Rise of Rurik

One after another longships washed the beach, and the swarms of Melalen warriors poured into Norrkoping, which the Gotlanders built on the ruins of Ostara.

The reinvigorated Carl obtained this batch of fresh troops, and he took the remaining personal soldiers and started a comprehensive counterattack together with hundreds of "black soldiers" raised by his father.

The next battle can be described as elite versus elite. Both sides of the battle are iron helmets and chain mail. The Melalen army still has an overwhelming military advantage, and those "iron guys" have no chance to escape.

The very hard tempered chrome ax of the Melalen army directly smashed the enemy's chainmail, but they were also smashed by the enemy's wrought iron axe. In fact, even extremely hard chrome steel weapons are difficult to reflect tactical advantages in the current melee.

In the cramped battlefield in the village, the side with the advantage in the number of troops and the physical strength of the soldiers is using brute force to win.

All the Gotlanders who dared to resist were killed. Some of the Mellaren army dragged out crying women and children from their wooden houses. They dared to resist and assassinate them directly. After that, they began to loot wealth and search for silver coins, copper coins and gems. , and even all valuables such as cloth and leather. In particular, the Melalen peasant soldiers mixed in, they are the most greedy, but they also have a little "kindness" unexpectedly.

For example, Olekin ordered his black army to attack. These guys who eat the king's wealth can be described as indiscriminate attacks on weekdays, but they are poor peasant soldiers who expect to get rich in the first battle. Once they catch a female prisoner, they will protect them as soon as possible. live. Can't say it's really kind, just because they want to take the captive back as a wife, that's all.

They intend to pull these captives to the coast, and whether the king will fulfill his long-cherished wish depends on the king's decision.

But when they did, they completely lost a real looting feast.

Isn't the "iron guy" of the enemy suddenly transformed into a berserker?

They are themselves a guard of a large family, and they are always dressed in armor to protect the wealth of their masters - silver coins and leather.

The so-called big households, in essence, are instructed by the Danish leader to bring a group of elite soldiers to do business in Norrkoping to make profits for the leader "Lion Hafgen", and at the same time symbolize that this place is a Danish-controlled area.

With the soldiers from Denmark covered in chainmail, being overwhelmed and beheaded by the Melalen army with overwhelming strength and armament, a wooden house area where the Danish big family and the strength of Denmark are located has been destroyed by Melalen. The Legion was surrounded.

What's even more crazy is that Karl and a group of soldiers kicked open all the wooden doors unceremoniously. This man is violent towards his own women, and naturally shows no mercy to his enemy's wives and concubines.

at last,

That guy, who was well-dressed and knew wealth at a glance, was stabbed and killed by many short spears in the chaotic army.

Carl looked at the horribly dead corpse and couldn't help spitting: "Really, dealing with such a rich man, so many people died of me. It's a pity that a good leather jacket is ruined so much."

A little leader in black chain mail with a crazy expression on his face followed Carl, "My lord. The king asked us to find gold and silver. The brothers have all gone to catch their sheep, what should we do? Here It looks like..."

"Look for gold! You find it for me! Dig around for me and find the gold they buried!"

As soon as Carl was out of breath and issued the order, a soldier rushed to report the good news, "My lord! We have found their cash box. Also, a lot of sheepskins?"

"Really?" The excited Carl grabbed the man's neck directly.

The soldier muttered in excruciating pain: "Yes... yes! A log cabin is all."

"Let's go! It's all my wealth, leave my father alone, take me to see it!"

Soon, Carl and his men had control of the main treasure found, which was two wooden chests of silver coins, and the weight was gratifying. The more cargo is naturally sheepskins, which are stacked on top of each other, almost filling the entire wooden house.

The armored warriors were playing with silver coins, and many people subconsciously stuffed them into their clothes. They didn't dare to stuff too much, for fear that noble people would blame it. However, he really saw so much wealth, and Carl, who was open to seeing wealth, did not pursue so much.

