Rise of Rurik

The follow-up troops of the Ross Army, dragging a long line, finally arrived.

With a calm face, Rurik brought his main subordinate commander and a group of soldiers to meet his father with thirty captured raven-patterned shields.

He especially showed the captured shield: "Dad, we won the enemy, you see, this is our key capture."

"Huh? Odin's warrior? You killed him?" Otto took a step back in surprise when he saw the raven pattern.

"A Danish mercenary raised by the Gotlanders, and their most elite warrior."

"Oh? Good job!" Otto laughed. "Come on, let me see if you're hurt?"

"Of course not." Rurik still had a serious face, he snapped his fingers, and more than a dozen blond men with bare hands came, all half-kneeling in front of Otto.

"This...what's going on here. These people..."

"They are Danes," Rurik said quietly.

"The Danes? It's amazing, are we the Danes fighting? And you didn't kill them."

"It's unnecessary, these people are very useful to us."

"Okay. Tell me, what's the use of them?"

"They know about Visby's situation." After saying that, Rurik kicked the one-knee Grund in the back.

At this time, Grund finally raised his head, reported his identity to a bearded "old soldier", and then explained his appeal: "Our old gold master ordered us to fight against the Rus, which is the most important thing. Absurd decision. So on the battlefield, we resisted the decision of the gold master, and now, we are willing to be your mercenaries and fight for you."

"Your name is Grund? A defector?" Otto squinted and shook his head. "No! You are a prisoner. You fight with a raven shield, and you should fight to the death."

A mercenary actually backstabbed the gold master, which really violated professional ethics.

But Grund was smart, so he deliberately complimented: "We heard that Rurik of Rus was blessed by Odin, so it is wrong to be enemies of Rus. We worship Odin's power, so we should be Odin sons fight..."

"Shut up! It's all flattering..." Otto just scolded,

No more drastic action was taken. He immediately questioned: "I am the Duke of Ross, you guys want to stay and be my warriors. How can I trust you? Are you worthy of trust?"

"Yes! I know the inside story of Visby, and many more important things. A lot of news about this island, and even about Denmark."

"Oh? So your people are really useful."

Somehow, the Danes, the Svealans, who share a common origin, split. The Baltic Sea is so vast that there is no room for peace between the two sides. Where did the struggle between them begin?

Otto was taught from a young age that those guys in Denmark were the ones to watch out for. Melalen people believe that Danish strength is a threat to the alliance. With the Gotlanders withdrawing from the alliance, the Danish powers became the target that had to be attacked.

In the attack on Kalmar two months ago, Otto himself saw the strength of the Danish fighters. It was a group of unruly guys who would fight to the end for their gold master.

The dozen or so people in front of him changed his perception.

After all, hearing that his son did not intend to arm these people twice, he already knew his son's deep intentions.

The firewood was piled up into hills, and the burning inside was actually human corpses!

The air was filled with a strange burnt smell. To be honest, it was a little fragrant, but when they thought of what was burning, many people began to retching for no reason.

Otto didn't want to stay here. He learned that none of the thousands of people sent out in this battle were killed. Such a crazy victory was won by his son.

Look at Rurik again, the boy was standing on the battlefield, without the excitement of victory, and without being frightened by the mass of corpses.

A calm god of war is born! Thinking of the decisive battle in the future, the loss of the Ross army will be minimal?

Before the expedition, Otto had made a very bad mental preparation. The loss of thousands of people in World War I won a difficult victory, such a loss is the biggest price that the Rus people can accept at present. If the loss is more serious, the Rus people will need to dormant for a longer time, to frantically ask the Novgorods for young women, in order to restore the lost population more than ten years later.

Looks like I'm overthinking it now!

The flag teams of Ross returned one after another, and the army formed a rectangular array in the wilderness.

Four flag teams guard the core baggage units, non-combatants, and even the Duke.

As usual, a small group of people served as the reconnaissance force, rushing to the destroyed settlement of Bridge Village in front of them before nightfall.

There is a red sun in the west, and the world is immersed in a cold evening.

The cool wind was blowing, and everyone felt a chill.

The flames of Bridge Village had long since been extinguished, and silently told what had happened for the black pillars that had been burnt down.

Some strange mounds appeared on the burned village. After the identification of Grund and others who led the way, the Rus army learned that one of the mounds was full of fallen Rus soldiers.

Otto's beard was shaken by the cold wind, the setting sun dyed the world blood, and the wind rumbled in his ears, like the lament of the soul.

