Chapter 71: Defeat
"kill--"
The riders of the empire held up their rifles and wanted to tear the Latin people apart, and this feeling was as intoxicating as revenge. Finally, under this unstoppable blow, the morale of the Latin coalition collapsed as expected, giving up the honor they had been holding on to and had to choose to shamelessly flee behind them.
And this scene was like a bolt from the blue above his head in the eyes of Gotfry and Otto, who were commanding the entire army in the central army. The power of the Greeks was completely beyond their imagination. As Baron Senvenier had predicted them before, if he did not evacuate here, they would probably be the ones who would die without a burial place.
"Is it possible to give up like this..." Duke Otto, who was full of reluctance, stared at the Greek army coming from afar, clenched his fists, and his nails were deeply trapped in the flesh. Without the assistance of the Venetians, they had no chance of turning the tables, but the man who paid such a huge price for this could not accept this fact.
But Gotfry, who was a guest army on the other side, had made a decision and ordered his troops from the Achaia vassal state to evacuate the battlefield before the Greeks encircled.
"We can only do this. Lord Duke, it is not wise to stay here now. Keep our strength temporarily so that we can use the opportunity to counterattack!" Gotfry persuaded. Although he and the other party's personality were not in line with each other, the words he said at this time were sincere. After all, if the Principal of Athens was destroyed, his lips would be lost and his teeth would be cold, and the situation of the Marquis of Achaia could be imagined.
Seeing this, Duke Otto, who had been struggling in his heart for a long time, finally made a decision, "That's all I have to do--"
With the orders from the Marquis of Achaia and the Duke of Athens, the Latin coalition finally chose to retreat, but before that they had to deal with the Greeks' pursuit.
"The whole army is ready to retreat, the rear team becomes the front team, the rear team covers the army to withdraw, ready to fight!" The command scout rode a fast horse to issue orders, and all the shield spearmen of the Latin army began to be closely linked together to form a square formation. Although they were extremely afraid, since the order had been issued, they could only hold back the Greeks' pursuit as much as possible with their flesh and blood. Everyone was extremely frightened, and they no longer had their contempt for the Greeks at the beginning, because at this moment they finally knew how terrifying the opponents they awakened were.
Soon, they saw that the enemy in front of them had come, and the front was the heavy infantry of the Roman Empire, lined up with attack formations, raised a lot of smoke and dust, and rushed towards them at a very fast speed - and what they held in their hands was a spear like a dense forest. The sharp spearhead was chilling, and it aroused great terror, which made the Latin soldiers in front of them hesitate for a moment.
However, what made them even more frightened was the next scene - the Greeks were chasing the fleeing soldiers, and the deserters who had previously collapsed due to morale were also running towards the coalition forces, just like a drowning man holding a life-saving straw, just thinking about survival. But what was greeted was not the rescue of friendly troops, but the ruthless rain of arrows shot them directly on the spot.
All of this was done by the crossbowmen behind the Latin infantry defense line. Under the order of their superiors, they could only bear the pain and kill their comrades with their own hands. The reason for this was very simple. These defeated soldiers could not hinder the defensive formations and block the opponent's attack at the same time.
At this moment, the terrifying screams echoed on this plain, which was the last unwillingness of the dying person, but this was soon covered by the intense shouts of the Roman army. The heavy infantry rushing in front exceeded the pursuit of the heavy cavalry and rushed forward to face the strong bow and crossbow on the opposite side.
"Resist!" The Latin officer supervising the war behind the soldiers shouted. They had lost this war, but at least they had to minimize the losses. Therefore, no matter how much the price they paid, it was spared. In a sense, this army that was cut off has become an abandoned son.
But even so what can happen? Sometimes some things cannot be solved by fighting your life.
"Don't retreat!" Justinian, who was commanding under the battle banner of the Double-Headed Eagle, shouted loudly. He saw the Latins' intentions at a glance, and then ordered his troops to attack with all their might to break through the opponent's defense. As long as the Latins' army was defeated, the entire coalition would collapse before his eyes.
"Kill--" The distance between the two armies is getting closer and closer, and the shouts of killing are becoming more and more deafening. As the soldiers are intertwined and fought together, the shields collide with each other, and the heels between people are compressed together in an instant. The narrow space can only allow soldiers to stab the spear in their hands bravely, regardless of who the person in front of them is. Just stab the spear into the other party's body and stab him to death!
In the queues of both sides, they had to stop shooting because of fear of being injured. The two sides could only fight in this way. If they did not defeat this Latin army, they could not continue to pursue. The hook sickle and axe sprinted and swung up and down in the crowd, and blood was pouring out every time, and more and more people fell down. But it would be better for someone to be stabbed by the tip of the spear, and no one was hiding behind the shield to protect themselves, so they could only move forward.
Just when everyone thought that such a hard battle would continue, suddenly, there was a rapid sound of horse hooves and a short-lived gasp from a horse. A light cavalry turned from behind the Latin army to attack. And they were the Turkic cavalry led by Arslan and Rio's garrison leader. Since the Latin coalition had evacuated, their number was limited and they could not stop it. Therefore, they got rid of the entanglements on the opposite side and came to help fight and defeat the enemy that was resisting here.
"Run!"
The brave and fighting Turkic cavalry shot at the Latin army without any warning while picking their bows and arrows, and jumping into the crowd, waving their bones and scimitars, slashing with blood and flesh. They were greeted by the dangerous spears in the hands of the Latin soldiers who were fearless. However, even though they suffered huge casualties, the Turks and Tatars were not timid at all, but instead fought with them in blood.
Chapter completed!