king of ros

Chapter 38 The Appearance of War
Along the way, as they went east, there were more and more refugees on the road. They escaped from the east. These people were frightened and uneasy, which showed how huge the shadow of the nomadic cavalry was in their hearts.

The Ross people didn't see any signs of burning, killing, looting, or ruined villages. However, in these villages, except for the old people who couldn't walk and waited to die, there were often no people in them. Pack up, or flee to Kyiv, or flee to the woods.

Rostislav tried to get useful news from the refugees, but the difference in the information they provided was too exaggerated. The news that one hundred thousand Polovites besieged the city of Pei abounded, which was really unbelievable.

There was no way, Rostislav could only give up the idea of ​​obtaining information, recruited a group of young men who were willing to fight from among the refugees, and then moved on.

And as it went further, various tragic scenes began to appear in front of everyone.

The first thing that appeared in front of Rostislav and the others was just a dead body lying on the side of the road. This body had been shot in the back by an arrow, and it had been dead for several days depending on the degree of decay.

Corpses can be seen on the roadside from time to time. At first, everyone didn't care much. After all, corpses are too common in wars, but Rostislav raised his vigilance and sent more scouts to investigate the nearby situation and prevent the nomadic army from raiding.

Those corpses indicated that they had entered the area where the nomads were active, so they had to be more careful now, and they must not be surrounded or ambushed by the damn Polovets.

The farther east you go, the more grasslands there are, and the forests become less and less. They are advancing towards the grassland side of the grassland-forest boundary. This is also the area where Ross and the grassland have the most frequent wars. Over the years, countless armies Here to go, here to die.

Finally, they came across a village that had been destroyed by the war.

The village has been turned into charcoal, and the Polovets looting team burned it down. Among the ruins that can be seen everywhere, you can see charred human bodies in the burned houses from time to time, and the body is extremely distorted. It can be seen how much pain he experienced during his lifetime.

The prince had seen this kind of scene in Estonia before, but now his heart was much harder than before, and he just glanced at it as if he were looking at ordinary things.

In such an atmosphere, everyone was silent. Those farmers who saw war as a long journey saw the cruelty of the battlefield. The cruel scene shattered their illusions about war. up.

"Keep vigilant and look for any living people or useful things in the village."

Rostislav gave instructions to his subordinates, his brows were knit together, looking at all the signs in the village, it was only a day ago that the place was burned and massacred, and there might be Polovets nearby.

"We have entered the war zone, and we may encounter enemies at any time. Let's set up camp early and rest here today."

Many farmers are very repulsive about resting in a place where so many people have died, but an order is an order, and the soldiers under the prince's command have all done this, so they have no reason to refuse, and they have no way to say reject.

They set up tents in the ruins, and Rostislav did not forget to surround the entire village with a carriage, and horses were inserted outside the cart, alert to all possible enemies and ready to be besieged.

But today God doesn't seem to intend to let Rostislav and others rest. When the sky darkened slightly, the scouts he sent out brought news:

A camp of the Polovets was found nearby.

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"Are you telling the truth?"

Gevalan asked the scout again, his words were still full of questioning, which seemed very burning.

"My lord, I once again swear to Tengger (God) that everything I have said is true."

The Pecheneg again swears by his faith.

"There are about two or three hundred people in Polovets, but there are thousands of horses and some captives. I have seen this with my own eyes. It is absolutely true! And the distance is very short, even if you walk there, it only takes three Just an hour."

"My lord, what do we think?"

Seeing that this person didn't look like a fake, Gevalan looked at Rostislav and asked his opinion.

"There should be no problem with what he said."

Rostislav raised his hand to show that the man could be trusted.

"But are you sure they only have two or three hundred people?"

"I'm very sure, my lord Rose, if I tell a lie, let Tengger destroy my soul!"

The scout swore a poisonous oath. On the grassland that worships the gods, the poisonous oath is very powerful. This is a guarantee made with the soul, which directly made Rostislav dispel the last trace of doubt about this person.

"Then the next question is whether to eat these Polovts."

Rostislav touched his chin subconsciously.

"Gevalan, what do you think?"

"If the news is true."

Gevalan still looked alert.

"Then I suggest to do it. The enemy is only two or three hundred, and we are still on the raid side, and we have the advantage. If we capture important prisoners, then our mission will be considered completed, and if we don't catch them, the horses captured It can also increase the marching speed, making it easier to face the Polovets."

"In that case, let's go."

What Govalan thought was similar to what Rostislav thought, so the two of them decided on a strategy for raiding the Polovets.

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The camp of the Polovets is loosely arranged, with the largest tent as the core, and other tents scattered around it.

The number of horses is indeed as large as what the scouts said. They are blocked behind a low fence. In addition, there are not only horses in this fence, but also some livestock such as cattle and sheep. here.

In the corner of this livestock fence, there are the Ross prisoners of war mentioned by the scouts. There are dozens of them, all of whom have been stripped of their armor, leaving only a pair of pants tied to the wooden pole. They seem to be in a good state of mind. Not long after being captured—shepherds on the prairie have no habit of treating captives kindly.

At this moment, night has fallen, perhaps thinking that there is no possibility of Ross army activities in the vicinity, the Polovites lit a large number of torches in the camp, illuminating the entire camp extremely brightly, which pointed out the direction for the Ross people to move forward. The nomad's camp stands out in the dark like a star.

But even with such an obvious fire light as a guide, those farmers still have problems from time to time. After all, they are night-blind patients, and they make a lot of noise, which makes the prince worried. Fortunately, the noise of the livestock is louder, covering up the daredevil the sound of.

"It's exactly what the scout said."

Rostislav was lying on a boulder on the ridge, looking at the camp of nomads below. The enemy's vigilance was very lax. Only a small number of cavalry patrolled around the camp. Sleeping, the grassland at night is very cold, only flames and fur can drive away the chill.

"Then we now..."

Govalan, who was also lying on the boulder, made a gesture to wipe his throat, but Rostislav said no.

"Let's wait a little longer, I need to confirm the location of the leader, and then I can catch this guy."

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(End of this chapter)