Rise of Rurik

Arrows pierced through the air, and the whizzing sound could be heard incessantly.

One of the Gotlanders' mere two ships had been completely incapacitated by the constant fire of the Rus.

Seeing this, the ship at the back couldn't care so much anymore, and they turned their direction urgently to get away.

Projected arrows fell from the sky, and there were also projectiles shot by torsion slingshots, causing terrible water splashes around the ship.

"They're going to run away! Sailors, steer the sails, and we'll catch up with them!" Rurik gave the order while holding on to the side rails with both hands.

The triangle of the Avlora suddenly adjusted to the wind, the whole ship turned sideways, and suddenly turned in a low radius, and she turned more gracefully and quickly than the Gotlanders' rowing longboats.

The Avlora showed the super maneuverability she should have. With just one turn, she was excited, and she rubbed past the dying enemy ship, broke a pile of wooden oars with the bulbous bow, and rushed to the third The broadsides of the two ships.

The distance between the two sides was approaching less than ten meters. At such a terrifying close distance, the Ross people did not hesitate to launch a new round of condescending shooting.

look! It was a torsion slingshot from the broadside. The mercenary carried its rear end hard, and the slingshot came with a solid slingshot!

With two dull sounds, two of the three projectiles successfully hit the inner rib of the longship and pierced it directly!

Even an oak hull is always weak in the broadside.

In an instant, two jets of water surged up from the Gotland's boat. The strong water pressure was not easy to block, and the boat was leaking rapidly.

However, the attack of the Rus people continued.

The attack of the arrows left the Gotlanders with nowhere to hide. They were determined to fight back, but the guy in their hands was like a matchstick in autumn, which was useless. They raised their shields in vain resistance, only to have them cut open by steel-armed crossbows.

The battle was completely one-sided, and with the torsion slingshots being fired one after another, supported by slingshots from neighboring ships, the last Gotland longship had been gouged out and it was sinking at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Soon, the boat sank completely, and the dead immediately sank to the bottom to feed the fish. The blood of the wounded dyed the sea red. At this moment, there were still more than a dozen living Gotlanders, who were scrambling to hold floating wooden sticks in the waves. Up and down, occasionally diving to avoid the arrows fired by the Rus.

They became the most perfect prey. The Rus people on the boat stretched their fingers and laughed wantonly, and said unclean words on their mouths, showing contempt and contempt vividly.

Is this the end of the battle? ! Leaning over to look at a handful of living people floating on the sea, Otto knew that he would win before the battle, but he never thought that winning would be so easy.

He remained calm, and said to Rurik, "Let's stop here, we don't care about them, let these enemies float at sea and die naturally."

Admit that even if the Baltic Sea is salty, it is still salty water, and that these enemies will soon dehydrate and die when they float at sea.

The Rus can ignore them, or show mercy and die now.

Rurik also leaned over to watch. Although they were enemies, the eyes of these guys holding the residual wood were begging for mercy.

beg for mercy? joke! Who will forgive pirates?

Yes, Rurik now defines these people as pirates. When dealing with pirates, Rurik showed no mercy, and dealt with them more brutally. Apart from avoiding them, the clansmen were eager to see pirates tortured to death.

But these enemies are defeated, they must be Gotland, so what is the current situation in Gotland?

"I think these people are still useful." Rurik replied solemnly.

"Huh? You...you want to be kind to these filth?!"

"How is that possible! At least after we ask them about their situation, it's not too late to kill them together. We need information on Gotland too much."

Otto nodded, signaling his men to drop the rope ladder.

For the time being, the Avlora folded its sails and lowered the rope ladder. Those panicked floaters felt that they had seized a chance to survive. Even if they were slaves, it would be better than making fish feed!

They climbed the rope ladders one after another, and in shock boarded the first and last large ship they had ever seen in their lives, and the first time on the ship of the hateful and terrible Rus.

As soon as they landed, they were dismounted with a punch by the prepared Ross warriors, who were then tied up with prepared hemp ropes and thrown into the corner, and were closely guarded by sword and shield players.

Eight people successfully boarded the boat and were successfully captured, and the ninth and last person, just because the rope to bind the person ran out, was pierced in the neck by the steel arm crossbow at close range while climbing, humming. fell into the sea...

