Not long ago Prince Theodor had a tug-of-war with the army of the Principal of Athens, the Roman Empire's navy was moored outside the Piraeus port in the rear. Although the empire's navy has been declining since Emperor Manuel, it has long lost its advantage in the Mediterranean. However, after Constantinople was captured by the Venetians, the Romans, who had learned from the pain, gradually realized the importance of the ocean to them. Therefore, a small fleet in Epirus had been prepared to be established. This time, Theodor was able to successfully raid and penetrate into the rear of the Principal of Athens, relying on the fleet in Thessali in his hands.

This is why after Justinian controlled Nafplion, Prince Theodor dared to take a risk of landing in and attacking the Principal of Athens. Without maritime threats, even if the Roman army encountered setbacks, as long as they controlled the Port of Piraeus, they could calmly take a boat and retreat.

However, all this was completely shattered with the arrival of the Venetian fleet that suddenly appeared. In the early morning, when the Roman seamen on the ship were still half awake, under the cover of the morning fog, a silent fleet slowly approached the unprepared Port of Piraeus like a poisonous snake, and the Romans did not notice it at all.

The horn of the battle was sounded. When the sleepy Roman Navy finally reacted, the Venetian fleet had completely completed the blockade of the Port of Biraeus. This immediately caused panic among the Roman Navy, especially when the enemy projected burning asphalt barrels to turn the port into a sea of ​​fire, the chaos of the Roman army had no one to stand alone, because the main force was in the city of Athens. Seeing that the situation was not good, countless people actually gave up the warships and fled to the shore because of fear. Therefore, even a small number of Roman Navy organized an offensive to attempt to break through the blockade of Venice was completely futile. They could not deal with the Venetian army that had been prepared. It can be said that the Venetians are now the undisputed overlords of the entire Mediterranean.

After seeing the Roman army in the port, the Venetian army immediately clamored to march. The boats rushed to the tower were so powerful, just like a terrifying sea beast appeared from the sea and made the remaining Roman army break up, and there was no point in resisting.

However, in a moment, the Port of Piraeus was the first to lose, and then the Venetians did not intend to stop, but landed quickly. As soon as the Venetian soldiers who had already prepared had opened the hatch, they sang loudly to chase the scared Roman army. They chased the Acropolis, which had been guarding the army, and then they heard it. Then the messengers who learned about the military situation rushed in and reported the emergency military situation from the rear despite the occasion.

As soon as these words came out, the seats were filled with shock and their faces were filled with disbelief. Whether it was Prince Theodor or his generals, there was more fear in their eyes than shock.

"What did you say?" A man with a trembling voice raised the messenger in front of him regardless of his identity and asked, wanting to confirm again whether he had heard it wrong.

However, the answer was desperate, and he heard the trembling messenger saying: "The port of Piraeus has fallen, and the defenders of the Acropolis are asking for our support!"

"Oh my God!" The general who was a little unstable let go of the soldier in front of him to the ground and fell to his senses, and the others present also frowned for a moment. This was undoubtedly the worst thing. Although they were not too panic, they actually had no idea in their hearts at this moment.

They were obviously planning to persuade Prince Theodor to give up attacking Athens, but now their retreat has been cut off by the Venetians. Now their situation has really plummeted as they had originally worried. It is even more than that. Now that they have no way out of it, they have gone deep into the enemy's territory and have no way of retreat. They are completely equivalent to being trapped in the joint siege of the Venetians and the Principal of Athens.

"What should we do, Your Highness?"

They looked at each other and were all talking before, but now they could only hope that Theodor Ducas in front of them could take them out of danger.

At this moment, Prince Theodor's face had disappeared, and was replaced by a calm and calm calmness. The man not only did not panic at this moment, but immediately made a decision.

"It seems that we were really careless. I never expected that the Venetians would roll up their sleeves and end up in person. How many of their numbers are they?" Prince Theodor asked while thinking, looking at the trembling messenger. Before making a response, he decided to understand the strength of the enemy. Theodor Ducas, who had suffered a loss once before, obviously did not make the same mistake again.

"There are almost 0 warships, Your Highness," the messenger replied quickly. This was exactly the number estimated by the defenders after seeing the Venetian Navy raid on the sea.

"Twenty ships... It seems that the Venetians have really become serious this time!" Theodor murmured to himself.

"But Your Highness, wasn't the Venetian army on Crete, the closest to here, defeated us at Fort Wiscary not long ago? How could this be so fast--"

"Fort Wiscarri? That's just a tough battle. In the final analysis, it's not a big blow to the opponent's navy." Theodor shook his head and said. Perhaps it was because of the previous defeat at Fort Wiscarri that attracted the attention of Venice.

"Then Prince, please make a decision quickly! I think it is entirely possible for us to break out of the position of the Principal of Athens to break out to the north and retreat to Thessaly. If this continues, we are likely to fall into the enemy's front and back attack." The impatient general on the side couldn't help but put forward his thoughts at this time. Since the Piraeus Port in the south has fallen, then going back is a dead end. Instead of doing this, it is better to attack north and catch the opponent off guard. Maybe it can save the current situation.

But as soon as this statement came out, the others were discolored. You should know that the Principality of Athens in the north was also waiting for heavy troops. At this time, a strong attack was undoubtedly taking huge risks. Therefore, this proposal aroused a lot of opposition as soon as it was said.

"Enough!"

With a reprimand, Theodor Ducas, who was looking at the map in front of everyone, raised his head and showed a serious expression, as if he was thinking about something. For a moment, everyone in the military tent was waiting for the man to make the final decision. However, what everyone did not expect was that Prince Theodor, who had finally broken the silence, actually nodded and affirmed the other party's seemingly crazy idea.

"The whole army packed up and went north to break through!"
Chapter completed!