The Rus force was coming apart as Batu watched.
The druzhina professionals who had secured the center were the last to withdraw. When they finally turned, they did it at a controlled canter, preserving order in retreat the way they had preserved it under fire.
The infantrymen had no such discipline. They ran hard without formation, and the pursuit mingans were already closing from behind. Arrows struck backs at twenty meters. Riders tumbled from their horses and vanished into the spring grass while the horses continued forward without them, more than one man hit the ground screaming and was trampled by those fleeing behind him.
The field south of the ford carried its own cost. Some Rus had fallen at the bank, others had never made it across the water. The grass was high enough to hide much of the ground, making any accurate count impossible for now, though dark patches of blood already stained the flattened trails left by the fighting.
Batu had not moved from the engagement zone.