He hurriedly called the wounded Arik to his side: "It seems that the leader of the Gotland didn't destroy the corpses of our warriors, so that guy has a conscience. Stop venting your anger and torture, give the man something to eat and find Cut the time straight away."

"Alright alright……"

Arik looked at the mound that had been identified, and had a good idea of ​​Siegfast with a bad mouth.

Otto then ordered: "Go, take your brothers to open the mound. Burn it according to our custom, and let their souls go to Valhalla."

Arik ordered, and his brothers with a sad mood pulled open the gray-white corpses of their clansmen and dragged them out one after another.

Black blood flowed from the gray human figures. They died in battle, and the leather armor on their bodies was still there. Even the weapons in their hands were taken away by the enemy. Now these lost steel swords have been taken back by the Rus.

The dark world ignited a fire, and Ross's war dead finally gradually turned to ashes.

In Bridge Village, the army of Ross made a sacrifice for these brothers. The soldiers knelt round and round around the fire, not only to see off the heroes of their brothers who died in battle, but also to worship Odin. Rumia, who was wearing a helmet with antlers, successfully completed this battlefield sacrifice as a high priest.

But the sacrificial activities don't stop there!

Since there is a decisive battle, where is the best place?

Perhaps the open space of Bridge Village is the best.

The army camped here, and many people set up their tents at the stream, and a large number of bonfires lit up the darkness of the night.

The soldiers of the Rus Army ate their food while grilling and discussing the future combat in many languages.

It can be said that the Slavic warriors composed of Novgorod farmers achieved an unprecedented victory as they knew it! Medvedt became a big hero in the eyes of the villagers. Of course, Rurik, the son-in-law of the manor Rigus, was indeed a commander worth following by his brothers, even if he was still a child for the time being.

The Slavic warriors began to call for their capture on the battlefield, and the extra axes and short swords were distributed, and the extra leather boots were thrown to those who were worn out.

In the end, they jointly won the enemy. The two factions of Kowen, the two tribal leaders Mechasta and Kaihas, have now directly become comrades-in-arms who are gnawing on the meat in a pool of bonfires.

The most powerful warriors of the Ross tribe, they all talked about the hope that the decisive battle would come sooner, after all, the dried fish and dried mutton in their hands were not delicious. When the army has defeated the main force of the enemy and then robbed Visby, the brothers can open their stomachs to eat fresh meat again.

A bonfire burns violently, and Rurik nibbles on the mutton jerky. He prepared another copy for her to enjoy when Rumia, who oversaw the construction of the stone altar, came back.

Sitting here are all the native aristocrats of the Ross tribe, including Otto and Rurik, who are the core of the army.

There is an uninvited guest sitting here, Denmark Grund.

Soon, Rumia, who had washed her hands, had returned. She returned with the antler helmet, and naturally sat beside Rurik.

Unexpectedly, the sacrifice of the Rus people has a strange flat face, this...

Grund was taken aback, and he paused, looking straight at Rumia.

"What are you looking at? Danes, keep talking about Visby!" Otto snapped.

"She...is your priest? The most noble one."

"Does this have anything to do with you?" Otto continued to scold.

Rumia was really startled, she hurriedly grabbed Rurik's arm, took the jerky from Rurik and hurriedly ate with her head sullen.

She not only has a flat face, but also this black hair. Who is she?

Suddenly Grund realized that this woman was actually a deer breeder.

What is the reason for a deer breeder to get along well with the Rus? If they can do this, why can't they?

Grund turned his head immediately and continued to report the details of Visby.

What he reported was mainly the usual population size of the large settlement in the bay, and because of the coercion of the Northern Alliance's military operations and the invasion of the Ross army, the people of the settlements on the west coast of the island were gathering in Visby. this big thing.

He reported a shocking thing: "Visby has gathered more than 10,000 people! You defeated the 500 people in Siegfast, but Visby can still pull out a team of 5,000 people."

"So many people? Really..." The enemy's strength exceeded Otto's expectations.

Seeing the trembling in his father's eyes, Rurik hurriedly interjected and questioned: "Five thousand? Five thousand out of ten thousand? They only have five thousand men in total! Did they let babies join the fight?"

"At least ten-year-old boys will definitely go to the battlefield. Just like what you did." Grund's words were also unconcealed. He just saw that the size of the Ross army was indeed 3,000 people, but there were actually a group of boys and girls among them. Counting up. He really didn't know what this operation was. He wanted to bet the last strength of the tribe for this battle.

