Rise of Rurik

The army that Wigraf had tried so hard to assemble finally reached the outskirts of Tamworth. When he really saw his beloved capital, Fang felt that the situation was more serious than he expected.

"Those bloody ships! Goddamn Vikings!" He rode his horse and clenched his fists as if his phalanx would be shattered.

The Earl of Shrewsbury came on horseback, and although the situation was beyond his imagination, he had the confidence to fight the old Britons in Wales for so long.

"Your Majesty, none of the scouts we sent have returned. They won't get lost unless they're all killed. It looks like the enemy intends to fight us to the end."

"It seems that the enemy has a lot of troops, we..." Earl Leicester was worried, and he retreated.

An angry Wigraf just wanted to rush down the gentle slope and kill the enemies who had begun to assemble.

Wait a minute! How come there are orange flags in there, and a group of troops are leaning against the big Viking ships.

"Ein Reid! You traitor of the faith, I will kill you!"

Wigraf flicked the reins and rode on. Seeing this, the entire army began to move again.

On the other side of the battlefield, when the coalition soldiers with their backs to the fleet saw the movement of the Mercia Army, everyone felt that a bloody battle would follow.

Ernred dismounted, and his cavalry team basically ceased to exist. The soldiers at hand were mostly farmers, and the number of troops was not very large.

"The shield is in front! The others are behind!"

"Form a wall! We advance slowly!"

"Attention archers, keep gathering."

He tried his best to imitate the tactics of the Vikings, specifically the Rus army.

In the rear of the Northumbrian Army, the main force of the Ross Army and the Balmerk Army, who were relying on the fleet, and the berthed ships were also standing. A group of torsion slingshots had adjusted their maximum shooting angles and could provide tactical support at any time.

Rurik claimed that this was a war between Mercia and Northumbria, and that the Vikings had no obligation to help Northumbria.

That being said, when the war suddenly broke out this morning, and the Mercia Army was annihilated on a large scale, it would be a major threat to its future development in the British Isles.

Wearing the iron helmet, Arik knew that he had a chance to take the brothers from the First Banner.

For a moment he stood on the broadside of the enemy Avlora and shouted: "Look at your defeated men! Rurik, this old man with a broken arm is imitating us."

"Yes, I saw it all."

"Is it appropriate? This person has learned too much, and if we turn his face in the future, we may run into some trouble."

"It doesn't matter! We'll be stronger then! Look, they've only learned a thing or two."

"Okay! When will I do it? Those Mercian troops are here to die, and I can't wait to kill them the blood sacrifice Odin!"

Hearing his cousin's rhetoric, Rurik wanted to laugh, when will this guy get his head up. But it's okay, the cousin is a simple martial artist, which is easy to control.

Both the Ross Army and the Balmerk Army made arrangements, and the two armies each drew 500 brave men to hide behind the Northumbrian Army.

First, they can play a role in supervising the battle, second, they also give the Northumbrian army a psychological bottom line, and third, if the war becomes anxious, it is easy for the two flanks to suddenly burst out and roundabout and fight a war of annihilation.

This is Rurik's vicious tactic, and it is also a pincer tactic that military strategists have tried many times. A battle of rout is not really a victory, but a battle of annihilation that kills and wounds the enemy's living strength is victory.

The decisive battle must be a battle of annihilation, which is really a novelty for the kingdom of Mercia, and Wigraf did not know it at all. This is the more terrifying display of the Rus people than other Vikings.

The Mercia army was advancing, and the opponents were gathered in a large area, and each warrior was worried about his own future.

As the distance drew nearer, Wigraf himself finally saw clearly, he recognized the flags.

"Sure enough, it's Northumbrian! The disabled Ernred is humiliating me! I want to negotiate with that guy. You guys, come with me!"

He was greeting the Earl of Shrewsbury and the Earl of Leicester. The two nobles did not want to take risks, but the king himself, wearing a small golden crown, rushed out on horseback, accompanied by several guards.

"Is this guy crazy? Did we really recommend a reckless fool?" The Earl of Shrewsbury shook his head, holding the reins still.

In such a situation, the Earl of Leicester was also disappointed with Wigraf, "It was he who announced his surrender to Wessex before, and he was the one who caused the loss of the capital. This has completely offset the fact that he forced East Anglia to surrender. Attack. Friend, are you going to meet the Northumbrians?"

"Do you think I'll go?" Shrewsbury made a sullen face.

Earl of Leicester smiled reluctantly, "I'm afraid Wigraf will be killed by Ernred."

"I won't fight then. I don't want to fight the Northumbrians."

"Also, I have too few people, and I don't want to be too impulsive."

Soon Wiggraf was shocked to learn that the two great nobles under his command actually kept restraint, and any words of allegiance became bullshit to coax children.

He still approached the Northumbrian Army himself and cursed in public that Ernred was not a man, especially the fact that he was not a man and even broke his arm.

