Chapter 77 Lord of War Hasting part 1 (2/2)
One after another, fierce looking black bears assembled hillside, before lining up in rows. More than the eyes could count; the bodies of these black bears were even sturdier than normal bears. With fur darker than the night, these bear were dressed in rough, but heavy black armor. Moreover, their shoulder pads and arm protectors even had sharp spikes standing up in the air! These fellows stood there in lines, like humans, no one knew how many of them there were behind the ones they could see, they only knew that more and more of them were gathering……
What was even more frightening was that these bears, wearing thick heavy armor, carried something on their backs which seemed like a saddle. Moreover, these bears were carrying people on their backs! Odins! Those riding on the backs of these bears wore metal armors that were extremely rare for Odins. Even if the armors seemed unsophisticated, they had an extremely threatening appearance. Each of the riders had a military disciplined aura and held a thick axe in one hand, their other hand furiously pounded on their chests. Their bare arms were covered with black hairs and their roars were as terrifying as the bears they rode on.
When Pelizzoli saw the scene in front of his eyes, his heart instantaneously sank to the bottom. He felt as if his vision was darkening and his heart started to pump madly. Feeling somewhat breathless for a moment, he forcefully opened his mouth and fiercely bit his tongue. The severe pain finally temporarily released him from his huge shock.
On the observation platform, the general suddenly turned his head and crazily roared with a twisted expression.
“Enemy raid!!! It is the Odin’s ‘Berserkers ‘!!!”
His shrill voice instantly spread over the camp……
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Without a horn or any battle drum signal, this group of bear riding Odins suddenly roared and frenziedly rushed down the hillside!
The black bears furiously sprinted downhill and several hundred of them swept over it like a torrent. Like dark clouds forming from a strong wind, they closed in on the Byzantine army’s camp with a crazy speed.
Hastily, horn noises sounded and panic could be heard from all four directions in the Byzantine’s barracks. Unprepared military officers started to order around unprepared soldiers as most of the soldiers only had time to crawl from the tents in full panic, before they were urged to line up in formation by their military officer. Most of the soldiers only had enough time to wear their robes; some didn’t even have their weapon in their hands.
Pelizzoli ordered his men to close the camp front entrance with a distorted expression and the general’s anxious roars kept sounding in the surrounding.
They were already too close! With their utmost effort, they garrison troops barely got 100 archers onto the wall, and they again only had enough time to shoot a single volley before the black bear soldiers rushed in front of the camp gate!
However, the wooden wall, with the height of a person, was easily crushed in front of the bear’s violent charge and the black bear soldiers frenziedly rushed into the camp. The guards from the barracks’ which had formed a temporary formation near the wall were instantly crushed, a dozen of them immediately died in the hands of those black bears’ large paws. The soldier’s’ flesh appeared extremely frail and several of them didn’t even have the time to scream before their heads were smashed. The second rows of soldiers instantly followed and were ripped to pieces! Several military officers tried to organize enough manpower to counter-attack, but the black bear soldiers who were flooding into the camp instantly threw themselves into the crowd. Just when a military officer wanted to wield his sword, he was sent flying by the black bear and the bones in his chest were crushed in midair. Another officer managed to chop at the black bear, but his longsword was easily broken under the inhumane strength of the black bear’s hand. The Odin warrior sitting on the bear’s back roared, wielded his axe and sent the officer’s head flying……
Several hundred men stood guard in formation at the entrance, but in the span of a few breaths, those hundreds of Byzantine soldiers were all killed! The camp’s wooden gate loudly collapsed and fifty meters of the wooden wall also came crashing down after hundreds of bears broke through it.
More and more black bear soldiers swarmed into the camp from the gaps and mixed with the already chaotic Byzantine army……
As one would expect, most Byzantine soldiers, having just woken up from their sleeps, most of them didn’t even have the time to put on their armor. Some didn’t even have a weapon or shields; this left their flesh and blood to be torn to pieces without any resistance under the black bear soldiers’ attack.
The centurion of the first legion in the 2nd Army led a counter-attack with a group that had just rotated from their patrol and barely resisted for a moment. This centurion had impressive martial arts skills and used his longsword, covered by battle ki, to cut down a black bear. However, shortly afterwards four black bears immediately jumped him and after a miserable shout, his body was torn to pieces! Both his internal organs and the remnant corpse flew everywhere……
The impact of the several hundred black bear soldiers was like throwing pebbles into water. It was small splashes at the beginning, but they soon devoured the entire camp.
Overall, the 2nd Army didn’t form much of an effective resistance and although the black bear soldiers only numbered several hundred, thanks to their violent impact they easily crushed the temporary defense that had gathered. After that…… it was basically just a slaughter fest!
The 2nd Army’s camp became an orgy of bloodshed and miserable roars and screams could be heard everywhere. The soldiers of 2nd Army, which were being slaughtered, didn’t have any fighting spirit left and became a flock of headless flies madly scattering in all directions in an attempt to flee. Trampling and colliding with each other, they were easily killed off by the bears pursuing them.
The black bear’s sharp claws and the Odin riders’ huge axes reaped lives like death gods ……
The chaotic situation was irresistible.
The assault formed by those several hundred black bear soldiers completely destroyed the courage of the 2nd Army. Soon after the first wave of surprise attack by the black bear soldiers, a large numbers of caribou riders also came rushing down the hillside. Several thousand of Odin caribou riders rushed into the military camp of 2nd Army from the gap in the wooden wall and dispersed while roaring. From all directions, they slowly defeated the routed troops of the 2nd Army……
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On the hillside, a figure looked at the slaughter fest going on in the distance in silence. His pair of slender eyes looked completely indifferent.
This figure wasn’t tall and amongst the normally burly and powerfully built Odins, his appearance seemed particularly thin. This kind of physique would also only be considered average amongst the Byzantines.
However, this thin silhouette standing on the hillside with a black cloak fluttering in the cold wind gave off an imposing and mighty malignant influence. It was as if this figure, who was standing on the hillside with his thin body, dominated the whole mountain under his feet!
Behind this figure’s back, several hundred Odin soldiers stood quietly. The soldiers’ eyes were filled with a sense of frantic worship.
“Sound the horn.”
After watching for a while, this figure turned around. His facial characteristics were extremely mediocre; he had thin lips, a snub-nose. He probably wouldn’t be noticed inside a crowd with his mediocre look. His eyes were thin and long, with a slight upward corner, giving him a somewhat soft appearance. This man’s eyes looked completely indifferent, without the slightest trace of emotion to be sensed in them as he gave his orders in a low voice.
While talking, he slowly walked towards the subordinates behind him and someone quickly brought a warhorse to him. That warhorse was tall, with the height of two meters, and it could be said that it was an unusual godly steed. On its head there was a scar that cut past the horse’s left cheek, ending at its blind left eye.
The horse was wrapped in a light armor. Before climbing onto his horse, he turned around to receive a triangular spear from his subordinate. He reined his warhorse, and with a long neigh, he dashed forward. With four hooves speeding forwards, he rushed down the hillside with lightning speed as he headed towards the 2nd Army’s military camp!
Hasting