Under the night of the Viscari Castle, everything was quiet. There were only dots of firelight on the mountain. Everything was so quiet. It seemed that the place was peaceful. However, during the day, a brief conflict broke out between the Byzantines and the Venetians.

Both sides suffered losses. At this night, the three mountain passes leading to the outside world were guarded by the Venetians. These days, they have been monitoring the Byzantines in the castle day and night to prevent the other party from taking the opportunity to break out.

As the commander-in-chief, Ranieri Dandolo took turns stationed on the shore and on the warship to preside over the overall situation. Today, the governor of Crete spent the night on the ship. Because of this, the camp at the mountain pass guarded the exit.

The Venetians dare not be careless in the slightest.

Although the Byzantines have been besieged here by them, this does not mean that the other party will wait and die.

Over the past year or so, the Venetian sphere of influence has expanded rapidly, but as it erodes the legacy of the Purple Empire more deeply, these Venetians have realized the decisiveness of the Byzantines' will. They no longer have the contempt they had before, at least for the garrison commanders.

General Maximilian was

He thought so. As Ranieri's oldest confidant, he participated in the suppression of the Greeks on Crete. What he saw was that although there were many corrupt Byzantine nobles who betrayed their country for glory, as lowly civilians

However, they continued to fight in the resistance movement, which made them miserable.

If this is the case for the isolated island of Crete, then the resistance of the Byzantines in other places can be imagined. The price Baldwin of Flanders paid in Adrianople is an example.

"Be careful, no one is allowed to desert!" Maximili patrolled every place with safety and security, replaced tired soldiers, and asked everyone to be ready to fight at any time.

Maximilian, who was guarding the mountain pass, was always reminding himself not to be careless. Under his command, the fortifications were significantly strengthened, and more archers were placed beside the simple wooden walls. He was even on the hillside.

Secret sentries and patrol troops were placed in hidden places to prevent Byzantine night attacks.

It can be said that Venice's defense was already very good, and Maximilian felt that there was no need to strengthen defense and vigilance.

…

However, all this has been clearly understood by the Byzantines of Fort Viscari, and a night attack is also being secretly prepared at this moment.

"There are seven secret posts at the foot of the mountain, and three patrol teams take turns patrolling. Once we move, we will be discovered by them soon." Justinian murmured to himself, frowning slightly, while he was at Fort Wiscari.

In front of the city gate, behind him were the heavily armed Byzantine troops.

The Byzantine scout captain in charge of the investigation told Justinian all the information he had, and the young man had full control over the breakout operation. This was a direct request from Justinian to Archduke Anastasius, and that

The old man agreed to Justinian's conditions without any hesitation and handed over his Latin cavalry guards to Justinian's command.

No big nobles were allowed to participate in this operation, so Justinian did not have to worry about constraints at all.

But what he was facing now were the Venetian secret sentries and patrols. If the enemy was alerted in advance, the effect of the surprise attack would be greatly reduced. Justinian was not willing to suffer unnecessary losses.

But for this, Archduke Anastasius was already prepared and said: "You don't have to worry about this. I can send my people to carry out beheading operations, and it can definitely be done so that the other party cannot detect it in time." Except for his subordinate Latin.

A type of cavalry guard, as the Despot of Moria, this old man also has a team of trained killers. Although not as invincible as the Assassin assassins, it is still easy to pull out a few Venetian secret sentries.

Seeing Anastasius's assurance, Justinian also nodded. Since the other party said so, he must do what he said, and everything that follows will depend on him.

"Then I wish you immediate success, Mr. Justinian." The old man said in a serious tone. He handed over all the troops he could mobilize to Justinian. To some extent, Justinian had the power in his hands at this time.

It is the last hope of the entire Wiscari Fort and Nemoria, and whether the young man in front of him can live up to his expectations, Grand Duke Anastasius does not know. Even if the scepter in his hand is inlaid with

The divination hints given to him by a turquoise stone were also vague.

But now, as Caesar said when crossing the Rubicon, the dice have been thrown, and there is no chance to repent. This is indeed a big gamble, and the life and death of the whole city depends on Justinian and the Turks behind him.

On the cavalry.

