Rise of Rurik

Rurik sat calmly on the fallen tree trunk, as did Yevlo.

It looked like the older brother was teaching the younger brother something, which of course wasn't the case, but Rurik was, in some respects, a younger brother.

"Rurik, you want me to train you? Of course I can. However, I won't take any sympathy just because you are my master. Hope..." Yevlo paused, but he was actually a little surprised to say. say this. "I hope you don't have any misunderstandings."

"I understand. I understand it all! A little hurt now, just to stop bleeding later."

Rurik slightly hooked his head, thinking about his future. In his heart, there is also the hope of becoming a samurai.

Will it be cool?

But it will definitely further convince the clansmen.

Yevlo said sincerely: "Now that you agree, when do you decide to train?"

"Today is over, let's start tomorrow morning. You have taught my people a lesson. Tomorrow, I will join them and accept your training."

Hearing that, Yevlo jumped from the tree trunk and half-kneeled in front of Rurik, "I will be ruthless, that's what you want."

"Yes! If I can't stand the training, I can't be a real leader. Get up, you and I don't be too polite."

Yevro was instructed to sit down beside Rurik again and listen to him.

"Yevlo, what do you think of my people?" Rurik pointed to the boys who continued to fight not far away.

"They are brave, but they still lack training."

"It's still a one-on-one training?"

"Yes." Yevro said sincerely: "The tactics you invented may be effective. If they can all become masters of fighting alone, your people will be more powerful."

Rurik nodded, Yevlo's words made sense and accorded with his heart.

Because of what Rurik knew about this year's battle, the front of the Rus army overturned the enemy's line, and what followed was almost a battle of individual Rus warriors. Formation does have tactical effects, but changes in the battlefield are always sudden. A fighter with a lot of skills.

Rurik is in a good mood,

Continue to point to the other side, the girls who are being trained to walk in the queue.

"How do you think I train these girls?"

"They?" Yevlo frowned instantly: "Do you intend to let them go to the battlefield?"

"Isn't that bad? I won't despise them just because they are women." Rurik said proudly.

However, his wishes were strongly questioned by Yevlo.

"It's better to give up, women better not go to the battlefield. Even if you set up the Valkyrie Legion, they are mortals, not real Valkyries, they are just a group of weak women."

weak? Not so. Rurik wanted to use Carlotta's example to refute, thinking about it carefully, his bickering was really meaningless.

A senior mercenary captain and a personal bodyguard who is extremely trusted by Gould, he must be able to give some brilliant insights.

Rurik emphasized: "I have always had a dream to organize all the women of our tribe. Our Rus population is not large, and if necessary, women can also become warriors, and our strength will increase. Listen, I'm hiring you, and in the end, it's to strengthen our Ruth's combat effectiveness."

Yevro nodded: "Rurik, my master. You are indeed more wise than other tribal leaders I know. You are indeed a god who was blessed by Odin."

"It's flattery again?" Rurik deliberately clasped his ear with his little finger: "I'm not happy at all. I've heard these words so much that they almost blocked my ears. Tell me, what's your opinion?"

Yevro smiled slightly: "Maybe a small number of girls can become female warriors, and most girls grow up, and their best job is to give you Russ more boys. You know, some boys can grow into Legendary giants, a huge figure standing here, can scare many enemies. Female warriors? They will definitely attract the attention of the enemy. Oh, maybe you don't know it well."

"I understand! I understand. But I have to train them. At least they learn to take up arms and protect themselves."

"If that's the case, get rid of the idea of ​​letting them hold swords and shields as soon as possible. It's hard for them to have the strength to pick up swords, it's hard for them to participate in fierce battles, and they will even go crazy when they see bloody wounds."

"So, what kind of weapons should they be equipped with?" Rurik demanded.

Yevlo said without hesitation, "The bow, of course. Is there anything better?"

Saying that, Yevlo looked up at the sky, and his hands also made a gesture of drawing a bow and shooting arrows. Rurik noticed that the fingering of the man's right hand was completely different from the Mediterranean style commonly used in Europe, but the thumb and index finger formed a special angle, which seemed very strange.

"You... can still shoot arrows?" Rurik asked in surprise.

"Of course." Yevro didn't care. "I know this skill, but it's not very good. If it's shooting a rabbit or a turtledove, I can still do it."

"So, you suggest me to train all the girls in my Valkyrie army to be shooters?"

