The cold wind blew violently at the top of the city, and Stein, the leader of Borgholm, who urgently climbed onto the wooden wall, was so shocked that he couldn't believe what was happening.
The rough sea seemed unable to stop the enemy ships, and the unexpected enemy troops had landed and began to destroy them.
No! They're coming to the fortress!
"Let...let brothers get ready! At least we have to hold the wall!"
He gave his men death orders. At this moment of life and death crisis, no one dared to neglect him. At this moment of crisis, he could only pray for the strength of the wooden wall.
Although the Saxons living here came across the sea, they learned a lesson from every experience. Soon after they established settlements on the island, they began to build walls. In recent decades, the wooden walls have been repaired and become taller, and their earthen bases have become taller.
It's honest. It's not a half-baked project like Fort Voscar; it's much stronger.
Due to shelter from the wind, the local Saxons had already retreated to the castle.
The Gotland mercenaries were also in the fort, and only a few Gotland fishermen who did not evacuate saw that something was going wrong, so they thought of escaping.
Unfortunately, those who ran slower have been killed by the crazy attackers.
It was clearly planned, like the traitors from Voskas, who were supposed to be on the front line, but as a result, Karl was so eager for success that he no longer cared about so much, and simply led his brothers as the main offensive force.
Faced with a brazen attack, the Gotlanders who had no time to escape all became dead under the sword of the Malaren army. The property they did not have time to take away, especially the very important dried fish and meat, was immediately captured by the Malaren army.
The greedy eyes of the attackers who had found the treasure were naturally fixed on the fortress. No matter how high the wall was, could they still not be able to break through the damn wall with their prefabricated battering rams?
Maybe the Swedish coalition forces should reorganize their troops after landing, line up their lines, and launch an attack as planned.
Today's chaotic attack is full of courage, but also lacks discipline.
Rurik couldn't stand looking at their chaotic attack. "If I were to command this battle, I would rather spend some time arranging the military formation. Olegin, aren't your people going to die if they charge the tower with force like this?"
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Death? Karl didn't think so at all. He felt that with just a few collisions of his battering ram, the enemy's wall would collapse, and then all the loot would be his.
Some panicked Gotland fishermen, wearing simple clothes, rushed under the wooden wall of the fortress with their families in tow.
At this moment, Stein, the spear-wielding leader, just looked helplessly at the refugees below.
They roared in despair and indignation, praying that the door would be left open just a small crack.
But Stein just glanced at them again and shouted at the Gotland mercenaries who had prepared a batch of stones and pottery urns on the city wall: "Brothers, they are coming! Prepare to smash them to death!"
Under this situation, the life and death of some people no longer mattered, and even the Gotland mercenaries did not care about the life and death of their own people. Stein was not an idiot. He had ordered his Saxon warriors to use huge pine wood as door latches, and there were more
A lot of pine wood leaned against the gate. Defense preparations had been made. Without a lot of effort, the defenders would not be able to open the blocked gate, let alone let outsiders in.
It seems that the defensive tactics of Borgholm's defenders are no different from those of the Port of Voskas, which was captured by the Swedish army.
No! The Saxons were a group that had fought with the Franks after all, and they did have some skills in defending the city.
They caught seals, herrings, and cod and boiled them into oil, which was naturally used for sacrifices and daily lighting. But at such a critical moment, the oil would become a treasure for killing enemies.
More and more Malaren warriors rushed out of the wooden houses near the shore. They guarded their own battering rams, and under the leadership of Karl, they finally rushed under the wooden castle.
"Ah! This thing is so tall, why is it different from what it looked like just now?!" Karl didn't expect there to be such a high wall at all. He gritted his teeth, despised the enemies staring at the wooden wall, and immediately ordered an attack.
Attack? How to attack?
The Malaren army did not have any long ladders, so they naturally could not climb the wooden wall about five meters high. Obviously, the core of the attack was to hit the wall with a siege ram.
The few archers of the Malaren Army shot at the people on the wall. More warriors held round shields and surrounded their siege ram, which required thirty men to carry. After a run-up, the siege ram hit hard
Hit the wooden wall hard.
However, the gate of the Borgholm Fortress simply did not move.
"Haha! They can't open the door!"
Stein, who was originally worried on the city wall, was so surprised that his face was trembling. He now stretched out his arms, faced the brothers in the fortress, and shouted: "Our wall is indestructible, they can never break through!"
The morale of the soldiers in the fort was greatly boosted.
A large number of stones and pottery urns fell from the sky, giving the Melalen army holding wooden shields a crushing blow.
The battering ram struck more than twenty times in succession. The enemy's wooden wall seemed to be loose, but it seemed as if nothing happened.
Just when Karl was screaming in confusion, thirty strong men holding the battering ram (actually three thick pine logs tied together) were already panting from exhaustion.
Suddenly many people took their hands off, causing the battering ram to fall directly to the ground.
"Prince, brothers have just fought against huge waves and heavy rain, and now they have to attack the city again. Everyone is really tired."
