This time, the Ross people put on an unprecedented offensive formation.
The various details of the formation are really full of Rurik's imagination.
In other words, only by being able to put up such a formation can it be called an army. Compared with the battles carried out by my own Rus tribe in the past, they were no different from fighting in groups.
In this battle, Rurik felt that his tribe had finally realized the coordination of multiple arms in a true sense, that is, the cooperation of siege troops, heavy infantry, light infantry and crossbowmen.
Just like an armored vehicle, a group of infantry often gathers behind it. The armored vehicle here is a solid backing. Its armor can withstand many types of artillery shells and bullets. Its huge body also protects many infantry.
The Russians used huge wooden shields (thin wooden shields with a height and width of nearly two meters) as cover. The strong men holding the huge shields approached the enemy's mountain in a step-by-step manner at a speed close to normal walking. fort wall. Almost twenty sword and shield bearers gathered behind the strong man.
Since they did not drink the stimulant drug prepared by the high priest, they could not be called berserkers, but they were indeed a force for attacking difficulties.
They all wore bronze and iron helmets, and not only leather armor, but also a chainmail armor. Otto selected more than 60 of the most elite people in the team with the best weapons and equipment as the main attack force in accordance with Rurik's requirements.
Because of their powerful armor, Rurik believed that enemy arrows would be unable to penetrate the defenses. Therefore, before they attack the enemy's village, their first priority is to attract firepower.
A battering ram covered by a large shield is the real core of the attack.
This well-crafted battering ram was tied with hemp rope, and twigs were tied around the hemp rope. As many as ten warriors relied on their health to carry it. Beside them, there was another group of sword and shield men covering them.
The rear of the final camp was almost filled with archers. Including the once-defeated tribesmen of the Catfish Lord, they obeyed the orders of the Russians, armed with short bows and were ordered to cover the rear.
In order to obtain meritorious service and end the battle as soon as possible, Rurik followed him near the battering ram with his mercenaries holding crossbows.
The Ross army came with great momentum, and their footsteps even caused the earth to shake.
Mechasta has been observing the movements of the Varyag army, and he feels that the time has come to block the attack.
"They're here! Shoot quickly!"
In an instant, all the archers on the city wall and behind the city wall raised their bows in their left hands and aimed at the sky at a larger elevation angle.
Then, the first wave of arrows rose into the sky.
They launched their shots almost at the same time, the arrow feathers pierced the air, and there was a whirring sound from the whole body.
Otto knew what it was, and he shouted seriously: "The arrow is coming, prepare to fight it."
All the Ross warriors holding shields pressed their round shields against their heads, and those holding huge shields in both hands almost lifted the entire shield.
Soon, seven or eight warriors quickly gathered under a giant shield. The people behind also raised their own wooden shields and arranged in a very dense formation.
Everyone believed that the defensive routine mentioned by Rurik could well resist the enemy's arrows.
Rurik himself was also protected by a circular shield formed by his mercenaries. Even if the mercenary used his flesh and blood, he still had to withstand the arrow attack for his master. As a result, the first wave of arrow rain from the gray squirrel tribe did not fall at all in the area where Rurik was.
A large number of arrows landed on the various shields of the Russians. The throwing tactic gave the arrows a strong falling potential, but the fact that the bone arrow clusters could not make up for its disadvantage.
Some of the arrows exploded when they hit the Russian shields. The arrow shafts were broken one after another, and the bone arrow clusters were bounced away after carving deep dents in the wooden shields.
This rain of arrows did not cause any damage to the attacking Russians at all. Instead, it allowed the Russians to capture a batch of arrows that were still usable.
Seeing that the enemy army was still advancing slowly, Mechasta had no choice but to order his men to continue shooting arrows.
However, this is clearly a futile resistance.
The second wave of arrows came again, and this time only a few Russian warriors suffered completely negligible scratches.
After the third wave of arrows, Rurik deliberately came out of the rear of the formation. He finally encountered the enemy's attack, but the attack had no effect.
Jevro's shield blocked two arrows for his patron, but one arrow accidentally penetrated his linen coat, which made him very angry.
The arrow was hung on Jevro's clothes, and Rurik was able to see clearly the appearance of the enemy's arrow from close range.
