Temple Sword

Chapter 205 The Battle of the Sava River

1323, Moon of the Holy Virgin (August)
North of Zagreb, Slavonia
-

At dawn, Janos Babonik summoned his servants to clothe him with full battle gear and fasten his weapons belt around his waist.

The governor was the first to mount his horse that day, and he circled the camp, checking readiness for battle and trying to inspire his warriors either with words or with his presence.

When the light of the rising sun in the east began to dry the dew in the night, the army had already lined up for the upcoming battle. Janos looked at them firmly, and at the same time was tortured by inner anxiety.

He didn't sleep much at night, and even when he dozed briefly, he was still tormented by nightmares.But he is not tired now, he put all his energy and attention on preparing for the battle.

Since he had not been able to muster a large army, he had little flexibility in the formation of his troops.There were [-] light cavalry and about [-] infantry under his command, and Janos decided to arrange them in the most reasonable way.

He put [-] cavalry in the center, forming the most effective elite troops in his army, and the infantry was evenly distributed on the left and right wings.

The governor believed that the enemy could see only these troops and not the surprise he had prepared: the night before he had sent an old captain with two hundred carefully selected cavalry to hide in the woods south of the main force.

He also knew that the number of two hundred cavalrymen was not a lot, but he believed that if he could let this team join the battle at the right time, he would definitely be able to dominate the direction of the battle.

On the northern bank of the Lonian tributary, Miklos Gutkled's army has begun to form.Janos saw at least a thousand cavalry, with a total strength of no more than 3000.

The governor was somewhat relieved to see no heavy cavalry among the enemy's army, though at this distance he was not entirely sure that his observations were accurate.

"Come, Miklos," he murmured, "you'll beg me for mercy..."

A mile away from the left flank of Governor Janos' army was the forest, and a thousand Hungarian heavy cavalry and a thousand Cuman horse archers hid further inside the forest. They had been captured by their commanders. Arranged and ready to attack.

Lakfei and Antal ventured to the edge of the forest, crouched in the bushes and patiently observed the situation outside the forest.They have been squatting there for a long time, and they have also seen the two hundred cavalry selected by Janos Babonik.

The two men were terrified at the time. If the cavalry team came directly to the west where they were, then the two commanders might be directly discovered and captured, which would bring a catastrophic turn to the entire campaign.

But when the cavalry rode southeast, both men breathed a sigh of relief at the same time.

"Remember," the Lily Knight said softly to the Sekai, "the heavy cavalry will charge in front and directly defeat their left flank. After we charge into the enemy line, you will follow us with your Cumans... "

"Well, we'll go around behind them and shoot them with bows and arrows," Lakfey said. "Don't worry, I can do this in my sleep. Speaking of which, when I woke up this morning, they were Ask me why my face is blue and purple..."

Antal did not respond to Lakfee's complaints, but looked at the mercenaries preparing for battle under the black and red flags.His heart was pounding, and a deep, dark rage surged through every part of his body.

Lakfe noticed the revived murderous look in the knight's eyes. He breathed slowly, and began to feel a strange tingling sensation all over his body. This was the feeling he would only feel when he was about to fall into a battle.

His senses were instinctively sharpened, his nostrils opened, and he noticed the tiny details of his surroundings and himself. A small dent on his forearm and a scratch as thin as a hair on the back of his hand also became obvious now.

He felt a terrible urge to hack the steel of his weapon into living flesh...

On this late summer morning, in the dense bushes, Lakfee, who was squatting beside the Lily Knight, felt the same danger as on the battlefield.Subconsciously, he placed his right hand on the hilt of the new weapon and slowly drew it out of its sheath.

Antal also immediately noticed the actions of the Sekai knight. This time, Lakfey did not use his father's sword, but a more ferocious and brutal weapon, a single-edged scimitar with a blade from the guard to the knife. Tips are broad.

This weapon is not designed for beautiful and elegant combat, nor is it a gentleman's toy, nor is it a fancy decoration.

It is more like a scythe for mowing grass, which can be used to effectively harvest human bodies, separating their flesh and bones. It is a terrifying weapon built only to take life.

Lakfei knew that no matter who was hit by this heavy machete made of steel, that person would not survive.

The two commanders noticed that the army on the other side was slowly approaching each other, and the battle would soon break out.