They thought they could survive, but what they were waiting for was a brutal interrogation by the Rus.

To prevent them from being dishonest, Otto ordered his men to punch and kick him. Although this kind of behavior was too violent, Rurik stood on the bow deck to watch, just because they were bound to be executed, they should also think of a way to execute them, at least not too violent.

The eight captured people were beaten with wooden sticks and beaten with hemp ropes.

Otto was arrogant, and he couldn't do it himself when interrogating these guys.

Yevro took on the task of interrogation, and in order to survive, the captives scrambled to tell themselves everything they knew.

The information they told had to make Rurik, who was sitting, stand up and quickly walked to the prisoner.

"What did you say? Your fishing port, Visby, has already taken action? You have already guessed that we are going to hit you!" In the current context, Rurik determined that the Gotlanders were worried that the Svealan Alliance would land on the island in a big way. , The Rus people are naturally highly vigilant because of their alliance.

The captives were taken aback and scrambled to claim that what they said was true, and they even talked about conditions.

Talk about conditions? Some pirates who are about to be beaten to death are also worthy of negotiating conditions?

Otto had already drawn his sword, and in front of Rurik, assassinated a guy who asked for conditions, so shocked that the others did not dare to ask again.

Rurik's face was splashed with blood beads of the enemy. He wiped the blood and asked with his eyes wide open, "Tell me about your strength. How many men have you assembled? What weapons do you have?!"

The frightened people trembled, and they scrambled to reveal their secrets, just for the possibility of their lives.

Some people suggested that Visby had at least 1,000 troops, while another claimed 2,000, and even threatened that if the forces of the entire island gathered in Visby, Gotland would be able to organize a force of 5,000.” giant". At least in their perception, an army of 1,000 people is invincible, and an army of 5,000 people is even stronger, and it is an existence that any opponent is afraid of.

It's a pity that the so-called "five thousand army" is just a fantasy of the Gotlanders. They inadvertently revealed that in addition to the huge settlement of Visby on the island, a large number of fishermen are scattered in various offshore villages. In other words, Gotland originally had three large settlements. The one in the southern bay of the island was destroyed by the Rus, and the remaining two were in the north. They were not something that five hundred elite Rus warriors could quickly conquer.

Visby Port, there are probably 2,000 armed men assembled here. If some young people and old people are organized, or mercenaries are recruited from the surrounding fishing villages, the residents of Visby Port will gather a team of 3,000 people. Great army, Rurik reckons this is doable.

There are many of them, the quality must be poor, and the weapons and equipment are also poor.

right! Their weapons must be terrible. Look at the scrap metal that these captured Gotlanders are holding, and they can't fight back against the arrows of the Rus army.

"It looks like there are at least 2,000 enemies." Rurik looked at his father. "When we launch an attack, we have to assemble 2,000 people. Dad, I don't want to fight a battle where fewer can win more. This time we must assemble a lot."

"Then three thousand people." Otto bared his teeth and assassinated a pirate in public with a blood dripping sword, which attracted a series of applause from the Ross soldiers present.

Because the situation has become very clear, because these Gotlanders and the Ross fleet are all cargo ships, and they are all targets of bullying. Just imagine, if the Avlora is indeed a purely defenseless cargo ship, wouldn't these pirates succeed directly, and not all the people on board were killed?

Those who dare to plunder should have the absolute understanding of being killed. Otto did not want to be merciful, so he would assassinate them one by one.

The enemy's blood stained the deck of the ship, and Rurik felt that something was obviously wrong, so he grabbed his father.

"Huh? How dare you stop me from executing the pirates?"

"No! I have a better way."

"What?!"

"Let them go back to the sea and feed the fish!"

This is of course the Baltic Sea, but the pirate atmosphere does not need to be relaxed in that plane of the Caribbean Sea.

To say that this sea area has never been peaceful, even if it is not such an era, in the era when the Hanseatic League competed for maritime power, Denmark, the Netherlands and the Hanseatic League, each other's merchant ships are also warships, and the hostile two sides meet in a fierce battle. , pirates from all walks of life are frequently active in the main sea area.

The pirate ethos has been around since ancient times. In this respect, Rurik and Otto called the enemy in front of him a dirty pirate. However, Aric of Ross has relied on the means of pirate looting to attack Gotland with an advanced crossbow. Fishermen, the waters to the north of the island have now become a restricted area for the Gotlanders.

