The cavalry were wandering by the river. Not far away was the smoke-filled hillside fortress, and on the other side was a seemingly peaceful village area.
The humiliated Normans resumed rowing, and Quentin and his cavalry blushed with anger on the river bank. They responded with swear words and watched helplessly as the longship sailed upstream.
Quentin was still feeling so humiliated after the operation. He held the reins and walked back and forth while the cavalry waited for the flag captain's order.
"Damn it! Let them escape. Don't worry about the fortress now, we don't have time to put out the fire! Let's take a rest and go to the village area to arrest the rebels!"
These cavalrymen dismounted one after another, and some of them knelt down to check the food left by the fleeing Normans. There was also a vat of oats that had been violated and destroyed, and the wheat boiled into a lake of slurry.
"Sir." A soldier happily reported: "At least, we can have some hot food."
"Norman's? I don't have time to eat it! What if it's poisonous?"
"But my lord..."
"I want to eat you!" Quentin said angrily and kept stamping his feet. He took off his helmet to reveal his slightly curly hair, pulled out his sword and shouted curses at the other side.
He knew that the Rhine River was a border, and it was now at the peak of the civil war. If his army could run wildly on the water, it would be able to rush into the territory of the Eastern Kingdom.
He said to himself: "Moses could part the furious Red Sea, but who can part this river?"
He thought again and told his subordinates: "I have long heard that there is a big fishing village under the fortress. There should be many boats there. Even small boats. After we enter the village, we will punish the rebels and requisition all the boats. I can't tolerate those promises.
Man is so rampant, they must die!"
Angry words, angry words, these words frightened many soldiers.
Without him, most of the flag soldiers led by Quentin are landlubbers. For example, there are only a handful of cavalry here who can swim.
But said the other side.
The fishing village of Landstein is now overcrowded. How many people have escaped? There are as many as five thousand!
There are bonfires everywhere, people resting everywhere, big trees are being cut down one after another, and new wooden sheds are under construction on a large scale.
Black Fox pulled back with the last brother, and faced a messy scene.
The small Lahn River is crowded with a large number of small boats. All boats from the entire fishing village of Koblenz are here. The small pier in Llandstein is now crowded with long boats. The Lahn River has never been so noisy, and new history is being created.
, Black Fox was not happy at all. He had just been caught off guard by the Frankish cavalry. He ran away in an inelegant manner like a seal seeing a polar bear. He looked extremely panicked and must have been ridiculed by his brothers.
Although it was a relief for the brothers to take off their pants and taunt the cavalry on the ship, it is undeniable that the Russian army has given up on Coblenz at this stage.
It can be said to be a tactical contraction, or it can be said to be fleeing without a fight.
The soldiers who came ashore explained their experiences to their brothers who had withdrawn long ago, but all they received were complaints from their brothers.
"Can't you fight them? When did we defeat their cavalry?"
"It's better to at least kill a few and then retreat. It will look like you are defeated."
There were also some vulgar words, but the black fox ignored them.
He sat by the campfire to rest, and since he didn't have any food, he made some hot food.
Eating the newly baked and slightly rough cake, even if it is coated with some honey, it has a very unpleasant taste.
Vardy and Eric came over. The two old guys were in a good mood.
"You're all here. Damn it, why did I hear someone call me a coward?! Ridiculous." The little fat man didn't want to shout loudly, and secretly complained to the old man.
Eric laughed and said, "It's just that some brothers are tough-talking. Now that we are standing in a safe place, it is natural to stand and talk without pain. Now there are boats all over here. Those guys who call themselves warriors can row over and fight the cavalry."
"They don't dare. Haha." Wadi comforted the little fat man: "At least they don't dare to go there alone. Now it depends on how the thirty brothers hiding will do it. I hope our Sven is despicable enough."
Suddenly "mean" is no longer a pejorative term.
The Russian personnel stationed in Nassau were actually very mixed, and many of the soldiers in the army were Viking Saxons. Many people also lacked the awareness of "honest duels", which made them more willing to use some conspiracy.
This gentle man is not a pure old Russian, he is a good man from Unkrasbu, Sweden, a fellow from the ancestral homeland of the Black Fox family.
He took thirty brothers and hid in the village with a crossbow.
Steel-arm crossbows are heavier, which is not a problem for warriors with thick arms who are good at paddling. They bring a winch for winding, and when necessary, they can also forcefully wind it with their bare hands by stepping. The former is time-consuming, and the latter is very hurtful to the arms.
.
Of course, there are also lightweight wooden arm crossbows and short wooden bows, but their power is much inferior.
The thirty brothers were divided into three groups, and three captains of ten commanded the men at hand.
