"I need to keep myself awake." Malik said this after the imperial physician gave him opium.

"But if Sultan doesn't get treatment, his life will be in danger," Mansur said anxiously.

"The fate of the country depends on this battle, and the Sultan must not care about his life or death." Malik said to his brother and the imperial physician in an unquestionable tone:

"My illness is only known to you two. You are not allowed to tell anyone else... To others, just say that I just caught a cold by chance."

"Yes, my Sultan." The two men quickly knelt on one knee and responded with tears in their eyes.

With the help of the medicine, Malik asked again, "Are there any signs of movement from the Portuguese?"

"While the Sultan was in a coma, the scouts returned." Mansur wiped the tears from his eyes and said:

"The Portuguese army has been heading south and has not attacked Larache. Apparently, their king has not thought about ensuring contact with the navy, but has plunged into the inland, intending to engage in a decisive battle with us and end the war in one fell swoop!"

"God is great..." Malik was obviously cheered up, and his condition seemed to have improved a little.

Because if the Portuguese continued to advance step by step along the coastline as they had done for the past hundred years, the Moroccans would be helpless under the cover of their powerful navy.

But once you enter the inland, it becomes the world of the desert people!

"Let's proceed according to the plan." Malik then instructed Mansur: "Lure the invaders to the Mahazan River and fight to the death as they wish!"

"Yes, my Sultan, God bless Morocco!" Mansur gritted his teeth and left.

~~

In fact, Malik's plan had already begun to work the moment the Portuguese set foot in Morocco.

It was simple. He adopted the strategy of luring the enemy deep into his territory and waiting for them to tire themselves out. He ordered the tribal troops stationed at the border and northern checkpoints to retreat as soon as they saw the Portuguese and to join the main force at Kebir Fort on the Mahazan River.

Sebastian, who lacked combat experience, was fooled into thinking that the Moroccan army was intimidated by the might of his army and would not dare to fight. He made the mistake of underestimating the enemy and advancing rashly, constantly urging the army to advance inland.

As the army went deeper into the dry mountainous areas, the hot weather and long marches were rapidly eroding the Portuguese army's combat effectiveness.

They themselves also seriously lacked the awareness of the hardship of fighting, and seemed to treat this expedition as a hunting trip or a picnic.

While the task force members were busy polishing their weapons and maintaining their rifles, the nobles were busy mending their gorgeous robes and asking their servants to polish their boots.

They never wore armor when marching, but only gorgeous silk tights embroidered with gold and silver threads, and of course fake penises, and flaunted them in the team.

They were always eating, eating the candy tarts and greasy roast chicken and suckling pig served by the servants, without considering whether these things were easy to digest.

The fully armed task force members huddled in a carriage with an awning, refusing to eat any greasy food, eating only biscuits and drinking light salt water, trying their best to stay in shape in the hot environment of Morocco.

As the army arrived at the banks of the Mahazan River, the Macrons were at their highest alert.

At this time, the Portuguese received intelligence from King Abu's supporters that Malik's army was gathering in Kebir Castle.

The young king, who was still energetic despite the hot weather, immediately ordered his entire army to cross the river upon hearing the news, in order to catch the Moroccans off guard!

At the king's urging, the Portuguese army crossed the Mahazan River without conducting much reconnaissance.

The reason for crossing the river in such a hurry is that the Mahajang River is a tidal river. The water level is at its lowest at this time, and the water depth in the middle of the river is just above the waist. There is no need to build a bridge, and the army can cross it directly!

However, soon after the king's army crossed the Mahazan River, scouts discovered that the main force of the Moroccan army was waiting in front.

"How many troops are there?" Sebastian picked up the telescope and looked into the distance.

"There's no end in sight. It's probably twice as many as our army," the scout replied anxiously, "and we saw the Sultan's flag!"

"What?" The Portuguese army immediately fell into panic. They had no time to find out why King Abu's intelligence was wrong. Sebastian immediately ordered them to form a battle formation to meet the enemy.

Under the command of aristocratic officers, the Portuguese army was divided into two lines, front and back. Both domestic troops and foreign mercenaries, without exception, formed the Spanish square formation that was invincible in Europe.

Noble officers and professional sergeants were responsible for leading them to boost morale and ensure a stable formation.

Sebastian deployed the experienced and powerful mercenaries and volunteer phalanxes on the first line, and the inexperienced and less powerful civilian troops on the second line. The heavy cavalry composed of knights were deployed on both wings of the infantry troops, and King Abu's light cavalry was deployed outside the elite knights on the right wing.

The artillery position consisting of 36 guns was located at the forefront of the army. Fearing that the Moroccan light cavalry, which had a numerical advantage, would outflank the flanks, the Portuguese army also used a large amount of baggage to form a barrier, deployed on both sides of the infantry, to cover the outer sharpshooters against the enemy cavalry.

Behind the two lines the remaining baggage wagons were arranged in a camp to protect the king and those accompanying the army.

The task force members, as the king's guards, were also in the fortress formed by the chariot array. Macron stood on a baggage cart and looked coldly at the Portuguese who were hastily forming their battle array.

