Rise of Rurik

In fact, the river the Rus crosses is the so-called Tornio River, which originates from Lake Tona in the Norwegian Ridge. This so-called Lake Tona is the source of several rivers such as the Gulf of Bothnia, and a westward river that flows from it flows into the Narvik Fjord in Norway.

A Norwegian tribe named Balmerk is now the owner of the Narvik Fjord.

But so far, even if the distance between the two tribes is not very far in space, and even the two sides can complete the land connection along the existing river, the two sides still do not know the existence of the other.

The Rus were unaware of the existence of the Balmerc tribe, but the Balmerks were not fools willing to hide in the fjords. They were actively looking for external business opportunities. The locals began to look at Britain in the distance, and they also set their sights on the east of the mountains.

The strong Balmers have begun to conduct business exchanges with some "commercial partners" in the east of the mountain range. The scale of this so-called commercial activity is still too small to even interfere with the lives of deer breeders in the region.

So, the Balmers may know that there is a Rus clan in a confederation of thinking sub-tribes, but they do not know the exact location of the Rus.

Otto led his clan finally into a new area that the fishermen had not explored, and everyone settled down in a forest.

It looks like it's going to be another night in the cold snow.

But hunters who set up tripwire traps at night, hoping to try and catch precious ferrets in unknown places, perceive a mysterious light in the distance.

what is that? It's a bonfire!

The experienced hunter was extremely sensitive to flames, and he concluded from experience that it was an artificially lit bonfire and had nothing to do with starlight and moonlight.

And there is more than one bonfire.

What exactly is it? Is it a deer farmer's camp? Or an unknown enemy? !

The hunters had no idea of ​​setting traps at all, and they all ran back to their camps and rushed to Otto's warm sleeping nest to communicate this astonishing discovery.

"Is your eyes okay? If you lie about the news, I will punish you." Otto questioned seriously.

"Oh! Great leader, I dare to swear to the Valkyrie, my eyes are normal." The hunter also responded seriously.

Otto continued to ask, "Are there many bonfires?"

"Exactly.

Maybe the deer breeder at that time, maybe the mysterious enemy in the prophecy..."

"Shut up! Brothers." Otto's eyes widened under the night moon and he suddenly drew his saber. "The high priest's prophecy has come true. Listen, I know the deer keepers. They won't open fire. Campfire, because that will scare the deer! It must be an unknown enemy, it must be a strong enemy. Brothers, the aurora is in the sky! Now is your chance to prove to the Valkyries that you are a strong warrior, brothers, follow me!"

Otto forgot his exhaustion for a moment, nothing excites the old guy more than fighting.

His subordinates are like wolves who smell blood.

Many people who were asleep were awakened, and those who suddenly woke up had a hint of waking up, but when they learned that the battle of fate had finally come, they stood up one by two.

The originally quiet camp suddenly became noisy.

Otto slammed himself down the strong drink, and then threw the bottle to one of his subordinates at will. He was wiping his face with the snow that was available everywhere, and twisted his lion-like head desperately: "It's time to get that stinky boy out."

Otto stood in front of Rurik's snow shelter tent, very violently, he lifted the sackcloth roof and jumped in.

Rurik was caught out in his sleep and was slapped twice by Otto himself.

He was a little confused, why was he slapped by his father?

"Aren't you awake yet? My child! The battle has begun, this is your first battle!"

"The first battle? The battle has begun?"

"Wake up now!" Otto growled, throwing his son directly on the snow, and continuing to scold: "Get ready, we're going to fight."

With this reprimand and the pain in his face, Rurik realized the seriousness of the matter. He felt that the unknown enemy was attacking in large numbers, but when he stood up after Rumia's pull, he saw the tribal warriors who were arranging their equipment one by one under the snowy night.

What about the enemy?

Rurik looked around, and the grove of the hideout was clearly devoid of any enemy.

At that glance, Rurik felt that Otto had suddenly become very strange, like a raging lion, who had lost the depth of an old man in the past, and turned into a downright belligerent.

Look at what Otto is doing now! The entire camp was busy for the old leader.

And such Otto is also the person Rurik wants to be.

