And a cavalry team was finally ordered to clear the way ahead as a scout force.

"Bald" Fisk, as a veteran of two direct horseback expeditions to Polotsk, he should be very familiar with the terrain in front of him.

However, Fisk lacked the experience of exploring and marching in the forest, sea and snow field. Considering that he was not far from the West Dvina River, he thought that there should be no mistakes. In order to avoid a decisive battle that was caught off guard, Rurik finally ordered to send out powerful scouts.

The first cavalry has experienced many battles, and each soldier has killed several enemies. This time Fisk had Karl Eriksson as his guide, and he thought that he could not go wrong when he arrived at the Vitebsk fortress.

The 1st Cavalry went straight to the south, and the horseshoes were still advancing faster than the sled army in the snow about ten centimeters thick.

Fisk was ordered not to fight unless necessary, so his troops wore white camouflage.

Mainly brown and black horses put on

"White sheets", the cavalry already had coats and hats made of polar bear skin, so they didn't need to make more camouflage, but everyone added a white cloak.

They covered up the Ross flag and deliberately marched close to the edge of the forest. Such costumes could easily cover up their real bodies, and the enemy could not see clearly until the cavalry got close.

The brothers have experienced hundreds of battles, and the brotherhood honed in the battles allows them to understand each other's meaning with just a few glances.

They had no intention of chatting, all the horses' heads were facing due south, and the eyes of the people were always looking left and right. The recurve bow is on the left, and the quiver is on the right. At critical moments, the cavalry can instantly attack with the bow.

They were more vigilant than the hunters, and the depressive atmosphere derived from the silence made Carl Eriksson extremely uncomfortable.

"Aren't you...too serious?" He couldn't hold back any longer, and complained slightly to Fisk, who was facing the south with a cold eyebrow.

"Serious? Am I serious?"

"It seems like a war is about to start." Fisk was puzzled by the question, but he didn't know that his vigilance was a bit too much.

He said at last: "If the enemy emerges suddenly, I have the ability to fight back immediately. You said, those prisoners claimed that they had five hundred cavalry, and I couldn't help but be on guard."

"That's true. But... the king really believed it? I can't believe that what the captive said is true. The king must know better than I do."

"The king would rather believe that it is true, so he dispatched the army." Fisk thought for a while: "My friend, if it really happens, you should retreat a little bit. We are the strongest cavalry in Ross. If it really happens, you don't care you."

"Are you looking down on me? Fisk!" Karl simply called him by his first name: "You Ross people's courage is undeniable, and I'm not a coward. I'm a pure old Ostaran. Now that I've grown up, Compared with you, it's just that you miss the opportunity to do meritorious deeds.

"Really?" Fisk still looked at this person contemptuously. Based on the principle of not hurting harmony, he said calmly: "Then let's wait and see. Cut off the heads of a few enemies, I respect you as a warrior."

"Don't bother you to teach me!" Carl Eriksson was gearing up, but he knew nothing about the current situation in Vitebsk.

Some people want to be heroes wholeheartedly, while others passively become great heroes in order to survive and defend their creed under difficult circumstances.

Because of Vitebsk, even though there are a large number of hard frozen corpses of people and horses lying around the fortress, and it is covered with snow to form a strange flat land, the fortress is still standing firm, and the Ross flag is still flying in the forest and snow field beside the river.

The muddy swamp of the upper West Dvina River, which used to sink into it casually, is now completely frozen into an ice sheet that can run wildly, and the thickness of the ice layer in the moat around the city exceeds the length of the hilt of a sword.

The West Dvina River is already free for people to move around, and in the current situation the fortress will eventually be attacked by the enemy.

It's just that the snow has stopped, the temperature has not risen under the winter sun, and the world is still silent. Standing on the heights of the fortress, the defenders can see the green smoke still rising from the lumberyard in the distance, which proves that the enemy has not left yet.

How many enemies are there? Ai Wende, who was only fourteen years old, had to be a guard. Only when he really killed a lot of people, only when he really saw that people can be easily killed and can be exhausted in battle, the arrogance before the war Anxiety can be restrained a lot.