There was nothing wrong with their formation itself. But the problem was that the location of the formation was backed by the broad Mahajan River, and on the right was a tributary of the Mahajan River. The two rivers merged together in a herringbone shape, and the place where the Portuguese formed their formation was exactly at the crotch of the "human" character.

"Good fellows, this is a last-ditch battle, or an enhanced one." He retracted his gaze and said to his men, "If the battle goes against us and the tide rises, we won't be able to escape."

"Of course." Vice Captain Pan Qiaoyun nodded and said, "The possibility of Little Red Hair losing in this battle is increasing!"

"It's hard to say." That person suddenly appeared and said, "The gap in military quality between the two sides is still quite large. It depends on whether the Moroccans can withstand the three-pronged attack of the Portuguese."

"Your Excellency is right." Macaroon agreed, "The strength of the red-haired ghost should not be underestimated."

At this time, the front phalanx had already been formed. They were the elite German spear mercenaries and Iberian matchlock musket volunteers.

They were all experienced professional soldiers who were always on guard. Naturally, they would not panic at this time, and formed a square formation as quickly as possible to protect the messy Portuguese civilian troops behind them.

Those sharpshooters who were hired at a high price have already taken their positions behind the convoy.

Each of them had three heavy matchlock muskets, followed by two servants who were responsible for loading them. This way, the sharpshooters only had to concentrate on aiming and shooting.

The projectiles fired from the heavy matchlock guns could accurately penetrate the refined plate armor of the heavy cavalry a hundred yards away, not to mention the simple leather breastplate of the Moroccan cavalry? Coupled with the firing rate of three rounds per minute, the lethality was amazing.

When the thirty-six heavy half-cannons were pushed to the gun positions in front of the chariot array, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. At least they were invincible now.

At this time, the expressions of Macaron, Pancho and others also became serious. Your Excellency's observation was correct. Although the Portuguese had been corrupted by the rolling wealth, they were still in Europe, where wars had been fought for hundreds of years.

To be honest, the military qualities they displayed were much higher than those of the Ming Army. Perhaps only the Qi Family Army was stronger than them among the official troops.

Fortunately, the government troops can no longer represent the highest combat power of the Ming Dynasty...

"It's hard to say who will win." Macron was anxious. What if the Portuguese won or tied? What would happen to their mission?

Is he going to rely on these one hundred Marines to seize the leadership?

Looking at the circles of knights and swordsmen in full armor and armed around the king, dazzling in the sunlight, Macaron felt a headache. Isn't this just hitting a rock with an egg?

~~

At this time, on the south side of the battlefield, 50,000 Moroccan soldiers, who were waiting for the opportunity, were deployed in a crescent formation. Because they had twice as many troops as the enemy, they chose to stretch the formation and encircle the Portuguese army on both wings.

Malik formed three fronts, and in the first line he deployed the Andalusian infantry, who had the least combat effectiveness.

The second line was guarded by a professional army composed of a large number of European apostates.

The Ottoman Janissary Guards were deployed as the main force in the third line.

The Berber light cavalry was partially deployed on both sides of the three infantry lines, and the rest were at the rear of the army waiting for orders. Many of them were equipped with new muskets.

At the same time, the Moroccans were also equipped with some European artillery for fire support.

But Malik knew very well that Moroccans had a deep psychological shadow over the well-equipped and highly skilled Europeans.

So on the eve of the battle, he rode out and loudly delivered a pre-battle speech to the Moroccans:

"There is a powerful enemy ahead. You must overcome your fear and fight the enemy bravely!"

"Because you are fighting to defend your families, your lives, and your beliefs!"

"If we die in battle today, we will surely ascend to heaven!"

The morale of the Moroccans was boosted. Soldiers from all walks of life shouted the honorific title of the ruler of the Saad dynasty:

"Sharif!"

"Sharif!"

"Sherif!!"

"Sharif" means "descendant of the saint". This means that all ethnic groups in Morocco officially recognize Malik as their sole ruler.

Malik rode back to the center of the army under the admiration of the crowd. Once he entered the curtain drawn by the guards, he collapsed on his horse's back and started coughing violently...

The blood spurted onto the yellow sand, shocking to the eye.

There was still cheering outside, but the Moroccan soldiers had no idea that their Sultan was in danger of death.

The Jewish doctor quickly supported the Sultan and untied the rope hidden under his wide robe. Even after taking large doses of opium and secret stimulants made by the Muslims, Malik no longer had the strength to ride a horse by himself. He had his lower body tied to the horse's back. A wooden backrest was placed behind the saddle, and the upper body was tied to it, so that he could complete his speech in front of the battle and dispel the soldiers' fear!

"There is no time to waste, fire..." The Sultan wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and brazenly gave the order to start the war.

Artillery roared from both sides at the same time, white smoke filled the battlefield, and the War of Three Kings that would decide the fate of three empires had begun!

ps. I have already written half of the next chapter... I wanted to post two chapters in a row so that everyone can read the continuity, but unfortunately I can't do it...