Rise of Rurik

The buckler was dripping with blood, the steel sword was dripping with blood, and the plate armor was soaked with blood. The smell of blood and sweat mixed together, and the sounds of killing and crying and howling complemented each other.

Twelve warriors guarded the bridge, and behind them were friendly troops who kept firing arrows. Although their number is small and the soldiers are too young, they stand here like a thin but indestructible fortress.

"Iron Wall". Originally used for hunting bears, the javelin is fired flatly from a torque slingshot. Each shot often causes two enemies to lose the ability to fight.

In order to ensure that future battles do not fall into absolute passivity, crossbow-wielding warriors are already firing captured enemy arrows. Poor-quality arrow clusters may not be able to kill nearby enemies, but there is no problem in using projectiles to create chaos against enemies in the rear.

There was a bloody fight at the bridgehead, and arrows from both sides were flying above their heads.

"Are you...monsters? You don't feel tired after fighting now?" Vadim, who was supervising the battle, couldn't understand, and his soldiers couldn't understand it.

In other words, the marching Smolensk soldiers gradually could not bear the impact of the obvious lack of progress. Many people had been killed and injured. Most of the brothers who fell into the water were tragically drowned. The brothers who were still queuing up on the shore to cross the suspension bridge have been enduring the hateful Ross. A sneak attack with sharp arrows.

Standing at the rear does not mean safety, although the body may be pierced by a deadly javelin, such an injury means death.

The Smolensk warriors did not have any armor that could withstand the blow of a torsion slingshot. They had no medical drugs and had little concept of hygiene. However, they knew very well that once injured, they might get fever and die in pain.

And being hit by that damn javelin is bound to die. You can die suddenly at any time and at any time, and you can die suddenly if you stand behind.

The battle that the people of Smolensk knew was not like this at all. If the cavalry led by the big leader behind them were not constantly suppressing them, the morale of the army would have collapsed.

However, the morale of the military is rapidly declining, although it is reaching the critical point of collapse. Avender was panting. He did not dare or disdain to show his fatigue to the enemy, but he did not have the strength to hit Yin Hong's round shield with his sword to provoke him. The sword was placed on the shield, and together with his companions, he maintained the image of the shield wall being indestructible. .

"Young people, can you hold on?"

"Ho!" The soldiers' war cry was obviously short of breath. Looking left and right, Yellinger felt that they were very tired.

"You are all heroes. Keep holding on now, it will be bad once they see our fatigue. We... just keep standing like this." The Twelve Warriors completely maintain a defensive posture. If the enemy continues to charge, then kill them In other words, if the enemy maintains a confrontation, then maintain the confrontation.

It's just that the friendly arrows on the city wall are completely free-firing to find their targets, constantly weakening morale.

The collapse did not come from a single moment. At the beginning of the period, it was the large number of light arrows thrown by the defenders that forced the follow-up troops on the attacking front to evade. After all, those at the end of the team were all tribal warriors who had been forcibly recruited. These people were all debt slaves pushed out by the landlords in each village to deal with them. , marginalized people in the village, and those who are relatively weak, just lack strength.

They think about the good things of victory, and any victory results will definitely be taken away by Vadim and his elite. If they can drink soup, they are grateful for their kindness.

In this case, why do brothers need to fight so hard? Seeking advantages and avoiding disadvantages, the front line of the rear troops became increasingly loose. The retreat of a small number of people gradually turned into the retreat of more people. Finally, a snowballing collapse began.

Vadim's beard on horseback could not hide the blue veins on his face. He raised his sword high and waved it constantly to dissuade the soldiers from fleeing, and then turned into curses.

Cursing did nothing to change the situation. He saw his carefully trained warriors running away with bare hands.

"Absurd! Don't you have a blood feud with them? How can you let the Russians see your back?!"

"Get me the weapon and continue the confrontation."

"I haven't given the order to retreat, why are you running away?!"... Everything was of no avail. Vadim chopped down the deserters in public, which resulted in an even larger rout.

Those Smolensk warriors on horseback gradually joined the retreating army, not wanting to be exposed to the open space and become the target of a sneak attack.

A warrior on horseback tightened his reins and hurriedly approached the furious Vadim, bravely suggesting: "Chief, you should leave quickly."

"Let me go?! Are you going to be a coward too?"

"Oh, this has nothing to do with cowards. Chief, isn't our purpose today to harass? The general attack you planned has not started yet. Why don't you let the brothers go back and prepare the tools after some rest? We will definitely be able to break the city."

