Let me introduce you, this is my girlfriend, the Israeli boxing champion

5. Miserable 77, tool man, wetland noob, bowling master, hard to describe. This rainy start is comparable to my torpedo level in the F1 game.

6. Red Bull is such an unlucky guy. It seems that Red Bull has never picked up a wallet. It always falls to the ground and becomes a wallet...

7. Lock&Lock, don’t cry. Mom loves you.

8.Finally add master yyds!

Chapter 212 The Sack of Constantinople (Part )

On June 6, the Balkan coalition led by Skanderbeg captured Epirus, the ancient city where King Pyrrhus the Great was born.

Compared to the soldiers behind him who were cheering, Skanderbeg's face was not much better. He hurriedly gave orders to his soldiers and rushed to the dock with his personal guards.

The Epirus region is mainly mountainous, but the existence of the Isthmus of Corinth makes the strategic significance of this region extremely important. The small island opposite the isthmus is the legendary place where the Ottomans fell - Kefalonia.

Or rather, Corfu.

Skanderbeg did not have to wait long, and soon the caravel with the flag of the Lion of St. Mark appeared in his sight.

When he boarded the ship, he found that everyone had sad faces and looked listless, and some devout people were even muttering:

"Tell me, when will the end of the world be, and what will it be like? How will people know that the end is near, that it is on the threshold? What will be the signs of the end? Where will this city, the New Jerusalem, go? What will become of the holy churches that stand here, the venerated icons, the relics of the saints, and the books? Tell me."

"What happened in Constantinople?"

"We have failed. All the efforts made by the Catholic Church have been in vain."

The Venetian governor Minotu sat on a box with a dejected look on his face, his shoulders drooped weakly, and he shook his head in disappointment.

"When we saw the dawn of victory, two unexpected things happened."

Finally, the deputy commander of the Teutonic Knights stood up and told Skanderbeg everything that had happened in Constantinople in those short three hours.

Half a kilometer north of the battle line, facing the position of the Blachen Palace, the three Borghiardo brothers of Genoa had previously successfully repelled the Yericheni who attacked here, and from time to time they attacked from the Charisios Gate, constantly harassing the last elite Ottoman troops in the form of guerrilla warfare.

It was a side door hidden in the corner of the city wall, and that door would fulfill the ancient prophecy. It seemed that an Italian soldier had returned from an attack, and perhaps because of the joy of victory or because of excessive fatigue, he forgot to close the small door behind him.

As the sky got brighter, some soldiers of Karaga saw the open gate. At first, they thought it was a trap set by the defenders. The gate was small and the troops could be easily blocked and killed in the passage if they rushed in. After careful consideration for a long time, a commander of Yerichen decided to take a risk. He led about 50 soldiers to rush into the gate, and ran up the stairs to the city wall, catching the defenders there by surprise.

"From your tone, I can tell you that you've reacted despite being caught off guard."

"That's right. Just like the Ottoman soldiers who rushed into the city earlier, these soldiers who fell from the sky did not cause much damage. When we came to our senses, we quickly surrounded and killed them."

"—but they had already torn down the flags of St. Mark and the Imperial flag from some of the towers and replaced them with Ottoman flags. The three who were directly facing the main Ottoman offensive did not know this."

"Oh, God. What is this, an Achilles' heel?"

The importance of military flags is self-evident, especially for the Roman Empire, one of the earliest countries in the world to use military flags.

That is why Skanderbeg felt sorry for what seemed like a joke of fate.

"But this is not the main reason. Worse things are yet to come. Among the three commanders who fought against the main Ottoman force at the St. Romanus Gate, one was carried to the back for treatment due to injuries, and the other..."

"Giovanni Giustiniani, killed in action."

For Christians, it was because God refused to hear their prayers; for Muslims, it was because Allah heard their prayers. For the bookish Greeks, the moment was straight out of Homer: according to Clitoboulos, “evil and cruel fate” had caused the sudden reversal of the battle, and the calm and ruthless goddess, watching with the indifference and detachment of the Olympians, decided to tip the scales of war, knocking the hero to the ground and turning his heart to dust.

There are many different accounts of what happened, but everyone knows what it meant. His Genoese soldiers were terrified at that moment. As for what happened next, the accounts are very fragmentary and inconsistent, and there are more than a dozen different accounts of how he fell. Some say he was shot in the right leg with tetanus; some say he was shot in the chest with a crossbow; or that he was stabbed in the abdomen from below while fighting on the wall; or that a lead bullet pierced the back of his arm and penetrated his breastplate; or that he was hit in the shoulder by a musket; and still others say that a friendly soldier accidentally shot him from behind, or that he was stabbed deliberately.

