The Ouse River is not wide, and the well-prepared Russian army borrowed Balmok boats to easily cross the river on a large scale.
The men in white-on-white battle robes with blue stripes quickly formed a shield wall against their shields painted with chalk mud and indigo.
Arik stood in the military formation and roared at his men: "Men! The idiots are going to attack our military formation! They are going to steal our ship! Kill them all! No mercy!"
Everyone bared their ferocious teeth, roared in unison, and gripped the hilt of the sword tighter.
Large bucklers that can protect the entire torso are stacked on top of each other. What is very strange is that the Russian heraldry only needs to be rotated to form a large blue cross.
However, they are all Odin's warriors.
They held shining and elastic steel swords one after another. A group of warriors armed with steel-armed crossbows also deliberately lay down in front of the formation, waiting for an opportunity to give a big gift to the charging enemy.
On one big ship after another, Rurik's flag-shooting soldiers climbed up the rope ladders and stood on the deck, taking their positions.
Short wooden bows and wooden wall crossbows are all prepared at a wide angle for shooting.
What followed was bound to be a chaotic battle. The torsion slingshots on the sides of each ship were moved to the enemy's side. In this way, just the three ships of Avora, Ostara and Spellosvilia alone had gathered thirty of them. The same goes for the four sail destroyers. Rurik easily assembled as many as fifty-four torsion slingshots and even ten bull trebuchets.
The crazy output of firepower from so many heavy weapons will inevitably consume a lot of projectiles, which Rurik no longer worries about.
After the city was breached, many of the cast-iron projectiles fired earlier were found in the city, and the blood-stained projectiles were bound to be stained with blood for the second time.
Lord Garfred of Roydis, who was ordered to attack, knew nothing about all this.
This person suddenly changed from fear to daring because of his huge desire to achieve success.
With as many as two thousand men, he launched a surprise attack on the anchored Rus' fleet, not so much to destroy the ships as to capture them.
"If they lose their ship, they will be consumed in our kingdom."
However, Garfred had never fought a fierce battle with the Vikings, and he did not know that his impulsive attack was what Eynred subconsciously hoped for. Because a count who can really quickly summon an army of two thousand people is actually his potential political opponent.
They walked slowly at first, with the kingdom warriors and earl's retinues in chainmail and orange in front, and the peasant soldiers in ragged clothes and many barefoot behind.
There were also many people holding flags to show that their army was strong.
Naturally, Garfred saw the enemies that suddenly began to gather, and the orderliness of their ranks was truly awe-inspiring.
He took a deep breath, knowing that there was no way out now, and the entire advancing team was like an arrow.
The distance is very close.
The real cavalry captain warned Garfred, "Your Majesty, based on our experience last year, if the horses charge hard, they can break through their front line. There is a gap in their front line, and the army pours in from the gap. Once we enter a chaotic battle, we will There’s a chance to win.”
"Ah? Are we going to rush in? A lot of people will die?! Also, do you think we will lose if we don't do this?"
"Your Majesty, this is our only chance of victory."
This newly promoted cavalry captain is also a survivor after following the king's charge last year.
York is clearly occupied by barbarians, the people are bound to be ravaged, and the life or death of the prince is uncertain. If the country is destroyed, all is gloriously over.
Seeing the count's complicated expression, the cavalry captain had no intention of persuading him any more. At his call, the cavalrymen pulled out their iron swords one after another, kissed the hilts, and then moved forward with their swords.
Since the Frankish cavalry tactics were in vain, they had no choice but to resort to these charging tactics, even though they knew they were risking their lives generously.
The cavalry spontaneously formed a wall, hugging the riding earl, and they took the lead in the attack.
Following closely behind were two thousand infantrymen who ended their slow walk and began their final charge.
"I didn't expect these guys to be smarter?"
Rurik gritted his teeth and let the prepared torque slingshot launch in advance.
Jevro was shocked, "Sir, what does this mean?"
"Idiot! Those cavalry are charging desperately! We can't let them break the formation! Launch immediately."
"good……"
The Aurora launched first, and other ships also launched attacks upon seeing this.
The first enemies were all those on horseback. They spun and jumped over the cast-iron bullets, sliding in the air and falling in a beautiful parabola. More than fifty torsion slingshots formed a killing barrage and smashed towards the cavalry.
However, the cavalry was too fast.
