The locket hanging around his neck made some movement again after a long absence, which made Justinian a little surprised. But at this moment, the Ark of the Covenant actually woke up.

And then the familiar cold and ruthless voice sounded in my ears again, "I have felt that breath again, and the time we agreed on is running out. You should know that, Justinian."

It seemed to be a warning, but the straight voice did not feel any emotional fluctuation at all, just like a young child. But Justinian knew that the Ark of the Covenant would not joke with him.

, apparently when he met with Tsar Kaloyan just now, the fragment of the Ark sealed on the iron crown belonging to the Bulgarian ruler awakened it.

"The time has not come yet. When the time comes, I will naturally fulfill my promise. If it fails, I will voluntarily bear all the consequences." Justinian said calmly, taking his time and seemed to be confident about getting the fragment of the Ark of the Covenant.

But on the chest, the Ark of the Covenant hanging around the neck responded with that condescending indifference: "I hope so, this is my last reminder to you..." As he spoke, the Ark of the Covenant emitted a faint white light.

Dissipated once again, and the locket returned to peace and became nothing strange again.

But those understatement words put a mountain of pressure in Justinian's heart. He will always remember the power that the other party showed to him after reaching the contract with the Ark. As a little fox of Moria,

He was like an ant in front of this kind of power.

Everything here must be ended quickly, and Tsar Kaloyan's iron crown must be in his hands quickly, and the key to victory or defeat in all this lies tonight.

…

…

…

As night falls, the bay in the south of Thessaloniki is calm. Compared with the fierce fighting in the north of the city, it is obviously easier here. The Latin defenders in the city only need to pay attention to the possible dangers at the pier and the sea wall.

Enemies at sea are enough, but to be honest, most people don’t think that there will be danger at sea. After all, the so-called Roman Empire’s power at sea has long since fallen apart. It could barely hold on during the reign of Emperor Manuel, but

Later, it was already vulnerable. What's more, the Royal Guards Navy of Constantinople also went to Nicaea to be loyal to the Lascaris family, and the remaining Roman navy was useless. Whether it was Epirus or Bulgaria,

There is no way to directly attack Thessaloniki's sea wall at sea. They can rest easy as long as they stay here.

The Greek-Bulgarian coalition outside the city did not launch an attack all day long. As a result, the Latins in Thessaloniki were completely slack at this moment and did not pay attention to their opponents. Therefore, the guards at the sea wall were obviously relaxed.

Many, and it was already the middle of the night. In the dark, everything was quiet except for the sound of waves hitting the sea wall and embankment. The dozing soldiers did not notice at all that a small boat was unknowingly rushing through the darkness.

The turbulent waves approached the city of Thessaloniki, and even the defenders didn't know that there had always been a secret passage in the sea wall that they thought was infallible.

Behind an inconspicuous rock, a small hole that could only fit two people through appeared under the city wall, and there were already people there waiting for the small boat.

"Why did you come so late?"

"It's too late to hide from the limelight at this time. Who else dares to come to a city that is about to go to war to do business?"

"Huh, don't you dare if you have money? Come over here and unload the goods!"

The people at the meeting were obviously very familiar, and they seemed to be old acquaintances. Under the moonlight, the faint light finally dimly illuminated the appearance of the people waiting on the shore - they were actually dressed like patrol soldiers.

However, to be precise, they were members of the Latin Patrol Team responsible for patrolling the sea wall.

What came over in a small boat was a group of smugglers from Genoa, and their small boats were filled with goods trafficked into Thessaloniki. The cooperation between the two parties has been going on for a year, and

For such a long time, Genoese merchants bribed these soldiers to safely traffic goods for smuggling, making both sides make a lot of money. Therefore, these Latin soldiers, who were very knowledgeable, had no money to make early due to the war with Bulgaria.

There were already complaints, so when they learned that their friends from Genoa had delivered goods again, they were overjoyed and came here early to wait.

Several soldiers stepped forward to unload the goods neatly and tried to move the smuggled goods off the ship. The patrol captain at the head took the money bag handed over by the Genoese businessman in front of him, shook the weight and put it into his arms, full of money.

With a smile on his face he said:

"It's been almost a month since I last saw you! It's strange that I miss you so much!"

"Humph, I think the gold coins in my hand are just as tight as what you miss." The annoyed Genoese businessman snorted coldly, "Who knows, these days are really not peaceful! Venetians and Greeks are not fuel-efficient lamps.

Making even a small amount of money is like walking a tightrope."

While complaining, the Genoese businessman suddenly saw a few soldiers on the side of the ship holding torches and walking to the back to move a few barrels down. The man whose expression suddenly changed quickly went up and drove them away, shouting angrily.

scolded:

"Go, go aside, be careful, and put out the torch for me."

Seeing that the Genoese man looked very nervous, the Latin officer looked at the barrels strangely and asked: "It's just a few barrels, do you have to be so careful?"

"What do you know? This is a fine wine that I got from Bordeaux with great difficulty. I don't want to be ruined by you." The Genoese businessman curled his lips and said, but as soon as he said this, the Latins in front of him suddenly stopped.

The soldier's ears suddenly stood up.

"You mean Bordeaux?!"

"Of course, it's genuine. I'll sell it for a good price in the city."

The Latin soldiers who were suddenly tickled by these words looked completely different from before. They came from France and had not tasted Bordeaux wine for a long time. They were addicted to alcohol and could not drink it.

They were used to the wine brewed by the Greeks, but the Genoese businessmen didn't say anything. As soon as they looked at the barrels containing the wine, they were already salivating. Once their alcohol addiction was aroused, they immediately forgot about other things.

.

Rubbing his palms with some excitement, the Latin soldier at the head looked at his old friend from Genoa in front of him. Under the encouragement of his companions, he finally gritted his teeth and said: "If it is really Bordeaux wine, considering how old we are.

For the sake of our friends, can you give us a barrel of wine?"

Sure enough - he took the bait! The Latin soldier who couldn't stop showed his pleading eyes. At this moment, the Genoese businessman finally breathed a sigh of relief in his heart, but on the surface he said with an unhappy face: "Are you kidding me?
Chapter completed!