The Genoese fleet left the port of Thessaloniki. When they left the harbor, the Venetians cruising in the outer sea were vigilantly monitoring their every move. Obviously at this juncture, the Venetians did not take the initiative.

In order to provoke a dispute, since the arrival of the Genoese two days ago, the Venetian fleet has chosen to stop sailing. But when they saw that the other party finally left, the warships flying the golden lion flag started to move again.

"Master Andrea, if we return empty-handed like this, how will we explain it to Lord Constance?" On the deck, Smith, the steward of the Doria family, walked up behind Andrea and asked.

Andrea was looking at the wide sea at this time and replied nonchalantly: "Uncle, I will explain to him then. Originally, the main purpose of our trip was not to bring Antonia's child back. Henry

Since the mission that the emperor asked me to delay for a few days here has been completed, we can now return to Constantinople to resume our duties."

"Yes, but what about the tail behind?" Steward Smith asked Andrea for instructions. After they left Thessaloniki, they were still worried about their Venetians who sent a clipper to follow them.

"Do you want it?"

"No need, just let them do whatever they want. Tell the people below not to tangle with the Venetians head-on at this time." Understanding the implication of the steward's words, Andrea was indeed uncomfortable with being followed behind, but it was just that

Now that he has a mission, he should keep a low profile in everything.

"Yes, I will instruct my subordinates to notify you immediately." After receiving the instructions, the steward, who was not at all sloppy, bowed and prepared to leave.

But as soon as Smith turned around, Andrea suddenly stopped him, "Wait a moment, go and give instructions to the captain, we will change the route to Lemnos later."

"Lemnos?" The steward was slightly startled. If he needed supplies, wouldn't it be more convenient to go to Thassos on the way back to Constantinople?

"Just do as I say." He ordered with calm eyes, and the young Genoese nobleman did not explain any more.

Not daring to disobey the master's order, Steward Smith immediately conveyed Andrea Doria's order to everyone on the ship. After receiving the instructions, the captain of the Genoa flagship was surprised by the young noble's request, but he still dispatched

The sailors holding the oars under their decks turned the sailing ship around and sailed towards Lemnos in the south.

…

On the other side, behind the Genoese fleet, a Venetian clipper was following leisurely. This situation had been going on for a day and a night, and the other party seemed to have no intention of hiding its traces. The captain of this ship was Naso.

Giovanni of the Vegagiosso family, he carried out the tasks given to him by Ranieri Dandolo full of resentment. As a participant in the Fourth Crusade, the Vegagiosso family was originally the Dandolo

Loyal followers of the family, Giovanni's fathers performed outstandingly in the battle to capture Constantinople and thus received the title of "Grand Duke", Emperor of the Latin Empire, but this violated the taboos of the Venetian Republic. Later,

, because of this incident, he fell out with the then-living consul Enrique Dandolo, but fate played a trick on people. The Lemnos island promised by Baldwin I did not materialize. The rebellious Greek pirates occupied it and became disgraced.

Navigagioso directly became the laughing stock of Venice and was ostracized. Giovanni, who was sent to Gandia, naturally had a hard time under Enrique's son Ranieri. This time he attacked Thessaloniki.

At the beginning, one of his family's ships was burned by a Greek trap, and now he has to take the risk of following the Genoese fleet with the only remaining ship.

Simply, Giovanni chose to follow the Genoese openly, without any concealment. On the one hand, it was a shame, and on the other hand, he did not believe that the Genoese would dare to openly take advantage of him with the golden lion flag.

"Lord Giovanni, the Genoese are heading south." Just as he was thinking about what to do next, Giovanni's men came up behind him and reported the current situation to him.

"Going south? What are these Genoese people doing!" Giovanni, who was very surprised, immediately got out of the cabin and looked at the sea ahead. The Genoese fleet had indeed changed its sailing direction. For a moment, he also

Confused.

According to Ranieri's guess, weren't these guys supposed to go to Constantinople? Why did they go south? The Venetian noble thought suspiciously.

The men on the side asked: "Then shall we follow, sir?"

Seeing the Genoese fleet ahead gradually moving away, Giovanni, who was still hesitating, finally gritted his teeth and asked his men to follow him. "Keep following, no matter what, it will be difficult to turn back now." Ranieri Dandolo asked him before.

Once he discovered that Constantinople was colluding with the Genoese, he immediately returned to report it. Without getting any evidence, Giovanni knew that he would be sent to lead the battle again when he returned to the battlefield. He thought that instead of doing this, he might as well use this as an excuse to stay away from this area.

A place of right and wrong. So at the insistence of the Venetian men, the other sailors had no choice but to agree to their commander's order and follow the Genoese fleet towards the wider sea in the south.

…

In this way, a Venetian clipper leisurely followed the Genoese fleet out of the bay south of Thessaloniki, entered the Aegean Sea with a wider view, and headed south along the narrow three-forked peninsula.

, compared to the war-torn scenes on land, the sea was as peaceful as in another world. There was no fighting or hatred, and the sound of the rolling waves echoed in his ears like a girl singing softly. Giovanni was intoxicated on the deck.

Enjoying the morning sea breeze, he finally understood why the Venetian, in addition to having a wife who bore him children on land, also wanted to stay with the elusive woman of the sea.

A whole day has passed since it sailed into the Aegean Sea. Giovanni's ship has been following the Genoese, keeping a distance visible to the naked eye. Now he is basically sure that the other party is heading to Lemnos Island. But there

It should be occupied by Greek pirates now. He was confused and found it increasingly difficult to understand what this group of Genoese wanted to do.

Ahead, the Genoese fleet was about to round the last spike of the Trident. After circumnavigating the peninsula and sailing a long distance, they could reach the island of Lemnos. When he thought about it, Giovanni became furious.

, Lemnos was originally a trophy promised to their family by the Latin Empire, but it was occupied by a group of Greeks, which directly disgraced the reputation of their Navigagioso family.

Just when Giovanni was thinking about other things, his thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the exclamations of his men. Following the direction pointed by the people around him, the man looked over and saw a sound of wind and sound in front of him.

Sea of ​​mist.

What about the Genoese?

The man was shocked. In just a blink of an eye, his entire fleet had disappeared! And there was only one possibility left.

"Have they gone in there?" Giovanni, who was feeling a little uneasy, ordered his speedboat to slow down and slowly approach the foggy sea ahead. Obviously, if he wanted to continue to follow the Genoese, he had to cross

Pass here.

But just as the Venetian nobleman was hesitating, drumbeats suddenly sounded faintly in the fog that was already close at hand. Years of experience at sea instantly alerted the eyes of all the Venetians on the ship.

On the deck, the sailors couldn't help but clenched the weapons in their hands.

Obviously, such drumming means that pirates are coming towards them!

I saw a tall mast piercing the thick fog on the sea, and the black flag carried by the sea wind broke through the clouds and fog, revealing the outline of not one but several warships in front of the Venetians.

This was a big trouble. Without thinking, Giovanni immediately rushed to the side of the ship and shouted to the sailors rowing under the cabin, "There are pirates, turn around immediately. Turn around immediately!" The sudden appearance of several pirate ships caused a panic.
Chapter completed!