The person who spoke was still Krafteg. Looking at this person's face, Karl suddenly remembered that this guy had said similar words when the army attacked the Voskas Fortress.
Karl's lips trembled and he yelled: "You! You are a coward!"
"But who would be happy to see us Melalen people being stoned by the enemy? Prince, didn't you agree that those traitors should be the main attack? Why did we become the main attack again?!"
"You!" For a moment Karl felt that he had become a complete fool.
What he saw through the gaps in the crowd was indeed a anxious situation. Since the only siege weapons were the large logs on hand, all hopes were pinned on the logs, but the continuous impacts did not open the gap.
Karl didn't think that his tactical weapons were not easy to use. It must be because his brothers were too tired.
"Then let's go! Let's retreat and let the Voskas attack! Brothers, take the battering ram and avoid it!"
The Mellaren army withdrew, and all the soldiers holding shields under the city ran away in a short time.
However, these "black-clad warriors" who were on the front line were elite, and their defense was sufficient so that they suffered no losses in the first battle. Oh, it was just that there was no loss on the surface. Only these warriors returned to a stable place.
After removing their armor from behind, you will find bruises on their arms.
Just like the thick wooden walls of the Borgholm Fortress blocked the siege ram, the excellent wooden shields of the Malaren Army also ensured that the soldiers were not directly killed by stones.
At this moment, Stein, who was standing at the top of the city, suddenly felt his worries disappear. "Brothers, they really can't get in! We don't have to be afraid of anything!"
The people on the wall laughed loudly, mocking the attackers' recklessness and stupidity. There was not even a single enemy dead under the wooden wall. There were only a handful of Gotland fishermen who did not escape into the fortress.
After all, the Mellaren Army had gained some experience in sieges in the battle a few days ago. They at least knew how to protect themselves under the wall.
Karl withdrew with a hint of dejection and returned to the king's side.
Olegin was not polite and punched his son directly, which caused his nose to bleed.
Karl hunched his back helplessly, looking at his father with an atmosphere and listening to the scolding.
"You reckless man, did I ever order you to lead the battle? You almost killed the main force of our army!"
Karl didn't want to defend his recklessness, so he whispered: "Father, these enemies are extraordinary."
"Then stand down! Francis, now is the time for you to prove your loyalty!"
With Karl's efforts, the remaining soldiers of the Swedish army had a short rest and arranged their positions. Only the Russians were still watching the battle on the ships that were off the coast in accordance with the contract.
The battlefield is already far beyond the maximum range of all the long-range weapons of the Russians. Rurik and the others can only be spectators, and they can see clearly the failed siege of the city by the Melalen army just now.
Otto saw the whole process and couldn't help but feel anxious: "Rurik, the enemy's wall is too hard, maybe these torsion slingshots can't do it either."
"Yeah, let's see what Olegin will do. I don't think they can break the city today."
"Then keep watching! We must also be prepared to respond."
Rurik nodded and immediately ordered his men to prepare for landing. Considering that this battle was obviously unusual, the hidden steel-armed crossbows were authorized for use.
After some adjustments, the Swedish troops on the shore formed a very dense formation and spread out at the main entrance of the fortress.
The defenders, who had just been immersed in the joy of victory, only lasted for half an hour. Now they were dumbfounded when they saw that the enemy had such a huge force.
Now the leader Stein became anxious, "Those people who boil oil, keep cooking for me! If they dare to attack, I will burn them to death!"
All the defenders holding bows climbed to the top of the city, more stones were carried up, and more spear-wielding warriors gathered at the back end of the gate. It is said that once the gate is broken down, the attackers will be stabbed to death with spears.
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Stein felt that the enemy would attack in an all-out way, and his people were also feeling the pressure. They did not even know the specific identity of the enemy, so they could only pray to the gods they believed in to help them escape the crisis.
Realistically speaking, the defenders have the best hope. They have never been afraid of siege. Inside the fortress is their granary (filled with dried fish and meat). There are many wells in the fortress, and the water brought up from them is all fresh water. They can
How can the enemy continue to encircle us if we hold on for a long time? When the Danish friendly forces realize that the situation is not right and send troops to support them, won't the problem be solved?
He does not place all hope on the support of the Danes. No matter how strong the friendly forces are, their support will take time. In the future, the Saxons of Borgholm Fortress must rely on themselves, even those in Gotland.
Mercenaries are not that reliable either.
Reliable or unreliable, Stein did not want a large number of his people to die in the war. Those Gotlanders who had taken the money should perform their duties as mercenaries, so a large number of these people stood at the top of the city.
What could the Gotland mercenaries have to say? They soon saw a group of ragged men walking among the enemy formations not far away. They all took precautions.
At this moment, Rurik in the distance stretched out his hand and shouted: "Look, the Malaren army is attacking again?"
Otto put his big hand on his son's head: "It's strange. I think those are those people."
"Ah? It's actually them?"
"It's them...this is their fate."