After a big battle, Ai Wende seemed to be thirty years older, he became calm, or he didn't dare to take risks regardless of the consequences.

Nearly a hundred soldiers took turns to guard as usual, and the rest were in the dormitory, ready to fight at all times. Although they knew that a large enemy army had crossed the river, they were not sure that it was the absolute main force of the enemy.

They were very worried that this was a conspiracy to confuse themselves, so within a few days after the army left, even though the fog and snow continued, they were still on high alert.

However, after several days of persistence, I didn't even see the shadow of the enemy. Only when the sun cleared and saw the smoke from the logging camp could I be sure that the enemy had not left.

Ai Wende did not send scouts to find out, and the young warriors who had just experienced **** battles did not want to take risks without the protection of the strong fortress.

Time in Vitebsk seems to have stood still, and the defenders became more and more relaxed. If it wasn't for the smoke and dust rising from the logging camp, everyone might have turned into a puddle of mud...Because the weather is getting colder and colder, winter is the worst The cold time is gradually approaching, and the little soldiers are not willing to stay outdoors for a long time if the war is not pressing.

The still-usable torsion slingshots were oiled and all pulled back to the house to avoid being damaged by frost. The bow strings were removed and the whole was placed in a warm house for protection. The bundled arrows were stacked neatly with the javelins. They have used practical actions What is slack is demonstrated.

Evind and his men were extremely optimistic, and time was obviously in the defenders' favorespecially, as long as there was another snowstorm, everyone staying in the warm fortress would be safer.

Now I still stay in the dormitory to rest all day, so as to maintain my physical strength and energy to deal with the possible sneak attack of the enemy.

Of course, all anxiety will be dispelled by the arrival of reinforcements. Are the reinforcements back? Even if it will come, when will it arrive?

How many troops are coming? Everything is unknown. Thinking that it was impossible for them to get support from the Novopolotsk fortress, the soldiers guarding Vitebsk put aside those who had or did not for the time being, and they still insisted on their own strength.

Until, the forest on the other side of the frozen West Dvina River appeared a wonderful blue. The First Cavalry has broken through the cover of the forest. Considering that the West Dvina River is ahead, they don't have the energy to celebrate their good luck, but under Fisk's order, the whole team enters a state of combat readiness.

"Bow in hand, let's go! Form a shuttle formation, let's go!" Fisk personally led the team into the open field, and finally led the whole pair to stand vigilantly on the frozen river.

Although we have arrived at the West Dvina River, looking around is empty, where is the shadow of the fortress? He had to ask about Carl Eriksson: "I'm not here for the first time, the current environment... why am I a little strange? What do you think?"

"True truth?"

"right."

"I'm also a little strange."

"Ah." With a slight sigh, Fisk glanced at the sun: "The sun is in the south, at least we can still tell things apart." He closed his eyes and thought for a while, then decisively pointed his sword in the upstream direction: "Just go upstream!"

"Are you sure? What if it's wrong?"

"That's the punishment of the gods. Let's go, I will be responsible for everything that goes wrong." As an excellent general, Fisk was decisive in situations of trouble. He guessed that he was actually at the downstream of the destination, and the cavalry team had a wide view. advance on the ice.

However, some sharp-eyed warriors noticed something unusual on the right bank of the river. The cavalry adjusted their horses' heads and walked out, and now Fisk himself was no longer calm.

"Oops! It's the footprints of a large crowd! Snowfall can't hide it."

"Boss, this footprint is moving downstream." A soldier corrected him.

"It should be so. Even with a new layer of snow, the traces can't be completely covered up. Damn, why didn't I find out earlier." An extremely bad idea quickly emergedthe owner of the huge footprints is the Smolensk army.

Either the enemy marched in the snow to approach Vitebsk and prepare to attack the city. Either the enemy has broken through the fortress and is preparing to march downstream to Polotsk.

The former estimate was denied by Carl Eriksson, slapping his chest: "It is absolutely impossible. There was no snow when they attacked the city! I started to encounter the wind and snow when I was running wildly."

"Oh." Fisk patted his bald head: "Everything is understood! Damn... are we really late?" At least Fisk can estimate that he is in the right direction, but the Vitebsk fortress may have already melted. There are ruins... Generally speaking, if a five thousand army is against a hundred defenders, the Smolensk people should be able to win as long as they are not big fools.

