Arik's squadron did not know what kind of chaotic battle would occur on the Elbe River, because it was not its own battle.
The squadron has its own great mission.
The murderous fleet rushed directly to Bremen, which had been beaten to pieces. Maybe there was still a Frankish army stationed there. Even so, the brothers had to defeat the many with a small number.
There is no need for pre-war agitation anymore, everyone in the army knows their mission.
They sailed in the icy Atlantic Ocean, tried their best to circumnavigate the coastline as quickly as possible, and rushed into the Weser River, which was heavily covered with thin ice.
"There is ice here! Brothers, be careful."
"Be careful when going to the toilet, you will die if you fall into the ice water."
Because the squadron has already entered the inland river, some people in the team have arrived here for the third time and have a better understanding of the hydrological conditions here.
Bremen is not far away, and a large number of eager warriors have begun to occupy the deck.
They were doing all kinds of things, talking to each other, or preparing their weapons. Everyone believed that when the brothers returned to Bremen, the longed for war would come.
Arik looked at the mast of the flagship and ordered: "Raise the flag and notify the entire army to prepare for landing operations."
A white flag depicts a strong black skull, which is actually the symbol of a royal pirate, but for this operation Arik felt that he was just right.
After all, there are royal pirates from Saaremaa in his army. The squadron's trip is a bit like a pirate attack, and everyone's mission is even crazier than that of pirates - to kill the enemy without mercy.
The flagship hoisted such a flag, and Finnish Count Jevlo, who was standing on the companion ship, commented on him with interest.
"Look, that's the king's eldest brother. Are we going to be pirates this time? Thanks to their fancy, we Suomi people also have a chance to be pirates."
As a result, a deck full of Finnish longbowmen stood on the escort ship, and they all laughed when they heard what the Earl said.
I also laughed. In the past seven months, there have been no combat losses in the Finnish flag force, and today the flag force still maintains a very high level of fullness.
No one believes in their ability to fight, but everyone believes that these people are brothers who provide very solid rear fire support.
As for the accompanying standing army, especially the veteran Grund, he was indifferent to the raised skull and crossbones flag.
The standing army has its own glory, and Grund has his own personal glory.
The standing army absorbed a group of capable personnel from other flag corps to form an army that dared to fight. He banged his shield at the brothers paddling, shouted a few inspiring slogans, and then the brothers continued paddling.
The squadron is composed of long oars and long boats mixed with small, medium and large sailboats. In this way, the rowing boats tow the sailboats and sail smoothly along the coastline.
Those rowing long boats were first used as inland river towing ships, and secondly they were landing ships.
The swords and axes were polished to a shine, and the warriors on the oars all wore chain mail.
Veteran Grund and his nearly a hundred elite men even wore heavy iron armor because the target was not far away.
The ship easily broke through the thin ice on the Weser River in late winter when the water flow was very slow. Everyone felt that the river would not be completely frozen this year, which was really conducive to the army's in-depth operations.
If the longboat continued rowing in the opposite direction after dismantling the bridge, would it be possible to find the source of the Weser River, whether there were cities and villages nearby, and whether it would be possible to loot and make a fortune?
People no longer wanted to think too much, but because the woods along the river gradually disappeared, they saw a new city rising from the ground where Bremen should have been.
Arik's eyes widened, and the soldiers were all amazed.
"What's going on? Is that city rising from the earth? We obviously burned Bremen to ashes. Could it be that the Frankish god gave them a gift?"
Arik, who was talking to himself, was shocked at first, but then his mouth was full of greed and hunger.
"Haha, they secretly built a city and they should have thrown a lot of property here." He pulled out his swords and pointed the double blades directly. "Brothers, blow the horns! Beat the drums! Let's fight!"
The biting cold wind blew on many warriors, and Arik stood on the bow of the flagship ship like an immortal Aesir warrior in the biting wind.
He was in his early thirties, at the peak of a Nordic man's performance in all aspects.
Soon, the madman had entered the middle deck, and he was determined to lead the charge.
Unexpectedly, this visitor emerged from the cover of the forest, and the few patrollers on the simple wooden walls of Bremen saw this situation with surprise.