They were required to hunt like foxes, hiding and waiting for prey to appear, and then looking for the right moment to launch a sure-kill sneak attack.
Quentin and his people knew nothing about this situation.
The Frank cavalry finished resting angrily and rode straight towards the "Deutsche Corner", a flat and wide area formed at the confluence of the Moselle and Rhine rivers. This area is convenient for farming and fishing, and houses the people's houses.
Rows upon rows of them, almost all of them have haystack roofs. Some people are very particular about installing small stone walls for their homes. It is also common to install fences.
The cavalry moved out in horizontal formation and were once fierce. However, as they continued to advance, Quentin felt that the world was increasingly quiet and terrifying.
A saddle was mounted on his helmet, and the sound of wind filled his ears. The sun was not bad today, and it shone warmly on his body. If he were wearing chainmail, he would be dazzling.
Are all the villagers hiding?
Before entering the village area, he made one last request: "Keep your eyes open! Find out all the people who are hiding! We spread out and finally gathered at the monastery. Take all the people you caught and send them to the monastery. Remember
Do not kill indiscriminately and do not insult women."
Even though the hands of Quentin and others were stained with blood during the previous liquidation operation, they maintained the bottom line of military discipline. To be fair, they did not attack any women, nor did they attack any priests.
For ordinary farmers, the method was rough. Those who seemed uncooperative were given a whip, and those who tried to resist were executed as "Norman accomplices."
They did not encounter any resistance along the way. Overall, the Frankish flag force seemed to have entered an uninhabited land after entering the Koblenz area. As for their actions, which were incredibly difficult, all the problems were entirely due to the flag captain.
Quentin.
The streets and alleys of the residential areas are messy and disorderly. Except for the open thoroughfares in the riverside area, there are no main roads in the residential areas, and there are mostly narrow paths. The roads are also the most common rough dirt roads.
There were ruts on the soft ground, which seemed to have been left recently. The scattered cavalry were in it. They could not hear the barking of dogs and the crow of chickens, let alone the movement of living people.
There are many signs that the people have fled completely, leaving behind an empty residential village.
There was no one in this huge village?! How could they escape so quickly?
Koblenz is not a strange place. This place is considered a relatively densely populated place in the entire kingdom, but now it is as desolate as a desert island.
Many cavalry soldiers were inexplicably frightened. Their thighs were protected by round shields. They held the reins in one hand and the sword in the other. They began to worry that it was foolish for them not to wear armor in order to be fast. As a result, they now felt unsafe. At first, they were accompanied by several cavalrymen.
Slowly it becomes scattered.
The cavalrymen were calling each other to call their colleagues about their positions, and they were also calling to the houses on both sides, asking people who might be hiding to come out.
They were not worried about getting separated. The cross was hung high on the specially built spire of the monastery. It was an extremely conspicuous landmark, and the scattered cavalry would eventually gather there.
But in the dark corner, the fully loaded crossbow has already targeted these unsuspecting cavalry...
The captain then divided his men into four groups. When it came to sneak attacks, they had to form a team of two for the chance of success.
One person shoots the horse, and the other shoots the man. For the sake of success, there is even a team of multiple people, with multiple crossbows aimed at one cavalryman.
The ambush Ross soldiers made eye contact and started sneak attacks one after another.
The short and thick crossbow arrow penetrated the eye of the war horse at close range, and the single blow penetrated the skull. The tall war horse immediately fell to death, and also knocked down the cavalryman who was hit by the arrow.
The Ross warriors put aside their crossbows for the time being, drew out their steel swords, and rushed forward, completing the final assassination cleanly. When they discovered that these horsemen were indeed so arrogant that they could not even pierce their armor and stomachs, their murderous intentions became even more serious.
"Boring!" After completing a sneak attack, Sven directly chopped off the death knight's head and spat on the corpse. "You don't wear armor, and we actually use steel-armed crossbows to deal with you arrogant guys.
!Who are you looking down on?!"
Several sneak attacks were completed quietly, but the dying cries of the wounded still aroused the alarm of many cavalrymen.
Quentin was guarded by many people, and he was alerted to an ambush when he heard the wailing.
When he finally realized that he was being reckless, three people suddenly appeared from the corner of the building in front of him. They were wearing white clothes with obvious blue stripes on them. The strange man was carrying something strange, and then there was a whooshing sound of arrows.
A war horse was hit in the chest, and the cavalryman was overturned in pain.
However, the attacker suddenly disappeared. Even though the cavalry chased after him again, it was not known which house the enemy had fled to.
"Get out of the way! Find my enemies and kill them!" Quentin felt he was even more insulted. He didn't even bother to put on his helmet and led more than a dozen cavalrymen to run. However, the sword he waved was also aimed at the air.
However, more complex sneak attacks are still going on.