"Despise the enemy in specific battles, and respect the enemy as a whole. Everyone should not regard the enemy as a fool, and assume that they are as strong as our army by default. Take precautions, especially pay attention to good logistics supplies, and we will remain invincible... "These words are all Rurik's own warnings, and Fisk is willing to implement them in this way.

What's more, he really only has 300 riders now, and there are some recruits among them. It is the first time for him to conduct scouting operations in the snow, so he has to maintain a high degree of vigilance.

Considering that the enemy may have troops stationed at the Vitebsk fortress, a stealthy advance was unnecessary.

Fisk couldn't hide the real identity of the team, and there was nothing wrong with raising the flag in a high-profile manner. It's just that the cavalry must be in an open area to avoid enemy ambushes. What's more, the superiority of the spiked horseshoes must be used, so that the Ross cavalry can move quickly on the ice while the enemy absolutely cannot, and the mobility guarantees the advantage of the cavalry.

Many flags were fluttering, and Fisk even ordered: "Take out all the feathers and stick them on the fur hats, so that the enemy can see us clearly!" Perhaps some subordinates doubted the necessity of such a high-profile behavior, and he shouted again: "Be ready to take the lead at any time!" Bows and arrows! Let the enemies attack us on the ice, they will be targets one after another, it's time to prove your superb archery skills. The cavalry team, which is mainly white, suddenly appeared a piece of blue, with blue-dyed feathers for decoration It is only used by officers at the grassroots level during battles. At present, all of them wear a piece of blue wild goose feathers, intertwined with the flag, which is particularly conspicuous.

Fearing that some cavalry would step on the ice and fall into the ice cave, Fisk ordered the team to stand slightly apart in small groups for the sake of insurance, and the team lined up a bit longer.

They were wary of possible enemies coming out of the forest not far away, and proceeded along the zigzag river. After passing through the last forest cover, the Vitebsk Fortress stood in the snow field with her most obvious figure.

Everyone took off their glasses one after another, because the fort was still flying a flagit turned out to be the Ross flag.

"Gods bless, our people are still holding on?!" Fisk was overjoyed, but after thinking about it, he had to remain vigilant.

"Is it possible that it is a trap? The enemy has breached our fortress? After all, our walls and trenches were dug by surprise a few months ago." He looked at Karl and asked.

Carl didn't believe this was true: "Brother, at least you know how strong the inner city is."

"What do you think?"

"So, what do you think?" The two looked at each other, but they couldn't make up their minds, so Fisk made a decision: "Just go and see. I hope Odin will give them the strength to successfully defend the fortress!" It means that the enemy is full of wisdom, Only then did Fisk feel that this might be a trap.

However, any qualms disappeared when the melodious and low-pitched sound of horns came from the fortress - it was a tune from Sweden, with a unique texture that the Slavs could not imitate.

"Okay, brother! I don't question it anymore, the fortress is safe and sound. Let's go!" After finishing speaking, Fisk's feet clamped on the horse's belly, and the mount began to walk quickly.

The cavalry as a whole ran towards the fortress, and at the same time responded with the sound of horns. At the same time, all the little soldiers who were resting in the dormitory stood at the wall of the inner city together, looking at the arriving cavalry from above, weeping with joy.

The Ross cavalry, dressed as if they were going to a celebration, with feathers on their heads and horses decorated, appeared inconceivably at the frozen pier.

Fisk is worthy of the name of bald, he is not alopecia, since his nickname and

"Bald" is bound, so he tries to shave his hair. No, he took off his hat to show his iconic bald head on purpose.

His nickname has long been known throughout the kingdom, and even five or six-year-old children know that there is a bald general under the king's command, and it has been rumored as a monster.

Where is he a monster? The defenders standing on the high ground looked at the big bald man and wept with joy. The defenders took off their guards. They took off their helmets and hats. Those little soldiers with pure golden hair were extremely eye-catching under the sun.

