Rise of Rurik

The morning sun was in the east, and the fleet continued to move due south.

Bright days are the best time for war, and the long days in summer keep ships on long voyages.

Sailing against the wind will inevitably waste a lot of time, but a whole new goal stands in the distance!

Originally, Otto, Rurik and the others who were staying in the captain's lounge were called by the soldiers on the deck.

Yevro's report made Otto, who was dozing off, very depressed: "So soon? I thought I would only meet the enemy tomorrow. How did I find the enemy settlement again?!"

"Duke, it is absolutely true! Brothers' eyes are like eagles, and the enemy's eyes appear on the distant hills..."

"What is it?"

"It seems to be a fortress."

Here Yevlo uttered the word for "mountain fort" in ancient Finnish, and Otto could no longer languish.

A hibernating bear broke out!

Otto stood up abruptly: "It's great! We have a decent enemy for so many days to attack. Let's go, get on the deck and see what kind of guys they are."

For a moment, Rurik stood by his father's side. He had better eyes than Otto, squinting, and through the clear air, he saw that the so-called "mountain fort" did appear on the distant hills.

Rurik estimated that Yevlo was referring to "every building protected by a wooden wall" as a mountain fort, and this time Yevlo was clearly correct.

"Dad. I saw it all."

"I can see it a bit blurry, it looks a little bit like the New Rose Fort wood wall, I can't think of anyone other than us doing this."

"What shall we do?" Rurik asked cautiously.

"You? You actually asked me?" Otto actually couldn't make up his mind. Based on the intuition of an old soldier, he looked at the Melalen Army, which was still advancing rapidly. . "At least I gave you the authority to command the Ross Army."

Rurik sighed a little, then pointed his hand at King Origen's ship: "We will see the reaction of the Mellarens, they will support us when they attack. But..."

"What's the matter? You can't do it..." Otto's mood suddenly became excited.

"Yes! Although we can abide by the contract and remain spectators, the battlefield environment is complicated. If our allies are in trouble, we must also participate in the war."

"Wuhu! Is it a fight? You're less than twelve years old, and you want to go to war again?" Otto happily grabbed his son's golden ponytail, although Rurik was still a child, the soul of a warrior. Awakening is invaluable.

"If necessary, we should go to war." Rurik looked at his father with a serious face: "No matter what the war is, we will watch for a while. If Olegin orders us to go to war, our army will land. But none of us will participate in the fight. At most we're backing up with bows and crossbows. Dad, I don't want any of my brothers to get hurt, and I don't want to get too involved."

Without the stimulation of melee combat, Otto couldn't be really excited in such a battle, and presumably the same was true of other brothers.

"Okay." Otto's deep eyes continued to look at the approaching enemy settlement in front of him, "I don't care about anything else, at least we have to get some food. If the fighting continues, we will not have enough food. ."

The goal is just ahead, and unlike the prudence and restraint of the Ross people, the Melalen people are completely excited.

Having won the previous two battles, they were already proud that the Gotlanders and Danes were nothing more than that. Although everyone is tired and the time is not good for the entire coalition, but everyone rushed forward and destroyed the enemy's stronghold to make a fortune!

Is not it? The enemy even built wooden walls, and they must be protecting something by doing so.

What can they protect? It must be wheat, meat, and countless silver and copper coins.

There is still a rational and restrained person in the entire Melalen army, and that is Olegin.

Carl was so excited that his heart almost exploded, he held a sharp sword and pointed straight ahead: "Let me take a group of brothers to be the vanguard. Give me your most elite warriors, the victory belongs to Melalen, and I will stand in this battle. great merit."

At this moment, Olegin, who was holding the bow of the boat, was in a really complicated mood. He hesitated for a while and made a decision to refuse.

"Why?!" Carl exclaimed puzzled. In grief and anger, he pointed at the friendly troops who were chasing after him. "Do you want to give them the glory of attacking the enemy?"

"Well……"

"It's me! The invincible Karl! Are you afraid that I will die in battle and the power of the family will fall? Bah!" Karl turned his head to look at the sun that was beginning to slant west, and pointed his sword directly, he shouted: "Odin Give me this honor, I am the king of the sanctuary (referring to Sweden itself), give me victory!"

So what did God give him in response? It seems that the southerly wind is stronger.

Carl didn't care so much, he took the sword and told his father bluntly: "Now God has ordered us to attack, we can't go against God's will and give opportunities to others."

Olegin felt that these remarks were all made up by Carl himself, but this kid's words attracted cheers from the flagship soldiers.

