"Finally, we made it…"
Rostislav, covered in blood, spoke wearily, a sense of relief in his voice.
The journey had been difficult, and he had paid a considerable price, but since the goal had been achieved, it was all worth it.
At that time, seeing the critical situation, Rostislav immediately led his retainers across the pontoon bridge to the East Bank.
This force was the closest and most elite reserve unit he had, so he mobilized them without hesitation.
After all, supporting Adam, who was surrounded, required swift action, and the retainers were composed of cavalry.
He left the command entirely to Poleye, an old general capable of handling the situation and continuing to deploy troops.
Poleye indeed lived up to Rostislav's expectations, immediately ordering all units to accelerate their crossing of the bridge, as this was a critical moment in the battle, and troop deployment had to be fast.
Meanwhile, on the Moscow Prince's side, they had disrupted their originally orderly formation along the way, but without causing any casualties.
However, as they crossed the pontoon bridge, Rostislav's cavalry knocked many people into the water.
Fortunately, the ones crossing at that moment were a group of forest dwellers, wearing armor made of leather and fur, so falling into the water wouldn't immediately drag them down to drown.
These people, soaked in the water, cursed the rampaging cavalry in their native tongue, then scrambled ashore in disarray.
Then the retainer force crushed its way through like a stampede, and the soldiers of both sides in the melee suddenly found such a powerful army charging in, instinctively dodging its sharp edge.
As for those who didn't get out of the way, they became souls lost beneath the horses.
Rostislav arrived just in time, blocking the Bulgar cavalry attempting to behead Adam.
Facing Rostislav's most elite heavy cavalry, these Bulgar cavalry appeared particularly weak, completely at a disadvantage when confronting the Rus, and were immediately disoriented by the Moscow Prince's barrage of attacks, before scattering in all directions.
After a brief moment to compose himself, Rostislav waved to Adam, and Adam returned the wave, his face full of gratitude, knowing full well how timely Rostislav's arrival had been.
Now, Rostislav felt no anger, for he knew that Adam's actions had saved the entire situation, and he should instead be grateful for him taking such risks.
"Lord Rostislav, you've also arrived here.
What should we do now? Please give your orders."
Vasily naturally moved through the ranks and approached the Moscow Prince, and the retainers, naturally obeying their superior unconditionally, made way for him.
As Vasily approached, the unit of spearmen he had brought to protect Adam orderly passed in front of the cavalry, then reformed their ranks and pushed the enemy back, allowing the warriors who had saved them to rest better.
"Order… We'll wait for now, let the troops return first; we won't continue fighting yet.
I need to talk to Adam, and remember to raise my banner then."
Rostislav's answer exceeded Vasily's expectations; he had anticipated a counterattack capitalizing on the momentum, with the "Druzhina cavalry" sweeping through and driving off these Bulgars.
But now, to retreat first? And wouldn't this expose his presence to the Bulgars, surely attracting more of them, essentially making himself a target?
"Execute the order."
Rostislav noticed Vasily's confusion, but he offered no explanation, simply ordering him to execute the command.
To this, Vasily naturally could only choose to comply; his heart was still filled with confusion, but he did not ask, as a subordinate of Rostislav, he knew very well that if the Prince was unwilling to speak, it was best not to ask.
And after Rostislav's banner was raised, the morale of the Rus side across the entire battlefield became even more invigorated, because their Prince was now with them, and nothing could boost morale more than the arrival of the commander.
It was now the Bulgars' turn to face pressure, and as more Rus forces continued to arrive, the pressure they faced grew increasingly intense, and the tide of the battle finally began to turn.
However, the Bulgars still had a lot of strength, and the battle could continue for a long time, unless… something happened that could reverse the battle's morale.
"What, you said Rostislav arrived on the East Bank?"
Just as the Moscow Prince was slowly retreating, Akad received this news, and he was filled with disbelief.
That Rostislav would come to the East Bank while a large portion of his forces were still on the West Bank? This was too inconsistent with the qualities a general should possess.
As Kashin's biggest victim, Akad clearly knew how cunning the Moscow Prince was, and now he was being told that this person had done such irrational things, it was normal for the Khan not to believe it.
But the saint george slaying the dragon banner was indeed fluttering there, and beneath that banner there was indeed an army of iron men and iron horses, and Rostislav's magnificent armor was even harder to conceal, which forced Akad to believe.
"In that case, let me take your head, Rostislav."
After confirming that this was true, Akad immediately led his troops to charge.
This boy had delivered himself right to him; how could he refuse such a gift from heaven?
At this moment, Akad's troops had descended from the ridge, and the arrival of this information undoubtedly pointed Akad in the direction of attack, and this mixed elite cavalry unit immediately sprang into action.
The Bulgars all made way for their Khan; they were actually quite afraid of this cavalry, as the Khan's direct line had been domineering for years, and the smart thing to do was never to stand in their way.
However, what Akad did not know was that his departure actually provided a great deal of maneuvering space for one of Rostislav's seemingly insignificant pieces, and this originally inconspicuous piece would determine the course of the battle, playing a role Rostislav had never even hoped for…
"Ah, we've finally arrived."
On the other side of the sandbar, far from the battlefield filled with blood and death, a Rus fleet was slowly docking.
This fleet was composed of longships.
The place where they docked had many reeds, thus obscuring the fleet's presence, and they also did not raise any banners, simply acting discreetly.
Longships were not large, usually used for transporting goods on the Volga River, and now they were also transporting goods, only this time they were transporting warriors.
Valin was the leader of this force, and he now took the lead, leaping off the ship and letting out that sigh of relief.
He had been sitting on a boat the entire journey, feeling as if his backside was about to explode, and now the land beneath his feet felt so familiar.
After him, others also disembarked, and the sailors also put down their oars and joined, forming a combat squad of about three hundred, cautiously advancing under the surrounding cover.
Thanks to the dense reeds, no one noticed their presence.
Of course, this was also greatly related to Akad taking away the last reserve unit; if not for this reason, this place should have been full of sentries, the longships would have been discovered the moment they arrived, then the warning horn would have been blown, and they would have been annihilated by the Bulgar reserves.
However, Rostislav had originally not intended for these men to achieve any great feats; his previous hope for their arrival was merely that they could tie down the enemy by attacking from another direction.
After all, with so few men and ships, it would be very difficult to make a significant impact.
It was only after killing his way to the East Bank that Rostislav's thoughts changed, and he realized that if this unit seized the opportunity, it could achieve some unexpected results, for example, taking Akad's main camp.
So he raised his banner, partly to act as a decoy, to see if any miracle could happen, a move of an idle piece.
And partly to allow his troops to continue resting; there was no sign of the Bulgars collapsing, and he still had to preserve his strength.
And now, as the fighting on the front lines grew more intense, no one noticed Valin's unit, which gave them a great deal of maneuvering space, but the key lay in what their leader would choose.
Initially, Valin wanted to go directly to support the front line, which was the original plan, but now seeing the large Bulgar banner on the ridge, and the stone projectiles constantly tearing through the sky, and also seeing few people there, his mind changed, and ambition surged within him like a tide.
"Everyone follow me, we're going to take down that Bulgar Khan."
Valin said this while leading the way uphill.
— — — — — — — —