Rise of Rurik

An army rallied amid the falling snow. The warriors all wore thick leather coats, fox fur or squirrel fur hats on their heads, and their feet were wrapped in various leather pieces.

They looked very bloated. After standing in the snow for a while, a thin layer of snow fell on everyone's body, and their hats turned white.

The gray-black tones and gray-white became a special camouflage in the world. Their faces were ashen and silent, as if they had forgotten to smile due to the cold.

Calloused hands grasped the shaft of a spear, or perhaps just a sharpened pine branch. They were ordered to assemble in the occupied logging camp. More than 3,000 people were here, carrying a series of homemade weapons.

"Siege equipment", facing Vadim, the leader on horseback, waiting for the order of the general attack. This is the Smolensk army, which has been surviving in the snowfall for many days.

When will the snow stop? ! have no idea. It was already the seventh day since the first snowfall. There was no serious snowstorm at all, and even now there was basically no wind on the ground.

The world was gray, and tiny ice crystals fell from the sky to cover the earth with a thin blanket of snow. Severe snowstorms are generally rare in the West Dvina River Basin, and the local water vapor is always abundant. Therefore, if an arctic cold wave occasionally hits, it will cause a continuous snowfall process for a long time, and people living in the houses have to Light a fire to keep warm, otherwise it is very easy to face a bad cold environment, which is more uncomfortable than simple cold.

The Smolensk warriors were tortured. They were fed up with living like marmots in their shacks.

Being inexplicably frozen to death due to poor digging was really useless, so it would be better to fight the Ross gangsters completely. The soldiers generally complained about their big leader, because the army was constantly at war in dangerous places!

I will spend a lot of time talking about troubles, and the decisive battle is today. Vadim has already discussed with the junior officers he appointed. This operation is actually a general offensive. The purpose is to break through the Ross Fortress, kill the enemy and loot the wealth, and finally the entire army can spend the winter comfortably in the enemy's fortress.

He even sketched out a wonderful blueprint for the future.

"Warriors!" In the snow, Vadim tightened his grip on the reins and rode his horse to review his army.

“I saw an army of great men, and through your eyes I saw raging fury. It’s an honor for me, Vadim Pereyaslavich, to lead you to victory. Today we will Destroy the fortress of the Ross gangsters, all long-cherished wishes will end today, and the gangsters must pay the price with blood. Attention! There is no mercy! Everyone, follow your little leader, protect yourself, and more importantly, protect your siege weapons. Today I will fight with you. Now! Let's go." After speaking eloquently, Vadim particularly emphasized his father's name, the so-called

"Pereyaslavich". If we talk about his biological father, the patronymic name of his name must be

"Borudnevich", and this particularly emphasized patronymic name comes from his father-in-law. He is not particularly obsessed with names, but is passionate about power.

He was emphasizing that he was a direct descendant of the old leader of Smolensk, even though he was the son-in-law of Lord Devourer.

However, the other sons of the old leader

"Accidental death", even the death of the old leader was inexplicable. In the end, power fell to this man from Lake Ilmen.

In the hands of the "Prince in Exile". Ordinary farmers do not pay attention to the power struggles of the nobles, they only pay attention to their own wealth.

The other leaders did not dare to give up in the face of the attack by the Ross gangsters, but Vadim finally organized an army to launch a counterattack.

The preaching finally boosted the flagging morale. Vadim rallied his cavalry and continued to order: "Blow the trumpets and beat the drums. Let the enemy know that we are attacking." Although the fluffy snow can absorb a lot of sound, Vadim He deliberately made a big noise, but now he no longer cares about hiding it, he just wants to launch an attack openly.

In fact, he is also expressing his stance to his own people. Advancing to the sound of drums, the soldiers kept shouting, creating a huge momentum to embolden themselves and further boost their morale, even if this would definitely make the defenders of Ross Fort aware.

The Vitebsk Fortress, on the other hand, never slacked off. During the period of continuous snowfall, the temperature was below freezing point all day long. The rotting problem of Jellinger's body that the defenders were worried about was not a problem at all. The hero's body was frozen into ice sculptures. The wooden walls and roofs of the fortress were also covered with a layer of snow, and some areas Also covered with a thin layer of ice.

All gates are weak points in the defense of the fortress, especially the east gate of the outer city. The West Dvina River is not easy to freeze. Even the artificially dug ditches have only thin ice near the shore because there is always water flowing.

Before it reaches the coldest period of the year, the river has already started to freeze. It will take time until the end of November in the Julian calendar for it to freeze enough for people to leave.

The West Dvina River has a freezing period of up to three months. Generally, there will be a dangerous flowing process in March every year. Currently, the river flows quietly, and the water is cold enough to cause drowning victims to die of hypothermia in a short time. .

The defenders had few soldiers and plenty of supplies. Even at his young age, Avender had some innovative fighting methods, but with only a hundred brothers, he couldn't use any of his ideas.

Everyone remains unchanged in response to the ever-changing situation. Their daily job is to take turns on guard duty and be ready for defensive battles at any time.

