Rise of Rurik

A new voyage is now! Otto feels a lot of pressure to collect the last tribute before the sea water freezes completely.

He had never in his life organized a fleet to sail north of Roseburg in late October.

Although the snow has not yet fallen, the severe cold of early winter has already chilled most of them. Those who are thinly clothed are the most dangerous. Any night that they can't keep warm is likely to be the last night of their lives.

Otto couldn't help thinking back to Sorgon, which was seriously delayed last year. It was also at the end of October. After all, the returning fleet returned from the southern waters, where it was warmer, and there was no need to consider the dangerous sea ice.

"Damn it, maybe I should wait until the sea blows and organize a reindeer sleigh caravan to collect the tribute."

With the great victory of crossing the ice sea, anyone who experienced it feels that it is not difficult to reproduce it again.

Otto thought for a while, and considering many practical issues, he had to take an adventure.

Use cargo ships! The fleet consists entirely of cargo ships.

"If there is a small piece of ice floe in the sea, the cargo ship will definitely be able to smash it!" Otto really made a mental struggle and decided that he must act quickly.

After all, if I have an appointment with the Balmerks, if I don't take them away, wouldn't it seriously damage the reputation and honor of the Ross people?

Otto wants to sail by force, and those who are willing to follow him on another adventure are under enormous pressure.

Everyone knows the dangers involved in sailing in ice-infested waters. Everyone is generally not afraid of hitting or sinking a ship, but their fearlessness is actually limited to the warm period.

The season is like this, the sea in October is already very hands-on, even if you are a brave winter swimmer, you will freeze to death soon after soaking in the water.

For the squirrel skin, for the chrome iron ax, and for the greater good, a small Sorgon fleet consisting of five cargo ships and five longships, led by Otto's relatives, headed toward the depths of the bay with the momentum of creating history. The coldest and first to freeze seas march against the north wind.

A long ship with blue oars printed on its sails, she is Otto's flagship.

It's a pity that this ship does not have a clear name, she is just a tool to complete Otto's resolution.

The core of this fleet is the cargo ship, and all the long ships play the role of guard.

Replaced with Otto of extremely thick leather,

As usual, he stood proudly at the bow of the ship, looking out to the east.

Unfortunately, as a large ship that highly imitated the Caravel type sailing ship began to be built, Rurik no longer looked down on the long ships of the tribe.

Rurik had to follow his father on this adventurous winter voyage, because the tribute paid by Elronburg was his property. And the local steel squirrel tribe is legally his slave.

A girl was naturally involved, and she followed Rurik closely on a cargo ship carrying a batch of grain.

"When we got there, have you decided what to say to your father?" Rurik asked casually.

The girl Saibo Lava, she is wearing a coat stitched with ferret fur, after a lot of meditation, she looks like a lovely little angel.

"I... I don't know."

"Are you nervous? Don't be afraid." Rurik looked at the girl's flushed little face, it was definitely not shyness and caution, it must have been blown by the north wind.

"I'm not afraid. Rurik, I don't know how to talk to my father. You're a good man, but..."

"What's wrong?"

"I..." Even in Roseburg, the child Saipo Lava was unwilling to say much.

She didn't know that the quieter she acted, the more interested Rurik would be.

She is born with such a temperament, and she behaves submissively most of the time.

"Is there anything you want to say?"

Saiporava looked into Rurik's eyes anxiously, needless to say she was excited when she thought that she would give birth to the boy in front of her in about ten years.

Of course, there are contradictions. Rurik is a good person, she thinks so, but the Ross people are the conquerors. On this trip, the fleet is going to the big river in Cowen's hometown, and it's all about going to Elronburg.

The killings of the previous winter had already deeply shocked Saipo Lava's young heart.

She is just a simple and depressed girl, Rurik stretched out his hand and stroked her clean hair, "Don't worry about anything. I want to see how your father built Elronburg. "

"But!" The girl suddenly raised her head, "The task you gave them is too difficult. I'm worried..."

"That's what they have to do."

She thought that Rurik would soften his heart and not have to force his own people anymore, but she didn't expect Rurik to say uncompromising words with a smiling face.

Of course Rurik's heart softened in an instant, but he was hardened in an instant. A king must be consistent, and since Mechasta of Elronburg felt that he could complete the smelting and forging of a thousand chrome axes and even spearheads, he must complete it. Because what they produce is essentially a military supply, this promise is a military order. What's more, Rurik remembered that the deadline for them to complete the task was the end of September, and it's already the end of October. If they can't finish it for an extra month, that's malicious neglect!

Rurik has no intention of continuing to appease Saiporava, he has essentially become the girl's master.

Seborava is the de facto proton of the Iron Squirrel Tribe, and boy Telavis is the proton.

Rurik made her sit down and wrapped her in a woolen blanket to keep her warm. He often leaned on the side of the boat and gradually saw the land in the east.

