Rise of Rurik

The wealth accumulated by the inhabitants of Borgholm was quickly absorbed into the Swedish army.

Despite the high cost of casualties, the wealth plundered by the army made every surviving warrior rich in an instant.

However, the high-intensity voyage of the army has been going on for more than ten days. They are not tireless gods of war. When the fortress announced its surrender, the tense soldiers were discouraged.

Olegin can be sure that his mission is not to attack Kalma immediately. His team is exhausted and its strength is greatly reduced. Without an important repair, attacking Kalma can be said to be delivered to the door.

He controls the wealth and food of the entire fortress, and has made great efforts to distribute the spoils.

Even though Karl was not satisfied with his father's distribution strategy, Olekin forced his decision to complete, and the result was the support of the friendly army.

He used to be the leader of the alliance, and now he is the king, and he was never the puppet of the great landlord of Melalen!

Like the Yermalen people who paid a lot of casualties, they were allocated a lot of spoils, and the spoils for the rest of the tribes were also quite rich.

His Melalen tribe sent the most troops and took the lead in fighting vicious battles. It was understandable that they had received the most spoils. However, in order to win people over, Olegin did not take many silver coins.

What is Borgholm Fortress? In the past few days, everyone has indeed fought a fierce battle, but the wealth here is not abundant.

The Kalmar of the Danes, that is the treasure land where the mountains of gold and silver are piled up!

The Melalen army got a lot of jerky and cheese, and immediately slaughtered all the cattle and sheep of the fortress Saxons to make jerky for the army.

Like locusts, they swept away all the Saxons' possessions, but they also gave the surrenderers enough food to feed their stomachs.

However, existing food is not enough to support a possible future war.

The rain is completely over, as is always the case with summer rain, which comes and goes quickly.

In the calm sea, there are still boats floating. All tribes of the Swedish army are sending people into the sea to fish for fish. Some people are also searching for edible shells on the beach and entering the sparse woods to hunt rabbits.

Olegin gave the coalition a "holiday" and ordered Stein, who surrendered, to hand over some young women for the army to play.

The Saxons agreed to this humiliating order,

Just because they have no choice...

Food, silver coins, and women, these were all Olegin could think of to stabilize the military.

According to the contract, he did not give the Russ much trophies, but only "rewarded" a little dried fish and cheese. The miserliness made the dukes of the tribes think that Otto would be furious, but the Russ's easy-going was unexpected.

Is there really a shady deal between Rose and Melalen?

The Rus people who are sitting on the big ship have fought until now, and their huge cabin is empty. What are they looking for? Is it just the honor of victory?

A bustling seaside settlement has been turned into a huge military camp, and all its former prosperity has been lost, all that is left is thousands of coveted eyes and a never-to-be-fed appetite.

At least Rurik's foresight made the Rus's rations now abundant. Eating the stored food for a long time will inevitably make everyone feel bored. No, the two cargo ships turned into fishing boats. They towed their respective stored hemp ropes and swam back and forth in the offshore waters, not to mention the unexpected fish. Batch of silver herring.

It was a sunny afternoon, and there were still two days before the new expedition.

Rurik, who was staying at the coastal camp, bored with a wooden crossbow, and with his buddies played the target of designing rotten wooden boards as a game.

What about Otto? He just nibbled on a shot duck at noon, took another sip of the treasured spirits, and is still taking a nap leisurely in the tent.

Many warriors turned into hunters in an instant, especially the Kowen people. Excellent young archers like Terravis shot and killed including but not limited to Nordic ducks, white-headed loons, and seagulls with their superb archery.

The various long-range weapons widely equipped by the Rus directly dealt a major blow to the offshore fishing birds. Usually, these vigilant birds are difficult to be caught by the locals. Unexpectedly, a few arrows, or a group of master squirrel shooters attacked, the Rus people soon began to roast these hunted birds by the campfire Meat.

For a girl like Carlotta, Rurik also gave her a task. The ten Slavic maids in Rurik followed Carlota, and on the reefs of the beach, they harvested mussels on a large scale with axes and knives.

The fishing boat finally came back, and two big bags of fish were thrown away by people on the boat who laughed like fools.

As night fell, Rurik, who had played a daytime bow and arrow, sat by the bonfire, with a skewer of grilled herring stuck in front of him, mussels boiled in sea water in a crock pot, and two roasted duck legs with oil. .

Otto was still gnawing on a bird that was cooked beyond recognition, and kept praising that the island was not as barren as it seemed.

"It's such a good place, don't those Saxons settle here. This duck is too fat for us in Rosberg."

Rurik ate the fish leisurely, and said casually: "I'm afraid Olegin doesn't want to stay here. We're going to attack Kalmar in two days. When the battle is over, everyone will return, what will happen to Boryholm? fate?"

"That's not our business." Otto looked disapproving. Looking at Rurik on the other hand, he had an inexplicable worry, which Otto undoubtedly saw.

"Don't worry about anything, it's Olegin's war now, we'll accompany him to finish the game, that's all."