"Forget it. Just go with the original plan." Vadim slowly put down his sword and glanced at the indestructible fortress, the Russian shield wall at the end of the bridge, and the Russian flag flying on the wooden wall.

It’s so hard to admit your failure! He spat hard and said harsh words: "I will find a way to destroy you! Soon, I will do it." On the other hand, countless figures were running away to the east, leaving behind them There were a group of crawling wounded soldiers, corpses trampled to death by their companions due to their injuries, and weapons scattered everywhere.

"They escaped and we won?" Avender muttered weakly.

"Yes." Yellinger was breathing heavily. He responded briefly. He turned to look at the boy, only to see Avender's legs paralyzed... He had quick eyesight and quick hands. He still held the sword in his right hand, and used his arm to force the boy. Help up.

"Stupid! Don't slack off now, stand still for me."

"Yes...yes..." Avender endured the exhaustion and continued to persist. The Twelve Warriors have also reached the edge of collapse. When the tense nerves are relaxed due to the enemy's retreat, the body supported by adrenaline is relaxing at a terrifying speed. Fortunately, there is a veteran member of Yelinger who will overdraw his vitality as a At the cost of standing tall with the sons of the Principality of Ostara and defending the glory of the kingdom and faith, they will collectively collapse on the blood-soaked suspension bridge.

Jellinger was extremely worried. Once the shield wall at the bridgehead disappeared, the enemy's knowledgeable people would most likely organize a force to attack again.

Indeed, when Vadim had to give the order to retreat, he headed towards the occupied logging camp. Unwilling to do so, he stared at the fortress with wolf-like eyes, staring at the too obvious blood-stained shield wall standing at the head of the bridge. .

Until the enemy gradually disappeared from sight... they did not leave, but apparently went to the lumber camp and nearby forests.

Now Yellinger finally signaled that everyone could rest. The order had just been issued when all the young soldiers fell down as if they had been hit by several arrows. They fell to the suspension bridge and splashed all the condensed Yin Hong blood clots. One or two of them were stunned. After a while, he actually lay on his back, snoring and fell asleep.

Jellinger wanted to smile happily, but his tired body no longer allowed him to laugh. He slowly raised his sword to signal to the brothers cheering for victory on the city wall, and said with all his strength: "Open the door now, all of you, come out! Clean the battlefield and seize everything you can." Since he fully knew the enemy's details and demands, he wanted to defend Weijie to the end. The defenders of the Principality of Ostara in Busk must find a way to turn this fortress into a source of hatred.

Fly the flag of Ross high and make sure its blue and white pattern is clearly visible to enemies at all times.

After all, that is five thousand enemies! This number may be a lie. In today's chaotic battle, the few defenders did see a large army, even though their combat effectiveness was worrying.

The young warriors focus on being brave and fierce, while a few older warriors like Jellinger think much more. Vadim and his Smolensk army didn't bring a lot of supplies?

They couldn't even think of breaking through the fortress. When the food ran out, they had to look for food everywhere, either hunting or fishing. Perch and marmots couldn't fill the stomachs of thousands of troops. In the end, they had to go to Polotsk nearby. grab food from their territory.

What is the situation with the Polotsk people? The defense level of the local Novopolotsk Fortress is better than that of the Vitebsk Fortress, but the quality of the defenders may not be high enough.

The rescue messengers are attacking with all their strength. Maybe today the people of Polotsk have begun to realize that there is a big enemy in the east.

After the war, the military strength of the Polotsk community itself plummeted, precisely because it was included in the territory of the Kingdom of Rus. They were like a group of sheep with their horns plucked, like a pile of fat.

The hungry Smolensk army will burst out with super combat power in order to survive, which is extremely dangerous.

To further create conditions to anger the enemy! So, on the once crowded battlefield, the defenders chopped off the scattered spear shafts with axes, and then cut out the sharp parts, which were used to insert the heads of the executed enemies.

Jellinger was supported by his companions and returned to the fortress, sleeping soundly. The young men who had fought exhausted were dragged away by their companions while they were sleeping soundly.

The soldiers who left the city carefully observed and felt that there was indeed no danger, and then began to fight bloody battles.

"Clean the battlefield." They don't want to take prisoners, and even if they deal with dead bodies, they will give them a heavy blow on the neck. One after another, the heads were ferociously placed on the wooden poles, and as many as 150 heads were smashed into the battlefield outside the east gate of the fortress.

