Consecutive Victories Against the Enemy

Just as Albrecht was on the verge of despair, a thunderous sound of hooves suddenly echoed from afar.

The main force of the Imperial Army, led by Emperor Laszlo, had finally arrived!

The Emperor rode on a tall warhorse, with over a thousand light cavalry in front of him.

Laszlo immediately dispatched them to the left flank to reinforce the few remaining heavy cavalry units, ensuring the safety of the flank.

Accompanying the Emperor were the Imperial Guard and two squadrons of heavy cavalry from the Austro-Hungarian Army.

After Albrecht had set out earlier, Laszlo was unsure whether the Venetians had arrived to intercept them.

However, he was keenly aware that if the Austro-Hungarian Army continued to advance slowly with the chariots and artillery, things would certainly turn out very badly.

Laszlo made a decisive decision; he assigned some poorly equipped mercenaries to transport the artillery and chariots, while the Austro-Hungarian Army, as the strongest main force, would march rapidly on foot to catch up with the main army.

After Laszlo received Albrecht's plea for help, he immediately led his troops to accelerate their advance. The main force itself had not fallen too far behind the vanguard, so they finally arrived in time before sunset, and the valiant vanguard had fulfilled its mission.

The Imperial banners fluttered in the wind, and the newly arrived heavy armored cavalry, without a moment's rest, quickly reformed their ranks under Karl's command, transforming into an unstoppable torrent that swept towards the Venetian army's front.

Laszlo's gaze was resolute, and the longsword in his hand shimmered with a cold light. He looked at the gruesome sight of corpses littering the battlefield, and anger ignited in his heart.

"All troops, heed my command, follow me and kill!"

After quickly re-organizing their formation, Laszlo roared, pointing his longsword at the enemy. The Imperial Guard and the warriors of the Austro-Hungarian Army charged towards the Venetian army like fierce tigers descending from the mountains.

Their morale was high, and their battle cries were deafening, as if they would overturn this entire battlefield.

The Venetian army was caught off guard by this sudden impact.

They had originally thought they were about to achieve victory, but they had not expected the main Imperial Army to arrive so quickly.

Their formation began to fall into disarray, and their offensive pace was forced to halt.

Marco Antonio's originally smug smile froze on his face. He cursed "Damn it" under his breath, knowing in his heart that this battle could no longer be fought.

He immediately gathered his remaining cavalry to cover the flanks, and the crossbowmen set up ambushes to support their own troops.

The Imperial Army's heavy cavalry spearheaded the charge, breaking into the Venetian army's flank.

Their warhorses were strong and powerful, and the knights, clad in heavy armor and wielding long lances, were like sharp blades, tearing through the Venetian army's defenses.

The exhausted Venetian infantry could not withstand the charge of the heavy cavalry and crumbled into disarray.

Following closely behind were the Imperial Army's infantry, who, armed with long spears and greatswords, formed tight phalanxes and steadily advanced.

Their heavy footsteps were like a dense drumbeat, making hearts pound with fear.

Albrecht was overjoyed to see the reinforcements arrive.

He regained his spirit and led the vanguard in a counterattack.

The soldiers, seeing the Emperor personally leading the army to rescue them, were greatly emboldened, and their weary bodies seemed to be filled with renewed strength.

They shouted and, together with the main Imperial Army, pushed the Venetians back.

The Ottoman were the first to realize that something was wrong. Seeing the Imperial Army continuously emerging from behind the hills, they immediately retreated, abandoning the Venetian infantry who were entangled with the Imperial Army.

In the center of the battle line, the Venetians still held a certain numerical advantage, but even more Imperial Army soldiers were preparing to enter the fray.

Moreover, the mercenaries, who had already been fighting for a long time, saw that the enemy actually had a large number of reinforcements arriving, and their morale almost instantly collapsed.

At first, it was one or two individuals, then quickly became one small squad, then two small squads, and finally escalated into a major rout.

A horn sounded from the rear, and the Venetian army retreated like a tide, with the Imperial Army in close pursuit.

The cavalry easily cut down these heavily armored infantry who would gasp for breath after running just a few steps; exposing their backs to the enemy ultimately led to a slaughter.

Some mercenaries threw off their heavy armor as they ran, leaving a mess on the battlefield.

It was completely dark now, and Laszlo immediately ordered the horns to be blown, commanding his troops to stop the pursuit, as he worried that continuing the chase might lead to unexpected incidents.

Ultimately, the Venetian army retreated to their camp by the riverbank, sealed their gates, and re-organized their forces.

