In the slightly cool and cold forest, white mist permeated the panting of the horses, and the warriors who had prepared their equipment mounted their horses one after another.
They had polished the spearheads, and two horse shields wrapped with patterned cowhide protected the rider's left and right thighs. Swords and handaxes hung from their belts, and everyone wore mail.
The feathers of the iron helmets were soaked with dew, and all the cavalry soldiers felt the discomfort of moisture.
Everyone is facing a cavalry raid. Although the soldiers have practiced on weekdays, most of them are actually going to the battlefield for the first time. Although they raised their swords in front of the king and swore to fight hard, who can not be nervous before the battle? Woolen cloth?
Aston, the cavalry captain, held the reins and the lance in his other hand.
He looked at his soldiers and said angrily: "I see the always strong army! That's you! Now follow me and attack! Don't be afraid, just let the iron hoofs trample them to death! Let's go!"
Aston didn't say anything more. He saw the timidity shown by some young warriors inadvertently, but it was all meaningless.
The captain was already taking action, and the other soldiers followed suit.
One hundred and fifty mounted warriors advanced along the forest road leading to Lindisfarne. The horses maintained a brisk and relatively easy speed. The warriors ate bread and the horses ate wheat. Both men and horses were in good condition. .
The pursuit went much smoother than Aston imagined. He thought his pursuit would encounter resistance, but in reality it was like a quick outing.
He hoped to catch up with the enemies who attacked the camp and avenge the dead. More importantly, he hoped to kill them to prevent them from escaping back to report the news.
What's the real situation? The twenty Vikings carried bloody axes and deliberately shuttled through the primitive woods. They were afraid of being caught and killed by the counterattacking enemies. After all, a group of them ran out of the seaside camp to hunt. Not to mention the rudimentary tools at hand, the manpower was too few. Even though they were brave, they still died from being stabbed in the heart by Wanjian after fighting with the enemy.
The Vikings did not follow a clear path, and walking through the forest on foot was even more difficult.
The family leader planned to explain to his brothers the disaster caused by the sudden appearance of the enemy's large army, but it was too late!
At this moment, the cavalry's mobility was on full display.
"Soldiers, we are approaching the beach! We will advance on the beach and will soon reach the monastery."
"You all should be careful! Maybe the enemy's camp is by the sea!"
"Get your spear ready! Charge like you drilled!"
"As soon as the spear breaks, give up and draw your sword and slay them."
…
Aston said a lot, but he did not ask his men to understand everything. After all, the current situation could not be conveyed to the entire cavalry column.
His orders can only be conveyed accurately to the people around him, but in fact this is enough.
He took the lead, with more than a dozen cavalry around him closely following behind, giving an excellent example to the cavalry behind him.
Fights always happen in very unexpected circumstances!
It is still dawn, the first ray of sunshine is still shyly hidden under the sea level, and a faint yellow appears on the sea level in the east.
It had rained just a few days ago. It was obviously summer, and the desolate wind made the Viking warriors sleep uneasy.
Most of the Vikings camped on the edge of the woods on the beach. They were awakened by flocks of frightened birds and strange vibrations in the earth.
Soon, a group of brothers who were camping in the woods ran out in panic.
They were yelling.
"Not good! The enemy is attacking!"
"Brothers, get up and fight!"
When the people who heard the abnormal alarm got up one after another, before they could figure out the specific situation, suddenly a group of behemoths jumped out of the forest.
Is that a pack of rampaging wild boars? !
No! It's a horseman!
When the Viking warrior was shocked and hurriedly picked up his shield and sword, it was already too late.
The Northumbrian cavalry aimed their spears at the enemy.
At this moment, Captain Aston was overjoyed. Although he was shocked to see an astonishing number of enemies camped on the beach, and the monastery not far away was obviously burned to pieces by fire. The Butcher Destroyer was now full of flaws, and his cavalry could fully use it. Maximum tactical effectiveness.
The cavalry team naturally formed a double-layered and relatively loose riding wall, and the horses crashed through it with great force.
At first, some Viking warriors who tried to fight were knocked down, and then were crushed to death by the iron hooves of the following cavalry, whose ribs were broken.
Someone was also pierced by a spear, but the cavalry released their grip after completing the kill, pulled out their swords and continued to fight on horseback.
