Just as the Bulgar Army turned to besiege Adam's dragon banner, Akad, watching from the bunker on the sandbar ridge, became furious. This was his second time erupting in such anger.
"Fools! Idiots! Morons! Have you all gone mad? You are all scumbags who can't distinguish between what's important and what's not!"
The reason for Akad's fury was simple: the opportunity to crush the Rus had been presented to them, yet these guys had given it up!
What the hell were they doing?
The Khan certainly knew that if Adam were eliminated, the entire war might end, but the fighting was still ongoing, with incredibly intense battles continuing on all fronts.
Even if Adam were killed, if they were to suffer a major defeat afterward, and his effective forces were annihilated here, wouldn't that also be a complete failure? His power came entirely from the army.
Of course, the common soldiers below certainly didn't know, and even if they did, they wouldn't care, as nothing could stop them from getting rich. This left Akad feeling helpless.
The most important thing now was to secure victory in the East Bank battle. If the collapse of the East Bank Rus Army became a foregone conclusion, then Adam's death could also be achieved incidentally, killing two birds with one stone.
But now, this group of people had all rushed towards Adam's location, and the Rus, who were on the verge of collapse under heavy pressure, were gradually recovering. What kind of situation was this! If this continued, the Rus would recover!
Akad felt as if he was about to unleash all the frustration he had accumulated over this period today.
First, his son's unauthorized action had ruined his grand plan, and now, front-line commanders were violating orders en masse, abandoning an opportunity that could have overwhelmed the enemy.
But anger was useless for changing the current situation, and Akad knew this better than anyone. Therefore, he reined in his fury and made a new decision.
"Jia Dabi, assemble my mercenaries, guards, and border cavalry. I will deliver a decisive blow to the Rus."
The Khan's order was simple, but everyone immediately became busy, because the Khan was about to deploy his last reserve!
Akad's idea was simple: since these guys wouldn't deliver the final blow, he would do it himself. His reserve force was also the core of his strength, including mercenaries he had hired at great expense, loyal border cavalry, fanatical believers, and loyal death-sworn warriors, enough to crush the Rus in one go.
Originally, the Khan had intended to use this force last, as a hidden trump card, but now it seemed he had to reveal it, to let the Rus see the existence of this force.
The Khan was very reluctant about this. Even if he attacked now and annihilated the enemy forces on the East Bank, the Rus still had a powerful army, and they would certainly have countermeasures once they noticed his cavalry.
As the Bulgar reserves were assembling and moving out under orders, the battle on Adam's side grew increasingly fierce and brutal.
After all, so many Bulgars were pressing in on Adam, with countless heavy infantry and heavy cavalry. They were all madly fighting for Adam's head, and facing this immense pressure, Adam's Bulgar shield wall began to disintegrate.
As the shield wall broke apart, the Bulgar Army naturally surged in, and the battle turned into a chaotic melee.
Adam's Bulgars did not lose their will to fight due to the shield wall's disintegration. They regrouped according to the crosses on their shields, standing back-to-back, facing enemies from all directions, and continued to firmly resist.
Warriors of the same Bulgar nation thus fought each other, the only way to distinguish their factions being the insignias on their shields. Horsemen on warhorses took lives one by one, and soldiers dragged down and killed those on horseback... Death was like a shadow, everywhere.
Fortunately, soldiers continuously arrived at the East Bank battlefield via the pontoon bridge, constantly providing reinforcements for the melee, allowing Adam's forces to maintain strong combat power and making the battle even more brutal.
Bishop Tiberius, as he had promised, led his followers in battle amidst the chaotic battlefield.
At this moment, he had lost his usual scholarly demeanor. He wore armor covered in scriptures, fighting madly on the battlefield, his combat staff constantly covered in red and white.
The price he paid was merely armor covered in scratches, and many scriptures stained with blood, but Bishop Tiberius was not a person who cared about such minor details.
His followers and adherents were driven to madness by the Bishop's fighting. To these newly converted, the Bishop was as powerful as a god of war.
They felt their choice of conversion was absolutely correct, and then plunged into the battle with even greater fervor, just like their Bishop, all immersed in the frenzy of combat.
These people became the backbone of Adam's army. Wherever they appeared, people's morale would be greatly boosted, for nothing was more inspiring than a warrior on the battlefield.
