Seeing the Bosporus Army catching up, Ali was startled at first. Although both armies had many soldiers carrying torches, at midnight, these torches could only give them a rough estimate of the current situation. Neither the White Sheep nor the Bosporus side could clearly see the other's true strength.
Because of this, when Ali and his men realized the Bosporus Army was catching up, they assumed the enemy was entirely composed of elite Philakatoi who acted with perfect discipline. They all decided to continue retreating, rather than staying to confront the enemy head-on.
But this did not mean Ali and his men would lead the White Sheep Army in a panicked flight. Although the terrain was not flat and visibility was restricted, they believed that their Turkmen Ghazi Warriors were brave and fierce. Even if they were caught quickly, there was no reason they couldn't strike a heavy blow against these Christians they had always looked down upon!
Under the influence of this mindset, the proud Hamza volunteered to stay behind and temporarily command the rear guard of over 1,500 men to fend off the enemy. Ali, his brother, accepted this request without much thought. This was not out of any malicious intent, but simply because he believed Hamza was fully capable of leading the rearguard. However, out of prudence, after a few seconds of deliberation, he placed his subordinate, Özgür, by Hamza's side to assist him, and also reminded him to avoid prolonged combat if possible.
Thus, about a quarter of an hour later, the Bosporus Army, personally led by Manuel, directly clashed with the White Sheep rearguard led by Hamza. After a brief moment of surprise caused by the engagement, Hamza was the first to react, quickly ordering the heavy infantry, who were fewer in number but well-equipped, to move from their original position at the front of the retreating army to the rear where they were clashing with the Bosporus. This caused a brief period of confusion within the White Sheep Army.
This flaw in the White Sheep Army was keenly caught by Tukharovsky, who commanded the Bosporus Army's vanguard. He immediately informed Manuel, who was commanding the center, of this crucial military intelligence. Upon receiving this report, Manuel immediately ordered Aidian to lead the Philakatoi to form small assault squares and charge into the chaotic area of the White Sheep Army. At the same time, he also ordered the peasant soldiers of the Grand Company to attack the temporarily weaker, chaotic area of the enemy while also guarding against a counterattack.
Upon realizing the Bosporus Army was charging into their chaotic area, Hamza was not overly concerned at first. In his stereotypical view, classic Greek armies were cowardly and bullied the weak. He believed that if his Turkmen men just showed a bit of their savage bravery and broke their momentum, they would surely be scared off and retreat.
If it had been the old-style armies of Trabzon or Constantinople, which were no longer organized on a large scale, his wish might have come true. But unfortunately, he was now facing the Bosporus Army, which had undergone military development, and specifically the contingent that Manuel had most diligently cultivated.
Facing the surging Bosporus soldiers, these Turkmen soldiers initially relied on their bravery, cutting down several Philakatoi with their scimitars. But they quickly discovered with horror that these Roman soldiers did not scatter and flee when their comrades fell. Instead, they continued to wield their long spears and lances, charging at their enemies.
"When did these Christian soldiers become so brave?" A relatively sturdy Turkmen soldier retreated a few steps in shock, then turned and fell to the ground after missing his footing, only to be finished off by a Philakatoi who had caught up.
After about half an hour of fighting, Hamza finally understood that the combat strength and bravery of this Christian army were completely different from those they had encountered before. "Damn it, Allah above, no wonder they dared to cross the Black Sea to Asia Minor. But with this quality, it would be so much better to fight the Tatars on the vast steppes, what are they doing in the Pontic Mountains?!" Hamza looked at the enemy, who was on the verge of breaking through their formation, and cursed loudly within his army.
Fortunately, at this time, the heavy infantry had already arrived and were engaging the Bosporus soldiers. It's worth mentioning that their original role was not heavy infantry, but cataphracts. However, due to the mountainous terrain they were in, fighting on horseback would actually hinder their combat effectiveness. So, before they arrived in the Pontic Mountains, most of these cataphracts had dismounted.
After these heavy infantry arrived, with the cooperation of archers, they very effectively stalled the Bosporus Army's offensive rhythm and even showed signs of a counterattack for a time. It was also at this moment that the White Sheep Army led by Ali and others had successfully moved away from the battlefield under the cover of the rearguard led by Hamza. Seeing this, Hamza no longer had any intention of continuing to entangle with the Bosporus Army, only wanting to quickly disengage and reunite with the main army. To this end, he quickly issued an order for an orderly retreat, seeking to escape from this troublesome enemy as soon as possible.
However, he seemed to have underestimated the combat power of the Bosporus Army and their determination to defeat them, as well as the degree of confusion his own side had just experienced after being attacked. Upon realizing that this Turkmen enemy army seemed to be trying its best to retreat in an orderly fashion, Manuel immediately issued a command to continue the attack. He also had messengers convey instructions to the Generals commanding the various units, ordering the Philaka Legion fighting at the front to continue attacking in assault formations, while the peasant soldiers of the company commanded by Tukharovsky were to switch to an encircling force used to cut off the flanks. Through close cooperation, they would swallow this retreating White Sheep Army.
Facing the relentless advance of the Bosporus Army, Hamza finally felt that something was seriously wrong. He had never before encountered a Christian army with such strong combat power. In response, he could only continue to blindly have his heavy infantry resist and counterattack the enemy, while also having the archers in his army continuously fire volleys of arrows into the enemy formation. However, in the mountainous forest environment, many sharp arrows had their range and power hindered by the dense trees, effectively restricting another major advantage of the Turkmen Ghazi Warriors.
Visibility was obstructed at night, preventing full use of their martial prowess; mountainous terrain hindered them from charging on horseback; and the dense forests of the mountains limited the power of their arrows. Under these weakening conditions, the combat power of these White Sheep Turkmens was effectively locked to the same level as the Bosporus soldiers they were fighting against, perhaps even worse. This was because their enemies, as the elite of the Bosporus Army, had prepared excellent equipment in advance, including armor and finely crafted long spears, and had undergone rigorous training, while they were mostly tribal soldiers drawn from their clans, relying more on their inherent bravery and piety.
Finally, as the third watch approached, seeing the Christian crosses gradually approaching the center of his army, Hamza, who was increasingly losing confidence in the battle, was startled and ordered a direct retreat: "Allah's Ghazi Warriors, we have completed our mission. Now it is time for these Christians to pick up the pieces. Allahu Akbar!" As soon as he finished speaking, he immediately mounted one of the few warhorses still in the army and, disregarding the objections of tribal Generals like Özgür, led his personal guards directly towards the direction he and his brothers had previously agreed upon to escape.
The General's flight directly caused a significant drop in morale among the Turkmen soldiers who were still fighting the Bosporus Army. Even when Özgür and other subordinate Generals rode out to the front, they could only barely maintain the formation. And the fact that these Generals were forced to ride out to comfort the troops was clearly noticed by the enemy. When these Turkmen Generals risked stepping forward, they risked being beheaded by the enemy, which was common in any era.
Sure enough, within a few minutes, as Özgür came to the very front to try and command, Dungar de Laporte of the Bosporus Army seized this opportunity and directly charged over with a squad of peasant soldiers. Catching the enemy off guard, his two subordinates, named Nicholas and Petros, first led their men to overturn the enemy's infantry. Dungar, under their cover, used his spear to unhorse Özgür, then drew his sword and immediately beheaded him on the spot.