Chapter 597 The Fall of York

The Northumbrian warriors guarding the city were trembling. When they saw the Viking army rushing towards York, it was as if the Ouse River was overflowing and was going to destroy the city.

Even their arms that drew the bows were trembling. The meaning of the arrows that their opponents had shot into the city made the Earl Greywulf who was guarding the city a little relieved.

He had inspected the Viking arrows and seen the pointed cone-shaped arrow clusters, and was surprised that they did not seem to be made of pure iron. The arrow clusters were all of the same style, as well as the "stones" that were thrown in. The blacksmiths who took refuge said that these were iron, the strange iron they had seen for the first time.

Can simple barbarians do this?

If the attackers were the Frankish army, Graywulf could still understand, but their flags were marked with blue stripes, and some flags had black bird patterns, not iris flowers at all. .

When he saw that the attackers were carrying a large number of ladders, he immediately felt that something was wrong.

"Soldiers! Prepare stones, the barbarians are building ladders, smash them to death!"

A batch of stones has been prepared at the top of the city, but is this enough? Graywulf called on his men to continue carrying stones, but the Vikings' offensive firepower also began.

Rurik deliberately took his main force to keep a distance from the main attacking Balmok army.

The soldiers of the first flag team who lined up looked at their allies who were clamoring to attack the city. How could they express their envy?

They have their own responsibility, which is to protect all the crossbowmen behind them.

Rurik stood in the formation with his sword in hand, with many flags flying around him.

All the archers were assaulted and arranged into a relatively regular five-man column.

A hundred people stood compactly in each column, with ten arrows stuck in front of each person.

After the archer matrix, there are torsion slingshots and trebuchets with upward shooting angles, which are supported by thirty heavy weapons.

Rurik waved his dagger, and support began immediately.

A dense whooshing sound came from the air, and the swirling feather arrows formed a rain of arrows, forming a probability hit zone with a width of more than a hundred meters and a height of nearly fifty meters.

This area happened to be a key point behind the city wall. The defenders' reserve troops were busy carrying stones up the city wall, and arrows were smashing down on their heads and faces.

They were unprepared, and when they heard the whooshing sound they subconsciously avoided it.

The arrows struck down fiercely due to gravity, causing the peasant soldiers without armor and only clothed clothes to suffer huge losses on the spot.

Many arrows passed by Graywulf, but he could no longer care about his own comfort.

He turned around and roared at the people running around under the city wall: "Don't run away! Continue to supply stones."

However, when his own life was at stake, the farmer instinctively of escape.

An arrow penetrated the thatched roof of the house and hit the women and children who were taking refuge inside.

When some people read the map and ran outdoors, some were killed by javelins thrown down.

That’s launchThe power of the javelin's torque slingshot is basically fatal if it hits the target.

There are also stones made from local materials and even large pebbles transported from the northern coast. They were all thrown by bull trebuchets, and those who were hit were shattered to pieces.

Only a few farmers pressed wooden boards against their heads and continued to provide support, but the city was still in chaos.

York has experienced several wars over the past few hundred years, but this is the first time even the oldest man in the city has encountered such a siege.

The arrows of the Russian army smashed into the city on a large scale, and they flew over the heads of the siege army.

"My son is mighty, haha! I hope my people will not be injured after the city is broken." Magnut was extremely excited under the city.

Magnut was already an old man, so he would not take the risk of climbing the ladder. Naturally, he would wait until the gate was clear of debris after the city was broken, and then he would swagger into the city.

Northumbria's city warriors defended the battlements at great risk.

Pairs of ladders were set up on the city wall, followed by soldiers wearing iron armor climbing up.

If you shoot them with arrows at close range, what is the use besides breaking the arrows and causing scratches on the armor?

The Dane Grund and his brothers climbed to the top of the city without any loss. They stood in front of the shocked Northumbrian warriors in orange and decisively pulled out the weapons from their waists. Daggers, hand axes, and even iron bars.

The archers of the Northumbrian Army had long been killed in large numbers by precision-attacked steel-armed crossbows, and the stone-throwing warriors were also killed in battle.