To be fair, the fletching is beautifully made, and being beautiful means it's aerodynamic, which is what arrows are...
The so-called arrowhead is basically made from the polished leg bone of a small animal. The center is a hollow structure that holds the bone marrow, making it an excellent collar. It is bone after all, and the sharper it is, the more likely it is to break when it hits a hard object.
"Master, it seems that our brothers are about to go through the most difficult road. The next step is to siege the city." Yevluo ordered.
Rurik, who was well protected by the shield, saw three "squares" approaching the enemy's wall through the gaps in the mercenary shield.
"They did a good job. Brothers, we must also take action. Remember! Our task is to use the crossbow to knock down all the turtle doves on the wall."
Jevro nodded, and then roared: "Brothers, the master has given the order. Let's take action."
Rurik, whose desire to fight was fully aroused, roared: "If you hit an enemy, you will be rewarded with a silver coin!"
Being on the battlefield, everyone's spirits were already high, and when they heard that they could still make money, the mercenaries just wanted to kill with their crossbows.
Rurik's mercenaries quickly began to form a line, and together with the other archers who received the order to attack, they began to counterattack with fire.
Kejas originally thought that the Russian army would suffer casualties during the storm, but as a result, their advance went normally.
He encouraged his people in the ancient Finnish language: "Masters of salmon, now is the time to show our strength to the Rus. We will defeat the squirrel men and shoot arrows at them!"
Rurik saw that the servant troops began to fire the captured arrows back. As both sides were within bow and arrow range, the battle finally became intense.
There was a whooshing sound in my ears, followed immediately by the wailing of the tribesmen behind the wall.
Mechasta turned his head and looked at the clan members with an expression of sorrow and anger, especially the woman who was hit by an arrow.
In this critical situation, he could no longer consider the life and death of some clan members.
He turned his head and started shooting with the short bow himself, and cursed: "You damn guys, you use a wooden shield to protect yourself."
Even with the iron cluster arrows, Mechasta found that he could not penetrate the attacker's large wooden shield.
On the contrary, the archers on the wall became timid because they saw one of their companions fall off the wall after being hit by an arrow.
Worse things are happening.
Mechasta's ears were filled with the roars of the enemy soldiers, and the sunlight filtering through the woods reflected on the enemy's metal helmets made it even more frightening.
"What happened when they fell to the ground? Some of them had several arrows stuck in their bodies, how could they still fight?" Mechasta shouted in confusion, and his tribesmen only felt fear in their hearts.
As he heard a language he could understand coming from the local camp, and combined with the fighting methods of those people, Mechasta had determined that those guys were the legendary destroyed Catfish Lord tribe.
"Damn Voyma Kashad, you lied to me. They were killed there. They clearly surrendered to the Varangians." Gritting his teeth, Mechasta ignored the flying arrows amidst the whizzing sound. He raised his bow and fired an iron arrow with a gesture that almost broke the bow string.
This arrow hit the head of an archer from the Salmon Lord tribe directly. The iron arrow cluster smashed through the skull, and the whole man died on the spot.
Kejas was surprised. He didn't expect that the enemy had such a sharpshooter.
Many archers panicked, and Kejas shouted: "Don't mess up! Keep shooting."
Seeing this, Rurik couldn't help but be nervous about the sudden death. His heart was beating wildly, and his position must have been unsafe.
Since he himself is no longer safe, wouldn't it be even more dangerous for his father to lead the main force to attack the enemy's city gate?
Dad always wears not only leather armor, but also chain mail. If the enemy's iron arrows were fired at close range, Rurik believed that his father would still be fatally wounded.
Otto, he cannot die until he grows up!
Rurik took a solid step, and his somewhat chaotic servant troops shouted: "No chaos! Think about your women and children, you are fighting for their safety now. Keep fighting!"
Having said this, the Salmon Lord tribe warriors distinguished the pros and cons, and after a pause in fire suppression, resumed archery.
It can be said that Mechasta used his personal ability to buy a little time for the defending tribesmen, but did not gain any tactical advantage.
Now, it is obvious that another group of Varangians, under the cover of a large number of shieldmen, began to attack the village gate!
