Rise of Rurik

On July 20 of the Julian calendar, the bright sun shines across the fjord.

The Fjord Neros peoples have assembled an ever-larger fleet, and they have docked offshore, with a total of up to 200 ships of various types!

Along the coast, a small stone altar rose from the ground.

Wearing a helmet with antlers, Rumia held up a freshly cut deer liver. Deer blood dripped on her face, and her liver faced the sun.

Thousands of people knelt on the beach and worshipped the sun.

Quite a number of warriors who are eager to go out, they also wear armor when they worship the sun in order to show their martial power to Odin.

The elite Ross warriors at the scene, whether they were wearing chainmail or armor, were all wearing white long gowns with blue cross stripes on their chests and backs, showing their strength even more.

The beach is magically white, mixed with blue tones. It's an unprecedented spectacle, like snow on a hot summer day.

"God, grant us victory! Grant us an end to this long war! Let us conquer the Gotlands!"

As if the sun has become brighter, the sea breeze has become more harmonious.

Rumia slowly put down the deer liver and squeezed it, a golden cup filled with blood.

Rurik didn't want to drink blood, and if he could, he would prefer blood tofu with salted deer blood.

This is a very necessary sacrifice before the expedition, and the purpose is to perform a performance for thousands of eyes.

Rurik personally carried the "Oar Flag" with the dragon's head carved and stitched in gold.

He took the golden cup, endured a strange feeling of vomiting, and gulped down the hot deer blood.

His mouth was full of blood, and the scene was so shocking, long live the people of Ross.

Rumia opened her hands to calm people's excitement. With a shrill voice she roared: "Rurik, son of the duke! Our commander! God has appointed him to bring us victory!"

To spark enthusiasm, slogans have to be concise, and she knows that.

"Ross will win! Rurik will win!"

"Ross will win! Rurik will win!"

...

People repeat Rumia's slogan,

Thousands of people spoke in unison, and the warm emotions touched everyone, even Hai Bo was boiling over it.

The sacrificial ceremony came to an enthusiastic end, and the expedition began.

The huge army began to be dispatched on the same day, and the soldiers boarded the ship one after another with their own equipment.

For the sake of this battle, the Russ people have already been dispatched in essence. Almost all the men who dared to fight, including most of the boys, were ordered to go out, and a large number of women and children were left behind.

There are more than 100 elderly men, who are in their twilight years, and have honored to be the guards of Roseburg.

The interior of Roseburg is empty, will potential enemies take advantage of it to enter?

Of course, such concerns were raised, and Rurik, as military commander, rejected all concerns.

The Rus have already figured out the geography around the entire Gulf of Bothnia, and if there is a potential enemy, the closest is the Balmerk tribe in the western Gulf of the distant mountains.

The surrounding small tribes were all conquered by the Rus, and these tribesmen warriors had already become a member of the Rus army.

Rurik seemed to be gambling, but in reality he was content.

Roseburg is located in a remote location, not only is it not a place of four battles, but it is also an excellent haven, a safe area on the edge of the chaotic world.

The whole war did have a lot of risky elements, commanding a team of 3,000 people, no one of the Rus had such experience.

However, the uniforms, flags and flag formations promoted by Rurik's assault made the commanding army scientific and organized.

About thirty warriors are responsible for their captains, three captains are responsible for their centurions, and five or six centurions are responsible for their flag captains.

All flag captains were responsible to Rurik himself.

A system of lower-level officers was set up, and Rurik didn't expect them to be really amazingly organized. He specifically asked the soldiers to stare at their commanders layer by layer.

Ordinary Rus warriors, their helmets are leather helmets covered with iron and copper.

The so-called team captains are all powerful people in the crowd, and the helmets of these people are decorated with new patterns. The helmet is supported by a wooden stick, on which two white cloths and two blue cloths are tied to prove the existence of the captain at the location.

The so-called centurion, their helmets must be more ornately decorated, just tying cloth strips is not enough, and on that stick, there is also a circle of geese flying feathers and beautiful European duck feathers, which are glued with loose glue. Glue to further secure. People are not interested in these decorations, purely because they may interfere with personal combat.

As for the level of the captain of the flag, their dress no longer needs any decorations. They are the owners of the flag. The flag officers stand up from left and right, the flag captain is there, and the entire flag team soldiers advance and retreat with their flags.

The "Warrior Second Flag Team" has completed boarding, and each team has a longboat. This unit was the first to leave the home port of Roseburg, and Commander Harrodsen once again had the opportunity to go to the glorious battlefield after three years. Twenty manned longships were reeling, and the captains and soldiers were struggling to move their oars against the wind. Behind each ship was also towing a small boat, which was loaded with a large number of ordnance supplies.