They were suppressed, and Rurik's heavily armored warriors made a full climb. They brandished their weapons and started killing people in the city.

There were a large number of iron men, and the sight of them fighting was seen by the soldiers below the city, and the Viking army immediately gained momentum!

Magnut was so excited that he trembled all over, and sighed sharply, "Rurik of Rus is really a hero. According to his methods, we easily broke through the city. My daughter married the right person."

He saw that his eldest son and second son began to climb the ladder with the most capable Balmok warriors, and now there was no obstruction from the army.

The Russian army quickly fired ten rounds of arrows. They saw that the enemy's city wall had failed, and a Balmok raven flag was flying on the top of the city. Obviously, if they continued to support, they would accidentally injure friendly forces.

Rurik ordered to stop and shouted to his cousin Arik, "Brother! Let's march too!"

"Okay! Follow them and climb the wall."

p>

"No! Just below the city, wait for the gate to open!"

Grund and his men caused horrific killings at the top of the city. Seeing that he was outmatched, Graywold hurriedly Retreat with a group of people.

Their trusted city wall defenses had collapsed. Grund, covered in blood, taunted and roared at all the fleeing enemies, "You are all a pile of dung! Come on! Don't run away, keep fighting me." ”

But now Grund, his silver-plated armor is completely blocked by the enemy.The blood is stained red.

The priests said that the demons of hell were covered in blood like this, and the frightened Northumbrian warriors screamed that Satan's apostles came in.

The city is also in a mess. The arrow feathers on the ground are like ears of wheat waiting to be harvested. There are also a large number of dead bodies lying on the ground, and even a group of struggling people.

Graywold doesn’t know where to go. I am afraid that only the stone building of the palace can give the remaining warriors some hope.

He rushed into the palace with more than a hundred men, and soon found the queen and even the prince.

Queen Anna is an unclean person after all, and has no respect for this woman Greywulf.

He specifically told the crying little prince Ella, "Your Highness, I will arrange for someone to sneak you out of the city."

But Ella was completely attracted by Gray Wolf He howled when he was frightened by his ferocious appearance.

Queen Anna hurriedly comforted the child and asked, "Where is the king? How can we escape. Have the barbarians..."

Greywulf kicked the queen away roughly and cursed. , "You are an unclean woman, you should die. But the prince must live, York is finished, we have to fight until the last moment for the prince's evacuation."

That's all, he threw it to the queen. A short blade, "Fight. Or force the other party to kill you."

Anna slowly picked up the dagger. Her belief dictated that suicide was absolutely impossible. Is fighting possible?

You are not allowed to commit suicide and you are not allowed to kill. Women are bound by their beliefs. How can they be female warriors?

The queen was in a dilemma. When she stood by the window and saw the barbarian army swarming towards her, she simply fainted...

"Is she scared to death?" Another soldier asked.

"Ignore her. Brothers, take the prince and we will retreat."

Ella cried for her mother, but Graywulf was too lazy to bother, picked up the child and withdraw.

Is Sheji really dead? He is not that stupid. Even if the king comes back with his troops, he cannot defeat such a barbarian army.

At least Ella is still alive, and he takes his brothers to protect him. If something unexpected happens, Ella will be elected as king by his brothers, so that everyone can get glory in the future.

Greywulf is indeed an egoist, but his current actions are actually loyal to the king.

He led his brothers to hug the little prince and walked through the muddy and smelly drainage ditches of the city. He didn't care about the tragedy inside the city and managed to reach outside the city.

However, the Vikings were on guard against all this.

Those soldiers who were ordered to burn the bridge now brought a group of crossbows and laid an ambush to prevent the enemy from escaping in the chaos.

The Northumbrians blocked all the city gates, but their escape from the sewers also surprised the soldiers.

The people waiting there were all Russians, and the archery master Fraser led them. Everyone also knew Rurik's order to catch as many people as possible alive.

But those kingdom warriors appeared and caught them aliveIt seems impossible.

Fraser led his men to shoot accurately. The startled Graywulf wanted to escape, but how could he escape from such an obvious target?

A crossbow arrow directly shattered his skull, and the whole person thought he was dead.

His nobility was limited to Northumbria, and his death was abrupt.

