Rise of Rurik

Otto is seventy years old, and no matter how energetic he appears, his weather-beaten body will inevitably reach its limit.

If it were a different era, such an old man would have passed away long ago.

To this day, an old soldier with gray hair all over his body and many age spots on his face is slowly withering away in the happiness of his family.

To this day, does Otto still want to die in battle and end his legendary life?

No! Enough is enough.

He is self-aware that many of the things he was proud of in the first half of his life were just trivial matters. The unexpected death of his two sons once brought him to a low point in his life. Until the birth of the third and final son Rurik, everything became different.

An old man had his grandsons crawling under his knees, and these cubs who had just learned to walk and talk immediately showed their super energy.

Isn't it God Freya's arrangement? How come those women all gave birth to sons? !

The hair color of the cubs was no longer pure gold. This was not a problem. A large group of boys as young as two years old began to make violent noises. Although this was a headache for the mothers of the children, in Otto's view, it would not be possible if this were not the case. His own grandson.

It's the end of winter again, and soon the ground will thaw, and the Russian army will start a new expedition.

More than that? Ross's winter expedition came to an end as expected. The army achieved a great victory, and the head of the culprit of the war was transported thousands of miles back to Novgorod, the blessed place where Otto spent his life.

The returning troops were only part of the expeditionary force, and when they appeared they immediately aroused public criticism.

"Why? The king didn't come back?! Why is the returning army not far away?

Half of the levy? "

In the public's mind, the Russian army should not and cannot suffer heavy losses, but only half of the expeditionary force has returned. If they don't say anything, Novgorod will be in trouble.

Governor Medvet, who participated in the expedition and returned victoriously, cheered. He publicly displayed a batch of trophies plundered from Smolensk in the city's Shaiguzi Square.

He then ordered the army to disband and go home. In a very short period of time, the soldiers who returned to their respective families immediately told their relatives and friends what they had experienced in the south, and all the doubts and suspicions turned into the joy of victory.

Because Vadim, the remnant of the rebellion who escaped, is dead!

As for the veterans of the First Banner Corps, they did not come back simply because they became the garrison of Smolensk. If you want to conquer a new land militarily, you still need a group of veteran warriors.

But this is really a mixed blessing for the city of Mstisk.

Fortunately, the heads of each family have firmly controlled a piece of fertile land for their families in the south, so that future generations will have more property to inherit.

Sadly, what will happen to the spring plowing in more than two months? Do we really want the women and children at home to work in the fields? In the end, Slavs had to be paid to do long-term and short-term labor.

In the depths of winter, Hanukkah has passed, and old Otto is like a hibernating bear. The only thing that interests him now is watching his large group of grandchildren playing and playing, and even watching his grandson Karl and granddaughter-in-law Sorkina wandering in front of him.

The old man came up with a perhaps excessive wish - to see the birth of his great-grandson.

Sorkina's child is indeed young, but she will be a mother in seven or eight years at most.

"Can I... live another eight years?

"

A sense of powerlessness reverberated throughout his body. He felt that he was just watching the end of his own era. Today's Ross was completely different from what he remembered. Ross had transformed into what he would have been like. If not for the fact that many people still spoke in strong northern dialects. The textured Norse language will be even more unfamiliar to him.

However, he knew that Niya, the most beautiful girl in the clan whom he married back then, was now an old woman, but she was much younger than him and in a better mental state. Maybe she could live as long as the deceased high priest Vilia. The magical age of eighty, after all, how can a body that gave birth to Rurik live a short life.

On this day, the noise of the city reached Otto's ears.

He slowly climbed out of bed and put on the thick leather jacket with Niya's help.

It's not that this body no longer needs to wear armor, but wearing it adds pressure to the aging body.

But he still wanted to show his majesty as the supreme king, so he put a golden laurel crown that was no less inferior to his own son's on his bald head with not much hair.

As usual, he sat down quietly in the palace and waited for the person who had arranged to go out to find out the news to come back.