Yevro shrugged. "Of course. They learned to shoot arrows, and even if they didn't get on the battlefield, they could shoot a rabbit to take home. If they could shoot a ferret, they would make a lot of money by peeling the hide."

"However, I don't think my tribe likes bows and arrows. Many hunters set traps. There are less than thirty hunters with bows in our tribe."

"Really? That's too bad. I've discovered over the years that the various clans in the entire Thinking Alliance don't seem to use bows very much. It's a bit different from my hometown."

"Your hometown?" Rurik immediately turned his head to look at Yevlo's glasses: "Yes, you are from the Finns."

"Yes! I'm a Finn. You want to know more about me? I'd love to share my story with you. But now, I have to tell you about the bow."

"Okay. Don't the people in your hometown like to use bows?"

"Of course. We are different from you. People in our hometown don't know how to smelt metal tools. In order to hunt animals, we must make bows and arrows."

Yevro's words illustrate a reality.

The Finns, specifically the Finunger group, crossed the Ural Mountains from Asia into Europe.

Perhaps from the very beginning of civilization, the East naturally had a strong archery culture, and the Finunger ethnic group from Siberia also naturally possessed this ability.

Up to now, the Slavs who are attacked continue to squeeze their living space, the Finns who have escaped to modern Finland, and even the Sami who run further north, still hunt and protect by making wooden bows and arrows. security of the territory.

But they really lacked metal tools, and it was not enough to count on obsidian and bone-polished arrow clusters to shoot Varyag attackers in leather armor or even chain armor.

In a sense, the weapons and equipment of the Finns are naturally not good. Even though there are many people who dare to fight, they are still constantly harassed by the Slavs and Varyag attackers, and they continue to shrink their activity space.

Yevro's words reminded Rurik well, because in his plan, the Ross tribe must be equipped with a large number of bows.

bow? More than a bow! Crossbow is also equipped.

After all, Rurik has an oriental brain, and those archery traditions in the east cannot be lost!

And it is very realistic that the era of brute force alone is finally coming to an end. Even if it is a battle of brute force, the two sides pay attention to the ultimate move when they meet each other. They must protect themselves to the greatest extent and destroy the enemy. If a certain weapon can be used to achieve the purpose of victory, why should it be necessary to fight in person?

Bows, crossbows, and even gunpowder weapons were created for this purpose.

Thanks to them, the intensity of the war is getting bigger and bigger.

Rurik asked strongly: "Yevro, you mean, you can make bows?"

"Of course, it's not that difficult."

"That's great!" Rurik happily slapped his thighs: "I want you to make me a bow, and I want you to teach my girls to shoot arrows. No! And my boys."

For a while, Yevlo was a little confused about Rurik's whim.

"My master, didn't you promise to train your swordsmanship tomorrow?"

Rurik smiled awkwardly: "Of course you have to train. Do you have a bow in your hand? It's a pity that our tribe's bow-wielding hunters were all taken away by my father."

"Of course there are. Gould's family has bows. You know, as mercenaries, we're not just brute force berserkers, we all have other fighting skills. Some are good at throwing spears, Some are good at throwing axes, and most are good at archery."

"Okay! What about my other mercenaries? Are they as strong as you say? Why do I think they're better suited for lumberjacks?"

Yevluo's expression was a little embarrassed immediately: "My master, because of Gould, he can't transfer the entire mercenary team to you. Many of your mercenaries still need time to train. In my opinion, their current situation is no better than yours. Where is the boy brilliant."

When he said this, Rurik somewhat understood the intention of his father's actions. Of course there is an element of distrust here, and my father Otto must have read the order. Those so-called mercenaries are not real warriors. There are many benefits to logging with an axe. For example, a large amount of wood is needed for the great construction of the tribe today. While they are logging to provide building materials, they are also exercising their own physique.

Rurik basically understood: "Very good, bring me five bows tomorrow and some arrows. Or, I will personally go to Gould with you later and ask for some wooden bows."

A group of fair-skinned girls with blue eyes and blond hair, holding wooden bows, kept shooting arrows.

Rurik thought it would be even more dreamy if they had pointed ears.

Maybe the Valkyrie Legion can be fully archer. Of course, they also have to learn some hand-to-hand combat techniques. Archers who cannot melee combat are not good archers.

This is true for girls, and even more so for boys.

In the afternoon, Rurik really and Yevlo arrived at Gould's mansion a little abruptly. Gould has undertaken many large-scale civil works for the Ross tribe, and he is also expanding his "mansion". Now that the chief's family had lived in a special longhouse with wooden floors that imitated Novgorod's architecture, Gould began to build.

