Chapter 96 The Bear and the Wolverine
The central fortress of the Northern Province.
Tatiana looked to the east, towards the dark silhouettes in the distance. Ten men had become hundreds of men. Hundreds of men had become thousands of men. Each one in armor and carrying spears, axes, and swords.
Tatiana: Are your men ready?
Javier: Yes. We found two hundred and forty horses that could be suitable. When the archers begin to fire, we will attack the southern forces. They hate us so much that they will pursue us when my troops retreat.
Tatiana: We can hold the fort while Arkady carries out his surprise. If possible, circle back to the west and north to attack the northern forces. If you manage to distract them, we will be able to maintain control of the fortress perimeter.
Javier: If Arkady is late, we might find ourselves surrounded. I am going to kill every warlord I find. If we can eliminate their leaders, maybe we can win.
Tatiana: If necessary, flee south with your men. They do not have to be involved in this. You have a brave son. Yegor is already a warrior. He defended some abused women like a true knight. The other boys told me he fights like a warrior from the tribe.
Javier: I never wanted him to become a soldier. Soldiers like us take oaths and we keep them. I am the commanding officer in the north. I will not run away from my duty.
The warrior embraced the captain and whispered to him: Good luck, Father of Yegor.
East of the fortress.
Pavel looked to the west. He had fifteen hundred warriors in the center. The tribal chiefs had a thousand men each, to the south and to the north.
Pavel: Warriors! The jaws of the Wolverine will close around the throat of the Bear. We will taste his blood. We will sow our seed in the wombs of their women. They will be our slaves. Archers! Advance and fire until we are almost at the fortress!
The commanders of the archers shouted orders to their warriors, both to the south and to the north. Within minutes, three lines, each composed of two hundred men, were firing arrows like cascades against the fortress from three different directions.
Tatiana: Shields! Shields!
Sturdy men pulled on ropes, and large sections of wooden and iron walls were swung into place in less than a second. Everyone in the fortress was huddled together with shields. They formed walls of wood, iron, and leather.
The arrows struck both types of shields. Some sustained minor injuries. They were able to protect themselves with the shields, but they had to wait while thousands of warriors approached.
South of the fort.
Javier: Knights! Charge!
The horses were bred in the north. They had thick coats of fur, and their hooves were larger than the head of a man.
Last night, the men swore allegiance to Captain Javier. He bestowed the title of knight upon each of them. They rode in chainmail and leather armor. They carried large shields and a throwing spear. Each saddle also held two extra spears and a long sword. The knights carried maces, swords, axes, and daggers on their belts and on their backs.
Two hundred archers positioned southeast of the fortress watched as the horses and riders charged towards them like a storm of snow and death.
Their orders were to fire on the fortress without ceasing. But men are men. They turned their attention to the horses and began shooting at them. They were arranged in irregular lines, and many of their arrows were pointing at the same part of the cavalry. Some continued firing as the knights approached, while many fled towards the infantry.
The knights hurled their lances with great force, propelled by the speed of their horses and the strength of their arms. The lance tips pierced more than a hundred chests and stomachs. Sooner or later, they would bleed to death. More than eighty children were left fatherless.
The fort.
Tatiana: Wait! Wait!
Arrows rained down from two directions for more than a second. When Tatiana heard the impacts subside, she looked at the wounded soldiers who were prepared with ballistae loaded with clusters of long arrows.
Tatiana: Drop the shields!
The men released the thick ropes, and the protective walls fell to the ground.
Tatiana: Launch!
The ballistae fired volleys composed of twelve arrows each. These separated in mid-air and rained down on the advancing warriors. Shields were raised, but some reacted too late, and many arrows pierced through their wood and hide shields. Only steel could stop such heavy arrows, which flew with the force of a diving eagle.
Groups of men ran across the shield walls that served as ramps. They fired their crossbows in unison against the archers positioned to the north and in the center. The arrows reached them before they could raise their large shields again. Tatiana watched as some of her warriors died.
South of the fort.
Javier: Retreat! Retreat!
They had thrown another spear and then launched an attack with their swords. The two hundred knights turned around and began to flee to the southwest.
Hundreds of warriors tried to encircle them. But they escaped through a gap, heading towards a row of small hills. They were faster, but the knights slowed their mounts so that the furious warriors could follow closely behind.
After a few minutes of fleeing, Javier signaled to his companions to turn west, and they quickened their pace.
The warriors formed irregular lines, running diagonally to try and flank the knights.
In the southern hills.
Thirteen horns sounded. On the gentle slopes, thirteen chariots appeared, each pulled by two large armored bison. Each chariot carried four warriors with bows and arrows and two men with long spears, one on either side of the bison. Behind them were a thousand warriors armed with large spears, axes, and swords.
They ran down from the ridges, gaining speed as they descended the slope. The warriors in front of them died from arrows, spears, and under the hooves of the bison. Many more died from axes and swords. More than four hundred wives would never see their husbands again.
Arkady was in the central chariot. He killed twelve men with his spear. Most of them were fleeing from the chariots. When the southern forces were dead, captured, or in full retreat, The Bear shouted to his war chiefs. They began to gather to launch a charge to the northwest, toward the forces of Pavel.
Arkady the Bear: Bears! Wolves! Eagles! Hunters of the north! Bring me the head of Pavel and I will pay you with an equal weight of gold!
West of the fort.
Pavel witnessed the destruction of his forces in the south. He knew that if Arkady had over one thousand warriors then fortress could not hold more than eight hundred warriors. He sent messengers to each of the war chiefs.
Pavel: All warriors, attack the walls! If we conquer the fortress, their war chariots will be useless. We have more axes. Kill everyone in the fortress. I want to bathe in their blood.