The Princess of Kent suddenly fell from her horse. His followers braved the Danes' arrows to investigate, and were surprised to find that the Princess of Kent had lost consciousness.

Ragnar completed a beautiful sniper. He did not give the surprised enemy enough time to react. Knowing that the perfect fighter opportunity was at the moment, he issued the order.

He shook his fist at the enemies outside the city and shouted: "Brothers! Kill them!"

As a result, all the blocked doors were opened, which wasted a lot of time.

The unconscious princess was dragged to the Kentish formation, and the infantry and cavalry were forced to retreat within a stone's throw. The soldiers all saw the princess fall from her horse, and were worried about her fate and the outcome of the battle.

However, Unterberg, the eldest son of the princess who was in a nervous mood, put his fingers on his father's neck, and then retracted his fingers tremblingly.

"he died."

"Dead?! Sir, what should we do?" The princess's servants were completely at a loss.

Death came so suddenly. Unterberg looked at the Vikings who were about to leave the city to counterattack, and his confidence shrank back.

Fight? Or retreat? It's a choice.

"No retreat!" After some ideological struggle, Unterberg resolutely took over his father's sword and called to the soldiers around him: "Kentians! Prepare to fight!"

The sudden death of his father in battle was a very sad thing for his son. However, the Princess of Kent was also old. Unless he died, his eldest son could successfully inherit the title.

Unterberg understood that he would automatically inherit the title now, and he would be the new Lord of Kent! Although, this way of inheritance was not what he expected at all.

Ordinary soldiers still don't know what happened, but they at least saw Unterberg's high-profile meeting with the sword.

It seems that the adult was only slightly injured.

Kent is a county in Wessex, and the ruler holds the title of earl. Sooner or later, this noble status will fall on Unterberg, and the warriors are also happy to see that this younger man can lead the people to defeat the invading Vikings.

.

After all, this is not the first time that Kent has been attacked by Vikings. They have suffered many losses and have indeed been defeated many times. The soldiers will not be so frightened by the Vikings that they can't walk, but this time the situation is obviously different from the Vikings.

Different.

The Kent army formed its troops according to the old tradition, with all shield-bearers in front. Most of them were strong men from each village, and mixed with the most elite noble guards. The soldiers also basically wore chainmail armor.

Their square shields were stacked on top of each other to form a shield wall. This trick was learned from the Vikings who raided the coast in the past, but they did not have the huge round shields of the Vikings. They were more flexible and the shields they held were much smaller.

Behind them were a huge number of peasant soldiers wearing only civilian clothes. Many of them didn't even have shoes. Fortunately, this huge Romney swamp land didn't sting their feet, so fighting barefoot was not a problem.

As for Ragnar, he hopes that the enemy will arrange their array in order, because this will take a lot of time.

What the Danish army lacks is time!

Now, while their opponents are reorganizing their armies, many Danish soldiers have put on chainmail and iron helmets with huge nose guards, and some even put on chainmail face guards.

The debris blocking the door was cleared away, and people holding large bucklers began to leave the city. At the same time, brothers floating on the sea also landed one after another, and more and more Danish troops gathered.

What does it mean to learn war during war?!

After experiencing the war in 840, Ragnar is no longer the reckless man he used to be.

Although the first two rows still formed a shield wall of armor-clad warriors, he placed all the archers behind the formation. He tried his best to imitate the tactics of the Russians, and thanks to the cooperation of the Danish lords from Zealand, he was able to

Such an array begins to advance.

Swords and axes struck against shields, and the Danes advanced step by step.

The Kentish people tried their best to remain calm under Unterberg's command, but the poet trembled involuntarily due to the increasingly strong sense of oppression.

Under the helmet, Unterberg's face was trembling. He felt that even if he let his limited cavalry charge, it would not be able to shake the Vikings' tight shield wall.

Reason told him that this group of enemies was different from the Vikings of the past.

"Ah! Are they those guys from the north?!"

He thought of the so-called Viking Kingdom of York, but judging from the round shields of the enemies in front of him with various patterns and colors, they were completely different from those in the north.

Look carefully! They also fly a special flag, a white cloth with abstract bird patterns painted on it.

This is Ragnar's royal banner, the Raven Banner.

The presence of this flag means that King Ragnar is present. The flag advances, and the entire array follows.

Now the Kent army is still waiting for work, and only the Danish army continues to advance with uniform chants. In terms of strength alone, the Danish army at this moment has comrades in arms, but the Kent army can only see the enemy in front of them, not the enemy in depth.

Is there something else hidden?

"It's time to release the arrow! Shoot!"

Ragnar gave a verbal signal to the lord behind him, and the bow wielder who had already prepared began to launch into the air recklessly.

There was no rain of arrows, and the Danes simply could not achieve the density of firepower of the Russian army.

Even so, Ragnar gathered more than 300 warriors with their own bows and arrows for the expedition. They fired many bone cluster arrows, which was enough to open the eyes of the Kentish people.

In the past, no Western European force had ever used bows and arrows on a large scale in warfare. Even if they threw javelins, throwing knives and axes, they were not as versatile as bows and arrows.