The Frankish defenders were taken aback, and in panic, they screamed at the top of their lungs about the enemy attack, then blew horns and beat drums, just to inform everyone that the battle was about to break out.
Thousands of people were just hiding in wooden shacks in the city to avoid the severe cold. Sorbians, Franks, and those who stayed in the newly built city of Bremen were all weak soldiers, and a small number of healthy soldiers were responsible for guarding the part of the army that was settled here.
Stock up on supplies.
People with frostbite recuperate here, and people injured in previous battles have to resign themselves to their fate here.
There were priests stationed here to appease the soldiers' frustrations and complaints, and to conduct regular activities in the newly built simple monastery.
They seemed to be forgotten people, but the king insisted on heading north with his other able-bodied brothers. The total number of remnant soldiers placed in the rear was as many as three thousand, and he was somewhat happy in his heart.
They were secretly happy that they no longer had to brave the cold winter to continue marching.
That secret joy has now turned into fear.
Open the wooden door and escape? No! The cold forest is full of snow, but the cold is fatal. A lonely person will freeze to death, and then become food for wandering wild beasts.
"Close the city gate!"
"No matter who you are! Those who can afford weapons stand up immediately!"
"The Norman pirates are coming! We must defend."
Among them, the Frankish veterans who were recovering from their injuries were well-trained after all. They ignored the pain of recurrence of their wounds and still performed strenuous movements, running through the chaotic alleys in the city to tell each other, just to tell everyone that the enemy attack was not a joke.
Although the majority of the remaining soldiers were confused, when they heard another low-pitched trumpet sound accompanying the low-pitched drums, they all felt horrified.
This is the horn of the Normans, and the remaining soldiers here prefer to call it "the sound from hell".
As a result, more people stood on the simple wooden city wall, and a few bow holders climbed up the simple tower.
Regardless of any grudges or discrimination in the past, all defenders face the same danger at this moment.
All the Sorbians who could move stood up holding on to their short spears, even if their toes were frozen and necrotic.
The Frankish wounded soldiers, whose faces were frostbitten, were covered with cloth, and then put on iron helmets and a layer of chain mail. At first glance, they still looked like elite soldiers.
There is no doubt that the two centurions responsible for guarding the granary will become the main force of the upcoming defensive battle. The two centurions have long been authorized to guard Bremen. They are in full compliance. It was a pity that they could not continue to go north.
The two fighting men felt even more regretful when facing the current situation.
Because there were too many Norman soldiers landing.
The oak keel cracked the ice and then gnawed into the river mud.
After all, the Ross Squadron was too familiar with the hydrological conditions in this area. This was their third operation. Many people were worried that they would not be able to have a happy fight this time. As a result, the Franks gave up an opportunity in a very high-profile manner.
Berserkers wearing helmets decorated with bear heads bravely disembarked from the ship, with veteran Grund taking the lead in the charge.
As he jogged forward, he raised the sword in his right hand high and made a special wave to get everyone in line.
He shouted again: "Brothers with battle axes, prepare to cut down the enemy's wooden wall! Follow my steps!"
A good way to destroy an ordinary wooden fortress is to slam it into a wooden door with a large piece of felled wood.
They had not planned a siege, but they visually observed that the enemy's wooden walls were not thick, so they used some strength to directly "demolish the walls" with engineers.
Seeing that Grund and his group were taking the lead in charging, the limelight was stolen by these guys. Arik was so angry that before the boat could land on the beach, he simply jumped off the glacier with his two swords, and came ashore in the biting river water.
He roared like a lion, held his swords high and ran in an extremely weird posture, which actually encouraged the brothers behind him and most importantly, established the direction of attack.
Behind Arik were some veterans of the First Standard, as well as a large group of temporarily recruited Saxon servants.
Old Rus, Swedes, Danes and Saxons, there were nearly 800 initial landings, and they all had a unified name - Normans.
These people sprinted too fast and completed the occupation of the bridge without encountering any enemy resistance.
Their original purpose was to defeat the bridge defenders, demolish the bridge and cut off the enemy's communication lines. Now, they just want to burn the reappeared city of Bremen to the ground.
Arik and Grund had already led people to rush under the wooden wall one after another. The brothers with crossbows began to strike accurately at the defenders on the wall, and some brothers with big axes immediately began to smash the wall.
