peter did, but a truly formidable legion capable of fighting.

In the position of the Chinese army in the wilderness, the Duke Godfrey, the chief flag officer of Salian Caesar, held a golden eagle-headed scepter, surrounded by mighty counts, and behind him, there were a full five thousand, a total of twelve regiments of infantry, most of them wearing refined leather armor, some holding Swabian two-handed swords, some holding Germanic heavy shuttle darts (which can be used as spears or throws), as well as spear axes, hook sickles, flails, etc., and each infantry regiment has a flag for dispatching and commanding. Guarded by infantry regiments, numerous noble ladies and priests from West Francia, as well as strong servants, were enough to form a complete military force.

On the hilly slope of the right flank, the banner of the red cross-sword fluttered, and the priesthood of the city of Rome, Grand Duke Stephen of Bari. Gawain held a silver horse-headed scepter, and in front of him was a line of Greek infantry companies, and the flag officers and column commanders were all key members of the "Brotherhood of the Garganus", most of whom came from Calabria and Lucania, and were angry with His Majesty for not accepting the prisoners, believing that His Excellency the Grand Duke had been framed by traitors, the bronze shields of the Greeks, and the "concave" shields of the Za'tar region, etc., while those in the back row hold single-edged sabers, slings, and short spears. Responsible for auxiliary operations, around the perimeter of the company. There are also some selected heavy-armored skirmishers lying low on standby, holding long axes and halberds in both hands. Even the German Helm armor-piercing vertebrae (a pure iron weapon similar to a long cone) fought on foot. Behind Gawain, to the left and right, are two companies of cavalry like the wings of death, dressed in strict overalls and distinctive banners, which are the elite cavalry that has recently risen in the Balkans.

On the right flank of the team, with the river in their backs, was a long line of foot riders, led by Godfrey's sibling Baldwin. Dressed in monk's robes with a cross on top of his armor, he was a tall, fair-skinned nobleman, flanked by warriors armed with battle axes and maces, who had a fanatical passion for the expedition of his devotion, and his beautiful wife, who also followed her husband on his own expedition and was not afraid of the enemy's sword. Behind Baldwin were mostly heroic knights from West Francia. Riding spears and swords.

At the forefront of the pilgrim army was the cavalry of the Counsellor of the Hungarian king, Klembauard, two thousand men in all. For the Magyars and Wallachians, they shouted and insulted, and hurled with bows and arrows at the head of Sophia.

Time. His Excellency the Emperor's younger brother was angry, and many generals around him suggested him. Do not go out of the camp to resist the battle, but shrink and hold on to the fortress. Because the enemy's position has been established, if you fight recklessly, you will definitely be defeated by the surprise attack of the enemy's cavalry and archers, "What about the bridge over the river in front of the city?" Isaac was undecided, because the enemy would certainly take advantage of these bridges.

At the moment he has a man named Andronicus. The young nobleman of Branas, who was born in Thrace, said to the commander of Isaac, "There are three passable bridges in the rivers under the city, please give me three thousand elite Turkic cavalry, armed with strong bows and scimitars, divided into three parts, and if the enemy divides forces to attack, we will divide our forces to defend them; If the enemy were to attack all the way, we would respond to each other—the Turkic cavalry was very quick to support each other—and then you would send the rest of the infantry and craftsmen out of the water gate in small boats, and destroy the bridges in turn. ”

However, Branas was greeted by the suspicious gaze of the emperor's younger brother: since the defeat of Manzikt, Emperor Alexios had migrated many of the Asiatic nobles to Bulgaria and Thrace, but most of them had become close to the Ducasses, so the Komnenos had always trusted them less and relied more on mercenaries hired from abroad.

On the other hand, Branas was impatient, and he pitched his plan two or three times in succession, pointing to Godfrey and Gawain's army that had pressed him over, reminding Isaac that it would be too late to make a decision.

"Three thousand cavalry can be regarded as the main force of the entire Sophia Fort, and it is not appropriate for you to go out of the city to fight the enemy in the field." In the end, the royal brother and most of the staff counselors said so, and Branass could only sigh.

"Rely on the walls and towers, hold on to the battle!" With this command, the entire garrison moved into action, lining up behind the battlements, arrow towers, and firing ports. On the other side, the army of pilgrims had passed through three bridges one after another, and the vanguard cavalry dismounted with shields and formed a dense formation to defend against bows and arrows, and then many of the soldiers came up and carried the timber to the front line by hand, and began to set up wooden fences and large shields to defend against the attacks of the city, and soon the huge siege fields in front of and behind the rivers were rapidly formed. Godfrey then ordered the construction of storming carts, siege towers, and stone throwers, and reminded him that the construction of stone throwers should be a priority.

Because the pilgrim procession and Gawain's company had hoarded a large amount of timber and iron nails in the city of Niš beforehand, it can be said that they were well prepared, so with the efforts of the craftsmen, seven lever-type stone throwers were quickly erected, and thousands of craftsmen and even noblewomen joined in, and then used various tools to chisel stones from the tail veins of the Rila Mountain, transport them in a constant stream of vehicles, and then polish them into stone bullets that could be smashed out. Soon, the ropes of seven large stone throwers were pulled up and down, and they were thrown like windmill giants, and the stone projectiles whistled through the fog and clouds in the air of Fort Sophia, and with a terrifying sound, smashed on the battlements and towers, destroying countless amounts in a few days, and the defenders crouched behind them, retreating to safety and not daring to resist, watching Godfrey's siege towers rise and rise higher day by day.

"Don't panic! Call Samuelfa from the armory to come and set up 'Flame of Defense' launchers at the battlements behind the city and at the firing ports inside the walls, and burn the enemy siege towers that dare to approach to ashes. "At this time, Isaac, who is in command of the whole situation. Komnenos is still very calm, he wants to use this formula of strict secrecy to the outside world, and has repeatedly saved the Byzantine Roman Empire in the Imperial War, and dealt a fatal blow to Godfrey and Gawain, a group of barbarians who do not know the height of the sky.

"What, in this situation, you have to use the 'Flame of Defense' hastily? Obviously, you can arrange some small catapults to destroy the enemy's siege equipment. "In the ordnance workshop by the cistern of the city, the Greek engineer Samuelfa was covered with the smell of leather and potions. Tezafi, protested dissatisfaction with the officers who came to give orders. (To be continued.) )