Originally, Rostislav thought that after his grandfather rejected Alar's peace talks, the Chud would soon rebel and throw out his head, but three days passed, and no chaos appeared within the Mountain Stronghold.
Only by interrogating the deserters who escaped from the Mountain Stronghold did they learn that Alar had directly massacred all those who tried to force him to abdicate and took over their armies; no one within the Mountain Stronghold dared to resist Alar anymore.
Rostislav couldn't help but sigh at how ruthless and decisive this person was.
However, the relatives of those killed would definitely seek an unending vendetta against him, but for him, the situation was already so tense that he probably didn't need to worry about it; future troubles were for the living to consider, not the dead.
The Chud's failure to engage in internal strife caused the allied forces a slight disappointment, but it was only a slight disappointment; this was merely a casual move by that wise man, and preparations for the assault had never stopped.
By now, the allied forces had manufactured a large number of long ladders and shields, and had also set up three ballistas, ready to launch an attack at any moment.
And that day soon arrived.
Rostislav rode his horse and stood among the officials behind his grandfather and uncle, all of whom looked like armored warriors, and before them, a grand siege was unfolding.
A torrential downpour of arrows and javelins poured onto the ground, but they could only embed themselves in the allied forces' shields, making a "thudding" sound.
Soldiers pushed large shields steadily forward, while archers behind the shields continuously shot upwards at the city walls, trying their best to suppress the enemy's archers.
The siege engines, as massive as dragons, were the focus of the defenders' attacks; burning arrows drew bright fiery lines across the sky, but the wet fur on the siege engines' protective panels extinguished any possibility of the flames spreading.
Behind the siege engines were military formations arrayed in a tortoise shell formation; shields and armor protected their bodies to the greatest extent, and only a few unfortunate individuals were hit and fell.
Once the siege engines battered open the city gate, this force would deliver a thunderous blow to the Chud defenders.
The mobile shields quickly reached the foot of the city wall; the high and deep moat had been filled with sand, debris, and even corpses by the Slavic people over the past month, and was now no longer an obstacle to the attack.
Archers behind the shields exchanged fire with the enemies on the city wall in an orderly manner; once they stopped, the archers' efficiency directly rose a notch, and the pouring arrows even suppressed the city wall for a time.
The Grand Duke's ballistas also began to show their power; the stone projectiles, long awaited, were fired at the command of the Greek engineers.
Even when they struck the city wall, they stirred up countless ashes and debris, and when they hit a person, they directly turned that person into a bloody mist, and whenever such a bloody mist suddenly appeared on the city wall, the allied forces' formation would erupt in exclamations and cheers.
The two monarchs and their retinues appeared very calm; after all, they were people who had seen much of the world, especially Harald, who had seen countless advanced and terrifying weapons when fighting for the Imperial Capital's army in the past.
It was at this moment that the Slavic and Norwegian infantry began their assault.
Soldiers dressed only in cloth carried ladders, advancing under the shouts and curses of better-protected soldiers, and occasionally someone would be struck down by an arrow, but someone would quickly take their place.
Because the archers diverted a large part of the enemy's attention, the infantry assaulting the city wall were able to reach the wall with relatively few casualties, set up their ladders, and what followed was a fierce and brutal climbing battle.
The first to ascend were a group of brave personal guards; relying on their thick armor, they easily ascended the city wall and easily dealt with the weaker archers, but the Chud quickly committed a large number of reserves, and on the narrow city wall, the personal guards were thus blocked, finding it difficult to open up the situation for a while.
The Norwegian side, however, did open up the situation; Harald's elites charged onto the city wall with fearless resolve, a scene that reminded Rostislav of the stories of the Norse berserkers.
Any fool who dared to stand in their way would pay the price in blood for their foolishness; the Norwegian King's eyes were full of appreciation as he watched this bloody scene.
Some Norwegians even charged directly down the city wall, fighting the Chud in the streets.
Meanwhile, on the other side, the siege engine had already reached the heavily defended city gate, entering the killing zone where it faced attacks from all directions; various arrows and javelins successively embedded themselves in it.
The military formation behind it dared not enter; the veteran warriors knew very well that even with armor and shields, it would be difficult to survive in the killing zone.
Facing the city gate made of hardwood, with the rhythmic shouts of the soldiers, the huge battering ram mercilessly struck the city gate, and with that heavy blow, the entire city gate trembled.
The soldiers did not stop at all, and soon another blow struck the city gate.
The heavy blows of the battering ram were like thunder striking the hearts of the Chud; each blow made them tremble with fear, yet they were helpless against it.
Finally, when the gate was completely broken open by the battering ram's full-force blow, a thunderous cheer erupted within the allied forces' formation, accompanied by the wails of the Chud.
The military formation disintegrated at this moment, and countless soldiers poured into the city through the broken gate, their hearts filled with a desire for glory and wealth; these desires spurred them to fight even harder.
A large number of sounds of fighting and screams came from the gate opening; the Chud's shield wall failed to stop the fanatical allied warriors; in just one encounter, the shield wall was broken by the surging tide of fanatical "boar heads."
The defenders retreated in disarray along the streets within the Mountain Stronghold, with the attackers pursuing them closely; the battle had now shifted to the streets.
All the Chud defenders on the city wall fled down the city wall without looking back; the allied forces' banners were already immovably flying on the city top.
"I thought Alar's Mountain Stronghold could hold out a bit longer; how long has it been now?"
Harald grumbled in dissatisfaction; they had prepared for so long, and this was all the enemy offered?
"Rostislav."
The Grand Duke ignored his son-in-law's complaint and instead called his grandson's name.
"Grand Duke, I'm here."
Rostislav quickly responded; he had not expected his grandfather to call him.
What did his grandfather want him to do? Then he thought of a possibility, and his heart inexplicably tensed up.
"Lead the Black Hat Army into the city; I want to see Alar's head."
Rostislav immediately understood the meaning behind it; this was for him to claim the greatest merit in this battle, which meant his grandfather was testing him!
"Yes, Grand Duke, I will definitely bring Alar's head!"
Rostislav replied, then spurred his horse and rode off.
His heart was not only filled with thoughts about his grandfather's test but also about some personal matters—if he was lucky, he might even obtain news of his father's death from Alar.