Rise of Rurik

The core of the coalition's fighting force comes from the Vikings, with the Ross army as its soul.

At this moment, any impassioned speeches became redundant. The coalition forces were full of momentum. As the commander, Rurik made it easier for his troops to stay together. He personally supervised the battle and would personally participate in the fight if necessary.

Look at this coalition! Powerful and domineering.

The Frankish cavalry could not break through the spear phalanx to create a breakthrough. Not only did King Ludwig's plan fail, he also had to retreat with the remnants of the cavalry.

The next battle was the final and decisive battle launched by tens of thousands of Frankish infantry. It was destined to be extremely bloody. Even if it won, it would be a tragic victory for Frank.

Ludwig no longer had the sense to think about the outcome of a tragic victory or defeat. He was obviously in a cold place. He was sweating all over, the inside of his armor was wet, and his feet in leather boots felt as if they had been soaked in a swamp.

"Continue to attack! Infantry! Crush the enemy!" He had retreated behind the infantry array and continued to command his army.

Even at this critical moment, Ludwig had no intention of escaping. He always insisted on staying behind the front line, so that the remaining cavalry units became the supervisory team.

He rode his horse to have a higher perspective, and all he could see was the top of his iron helmet reflecting the orange light in the afternoon sun.

There are also a large number of armed militiamen, most of whom wear felt hats to protect themselves from the cold. A few of them use iron sheets to reinforce their foreheads. Regardless of whether they are strong or weak, these infantrymen all hold wooden shields and have a variety of weapons in their hands.

If the ice layer was not really thick, Ludwig was really worried that the army would fall into the glacier on a large scale and freeze to death and drown.

Wait! If the glacier breaks, the enemies will fall in large numbers.

Ludwig began to pray unrealistically for God to appear to him. It is said that since God can freeze the Elbe River, it is also possible to selectively thaw the river.

He couldn't help but grab the pure gold cross hanging in his collar, kissed it hard and murmured to himself: "Lord! Send a miracle! Bless your loyal children and make those barbarians fall into the glacier..."

However, the miracle did not happen.

The Rus warriors who broke their spears immediately returned to their original state.

A wooden shield was hung on their left forearm. The shield was painted with a layer of chalk mud fixed with pine gum, and then painted with woad juice to create clear and regular staggered stripes.

To be fair, the stripes resemble crosses, making the army look a bit crusading at first glance. This is a simple "abstract oar" painting, which is really the glory of old Ross.

The bravest and strongest warriors in each flag team were placed on the front line of the formation. They also wore heavier armor, and even a ring of chain mail was hung under the iron helmet. Since there are many bearded warriors, the domineering beard will always be embedded in the lock ring, making it difficult to turn the head, so it is protected by some binding iron pieces.

The front line of sword and shield bearers were all a group of heavily armored and ruthless men. Most of the warriors only had skin exposed on the backs of their hands and a pair of eyes.

The entire coalition front line made similar arrangements. Even the weak Saxon peasant soldiers from the alliance were still warriors holding shields walking in front. Behind thousands of sword and shield men were densely packed spearmen.

This arrangement was made to restrain the Frankish infantry.

The coalition soldiers advanced steadily on the ice. They stepped over the enemy's horse corpses and reached the battlefield where the infantry had just fought fiercely.

Within a short time, the dead Saxon soldiers froze and gradually became one with the icy world.

The soldiers crossed the battlefield, not caring about the dead at their feet, or perhaps there was no need to care.

Compared with the coalition forces, the Frankish infantry had to look forward and backward in advance. They noticed how slippery the damn ice was and moved more cautiously. This seriously slowed down their advance and would inevitably make it difficult to stretch during the fight. The latter is the most deadly.

At least there is no hand-to-hand combat yet. Only real close combat can tell the difference.

But before the fight, there was first an attack from both sides' long-range weapons.

The Viking army in the coalition gathered all the archers. Rurik ordered that except for the longbowmen who continued to advance in a dense formation, the remaining infantry archers and crossbowmen were arranged linearly and evenly behind the infantry array.

Now, the coalition forces, which have advantages in wind direction and range, have officially begun to attack.

Accompanied by the Viking war cry, a large number of arrows flew over their heads. The longbowmen arranged in a matrix followed the pace of the friendly troops, stopping every five steps, and then fired in clusters under Jevro's order.

As for those crossbowmen, whether they have wooden arms or steel arms, they all fight in free fire mode. Once the string is completed, they will immediately eject, even if they are ejecting short and thick heavy crossbow arrows.