This at least proves that the enemy killed 150 people, but the actual number is even more serious. Some corpses have been washed by the water in the ditch to the main river, and the West Dvina River will push the corpses all the way to the sea.

However, the trench waterways on both sides of the suspension bridge have been blocked. The bodies of the enemies who were hacked and slashed fell into the trench. They drowned in the water without standing up, so that their limbs began to emerge from the water.

It's still necessary

"Desilting"? The defenders tried it, but found that the corpses were entangled with each other and couldn't be pushed away. They were wearing plate armor and they didn't dare to take off their armor in the current situation, so they simply ignored them.

The soldiers leaving the city looked around like thieves, and then smashed the heads of all the enemies they found to create a

"The ferocious wheat field", then he retreated to the city carrying the loot, which was mainly weapons. The suspension bridge mechanism was broken, and the defenders simply further destroyed it and demolished it to expose the original ditch.

Then the east gate was locked up, and at the request of Jellinger before he fell asleep, the defenders put down their crossbows and focused on digging the soil on the spot with their shovels.

For no other reason than to seal the east gate from the rear by piling up earth. From the outside, it looks like the gate of the fortress of the Kingdom of Ross is closed, but in fact the defenders are determined to close the road and fight the enemy to the end.

Of all the trophies, the number of spears carried back was the largest. The spear shaft is genuine oak and has been shaved very straight. It is fair to say that this kind of wood shaft is qualified to make a single bow.

The spear shaft was cut off, and one part was used to punch the severed heads, while the other part served as the necessary javelin for the torsion slingshot.

The battle ended in an anticlimactic manner, but Ross's Ostara army had the last laugh. What's even more amazing was that because they wore heavy armor and had better physical fitness than their enemies, no one was killed except for a few injured.

Even though most of their injuries were minor scratches, the twelve bravest people, including Jellinger, were so tired that their bones were turning into powder.

Avender was wiped with hot water by his companions, and his blood-stained plate armor was taken out and washed with well water.

Warm honey water was poured into the mouths of the sleeping twelve people. They drank it in a daze and continued to sleep soundly.

And this sleep lasted until the evening of the next day... Even after he woke up and changed his clothes inexplicably, Avender slowly sat up from the bed and subconsciously held his head.

"Oops, my bones are about to break. Hey, where's the person?!" Apparently hearing his call, a companion hurried into the long room of the warm dormitory.

"Brother, you finally woke up."

"It's you, Laboy. Where are the other brothers?"

"It's all okay. It's okay..." The equally young Laboy is an authentic Slav from Lake Ilmen. He accepted the king's order, left the farm, and became a brand new Ostara. Now he is a Viking. slavic warrior.

This brother had a lot of freckles on his face, so he was nicknamed La Boy. He had no choice but to accept this nickname because he had no reliable name. It didn't matter if he got used to it.

The young Laboy looked obviously unhappy. Avender noticed something strange and asked again: "How long have I been sleeping? Has the enemy attacked again? Did you win without me participating?"

"The enemy hasn't left, and I don't know what they are doing. I'm afraid they are planning some conspiracy."

"Why don't you...send someone to investigate their intentions." Avender said casually.

"Maybe. Now the east gate of the outer city is sealed, and the brothers have withdrawn to the inner city. The inner city has been strengthened for defense. We... no matter what happens, we must hold on until reinforcements arrive."

"That's it. I didn't expect that Uncle Yelinger is really a berserker. I used to think that he was the city lord just because of his seniority. Haha, I defeated the enemy. By the way, how long did I sleep?"

"One day." Laboy, who had freckles on his face, couldn't hide the sadness on his face.

"Don't be discouraged, don't look depressed. We have food, firewood, and food here. We have everything. A hundred brothers can last until next spring, and those Smolensk idiots can't afford to fight us."

"But……"

"Relax." Avender patted the brother's shoulder kindly, but suddenly felt uncomfortable and coughed.

Although the light in the room was dim, Avender was shocked to see blood on the palm of his hand that was covering his mouth and coughing. He pressed his chest hard and felt the pain.

"I'm coughing up blood?! It's not good."

"Are you okay?" Laboy asked nervously.

"I can't die yet. Hehe, Odin won't let me die. It's better to relax. Come on, help me up, and I'll go see what's going on with Uncle Yellinger. I still want to talk to him."

"He..." Laboy's nervous face showed pain.

"What’s wrong with you?"

"It's time to tell you the situation. Uncle... is dead."

