Eagle Byzantium

In a Crescent Cult village at the junction of the Cilician Pass and the Heraclian agricultural and pastoral area, several shepherds walked out of the jungle in panic, driving their few remaining sheep towards the hillside facing the setting sun: Konya, west of their village, had just been completely looted and burned by the Greek emperor's garrison, and even the ditches and pastures were not spared, so they could only lead their sheep to the Cappadocia area, where the plateau remained peaceful for the time being under the competition of several forces, and their sheep could still eat grass and branches.

Several young children were waving long whips, constantly swinging them above their heads, making crackling sounds, and the copper bell on the neck of the leading sheep was shaking, making a pleasant sound, and the rest of the sheep were bleating, lining up in a chaotic but orderly formation, following the head sheep towards the other side of the hillside.

The father rode a mule, holding a spear for self-defense, with a water bag on the tip of the spear, and walked in front of the children and the sheep, taking on the task of scout and sentry. In this chaotic season, being able to use weapons to protect his family property and children was something he was proud of.

But when he reached the ridgeline, the gray valleys and plateaus that his sunset could not reach, and several believers' settlements adjacent to his home, were filled with thick smoke, and the smoke and dust followed the wind, carrying the cries of the people, towards the towering and endless Taurus Mountains.

The middle-aged shepherd's heart trembled, and he immediately understood what was going on. Then he heard the shrill sound of a horn: a light-armed rider wearing a colorful smock, carrying a string of military horns, rhinoceros horns, and flints, sat on the saddle, holding a long horn in both hands, blowing vigorously in the opposite direction, so his face could not be seen clearly, but behind him were two cavalrymen holding military flags, and the rolling flags also obscured the faces of the two people, but the shepherd could be sure from the color of the flag that it was definitely not owned by any emir or any believer leader - a pattern of a warrior with a halo on his head, openly located in the center of the flag, was particularly eye-catching in the sun, and on the other flag, there was a bloody hand, forming a complete cross shape with the sword hilt and blade.

The shepherd, who was trapped in great terror and unable to escape, did not dare to shout to his children and sheep, and could only stare blankly at the military horn player and the two flag bearers, who were riding their horses and approaching him. The ignorant children whipped the sheep to their father's side. They were so scared when they saw the two flag bearers, but the sheep were still bleating and running around happily.

Behind the flag bearer, there were about a dozen people and horses, lined up in double rows, all wearing heavy armor. The colorful feathers on the horses' face curtains boasted their ferocity and courage. The weapons under the saddles made the shepherd's idea of ​​"swearing to defend his property and children to the death" just now annihilated like dust under the horses' hooves. He could only let his innocent face squeeze out a little flattering smile, hoping that these "beasts" in iron armor would show him some mercy.

This group of cavalry slowly walked past the shepherd's eyes, two by two, but the fear in the hearts of the shepherd and his children became more and more intense, until the last one suddenly stopped and looked at the shepherd with cold eyes.

The sweat on the tip of the shepherd's nose slid down, and the hand holding the homemade spear could not move at all.

The cavalryman raised his wrist heavily, and pulled the patterned nose guard that separated his eyes to the brim of his hat with his gloves covered with lock rings and rivets, revealing his face full of scars and sweat, and then pointed at the shepherd.

The shepherd did not dare to answer, and the cavalryman was a little impatient and pointed twice again.

The shepherd only realized that he wanted the water bag on the tip of his spear.

So he got excited for a while, raised his spear directly, pointed the spear tip at the cavalryman, and stretched out the water bag, "Damn it, damn it, you should think about it for a while before doing something." The shepherd could not help but groan inwardly, this behavior would make the other party mistakenly think it was a provocation or hostility!

But the cavalryman didn't show any anger. Instead, he calmly took the water bag, unplugged it, raised his head and gulped like an animal. From the dense iron armor, a small piece of skin where his Adam's apple was was exposed. As he drank the water, it kept rolling up and down, facing the spear tip of the shepherd. The sweat that seeped out was reflected with angular light. As long as the shepherd pushed the spear tip forward, he could kill the monster warrior who invaded his homeland and the Crescent Believers Kingdom.

But until the cavalryman drank the water bag dry and threw it off the horse, the shepherd didn't make any move. The spear in his hand was still frozen in the air. Then the cavalryman pointed to the northern wilderness, indicating that he should tell him where the front was.

"Go another thirty miles and you will reach the city of Kalon at the southern end of Lake Cappadocia." The shepherd quickly put away his spear and repeated it in the language he knew, speaking hard and gesturing with his hands.

The cavalryman nodded, not knowing whether he understood or not. His horse flicked its tail twice and headed for the castle at the end of the field.

After receiving the order, Anna's army moved towards Cappadocia at a lightning speed: 300 armored cavalry, 600 Jinat infantry, and thousands of refugees from Miliocephalon and Conia, and the surrendered army of Tarsus formed the "Cappadocia Armed Colonial Corps" (about 6,000 men and women). It took only four days from the time they crossed the border to the capture of the ownerless city of Kalon.

They did not encounter any fierce resistance along the way, but the armored cavalry swept and slaughtered dozens of Crescent Church settlements of all sizes in the name of "protecting Christianity and protecting Alexius Komnenos, but the emperor said I was innocent", and the means were extremely vicious.

Because most of their members were newly bought mercenaries from Blois and Normandy, and many wandering armed men who had defected to Seleucia, and they had never been bound by the military discipline of Grand Duke Gawain, and Anna was very indulgent towards them. The Purple Princess, who learned of the victory, followed them with her own guards, and strictly urged most of the armed immigrants to station near the city of Caron as soon as possible, repair the city defense, and distribute cultivated land around the city of Caron to support the supply of her new army.

It seems that after Anna captured half of Cappadocia, she didn't want to leave at all!

"I want to see the city of Caron in person. Before I came to Seleucia, I was fascinated by its richness and beauty." Anna, sitting in the sedan chair, said this to Agnes who was accompanying her. (To be continued ~^~)