The next morning, the soldiers arrived at Aarhus Bridge.
This is a stone bridge about thirty meters long, with a garrison due to Albert's emphasis on trade and trade routes.
The soldiers immediately began placing large quantities of explosives on the bridge under the guidance of their officers, while Nikolai and Laine asked the garrison about the situation: "How is the battle at Oak Pass!"
No sooner had they spoken than the sound of hoofbeats came from afar. A human army of about seventy men galloped towards Aarhus Bridge, almost everyone wounded: "Mr. Nikolai! We can barely hold on, Oak Pass is about to fall!"
"What?!" Everyone was shocked and quickly inquired about the situation.
"The barbarians attacked relentlessly, ignoring their losses, and we resisted desperately, but there are simply too many barbarians!" The lead soldier wiped the sweat from his face: "We have no choice but to retreat, the enemy is overwhelming."
"How long before the barbarians reach here?" Laine stepped forward and asked.
"We used boulders and iron to seal the gate, the barbarians have only simple siege weapons… the city gate should hold for another twenty minutes." If Laine was not mistaken, the lead man was the Guard Commander of Oak Pass.
"Very well! You've worked hard, you can retreat first, leave this to us!" Nikolai waved his hand, signaling them to retreat quickly: "Go back and rest well, we will hold off Bireg and his Bearman Tribe here!"
"Thank you, Commander!" The Guard Commander of the pass saluted the two knights, then led the seventy remnants to retreat.
With the situation urgent, the soldiers accelerated the pace of placing the explosives, the heavy atmosphere spreading among them. When the hordes of barbarians appeared on the horizon in the distance, Mijordenhaven's army finally finished deploying the explosives.
"Form up! Form up! Prepare to engage the enemy!!!" Nikolai commanded the soldiers, arranging a defense at the bridgehead, the shielded Long Halberdiers forming two rows, with the most elite Great Swordsmen at the back.
These Great Swordsmen wore chest armor and tight suits, equipped with round helmets. They were Mijordenhaven's most elite troops; indeed the empire's main forces consisted of these two-handed greatsword warriors and Knight Corps knights.
The two-handed greatsword was massively destructive and effective against armies like the barbarians, greenskins, and undead army with little armor. Especially, the two-handed greatsword counters long-handled weapons, and is terrifyingly lethal against armies lacking refined equipment, relying heavily on Long Spears and Long Spears.
Therefore, these Great Swordsmen were the true reliance in this battle.
Gradually, the hordes of barbarians appeared.
The Barbarian Bearman Tribe from the Northern Wasteland majestically appeared on the distant horizon. Get full chapters from N()velFire.net
Most of the barbarians wore the simplest fur coats, wielding war axes and round shields, some holding Long Spears. Their hair was shaved clean, leaving only a tuft in the middle of the head.
They were Plunderers!
Plunderers were born warriors, born under the hardest and harshest conditions in the Northern Wasteland, growing up under the brutal law of the jungle, as the weak had already perished in the struggle for survival.
Barbarians neither farm nor have time to harvest crops, their tools for production are axes, sharp swords, and shields. Want something? The Southern People have it all! Go rob! Go seize!
Everything we desire can be obtained from those inferior Southern People!
Thousands of barbarians marched on Aarhus Bridge, their forces chaotic and ragged in attire, yet the Nord Army dressed neatly with better-equipped weapons was highly tense.
The barbarian leader Bireg emerged under everyone's gaze, a tall and burly man. His muscular body was clad in a leather armor emitting a blood-red aura, large braids and brown beard draped from his head, however, various skulls were hung at the end of the beard and braided kinks, making people shiver.
"Another massacre, another victory, too weak, the Southern People bore me." Bireg laughed heartily, then lifted his war axe, signaling his tribe to halt: "Now, another group of stupid Southern People blocks our way, tell me my warriors, what should we do?"
"Kill them all! Kill them all! Kill them all!!!" All the barbarians roared loudly, their faces filled with bloodthirst and fanaticism.
"Then… listen to my command… I'll count to three, and we launch the attack!" Bireg shouted indifferently, not considering the soldiers opposite him.
"Prepare for battle! Prepare for battle! Nord warriors! Grip your Long Spears, raise your shields, behind you is your homeland! Show your courage!" Laine, holding a warhammer, walked through the soldiers' ranks, shouting angrily: "Escape means death! Facing death means survival! Today I will fight alongside you! Let us march from one victory to the next! Long live Nord!"
"Long live Nord!" The soldiers defended by the bridge, the foremost Long Halberd Shield Soldier deployed at the bridgehead, behind them were the Great Swordsmen, and the elite crossbowmen positioned in the cover behind the bridge, fingers on triggers, ready to shoot the barbarians.
"This time some spirited bastards have come." Seeing the opposing army well-organized, tightly arrayed, Bireg dropped his dismissiveness. Though he couldn't quite understand why such elite guards appeared at this bridge, what did it matter?