At the same time, a special force is also actively dragging its heavy weapons to catch up with the pace of the battlefield.

The twenty bull trebuchets will be arrayed after the fierce battle line is stabilized. At that time, they will continue to throw stones to consume the enemy's strength.

The Frankish infantry began to advance in the rain of arrows. They had to raise their shields above their heads and advance with their backs hunched.

For Rurik, he had been fighting on the battlefield for almost a whole year. The arrows he had stored were constantly reused and were almost exhausted. There are not many of those pointed cone armor-piercing arrows anymore, so they are perfect for today's decisive battle.

The arrows made by the Saxon militia for the surprise attack must also be put to use this time. Even if the arrow clusters are polished to the point of being ready for use, it is still good to hit the enemy with a loud bang.

Because of Agincourt, the longbowmen did not annihilate the French cavalry of the Valois Dynasty, but disrupted the enemy's formation and caused a large-scale stampede. In the end, it was the dismounted heavy cavalry of the British army that used leaf hammers as heavy infantry. , pickaxes, and maces to "open cans" for enemies who have fallen in the mud and are difficult to stand up one by one. Only in this way can there be an incredible battle loss ratio.

The muddy battlefield was the geographical reason that led to the collapse of the French army at Valois. So could the frozen Elbe ice also cause the collapse of the East Frankish army?

"It will definitely work! I bet you don't even have a pair of spikes!"

Because even though the tall Rurik was standing behind the front line, his eyes could indeed see through the gaps on the top of the soldiers' helmets that the enemy array was breaking through defenses everywhere.

All this proves that the continuous shooting of arrows is disrupting the enemy's formation, and is even forcing the entire enemy's large-scale horizontal formation to shrink to a central point.

why is that? The reason is clear.

Rurik was secretly pleased with Yevlo's smart move. The longbowmen in dense formation were not just a random attack. After all, Yevlo was also a veteran for many years and had participated in many large-scale battles. He had no idea how to do a good job as a longbowman. Already extremely professional.

The matrix of longbowmen first launched a volley at the left wing of the enemy formation. After killing and wounding a group of enemies, they immediately forced the enemy infantry to shrink in one direction to avoid it. It is impossible for the enemy on the left to continue escaping to the edge of the array. The so-called isolated individuals in the flock are most vulnerable to attacks by wolves, so the enemies can only gather in the center of the array to stay warm.

The next salvo is aimed at the right wing...

Yevlo constantly adjusted the direction of his fire, forcing the enemy's broad front to become shorter and deeper.

In this way, the width of the coalition's array is gradually surpassing that of the enemy, and a macro-scale pincer offensive is taking shape.

The crossbowmen continued to weaken the stability of the Frankish infantry array, but after all, the opponent had a large number of elite standing army soldiers.

These people live on the king's salary, and today is the time to serve the king.

Some soldiers were wounded by arrows, with arrow clusters piercing their flesh. If there was no serious injury, they would continue fighting regardless of the arrow feathers on their bodies. If the injury affects the advancement and the player collapses or retreats, the vacated position will be taken over by a companion.

Their mandarin duck shields were smashed into holes. Thanks to these thick hard oak covered iron shields, they effectively resisted arrow throws.

But they advance more slowly, and they must always be careful not to slip.

The more they try to ensure stability, some people still subconsciously pull on nearby companions when they slip, directly causing a chain reaction.

When Ludwig realized that this method of attack was ridiculously stupid, although the cavalry could attack on the ice through horseshoes, what virtue could the infantry do? He no longer had any retreat and could only carry on.

This was an offensive path full of twists and turns, and the Franks advanced in pain.

Even so, those brave warriors had quietly prepared their weapons behind the shields in front of them.

As the name suggests - a throwing axe.

It was a small double-edged battle ax, usually used as a daily tool and a sharp weapon in wartime. Its two ax blades are deliberately made spatially symmetrical, and a wooden handle is added. After being thrown, it will continue to rotate in the air like a wheel blade, so that when it hits the target, it will inevitably cause serious cuts.

In response to this situation, the coalition forces that had suffered losses deliberately placed heavy infantry in the front line just to deal with this kind of blow.

As the distance between the two sides reached an extremely close level, the coalition soldiers protected their bodies with shields, and the spearmen and halberdiers behind them were ready for battle.

Sure enough, the Frankish infantry, waiting for an opportunity, began to attack.