After a while, Yevlo, who also received the battle order, ran close to his real master Rurik with a vote of mercenaries under his command.

"What happened? Where is our enemy?" Rurik asked anxiously.

Yevro pointed to the east with a big hand: "It's over there. Hunters claim that there are a lot of bonfires on the east side of the frozen river."

"Is it an enemy? Is it a deer breeder?"

"This... I'm sorry, the leader didn't reveal more information." Yevlo said regretfully.

At this moment, Rumia, who realized that something was wrong, stared at her master seriously: "Definitely not a deer breeder. A deer breeder would not rashly expose his situation with a bonfire. Besides, deer are somewhat afraid of fire."

"Not a deer breeder? That's a Finn." Rurik said the word "finn" without thinking.

Yevro immediately denied it: "My master, my hometown is in the south. With all due respect, you cannot meet Finns in this area."

"Not a Finn? How could it not be a Finn?" Rurik was very surprised.

Although Rurik understood the basic geography of the Nordic world, he knew little about the ninth-century Nordic ethnic pattern. In fact, the so-called Finns in the narrow sense are specifically the indigenous people living along the coastline in Helsinki's geographical location.

Because of this, sometimes fishermen who turned into pirates attacked the indigenous settlements along the coast, and sometimes, it was the indigenous people who came to open their hometowns to seek development in the land west of the sea.

The Finns are their self-proclaimed people. Most of the time, the Viking tribes inhabited by Svealan simply call them "people from the east" in general terms.

Yevro insisted that it was not a Finn, and he also raised a possibility: "Maybe the unknown enemy is the Tavastian."

Tavastian? It was the first time Rurik had heard the name. He hurriedly asked about Rumia, unexpectedly, Rumia claimed to have heard of this name.

"Do you remember the past?" Rurik asked Yevlo seriously.

"I still vaguely remember that even if I forget the faces of my parents, I will never forget that the Tavastians are also our enemies."

Rurik could not have imagined that there are tribes in northern Europe that are more capable of fighting than the Vikings? This Tavastian, according to Yevro's description, was definitely not a Viking.

So, who are they?

Whatever their odd names, Rurik believes this group is one of the ancestors of modern Finns a thousand years from now.

After thinking about these things, Rurik urgently ordered: "Yevlo. Order the brothers to prepare for battle, and you all follow me. Especially you, you must inform my father of all your speculations."

Most of the warriors of the Ross tribe had to get up again after only a short nap. After packing up all their equipment, nibbling on some hard wheat cakes and jerky, they dragged the sleigh and continued to move forward in the cold snowy night. .

This time Rurik, too, had to follow his father on foot.

And what about Yeflo?

Although Rurik was a little reluctant, the mercenary he kept was ordered by Otto to be the vanguard of the team. For getting such an arrangement, Yevlo felt that it was an opportunity to become famous.

Yevro has already informed Otto of his own speculation that the people who ignited a large number of bonfires are more likely to be the Tavastians who went north to hunt.

Otto had never heard of the so-called Tavastians, and he even knew very little about the Finns. He felt that Yevro, who was not tall and strong, was a typical Finn. In fact, Yevro had already been Viking, and could no longer be called a real Finn.

Through these unverifiable suspicions, coupled with the hunter's report, and even Rumia's further explanation of the deer breeder's living habits.

Otto put all the information together, and he came to some conclusions. It doesn't matter who is lighting the bonfire, they are definitely hunters! Since they hunters, they must have a lot of leather on hand.

It was fate that made the two groups meet, the prophecy was very clear, and this battle was inevitable.

The troops of the Rus people dragged sleds through the forest. They didn't have any formation, but a large group of people gathered together.

Otto's idea is also very simple. Now that the enemy's position has been clear, explain that the army is rushing up, and with the strong combat power of the Rus, won't it be a big victory in one attack?

In fact, man is first and foremost a nocturnal creature. Humans have a large number of rod cells, so that people can act at night with dim light. Especially hunters with rich hunting experience, they are always good at using their nocturnal skills to hunt at night.