He looked at the dense wooden house, sighed and gritted his teeth: "Damn, I lost so many brothers, just for this little money?"

"Sir. Are we going to move the spoils out now?" The soldier who took a lot of silver coins hurriedly hinted that Carl would do more damage.

"Move out now. You carry your things to the beach and take your brothers to watch over them. After that, burn all these houses down!"

After receiving the order, the crowd was excited, and the Melalen warriors present knew that they would definitely get a piece of the pie after the battle. There are so many sheepskins here. Isn't it easy and reasonable to get a sheepskin in battle? In this way, those brothers who died in battle are not considered dead in vain.

No, just as they began to carry bundles of sheepskins to withdraw, there were already soldiers stripping dead people's clothes.

All they pick up are the chainmail and helmets of the "Iron Guys", even if they are stained with blood. All the armors were pulled off, revealing twisted and deformed blond heads, and the dead stared blankly, proving that they were killed in battle.

For such a ruthless character, Melalen warriors have no intention of insulting. They respect this kind of warriors and collect their corpses spontaneously. As for the Gotlanders in commoner clothes, the bodies of these people were still lying on the ground unnoticed.

As many as a thousand sheep have been strongly frightened in the battle, they have been completely controlled by the Meralon invaders, and the owners of the sheep have all been killed. In fact, the Gotlanders have more sheep. The shepherds took their sheep to grazing. Seeing a lot of thick smoke coming out of the settlement, they felt that something big happened. They chose to hide first.

The sheep were driven to their landing site by the Mellarens, and a swarm of white things squirmed on the beach.

Rurik originally just wanted to take a good look at what the Mellarens who had basically ended the battle would do. He leaned his head and squinted, surprised to see the sheep.

"Huh? Did they catch a surprise?"

This was Carlotta's hometown, and Rurik rudely dragged the mentally ill girl back to the bow deck.

Carlotta raised his eyes and looked into the distance: "Ah! Those are actually sheep!"

"Yes, the sheep. Carlotta, what do you think."

"That's our sheep! It must be ours!" The anxious Carlotta spoke with a cry.

"Um?"

Carlotta was depressed because of the terrifying memory, and now that she saw the sheep, her grief and anger came back to her heart. Rurik noticed the girl's clenched fists and the desire to retake the flock.

"That's our flock! It must be so. We escaped with nothing, only a few Ostarans escaped. All our cattle and sheep were caught by them, and they were ours. Ah! Now the flock is being swept away by the Mellarens..."

Part of Carlotta's assertion is true.

When the Danish coalition forces attacked here, some Gotlanders built a new town of Beiköping on the ruins after occupying it. The sheep that were captured naturally became the means of production for the new settlers. Coupled with the import of a batch of sheep from Gotland, the scale of the local sheep flock has expanded. While meeting the needs of the local people, they can also sell surplus wool and leather products. This place in Norrkoping has become a A "wool production base".

The anchored Avrora was set on the sea, and the distance between the ship and the land was only 200 meters. Like Carlotta, who had good eyesight, he could clearly see those Melalen people slaughtering sheep in public, and they were already celebrating. own victory.

The first time to enjoy the spoils, this is the power of the winner, Carlotta has a heart but can't interfere for the time being.

Rurik looked open-minded, and he patted Carlotta's back: "Don't worry, when we go ashore, we will go and tell Olekin, at least get you back a batch of sheep."

Carlotta nodded, her clenched fists slackened, and she looked at Rurik with tears in her eyes, not knowing what to say other than thanking her.

The battle of the Meralen army encountered some setbacks and lost some troops, but in terms of results, it was a great victory.

Origen has never experienced a real large-scale battle in his life, everything is as Otto said, the worldview of this old guy has always been limited to Lake Mälaren and the surrounding area.

Origen ushered in the biggest victory in his life. He learned through the news that his son got the most fierce resistance and really fought back. Guys in iron armor, they are all elite Danish fighters.

