"Why are the Christians suddenly making a move at this time? They really know how to pick their moments."
Watching his army retreat before the Christian advance, Yanos couldn't help but purse his lips, a sign of his tension.
"It seems they plan to launch an offensive, waiting for the reinforcements to arrive, Lord Yanos. After all, the reinforcements have greatly boosted Christian morale, so it's normal for them to want to seize this opportunity."
A chieftain analyzed the situation beside the leader, hoping to leave a deeper impression on him.
However, Yanos's face immediately showed more disgust and irritation. What he needed now was a solution, not an explanation; he already knew all this!
Seeing the leader's displeased expression, the chieftain wisely retreated, hiding among the crowd.
Working under Yanos required not only capability but also keen observation skills to succeed and avoid trouble. This had become a consensus among everyone.
Yanos's mood continued to worsen. Ever since the troops commanded by Siczech broke out, his bad premonition was turning into reality. The Christians had become aggressive, and their offensive was proactive and fierce.
Now, his frontline troops were being continuously cut off and annihilated by the Christians. Although the numbers weren't very large each time, the Christians were constantly doing it. If this continued, he would be the loser.
This feeling was very bad, making him very uncomfortable.
Just as he was about to send out more troops to salvage the deteriorating front line, his subordinates' shouts rang in his ears.
"Lord Yanos! The Christians have sent cavalry to the right flank!"
Following the man's shout, Yanos saw Christian cavalry, dressed as Magyar knights, gallop past him. The warhorses kicked up clouds of dust as they ran, making the scene spectacular.
"Damn it, deploy those nomadic cavalry to block those Christians attempting to flank! It's their time to work! Then order the believers to advance and hold the line!"
Yanos was somewhat annoyed; these Christians were relentless. Therefore, he gave orders decisively; those gaps had to be plugged.
And this was precisely what the Christians wanted him to do.
As the new troops advanced, after a fierce and brief struggle, the unstable front line was temporarily stabilized. After all, those believers were fearless, and using their lives to stop the advance of experienced Christian warriors was feasible.
However, the disparity was ultimately objective. Facing the Christian elites who were truly giving their all, these fearless believers were still not quite enough. This forced Yanos to commit more troops. After several waves of reinforcements, the situation finally stabilized.
On the right flank, a common scene of steppe warfare unfolded: a race of mounted archery. Both sides continuously launched arrows at each other, and every now and then, someone would scream and fall from their horse, disappearing into the dust kicked up by the warhorses.
This kind of combat also wouldn't yield results quickly, as the most efficient form of cavalry combat was always a charge.
But looking at the current situation, neither side was willing to charge, as a charge was also the most brutal, causing the most casualties on both sides. They preferred to wear each other down with arrows, back and forth.
"It seems that young man wearing his father's bones on the opposite side has followed our plan perfectly. Everything is going much smoother than imagined."
Rostislav watched the battle, jokingly remarking that the young man was easily manipulated, acting exactly according to their plan.
"After all, he is nothing more than a barbarian. To even make his father's corpse into armor and wear it—what a savage pagan act."
Yang, on the side, sharply criticized Yanos's act of wearing his father's bones, his words filled with the condemnation of civilization against barbarism.
However, this made Rostislav, whose soul came from a later era and knew how vast this world was, feel a bit strange.
After all, when it comes to civilization, aren't you Norse people also pure barbarians in the eyes of the Imperial Capital? Why should barbarians make things difficult for other barbarians?
But such thoughts only lasted for a moment. After all, civilization is always relative, never absolute.
Compared to that pagan leader on the other side, and his strange pagan followers, their own side was truly very civilized.
"Mainly, it's because all our forces are elites. Whether they are personal guards or knights, their quality is far superior to the enemy's, especially when they fight without regard for consequences. Now, most of the enemy's reserves have been mobilized. Next, we just need to wait a little longer."
Siczech continued to closely monitor the battle. Meshko followed behind him, temporarily serving as his deputy.
Meshko and Siczech also had a very good relationship. After all, this Polish Noble could get along well with many commoners, so he wouldn't mind Meshko's illegitimate status.
Rostislav also didn't mind Meshko's past. With Meshko there, they could communicate better. Sometimes, in a rush, their native language would just slip out, and Meshko, who had lived in both Norse and Poland for a long time, could serve as a translator.
"Yes, now we just need to wait."
Rostislav agreed.
Although the commanders were calm and composed, the scene on the front line was completely different. Both sides were now fighting with all their might. To describe how fierce the battle was, only one word could be used:
Grinding.
Yes, grinding. The battle now was like a meat grinder, sending the soldiers of both sides into it to be furiously ground.
However, the Christians played more of the role of the meat grinder; the advantage of their soldiers' high quality was obvious.
The pagans relied entirely on their fearless passion, and one fearless pagan could inspire ten fearless pagans.
This was why, no matter how unfavorable the battle, once a pagan fell, someone immediately replaced him.
Both sides were now fighting with all their might, which made the battle increasingly brutal, and casualties continuously emerged.
Bodies accumulated constantly. In many places, both sides were even fighting on top of corpses, and in some areas, mountains of corpses gradually piled up, but this still did not affect the fierce fighting between the two sides, nor the accumulation of bodies.
Many areas of combat had already turned into a decisive battle where both sides climbed mountains of corpses. Edward once described such a scene.
Only this time, neither side was willing to compromise in the slightest, unwilling to temporarily cease fighting to remove the bodies. Instead, they continued to slaughter within those mountains of corpses, even if the predecessors had all fallen, the successors were still countless.
The Moscow Prince's crossbowmen occupied a small hill on the battlefield. This hill was now covered with corpses. The Christians had previously taken it at a great cost, driving away the pagan archers on it.
Now, the crossbowmen stood amidst the blood and flesh, calmly firing at the pagans. Their presence caused immense pressure on the pagans, as crossbow bolts were so powerful, especially at such a distance.
And the pagans naturally wouldn't sit idly by. They launched several assaults on the hillside, but these assaults were all blocked by the Norse Prince's personal guards' shield wall.
Once, they did manage to rush up the hillside, but then these pagans discovered that the crossbowmen were wearing iron armor and were drawing their swords to charge at them.
Rostislav watched the scenes of slaughter on the battlefield, his expression growing increasingly serious. It was his first time experiencing such an intense battle; such a scene was new to him.
In all the battles he had experienced, none had been fought so fiercely. Now, Rostislav finally somewhat understood Edward's descriptions in his letters, understanding why this battle left such a deep impression on him—because everything was simply too bloody.
Siczech remained incredibly calm. This Polish Noble had witnessed countless such scenes before; this was not enough to shake him.
And finally, the opportunity the Christians had been waiting for emerged. Due to the fierce fighting, a portion of the mountaineers broke.
These mountaineers simply couldn't stand the intense slaughter anymore. These people didn't come here to be ground in that meat grinder.
The battle line they were responsible for also collapsed, and the Christians took advantage of the situation to pursue and greatly widen the gap.
And this was the opportunity Rostislav and his forces needed.
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