Rise of Rurik

Vadim stood behind the shield wall, and the Smolensk army watched eagerly.

They stood in an arc-shaped human wall in the open space directly east of the Novopolotsk Fortress, relying on the shield wall to build a defense line.

In front of them, the wooden walls of the fortress were already engulfed in thick smoke. Perhaps the burning wooden carts pushed over in a short period of time could not ignite the wooden walls and city gates. As long as they waited a little longer, ignition would be inevitable.

Inside the fortress, chaos continued to ferment...

The defenders, who were choking on several thick cigarettes and coughing and dizzy, had to bite the bullet and fight back after lying on their stomachs and coughing fiercely.

The thick smoke completely obscured their sight, and they could not see the exact location of the enemy, nor could they find a clear point of fire.

At this moment, the initial helplessness began to reverse, and finally some soldiers from the defenders began to counterattack.

Visuend, who was blushing and feeling that his lungs were being burned, suddenly discovered that he was coughing up blood after coughing violently. He ignored the pain in his chest. When he regained his energy, he hugged the linen bag that had just been filled with snow. He threw it down with all his strength, resulting in the loss of the sack that was supposed to be recycled.

How could a mere bag of snow extinguish a rapidly burning wooden cart?

The butter intensified the fire. After a load of fresh pine wood was roasted to remove most of its moisture, the rosin contained in it began to burn fiercely.

Although there was a light north wind blowing at this moment, the wind direction should have been favorable to the defenders. It is said that the wind will blow the flames to the south, but all the burning wooden carts were pushed under the east wall. This rather tricky position caused the north wind to form a vortex with the hot air that expanded and rose from the burning.

The heat wave carried the thick smoke and rolled upwards. The top of the city was always a dangerous place.

Although the wood used to build the fortress was all real, months had passed and the once fresh and moist wood had all been freeze-dried and dehydrated. The building materials of the fortress are local materials, and the main material is pine wood.

The construction model is based on the old tradition of Ross fortress-style architecture. The so-called large pits are dug by some basic wooden pillars. They are the base points of the wall, and a large number of small wooden pillars are compactly arranged into wooden walls relying on them.

The wooden walls are made of real wood, and they are indeed not easy to burn. If it is burned from morning to noon, it will surely ignite without anyone stopping it.

Once the wooden wall burns, it is not easy to extinguish. If the fire continues, the entire Novopolotsk Fortress will be reduced to scorched earth in the raging fire.

"Quick! Move... move the snow to put out the fire!"

Vesuend commanded at the top of his lungs, and the helpless defenders gradually changed from defensive operations to trying to put out the fire.

Pottery urns, linen sacks, pieces of cloth, any volume that can hold the snow, are being transported towards the city wall.

Some people struggled to climb to the roof and used various tools to lower the snow on the roof. The waiting people shoveled the snow decisively, and then people carried the loose snow containers up the city wall.

One after another half-melted snow was thrown haphazardly outside the city, but it was really a drop in the bucket for the fire that was getting stronger and stronger.

People can already clearly feel the heat. The snow near the east wall is beginning to melt due to the heat wave. The ground where the defenders step on is gradually no longer trampled on the solid ice and snow, but becomes muddy, watery, and frozen hard soil. It turned into mud, as if it had entered the mud turning season in advance.

However, mud also has benefits.

Even throwing mud can stop the fire, and mud is even more effective at blocking fire.

The cold doesn’t matter anymore!

The Ostara defenders, Polotsk militia, and even Danish armed merchants all took off their coats, exposing their tattooed backs, and gradually began to transport ice-water mixture and mud to the city wall using local materials.

From their perspective, the sky has become extremely turbid, and in the dim world, the sun is constantly trembling in the smoke and dust that covers the sky.

The western wall of the fort was now intact, and although the gate there was deliberately barricaded, it would not be difficult to remove the obstruction. As long as the debris blocking the door is removed, the soldiers can open the door and file out.

Visuend may have been dizzy from the smoke, and now he only thinks about using random things to stop the fire and smoke. The soldiers spontaneously formed a human chain and transported mud as quickly as possible in an attempt to extinguish the fire.

However, they gradually became unable to achieve their goals.

It seemed like a long time had passed. One side of the wooden wall was scorching in the fire, and the people on the other side could already feel the heat of the wall.

As the thick smoke began to subside naturally, the orange-red flames began to sweep across the city wall along with the heat. The sudden spurt of flames could instantly burn the blond hair of the defenders into curls, exuding a special lake smell.

Thanks to the fact that the soldier was already covered in sweat, his sweaty face avoided the burns.