The fleet spent the night at sea, and they sailed all night. Before noon the next day, the fleet skillfully reached the mouth of the Oulu River.

All of this is of course due to Rurik's unique measuring skills, which made the fleet walk in a straight line when they left the fjord. The route, the fleet has already arrived at the small island at the mouth of the Oulu River early.

In the dry season of the Oulu River, its shallow water channel may be used by cargo ships, and no one is willing to take risks.

He revisited the old place because he was worried that they would rebel. Otto brought a group of armored warriors, even if there were only a hundred of them, it was enough to deter the Catfish tribe and other Kewen tribes.

Of course, Rurik felt that his father was overly cautious, and it was a good thing to be cautious, but the Kewen people who stayed there obviously lost a lot of men in the war. Do they have the strength to rebel?

Five longships entered the Oulu River smoothly, and Rurik followed the boats upstream. Being in the river channel, I really don't know this damn diving, that is, a longboat with a shallow draft can shuttle smoothly.

Is the Oulu River only one meter deep in autumn and winter?

Someone on the long boat has been carrying a long wooden stick to probe the depth of the water to ensure that the boat will not run aground. If there is any advantage in the dry season, it is that the weak current makes the navigation resistance not great, and the Ross longboat can still paddle at high speed.

Otto just wanted to get things done as soon as possible, and the fleet moved fast against the current. They spent the night on the riverside to rest, and continued to move forward the next day, and suddenly they were in a small lake with an unstoppable momentum.

There are stretches of haystack wooden houses by the lake, and the tribe of the catfish master is here.

There are some canoes floating on the lake, and the fishermen see the long boats as if they saw monsters.

The news of the arrival of the Ross people quickly spread in the small village. Even though the tribe had already expressed its surrender, many people were fleeing with their most important belongings in panic. Because they didn't know whether the Ross people came to collect tribute or simply plunder.

Is it right to run away?

The leader Kehas recalled that he had sent people to fight side by side with the Ross people last year. With such a friendship, they would not plunder again.

But he didn't convince many people.

Leaning on crutches, the old man led a mere 20 tribesmen, standing in the village that had quickly quieted down, to welcome the landing of the Ross people.

Soon, five longships landed.

Nearly a hundred heavily armed soldiers jumped off the ship, and the first ones to take action were naturally a small group of mercenaries under Commander Yevro.

This place was the first battle of the mercenaries loyal to the Ross people, and it was also the first place where blood was shed.

Yevro, who arrived here again, had to be vigilant: "Brothers, be careful. We can't expect them to really surrender."

Yeflo's worries are necessary, or all of this is Otto's own inspiration. At first, Rurik felt that his father was overly cautious, but his father said: We killed many of them, and they really surrendered?

For a moment Rurik was a little confused.

Looking at the canoes randomly placed on the shore, it is obvious that the fishermen escaped very suddenly.

Feeling the unusual tranquility of this place again, Rurik, who was tightly protected by Ross's warrior's shield, also had to get nervous.

"Rurik, these catfish catchers...they..." A timid voice came from beside Rurik.

It's Sepporava...

"What's wrong with you? Scared?"

"I... I ran those catfish guy raids. They... were the bad guys."

bad guy! bad guy? The world is really absurd. Shouldn't the Ross people be the villains at this moment? Presumably, although they are all Cowen people, the gray squirrel tribe and the catfish master tribe have always been in a state of hostility. Saipo Lava must have been indoctrinated since childhood that those catfish catchers are bad people.

But what is the point of these?

"Jefflo, string the crossbow! Take your men to explore." Rurik softly shouted.

Yevro looked back and understood.

Many mercenaries used their strong arms to wind the oars for a long time, and it became inappropriate for them to wind it up with their arms. The winches they carried came in handy at this time. They slowly approached those houses with their crossbows in hand, and many old mercenaries directly remembered the scene of the previous winter.

Aren't those haystacks by the lake and the shadows of the wooden houses full of murderous intentions?

Thinking that their companions were actually blocked by a sword from an enemy with superb archery skills, while they were worried about their necks, the two fingers of their right hands never left the trigger, and the shooters aimed at any suspicious places.

Suddenly, a small group of figures emerged from their hiding place.

If the crutches hadn't been shown first, some mercenaries would have shot terrifying arrows suddenly.

An old guy on crutches appeared. He was Kehas, the leader of the tribe. In Otto's opinion, he hadn't seen him for more than half a year. This man was even older. He is old, and he should not lose some of the cards he should have.

The spear-wielding warriors followed closely, holding up a small but necessary card for their leader. This so-called armament obviously couldn't withstand two or three rounds of fire from the Ross crossbowmen.

They appeared dignifiedly and had no intention of fighting. Seeing this, Otto was put on guard.

