Rise of Rurik

Yevro took his guys to collect all kinds of arrows fired in the wilderness, and carefully inspected every dead enemy, and immediately made up for the dying guy.

During this process, a large amount of silver coins were actually stuffed into the pockets of the deceased. The abnormal situation made the brothers happy and immediately suspicious.

Yevluo stopped a few jobs that wanted to stuff silver coins into his pockets: "Don't be greedy for ink, don't break the rules."

The warriors had no choice but to put all the silver coins they found in the same bag, which Yevlo would present to his master.

The battlefield is being cleaned, some of the corpses have been dragged together, and the Ross warriors are constantly stacking them.

The enemy of the sneak attack was already dead, and it would be a waste of time to burn it or bury it at sea. Rurik believed that he was not a ruthless person, so he would build a Jingguan and seal it.

Those who survived the attackers, their situation is not bad at all.

They suffered severe skin injuries, the morning sun shone on their ugly bloodied faces, and faced the contemptuous onlookers of a large group of Rus. They don't really care, they just want to die quickly and end the humiliation as soon as possible.

But Rurik really didn't want to waste a lot of labor in vain.

He personally interrogated the prisoners, and sure enough he learned important information about the Fortress of Borgholm.

Just as he estimated, after the bloody battle yesterday, the will of the fortress defenders to resist almost collapsed, and no one even cares about fleeing. It was like a knife to the neck of the fat sheep, the wound was not too big, but the fat sheep still lost blood and died.

The corpses covered in the gap are the lost will of the fortress defenders to resist!

The sun had already risen, and Otto swayed ashore in a small boat that had been dropped from the big boat, without any splash of sea water soaking his boots.

Otto didn't know anything about the battle at dawn, and when he landed, he saw the result of the victory after the war.

Seeing a small mountain of corpses stacked with corpses near the camp made him tremble with sweat.

Otto subconsciously clenched the hilt of the sword and questioned the surrounding soldiers: "Hey! Who can tell me what happened?"

For a moment, Rurik, standing beside a group of captives bound by ropes, met his father with a confident and eerie smile.

"It's incredible,

The camp was attacked! "

Rurik replied calmly: "Yes."

"The results of it?"

"As you can see. We took out all the enemies without any injuries. We seized over a hundred axes and swords, and even a large amount of silver."

"Is it the attackers?" Otto glanced at the bound people contemptuously, like a sheep being slaughtered. "Who are they? Oh, they must be in the fortress."

"They're Gotlanders."

"What? Gotlanders?! Why?"

"Dad, I asked for a lot of information. The Borgholm fortress is full of Saxons, and these Gotlanders are mercenaries for those people. Listen to me now..."

Saxons, for Otto this is really a strange term.

The many warriors who participated in the battle spontaneously approached their great leader, and the conversation was full of joy.

Hearing his son's introduction, the counterattack against the raid was completed by a short shot of arrows. Although it was not as smooth as a bloody close-quarters battle, the efficiency of killing the enemy and the zero casualty rate of one's own side were truly a beautiful victory. .

Otto listened to Rurik's explanation and fully understood the arrow support yesterday. The archers were blocked by high walls and could not see the situation inside the fort. The Gotland mercenaries who were guarding the city at the time paid a lot of money. big loss.

It was a whole day of fighting. Five hundred Gotland mercenaries died and only a hundred people were left. They intended to sneak up on the ship of the "apparently weaker" Rus to escape the battlefield at dawn, but they were easily caught. annihilation.

When they found themselves exposed to a terrifying rain of arrows again, that last bit of will to fight basically collapsed.

Otto's deep eyes looked at the fortress not far away. Due to the overall low altitude of Oland Island, his eyesight was not bad. Looking at the obvious gap in the fortress, the death warrior sword, axe and iron armor were all there. Reflecting the golden light of the sun.

"Ah! It looks like Olegin is going to win this year, and the enemy has lost the will to resist."

