In reality, what the person who shouted "fire!" saw was not flames, but rather a crowd of people carrying torches moving through the streets.
Due to the sudden appearance of a large number of people carrying torches, and because the person's vision was already somewhat impaired, it was mistaken for a fire, and he instinctively shouted "fire!"
However, he hadn't shouted for long before a dagger was held to his neck, and then the merciless blade slit his throat, causing blood to gush out.
And where did such a large crowd of people carrying torches in the streets come from? The reason is simple: Milia, who had left the camp, opened the city gates, allowing the pagan assault team, who had been waiting outside the city for a long time, to rush in.
Beside the pagan army were the bodies of the original city gate guards and the patrolling Veche Militia; they were mercilessly killed by the pagans before they could even react.
"My friends, welcome to Moscow! Tonight is the day of our victory, and also the day when justice will be served. Christians must pay for their actions. Today we will break into the beast's lair and put an end to these damned evils!"
"Everyone! Do not forget how the Christians treated us! Their tax collectors came to take everything we had, they forced lords upon us, they made us bear too many burdens we shouldn't have. These fellows built high walls and fortresses, claiming it was to protect us, but what followed was nothing but oppression!"
"Rostislav and his Greek lackeys must pay for what they have done! The church that helped them commit their evil deeds must also pay! For our freedom, let us bravely advance, my comrades! Today is the day of reckoning!"
A fervent voice echoed above the crowd, and the source of this voice was Milia, who was shouting this at every pagan entering the city.
His voice was very loud; even in such a noisy environment, everyone could hear him clearly, and it was for this reason that he was promoted.
For an officer, a loud voice is very important; a loud voice allows commands to be relayed and troops to be mobilized.
Under these words, everyone's morale was also stirred up; everyone was full of confidence, and everyone wanted those Christians to pay a bloody price.
Milia and the others controlled the gate very simply; they directly used the excuse of a shift change to make the original soldiers leave, thus taking control of the outer city gate.
As for the gate of Red City? That was even more under control; they could start from Red City in the first place, so how could they not leave people to control the city gate?
These pagans entering the city were well-equipped; most of them had short swords and sharp axes, and were clad in leather armor and padded coats. Although they were already dirty, this did not affect the defensive power of these armors.
The pagans who stormed into the city had fanaticism on their faces, but they did not immediately go to kill, burn, or rape and plunder; instead, they purposefully rushed towards Red City.
They also did not incite the populace; most Moscow citizens were immigrants Rostislav brought from the south, and the proportion of Christians among them was the highest in all of Northeast Rus.
Moreover, even the followers of the gods here were mostly loyal to the Prince; after all, Moscow citizens have always been the greatest beneficiaries of the Moscow government, so it would be too difficult to make them rebel.
Therefore, from the very beginning, Moscow citizens were not considered a mobilizable force in Lev's plan; on the contrary, they were a group of people who needed to be cleared out—of course, the clearing would definitely take place after Moscow was occupied; if Moscow was not occupied, they naturally would not act rashly.
Lev's assault team numbered five hundred; Lev invested a lot of time and effort in selecting and arming this team. The personnel were all proven believers, and often had a deep-seated hatred for the Moscow Prince's government.
Enemies of the Prince's government were easy to find; Rostislav's promotion of feudalization over the years had caused countless massacres. Radicalization was never gentle, but bloody.
Changes in an era may seem light and airy, but in reality, for individuals, they are incredibly heavy. When the Moscow government's reports mentioned where a new stronghold was established or a lord was appointed, there was often blood and tears behind it.
There was never a shortage of killings in the countryside, and the persecution and slaughter of disobedient people by lords were countless, but there were always survivors, and if these people were found by Lev's forces, they would become a member of this assault team.
And after paying these prices, he naturally received a sweet reward; the combat effectiveness and obedience to discipline shown by these people were exactly what Lev needed.
The raid on Moscow was the top priority in Lev's plan; the assembly of troops in other regions would take time. If Moscow could be controlled after the troops assembled, they would have already won half of this war.
After all, Moscow was Rostislav's base. If he no longer had his base, then the cities of Northeast Rus would naturally begin to withdraw their support for the Moscow Prince upon seeing this situation.
Hence these arrangements; Lev's objective was clear: he wanted the lives of everyone in the Rostislav Palace. These people were the essence of the Prince, and once they were all eliminated, Rostislav's army would also become disloyal and disunited.
"I truly never thought I would see this day."
A big man walked up to Milia; he was wearing a sleeveless chainmail, his arms exposed, and on them was a tattoo of a giant snake, just like the giant snake banner fluttering in the pagan ranks.
This man was the commander of this assault team, Kuna, a perun worshipper, but also one who honored veles. His faction believed that these two deities were merely two sides of the same coin, and their struggles were nothing more than internal conflicts.
Originally, this faction had always been excluded by other sorcerers, but now there was a need to counter Christianity, so past disputes were put aside. But then again, which sorcerer doesn't add their own elements to mythology?
Kuna's words were filled with excitement; he had been looking forward to this day for a long time, and now he could finally experience it. He was a devout perun worshipper, and whenever he saw the expansion of Christian power and the decline of pagan power, he felt immense pain, but now the opportunity to end this situation was right before him.
"And I, too, Kuna. But we cannot relax our vigilance yet; there are still many loyalists of Rostislav in Red City. We can only rest assured after dealing with them."
Milia said, his gaze fixed on the large force advancing along the road. As they had anticipated, no one dared to block their army; the citizens all hid in their houses, and as for the few guards and militia on the street, they could only flee in disarray.
Everything was proceeding according to their plan, and everything was going very smoothly.
"That is my task, Milia. I am only worried now that the city gate on the Red City side might close. If that happens, we will be helpless; we can't demolish city gates."
Kuna knew very well that they would be helpless against Red City's brick walls; the completion of Red City's brick walls made it the strongest fortress in all of Northeast Rus, and this was not something that could be taken down by an assault team and traitors.
"Don't worry, the gate has been destroyed by me. It doesn't matter if the people I left behind are killed; we can kill our way in. There's no need to worry about the city either; my people have already taken control of the Veche, and those militia won't be able to gather again."
As an officer stationed in Red City, he naturally understood every aspect of Red City, and also knew how to quickly disable Red City's defenses. Furthermore, he had taken other actions to eliminate the possibility of resistance emerging in Moscow.
The words of the traitorous officer made the worry disappear from Kuna's face, replaced by belligerence and anticipation for the battlefield. He had been training for this for so long; now it was his turn to perform well.
"Let the Master watch; I will surely present this great gift to him!"
Kuna roared, then he hoisted the Danish axe in his hand and charged forward. Milia quickly followed; how could he not witness that scene?
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