"Dead?!" Immediately he felt a headache. Avender asked this brother to talk about it, but what he got was the news of Yellinger's death.

"Impossible! Absolutely impossible! Yesterday we fought side by side and killed the enemy so many that the ditches were clogged with corpses. He was not injured at all, how could he be dead?! Could it be..." Suddenly a thought came to my mind: "worn out?"

"I'm afraid, this is the answer." Laboy and the other garrison brothers were shocked that the city lord Yelinger died in his sleep after the victory, but he was indeed dead. When a soldier boldly entered his room in the afternoon, he had already discovered that Ling Ge's body is as hard as a stone and as cold as a stone.

Only eleven of the Twelve Warriors are left, and the warriors who wake up one after another receive this bad news. In the inner city, Yellinger's body had been carried to the small square. Except for the soldiers who were on guard at high places and monitoring the enemy's situation at the east gate of the outer city, everyone else was discussing intensely around the body in the inner city.

Fortunately, before falling asleep, Jellinger considered himself extremely tired, so he recruited more than a dozen young soldiers to arrange for them to defend the city while he slept.

"Don't take the initiative to attack. We have already sacrificed our blood to Odin. If you stand still and wait for help, you will not be a coward or a coward. You must defend with all your strength. You must persist in the defense." The most critical order is this.

Jellinger hoped to have a good sleep and regain his energy, but he did not know that the battle of the bridgehead had exhausted the fire of his life, and the old soldier finally ushered in his end.

One hundred versus four thousand! Twelve warriors fought against the front line, and he, Yelinger, was the bravest and the oldest warrior.

His heart, which was once close to exploding due to overexertion, continued to slow down after resting, and finally failed and stopped silently.

The people guarding the fortress are all young people. Due to the inherent demographic problems of the Principality of Ostara, the number of young and middle-aged people is very small. Nowadays, teenagers account for a huge proportion.

A teenager with northern ancestry, he ate very well during his growth period, so that his height reached 1.8 meters at a young age.

Avender is indeed only fourteen years old. He is already half a head taller than Jellinger, but his appearance still retains a trace of childishness. If he wears a full set of armor, he looks like a strong Nordic man.

Among the defenders, those with stronger Nordic ancestry were taller and taller. Slavs like Laboy, who had been forced to immigrate just last year, were much shorter.

Although they are short, at the end of their adolescence, due to the sudden improvement in food conditions, they have grown taller.

A "miracle" was happening to them, so the hormone levels suddenly became strong, and Laboy had more freckles and acne on his face.

Jellinger's body is now surrounded by people as he lies on a wooden plank. The defenders were leaderless, and the young people gathered together to quickly resolve Yellinger's death, organize a small Ross Duma, and suddenly select a leader to lead everyone to continue to hold on.

Who has the right to be the leader? He must be a warrior for all to see. When Avender hurried out of the dormitory, pairs of eyes stared at him.

"Hey! What are you looking at me doing? Where is Yellinger? Where is he?"

"Right here." someone shouted. Finally, Avender saw the old warrior lying down and resting with a sword in both hands.

He silently shed a line of hot tears, wiped them away and quickly regained his composure. A few days ago, Avender was a quite innocent boy, but now he is no longer.

Many enemies had died at his hands, he grew suddenly, and the situation forced him to grow further.

Because the young people have discussed and decided that since Avender is the most courageous person among his peers to kill enemies, and he is purely from the Swedish Glen tribe, it is natural for him to be the temporary city lord and lead everyone to hold on.

Avender has no right to refuse, and there is a reality in front of him - no one is more qualified than him for the time being.

"Okay then!" Avender was not excited at all. Instead, he felt a boulder pressing on his shoulders. He felt a huge sense of responsibility and was inspired to fight hard.

He stood on a wooden box, held his chest tightly and said to everyone as loudly as possible: "Jelinger Eriksson! The city lord appointed by the Duke has died. He went to Valhalla! The war is still going on, we The Duke’s order must be implemented, and this southernmost city fortress in Rus must be defended! Now, I am the one commanding it! Avenders Windsor!”

"Ho!" The brothers drew their swords and pointed directly at the increasingly gray sky.

In this way, surrounding Yelinger's body, the Vitebsk Fortress is still holding on, a new commander appears, and the young warriors take over from the withered veterans and begin to write their history.

In the warm atmosphere, Avender couldn't help but glance at the calm body: "Old uncle... sooner or later, we will meet in the Hall of Valor. But... not today, nor this year."