The Bulgar people's efforts were highly effective; after ten days of siege, as the underground supporting wooden stakes were burned, a section of Kashin's city wall collapsed with a roar before the Bulgar people.
The Rus' people had not anticipated the collapse of the city wall because they had not discovered the Bulgar people's tunneling efforts from beginning to end, as this tactic was too unfamiliar to Northeast Rus'.
Instead, they were smug about repelling the Bulgar people's feigned attacks, which were meant to conceal their tunneling objectives, unaware that beneath the broken shields and snapped spears, the Bulgar people were ceaselessly digging.
Therefore, when the city wall collapsed with a roar, the Rus' people's reaction was one of stunned bewilderment, followed by panic.
Many unfortunate souls who had been standing on that section of the wall were buried in the collapsed rubble; now they were crushed under wood and stones, a few still alive, but those who had fallen into a state worse than death were still groaning in immense pain.
The sound of war horns followed immediately, and the Bulgar heavy cavalry began to charge, their target precisely the gaping breach that had opened with a roar.
The armor of these warriors blended steppe, Persian, and Arab styles, making one think of the Abbasid Caliph's slave guard, and behind these warriors were fully armed infantry soldiers.
Akad coldly watched all of this, awaiting victory, flanked by a fully armored guard, which was his Emir's guard.
However, these men were not Bulgar people, although they wore Bulgar armor.
These men were mostly barbarians, such as Nomads from the steppes, warriors from the forests, and even slaves from Persia and Arab lands. Akad used these men for a simple reason: though barbaric, they were loyal enough.
Compared to his own countrymen, Akad actually preferred to employ foreigners because these people could only be loyal to him.
However, as his power grew stronger in recent years, he gradually stopped doing this, but after that Rus' people's raid, Akad brought this guard out again.
"Spearmen! Spearmen, immediately gather here!"
Amidst the chaos within the city, some still reacted. Old Yefimi, waving his longsword, roared, encouraging people to block the breach, while his sons and grandsons followed closely, organizing the bewildered warriors.
At the shouts, these soldiers also sprang into action. They gathered before the breach, pointing their long spears at the Bulgar people's cavalry; the spears gleamed in the sunlight, indicating their owners' good maintenance.
But facing those fully armored steel beasts, these long spears still seemed somewhat powerless.
Leveraging the momentum of their warhorses, although the first few fully armored horses died under the spears, the subsequent fully armored horses seized this opportunity to surge into the Rus' people's battle line.
The spears thrust against the iron rings and plates were so weak, unable to even penetrate the defense. The users could only helplessly withdraw them, hoping the next strike would hit, but the fully armored warrior's scimitar also descended.
These Bulgar nobles all wore the heaviest armor, even their warhorses, this attire was to deal with large infantry formations, after all, the greatest significance of horse armor was the defense it provided when charging and cutting down infantry.
The casualties inflicted by the spearmen were not as great as those from the archers on the uncollapsed sections of the wall on either side of the breach; they either shot at close range or threw stones. At this distance, the possibility of arrows penetrating armor was very high, and if hit by a stone, even with the thickest armor, one would fall.
Slingers' slings played a huge role in such an environment; a stone strengthened by a sling was enough to smash an iron helmet and the brain beneath it.
Unfortunately, although the Rus' people resisted with all their might, they were powerless against the Bulgar heavy cavalry surging like a tide. Relying on their thick armor, the heavy cavalry slaughtered wantonly among the crowds.
And the spearmen had to expend much energy, even lives, to kill one heavily armored monster.
The Bulgar infantry also approached the front line and entered the battle, which undoubtedly worsened the situation for the Rus' people.
Old Yefimi fought on the front line, which was his consistent habit; as an elder, if he did not lead by example, how could he lead others?
This old soldier brought his long axe down on the shield of an enemy in front of him, then hooked the shield to the ground, and before the opponent could react, he struck the man's belly several times. As the man bent over, he cut off his head.
Having completed all this, Yefimi couldn't help but take a deep breath. He felt that he was indeed old now; after following the "Saint" to conquer Bulgar back then, he could fight fiercely all day and night and still make a Mordovan woman unable to get out of bed, but now, this level of battle made him feel exhausted.
Killing this man did not bring much joy to old Yefimi. He saw the unfavorable turn of the battle before his eyes; the Bulgar's steel monsters advanced relentlessly, and the battle line inevitably retreated. He also saw several of his sons and grandsons killed by the Bulgar people.
Damn it, it seems I'm going to die here today. Whether it's God or the gods, favor me at this moment, let me kill a few more enemies before I go.
Yefimi had no intention of retreating, because he understood that if the breach could not be held, the subsequent battle would also be a definite defeat. Kashin had no internal defensive fortifications, after all, everything revolved around silver mining.
Once defeated here, only death awaited.
Just as Yefimi charged into the enemy ranks to fight again, the old man suddenly felt a rush of rapid hoofbeats. He turned around vigilantly, and at that very moment, a long spear pierced his shoulder.
The old man fell heavily to the ground, the intense pain in his shoulder almost causing him to faint. In the next moment, a squad of Bulgar armored soldiers rushed up and bound him tightly, thus taking him captive.
Yefimi resisted with all his might; for an old warrior like him, being captured was a disgrace, but facing so many strong men, no matter how experienced he was, it was meaningless.
He wanted to curse those Bulgar bastards, to insult them based on their faith, but unfortunately, the pagan directly stuffed a cloth into his mouth, forcibly gagging him.
With the old man's capture, the morale of the still-fighting Rus' people plummeted even further, even among his sons and grandsons who were the core of the fight. Old Yefimi had been captured, what were they still fighting for here?
Finally, someone broke down, someone fled without looking back, and his flight caused everyone else to start fleeing.
The obstructed Bulgar army was thus liberated; they furiously pursued the Rus' people from behind. At this moment, the city gates were also opened, and large contingents of Nomad cavalry poured into the city.
The Bulgar army spread like a plague, quickly covering this nascent mining city. Next, the soldiers would reap their spoils of war.
Soldiers smashed open residents' doors; everywhere one could see slaughter, looting, and even rape. Great fires also ignited within, Kashin, this city that once represented hope, now represented only despair.
More Bulgar people subsequently entered the city, but they did not stop the looting; they merely controlled various key points of the city, as slaughter and looting were what these hard-fighting soldiers deserved.
Amidst this scene of slaughter and plunder, the fiery dragon banner of Volga Bulgaria slowly rose, symbolizing the victory of the Volga Kingdom.
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