The Count of Bremen assembled his main cavalry to face the Normans. They lined up on the wall and moved their spearheads forward in unison.
It started as a canter for the horses, but according to the plan, it naturally started to accelerate at the last moment.
Theoretically, the cavalry at the head of the line would pass through the enemy formation with their spears and choose the opportunity to thrust the spear into the enemy. After completing a raid, they often retreated so that the cavalry behind could continue to kill the enemy. This is exactly like a wave-like offensive. Wave after wave of cavalry thrusts will eventually wear down the enemy's morale. When there is a slope in the formation, this is the moment for the wall-mounted charge to deliver a fatal blow.
However, the Russians and the Franks have completely different military styles!
The torsion slingshot was fired at full strength, and just as the Frankish cavalry was trotting forward to accumulate energy for acceleration, the spinning cast iron bullets hit them.
Compared to beating people, leading people with war horses is obviously a bigger target!
Even though the horse's head and chest were covered with a layer of chain mail, the half-pound cone-shaped cast iron bullet hit at high speed. The sharp head directly penetrated the gap in the chain mail and directly broke through the muscles. center heart.
Even the horse's head was smashed, its skull was smashed, and its eyes were smashed out.
The Ross army had experience fighting the British cavalry and understood the benefits of intensive use of torsion slingshots.
With this one throw, all the torsion slingshots completed a critical hit. As the most elite combat force, the count's heavy cavalry was lost in half in an instant!
A large number of war horses were injured and fell to the ground, which unexpectedly delayed the advancement of the light cavalry in the rear.
Earl Hunter's face was splashed with other people's blood. One of his comrades had half of his face smashed, and he had already fallen down together with his horse.
The sudden sight shocked him so much that he had no time to think, because it was followed by arrows flying randomly.
"Raise! Heavy arrows! Throw!" Jevro on the ship deck ordered.
He held the Finnish bow that was already on standby and shot heavy arrows with a longbow. The arrow clusters were made of carbon steel and had barbs. The entire arrow weighed more than a quarter of a pound. It was suitable for the current battlefield environment. .
But before the heavy arrows fell from the sky, the crossbows of the Russian army fired first.
The few warriors holding steel-arm crossbows no longer have to complain about their excessive firepower when carrying such a heavy thing.
The same half-pound crossbow arrow hit the remaining charging horses with powerful potential. Although it could not directly penetrate the internal organs, it also made the chest muscles of the horse stiff.
More war horses fell directly, and even Earl Hunter was not immune to this blow.
"Ah!"
With a scream, the war horse actually threw him out. His mount rolled forward, fell heavily and broke its leg.
Poor Hunter, the horse’s hindquarters pinned his legs. For this battle, he specially wore cowhide armor inlaid with iron plates and a chainmail armor. His defensive ability was not bad, but even the heavy armor made it difficult for him to escape on his own strength.
"Ah! My head...myhand! "
"Ah! pain! ”
He watched helplessly as an arrow pierced his basically defenseless leg, and then he realized that the whooshing sound in his ears was an arrow falling.
Because of the heavy weight, The cavalry's legs are mainly protected by two small shields. If necessary, the dismounted cavalry can abandon the heavy cavalry shield and use the small shield to protect himself.
Hunter immediately grabbed the fallen oak shield cover. There was a loud sound on his torso, and his arms trembled.
Then he smiled stupidly when he looked at the unexplainable sharp object in front of him.
A heavy arrow hit the oak shield directly with the force of gravity. Thanks to the shield, Hunter did not die on the spot.
Slingshot, crossbow, and longbow. Together, the first round of volleys stopped the advance of the entire cavalry. Most of the elite heavy cavalry were killed or wounded, but a large number of light cavalry had no idea what was happening and they were still pushing forward.
As for the Ross coalition, the battle turned out like this according to Arik's prediction, but in Ragnar's view, it seemed that Odin had given the brothers divine power, but it was just about shooting arrows. The fierce Frank The cavalry suffered massive casualties?
Ragnar couldn't help but bang the hilt of his sword on his shield, and subconsciously shouted to his own men: "Brothers, get ready, let's go up and kill them." "
Arik really heard these words.
"Brother Ragnar, wait! When our arrows completely defeat their fighting spirit, you can rush forward and chop them into pieces! "
"Okay! Okay..."
Ragnar couldn't help but recover. Behind him, ten large ships turned into ten floating arrow towers.
The Finnish longbowmen no longer needed to aim, the enemy's The cavalry is a big target, and Jevlo's order is very simple. Just charge the heavy arrow to about the same strength and fire it out.
When you realize that the enemy is only unarmored cavalry, it takes some time. The torque slingshot, which had only been charged for the second time, was replaced with a javelin this time.
These longbowmen are all short people. They are all elites carefully selected by Jevro. Their arms are almost as thick as their thighs. They were professional hunters in their hometown, and now they are the best warriors to wield longbows.
