I Became The King Of Crusaders [EN]: Chapter 103

Became a King of the Crusades – Episode 103

The Bloody Eagle (3)

* * *

“Lord, have mercy…….”

“Glorious Virgin Mary, please have mercy and bless us…….”

Knights and soldiers alike murmured as they gazed at the scene before them.

A black wave filled their vision.

It was larger than anything they had seen before.

Dozens, hundreds of flags fluttered in the wind.

“They’re coming! Move it, move it!”

The soldiers moved.

They picked up the spears they had prepared in advance.

“The time has finally come. It’s time for a head-on fight with those German bastards.”

Hugh said, putting on his armor.

I also put on my chainmail with Aig’s help.

I felt the weight on my body and the cool touch of metal.

I held the helmet Theodora had given me in my hand.

The golden wings on either side of the helmet sparkled.

Hugh looked up at the sky and muttered.

“It looks like it’s going to rain soon. Roman rain doesn’t last long. If the ground gets wet, it will be harder for them to charge.”

“The Emperor will know that too. He’ll try to finish the battle before it rains.”

I said.

As Hugh said, it looked like it would rain soon.

The air was humid, and dark clouds were gathering everywhere in the sky.

Not a good day for a battle.

As I climbed onto the saddle, Burt neighed and shook his head.

A happy reaction.

Does this guy even know a fight is about to break out?

We walked forward.

Other nobles and knights flocked around us.

As time passed, I felt an overwhelming sense of anxiety and fear.

I clenched my fist without realizing it.

“Everyone looks tense. It’s no wonder.”

Aig muttered, looking at the opposite side.

The Holy Roman Empire knights were still gathering.

“I’ve never seen so many cavalry gathered in my life.”

“There’s one thing you don’t know, Aig.”

Hugh said in a loud voice, as if to make sure everyone heard.

He burst out laughing.

“There’s no one named Baldwin among all those knights.”

The knights who heard him burst out laughing.

Luark was the same.

He chuckled and said.

“You’re right for once, old man.”

“There’s no Baldwin on their side. There’s no Hugh, Luark, Guido, or Aig either,” I said with a smile.

The joke spread among the soldiers, easing the tension.

I approached Hugh.

“That’s what Hannibal said at Cannae [a major battle in the Second Punic War].”

“Hannibal also fought with far fewer troops than the Roman army. And he won a great victory.”

Hugh nodded.

“Then what can’t our Lombard League do?”

He looked at the Holy Cross placed in the center of the tent.

“How about praying to the Holy Cross before the battle?”

“Praying…….”

“King Baldwin IV prayed to the Holy Cross just before the Battle of Montgisard [a significant Crusader victory].”

Hugh said.

“Seeing that, the Crusader knights, with their morale boosted, literally crushed Saladin’s army. Saladin abandoned his troops and fled.”

“That sounds like a good idea.”

I looked at the Holy Cross.

A meaningless piece of wood to me.

But for Christians, there was no more sacred relic than this.

I had seen its influence firsthand over the past few weeks.

“Then it would be better to pray together than for me to pray alone.”

I told Aig to bring the Holy Cross forward.

After a while, a wagon carrying the Holy Cross approached.

We pulled the wagon and marched in front of the line.

Knights and soldiers alike knelt and prayed.

I could feel a new emotion spreading among them.

Awe.

The tension and fear melted away like snow.

“The Lord is with us!”

“Praise the Lord!”

The soldiers responded to my cry.

The words were slightly different from city to city, but the meaning was the same.

“He wills it!”

“For Jerusalem!”

Then the sound of a bugle rang out.

The black wave in front of us slowly moved.

“They’re coming!”

“To your positions! Prepare for battle!”

The wagon carrying the Holy Cross hurriedly moved back.

I also returned to the rear and picked up my telescope.

The infantry were the first to emerge from the enemy camp.

“Just as Duke expected. The Emperor has put the archers in the front.”

“Without the Genoese crossbowmen, they’re not much of a threat. He’s just trying to reduce our archers somehow.”

I said.

It would have been difficult if the Genoese mercenaries had intervened.

Soon the battle began.

Our archers and crossbowmen fired arrows and bolts at the enemy archers.

The arrows hit the prairie with a thud.

Not many of our soldiers fell.

Rather, the enemy archers, who had started the fight, could not withstand the damage and retreated in a hurry.

So far, so good.

But the important thing was what came next.

“They’re charging!”

A black wave.

The German knights charged, filling the prairie.

No more grass was visible.

* * *

“Keep shooting! Knock down as many as you can!”

Hundreds of arrows covered the plains.

The crossbowmen sweated profusely as they reloaded their crossbows.

“Aim for the horses! Aim low and shoot!”

The arrows and bolts in the baggage carts had long run out.

Young soldiers ran around the battlefield carrying quivers.

I scanned the battlefield with my telescope.

The first wave is this strong.

It was an incomparable amount compared to the last battle.

It’s like pouring a water bottle into a small teacup.

“Duke, shouldn’t we charge now? That would disrupt their momentum.”

“It’s not time yet, Aig.”

Hugh shook his head.

“The knights should be deployed last. Right now, the Emperor is just waiting for us to come out.”

“The Emperor still has reserves left.”

I nodded.

Besides, most of our knights had dismounted to support the infantry.

