Soon enough, just when Rostislav spoke out, a javelin was inserted into the raised shield.
The next moment, a harsh and noisy roar sounded from the bushes on the right, and countless Chude tribesmen rushed out of the seemingly deserted bushes. The eyes of the people in the north were filled with murderous intent.
"It's Chude! Get ready to fight!"
The enemy Rostislav was not surprised at all. In this land, only the Chud people would attack them, and the Chud tribe had never been peaceful.
Moreover, with the death of his father, the negotiations with the Chude tribes also collapsed, and the tribes in various places became more restless, so it was not a surprise that the main road was attacked.
Rostislav's personal followers reacted very quickly. Almost at the moment he shouted, they formed a formation and prepared for the attackers, while the prince himself stood guard on the flank with a sword. Several others hurriedly mounted their horses.
, pick up the riding bow on the saddle and shoot arrows at the running enemy.
While running, the attackers threw javelins at the Russian military formation, but most of them hit the open ground, and a small amount hit the Russian shields, without causing any damage to them.
Most of the tribesmen were wrapped in dirty fur clothes, with equally dirty fur hats on their heads, and carried a variety of weapons, ranging from old spears to sharpened sickles. They were all dressed in typical forest dweller styles.
, is also a common sight for him.
But what surprised Rostislav was that among the Chud people in front of him, there were about ten people wearing chain mail. The bright iron rings were too conspicuous. This was not what poor tribesmen should have.
But now is not the time to worry about the details, because the enemy is already coming!
In this battle, there were no heralds shouting, no flags floating across the ocean, and no trumpets being blown, but this was the most common war in this land. Even Rostislav’s father, the prince of Nokia, and the heir of Kiev were
He died in such a war.
Rostislav returned the javelin he had pulled from his shield to the enemy, and then slashed the half-helmet of the enemy in front of him with his sword. The leather helmet could not withstand the blow, and its owner's head broke with it.
.
On the other side, the shield wall collided with the Chud.
Although Rostislav's team is full of teenagers who are no more than 18 years old, how can dozens of tribesmen break through the front line of warriors who have been supported with money and training?
The Chude people hit Ross's shield wall with the impact of running, but apart from making Ross's front line retreat slightly, it had no impact. The Chude people felt like they had hit a wall of steel.
Some smart people have already sensed that something is wrong, but there are so many people whose brains have been shattered by the desire to kill and plunder.
For the Russians, after blocking the enemy's most powerful blow, the next step is to counterattack.
Following a few commands, the two-handed ax warrior standing behind the shield wall rushed out from the gap exposed by his teammates with thick armor, knocking over the unprepared enemy, and then swung the big ax in his hand, killing several tribesmen immediately.
, blood filled the small space in an instant, which also caused the attackers to be in chaos. They did not expect that the intensity would be so great at the beginning.
Rostislav seized the opportunity. After knocking over an attacker wearing an iron helmet, he led his men to advance while the Chud people's battle formation was in chaos, without giving the enemy a chance to breathe!
The ambush of the Chude people was certainly commendable, but as they suffered setbacks, their disorderly behavior on the battlefield was suddenly exposed. Some people wanted to retreat, while others wanted to advance arrogantly, and the rear
The passing cavalry fired arrows and killed several unlucky ones, exacerbating the chaos.
As Rostislav advanced decisively, the battle turned into a melee. This was exactly the effect Rostislav wanted. The Chud people continued to drop corpses under oppression and chaos, but no one from the Russians has fallen so far.
!
sixth!
Rostislav thought this way, and the sword in his hand scratched the chest of a Chud warrior, and the lock ring broke with blood.
When the warrior fell, the tribesmen behind him became more frightened. Rostislav, who killed six people in a row, looked like a god of death to them.
The Chude man he killed seemed to be an important person, because when he fell, the courage of the tribesmen present seemed to have been sucked away, and they quickly ran away without looking back.
Behind the escaper, several Ross riders were shooting at his back. These riders were talking and laughing with each other, just like they were hunting rabbits on weekdays.
"Stop chasing me. Let's rest first."
When his subordinates planned to join the pursuit, Rostislav stopped the action. After all, the wilderness was still the territory of the Chud people. If they pursued too far, they might overturn.
Although everyone who received the order was reluctant to give up, they finally restrained their pursuit and began to rest or collect loot. Years of training allowed them to develop good discipline.
And then, when the adrenaline rush brought about by the battle faded away, fatigue surged into their hearts like waves. Many people sat directly on the ground and gasped for air. The better ones stood there with their weapons in hand.
Rostislav himself was not much better. He only felt as if his sword arm was about to be broken.
Although everyone was very tired, fortunately no one died. The biggest loss in this battle was the loss of equipment.
This made Rostislav very happy. His followers were the foundation for his future settlement, and he would be extremely distressed if one of them died.
This result is thanks to their average number of chainmails per capita. As the son of a prince in Novo, the most developed city in the north, it was easy for Rostislav to equip his followers with chainmails.
Although his arms were sore and mentally exhausted, Rostislav knew that he could not rest immediately. He used his other hand to support his sword hand, and with the cooperation of a few followers who still had physical strength, he inspected the bodies of the attackers - mainly to inspect them.
of armor.
That chain armor made Rostislav very concerned. In today's Europe, chain mail is not a common commodity. If we go forward fifty years, this thing will not be disqualified as a prince's gift to recruit warriors, and this attack on him
There are actually more than ten of them in the Chude tribe. This is not a normal thing no matter how you think about it.
Now Rostislav is squatting in front of a corpse. There is a hole in the body's chainmail. This is the unlucky guy who was penetrated by a spear, but Rostislav's focus is not on it.
"This is... the knitting style of the South, and it's Kiev!"
After careful inspection, Rostislav finally discovered the characteristic. The weaving method of this chain mail came from Kiev!
There was a lot of equipment from Kiev in his father's arsenal, and Rostislav used it a lot, so he could see it at a glance.
This made Rostislav wake up: the death of his father, the Chud attackers, the Kiev chainmail... all of these things appeared in his mind. Although these things seemed to have no connection, once they were connected together,
…
Rostislav has always had doubts about the death of the wise man's eldest son, his father, because his death was such a coincidence that he died unexpectedly two years before the wise man's death. But now, everything in front of him is just right.
Explain something.
Terrible thoughts appeared in Rostislav's mind. He felt the malice coming from Kiev, and it seemed to him that the source of these malice should be his uncles - they were the only ones who benefited the most from his father's death.
It is possible to do this.
After thinking about this, Rostislav subconsciously wanted to confront his uncles and ask what was going on and whether his father's death had anything to do with them.
But reason still restrained his impulse at the last moment, for a simple reason: the attack on their father and son, the ambush by the Chud people, the chainmail in Kiev... actually couldn't explain anything.
He has no actual evidence, and his speculation is not enough to be used as evidence to accuse someone. If outsiders look at Rostislav's suspicion, they will only think that he is too vague.
In the end, Rostislav could only sigh silently and just asked his followers to collect all the available loot and evidence.