Albert Ezzo II, Duke of Lombardy, was extremely resolute in his fighting attitude, and he knew very well what William's purpose in this march to Rome was, not to support the pope or to be crowned emperor by the pope and ascend the throne, but to take the opportunity to conquer Italy that had fallen apart and take away Rome, the pearl of Italy, which he could not tolerate in any case.

In Ezzo II's view, the wolf ambitions of William and the Normans were more hateful than those of the Holy Roman Empire, and at least during the reign of the Holy Roman Empire, the Germans did not destroy the Italian vassals and city-states, nor did they have the spare time to completely bring Italy under their direct rule, but the Normans were different, their ambitions were well known.

Looking at the wars launched by the Normans, it was not for the purpose of conquering other countries, destroying national societies, and seizing the wealth and land of others, once the Normans were allowed to cross the Alps from Nice to Italy, he did not dare to imagine what terrible disasters Italy would suffer, how many ancient noble families would disappear, and how many ancient city-states and vassal states would be destroyed.

Therefore, in any case, even in the face of such an unfavorable situation, even if he tried all his forces, he would have to keep the Normans out of Italy anyway.

Ahead of the castle of Monaco, the offensive of his own army was frustrated, and Ezzo II did not fail to see it, but he still strongly ordered his troops to step up the attack, and even sent his most elite Lombard knights to participate in the battle.

"Lord Count Odono of Monferrato, Lord Count of Odono of Saruza, Lord Count of Ugo of Bologna, His Excellency Archbishop Ravenna, now is not the time to retain our strength, we must go all out to capture the castle of Monaco and keep the Normans out of Italy, otherwise if we allow the Normans to enter Italy, we will face annihilation, and no one will be spared!" Ezzo II persuaded several Italian princes in front of him.

"We support your decision, Your Excellency the Duke of Lombardy, we will send all our knights and soldiers to attack the castle of Monaco!" Lord Count Odono of Montferrato and Lord Count Odono of Saluzzo replied in unison.

Although they have the same name, they are not the same person, they both belong to the Alramizi family, they are cousins, and they have the most soldiers and the most elite knights in the coalition under the command of Ezzo II.

Since two people have already come forward to agree, the rest of the masters will naturally not speak out against it without interest, but the rest of the princely city-states other than Monferrato and Saluzo have not brought many troops, and although there are many army banners, they do not add up to as many as Montferrato and Saluszo.

Ezzo II has done his best to devote all the more than 35,000 soldiers of the coalition army under his command to the battlefield of Monaco, and William's side will naturally not retain its strength.

"Lord Rodrigo, it's time for us to play!" William descended from the tower and rode alongside Duke Rodrigo.

"Your Majesty, I've been preparing for a long time!" Duke Rodrigo smiled confidently, with a belligerent expression, he had been waiting for this order from William for a long time.

"Men of the Guards and the Second Legion, noble and brave knights, now is the time for you to make a deed, when we have defeated the Lombards, and the rich and fertile Italian plains of the Po River, the rich Italian towns, and the great city of Rome will be completely surrendered to our possessions!

After the war, as long as I have made meritorious deeds, I will not be stingy with the reward of the lord, and those who have made outstanding achievements, those who lead the troops to break the Lombard camp, and those who kill or capture the Duke of Lombardy can be awarded the title of earl!

Fight, for your king, I William the Conqueror! William held his sword in his hand and rode his horse in front of the two armies.

"Hooray! Banzai! ”

"For His Majesty!"

The noble knights and soldiers were demoralized by William and cheered hoarsely.

"Forward!" William turned his horse's head, waved his whip in his left hand, and rode his horse forward.

At this time, the army on the front line was mainly the Fourth Army under the command of the Duke of Richard, the Ninth Army under the command of Earl Baldwin, the brigade of the Fifth Army under the command of Baron Buckingham, and Eric's Nordic Guard, with a total of more than 20,000 men, with the Duke of Richard as the commander-in-chief of the frontal battlefield.

When the Lombards had not yet exhausted their strength, the Duke of Richard could still have an advantage with the castle of Monaco as a stronghold, but when Ezzo II made up his mind to throw all his forces into the battlefield of Monaco, the pressure on the Duke of Richard suddenly increased dramatically.

Fortunately, the 1st Guards Regiment and the 2nd Standing Theater Regiment, which served as reserve forces, arrived in time, which alleviated the critical situation at the front.

"Lord Richard, has the battle situation on the front line been tight?" William took Rodrigo and the others to Duke Richard, and asked with a smile.

When Duke Richard saw William personally leading the troops, he immediately persuaded nervously: "Your Majesty, I can still support it here, but why did you personally lead the troops to the front line?" In case you suffer any damage, even if our army wins the war, it will be the losing side. ”

"Lord Richard, please take precautions, I will stay in a safe place, protected by my knights of the guard, and will not risk a surprise.

This time, I am leading my troops, on the one hand, to support the frontal battlefield you presided over and break the deadlock, and on the other hand, I also want to test whether my Guards large phalanx infantry can exert my expected power in the field! William waved his hand, smiled and motioned for Duke Richard to relax, and spoke.

"Then I can rest assured that with the help of His Excellency Duke Rodrigo, our army will be able to completely defeat the army of the Lombards." Duke Richard breathed a sigh of relief and said confidently: "However, after all, your Guards Great Phalanx infantry has recently been formed and has not yet undergone actual combat tests, should it be placed in the rear of the second front?" ”

"It's all right, Lord Richard, you don't have to worry about whether my Guards Phalanx is up to the task, they will surprise you, I assure you!" William said confidently.

"In that case, I will place your Guards Grand Phalanx Brigade at the junction of the left flank and the castle of Monaco, and I look forward to their performance." Duke Richard nodded at William, and under William's assurance, he finally agreed to William's request and arranged the large phalanx infantry on the front line.

Having received reinforcements from William, the Norman Grande Front immediately organized a full-scale counterattack under the command of the Duke of Richard and the Duke of Rodrigo.

On the battlefield, the most eye-catching performance is the Norman knights who have always been brave and good at fighting, even if they get off the horse, they can still repeatedly break through the Lombard line, of course, what attracts everyone's attention is the Guards phalanx infantry who appeared on the battlefield for the first time.