"Elite? I'm fighting for the elite! The legendary brave Danes are nothing more than that!" He patted his son Carl on the shoulder, quite satisfied with the trophies he got from the battle.

Look, there are two boxes of silver coins in front of him. One thing is that these money are not much. Considering that this settlement was established by Danish and Gotland invaders, they naturally wouldn't put too much money here.

The flock and the copious amount of leather made Orekin jump and jump with joy. He is the king, and the eight hundred elite "black warriors" under his command only lost less than ten people. He could declare that the spoils belonged to him, or at least he had the right to distribute them. If there are people who do not follow, and eight hundred elite soldiers are here, who would dare to say no?

There have already been fires caused by the Melalen people during the robbery. They pulled the women and children out of the wooden house, and they didn't care about the burning of the house.

On the beach, a small group of poor women holding their children, in fact, many people have been killed. Those who survived seem to be lucky. Actually? What awaits them is the separation of flesh and blood, and more cruel torture.

Origen was not a good person, and besides, the Gotlanders destroyed the Ostara tribe, which was equivalent to urinating on his head, and he felt that he had to use the most violent means to vent his anger.

He instructed his son Karl: "The existence of this Norrkoping is an insult to you and me. Take your men and burn down all the houses, let the girl of Ostara see, let the army of others see, It is our Melaren Army that defends our dignity."

"Okay!" Karl was planning to indulge the devil in his heart during the arson. He pointed to the trembling prisoners gathered not far away: "What about those women? They are slaves?"

"Bah! That's a goddamn burden. We have to expand the war and let more enemies die. Wouldn't it be a distraction for the soldiers to keep those women?"

Carl felt that he understood what his father meant, so he drew his sword: "I understand, I will arrange for someone to kill them all. Or it's not too late to make the brothers happy first."

After all, Carl will take the brothers to start.

"Wait a minute!"

"Huh? Father, are you hesitating?"

"Yes, I changed my mind."

"Why? Aren't they burdensome?"

Origen pointed at the Rus' sailboat: "We have an agreement with them, and we owe them a debt."

"That debt? In my opinion they should honor us. Are you going to give them a load of money? I don't want to..."

"I don't want to, but..." Origen sighed deeply, "As a man, as a king, I must have faith. Let's just sell all those captives to the Rus to pay off our debts."

"What about the price?" Karl asked cautiously.

Origen looked at the sky and thought for a while: "Let's do it! It's a disaster to keep men, and the Russ people definitely don't want to come. You kill all the men. A woman has one pound of silver coin, and a girl has half a pound. That's how it is arranged."

Carl nodded, and the action really started.

So Rurik, who was watching from a distance, soon saw a thrilling scene. When both he and Carlota saw the terrible things that happened there, even Rurik, who claimed to be not afraid of bloody battlefields, was also shocked. Back to the cabin.

Norrkoping, the de facto northernmost stronghold of the Danes, was built on the ruins of the old Ostara, and just two years later, she will return to the state of ruins, turned into a piece of scorched earth.

A group of distraught women were tied with their hands and feet and their mouths stuffed into the ball of cloth.

In the Viking world, even ten-year-old boys were often treated as warriors. If it was just a tribal war, the losers would naturally be slaves, but Origen was simply tit-for-tat this time, and he was about to die, so he felt no guilt, or even pressure, for a ruthless means.

Babies were also killed by the Melaron Army, and the women and girls who survived have been turned into commodities, waiting to be sold to the Rus. Of course, some Melalen warriors had already indulged under the benefit of Karl. They didn't care about the women who were in pain, after tidying up their armor, they slaughtered lambs and roasted meat one after another.

The burning North Köping ignited a violent thick smoke, which was the best signal, leading the army of various tribes to approach.

The Ankras Army, the Yermalen Army, and even other units were long overdue. They complained that the battle was over, and they went on their way, with nothing new to gain but breathlessness.