"Alright alright……"

Rurik didn't want to say something for now. He didn't think that attacking the Kalmar army would be a setback, because all parties' intelligence pointed out that Kalmar had a large number of wealthy fish merchants, and only these people would build wooden walls. Without vicious solid wooden walls, what should the coalition fear?

The threat is not from Kalmar, but from the Danes from afar!

Rurik, who is quite familiar with the geographical structure of the region, knows that the southernmost point of the island that everyone now occupies is not far from the Jutland peninsula in Denmark.

At this point in the war, are the Danes just pretending to be deaf and dumb, sitting and watching their people being slaughtered and their interests being violated?

Rurik was silent for a while, and then changed his suggestion: "Dad, we should think about the problem of encountering the main Danish force. Maybe when we are resting here, there are already Danish soldiers who have entered Kalmar to wait for work."

Otto never thought of these things, and since the war had been going so well, he felt that the next battle was just as smooth.

"You mean, a massive battle with the Danes?"

"Maybe!"

"Oh! That's great!" Otto threw away the half-eaten duck meat and started to work hard.

"Don't! Don't be impulsive, I don't want to fight the Danes on a large scale right now."

"Why? We should settle accounts with them a long time ago. An opportunity to gain endless glory is in front of us. Many people will become famous because of this, so you are not willing to participate?" It is glorious, even if it is killed in battle.

Rurik didn't want to pursue these things at the wrong time and place. Seeing that his father's attitude became serious, his attitude became serious: "We just want to avoid fighting the Danes unless we have to fight. According to me Look, Olegin still wants to expand the results after he has beaten Kalmar. That man is king, and his ambitions are probably inflated to the point of attacking Denmark in an all-round way. If he really has such a plan, I will sit on the Avlora and quickly retreat. ."

"Huh?" Otto swayed, "Escape?"

"Where is the escape, I have to go back quickly. The Rus must all unite to deal with the full-scale counterattack of the Danes."

So far, Otto has not said any more...

The conversation by the bonfire had a thrilling conclusion. If Rurik's words came from someone else's mouth, Otto would not be bothered to believe it, but Rurik was so committed, he must consider this possibility. As far as their current strength is concerned, do the Rus really have the power to fight against the whole of Denmark?

Maybe in the future, at least not now.

Macroscopically, Rurik is looking at the strength of the Danes, because this is in line with historical facts. The history that Rurik knew, because the Danes controlled the precious warm regions of northern Europe, their agriculture was better, and they could afford to support a larger population.

In fact, what Rurik knew was only part of what he knew. The waters from Jutland to Burnholm Island were the so-called Öresund Sea Fishing Grounds. Herring is prosperous here, and the end of the fishing ground extends to the entire Kalmar Strait, which is why the Rus can catch a lot of herring locally.

A new expedition is just around the corner, and just one day before the expedition, the Swedish army, who has almost recuperated, has regained its former splendor. They became very combative, only because of Olegin's blatant propaganda: "The Danish merchants in Kalmar are extremely rich, and every warrior who shoots there will become rich!"

The warriors at the bottom of the tribes, they are fishermen and farmers themselves, risking their lives to fight in order to get the spoils and turn over all at once.

Relying entirely on this group of excited warriors, Olegin felt that he had the chance to win. Sure enough, as Rurik estimated, Olegin's ambitions were already expanding, and he hoped to lay a big territory through his conquest!

After all, he is not a pirate. He must always control a large tribe that attaches great importance to agriculture. Olegin's idea of ​​​​expanding the territory has always been there. When he is old, he can't wait to eat more and more territories.

No, he officially began re-arming the Voskas and Saxons, and officially named Stein Duke of Borgholm, even though the settlement was almost looted.

In exchange, Stein was ordered to organize a large army, that is, his tribe, from boys over twelve to men of fifty, all took up arms and incorporated into the army. All of a sudden, Stein was stunned to organize an "army" of up to 700 people. It was the strength of these people, and no one thought they were really strong soldiers.

Olegin couldn't care less, the two servant armies were stunned to put together a lineup of nearly a thousand people.

He couldn't be completely at ease with these people, so the weapons he gave them were extremely crude. They can't even think about armor, not even a layer of leather. They only have two weapons, a short spear and a hand axe, and their only defense is a shield made of wood.

Stein fully understood that he would lead the tribe to attack Kalma and charge ahead as an important force, and he would have to make great sacrifices even if he wanted to. But he really has no choice. Even if he wants to rebel, the Kalmar people who were raided will understand it. Isn't it indiscriminate to counter any rushing militants?

After a lot of tossing, the women of Saxony wept dazedly, and the wailing was so angry that Olegin shouted unlucky.

The soldiers of all tribes of the coalition army are full of confidence in the expedition tomorrow morning. Each of them has obtained silver coins. When they think that they can get more in the new battle, they are so excited that they can’t sleep well, and they selectively ignore the possibility of casualties.