The precious double-edged ax was swung vigorously by a man as strong as a polar bear. He rounded it up and smashed it against the wooden wall, causing some sawdust mixed with ice to fly immediately.
However, the effect is not good.
The newly felled pine wood was used as the main material of the wooden wall. The trunk itself is rich in moisture and is active to prevent the water from freezing. Now, the moisture inside these pine trees has been mixed with lignin to form a special strong material. If the Frankish defenders attack again,
If you splash river water on a wooden wall, the wall will be strengthened with water ice.
The defenders did not pour water to create an ice city, but the strength of their walls should not be underestimated.
However, the offensive of the Russian army was so fierce that those who stood on the wall and looked down on the wood were shot and killed, falling like birds with arrows.
The archers on the watchtower had already become the target of public criticism and were killed by random arrows.
Outside the city, the Ross warriors were still desperately hammering down the frozen wooden walls with their axes, and the crossbowmen were aiming their loaded weapons at any enemy who dared to show their heads.
Most of the Russian soldiers and Saxon allies, who could not participate in the battle, just outside the city followed the rhythm of the axe-wielding berserkers who smashed the wall, and burst out with roars one after another.
However, Aric and Grund still don't know how many enemies are hidden in this city surrounded by wooden walls.
Will the Frankish army be frightened by these roars?
Almost all of the defenders were wounded, and the Frankish standing army soldiers among them became the backbone of the entire army's morale.
These people were all wearing armor, and they persisted in enduring injuries. They lined up in a dense formation, with their swords, axes, and spearheads pointed in the direction of the loud rumbling noise.
They did not have the courage to rush out of the city and fight the Normans to the death, but they still had the courage to defend and counterattack after a wooden wall collapsed, and it was very big.
As they built up the will of the defenders, the Sorbian slave soldiers also became strong.
The resident priest stood beside them, raising his right hand holding the cross high, and arranged a spiritual buff for the entire army.
The defenders did not dare to whisper to each other, and their faces were solemn and numb.
There were more than 2,500 defenders who could participate in the battle, and of course there were people who had to steel themselves up and use short spears as wooden staffs, just because they didn't want to sit still and wait to be killed.
Therefore, it was their collective gradually maintaining a terrifying silence that made Zhan seem like just a few defenders at the top of the city throwing debris outside, making it appear that there were very few defenders in the entire wooden fortress.
How could Arik and Grund, who were in high spirits, have time to think about this? The brothers just wanted to make a gap to grab the treasure.
At the same time, the belatedly arrived Finnish longbowmen finally completed the landing.
If the distance was suitable, Yevlo would have already ordered a rain of arrow support.
He organized his team on the shore, and deliberately led his subordinates to watch the actions of the wall-breaking brothers as if they were watching a play.
Then one of his subordinates heard the news and said, "Your Majesty, what are those Russians doing? Are they doing a logging competition here?"
"Maybe. It seems that this city lacks defenders, and there is no need for our friends to go through such trouble."
Jevlo's idea was very simple, so he temporarily lined up his men and walked alone to the messy front line under the wall.
The short stature Jevro immediately found the guy shouting about the two swords in the crowd.
"Arik, what are you doing!?"
Seeing that the friendly forces had finally landed, Arik, who was excited, directly demanded: "Your people have finally landed. Let them provide support."
"Support? Just a battle of wits and courage against this boring wall?"
"No! Projectile! Attack the defenders in the city."
"Is it necessary? This city lacks defense. Now you are leading your brothers to waste time and only increase your fatigue."
"Bah! You don't understand." Arik shook his head with excitement still on his face: "I swear on my honor, I feel a deep murderous aura. I feel like there are enemies behind the city wall. Listen, do as I say!
"
"Okay. It's time for my men to move their arms anyway."
Deep murderous intent? How did Arik judge it?
Evro couldn't resist anything, so he ordered his men to continue advancing in phalanx mode, and then ordered: "Archers! Ten arrows! Target fortress! Ejection! Free fire!"
They were all short phrases, and Jevlo's orders were conveyed accurately.
These short-statured Finnish Suomis can be said to be a special force trained by Javlo. The individual melee fighting skills of this group of people are not bad, but the level of formation fighting is poor, because almost all their time is spent practicing.
