In the second line of the central army, Laszlo, clad in exquisite Milanese plate armor, observed the front line from atop his warhorse.
Albrecht [Achilles] accompanied the Emperor, and they both heard the booming cannons and earth-shattering battle cries from the right flank, indicating the fierce intensity of the fighting there.
Laszlo Hunyadi then rode up to the Emperor to report: "Your Majesty, Marshal Adolf has temporarily repelled the enemy's attack on the right flank. The enemy's forces are numerous, and it's impossible to determine which corps it is. He asks if he should order a pursuit?"
"Tell him to hold the Wagenburg and simply block the enemy," Laszlo said. He did not want any accidents to occur. With the Wagenburg's support, the right flank was impregnable, but if they ventured outside, the Crusade would find it difficult to withstand the charge of the Ottoman cavalry.
"Yes, Your Majesty." Laszlo Hunyadi immediately went to relay the Emperor's order.
The enemy's initial attack on the right flank was well within their expectations. Their deployment was designed to pressure the Frankenhöhe, so that as soon as the enemy descended the high ground, they would quickly reach the Wagenburg.
The Wagenburg's formidable anti-cavalry performance emboldened Adolf to set up his formation this way, forcing the enemy to charge the Wagenburg, otherwise their topographic advantage on the high ground would be nullified.
He succeeded; the Ottomans ultimately failed to breach the Wagenburg.
Veli Mahmud, unwilling to accept defeat, began to lead his corps to continue outflanking to the north, attempting to bypass the Wagenburg and attack the Crusade from the flank and rear.
The battle on the right flank temporarily concluded, while on the left flank, the true decisive battle was just about to begin.
"Brothers, we hate the Ottomans just as they hate us! Our destinies have been intertwined for too long. Today, we must put an end to it! Do you have the courage to charge with me?" Janos shouted loudly from the front of the formation, rousing morale.
"We will follow the General to the death!"
"Kill all infidels!"
"Expel the Ottomans!"
Since its establishment, the Hungarian Border Guard had fought the Ottomans for over a decade, accumulating unforgettable pain and blood feuds between them. Now, the chance to end the hatred lay before them.
The warriors waved their scimitars and let out fervent war cries. To counter the Ottomans, they began to learn from the Ottomans, and now, they would prove themselves to be superior cavalry to these Muslim.
Some heavily armored knights gathered around Janos. They came from Hungary, German, Bohemia, and there were also some Polish volunteers. These fully armed elite knights would serve as the spearhead directly piercing the Ottomans, with tens of thousands of Hungarian iron cavalry following behind them to sweep the Ottomans's right flank.
And on the opposite side, Haladin Pasha was also making his final preparations.
In recent years, the Ottomans's expansion in the East had been very smooth. Small states like the Karamanid Beylik and the Candar Beylik were forcibly annexed by the Ottomans, and the self-proclaimed Empire of Trebizond was easily crushed.
Their borders had already extended into the Syria region.
A bit further east, Uzun Hasan, the new Khan of the Ak Koyunlu, pledged allegiance to the Ottomans, and his corps included volunteers from the Ak Koyunlu.
The Ottoman Empire's rule in Anatolia was deeply entrenched, and its well-developed conscription system allowed it to gather a massive corps.
The Anatolia Corps had over twenty thousand cavalry and over thirty thousand infantry.
This corps was the main force of the Ottomans.
He entrusted twenty thousand infantry and several thousand cavalry to the Sultan to maintain the central army line, staying with the Janissaries. He led the remaining forces of the corps to form a line on the right flank, directly facing the Crusade's left flank commanded by Janos.
The Sultan's messenger came before Haladin and said to him: "The Sultan orders you to immediately lead your army to fiercely attack the enemy's left flank. Mahmud Pasha's attack has been repelled."
Haladin spat, disdainfully saying, "Mahmud, that useless fellow, when will he ever live up to the Sultan's trust in him? All right, you may return and report. I will lead the army to attack immediately."
"Warriors, the holy faith inspires us! Go and win a great victory for His Majesty the Sultan!"
Haladin rode his warhorse past the vast cavalry units. Among them were Sipahi cavalry, slave cavalry, and holy warrior Ghazi warriors who had long pioneered the empire's frontiers. They were invincible on the battlefield, the sharpest spear of the Ottoman Empire.
The Ottomans let out fervent shouts. The blood-boiling warriors were already impatient, their scimitars eager to drink the enemy's blood.
Janos turned to look at his side, where two deputy generals were leading the infantry, standing ready.
"Szilágyi, Werner, maintain formation, don't spread out too much, and stick close to me!"
"Yes, General!" The two generals watched Janos with eyes full of respect. This 68-year-old veteran general chose to personally lead the cavalry charge into the enemy formation.
"Szilágyi, it was my fault for not detecting the enemy's intention. His Majesty did not blame me, but I cannot forgive myself. If I fall on the path of the charge, you should unhesitatingly take my banner and continue fighting until you achieve victory for His Majesty!"
"Janos..." Szilágyi wanted to dissuade him, but the words caught in his throat. Janos's firm will was astonishing. Perhaps for this old general, this was the best place to be.