"Report, Lord Hussein is dead."
In Adam's main formation, he heard of the death of an old subordinate.
Hussein was originally Aleff's attendant, and as he spent more and more time by Adam's side, he also became one of Adam's trusted aides.
When Adam expanded the Bulgar Army, he naturally became a general, becoming Aleff's right-hand man.
He just hadn't expected this person to be gone just like that...
A touch of sadness appeared on Adam's face, but Aleff showed no sign of sadness, because he knew very well that it was more important to prevent a potential collapse than to grieve for a subordinate.
"Lord Adam, I must go forward. Lord Vasily, I entrust you with protecting Lord Adam."
Aleff gave a few simple instructions, then immediately led his troops forward, charging into the line that had begun to fall into chaos due to Hussein's death.
"Hussein is dead..."
Adam still murmured about it, suddenly feeling a hint of regret, but this weakness was immediately suppressed. This was not an emotion that should be felt on a battlefield.
Aleff's participation in the battle did not change the chaotic battlefield; it merely added another factor to the confusion, only making the chaos more complete.
Suddenly, Vasily, who had taken on this task, appeared very nervous. He constantly looked around, observing all possible enemy movements, but unexpectedly, he truly saw an enemy force charging with intense momentum.
It was a unit of Bulgar heavy cavalry. These men moved through the battlefield like a herd of beasts, and anything that blocked their path would be directly crushed.
And now, this unit was heading towards Adam.
"Form ranks! Form ranks immediately!"
Vasily quickly pulled over a unit of Bulgar spearmen, having them form a battle line in front of Adam, ready to meet the charge, while the guards behind them surrounded Adam, preventing any possible impact from reaching him.
But even after doing all this, Vasily still felt incredibly nervous, because the number of heavy cavalry was simply too great. These warriors in scale and lamellar armor swept across the battlefield like the Abbasid Caliph's powerful slave cavalry, and anything that stood before them would only be crushed to death.
Vasily even regretted not leaving a last will. The spearmen in front of him were even more terrified, their raised spears trembling.
However, luck was on their side. Just as Vasily was pondering how to counter the enemy, a massive crossbow bolt suddenly struck the galloping cavalry, raising a cloud of dust.
It was a pity, but after the dust settled, the cavalry continued to advance. They unhesitatingly trampled over the bodies of their comrades, who had been shot through, ending their lives with their horses' hooves, and continued towards their target.
Just as Vasily was preparing for a final stand, a unit of cavalry suddenly burst out from the flank of these Bulgars, directly crashing into them.
Cavalry collisions were extremely violent. In just an instant, countless deaths were created. Under the immense impact, no armor could save a life.
However, because the attacking unit crashed sideways into the Bulgars' charging formation, their casualties were much lower.
As for falling from a horse, the moment a cavalryman fell often meant a miserable death, either being trampled by warhorses or impaled by spears.
Screams, horse neighs, and bone-cracking sounds all mixed together, and then, after both sides had suffered enough casualties and stopped, the fierce fighting immediately began, with scimitars, longswords, and spears clashing ceaselessly.
This newly emerged cavalry unit was clearly much stronger in combat than the Bulgars. They completely overwhelmed the Bulgars from beginning to end, their combat skills far superior, and they also had close coordination.
People constantly fell from their horses because their reins were cut, and others had their entire heads shattered, and most of these were Bulgars.
Soon, these Bulgar cavalry were dispersed, and those unwilling to flee were all killed, dying miserably, either having their brains spilled or being trampled to death by the horse herd.
The nearby Bulgars were driven away by such a sight. Who would dare approach a group of killing gods after seeing this? Would they not run and wait to be killed by them? So the Bulgars quickly fled, and fled very fast.
Looking at that unit, Vasily couldn't help but narrow his eyes. The dust raised by the cavalry charge earlier had prevented him from clearly seeing the flag of the unit in front, but in his heart, he felt a sense of familiarity, a feeling he had throughout the entire battle.
And as the dust cleared, Vasily saw the flag he was so familiar with: the emblem of saint george slaying the dragon.
The armor of the men was also what those who usually accompanied him wore, and beneath that flag was someone he was incredibly familiar with and fond of, a person of great majesty and power.
Rostislav Vladimirovich Rurik, Moscow Prince.