The cavalrymen at the rear were knocked upside down, while the forwards were still charging.
"Continue to charge up! Quick! Archer, stop them!" Rurik roared.
The only sound on the boat was the whoosh of arrows leaving the string, and even the squeak of the torsion slingshot as it charged up.
A large number of arrows fell from the sky, causing more than ten cavalrymen to fall down together with their horses.
There were still more than fifty riders who had escaped Ross's long-range attacks due to their speed. They kept charging, and seemed to be only one step away from the Ross shield wall.
Arik gritted his teeth and his shield wall was as solid as a rock. They already have experience in how to deal with the desperate attack of the cavalry in last year's battle, not to mention that the men of the First Flag Team are the most capable veterans.
Anyone who is coward will live in shame and will be punished.
No one thought of retreating. They were very confident that their front was solid.
Warriors holding long-handled halberds supported the front line, their sharp spearheads moving forward.
The archers on the ship continued to output arrows rapidly. At the critical moment, the ambushed steel-armed crossbow suddenly fired, and he hurriedly jumped back to the front.
Before the battle started, more than half of the cavalry had stopped due to various attacks.
The remaining cavalry actually rushed to the Russian shield wall.
The powerful impact immediately caused a gap in the shield wall that was supposed to be embedded in the rock.
Arik suffered a collision, and the edge of his shield hit his helmet, and he ended up bleeding from the corner of his mouth.
He got up and shouted angrily with his sword: "Quick! Kill the horses! Let them all die! If we win, we will eat horse meat!"
The sudden scene caused Rurik to cling to the side of the ship. He saw his cousin being hit and felt a little relieved to see him get up.
"Damn it! Reinforce your front quickly!"
Can a mere forty cavalry break down the shield wall of the First Flag Team? Those halberds hit the horses immediately, greatly hampering the final cavalry attack. Although there was a gap, the status of the casualties of the Russian army was unknown. The Russian soldiers who fought back were cutting the legs of the horses wantonly, and the cavalry who had lost their impact were the fat meat waiting to be slaughtered.
The newly promoted cavalry captain and his brothers did not complete the effective killing at all. They were counterattacked and killed by the Russians in the chaos of the battle. Their chainmails were broken by swords and halberds, and they were left bloody and bloody. At least they sacrificed their lives for their king and country, and they can be described as heroes.
Of course Arik admired such madmen. As a tribute to his enemies, he felt that he had to kill more crazily.
The blood of horses and men splashed all over the Ross warriors, and Arik's whole body was bathed in blood again.
Earl Garfred had already hit his horse with an arrow in the second round of arrow strikes. When he fell off the horse, his mind went blank. When he regained consciousness, he found that his legs were pinned down by his own horse.
He was groaning in pain and saw another arrow coming towards him. Thanks to the fallen shield, he was saved from being hit.
He looked sideways and saw that the cavalry had been destroyed. The brave cavalry captain might have died for his country.
In the end, the unlucky earl was screamed and pulled out by several cavalry soldiers whose horses died during the charge. However, this violent pulling made him learn that his calf had been broken in the fall.
Garfred covered his deformed calf and wailed, and then ordered the helpless horseless cavalry, "Quick! I order you to carry me to the rear."
However, even if their horses died, they were still cavalry, cavalry loyal to the king himself.
Several men looked at each other, then turned into infantrymen with their iron swords in hand, and continued to attack the enemy together with the large troops that had already rushed up.
A dozen wounded Rus warriors were pulled to the rear, and no Rus were killed in the impact, at least for now.
That moment just frightened many soldiers, but in the subsequent fighting, the Ross army was not afraid.
The battle situation suddenly turned into Rurik's favorite situation again.
All the torsion slingshots hit the attacking enemy randomly. At this moment, whether they were kingdom soldiers or farmers, no matter high or low, they were all hit and killed immediately by the projectiles.
Cast iron projectiles, pebbles, javelins, arrows, crossbows, and various long-range weapons were thrown at them.
How did the peasants who were forcibly recruited to fight witness such battles?
Almost all of them were farmers from villages near the Earl of Roydis, and most of them knew each other.
Relatives and friends were smashed to the ground with blood by strange weapons right next to them. They even had blood splattered on themselves. They covered their heads and screamed, and then spontaneously slowed down.
The army's attacking formation was disjointed, and the largest number of armed peasants were trying to fend off arrows or try to help injured friends. However, their simple wooden shields could block ordinary arrows, but not cast-iron projectiles!
