Chapter 673 Attack on Isotalwa

Only a dozen people fled the battlefield, paddling desperately in the dusk with the terrible news.

The outpost in Karelia was breached, and the escapees saw the tragedy of their companions being killed. As for how many people managed to escape, they did not dare to have any illusions.

The lakeside adjacent to Isoltalwa is not big or small. It takes some time for a rowing boat to reach the exit of the lake. When night falls, the tired escapees take a detour in the night before setting off with a bonfire formation. Found a campsite for reference.

If there was no war, tonight would be another peaceful night.

However, it is true that God is not kind to us. There is a haze in the sky, and most of the stars and moonlight are obscured. It's not that it will rain heavily in a few days, but a weak northerly wind blows around the world and the temperature drops a lot.

Although it is August, autumn clothes are already blooming around Lake Ladoga. The Great Horde tribe in Karelia has recently mobilized for war, but the morale of the army has not exploded.

Ordinary herdsmen are very supportive of competing with their western neighbors for living space, but the details of the new enemies are still unclear. It seems that they are very powerful, and the herdsmen would rather continue to accumulate strength.

The calmness of the past few days has made people lazy. Sentinels have been placed in the forest and at the mouth of the river, but no alarm has been heard. Does this mean that the unknown enemy is just occupying the bear altar?

Esailas, who was guarding the big camp, had fallen asleep surrounded by female slaves. The pressure of the war in recent days forced him to rely on physical catharsis to suppress his head that was about to explode with anxiety.

Because it is a bear altar! The loss of the altar caused the regular autumn alliances of various tribes to be postponed or rescheduled.

The exhausted defeaters landed. They first encountered some night fishermen, and then brought the surprised candlelight night fishermen who were shouting on the shore.

Some people who were sleeping soundly in the tents were awakened. They were no longer sleepy after learning the news about the enemy's invasion.

Someone broke into Esailas' tent like crazy, knowing full well that this was trespassing, but the situation was urgent and the messenger could no longer care about his own life.

"Something serious has happened! The enemy has arrived at the mouth of the river!"

The messenger shouted for a while, and Aesailas finally woke up. He pushed the slave girl away and yelled: "Where did you get that lowly beast from? Get out of here!"

"Sir!" The messenger didn't care too much and rushed forward, trembling: "You...yours Two sons have died in the battle. Thousands of attackers are entering the lake in large boats. Our outpost...is finished!"

Esailas suddenly lost his temper. He just felt like the world was over. Ridiculous, he asked again: "You are so bold. Do you know what you are going to say?"

"Sir." The messenger immediately sat down and punched his chest with his right fist, "The enemy who attacked the bear altar is here. Your two sons have died in the battle, and almost all the four hundred brothers at the outpost have died! Sir, listen to the voices outside, the people who have escaped are already telling everyone."

Aesailas struggled to get up, put on his leather coat and walked out of the tent, and saw a large group of panicked people walking around holding torches. He tried to control the situation, but how could the panic of such a large tribe be easily suppressed?

Seeing the garrison leader stand up, the frightened herdsmen gathered one after another, begging for a good solution.

What is a good policy? Where are the good strategies to defend against enemies?

He first called the people who had escaped to the battalion commander, and interrogated these people who were in tears.

This time, he got more shocking news than before.

A huge number of mound-like boats floating on the river? The enemies all have flags with white background and blue stripes, and even their clothes are like this? The enemy still has sharp arrows that make the Karelian hunters a joke.

Could it be that even an ambush of four hundred people couldn't inflict heavy damage on the enemy, so my son died in battle?

At least they died like men, but this bad news made Aesailas blush with anger, and he vowed to fight the invaders to the end in anger!

Thousands of people were waiting outside the war, and the bonfires and torches lit up the dark world.

The people were not sleepy at all, and the roar of discussions only intensified their fear and anxiety.

Aesailas finally appeared again, and the scene suddenly became quiet.

Thousands of pairs of eyes looked at his shadow and listened to his violent words.

"Brothers! The attackers who desecrated the altar are coming, and the decisive battle is earlier than we expected. They are a group of the most ferocious bears, or ferocious wolves. Our outpost has been breached, and they are about to Attack our camp! His attackers want to kill all of us! They will kill all the men, they will take all the women, they will kill the old and the children, and they will take away our deer. We have no way to escape. Fight them to the end!"

The people with wide eyes were trembling. They didn't know which god they had offended to deserve such punishment.

Is it true that the entire family cannot be evacuated?

Esairas claimed that the entire Isotalva people were responsible for the loss of the sacred bear altar. A man who escapes is a traitor to his ancestors and gods and will be executed immediately.

But women and children must evacuate the herd immediately!