The cavalry washed away the unprepared people like a tsunami. The Balmok Vikings who camped too close to the south, where the cavalry came to kill, suffered heavy casualties on the spot.
As many as fifty people were trampled and stabbed to death in the first round of attacks.
However, more Vikings rolled and crawled towards the rear, and some even ran away empty-handed.
"Stop!" Aston waved his iron sword high and ordered the cavalry team, which had lost its impact, to reorganize. After hearing the news, the cavalry soldiers suspended their offensive.
This seemingly absurd and stupid behavior objectively caused the once-confused Vikings to have a moment of respite. They began to set up a shield wall, nervously or frightenedly facing something they had never heard of, and even they could not imagine it with their imagination. terrible enemy.
The Balmoks have never seen any form of "cavalry regiment" at all, and quite a few young people have never even seen a horse. Shetland fishermen had seen horses, but in their concept, riding a horse was a difficult task. This group of suddenly killed enemies were all fighting on horseback.
The Vikings were alert to the incomprehensible enemy. They didn't know why the enemy suddenly stopped. Maybe they were preparing for another round of attack? Perhaps so, but if one chooses to run away now, turning his back to his mounted enemy, an Odin warrior will lose all his glory.
"Brothers, hold on! Don't be afraid of them! If we keep the shield wall, they can't do anything to us!" Some family leaders shouted, which calmed some people's hearts in the crisis.
Some people also shouted: "Hurry up and inform Biyongni and Geiger's people so that the Ross people can come too."
As soon as he finished speaking, someone shouted again: "Don't think about them! Rurik of Rus has tricked some brothers into being turtles. They want to defend, so they won't easily come to help us."
"Then hold the shield wall, we will advance slowly, squeeze and surround the enemy and kill them all."
This is really a good idea. Someone began to move forward slowly. At this moment, the shield wall that had formed a whole was changing into a convex shape.
On the other hand, the cavalry captain Aston gritted his teeth. His order was indeed not out of cowardice or out of his mind.
What he learned was the Frankish cavalry tactics of the current era. It is said that when faced with an enemy who is well organized, a hasty collision will cause large-scale losses to the horses.
For the kingdom, any group of cavalry horses are carefully selected, and the number of horses in the entire kingdom is also limited.
Every horse is important. He was also surprised to see that the enemy had actually sent a wall made of huge round shields on the coast, and he did not dare to act rashly!
"Damn! This is really like the Great Wall left by the Romans!" He couldn't help but sigh.
Some of the soldiers around him were holding spears and asked: "Sir, are we going to attack?"
"Charge! You lead the first team and charge, while the second and third teams are on standby!"
King Aynred's cavalry consisted of five hundred men, so woven into a slightly reduced Frankish version of the cavalry standard.
However, the Kingdom of Northumbria, which had been experiencing civil wars for many years and had poor productivity levels, was really poor (except for the monasteries), and the king lacked the financial resources to continue to expand his cavalry force.
The king organized the cavalry into ten squads. He took three squads on this trip, and now they are all handed over to his loyal cavalry captain to participate in this battle.
The first team of fifty riders charged forward with great momentum, shocking the Viking line that formed a macro protrusion and quickly retracted.
"Brothers, don't be afraid, use your shield to protect yourself."
"Brothers with spears waited for an opportunity to stab them."
"Don't let them break through our shield wall."
The Vikings naturally felt that the enemy was about to charge into battle, but this was not the case at all.
The Northumbrian cavalry adopted classic Frankish tactics. They had taken back the spears on the battlefield and rushed to the Viking line with the bloody spears. They deliberately kept a wooden pole at a distance and even held the spears in one hand. Go poke the enemy behind the shield.
Some Vikings were stabbed directly through the neck, and one had a bleeding hole in his chest.
Completely different from the Frankish cavalry who all wore mail armor, only a very small number of Balmoks wore mail armor.
Most people just wore animal skins. The leather used as clothes served as armor to a certain extent, but it was unable to protect them from the cavalry's spears.
People in the chaos were shouting, hoping that the spear-wielding brothers behind would kill the enemy. The brothers in the rear are not watching the show. They are worried that their short spears are too short in the current battle.