More than six hundred soldiers from the kingdom finally rushed to the Ross army formation and broke through the bloody charge.
It was entirely because of the York disaster that their anger overwhelmed their fear, and they had the opportunity to fight the Vikings head-on.
But the nightmare has just begun.
Just after the battle, the chaotic charging kingdom soldiers encountered a head-on attack from the well-formed First Flag Troop of the Ross Army.
The Ross warriors in the first row half-hunched their bodies, holding their large bucklers against their entire torsos, and their iron helmets with nose guards protecting their entire heads. The warriors only revealed a pair of murderous eyes.
In general, the most traditional tactics of the Rus are the same as those of other Vikings. Their shield wall is more of a defense, to induce the enemy to attack them. The shield wall is as immovable as a rock. The warriors guard the shield wall and kill anyone who comes close.
The young warriors trained by Rurik are still a large group of children. Only when those people grow tall enough and strong enough, the Russians will evolve into more mobile infantry tactics.
Even the unmoving shield wall was smarter than the Northumbrians charging in with their swords like gangsters.
This battle situation is what all the Rus people like to see the most. Their enemies continue to degenerate into a group of wild boars that can only run rampant.
The steel sword stretched out from the gap in the shield and stabbed forward wildly.
The warriors at the rear were holding halberds, and the axes under their spearheads fell from the sky, like chiseling cans, giving the kingdom's soldiers a three-dimensional blow.
If the Northumbrian warriors were strong enough, how could they sometimes respect Mercia as their "eldest brother" or the King of Wessex as their divine king?
From Arik's perspective, he just felt that these people were worse than Finland in the East.
At least those Finns can still shoot arrows, these Northumbrian guys can only charge randomly.
"Haha, now the Finns are our servant warriors."
Naturally, some Ross soldiers were injured in the new battle. Most of them had skin injuries. The bleeding soldiers were pulled to the rear to receive assault bandaging treatment, and new soldiers took up their positions.
Those peasant soldiers were unwilling to charge at all, because under the attack of crazy arrows, they retreated across the board!
As a result, only the warriors of Garfred, Earl of Roydis, were fighting on the front line, so that the Russians had a huge advantage in the number of troops on both sides.
Nearly a hundred soldiers had died in the chaos, and their blood dyed the Russian army's round shields red.
The Ross army roared in unison, and Arik's eyes were filled with murderous intent, just like a mad bear.
The battle was clearly a one-sided victory for the Russian army.
"My lord, they look very weak." Jevro even said with a smile.
"Yes. The cavalry charge just now was stupid, but it was also very smart and knew our weaknesses."
"But all the smart people are dead, and only the cowards are left."
"Let Grund come up with the reserve team."
"My lord, is it still necessary?" Jevro asked again.
"Let them charge and kill like crazy without mercy."
In a moment, Grund's group, who were ordered to shoot arrows, put on their plate armor in an assault, roared and charged out of the Ross shield wall with double axes in hand.
Their current iron helmets are quite special. Not only are their foreheads and sides protected by iron plates, but their front faces are also equipped with a rough mask that only exposes their eyes.
There is also a bear head hanging on the helmet, and the fangs on the upper jaw become a sun visor.
"Haha! We are war bears going into battle." Arik shouted excitedly. Other Rus's were in great renown.
A group of iron men entered the enemy's formation. Although the large number of iron pieces hung on the chain armor was heavy, it was easy for these fat and strong men to control it.
Their clothes are not plate armor, let alone pierced armor. They look a bit like fish scales, but they are not. It is not beautiful as a whole, and the defensive effect offsets the visual inelegance.
The soldiers of the kingdom discovered that stabbing with swords was useless, and cutting with axes only made scratches.
The tall and strong bear-headed iron men are Rurik's tactical reserve team. They are also the kind of consumables that don't feel bad even if they die, as long as the armor can be used again. When Denmark surrendered troops like Grund, Rurik seemed to be using them in vain and reluctantly. The method of reuse was to act as a "death squad" like this.
Grund and his gang hacked randomly into the enemy formation. In addition to causing huge casualties, what was more important was that they completely shattered the enemy's confidence.
Earl Garfred watched helplessly as his men were fleeing for their lives without their armor. He endured the pain and called on his men to rescue him. However, everyone was running away. Even if they ran away, their boots were bleeding and their bare feet were bleeding. Escape for your life, who cares about the immobile count?
