Temple Sword

Chapter 128 The Hardest Battering Ram
1321, 7th day of the month of St. James (July)

Levice, Hungary

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The king slept until dawn, then slowly dressed and washed under the service of his servants, ate some cheese and fruit, and after doing all this, he received Antal Bator who was waiting before the throne in the tent and Miklos Gutkleder.

The two soldiers were still wearing the bloody clothes they wore when they responded to the raid many hours ago. They hadn't slept since then, their faces were livid with exhaustion, and they came to Charlie Robert.

They helped repair the camp that had been damaged when more than 50 riders swept by, counting the seriously injured and laying down the dead in a secluded location.

There were more than a dozen seriously wounded and nearly forty dead, but they did not count the lightly wounded, because most lightly wounded soldiers were unwilling to admit that they needed care and were proud of it.

After that, when the servants told them that the king was asleep, Miklos spent his time with his men, while Antar argued with the captains of his own ranks, asking why they, in such an emergency, There were only two people fighting with him.

"I have five thousand men in armor, be damned!" he concluded sternly, "but when the Levice riders were about to flee, only a few were ready for battle!"

Training is really different from actual combat, Antal thought.No matter what he thought before, he and the army he commanded were still not a cohesive whole.He decided to work harder to change all this as soon as possible.

The battle had just begun, and he felt that he was completely used to war.When he shared this feeling with his squire, Simon just shook his head.

"You mounted your horse while the others were still standing there, and killed many enemies. You should teach this to all your captains, and let them teach their soldiers, my lord," said the squire.

"But I didn't behave like their commander," Antal told Simon, and this was what frustrates him the most. "I acted alone, thinking only of myself. William didn't make me a general, and He is an excellent fighter, and this has become my instinct. I have not tamed the whole battalion into obedience, nor have I established strict discipline..."

"Half the camp is drunk," Simon said.

"This cannot be used as an excuse," the knight shook his head. "I appreciate you defending my inappropriate behavior, but please don't. I need to realize my mistakes and learn from them, damn it!"

He stood up suddenly, "I shouldn't have promised Charlie, I could have gone to be a captain, lead fewer soldiers, and bring my own men...Charlie should have entrusted his army to other people, more Excellent people! Besides, I don't know anyone in this army anymore! I'm surrounded by strangers..."

Antal paced back and forth angrily, and after a while, he exhaled.

"Do you want to hear the truth, Simon?" He lowered his voice. "I wanted to command this army. When the king himself came to me and asked me to lead his army, I was proud. Who wouldn't be proud? In fact, no matter how much I objected or refused, deep down in my heart I want to come everywhere, I want to fight again.

You know what it was like when I pulled that guy off the horse today?How does it feel to have the sword stained with blood again after so many years? He spoke softly. "It's like coming home, like eating meat again after nine years of fasting, I'm a monster." "

"My lord..." Simon stood up and wanted to reason with him, but Antal interrupted him.

"I am a monster," the knight repeated softly, but more firmly. "I loved killing those people, and I didn't realize until now that I always loved doing it.

I love being a good fighter, being a better fighter than everybody else.But that's no consolation now," he smiled sadly, "because it doesn't make me a good general, I'm a bad commander. "

Of course, he said nothing to the king about these thoughts.Antares had Miklos Gutkleder first tell Charles Robert what had happened that night, and he repeated it himself, and then made his point as succinctly as possible.

Charles was surprisingly positive about the whole thing, although he said it was a rash move to chase the cavalry all the way to the castle gate, but that was the end of the matter and the result was acceptable.He even gave Miklos and Antal a special mention.

"This Lakfi," Charlie asked Antar after sending Miklos away, "you said he was the captain of the Sekay infantry flag team?"

"Yes," the knight nodded, "to be precise, he is the captain of a hundred Sekai light infantry."

"From his performance last night, he doesn't seem like a timid person..."

"Firm and bold," Antar concluded, not telling the king about Lakfell's jealous and ambitious nature. "He mounted his horse without hesitation and fought hard."

"No armor, no helmet." The king repeated what he had said before, nodding his heartfelt appreciation. "That's what I said! I need someone like this in my army, and I will remember the name Istvan Lakfi..."

The young scribe squatting in the corner of the tent quickly scrawled the name on a small piece of parchment, and if the king said he would remember this person, he needed to record it himself.

"Anyway," laughed Charlie, "tell him he can keep the horse and everything he got yesterday."

"I'll tell him," Antal promised. "Your Majesty, what should I say to the soldiers?"

"Those who have been busy all night can now rest until noon," Charlie replied immediately, "double the number of guards, let others train all morning, but be conspicuous! Let everyone in the castle see."

The commander was puzzled again.

"Your Majesty, with all due respect..."

"Go ahead, Antal!" sighed the king.

"I don't understand what's going on. Why haven't we built a siege engine? Why haven't we attacked? Is there something I don't know?"

There was a sly gleam in Charlie Anjou's eyes as he rose from his simple camp throne, stepped off the platform, walked over to his young scribe, and whispered something in the boy's ear.

The scribe rummaged through the chest next to his desk and quickly produced a roll of parchment with an arrowhead bound to it, bearing the king's red seal.Charlie took it from him and handed it to Antal without a word.

"What is this, Your Majesty?" asked the knight.

"My dear friend," answered the king easily, "this is the hardest battering ram you have ever seen."

(End of this chapter)