This time, the Ross people put up an unprecedented offensive formation.
The various details of the formation are really full of Rurik's imagination.
In other words, only by being able to put up such a formation can it be called an army. And the battles carried out by my own Rus tribe in the past are no different from today's battles.
In this battle, Rurik felt that his tribe had finally realized the coordination of multiple arms in a true sense, that is, the cooperation of siege troops, heavy infantry, light infantry and crossbowmen.
Just like an armored vehicle, a group of infantry often gathers behind it. The armored vehicle here is a solid backing. Its armor can withstand many types of artillery shells and bullets. Its huge body also protects many infantry.
The Russians used huge wooden shields (thin wooden shields with a height and width of nearly two meters) as cover. The strong men holding the huge shields approached the enemy's mountain in a step-by-step manner at a speed close to normal walking.
The fort wall. Behind the strong man were almost twenty sword and shield bearers.
Since they did not drink the stimulant drug prepared by the high priest, they could not be called berserkers, but they were indeed a force for attacking difficulties.
They all wore bronze and iron helmets, and not only wore leather armor, but also a chainmail armor. Otto sent more than 60 of the most elite people in the team, with the best weapons and equipment, to follow Rurik's requirements.
As the main force in the attack.
Because of their powerful armor, Rurik believed that the enemy's arrows could not penetrate the defense. Therefore, before they invaded the enemy's village, their first task was to attract firepower.
A battering ram covered by a large shield is the real core of the attack.
This well-processed battering ram was tied with hemp rope and thin branches were tied around the hemp rope. As many as ten soldiers relied on their health to carry it. Beside them, there were another group
Sword and shield hand cover.
In the rear of the final camp, almost all were archers. Including the tribesmen of the once-defeated Catfish Lord. They obeyed the orders of the Russians, wielded short bows and were ordered to cover the rear.
In order to obtain meritorious service and end the battle as soon as possible, Rurik followed him near the battering ram with his mercenaries holding crossbows.
The Ross army came with such ferocity that their footsteps even caused the earth to shake.
Mechasta has been observing the movements of the Varyag army, and he feels that the time has come to block the attack.
"They're here! Hurry up and shoot!"
In an instant, all the archers on the city wall and behind the city wall raised their bows in their left hands and aimed at the sky at a larger angle of elevation.
Then, the first wave of arrows rose into the sky.
They launched their missiles almost at the same time as colleagues, the arrow feathers pierced the air, and there was a whirring sound from the whole body.
Otto knew what it was, and he shouted seriously: "The arrow is coming, prepare to fight it."
All the Russian warriors holding shields pressed their round shields against their heads, and those holding huge shields in both hands almost lifted the shield as a whole.
Soon, seven or eight warriors quickly gathered under each giant shield. The people behind them also raised their own wooden shields and formed a very dense formation.
Everyone believed that the defensive routine mentioned by Rurik could well resist the enemy's arrows.
Rurik himself was also protected by the circular shield formed by his mercenaries. Even if the mercenaries used flesh and blood, they had to withstand the arrow attack for their master. As a result, the first wave of arrow rain from the gray squirrel tribe was completely lost.
Falling in the area where Rurik is located.
A large number of arrows landed on the various shields of the Russians. The throwing tactic gave the arrows a strong falling potential, but the fact that the bone arrow clusters could not make up for its disadvantage.
Some of the arrows struck the Russian shields and exploded. The arrow shafts were broken one after another, and the bone arrow clusters were bounced away after carving deep dents in the wooden shields.
This rain of arrows did not cause any damage to the attacking Russians at all. Instead, it allowed the Russians to capture a batch of arrows that were still usable.
Seeing that the enemy army was still advancing slowly, Mechasta had no choice but to order his men to continue shooting arrows.
However, this is clearly a futile resistance.
The second wave of arrows came again, and this time only a few Russian warriors suffered negligible scratches.
After the third wave of arrows, Rurik, who deliberately came out of the rear of the formation, was finally attacked by the enemy, but the attack had no effect.
Jevro's shield blocked two arrows for his patron, but one arrow accidentally penetrated his linen coat, which made him very angry.
The arrow hung on Jevro's clothes, and Rurik was able to see clearly the appearance of the enemy's arrow from close range.