Arik went to chase him, but when he heard his brother's cry, he began to restrain the army he was preparing to chase.
There were still more than a hundred people chasing him, and they further aggravated the chaos, even hacking the groaning Garfred to death during the chase.
The first earl died like this, and his death was without honor. Even the Russian soldiers who killed him just felt that they had killed an enemy cavalry who should have died in battle, and they were just helping him look decent.
It wasn't until Rurik ordered the torsion slingshot to continue shooting that it began to kill and injure the escapees. Seeing that the other brothers were behind them, the pursuing Russian soldiers also stopped their pursuit.
"Russians... you are still so powerful. No! Rurik, is this the true strength of your army?" Eynred stared, eyes almost gushing out.
He had to admire his enemy and look at the flag flying on the mast. The more he looked at it, the more terrifying he felt.
However, they didn't take advantage of the situation and launch a full-scale attack?
The peasant soldiers who fled first were all pouring into the king's army, and they also brought back their fear, causing all the peasant soldiers who were watching the battle from a distance to panic and plan to escape.
The Bishop of York was glad that he followed the king to the border to fight the Mercians. If he had been in York, he would have been eaten by barbarians.
But the situation now is worse than he thought.
The bishop himself is not a fat person, at least his weight is not enough to crush a horse into a camel.
He rode up to the king and said tremblingly: "Your Majesty, our army..."
"I know. We can't win. Damn it, my cavalry is done and I've lost."
"No! Your Majesty, what if they are willing to accept it? At least we have a way to preserve it, just like the late king did."
"That's just what I want."
The soldiers of the kingdom who returned were frightened. They told the king that the bear-headed iron man among the rebels was invulnerable, and that the enemy's arrows were terrifying.
Naturally, Eynred would not blame them, because Count Roydis himself was killed in the battle.
The enemies are not ordinary Vikings, they are Rus, and the waving flag proves it all. That Rurik actually kept his promise and really came with troops again this year.
They are clearly not pursuing anymore, so why doesn't this give themselves a chance to negotiate?
Eynred looked around and asked the bishop: "As you said, what should I talk to them about?"
"Send a messenger. Who is suitable? Do you want me to make the decision?"
"No. You go."
"Huh? Me? This isn't appropriate." The bishop trembled and quickly waved away.
"Don't worry, I'll go too." Eynred looked determined.
"Huh? This is even more inappropriate."
"It doesn't matter." Aynred looked forward and said cautiously: "Don't worry about Mercia now. Our kingdom is about to be destroyed, and I can only minimize the loss. I know the commander of the Vikings, that person should Would love to talk to us.”
"But Your Majesty, you should not risk your life."
"Me? A king? My kingdom is about to collapse, what else can't I gamble on?" After saying that, Eynred pulled the reins hard again, and the mount moved forward, followed by many of his followers holding the king's flag. .
Seeing this, the bishop was helpless. He made a cross on his chest, kissed the silver cross on his neck, held up the big black cross to invite the young priest to marry him, dismounted from his horse and followed the king to the battlefield. The bishop also had a possibly unrealistic fantasy. If he could persuade the barbarian leader to convert to the holy faith with just one mouth, maybe the disaster would stop.
This scene was seen by the Russian army in the distance, and a large number of Balmoks had gathered on the other side of the river and began to cross the river.
Magnut had already arrived on the other side, looking at the enemy corpses on the ground. He complained to his son-in-law Rurik that he was not waiting for the battle, and then praised the strength of the Russian army.
Rurik didn't say much. It was a good thing to show off his extremely strong muscles to his allies, but it was a waste of the enemy's vitality.
He comforted his wounded soldiers on the battlefield under the ship, and ordered his subordinates to kill the enemy's wounded with wounds, confiscated weapons and recovered arrows, and so on.
At this moment, a small group of people came from a distance, which again alerted the army.
Arik found his brother and pointed at him with the bloody sword, "Those are the new idiots who are not afraid of death. Let me kill them."
"No, brother. That must be the messenger, maybe begging us to stop killing or something."
"Then execute the messenger."
"No, listen to what the envoy says. Don't worry, the envoy's words are not what you want. I'll let you do it, and they won't be able to escape."
"Okay." Arik smiled, shook off the blood on the sword, and inserted it into the scabbard.
