Rise of Rurik

,!

How many troops does the enemy have? What is the detailed identity of the enemy?

The big leader Namsis, who was carried away by rage, was leading the Semigalian-Aukshtet coalition forces that had finally been assembled to launch a charge that everyone thought would lead to a major breakthrough.

From the large camp of the Namisian leader to the mound city of Mezotne occupied by the Ross army, the straight-line distance between the two places is about five kilometers.

This seems to be a long distance, but it feels like it is not long to the senses.

The river course of the Lielupe River in this section is gentle and straight. The river course runs from southeast to northwest. The right bank of the river has the best open land. It is believed that some very shallow ditches were dug here to divert water and nourish the earth, thus nourishing a large area of ​​​​humidity. On the flat land, what grows on these open lands is not weeds but oats. The Namsis coalition forces no longer care too much, and they advance on the green oats.

However, the height of the Mezotenne mound is only equivalent to a tall red pine or spruce that is more common in the Nordic world.

There are many such forests on both sides of the river, and there are a large number of such towering trees in the forests that lack development.

The mound is not very conspicuous, but the sentry standing on the temporary observation deck on the top of the mound can clearly see the changes in the valley area - a large group of things is creeping into Mezot like a mudslide.

Before the "mudslide", a white shadow was moving quickly.

All this made the sentries at high places dare not neglect. They used their own combat experience to determine that this was the ironclad evidence that the enemy's main force was approaching the city.

The horn sounded loudly, and then most of the leather drums were beaten wildly.

Originally, Stekander

When they received news of the enemy's appearance earlier, they had already made a plan with Fisk. The various people guarding the Mezzotene camp immediately stopped sleeping and took their weapons to form a formation in the south of the city.

The Latvian militia, Riga Danish warriors, and Ross's Saaremaa County Army were all hurriedly organized. Even fishermen who wanted to do some business were forced to get involved in this defense battle.

Who dares to flee without a fight? A few idlers are not soldiers. Even if they run away as small traders, Stekander will not be angry with these guys in principle. After all, as an old guy who has been living in Riga, he really believes in the conduct of those people in the market. .

It was also true that this time he had to do the opposite.

He took the first step to gather together his trusted associates, including Eric Spjutsson and others.

In a simple wooden house, he warned the guys in Norse: "Latvians are unreliable in most cases, and being able to pull them onto the battlefield is already a great success. They may fight hard, but once they feel that the battle is difficult, they will Many people will escape. If the fight really breaks out, you don't want to fight one by one on the front line. I will arrange soldiers to defend the rear. Once the Latvians try to escape, you will use the shield wall to push them back..."

Who acts as a repressive force in case of any eventuality? The men looked at each other, considering that being a suppressor meant that they would not necessarily fight on the front lines and perform meritorious deeds. Real warriors would not be willing to do so.

So, pairs of eyes were fixed on the youngest person here.

"What are you all looking at me for?" The little Sipuyut felt a strong sense of rejection.

Stekan

De coughed hard to attract everyone's attention. He looked at this young man in particular: "My child, if you really fight on the front line with those brutal guys, I... I'm worried that you will die in the battle."

"You!" Little Spyut was furious when he heard this: "Uncle! Didn't I participate in the Polotsk rescue battle? Didn't I kill the enemy?"

"Of course you participated, but..." Stekander shrugged: "Your body is too thin, but I think the Saaremaa Army you brought is a strong force. My son, your father needs you to make meritorious deeds." It’s not an error. Besides, only the soldiers under your command have the ability to prevent the Latvians from escaping.”

Stekander thought deeply. Although his instinct was not sophisticated, he at least thought of the worst outcome of the battle. Those bad things are best not to happen. If you take countermeasures in advance, you can ensure that you can deal with them calmly when they happen.

He lacked confidence in the Latvian militia and a group of city folk to fight to the end. Unless the battlefield was in their own homes, they would inevitably fight to the death with all their troops.

On the contrary, the Ross coalition stood on the enemy's land and killed many of them. Now it is the enemy who is defending their homeland, and the enemy will most likely fight to the death.

Since the armed fighters in the Danish community have a close relationship with the local Latvians, Stekander also considered that it is precisely because of this overall harmonious relationship. Can he expect his men to use a tough attitude to suppress them?

It would be better to leave this somewhat difficult task to Spuyut's son and the external Saaremaa army.

Soon, the Latvian warriors were armed with spears,

Due to the large number of troops in the army, the militiamen who were worried that they would die in battle now gained great confidence. Standing in front of them was a Danish-Varyag man with blond hair and all wearing armor.