Angry Viking warriors began to break away from the line. The brave men were holding shields and axes, vowing to kill one or two cavalrymen.
This move played into the hands of the Northumbrian cavalry.
Individual soldiers broke away from the front and became targets of key strikes.
The warrior wanted to chop the horse, but the experienced cavalry quickly maneuvered, then sprinted and chopped it to death with a sword.
There were Vikings holding bows who tried to shoot their opponents, but there were too few archers, and the ones who came on horseback were as nimble as fish.
After all, the Vikings had the upper hand, and they began to try to counterattack, but the enemies actually ran away on horseback.
The courage they had just summoned weakened again, and a second wave of cavalry rushed over in a moment.
The once loose front gathered into a turtle shell, and the Vikings had to go through the disaster they just encountered.
The battle is so useless! Those enemies didn't dare to fight openly and openly, so they just ran away when they were counterattacked!
Viking warriors were killed one after another, and after a few rounds, only one cavalry was killed.
Horses were cut down and cavalry warriors were chopped into pieces by the enraged Vikings.
But in terms of exchange ratio, the Northumbrian cavalry had a huge advantage.
The battle situation has become extremely delicate. The most real situation now is that nearly 600 Vikings are facing off against 150 Northumbrian cavalry. It seems that Rurik and the warriors who really obey his orders are watching from the sidelines. Occupied in this way, the Vikings' military superiority could not be reflected at all. Someone wants to launch a counterattack, but how can he chase the cavalry with his feet? ! What's worse is that if a group of people breaks away from the team, they will become the target of the cavalry.
If the fighting continues like this, the Viking army will sooner or later be exhausted physically and mentally by this group of mobile cavalry. And this is exactly what the cavalry captain Aston longs to see. After the enemy is exhausted, he will face the kingdom's large army. Victory belongs to Northumbria!
That's probably it!
However, a large number of arrows and stones fell from the sky. Aston watched helplessly as the team that had completed a round of harassment missions was hit by arrows and fell from their horses while running back to the rear. What's more, the horses were roughly hit by stones, and the cavalry was knocked upside down on the spot.
What's happening here? !
It's Rurik! The Vikings counterattack began.
The perspective is on Rurik. When he was awakened by the chaotic shouting of killing, he immediately got out of his suggestion tent. He hurriedly ran to the civil platform where the torsion slingshot was placed, and saw the cavalry to his surprise!
Biyongni and Geiger's men gradually woke up, and the Shetlanders also took up arms.
Just like what they had practiced in the past two days, everyone picked up the wooden sticks that served as spears and waited for Rurik's order.
Biyongni and Geiger hurriedly climbed onto the platform.
"What is going on? Those horsemen are all enemies? Who are we fighting with?" Biyongni asked in panic.
Geiger also asked: "What should we do? I saw some brothers killed by those horsemen."
Rurik tried his best to remain calm. To be fair, he did not think that the line of the Balmoks would be overwhelmed by a small number of cavalry. He felt the absurdity of the world. The Kingdom of Northumbria acted like a fat sheep waiting to be slaughtered. Why was it so brave now? The enemy actually has such a powerful weapon as the cavalry? !
"Let's... check the situation first."
"Why?" Geiger was very flustered. "Brothers have never fought against this kind of enemy. Many people will die!"
Rurik immediately turned his head and asked harshly: "Have we ever fought against them? Do you want me to give up my current formation? Listen, my formation is designed to defeat cavalry."
Biyongni patted Geiger on the shoulder: "Listen to Rurik, we'll wait!"
"This...you have to be a coward."
Geiger was furious. He rationally considered that his brothers in Washobi could not suffer losses. He could not afford to lose at all. Since Rurik had the means to fight cavalry, it was most appropriate for him to keep quiet.
The change in the battle situation was not favorable to the Vikings. Rurik and others stood on relatively high ground, and he gradually understood the enemy's tactics.
"You're not just riding on the wall?! Why are you starting to play with spears when you get to the formation? Fortunately, I prepared a wall of spears to stab you to death."
Rurik felt that he was overestimating the enemy. If he thought about it carefully, he might think that the classic Western European heavy cavalry tactics of rushing and breaking formations had not been figured out in this era, or their weapons level could not keep up.