Rurik also turned his head to look at the fortress: "Olegin should try to persuade him to surrender! If he can avoid the fight and break the opponent's surrender, he should try it. There is no point in continuing the fight, just like these twenty captives, I decided to spare their lives."

As soon as these words came out, the hope of life suddenly sprouted in the eyes of the mentally broken prisoner!

Otto looked at these hateful fellows with contempt again, and pouted in denial.

"why?"

"Because your uncle was killed by these Gotlanders. Don't think that they don't understand us. Our war with them will not end easily, and we still have revenge."

"But..." Rurik pointed to the mountains of corpses. "At least the enemy is dead here too much, maybe we should suspend our revenge. These men can do things for us as slaves."

"Slave? Not now." Otto's heart was as hard as a rock: "You don't need mercy now, not at all. They must die."

"No! I object, they can go logging, they can do a lot of things."

"You don't want to do it? Then I'll help you."

"No. If they have to die, we don't have to do it ourselves. Give them to Olegin and let the guy do it."

Otto sighed deeply: "I think you just don't want your hands to be stained with blood, no matter what, someone will help you do it well. Rurik, you remember, your kindness is always good, but this We don't need any prisoners in this battle. You should imagine how many people would have been killed by the brothers if they were a little lazy? Today I will teach you that a man must be cruel, like an iron ingot."

Hearing this, Rurik grinned and couldn't say anything.

Killing a captive simply made Rurik, who had received another education, feel ashamed, but for the typical Vikings around him, everyone's ideas were very simple. Revenge is revenge, and it's about being straightforward.

Someone needs to turn over these guys who have become useless after handing over information. Otto clearly pointed at the two boys: "Kanuf, Fisk. Your boss can't bear to do it himself, now you go!"

At least Kanuf hesitated, and Fisk walked straight into Otto.

Otto threw a short sword at the boy at will: "Now avenge your father who died in battle."

The dagger was stuck on the ground, but Fisk calmly removed the sword from his back. He quickly held a long sword in his hand: "Big Chief, this is my father's sword, and now I will use it for revenge."

"Great, do it!"

Fisk is extremely proactive, and Kanuf's timidity makes Otto a little worried. The strength of the new generation of the Ross tribe must be brave. Otto can say that Harrodsen never hesitated in battle. Why was his youngest son timid?

Twenty prisoners covered their eyes with cloth strips and were assassinated by Fisk one after another, and the Ross soldiers and mercenary soldiers onlookers were applauding them. But this terrifying scene made all the Corvin warriors from the Grey Squirrel Tribe in Elrond be speechless.

Rurik really didn't want to say anything, and at one point he simply ignored the execution. You can hear the unbridled clamor of the soldiers, they obviously have no sympathy, or the night is unnecessary, and their kindness has become an anomaly.

But Rurik still rushed over and kicked away Fisk, who was preparing to pierce again, "Enough! The last guy spared his life. We will take the prisoners and tell Olekin the details of the enemy."

The red-eyed bald Fisk couldn't listen to Rurik's words at all. He wanted to continue slashing, and Rurik immediately clenched the hilt of his sword.

"Then stop here!" Otto snarled, as if everything was over.

At this moment, Rurik, who was still holding the blood-stained sword, sat cross-legged on the ground, and what he thought was really unpleasant.

Because there is a principled question here, that is, he is clearly a "battlefield commander" who was empowered by his father. Why is he now without power?

He faced Otto with teeth bared and commanding: "Next time this happens, you must listen to me. In my opinion, the constant use of force will only make the Gotlanders fall completely to Denmark. People, since we were allies, we should try to bring them back. I don't want all Gotlanders to be killed, we should admit their surrender, or at least make them slaves, but kill them."

Otto didn't change his face: "I expected you to think like this. Gotland is different. They killed my brother and I will have revenge for the rest of my life. If your cousin was there, he would Hesitant to do it. You see, your Fisk is so decisive, and this kid will also be a hero of my Ross in the future, you should be really happy."

