What is going on?
Gavrila's voice was filled with rage. Why would anyone open the gates? Were they tired of living?
At the same time, he felt a strong sense of powerlessness, because his current position made it impossible to do anything about the situation. If the Polotsk people poured in from there, the fall of Novgorod was inevitable.
He could not imagine what would happen if the Polotsk people entered their city. These pagan barbarians from the forest would surely destroy their beautiful city and bury everything here.
The sudden opening of the city gate was naturally noticed by the Polotsk people. These besiegers, overjoyed, immediately moved towards the gate, intending to rush into the city.
However, it did not occur to these people to ask why the city gate had suddenly opened. They had not heard that the Prince had arranged for an inside man, and if they had thought about it more, they would have realized something was wrong.
So, they were crushed.
Hundreds of cavalrymen surged out of the city gate, trampling the fast-moving Polotsk people into a bloody pulp with their hooves.
Even those who were not trampled were either cut down by scimitars or pinned to the ground by spears.
The nomadic style of the cavalrymen's attire indicated their origin: these were John Sokar's soldiers. They had traversed the entire city to reach the attacked city wall.
Then they had the Novgorod Militia open the city gate, as there was only one way to salvage the current situation: to sweep through the besieging Polotsk soldiers with their cavalry.
The Polotsk people had actually prepared a small force at the city gate to deal with the defenders rushing out to fight. Their task was to hold the defenders until reinforcements arrived, and it was these infantrymen who had previously charged the city gate.
Their fate was clear for all to see: the nomadic cavalry directly overwhelmed them.
"According to the plan, split into two teams! Sweep through these Polotsk people and let them see our power!"
Under Sokar's command, the cavalry automatically divided into two teams, heading towards both sides of the city wall. This was the initial plan and the only way to turn the tide.
One team was naturally led by John Sokar, while the other was led by Edward Wessex.
Then they began to sweep along the base of the wall. The Polotsk people in their path were utterly terrified by this sight; no one had expected cavalry to charge out of the city gate.
The Polotsk people undoubtedly suffered a fatal blow. Soldiers either fled in disarray or were killed or trampled to death, with bodies falling one after another.
As the cavalry swept through, the Novgorod Militia on the city wall let out cheers for their reinforcements.
As for the fate of the Polotsk people who had already scaled the wall and were fighting the Novgorod Militia, it goes without saying: deprived of support, they were quickly killed one after another, their bodies then thrown down from the city wall to join the ranks of the other corpses.
Edward felt incredibly exhilarated. This was the feeling he desired. In Rus', he felt so comfortable, while in England, he lived in constant fear of insecurity, his life never stable.
The two cavalry units systematically swept through the Polotsk people besieging the city wall. Brave Polotsk soldiers were either killed or fled, and these cavalrymen did not deliberately pursue them, only driving them away, so for a time, the view was filled with fleeing soldiers.
The two cavalry teams then reassembled at the city gate. Edward and Sokar even high-fived. Their attack had been incredibly successful; they had suffered minimal losses while completely repelling the Polotsk offensive.
However, they did not press their advantage by charging the Polotsk army formation, because the enemy's numbers were clearly still large, and they did not know how many more enemies were hidden in the forest.
Moreover, these Polotsk people were not easy to deal with. Look how quickly those Polotsk deserters were already reassembling in an orderly fashion, which shows how well-trained the Polotsk army is.
And the Novgorod Militia on the city wall let out thunderous cheers. Without a doubt, this victory belonged to them; they had defended their city!
Watching this scene, the previous arrogance of the Polotsk army faltered. They had not expected such a thing to happen. Many who had just been complaining about not being in the first wave of attack now felt only relief, grateful that they were not among the first, or they would have had to face that meat grinder.
"Bastards!"
The Polotsk Prince roared. The cheers were a mockery of him, filling the Polotsk Prince with rage, and even more so, with anger over the failure of the plan.
Why had the situation turned out this way? They were clearly on the verge of breaking through Novgorod, on the verge of drinking the sweet wine of victory, so why had these cavalrymen suddenly charged out?
The Prince's fury radiated a powerful aura, an aura that made his attendants instinctively distance themselves from their Prince, fearing they would become the target of his wrath.
However, there was one person who was not afraid, and that person was Stepan. He was a trusted minister of the Prince, and there were things he had to say, and only he could say them.
"Lord Vseslav, I think we should retreat. The enemy's reinforcements have already entered the city. Our attempt has failed, and it is time to retreat according to the plan."
Stepan said in a low voice, his tall frame even trembling slightly.
Stepan was responsible for most of the plan's arrangements. For him, the plan's failure was unacceptable, but since the situation had come to this, they should retreat in time to cut their losses.
Stepan was a very ruthless person, and also someone who could maximize profits, which is why he became the spokesman for the Varangian vassal group.
What should be done now is to return to the Principality, then gather the entire Principality's military strength to prepare for the upcoming encirclement by All Rus.
"Our losses are only about two hundred, plus some temporary cannon fodder who died there. These people don't need to be counted. This is a completely acceptable figure. We gained nothing from this adventure, and we lost nothing. So what we need to do next is to take this intact army back to Polotsk to face the upcoming battles, just as our pre-planned team intended. The Yaroslavichs will be knocking on our door very soon."
Seeing Vseslav remain silent, Stepan continued, adding weight to his opinion.
The Polotsk Prince merely sighed. Since the facts were already thus, he could only face them. "In that case, let's retreat."
Vseslav's reply made Stepan breathe a sigh of relief. Fortunately, the Prince had not been blinded by failure; he still maintained his usual judgment and did not become enraged by this defeat.
A long horn call sounded, startling the Polotsk people, for the command of this horn call was retreat.
Many were puzzled. They had only lost so few men, so why retreat? They could clearly continue fighting now.
But an order is an order, and since the order had been given, it had to be executed. These Polotsk people were very obedient.
So, after a moment of confusion, the Polotsk army's vanguard became the rear guard, and then they began to retreat deeper into the dense forest.
The speed at which the Polotsk people arrived was as swift as their appearance, and soon, the Polotsk people disappeared into the dense forest.
As the Polotsk people disappeared, a cheer erupted on the walls of Novgorod, celebrating their victory in this battle. The Novgorod people were very excited because they had successfully defended their city!
Sokar and Edward, who were arrayed in front of the city gate, both breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, the Polotsk people did not continue their attack. If they had continued, given the terrible performance of the Novgorod Militia they had seen along the way, they would surely have been in trouble.
Following this relief was the ecstasy of having achieved merit, because no matter what, they had secured this second-largest city in All Rus for Rostislav. Such an accomplishment was unprecedented!
Then the two led their army back to Novgorod, and what awaited them was the cheers of the entire Novgorod.