The scorching sun blazed down.

The battlefield was filled with the stench of blood.

Fallen warhorses and floating corpses attracted vultures circling in the sky, seemingly covering the sun and clouds.

Losa spoke in Kurdish, "Eunuch, order them to stop on behalf of your master, or I'll kill them all. I believe you can also see that on the battlefield, we already have an absolute advantage!"

The eunuch remained calm, seemingly not too worried about being in such a dangerous situation.

He bowed respectfully, "You are free to do as you wish."

"Because I have no authority to command the Prince's personal guard, nor do I have the obligation to help His Highness salvage the only armed force still supporting him."

At this, Zahir's face changed dramatically.

Indeed, Aleppo and Northern Syria are now in the hands of his uncle Safudin.

He had already lost his source of troops. If he also lost this loyal Mamluk personal guard, he would be nothing more than an empty title of a prince.

By then, let alone vying with his brothers for the rights of succession, even reclaiming his original territory would become impossible.

He hurriedly shouted, "I'll have them cease, leader of the Franks, we'll immediately declare a truce!"

Losa sneered, "A truce?"

"You've got it wrong. I want unconditional surrender!"

Zahir shrieked, "No, that's impossible. Don't think I don't know what you're up to. You plan to execute them all once they've laid down their arms. This is something you Franks are capable of doing!"

Losa solemnly stated, "I swear on King Baldwin's name, that once you and your men lay down your arms and surrender, no harm will come to you. As long as Saladin pays the ransom, I'll send you all back unharmed."

By now, the situation had completely turned in their favor.

But indeed, the Mamluk personal guard under Prince Zahir's command was exceptionally brave. Every additional second of combat with them meant more losses among the Knight Order troops.

If the battle continued, the already meager resources of the Royal Knight Order would be severely depleted, and they would probably be mere spectators in the upcoming wars.

"If you disagree, I wouldn't mind killing them all—after all, the blood debts of the village slaughter still need to be repaid!"

Seeing Zahir still hesitating.

A fierce gleam flashed in Losa's eyes: "Urding, tie up this son of Saladin for me, the rest of you, follow me into battle!"

The effects of Bloodfall had not yet worn off.

He planned to revel in the kill!

Just in time for his imminent upgrade.

To hell with righteousness and morality, forget the superstitions about the ill omens of killing captives.

On such a brutal battlefield as this.

He wanted to throw caution to the wind, his chest brimming with hostility, making him want to slaughter every enemy in sight!

"No, no, I agree."

"I'll have them lay down their arms!"

Zahir's face turned ashen, the arrogance once cherished in his heart, now completely lost.

Losa took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the boiling blood.

He restrained the impulse to shout "Too late" from instinct, instead saying, "You should be thankful, you made the right choice."

Zahir solemnly declared, "I hope you keep your promise."

He shouted orders to his personal guard: "Order everyone to retreat, and wait for my command on that hill, do not engage further with these Franks."

With that said, the Mamluk cavalry still intent on rescuing their master began to retreat in an orderly manner without hesitation.

Zahir warned, "Frank, you should also order your men to pull back. I swear on the honor of the Sacred Fire and Saladin's son that I will honor our agreement and not let them escape, but I do not wish my guard to suffer unnecessary slaughter and tarnish both our honors."

Losa nodded.

If Zahir had ordered his Mamluk cavalry to lay down their arms immediately, the bloodthirsty men on both sides wouldn't pay heed to such commands.

Zahir added, "Frank, you still haven't told me your name?"

Losa slightly nodded, "I am Losa von Habsburg, direct vassal of King Baldwin, Lord of Jorgelisburg, Grand Master of the Royal Knight Order."

Zahir thought for a moment, then candidly admitted, "I've never heard of you. But I'll tell my father that you defeated and captured me."

"It's an honor to have your father hear my name."

Losa nodded, then turned and left.

Zahir looked at his personal eunuch, whom he had once looked down upon, with some regret, "I'm sorry, Harry, for treating you the way I did, yet you still advised me just now."

It was evident that the eunuch's earlier sharp remarks were meant to prompt Zahir.

Harry smiled bitterly, "You are a clever prince; arrogance destroyed your reason. I hope this time, if we survive and return, you will change."

Zahir solemnly replied, "I will, I most certainly will!"

...

As the trumpet sounded.

The scattered skirmishes between both sides gradually subsided.

The Mamluk cavalry withdrew in orderly fashion, while some Knights of the Order, still possessed by battle frenzy, roared for more blood, only to soon exhaust themselves.

Napoleon once said that two Mamluk cavalry could certainly defeat three Gaul cavalry, but a thousand Gaul cavalry would surely best fifteen hundred Mamluk cavalry.

This phrase described the Mamluk cavalry's personal valor in martial arts but noted their lack of organization.