A three-day voyage awaits Harrodsen, and when they arrive at Tombstone Island, they will be repaired on the spot immediately, because there is a more difficult voyage ahead.

The sacrifices before the expedition calmed people's hearts, and the huge army really had no way to leave the port at the same time.

When the war was in front of Rurik, he really understood that the preparation time he gave his subordinates was really short, and the preparations of all parties were uneven.

He had to urge the flag teams to prepare their supplies and leave the port as soon as possible.

Therefore, in the three days after the end of the sacrifice, most of Rurik's cargo ships were completely wasted on material transportation.

After all, the troops and horses went ahead without food and grass. The original plan was to prepare the army rations for the first ten days of August. The more this matter, the better. The clansmen burst out with great productivity for this honorary battle, they caught a lot of fish, and the dried fish meat they made has a longer shelf life. They just kept the fish and meat to keep the 3,000-strong team running for 20 days. Rurik didn't mind too much food, and they had to be loaded onto the boat.

In fact, Rurik also knew that in order to raise food, the people of the tribe were gambling their lives!

They spent a lot of time raising food for the warriors of the tribe, which was delaying the food reserves for the winter this year. The Rus must win! A large amount of supplies, especially all kinds of food, must be plundered, otherwise the entire tribe will starve, including starving to death in the harsh winter.

This is the most terrifying result. However, the morale of the entire tribe is high. They only think about how rich the war dividends will be obtained by each household after the victory, and have chosen to ignore the risks.

Rurik is determined to win this battle. He completed the final preparations on the 24th of July. The food and reserve armament have all been on board, and the large troops are now setting sail!

The Avlora hoisted her huge sails, the huge blue cross-stripes on the sails so striking.

It's not just her, the more than 30 cargo ships in the back are all flying jib Latin sails, and the sails also have exactly the same stripes.

Large ships zigzagged south against the southwesterly wind, guarded by hundreds of longboats in a circular array.

Ross oar flags were flying on the masts of each ship, only the flagship Avlora had the largest flag flying, and there was a blue stripe below it.

The Rus people are advancing on a familiar route, but this time the entire tribe's living forces are almost unleashed.

A black-haired girl who was dressed in plain clothes from a distance and gorgeous and compelling from a close up, stood on the bow deck and stroked the railings, looking at the sea with trepidation.

"Are you feeling better now?" Rurik asked softly about his Rumia.

The girl nodded: "It's okay, but my stomach still feels uncomfortable."

"Let's rest in the cabin, you can lie down and sleep."

"Forget it." Rumia shook her head: "This is the first time I have boarded a big ship, and I want to enjoy the sea breeze."

"Then watch the sea with me."

Hearing that, Rumia's ruddy and slightly haggard face was blown by the sea breeze, and she slowly squeezed out a smile.

Rurik is already ten years old, and his Nordic body really inherited the sturdiness of his biological father. In addition to the good diet on weekdays, his current height at the age of ten actually exceeded 150 cm.

And what about Rumia? At the age of thirteen, it seems that it has become difficult for her to continue to grow taller. Seeing her "brother" and her man Rurik immediately catch up, she had a strong expectation.

She was actually ready to become a woman, and as long as the noble boy felt ready, Rumia was willing to take the initiative to welcome that sacred moment.

Because the position of high priest must be inherited by the right person, only himself and Rurik's children are worthy to inherit this noble and sacred office forever.

This is what she can do! When the child is born, the high priest of the Principality of Ross will not only have a generational successor, but all deer breeders will also be thoroughly sheltered.

Maybe that will be three or four years later, because any woman who is a deer breeder often becomes a mother at the age of fifteen or sixteen. At least Rumia remembered that her biological mother was like this, and she must be like this.

She had little experience in a boat, and even though the Avrora was a big ship, the turbulence at sea still made her seasick. It was only a whole day of sailing, and she had already vomited twice, looking at the fish that she had just eaten falling into the sea again, the guilt of wasting food made her uncomfortable, not to mention, this indecent behavior is also a blasphemy to the status of sacrifice no?

Fortunately, the reasonable Rurik gave meticulous care.

The sun is shining, and Tombstone Island is not far away.

Rumia looked at the strange bulbous nose of the bow and pushed the water away, and the big ship was running wildly on the sea.

"Don't look at the bottom of the boat, your eyes are dizzy and you're going to vomit. You look up at the sea level," Rurik complained.

"Hey, I..." Rumia turned her head: "I always feel like I'm flying."

"Fly? Is it? You..."

A romantic thought jumped on the paper, "Then stand on the full mast with your arms outstretched."

"Will it be dangerous?"

"Silly girl, I'll hold your feet."

"Oh, let me try it."

With the encouragement of her beloved boy, Rumia ignores all fears.

