Book 4: Chapter 90 (1/2)
“Wasn’t the angel much more graceful?” one of Suleiman’s Janissary captain’s whispered. He was standing next to Suleiman and a few other leaders of the various armies. “She defeated enemies and fortifications alike with one punch. How come she’s using a person like a whip?”
Suleiman shook his head. “It just means her opponents are quite strong,” he said. “Didn’t you see? The white wall withstood her punch, and she was forced to use some tricks to isolate one of her enemies. However, while I may be Sultan, I’m not an expert at combat. One of you should decide; how can we help her?”
“We should quickly wipe out the Hungarian army,” the leader of the sipahis said. “They’re a motley crew. It seems like their infantry was hastily gathered. The only orderly ones are the knights, but they should be no match for our Janissaries. Once the Hungarians are defeated, we can concentrate our firepower onto those twelve men—if our angel hasn’t won yet, that is. While those men can defend against a punch capable of destroying fortress walls, aren’t our bombards capable of destroying walls as well?”
“Well said.” The captain of the Janissaries was the next to speak. “We seem to be lucky. Their army is rushed, and their leadership is quite poor. It seems to be a group thrown together to stop our advance as the real army gathers within their capital’s walls. Perhaps, we can capture them and threaten those men with the prisoners’ lives.”
Suleiman looked around, and his advisors nodded in agreement. “Then it’s settled.” He raised his hand. “Bombards, fire straight into their army!”
***
“The keepers of the church are losing,” a noble from Hungary said. “Didn’t the king assure us of their victory?”
“No, the king assured us they’d be able to distract the witch long enough for us to wipe out the Ottomans,” another noble said. The two were sitting in the middle of the cavalry formation, waiting on top of their restless horses. “I don’t know what the king’s plan is. Why are we letting someone younger than my own son command us? What is the war council doing?”
“The king surely has a plan,” the other noble said. “He’s out here with us. I’m certain he doesn’t want to die or lose the fight either. He wouldn’t lead us to our deaths.” The noble craned his neck, trying to get a better look at the king. In the next moment, the king raised his arm.
“While the witch is distracted, we’ll wipe out the Ottoman’s,” Louis II shouted. “Cavalry, charge! We’ll break the enemy formation! Infantry, follow through!”
“We’re charging? Just like that?” the second noble asked. His mouth was questioning his king’s decision, but his body was following orders. Being in the middle, he wasn’t allowed to hold back during a charge or he’d be trampled from behind. All he could do was raise his arm along with his fellow cavalry and shout, “For the glory of Hungary!”
Screams accompanied their shouts. Stone balls tore through the army that had barely begun to move. Ammunition that should’ve been saved for castle walls were being used on the people instead, but Suleiman didn’t feel the pinch. He didn’t need ammunition as long as he had Alice. If he saved the ammunition just in case Alice lost her fight, wouldn’t that be planning for defeat? Only those who constantly strove for victory deserved to win! “Regular armies, advance! Don’t let the cavalry get past you. Once they’re stuck, Janissaries, fill them with bullets! Sipahis, loop around and eat away at the flank of their army!”
***
“Just surrender, witch!” one of the keepers shouted. He had to shout to be heard over the din of the battle that had just started. “You might be damned, but you’ll be even more damned if you kill one of us!”
“It’s useless,” another keeper said. “She doesn’t speak Latin!”
“Does any of us even know how to speak Turkish?”
“No, but I can speak German!”