Temple Sword

Chapter 93 The Siege of Buda
"They're coming!" cried William. "Get ready!"

120 archers waited patiently at the Western Wall, ready to draw their bows and shoot arrows at any time.The latch had long since been lifted, and two hundred light and heavy cavalry stood in a row behind the gate, carrying banners with lilies and red and white stripes.They were led by Antal and Thomas Semse, with 21 bow riders beside them.

Laszlo and the [-] soldiers under his command had disappeared in the secret passage underground in Buda a few hours ago. Laszlo, the son of the rector Werner, revealed to them the escape route he planned to use, and He himself is now putting on the battle uniform, and wants to share the glory with the soldiers.

The mood in Buda this morning was very different from that of the first day of the siege, when the entire army stood on the walls, preparing to repel the oligarchic attack.All was different now, and thanks to Vajk Flo and his twenty bow-riders, the day would no longer rain stones, but endless flames that shot up into the sky.

"May God bless us," murmured Father Matt, himself on his horse, clutching his mace, waiting for the moment when the gates would open.

As the siege army approached, Vajk and two of his men put their arrowheads on nearby torches and lit them, then fired in three different directions without saying a word.

Three rockets skimmed the sky and hit the bare ground.Then the flames began to spread, and the thick oil poured by Vajk the day before was ignited, and the thin fire grew faster and larger, rushing between the legs of the scrambling soldiers, rushing towards their camp.

"It's just fire, you morons!" yelled Mate Chuck's commanders, "They're just trying to scare us, don't stop, keep going! Keep going!"

The army continued to advance towards Buda, ignoring the flames behind them.

"What a ridiculous and pathetic attempt!" the commanders tried to restore the soldiers' courage.

The exclamations of the soldiers overwhelmed them, and the three lines of fire got into the siege equipment like coiled snakes. Matt Chuck finally understood the reason for the night attack, but he couldn't do anything.His army stood still on the battlefield, watching the catapults engulfed in flames, motionless.

Immediately afterwards, a fiery rain of arrows fell from the sky.

William Barto gave an order, and 120 burning arrows flew into the air, some of them hit the flesh, some hit the shield, and some flew towards other open spaces.

In addition to oiling the trebuchet, Vajk has another surprise in store.As the rocket hit the ground, several flames burst out, pounced on the attackers' clothes, singed their hair, and plunged them into deadly terror.

William raised his hand and lowered it again and again, each time hundreds of arrows were shot.Antar sat in Caesar's saddle, taking to heart what his uncle had told him.He knew that after the tenth round of shooting the gate would open and it would be their turn.

"Are you ready?" he asked aloud, and two hundred throats thundered "yes" simultaneously.

Antal drew his one-handed sword with his right hand, while his left gripped the curved battleax Carlos had given him.The shield he never liked to use was slung over his back to keep opponents from sneaking up behind him, and the helmet Charlie gave him had never been so heavy.Antal had never participated in a battle on Caesar, but the horse seemed to muster up the courage, hanging on the ground with its front legs and preparing to charge, without the slightest sign of restlessness.

The Lily Knight thought of Laszlo, and hoped that he had come out of the tunnel with his two hundred soldiers and was ready as planned.

For the sixth time William lowered his left hand, and for the sixth time the arrows shot at the dwindling and terrified siege army.At this moment, deafening cheers erupted from the refuge crowd behind the knights.They craned their necks back curiously, not knowing what the crowd was so happy about, but soon they saw three heavily armed knights coming from the direction of the Kamokhov Palace in the hinterland of Buda.

Riding at the forefront is a knight in gold lilies and a red and white striped cloak, he wears a feathered helmet and holds a lance and shield.He fastened his sword and dagger at his side, his ax and flail beside his saddle.On both sides of the knight are two similarly dressed people, like a pair of symmetrical statues.

William put down his left hand for the eighth time, and the feathered knight came to Antar along with the cheers of hundreds of knights.By this time everyone knew who the man was: Charles Anjou, in defiance of the cardinal's ban, had ventured from the safety of his palace to face his numerous enemies.

"Fight to the last drop of blood!" Charlie raised his spear above his head, and the arrow shot out from the city wall for the ninth time. The cavalry standing down were excited by the unexpected appearance of the king, raised their weapons excitedly, and beat their shields and The armor emits a metal-like piercing horror of war music.

