In the midst of the uproar, the cavalry company began to assemble with flags, but then the problem appeared: there were only one hundred and fifty horses left to fight, and more than two hundred Turkic and Saracen horses were captured in the city of Nicaea, most of which were now surviving, and finally, due to the lack of horses, the pack horses were also brought out, and finally the two cavalry companies, which originally had a size of 1,000 men, only cobbled together the combat power of about 400 men and horses.

It is now no longer necessary to distinguish between the "New Baptist" and the "Saint-Cyril" company, "the glorious standard-bearers of both teams have come to my left and right!" Gawain gave the order, and then two standard-bearers on horseback came to him, one holding the icon of St. Cyril, the other holding the golden banner of the fish and dragon with tassels, and Muzafiadin standing in front of Gawain with the red hand of the general army that was blowing in the wind.

The horse under the crotch of the standard-bearer of the company of St. Cyril had borrowed it from his comrades, and he had died of illness after crossing the Sakarya River earlier, and the standard-bearer was sad for three days without a word to mourn his speechless comrades.

Behind the three standard-bearers and the commander-in-chief, more than 400 cavalrymen lined up in two horizontal formations in front and back, although the equipment is different, the height of the war horses is different, many people can only wear captured Turkic scale armor and chain mail, covered with various patterns of cloaks, and the shields on their backs are also varied, and the rest of the hundreds can only hold the spears and attack on foot, but the momentum and spiritual outlook are still strong and sharp, worthy of being the elite of the entire Dalian team.

Later, Andreev also took the rest of the "Fury" infantry company and the "Corinthian carpet" sailor (archer) company, and set up a formation to respond.

The other side. Cabeamia and Philus with three hundred believers, and Dorus the bannerman. Lambert's armed regiment of five hundred. Marched in another valley, carrying many battle flags. Used to disturb and confuse enemies.

"Towards a place where the fighting is raging." Gawain's instructions were brief, as time did not allow him to speak at length.

On the other side, the rearguard of Merlot and Billel was overtaken by a peasant cavalry regiment of Theodoro, and the "Wallachia" infantry company behind the palace turned back to resist the battle, with the result that Trabzon's cavalry galloped back and forth in the distance, raining down arrows and outflanking and cutting from both flanks. Extremely skillful and fast in technique and tactics.

The "Wallachia" Company, which had also been honored in the previous battles, had been pinned to the spot by this thunderous blow—when the soldiers came closer, the Trabzon cavalry regiment approached in all directions to shoot arrows, or to use long-handled star hammers, and to smash them so that the smoke and dust stirred up by the horses' hooves were everywhere, and the effect was so terrifying that only three hundred cavalrymen surrounded an infantry company of more than five hundred. Mellot, the head of the Dalian camp, was in this company, and at the beginning of the battle he was shot off his horse by an arrow, his arm pierced, and all the soldiers protected him at the core. Unanimously speared outward, lined up in a hedgehog-like formation, barely trying to block and resist.

Already uphill over there. Hurriedly took the Lombard detachment and the "Farov Company" back to battle, ready to rescue the Wallachian Company. As a result, the sound of horses' hooves shook the earth. Another cavalry regiment of the Trabzon peasant army, carrying the fish dragon flag, rushed from the other hillside. Billel hurriedly withdrew his men to hold on—and for a moment, the cavalry regiment was lightning bolting throughout, tearing Merlot and Billel's troops apart, and although they were only a few hundred paces apart, they could not get close at all, and there was a scuffle at the foot of the hillside.

About a hundred and a half miles away, the gray-haired old general Theodoro himself led his most trusted cavalry regiment of friends, all dressed in heavy armor and holding a portrait of the Black Madonna, silently like a black whirlwind tide, stepping on the gravel slope, jogging, "Follow me, children, crush the weak enemy like a bedbug!" The old general shouted to the cavalrymen who were close to him to the right and left, with only their eyes exposed, and although no one answered, all the cavalry marched in unison towards the perilous Wallachian company.

"Is it really arrogant Theodoro, who can't even wait for the infantry?" On the opposite hillside, Gawain also appeared with all the cavalry, watching the battle below. Then he gave an urgent order: ignoring the infantry, archers, and dismounted cavalry who continued the rapid march behind, "Cavalry companies, rush in the direction of the banner of Birel first!" ”

"Oh oh oh!" More than 400 cavalrymen, armed with battle axes, maces and swords, carrying all the battle flags, followed the white cloak to hunt Gawain, swept across the mountains towards the isolated slopes on the opposite side. Behind the shaking swiftsilver horse's head, Gawain's eyes were fixed on the peasant cavalry who were in front of the Billel line, and the bushes and wild grass on both sides passed by in an instant, constantly shouting, "Muzafi Adin, you hold the flag well, guide the raid behind, don't be afraid of bows and arrows!" ”

At this time, Biller stood at the forefront of the two companies, constantly using iron grids to block the cavalry that rushed to fight, and the flying arrows, the equipment of this group of cavalry is too sophisticated, although Gawain also paid attention to using cutting-edge and expensive equipment to enhance the strength of the team, but compared with Theodoro's group of cavalry, it is indeed slightly inferior, so they can face the spear tips and spear heads of the Lombards, arrogantly launch wave after wave of impact: the cavalry on the front side burst forward, and the cavalry on the rear side lined up in a horizontal line, drawing bows and shooting, And then alternately.