One unlucky guy's eyes were caught by the flames. He screamed and covered his eyes and fell from the city wall. He was hit hard on the ground and rolled in the mud.

Screams of pain intertwined with hoarse shouts. The Ostara army was still holding on, and Vesuend was still stubborn, trying to extinguish the fire with mud before trying to defend.

But for the Danish armed merchants, they had to start facing an extremely difficult problem.

The thick smoke gave way to the flames, and some shirtless Danes standing at the top of the city noticed a very bad side.

"Boss." Someone called the leader of his caravan.

"Eric, what's wrong?!"

"Our ship! The ship! It's burning!"

"ah?!"

"Hurry up and bring your brothers up here to have a look!"

The boat boss threw away the shovel and struggled to climb up the wooden ladder to the city wall. He half-hidden his face and frowned to avoid the heat wave. He glanced at the south wall of the fortress and immediately stamped his feet anxiously and angrily. "Ship! My ship!"

The three longships were deliberately towed ashore to avoid damage to their hulls caused by the ice in the river and to avoid the drifts of the following spring. Considering that they needed to be quickly pushed back to the river, the sails were removed from the ships and fixed at the fort. at the south wall.

Vadim forced a group of villagers to push the burning wooden carts. After there was no room for the attack on the front, the advancing wooden carts were pushed toward the north and south walls.

Burning wooden carts were pushed all the way to where the long boats were parked, and the boats began to burn irreversibly...

The shipowner was filled with grief and anger because the ship was his property. A group of brothers paid part of the money to join the armed caravan. According to the agreement, the shipowner was obliged to transport the brothers to their destination, which was the Roman port of Kherson (Sevasto). Boer), although there will be various hardships along the way, everyone has a responsibility to share the same hatred, and the boss of the ship will transport everyone back.

[An app that has been running stably for many years, comparable to the old book-chasing tool, used by all old bookworms.

"ah?!"

Vesuend seemed to be really covered in smoke and fire, and it felt like he had an elm-headed head. The ship boss didn't want to be a turtle anymore, so he said harsh words at the top of the city where the flames were raging: "Let's Go to hell with your mud! I will fight back with my people! The Danes will not sit still and wait for death, you lo... no. You Ostara people continue to play with your mud. I'm leaving!"

If they were real Russian soldiers, they would not sit still and wait to be killed. However, the identity of the defenders was the Ostara people who held high the flag of Russia. These guys are not all of Swedish descent, but are mixed with a large number of Slavic warriors. They are so passive in actual combat that it is difficult for Danish armed merchants to believe that these people are real "Odin's warriors."

The captain of the ship is not stupid, and all the mistakes he made were the fault of the Smolensk army and that damn Vadim.

He stepped off the city wall, no longer bothering to put on his armor, and quickly picked up his buckler and hand axe. He raised the patterned ax high and shouted with all his strength: "Danes! Stop putting out the fire! Follow me out of the city to kill them. Save our ship."

The words were spoken in the Danish island dialect, and the accent was indeed different from the southern Swedish dialect of Visuend.

More and more Danish warriors gathered together. After quickly exchanging some attitudes, they all threw down their pottery urns containing mud and replaced them with shields and swords.

The men and women of three Danish armed caravans gathered in the name of protecting the ships. They were so powerful that they also coerced some of the unknown Ostara defenders.

They are already spontaneously removing various obstacles blocked at the west gate of the fortress.

Vesuend was shouting, but the Danes didn't want to listen to this fool anymore.

Some of the measures taken to put out the fire were almost useless, because the Polotsk villagers who had basically completed their tasks were forced by Vadim's army to continue adding fuel to the fire.

The reserved solidified butter and the cloth bags were thrown over, and the pine trees on the other side of the glacier were dragged to the fire. Since they no longer had to worry about missing arrows, their work became unscrupulous.

It is said that one party is putting out the fire and the other is setting the fire, or is it the latter who has the advantage due to their numerical superiority?

The eastern wall could no longer stand, and Vesuend himself had to withdraw. At this moment, the snow within sight of the fortress had almost melted due to the scorching heat. He could clearly feel the heat wave. His boots were stepping on the mud, and he was helpless as he watched the flames rushing through the battlements.

Suddenly, he heard shouting behind him.

He turned his head and saw that it was the Danes who were extremely excited and pulled Simon away.

They were not deserters, because many of them were shouting the name "Odin", facing the defenders in the fortress with their backs tattooed with ferocious beasts, and disappeared in an instant after rushing out of the west gate.

The Danish armed merchants were not missing. They shouted and charged against the wall. The man with the horn continued to blow the horn, just to make a huge noise to attract the enemy's attention.