William lowered his left hand for the tenth time, hurried down the stone steps, mounted his horse and rushed towards the cavalry.Vaik and his archers followed closely behind the old knight, and it was finally time for them to show their talents on the battlefield.

The two wings of the gate opened, and the oncoming scene was a shocking sight: flames, smoke, terrified wounded soldiers, and corpses strewn all over the place.In the distance, the ignited siege equipment was still blazing, and no matter how hard the mercenaries tried, they could not be extinguished.

"Follow me!" shouted Charlie, captivated by the breath of death, kicking his spurs, and was the first to rush out the gate.His squires and chief knight reluctantly followed him to protect the king.The cavalry who had no numerical advantage rushed towards the enemy. From the perspective of momentum, the defenders of Buda were definitely a stronger army: they did not need to be afraid of arrows flying from a distance, nor did they need to be afraid of ghost cavalry, nor did they need to be afraid of the ghost cavalry. Not afraid of the fire coming from all directions, and everyone wants to avenge the Templars who sacrificed themselves.They were confident of victory, especially now that the king had come out of hiding to fight by their side and bleed with them.

The bells of Buda sounded as the first platoon of cavalry rushed into the chaotic crowd of the attacking army.Two hundred soldiers who heard the signal, led by Laszlo and the rector, rushed out of the forest and attacked from the enemy's rear.

The two hundred infantry fighting for the Lily Knights pushed forward firmly. They rushed to the rear of Mate Chuck's army and were unstoppable for a while. Laszlo's words seemed to be confirmed: they could indeed destroy any defense.

The siege army expected neither the fire attack nor the charge of hundreds of knights and the surprise attack from the rear.Their formation was completely broken up, and they could only chop around where they could see.

Vajk and his men broke away from the cavalry and charged into the center of the enemy army.Their horses galloped through the enemy ranks in a strange dance, but with lightning speed and unstoppable speed.The bow riders held spears in their left hands and wielded sabers in their right hands, cutting several holes in Chuck Matey's army as easily as cutting wheat.Then they rushed out of the formation, drew back their weapons, took up their bows and arrows, and instead of rushing at the enemy again, they fled back as if in a rout.

Chuck Matey's exhausted cavalry seemed to see hope, and they mustered up their courage and started chasing the fugitives in leather armor.But the archers turned in their saddles and shot all their pursuers with precision.

If it is a lie to say that all the defenders of Buda survived that day, it is also a lie to say that Mate Chak's soldiers were cowards.But compared with those soldiers who threw away their armor and fled, the fighters who chose to continue to fight bravely accounted for only a minority.

King Charles Robert Anjou had five scars outside the walls of Buda, William Barto had only one scrape, Thomas Semsey and Antares were badly wounded.Abbot Matthew was so badly wounded that his left leg had to be amputated a month later, but spent the rest of his life proudly telling of the battle and how Mate Chuck's army was routed.

After two hours of fierce fighting, the last brave soldier in the siege army was killed and the last coward fled.The clang of metal, the creak of bone, and the howl of death were replaced by a mournful, gravelike silence save for the contented grunt of a few horses.

As far as the eye could see, fields were strewn with bloodstained or charred bodies, discarded shields and weapons, burnt grass and bushes.Empty tents stand around collapsed, smoking catapults.There was no one in it, but eleven were locked in cages, begging silently for the mercy of the victor.

"They're gone." Antar said with half-joy and half-disbelief, his bleeding wound didn't seem to hurt at all.

"They're gone." William nodded. "These cowards have already run away. They persisted for less than two days."

Cheerful soliloquies slowly spread among the defenders, and then turned into cheers.Charles dismounted, took off his feathered helmet, and his soldiers carried him on their shoulders into Buda for all to see and celebrate the victorious Knight-King.

Vaick Flo and his twenty riders never returned to town.They fought unscathed, and then, as abruptly as they had come, left without a greeting, without a prayer to God, and without expecting any thanks.

Antares never saw them again, and they disappeared after the siege of Buda without leaving a trace.It's as if they were really Ghost Riders, Prince Chaba's celestial warriors.

(End of this chapter)