His subordinates did not keep him waiting.

The attendant who knelt on one knee could not hide his joy: "Great King! The expeditionary force is back!"

The subordinate spoke concisely and to the point. Otto was deeply touched in his heart, but on the surface he acted as calm as ever.

His face drooped slightly and he said slowly: "I know. In this way, my son will be back. They won a big victory... very good... this is very good."

Otto's words were a bit incoherent, which actually embarrassed his subordinates.

"Great King. We

The king did not come back in person. "

"What?"

"The Governor and the Duke of Ostara came back first with part of the army. The King's army went to the legendary Riga. I met the Governor, and he briefly informed me of these things. Soon They will bring a big gift to the audience..."

"Is that so?" Otto gently pinched his beard.

"That's true. Please, the great king, wait a moment."

"So, what is the gift they gave me?"

"Yes..." The attendant smiled and raised his head: "Vadim's head."

"Okay! I understand, go down."

Otto waved his hand to order the attendant to retreat, and this wave of his hand was very powerful.

All fatigue suddenly disappeared. An old soldier closed his eyes for a while, and suddenly he shouted hoarsely: "Come here! Bring my golden armor! Bring Karl, Oleg, Osborne, Sorkina Come!"

That evening, after briefly handling return matters in the city, Medved and Carlotta changed their clothes and happily walked to the Novgorod Palace with a large gift in a wooden box.

At the same time, Otto, who was wearing golden armor, was sitting upright. He was not worried that the heavy ceremonial armor would crush his osteoporotic muscles and bones. The internal brackets ensured the stability of the armor, but Otto seemed to be objectively aging. I still have the muscular muscles I had when I was young.

He was so majestic and majestic. Niya was sitting next to him, wearing gorgeous and colorful clothes and a felt coat covered with gems. Niya became a jeweled lady, but it was a pity that she did not have so many jewels to complement her beauty when she was young.

Nowadays, no matter how old you are, there are many precious stones...

Of course she is a woman who loves beauty. Now she is willing to dress gorgeously to show her nobility on any occasion, otherwise her life will be in vain.

The four children were sitting on one side. The boys were too lively, and Otto's wink and intimidation were indispensable to get them to sit down safely. On the contrary, Sorkina has been very aware of her situation in the past few months, and has been obediently sitting next to Karl.

After all, Sorkina Vyacheslavina is already the Duke of Polotsk canonized by the Ross. Even though she only has one title, she is really a great noble.

She still couldn't understand what this title meant, and she didn't have any strength to deserve the position of Duke.

In other words, Sorkina herself is a tool, and now as Karl's fiancée, she will give birth to a male heir in the future. This is the legal basis of the Ostara-Polotsk Principality. She did not show any ambition and was so obedient that she spent her time studying and living an ordinary life, even though she was the granddaughter of the chief of the old Polotsk and the granddaughter of a loser.

Otto likes this quiet girl very much. If there is any dissatisfaction, it is that his grandson Karl is too young and Sorkina is also young. When will these two children give birth to a great-grandson for him?

At this moment, the palace guards lined up outdoors shouted one after another. Under their gaze, the two generals who had returned from the expedition entered the longhouse-style hall to meet the Supreme King of Rus.

The two of them ignored the presence of their children and immediately knelt down on one knee to perform a warrior salute when facing the Ottonias.

"Great King! I'm back!" The two said in unison.

"You... all get up and sit down."

Otto ordered casually and said impatiently: "I heard that you have chopped off the heads of the rebels. Is that true?!"

"Yes." Because her son Karl and even Crown Prince Osborne were here, Carlotta was a little dazed. After thinking about it, she still placed the wooden box containing the head in front of her. "Great King! The head of the rebel Vadim is here. Please... allow me to show it to you."

"Then open it! Let me see what Vadim looks like after not seeing him for ten years."

Otto didn't care that his grandchildren were present. They had to become warriors, get used to bloody battlefields, and face the dead without fear. At least they had to be touched without fear on their faces.