To be fair, the arrow fletching is beautifully made, and being beautiful means it's aerodynamic, which means it's an arrow...
The so-called arrows are basically made from the polished leg bones of small animals. The center is a hollow structure that holds the bone marrow, making it an excellent collar. It is a bone after all. The sharper it is ground, the easier it is to break when hit by hard objects.
.
"Master, it seems that our brothers are about to go through the most difficult road. The next step is to siege the city." Yevluo ordered.
Rurik, who was well protected by the shield, saw three "squares" approaching the enemy's wall through the gaps in the mercenary shield.
"They did a good job. Brothers, we must also take action. Remember! Our task is to use the crossbow to knock down all the turtle doves on the wall."
Jevro nodded, and then roared: "Brothers, the master has given the order. Let's take action."
Rurik, whose desire to fight was fully mobilized, roared: "If you hit an enemy, you will be rewarded with a silver coin!"
Being on the battlefield, everyone's spirits were already high, and when they heard that they could still make money, the mercenaries just wanted to use their crossbows to kill people.
Rurik's mercenaries quickly began to form a line, and together with other archers who received the order to attack, they began to counterattack with fire.
Kejas originally thought that the Russian army would suffer casualties during the storm, but as a result, their advance went normally.
He encouraged his people in the ancient Finnish language: "Masters of the salmon, now is the time to show our strength to the Rus. We will defeat the squirrel men and shoot arrows at them!"
Rurik saw that the servant troops began to fire the captured arrows back. Since both combatants were within the range of the bow and arrow, the battle finally became intense.
There was a whooshing sound in my ears, followed immediately by the wailing of the tribesmen behind the wall.
Mechasta turned his head and looked at the remaining tribesmen with an expression of sorrow and anger, especially the woman who was hit by the arrow.
In this critical situation, he could no longer consider the life and death of some tribesmen.
He turned his head and started shooting with the short bow himself, and cursed: "You damn guys, you use a wooden shield to protect yourself."
Even with the iron cluster arrows, Mechasta found that he could not penetrate the attacker's large wooden shield.
On the contrary, the archers on the wall became timid because they saw one of their companions fall off the wall after being hit by an arrow.
Worse things are happening.
Mechasta's ears were filled with the roars of the enemy soldiers, and the sunlight shining through the woods and reflecting on the enemy's metal helmets made him even more frightening.
"What happened when they fell to the ground? Some of them had several arrows stuck in their bodies, how could they still fight?" Mechasta shouted in confusion, and his tribesmen only felt fear in their hearts.
As he heard a language he could understand coming from the local camp, and combined with the fighting methods of those people, Mechasta had determined that those guys were the legendary destroyed Catfish Lord tribe.
"Damn Voyma Kashad, you lied to me. They were killed there. They clearly surrendered to the Varangians." Gritting his teeth, Mechasta ignored the flying arrows amidst the whizzing sound.
He raised his bow and fired an iron arrow with a gesture that almost broke the bow string.
This arrow was impartial and hit the head of an archer from the Salmon Lord tribe directly. The iron arrow cluster pierced the skull and the man died on the spot.
Kejas was surprised. He didn't expect the enemy to have such a sharpshooter.
Many archers panicked, and Kejas shouted: "Don't mess up! Keep shooting."
Seeing this, Rurik couldn't help but be nervous about the sudden death. His heart was beating wildly, and his position must have been unsafe.
Since he himself is no longer safe, wouldn't it be even more dangerous for his father to lead the main force to attack the enemy's city gate?
Dad always wore not only leather armor, but also chain mail. If the enemy's iron arrows were fired at close range, Rurik believed that Dad could still be fatally wounded.
Otto, he cannot die until he grows up!
Rurik took a solid step, and his somewhat chaotic servant troops shouted: "No chaos! Think about your women and children, you are fighting for their safety now. Keep fighting!"
Having said this, the Salmon Lord tribe warriors distinguished the pros and cons, and after a pause in suppressing fire, resumed archery.
It can be said that Mechasta used his personal ability to buy a little time for the defending tribesmen, but did not gain any tactical advantage.
Now, it is obvious that another group of Varangians, under the cover of a large number of shieldmen, began to attack the village gate!
