Rise of Rurik

In the woods, the fighting force that had always been strong was approaching the occupied village behind its back. At this time, everyone was still sleeping soundly. If the sneak attack was bad, the loss would be too great.

At the time of the crisis, a sentinel finally remembered that he was still carrying a calf horn, so he blew his cheeks while running.

The melodious sound of the horn echoed in the woods, it was not at all listening, and some were just the shock of those who were awakened.

Arik seemed to have been stung by a scorpion, and a Harrier turned over and stood up with a sword. He knew that the horn was not blown randomly, and no madman would keep blowing it. The horn means great danger!

Yevlo shook the sleeping Rurik suddenly.

"Oops, what's going on." Rurik was furious when he got up.

"My lord! It's the enemy! Listen to the horn."

"Enemy?" Rurik was still confused.

At the time of the crisis, Yevluo couldn't care so much. He pinched his master's face hard: "Sir, wake up soon, we are going to fight."

"Ah!" Rurik instantly cheered up when he heard the word war. After fighting well, he suddenly drew out his sword, and saw that his clansmen, who once slept like dead pigs, now took up shields and swords at Arik's call.

"Shield Wall! Prepare!" Arik shouted with his sword in hand. At this moment, Rurik's cousin looked like a god of war in his eyes.

The clansmen also roared rhythmically, and the loose state was gone. They were gradually gathering into a group that beat people. Soon Rurik joined this group as well.

The sudden situation made Rurik very nervous, and he thought that he had not equipped his subordinates with crossbows, and faced an unknown enemy, he lacked the confidence to win.

Not so with Arik!

Arik, who had already put on the silver shining chainmail, shouted with his sword: "Brothers! Those with chainmail stand at the front, those without chainmail are at the back. Form a dense formation!"

The Rus retreated to the outside of the village and approached the position of their ships. They constructed a semicircle formation that could converge into a circle in the most critical place. This is the usual defensive tactic of the Rus. The key is to stand upright and let the enemy attack first, then defend and counterattack. Once the enemy is in chaos, the team will spread out to pursue.

Did Arik think of any more advanced tactics? Absolutely not.

Due to the limitations of his personal vision,

He could only lead his brothers to meet the enemy with rigid tactics. What's more, they don't know the specific strength of the enemy. What kind of enemy will emerge from that dark forest? I am afraid that the battle is inevitable, and there is no reason to avoid it, the Rus people have become very conservative under the leadership of Aric.

Finally, someone began to emerge from the forest.

"Be careful, those are our mercenaries, let them in!"

Arik's instructions avoided accidental injury, and the mercenaries, who tried their best to keep calm, got into the formation and began to report to Rurik and Arik one after another.

All the retreating mercenaries were telling the same thing, that an unknown number of enemies were advancing towards the village.

The situation got a little tricky, and Arik gritted his teeth, sweat dripping from his forehead.

If a battle can be avoided, don't take the initiative to fight, Rurik suggested; "Brother, if...if possible, we should retreat, the ship is behind us."

"At this time, you actually want to run away?!" Arik, who gritted his teeth, bowed his head and said viciously, "If I run away, my brothers will call me a coward. Brother, do you think I can run?"

"Then fight an unknown enemy?"

"Hit! They're coming anyway. Rurik, you're right, we were attacked by them. You did a good job, we'd be dead without the sentinels."

Rurik was not happy at all, since the cousin and the other guys were determined to fight an unknown enemy, and the big guys were full of confidence, and they even backed down at this juncture, it would be too stupid.

He settled down, thinking that he is someone who has experienced battles, how could he be afraid of another battle?

However, this battle was not in the plan at all, and what he engaged in was actually a hasty challenge.

Just as the Rus were preparing to meet the enemy, Rurik quickly reorganized his mercenaries: "We do not take the initiative to participate in the battle of the Rus soldiers, your mission is to protect my safety. You must obey my order form, or carry out Support, or do something else. Give them the credit for killing the enemy, and all of you are not allowed to take credit."

Yevro was very surprised: "Sir, are we just watching other people fighting?"

"Don't you understand what I mean? You are my people, and now you must protect my safety! Whether you go to war or not, follow my orders completely! Remember that your master is me, not my cousin!"