Public opinion cannot be violated. What Olegin feels is the excitement of the soldiers. If he refuses his will, he will definitely get the hatred of the clansmen.

He gritted his teeth and looked behind him. Today, the Russ people are still like "dogs following their masters", and the other allies are dawdling at Fela.

"Let's do it then! Let's take a gamble!" Origen, who was baring his teeth, drew out his beautiful steel sword and suddenly shoved it into Carl's hand.

The intention of this move is self-evident!

Karl held his father's sword and immediately raised it: "Everyone, paddle as fast as you can! All boats follow!"

The speed of the Melalen army increased, and the soldiers did not care about the disadvantage in future battles caused by physical exhaustion. They rushed towards the target, which shocked the Rus people to respond positively.

Otto felt more and more that the reason was because he saw a small sandbar not far away, as well as enemy fishing boats farther away. If it were normal, the Melalen army would have separated their ships to attack the enemy fishing boats, and now they are only interested in the enemy ports.

At this moment, the Avlora and the rest of the Rus ships are in a state of readiness. Although the naval battle does not seem to happen, the warriors armed with crossbows are fully prepared just in case.

The sails were fully stretched, and the Avrora reached her top speed, which caused her to dash into the formation of the Meralen army at one point. This unintentional move was like a spur that urged the horses to run wildly, forcing the Melalen army, who had been replaced by Karl, to accelerate further.

This is actually the first attack wave of the coalition forces, and it is probably the most powerful round. There are less than five kilometers of port road left in the last landing battle.

...

A huge fleet of ships rushed towards the port, and the residents of Voskas Harbor (Oscar Harbor) couldn't believe their eyes.

who are they? Why so many longships? How did the sails have unrecognized patterns printed on them?

Alas! Is it blinding? That huge sail is actually a ship?

For a time, many residents didn't realize that it was the enemy. They stood on the edge of the dock and the hills, watching the fast approaching fleet, whispering what was going on with these guys.

There are also people who are instinctively aware of the threat in the heat.

That was a Dane, a Danish businessman to be specific.

A servant sent by a businessman walked around the streets and delivered the best news in the intricate residential area composed of thatched huts and wooden huts in the port: "Don't look at it, that's not the Danes! The unknown person is the enemy!"

Shouting and shouting, the group of messengers simply shouted "enemy attack", and just one phrase made a large number of onlookers who didn't know the truth realize that something was wrong.

People started to evacuate, followed by panic.

They began to run towards an important point of refuge, the city of Voskasburg, which was funded by Danish merchants.

The settlement's name, Voskas, which means "winding hills," is aptly named, and inland of the curved bay of the port is a mass of hills less than thirty meters above sea level. This place is not suitable for farming, but it is suitable as a fishing port.

The essence of Vorskasburg is that Danish businessmen built a square wooden fence in order to protect their mansion and rights. During the period, there were many longhouses and storage cellars, and the wood used was the most common local pine. As for the huge red pine that had been cut down long ago, the fortresses they built were mostly tree trunks as thick as men's thighs. The wooden walls were about 200 meters long and wide, and the surrounding area was not small.

Wooden walls can help Danish merchants and their mercenaries to avoid the wind, and it is also the first protection of wealth.

Of course, it also has military significance. After all, the Danes are not monolithic. Danish businessmen who do business away from Jutland must maintain friendly relations with the local Gotland and Gotaland while protecting themselves.

In Voskas, the Danes have become a de facto alliance with the local fishermen. Since this group of fishermen just spontaneously gathered into villages, they did not come from the same clan tribe, and they had no leader.

If anyone is the leader, the five Danish families living here are the leaders, but there is still no supreme leader.

The total population of the forest here exceeds 2,000, and any man who can hold a weapon has reached 1,000.

This situation, the Melalen Army is not clear at all, and they are still advancing like a rainbow pig.

Not everyone heeded the Danes' warning to evacuate. Many people rushed to the beach and fled south with their families and their families in boats. There are not a few people who do this, and at least 30 ships fled.

In the event of an unprepared encounter with a strong enemy, perhaps the best way is to retreat tactically. The first thing the Danish businessmen thought about was fleeing, but they still had a lot of sheepskin, cowhide, and ready-made cheese to be transported away. Eggy evacuated with a silver coin box and left other goods, just their own house. After being burned by the enemy, it was really a lifetime of hard work in an instant.

In order to protect the property, they went out of their way!

