Temple Sword

Chapter 91

Mate Chuck was going mad in his chief tent, swept everything out of the map table in one go, and stuck his dagger in it angrily.

"We don't know what happened," Vader stammered, one of the oligarch's advisers, "Suddenly there was a bow and arrow attack. It was unexpected and no one gave any warning. Our people were not prepared to resist it at all. Prepare."

"Really?" growled Mate Chuck, "whose fault is this?"

"Whose fault?" The man asked back, "My lord, I..."

"Why are my troops so close to the castle?" cried the lord. "Who brought them so close?"

Vader didn't know what to say, he was sure they weren't getting too close, but he knew he had to say something.

"The job of a battlefield engineer is to..."

"So the engineer of the battlefield," Mattei pulled out the dagger from the table, "Schmidt, right?"

"Yes, my lord, but..."

"I always say that these Germans can't be trusted!" The oligarch began to walk out of the hood, "When will the big trebuchet be built?"

"Within an hour, my lord," Vader followed behind him, "but my lord, I'm sure the army is still some distance away from the castle, definitely beyond the range of bows and arrows."

"Really?" Ma Tai stopped and turned to look at him, "Then how did they get shot like prey?"

"I……"

"I'm listening, Vader!"

"I don't know, my lord," he shook his head, "perhaps some new method unknown to us..."

Mattei's attendants led his master's horse out and helped the armored oligarch onto it.

"Find Schmidt quickly," ordered Matt Chuck, "and the mason!"

"The stonemason?" Vader asked. "With all due respect, my lord, but where shall I find the stonemason now?"

"That's your business, but even if you dig out a few stonemasons from the ground, you have to do it! I want these Buda people to know what happens if they mess with someone they shouldn't..."

At this moment, the horn sounded, which was beyond everyone's expectations.

—

Fifty knights in white robes appeared out of nowhere, the ground rumbling under their heavy hooves, their gallop accompanied by the muffled sound of horns.They rushed in two files to the gate, with a two-coloured flag flying above their heads, black on top and white below.

"Look!" The defenders shouted excitedly, "It's the Templars!"

"I can't believe my eyes!" William leaned against the city wall, and he recognized the leading knight. "That's Ambrosius, open the door!" he roared from the wall, "We must let them in!"

"We can't," said Thomas Semsey through gritted teeth, "they're coming too late."

"We have to open the door for them!" Antar argued, but Charlie Robert's armor-bearer just didn't agree.

"No!" cried Thomas Semsey, "if we open the gates now, we shall be greeted with death!"

The horn sounded again, and a small detachment of cavalry broke away from Mate Chuck's army, preparing to outflank the Templars.

"Master Vaick!—" Before the lily knight could say his request, the archer interrupted him.

"Don't worry about those horsemen," Vajk said, drawing an arrow from his quiver. "If they come any closer, they'll die."

With the cover guarantee of the bow rider, Thomas Semsay no longer objected.

"Open the door!" William shouted, leading some soldiers down the stone steps to the door. "Hurry up! What are you waiting for?"

The heavy iron latch was lifted, and the city gate was slowly opened. The more than 100 infantry behind were ready to fight in case any enemy tried to break into the city. Not only the archers of Vaik, but also the archers of Buda Came to the Western Wall.

Abbot Ambrosius' team was fast approaching, but the distance was still too far.The Templars were caught in a cloud of dust they had stirred up, and could only see black and white flags.Mate Chak's cavalry drew nearer, and when they were within a spear's reach, the defenders' arrows came again, more numerous this time.The cavalry didn't want to die there, so they had no choice but to retreat.

"Well, they're retreating!" Antal shouted standing on the wall, "They dare not even take a step forward!"

"Of course they didn't," Vajk said. "Mate Chuck was deflated again today."

From the gate of the city, William could already clearly see the knights approaching rapidly.There were no servants, no squires, not even unsworn warriors among them.These fifty Templars all wore snow-white cloaks and took three oaths.

The old knight thought that they could not be just members of the Knights of Margaret Island, there were too many of them.Ambrosius may have united several monasteries to form a team capable of injuring Mate Chuck.

What William didn't know was that, a few months earlier, Ambrosius had dismissed all the servants, squires and sergeants on Margaret Island, none of whom had taken the three oaths and had not taken the oath to the Knights life.

He then went through all the abbeys he could find, rounding up those sworn knights who had no intention of converting to the Knights Hospitaller or leaving the Knights Templar.And so a small army of fifty knights marched towards Buda on the morning of the fifth day of No. 20 of the month of St. John.

"Hurry up!" William waved to them, "Come in!"

The horn sounded again, and fifty Templars turned their horses to face Mate Chuck's army.

"Bauceant!!!" they shouted in unison, the sky was trembling, "Attack!"

"What are you doing!?" Antar was dumbfounded, "Come in!"

"Scatter!" Ambrosio, who was leading the horse, roared. The two teams formed a tight wedge and continued to charge, holding their lances in front of them and pushing forward.

William stood silently at the city gate, anxiously watching the Templars who were getting further and further away from him.

"Shut the gates!" ordered Thomas Semsey, the only one of the three commanders who could think calmly. "They won't come in..."

"Don't be afraid!" Abbot Ambrosius tightened his grip on the lance. "Be brave, my brothers!"

"For Jesus Christ!" cried those who were running to their deaths. "Deus vult!"

The city gates were once again barred, and the Templars were locked out forever, though they never thought of joining the defenders inside, refusing to fight under the banner of Anjou.These men who knew they had no choice, rushed upon Mate Chuck's mercenary army without hesitation, these men who refused to wait to be imprisoned as heretics and burned at the stake, they wanted to die an honorable death with Holding sword and spear, speaking the name of the Lord.

Someone once said of Abbot Ambrosius that he held more chicken legs than swords.The Abbot himself knew that he had never been a man of courage, and that he believed in reason and strategy more than in heroism.But at the last meeting of the Order, where these fifty martyrs had gathered, something touched his heart.

When the knights all accept death, he realizes that he has lived a long time and paid a lot as a sinful man.He stood up abruptly, shouting to lead the knights into battle, and somehow, he hasn't regretted it since.

"Send them to hell!" The man shouted from under his helmet as they got closer and closer to the enemy, "Don't let them go, and don't let yourselves go!"

After the closed iron door, William could only see a small cloud of dust growing bigger through the crack of the door.Antal, Vajk, and other defenders on the walls saw a small group rushing into the entire army.

After a few minutes, the cloud of dust and the small troop of cavalry were out of sight.

On this day, fifty Templars died outside the Buda Walls, each of them taking at least five mercenaries with them.

(End of this chapter)