Chapter 84: The Blood Eaglet

Chapter 84: The Blood Eaglet

“Regent! Our scouts encountered the Eastern Romain Empire’s soldiers up ahead,” a military commander galloped to Hunyadi and reported, “They have constructed their barracks against a mountain, blocking our path.”

“They dare to launch a counterattack?” Hunyadi was surprised.

The severely weakened Eastern Romain Empire hadn’t dared to venture beyond the safety of its towering Theodosian walls for half a century now. This led him to think that their people were city dwellers who timidly hid in their fortresses and fervently prayed to the Lord for protection.

Granted that the Eastern Romain Empire had become a fearsome force in the past year, decimating whoever it got its hands on, those who had eyes could tell that it was all due to the Khitan Caesar, the Scourge of God.

The Eastern Romain Empire were merely freeloaders profiting off him... Saying that they were a cheerleading squad would be an insult to all cheerleading squads out there.

Hunyadi thought it was refreshing to bump into an army of Eastern Romains here. To him, it felt like a hamster was trying to put on a tough front before him, and he welcomed it.

I was still thinking about how I should deal with you people, but you’re throwing yourselves at my doorstep?

“How many people do they have?” Hunyadi asked.

“Our scouts estimate around 10,000,” the military commander replied.

“Who’s their commander? To dare to confront us like that...” Hunyadi murmured.

Opposing my army of 20,000 with just 10,000 soldiers? Not even the Ottomain Sultan was that brave!

“Is it Constantin? I’ll have to admit that he has guts.”

All of a sudden...

“KHITAN CAESARRR!”

“Scourge of God!”

“It’s the Scourge of God!!!”

Sharp screeches echoed, and Hunyadi’s advancing army began to panic. Many people began screaming their heads off while running in all directions.

“What’s going on?!” Hunyadi was initially flustered too.

Thinking that Shu Yichao had slaughtered his way here, he quickly ordered his personal guards to get into formation. They waited for a while, but when the legendary Khitan cavalrymen failed to appear, their nervousness morphed into anger.

“I’ll behead anyone who dares to kick a fuss!”

The commanders quickly intervened and eliminated some of the troublemakers. With that, the army finally regained the order.

The main culprit behind the uproar was arrested and brought before Hunyadi.

The other soldiers also exploded with anger when they realized that their enemies had tried to mislead them into thinking that the Scourge of God was around by using a similar flag.

Those bastards! Fight us head on if you dare instead of resorting to such cheap tricks!

Just you wait! We’ll beat you up!

...

In the Eastern Romain Empire’s barracks, in the tent flying the blood-colored eagle flag, Sophia took the main seat with two Elite Horse Archers standing solemnly behind her. The commanders of the new army obediently sat in their places, not saying a word.

As Shu Yichao’s follower, Sophia had the power to mobilize some of his summons as long as it didn’t directly contradict his orders. Shu Yichao had left around 200 Elite Horse Archers behind in Thessaloniki to serve as the new army’s instructors...

The sharp-witted Sophia quickly realized that she had the means to mobilize the new army too.

The Elite Horse Archers were courageous soldiers who were well-versed in academics and warfare. Even though Shu Yichao had extravagantly treated them like normal soldiers, they were competent enough to serve as military commanders in the Eastern Romain Empire.

That, coupled with the fact that the Elite Horse Archers had been the new army’s instructors, allowed Sophia to easily take the new army away with her.

I can’t let the Caesar charge alone at the forefront. As his follower, I ought to share his burden.

Such a thought floated in Sophia’s head.

“Basilinna,” the new army’s scout commander respectfully reported, “it’s as you have expected. Hunyadi’s army panicked at the start, but now they are now seething with anger. Our scouts can hear their curses from a distance away. Many of their soldiers, knights, and nobles can’t resist the urge to cuss us out at the frontlines.”

“Hmph!” Sophia harrumphed.

She had known from the start that Hunyadi would struggle to maintain a tight rein on his army—it was too diverse. If their armies fight, hers would win despite having the numerical disadvantage.

However, she was aiming for more than that.

If a fight was inevitable, she would rather cripple the enemy for good just like the Khitan Caesar always did, so that the enemy couldn’t come back to haunt them.

“Continue feeding them with more fodder,” she said, “Make sure they remain well-provoked.”

“Yes, Basilinna,” the scout commander replied before retreating with a lowered head.

“Have you prepared the wooden raft?” Sophia asked.

“Yes, everything is in place,” another commander respectfully replied.

“Good.” Sophia’s eyes gleamed in slyness. “Bring me my horse. Let’s pay a greeting to the enemy barracks. We have to let them know that they are up against a six-year-old girl.”