"This is the end of it. I hope Gotland will surrender to us, pay tribute to us every year, and cede the northern waters of the island as our fishing grounds. Instead of completely destroying them, this is the greatest benefit of us and the Melarens. Different, we're not, and shouldn't be, pirates, we're the Duchy of Rus. Under my rule, I'll have Gotland kneel before me and swear allegiance, I don't want to face the bones. So, Dad, I have to be sure one thing."

"What's the matter?"

"If I am the military commander in normal combat, I should have enough power, and how to deal with prisoners is also my power."

"Huh?" Otto suddenly realized, "You mean, I did something wrong?"

"Follow my arrangements for future battles. I can do everything well. No one is allowed to kill any prisoners who are caught without my permission."

Otto neither approved nor refused. He didn't say anything, and looked at the fort with deep eyes, as if he had acquiesced.

The last prisoner was more tightly bound, and he was led to the main camp of the Melalen army (in the end, he was taken and chopped by Karla).

The Rus army came with their bows and crossbows, and Otto also offered the prisoner of war. The appearance of the prisoners of war really surprised Olekin, and he learned a lot about the fortress.

The dukes present are preparing for the battle for a while, but the battle may not start.

Olegin decided to put on his armor and take his entourage to persuade himself to surrender. If the fortress is successful, it will be overcome today.

No one realized that the Russ easily defeated the enemy's sneak attack. Everyone's attention was on the empty situation inside the enemy. All of a sudden, everyone had great hope for the success of persuading surrender.

The soldiers of the Swedish army were all awake. They moved their stiff bodies and ate boring fish. Many people imagined that they could hunt some wild deer for tooth sacrifice. However, this bare island is afraid of hunting a few rabbits at most.

Yesterday's bloody battle, the soldiers who were in shock for a while had a night's rest, and their mood was much better. After eating and avenging the brothers who died in battle, it became the purpose of everyone fighting, although Fort Borgholm was only a temporary stronghold to attack.

Olegin was full of confidence, and he looked at the dukes: "I repeat to you, I hope that the Saxons, oh, seem to be the name. As long as those Saxons submit to us, they are no longer enemies. They Fight for me and attack Karma, and we will spare their lives. But their riches will be redeemed, and your tribes need not worry about not getting enough money for you."

A still large army was assembled, and they gathered on the beach to the north of the fortress, facing the gap covered with corpses and not delivering the fatal blow.

However, the inside of Boliholm Fortress was already mourning, and a blond man, shirtless, was ready to die generously under the sorrowful gaze of his people.

Stein Saxon, with his ancestral bronze dagger, just didn't bring any of his entourage, and wanted to sign an alliance with the enemy alone.

At this moment, Olekin only brought more than a dozen followers and swaggered towards the gap.

I saw a man with bare back standing on the pile of gray and white corpses in the gap. He held up his hands and the short sword as he walked and shouted: "I am the leader, I want to see your leader!"

Stein quickly noticed Olegin, who was dressed compactly and very conscientiously. Because Olegin's helmet still had a few feathers dyed with dyes, the whole person looked extremely noble.

Stein walked cautiously, and when he saw the soldiers in black were on guard, they were full of footsteps.

Olegin raised his hand, making his subordinates relax: "Don't be stupid, this man has been frightened, he has no hostility."

He stood arrogantly with his toes pinched, and when the shirtless man got close enough, he snapped, "Are you a Saxon? Are you the head of the fortress?"

Stein was taken aback and replied calmly, "Yes."

"Drop your weapons and kneel! Climb up in front of me like a dog!"

Stein felt humiliated to have a warrior kneel down to be a hound, but he had no choice. He knelt down, pulled out the well-maintained bronze sword, and stuck it in the mud.

Olegin saw the unusualness of the sword at a glance, "Hold on! Hold your sword and climb up in front of me!"

Stein had no choice but to do so, so he knelt down and held his sword, and was finally captured by Olegin.

