chapter 36

Jean watched his soldiers fighting against the English with confidence, thinking he would easily win. "Men! Form up! Now!" the English commander shouted to his own soldiers, who promptly obeyed. One of Jean's soldiers tried to attack, but the English commander kicked him hard in the knee, breaking it. The soldier screamed in pain, but before he could fall to the ground, the commander cut his neck with his sword, decapitating him. Jean widened his eyes in shock at the sight of his dead soldier. This death caused a pause among the inexperienced soldiers, giving the English soldiers the opportunity to wound or even kill them more easily.

Jean acted personally to prevent soldiers from dying and to keep Jeanne from being saddened by the fact that her words had not been fulfilled, even though she was not to blame for not being present. He went directly to the enemy commander, who had just decapitated another French soldier. The commander seemed to be planning to kill more than just two French soldiers, taking advantage of the fact that they were fighting with him to kill them more easily and without having to make as much effort. Jean had already noticed this and advanced towards the English commander to make him stop killing the French soldiers who were fighting hand-to-hand with the English soldiers. Jean struck a sword attack against the English commander, who had already noticed the enemy's approach and defended the attack with mastery.

Jean attacked again, but the commander defended and counterattacked. Soon, they exchanged several intense blows that caused soldiers on both sides to step back. Jean put more and more force into swinging his sword, while the commander skillfully defended each attack that Jean launched. Although at times the commander had difficulty defending some of Jean's sword attacks, for the most part he seemed quite calm.

The battle between Jean and the English commander was intense and both fighters were skilled. Jean fought with great determination and strength, desperately trying to defend his soldiers and fulfill his promise to Jeanne. However, the English commander was equally skilled and experienced, and his defense was keeping Jean in check.

As the battle continued, Jean began to realize that his initial strategy was not enough to defeat the English commander. He needed to change tactics and find a way to overcome the enemy's defense. Jean also realized that he was getting tired and that his movements were getting slower.

With this in mind, Jean decided to change his approach and began using more unpredictable and faster movements, hoping to catch the English commander off guard. He also began using feints, false moves to divert the enemy's attention, trying to open a gap in his defense.

These changes in Jean's tactics were effective, and he managed to land some blows on the English commander. However, the enemy was still a formidable opponent and counterattacked with skill, blocking most of Jean's attacks.

Jean and the English commander continued to fight, each defending their attacks and counterattacking with skill. Despite Jean being able to land some blows on the enemy, the commander kept resisting and showed no signs of surrendering.

In a moment of carelessness by the enemy, Jean seized the opportunity and struck a decisive blow that cut the commander's neck. The enemy's body fell heavily to the ground, lifeless.

The English soldiers who were watching their commander fight against Jean were shocked by their leader's sudden death. Without command, some English soldiers panicked and began fighting in a disorganized and frenzied manner, while others tried to maintain the battle line.

Jean saw the opportunity to take advantage of the enemy's disorder and ordered his soldiers to advance and attack with full force. The French soldiers promptly responded, advancing with war cries and attacking the English soldiers with ferocity.

The battle became even more intense and bloody, with soldiers on both sides fighting mercilessly. Although the English were fighting without a leader, they were still a formidable enemy and the fight was hard for both sides.

In the end, the French managed to emerge victorious, but victory came at a high price. Many French soldiers died during the battle, as did many English soldiers. The death of the English commander, however, was a crucial blow to the morale of the English soldiers and contributed to the French victory.

Jean looked at the battlefield, seeing the bodies of the fallen soldiers. He felt a mixture of emotions - sadness for the loss of his men, relief for the victory, and respect for the English soldiers who fought so fiercely, even after the death of their commander.

Jean walked through the battlefield, observing the bodies of the fallen French and English soldiers on the ground. He approached the soldiers who survived and said:

"Soldiers, the battle was hard, but we achieved victory. I appreciate the bravery and determination of each one of you. Now, we need to collect the armor of the enemy soldiers so that we can prepare for the next battle."

One of the soldiers replied:

"Sir, is it a good idea to take the armor of the enemy soldiers? Isn't it disrespectful to the dead?"

Jean looked at the soldier seriously and replied:

"I understand your concern, soldier. But if we don't collect the armor of the enemy soldiers, our own men will be unprotected and vulnerable in the next battle. In addition, the armor of the enemy can be repaired and reused by our soldiers. It is not disrespectful to the dead, it is a necessity of war."

The soldier nodded his head and, along with the other survivors, began collecting the armor of the fallen English soldiers. Jean observed the scene with attention, feeling the pain of loss and the responsibility of leading his men to victory.

