According to Manuel's original plan, as long as the platoon of musketeers on the right wing approached the enemy cavalry, they would be able to accurately shoot down all enemies from their horses due to the shortened range. Based on his estimation, the optimal distance was 42 Greek feet. "As long as my orders are accurately executed, there's still a good chance of winning," Manuel thought.
However, the situation on the battlefield changes rapidly, and nothing ever goes exactly according to plan. After receiving the order, the musketeers, though some of the quick-witted soldiers felt a jolt in their hearts, still advanced resolutely to intercept the enemy. At first, the fastest and most aggressive enemy cavalry indeed fell under the musketeers' relatively accurate long-range fire. But soon, more Tatar cavalry charged, nearing Theodoro's position. And these musketeers, who should have been providing support from the rear, were now on the front lines due to the order, becoming live targets for the enemy.
Upon realizing that the enemy Tatar cavalry were charging his musketeers, Manuel, already overwhelmed, quickly issued another order: "Where are the artillery? Provide fire support immediately! Advance 30 Greek feet due north!"
Manuel, who was already frantic, seemed to have forgotten one thing: artillery at this time was not suitable for direct use in battles like skirmishes, but rather served more as support during sieges. Moreover, he had only brought two cannons with this army, primarily for harassing the enemy's rear.
It was predictable how much support these two cannons could provide. Soon, a clear gap appeared on Theodoro's right flank and front, allowing the Crimean cavalry to more easily penetrate their formation and cut down Theodoro soldiers.
Watching the increasingly obvious signs of his army's collapse, Manuel, on horseback, clenched his palms and took a deep, deliberate breath, forcing himself to calm down. "It must have been a problem with the military drill just now. Calm down, calm down. This is a matter of life and death, I must be calm…"
But the battle waited for no one. Seeing Manuel still deep in anxious thought, Aidian, the deputy commander of the Filaka Legion guarding him, anxiously requested, "Your Highness, do not hesitate any longer. Please order the Filaka soldiers to join the battle!"
Manuel, who had been indecisive, suddenly had an epiphany upon hearing this. "That's right, the Filaka Legion, it's time," he said, as if regaining his confidence. "The rigorously trained Filaka soldiers have no reason to lose to the Janissaries. Someone, convey my order: all Filaka soldiers to battle, charge the Tatar infidels at one o'clock!"
"Yes, Your Highness, loyalty! God's will!" With this roar, the Filaka Legion soldiers, the strongest fighting force in the Theodoro Army, entered the battlefield. Dressed in light but sturdy armor, some on horseback, some wielding long spears, they charged from the rear to the front, fiercely attacking the Tatar cavalry. And because the terrain was near water, the Tatar cavalry could not fully unleash their charge, and for a moment, the tide of the battle seemed to turn.
Klier, who was in command of the Crimean Army's center, was somewhat puzzled upon hearing this. "Hmm? I haven't heard of the Eastern Orthodox on the northern shore of the Black Sea having such fighting power? But that's fine," he said, getting on his horse, waving his scimitar, and ordering, "allah akbar! Janissaries warriors, it's time to charge!"
"allah akbar!"
Soon, both sides, still in a stalemate, saw a unit of valiant cavalry, clad in red felt wool and light armor, cross the temporary fortifications built by the engineers and charge forward, causing a dramatic shift in their hearts. The Theodoro soldiers went from panic to terror, while the Crimean soldiers went from joy to frenzy.
With the fierce charge of the Janissaries, the Theodoro Army began to show signs of collapse. Previously, they had mostly been attacked by lightly armored or unarmored Tatar light cavalry, allowing the Theodoro Army to barely hold their own with their intact equipment. But with these 250 Janissaries entering the battlefield, the Theodoro Army, far inferior in both quantity and quality, had lost any chance of victory. These well-trained, battle-hardened Janissaries, who regarded war as casually as eating and drinking, rode their warhorses and furiously crashed into Theodoro's formation, using their scimitars to cut down and wound every enemy they encountered. Ioannis Seler, Manuel's appointed deputy commander for this military operation, was shot in the lower back by a Crimean horse archer while attempting to retreat to the rear, falling from his horse, and was then finished off by a Janissary who caught up to him.
Facing the fierce attack of the Janissaries, only the rigorously trained Filaka Legion could barely maintain a defensive stance; other units, whether city guards or ordinary militia, basically collapsed at the first touch. After less than half an hour, the morale of Theodoro soldiers completely broke, and they fled the battlefield desperately, some even shouting during their escape: "Our army is defeated! Our army is defeated!"
Watching his army, which had been full of fighting spirit, collapse across the entire front, Manuel felt a chill run through him. "Why is this happening?" But there was no more time for him to ponder. His deputies, seeing that all was lost, quickly urged him to recall the Filaka soldiers who still had fighting power. "Your Highness's safety is paramount now," Aidian advised.
The defeat was irreversible. Finally, Manuel nodded mechanically, trying to rally the remaining troops and cover their retreat back to Crimea. Fortunately, the Crimean Army was mostly composed of conscripted Tatars, who, after achieving victory in the battle, were more interested in plundering military supplies and spoils of war than in pursuing the enemy's remnants. Klier's Janissaries, who were willing to actively pursue the fleeing enemy, were thus forced to slow down, doing their best to urge them and maintain the basic order of the entire army.
However, a small number of Crimean soldiers, totaling two or three hundred, were still willing to actively pursue the fleeing enemy. Moreover, there were many Tatar nomadic settlements along the way, so the number of pursuers of the Theodoro remnants was actually even greater. The number of people covering Manuel's retreat was only about a hundred, and with low morale, the situation was extremely critical.
Under such circumstances, Manuel, leading the fleeing soldiers, desperately escaped from Keziyar to Henichesk within a day. "Once we reach the Isthmus, we'll be safe. It's a good thing I scorched these areas, otherwise, if large groups of Tatar nomads had appeared along the way, we would have been finished." He felt a lingering fear recalling the Tatars and Crimean cavalry who had ambushed and eyed them, the fleeing soldiers, with hostility along the way.
"In that case, let's rest for a while. We'll set off again in half an hour." He couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness seeing the number of soldiers guarding his escape dwindle from nearly a hundred to sixty or seventy.
But it wasn't over yet.
Less than a quarter of an hour after Manuel and his men had temporarily rested in a deserted house in Henichesk, a guard rushed in, panting, to report, "Your Highness, the pursuers, the pursuers are coming!"