Even using a wooden fork stuck in grass as a weapon, the Russian warriors suddenly came out to poke the horses down, and their companions carrying battle axes and swords suddenly came out and killed the enemy while the cavalry fell.
The Ross warriors were sprayed with blood. They dropped the bodies and started looking for new targets.
However, they say that the layout of the fishing village is really complicated if it is said to be complex, and it is really simple if it is said to be simple.
The cross of the monastery is a perfect symbol for both sides in the secret war. When the retreat horn is heard, the brothers first run towards the monastery, then continue to run north to the river to get the reserved long boat and escape intact.
.
In the cramped environment, the cavalry had no advantage. Quentin was so angry that all the cavalry simply rushed straight to the monastery.
Only the monastery is located in the open space in the middle of the fishing village. Cavalry began to gather here, waiting for Quentin to arrive here to organize. Everyone was miserable, and they didn’t know where the enemy came from. Now neither the people nor the horses were armored.
The horseman became a huge living target, and the enemy's bows and arrows were indeed sharp.
Just as Quentin was rectifying his beaten subordinates, a horn sound with a strange rhythm came to his ears.
The horn has extremely strong penetrating power, and blowing it at different rhythms means different signals.
"Tell everyone to gather in the monastery. Tell them there is a battle!" Sven ordered his subordinates to blow the trumpet.
Three long tones and three short tones were what Rurik deliberately taught them. In Rurik's view, the three long and three short tones of SOS originally meant vigilance. If there was a situation, by extension, it became "prepare for combat".
Meaning, this signal is easy to reproduce using a horn.
The brothers understood by heart, and after winding up the strings one after another, they appeared at the edge of the monastery with their crossbows ready to go. When they saw the wandering cavalry, they decisively launched a sneak attack and shot.
The arrow was lost inexplicably. The cavalry did not see the enemy, and their horses went crazy because of the arrow.
After finally seeing the enemy's figure, the shadow came to life in a flash. The cavalry who pursued found nothing, but were faced with the dilemma of being separated from the group and being assassinated again.
The fallen cavalrymen had no time to care about their injured horses. They drew their broad-bladed swords, held up their small shields, and stared nervously at everything around them.
Even so, there were still swift arrows coming.
The short and thick arrow was embedded in the small iron-covered shield. The soldier's hand was so shaken that it hurt. Only when he got up did he fully understand what kind of arrow it was.
If, it really can be called an arrow.
The army of the Middle Kingdom has never suffered losses from crossbows, and this is the first time.
Quentin didn't want to be a target. He had dismounted and even hunched his back, frowning when facing the small shield "embedded" with thick arrows passed by his subordinates.
"This is the devil's arrow! It can actually break through iron?!"
"Sir, what should we do? They are nearby, let's rush in and kill them?!" someone asked loudly.
"No! Let me think about it."
"But my lord, there is no point in us being here any longer."
"Damn it." Quentin bared his teeth and looked at the situation around him. He didn't know if all the cavalry had gathered again. What he knew was that many people had been hit by sap and died somewhere.
The whizzing sound of missing arrows can still be heard in my ears, and the helpless horses have been lost to the public. Those wicked people who did not hit people but only shot horses clearly did this intentionally.
Wait a minute! This must be a Norman scheme!
When Quentin wanted to understand, he realized that he had been slapped several times like a fool. He felt that there were many hidden enemies in the entire residential area. The Normans were indeed very cunning, and the past statements were all true. They
Unwilling to fight openly, today we are going to use a sneak attack to cripple the powerful Frankish cavalry?!
All the buildings are threatened, and even the door of the monastery behind you is locked. Will a group of soldiers suddenly come out and launch a sneak attack?
The more Quentin thought about it, the more frightened he became, and he quickly mounted his horse again: "Soldiers, don't worry about hurting the horses, we will withdraw with all our strength!"
Led by him, the cavalry who broke into the village rushed to the open area in the south as quickly as possible. All the cavalry that could be withdrawn gathered together. Quentin counted the number of people and found that there were only 70 horses and more than 80 soldiers left.
.
Twenty of his men died in the village without explanation, more horses were broken, and now large infantry troops were arriving one after another.
The anxiety and fear have disappeared, and all Quentin has now is anger.
"Evil! Devil! This village is cursed!"
Behind him is the still burning Koblenz Fortress, and the quiet village hides demons. When the newly arrived infantry learned of the cavalry's unfortunate experience, some were not eager to attack, but more fearful of the unknown.
The soldiers all obey the orders of the flag captain, and now flag captain Quentin is determined to implement his privileges.
"All warriors! Prepare torches! Now, burn the entire residential area to the ground!"