Esailas felt that he had made the most correct decision in the critical situation. It was impossible for him to flee with his tribe, after all, only the real chief had the authority to issue this order. But conceivably the chief would not retreat without a fight. As the chief's brother, if he can't hold the camp, then he should raise his head to see me. Besides, the two cowardly sons could still sacrifice their lives for the tribe. For their courage, he would rather die fighting for the tribe.

However, if women and children are killed by war, it is also the most serious disaster. A large number of men die in battle. Women who successfully escape can continue to have children. Although the population has dropped sharply, the tribe can recover quickly.

The hesitant men had to stay, and more men were determined to stay for the decisive battle.

The Karelian tribe began an evacuation movement. The wife cried goodbye to her husband and the children said goodbye to their father. The time given to them was very limited. Women and children wake up the sleeping deer and force them to start moving north.

There are still some women who are determined to stay and would rather die fighting together with their husbands.

It also included a large group of old people who decided to die for the tribe and would do their best to kill an enemy...

Esailas was moved to tears, never expecting that he would not be there in the end. There was no real violence, the people really took up arms and stood up because of their honor.

He promised all his male and female slaves that they would pick up sharpened sticks and fight. When they defeated the invaders, they would be free and become free herdsmen.

Unfortunately, the night in August was not long. Isotalwa, led by the rational leader, took the correct precautions, but it was too late!

On the other hand, the Russian army, which had won the first battle, dared to clean up the battlefield before the sun set.

The enemy's corpses were roughly tapped, and the prisoners were hanged after the results of the trial.

The entire Ross army landed overnight, and all the enemy’s weapons were confiscated. Through the large number of bone arrow clusters and even the status of his own casualties, Rurik judged the level of the enemy’s army——Heta The Vastians are on the same level.

Rurik did not want to expose himself. His men had already chased him to the lakeside. He especially ordered his men to prohibit lighting bonfires by the lakeside.

The Russian army relied on the river and lit a large number of bonfires on the battlefield in the forest.

This can only cover their presence to a limited extent, as the clouds in the sky are illuminated by numerous bonfires.

The Karelian people are not simple fools. How can they just listen to the words of those who have returned and believe that the enemy has invaded?

Look at the southern sky, it is lit up. Despite the forest cover, who would deny that a large army was not hidden there?

The enemy's corpse was removed, and our own corpse was temporarily placed. The injured warrior's wounds were cleaned with strong alcohol, then violently sutured with linen thread, and finally tied with linen cloth.

A brother was killed or wounded, and the Russian soldiers were furious. The enemy actually dared to launch a sneak attack. Only the Russian army had the right to launch a sneak attack.

In a big bonfire, Rurik gathered all the flag captains and centurions.

While walking among the brothers, he talked about the fleet tactics to be implemented. There were no sonorous words, but only specific tactical arrangements.

Everyone basically listened attentively and listened to the end.

“That’s the arrangement, do you have any other suggestions?” Rurik asked.

Everyone looked at each other. The flames illuminated everyone’s expressions. It was obvious that everyone supported it.

"In that case, let's arrange it like this..."

Aric suddenly raised his head: "Brother, do we really want to let those women and brats go?"

"ForWhat? Those brats will grow up to take revenge and must be eradicated. ”

“Maybe so. However, I don't believe you would be afraid of a group of grown-up cubs. Brother, you were too violent before, you were really killing indiscriminately. "

"Did I do anything wrong? "Arik asked rhetorically.

Rurik knew he would say this, but what he said made sense. "It may be wrong or it may be right. If I intend to conquer Karelia, I must not kill indiscriminately. I want them to surrender, we want a group of slaves. I have already thought about it. Now that I have reached their lair, I will capture all those who gave up resistance. "

"I'm afraid your kindness will raise a pack of jackals. "Arik shook his head.

"It doesn't matter. Rurik faced everyone again, "Aren't you all angry about being ambushed and attacked?" You should also understand that the enemy is not stupid. Please be careful, I don't want any of you to get hurt in the battle tomorrow. Remember, if you die in battle due to stupidity, your soul cannot go to Valhalla. ”

The first banner team composed of pure old Russians just wants to kill, and the other banner teams are more willing to rob and rob women.

Rurik has no time to restrain the troops. , everyone fell asleep. When the sky turned gray and blue, people woke up one after another, ate dry food and got on the boat.

The third flag team composed of Balmoq people blew the walrus horn. The sound of leather drums accentuated the solemnity.

The fleet of long snake formations entered the lake one after another, and a gust of north wind blew in. The coolness made Rurik feel chilled.

The north wind made the arrows shudder. The range of the arrow is reduced, and the biggest advantage is that the sailing ship can sail freely.

"Lower the sails! "Rurik raised his head and ordered.

Aphrola showed off her huge triangular sail. The sail was deliberately kept at an angle to the central axis of the ship, and she began to sail against the wind.

All sail cruisers , sail destroyers, and armed cargo ships, they formed a line array, hitting the other side of the lake like a wall.