In the end, it was Fatih who gave everyone the answer: he brought two or three men to the edge of the archers' attack range, and used the lead bullets in his muskets to accurately penetrate the upper body armor of the limping Giovanni. This tiny wound became the last straw that broke the camel's back.

Giovanni had fought non-stop since the siege began, and mentally he was exhausted. He had already been wounded once at the beginning of the final battle, and a second wound had completely brought him down.

The Genoese soldiers carried him back to the ship and took him home. They went to the emperor and asked him for the key to one of the city gates. Basilius knew how dangerous it would be if his main command palace fell after he personally dealt with Alvin, but these Genoese were unwilling to stay for long, so he could only "reluctantly" hand over the key.

The gates were opened, and Giovanni's guards, against their commander's will, carried him to his galleys anchored in the Golden Horn. It was a disastrous decision. The open gates were an irresistible temptation for the other Genoese; seeing their commander withdraw, they flooded through the gates and followed suit.

"Except Giovanni, these Genoese are just a bunch of idiots." The deputy commander of the Knights Hospitaller cursed. He was ashamed to be associated with these people who were greedy for life and afraid of death and went against the will and orders of their superiors.

"Where's Basilius?"

"Basilius and his retinue made a desperate effort to stop the fleeing Genoese, and he gave urgent orders not to allow any Greeks to leave their positions with the Italians, and ordered them to form up and move forward to close the gap in the line."

"The last Roman emperor died in battle, and the Ecumenical Patriarch also died in the city. The pagans looted for three days and three nights, and burned Constantinople to the ground."

"The Roman Empire is dead."

Chapter 213 The Sack of Constantinople (Part )

Those great kings who have left their names in history do have powerful insights that ordinary people do not possess. Fatih, who was outside the city, quickly realized that the balance was unbalanced due to his previous shot, and he instantly seized this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

"Jihad fighters, we will win!" he shouted. "Just a little harder and Istanbul will be ours!"

Led by Jafer Bey, one of the Sultan's most trusted officers, the Yerichenis rushed forward, shouting "Allahu Akbar".

"Go, my eagles! Go, my lions!"

The Sultan also drew his scimitar and rushed forward, but was soon drowned in the fanatical Yericheni soldiers. They heard the Sultan's encouragement and remembered the huge reward for being the first to plant a flag on the city wall, so they rushed towards the temporary barrier without hesitation.

Ulugh Bat Hasan, the gigantic Yericheni standard-bearer, carried the Ottoman flag aloft and advanced with 30 of his comrades. He covered his head with his shield, rushed up the ramparts, beat back the wavering defenders, and stood firm on the top of the ramparts. He stood there for a while, holding the flag aloft, inspiring the Guards soldiers to advance. This giant of the Guards finally planted the prophet's flag on the walls of the Christian city, a thrilling moment of Ottoman courage that was destined to become part of Ottoman mythology.

But soon the defenders rallied and retaliated with a barrage of stones, arrows, and spears, and Constantine himself led the army to recapture the city, stabbed Hassan to death with his spear, and threw the giant's body over the city wall.

But around them, more and more guards climbed up the walls or rushed in through the gaps in the ramparts. But around them, more and more guards climbed up the walls or rushed in through the small door. Thousands of people began to pour into Constantinople's positions like a flood that broke through the dam, and they ruthlessly pushed back the defenders with their superior numbers.

Soon, the defenders were pushed to the inner wall. In front of the inner wall was a trench, which was formed by digging earth and building a rampart. Some people were pushed into the trench and trapped there. They couldn't climb out, and the only fate waiting for them was death.

At this point in the story, the outcome of the Battle of Constantinople has basically been decided.

The Ottoman army poured into the defenders' positions along the expanding battle line. The defenders bombarded them from the ramparts, and although waves of Ottoman soldiers were knocked to the ground, the torrent was unstoppable. In just 15 minutes, tens of thousands of Muslims rushed to the top of the city, and their horrifying shouts were like hell to the Christians who were already at a disadvantage.

The Ottoman flag on the tower near the Charisius Gate was finally discovered, and the terrible thought of "Constantinople has fallen" appeared in the minds of all the Crusaders. Like dominoes, many defenders fell into a complete panic. They turned around and fled, looking for a way to escape the closed position and return to the city. At the same time, Fatih's soldiers had begun to climb the inner wall with ropes and shoot at the fleeing defenders from a high position.

There was only one escape route for the defenders - the small city gate that Giovanni had passed through when he was evacuated. Other gates were still closed. The defeated defenders rushed to the side gates, and everyone wanted to escape quickly, trampling on each other. The living people in front of the gates piled up into a small mountain, making it impossible for anyone to escape.