The warriors of the Gray Squirrel Tribe know very well that if the gate is opened and a large group of guys wearing mail armor, holding high iron swords and iron axes rush in, everyone will die.
A large number of arrows were aimed at the Russians who attacked the gate, including Otto who commanded the gate. They became the focus of the attack.
The Russian battering ram charge began.
First, ten warriors rushed forward under the cover of howling sword and shield men, and the big tree trunk hit the closed door with great force. With just this blow, the front wall was shaking, and many archers of the gray squirrel tribe were shaken to their seats.
Come down.
Mechasta, who slipped and fell, lamented that he had miscalculated again. Even if he blocked the door with debris, as long as the enemy continued to knock down, the door might not be knocked open, but the entire wall would collapse.
After all, the core building material of the gray squirrel tribe's so-called fence is a large tree trunk dug into the soil.
The Russians began to shout slogans and hit the wooden door with big tree trunks. Otto here completely became the commander, and naturally he became the target of public criticism.
Fortunately, the four giant shields formed a "turtle shell" for the siege troops. A large number of iron cluster arrows had been inserted into the shields, but the gray squirrel tribe warriors had not yet penetrated the Russian armor.
However, more than a dozen Russian warriors who tried to climb the wall via ladders were injured and fell under the wall, hitting the frozen bodies of the previous attackers.
He saw that the gate of the place had not been opened for a long time, and that his own people were being harmed early on.
Rurik, who couldn't care less, decided to take the risk.
"Jevro, take your brothers and follow me!"
Yevluo was shocked: "Sir, it is safe for us to shoot here."
"Shut up! Our safety is the danger to our brothers! I can't care so much now."
Yevluo gritted his teeth and asked loudly: "What are you going to do?"
"We approached the city wall and shot those nasty turtle doves at close range."
"That's too dangerous."
"Shut up, I am your master, obey my orders."
Jevro had never seen his little master so decisive, even reckless. He indeed once suspected that his master lacked courage because of his excessive kindness. Perhaps after seeing a real battle, he became very brave.
What else can Jevlo do? He can only lead his brothers and rush to the front line of the battle with a crossbow in hand.
Rurik realized that his position was sufficient and stopped.
"Right here! Hold the bow! Shoot!"
Together with Rurik himself, twenty crossbowmen launched a volley at the targets on the city wall.
The recoil from the standing shot made Rurik retreat suddenly, and the bodies of the others also trembled.
Twenty heavy crossbow arrows flew out. Each of them actually weighed close to 200 grams, and their stored kinetic energy was astonishing.
In just one salvo, as many as ten gray squirrel tribe archers were killed and all fell down.
Although Mechasta survived, he was dumbfounded as a terrifying iron-clustered short arrow penetrated the covering wall, and he was almost hit himself.
Rurik felt he had taken advantage: "Brothers, wind up."
After that, he threw his crossbow to Jevro.
Jevro stepped on the bow arm with both feet, used his gloved hands to string the steel-arm crossbow with all his strength, quickly installed the arrows, and delivered it to his owner.
In nearly a minute, everyone finished loading, and another twenty crossbow arrows were fired.
A new round of crossbow strikes knocked out the archers who had added to the city wall to shoot.
If the city wall and the city gate were breached, today would be the end of everyone. Tribal women began to climb up the city wall with bows to continue fighting in place of the men who died in the battle.
A small figure climbed up the wooden ladder of the scaffolding. She was a girl, carrying a short bow and a few arrows on her belt.
Seeing this, Mechasta was shocked and said: "Seporava, get down here and hide yourself!"
"No, I also want to fight." The girl said stubbornly.
"Get back here, you are too weak."
Yes, a seven or eight-year-old girl can only pull a hunting bow with difficulty, and it is extremely difficult to use it to hunt small animals.
The little girl Saibolava still climbed up, but a new round of arrows fired by Rurik's troops began to suppress her again.
During the melee, the Russians would not be merciful just because the person holding the bow and shooting arrows was a woman. Some female archers began to suffer casualties.
The wood chips exploded by the crossbow arrows also shocked the little girl Serapova, who did not understand what war was. The courage she mustered up was completely destroyed, and she cried in fear on the city wall.