The Eighteenth Lancers

  The Duke of Saxony was said to be a brave and warlike hero, who hated waiting for others to attack. When he learned that the Duke of Meissen had gathered his vassals and assembled an army, he decided to take the initiative and ordered his knights to invade the territory of Meissen, both to find a suitable battlefield and to show off his military strength. However, although the Duke of Meissen was much older than the Duke of Saxony, he did not intend to sit idly by either. He ordered his court marshal to organize a small contingent of knights into a lance team to make a resolute counterattack against the provocation of the Duke of Saxony.

  In the dense forest path, the sound of horseshoes echoed, weapons collided with each other making a crisp sound, and occasionally someone's coughing voice came out. The birds and beasts in the forest were frightened and quickly scurried through the bushes, but no one paid attention to these small animals that were usually ignored.

  "It's no wonder, the environment is really good." Arwade had a sword at his waist, Woodrow's treasure sword, and wore a suit of leather armor. Most medieval leather armors were made from cowhide sewn together with dung-based adhesives and tanned repeatedly, making them very durable but also emitting a foul odor.

  "Be quiet, Arvad, stay close to me." Efray rode on his warhorse, wearing a hauberk made of iron rings, with an unadorned conical helmet on his head. On his back was a kite shield painted with the emblem of his family, and in his hands he grasped the reins of his horse tightly, without any weapons. His lance was held by his younger brother Arvad on his shoulder, its tip decorated with a triangular blue flag besides the sharp spearhead.

  "Yes." Arvad replied somewhat dejectedly, having no choice but to carry his lord's weapons as a squire, it was his duty to quickly hand over the suitable weapon to the knight during battle. The other armed servants held their own weapons and guarded around the knight, preventing the enemy infantry from getting close to the knight and causing harm to the knight's legs and warhorse.

  Knights, in order to conserve their strength, would avoid carrying weapons before battle whenever possible; the weapons were borne by their squires and armed servants. The closest squire usually carried the knight's lance, with a small pennant on top representing the knight, thus according to Arrian's observation this was an army formation centered around knights.

  Got it, got it, got it~~~~. When Arwade and his party walked out of the dense forest, two light cavalrymen riding horses with bows on their backs appeared in front of them. The emblem on their uniforms was the crest of General Relf of the palace, a black dragon spitting fire. Although to Arwade, the black dragon looked more like a large lizard. The light cavalrymen hastily drove their horses to Relf's side.

  "What's wrong? What news?" The burly Ralf frowned, his body leaning slightly forward. He was also wearing a suit of ring mail, over which was a bright red surcoat with the emblem of his family on it. However, this lord had no financial worries and was covered in large plates of armor on his chest, shoulders, arms, and thighs. Even his warhorse's head was protected by a mask of articulated iron plates.

  "The Duke of Saxony's men are pillaging the village, we can even hear the peasants' screams and see thick black smoke." The scouting light cavalryman pointed ahead, saying to his lord.

  "Oh, how many of them are there?" Ralf's eyebrows furrowed as he straightened up in his saddle and asked his subordinates.

  "There are about fifty men." The scouting cavalry immediately reported back to Ralph.

  "How many knights?" Ralf's face changed color, and his cheeks flushed with a rosy hue, a characteristic of Westerners' pale skin when they were emotionally excited. It was likely that Ralf felt the enemy had too many men, while their side had less than thirty people. In the era of cold weapons, the number of men often decided victory or defeat.

  "The knights' lances were not clearly visible, probably around ten people." The scouting cavalry hesitated for a moment and said with difficulty. In fact, it's not that they can't be blamed, the reconnaissance in this era is completely done by human eyes, and there is also the risk of being discovered by the enemy. Generally, captured scouts either receive severe torture or are executed directly, with an extremely high risk factor.

  "Idiot." Ralf's furious fist knocked the scout cavalry off his horse, his rough temper often brought him trouble, and this was also the fundamental reason why he was expelled from the Danish royal court. However, Ralf was indeed a nobleman with rich war experience, he knew that without the leadership of knights, the mob would not be his opponent at all. But if the enemy's elite troops were to come out, then his mission this time might end in failure, and the territory lost by Duke Mason would no longer trust his ability. This was something Ralf, who was living under someone else's roof, could not accept.