The result satisfied him. Except for the girl Sorkina, who was obviously frightened, the three boys could all look at her calmly.

Carlotta made a decision, and after opening the wooden box, she personally held the frozen head in her arms, then walked forward and knelt in front of Otto, holding it well and letting Otto look at it.

Who is not a ruthless person crawling out of a mountain of corpses and a sea of ​​blood? Even Niya knew that she had the obligation to take up arms and defend the tribe when she was young.

Real Russians are not afraid of dead bodies. Looking at Vadim's head now is like looking at another trophy. It is defined like the series of ferocious bear heads hanging on the wooden wall in the palace. Naturally, this A head is much more meaningful than those bear heads.

"This...is the enemy you let go in a single thought?" Niya asked quietly.

"Are you being harsh? Indeed, this boy was extremely reckless back then. I thought he was too young to

Can't bear to kill him. What a moment of kindness that led to current troubles. "As he said that, Otto's thoughts couldn't help but go back to twelve years ago.

Niya shook her head: "So, are you sure this person is Vadim?"

"It reminds me of this man's father, Brudne. Everything is over! It's over..."

"So, what are you going to do with this head?"

There is absolutely no need to discuss this matter. When the Ross army urgently moved south half a year ago, Otto and Rurik had already secretly discussed the matters after the completion of the matter. The expedition will be victorious, there is no doubt about it! It would be best to capture Vadim alive and eventually use him as a sacrifice to cheer up Hanukkah.

No one thinks that is cruel. On the contrary, the existing manors around Lake Ilmen were all exploited by Pine Needle Manor. If Ross never put down the rebellion and Pine Needle Manor finally maintained regional hegemony, then this tile Jim's monopolization of power inevitably led to further exploitation of the estates.

People still have grudges about the past, which is why the return of Vadim's head drew cheers.

It is unlikely that he will be captured alive. This reckless man will most likely die fighting like a warrior.

It is enough to finally complete the decapitation and bring the head back.

"On the head of Vadim, the warrior in the city, and then parade around the lake! I want to personally supervise this parade! I want to tell everyone that I am still alive despite my old age! It is I who strongly support my son's king's expedition. Since my son is still here Riga, let me show you the trophies on your behalf!" Otto explained this very risky move with cold words.

Carlotta almost lost her grip on her head. "Father! You...are going to face the extreme cold of winter?!"

"What? My daughter,

You are also afraid that I will catch the cold and die. absurd! Did it take just ten years for me to weaken and turn into a waste? "

"I was wrong."

"No. You are right. Carlotta, I know that many people think that I am hiding in the palace like a hibernating bear. Maybe many people think that I am actually dead. It is time to take action to shut up the slanderers. So... Otto smiled and glanced at Carlotta: "How on earth did this rebel die? He should have died in battle!"

"No, this is just a person who is greedy for life and afraid of death..."

Carlotta lowered her head, pulled Vadim's hair again like pulling a carrot, and briefly explained the outcome of the battle to Otto.

Originally, Otto thought that after Vadim usurped the power of Smolensk, he invaded Rus with a large army. A runaway had grown into a brave fighter. I never thought he was a cruel person! If he is a cruel man, he can be called a "berserker", but in the last battle, his escape behavior, regardless of the decline of the army, is fully demonstrated.

The man was captured alive, tied up like an animal, and finally made into a blood eagle at the Smolensk altar...

As a participant in the war, Carlotta spoke vividly, which intensified Otto's contempt for this person. The final "Blood Eagle Ceremony" seemed to be done in a hurry by his son, but in the end it was burnt to ashes.

As the Supreme King, he did not stay in the capital city of Novorosberg to retire, but lived in Novgorod. On the one hand, this place was warmer and rich in products, and it was the place where he became famous.

Lake Ilmen, on the other hand, faced the Smolensk forces to the south. They are not a city and surrounding villages, but a widely distributed situation.

In theory, it is possible to encounter their settlements without going to the source of the Lovati River.