The Avroola has a foremast, but this wooden pole, which is placed obliquely forward, is used to tie the cables that fix the main mast. Theoretically, it could install beams right away and raise a small sail to take advantage of the wind below.

Rumia stood boldly on this wooden pole, and below it was the sea with wanton waves.

She subconsciously grabbed the rope that fixed the mainmast until she finally felt fear, because as long as she could not stand firm, she would fall into the sea, into an endless abyss.

Rurik sullenly said, "Release your hands and keep your balance! Open your arms and look forward!"

"I'm afraid! I..."

"Don't worry, I'll catch you! You... don't you want to fly?"

Rumia looked at Rurik's resolute face again, and saw many people lingering on the deck, all casting expressions that were indescribable. "Yeah, I'm the next high priest. If I'm afraid now, wouldn't it be..." She gritted her teeth, stood up straight, stepped on the wooden pole with bare feet, and spread her hands with a sullen face.

Suddenly, Rurik grabbed her feet too: "Stand up straight, my woman."

"I'm still a little scared."

"Don't be afraid, my high priest! We are the conquerors of the sea, you see, the sea you have conquered, you are flying on the sea."

Rumia was dressed in a white robe and plain clothes. With the warm sea breeze blowing, she gave the witnesses an extremely elegant gesture.

Only she has extremely rare black hair, and she is indeed short, but she is such a woman, and the huge silver ornaments on her chest are reflecting the sunlight violently.

"Rumia, in front of you is the wooden sculpture of this ship. She is the soul of the Avlora. Relax yourself, be brave, and feel with your heart."

"Yes! I..." Rumia opened her eyes slightly, the vast sea was blue before, and she really flew on the sea.

"I feel like I'm a goose! Haha."

"Yes! Are you happy?"

"Very happy."

"Still feeling unwell?"

"I... only have fun!"

Many people saw Rurik, with his golden ponytail, happily interacting with his woman.

This time, Rumia was a high priest, and she embarked on this expedition with half of the priestesses with the sacred antler helmet.

This girl dared to stand on the crossbar at the bow, looking down on the entire fleet. Is this a sacrificial activity? Oh maybe yes. How to interpret it? The good people pointed out that maybe the soul of the Avlora had communicated with Rumia, so she could stand in a stable manner. Some people also said that she communicated with the sea god, and the sun was shining and the sea was unhappy at the moment, which was really a good omen.

Rumia is like a happy bird. She has a flying experience. It is clear that the Ross army is launching an expedition. The war is obviously a very terrible thing. She is no longer afraid when she is standing on the deck again. .

The honor or disgrace of the enemy has nothing to do with her, as long as her Rurik wins. When her feet were only held by Rurik, a strong sense of security made her ignore all dangers, and even the bad stomach discomfort disappeared!

Rurik just had nothing to do on the long voyage. He couldn't sleep like his father, so he had to stay at the bow with Rumia and play some games with him.

I have to say that this girl is becoming more and more graceful as a woman, and her light posture in plain clothes is more elegant, and her black hair and slightly flat face are really in line with Rurik's innermost aesthetic. After all, the ancestor of this girl, Rumia, was a deer hunter from North Asia.

She is Rose, her own Jack, standing on the bow of each other doesn't feel very romantic, but a little embarrassing.

This matter has indeed deepened the friendship between the two, and Rumia also miraculously discovered that it may have come from "flying at sea", and her seasickness seemed to be cured in an instant.

The short night is coming, and the exhausted Rumia has no fear this time. The captain's lounge is now the command room of the Ross army. Rumia nibbled at the fish with a relaxed face, and Otto was amazed.

"Huh? Aren't you afraid to vomit again? If you want to vomit, just endure it until the night. I don't want any more warriors to see the indecentness of our high priest."

Rumia was no longer ashamed, she straightened her body proudly: "Duke, I can't anymore. Right on deck, Rurik cured me."

"You..." Otto suddenly looked at his son who was eating dried herring: "Did you use any miracle?"

"Me? Oh, maybe. I made her fearless."

"Really fearless?" Otto frowned and said coldly: "Rumia, you are decisive in killing the deer, which is good. But this is a war, and many enemies will be killed, Hopefully you can still keep your cool when you see a scene like that."

"I..." Rumia groaned in her heart and gritted her teeth: "I will, I'm not afraid of blood. I will pray for the soldiers in front of the battle, and if they die in battle, I will pray for their souls."

These words of hers made her look like the chaplain, which was Rurik's arrangement. The priests of the tribe need to do this, in order to increase the morale of everyone, and also to turn the tool of death into the expectation of the soul entering Valhalla.

"Okay, after this dark night we will arrive at Tombstone Island. Take a good rest." Otto said casually, as a battle-hardened old leader, he was excited in this battle, but he showed it on the bright side. His mood did not fluctuate, as if defeating the enemy was easy.