Yes, the attackers were the fishermen of Voskas. They had just experienced a near-death voyage and had not yet established a stable landing position. Now they had to sacrifice their lives for the Swedish army.
The Voskas people, led by the surrendered Danish mercenaries, especially the man Francis, worked together to carry the battering ram and rushed towards the wooden door. They knew how to build walls and doors, and naturally they also knew how to build doors.
Where are the weaknesses.
Any door is afraid of being hit. Some fishermen are actually very familiar with Borgholm, and some even entered the fortress built by the Saxons. In the past, they came here for the purpose of doing business, but now they are crazy.
attack.
As attackers, the weapons and equipment of the Voskas were terrible. They wore thin clothes, carried pitiful harpoons, short spears and logging axes, and charged with makeshift shields made of wooden boards.
If there is anyone inside who is well-equipped, it is the renegade Danish mercenaries, but unfortunately their number is only thirty.
These remaining Danish mercenaries pride themselves on their martial virtues, but they have no idea that they will fall victim to some secret weapon.
More than 300 people launched this attack. King Olegin in the rear had already planned it. These guys were like some kind of sacrifice. They desperately broke open the door, and then the coalition soldiers swarmed up. Victory was just before dark.
Take it.
Finally, the battering ram hit the gate again, and the fishermen began to gear up desperately, only to be greeted by stones smashing into their faces.
Francis gritted his teeth, and with half of his body protected by a shield, he knew how difficult the attack would be.
He was protected by a wooden shield and chainmail, and those Voskas fishermen had been seriously injured by stones and earthen pots!
More than a dozen people had their skulls smashed by stones thrown by the defenders at the top of the city. Their makeshift wooden shields were useless. The short spears and harpoons they held were meaningless against the towering wooden walls. Instead, they became defensive weapons.
The army's few archers were the target of wanton attacks.
However, there was a sudden commotion at the top of the city. The excited garrison leader Stein Saxon led more than 20 soldiers under his command and walked up the wooden wall along the slope. These Saxon soldiers worked together to carry the wooden wall on their shoulders.
There is a stick, and hanging from the stick is a clay pot filled with hot fish oil.
"Haha! Brothers, now let these idiots see how powerful we are! Pour the first bottle for me!"
A Gotland mercenary wrapped his hands in extremely thick linen, then carefully picked up the hot clay pot, and then the hot oil fell from the sky, giving a terrible blow to the Voskas fishermen who were struggling to hit the wall below the city.
The man who was severely burned in an instant simply dropped the battering ram in his arms, and the impact was suspended for an instant.
Then came the second can, then the third can...
Francis felt that something bad was going on at first, but he had no time to worry about others anymore.
People wearing armor under the city naturally became the key targets of attack. It was difficult for bows and arrows to penetrate their armor. What about the hot oil?
A jar of hot oil was poured directly on Francis. The 200°C fish oil seeped into his chainmail and the linen lining inside, immediately causing a fatal burn!
This wasn't the end yet, there was a second jar that gave him a purgatory-like horror experience.
Francis, who was covered in hot oil, subconsciously tried to break free from his chainmail. He grabbed the belt randomly and tried to free himself, then rolled on the ground. Unfortunately, his companions had already started to run away!
The sudden hot oil scalded more than 20 people, but the damage did not appear to be high.
But wait! The input of hot oil destroyed the momentum of the attackers. They were already full of flaws and even forgot to protect themselves with wooden shields.
More people were smashed to death. While Francis was struggling desperately, he was suddenly hit in the head by a piece of granite. After struggling for a while, he became completely motionless.
The Swedish coalition forces watching the battle saw a horrific scene not far away!
"What did they throw down? Hot water?" Carl exclaimed.
Olegin shook his head and gritted his teeth and said: "No matter what it is, the Voskas people are defeated! Damn it, today is really not the day to attack the city. We will camp here and wait for the weather to improve before fighting again!"
"But..." Karl was still angry. He just wanted to complete the victory before dark.
Olegin suddenly grabbed Karl's neck and ordered: "We will know the situation when they withdraw. You, send me someone to call all the Russians over. It's really hateful. This time we really need them to make people confused."
Shy archer."
"But what if those guys who are good at archery compete for our trophies?"
"Then let them camp far away so that they can never rob it in person. All they have to do is provide us with support!" Olegin said angrily.
In fact, Olegin has realized that the special equipment of the Russians has turned the once limited archers into elite enemy-killing elites. However, due to tradition, the soldiers still like to fight at close range to gain the so-called honor.
Since the enemy has already used some kind of terrible weapon, Olegin is too lazy to care about tradition. When the general offensive is launched after the rest, the Russian archers will be a strong support for the coalition forces.
However, the Russian army cannot be too close to the coalition camp. They should camp farther away. Olegin is on guard against them. The so-called Russian people should not participate in the distribution of spoils after the city is broken, and they should not grab any spoils.
He can get a little bit of military rations from his Olegin "reward" to support subsequent operations.
A contract is a contract. The money owed to the Russians, Olegin felt, should be returned after the wheat harvest.