The return of the fallen king

Chapter 65: It's a trap!(1)

The sun was shining brightly in the sky, and the birds were flying freely in the air. The day was warm and lovely, and it appeared as if the sun was blessing the soil. It was a beautiful moment for a walk across the countryside, admiring God's creation. A traveling party of Milanese men, however, destroyed such a spectacle. The boisterous march of the Milanese men marred the spectacle of the picturesque countryside. It was obvious that the day was about to become much darker and more deadly. A swarm of ravens followed the army, eagerly waiting for food to be brought to them.

They thrived with humankind because their useless conflict allowed them not to starve, gifting them the meat of the soldiers who wasted their precious lives by fighting. The ravens were following them like birds of death, waiting for a battle to start so that they could feed on the dead and salvage whatever could be salvaged. It was a sad reminder that war is costly and is not something to be taken lightly a reminder of the cost of war and the horrors that come with it, and a sign of the bloodshed that was sure to come. Circling around the army, they were making loud, raspy calls as a thank you toward the sky for the blessing they were about to receive, for they knew that a banquet was soon to be served to them.

The Milanese army marched unbothered along the path, seemingly oblivious to the fact that they were being stalked and monitored by a hostile force. They were clearly unaware of this fact, and they continued to march onward to their destination. It was clear that this was a foolish and arrogant army that was ripe for defeat; this was shown by the fact that the general made a nasty work out of scouting and apart from that also no guards were put in place to monitor the bridge, a strategic location that could stop armies from entering if properly fortified.

They marched in an orderly and unbothered manner through the countryside without any sign of worry or anxiety.

They appeared to be relaxed and confident as if they were going on an enjoyable and pleasant outing rather than heading into war. The soldiers were calm and bored, trying to relieve themselves through some chit-chat; after all, they were in allied territory, and the last thing they expected was to be bothered during this march.

The Milanese soldiers were speaking among themselves, joking, and swapping comments and jokes about the impending conflict. As they marched towards Piacenza, they exuded confidence and swagger.

''So, how is Anna? Did you already pick her flower? One of the troops questioned his companion while lightly punching him in the stomach with his elbow. ''Stop it, man, you know I'm going to wait till we're married; it's unholy to consummate such activity before God's blessing."

"You and your beliefs, pay attention that another man will not beat you in speed," one of the troops stated sharply to his comrade.

But before the man finished his final words, a loud sound of a trumpet resonated in the forest, with bolts coming through it, hitting many unprepared soldiers along with the one laughing with his friend.

When the soldiers suddenly heard the sound of a loud bang, they turned to see their comrades falling to the ground. They were shocked and horrified to see their brothers die, and anxiousness soon crept into their hearts at the notion that the dying man on the ground, struggling to breathe through the bloodied throat, could have been them. A single thought came simultaneously into the heads of every soldier: 'it was an ambush'. Soon another wave of bolts came from the forest, and another after that, man after man fell to the ground, some screaming and clutching their wounds, while others, more lucky, fell lifeless to the ground, sparing them from the pain.

The battle was brutal, and carnage and death surrounded the soldiers. The Milanese took heavy losses from the rain of arrows and bolts that was unleashed upon them during the surprise attack. Many of the Milanese were killed by the arrows that descended upon them, and many more were wounded in the part unprotected by their armor, for those who had it at least.

After the third wave of bolts and arrows, the Ghibelline soldiers charged from the forest toward the unprepared Milanese line. The charge was swift and furious, the soldier's armor clanking and the sun glinting off their weapons as they raced towards the enemy line. They created a mass of soldiers that charged toward the Milanese lines which was a terrifying sight to behold. After the initial surprise, the Milanese commander did not waste time in directing his soldiers to prepare a line of defense against the charging Italian-German army. He knew that they were outmatched in strength for the surprise attack and that they needed to do their best to hold off the tide of the Ghibelline soldiers. He was trying everything he could to save the day and the army, as he could not afford to humiliate himself with a loss.