"Are you ready?" Antal asked Lakfee.

"Ready," Knight Sekai nodded stiffly, and glanced at the green river bank dotted with summer flowers, thinking, this place will soon become an ugly slaughterhouse, "Today's Savoy The river will only be red."

-

Miklos Gutkleder woke up screaming after midnight, sweating and howling.

His faithful squire sat on a chair in the main tent, and while his scarred master watched him despondently with a maddened reddish gleam in his eyes, the young man said nothing but handed Miklos A full flagon.

Spirits might give others headaches, but to Miklos it was more of an antidote to the curse.

In his head, the haunting screams of death, the screech of metal, the sound of horses' hoofs trampling over corpses and entrails made him nervous, and after a jug of wine, all the sounds disappeared.

It was a strong liquor brewed by a winemaker in Sopron with a secret recipe, which could completely suppress the terrifying voice in Miklos' head, but only when he was thoroughly prepared for battle could the man calm down completely.

"Have you slept enough, my child?" Miklos asked his squire as he began donning the various armors. "Have you gathered enough strength for today's battle?"

"I am ready, my lord," replied the squire.He could have slept longer, but he wanted more to ensure the general's sleep.

"Is it still far from sunrise?" Miklos, who was awakened by the nightmare, suspected that he hadn't slept for a long time. "If you still have time, please feel free to close your eyes and rest for a while."

"You are very kind, my lord," replied the squire, "but I cannot sleep even if I want to, and I am too excited."

"Are you afraid?" The general looked at him suspiciously, "You don't have to be afraid, this battle will end in a long time, I promise..."

A few hours later, Miklos watched the army at the foot of the mountain in the early morning sun, and his belief in victory became stronger.His warriors were disciplined in tight phalanxes, and Miklos felt they could win the battle without his own command.

Of course, that would have taken more time and risked more, but with his well-trained Chopron Banner at the center, no fight was too difficult.

"The time has come," he said, turning to his men when he saw that the enemy was ready for battle on the south bank, "let us do the will of God and the King!"

As he spoke, he mounted his black war horse, drew out his double-edged long sword, put his helmet on his head, and rode down the hill, as if he had placed himself on the battlefield.

The [-] Sopron soldiers in the center erupted into cheers. Seeing their heroic leader rushing towards them, the blood in their veins began to surge faster.

After reaching the foot of the mountain, Miklos accelerated, roaring with all his strength, and galloped all the way to the front of his army.He raised his sword aloft, as if calling his warriors to victory.

The frenzied roar of the Chopron Banner quickly aroused the fighting spirit of other soldiers. Soon, three thousand soldiers and even thousands of unarmed servants in the distance roared in unison.

"The enemies of the Empire are waiting on the other side of the river!" Miklos pulled back the visor of his helmet. "Who will crush them?"

"Fist of the King," soldiers of the Sopron Banner shouted to the other regiments, "Shield and Spear of the Empire!"

At these words, Miklos Gutkleder's face broke into his hideous smile, and he took his ancestral war horn from his saddle bag and blew it with all his might.

In a long and deep roar, three thousand soldiers began to advance towards the river.

"What is this?" Janos Babonik asked in horror. "What are they doing? Why aren't they concentrated around the bridge?"

The governor had no idea what the attacking army was going to do, and his original plan was simple: when Miklos' soldiers tried to cross the bridge in three or four widths, he would send his troops in turn to block the bridgehead, and constantly Rotate them.

He will also use his archers to stop the soldiers gathered at the northern bridge and try to cross the river. These are the keys to his victory, but what he sees now completely disrupts his battle plan.

The cavalry of Miklos approached the river, and the infantry ran after them. The whole army did not line up in a narrow column in front of the stone bridge, but seemed to be more dispersed.

Then, at the sound of another horn, hundreds of archers broke away from the main force and rushed to the river bank in a single line, keeping a distance of two men between each, and stopped.

By the time Janos Babonik realized what they were about to do, it was too late, between the archers, the hussars came out from behind, rushed straight into the river, and began to cross, while the rest of the infantry began to cross stone bridge.

"Right wing, attack! Attack!!" growled the governor in terror, sending half his infantry to shore. "Don't let them come! Can't... ah!!"

(End of this chapter)