Eagle Byzantium

Thanks to the reward from classmate "I'm Too Lazy to Be Your Uncle"

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In the Heliston Strait, the downstream to the Holy Sea is along the west bank, while the upstream to the towering cities of Abydos and Gallipoli must go upstream. The remaining six pirate warships were furious, and every remaining Turkish soldier on them shouted and sharpened his sword and raised his flag. The Saracen and Greek sailors below were ordered to paddle hard upstream. They wanted to bypass Erainus because Gawain had no useful fleet and go to the weakly defended inland area to slaughter and plunder!

All of them lowered the sails, sang terrifying war songs, and leaned against the outskirts of Gallipoli. The lookouts saw the herds, tents, and some temporary wooden fences on the plains, and they were as excited as if they had found green grass coming from the land after sailing across the ocean for several months. Then the Turkish pirates stood up and vowed to kill a thousand Greek pagan dogs to compensate for the death of the Emir.

So this group of warriors who had just gone to the sea not long ago, carrying knives, stepped barefoot onto the beach, raised flags, and rushed towards the target in a black mass.

As if entering an uninhabited area.

An arrow flew and hit the pirate holding the flag in the forehead. The pirate staggered twice, then fell to the ground holding the flag. The other pirates looked in the direction of the arrow with a clamor: a general in chain mail was putting another arrow on his bow. Behind him were more than a hundred cavalrymen with feathers on their horses' heads, and they were equipped with similar equipment, scimitars, bows and arrows, and round shields. Then they let out the same wolf-like howl and rushed towards them.

Waves of arrows flew on the galloping horses, making the pirates run wild. Soon, drums sounded from all directions, and small groups of cavalrymen appeared everywhere, stirring up dust, shooting deadly arrows, and attacking them ruthlessly from all directions.

Some pirates were shot, some were captured, and some were trampled to death in the process of fleeing. Soon, the pirates no longer dared to think about plundering Gallipoli. They abandoned their dignity as creed warriors and rushed to the deck of the ship again.

"Sweep them all and kill them!" Taitishius shot an arrow and shot another pirate who was fleeing to the sea with his back to him. Then he raised his hand and ordered the guards around him, "All cavalry, run until the horses are completely tired."

At dusk, even Artabastos sent troops from the city fortress, and with the local brave armed refugees and shepherds, they were divided into many small teams, cooperating with Taitishius's cavalry, and searched the mountains and valleys for the pirates who were hiding and fleeing. Many people were searched out in the bushes and in the cattle pens. The rebels were killed on the spot, and the rest were tied up with ropes and chains.

"All Saracen and Greek sailors and oarsmen, abandon your ships and surrender. The merciful Emperor can spare your lives. Otherwise, according to the orders of Grand Duke Artabastos and Earl Gawain, all your right hands will be cut off, so that you can neither row nor farm." On a high rock by the sea, several Byzantine soldiers blew horns at the warships on the sea, and waved torches and shouted psychological tactics.

At first, the Turks were still shooting with bows and arrows on the deck, but soon an uprising broke out in the cabin - many death-fearing Saracens and Greeks, who were originally lured or coerced, began to turn the rudder and paddle, rowing towards the seaside where Taitishius was stationed to surrender.

At this time, a small Byzantine fleet came from the Chalcidon Fortress to help. It was also Caesar Mercolinus who used his personal connections to mediate. His Excellency Caesar always acted decisively on matters related to personal interests: six Piromonian light oared warships, plus two Amalfi warships invited by Francesco from Constantinople, flew flags and sailed down the ocean current aggressively.

Soon, the angry Turks had no choice but to rush down and fight with the sailors. The whole sea was in chaos: three warships approached the shore and were captured by Taitius's troops, two were sunk by the Byzantine and Amalfi joint fleet in the melee, and another lost its direction in the turbulence. The sailors on it jumped into the water to escape. The Turks did not know how to control it, and it crashed into a reef island outside the port of Abydos. The hull disintegrated, and the floating corpses rushed into the sea. The remaining dozens of lonely ghosts climbed onto the isolated island without water and vegetation, and were all captured by the Pirromon rowing boats that arrived in the middle of the night.

The next day, the triumphant Grand Duke Artabastos wrote letters to His Majesty and Caesar respectively, claiming credit for the victory. He said that under his leadership and the cooperation of the army commanded by Earl Gawain, "our warships and cavalry are simply invincible. The pirate strongholds were reduced to ashes like a beehive under fire. The whirlwind brought the good news of the great victory of the empire. One thousand pirates were killed and as many as five hundred were captured. I will tie them up and go to the palace of His Majesty the Emperor to present the victory... The entire Holy Sea is safe, just as it was before. We have also rescued nearly seven hundred captured Christians. The flags of Your Majesty and the Lord will surely fly proudly on this ocean."

The letter was sealed with lead and quickly delivered to the Brahena Palace. When the imperial eunuch read it out in front of the emperor, Alexius did not show much joy on his face. "When did that termite Artabastos do such a thing? I don't know whether I should be happy or sad when I heard such news. What will Gawain Lusser bring to my empire and throne? It seems that there is an endless night ahead, with only a few stars shining, guiding me or misleading me..." After saying this, Alexius stood up and stood behind the silk curtain. "It seems that I also need to cheer up as soon as possible, organize an army, and go to Moria to fight Zahas who is entrenched there."

In the small bedroom, Anna also excitedly opened the letter. There was no handwriting of Gawain. "This barbarian is illiterate." It was all narrated. "I understand that most of the merits at Cape Elainus should be attributed to you, Gawain, right?" Anna leaned over the table and wrote furiously, but she learned her lesson this time. After writing what she thought in her heart, she secretly sealed the letter with lacquer and lead, gave it to her trusted maid to keep it, and then secretly sent it out.

"Oh, right." Anna suddenly seemed to remember something and put a book box on the table. "Give this to Commander Count Gawain as well. I believe it will be very helpful to him on the front line."

While Anna's letter was still on the way, Gawain, standing on the cliffs of Erainus, watched the soldiers and servants moving in the military camp, ready to march towards the Thessalonica area. The pirates in this sea area would no longer cause trouble for him, and it would take at least one to two months for Zahas in Moria (now the Peloponnese) to receive this tragic news, so he had to seize this opportunity.