At this time, the battle for the castle was at a fever pitch, and the pilgrims of Germany did not do any work on the defense of the castle for the night after the capture of it, and the Armenian mercenaries rushed up with shields with copper hammers, and without hindrance, soon approached the east gate of the castle (the gate here was smaller and weaker).

So many people who were unwilling to be restrained could only brave the rain of arrows, carry spears and axes, block in front of the city gate and form a dense phalanx, and try to break in the Armenians to fight, this way of fighting is against the appetite of the Germans, after several fierce battles, the Armenians are not supported, pull the shield cart, scattered and retreated.

Pak Ad then raised the banner given to him by the Sultan - the Roma soldiers in the front line, who had been given orders, began to advance about half an arrow forward, while the rear team continued to fire continuously and intensively towards the city, not allowing anyone to interfere with their movements.

Soon, a deadly cluster of arrows forged from fine iron and bone shot out of the hands of the approaching Roma soldiers, and the German pilgrims in front of the city gate were dealt a terrible death blow, they fell in large numbers, but the spears in their hands were useless, and the remnants lost the courage to counterattack or resist, opened the city gates, and fled to the fort.

In this way, the Armenians of the Sultan flocked to the city gates again, and began to pour fire oil on them.

"Extinguish the fire, extinguish the fire!" In a row of dark holes in the city gates, pre-prepared sand and water poured down and extinguished the flames.

But the Armenian mercenaries, apparently experienced in siege, came up again and, under the cover of shields and their own arrows, dug a trench around the city gates. Then he poured the oil into it, piled all the shield carts and battering rams on it, and lit a fire.

At this moment, the sand pouring from the dark hole could no longer contain the fire, and the flames quickly rolled up along the deflagrated wooden shield cart and other equipment. A huge torch was formed and engulfed the city gates.

Fire and smoke poured into the castle, and the remnants of the pilgrims who were guarding it could no longer endure the terrible and suffocating killing, and they opened the west gate, abandoned the castle, and all the immobile women and children, and fled down the hill.

"Boom!" Sudanese troops holding large trees, the fire was slightly smaller. After the city gate had been burned down, it was cleanly "finished", and the remains of the wooden gate with flames collapsed and shattered, and then the soldiers of Roma, howling, drew their scimitars and rushed in. The pilgrim woman who was wounded and left behind did not want to be humiliated. With a terrible scream, he threw himself into the deep well and committed suicide. The corpses grew so large that the wells were filled, and the rest had no way to commit suicide, and they were pulled out of their hiding places by the Roma soldiers, and the bearded men and the wounded were beheaded. After the unspeakable humiliation of the woman, she could not escape the fate of being slaughtered, and the corpses of the slain were poured everywhere, and finally the younger and more beautiful pilgrim men and women broke down, and they pleaded. Expressing his willingness to renounce his faith and be willing to be a slave to the Turks to vent his **, he was secretly born under the blade - about two hundred men and women, among whom were beardless teenagers, who were led by the Roma soldiers with ropes, wept, and sent to the camp of the Sultan of Konya in the rear.

"Pak Ade, you have lived up to your expectations, and now I will return this castle to you!" Inside the camp, sit in the center of the gilliqui. Arslan was majestic, "Now that I have fifteen thousand unrivaled and powerful troops, Mentor Maimon, you will arrange it, how are we going to annihilate this group of undisciplined bandits soon?" ”

The situation between the two sides has reached such a point that even Ibn who originally had a serious idea. Maimun could not contain the outpouring of anger from top to bottom, but in the spirit of being responsible for the country, he still pleaded with the Sultan, "O lord of the great capital of Nicaea and Konya, the protector of the believers on earth, the supreme sultan, please calm down for the time being the idea of burning the entire land and sea, let the reins and scimitars of the warriors of the believers stop for the time being, and do not fall for the tricks of the Greek emperor, if you really slaughter this group of unruly pilgrims, it is truly terrible, It was the Frankish and Norman nobles who followed them to avenge the group. ”

But the words of the vizier were completely suppressed by the angry rebuke of the hordes of generals and warriors under the Sultan's tent, and all of them had to break into the camp of the pilgrims and kill all of them captives in order to dissipate their resentment, "My house has recently been short of slaves to call. That's what a lot of people are shouting.

"Provoke them, lure them out of the camp, and exterminate this swarm of ants and mongrels in the field in front of the canyon, no matter how many of them there are, the outcome will be the same." In the end, the Sultan ignored the vizier and, along with all the main battle factions, gave this majestic and ruthless order.