Soldiers in bearskin were on guard at the scaffolding of the east gate, and a sentry with a good eye always sat in the watchtower of the inner city.

All the snow on the scaffolding has been dynamically cleared, and the soldiers have also replaced snow shoe supports with wooden strips and nails. They have been prepared, and all crossbows, recurve bows, and torsion slingshots have been adjusted to the best condition. , all the arrows and javelins were sorted into categories, just waiting for the enemy to come and die.

Everything comes suddenly, and everything comes inevitably. The silence for many days inevitably made the young defenders numb and careless. Avender, who was taking a nap, was awakened by the low sound of drums and trumpets together with other brothers.

He suddenly woke up: "What's going on?! Who is playing the drums?" The soldiers in the dormitory got up from their bunks and looked at each other, feeling an ominous feeling arising spontaneously.

"Could it be that... we finally got going?" A soldier looked at his boss with bright eyes.

"Maybe. Get up quickly and go find out first." Avender jumped out of bed like a carp. He didn't even wear foot wraps for the time being. He put on a woolen sweater and wanted to go find out first.

Suddenly the heavy door was pushed open, and a blast of cold air rushed into the dormitory. A young soldier gasped: "Boss! Enemy! The Smolenskians are coming."

"Attack?!" Immediately, Avender felt like a thunderbolt struck his head.

"We are attacking. There are enemies everywhere!" The brother who sent the message was panting, pointing his right hand directly in the direction of the east gate: "They are still going to attack the old place. Boss, what should we do?"

"What should I do?" Avender slapped himself hard twice and suddenly woke up. He looked around at his brothers and yelled: "The comfortable time is over. Wear armor and fight with them."

"Ho!" A Viking war cry sounded, and the entire warm longhouse roof seemed to be overturned. All of them have received military training. Although they are all young, their physical fitness and fighting will are much better than those of the Smolensk people who entered the army.

The battlefield was quiet for many days due to snowfall, and the soldiers who had fought before were fully rested. Aivind, who was about to die of exhaustion, consciously recovered completely.

What's the latter? ! Is this really the so-called glory of Smolensk? In fact, it is a behemoth condensed by hatred. Under the leadership of the greatest avenger Vadim, it launches its self-proclaimed decisive battle.

What would this destitute prince think if he realized that Ross Fortress only had a hundred defenders?

Vadim felt that there were many enemies in the fortress, which explained their sharp arrows and high firing efficiency in the previous battle.

He would never admit or believe that even a mere hundred men would cause him to lose his army. This is not the first time that the defenders have defended the Vitebsk Fortress. If they fight again, it will be the third defense battle since the city was built.

The foot wrap was quickly wrapped and the feet stepped into leather boots. The fine linen lining is left on when sleeping. Now put on the woolen coat, and then quickly put on the plate armor.

Finally, take their respective helmets, put on weapons and prepare to block. Avender and some brothers gathered at the east gate, while another group of people stayed in the inner city.

At this moment, the Ross flag is still flying in the snow, and its existence itself is a constant provocation to the enemy.

He and more than thirty brothers grasped the crossbow and observed the overwhelming land as they marched. What was different from before was that there were something like giant shields in the marching team, and there were obviously many people carrying logs and tree trunks.

"Boss, what do they want to do? Are they planning to break through our wooden wall?!" A soldier asked in shock.

"It must be so. Brothers, our east gate might...be lost."

"What should we do?!" Avender was suddenly anxious and no longer wanted to go out of the city to fight with them. He felt that the enemy had already risked his life.

"Brothers." He looked around cautiously, and couldn't help but reveal a fearless smile: "Maybe, we will all die in battle today."

"How is that possible? Our fortress is impregnable."

"The people of Smolensk are obviously trying their best. We may not be able to wait for the reinforcements if we attack the large numbers with a small number. However... we are also honored to die in the bloody battle." Avender calmed down and deliberately pointed his finger. The flying Russian flag: "We are fighting for the king after all! Fight for Rurik, and you will be honored whether you live or die."

"You." One of the brothers couldn't help but knock on his plate armor and pretend to mock: "I know you want to boost morale, is it possible that all the brothers are afraid? Why are you talking nonsense like Uncle Yelinger?"

"He..." Avender was a little sad: "Then get ready. Let's hide ourselves first, and catch them off guard with the first round of shooting." Avender wanted to cover up, so the whole fortress seemed to The defenders evaporated.

From the standpoint of the advancing Smolensk Army, what they saw was a too quiet fortress in a gray world.

The army marched in the form of a shield wall, and its pace became slower as it approached the battlefield. Finally, they noticed the unexpected snowdrifts.

Only when the soldiers got closer and observed, they were shocked to see that they were those killed in previous battles. The corpses had turned gray-white, and what was shocking was that the heads of the corpses were missing.

Where have all the heads gone? Could it be... over there! The head stuck on the wooden stick became a sudden bush in the snow. The advancing soldiers were so shocked that their morale was suddenly unstable, and they did not dare to move for a while.

