The Norman longbowmen unleashed three rounds of rapid fire. On both flanks of the Norman army, the Frankish crossbowmen were not idle. These soldiers, who were equipped with crossbows prepared by local arsenals, or abandoned by the main force and had long been eliminated, as well as a small number of pulley crossbows that did not meet the standards of the regular army, also hurriedly shot a rain of arrows.

Although the rate of fire is really not comparable to that of a longbow. But these crossbows are as powerful as longbows. In addition to the large number of conscripts, the number of Italian and French crossbowmen deployed on both sides of the main force added up to four times that of longbowmen! A total of 8,000 crossbowmen fired a salvo, and the top Norman longbowmen were four rounds!

Taken together, the two have an extremely terrifying effect. The two or three thousand slave soldiers who rushed to the front suddenly became hedgehogs. This terrified the slave soldiers of the Ilkhan. Fear spread like a contagion in the army. The slave soldiers of the second array slowed down as a result. However, this gave the Normans an opportunity to take advantage of it.

Another round of arrows rained down. Thousands of slave soldiers in the second formation fell to the ground, screaming incessantly. So. The Normans easily and with little effort, exterminated one-twentieth of the opposing slave soldiers.

Twentieth. That may sound like a trivial number. Compared to 100,000 slave soldiers, it may seem like a small number. However, the effect of this intimidation is quite outstanding. The morale of the slave soldiers, who were not very high in the first place, dropped a lot after the sudden loss of so many manpower.

The slave soldiers of the third column stayed where they were, neither advancing nor retreating. Seeing that another round of crossbows was fired from the opposite side. Someone shouted in panic, then dropped his weapon, turned around and pushed away the stupid people who were in the way on both sides, and spread his legs to run.

If there is one, there are two, and if there are two, there are three. Now that the slave soldiers have such an "example", they naturally did not hesitate, and they all turned around and began to run away. And behind them, the view was blocked. The slave soldiers, who did not quite understand what was happening now, were also led to flee.

This escape is the end of a defeat like a mountain. Let the Mongols behind them roar, wield scimitars, and fire bows and arrows. I want to drive these people back and continue the fight. To no avail. The hearts of these slaves were already filled with the fear of death.

Nothing else can be accommodated. Flee, run desperately! Only by fleeing can you gain a glimmer of life! At this time, no one can care about other things. They don't have any other word in their minds than "escape."

It can be said that Ilhan Hulegü made a mistake here. Or, in the Middle Ages, most generals with mediocre qualifications also made such a mistake. They think that war is about the more people, the better. But the important surname did not anticipate the average quality of the soldier at all.

Wear down opponents with slave soldiers. This is a really good calculation. But what if it was the other way around, and on the other hand, these slave soldiers not only failed to play a role, but were crumbled by their opponents, which in turn affected their morale and formation?

How can this be?!

Hülegü watched, crying out at his array for the fleeing slaves. The face of the angry turned pale. He drew his scimitar and roared, "Kill those who retreat!" Ordered the Mongol warlords to desperately slash down the routers.

Seeing that the way of life is cut off. The cries of the slave soldiers grew louder. Hülegü could clearly see that around his Mongolian elite, the Muslims of the Arab world were all unnatural. It seems to be quite a bit of a rabbit dead fox sad mentality.

And such a good opportunity, Marshal Ouss naturally will not turn a blind eye. He made a quick decision and immediately abandoned the tactics of defensive counterattacks. Turn defense into offense. The artillery was ordered to launch a salvo. and ordered the hussars and Norman knights on both flanks, and the heavy cavalry of the Franks and Italy to send a third of them. Ask them to charge after the artillery salvo has been fired.

Then there was another round of cannon roaring like the earth shaking the mountains. Dozens of artillery pieces of the Norman army fired a salvo. Although the lethality is not very great. But the deafening explosion completely collapsed the slave soldiers, including some Arab conscripts. Ilkhan's forward array was in disarray.

At the same time, the Norman army deployed heavy cavalry, hussars and knights on both flanks. A total of more than 2,000 heavy cavalry roared, lined up in a dense array, shouted loudly, and launched a charge towards the chaotic Ilhan [***] team!

"Not good!" Seeing that this big flaw was being exploited by the enemy. Hülegü immediately broke out in a cold sweat. If this round of cavalry charges is really successful. Then the battle must have ended in his fiasco.

Thankfully, though. The vigilance of the Norman knights led him to give orders before the battle. The Arab and Mongol cavalry, which were to be deployed on both flanks, took the initiative to attack when they saw the Norman cavalry in action. Stop these damn bastards!

The Mongols, who are famous for their cavalry, actually want to select troops to counter the opposing cavalry in the battle. That's really ......

"Changshengtian doesn't have long eyes, bastard!" Thinking of this, Hülegü secretly complained. Despite having converted to Islam. But most of the time, this was just a political ploy to appease the large number of Muslims in the Ilkhanate. The true belief in his heart was still the Tengger religion that the grassland people publicly believed.

Seeing the Norman cavalry rushing towards him like an avalanche. The Arab cavalry was a little less confident. However, the Mongolian elite who survived the battle roared angrily, raising their scimitars and opening their carved bows for the first time. A counter-charge was launched against the cavalry units on both flanks of the Normans. And the Arab cavalry, under the strict orders of the Mongol officers, had no choice but to rush over.

After a round of shots from compound bows, cavalry crossbows. The two cavalry torrents collided in this way! The Normans' uniform formation, and the heavy and light cavalry spears that were more suitable for charging, completely defeated the Mongols and Arabs, whose formations were chaotic and the cavalry units with different weapons!

The Arabs had already been killed by the Norman cavalry. After a face-to-face defeat, morale plummeted and was on the verge of collapse. And the Mongol cavalry still gritted their teeth to support. However, these brave and tenacious Mongols, despite their toughness, were no match for the well-trained Norman cavalry. It can only be able to stop the Norman cavalry.

(To be continued)