But they also have a good fantasy, that the people who are rushing are not real enemies, but a huge fleet from Gotland. After all, there are often trolls at sea (in fact, sperm whales beat the water), strange fleets It's not surprising at first glance.

Not all settled port dwellers want to flee. How do most of them abandon the cattle, sheep and houses they depend on for a living?

look! Brave Danish fighters stand up! They are generally covered in chain mail, and even their heads are covered in chain mail. Their shields are richly painted, and their battle axes are powerful.

There are as many as 200 pure Danes from Jutland. In fact, these guys are forced to go out to live as mercenaries because of the large number of people in their hometowns. In fact, these mercenaries have left a lot of species for the local fishermen. As for whether the children can find the real father, that is not the concern of the mercenaries.

The Voskas sold their agricultural products, handicrafts, and textiles to Danish merchants nearby, and the merchants sold them back to Jutland, and then brought back Jutland's iron, linen, etc., which formed a trade. line.

The residents of Port Voskas have business transactions with Boryholm and Kalmar in the south. Although they also have to beware of sneak attacks by these so-called "old friends", now their hometown is in disaster, and they run to the south. It is very necessary to evacuate and pass the warning by the way.

The Danish mercenaries are the core of the battle strength of Voskas Port, and all the male fishermen who can't run and can take weapons are also surrounded by the Danes, but in terms of weapons and equipment, it is really bad. The Voskas generally wear sackcloth hides, and some hardened cowhide armors are high-grade goods. What they are most equipped with are short spears, harpoons and axes. Of course, they basically have one round shield.

They are also equipped with some bows, but with their own bow-making skills, the performance of short wooden bows is terrible. If the enemy is wearing mail armor, the bone arrow clusters can only get stuck in the gaps.

They didn't have much time to prepare, and 700 people took up arms in a hurry, and this is basically all the troops that can be assembled in the current situation.

Of course, if they recruited boys from twelve to fifteen years old as warriors, their strength could barely increase by a hundred more, but no one believed that children could become masters in fighting.

Women and all the old and the weak, with limited softness and few cows and sheep, moved slowly into Fort Voskas.

The Danish mercenaries led almost all the fighting forces and began to move towards the port in a chaotic manner.

Before they reached the sea, the landing of the Melarens had begun!

One after another Swedish longboats washed directly onto the beach, and even rammed a large number of local fishing boats. Only when they experienced the battlefield did the Melalen warriors really realize that this was the enemy's "huge settlement". Many people with limited knowledge directly believed that this was the legendary Kalma, which was the final target to be attacked.

Carl took the lead in the form of a sword and shield player: "Brothers! Go ahead with me!"

The Melalen warriors felt like they were about to make a fortune, and their impact had no formation.

However, the enemy's armed forces that suddenly appeared from behind the longhouses suppressed the momentum of the Melalen Army's attack.

Carl made a decisive decision. He opened his arms to restrain his men, and then roared: "Shield wall! Line up! Prepare to fight!"

Those "black warriors" in the Melalen army, they were trained, black inked shields stacked on top of each other, paired with their black armor and black battle axes, and now it was the enemy's turn to surprise.

At the critical moment, Olegin also played a key role. He was at the back end of the landing field and left to arrange the formation of Melalen peasant soldiers.

The situation became very delicate in an instant, both sides were obviously hostile, but they didn't dare to act rashly when they really encountered it.

At this moment, the five ships of the Rus were parked very close to the coast again. Such a distance is definitely within the firepower range of the longbow and the steel-arm crossbow, and the torsion slingshot can strike at will.

Otto stared at the cooled battlefield, the western sun was like blood, and the two troops were facing each other on the beach?

"Rurik, it looks like a fight could happen at any time. Intervene?"

"At least we're ready." Rurik, who was leaning on the railing, said cautiously.

At this moment, Yevro, who was pulling the firing rope, hurriedly stated: "In my opinion, it is still more important to support the friendly forces. Now the slingshot is equipped with cast iron bullets, and it is easier for this thing to hit the enemy's shield wall than to pierce the enemy ship."

"Don't act rashly!" Rurik ordered. "This is the war of the Melarens. Don't steal the limelight from that Karl."

In fact, Rurik was completely confident to deliver a severe blow to the unknown enemy. Maybe the first round of six projectiles could poke six holes in the enemy's line, followed by a batch of arrow feathers falling from the sky. He didn't believe that the enemy had seen this kind of blow, and his morale would collapse all of a sudden.

Just do it yourself, Carl will be furious!

Rurik had seen that Karl apparently took over his father's command, so when did they go to war?