  "General, maybe the enemy isn't as numerous as we imagine. Why don't I lead my men to go and probe them?" Yifu kicked his warhorse and walked towards Leliev, suggesting.

  "Oh, Eivind Knight, are you willing to be the vanguard?" Ralf looked at Eivind and his tone was slightly softer. Indeed, if someone was willing to provoke those damned Saxons, then he could observe the enemy's true strength from the side. Thinking of this, he nodded in agreement.

  "Are you being too rash with this decision, Yifu?" Ahruo panted as he carried his rifle and followed behind on foot. This time, he was assigned as a footman to the cavalry unit, so he couldn't even ride that long-haired horse, and could only run behind Yifu.

  "Haha, a knight should be adventurous and take risks! Didn't you just see General Ralf looking at us with different eyes?" Ivan said with a carefree laugh.

  "I did see the sympathetic eyes of other knights." Arwade muttered to himself, but since he had already signed a "military order" in front of the general, if he couldn't complete it, he would also be punished. Under duress, he could only follow behind Eve's back.

  Led by Yifu, Arwo and his four armed servants appeared at the village entrance, where they were immediately discovered by the enemy. The Saxon knights had not expected anyone to attack them, thinking that under the prestige of their lord, the people of Duke Meissen would be hiding in the castle, allowing them to burn, kill and plunder in the countryside, but unexpectedly, someone dared to come and die.

  "How many of them are there?" The leader, a Saxon knight, wore a suit of armor composed of chain mail and plate armor, his helmet polished by his squire until it shone brightly. His visor was like two small doors that closed when he went into battle, but were open in everyday life to reveal his face. The top of the helmet resembled an inverted horn. This knight's name was Difon, a distant relative of the Duke of Saxony and holder of the title of Baron, which matched his many estates and manors, making him a very wealthy baron.

  This time, the Duke of Saxony went to war with the Duke of Meissen, and he volunteered to recruit soldiers and join a few fellow knights. In addition to seeking the favor of the Duke of Saxony, he was more importantly tired of the monotonous life and prayer in the manor, and as a knight, he yearned for blood and slaughter in his heart. Therefore, he was dispatched by the Duke of Saxony as the vanguard, leading his own cavalry to attack the territory of the Duke of Meissen. When he led his soldiers into this territory, the village elder had already planned to fully cooperate with this young knight, even preparing to sacrifice a few young village girls. However, Baron Diphon did not accept the elder's bribe, and he drew out his own sword and stabbed the old man through, then ordered his soldiers to throw torches onto the thatched roofs of the village houses. The thatched roofs instantly caught fire, and the villagers were terrified and screamed incessantly. Diphon was satisfied and said to his men, "This is the war I wanted."

  "Five people." The soldier under him reported to the baron.

  "What? Only five people, have they gone mad?" Baron Difoni was stunned by the report from his subordinate. He pushed him aside and walked to a higher place, and indeed saw a knight and five attendants walking towards him, which made people suspicious.

  "Baron Difroni, might it be a trap set by our enemies?" suggested one of the knights.

  "What should we do then?" Lord Difroni, though having heroic ambitions, had no real experience of war and asked his private party.

  "We'll send someone to drive them away, anyway we have more people than they do." Said the knights who were raised by Baron Difoni in his manor, they saw that Yifu and others were shabby, even if they were knights with horses, winning would not get much ransom, it's better to let the soldiers under their command do this bitter job.

  "Well, let's do it that way. You decide how many men to send." Lord Difroni enjoyed the carnage of war, as long as someone else was bleeding, and he didn't bother himself with the details of deployment, being a noble who was used to luxury.

  "Ten people is enough."

  "No, there is one knight among them. According to tradition and convention, twenty should be sent out." The knights began to argue, Baron Difoni looked helplessly at the knights he was protecting, who were together, either boasting or quarreling with each other.

  "Send fifteen men." Baron Difroni compromised a bit and ordered his subordinates.

  "Baron Difron is wise." The knights flattered Baron Difron, who was beaming with pride, saying that it's unbecoming to bite the hand that feeds you. Baron Difron smiled humbly and accepted the boot-licking from his party members.

  "Soldiers, advance!" Although Baron Difroni had no combat experience, the soldiers he hired were trained to some extent. The soldiers immediately formed two rows with long spears and pointed shields, advancing forward while an elderly soldier shouted slogans, gradually approaching Arwode and others.