The whole scene of retreat reached its climax at the moment when Gawain led his troops out of the city gate, almost all the Turkic soldiers in the outlying camp stood up and shouted the slogan "akin, akin" with their hands raised to express their admiration and love for the warriors of the Greek emperor, even if he was an enemy.

At this moment, Gawain made Erickson's relic seal skin into a scarf on his cloak, tied an icon pendant, hung a sword of phosphorus and fire, and rode Sabina in a black gold-inlaid saddle, with the only remaining seven hundred Italian soldiers and a small number of Varangian warriors, in an orderly manner, without the slightest appearance of defeat, and walked out of Nicaea with great spirit.

At the end of the procession, the Grand Imam Desiderius then knelt down outside the city gates, wept and kissed the dirt under his feet frantically, then ran to the lake, picked up a handful of water and drank it, as if to say goodbye to this holy city forever.

"I declare that at this moment, I will move the capital from Konya on the Roma Plain to Nicaea, which represents the determination of my Giliki!" The Sultan who then entered the city said with great propriety, completely abandoning his old agreement with Alexios, "Why should the merchants of my kingdom fight with the Italians for the right to trade, and why should the knights and warriors of my kingdom drive away for the emperor of Constantinople?" From now on, my kingdom is Rome, all the Rome of the Turkic warriors! ”

The passage given by Gilici to the retreating army and civilians was not to Nicomedia, because Paul was about to send his followers to take over the territory and port to the north, so the route allowed by Gilici was to follow Prusa to Abydos and then to Alexios.

In short, they went back to whither they came from, but there were nearly ten thousand who came, and only these seven hundred were left who returned to Abydos.

However, Gawain, who was standing in front of the tombs of the two military servants, turned to the guard and said, "I promised Francisco that I would not continue to serve Constantinople in the near future, at least not directly as the emperor's attendants, but with these seven hundred men, I went to Amalfi City to assist in the defense, which is said to be in danger of being invaded by the Normans." ”

"Have you forgotten your oath to the Emperor?" Although Diognis had understood Gawain's temperament, he still criticized it.

Gawain raised his arm and signaled that his oath had long since vanished with the abandonment of that purple tassel ribbon, "The Emperor has failed us, and of course I don't need to stick to the contract. ”

The catcher smiled with a complicated expression, "Maybe during the scout on the ridge two days ago, I should have shot you dead with an arrow in the back, but now I can't do it if I want to, my bow hand seems to take a long time to recover." ”

Hearing this, Gawain felt the desolation in the words of the guard in his heart, and he couldn't help but say, "You also go with me, we can win a career in the beautiful and rich land of Italy." ”

"I'm not as free and easy as you, I can see from the position of the border guard officer, we are bound by invisible threads, I knew it when I was a child - it is obviously a mountain, but it is artificially split with a line in the middle, I am on this side of the mountain, my mother is on the other side of the mountain, even if we look at each other from a distance, we cannot freely hug each other."

"Then take care." Gawain said, and then he patted Sabina and walked towards the marching procession.

"Gawain, I have a suggestion!" At this time, the catcher shouted from behind.

So Gawain stopped and turned to face him.

"I can ignore you with these soldiers, but Your Majesty can't, so you need a name and a flag so that you can pass through the land and sea of the empire to Amalfi, I believe you will understand."

Gawain did understand, he nodded at the captor, and then said in a dumb voice, "It just so happens that I also want to return the battle flag of the Red Hand detachment to your majesty." ”

On the way to Abydos, the tragic scene of the past resurfaced before Gawain's eyes, the village was deserted and abandoned, the people were empty to escape the war and military service, large areas of pastures, meadows and wheat fields were re-dyed gray and white, and more and more refugees joined Gawain's team along the road.

As for the harbor of Abydos, which was so desolate that it was impossible to find even half a ship, Gawain and Francisco approached the Grand Imam of Nicaea and asked him to lead the people to cultivate and graze in the land first, and then Francisco took a small boat and risked the sea route to seek the support of Amalfi in the Greek Chamber of Commerce.

On the blue sea, Francisco squatted in the stern of the boat, waving to Gawain and the guards who had seen him off on the walls of the coastal defense.

About five days later, the Italian returned by boat, soaking wet, but could not contain his excitement to tell the group, "The Amalfi Chamber of Commerce on the island of Chios is willing to provide an armed ship, and four flat-bottomed merchant ships, to carry us and the civilians across the Strait of St. George." ”

"What is the situation along the coast now?" Gawain asked with concern, draping a dry garment over Francesco.

"Unfortunately, the Amalfis have reached the end of their rope, their traffic in the Holy Sea has been ruined by the piracy of Zahaas, and the city of Italy has been invaded by the Normans, and the Roman emperor has been unable to respond to their pleas for help."

But a smile spread across Gawain's lips, because he understood that this was a great opportunity for him.

When the appointed time came, Amalfi's fleet arrived as promised, and the merchant and the captain who disembarked said to Gawain, "The price for carrying you is that, as Francisco said, you and these seven hundred soldiers will arrive in our city within three months, so that they will be saved from the poison of the Norman bandits." ”

"I promise you, but I still need some money." Gawain said, and then he looked at the people and laughed, "Give me an extra twelve days, and I will go to the emperor's capital to fulfill the wishes of my deceased friends, and fight for the banner that Diognis said." ”

"If he wants to take it, anyway, our current trade route to Fuller, Egypt has been strangled by Zahas, what's the use of the money on the counter?" The businessman who took the lead shook his head and said to Francisco in a tone of resignation and sorrow.

Amid cheers, the fleet began to pull anchor, and Gawain demanded that the clergy and the people be transported first, and all the soldiers remained in the city of Abydos to guard them.

On the deck, Gawain suddenly turned back to the captor and said, "How am I dressed?" ”

"Not good." Diognis blurted out.

Then Gawain looked at the guard with weapons hanging up and down his body, and his face and hands were dirty, and felt that his words were really unconvincing, so he turned around and twisted his thick eyebrows, looked at the vast sea waves, and thought about his previous outfit at the celebrity ball, "Now, Stephen. Gawain. Zhou, it's time to beautify yourself in this world. ”