"Look, some brothers escaped from Zhenqiang." Geiger pointed with his hand.
"Coward!" Biyongni said angrily.
"Coward? I think we have been called cowards countless times by the brothers in front of us while we are here."
"Geiger! This is all Rurik's plan. I think it's right."
"We should help them!"
Rurik's mind was really confused, and he roared angrily: "Stop making noise!"
After saying that, he looked down at Javlo who was on standby and shouted: "Jevlo! Take the men and pull away all the bull trebuchets, enter the shooting range and kill them! Go call the Shetlanders again, you have to take them with you All our bows and crossbows, to reinforce our brothers!"
For a moment, Yevro panicked: "Sir, we are no longer stationed in position?!"
"Bah! Yevluo, the enemy must still have a large force! Now you lead the people to drive away those cavalry, go quickly! Don't wait!"
"Yes!" Yevro randomly called his guys: "Follow me."
Rurik just moved out, pulled the trebuchet to a relatively suitable range, and started throwing stones.
Shetland, who was holding a bow, pressed on the Viking warriors in front who were not far from collapse, and threw a large number of arrows to drive away the cavalry. Yevluo simply took his ten mercenary brothers and rushed directly to the front line of the battle formation with a steel-armed crossbow.
The appearance of reinforcements gave everyone a huge boost, but the enemy's cavalry attacks continued unabated.
Even with the losses, the cavalry captain Aston felt that his casualties were really small, and the weak and tired enemy was still the top priority.
Knowing that the enemy was shooting arrows and throwing stones, another round of attacks began.
Fifty cavalrymen charged forward proudly with their spears raised. Although Jevro and others were instinctively afraid, they felt relieved when they saw that the chests of the horses seemed to be defenseless.
"Listen to my orders! Shoot the horses! Prepare! Fire!"
At the command, eleven heavy crossbow arrows flew out, hitting as many as eight horses on the spot.
Most of the arrows missed the horse's chest and even pierced the heart. The horses fell suddenly, and the cavalrymen also fell heavily to the ground.
The cavalry squad leader was completely confused, and the remaining cavalrymen tightened their reins.
"There's a situation! Evacuate quickly! Leave quickly!"
Although it was a bit shameful, the squad leader, who was afraid of being wiped out by some kind of weapon, hurriedly announced his evacuation, and the other cavalrymen turned around.
The sudden death caused Captain Aston in the distance to fall off his horse in shock. After he got up, he saw that his fallen cavalry was being killed by the enemy, and the remaining cavalry were retreating.
"There's a situation! Stop the attack! Let's evacuate temporarily!"
Aston himself gave the order to retreat, and the shocked cavalrymen hurried into the woods following their captain's horses.
Seeing that the enemy's terrifying cavalry suddenly disappeared, the Vikings, who had been tormented by it and complained endlessly, finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Now, the Balmok Vikings, who had won many battles and were already very swollen, seemed to have been slapped, and now they all woke up.
Because there were many dead brothers around them. They began to try to collect the corpse, but were directly stopped by Jevlo himself, who was sent by Rurik.
"What are you doing? Why don't you come to support?"
"You sit back and watch your brother die! Why don't you let us bury him now?"
…
Yongni could think of all kinds of harsh words, but he calmed everyone down with just one sentence. He roared angrily with his sword: "Have you forgotten what the killed enemy Pathfinder said? There are two thousand enemies! There are many of them, and they may come soon! We will retreat to Rurik to maintain the line and fight decisively. Starting soon!”
Hearing this, some family leaders began to retreat with their own people, and the rest of the people saw this and didn't care so much.
At this moment, twenty people suddenly burst out from the woods to the west. Their backs were bare and the tattoos on their chests proved that they were friendly forces.
They ran and shouted until they rushed into the camp and told terrible things; "A very large number of enemies are moving towards the beach. We wanted to explain the situation but were worried about being attacked by the enemy's cavalry. Our description is absolutely true."
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Everything seemed to be going smoothly, and the beach, which had been soaked in blood, was bathing in the blood-red dawn.
Is the rising sun too red? !
The Vikings withdrew with all their strength to the camp set up by Rurik, waiting for a fight that would be witnessed by Odin (the sun).