The basic pattern is similar to the last battle.

Enemy cavalry charging straight ahead.

And pike spearmen and knights blocking them.

But what has changed is the amount of enemies.

Thousands of heavy cavalrymen charged relentlessly like a tidal wave.

Is this the true power of the Holy Roman Empire?

The ground shook so much that it was hard to even stand properly.

The noise was deafening.

“They’re approaching on foot! Archers and crossbowmen, retreat to the passage!”

“Retreat!”

The archers and crossbowmen in the center of the formation covered the retreating allies.

Unlike the last time, the enemy knights did not blindly charge into the spear wall.

Instead, the first wave dismounted and cleared the obstacles in the passage.

The second and third waves approached quickly from behind.

‘They’ve come up with a countermeasure after all.’

Once the first wave cleared the obstacles, the follow-up troops would break through.

It was a simple but effective strategy.

Thousands of cavalrymen broke through the formation, surrounded the infantry from all sides, and destroyed them individually.

There was nothing more terrifying than this.

The German knights who cleared the obstacles did not get on their horses and jumped into the pike thicket [a dense formation of soldiers with long spears].

They hacked through the forest of spears with longswords, closing the distance.

Some spearmen flinched and stepped back.

“Holy Sepulchre Order! Knights! Everyone forward! Stop them from breaking through!”

The knights and Holy Sepulchre Order members, led by Luark, stepped forward to stop them.

They fought a bloody battle with the enemy in the midst of the spears that filled all sides.

It seemed difficult to swing their swords because of the spears.

Moreover, they were all wearing heavy armor.

The knights stabbed the enemy’s necks and eyes with daggers, and the Holy Sepulchre Order members struck and smashed the enemy’s heads with axes.

The sound of iron clashing against iron echoed.

The second and third waves were still approaching at a rapid pace.

“They’re going to break through the passage! Now’s the time for Greek fire [an incendiary weapon used in naval battles]……!”

“We won’t have another chance to use it if not now. Throw the pottery.”

Flags signaling the order went up.

“Throw the fire!”

“Everyone, step back!”

The soldiers waiting behind the spears threw black pottery.

The pottery that flew forward…….

“Aaaagh!”

Erupted in red and yellow flames.

The charging German knights hesitated and stepped back.

The startled horses reared up and cried out.

I breathed a sigh of relief.

This should buy us some time.

No matter how heavily armored they are, they can’t block the heat.

But this was only a temporary measure.

“It won’t last long.”

There wasn’t much Greek fire.

All we could do was stop the wave for a moment.

“Right now, the 4th Regiment should go forward and block the passage…….”

I constantly relayed orders to the messengers.

Reports from each unit continued to come in.

Requests for support, requests for retreat, requests for advance, and so on.

All of them were urgent.

I gave orders in a semi-trance.

There was no time to hesitate on the battlefield.

I had to trust my intuition and gut feeling to make decisions.

I divided the tens of thousands of emotions into chunks and grasped the battlefield.

At first, it was bearable, but after a few tens of minutes, my body staggered and my nose bled.

Hugh supported me.

“Duke! Rest for a moment. Guido and I will command the troops.”

“I’m just a little dizzy.”

I waved my hand.

I can’t afford to rest now.

“Soon the Emperor will realize that there are no troops in the forest. We have to finish the fight before that.”

The Emperor still had reserves left.

If the possibility of a surprise attack disappeared, he would surely deploy all the knights.

We had to move first before that.

“The Emperor probably thinks the spearmen will just stay in place.”

In the last battle, I deliberately took a passive strategy to deceive Friedrich.

To catch a seasoned lion, you need an elaborate trap.

Now it was time to draw out the Emperor’s reserves.

I looked at Hugh.

“Order the 1st Regiment to advance.”

* * *

“Everyone advance! Sons of Milan, be proud! Advance!”

Guido ran to the front of the formation.

The German knights were still trying to break through the central passage.

Now it was time to attack them from the side.

“Advance!”

The formation of thousands slowly turned and advanced.

The spears in the back, which had been pointing into the air, extended to the side.

A spear-tipped battering ram.

The 1st Regiment became a battering ram itself, pressing against the left flank of the German knights.

Archers and crossbowmen fired arrows and bolts from inside the spears.

Seeing this, the German knights of the 2nd and 3rd Regiments shouted.

“Attack the flanks! Hit the sides without spears!”

But the formation of the 1st Milan Regiment was now square.

The front and back. Both sides were covered with spears.

A formation close to a fortress, literally.

They slowly advanced, pressing the German knights of the 1st Regiment towards the river.

A wall of pikes on the left.

The river on the right.

Allies constantly pushing from behind.

The German knights of the 1st Regiment were confused and wandered around.

Orders were not properly conveyed in the chaos of the battlefield.

But they kept fighting.

“For His Imperial Majesty!”

“For the Holy Roman Empire!”

As time passed, the number of those who grew tired and fell gradually increased.

Jerusalem knights, who were not wearing armor, ran around the battlefield and stabbed the gaps in the armor with daggers.

Blood and sweat.

Excrement mixed and covered the ground.

Then, the sound of a bugle rang out.

A flag fluttered high in the sky.

A black eagle with two wings on a golden background.

Seeing this, the German knights shouted.

“His Imperial Majesty is coming!”

* * *