A raging fire burns on the surface of the sea. Half of the sea was red. Thick smoke billowed into the sky, and from time to time there would be a roar of black fire potion that had not been completely burned exploding again. The dozens of broken ships that were used as target ships sank without any suspense. And the unburned Heavenly Fire Oil floated on the surface of the sea, and continued to burn, looking at it from a distance, as if the sea was burning.

A sea of hellfire.

"Oh God...... What the hell is this?!"

The Italian nobles who were watching exclaimed. Such an unimaginable horror scene made these people think of the legendary hell. When did the same terrifying fire, the same unacceptable terrifying weapon, begin, these Normans actually mastered such a terrifying weapon?!

At the same time, some of the people who had something to do shouted: "Greek fire! This is Greek fire! It's the secret weapon of the Greeks!"

But the same people shouted: "No, the attack of Greek fire is not so far, and there will be no such violent explosions." I'm afraid this kind of fire oil is even more powerful than Greek fire!"

Indeed, although the more technical terms of "attack distance" are often overlooked compared to the sound of such violent explosions and the spectacle of burning on the surface of the sea. But there are also some people who have a heart and will see it.

"Their ships are nearly a mile or two away, and yet they can destroy ships so far away at once—and they have a very high hit rate! God, this, this, this...... It's incredible!" said some people who knew the navy. At the same time, it also occurred to them that if such a navy attacked their port, the consequences would be unacceptable, and they would not need to land and fight as people imagined, but could burn the entire port area with the means of long-range attack.

After that, the Norman Offshore Fleet walked around the entire port area for a long time, performing the fleet's T-shaped array, zigzag array, butterfly array and other formations. The Norman sailors were vicious. Although he knew that most of these guys would not attack him, he did not dare to go to sea anyway, and hundreds of merchant ships, large and small, were blocked in the port and could not get out. Many businessmen rushed straight to the wall, but they were helpless......

"It's rude!"

In the afternoon of the same day, in the city of Rome, in the Papal Hall, Pope Innocent III turned pale with anger after receiving the news, and roared loudly in front of the cardinal in the Pope's Hall: "The dignified Holy See, the center of the Catholic world, was finally blocked in the harbor by a fleet of Northland barbarians for a whole day! Why don't you expel them?! What are you afraid of?! What are you afraid of?! What are they afraid of?! They're just bluffing!!"

Innocent III is worthy of being a man who can become a pope, and at this moment he has figured out the methods of the Norman Empire. True, at that time the Normans just wanted to scare. Egil's orders strictly ordered the Offshore Fleet not to hurt the Italians in the slightest. so as not to be used as an excuse by the other party. If the little wrecked ships of the Papal States at that time had not sailed out. Then there really isn't much that the Norman Empire's offshore fleet can do.

But who dares?!

Even if it's the Pope's Holy See, don't look at this guy shouting fiercely now, but it's just shouting. In hindsight - at that time, the giant ship, the flames, and the might, this seventy or eighty guy was not bad if he could incontinence without being big. Can you still analyze what the Norman Empire wanted? Joke!

So Innocent III is just a saying, and there is no reason why such a smart person as the Holy See does not understand in the face of such an obvious hint from the Norman Empire.

"If you want to move the old man, the old man will send a fleet to smash the old nest of the dog day. ”

That's what it means.

As a result, Innocent III pondered for a moment - if the Papal States really faced off with the Norman Empire, then what the outcome should be for the time being. However, the Norman offshore fleet was bound to attack the ports and docks of the Papal States and even the Italian city-states like crazy dogs. Adoption of the previous report of the port area officials. Such a terrifying fleet, even if it does not go ashore, can burn the entire port to ashes with a single fire. ...,

"Even if the crusade is actually launched...... In fact, the odds are not very good. The city-states of Northern Italy have a lot of trade with the Normans, and most of these merchants who see money will not be killed. Although France had a grudge against the Normans, it was held back by Burgundy and could not be relied on. And Burgundy ...... They had a certain covenant with the Normans. Equally unreliable. Spain was too far away, weak and had no navy. So ignore. The rest of Hungary, which has just been restored, is probably not going to participate in this war...... The only one that can be relied on is the Holy Roman Empire.