Like the forced assembly of the Saxon servant army, a large number of people can sleep at night because of fear. They never imagined that they would fight against those who settled in Kalmar. The two sides had nothing to do with each other for so many years, and the bilateral trade was normal. They never imagined that the harmonious two sides would be forced to face each other.

War is not something that a group of Saxons can control. Early the next morning, the awakened warriors had eaten fish or other food, and pushed their ships to the tidal flat, waiting for the early tide to rise.

The Saxons and Voskas boarded their own ships, under heavy surveillance by the Melarenian fleet.

The Russ also returned to their big ship early, and when the Avlora once again followed the Melalen army fleet as a perfect follower, it actually blocked the cowardly retreat of the servant army fleet.

Like being oppressed by the low roar of a huge beast, Stein on the boat always felt that the huge boat would easily knock down his own boat, but in fact it was the case once the collision occurred.

Now Stein has understood everything in the previous battle. The owner of the big ship is the Rus, which is the "hateful Rus" mentioned by the Gotland people. Three years ago, Arik led an army to storm a stronghold on Gotland Island, and the frenzied killing became a nightmare for the entire island.

This time, Stein completely understood where the nightmare of "The Hateful Ross" came from. These people are indeed part of the so-called Swedish army, but they seem to be outside. For example, in combat, those damn arrows were almost all fired by the Rus, making the wooden wall a very dangerous place.

It can be seen that in the next battle, the Kalmars will also pay for the pain of being shot by arrows.

It was precisely in this battle that Stein's thinking was completely subverted, and the arrow was such a terrifying weapon!

The army set out from the morning, and because of the extremely long day, the morning here is actually very early.

The voyage waiting for the Swedish army is actually only 30 kilometers, even if it is sailing against the wind, this distance is a continuous journey of up to six hours.

Soon, the army began to pass through the most house of the Kalmar Strait. Standing on the bow deck, Rurik could clearly see the land in the east and west, only because the current strait was closed to a mere three kilometers.

"Everyone should be vigilant, we will encounter enemies at any time, and prepare to smash their ships!" Rurik ordered loudly, and at the same time he stayed at the bow of the ship for a long time.

The mercenaries operating all the torsion slingshots roared, as if they were going to start a sea battle with the enemy.

However, the narrow sea was empty, and only the huge fleet of the Swedish Army calmly passed through this narrowest section.

Going to a relatively wide sea area, in fact, you can still see the land in the east and west, because the width of the strait in front is only seven kilometers.

The calm sea made Rurik worried. He was afraid that the enemy would suddenly emerge from some fjords and catch the coalition forces by surprise. Even if the Ross army was fearless, it would be too sudden for other teams.

"Why are you still up there, it's already a battlefield, get into the cabin and stay quiet!" Otto, who was standing on the lower deck, roared, and hurriedly climbed to the bow.

He pressed Rurik's head and ordered, "Come down."

"It's too quiet." Rurik said coldly.

"Quiet what?"

"I'm afraid the enemy is ready. It stands to reason that there should be many fishing boats in this sea area, but we are the only ones."

Otto looked optimistic: "That must be the enemy's fear. It doesn't matter, our troops are strong, and Olegin is determined to win."

"Ah! Look! The land ahead, I see Karma's here!"

Rurik pointed to a more nebulous area, land that increasingly showed signs of being thought to have been developed. More and more people saw the clues in the distance, and Otto, who narrowed his eyes, concluded that it was a settlement.

"Rurik, if the surrenderers are right, this is Kalmar, the ultimate goal of our army. Come on down, my dear!"

"I don't." Breaking free from his father's hand, Rurik pointed forward with his sword: "Brothers, prepare to fight. Even if we don't land, support the friendly forces with torsion slingshots!"

The soldiers roared again.

Seeing this, Otto smiled with satisfaction, and then returned to the lower deck, only to organize the soldiers to wait for the opportunity to fire support. The so-called attack on the possible coastal defense enemies will make the battle of the coalition landing troops smoother.

The battlefield became clearer and clearer. Carl took the lead with some black-clothed soldiers and led three ships. This matter was supported by Olegin. He needed his crown prince to make great contributions in this "decisive battle" in order to obtain direct results. The rule is legitimacy, so the risk is worth it.

No, Carl narrowed his eyes, he had already seen the panicked people in the fishing village on the other side of Kalmar.

"Haha! We still caught them off guard! Brothers, crazy paddling, glory belongs to Melalen! Go!" He held Olegin's sword high, standing on the boat as if flying.

The Melalen Army took the lead in flooding the beach again, but waiting for them were indeed the residents of Kalmar who had prepared for the battle.

It can be said that those Kalmars who did not evacuate, whether they were Danes, Gotharans, Gotlanders or Norwegians, had to fight the attackers for their wealth and their estates.

A war is inevitable, but fortunately, the Swedish army has made sufficient preparations for a decisive battle long before the expedition, and many people even regard this as a "sacred battle to get the qualification to enter Valhalla".