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A Decisive Blow

Adolf and Albrecht each commanded a portion of the army, joining the battles on the left and right flanks, respectively.

On the left flank, Karl, aided by the Imperial Guard and Albrecht's troops, finally stabilized the front line against the Swiss's fierce offensive.

Laszlo, as usual, entrusted him with a total of six cavalry squadrons from the standing army—two heavy and four light—amounting to nearly three thousand cavalrymen.

With these mostly unengaged cavalry units now gathered, Karl immediately understood what he needed to do.

Perceiving that the weakest link in the Franco-Swiss combined forces was the French conscripts in the center, Laszlo immediately ordered a fierce assault on that section.

Even if the German mercenaries couldn't push back the Swiss veterans, surely they could push back the French veterans?

"Warriors, for the Emperor! For the Empire! Charge with me!"

Karl raised his longsword high to boost morale, then led his cavalry, with heavy cavalry at the front and light cavalry following in a wedge formation, into the gap between the French and Swiss armies, attempting to sever the connection between the two enemy sections.

Upon encountering the sudden impact, Waldmann reacted quickly, mobilizing a portion of the Swiss pikemen to plug the gap and sending someone to alert the Duke of Bourbon, who commanded the French infantry.

However, directly confronting an enemy nearly twice their size meant the Swiss had very limited forces to spare.

Karl charged ahead towards the Swiss pike square, his warhorse and body almost instantly pierced by several pikes,

but he did not immediately fall.

Hundreds of heavy cavalry directly crushed the Swiss troops, whose square was not thick enough, successfully inserting themselves into the middle of the Franco-Swiss combined forces' line.

Unlike the Swiss infantry, who possessed formidable meat-grinding capabilities, the French infantry's combat effectiveness was significantly weaker.

All of Adolf's reinforcements had been committed to the central battlefield, and Gunter immediately commanded his troops to launch a fierce counterattack.

The tide of the battle instantly turned, with the French undoubtedly falling into decline.

The Greatswords once again demonstrated their formidable assault capabilities.

Many French soldiers lost their will to fight as their pikes were directly cut down, and they were easily slain by the Imperial Army's Greatswords, who counterattacked without fear of death.

Many people don't understand why Greatswords receive double pay; the reason is simple: their casualty rate is the highest, and the tasks they undertake are the most dangerous.

Just like now, they boldly launched a counterattack, skillfully parrying attacks from all directions, then swinging their greatswords to cut down enemies, a series of fluid movements, like dancers on the battlefield.

Of course, there were also those who failed to block attacks and naturally lost their lives.

The Imperial Army warriors who followed closely behind wielded their longswords and battle axes, roaring as they charged towards the enemies in front of them.

Karl had already led his cavalry, charging left and right through the French formation, throwing it into complete disarray.

Jean de Dunois attempted to organize his last remaining troops to join forces with the Swiss to plug the gap in the front line, but it was too late.

The Duke of Bourbon bravely cut down the Austrian soldiers who rushed before him, shouting to encourage the surrounding French warriors, while the standard-bearer beside him continuously waved the military banner, attempting to rekindle the soldiers' fighting spirit, but still could not stop the army's retreat.

As dusk approached, this battle had lasted for most of the day.

Laszlo had intended to go to the front line himself to boost morale, but under the strong dissuasion of Matthias and other attendants and guards, he ultimately abandoned this dangerous idea.

Just then, a scout responsible for gathering battlefield intelligence reported a piece of news.

"Your Majesty, General Hunyadi's cavalry has been routed."

"What?" Laszlo's heart tightened, but his face remained unperturbed.

He was the commander-in-chief; if he panicked first, how could his subordinates still have the will to fight?

But he only had less than two thousand infantry in reserve, and now that the right-wing cavalry had been routed, if the French cavalry charged directly towards the rear...

"Marshal Adolf was well-prepared and has already dispatched reserve troops to block the enemy cavalry. The enemy forces in the center of their line are now in disarray and are about to be completely routed!"

"Good!" Laszlo's expression remained unchanged, but he secretly breathed a sigh of relief, his resolve to completely annihilate the French and Swiss armies here solidifying in his heart.

If they were truly allowed to return to Novara, there would undoubtedly be endless troubles.

The French resistance grew increasingly difficult, multiple gaps began to appear in their defensive line, and signs of a rout became more apparent.

On the battlefield, French soldiers began to scatter and flee, their order completely broken, and no matter how hard the Duke of Bourbon tried, he could not suppress this rout.

The Imperial Army immediately seized the opportunity to pursue the victory, intending to launch a merciless slaughter.