However, the North German region of the Holy Roman Empire was very heavily infiltrated by the Normans, and it was even rumored that the two electors of Hesse and Brandenburg had secretly defected to the Normans...... If you don't count them, then only Henry of Swabia, Henry of Bavaria, and Albert II, Holy Roman Emperor of Austria, Bohemia......"

It's good not to calculate, after such a calculation, Innocent III discovered that many countries in the entire European continent have now become the dominant situation of the Norman Empire. If you remove other elements and comment purely from a military point of view, even if he launched a crusade against the Norman Empire, then the odds of victory are not very many. Unless he made up his mind and pulled all the 50,000 new troops to the battlefield, opened up the reserves of the Holy Treasury, recruited mercenaries from all over Europe to fight for him, and the instability of the Norman Empire itself and the rebellion of careerists because of his expulsion, then the victory should be fifty-five.

This was the case with Innocent III's calculations before him—and he was sure that so was Egil's. With such a deterrent, the Norman Empire dared to fight him, and the Norman Empire did not dare to fight, so it could only suffer a dumb loss. Let the Papal forces infiltrate Eastern Europe. When the time comes, in another three years, five years, ten years and eight years, it may not be anyone's world.

However, Innocent III missed the Norman navy.

The performance of the Norman Offshore Fleet this time made Innocent III re-evaluate - if there was a war with the Normans, in order to prevent this huge navy from threatening Rome, it would be necessary to leave at least 10,000 new troops to garrison the Holy See. And even then, the entire Italian coast will most likely be swept by the other side. Venice and Milan, which have not recovered much naval strength now, are even likely to defect and join the Norman alliance because of this, and because there is a shortage of 10,000 troops on the front line, the chances of victory against the Norman army are even lower. As soon as the inside and outside are calculated, the original five-point chance of winning is only three points.

"Damn it...... If I had known, the Poles would have agreed to intervene when they came. Innocent III regretted it at this moment—just this year, when the Normans raided Eastern Europe, he thought that Egir would choke to death if he ate such a large territory in Eastern Europe. And his new army had not yet been trained, so he refused the request of the Poles. Who knew that Egil was like a divine help, [Flash God Slaughter Group] three battles, one victory over Lithuania, another victory over Poland, and three victories over Eastern Rome. The rest waited for the wind to descend. In less than a year, he had such a large piece of land in Eastern Europe in his hands.

"I can't fight. Innocent III shook his head, thinking to himself, "At least, until the Papal States has a navy sufficient to protect itself, we can't fight anymore." ”

Thinking of this, Innocent III felt unwilling—very unwilling. Why did the Normans develop so quickly? The army was invincible, the navy was invincible, the agriculture, commerce, and handicrafts were so well developed, the politics were clear, the laws were perfect, and the young emperor of the Norman Empire had a terrifying desire for conquest and a frenzied desire to kill. This Europe, this world......

"Doom. Innocent III sighed like this, then opened his eyes, looked at the various bishops of the Papal States who were looking at him stupidly below, and couldn't help but feel a little angry: "If you fools have a little brains and a little use, how can I work so hard?!"

Innocent III couldn't help but feel a little annoyed when he thought of this, and stood up suddenly, wanting to scold two more words to dissipate his anger. But I felt dizzy for a while, my eyes were black, I leaned forward, and I rolled down the steps nearly one meter high.

"Holy See!"

Innocent III frightened the cardinals or something. Although usually all the cardinals want the pope to die early, I can be the pope. But after such an eventful season, the cardinals asked themselves that their skills were really inferior to Innocent III, and only under the leadership of such an iron-fisted pope could everyone have a little confidence in the fight against the Norman Empire - if the Pope was hung up at this moment. Such a huge Holy See, who will be the pillar of this?!

The bishops, Innocent III, stood up and shouted for a doctor and holy water. Finally, Innocent III was carried into his bedroom. Rescued by a doctor. Sucking a mouthful of bloody phlegm from mouth to mouth, Innocent III woke up faintly. I just feel cold in my hands and feet, and I feel hard to speak...... At this moment, it was already noon the next day.

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