''Stay steady, men, keep the line, anyone with a shield in front." ''Archers fire from behind, towards the trees." The general used such yells as he was mounting his horse to notify his soldiers of his presence and motivate them to fight.

Following that, the commander directed his cavalry to detach from the main force and flank the ambushing troops. According to what he witnessed, there was no cavalry among the opposing troops. While leisurely surveying the battlefield, the general, whose name was Orsolo, saw that bolts were still being fired toward the middle lines of his army.

He didn't understand how, because the forest had no hills and was flat, however, he had then the insight that the enemy general had ordered his crossbowman to climb the trees to aim in the heart of the formation, taking advantage of the high ground they controlled. The general was well aware of the grim situation, but thought that the cavalry flanking move could at least save the day; after all, it was his only hope. (look at comment for visual help)

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Conradin, along with Galvano, Enrico, and Frederick, was eyeing the battle. He noticed with the tail of his eyes that his men were having the better in the clash. However, it seemed that after the initial surprise, the Milanese line had stabilized reducing the ground which was being gained by the german infantry.

Nonetheless yhey could not do anything against the bolt shot by the crossbowman on the trees. They could only raise the shield and hope for the best while behind them they could hear their comrades' screams of pain after being hit. While dozing off, Conradin, however, heard the sound of objects cutting through the wind, and soon enough, arrows descended near their position.

''It appears that the enemy archers have begun to attack your majesty; however, they appear to be unaware of our clear position and are shooting haphazardly and without coordination." Galvano stated after evaluating the arrow trajectory,

''I don't want to wait for luck to favor them; tell the cavalry to leave the forest a few hundred meters away from the combat , so that they will have enough room to mount a good attack." Conradin ordered to Galvano.

As he was doing this he was watching the crossbowman shooting and taking pride on that . As he was observing he could not help but think about the great strategy he offered the coaliton . . Making the crossbowmen climb the trees, was a genious idea as it gave them the freedom to fire freely at the Milanese. Their vision, however, was hampered by the leaves.

This however was resolved by their comrades that sat at the base of the tree, who were entrusted with reloading the crossbows in order to allow a faster wave of firing, the assistants in fact guided the soldiers on the tree on where to shoot from down there. This allowed the majority of the missile to hit the targets. Cornadin clearly knew what he was doing, and he was able to use the terrain and environment to the Ghibelline's advantage during the ambush. On the trees however there were not only men with crossbow, for archer were also entrusted with this tactic, as to maximise the entire line of fire .

Conradin realized that there was nothing else he could do about the situation after seeing this, and hence his presence there was unnecessary. Instead, he considered something else that might boost his already strong chances of triumph. ''Galvano, organize the combat yourself; I shall charge with the cavalry,'' he said, turning to Galvano.

This astounded the vassal, who wasted no time in convincing Conradin that the proposal was too hazardous. Conradin, on the other hand, paid little attention to his comments because he had already decided that this would be his first fight in which he will actively partecipate. His presence on the battlefield would boost soldier morale while also allowing him to evaluate the Italians' army's areas of weakness.

Behind all of that, however, Conradin wanted to satisfy his desire to prove himself in battle. He had been brought up hearing about the legendary stories of his grandfather Frederick II and of Frederick's grandfather Frederick Redbeard (lots of Frederick I know), and as such, he wanted to emulate their achievements to convince himself that he was worthy of their blood. Along with Conradin, his dear friend Frederick mounted his horse and rode toward the cavalry convoy.

The horsemen threw the muzzles of their horses away, since a charge with a muzzle on would without doubt kill the horse since it would prevent it from fully breathing. Seeing this, Galvano turned to his son, who was watching his father closely in order to be allowed to join his liege's charge. With his eyes, Galvano gave his permission, and without losing any moment, Enrico joined Frederick and Conradin in their charge, as it was the perfect opportunity to show his worth to the young king.

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