Rurik especially emphasized to Yevlo who is the master, because he was very worried that Yevlo had become too familiar with Arik in the previous long-term looting, even if there was a gap between the two sides, both of them They are actual comrades-in-arms who hack and slash together, and it is natural for them to develop friendship with each other. Having said that, if Yevlo feels that Arik is worthy of respect and following, it is his own loss and failure.

In the final analysis, self-interest is human nature, especially in times of crisis. Rurik felt that his cousin and those brothers were determined to win, and that he could not make trouble.

Besides, although the mercenaries did not bring crossbows, they at least had short wooden bows in their hands. Even if its quality was low, firing arrows for fire harassment could bring good results.

Now, the burning bonfire is still crackling, and a noisy crowd has begun not far away.

The Ross warriors who were ready to rectify their formation were all frowning and resolute.

They are mainly soldiers who settled on Tombstone Island, and all of them are veterans who have climbed out of the sea. Their strong self-confidence supports the confidence to win the decisive battle with the unknown enemy.

Finally, the enemy appeared!

At dawn, the sun was just about to come out, and the east had become golden.

A light morning mist filled the forest, and a large group of men dressed in animal skins and rough burlap emerged from the dark green dark forest.

right! They are men! The tall, unkempt figure, holding a short spear and a small shield, proved their manhood.

"Everyone pay attention! The enemy is coming!" Arik shouted vigilantly.

The soldiers at the front hurriedly squatted up, the swords in their hands were sticking to the edge of the round shield, although they were stabbing the enemy. Some short spears are also almost on their shoulders, and the rusty yet sharp spearheads point straight ahead. For the entire formation, the space cover has double the force in a realistic sense. But it's not over yet! The brawny men in the last row held modified long-handled axes, waiting for an opportunity to support the frontline fighters and give the enemy a blossoming pecking blow.

If they put up a flag, it would be more like a centurion in the classical era, Rurik thought.

More and more enemies came out of the woods, and Rurik saw their faces through the narrow gaps in the human wall.

Those were people with visibly brown hair, and many men had a twine tied around their foreheads, which seemed to keep their hair from getting too messy.

They were almost all covered in leather, and Rurik couldn't see what animal's skin it was. Could it be that of a wild boar? There is a large area of ​​black leather, either a wild boar or a bear, and if he can kill these two dangerous animals, he does not believe that these people are weak.

Fortunately, Ross's chainmail sword and shield gave Rurik a lot of confidence.

The enemy was indeed numerous, and with their short spears, they walked cautiously in their own villages, approaching the fully prepared Rus with a strong sense of tension.

They were mostly spearmen, but not much organized. Their so-called short spears do not seem to have any technical and tactical performance, and I am afraid they can only stab the enemy as a means of killing.

A single spearman is lucky to be E. Only by organizing a group of spearmen, preferably forming a spear wall, can they exert a strong combat effectiveness.

If they were a group of flintlock gunners equipped with bayonets, this aggressive advance like skirmishers would indeed give the enemy a sense of oppression. Unfortunately, they are just a group of rabble-like armed men.

Among them, there are also many people with axes and daggers, and some people with weapons that look like javelins.

Archers are even more indispensable, that is, they are small in number, and the bows they are equipped with are essentially the same and poor in performance as the short wooden bows that the Rus people had first.

How many enemies are there?

Arik, who covered most of his torso and half of his face with a round shield, stared at him to estimate the number of enemies.

His preliminary estimate came to a very crazy conclusion - are there five hundred enemies?

Five hundred enemies? how is this possible? Can five hundred men live in this small village?

Arik suddenly thought, maybe this unknown land for himself and his clansmen has already been developed by this group of "Baltics".

Until this moment, facing an enemy several times his own, Aric did not think of the advice of his uncle, Otto, the chief of Ross: "Don't sleep on the southern beaches on the way Sorgon sails, and don't take the initiative to fight with the Baltic people. ."

"Damn, I went to stay at the Baltic people's house, these guys, they must destroy us at any cost!"

Arik made up his mind. He didn't feel that the two sides needed some mediation, but they should fight when they met.

Arik knew nothing about the situation in this area, which is why he decided to refuse any negotiations. If the opponent does not attack first, he will take the initiative to attack with his brothers for the sake of honor.

They all stopped when a large number of armed villagers, apparently under the command of their leader, deliberately maintained about a hundred meters (the limit range of light arrows fired by ordinary inferior short wooden bows) with the Ross shield wall. .