The Russian ambush stunned the kingdom soldiers, and a close-quarters melee ensued.

The Kingdom soldiers who were not killed fled back along the sewer, and the rest were killed in battle.

A well-dressed young man with tears on his face looked at the blood-stained white-robed and blue-striped warrior holding a round shield in horror.

"Boss, this kid doesn't look like a mortal, I'm afraid he is a noble."

"If he is really a noble, if we capture him and present him to the Duke, we brothers will all be rewarded. "

Fraser gasped, "Yes, he should be a noble. Let's tie up this kid first, and we will continue to ambush. Anyone who escapes will be shot." /p>

However, York has been defeated!

The debris in the main entrance was sparsely cleared, and the door opened a small gap, which was enough.

The people with two-handed axes quickly smashed the door to pieces, and the army waiting to climb the wall stepped over the debris piled at the door and ran straight into the city.

The Balmoks immediately turned into beasts and began plundering in all directions.

As agreed before the war, they arrested people arbitrarily and killed them when they encountered resistance. Those who begged for their lives were spared.

A large number of women and children were tied up and pulled out of the shelter, so much so that many barbaric Balmok warriors immediately lifted up their robes...

Rurik had already brought his own imposing manner. Hong's army entered the city, and he shook his head when he saw the chaos in the city.

"Haha, our allies are very energetic, and there are women screaming everywhere." Arik spoke very excitedly, as if he also wanted to try it.

Rurik glanced at his brother through the iron helmet, "Are you tempted?"

"Forget it. Are you belittling me? I don't care about the women here. I only care about honor."

"I don't care about them, and our army controls the granary, and all the wheat belongs to Ross, and I still need to use the wheat here to feed us. The women and children of my hometown."

Arik nodded and restrained his soldiers to remain calm.

At least in terms of military discipline, the elite divisions of the Ross First Banner Corps obey Lord Rurik's words. Most of the people in the shooting flag team were now ordered to stand by outside the city to avoid causing trouble after entering the city at a loss.

At this time, Grund and others, covered in blood, came breathing heavily, took off their iron helmets and said, "We have completed the mission, and our brothers have suffered no losses."

Rurik was taken aback, and unconsciously took a step back from this bloody man, and asked again: "Good job. Have you found the granary?"

"Just in front of."Grund held up the bloody ax and pointed.

"Let's go." Rurik forced a smile, "I will reward each of you with a pound of silver coins."

The people hiding in the houses were pulled out, and many The soldiers laughed and took away all the valuables the locals could use.

Magnut was not like that. He led a group of people into the church like a king.

"The barbarians are coming!" shouted the praying man, and then everyone screamed.

Magnut just waved his hand and casually ordered: "Go and arrest people."

The Balmoks who knew that there must be wealth here swarmed in, and they were not the first to Instead of killing, they tied up the refugees with ropes and pulled them out.

Only those priests who refused to surrender were killed as martyrs.

The sacred place was desecrated, and the Balmoqs found gold and silverware, and even coins and jewelry in the cellars.

All the church's wealth was taken away, but there didn't seem to be much of it, and Magnute was a little disappointed with this.

Looking at Biyongni again, he has no interest in capturing prisoners. Breaking the king's residence is the greatest honor!

He led more than a hundred people to kill the last guard, and even a few helpless courtiers, broke into the king's inner castle after breaking open the gate.

The servants hiding inside were all captured by Biyoni. He asked in very poor Saxon abbreviation: "Where is your king?"

The captured servants were there. They wailed and said random words that they couldn't understand.

"Damn it, brothers, you don't understand their language?" Biyongni asked angrily, of course his guys didn't understand.

He saw the erratic looks in the eyes of several servants again and thought he understood.

"Is it on the upper level? Let's go, brothers, let's capture the king. Eynred, wait for me!"

Of course Biyongni recognizes Eynred , he had some contact with their family.

All this is because of what happened last year, and now the original intention of the coalition is to gain territory from Northumbria.

But now, Biyongni wants to replace it.

He quickly found the king's palace, which was really easy to find. But seeing a shivering woman curled up here with a dagger beside her, I became very suspicious again.