The Finnish archers shoot freely, with heavy arrows on the left side. The cavalry had already forced themselves to get closer, and they began to shoot accurately. After the heavy arrows were fired quickly, they switched to light arrows.
The number of crossbowmen surprisingly surpassed the cavalry who were still advancing. , the Frank cavalry has now lost its ability to attack, and its formation has become chaotic. Their morale has not yet collapsed and they are already worthy of their profession.
Aric was very satisfied with the current battle situation. He was really satisfied at the beginning. They were a little in awe of those cavalry. Now it seems that it is more like the Frank nobles felt that the Ross coalition was too tired after the robbery, so they came to deliver horse meat enthusiastically.
"You still want to stand still now? "Ragnar urged.
"Keep waiting!"
"Why? I can't wait any longer."
"Keep waiting!" Ragnar thought for a while and simply shouted: "If you counterattack That's okay, my arrows don't have eyes."
"Bang..."
Ragnar finally understood that the Ross army was not fighting, they were killing indiscriminately. The Franks are also showing off their force. He also had to admire that if such an army landed in Denmark, even if the Danish coalition forces gathered together, they would be defeated. Now, he believed in the fact that the group of guys on Gotland Island were indeed annihilated by Duke Ross.
Under the absolute attack of arrows, the offensive of three hundred Frank cavalry was completely disintegrated.
If he had known that there would be such a result, Earl Hunter might have stayed away and not attacked at all, or he might have thought nothing of it and organized all the cavalry to charge blindly. Can achieve results.
Good thing now, Frank's super-long spear didn't achieve any results, and the entire cavalry team was knocked down!
The last fifty cavalrymen in despair wandered among the corpses and squirming wounded soldiers, but the precise killing continued.
The people operating the torsion slingshots on the big ship were all anxiously urging other workers to work faster, for fear that the prey in front of them would run away.
The javelin is installed into the launch tank filled with whale oil, and the javelin is accurately concentrated.
If he continues to stay here and is unable to attack, the earl may also die. After all, the brothers were small local lords, people with a lot of land after all, and prominent figures in the village. How could they die like this on the bank of the river?
Morale has collapsed, and the troops are absolutely scarce.
They chose to retreat, but in the end, only more than thirty riders managed to escape from the battlefield.
Looking at someone escaping, Ragnar really couldn’t stand still anymore.
He didn't care whether Arik had any other requests. He knocked on the shield fiercely and asked the trumpeter to blow the horn.
All the elite warriors of the Stonewall tribe held their swords and battle axes high and rushed towards the battlefield where the cavalry lay lying on the ground not far away.
This scene is just like Agincourt, except that the overall defense of this cavalry team is weak. The Russian army used weapons to destroy ships and cut decks to deal with them, which was actually using strong spears to poke paper shields.
On the contrary, the war horses suppressed the cavalry and immobilized them, which is very similar to Agincourt.
As for the subsequent infantry who frantically slashed and killed the immobile cavalry, it was exactly the same.
Ragnar's troops killed indiscriminately. He didn't want to leave anyone alive, so he killed three of them personally.
This group of Danes was once surrounded and suppressed by this group of cavalry like prey. Such revenge would turn the battlefield into a meat factory.
Earl Hunter was still alive when he was found, but three bearded Danes with strange braids smashed his head into pieces as prisoners of war. The reason for this is just because they saw this personHis mail armor is very thick, so he had to quickly take it off and keep it for himself. Such a brain delayed the brothers from taking off their clothes.
What is left is no longer a battle, but a carnival of Vikings picking up corpses.
Aric didn’t want to think that all the good things would be taken away by them, so he quickly ordered: “Brothers, go and take back the arrows as much as possible. Cut off the horse’s legs with the axe!”
Blue Fox, Spuyut, Telalang...a miscellaneous group of Russian soldiers rushed forward happily. Everyone didn't think they could get anything good from the enemy, but the fallen horses were all good meat.
So, when the Russians went into battle, the battlefield had indeed turned into a meat factory.
We are not man-eating monsters. Most of the dead soldiers were pulled out. Out of anger, the bodies were thrown directly into the Weser River and allowed to flow down the river into the sea.
A gorgeous corpse was discovered. His head was missing, and the armor on his body was gone. However, the lining and clothes were very elegant and he was not ordinary at all.
Who is he?
The body was pulled to the river, eager to be thrown into the water.
This man is completely different from those ordinary people. Both Arik and Ragnar think that this is the "war chief" of the cavalry team.
Maybe Blue Fox can know the truth.
No, Blue Fox was invited over, but his identity cannot be known based on the current evidence alone.
"Someone has taken this man's equipment. Ragnar, ask among your people if they have ever looted a gorgeous dead man. At least let me see what good things they looted. ."
"Like this sword?" Ragna then took out the iron sword he just got. It was intact, even the scabbard was intact.
Only relying on this item, the cautious blue fox completely soothed his expression.