And on the other side of the mountain pass, in the camp of the pilgrims, the people were horrified and angry when they saw that the fortress on it had been captured by Surelman in less than half a day, and that the miserable wounded had fled from it with fire and terrible arrow wounds, and that all the women and children who remained inside had been slaughtered by the Turks.

Surrounded by the large number of men, Forser and Reinolds demanded that all the men go out of camp and fight to the death against the army of the pagan Sultan of Konya.

But Walter, who had arrived on horseback, firmly disagreed: we had been betrayed by the Greek Emperor, who had withdrawn the ships in order to send us to death, and that Surelman should destroy us, and that he would make a grudge against all the pilgrims, and that the Emperor would take advantage of the fishermen.

The result was a fierce and futile quarrel, and at Walter's insistence, the two chiefs reluctantly agreed to hold the camp here for a day, waiting for reinforcements from the Emperor or other pilgrims: but if no one showed up to-morrow, they would be free to do as they pleased, or that of the majority, and no longer subject to the restraint of Walter, the chief flag bearer.

The sun was setting, and the smoke in the castle was still desolate and lonely, and immediately at the bottom of the mountain, listening to the sound of horses' hooves and footsteps everywhere in the valley opposite (the sound of Surreman, the Sultan of Konya's troops), Walter was immediately melancholy, and he was extremely indignant, "I hope Dorus. Lambert can really bring in reinforcements in time, anyone is fine, as long as someone can hold the irrational heart of the army like a mad cow"

In front of the gates of the fortress of Nicomedia, Dorus took off his heavy armor and showed the clothes of a pilgrim, pleading with the defenders of the fortress to meet the fallen pilgrims, most of whom were civilians, and had no power to resist the arrows of the pagan sultans.

"Tomorrow is Christmas, and it is also the great day of your majesty's daughter, Princess Anna, and now all the teams are following the arrangements and are on leave waiting for a reward, and we will not be able to grant such a strange request." This is what the commander of the defending counts on the tower said to Dorus.

Dorus felt that it would be a waste of his precious time to continue, so he silently mounted his horse again, bypassed the fortress, and ran toward the shore.

To his ecstasy, in the setting sun on the seashore, he saw a brand new camp, with cooking smoke, and a large number of ships approaching, it was a new army of pilgrims! Dorus rode down and soon appeared before Bohemond.

"All the soldiers, who have just landed on the coast, are not yet able to come to your aid, so it is better to wait until all the men and horses are gathered in a few days, and then we can discuss it." But the red-haired Norman leader's words were as cold and hypocritical as his eyes.

This is not a helping hand at all!

"Time is pressing, Your Excellency is here to gather men and horses for the time being, and at the same time I hope to provide a small boat for the contemptible people, cross the strait by night, and go in search of all willing lords." Dorus was a brilliant young man, and instead of going head-to-head with Bohemond, he made this request.

It seems that Bohemond could not refuse, "Give the young son of the young nobleman fifty silver coins, and a ship, and send him to Constantinople." ”

Soon, Dorus, who was lying on the deck wrapped in a blanket, clearly felt that on the side of the strait near Europa, the cold sea breeze was like a sword slashing at his cheeks, and the swirls of chaos made even the experienced helmsman tremble, and his eyes looked at the huge city of Constantinople, like white mountains in a black sky, dotted with the fire of the unquenchable lighthouse.

Soon, snowflakes also fell on his face, "This side is still snowing!" ”

In the city, the bells of the newly completed Cathedral of the Holy Apostles rang as if they were deliberately competing with the Cathedral of the Holy Wise in the old city, full of joy and pride. In the splendid main hall, countless eunuchs and maidservants are carefully arranging the wedding table, and under the bright silver table candles, the sacred bread and salt are separated and pinned into gold-encrusted plates, and the wine glasses full of precious stones are separated, and the gold is indescribably brilliant.

It was all prepared for the wedding of the eldest princess on the coming day, and at midnight Brenus, who was in the camp outside the city, was to enter the city, to the Basilica of the Holy Apostles, to hold hands with Anna, to make a vow before the patriarch, to share the food on the golden plate, and to receive the blessings of all his subjects, and to be officially married.

In Brachna's bedchamber, Anna sat in a lonely chair, the maids sent by her father Alexios set up mirrors around her, and dressed her carefully, Anna was dressed in a new gold zigzag crown, white porcelain beads covered her eyebrows on both sides, and a gown embroidered with a round icon was hidden from her **, "Even if my mother does not want to see me, I still hope that before I get married, I will tell her something clearly." "This is Anna's only request right now. (To be continued.) )