Tancred got what he wanted, and naturally he would no longer be ignorant of good and bad, and he would continue to be entangled unreasonably, so he immediately thanked him and retired, took the Norman knights under his command, and left with Aberto.

Finally put the troublesome Norman at peace, Ezzo II couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, this person was an important person, although he was born out of wedlock, but he was very popular with the King of Sicily, Caesar. Guicaste's favor, coupled with the fact that Tancred himself had been fighting bravely and undefeated in five battles since he was twelve years old, and was very generous and generous, so that even Ezzo II could not dispose of him at will, and a bad one would lead to diplomatic disputes.

What made Ezzo II even more jealous was that it was rumored that his real father was the son of William, the strongest Norman king in the world, although he himself did not know it, but this is indeed an indisputable fact, once it fell out, I am afraid that William will be involved in interference, which is not conducive to the great cause of Italian independence.

Therefore, no matter what Tancred asked at this time, as long as it was not too excessive, Ezzo II would agree.

The decisive battle is about to begin, whether it is the Rivoli Highland Front in the center, or the Lake Garda defense line on the west side of the left flank, Ezzo II is not worried at all, the Rivoli Highlands have him personally in charge, and the brave Aberto is enough to ensure that nothing goes wrong, and Oberto, who is in charge of the defense line of Lake Garda on the western front, is brave and strategic, and the use of troops is steady and not aggressive, coupled with the geographical advantage of Lake Garda, it is enough for him not to worry.

But his only concern was the eastern front, Verona and the Adige River, which were guarded by Tuscans, led by Parma and Adonoy, Count of Corsica.

The Duchy of Tuscany has been at peace for a long time, and Ezzo II does not know how much combat power the Tuscans still have, and with only four or five thousand troops to defend such a wide line, it is very dangerous to think about facing many enemies on his own side.

Even if the general in charge of this line is Count Adonoy, a veteran of the battlefield known in Italy, no one can say what his actual skills are, whether they are real or boastful.

According to the latest battle reports, a section of the HRE Imperial Army has been engaged on the right flank of our army, and is still building up, trying to capture Loniago, an important crossing in the lower reaches of the Dige River, and drive the right/flank troops of the Italian army on the east side across the Adige River.

Once the enemy has been captured, the capture of the Lonago ferry will pose a great threat to the right flank of the Italian front.

For now, however, he could only let go of his worries and concentrate on facing the strong enemy in front of him, and the decisive battle would have to be fought near Rivoli, east of Lake Garda.

The Rivoli Plateau is a rare natural position, it is located south of the Baldo Mountains, and to the west and north of the area there is a low-lying river valley about 2,000 meters wide, which separates the Rivoli Heights from the Baldo Mountains, and the east side of the highlands is surrounded by the fast-flowing Adige River, which constitutes an insurmountable natural barrier between Rivoli and the mountains.

With the arrival of the main Swabian forces, the battle for the central formation finally began.

The Lombard legions, which were placed on the Rivoli Heights, had a geographical advantage, but the Swabian side also had a military advantage, not to mention that Otto III, Duke of Swabia, was mad enough to concentrate most of the elite of the whole army in the center, and even more than 2,000 knights were included in more than 12,000 soldiers, and there were countless hoplites and professional soldiers.

The first contact between the two sides was their respective bows and arrows, and most of the bows and arrows fired on the side of the Duke of Swabia were bows and arrows, although they had the disadvantages of short range and weak lethality, but their rate of fire was relatively fast, and they could effectively form a barrage to cover the army's operations.

On the other hand, the Lombard side mostly used crossbow arrows, especially the Genoese heavy crossbowmen they hired with a lot of money, which were even more lethal, although the crossbow had a slower rate of fire, but its lethality and range were enough to make up for this disadvantage.

In the sky, the arrows of the Lombards and Swabians were intertwined, covering the entire sky, and the two sides were killed and wounded in this round of fire, and for a moment there was no winner.

Of course, the lethality of the crossbow bolt is stronger, and the soldiers on the middle arrow still have a good chance of surviving, but most of the soldiers who are hit by the crossbow are bound to die, and the soldiers who are penetrated by the crossbow are even more desperate on the spot.

The Duke of Swabia was experienced in the battles of Otto III, and he naturally saw this, so he ordered: "Infantry press, knights, sprint with me, and open the gap in the enemy's line!" ”

Otto III's generals were commanded, and the army began to move again, marching on the Lombards on the heights of Rivoli.

Although the Rivoli Heights were not steep or steep, the fact that the Swabian Center Army was indeed attacking from the back was particularly disadvantageous, and the whole army had to face the fact that the closer they got to the Rivoli Heights, the more they would be hurt by the Lombard crossbows.

Halfway through the charge, hundreds of soldiers had fallen on the way to the charge, and dozens of brave German knights, who should have been defeated by the enemy, and at worst, they should have been in hand-to-hand combat, rather than killed by a mere crossbow arrow.

Otto III of Swabia was so distressed by such losses that he hurriedly ordered the whole army to charge as fast as possible, rush into the enemy line, and mix with the opposing soldiers, so that the enemy's superior crossbowmen would lose their due effectiveness.

The slopes of the Rivoli Heights, though not too steep, still reduced the power of the Swabian knights' charges, and as a result, a total of six waves of more than 2,000 knights were repulsed by the shield arrays that were entrenched in the front line, and they were unable to break through the strong shield walls under the premise of attacking from the back.

"It's time, Aberto, to lead our Lombard knights to charge and crush this group of German knights." Ezzo II commanded Aberto beside him, and finally did not forget to say: "Of course, don't forget the Norman lad, remember to take him with you." ”

"Yes, my lord." Aberto nodded in response, then turned and rode towards the Lombard Knights' assembly point.

The Lombard knights and Norman knights had been preparing for this moment for a long time, and when they heard that the order to attack had been given, they immediately mounted their horses and galloped out of the way of the infantry, desperately rushing towards the Swabian knights who were trying to retreat.

It was not the Lombard knights who rushed to the front, but the fifty more heroic Norman knights, and Tancred galloped at the forefront as the arrows of the whole army.

I saw him grasp the reins with one hand, raise his sword with the other, and say loudly: "Follow me!" Kill!"

"God's will! Kill! ”