The vigilant soldiers relaxed. The swords and axes they held were circling gorgeously in their right hands. This was an unintentional move, but it was terrifying in the eyes of those Kewen people holding spears. Many people were on the verge of urinating.

Fortunately, Kaihas had seen more scenes, so he tried his best to keep calm.

He approached Otto respectfully: "Great Chief Ross, I know the purpose of your visit, and I have prepared all the squirrel skins you asked for."

Yefro immediately made a correct translation, who would be dissatisfied?

"You did a good job, but your village has become quiet again. Why? I thought you were armed again and planned to betray me."

Kehas was trembling with shock, and he had no doubt that if he angered the Rus, the village would burst into flames. He hastened to explain: "My people were very humble and very frightened. They fled into the woods."

"Did you get scared?" Otto just wanted to laugh, but he couldn't laugh anymore after thinking about it. "What about the leather? I don't care about your people, I want leather. Kaihas, you are responsible for collecting all the tributes of the Kewen people, have you really done it?"

"Yes!" Kaihas insisted that he had completed the task, and pointed to the location of the mountain castle not far away: "The leather is all there. It is a tribute from our Kewen people. There are... 10,000 pieces."

"What? So many?!"

"Yes." Kehas was very happy that Otto would be pleasantly surprised, so he continued to flatter: "They are all dedicated to you. Among all the squirrel skins, it is my tribe that provides more. The three tribes ..." At this point, Kehas became cruel and deliberately slandered: "Great leader, I have something to say and I don't know whether to say it or not."

"speak!"

"They. Bakan, Teljo, and Ojedo, the three leaders didn't provide much, maybe it's just because I was the one who collected the tribute. Each tribe should provide two thousand squirrel skins, and the three tribes only Three thousand copies were delivered to me. Great leader, we are good at fishing and hunting squirrels. In order to realize my loyalty, I provided seven thousand copies.”

Here Kehas tries to portray himself as a loyal eagle dog and the other three tribes as potential traitors. The words were said by the old guy, but Otto didn't doubt what he said for a while.

A sense of murder rose in Otto's heart, and Yefro, who was in charge of the translation, also wanted to believe that the three tribes were suspected of rebellion.

Rurik was not directly present when they communicated, and he did not want to continue to stay in the village for a long time. He accompanies Saiporava to wander around the ship in a bored manner, waiting for the Ross warriors to ship a large amount of leather away.

Seeing that the leader of Ross showed signs of anger, Kaihas kept doing two things: "Great leader, I am your loyal servant, but those tribes are doubtful. I am even worried that they will defect to Tavastia not far away." People, there is a group of stronger enemies. In my opinion, we should form a coalition to completely defeat those three tribes, and then attack the Tavastians."

Otto felt something was wrong: "Do you... want war?"

"I don't want war, I just want to continue to be your servant. Let us live better, and you can get more leather."

"Not bad." Otto nodded deeply: "It's a pity that they didn't really rebel. But don't worry, you continue to collect tribute from them and tell them that if they dare to disobey, I will definitely fight against you! Listen, we are Keep your word, you are my loyal dog, and any hunter will cherish the hunting dog."

In the Western context, calling others "hunting dogs" and "loyal dogs" is often not malicious, but a compliment to loyalty.

This is the verbal promise that Kehas hopes to get, so that he can better exploit those enemies.

The invasion and conquest of the Ross people were pure acts of conquest, and Otto had no idea of ​​mediating the conflict between the five tribes of the Kwen people. The catfish master tribe itself has a certain advantage. Now the gray squirrel tribe has been forcibly relocated, and the men of the other three tribes have suffered extremely serious losses.

Although Caihas's own tribe suffered losses, fortunately, the women of the tribe did not suffer the blow of the war. Many men naturally possess more women, and the tribe loses its population. The best solution is to speed up the birth, so a large number of women actually fled into the woods with their stomachs upright to hide from the Ross people.

The small group of humans living in the Oulu River Basin can be said to live in a worse community.

Cayhas was indeed able to provide as many as ten thousand squirrel skins, of which as many as nine thousand were actually expropriated from the three tribes by him as a tax collector. He himself only provided a mere thousand copies.

Even though the three tribes had migrated farther to try to hide, they were still found by the people of Kehas. Relying on the larger number of males, the Salmon Lord Tribe ordered them to come up with tributes without hesitation.

Kaihas, when the Russ are not coming, he is the little bully of the Oulu valley. Here came the Ross, and he turned into a tail-wagging puppy.

Otto didn't know the inside story, and he didn't want to know it for the time being. In fact, even if he found out, would he pursue it? Of course no.

The conquest of the Kewen people was a complete accident, and the Ross people's completion of the winter expedition was originally a temporary idea.

Long term governance here? Otto, he had no plans in this regard, he felt that maybe his Rurik had thoughts.

It is most practical to collect at least one batch of squirrel skins. As for where the leather comes from, what do you care about so much?