Behind it, there was an array of as many as forty longships, the first and third, mixed in. A group of veterans of the Second Flag, and even a group of heavily armored mercenaries from Rurik, they are the marines in Ross's literal sense.

Rurik deliberately looked down on the enemy. , trying to imagine this assault as a beach landing in Normandy, imagining that the enemy had already taken precautions on the beach.

Coincidentally, Normandy was where Danish immigrants colonized an area from the Frankish Kingdom and accepted the imperial order. Formed.

There are a large number of crossbow and rifle-wielding warriors standing on the deck of the large ship. They stand so densely that even some heavy weapons seem to have a cramped space to maneuver.

Before the war broke out, Rurik fantasized about a decisive land battle with the enemy, so that he could demonstrate the superiority of his own heavy weapons.

Rurik now had a premonition that the enemy would be completely exposed before they could. The big camp was on alert. After all, the captured enemies said they were ready for a decisive battle. It seemed that heavy weapons could only be used on ships, so that was okay.is a good thing.

The cart-mounted torsion slingshots prepared for land warfare were placed on the ship again, and the bull trebuchets were basically evenly distributed among each ship.

The decks at the bow and stern of the ship are mainly used for heavy weapons, and the middle deck is densely packed with people holding crossbows.

This time Suomi and the Vips will shoot arrows at the enemy. Their overall poor bows cannot create a very far killing range, so it is no problem to use them as a cover to land.

As the sky slowly dawned, the entire Russian army rushed towards Isotalva.

Many women and children had just left with their children and herds of deer, and they could not go far.

A large number of men stayed up all night. Many people said that the decisive battle would not be tomorrow morning but the day after tomorrow. There would be a big war within a few days.

The men in Karelia no longer dare to have illusions, because those optimistic illusions have been completely shattered by a group of shadows approaching quickly after dawn!

The man by the lake saw the big ship and the strange triangular sail. Even though the distance was approaching, the huge blue pattern on the sail was clearly visible!

The totem of the Russian people is two interlaced blue lines, which symbolizes the oars.

Russ means oars. This fleet, which once crossed the ocean to conquer Britain, suddenly appeared in the small lake Isotalva in the north of Lake Ladoga.

What happened completely overturned the cognition of most Karelia people. This was the first time they saw the true appearance of the invaders. The strange thing is that many people did not feel fear, but I feel that the big ship must not have been built by mortals.

"Perhaps they are the apostles of the Lake God. We did not worship the God properly and incurred God's punishment?" Some priests made a seemingly reasonable speculation.

Aesailas is not that stupid. Even if he really blasphemed God and was punished, it would be worse than what he should be. The approaching attackers are either God's apostles or despicable foreigners!

He shouted in the camp and summoned the men to gather at the lakeside with spears, axes and shields.

Those terrifying ships put an end to the Karelian people's thoughts of water warfare. They gathered on the lakeside and soon formed a black army. Their roars cause the world to rumble, seeming to frighten away enemies with their momentum.

But in the eyes of all the Viking troops in the Russian army, this is the most classic Viking provocation.

"They are provoking you. I see that they have gathered a lot of people, and they are looking for death!" Yevro yelled at Rurik in the strong wind.

Rurik squinted his eyes and looked solemn. The gold-plated leather helmet had covered most of his face, and the whole person was also covered in chain mail reinforced with bronze sheets, making the whole person appear golden. noble. This kind of defense is indeed over the top.

Rurik remained calm and ordered: "Let brothers prepare for battle. Your flag bearer is on standby immediately."

"As you command, my lord."

The Karelian army has the most equipment with spears and bows. They shoot arrows desperately and cooperate with the spear holders to stab. This is their magic weapon to win the battle. These tricks are at least as good as those of the Tavastians and Soviets. Omi people often take advantage in battles.

However, the Ross fleet suddenly dropped its spear, and Rurik intuitively determined that the flagship had entered the appropriate position.

The sails were adjusted to a suitable angle, and coupled with the ship's sailing inertia, the flagship quickly reached the port side to confront the enemy. The Avora entered the battle array, and soon all the battleships were in place.

Standing on the deck, Rurik could basically see his opponent's hair and face clearly. The distance between the two sides seemed to be 150 meters, which was enough.

The flagship communicates with other ships through semaphores, conveying Rurik’s own meaning. The enemy was very strangely standing still. Instead, they formed a dense formation. This formation would naturally be advantageous for fighting in groups. However, facing intensive attacks from long-range weapons, isn't it just looking for death? !

Rurik felt that he had quietly stumbled upon a huge opportunity, and ordered the flag to inform each ship of the last message: pay attention to the signal flag and shoot freely.

A black flag is quickly rising to the top of the flagpole. After all weapons have been charged, the shooters are all staring at the flagship.

When the black flag reached the top, each ship launched a bombardment in tacit understanding...