As they approached their burning ship, everyone suddenly saw that the three long boats that were neatly arranged, as well as some small boats of the local people, were all caught in the sea of ​​​​fire, with no room for recovery, and their anger was as fierce as the flames.

"Brothers! Kill them all! Kill them all!"

The captain of the ship was filled with grief and anger, and his shouts seemed a bit unnecessary, because all the Danes were like mad lions, and even the female warriors were like Valkyries possessed by their souls. In a burst of sharp roars, they raised their swords and battle axes towards Enemy attack...

They bare their golden chest hair and have tattoos on their faces and chests. Even female warriors have this tough image.

Their bucklers are smeared with a variety of unique runes, and they hold a variety of weapons in their right hands.

They are true Viking warriors, and the Rus' army of twenty years ago was also styled in this style.

They rushed out of the fire scene with absolute bravery and immediately began to kill the Polotsk villagers who were still carrying wood to fuel the fire.

The villagers were completely unarmed and had no expectation of the counterattack by the fortress defenders who came out of the city to fight.

The villagers were mercilessly hacked to death, and more than 80 Danish soldiers chased them to vent their anger, instantly causing the villagers to put down their belongings and run away.

And this situation is exactly what Wa

What Jim wants to see.

"Haha! The damn Russians can't hold it anymore! The Smolenskians! March on!"

Vadim banged the round shield himself and led his leather-armored army to advance first, leading the long-awaited army to move in the direction of the Danes.

They didn't care about the specific identity of the person who suddenly rushed out of the fire.

The blond hair, exposed chest with numerous tattoos, large buckler, and hooked ax fully prove the visitor's Varyag identity.

They must be Russians! They all deserve to be killed.

Eighty versus three thousand, who has the advantage?

The Danish armed merchants were supposed to stay away from thieves for the time being, but the ship they relied on for a living was reduced to ashes, and they could almost be roasted by the enemy. The sense of humiliation increased their anger, and they still cut down the enemy with absolutely eighty brothers.

As for the Smolensk Army, the anger that these Slavic soldiers had been holding back for many years finally found its outlet. Short spears were pointed at the enemy, and a collision was about to happen.

Both sides are avengers, and enemies are extremely jealous when they meet.

So, the fighting began.

"Shield wall!" Danes shouted one after another. The three armed merchant groups originally wanted to travel together, but now they simply cooperated to build a wall during the battle.

Knowing that the enemy on the opposite side had raised a large number of spears, they rushed over without hesitation.

The shield walls of both sides were installed together, and the fighting in the Flesh Mold Lake began immediately.

The spearhead inevitably hit the body of the unarmored Danish warrior who turned into a berserker. He endured the severe pain and vomited blood. The warrior also smashed the enemy's head with a hook axe.

The iron sword stabbed, the hook and ax were smashed and tamped. The hardened resin cowhide armor was quite light and could protect against cuts, but was afraid of sharp swords and words. However, this group of Danes are still using ordinary wrought iron swords. The stabbing effect is far less than that of Ross steel swords. However, they stare at the enemy's neck and face and stab them, and the killing effect is still fierce.

Vadim's central army actually fell into a disadvantage in the first round of the Dane's charge. Some brothers died shortly after the contact. Vadim stabilized his position by relying on his absolute superiority in strength.

As the leader of the tribe, he knew that his retreat would bring disastrous consequences, and he had to find a way to destroy the myth that "the Russians were invincible." He took the lead and stood with his own army, holding a round shield against his body. Holding the captured Ross steel sword, he stabbed forward crazily and blindly.

The two wings of the Smolensk Army began to spontaneously launch an encirclement. Soon, the Danish army that rushed into the enemy's position was really surrounded.

This is literally surrounded by people!

The shield was pressed against the back of the predecessor. After all, the Smolensk army was too large. Even if the eighty Danish soldiers fought hard and killed many people, their escape route was cut off. All the Smolensk soldiers were there. Squeezing towards the center of the battlefield, the Danes were actually pressed in the center.

The Danes were in a desperate situation. They began to become unable to move, and gradually it was even difficult to stretch their arms to wield their swords. It was at this moment that the spear widely equipped by the Smolensk Army began to shine. Even if it was only three meters long, it was enough to reach over the soldiers' heads and stab the "Russians" in the center of the battlefield.

In this kind of indiscriminate killing, even though the Danes were desperately fighting back and trying to break through, facing the spearheads falling from the sky from all directions, they were unable to parry and were dying one after another.

"It's doable! It's absolutely doable!" Vadim was overjoyed, and his soldiers became more and more courageous as they fought, venting the anger that had been suppressed for several years with one move.