But in this era, it was completely the opposite.

Compared to the well-trained Mamluk personal guards, the Crusader Knights under Losa's command had superior personal martial arts skills and morale, but fell short in organization.

These were the knights from the Royal Knight Order, who had already undergone some targeted training; if it were other Crusader Knights, the situation would be even worse.

"Clean up the battlefield and tally the casualties."

Losa said to Hans nearby, "Stop standing there stunned, go fulfill your duty as a commander."

"Prince Zahir, now you can order your subordinates to come and surrender, I will restrain my men from harassing you."

Prince Zahir sighed deeply, "Alright."

He placed his index finger and thumb to his mouth and blew a sharp whistle; the next moment, among the circling vultures in the sky, a majestic falcon swooped down.

Zahir looked at the eunuch, "Harry, bring me my pen and paper."

After a brief pause, he said to Losa, "I will write two letters, one to my subordinates, ordering them to surrender, and another to my father, pleading for him to pay the ransom to redeem me and my men."

"Write in Kurdish, and let me review it after you're done."

Losa warned, "No tricks, and don't think about having your father send a large army to encircle us, I guarantee that before that happens, I will personally kill you all!"

Zahir smiled bitterly, "My father is the greatest king in the Zoroastrian world, how could he send an army deep into enemy territory to rescue a son who is not up to par and has fallen into enemy hands?"

Losa nodded and said to Ulm and others nearby, "Ulm, take three Winged Cavalry and stick close to 'protect' our Prince Zahir, not allowing anyone to approach, even our own people."

Although there were relatively few fanatics in the Royal Knight Order, Losa could not guarantee that there were none like Reynard, who would rather break his oath and forsake the ransom just to kill heretics.

This couldn't simply be explained as 'madness'.

After a war, the hatred between both sides was as deep as an ocean; who hadn't lost a close friend or family in the hands of the other?

...

Next, the Royal Knight Order set up camp in the oasis near the village.

The battlefield had been cleaned up, and the Knight Order soldiers were swinging shovels, intending to bury their comrades for rest.

Contrary to Losa's expectations, no one had expressed disapproval of his decision to reconcile with Prince Zahir to exchange ransom for the captives.

On one hand, ending a war in this manner with ransom was a traditional and dignified practice in European warfare.

On the other hand, on the battlefield, Losa personally led the charge, striking the enemy leader and clinching victory, a feat that had already won over all the Knight Order members.

This was abundantly clear as he was inspecting in the Wounded Soldier Camp.

Many wounded soldiers, even with a severed arm, were still struggling to stand and greet Losa.

"If only Urding were here."

Losa sighed inwardly.

Then he realized that even if Urding were there, his spiritual power would not sustain him in healing many people.

Noticing the actions of a "Military Chaplain," Losa couldn't help but curse, "He's already lost too much blood, and you still want to open his wound to bleed him more? Do you want him to die faster?"

"I'm warning you, stop using that unreliable bloodletting therapy, haven't you learned the battlefield first aid techniques taught by the Winged Cavalry?"

"The water source is right next to you, boil some water immediately for disinfection!"

Losa, angered, furiously scolded those "doctors" who were more like butchers before storming out of the Wounded Soldier Camp.

Hans approached at the right time, his expression heavy with grief.

Losa felt a pang of darkness in his heart, "Is the tally completed?"

"Yes, my lord. We lost a total of eighty-six men, including thirty-six cavalrymen and twelve knights. If the battle continued, this number would only increase."

Nearly half of the cavalrymen have perished...

Losa was silent for a moment, then asked, "What about the Winged Cavalry and Varangian Guard? Are they included?"

"Yes, my lord. The Winged Cavalry lost four men, but no deaths in the Varangian Guard, only two with minor injuries."

Thank goodness...

Losa sighed softly.

War has made people disdain life.

In the past, Losa would have abhorred those who slaughtered the weak.

But this time, he never even thought about exacting blood for blood, even though Prince Zahir had just ordered the massacre of a village—perhaps because this was not his own fief.

But Losa had to admit that he had changed compared to before.

Hans lowered his voice and said, "Those Slave Cavalry are probably about to follow their masters' orders and come to surrender—my lord, when shall we take action?"

Losa replied somewhat helplessly, "Hans, I'm not a renegade... at least, not this time."

Ah?

You aren't?

A hint of shock flashed in Hans' eyes, then he said, "My lord, I understand your concerns, considering we've suffered so much loss, we have to get some compensation."

"I'm glad you understand."

Losa clenched his fist, then released it.

He said in a calm tone, "Let's go talk to them."

"My lord, should we bring more people? The Slave Cavalry might have had the same thoughts as I did before."

Losa shook his head, "No need, it might be easier for us to escape if it's just a few of us. Besides, they wouldn't disregard their master's safety."

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.