Paulo Borghiardo was wounded in the head. They realized that they would soon be surrounded. But fortunately they fought their way out and led their troops back to the Golden Horn.

Venetian Admiral Barto paid with his own life to buy time for the alcalde Minotu and the sailors who had left the galleys to retreat, as did the Grand Masters of the Teutonic Knights and the Knights Hospitaller.

Some people accidentally fell and were trampled to death. Others were slaughtered by the Yericheni who swept in from the ramparts in neat formations. The dead bodies piled up like a mountain, blocking the escape route. The defenders who survived from the ramparts were all killed.

The same thing happened at every other gate—the Caligaria Gate, the Golden Gate, with corpses piled high and blood flowing like rivers, because those who fled there had no way to escape the enclosed position.

It was the Yericheni who finally opened the gates. A group of Yericheni climbed over the pile of corpses and forced open the fifth military gate. They entered the city, and some of them turned to the left to open the Caligaria Gate from the inside; others went to the right and opened the most important St. Romanus Gate, and at the same time began to clean up the dead Crusaders in preparation for the ceremony of welcoming the Sultan into the city.

The Ottoman army, with bloodshot eyes, quickly rushed into the city, while the Sultan stood in front of the magnificent city wall - his great banner and horsetail flag were erected there, watching the surrounding scene with indifference but high-spiritedness.

The Prophet (peace be upon him) is said to have said: "They will conquer Constantinople, and the king and the army who accomplish this feat will be honored!"

Conquering Constantinople has been the dream of countless Muslims and successive Ottoman sultans for many years. Today, I, Fatih, the seventh Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, conquered this Queen of Cities in the name of true faith and ended Rome's rule over Constantinople, the Pearl of Europe.

From now on, I am the Emperor of Rome.

“Or so it will be.”

It was daybreak. The sun was rising. Ottoman soldiers advanced among the dead, beheading the dead and dying. Large birds of prey circled overhead.

It took less than five hours from the breach of the Charissius Gate to the complete defeat, and in just these five hours, the defense of Constantinople collapsed.

In the midst of this breathless, panic-stricken, desperate struggle, legend has it that Constantine XI was glimpsed for the last time, with his most loyal followers still guarding him - Theophilus Palaiologos, John Dalmata, Don Francisco de Toledo, his companions, his military advisors, his generals, and finally Halfdan, the captain of the Varangian Guard.

According to an unreliable eyewitness, the emperor fought on until his final moments, but finally collapsed, was trampled under the feet of the crowd, and finally disappeared from history into a legendary afterlife.

"Who was that witness?"

In Chaldea's medical room, Olga Marie was recording while questioning Alvin who was lying on the bed.

"As you can see, it's right in front of you."

Alvin used his left hand to adjust himself so that he was leaning against the pillows, closing his eyes at the same time.

"Because I still have some things to do... like collecting Constantine's body."

Chapter 214 We were all wrong, Constantine

When Alvin woke up again, he found himself lying in Blachnell Palace. Judging from the surrounding environment, it should be a small room somewhere that only a few people knew about.

He supported himself with his hands and tried to sit up, but his right hand, which was always weak, made him feel as if something was missing from his body.

"Hiss—it hurts."

For Alvin, the pain was only temporary and severe, but he was more vulnerable than it at that moment.

"I can't use any strength at all. On the contrary, it hurts so much when I move. It feels like my body is falling apart... Ah, I did bandage it properly."

He touched his right shoulder with his left hand. Good. Judging from the extent to which Constantine had stabbed him, his right hand, which had almost lost its ability to move, had become a decoration. In some ways, it would be better not to bandage it.

Because his right hand had been injured once, Alvin still felt somewhat good about his current situation - if he ignored the bandage on his shoulder that was gradually turning red.

Let's go to the top and take a look, he thought. After all, an unknown amount of time has passed and he needs to confirm what happened.

......Although the result is already determined.

To be honest, the location of Blachnell Palace was not very good. Not only was its proximity to the city wall, which reduced its defense level, but the long-disrepaired stairs were a bit shaky when stepped on. However, after seeing a kid named Manuel drawing on the wall, he became more convinced that there was something wrong with the route he had chosen.

But there was a reason why Alexios chose to build the Blachen Palace here. This is the location of St. Mary's Cathedral and the highest point in the whole of Constantinople. On the steep northern slope of the Sixth Hill, you can overlook the Golden Horn from the palace.

"Do you regret seeing this, Constantine?"

In the blink of an eye, the whole of Constantinople was in chaos. The collapse of the front was so dramatic and unexpected that many people were at a loss. Some soldiers who escaped from the land wall ran to the Golden Horn, hoping to board the ships there, while others ran to the front line.