Stekander brought his three hundred warriors to the front line in person. However, due to the heavy losses caused by the war half a year ago, the overall strength of this Danish army still suffered setbacks. There are many female soldiers in the team. They are also a kind of "Valkyrie" with strange buns and occasionally some people have tattoos on their faces. They are just naturally weaker than the men of their own race in terms of strength. They really fight in formations. It's the same thing.

Now Osten, who was originally a guide, and the men in his caravan have all been forcibly incorporated into the army and are on the front line. The brothers and sisters all spoke Norse, which made Stekander easy to direct.

They either wore chain armor or plate armor, and all parts of their bodies were protected. Those with financial resources also tied armor to their arms and calves. They wore iron helmets with very similar styles. The biggest feature was the huge nose protector. Some also wore high-end butterfly helmets that could protect most of their faces. The drooping mail curtains covered their fragile skin. neck.

Their bucklers were all coated with a thin layer of chalk mud mixed with pine gum, and then a woad-blue band was applied on top. Not everyone made their own set of decorative blue and white mixed-color uniforms that resembled the regular Russian infantry, and painted their own bucklers with new paint. The shield wall constructed in this way had extremely strong visual characteristics.

Now, Stekander's Riga Danish army is in the front, and behind it is the Latvian militia with a forest of spears.

At the end, this is the more than 200 Saaremaa Island troops led by Erik Spjutsson.

The young man pouted and was very dissatisfied with his uncle's arrangements, but Brother Fisk made a request and must obey the old guy's arrangements in Stekander's absence.

Who are the soldiers of Saaremaa Island? Heroes wandering the seas from all walks of life live on the islands, and even criminals of their own ethnicity who were expelled by the Latvians. These people have a very violent mentality and are often trouble-making men in peacetime, but they are also often murderous in times of war. The criminals who were expelled by various forces went to live in the mountains to reproduce, and the new children were somewhat infected with gangsterism.

But they are by no means bullies. Ross ruled the island and recruited all the pirates. The descendants of sinners have normal identities. Their brave and ruthless nature is what the expanding Ross needs.

If these people thrust their swords at the Latvian militiamen because of some orders, the brothers would not feel uncomfortable, they could be ruthless.

With such an arrangement, Stekander believed that once the expected decisive battle occurred, with the supervision team from the rear suppressing it, the Latvian militiamen would be damned if they could escape.

Soon, Fisk personally led the cavalry withdrew.

The bald general was satisfied and overjoyed to see that the rear infantry had actually completed a large-scale formation according to his own arrangement.

He deliberately adjusted his horse's head and led all three cavalry teams in a very high-profile circle in front of the military formation.

He raised his steel sword high and shouted at the top of his lungs in order to suppress the cheers of the soldiers: "Soldiers! Decisive battle! Decisive battle!"

Talking too much in such a chaotic scene is equivalent to not saying a word, and no one will hear anything.

Long story short, the priority is to tell everyone what to do in the simplest terms.

"Decisive battle! Decisive battle! Decisive battle..."

The soldiers chanted the simplest words, and they fell into a kind of collective excitement. The most cowardly people were immersed in this emotion and suddenly their minds went blank. Even the Latvian militiamen who had their own thoughts had the deepest souls. The fighting instinct is also stimulated.

In the warm atmosphere, Fisk hurriedly rode back to Stekander, who had been waiting for a long time.

"Are the enemies coming? The sentry on the mound claimed that something like a mudslide was coming towards us." Stekander raised his head and asked.

"Of course." Fisk held the reins to control the restless war horse, and pointed his sword directly in the direction behind him: "I angered the enemy, and countless enemy troops are rushing towards us."

"Is this the showdown you wanted?!"

"certainly!"

"How many unions do they have?!" Stekander asked the most critical question.

"I don't know! It was rushed."

"Ah? You don't know, this..." Stekander panicked a little, and his eyelids twitched uncontrollably.

"Are you afraid? There are not many of them. They must be exhausted and panting when they rush towards us with all their strength. Now your people can quickly kill these exhausted fools."

"Maybe!" Stekander bared his teeth fiercely: "Now you are putting me under a lot of pressure. Forget it! This is the decisive battle that brothers are here for, so what about your cavalry? Charge? Detour?"

"A roundabout way!" Fisk answered decisively, then pointed to the woods in the northeast. "I will temporarily disappear with my cavalry while you engage the enemy.

At this moment, I will suddenly appear from behind enemy lines! It was like... suddenly a sword pierced the enemy's waist from the side. "

Stekander understood Fisk's proposition, but he didn't know the depth of Fisk's routine.

This young bald general has been on the battlefield for thirteen years, and now he has become a wise man. This is the case for some people. Talent and creativity on the court cannot be equated with age.

One of the three cavalry teams stayed in the Ross army's formation. They existed for two reasons. One was to inform the soldiers that the cavalry and infantry were fighting side by side, and the other was to inform the enemy that the Ross cavalry had not disappeared.