The Imperial Army was equally exhausted. After a forced march on rugged roads, they immediately plunged into battle. If it weren't for the Emperor's Imperial Guard setting an example, the mercenaries from the Empire would have long since given up.

Deep into the night, the Imperial Army set up camp closer to the Venetian army's encampment, away from the corpse-strewn battlefield.

Albrecht managed to tally the casualties; in this battle alone, the vanguard suffered over a thousand casualties. The unit did not break entirely due to their hope for reinforcements.

Due to the late hour, there was no time to clear the battlefield, so it was impossible to count the Venetian casualties, but as the defeated attacking force, the Venetians' casualties were certainly higher.

Both the Imperial Army and the Venetian army were taking advantage of the precious night to rest and prepare for the decisive battle tomorrow.

The Venetian army suffered heavy losses in the previous battle. Their ranged units were mostly intact, and their light cavalry did not suffer too much damage, but their main heavy infantry and heavy cavalry suffered severe losses.

The Imperial Army, however, was in high spirits. They yearned to completely defeat the Venetian army in the upcoming battle and achieve ultimate victory.

The next morning, as the sun had just risen, golden sunlight spread across the land.

Laszlo stood in front of the camp, looking at the distant Venetian army camp, his heart filled with fighting spirit.

As long as he crushed the enemy here, he could march straight in and turn Venice upside down.

"Warriors, victory is at hand!"

Laszlo waved his longsword in circles in the air, shouting to encourage them.

The soldiers cheered in unison: "Victory! Victory!"

The Imperial Army arrayed itself, preparing to avenge yesterday's surprise attack on the Venetians.

The Austro-Hungarian Army and the Imperial Guard were positioned in the center of the battle line, personally commanded by the Emperor.

Albrecht commanded the left flank, which was the reinforced vanguard.

Karl commanded the right flank, composed of a small number of mercenary foot soldiers and the majority of the cavalry.

The great army marched with disciplined steps towards the Venetian army camp.

There was no trace of fear on the warriors' faces; their eyes revealed a hunger for wealth and victory.

Seeing the Imperial Army launch its attack, the Venetian army immediately prepared their defenses.

They set up a small number of defensive works in front of their camp, and the crossbowmen stood behind them, ready for battle.

When the Imperial Army approached the Venetian camp, the mercenary crossbowmen immediately launched an attack.

Dense volleys of arrows shot towards the Imperial Army, and for a moment, the sky darkened.

"Shields up!" the Imperial Army commander shouted.

The soldiers in the front quickly raised their shields to block the arrows.

The soldiers behind could only rely on their armor and luck to counter the enemy's firing.

Although some soldiers were hit by arrows, wounded, or even killed, no one retreated; they continued to advance.

The Imperial Army's crossbowmen began to return fire, with both sides exchanging blows, unwilling to back down.

The Imperial Army infantry who had charged forward easily cleared the obstacles in their path and advanced towards the crossbowmen ahead.

Following closely behind the sword and shield soldiers were the valiant "Sword Masters."

Wielding greatswords, they charged into the Venetian army's lines, relying on their skilled swordsmanship. Each swing carried immense power, cutting down Venetian soldiers.

The flanking units also pressed forward with long spears; their coordinated efforts made it difficult for the Venetian army to resist.

Under the fierce attack of the numerically superior Imperial Army, the Venetian army's defenses began to falter.

The mercenaries, who were only fighting for money, began to feel an uncontrollable fear, and their psychological defenses gradually collapsed.

The Ottoman cavalry refused Marco Antonio's order for them to go to the flank to counter the Imperial Army cavalry, choosing instead to harass the Imperial Army's spear phalanxes on the other side, also leaving themselves enough room to escape.

Seeing that the time was ripe, Laszlo immediately ordered a full-scale charge.

Karl personally led the cavalry to break through the Venetian army's defensive line, segmenting them into several parts.

The battle cries were deafening. The mercenaries, sensing that victory was impossible, could no longer withstand the Imperial Army's assault, and they began to scatter and flee.

Many were captured by the Imperial Army, becoming prisoners.

Marco Antonio tried to organize resistance, but it was already futile.

Watching his army being utterly routed, he could only gather some remnants and shamefully force a crossing of the Natisone River, preserving some valuable military strength for Venice.

The Venetian cavalry, after suffering some losses, also withdrew from the battle. Approximately two thousand five hundred mercenaries became prisoners of the Imperial Army.