Some civilians were awakened by the noise of the battle and took the initiative to go to the city wall to help the troops defend. On the way, they encountered the first wave of Ottoman soldiers who rushed into the city, burning, killing and looting along the way. These Ottoman soldiers waved their weapons at these unarmed citizens as if to vent their anger, and cut them all down - this is the most objective word.

The initial trigger for the massacre was the Ottoman soldiers’ fear and hatred of the Romans. After breaking through the city walls, they were suddenly in a maze of narrow alleys, confused and uneasy. Countless past experiences told them that they would encounter the most stubborn resistance from the Romans in street fighting, and they subconsciously believed that they would encounter a stubborn resistance from the army, and would never believe that the 15000 people defeated at the city wall were all the fighting power that the Roman Empire could bring out.

At the same time, the suffering that had lasted for nearly half a year and the taunts of the Greeks from the battlements had made the Ottoman legions in the Balkans hate their enemies to death.

Constantinople had refused to surrender, and now it had to pay the price.

Initially, the Ottomans’ massacres were intended to create a general atmosphere of terror. In a very short time, they killed everyone they saw with scimitars, regardless of age, health or disability. Some citizens put up a strong resistance, and the citizens threw bricks and paving stones at them from above... and threw torches at them, which may have further angered the Ottomans, and the direct result was that the streets were covered with blood and slippery.

The news of the fall of the city spread quickly throughout the Ottoman army, as the Sultan’s flag flew from the high towers of the Theodosian Wall. Along the shores of the Golden Horn, the defenders began to flee, and Galata’s sailors forced open gate after gate on the sea wall—not knowing what they were doing.

Soon, the Plataea Gate near the Venetian residential area was opened. With the leadership of this group of Genoese spies, the Ottoman troops that were supposed to stare blankly at the Fountain Valley were the first to penetrate into the city center.

Alvin saw more than that. In a relatively short period of time, the Ottomans carried out indiscriminate massacres. Constantinople was like a slaughterhouse, with corpses scattered all over the place. The panicked people sought to survive and protect themselves.

The Italians fled to the Golden Horn and boarded ships, while the Greeks fled back home to protect their wives and children. Some were captured on the way, while others finally returned home, only to find that their wives and children had been kidnapped and their belongings had been looted - although there was not much at all. Others were captured after returning home, and were tied up and shackled along with their relatives, friends and wives.

Many more people chose to return home before the invaders, realizing that surrender would not end well, so they decided to fight to the death to protect their families. Some hid in basements and cisterns, or wandered around the city in a daze, waiting to be captured or killed. The scene at the Church of Theodosia near the Golden Horn was particularly tear-jerking.

The next morning, a procession of the few faithful walked towards the church, blindly trusting in the miraculous power of prayer. Carrying the traditional gifts, ornate candles and sacred incense, they were stopped and abducted by Ottoman soldiers on the way to the church. None of the faithful escaped. The church, which contained a large number of votive offerings from the prayers, was also looted. The bones of Saint Theodosia were thrown to wild dogs. And even more unfortunate, many women woke up to find intruders in their boudoirs.

As time passed, the Ottoman army gradually calmed down and realized the truth - there was no organized resistance in Constantinople, so their massacre became more targeted and selective.

They slaughtered their old men, captured their young men, and then took the captives alive as trophies. They began to hunt for valuable slaves - young women, beautiful children. Those irregular troops of different nationalities, customs and languages ​​rushed to the front. Compared with the pagans, these so-called Christian brothers were more cruel to heretics, burning, killing, looting, destroying crazily, insulting at will, and capturing and enslaving all kinds of people, regardless of gender, age, or even priests and monks.

There is no doubt that Constantinople became a living hell on this morning.

"You are wrong, I am wrong, we are all wrong, Constantine."

Chapter 215 Is this why you set fire to Constantinople?

"Do you want me to continue?"

Alvin pursed his lips and pointed to Olga Marie at the three girls who were leaning against the window and looking at him.

"It's a little too early for them. Even a magician like Ophelia Famsolone is the kind of girl who grew up in the sun."

Alvin was somewhat thankful that they did not directly witness the hell-like scene, thanks to Leonardo da Vinci. If she had been a little slower, she didn't know what would have happened.

"Clap."

The door opened. It was opened by Romani. As a doctor, it was understandable for her to come in, but...

Romani shrugged with the medical record in her hand, looking helpless, while Ritsuka ran to Alvin with a pillow in her arms.

"Add one more, it will be more comfortable this way."

Alvin accepted the advice of the beautiful girl with long black hair very happily, but that doesn't mean he had no objection to it.

"So, who let you in?"

"That's what I mean, Alvin Vasago."

El-Melloi II walked in last and closed the door.

“This is something they have to go through.”

"I see."