Vadim noticed something strange and became furious after listening to the informant.

"What are you afraid of?! You should be angry. They deserve death for destroying corpses." That's all, he ordered his cavalry to act as messengers,

"Go and inform the soldiers that a full-scale attack is now." Soon, those who aimed to intimidate

The "Skull Bush" was completely destroyed by the attackers. Although I was very sorry for the dead people, in order to ensure that the battlefield was flat enough, heads outside the east gate were suddenly as frozen as ice pucks, which literally meant heads were rolling in.

Finally, the strongest drum beat sounded, and the Smolensk army blew its horns, which eventually turned into a completely different Nordic style horn and drum sound, but the purpose was the same - to signal the general attack.

The Smolensk soldiers suddenly shouted collectively, and the shouts of killing made the defenders tremble violently. If many of them had experience in killing enemies, they would really cry because of this momentum.

Avender was ready to counterattack, but saw that the enemy was very stupid and took out a large number of weapons.

"Anti-Arrow Shield". That is a wooden board made of pine branches woven and bundled. The moisture in it has been frozen into ice. It is also very tough and can indeed greatly offset the chisel of Ross's armor-piercing arrows. The price is that it has no mobility.

It's already a siege, so why talk about mobility? Under Vadim's arrangement, the attackers gathered together warriors armed with spear throwers, slings, and bows.

On the front, there are brothers holding large shields to resist the line, covering the soldiers carrying wood to build a bridge in the trench. These long-range soldiers must suppress the enemy's arrows without fear of death.

The Smolenskians learned war in the war. They were just inferior in weapons and no more stupid than the defenders.

All these actions made Avender and all the defenders realize that something was wrong with the battle situation. It was pointless to shoot those wooden shields. After all, the Russian army also knew this trick when they attacked the city in the past. He really believed that the Smolensk army was afraid of the enemy. There is guidance from experts.

The charge began. The thick wooden wall seemed to be unguarded, but in fact the defenders were all crouched and protected by the battlements, as well as loaded crossbows.

The attackers carrying the logs calmly set up the extremely long and straight pine logs in the trench, but were not in a hurry to attack from the broken bridge.

"They actually did this?!" Through the observation window on the wooden wall, Avender finally understood the enemy's tricks.

He suddenly appeared with his brothers, holding a crossbow and yelling: "Shoot those who are building the bridge." The sharp arrows were fired accurately from a high position, and a group of attacking soldiers fell to the ground.

The attacker's fire suppression began immediately. Arrows and javelins were thrown at the east gate of the fortress randomly, and even pottery fragments were thrown with slings.

Those arrows were of little significance to the defending soldiers. By chance, some soldiers were hit by flying pottery fragments on their helmets. The soldiers fell directly onto the scaffolding as if they were killed in battle.

"Brother? Are you dead?!" Avender asked casually in surprise.

"I'm fine. Fortunately, it wasn't my face that was hit by the stone, otherwise no woman would like me." The warrior with a buzzing mind stumbled to his feet and did not forget to complain optimistically. He then supported himself, tilted his helmet, and raised his crossbow on the spot. , carrying it and climbing back along the wooden ladder to continue shooting.

It is no longer the small fights before, the Smolensk army is now on a full-scale attack. Because the east gate of the outer wall began to suffer real impacts.

There are attacking warriors holding large shields to defend against arrows. They work together to set up at the city gate.

The "simple shed" is actually a large tree trunk that protects the door constantly hitting the door inside. The primitive battering ram faced the hastily built wooden wall. Even though the wooden door of the outer wall had been reinforced, debris and soil were piled behind the door, but the enemy's strength was too many.

Attacking soldiers continued to suffer casualties under crossbow attacks, but they had no intention of retreating.

"Hey! Ha!"

"Hey! Ha!"... The wooden wall was constantly hit. Vadim, who was riding a horse not far away, stood in the endless light snow with narrowed eyes and watched everything carefully.

He was very satisfied with the current battle situation, and confidently told his cronies on horseback: "Today will be the day of avenge, and we will wait here! Waiting for the gate to collapse." In his opinion, as long as the gate is broken, everything will be over.

However, the reality was not as smooth as he and Dajun imagined.

"Big boss." A soldier muttered: "The gate of the fortress has been banged for a while, and the enemy's counterattack has become more intense. When can the gate... be broken?"

"Don't worry. It's like logging. A big tree needs to be chopped down a hundred times with an axe. The Ross gangsters used big trees as walls, so we had to hit them many times. Just wait, we will definitely break through today." It did not go well. , the morale of the army is still strong.

The battle started in the morning, and the army had a full meal before setting off, even though he did not have much rations.

The soldiers are full of energy and have a lot of time today. Will there be no progress after banging on the door all morning? Vadim decided to step up the game.

He thought for a while and ordered the messenger on horseback to go back to the front of the formation: "Let the soldiers with cables climb. Then put some long wood on the enemy's wall and start climbing."