Nearly half of the Italian veterans of the Farov Company had been wounded in battle, and twenty or thirty people were killed in the front ranks of the Lombard detachment. Your Excellency will surely come to our reinforcements! Biller, who was scarred all over his face, shouted and fought wildly, boosting the morale of the soldiers behind him, and he must not give up until the last moment.

Suddenly, Biller felt the ground tremble and tremble under his feet, and a fluctuation of strength rolled down the rear of the formation, and he took advantage of the battle to look back, Gawain and all the cavalry rushed past the sides of their line like the wind, accompanied by the cheers of all the infantry.

The sound of weapons fighting together sounded like thunder, although everyone in the cavalry company galloped over, very tired, but still with an indomitable spirit, down the hillside, quickly and suddenly attacked the Trabzon peasant cavalry who cut between them, a rapid horn sound, the leading peasant cavalry quickly divided into two wings, out of the entanglement.

Then another cavalry regiment encircling the Wallachian infantry company also quickly broke away from the engagement, and joined up with the cavalry regiment of his companions who had arrived with Theodoro, and the last three cavalry regiments formed a zigzag in front and rear, and began to beat drums again, staring at the incomplete Gawain team.

"Don't be impatient, boys, watch the enemy carefully, see their formation, see if they have a backhand, and then decide where the blade should be pierced." Theodoro also stopped, squinting his eyes, restraining his men under the banner of the Black Lady.

"I'm ashamed, Your Excellency the Marching Chief." Mellot, wounded on horseback, spoke bitterly as she passed Gawain and the cavalry with the Wallachian Company, which had been lying on the uphill slope and had been riddled with dead and wounded.

"Take care of all the wounded, go to the hillside over there, have comrades to answer you, and recover as soon as possible, we will have to avenge this vengeance sooner or later." Gawain then raised his arm, and then shouted to the group that was coming up one after another, "Now, with this hill as a base point, we will take cover alternately—Billel, you gather all those who can still fight, and set up a formation on the hill where I came, and raise the flag—and in two hours, I will withdraw to the other place, and you will take cover." ”

"Yes, Your Excellency." Biller still likes to refer to Gawain as "Archduke of Barry" rather than the official title bestowed on him by Alexios.

When the team began to stagger the moment, behind Theodoro's cavalry team, various infantry detachments also poured out of the mountain path one after another, assembled, and they also arrived at the battlefield in time, and Gawain also saw that during the process, the purple battle flag given by the emperor appeared, and the battle flag from the Valangian guard in the palace of Brachna, which he was very familiar with-bastard, did the emperor really send men and horses to collude with Theodoro to encircle and annihilate me?

However, Gawain's head was not hot, nor was he overly angry, and if he were Alexios, he would have killed all those who had kidnapped his daughter, seized his territory, and pulled the flagpole in his empire, as Kabeamia said to him, "The warriors of Ghazi loved to ride their horses and gallop into the enemy's unsuspecting castles, and take their beautiful wives, sisters, and daughters captive, boasting of their prowess, but often dying by the sword or poison of revenge." This rule has not changed for thousands of years, "Let's fight calmly and quietly, Gawain and Anna live is the greatest damage to the emperor." ”

At this time, Gawain and all the cavalry were in the center, and an infantry company formed a horizontal formation to cover his right flank; The remaining five or six hundred dismounted cavalrymen, because of the narrowness of the high ground on the left and the almost vertical cliffs below, could only be arranged in long columns, on the left flank of the rear; In the end, Governor Andreev's sailors lined up and pressed at the rear.

Over there, Harold and Branas rode at the same time to Theodoro's commanding position.

"Harold, even you are going to come out to fight, there is really no one in the country." Theodoro said mockingly as soon as he saw the former commander of the palace guard.

"Don't say that, I am surrounded by a young and promising general from Thrace, with a bright future." Harold laughed, brushed his beautiful silver hair and then his beard, and then looked at Gawain's formation, which had been lined up half a mile away, and exclaimed, "He is a very warlike warrior, I have seen him at St. Atkins Gate, but this is the place where Gawain is buried today." ”

"That's right, Harold, while you and I are too old to fight on horseback, grab the last glorious feat. Children, the rest is over, continue to rush up, cut off the head of the other party's commander, and I will be exposed in front of the convent of Our Lady! Theodoro, wearing the emerald peacock feather helmet, raised his scepter and commanded his murderous cavalry. (To be continued.) )