The unarmored peasant soldiers were caught off guard. Many of them didn't even have shields. They only had hunting spears and long-handled scythes at hand. Unarmored, they could only instinctively raise their hands to resist, facing the enemy with their flesh and blood.

Arrow.

The throwing of inferior arrows will not kill people immediately. The injured person immediately feels the heartbreaking pain, and instantly loses the ability to fight and can only cover the wound and fall to the ground wailing. The Kent army, which has never experienced anything like this, quickly becomes confused. Even Antbo

The Gexiang organization collapsed, and those peasant soldiers, with the idea of ​​​​running away if they could not be stopped, had abandoned their formation and fled to the rear.

"You all come back! Don't run away." Unterberg's shout had already been drowned in the screams of the people.

At the same time, the Danish army continued to advance with barrages accompanied by arrows.

Until, there is a close fight.

"Odin!" Ragnar opened his bloody mouth and shouted from the depths of his soul. The whole army seemed to have divine help. The Danish lords with their own thoughts led their own people to launch the final battle.

The fighting has begun!

Next, the battle turned into a contest of brute force.

Tactics means there is no tactics. Shields and shields are stuck together like glue. Whichever side is stronger and can break down the enemy's line will win.

The Kent army fought hard for a while, but eventually the front line collapsed due to the inferior strength and poor quality of the soldiers.

Fortunately, Unterberg had realized that his side could no longer hold out. He did not order the entire army to retreat, but only wanted to escape.

"Let's go..." He looked dazed and his lips trembled, warning the cavalry: "Take my father and go! Let's go quickly!"

Then some cavalry guards asked: "Sir, where are we going?"

"Go to Canterbury! Go to the defense!"

That's all, he really got on his horse and started to flee, abandoning his subordinates who were in the fierce battle.

Then when the Kent army, which was gradually falling into desperation, found that their commander had run away with the cavalry, their persistence became a joke. Their morale suddenly collapsed completely, and they were gradually wiped out by the surrounding Danes. Then the Danes tried their best to defeat them.

Able to chase and kill.

As many as eight hundred Kentish warriors were killed and a small number were captured.

The Kentish army suffered heavy losses in the Romney Marshes. They lost all their elite men. What was worse was that the nobles were killed in the battle, and the morale of the army also collapsed.

Unterburg, who was on horseback, fled all the way, not caring about the defeated troops who fled in advance along the way. Escape from Dover to Canterbury, running wildly on the flat Romney Marshland was only the equivalent of fifteen miles, and he led

He escaped with his father's body, and the whole city was shocked for a moment.

A group of ferocious devils emerged from the cracks of hell in the sea, and they appeared to kill people!

The Bishop of Canterbury felt that the end of the world was just like this, and the next target of those Satan's apostles must be Canterbury City! This is because the most wealth in Kent is gathered here.

Unterberg, who had escaped, didn't even bother to put his father's body to rest. The people in the city immediately learned that the princess who led the troops on the expedition had died in battle. The people were in pain and fear, and they needed someone to turn the tide.

Who is this hero?! It can only be the eldest son of the princess, Antberg, who returned from defeat.

No one scolded this man for abandoning the army and fleeing on his own. He was a great noble, the king's cousin, and a local lord! His orders were everything and everyone must obey them.

He ordered the city gates to be sealed, called on the men in the city to take up arms, and even asked the archbishop to say an urgent mass and pray to the Lord for protection.

At such a critical moment, perhaps only the Almighty Lord can save the innocent lamb.

The disastrous defeat of the Battle of Romney has spread at a faster speed with the fleeing defeated troops. Those villages that have only heard the relevant news, out of fear of the Viking killings, hastily rectified the entire village.

Moving towards Canterbury.

The day after Unterberg escaped, he suddenly noticed that many refugees had gathered outside the city.

A large number of refugees arrived at night, and the soldiers guarding the city gate were ordered to die. They did not dare to open the door at the risk of being hanged. The guards, who were also frightened, could not judge whether the manpower outside the city had the skills of the Vikings. They did not

Shooting arrows to drive them away did not open the door.

As a result, more and more refugees gathered, and it wasn't until the morning fog of the new day cleared that the guards could really see their faces clearly.

After receiving urgent orders from the new Lord Unterberg, Canterbury opened its gates.

Now only the stone city walls that have existed since the Roman era can give the people a sense of security. Therefore, this city, which was built on the military camp of the old Roman era, became a "mega city" with a population of over 10,000 in a short period of time.

The narrow streets and alleys are full of people, and the places where excrement and urine are thrown are also crowded with refugees. No one pays attention to cleanliness. Everyone just wants to survive.

It was the lord's unshakable responsibility to defend the people against the Viking invasion with a fortified city.

Unterberg did not relax at all. He noticed that compared to the continued attack of the Vikings, the bloated city in front of him was enough to collapse itself. There were people everywhere, and there were mouths eating everywhere. Do you want to use the lord's warehouse?

Feed them?
To be continued...