He looked at Ragnar and then at Arik, and said with a smile: "Now I can say, we killed the Earl of Bremen."
"That's the local nobleman ?"
"Yes, we lost his city, killed his family, and now he himself."
"Then, I have to take revenge. ! Many Danish people’s grudges have been avenged with our help.” Ragnar said with a sense of relief, and he immediately asked: “In this way, there will be no other local soldiers to stop us?”
< p> "That should be the case." Arik nodded."In this case, we should not evacuate hastily. Let us continue to loot and loot more property."
"That's enough. My big ship is full of wheat. and wool, no more new belongings can be stuffed in."
Ragnar shook his head disdainfully: "You are so in love with wheat? Of course wheat is very important, but there is nothing more important than collecting gold and silver. ? I can live a good life by leading my people on robberies. We should continue to work together to make more money."
Hearing this description, Arik understood this person's pattern.
Aric did not say that he was a big-picture person. Facing the development of Ross, he also deeply realized the importance of wheat to the entire principality - more important than gold and silver.
A large population requires a large amount of storable wheat. If there is an expedition mission, carrying a large amount of wheat can not only maintain an army of thousands of people, but also maintain morale and confidence for several months.
Aric insisted on leaving, and Spuyut and his gang also wanted to take the captured woman back to Saaremaa Island. Even Spute still has another task to do. Although it is a bit tight to go back to the island first and then go to Britain, it is better to leave the mouth of the Weser River now and rush directly to Britain to meet the Northumbrian people. Ask for wheat tribute.
What else can Ragnar do? He still has some emotions.
Blue Fox patted the warrior on the shoulder: "Brother, if you want to unite, you must unite with our prince. Your people have been wandering for more than half a year, and they should have a warm and safe place to spend the winter. . The sooner you arrive in Ross, the sooner the tribe will be able to settle down. Even if there is a new robbery, it is better to leave it to next year."
Ragnar's heart softened after being coaxed like this. He also has two sons. The young son cannot be guaranteed safety. The clan members are wandering outside. This winter, many people may freeze to death.
"That's it! My people have robbed enough money. I hope you Russians can stick to your promise. My people are holding silver coins in your market, and they can indeed buy one. Ten pounds of oats."
Aric slapped his chest: "I can guarantee that you must pay attention to the rules of Ross. If some people commit crimes, they will be punished accordingly. Punishment. For example, being punished for logging."
No matter whether the corpse is Earl Hunter, the corpse most likely is.
The poor count was skinned like a hairless pig and thrown directly into the Weser River. Almost all the corpses found were thrown into the river, while the Ross coalition ate the horses' legs on the blood-stained river beach.
They also deliberately roasted an extra batch of horse meat. The meat was grilled and then baked to become dried meat. The coalition forces wanted dry food for their return voyage. Due to the lack of conditions for making wheat cakes, they made Dried meat, a traditional Viking skill, is very popular, but it just takes a little longer.
The most elite forces in the entire Bremen area have been annihilated. Is there any other army that can threaten the coalition forces?
Because of transportation difficulties and lack of information, Prince Ludwig’s main army is now stationed in Hamburg. However, the local supplies are not enough to maintain the temporary stationing of a large army. Because King Horik of Denmark bought peace by handing over a batch of oats. The prince had already planned to take the army to Bremen for an inspection first, to see the results of Earl Hunter's suppression of bandits, and then to Flanders for an inspection, and then led the army to the border of Central Francia to give him to the brother-in-law. Thiel flexed his muscles.
It was a mixed army of infantry and cavalry, and they needed to get a batch of supplies in Bremen. The structure of this army also destined its marchThe speed is quite slow.
The prince had no idea that a disaster comparable to the collapse of the sky and the earth had occurred in Bremen, and his army was already slowly moving south.
The Ross Alliance has completed the final reorganization, especially the big ship Salmon Chief. Its flagship position has been given to the Gray Squirrel, and most of the materials in the cabin have been transferred, except for those who were asked to burn the fire. Cooking prisoners.
Sail cruisers, sail destroyers, armed cargo ships, rowing longships, a mixed fleet of more than 800 people, they split up at the mouth of the Weser River.
The Principality of Ross goes to Northumbria every year to collect tributes. It also visits the Viking Kingdom of York, which they have had little contact with recently, and brings home the equivalent of about fifty tons of British wheat. This experience was destined to be a feat for the Saaremaa islanders who accompanied the ship to leave the European continent to see the world.
The main fleet of the coalition forces continued to move along the coastline. When it passed the mouth of the Elbe River, if the cabin was empty, Arik and Ragnar would be happy to grab it again.
The journey home was uneventful. Whether it was near the Denmark Strait or Bornholm Island, local fishermen had learned their lesson and knew that they must stay away from such a terrifying fleet.
No force dared to stop the Ross fleet. They returned triumphantly with a huge amount of loot and new allies...