Their enemies were not unaware of the Bosporus's movements.
For example, after Janik Bey Emir fled in a panic from Yavuz Kemal to Ordu, he quickly understood the enemy's intention to pick off isolated units based on the current enemy-controlled areas, and attempted to work with Kandar to break the Bosporus's encirclement of Özil.
Özil Pasha himself, upon learning that the enemy had devoured the 500 men he had left in Giresun as backup, broke out in a cold sweat and planned to retreat into Janik territory to reorganize his attack.
However, it's easy to get in, but hard to get out; now that this most troublesome Janissaries unit had finally been lured into the encirclement, how could the Bosporus possibly let them go?
Therefore, no matter the intensity of the attacks from Janik and Kandar, the Bosporus Army's front line showed no signs of retreating.
Moreover, the Janissaries unit led by Özil did not give up on any form of self-preservation.
After entering the Pontus region and realizing they had fallen into a trap, they had, under the Pasha's leadership, actively plundered villages, towns, and estates, attempting to obtain supplies to sustain themselves until reinforcements arrived or they could break the encirclement.
However, this plan also miscarried due to the Bosporus Army's premeditated preparations.
When Özil led his troops to Kayadibi and ordered his soldiers to "requisition grain" on the spot, he was surprised to learn from his subordinates' reports that the village was completely uninhabited, and there were no wheat or grains available for them to seize.
"No, this, this can't be possible?!" Upon hearing this, Özil Pasha, who was in the military camp at the time, was completely stunned.
Having not anticipated such a situation, he immediately ordered the map that the Emir had prepared for him earlier to be brought out.
After a careful inspection and confirming the map was accurate, Özil, with a start, vaguely perceived the truth, "Allah above, did these Romans move all the villagers and herdsmen from the border area in advance?"
Let's rewind the clock further, back to the military conference the Bosporus Army held specifically to defeat the enemy—
"So, in summary," Manuel said to the Generals gathered under him, making his arrangements with a solemn expression, "when everything is ready, first feign a retreat of several stadia along the coastline to Giresun, which borders the frontier, to lure the main Janissaries force opposite us into our territory.
During this time, hold the mountains and forests firmly; do not yield any ground on any front outside the coastline.
Afterward, Tukharovsky, Dungar, remember to shift your forces to the heart of Janik, cutting off all enemy detachments.
I will also arrange for the navy to conduct an amphibious landing on the coastline temporarily occupied by the enemy.
Finally, it will be the counterattack battle within our territory or along the coast.
"And before that, residents around the western border must also be temporarily relocated to prevent the enemy from obtaining supplies within our territory.
During the relocation, if necessary, coercive measures can be considered at discretion," Manuel specifically added at the end.
This was precisely why Özil's unit found no one in Kayadibi village.
When his soldiers inspected the village inside and out and reported that traces of human life were still very evident, Özil was absolutely certain that the Bosporus had collectively relocated the villagers not long ago to prevent them from obtaining provisions on the spot.
He had been completely outmaneuvered!
Upon realizing this, he broke out in a cold sweat.
But even so, Özil Pasha still did not intend to easily give up the possibility of striking directly at the enemy's center.
After a night of deliberation, he decided to continue leading his army deeper into Pontus.
He did not believe that all the villages under Bosporus's rule had been fortified and cleared or forcibly relocated.
Indeed, with the Gavras Dynasty's current administrative capacity in Pontus, being able to coerce and entice a small portion of the population to relocate during wartime was already quite remarkable.
But he seemed to have underestimated the enemy's emphasis on this war and their military capabilities.
When he led his troops around the castle clusters and arrived at the city of Tripolis, he found that the enemy was already prepared and waiting, and upon seeing unfamiliar faces and clothing, they immediately unleashed their firearms and crossbows upon this enemy force that had penetrated deep into their territory.
Initially, under the sheer strength of the Janissaries and their auxiliary units, the forces on both sides, both on and below the city walls, managed to maintain a stalemate.
But as reinforcements from Giresun and other areas arrived, the situation once again tilted in favor of the defenders.
Seeing no hope of breaching the city, Özil was forced to use a stratagem to escape again, intending to rush to the Giresun area to rendezvous with the troops he had left there earlier and seek another path.
Truth be told, Muhammad Ozil, the General of the Black Sea Coastal Legion, was quite adept at leading troops.
After all this trouble, the main force he led had suffered no significant losses, and the elite Janissaries had basically retained their full combat strength.
However, the 500 soldiers he had left around Giresun were not so fortunate.
After Caesar Manuel himself took to the field, they were, as previously mentioned, completely annihilated by the Bosporus Army.
Now, Özil, who had returned to Giresun, was dumbfounded again.
During this back-and-forth maneuvering, the morale of the nearly 2,000 men he led was sustained by their General's promise.
Seeing that the General's promised escape was almost impossible to achieve, the morale of this formidable Janissaries unit finally began to decline.
They had not failed to attack the Bosporus Army's supply lines to replenish themselves.
But being in enemy territory, and blind due to intelligence errors, they found no enemy granaries or supply points whatsoever.
Thus, after three consecutive failed attempts to break the encirclement, some of the soldiers, feeling there was no way out, finally began to surrender to the enemy.
As a result, by early May, only about 800 people, including nearly 500 Janissaries warriors, were still with Özil.
At this point, these Janissaries were finally reduced to gnawing on tree bark and grass roots, things they had never eaten before and never imagined they would.
Even the warhorses they had always valued were killed by their own hands to provide blood and flesh for sustenance.
Their desperate situation naturally could not be hidden from the Bosporus Army.
Upon learning that the enemy had collapsed to such an extent, Manuel in the Giresun City Hall finally rubbed his hands together excitedly, preparing to claim their heads.
One morning in early May, downstream of the Batlama River in Giresun, Özil Pasha led his Generals and soldiers, encamped by the river.
Thanks to this river within Giresun, they were spared the fate of dying of thirst in the area.
Though what happened to them next was even worse.
As these Janissaries were enjoying a rare moment of relaxation, a disturbing commotion came from the upper and middle reaches of the river.
"Allah above, what is going on?" The astute Pasha immediately sensed that something was amiss.
Feeling an impending crisis, he immediately stood up and put on his dark red military uniform and feathered cap, which now looked like rags.
Just as he called his subordinates to put on their scale armor and helmets, a violent artillery barrage directly turned their encampment into a cloud of dust.
Then, before the Pasha could react at all, a group of Tatars, wielding scimitars, charged directly out of the dust.
Muhammad Ozil Pasha intended to meet them with his sword, but his head was immediately chopped off on the spot by their leader.