On archery.
Javlo's Finnish flag force belongs to the standing army of the Count of Finland. Each warrior is a madman with arms thicker than his legs. They maintain a wooden longbow that is the same as their height. They can shoot light arrows and a kind of weapon that can be used as weapons.
Torque slingshot with heavy arrows from the javelin.
Only God knows how many enemies there are in the city and whether they are wearing armor.
The entire flag team fired ten times, and in the end, more than 5,000 arrows were fired to give a "gift package" to the unknown enemy. He felt that his actions were worthy of Arik's request.
The long bows were stretched as much as possible, and the soldiers faced the sky at an exaggerated angle, as if they were bending their bows to shoot at eagles.
Now there must be a southward wind deflection caused by the north wind. Therefore, the main direction of the Russian army's attack was the wooden wall in the western part of the siege of Bremen. Jevro set up an arrow array here. He also had to adapt to and take advantage of the north wind.
Because it was free shooting, the arrows were flying in random directions.
The Finns are too lazy to make high-end arrows such as spiral feather arrows, which require some effort to make, and most of their arrows are just two pieces of rain. Arrows are relatively simple, and as a consumable, the Finns need cost-effectiveness.
Jevro brought his own arrows to join the coalition. His inventory has not yet been exhausted, and he is about to use up some of Ross's mass-produced standard arrows in this battle.
The quality of the arrows is average, but the arrow clusters are extraordinary. After all, cast iron arrow clusters are actually a mass-produced material, or it can be arrow clusters or nails, both of which come from the same casting embryo.
The cheap arrows falling from the sky still have strong lethality. The north wind blows and the wind deflects them all, but when they fall, they fall at a 90° angle that is very easy to break armor.
Countless black threads fell from the sky, piercing the leather helmet and smashing through the person's skull, piercing the shoulder and hitting the lung, hitting the sole of the foot and causing the frostbitten foot to bleed pus directly. It even penetrated the arm holding the sword.
The garrison who was in unbearable pain couldn't bear it at all, and the dense arrows fell without any clues. The army that could still hold on gradually collapsed, and they hid in a mess, causing a loud rumbling sound.
The roars, screams, wails and cries of despair of the defenders.
Any attempt by the defenders to hide was meaningless, because someone had opened the small door on the side without permission, and the escape had begun.
Jevro, who was in charge of the archery, was shocked, "Arik, you are right! Are they all enemies inside?!"
Stunned, he immediately adjusted his order: "All brothers, listen! Ten more arrows! Use heavier arrows for those who are stronger!"
As a result, the wailing and shouting of the defenders only resulted in the siege of the Russian army becoming even more violent.
The damn wall hindered the fight between the two armies. Outside the city, Arik heard the wailing inside the wall. It felt like a basin of boiling water was poured on a tied live wild boar, making the big beast scream like crazy.
Both he and Grund were asking the brothers to break down the wall as fast as possible until it looked like the base of one wall had been chopped down almost to the ground.
Some nooses were thrown into the sky, and they were placed in the cracks and corners of the wooden wall high up, and then began to be pulled by hundreds of soldiers.
Finally, hundreds of people used multiple ropes to pull a badly damaged wooden wall, and it finally collapsed.
All cover-ups were gone, and a decisive battle finally began.
The Ross army was shocked by the chaotic scene in the city, and they woke up instantly.
Arik, who wielded two swords, was finally able to lead the charge, and behind him were more than thirty berserker warriors.
Following closely behind were Grund and dozens of his good buddies, berserkers who wore extremely heavy armor and wielded blunt weapons, all charging into the city.
Just like a steel meat grinder facing a piece of meat, they directly smashed through the heavily armored Frankish defenders who were stubbornly resisting. More Russian soldiers filed in from the wide slope. In terms of absolute numbers, the number of Russian soldiers was obviously too small.
, their momentum was like a rainbow, and they quickly overwhelmed the last defenders, and then faced the scurrying people who had lost their souls and begged for mercy, and launched an indiscriminate killing.
This is the blood sacrifice to Odin that the Normans longed for.
They are doing it!
Bremen once again turned into a meat grinder, and the blood turned into a stream, giving the cold snowy land a terrifying red color and strange steam.