That night, after receiving Alexander's definitive reply, Özgür hurried back to the Erzurum area of White Sheep with his personal guards.
His master, Sheikh Hassan, was stationed there with his army, awaiting his cousin's change of heart.
From the current results, he had waited successfully.
However, there was still a considerable distance from Akçaabat to Erzurum, not to mention crossing a small section of the Pontic Mountains.
Therefore, it would take at least a week for the reinforcements from White Sheep to arrive.
After analyzing the situation with his subordinate lords, Alexander, holed up in Akçaabat Castle, breathed a sigh of relief and laughed heartily, "Ha, haha, hahaha.
A week is plenty!
Akçaabat has already stored enough provisions for a month, so a week is more than enough!
With the help of the White Sheep Army then, the situation will surely be reversed."
"But Your Highness, what if Bosporus attacks Akçaabat within a week? How should we respond?" one of his minor nobles asked uneasily.
"How is that possible?!
From Machka to Akçaabat, there are at least nearly a hundred lords and landlords loyal to us along the way.
They not only have some private soldiers but also at least 50,000 farmers and serfs under them.
As long as they are actively mobilized and utilize the mountainous terrain, these enemies from Tauris will be completely helpless against them." Alexander confidently raised his right index finger, making such a guarantee to his subordinates.
But he didn't seem to realize that few people would use their ancestral property to protect an incompetent liege, especially one like him who currently had no discernible advantage.
Roughly on the third evening after Özgür left Akçaabat with his personal guards, Manuel, after consolidating his forces, subjugating the lords who had previously sided with Alexander, and isolating Akçaabat, led the Bosporus Army to advance non-stop into the areas surrounding Akçaabat.
Manuel did not deliberately conceal his march this time, causing Alexander, who was feasting and carousing with Akçaabat's stored provisions, to nearly spit out the wine in his mouth upon learning of the military situation.
"What a joke! Are those lords and landlords all useless?!
What are their 50,000 people for?!
Even if they were 50,000 goats, letting them run wild in the mountains, it would take at least three days and three nights to catch them all!"
"So, Your Highness, what should we do now…?" Andrea, standing by, asked in confusion.
"Gather all forces, not one step outside the fortress!
Hold out until the White Sheep Turkmens arrive!" Alexander interrupted him with a hysterical tone and commanded.
"Yes, yes… Yes, Your Highness."
Due to Alexander's order to withdraw troops, all the defenders still scattered in the city's outskirts retreated to the fortress to hold their ground, allowing the Bosporus Army to seamlessly occupy the Akçaabat suburbs.
"It seems they plan to hold the castle and fortress, waiting for reinforcements.
The defenses here look quite thorough.
In that case, if White Sheep sends troops, we should try to minimize losses while ensuring the local defensive fortifications are as complete as possible.
Thinking about it, several lords who abandoned the dark and joined the light brought their private soldiers to show their loyalty this time.
Since that's the case…" Manuel, a veteran of many battles, analyzed quietly on his pony in the central army before entering the suburbs, and then he had a bold idea.
That evening, Alexander was surprised to find that after the Bosporus Army entered the suburbs, they did not attempt to attack the fortress but instead set up camp on the spot, seemingly out of some apprehension.
Alexander, as if grasping at a lifeline, repeatedly gathered the noble lords still under him to discuss countermeasures.
Just as they were endlessly debating whether to send scouts to test the enemy, a report from a patrolling soldier in the castle interrupted their pointless argument.
According to the soldier's report, while patrolling the castle, he saw several lords, dressed as such and accompanied by retainers, holding bows and shooting several arrows towards him.
Just as he thought he was about to follow the glory of the Lord, he found that the arrows that hit him had no arrowheads.
Picking them up, he discovered they were several letters.
Upon hearing this, Alexander, half-believing, asked the soldier to bring the letters.
After opening and reading them aloud, his face immediately became quite surprised and delighted.
"By the Holy Mother!
I knew it, these lords and landlords are still loyal and useful.
I recognize the signatures and handwriting on the letters, which shows they only feigned surrender.
See, aren't they showing their loyalty now?"
According to the content of these letters, these lords and landlords had only feigned surrender to Bosporus for self-preservation.
Now, seeing a good opportunity, they immediately found a chance to pledge their loyalty to Alexander.
At the end of the letters, they also revealed that Bosporus was currently storing provisions in the suburbs and warned that before dawn the next day, the defenses there would largely be in a vacuum state, hoping His Highness could make good use of it.
"But Your Highness, they might also be feigning surrender," Andrea, as a relatively experienced old noble, remained suspicious of these lords for the time being.
"To be fair, indeed." Alexander quickly thought of this possibility as well, "But this might be our last chance.
How about we send scouts to test them?"
Seeing that he had made up his mind, Andrea could only comply.
At midnight, Alexander secretly dispatched a small team of about 50 mountain light infantry to try and burn the provisions Bosporus had stored in the suburbs.
Alexander was restless all night, as his calmed mind had little confidence in this risky venture.
"Holy Father bless, Holy Mother bless.
If anyone returns alive, it will be a victory." He prayed to the painting of the Holy Mother hanging in the castle hall, sleepless through the night.
But to his and the other nobles' surprise, this night raid was surprisingly successful.
Not only did this commando unit successfully complete its mission, with all members surviving, but they even captured prisoners.
This almost made Alexander ecstatic, and when he asked the captain of this unit for details, his confidence surged even more.
According to the team captain's report, Bosporus had few provisions stored in the suburbs and only deployed fewer than a hundred laborers to guard them.
This reasonable arrangement made even the experienced Andrea nod repeatedly.
"It seems these lords and landlords might indeed be feigning surrender."
However, he quickly changed his tone, "But Your Highness, once might be an accident."
Alexander nodded in agreement.
Just as he was unsure whether to trust these lords, that evening, another letter was delivered to the castle via an arrow.
Its content was largely similar to the last, concerning Bosporus's provision storage location, except this time it was not in the suburbs but closer to the mountainous forest area, and there was also a small contingent of troops guarding it.
After half a moment of hesitation, Alexander still sent troops this time to try and burn Bosporus's provisions.
However, to account for any unforeseen circumstances, he specifically dispatched a force of nearly a hundred men.
"This time, it probably won't succeed," he thought regretfully, watching the departing troops.
To his surprise, he was wrong again this time.
At midnight that day, Alexander joyfully received the successful returning troops.
Although they had lost about ten men, they still completed their mission this time, burning a large amount of provisions stored at that location and beheading several of the guards.
This victory made Alexander's heart pound with excitement, and he decided that next time these letters revealed the location of most of the enemy's provisions, he would personally lead the army to reclaim his rightful prestige.