The Northumbrian king Ernred, who was in the army, was furious at the mention of the severed arm. What a humiliation, this is also one of the great humiliations!

Because the one who cut off his arm was the Rurik of Ross, the boy was his own great enemy, and the Viking army behind him was all a great enemy, but he had to cooperate with him and greeted him with a smile.

But Ernred's hand is not empty, he really prepared a terrifying gift for the Mercians.

After Wigraf shouted, the Mercia army suddenly gave way.

Ernred himself took off his iron helmet, the familiar face in both places.

Seeing this, Wigraf immediately became interested and continued to mock: "What are you! Betrayed the soul and formed an alliance with the barbarians, and the one who killed me also took my city. You are a coward, a disabled person, a woman You who slandered you will go to hell!"

Ernred wanted to kill the shouting guy himself, now it's time to deliver that big gift.

A mutilated corpse was dragged out, and it was plainly still in front of Wigraf.

"Do you recognize this person?" Ernred asked deliberately with a message.

"You! You!" With a sudden rush of fire, Wigraf actually fell off his horse.

He was helped by the dismounted guards to get back on the horse, disregarding the mud on his face, and screaming from the blue veins: "You killed my prince. You also humiliated his body."

"Yes, it's me!" Ernred kept his guilty conscience aside, this world can never let King Mercia speak unilaterally. He deliberately shouted: "Your Bottom Woolf was killed by me! All your relatives were beheaded! Your beloved canary is now a pet in my cage!"

"You! You are so vicious!"

"Do you think you are a great man? But a hypocritical fool! I tell you, Tamworth is already my Northumbrian domain, and the Earls of Chester and Pexet are allegiance to me. It's the price you paid for invading our country, don't you agree? Let's fight then!"

"Fight! Fight then!"

Wigraf had a sharp sword in his heart, and he ordered his subordinates to remove the prince's gray-white body and mount his horse back to his army.

Now, he has no intention to talk a lot with the two subordinates who are still standing still.

As the king of Mercia, he faced all the warriors with a sword and commanded: "no miseria!"

The Mercians began to roar, and then shouted the slogan "No mercy", and thousands of infantrymen began to advance.

Wigraf was swept away by the anger, and although the Count of Shrewsbury and the Earl of Leicester felt uncomfortable with such a large army, the 3,000 people under the direct control of the king were already advancing on the spearhead.

The troops of the two earls followed, deliberately following behind the main force. Fighting with the Northumbrians was not what these two earls were keen on. Who is keen? Naturally, it was Earl Lindsay on the northern border. It seemed that the man had already died in battle.

Mercia's army behaved like a large group of thugs ready to fight. They didn't have a clear formation at all. The warriors holding shields on the front line initially formed a loose shield wall.

"No miseria!" The people of Mercia kept roaring, and the individuals roared to strengthen themselves. Everyone said in unison, and their morale really rose.

The bow and arrow of the Vikings shocked Wigraf for a time, and as for the Northumbrians, he was really true. Even with a massive loss of elite warriors, others still have a psychological advantage over Northumbria.

"My lord, they are already within the range of the slingshot!" Yevlo on the boat yelled at Rurik.

"Don't intervene in the battle for now! Notify all brothers not to shoot arrows without an order!"

Rurik wanted to sit on the mountain and watch the tigers fight, and soon the armies of the two Saxon kingdoms of Britain collided fiercely.

The two kings also fully vented their resentment accumulated from months of confrontation. Seeking benevolence and benevolence, the two sides got a strategic battle!

This battle is very meaningful to the Russ. Rurik saw it clearly and couldn't help but sigh: "I thought you could be stronger. I can't even imitate it, and now it's a chaotic battle."

Yes, Ernred's main force was exhausted, and Wigraf was in the same situation. Even if Ein Reid formed a shield wall, the decorative significance of this wall is obviously greater.

The battlefield quickly turned into a big fight between soldiers and soldiers. There were no infantry tactics here, and the two sides who hit the red eye were completely blank, and killing became the only reason for their existence.

The front was a battle of axes, swords and spears, and the dry grass was quickly covered in red liquid, quickly turning into scarlet mud.

The archers in the rear shot each other, but their numbers were too small, and their mutual support completely aggravated the chaos on the battlefield.

The chaos went on for a while, and Rurik, who watched the whole play, deeply felt that it was like "Ant War". Yes, ordinary farmers are like tiny ants in this world, and death is just as meaningless as an ant.

Still not supporting?

Rurik decided to continue to stand still, he was waiting for the right moment, and the thoughts of the Balmers were even more ruthless.

With Magnut's idea, both Northumbria and Mercia were wiped out in the battle, and the Balmer army of his own Viking York Kingdom rushed to pick the fruits of victory and it would be over.

Indeed, in the chaos of the two sides, the soldiers of the two countries are dying fast. Among them, there are naturally many fighting madmen, most of them are veterans of the Earl of Shrewsbury.

Rurik gradually realized this.