The open stone window brings light, but the cold wind also pours into it.

Seeing the barbarian army invading, the woman took out the dagger in hesitation and stood up tremblingly. The wind blew her hair away, revealing a pitiful face stained with tears. She pointed the dagger at all those approaching, and kept retreating to the window. She glanced sideways at the tragedy outside, and stood still while trembling.

She wailed in Saxon, asking the barbarians not to come.

Bi Yongni was shocked when he saw this woman's face. This woman was still quite young, and her haggard face made him feel a pity for her.

Turns out, it’s her!

Biyongni smiled and opened his hands to signalDon't move forward.

He stuck the sword hard on the wooden floor, and then slowly took off his iron helmet.

"Queen Anna, I know you. You! Have seen me too."

That was the beginning of all the suffering in Bamburgh.

Queen Anna is not yet thirty years old. If she is not beautiful, she cannot be selected from ordinary noble girls.

She is just a daughter who goes with the flow. She endured hardship just to protect her children, but now.

She recognized the faces of several terrifying barbarians, such as the man in front of her. This man is indeed becoming more familiar the more he looks at him, but this man is also clearly a villain.

She thought of Greywulf's instructions, which was to provoke the enemy to kill him instead of committing suicide, so she rushed over screaming with a dagger in hand.

Is this a battle? Pooh! This is deliberately seeking death!

This is indeed seeking death. She hopes Biyongni will kill her and end her miserable life.

But Biyongni did not. Instead, he broke his dagger and pressed his whole body to the wooden floor. He pinched his neck with one hand and pressed his waist with one knee, as if to subdue a Easy as a lamb. .

"I know you. King! Where?" Biyongni lowered his head and asked.

Although Biyoni learned a little Saxon in order to invade Northumbria, Anna completely understood his bad words.

"The king...is outside. He will come back."

Byony at least knew that Eynred was not in the city, and he also knew that the queen was wearing a nun's black robe. In fact, they are unclean.

But this woman's pitiful expression aroused Qi Biyongni's interest.

"Unclean woman? No! I want to possess you. You are nobler than the women outside. Now serve me and keep you alive."

This is the language of Norse, Biyongni switched to another language and pieced together his meaning using simple vocabulary.

Looking at the unclean queen again, she relaxed her body and stopped struggling. She lay on the ground and just cried.

If she didn’t resist, she would acquiesce. Biyongni really enjoyed conquering an aristocratic woman like this.

He hurriedly called the other brothers out, and also asked his brother Floki to avoid it.

The wooden door of the king's palace was closed, and the soldiers who were busy searching for the king's treasures outside the door soon heard strange noises in the palace.

It was a woman's wailing and screaming, and it was even clearly Biyongni's roar.

A soldier maliciously patted Floki on the head, who was busy holding the silver plate: "Boy, your brother has found a strange but noble sister-in-law for you. Are you happy?"< /p>

"Bah! I understand. That woman is not noble, and I don't like it. She is only qualified to be a slave who raises cattle." After saying that, Floki spat.

This move caused many soldiers to laugh maniacally.

Someone else shouted, "It's a pity that their king can't come up with a little princess. Floki, this kingdom may not have a woman worthy of you."

When Biyongni walked out of the closed door with her thick chest hair exposed, people quietly saw that the queen was curled up in a bed sheet, her eyes dull, seemingly resigned to her fate again.

Someone was extremely confused and asked: "Boss, you are here to kill just because of this woman? In my opinion, the imminent beheading can humiliate the king who does not know where he is."

Floki looked up with a sullen face and asked: "Do you really want this woman to be your queen? Our hometown..."

"Don't worry, your sister (also known as sister-in-law) is my true love. . As for this woman, she is just a tool."

"Oh, that's good."

The capable warriors looked at each other, and everyone supported Biyongni as the king. Patting Biyongni on the shoulder to express further support.

Biyongni was overjoyed and walked back to the king's bedroom.

After a while, Anna changed her clothes. She no longer needed to be tied up with ropes, and she followed Bjorn in a trance, like a walking corpse. In other words, her soul was trapped in the body of her son who was killed by Greywulf. He died completely after being kidnapped...