…

…

…

Everything was as usual in the Venetian military camp at the foot of the mountain pass. Although under the orders of General Maximilian, all the soldiers tightened their nerves at first, but as time went by, the sleepiness of the night still made them gradually slack off.

From time to time, some people began to doze off, but despite this, the scouts on the watchtower did not dare to relax. They stared at the darkness intently. Although they could not see anything, if something unexpected happened, the secret sentries and patrols on the mountain would be there.

A signal will be sent so that the Venetian army at the mountain pass can prepare in advance.

Generally speaking, Venetian defenses are still tight and thorough, and everyone is doing their job, but there are always exceptions to everything.

"Ha, Lord Maximilian is just too careful. How dare those Greeks dare to come here to seek death!"

A soldier guarding the camp gate rubbed his hands and complained that because of this errand, he had to get off the ship to set up camp and could not sleep well for several days. What was even more distressing was that Maximi, who was extremely strict and a devout believer,

General Li An also drove away the prostitutes from the military camp, which made the soldiers even more miserable.

Complaints kept coming and going for a while, especially now that everything was silent and only a few soldiers were chatting.

"Who says otherwise? If it weren't for those damn Greeks, I would still be living happily on the island of Crete!" A soldier also complained. This battle was not as simple as they thought. There was a psychological gap.

, which made them feel dissatisfied.

But soon, the topic discussed by the Venetian soldiers turned to what happened after the capture of Fort Viscari, and the language became more aggressive and obscene.

"When I take over this cursed castle, I will definitely make the Greeks in the city suffer."

"Oh, really, there are many noble ladies and ladies there, are you really willing to do it? Or do you want to use your dick to make them taste the pain?"

"Screw you, even if there is, it won't be our turn. But I haven't eaten meat these days. When I go to the city, I have to vent my anger!"

Although the upper class of the Venetians have realized that the invasion of Byzantium has caused a strong backlash from the Byzantines, these lower-level soldiers still have no face to look down upon their defeated generals, completely forgetting that Manuel of Byzantium decades ago

The bloody nightmare that the emperor brought to the whole city of Venice.

At this moment, a soldier suddenly covered his stomach and shouted: "Hey, my stomach, it seems that the taro I ate today is a little moldy, I have to go and take a nap. Oh~ It's too late, I have to deal with it on the spot.

." The rude soldier said that he wanted to unbutton his pants and move aside for convenience, but was immediately stopped by his companions.

"Isn't it disgusting? Go back to the camp for convenience!"

"But I can't fucking bear it anymore!"

"Then go outside and solve it!" Several companions who rolled their eyes said loudly, and then opened the latch of the camp. However, doing so was undoubtedly a violation of military orders, but the contempt for the Byzantine threat made these Venetians

There was no such consciousness at all, so he opened the gate of the camp.

A gust of cold wind made people shiver. The hungry soldier was stunned and had no choice but to go out and unbutton his pants to find a place to go while cursing.

"Hurry up, Joseph, it will be terrible if someone on patrol sees you."

"I know, I don't want you to say more." The cursing Venetian soldier took nothing with him and walked to the big stone a dozen steps away from the camp entrance with a torch, and was about to relieve himself. However, when the torch in his hand was dispersed

While the thick darkness illuminated a small open space, he also saw a silent army appearing in front of him within a short distance of his army camp without realizing it.

Through the dim light of the fire, Joseph saw the flag - a ferocious and fierce double-headed eagle! It was a Byzantine, an enemy night attack! The frightened Joseph was about to shout to warn the enemy of a surprise attack, but a bow and arrow

It shot straight through his throat with a whoosh.

With a plop, the Venetian soldier who strangled his neck and tried to breathe fell to the ground and died. However, this slight movement still attracted the attention of the alert Venetian sentry.

"Who?!" shouted the soldier from the top of the watchtower. Alertly, he immediately raised his voice to ask the half-asleep soldier below to wake up quickly.

Justinian, who realized this, knew that his side had been noticed by the enemy, but it was enough. This distance was enough for the Byzantine army to launch a full-scale assault.

Then Justinian pulled out the long sword from his waist and roared suddenly: "For the glory of the empire, revenge, let the Venetians pay the price for their arrogance! Attack with the whole army - kill!" (Unfinished)
Chapter completed!