This is why the residents of Lake Ilmen are always worried about being annexed by their southern cousins, who are not far apart geographically.

Although Otto was an old man, Rus was the conqueror of Lake Ilmen, and he was the king of the conquerors. Legally, Rurik took over the power from his father. So Otto had the title "Great King" to describe the supreme king.

The old man was elevated to the status of "the great emperor", which certainly had a sense of flattery. After so many years, the residents around the lake have reached a consensus.

Here, Otto can not only represent the expeditionary king Rurik and the young prince Osborne to supervise the country, but in other words, as the king himself, he still has the power to regulate the human resources in the entire area around the lake.

The Russian immigrant cities and Slavic farms all recognized Otto's authority as the Supreme King, and their names were twisted into a rope to mobilize at any time to resist the sneak attacks of the Smolensk people.

Thinking about it now, Ross was so neurotic that he mobilized tens of thousands of militiamen to remain on alert throughout 840.

If you think about it carefully, Ross defeated Smolensk easily because he was already extremely powerful.

Seeing Vadim's head, the aging Otto suddenly became energetic and energetic.

As a result, the messenger took the lead in driving a reindeer sleigh and paraded around Lake Ilmen, announcing to the people of the villages the visit of the Supreme King and the head of the warrior rebel Vadim.

Vadim the remnant is dead? ! Smolensk has been integrated into the territory of Russia? ! Is everything true? !

Three days after the expeditionary force returned, the army, which had taken a short rest, gathered again

Knot.

A magnificent team of gorgeously dressed people surrounded a noble sleigh and started the victory parade.

The Supreme King Otto, wearing golden armor, was sitting on a sleigh. Queen Mother Niya, Queen Svetalana, Prince Osborne...all the royal family members in Novgorod were dispatched.

The whole city of Novgorod was excited, and the brightest star among them was Otto, who even had Vadim's head on a spear.

Otto personally held the spear in his arms and ordered the sleigh army to start a victory parade.

At this moment, Vadim's half-open eyes had long turned into nothingness, and his soul was shattered. These empty eyes had indeed swept across Mstisk.

At that time, Otto did not forget to sigh: "Vadim! Take a good look at it. This used to be your Pine Needle Manor, and all your people were buried in the mound over there. You should have been buried there!" However, when this grand event is over, your head will turn into my wine bowl. You did not die like a warrior, you died like a deer, even worse than the lowest slave..."

Indeed, when Otto learned about Vadim's last days, he couldn't help feeling that a person could be so despicable.

This kind of person does not deserve any respect. Since they have all been subjected to the legendary blood eagle, there is nothing wrong with using skulls to make wine bowls.

Thinking of this, Otto felt really excited.

Using the skulls of enemies as drinking vessels was a legend and was generally used as an extremely vicious curse word. As far as he knew, no chief in the Lake Malaren region had ever done this.

Otto wanted to turn the legend into reality.

Therefore, after a victory parade, the glorious image of the Supreme King's Golden Armor was strengthened, although no one saw it.

The king stood up and waved his sword, but he saw the king holding his rebellious head high and waving his teeth on the sled.

Why should we criticize a seventy-year-old man harshly? May I ask which old man in the village has such a long life?

With all the people watching, Otto felt that he had reached the pinnacle of his life. Hundreds of thousands of people cheered and praised him, and he had no regrets in his life.

Soon, a bone wine cup was made, and it was installed with a gold base. The cup itself still retains its special style, and even the bone sutures are clearly visible.

However, drinking from this wine glass still made Otto nervous. The old man made a conscious effort, poured in a little vodka, then specially lit the fire, and swallowed the "flame" in one gulp with a special wine vessel.

He felt that his body was full of power, his sense of conquest was released, and Otto's spirit became even more exciting.

"Ah! It's great! Rurik, I really hope you can see the glory of fatherhood. Where are you? Are you in Riga? I don't think I have to wait for your triumphant return from Frankfurt to see you again? Can my body still hold on? One year or two years..."