The beaten usurper went crying to Pope Martin for more curses against the rightful heirs of Sicily, and for more treasure from the coffers of Holy Church. The requests of Charles of Anjou were promptly complied with. The King of Aragon was excommunicated, a crusade was declared against him, and more funds were supplied to the papal King, who then left Rome and proceeded to his nephew of France. Pedro III., with all his bishops and a loyal and united people at his back, cared nothing for the Pope’s curses. The Pope further gave orders to his Legate to absolve King Philip of France from all the promises he had ever made to the Aragonese kings; and to call upon him to engage in an iniquitous crusade against his neighbour and brother-in-law. The first act of hostility was the equipment of a fleet at Marseilles with the object of seeking out and destroying the galleys commanded by En Roger de Lauria. The Provençal Admiral Cornut had with him twenty-two well-armed galleys, and shaped a course to Malta, where he encountered the fleet of Lauria, numbering only eighteen sail. The two fleets, in order of battle, rammed each other, and then came to close quarters. The Catalans were well trained in the use of the crossbow. Every shot told, and before long the decks of the Provençal ships were cleared. The admiral of the Marseilles fleet, with his friends and officers, perished in the thick of the fight. All the twenty-two galleys became prizes to Lauria, and the glorious news was at once sent to Syracuse, spreading joy and gladness throughout the island. The castle and town of Malta surrendered, and both Malta and Gozo were transferred from the possession of Charles of Anjou to that of the Aragonese rulers of Sicily. The return of the fleet to Sicily was the occasion of great rejoicing. En Roger was received as a hero at Syracuse, Aci Reale, Taormina, and most of all at Messina, where the victorious fleet finally anchored. Such was the next reply to the Pope’s curses.