Ilkhan's force soon arrived at the battlefield. By then, the Ottoman New Army stationed there had suffered nearly fifty percent casualties.
Yet the commander of this New Army was not pleased in the slightest at the sight of the reinforcements before him.
"What are these people here for?"
Ilkhan did not think much of these New Army soldiers who had been fighting bloodily before him either. Sitting tall on his horse, he spoke arrogantly.
"Of course we're here to take over your position. Hand over your weapons, and you can go down and rest. Come relieve us this time tomorrow."
"Hand over our weapons?" The officer sneered. "That depends on whether you have what it takes."
Clearly, the contempt went both ways. The New Army commander could not possibly hand over the weapons his soldiers regarded as their lives, and Ilkhan had no intention of making things easy for him.
Thus, the street could only be divided in half, with the city defense troops holding one side and the New Army the other.
However, this was quickly proven to be an utterly disastrous decision. Ilkhan and his men clearly did not understand what war truly was.
Facing the Russian troops marching toward them in formation, the city defense troops began firing while the enemy was still several hundred meters away.
"My lord, look at those dumb geese! I just hit one! Can I claim my reward now?"
A squad leader among the city defense troops shouted excitedly. The soldiers around him also looked at Ilkhan expectantly. After all, killing a Russian soldier earned a reward of fifty kurush.
Fifty kurush was roughly equivalent to 0.5 Pound Sterling, enough to buy two adult sheep. For an ordinary person in the Ottoman Empire, it was an extremely considerable income.
Ilkhan curled his