The warriors of the Gray Squirrel tribe knew very well that if the gate was opened and a large group of guys wearing mail armor and holding high iron swords and axes rushed in, everyone would die.
A large number of arrows were aimed at the Russians who attacked the gate, including Otto, who directed the gate crash, and became the focus of the attack.
The Russian battering ram charge began.
First, ten warriors rushed forward under the cover of the howling sword and shield bearers, and the big tree trunk hit the closed door with great force. With just this blow, the front wall was shaking, and many of the gray squirrel tribe's archers were shaken to the point of sitting down.
Mechasta, who slipped and fell, lamented that he had miscalculated again. Even if he blocked the door with debris, as long as the enemy continued to knock down, the door might not be knocked open, but the entire wall would collapse.
After all, the core building material of the gray squirrel tribe's so-called fence is a large tree trunk dug into the soil.
The Russians began to shout slogans and hit the wooden door with big tree trunks. Otto here completely became the commander, and naturally he became the target of public criticism.
Fortunately, the four giant shields formed a "turtle shell" for the siege troops. A large number of iron cluster arrows have been inserted into the shield, but the gray squirrel tribe warriors have not yet penetrated the Ross armor.
However, a dozen Rus warriors who tried to climb the wall via ladders did get injured and fell under the wall, hitting the frozen bodies of the previous attackers.
He saw that the door of the place had not been opened for a long time, and that his people were being harmed early on.
Rurik, who couldn't care less, decided to take the risk.
"Jevro, take your brothers and follow me!"
Yevluo was shocked: "Sir, it is safe for us to shoot here."
"Shut up! Our safety is the danger to our brothers! I can't care so much now."
Yevluo gritted his teeth and asked loudly: "What are you going to do?"
"We approached the city wall and shot those nasty turtle doves at close range."
"That's too dangerous."
"Shut up, I am your master, obey my orders."
Jevro had never seen his little master so decisive, even reckless. He indeed once suspected that his master lacked courage because of his excessive kindness. Perhaps he became very brave after seeing a real battle formation.
What else could Javlo do? I can only lead my brothers and rush to the front line of the battle with a crossbow in hand.
Rurik realized that his position was sufficient and stopped.
"Right here! Hold the bow! Shoot!"
Together with Rurik himself, twenty crossbowmen fired volleys at targets on the walls.
The recoil of the standing shot caused Rurik to step back suddenly, and the bodies of the others also trembled.
Twenty heavy crossbow arrows flew out. Each of them actually weighed close to 200 grams, and their stored kinetic energy was astonishing.
In this single salvo, as many as ten gray squirrel tribe archers were killed and all fell down.
Although Mechasta survived, he was dumbfounded as a terrifying iron cluster short arrow penetrated the covering wall, and he was almost hit.
Rurik felt he had taken advantage: "Brothers, wind up."
With that, he threw his crossbow to Jevro.
Jevro stepped on the bow arm with both feet, used his gloved hands to string the steel-arm crossbow with all his strength, quickly installed the arrows, and delivered it to his owner.
In nearly a minute, everyone finished loading, and another twenty crossbow arrows were launched.
A new round of crossbow strikes knocked out the archers who had added to the city wall to shoot.
If the city wall and the fresh fish gate were breached, today would be the end of everyone. Some tribal women began to climb up the city wall with bows and continue fighting in place of the men who died in the battle.
A small figure climbed up the wooden ladder of the scaffolding. She was a girl, carrying a short bow and a few arrows on her belt.
Seeing this, Mechasta was shocked and said: "Seporava, get down here and hide yourself!"
"No, I also want to fight." The girl said stubbornly.
"Get back here, you are too weak."
Yes, a seven or eight-year-old girl can only pull a hunting bow with difficulty. It is extremely difficult to use it to hunt small animals.
The little girl Saibolava still climbed up, but a new round of arrows fired by Rurik's troops began to suppress them again.
In the melee, the Russians will not be merciful just because the person holding the bow and shooting arrows is a woman. Female archers began to suffer casualties.
The wood chips exploded by the crossbow arrows also shocked the little girl Serapova, who did not understand what war was. The courage she mustered up was completely destroyed, and she cried in fear on the city wall.
