1453: Revival of Byzantium

Chapter 186: Offensive

"He who fights and runs away, might live to fight another day; But if he is slain in the battle, will never revive to fight again."

- Tacitus

Radu Drculeti buried his face deeply to his chest avoiding direct eye contact with Zaganos Pasha and replied. "Needless to say, pasha, even if you never say anything I would like to slay that delinquent crook John Hunyadi by my own hands, for what he has done to me and my family."

"You will get your chance one day." Zaganos Pasha suddenly some how regretted handling Radu this task, for he is afraid that a man with his mind occupied by vengeance will not make sure to carry out military actions before thinking through one's head, leading the whole army into devastation, but there is no time to pick a person right now.

"Listen, Radu, always think before acting, no revenge until the appropriate time, remember what did our previous Sultan have taught you?"

"Sultan" Radu tightened his fists in remembrance of the Sultan Mehmed II.

"Now, I hand over you the command of three quarters of my proud Siphai cavalries of Osman." Zaganos Pasha ordered pointing at the Hungarian cavalries chasing down scattered escaping Ottoman cavalries with his whip. "I need you to lead my cavalries, and eliminate the infidels, do you know how to do it?"

"Yes, pasha." Radu thought for a while and replied. "I will separate the boys into three segments, with one segment meeting the Hungarians heads on, one segment coming in by the side preventing them from falling back and escaping, and one segment to prevent the enemy infantries from reinforcing our prey. But what about the Serbians?"

"Need not to worry about the Serbians."

"Oh"

"If you have a plan in your mind, then go carry it out." Zaganos Pasha unattached the Kilij blade in his waist and passed it to Radu. "I have full trust on my Sultan Mehmed, and since he has full trust on you, I shall have full trust on you too Do not disappoint me, boy, our Sultan is watching above us."

There are really many similarities between Zaganos Pasha and John Hunyadi despite being on the different faction, following a different faith and adapted to a different culture.

Tear started showing up in Radu's eye sockets as he quickly wiped them off with his sleeves, stood back up grabbing the sword tightly spitting his words out. "I shall not, pasha."

"Good."

Around twenty minutes later, the entire Ottoman army came shifting clearing paths allowing their riders to form up before them into the three strike groups adding up to a total of a gasping five thousand riders, some with even two horses came parading out of these gaps like streams mixing into a branch forming perhaps the most formidable calvary combat force in Europe that no other feudal lords is able to assemble a mounted battle group this huge, only the Ottomans.

Radu did not make an inspirational speech or take an emotion stirring oath like his counterpart, instead he just nodded to the signal man, climbed onto his horse, wore his Wallachian pot helmet and set off riding slowly towards the designated charging point.

In the other side of the battle field, John Hunyadi frowns as he observes the situation of the battle restlessly. There is something not right, the Ottomans are being too quiet, it seems like they are just watching their soldiers die here with a heart of stone giving the Crusaders extra credits and head count, which is extraordinarily bizarre, and anything that is bizarre in a war like this only means something is going on that he do not know.

John Hunyadi knows by instinct that the Ottoman commander is planning something, that requires him a sacrifice a portion of his troops. Thinking about this, he hurriedly called his signal man and ordered. "Sound the horns, call Emeric and his men to come back, they have been there for too long."

"Yes, your Grace."

But John Hunyadi is still too late.

The ground started trembling again, this time much louder creating one after another shock waves, literally, before him, like a mini earthquake, with each tremor sending a pound on his heart. He panicked, knowing that this only can mean one thing, the main killer of Zaganos Pasha is out and unleashed. There are three directions where the dust are coming from in a distance which gives any observers a clear interpretations on its strategic intentions.

Hurriedly he galloped to the horns and blew it himself, but surprisingly, it seems like the imperial baron Emeric has something else on his mind as instead of retreating back to the main formations, he gathered his cavalries and quickly maneuverer to one side of the plain moving away from John Hunyadi and the infantries.

With just one look at the terrain of the direction the imperial baron is heading to, John Hunyadi understood his intentions and almost dropped the horn in his hands falling backwards feeling a sense of migraine pain on his head.

His guards hastily approached him trying to support his balance but was pushed away. Holding the gigantic goat horn John Hunyadi sent another order. "All stations, advance! Move towards the Ottomans! Change to offensive spear head formation!"

'Your Grace!" A commander beside shocked by John Hunyadi's new orders, stepped up in protest. "Are you sure about that! We are already in the minorities, in my opinion"

"I do not care about your opinion!" John Hunyadi roared towards the commander. "The only thing I care now is the entire army's survival, and the cavalries with Lord Emeric! Look!"

John Hunyadi pointed towards the cavalries of Emeric Zpolya. "Lord Emeric is now sacrificing, burning his own life in flame just to lure the enemy's cured horse men away from us. And what are we going to do from his sacrifice? Are we going to just sit here squandering all the precious time he has saved there for us doing nothing, and ends up getting vanquished in the same way? No! I am not going to let that happen! Inform all armies, and the Serbians, that we are now going on offensive!"