"What a strange sword. It's bronze. A treasure indeed."

Stein said at once: "I am Stein, chief of the Saxons of Borgholm, and I ask the Lord of the North to spare our lives. You may take our wealth, but spare the lives of my people. . If you are kind enough, we will be loyal to you..."

Seeing this submissive man and the sword in his hand, Olekin was overjoyed.

He deliberately said: "I am the king of Sweden, the so-called lord of the north. I know you are Saxons, and you submit to Denmark, and that is your sin! Anyone who submits to Denmark is my enemy, but you With such sincere surrender, I can promise you that your life and that of your people will be secured."

"Merciful King, thank you..."

"But." Olegin said sharply, "I can make you the duke of my subordinates. Before that, you must prove your loyalty with your actions. Those Gotland mercenaries escaped, you know? Those guys were all captured. I kill easily. At least your wooden walls cost me, my warriors are so angry, you need to spend enough money to quell their anger!"

Stein had long expected this to happen, and he only had the option of completely agreeing with the situation. "Yes! I am willing to give all my wealth to redeem the life of my people."

"More than that! I'll attack Kalmar, I'll attack you just because you're an obstacle. You're not Gotlanders, and you're not Danes, I want you to organize an army to fight for me. You only have enough Danes to kill. , to prove true loyalty."

To be honest, Stein did not want to be an enemy of the Danes. After all, he was close enough to the Danish forces and far from Lake Mälaren in the north. The price of trying not to offend both ends is to offend both. He found that he didn't even have the right to choose sides. For the survival of his family, he had to stand in the Swedes' camp.

"Yes! I will organize soldiers to fight for you."

"Okay!" Olegin was indeed a generation older than this Stein. He stroked the man's head and promised: "Let your people come out without any weapons, young and old. Don't worry, God is watching. With us, I swear by the honor of the king that I will fulfill my promise. Let them all come out, otherwise my people will rush in and find that those who do not come out will be killed as enemies."

The Saxons had no choice at all, and Stein was put back, and after a while, someone cautiously stepped on the corpse to leave the gap. They are indeed bare-handed, and they don't even bring anything to eat. Men, women and children gathered together, and they all sat on the ground waiting for the unknown fate.

Stein himself, still shirtless, cautiously asked Olegin what would happen next.

"Let your people sit and don't think about running away. I will restrain those who are under my command from attacking you, and you will restrain your people from doing stupid things. Anyone who dares to violate my orders will be killed. I will send My elite warriors protect you, and as for this fort, it's mine now."

Protect? It is protection, indeed, and it is also surveillance.

After the war, as many as 1,800 men, women and children from the fort were evacuated. They did pay a great price in the bloody battle, but the core of the tribe did not collapse. They were simply beaten by the bloody battle and lost their fighting spirit. In fact, they still had the strength to fight.

Olegin could not have imagined that the so-called capitulation had turned into a begging for surrender by the enemy. Both sides were interested in making peace, and the truce naturally hit it off.

As the king of Sweden, he arrogantly led the team to the gap, looked at the large number of corpses from zero distance and covered his mouth.

"Damn, the money and food are all in the fortress. These people who died in battle... brothers, remove the corpses, put them on the boat, push them into the sea and burn them! May their souls rest in peace in the underworld..."

One by one corpses were cleaned up, and each tribe began to claim the corpses of their own people and buried them in their own way. Nothing was more important than looting the empty fortress.

So far, the Borgholm Fortress has ended with the surrender of the survivors of the garrison after three days of war.

In this way, only in terms of strength, due to the addition of a group of Saxons, the strength of the Swedish army increased, and Olegin regained the confidence to attack Kalmar. For the Voskas servants and Saxon defectors, and even the few surviving Danish mercenaries, all three parties claimed that the settlement of Kalmar did not have a large-scale wall.

Without the damned intractable wall, Olegin and the Swedish Army's greatest fears were all gone.