The bumpy mandarin duck shield was suddenly placed sideways, and a large number of flying axes rotated at high speed and hit the coalition soldiers at the front.

Even if they were prepared, even the Russian army began to suffer casualties when they suddenly encountered ax blows from the entire front.

After all, it was a flying axe. Even if by chance, the ax hit the soldier's head hard. How could the iron helmet withstand such a powerful and heavy blow? The soldier's skull was shattered and he died on the spot.

But for the Franks, there was only one chance to throw an axe.

Now the real hand-to-hand combat breaks out.

The sudden ax throwing attack caused confusion in many parts of the coalition array, causing the spear wall that should have taken advantage to be breached before it even showed its strength.

Now it's a collision of shields, followed by a stabbing of swords. Only those with a firm will and superior physical strength can persist to the end.

This is a fight between heavy infantry!

The iron sword of the Franks could not break through the oak shields of the Russians, nor could it break through the armor of the Russians. Similarly, even if the Russians generally use steel swords, they are not effective against the double-armored Frankish heavy infantry.

However, as the Franks continued to poke and stab, their iron swords began to bend and curl, but Ross's carbon steel sword remained the same.

The soldiers were squeezed together like sardine cans, and the soldiers at the front of the two armies gradually became unable to move. On the contrary, the Russian army in the coalition had a tactical advantage.

The Russian soldiers stabbed with their spears like instinct, and then split with their halberds. They do not attack the enemy at the front, but attack the enemy behind them with all their strength.

These Frankish heavy infantry had never encountered this kind of battle. An iron helmet could not protect their heads at all, and the enemy's halberds directly opened themselves up.

East Frankish soldiers had their heads smashed and their faces stabbed.

All the coalition soldiers at the front have to do is hold up their shields and resist, building a solid shield wall, and leave the killing of the enemy to the brothers behind them.

This was a ruthless meat grinder. Once the hand-to-hand combat began, the situation quickly turned desperate for the Franks.

The arrows continued to weaken the morale of the Frank army, and those who were forced to wait and see from the rear continued to choose to retreat in the face of the arrows.

"Cavalry, stop them! Don't retreat!"

Ludwig became desperate and struggled to keep the fight going, so much so that he became enraged and ordered the deserters to be killed.

The escapees were all peasant soldiers. They panicked, kept slipping and standing up, and even rolled and crawled to the rear to escape.

The cavalry began to trample these deserters, relying on the slaughter to curb the decline for a time.

However, the entire coalition formation is changing.

Rurik did not believe that Liudov's Saxon army could wrap up the enemy's entire array like crab claws. Maybe they could, but the efficiency would be lower.

So he specially selected two generals from the fierce battle array.

Hellafide and Blue Fox had no blood on their bodies, and they did not participate in the frontline fight due to their position.

"Your Majesty, do you want us to have special arrangements?" The sword-wielding blue fox asked loudly on the battlefield where the shouts were loud.

"Yes!" Rurik also roared: "Blue Fox, take your people away from the front line and fully support the left wing! Hellafed, take your people to the right wing! You two help the Saxons complete the encirclement! We We must annihilate the entire Frank army!"

This is the largest decisive battle, swallowing tens of thousands of people in one breath? !

They sprang into action, even though neither could muster many brothers.

As a result, Biyongni, the Viking King of York, once again participated in this battle as a Balmok today. He took his own guards and broke away from the front line without hesitation, and launched a left wing support with his brothers of the same race.

The situation on Blue Fox's side was also good. He gathered more than 200 people and immediately rushed to the right wing carrying spears.

With the appearance of real Viking warriors, the morale of the Saxon army, which had been trying its best to complete the encirclement on the left and right wings, was suddenly boosted. Their difficult battle became no longer difficult, and they no longer cared about the casualties in the war of attrition.

At this moment, Liudov, whose face had solidified blood, was supervising the battle on the left wing. A large number of local Saxon nobles participated in this decisive battle. The nobles and civilians fought together. Everything returned to the era of Chief Widukind fifty years ago.

They were fighting a terrifying war of attrition with the Franks. Unlike the Rus-Danish elite in the center position, they had to pay a huge price to continue to force the enemy's battle lines to shrink.

"Keep poking! Don't be afraid of death!"

"Fight for survival!"

Liu Doufu kept shouting, and he was also emboldening himself.

How much tactical advantage would having two to three hundred Viking warriors on each flank bring? The advantages are showing.

"Shield wall! Let's go!" Biyonny greeted his fellow Balmoks in the Norwegian dialect of Narvik Port. After all, he was the son of the old leader Magnute, and he was the king of the Viking Kingdom of York.