Along this line of thought, Grund hurriedly said: "Not only will they send all men who can afford arms, but many women to battle. Those wealthy people in Visby, their whole life's industry is here. They don't will run away, but pay to recruit people who dare to fight to protect their interests. Ordinary people, they will fight to defend their homes.”

Otto shook his head contemptuously: "That's a group of merchants? I don't believe that the merchants will really go all out. They will run away with money. Let's talk about reality. What kind of equipment are the warriors of Visby? Lots of Danes like you?"

"Yes, but not much. We Danes only make money here as mercenaries."

"Okay, how about the Visby's armament?" Otto urged.

I saw the powerful crossbow of the Rus, as well as the strict tactical configuration of the team, and the tactical prediction of ambush in the back. These Rus' armies are not only excellent in weapons, but also very good at tactics. In contrast to the Gotlanders, Visby bluntly stated: "What can their equipment have? Oak shields, iron swords, various axes, whale-hunting harpoons, iron flails for knocking wheat bran, and Wooden sticks for driving sheep. They have some archers, which are completely inferior to yours, and they are very few in number. Some people can use slings, which must be of no use. They are just a lot of people, and when they fight, they form a shield wall to attack you. "

"That's it?" Otto laughed when he heard it, and the others laughed as well.

Originally, Rurik wanted to persuade everyone to be cautious, but after thinking about it carefully, what Grund said should be the truth.

He had to pass through that wilderness, and the first thousand people he led had indeed killed more than 400 enemies without any loss. It is said that it is already a very elite force of the Gotlanders, and they are indeed fighting in a group, and they are advancing forward with a wooden shield like a nerd.

This is just a tactic of fighting in groups. To put it bluntly, this tactic is still more organized than those so-called armies in Britain, who at least spontaneously maintain a combat unit.

Like the armies of Wessex, Mercia, and Northumbria, their armoured warriors charged with a howl, followed by a group of barefoot peasants with dung forks battling downwind. The only thing they were proud of was not the longbowmen in Wales, but the few cavalry they had. Of course, they are still purely land-based countries.

However, in this Nordic world, the Ross army and this group of people are not playing a game of chess! The Rus army really interprets what organization is.

Thinking of this, Rurik laughed too, thinking in his heart that the decisive victory was assured! Even if there are five thousand enemies, they are a mob. Rurik did not believe that they could really muster 5,000 people! Especially for ancient armies, the strength and combat effectiveness are often marginally diminishing. The more troops there are, the more people are fishing.

If the Gotlanders were to assemble in an emergency, what sort of organizational structure would they have? Pooh!

On the contrary, the Ross people! As a commander, Rurik can judge the battle situation of each flag team under his command with the naked eye, and then send messengers in real time to deliver the latest instructions.

Can those warriors in Visby do these operations?

Including Grund, who reported Visby's intelligence, after witnessing the strength of the Ross army from a distance, he can say that the Ross army will win without flattery.

There are some violent materials that Grund has been holding back. He did this to say it at a critical moment, the so-called change of life for himself and his brothers.

Up to now, he has not explained the kingship incident on Visby's side!

The time should be ripe now.

Grund tried his best to calm down and begged: "There are some extremely important things I would like to explain to you. For Odin's sake, I hope I say these important things, and you can swear to save our brothers' lives."

The Ross elites present couldn't stand the feeling of being appalled. Arik was so angry that he drew his sword, scolding and urging Grund to speak quickly.

"Quiet." Otto stopped his son and immediately ordered: "Grunde, as long as you and your people don't rebel, your lives will be protected by me. Speak!"

"Yes! It's about the great king of Visby. A great merchant named Haken. He was elected king by all the merchant families and the chiefs of the village. He is the king of the Gotland people, and he is determined to fight you."

This is indeed a surprise, but everyone is not surprised.

"What is this?" Rurik felt a little absurd. "Of course the Gotlandians have to elect a leader to bring all the warriors to a decisive battle with us. Could it be that they only elect a king now, so what kind of important news is this? All I can say is Their simplicity. Well, so we are not fighting a group of armed fishermen who are charging in disorder."

Grund felt frustrated, and he said coldly with a sullen face: "So, our old gold lord Siegfast is the eldest son of Haken and the heir to the throne. Now, that guy has been captured by you. ."

"What? That guy is actually a prince?!" Arik was surprised.

Also shocked was Otto, who urgently ordered Arik: "We almost cut a noble man. Aric, quickly order your people to stop and don't cut it."

"Damn it! I'm afraid that the time will be too late!" Arik hurriedly stood up and ran to stop the execution of the guys.