It is for this reason that the specially selected pilots of the night reconnaissance aircraft at high altitudes can accurately detect the extremely weak slow-burning fire of cigarette butts on the dark ground, and then judge the position of the enemy's defensive positions.

The faint light of a cigarette butt can be seen, not to mention a large number of bonfires.

Rurik had been walking on foot for a while, and then he had to sit on a sleigh with Rumia.

Such a son made Otto a little worried, how could a good warrior be afraid of rushing. Considering that his son is only eight years old, this age may not demand too much of him.

The army did not know how long it took to walk through the forest. Even with hunters who had explored the way as guides, many people were still worried that they had made a detour. Until, people can see the bonfire in the distance with the naked eye.

"Wow! Over there!"

Through the gaps in the snow-covered pine branches, Rurik saw the hills in the shadows in the distance, and the large number of bonfires on the hills.

This time, any doubts from the crowd disappeared. There was a lot of energy in everyone's heart, and they wanted to rush over immediately, smash the enemy's camp, and loot all the fur they hunted.

what! The Russ warriors heard Otto's clamor, and the chatter of the hunters along the way, made everyone believe that the mysterious Tavastians who lit the bonfire had accumulated a large amount of leather. Those guys who dare to expose themselves are simply reckless people who are slaughtered by their necks.

That's right, the law of the dark forest! The Russ are not going to be reasonable this time.

As the army set foot in places where the pathfinder hunters had never left their footprints, everyone moved cautiously, until a large frozen river blocked their way.

Another frozen river, and the fishermen in the crowd said that they definitely did not explore here during the warm period.

Facing this big river, Otto stopped unconsciously, and his subordinates also stopped to wait for the leader's order.

Sitting on the sled, Rurik reluctantly asked, feeling exhausted, "Dad, don't we attack immediately?"

"You can't wait?" Otto turned his head to glance at his son, and suddenly asked with interest: "You said, are we going to attack immediately?"

"I think... we should let everyone rest first."

"Rest? I don't think our warriors are tired."

Otto said that, he actually knew the situation of his subordinates very well. Everyone didn't get a good rest, so they walked a long way under the snowy night. The warriors must be tired. Taking part in the battle with such a posture, Otto has no chance of winning. Besides, looking at the location of those bonfires, the army still has to travel a long way.

"I think everyone is tired." Rurik jumped off the sleigh and bluntly said that his father was already drowsy. "Dad, if our people are tired and fight, many people will be accidentally injured or even killed. Since we are going to fight, we must be prepared."

"Oh? I didn't expect you to actually know how to fight?"

"This..." Rurik wanted to be humble, but when he noticed his father's strange attitude, he cheered up, "I know how to fight. The prophecy is very clear, this is my first battle."

"Your first battle." Otto smiled and nodded deeply, and then said loudly to the subordinates who were waiting for orders: "You all heard it! This time, our Rurik will lead us to fight, and we will surely win A great victory. Now I've decided that Rurik will dictate how we fight."

On the frozen river, Rurik, who was a little sluggish, was suddenly appointed by Otto as a "war chief", the so-called military commander. The chief Otto had the right to appoint a clan to hold this temporary but very important position.

It may seem absurd that the position falls on a little boy's head, but it is not. Quite a few tribal warriors are looking forward to this day!

Because Otto's aging is obvious, although everyone is reluctant, it is certain that Otto's life is not long. If Rurik, who has received the favor of the gods, can become a leader trusted by everyone as soon as possible, and can bring military victory, the clan The last bit of worry in people's minds will also be gone.

Things have become like this, and Otto is a little surprised that his son has no fear.

Rurik took the initiative to drink a small sip of the spirits he ordered to distill, the strong spicy effect on his mind, and the whole person was shocked.

All the clansmen present were gathered around by Rurik in the name of "war chief". He drew his saber and raised his voice so that his voice could suppress the whistling of the north wind.

"Warrior of Ross! Now I am your leader. This is the first battle of my destiny, and I will lead you to victory!"

Immediately, the booing young people in the team started shouting Rurik's name, which soon turned into a cheering roar from everyone.

When the crowd was naturally quiet, Rurik finally made a strange decision.