"May God have mercy on their souls," said Jean, in a tone of lament. "And may we honor them with our victory and courage in the next battle."

The French soldiers continued to collect the armor of the fallen English soldiers, while Jean walked away, thoughtful. He knew that the war was not yet over and that there were more battles to come. But for now, he needed to lead his men and prepare them for what was to come.

After the soldiers collected all the armor of the English soldiers, Jean decided to move forward with the idea of taking what was in the caravan that the English were carrying.

With some soldiers, Jean approached the caravan, which had been left unprotected during the battle. They found a large amount of supplies, such as food, weapons, and even some horses. Everything that could be useful to the French army.

Jean knew that it was a risk to take this kind of action because new English soldiers could arrive at any moment and catch them off guard. But it was necessary for the survival of his men.

They worked quickly to collect everything they could and load them into wagons and horses. When they finished, Jean looked at the horizon, alert for any sign of enemy movement.

Fortunately, they managed to get everything they needed without any English soldiers showing up. Jean knew he had taken a big risk, but he also knew it was worth it. He led an army that needed supplies to survive and win the war.

Jean gathered the surviving soldiers and said:

"Soldiers, besides collecting the armor of the enemy soldiers, we have another task to perform. We need to bury the bodies of our fallen comrades, as well as the bodies of the enemy soldiers. It's a sad task, but it's our duty to pay them a last respect."

One of the soldiers responded:

"Sir, how should we proceed?"

Jean replied:

"We will dig a hole in the ground large enough to accommodate all the bodies. We will dig carefully and respectfully. All the bodies will be placed together, without distinction of nationality. Let's give them a dignified burial."

The soldiers agreed with the decision and began to dig a hole large enough to accommodate all the bodies. They worked in silence, digging carefully and respectfully. Jean observed the scene with sadness, feeling the weight of the responsibility of leading his men to war.

When the hole was ready, the soldiers began to carefully place the bodies in it. Jean watched with sorrow as each body was placed in the hole.

"May they rest in peace," Jean said softly as the soldiers continued to place the bodies.

Finally, all the bodies were in the hole. The soldiers began to cover the bodies with dirt, carefully and without haste.

When the hole was completely covered, Jean approached the soldiers and said:

"Let's have a minute of silence in honor of our fallen comrades."

The soldiers agreed and stood in silence for a minute, honoring the soldiers who had lost their lives in battle.

Jean felt a deep sadness in his heart, knowing that many of his men had lost their lives. He also felt gratitude for the enemy soldiers who had fallen, for they had also fought bravely.

"Let's go," Jean said finally, as the soldiers began to leave the site.

They left the burial site with sadness, but also with a sense of duty fulfilled. Jean knew that there were more battles ahead, but for now, it was important to honor the dead and prepare the living for what was to come.

As they arrived at the place where they were hiding, Jeanne realized that several soldiers she had sent were missing. She sighed deeply, feeling the sadness in her heart, but did not show weakness in front of her men. Instead, she raised her voice and began to pray out loud for the souls that had departed, both allies and enemies.

Jean noticed the sadness on her face and tried to apologize: "I'm sorry for the loss of your men, Jeanne. I took a big risk because of my confidence, I never thought there would be a turn."

Jeanne quickly interrupted him, saying, "It's not your fault, Jean. We all take risks in this war. I'm grateful for what you did for our men."

She then sent them all to rest, but before that, she asked Jean where he had buried the soldiers. Jean replied, "It was on one of the roads that led to Orleans. We gave them a dignified burial."

Jeanne nodded and said, "Very well. They deserve a dignified burial, regardless of which side they fought on in this war. They are all brothers in Christ."

The soldiers agreed and retired to rest, knowing that there was still much to be done in this war.

Jean and his companions finished storing the armor and supplies they had looted. Meanwhile, Jeanne walked away from the group and headed towards the road where the soldiers had been buried by Jean. Her blonde hair gently swayed in the night breeze, which had already arrived, and she silently walked towards the site.

Upon arriving there, Jeanne knelt in front of the makeshift graves. Her blue eyes were full of tears and she began to apologize to the soldiers.

"Forgive me for not keeping my word," she sobbed. "I promised to take care of you, and I failed miserably."

Jeanne cried bitterly as she spoke, her words mixed with sobs and moans of sadness. She blamed herself for the soldiers' deaths and for her own helplessness in saving them.

"I'm so sorry, really sorry," she repeated, her voice choked with tears. "I will never forget you, never."

Her tears fell abundantly, wetting the cold and dark ground. Jeanne remained there for a while, mourning for the soldiers who had lost their lives in battle.

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