He wanted to break the discipline he emphasized, and even if some sergeants questioned whether it was going too far, he took out King Lothair's charter that no mercy should be dealt with traitors and Normans.
"I know you are afraid that fire will engulf the monastery! Don't worry. The monastery has been occupied by devils, and there are a lot of devils in the entire residential area. Only fire can burn them to death. We will use fire to make Koblenz clean!"
No matter what you say, he is justified, even though the Normans and traitors, and even the so-called devil have not been clearly seen, and there has never been a real battle. The soldiers could only act according to the requirements of the flag captain, and then began to prepare torches,
Line up in horizontal lines to perform the so-called "flame purification".
"It's really strange, these guys don't enter the village anymore." Sven regretted not taking a few prisoners. He couldn't figure out what the enemy wanted, but there were a few injured horses lying in the open space at the entrance of the monastery.
Swin ordered the brothers to take the horse's legs off. There were too few opportunities to eat red meat these days, so the bloody horse's legs were very precious. The horses' hooves were all shoed. Showing them to the boss could prove what the brothers had gone through.
The warriors carried more than 20 horse legs and carried the loaded crossbows, still thinking of continuing the sneak attack. They waited for a long time, until the sun was about to set, and everything seemed to be calm again.
Just when everyone was about to evacuate collectively, more intense smoke ignited in the south.
"Isn't it?!" Sven watched as red flames soared blatantly into the sky, and even the thick smoke could not suppress them. It was obvious that the Frankish troops were setting the fire!
"Black Fox was really right. Haha!" Sven was surprised at first, and then stamped his feet happily. "Brothers, it's time to go, our final mission has been completed."
Seeing that many people seemed not to have heard, he patted a few casually: "Hey! Do you want to be burned to ashes? Let's go!"
On one side, residential buildings were burning on a large scale, and on the other side, the Russians were blowing the horn to retreat.
Thirty people sat in two long boats, carrying more than twenty fresh horse legs, and happily entered the main channel of the Rhine River.
There were only a few of them, and they were not able to paddle quickly against the current. It was for this reason that Swain ordered the men to deliberately approach the dock to see the enemy's situation.
The entire settlement of Koblenz was engulfed in thick smoke, and the flames grew stronger and stronger, making the sunset look dim.
Quentin, who was venting his anger, witnessed the intensifying flames and kept chewing curse words, cursing the Normans and traitors to be burned to death.
It was at this time that a soldier pointed out to him: "Sir, there are actually Norman ships in the river to the north!"
"What?!"
Quentin turned around and saw two longships heading north in a hurry, looking very mocking.
"Dammit, follow me to the shore. All bow-wielding soldiers, follow me!"
He gathered a small group of archers as quickly as possible and launched a projectile at the drifting longship on the shore. The projectile was meaningless, and the longship did not return fire. Sven deliberately moved the two ships out of the enemy's range, taking advantage of the opportunity.
This opportunity gave him a good look at the size of the enemy. He was also an old warrior and could estimate the enemy's strength with his eyes. "The escapees must be right. There must be a thousand enemies. We were right not to fight them to the death."
.”
Sven muttered to himself, and then chatted with the brothers who were rowing. Everyone looked at the Franks who missed the arrows as if they were fools, and then everyone rowed upriver with all their strength.
As night fell, the two longships that had completed their mission finally arrived at the fishing village of Landstein, where bonfires were as dense as stars.
This place is full of refugees from Koblenz, and no one is in the mood to eat now, because the lake in the direction of Koblenz is soaring into the sky, and the clouds are burned red. It is a redder existence than the sunset. Even a fool realizes that Coblenz
There was a disaster in Lenz's home! Some people stamped their feet in anger, some burst into tears, and some just fell into a coma.
Because the Black Fox who had withdrawn was already promoting and building up momentum. The so-called Frank army was together. If they couldn't kill anyone, they would probably set fire to vent their anger.
The prophecy came true! Black Fox was happy and regretful at the same time. The soldiers he arranged for retreated unscathed, and the more than twenty fresh horse legs they left behind proved that they had fought against the cavalry. For this reason, some people began to use "horse legs" to tease the victors.
Sven, the old guy doesn't like this nickname, but he can't stop others from calling him that.
Who is the enemy? Who is setting the fire?!
Swain made it clear, and soon everyone who was paying close attention to the situation understood.
The people are angry in their hearts. Anger leads to hatred, and hatred makes them want to kill people!
Looking at the people around him, Black Fox felt that they were clearly militiamen who could be used!
Insufficient troops were once a problem, but probably not anymore.
Their home was burned down by the enemy. If they don't stand up and resist, what's the point of living? According to the thinking of the north, such a shame must be seized as soon as possible to avenge.
Black Fox and his old buddies began to take action under this night...