Once caught in a chaotic battle between the two groups, the enemy will most likely not be able to see the sudden decrease in Ross's cavalry strength, and will have no time to guess the conspiracy of the disappearing cavalry.

After Fisk discussed the new countermeasures with Stekander, he specially led two groups of cavalry around to the rear of the large army, and it was here that he met Erik Spjutsson who was ordered to guard the "tail".

The young man's strenuous calling attracted Fisk's attention, and he deliberately turned around when he wanted to make a strategic detour.

Two brave cavalry teams stood resolutely in front of these pirate warriors.

"Eric, are you assigned here?"

"It's all the arrangement made by that stupid uncle Stekander! I want to kill the enemy in front, but he won't do it!" the young man said with a foul mouth.

"What mission did he give you?!" Fisk asked concisely.

"Guard. Prevent the Latvians from escaping after the chaos breaks out."

"I see." Fisk looked up to the sky and thought for a moment. Indeed, that guy had a low opinion of the Latvian militia.

According to Fisk's feeling, these militiamen do not believe in Odin and do not know how to

If they dare to die on the battlefield because of blood sacrifice, then they may not necessarily have the courage to fight to the end.

"You stay here!" Fisk ordered: "As the commander-in-chief of the Riga garrison, I grant you the task again! Listen up, kid, if any Latvian escapes, you will take your people to kill the deserter! If there is a problem with your position and the king blames you, your father will have nothing to say, and I will not explain it to you."

Now that the words have arrived, he glanced at the eager faces of the Saaremaa Army: "Brothers! Your biggest task is to suppress and kill the deserters! Also! If the enemy launches a roundabout attack, you will fight back. enemy."

"Ho!" The warriors responded with a Viking war cry in unison.

"Brother, what are your plans for the cavalry?" Eric asked again.

"It's okay to tell you! I will enter the forest, quietly sneak around the enemy's rear, and kick their butts hard with my boots, haha." With a confident smile, Fiske pulled on the reins: "Little brother, do your best, I will have you in the future. A great opportunity for meritorious service. Let’s go!”

So, Fisk led more than 500 riders into the forest at top speed. He ordered the soldiers to take off their decorative blue-striped white robes as quickly as possible, revealing the gray-black plate armor underneath.

The cavalrymen were required to put away the feathers on the top of their helmets and hide all their flags.

So when the two cavalry teams entered the forest, they turned into a brown-black color, which roughly blended with the color of the tree trunks and humus on the ground.

In the slightly sparse woodland, the Ross Cavalry entered the shadow of the forest. They were actually in the dark but could pass through.

The main enemy force was gradually noticed in the gaps between the trees.

"Idiots, are you really running non-stop for such a long distance? What is this? Is it what the king calls a marathon? You are really stupid enemies, and you don't have a lot of troops. Huh..."

Therefore, on the right bank of the Lielupe River, there were more than 7,000 combatable militiamen of the Namisian Semigalian coalition. Their advance was chaotic, and the warriors reluctantly gathered together to advance rapidly. Because they could not outrun the accelerating Ross cavalry, The warrior who was now really tired had no choice but to resume trotting all the way - advancing with the attitude of chasing prey and relying on endurance to kill the target.

Fisk was happy that his men could observe the enemy's movements in secret, but the enemy obviously had no interest in the forest.

He did not run far, the cavalry suddenly stopped at his request.

"Everyone dismount and let the horses rest! You should rest too. By the way, open your water bags and feed the horses some water quickly."

There was an ambush hidden in the forest, and Fisk moved quickly enough that the advancing Namsis either didn't notice anything unusual, or that Namsis simply had no time to care.

because! Isn’t that the main force of the enemy gathered inside the city of Mezot? !

Although he was a little tired, Namsis, who was still swayed by rage, was extremely resolute. He still rode forward with his sword drawn: "Warrior! Attack! Kill all the Varyags! Kill all the Latvians!"

There was nothing to worry about anymore. The Semigalian army first spontaneously shrank its array, forming a military formation in the shape of a water droplet from a macro perspective. If you look closely, the positions of the soldiers were chaotic and dense. They were completely

The plan was to use the unstructured "barbarian pig attack" tactic in the hope of overwhelming the enemy in one battle.

With their spearheads moving forward in unison, they suddenly began to accelerate, and the battle was about to break out.

At the same time, the Ross coalition suddenly fell into seriousness.

Facing the Semigalians who finally came to kill them, the Russian-Latvian coalition was ready to fight the enemy.

"They are coming! Shield wall! Latvians, spears in front! Karl, your cavalry archers fire all the arrows they can fire!" Stekander made the final cry, and because he was on the front line in person, this Then he pulled out his steel sword and prepared to fight with his brothers.