Since it is dealing with pirates, let them feed the fish with "more ornamental" criminal law!

At least against the pirates, Rurik didn't have even the slightest psychological discomfort, he just hoped for some kind of bloodless method.

A wooden board placed inside the cabin to repair the damaged ship was moved to the deck, and a section of it extended out of the side rail, and the bound people were forced to walk on the seesaw one by one.

Such a good show came from Rurik? ! The Ross warriors and mercenaries laughed, and even the Kowens present were amazed at the strangeness of the methods of this group of Varyags.

The arms of the prisoners were tied, and they knew that if they jumped, they would drown, but behind them there were still shining swords threatening them.

A guy who didn't want to die stood nervously at the end of the plank, next to the sea.

Suddenly the ship trembled, and the man fell, and was swallowed by the waves in an instant.

Afterwards, another person was dragged abruptly, and was constantly driven to fall into the sea.

The Russ people laughed wildly, and the terror of the captives before they died became the best joke, and they quickly relieved the anger of the Russ soldiers.

Otto stretched his neck, and when he saw the last executed man sink into the sea, he turned around again and punched Rurik lightly in the chest.

"You are a ruthless warrior. I like it very much. If you catch an enemy in the future, you will execute it according to this method. By the way, what kind of punishment is this? You give it a name."

"It's called the Caribbean Execution."

"What a strange name, well..."

Otto smiled when he spoke, but Rurik couldn't smile at all: "Dad, let's think about the reality. Those guys have made clear the possible strength of the enemy, we must go back as soon as possible and start corresponding preparations."

"Oh, I'm not worried at all about that."

"Huh? Why?"

"Because." Otto smiled again and gave Rurik a light punch: "You are a military commander, and how you want to fight depends on your attitude."

"Well, this is my war."

Rurik shook his head lightly, and at this moment he finally had a happy expression on his face.

Encounters with Gotland's patrol boats were expected, and quick wins were even more expected.

The Avlora turned its bow and approached the last half-dead longship. The rope ladder lowered the Ross warriors, and the corpses were thrown directly into the sea based on the dying.

A longship carries a small number of axes, swords and other weapons, and no one can say that the Russ who go south to fight have gained nothing.

The Avlora relied on the ropes to pull the spoils, and the entire fleet resumed its formation. No enemy was seen on the future track, and no other ships were even seen on the sea.

The fleet moved as close to the Scandinavian coastline as possible, and finally, when dazed by the torment of all day sailing, a series of trumpet-shaped harbours finally appeared in the distance, and the waters here were almost devoid of salty taste.

This must be the estuary of Lake Mälaren, and the fleet has entered its own control area.

Is the fleet going into the Great Lakes?

Do not! The fleet did not intend to rest, and after another night voyage, everyone finally found the blur of the northern world in the faint sea fog in the morning, and even some strange bright spots.

The sleepy Rurik was awakened by his panicked subordinates, and Otto, who was unable to take off his armor, also got up.

"Yavlo, can't you be calmer?"

"But Lord Duke, there is a flame ahead! It looks like a fishing boat."

"I'm afraid it's an ally's fishing boat. Pass my order. They don't attack, and we don't attack."

"Duke! I'm afraid that's our ship! We've reached the archipelago of Tombstone Island."

"real?"

No one slept soundly now, and although Rurik felt a little cold, he climbed up the bow deck and did see the lights and the lush greenery in the north.

At this moment, the boat is already full of people, and they are also ready to fight with crossbows in their hands.

"Haha! Don't be nervous anymore." Otto, who was standing high, raised his arms and shouted, "Brothers, you are in so much pain on the boat for so many days! We are about to land on Tombstone Island, we need to rest!"

The soldiers cheered and Otto laughed even more.

There is no suspense about the next route. Ross fishermen, who have been fishing all night with oil lamps, have caught a number of cod. They are about to wait until the sun is completely bright, and take the fish back to Tombstone Island to supply the huge garrison on the island.

An unexpected miracle happened! The fishermen never expected that their leader and the huge boat would arrive at Tombstone Island again.

Fishermen are also fortunate enough to be navigators.