Rurik also saw a large number of his own maids here, a large group of former beggars of Melalen who had to huddle together.

His appearance was a bit sudden, but even so, Gould hosted a banquet to entertain his big benefactor.

In the drawing-room, Rurik's low table had some jerky, bread cubes, and even some dried prunes as usual.

And Yevluo, the former mercenary captain, is now a guest. Gould felt the weirdness very strongly.

"My little master, do you have any orders? I will try my best to complete it." Gould said politely.

"I have only one purpose. I want the bow."

"Bow? You... are you hunting?"

"Of course. If the enemy is the prey. I don't want to talk nonsense, give me five bows, fifty arrows, I know you have these things."

Gould didn't say much, his neckless head nodded vigorously: "Okay, I can provide it now, as long as you are satisfied."

Seeing that Gould was so cooperative, Rurik couldn't help thinking more.

"Okay, so can you make more bows and arrows?"

"This..." Gould, who had no doubts, now had to ask what happened. "My lord, what do you want to do?"

"Then I'll tell you plainly. Gould, I want to train an army that is good at archery with bows, but I'm very short of bows and arrows. I'd be very happy if you could wish me the fulfillment of this long-cherished wish."

"That's it?" To be honest, the wily Gould almost laughed. He thinks this child's words are too ridiculous, a team purely holding bows, do they expect these people to kill the enemy? Could there be a more bizarre resolution than this?

Gould did not refute immediately, and sent someone to bring a bow with a wave of his hand. He clutched it in his hands and stood before Rurik.

As for this bow, it is cut from the core of a small oak.

It was cut into a roughly cylindrical shape, and after the bow training operation, it formed a curved arc.

The bowstring is a twisted hemp rope, with pockets at both ends of the bowstring, which is hung on the so-called bow at one time.

Is this thing really a bow?

Rurik saw it, and immediately frowned, looking like a toy.

"Gould, are you kidding me? This thing is also a bow?"

Gould, who was about to explain, exclaimed: "My master, I dare not have the slightest expiration. This is our bow."

"But this thing is too crude."

At this moment, Yevro hurriedly interjected: "Master, Lord Gould did not deceive, this is the most common bow we use. Even your Ross tribe has such a bow. A bow is a bow, if you think it is simple, maybe you can inlay it Some gold, precious stones."

Hearing that, Rurik was dumbfounded.

That's all, where is the oriental compound bow interesting?

Gould was glad that Yevro continued to call himself "the lord", and he placed the bow on the table in front of Rurik: "It is not a weapon for killing enemies, but it is definitely a good tool for hunting. As long as you practice diligently, Shooting precious ferrets is not a problem."

"So can it shoot bears?" Rurik asked, opening his mouth.

"Forget it." Gould shrugged and pointed to the bearskin hanging on the wooden wall of his house: "Listen, don't be afraid of bears, face them bravely. The best weapon against bears is a spear, everyone. As soon as it came out, the dangerous bear became an adornment in my home. Count on a bow? That arrow can't even shoot through a bear's skin."

Gould's words seemed a bit exaggerated, but looking at the style of the bow, Rurik didn't think it was nonsense.

Rurik stared at the bow, whose arms seemed to be only a meter long.

This thing is obviously a single short bow, which looks like a toy.

Rurik stood up, grabbed the bow with his left hand, and began to pluck the strings with his right.

"Strange! I don't seem to use much strength to pull the bow away?! Is this thing really a bow?"

At the same time, Yevluo saw that the master Rurik's movements also lit up, and the person who plucked the bowstring of the drink was the thumb!

Yevro couldn't help but ask: "My master, are you... born to be able to shoot arrows?"

"Maybe." Rurik shrugged. "I don't know how strong this bow is. Just let me go out and try it out. You can find me something to target. Go!"

Gould can be said to be very positive about this matter. After a few greetings, a group of people began to set up the so-called shooting range, in order to make their Rurik gold master have a good time.

The fact is that reality, Gould didn't say it, he felt that Rurik was playing with himself today as a cameo "The Hunter with a Bow".

As for organizing a team with archers as the mainstay, Gould still finds it absurd. Because the reality is here, the wooden bow used by the mercenaries to hunt and kill the enemy is an object that a little boy can pull away. How powerful can it be?

Gould thought to himself: "Rurik, you'd better treat it as a toy."