Outside Kerch City —
The Genoa army continuously bombarded the city walls with their superior catapults and trebuchets. However, the defending forces within the city did not sit idly by; they shot crossbow bolts, fired gunpowder, and hurled stones at the enemy's siege forces from the city walls. At the same time, they repaired the damaged sections of the wall.
Although the Kerch defenders were largely at a disadvantage, Antonio Vargas, Carlo Merlo's deputy General and the commander of the Genoa siege army, felt considerable pressure.
"Are the city walls of Kerch really that strong? To what extent have these Eastern Orthodox prepared?" He looked at the city wall before him, which still had no breaches, and couldn't help but vigorously pinch his beige tendrils.
It would be troublesome if Theodoro's main army arrived. Although Carlo Merlo had dispatched elite mercenaries to Vargas to ensure effectiveness, their numbers were not particularly large. Even though the Genoa army had forcibly conscripted farmers and herders from the outskirts as cannon fodder, against the enemy's relatively sturdy fortifications, these cannon fodder were of little use beyond consuming more stone and wood.
The defenders on the city walls had an even harder time. Facing these cannon fodder, some of whom they even recognized, some soldiers hesitated and were unwilling to act. Noticing the soldiers' unusual behavior, Mirimijin, the General of the defending forces, clad in armor on the city wall, quickly commanded: "This is not the time for hesitation. This is all a trick by the Genoese. If we show weakness here because of people we know, then we will be like them next. Issue the order: if there is any sign of hesitation when facing the enemy, execute them immediately!"
Under the command of the defending Generals, led by him, the efficiency of the defense temporarily recovered. Facing Theodoro's defenders, who were desperately holding the city, Vargas, realizing there was no immediate progress, had no choice but to order a halt to the futile attack. Kerch City successfully repelled the first wave of attacks from the Genoa army.
Facing these relatively well-prepared defenders, Vargas began to consider methods other than a direct assault. Of course, it wasn't that a direct assault was impossible, but it would certainly result in casualties among the elite soldiers of the Genoa army, which was unacceptable to them.
In that case, he could only lure the defenders out of the city to deplete their effective strength. A good idea suddenly came to Vargas's mind.
Near noon, the scouts sent out by Kerch were surprised to find that the Genoa army was retreating, and in an urgent manner, even abandoning some supplies. This immediately puzzled the defenders within the city, and the Generals, facing what seemed like a golden opportunity, discussed animatedly.
"General, this is an opportunity," Mirimijin's deputy General said, seeing the situation, and began to urge him to pursue. But he knew that although the Genoese had failed in their first attempt to take the city, they still held the advantage. If they sallied out for an open battle now, it would be certain death. So, he appeased those around him, telling them to be patient, wait, and carefully observe the Genoa army's true movements.
As a result, until noon, there were no signs of the enemy returning to attack the city; instead, they continued to retreat, some even returning to their ships. Other soldiers returned to the places where supplies had been scattered, driving civilians to move them back. This completely put the city's defenders at ease, and some of Mirimijin's deputy Generals, seeing this great advantage, once again urged him to sally out and pursue.
Mirimijin was finally persuaded, but to be cautious, he only mobilized 1,500 soldiers for the pursuit, while the rest remained to defend the city. As the gates of Kerch City opened, a large number of Theodoro Army poured out, hoping to capture enemy soldiers or directly claim their heads, earning military merits for themselves to gain titles or land.
However, some Generals soon regretted it, because they found that their soldiers were not uniformly pursuing the Genoa army, but instead were scrambling for the supplies they had left behind. This made Mirimijin uneasy, and he ordered preparations for a retreat. But those undisciplined soldiers completely ignored him.
On the other side, after learning that Theodoro's army had finally sallied out, Vargas looked at the warships carrying a total of 750 soldiers, which had been urgently transferred from Matrega at his request and lent to him by Alberto Merlo during their retreat. A faint smile appeared on his face, and then he ordered: "The time has come. All troops, listen to my command: counterattack."
"Yes." The Genoa soldiers, who had been somewhat resentful during the feigned retreat, seemed relieved, their faces beaming with triumphant smiles. They formed tight military formations and charged back towards their original positions.
"Ah, this is... No good, all troops retreat!" Mirimijin saw a large black mass of soldiers in the distance gradually growing larger, and immediately made a decisive decision, ordering a retreat. But many of the soldiers scrambling for supplies were unwilling to abandon the valuables they had plundered, causing the retreat speed to become extremely slow. Seeing this, Mirimijin no longer cared about many things. To ensure that the majority of these 1,500 men could successfully retreat back into the city, he personally led several deputy Generals and the disciplined soldiers of the army to cover the retreat from the rear.
Soon, as the sun began to dip slightly to the west, the two armies began to clash. The Genoa army was well-equipped. Although many had to return from the ships to lure the enemy, they were more than enough to decisively defeat Theodoro Army, whose armaments and discipline were far inferior. The vast majority of Theodoro Army, still wearing only leather armor or even no armor, were quickly either severely wounded and fell, or lost their lives when charged by the Genoa armored infantry and cavalry. The scene instantly turned into a crushing defeat for Theodoro.
Even under such unfavorable circumstances, Mirimijin still maintained the basic formation of the entire army to the greatest extent possible, preventing it from collapsing too quickly. It was also due to his relatively competent command that the Genoa army was temporarily unable to completely break through their lines.
But Mirimijin made a mistake, both significant and minor. While fighting on the front lines to encourage the morale of the entire army, he always conspicuously charged at the very front without wearing a face helmet. Even with the cover of his deputy Generals and soldiers, he was constantly testing the boundaries of life and death.
But his misfortune soon arrived. Vargas's personal guards, after roughly confirming the position and identity of the enemy's General, informed Vargas. At this moment, facing this enemy General, the expression on his face turned cold. He then sat on his warhorse and, through a messenger, announced the enemy's position and appearance to the entire army, generously offering a reward: "Whoever successfully captures the enemy General, regardless of whether he is alive or dead, will be rewarded with 10,000 Genoa vinols and a village fiefdom."
The Genoa army erupted, and Mirimijin, realizing they were charging towards him, began to retreat to the rear, but it was too late. Several fully armored knights held him and his deputy Generals in check. As he struggled with them, a Genoa crossbowman shot a cold arrow at his head and neck.
It wasn't until the arrow was close to him that Mirimijin cried out in his heart, "No good!" But the arrow's speed was far quicker than his reaction. The carotid artery in his neck was pierced, causing him to immediately lose his balance and fall from his horse, directly trampled by the warhorses of those knights. The General of Kerch, Ioannis Mirimijin, died on the spot.