Chapter 8: The War of Reclamation part 3
Byzantium had underestimated the power of the Mamluks. He had almost lost to him and would not allow this to happen again. "Men what you saw a week ago was a man who thought he could take on the world, a man who had no regard of others strength… that man is gone and has been replaced by a man who will think twice before attacking someone who might be of equal strength. I swear to you men I will bring the Empire back into our hands, but it may take many years, I don't expect you all to be alive when it is done, but your desendants will be proud to know that their ancestors were some of the bravest and best soliders in this empire! Now men lets move forward on to the last bastion of the Egyptian Mamluks, Cairo! We shall not lose! Venimus, vidimus, vincemus!" The crowd of men jumped and cheered the last word that came from Byzantium's mouth, "Vincemus!" They yelled.
A Byzantine army of at least 50,000 men marched toward the city of Cairo. Their marching could be heard throughout the lands. This was the Royal Army of Byzantium. Clade in the strongest armor in Byzantium, and given the best Muskets and horses avalible. Byzantium was playing his best hand and he was waiting for his oppent to lay down his cards.
The Mamluks was standing at the top of the walls that surrounded Cairo. A man of few words, he shouted only this, "Come, try and win." Before leaving the walls. In his place a large group of archers took up the walls. They fired their arrows down on the approaching army. The group of arrows was very large and was concentrated at the Byzantine grenadiers which were the largest threat to the city, but before the arrows could land the troops pulled a trick from the legions of Rome and raised their shields creating a wall of steel that no arrow could penetrate. They marched on shields in place under constant arrow fire. The first line of the royal army made its way up and fired on the walls killing many archers as the bullet penetrated their cloth armor going to the back ranks. The archers stood their ground however not letting their dead comrades stand in the way of them defending their city. Byzantium pulled up clade in full plate steel armor with a helmet on. "Pull up the cannons I want this city, they will not hold!" The cannons pulled into range, a whole line of them as long as the walls themselves, "Prepare to fire men!" The cannons aimed at the wall and on the word of their leader they fired on the walls, shattering them. The men on top of the walls fell to the ground either landing on sharp shattered rocks or on the warm sand below them. The army of Byzantium marched forward intent on destroying everything in their way. The Mamluks brought forward a line of troops with muskets, these men were poorly trained in the ways of musketry, but were willing to use it to defend their capital from the invaders.
They raised their guns and aimed at the men whose shields were blocking their armored body, they fired and only dented the first rows shields, the men dropped their shields and brandished their muskets. They fired upon the group of musket milita dropping many of them before they charged in with a sword killing the rest. Byzantium was leading the march threw Cairo, but just before reaching the town center he was met yet again with the Mamluks, dressed in chainmail, and light plate armor with a chain mail helmet. "Leave and live, Stay and die" was all he said before he pulled out a pistol. Byzantium did the same and got of his horse and walked right up to the Mamluks and pointed his pistol at him reciving the same from the Mamluks. "You've lost I won, give up Mamluks, I will show mercy." The Mamluks eyed him with hatered , "Never." He fired his pistol shooting Byzantium threw the head. Byzantium didn't fall though he stood there and pulled of his helmet to reviel that he was wearing a thick steel padding that caused the bullet to richetch off it and out the other side of the helmet. "You had your shot, now I have mine." He fired his bullet and it went straight threw with a clear exit hole. The Mamluks fell down to the ground dead, but not with out a successor, Egypt. So ended the war of Reclamation, The Mamluks fall and the regaining of the middle east into the Byzantines hand, the only people left in his way of reclaiming the lands of Rome were Spain, France, and England. These three were the top powers of the world besides Byzantium. One of these three would be to powerful for Byzantium to take on alone, and that would be his down fall, but which one would it be?