Even from a distance, my grandfather is still so intimidating. His great cloak is made of countless silver threads, showing the wealth and power of the Rurik family.
The Grand Duke's pointed helmet is inlaid with gold, silver and gems along the edge, which is the style from the imperial capital. The top of the pointed helmet is a small gold cross, shining in the somewhat indifferent sunlight.
The double-ringed mail armor made by a famous Kiev craftsman wrapped the Grand Duke's body, and a layer of fabric was attached to the inside of the mail armor to prevent the loss of heat as much as possible.
Rostislav commanded the left wing. He was now nervously moving his horse in front of the formation, surrounded by his fully armed followers. This was his first formation.
Behind him are 1,000 warriors from all over Novgorod. Municipal militiamen and peasant soldiers stood side by side. Spear throwers from the Chud tribe were always ready to throw their javelins behind the line. Nobles walked up and down in the line, maintaining
Follow the order of the military formation.
The prince's gaze swept across the central army commanded by his grandfather. The archers were arranged in three rows, with east and west separate battle lines, calmly adjusting their bow strings. Behind them were rows after rows of infantry armed with spears, swords and axes. Most of them were citizens of Nuo City.
, most of them wore iron helmets, armed uniforms and even chainmail. The 3,000 soldiers maintained the military formation in an orderly manner under the orders of their grandfather.
Uncle Visatta's right wing is undoubtedly where the iron fist of the entire army lies. There are 300 personal soldiers led by nobles. Most of them have iron armor. The elite of Nuo City gather here.
My grandfather was sitting on the hill, looking over the whole situation. He was surrounded by a reserve team of armored soldiers, ready to go to the battlefield at any time.
On the front, the Chude people were advancing towards them. The moment the main force arrived, the existence of the Ross army could not be concealed from the Chude people. The barbarians gathered their troops in panic and with various trumpets, and then faced the Ross army.
"Yang, calm down, don't panic."
Rostislav put his hand on the shoulder of Vishata's son, Jan. This child still had a childish look on his face, and he didn't even have a few beards. At this moment, he was almost dripping with nervousness.
In this battle, Yang was his flag bearer. This was an honorable position that could only be held by the person the prince trusted most. The flying of the battle flag affected the fighting spirit of the entire army.
"Yes, no, I want to make it clear, His Highness Rostislav."
Yang blushed deeply to himself, and after finally finishing his words, he blushed and lowered his head.
Rostislav shook his head, but he had no good solution. He could only control his fear before the battle. Maybe he would feel better after the battle was over.
Turning his head, Rostislav heard the rumble of war drums in the enemy's front, and saw various barbaric totems and tattered old flags in the Chud front.
Seeing this, his thoughts could not help but turn to the sacrifice scene he saw in the burned village. If he was defeated and captured, would these barbarians treat him like this?
Once his thoughts started to run wild, he couldn't stop at all. Where would Aral, who Rostislav wanted to lead this army, be? Standing in front of the battle like the champion of the Gauls or sitting and commanding like his grandfather?
Fortunately, the enemy's horn broke his thoughts. As the melodious horn sounded, the Chude people began to charge. The prince who reacted quickly retreated into the battle line with his followers.
Rostislav saw that the Chud people were using the classic boar's head tactics. A large number of elites were piled in the center of the army, intending to directly break through the center and tear the Russian front line apart.
This is also a tactic often used by uncivilized barbarians, and my grandfather has already responded to this - the strongest part of this army is the Chinese army.
The two wings still advance with shield walls, which is really a classic boar's head tactic. The center breaks through with all its strength to tear up the front, while the two wings only try to hold back the enemy.
The archers threw rounds of arrows, and a heavy rain of arrows fell. Many people fell to the ground after being hit by arrows, and their shouts turned into howls, while the second wave of arrows was coming.
Rostislav was happy that he did not have to face such a rain of arrows and had killed so many enemies, but the results of the war had to be tested with swords. The soldiers were ready to face the Chud attack.
The barbaric Estonian army crashed into the Russian shield wall. The Russians used their shields and bodies to block the brave attack, which declared the official start of the battle.
Rostislav saw the face of the Chud man in front of the shield wall. It was full of the fanaticism and bloodlust of war, as well as the passion brought by hormones. However, this face was then chopped into pieces by the oncoming battle axe.
Like torn rags of paper.
Suddenly, swords and spears clashed with each other, shields clashed with shields, battle roars, screams, and the sound of gold and iron as weapons and shields hit each other formed this barbaric symphony called war.
From the perspective of onlookers, the battle between the shield walls is the most boring. After all, from a distance, it is a group of people using their shields to protect themselves as much as possible while slashing at those in the same situation on the opposite side. The two sides are fighting for a long time.
Mutual exchange.
But for those involved, this is also the most cruel. Soldiers on both sides are doing their best to kill the enemy on the opposite side. In a space surrounded by comrades and enemies, all kinds of intense emotions are filling their minds, but there is only one thought in their hearts.
——Killing.
There were shouts and prayers to various gods, including Jesus, but also to the Slavic or Ugric gods. Everyone hoped that the gods would give them the power to defeat the enemy at this moment, but in the end the gods just looked at the earth silently, like
It's like enjoying a drama.
Rostislav saw his soldiers using Danish long axes to hook out the soldiers from the enemy's lines, and then the unlucky ones they dragged out were mercilessly killed.
These warriors are worthy of their status. Whether they are tribal warriors or ordinary tribesmen, they look so weak and powerless in front of efficient killing machines.
Seeing that his side's front was stable and at the upper hand, Rostislav also decided to implement the strategy he had prepared for a long time. The Chud people attacking his side obviously did not have many troops, so this was the right opportunity.
Leaving the flag in place, Rostislav led his personal entourage and the conscripted cavalry to form a cavalry team of about 70 people. They detoured towards the enemy's flank according to the pre-planned route.
Under the cover of woods and shrubs, the cavalry detoured back to its position very easily. The Chude people had no preparation for this, and they did not even encounter a single scout.
Now Rostislav was looking at the Chud's defenseless flank, took out the cross from his chest, and held it tightly.
The prince understood that it was very risky to do so now, and there was no need to do so. He could win the battle by following the shield wall attack pattern, and there was no need to take such risks.
Grandfather only asked him to hold the battle line and did not give any orders.
But he couldn't do this. This was an opportunity, an opportunity to show his grandfather, and to show himself, the only way was to take risks - to win a victory that his grandfather did not expect and to defeat the enemy faster, there was nothing
You can express yourself better than this.
"Raise, raise my flag."
Following Rostislav's order, young Jan took out the rolled-up Rurik trident and nervously hung it on the spear shaft.
"Follow me, God bless the brave!"
Rostislav put down the cross, pulled out his long sword, put it in front of his nose, and immediately raised it high. Following the master's movements, the war horse also stepped forward.
Behind him, the cavalry galloped, and this cavalry of God charged towards the unsuspecting pagan army with fierce momentum.