Fisk clearly noticed this feature, and immediately ordered his staff to relax their guard. When the cavalry entered the frozen pier, they saw some cables dropped from the frozen city wall, and some defenders staggered down the ropes.

More than a dozen warriors from the lower city had immature faces. They were indeed wearing Ross-style attire, and their fluent Norse language was enough for Fisk to relax all his guard.

"Is that you?! Fisk the hero?" Fisk noticed the young man who was speaking, who was running towards him.

Huh? Some strange.

"It's me, who are you? Where's Yellinger? Let your Yellinger come out to meet me." After a while, the little soldier stood under Fisk's horse panting,

"Jeringer. He...he died in battle."

"Ah?!" Fisk was taken aback, but he wasn't surprised after thinking about it for a while.

"It's war! Are you... are the real reinforcements?"

"Of course it's reinforcements." Carl Eriksson, who had just dismounted, gripped the hilt of his sword and hurriedly approached: "It's you? Evande."

"Brother Karl? You...really found reinforcements..." Ai Wende, who was laughing through tears, patted his face vigorously, saying nothing.

The basic situation of the Vitebsk fortress was just a few words, and Fisk basically learned that the city had just finished its defensive battle, and the essence of the outer city of the fortress had been breached, thanks to the rock-solid inner city and sufficient supplies.

Now the warriors on the city wall were waving their flags and shouting in ecstasy, watching the cavalry move along the outer city wall to the east.

Soon, a battlefield that couldn't be completely covered by a sheet of snow was directly displayed in front of the cavalry. Ai Wende was ordered to lead the way, he kicked casually, one place

"Strange Snowdrift" showed its true colors. Fisk, who squinted his eyes, keenly noticed that it was a frozen corpse. The clothes were a bit rough, and the whole looked like a lump of frozen meat, and it also had the pale texture of a birch tree that had been stripped of its bark.

He looked around again, could it be that there were protrusions everywhere... Just look at the situation of the east gate of the fortress and everything will become clear!

The gate has collapsed, but it has been piled up with all kinds of sundries. Are there enough rocks locally?

There is an extreme shortage of stone materials, and the gaps in the pile resemble the existence of stonesthe corpses of the enemies.

"It seems that you don't have time to clean up the dead bodies of the enemy." Fisk, who got off his horse, asked casually.

"Yes."

"Boy, you are so young. It seems that you have become the chief of the city."

"I'm the leader without a doubt...just temporarily." Aiwen Deda said very naturally.

"How old are you?"

"Fourteen."

"Very good. Young, but not young anymore. Brother!" Fisk stared into the boy's eyes, and slapped his right shoulder three times with his big hand: "You can't lie to me. Will have the eyes of a wolf and a bear. You have killed many enemies yourself."

"It's a lot, each brother kills and wounds several enemies. Brother Fisk..." Ai Wende also changed his tone: "Could it be that you are the only reinforcements?"

"Of course not! Behind me is the king's army. Boy, you should report to the king in person. Your chance is coming. So is there any enemy around here? Where is the main force of the enemy?"

"Maybe... went to the direction of Polotsk~www.mtlnovel.com~ Ai Wende took advantage of the trend and pointed to the west, saying with certainty.

"Ah? This coincides with the footprints by the river. The king intends to fight that damned Vadim. Did that guy run away with his troops? Damn it! Are there no enemies around here?"

"Yes! The strength of the army is unknown." Ai Wende pointed to the location of the logging camp in the northeast direction: "There are some enemies entrenched there, and there may be a large army in ambush."

"That is true?"

"Really." Fisk gritted his teeth and looked towards the forest in the east: "You guys are so busy holding on, you didn't send scouts to find out?" In this regard, Ai Wende shook his head lightly, it was hard to tell.

"Forget it. Yellinger died in battle, and the fort was finally guarded by you young people. You have done a great job. Now, let me find out." After finishing speaking, Fisk whistled and ordered everyone to get off their horses and rest. The soldiers remounted, and he himself held a bow and pointed directly in the direction of the logging camp: "Brothers, let's go! There are still enemies there, take a few prisoners to find out the situation!" So, the well-trained First Cavalry, the horses Trotting all the way in the snow, they were ready to fight and bravely faced the challenge...