Although the brothers are all members of the Fourth Flag Team, they still miss Biyongni in their hearts.

They formed a shield wall and slammed into the right wing of the Frankish army. Suddenly such a group of deadly sword and shieldmen appeared, and the Frankish right wing was in chaos.

The same thing happened in the other direction. At this moment, Blue Fox didn't look like a businessman at all. He became a real Viking warrior. His buckler was stained red by the enemy's blood. His armor, helmet, and even his face were all stained red. Stain the enemy's snow.

In the final analysis, people worship the strong, and what is a strong person? Everyone simply believes that a ruthless person who dares to kill the enemy is a strong person. As the Earl of Gothenburg, Blue Fox would fight tooth and nail even if it was purely for personal honor, and now he has an even greater desire for revenge.

After all, Hedeby was burned down and Ross's shop suffered heavy losses. The culprit was not Horik, who was made into a human pig, but King Ludwig of East Francia.

King Rurik seemed unwilling to look at Ludwig's head, but there were so many weird things happening on the battlefield that the opportunity to chop off the leader's head fell into the hands of a businessman's son and an upstart military aristocrat. Blue Fox felt that he had such an opportunity, so he could take revenge on Ludwig for his contempt for his personality.

Indeed, the troubled Blue Fox once made it to Regensburg in faraway Bavaria, and once had the opportunity to meet Ludwig himself.

Now, with the rapid formation of the encirclement, the Frankish army's central army continues to erode, and the entire collapse situation is emerging under the sunset. It is already an irreversible situation.

As the elite heavy infantry who fought fiercely continued to retreat with casualties under the blows of thousands of spearheads and halberds, those peasant soldiers who could only fight with the wind could no longer hold on.

Look! Why are there enemies on both the left and right wings? ! Brothers are dying!

Reinforcements? Reserve army! ? nothing left!

The peasant soldiers began to retreat, and their size was no longer something Ludwig's remaining cavalry could contain. There were even cases where the fleeing soldiers attacked and killed the cavalry. In desperation, the Frank army actually began to kill each other.

"Don't I have a chance?! No! If I stay here I will die."

Although I am completely unwilling to do so, I do not want to escape. At this moment, the desire to survive occupied Ludwig's mind.

"No! Let's retreat! Let's retreat quickly!"

After that, he yanked the reins and started to evacuate first.

The shocked cavalrymen pursued the king. This scene was seen by many infantrymen, and someone suddenly shouted in Frankish: "The king has retreated."

This voice is like standing in the glacier and shouting. The infantry who continue to show weakness in the fierce battle starts an irreversible avalanche.

Rurik was also surprised by how quickly things developed. The sun hadn't set yet, and the battle hadn't lasted long and the enemy couldn't hold on? Although decisive battles in the Middle Ages usually ended in one morning or one afternoon, today was the largest battle Rurik faced in his life. Who would have thought that the coalition's victory would come so early?

"This is not a dream!" He patted his helmet hard, and immediately urged his brothers behind who were still busy shooting arrows, even ordering Yevlo.

"All your crossbowmen, immediately draw your swords and launch a pursuit as infantry! The enemy begins to flee, no matter what method you use, seize the time to catch up and kill the enemy!"

Yevluo heard this very clearly. He never thought that his subordinates, as archers, would actually fight hand-to-hand one day?

Although there is a huge risk of casualties in doing this, when you think about the large amount of loot you can grab, most of which are iron tools that the Finns need for production and life, how long will it take if you don't grab it now? If you can run fast enough and plunder the enemy's baggage first, it's not just a simple matter of robbing iron...

As a result, another surprise force emerged from the coalition forces. They broke away from the array, pursued and fired arrows at the same time, killing the enemy like snow hares or deer, ruthlessly and accurately shooting at the backs of the fugitives. He even mercilessly shoots the person who slipped.

At the same time, an encirclement has been formed, and more than 6,000 living people are backlogged in it, facing the stabbing and slashing of spearheads and halberds from all directions. The siege was filled with people who had slipped and fallen. Once they had slipped and had little chance to get back up, they were killed in a defenseless state.

More than a thousand coalition soldiers began a major pursuit, killing and capturing prisoners at the same time.

And Ludwig, with the remnants of his cavalry, had already begun a wild escape along the Roman Avenue. The only thought in his mind now was to survive, and he just wanted to escape this absurd and deadly battlefield.