After this collision, the situation did not conclude; instead, the subsequent events caught the Pope's soldiers off guard even more.
As the first warhorse appeared, more and more cavalry emerged on the city walls, turning the gatehouse into an exclusive passage for these charging warhorses.
The Grand Knight's strategy was correct.
She knew that the Pope's forces would use a human wave tactic for a siege.
Thus, she ordered her soldiers to take turns defending in shifts, with one team resting while the other defended, allowing for the continuous replenishment of energy.
When the enemy's attack speed increased and gaps appeared in their defense, the enemy troops would be allowed to climb the walls and form a defensive formation to counter the attackers.
Although the enemy forces were numerous, the width of the city walls was limited. As long as her forces defended in a formation, it would be difficult for the enemy to break through.
However, soldiers would eventually tire. Once they became exhausted, enemy soldiers would quickly fill the walls.
At that moment, the Grand Knight would order all soldiers to retreat and vacate the stairs leading down from the gatehouse. Subsequently, she would send out her elite cavalry unit, whose riders' skills made little difference between scaling high stairs and flat ground.
When the time came, the two brave cavalry teams would simultaneously charge up the walls, cutting down the enemy soldiers, leaving only the grunts to meet their deaths obediently.
The Pope's soldiers, who were fiercely fighting, felt jubilant as they saw the defending soldiers being pushed back by their own forces.
Their morale instantly soared, each of them eager to pursue the retreating enemy. However, as they were about to go after them, a cavalryman suddenly charged from the gatehouse.
Soon, the Pope's soldiers realized that the approaching force was not just "a" cavalryman but "a unit"; no, upon further inspection, they discovered that it was in fact two full cavalry units!
Led by two trusted aides, the two thousand-strong cavalrymen ascended the gatehouse, charging headlong towards their target.
Throughout history, cavalry has always been the bane and nightmare of infantry and especially spellcasters; because casting spells required chanting, cavalry's speed often outstripped the speed of the spellcasters' incantations.
Having one or two obstacles ahead would be manageable, at least offering some resistance.
But now, the Pope's soldiers were the attackers, with no defensive structures provided for them to use. The Crusaders fared slightly better, as they fought with iron shields and could offer resistance when the mounted soldiers charged.
In comparison, the grunts were in a dire situation. Trapped in a confined space, facing the skilled riders, they had no room to evade. Even if they tried to dodge, they couldn't escape the sword and spear strikes from the riders on horseback.
The walls on both sides were congested with tens of thousands of grunts; facing the hostile cavalry, they couldn't resist. Those in the front desperately pushed back, while those in the back pushed forward, causing a stampede.
This scenario actually played into the hands of Dibiles' cavalry. After a round of charging and slashing, the two trusted aides and their cavalry unit eliminated nearly six thousand enemies.
The loss of troops was secondary; the crucial point was that after Dibiles's charge, the morale of the Pope's army plummeted instantly, and their onslaught could not compare to before.
After a brief charge, the two cavalry units swapped positions, turning tail and charging back before the enemy could react, then swiftly retreating down from the gatehouse.
The cavalry, like a whirlwind, suddenly swept the walls, scattering the enemy's formation, and then disappeared without a trace.
The enemy soldiers attempted to counterattack, but they were too slow. The disciplined formation that had previously withdrawn quickly adjusted its stance and moved forward at the cavalry's retreat.
The Grand Knight had set up formations, with a phalanx on each side guarding the two main roads leading into the city.
Even when facing a large enemy force, the phalanx remained unbroken. However, with the Crusaders joining the battle, the situation on the battlefield changed.
Facing the fierce assault of the imperial elite, the defense of the soldiers became much more challenging.
Therefore, after the cavalry withdrew, the Grand Knight immediately issued the command:
"Change formation to the Charging Scale Array."
In the Charging Scale Array, the commander stayed in the center rear of the formation, with the main force assembling in the center; the formation was divided into several scale-like small formations arranged in stages, slightly convex at the front, an offensive formation.
The core of this formation was the center breakthrough, concentrating their forces and launching a fierce attack at the enemy's center, with the weakness being the rear.
But the Charging Scale formation set up by the Grand Knight now was somewhat different from the traditional one.