When they began to wash the beach, the Melalen Army had brought them ready to set up their first tents on the beaches of the Gotlanders.

At this moment, Otto has brought a group of personnel and escorted the rations belonging to the Melalen Army to complete the landing.

The seized pottery urns of the locals began to cook wheat, lamb, and some fresh onions.

As many as three hundred sheep have been slaughtered, and the fresh skins have been gathered up and become the king's property.

Otto, Rurik, and even Carlotta and others landed. The sight of several short children following Otto made Origen feel absurd and uninteresting.

In the tent erected by the assault, Olegin only allowed Otto to enter, and because of the victory, he became proud of himself.

"You've finally landed, and I've brought all the provisions. Well done, Otto."

Since he realized that this Origen was also killing prisoners, he didn't expect that this person would do such a stupid act. Seeing Origen's arrogant face again, Otto only felt that this guy was already gone. The surface work is still to be done, Otto replied with a sullen face: "We have delivered food to you as agreed."

"Oh? It's really according to the agreement? I noticed that you were shooting arrows at the enemy, and the whistling of the arrows revealed your identity. You are not standing idly by."

Otto was not flustered, he was just surprised that his fears came true: "But we didn't intervene in person. My soldiers didn't land to fight."

"That's true. Your arrows are very powerful, but the key to winning is to fight." After speaking, Olegin pointed to the outside of the curtain: "More than 50 Danish soldiers died in this battlefield. They They are all covered in iron armor, but they were all beheaded by our army, which shows that our Melalen army is indeed the mainstay of the coalition army."

"Yes, I have always acknowledged your power." Otto agreed with a sullen face.

"There are no others here, and all the leaders have not yet landed. There are only you and me here, and I am about to talk to you about repaying the money."

"Give me the spoils now?"

Otto felt that this was a bit strange. After all, he and Rurik had calculated that the Melalen Army would actually pay off the debt by delivering grain during the autumn harvest.

Origen said decisively: "It's now, but it's not silver coins. We have an agreement that I can repay the debt with equivalent commodities, so I decided to use slaves."

"Slave? Is it the prisoner of war you captured?"

"Exactly. I have more than a hundred women, and more than fifty girls, and they are worth at least fifteen thousand silver coins. Please accept these slaves. You must!"

Looking at this guy's arrogance, Otto felt that he was being asked not to refuse.

However, suddenly acquiring a group of slaves was not in his and Rurik's plans.

Otto deliberately asked tentatively, "Why are there no men? Even boys will do."

"They dared to resist, and they were all beheaded by our army."

When Origen spoke, his eyes were full of viciousness, Otto thought, this matter must not be so simple.

"What if those women...I don't want any of them?"

"You dare!" Olegin, who had been sitting cross-legged, suddenly stuck his head out, then slowly retracted his body and laughed: "Anyway, they are enemies. Carlotta's child is also off the books, so I can let her in. , I think she will be satisfied with my decision."

"In the end what you want?"

"Since you don't want it, I will instruct my men to kill all those captives. Listen, my old friend!" Olegin's dry fingers pointed to the south: "We will continue south and attack the real Danes' stronghold. We will The Melalen Army is the main force, and naturally there are many burdens. These women are burdens, and I advise you to buy them."

"you!"

At this moment, Otto really wanted to shout "I just don't want it", and his heart softened when he thought that the eastern settlements of the Ross tribe would always be very short of population. Besides, if he really sat and watched Origen continue to kill prisoners, that kid Rurik would definitely be furious.

As the Duke of Ross, Otto certainly has the right to make his own decisions. It's just that he has self-knowledge, and even his own wisdom is definitely insufficient.

"Or else. Let Rurik come in to discuss, and Carlotta has something to ask of you."

Olegin gave Otto a wink: "I didn't expect Rurik to be the real duke, and you actually have to listen to your son's decision. Unlike me, Karl is wild and always a docile puppy in front of me. Well, I'm willing to deal with that kid..."