"Oh? The Mercians still have elites?"

At this moment, Arik, who was already gearing up under the boat, raised his head and shouted loudly, "Isn't it okay? If this stalemate continues, I will take my brothers and charge myself!"

"Then let's get started!"

As soon as Rurik's words fell, Arik's First Banner soldiers came out very suddenly from the left side of the front.

Seeing that the Dross moved, the Balmers were also dispatched from the right under the leadership of Biyonni.

Rurik did it even better. He ordered: "Shoot forward! Focus on those who are slashing in armor!"

Yevro hesitated at this moment, and asked loudly, "Sir, there are soldiers from Northumbria there."

"Are you kidding me?" Rurik suddenly became furious, his face turned down: "Do you really think of them as comrades? Shoot me."

A word awakened the dreamer, because Yevro and the Northumbrian army had been living together for a while, and such a close encounter could be considered to be the most ordinary farmer.

But on the battlefield, this sympathy was too absurd, and Yevro and his buddies returned to their ruthless nature.

Cast iron projectiles smashed through! Arrows fly! There are also those javelins that were shot out, attacking the two armies indiscriminately in the chaos!

There was a swish from the sky, and Ernred was taken aback!

"What are you doing! Those are my people." He looked back and appealed to Rurik to remain calm, but his shouting had long been diluted by the sound of killing.

But it was precisely this move that Wigraf, who was swept away by anger, had turned into a warrior. He rode his horse and guards into the battlefield and became the target of public criticism.

He was shot to death by a javelin and a horse. Wigraf, who escaped in Dole Village, died under the sword of Wigraf after all, just like his previous generations of Mercia kings, all died in On the battlefield, but for him personally, he died well.

At this point, the Wigraf family died out.

This scene was witnessed by the Earl of Shrewsbury, but the situation suffered by the Earl himself was even worse.

Stones and javelins fell from the sky, smashing his soldiers into massive losses, and seeing the soldiers of both countries were nailed to the grass by the javelins.

"This is the devil's trick!" He stared and raised his head, seeing the blue and white flags flying on the boats, surrounded by new screams of killing.

He saw a large number of soldiers with round shields rushing out from both sides, and what happened next was self-evident.

"Not good! Let's go!" The Earl of Shrewsbury, who had just lost his beloved horse, ordered his men to retreat, but it was easier said than done to retreat from the scorching battlefield.

The chance to escape is fleeting, and a new fierce battle has begun on both sides!

Arik felt that the battle was like a new version of Gotland's final battle, and he also shouted in the chaos: "Russ! Beat them like Gotland!"

Hearing it all understands.

The Rus and Balmers did not hesitate to build a shield wall, from the two wings of the battlefield to the middle, a very clear encirclement was being built.

In the rear of the field, Rurik ordered the suspension of long-range support until he feared that he would accidentally injure a true friend. He didn't just sit and watch the Viking coalition win the final victory, but ordered a ruthless man like Yevlo to rush into the chaos with equally ruthless mercenaries to directly support the Northumbrian army.

Mercian warriors who tried to fight the Viking shield wall banged their shields with their weapons in vain, or dragged their weary bodies into a dash. Almost all of them were peasants who were urgently recruited. Of course, miraculous combat power might burst out in times of crisis. However, their equipment was really poor, and their stamina was too much. Any counterattack would be in vain.

Farmer warriors were stabbed to death by steel swords poking through gaps in their shields, or stabbed and slashed by halberds.

A deadly encirclement is about to form!

Seeing that it was impossible to retreat with his subordinates, Earl Shrewsbury simply left the battle with dozens of subordinates.

The round shield is the characteristic of the legendary Viking army. The two shield walls are rushing towards him. The Count and his last subordinates plunged into the gap of the shield that had not yet completed the encirclement like a sharp sword, and rushed out.

Is this a breakout? !

Realizing that someone had escaped, Arik, who was furious, could organize manpower to pursue him.

Ross's crossbow ruthlessly killed the fugitives, and pitiful the Earl of Shrewsbury, who had successfully broken through the siege, his chainmail could not withstand the surface-hardened conical armor-piercing arrows shot by the steel-armed crossbow.

The Count's horse had been shot long ago, and he had fled for his life on foot, but now he was just a dying twitching corpse.

The encirclement was completed and kept shrinking, and the rest could no longer be called a battle.

The Vikings are enjoying a new fall of slaughter, fighting in the sun to sacrifice Odin with the blood of the Mercian army.

And what about Ernred? Now there is no more laughing at his broken arm.

The once humiliated king of Northumbria finally regained his confidence in the killing of the Mercian army. He knew that he had to be ruthless, and only in this way could he truly rule the Middle Mercia where Tamworth was located, and even surrender to the newly promoted local nobles.

More importantly, to prove to the Vikings that Northumbria is not a country of cowards!

It is a pity that the king's performance in the actual decisive battle further deepened Rurik's contempt for him. There is no need to say much about his evaluation.