In Saladin's camp.

Baron Fulke counted his equipment over and over again, riding spears, bows and arrows, kettles, quivers. It wasn't until Ivan came to urge him that he hurriedly drew a cross on his chest, his face full of shame.

"In Lord, Heavenly Father, I will be compelled to serve the infidels, and my Lord is forgiving, and I beg you to know that I am not doing this voluntarily, but that I will flee from the battlefield and try not to kill or injure any of my Christ brothers."

"Fulke, hurry up!"

Ivan's urging sounded outside the tent.

With Saladin's military orders, the entire Saracen camp was like a hibernating beast, and they quickly moved, they seemed to be chaotic, but they gathered under their own commanders in a very orderly manner, and gathered together according to the military orders of the superior lords.

…

"Get out of the way, I am ordered by my lord to come and command these dragon beasts, open the floodgates!"

Ivan put on the iron gauntlet, stood at the most conspicuous enemy in his barracks, and looked at the figure swaggering towards the beast pen, with undisguised disgust on his face - it was Torre, this man-eating beast!

It was not only Ivan who hated him, but also a large number of soldiers who had lost their relatives and friends.

During this time, ordinary soldiers were killed at the hands of man-eating beasts every day, and the Saracens were on guard, but it was only a drop in the bucket for the huge military camp.

If the sight could kill, the moment Torle appeared in front of Saracen's soldiers, he would have died at least a hundred times.

Torle was dressed in black scale armor, wearing a top-of-the-line armor helmet, and under the lifted mask, he showed an arrogant and wanton face, and he was not afraid of the angry eyes of everyone.

"This damn brute."

"Ivan, be quiet."

Fulke reminded.

Tolle paused slightly, turned his head suddenly, and looked at Ivan, a malicious smile on his face.

Then he came to the beast pen without looking back, and with the strength of his hands, he actually broke the iron fence with the thickness of his arm, which caused a suppressed exclamation.

Bang –

The fierce tyrannosaurus with a fierce face was extremely tame in front of Torle, a dragonborn with true dragon blood, and I saw it lower its head, let Torle step on his head, and came to the saddle behind it.

"Let's go, little one!"

He flicked his long whip and stared condescendingly at the onlookers.

It's not that he doesn't know the rumors circulating in the barracks, he just doesn't care.

To him, ordinary people are nothing more than a bunch of weak and humble bugs.

That is, he has no penchant for cannibalism.

If there were, the rumor would no longer be a rumor.

The soldiers got out of the way, allowing Torle to ride a tyrannosaurus and lead a dozen drakes behind him to follow him towards the outside of the camp.

But Ivan didn't move.

He stood at the gate of the camp, staring coldly at Torre on the dragon's back.

Fulke grabbed Ivan's arm and tried to tear him away, and said in an eager tone: "Ivan, don't be stupid. ”

But Ivan still didn't move, his eyes fixed on the drake and the stupid big man behind it.

Thorle looked at the only man who dared to stop him with great interest, and gently patted the Tyrannosaurus on the neck, and it immediately lowered its head, and the bloody mouth full of sharp teeth hung down in front of Ivan.

But Ivan still didn't move.

Fulk was sweating profusely, and he could even smell the fishy stench coming from the dragonbeast's mouth.

It was the first time he had come up close and personal with these behemoths in their cages, and he knew very well that they could swallow a sheep in one bite and swallow them in one gulp.

It seems that it was many days of feeding, so that the tyrannosaurus also remembered the smell of Ivan and Fulk, and what Fulk feared did not happen.

The tyrannosaurus raised its head, no longer paying attention to the two little ones who stood in the way, and its heavy claws were raised, and it stepped over their heads—more than a dozen giant beasts, one after another, drove out of the barracks, and the dust they kicked up made everyone look dusty.

Wait until the dragons are gone for a while.

Only then did someone shout: "Abdullah! Great Dragon Trainer! ”

"Abdullah, the fearless warrior!"

In the cheers, Fulke wiped a handful of sweat: "Idiot, don't you drag me next time you look for death?" ”

Ivan smiled at the corner of his mouth: "I said a long time ago, this big animal is nothing to be afraid of." ”

Amid the cheers of the people, he commanded in a loud voice: "All the warriors of Ghazi, the order of our king has been given, it is time for a decisive battle with the barbarian Franks, everyone, at once take your mounts and follow me to the banner of Lord Takidin!" ”

He loudly issued military orders, and the army under his command, which was originally demoralized, was actually reawakened by Ivan's brave feats.

On the opposite hillside.

Square flags painted with various crosses and private coats of arms of knights and nobles, and fleur-de-lis flutter in the wind.

The scorching sun illuminated the sweaty cheeks of each soldier, and they all squinted, and the enemy had clearly set up the backlight with the factor in mind, so that the Crusaders had to face the scorching sun at this time.

Every insignificant factor on the battlefield will become a crucial decisive factor when it spreads to tens of thousands of people.

Lothar looked at the leader of the Kurdish cavalry beside him and said with a smile: "Abdullah, how do you feel about the decisive battle with your Kurdish heroes?" ”

Abdullah smiled bitterly: "My lord, the big war is coming, do you still have the heart to joke?" ”

The Kurds can see Saladin as a hero, and the Mamluks under Saladin's command are not in the majority, but the Turks, Turkmens, and Cumans are the majority.

"Of course, because I know we're going to win."

Lothar clenched the whip in her hand, a look of confidence on her face.

As the commander of the first army, no matter what he thinks in his heart, he has to make this appearance of being a bamboo in his chest.

Behind them, the hussars held a three-meter-long hollow cavalry spear in their right hand, and with the other hand, pressed on the saber in the saddle, the fine armor allowed them to maximize their impact without a shield.

It's no wonder that they often mock the Varangian Guard for taking over the title of an earlguard, and that in every big battle, it is their hussars who can follow Lothar.

Behind the hussars, there were cavalry with archers, and the number of Iron Floats was too small to be formed.

A dozen or so scattered men were also incorporated into the ranks of mounted cavalry, and the knights of the Imperial Decree appeared in each team as commanders, and not all of them were assembled to fight.

Further beyond were the Monk Knights, and the rest of the lords' armoured cavalry, many of whom were equipped with simple horse armor, or horse coats, to defend against the Saracen bows and arrows.

The ranks of the Templars and Hospitallers stood out because of their large numbers and clear distinctions.

From a distance, the cavalry of the Crusaders looked like a colorful steel barrier on the hillside.

As for the infantry, which made up the vast majority of the Crusaders, they were still assembling and holding their camps, and whether it was offensive or defensive warfare, the cavalry that was the first to be mobile had to leave the camp as soon as possible, but the infantry was the only thing that needed to be the same.

The Crusaders consisted of a cavalry corps commanded by Lothar, totaling 8,000 men.

Only a quarter of them were knights, and the rest consisted of cavalry composed of the equipment of the wealthy burghers, and professional heavy cavalry under Lothar.

The gold content of the knights of this era was far inferior to that of the knights of the plate armor era, and by the time of the Hundred Years' War, the proportion of knights in the heavy cavalry had even shrunk to one-twentieth.

This can be seen from the disparity between plate armor and chain mail applied by the knights of the Kingdom of Jerusalem.

Plate armor was a very expensive luxury for knights with only a bridge, a mill, or a small estate.

Light and unarmoured light cavalry, armed with light spears, bows and spears, were the eyes of Lothar's army, and were responsible for harassing and delaying enemy advances.

Their combat effectiveness is limited, but they are also indispensable.

(End of chapter)