A clear horn blast echoed across Lake Varna. Three banners were raised high: one was the flag of Hungary, one was the Hunyadi Family's [Raven], and the last was the double-headed eagle symbolizing the Emperor. The Hungarian cavalry initiated the charge first.
Under Janos's leadership, a large number of cavalry bypassed the infantry line from their right side, their hooves thundering like thunder.
They let out fervent battle cries, their voices soaring to the sky, their momentum grand.
The Ottomans were not to be outdone. Haladin's cavalry also charged out from the side of their line, like arrows released from a bow, rushing towards the Hungarian.
The distance between the two sides rapidly shortened, and the ground trembled under the pounding of hooves.
Instantly, two torrents of cavalry violently collided.
For a moment, swords clashed, and sparks flew.
Lances pierced armor, sharp swords cut through bodies, and blood splattered in the air.
The Ottoman cavalry, relying on their numerical superiority, attempted to outflank the Hungarian cavalry from both sides.
But the Hungarian cavalry were well-trained, maintaining a tight formation, giving the enemy no opportunity.
On the battlefield, warhorses neighed, and knights roared.
Some knights were impaled by lances and fell from their horses; others had their arms severed by sharp swords but still fought valiantly.
An Ottoman cavalryman swung his scimitar, fiercely hacking at a Hungarian cavalryman.
The Hungarian cavalryman dodged sideways, and with a swift motion, slashed across the enemy's waist.
On the other side, a young Hungarian knight, having just slain an enemy, was ambushed from behind by another Ottoman cavalryman, whose scimitar swept across his back neck.
The cavalry of both sides continuously charged and fought. Bodies piled up like mountains on the battlefield, and blood stained the barren wilderness. Soon, this place would surely become fertile land where flowers bloomed.
Hooves trampled in pools of blood, splashing large amounts of gore.
The Ottomans infantry and the Crusade infantry also joined the battle at this time.
The battle entered a white-hot stage, with both the Ottomans and the Hungarian fighting with bloodshot eyes.
All cavalry charged forward recklessly; banners were no longer visible, nor were commanders. All that met the eye were enemies, comrades, blood splattering everywhere, and warhorses falling to the ground, neighing in agony.
In this brutal battle, every moment saw life vanish, every second was filled with gore and death.
But no one retreated. For honor and victory, for the future of their respective nations, they chose to fight until their last breath!
The cluster of knights led by Janos collided head-on with the Ottoman heavy armored Sipahi cavalry. After a brutal struggle, the two cavalry forces were completely intertwined, locked in an inextricable fight.
The Crusade, with fewer cavalry, gradually fell into a disadvantage. Seeing this, Haladin immediately led his reserve cavalry to launch a surprise attack from the flank, attempting to end the battle.
Szilágyi quickly organized the infantry to form a defensive line on the flank.
The Ottomans iron cavalry almost instantly broke through this fragile defense. Haladin was overjoyed; he was about to achieve victory for the Sultan.
Suddenly, an inconspicuous Serbian rushed forward and forcefully thrust his spear at Haladin's mount. The spearhead pierced the horse's armor and deeply embedded itself in its belly.
The Serbian was then immediately beheaded by an Ottomans cavalryman following behind.
Haladin's warhorse crashed heavily onto the battlefield, and Haladin was thrown, dizzy and disoriented. Before he could react, a chilling scimitar appeared in his vision. This was the last thing he saw.
The unexpected death of the main commander caused the Ottoman's morale to plummet rapidly. Some warriors had already begun to retreat, intending to flee the battlefield.
On the other side, two of Janos's warhorses had been killed. As he swung his sword to slay an Ottomans soldier attempting to ambush him, and then mounted a third warhorse, he noticed that the Ottomans were gradually collapsing.
"Gather, one more charge! We're about to win!"
He shouted hoarsely, then led the knights beside him in another charge. All the Hungarian who witnessed their commander's valiant attitude immediately regained their fighting passion, and without prior agreement, they all rushed in the direction Janos was advancing.
This fierce impact finally broke the Ottomans's last resistance, followed by an avalanche-like rout.
The Anatolia Corps's cavalry organization was largely shattered. Fear enveloped the hearts of the Ottomans; that fellow named Janos Hunyadi seemed unkillable, always leading wave after wave of cavalry to charge their lines. He was simply a mad devil!
Fear accelerated the Ottomans's collapse. Large numbers of slaves recruited from Anatolia threw down their weapons and fled, exposing their backs to the terrifying Hungarian light cavalry.
Their cowardly actions were met with merciless scimitars. The Ottomans fell in droves, cruelly slaughtered by the enraged Hungarian cavalry.
Sixty years, a full sixty years!
Counting from the disastrous defeat at Nicopolis in 1396, the Hungarian had endured sixty years of incessant humiliation and invasion from the Ottomans. Today, it was time to end it all!
The collapse of the right flank was so swift that Mehmed II had not even had time to react before the Anatolia Corps began to flee en masse.
He immediately deployed his last trump card; no matter how slim the hope, he still had to strive for that one chance of victory.
Even if he did not win, he had to ensure the Crusade lost its ability to threaten Constantinople.