Or because the number of people is very large, the villagers are not in a hurry to attack suddenly.

Also because the Rus people did not destroy any houses, and it was not obvious that they had done any damage to the village, many villagers naively thought that the uninvited guests were not really murderous.

However, the fear of attackers from the sea was imprinted in the hearts of every villager.

It was this factor that happened to go to the sea to fish and saw the approaching long boat, and then ran back to the police like a madman.

A white-haired old man leaning on a cane, led by a few men with swords, boldly approached the formation of the Rus.

The old man spoke; "Who are you! What are you going to do? If you are unwilling to answer, just go!"

However, Arik didn't understand at all.

Perhaps the old man did not realize the language gap between the two sides, so he continued to give out olive branches. Although some villagers found unfortunate feces in their homes, their anger at outsiders did not lead to fighting. But when they found out that the cellar was opened, many villagers were really angry. The original innocence was gone.

fight? The villagers with the predominant number of villagers are not wrong at all.

But the elders of the village persuaded the leader to stand still, and he tried to persuade the outsiders by himself. If you pay a reasonable price to avoid a big battle, the old man feels that it is very cost-effective. Because he always remembers the "Varyag Raid" he experienced when he was young, and also knows that the former attackers went deep along the river and ended up settling in the Great Lake in the south.

The old man called for peace in a voice of vicissitudes. In short, the villagers wanted to let the Russians go.

Rurik was in the rear of the front line, and he himself enjoyed the best safety under the escort of mercenaries like iron barrels.

Yevluo heard the old man's words clearly, and he muttered in surprise: "Strange, I actually understand them."

"Ah? You actually understood?" Rurik was taken aback.

"Yes, it seems that I can understand the words of the Kewen people. Oh, yes! Of course I can understand!" Yevluo stomped his feet: "The land to the north of the sea is actually my hometown, and the land to the south I know where I live. Who are they! They have something to do with me, they're estors."

Yevlo called those people Aita, a term Rurik was sensitive to. I am afraid that he is the inherent "Oriental" vocabulary of the ancient Ugar language. The deer breeders, the Kewen people, the Finns are still these guys now, they are all ancestors.

With Yevlo's proof, Rurik completely confirmed that those guys were the ancestors of Estonia.

Yevro said cautiously: "If I can, I want to go out and talk to them. If they can pay a tribute, why should we fight?"

Rurik thought about it and it really was the end, but...

He sighed: "This army belongs to my cousin. If those are my people, of course I will let you go and find out. Yevro, give up your illusions and prepare to fight!"

To be honest, Yevlo didn't want to fight these people. However, many things in the world cannot be changed by individual will.

For example, Arik, who was fully armed, refused any negotiation from the very beginning. It seemed that the other party's equipment was inferior. Even though there were many enemies, he was still not the prey that he cut and killed?

The old man changed his words and moved forward.

Arik shook his head and instructed a spear-throwing master under his command: "The battle is inevitable, stab it to death for me!"

As a result, three spear-wielding warriors threw their own short spears, or more appropriately harpoons.

They are masters of fork fish, and it is not difficult to kill the enemy with the same method.

The old man came with the purpose of peace, but he pulled out and lay on the ground, covering the spear stuck in his hands with both hands, and died with a blank mind.

An old villager just died!

The village leader, who did not give much hope for negotiation and negotiation, could no longer control his emotions when he saw this.

The volcano finally erupted!

The leader's eyes were about to pop out of their sockets, and he raised the spear in his hand and let out a battle roar.

The Estonian villagers were excited. Their childhood was full of stories from their parents about the suffering of the Varangians who came across the sea. In order to avoid the tragedy from repeating, they decided to fight to the death. They do have self-confidence. Compared with the tragedy of decades ago, they now have a large amount of iron to fight, and there is an iron ore upstream of the river, which produces a steady stream of iron.

Iron tools build their confidence, and they can also gain some wealth through inter-tribal trade.

In this way, two ethnic groups, the Rus and the ancient Estonians, met for the first time in history.

Strictly speaking, though, the Rus didn't know anything about the Estonians.

These Estonian villagers acquiesce that the comers are the Varyags, and the elders are dead, very suddenly. The villagers gave up all their illusions, and they started to attack.

The information of the two sides is not equal, and even the strength and armament situation of each other cannot be determined. What will be the situation of the war?