Lin Tian was unaware of the Crusader's intentions.
However, he knew that despite his relentless slaughter, the Crusaders had not retreated.
Seeing this, Lin Tian was relieved.
As long as these Crusaders did not retreat, he could kill them all.
And that was precisely what Lin Tian did.
He began his massacre and did not stop once.
By the end, he himself had lost count of how many he had killed.
He only remembered leading the army behind him, going wherever they pleased, and killing wherever they went.
He did not stop his slaughter until the path beneath his feet became a bloody trail.
Initially, the Crusaders did not pay much attention to Lin Tian's rampage.
After all, they had agreed on a strategy: first, exhaust Lin Tian's stamina, and then kill him.
Therefore, sacrificing some soldiers was only natural.
It was also natural for Lin Tian to kill some soldiers.
However, after letting Lin Tian rampage for a while, they soon realized something was wrong.
After letting Lin Tian have his way, they discovered that their Crusader forces were rapidly diminishing.
The ones slaughtering the Crusaders were not just Lin Tian, but also his own generals and soldiers.
While their killing prowess might not have been as terrifying as Lin Tian's, Lin Tian served as their beacon. Wherever Lin Tian killed, they followed.
Therefore, they faced virtually no resistance in their killing.
After all, the formidable opponents had mostly died by Lin Tian's sword.
Those following behind Lin Tian were like reapers gathering crops.
Although their task was easy, they did not kill any less.
After a period of slaughter, nearly half of the Crusaders had fallen to Lin Tian and his men.
The Crusader forces were decreasing at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Such a reduction instilled immense fear in the hearts of the Crusaders.
Especially as their numbers dwindled, many lost the courage to resist.
Their generals had not panicked yet, but their soldiers were already in disarray.
"How, how is this possible? How are we left with so few?"
"We can't fight them, we absolutely cannot fight them. They are too terrifying. With our current numbers, colliding with them is a sure death!"
"How can we fight this? Their general is like an immortal god of death who knows no fatigue. He has killed at least eight thousand, if not ten thousand, soldiers, and we can do nothing to him. How can we possibly withstand their onslaught?!"
"No, we can't keep fighting like this. If we continue to fight, we might be completely wiped out. Let's go, let's escape this place now, let's leave this place immediately!"
Such slaughter was too terrifying for them.
It was something they were unwilling to face, and something they were unwilling to endure.
Therefore, the desire to escape this battlefield arose in the hearts of many Crusader soldiers.
It wasn't just one person who felt this way, but many Crusader soldiers.
If their generals were not still on the battlefield, they might have fled long ago.
However, even with their generals present, their morale was in turmoil, and they could no longer hold on.
Hesitating, some among them approached their general and said,
"General, we cannot continue fighting like this. Our soldiers can no longer endure. If we continue, we might be annihilated!"
"Annihilation? That's impossible! I don't believe my army would be annihilated!"
"General, open your eyes and look! Look at our army, see how many are left!"
These words made the general involuntarily look around him.
Then, he was stunned.
He realized that there were very few soldiers left by his side.
Moreover, these soldiers all had looks of fear on their faces.
Looking again towards Lin Tian's position, he saw that the ground was covered with the corpses of the Crusaders.
The flowing blood testified to their terrifying killing power.
This gave the general a sense of sudden realization.
He felt that their previous combat strategy might have been wrong. They had thought their soldiers could deplete Lin Tian and his men's stamina, making it easier to kill them.
But as the battle raged, they found that it wasn't Lin Tian and his men whose stamina was being depleted, but their own army that was being worn down by Lin Tian and his forces.
Their army could not withstand such terrifying killing power.
In front of Lin Tian and his men, their army was more like a joke.
This feeling intensified as their numbers dwindled.
"We, we...!"
"General, we have no other options now. We can only retreat for now, otherwise, we will all be left here!"
"Then, we...!"
The Crusaders had dispatched an army of two hundred thousand this time. If they were to retreat now, it would truly be a crushing defeat, with no possibility of recovery.
Therefore, the Crusader general was filled with hesitation.
However, this hesitation in the eyes of the Crusader soldiers made them anxious.
"General, we cannot hesitate any longer. If we hesitate further, not a single one of us will survive!"
"If we retreat now, perhaps we can still preserve some of our strength! General, you must make a decision!"
Under these circumstances, the soldiers had to be anxious. If they weren't anxious, they might all be left behind.
For the sake of their own survival, they had to be anxious.
Hearing this, the Crusader general couldn't help but look back at the soldiers behind him. He could see that these soldiers had lost the will to fight.
If they continued to fight, their morale would collapse, and they would rout.
This caused the Crusader general to close his eyes in despair.
He was reluctant to accept this outcome, but it seemed he had no choice but to accept it now.
Therefore, after a silence of four to five breaths, he reluctantly gave his order:
"Retreat!"
This command fell on the soldiers' ears like heavenly music. The Crusaders did not hesitate and immediately fled.
However, their desire to retreat did not mean that Lin Tian intended to let them go.
As they began to retreat, Lin Tian also issued his order to kill.
"Pursue them, leave none alive, and push all the way to the next city!"
"Yes!"
Lin Tian intended to lead his army to the next city, venturing even deeper into the Roman Empire.
...