Eagle Byzantium

Under the emperor's personal suppression, the camp of the Trajan Gate stood in silence, and no team dared to act rashly.

All supplies, equipment and materials were constantly transported from Philipsburg to replenish it. The things in Philipsburg came from Constantinople, and the materials in Constantinople were distributed from the city of Prusa. Caesar Brennus in Prusa continued to work diligently to transport materials from Asia Minor, Tripoli, and Cyprus.

A month passed quickly, but this did not mean that Gawain was dead - after the arrival of early winter, the Philippian Front on the southern front took the lead in launching military operations. The Nika and Opskin Brigades once again entered the Ato Peninsula and rushed to the Lavra Monastery.

This time, the two brigades had more than 10,000 soldiers, which was not the size of the two or three detachments of the Red Hand Brigade before. They were really unstoppable. The forests on the entire Ato Peninsula were set on fire by the vanguard soldiers, and the smoke obscured the surrounding ocean and rolled with the wind. In the firelight, the main forces of the two brigades advanced along the roads on both sides of the island, with reflections of breastplates and spear blades everywhere, while the scattered soldiers wore Komnenos-style "pot helmets" and some wore pointed helmets in the style of Minor Persia, holding torches and swords, searching and advancing in the mountains and forests in the center of the island in a dragnet-like manner.

Many natives and temple slaves hid everywhere, some did not dare to resist and were killed on the spot, while others raised bows and slings to fight bravely, but they were not a force at all - especially when facing the Nika Brigade. This group of soldiers had already bloodily suppressed the resistance of Orthodox believers and peasants in Lydia, and now they were killing without any burden. The bodies of the killed natives or temple slaves were lying in the rocks, grass and bushes.

The two armies began to merge at the southern end of the peninsula in half a day, and the final destination was to cross the Holy Mountain of Athos and capture the Lavra Monastery.

In the monastery, dozens of monks ran in panic, holding manuscripts, holy vessels, candlesticks and various icons, fleeing from the courtyard wall, and running along the rugged path to the ships on the seashore. There were several ships bound for Crete. The crew on the deck looked at the tragic flames and iron hoofs shaking in the north, and each wanted to escape as soon as possible.

This "great monastery" with a full 120 senior monks, which was established with the permission of Emperor John I, seemed to be facing a miserable end.

Or this peninsula soaked in glory and holiness was about to be flattened by the boots of lowly soldiers.

Patriarch Masdas stood upright in front of the altar of the monastery, looking up at the trembling house. Several priests around him wearing leather bags embroidered with gold crosses were uneasy and extremely terrified. They all persuaded the Patriarch to board the ship to Crete and meet John as soon as possible, otherwise he would not be able to leave.

"What are you afraid of? I want to see Gawain's brutal soldiers." The Patriarch was solemn and calm.

As soon as he finished speaking, a fire burst out from the courtyard of the monastery. Several cavalrymen attached to the brigade shouted wildly, and rushed into the courtyard with the sound of horse hooves like a rain of clattering. The two leading ones held short muskets in their hands and fired at the front hall. They were the "brutal soldiers" mentioned by the Patriarch.

In the smoke and the sound of muskets, the stone pillars in the front hall were beaten and splashed with flames, and a large piece of the murals was immediately broken. Before several monks in the monastery could shout, they were roped by the cavalrymen who broke in and dragged behind the horses' hooves. With miserable shouts and rolling sounds, they were transmitted to the courtyard.

After seeing Gawain's soldiers, the Patriarch was carried by several followers in a somewhat embarrassed manner and hurriedly ran from the back door to the mountain in the heavy dusk.

The dark blue mountains and the ocean almost merged into one. The mountains around the monastery were full of torches held by the soldiers, like the stars in the Milky Way. There were also two flames left on the seashore. They were emitted by the last brig that was stationed there. Before the Patriarch himself boarded the ship, this ship would not leave, no matter how great the risk was.

The Patriarch stumbled on the mountain road, and the night owls and unknown birds on the branches around were startled, circling and dancing with shrill cries.

Masdas regretted that in order to defend the Holy Mountain of Athos and highlight his dignity, he bravely stayed and waited for Isaac, Berdin and other rebel forces to come to his aid, while John left a few ships and returned to Crete to clear out the rebels.

But now Gawain launched a more fierce attack on him. Isaac, John and Berdin seemed to have forgotten him, each taking care of their own territory, leaving him alone on the holy mountain.

"Damn it, but I won't give in. Whether Gawain drags me to Adrianople or the Imperial City, it's just a change of battlefield where I can continue to fight him." With this mentality, Patriarch Masdas eliminated his previous regrets and ran breathlessly to the beach at the foot of the mountain.

The entire gravel land near the sea was lined with several weathered rocks, steep and precipitous.

The Patriarch held one of them and looked at the two-masted ship still tied to the seashore. He adjusted his breathing and straightened his clothes with his hands on his waist. He couldn't board the ship in an overly embarrassed posture, which would be an insult to his identity and faith.

"Hurry up, it's too late!" A priest holding a box, with veins on his forehead about to burst, trotted over to urge the Patriarch.

Behind the mountain, torches were arranged in formation, and from there, mixed with hurried commands and shouts, the pursuers had indeed discovered this place.

Masters looked back, straightened up, took an elegant step, and said to the priest holding the box who was running faster and faster in front of him, "My dear, the enemy's arrows can't hit the sail faster than me, you lead the way, I'll just walk behind."

The priest turned his head and looked at the Patriarch with an "unreasonable" expression, then continued to run like the wind, carrying the box on his back and climbing onto the noisy side and deck of the brig.

In the sea breeze, the Patriarch faintly heard the conversation coming from the ship, as if someone shouted, "Don't raise the sail, the one who is still walking towards us on the beach is Patriarch Masters."

In the night, the Patriarch showed a resolute smile, he walked towards the ship calmly, he knew it was time to show this ancient and unyielding empire a kind of "defender style".

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"How can there be no ambush here?" So Masdas spoke in an elegant and classic Greek accent, like a poetic drama, looking around, stepping on the soft gravel, and deliberately spoke loudly to the ship.

As soon as the voice fell, a team of cavalry with fluttering flags rushed from a narrow pass on the beach like lightning.

Screams were heard everywhere, and the Patriarch was also stunned.

In front of him, the brig hurriedly cut the rope tied to the shore. The priests on the deck cried, as if they were mourning his death in advance. Soon the ship left the shore in the shaking waves, leaving him alone on the land...

The 59-year-old Patriarch Masdas was captured by the attached cavalry of the Nika Brigade just before boarding the ship.