However, amidst this wave of rout, the splendid and valiant knights did not retreat. Under the command of Jean Bureau, they charged from the flank directly into the center of the Imperial Army's line.

The fierce impact instantly broke through the defensive line set up by Adolf, and the Ordre Knights, raising their fleur-de-lis banners, cut into the Imperial Army's formation.

They engaged in a desperate struggle with the Imperial Army's infantry, and relying on their superb horsemanship and fearless courage, they almost completely penetrated the scattered Imperial Army pursuit forces.

Laszlo witnessed the formidable charge of the French cavalry, and seeing the Independent Army suffering heavy casualties due to lack of preparedness, his expression was somber and puzzled, muttering, "What exactly do these fellows want to do?"

He soon understood the enemy's intention: the cavalry, relying on this assault, successfully stalled the Imperial Army's pursuit, buying time for the still struggling Swiss army and the retreating French army to withdraw.

The Ordre Knights' charge was brave and fearless, but they paid a heavy price for it.

Adolf quickly adjusted his troops, mobilizing forces to encircle them.

Soon, these brave knights were heavily surrounded.

In the confined space, they charged left and right, their sharp swords flashing, each swing accompanied by the screams of enemies.

Under Adolf's command, the Imperial Army, holding long spears, formed a dense forest of pikes to restrict the cavalry's movements.

Having achieved the goal of delaying time, Jean Bureau led the cavalry to break out to the north.

During this process, a squad of musketeers set up an ambush in the direction of the French cavalry's breakout. When they approached, these musketeers immediately pulled their triggers.

A bullet happened to strike the body of the old marshal Jean Bureau; the lead bullet, at close range, penetrated his breastplate and directly shot through the old marshal's lung.

Jean Bureau almost fell from his horse; the knights guarding him supported his body, carrying him as they charged out of the Imperial Army's encirclement.

Many other cavalrymen ultimately failed to break through; the battlefield was littered with the bodies of numerous warhorses and brave warriors, and the ground, stained red with blood, became a tragic footnote to this brutal battle.

Karl's cavalry became the main force of the pursuit, and the Imperial Army's cavalry mercilessly slaughtered the fleeing French army.

Wherever the hooves passed, only devastation remained; French soldiers who were caught met their demise under the curved sabers.

The Swiss, after the French retreat, also quickly followed suit, and Albrecht, commanding the Imperial Army's left wing, firmly entangled them.

Waldmann, left with no choice, could only leave some troops to block the enemy's pursuit, while the remaining forces hastened their withdrawal.

He knew that doing so would lead to his judgment by the Confederation, but he could not allow the entire army to be annihilated here. The Swiss infantry responsible for the rearguard fought with their backs to the wall, forming a formation and pressing towards the Imperial Army in front of them.

And awaiting them were the "unscrupulous" Imperial Army musketeers and crossbowmen.

Dense volleys of bullets and arrows rained down on the rapidly advancing Swiss army, causing warriors to fall in droves.

These Swiss had no retreat; they could only continue to advance, met by wave after wave of gunfire and arrows.

A large number of Swiss soldiers fell on the path of their charge, while the remaining Swiss army, facing an Imperial Army several times their size, still resisted stubbornly for a long time before finally collapsing completely.

Sporadic fighting continued until nightfall; the battlefield was silent, the smell of gunpowder had not yet dissipated, and the heavy stench of blood was nauseating.

Bodies lay strewn across the field, the waters of the Ticino River were stained red with blood, and crows circled above the battlefield, waiting to enjoy their feast.

Even mercenaries who had experienced many brutal battles found it difficult to remain impassive in the face of such a sight.

The Franco-Swiss combined forces lost most of their troops and all of their heavy artillery and plundered finances; the remaining troops also lost their ability to continue fighting.

The Imperial Army was also not unscathed, suffering significant casualties exceeding 8,000 men.

The main losses occurred in the battles on the left and right flanks; the Swiss infantry and French knights were extremely formidable in combat, and had it not been for the Imperial Army's significant numerical advantage of ten thousand men, the outcome of this battle would have been difficult to predict.

Recalling the final counterattack by the Swiss and French, Laszlo still felt a lingering fear.

His mood now was a mix of joy and sorrow: joy that this battle successfully routed the main forces of the French and Swiss armies, and sorrow that suffering such heavy losses was already crippling for Austria.

However, he immediately stopped dwelling on these thoughts, because the remaining French forces had not yet been eliminated, and Milan had not yet been captured;

this war could not yet be declared over.