Rise of Rurik

The Avlora, leaving Roseburg, began her long voyage.

For Rurik, for the Rus, or for the Balmers, this is destined to be an unprecedented long-distance voyage, which will surely create history for both parties, and also lay the foundation for a longer-distance voyage that can be expected in the future. a solid foundation.

Rurik's description of the geography of the Nordic world is absolutely correct on a macro level, that is, the islands scattered in the ocean add too many obstacles to navigation, and he must explore a clear route.

This voyage is destined to be impossible to smooth sailing, and at the beginning of the departure, the people on board were ready for battle.

Rurik was well prepared, at least in terms of weapons and equipment.

There are some pebbles piled up in the cabin. They first act as ballast stones to enhance the ship's ability to resist wind and waves. Once there is a battle, this large pile of pebbles in streams of similar size is the ammunition for the "bull catapult".

The maximum range of the "Bull" is between 330 and 300 stika. It takes at least 400 steps (a step here is about 80 cm) for a strong man to walk such a long distance.

The stones fell from the sky, mainly relying on the acceleration of gravity to continuously improve their own kinetic energy, so as to kill the people on the enemy ship.

Rurik had no hope at all if he expected rocks to pierce through enemy ships.

His ship-destroying weapon is the torsion slingshot, placed on the ship like giant scorpions. The conical cast iron bullet is a chisel, and this past winter, all the torsion slingshots owned by the Russ have been overhauled, and ten new ones have been added.

The tribe caught baleen whales, and the hard and tough baleen became one of the torsion cores of the slingshot. There are also key hemp ropes and rubber bands made from leather. The three materials are used at the same time. The strength of the torsion slingshot is even more violent, and the maximum range of the projectile is even close to 400stika. Considering its actual combat value, Rurik wouldn't let the Torsion Slingshot play anything! The tactic is that the large ship approaches the target until the surprised face of the enemy can be clearly seen, and then uses the torsion slingshot to launch it, in order to pierce the enemy ship with one hit.

On the vast sea, Rurik knew nothing but the most brutal and efficient tactics. As long as the enemy's ship is sunk by some means, even if there are fifty or a hundred drowning people holding wooden blocks and wailing for help, the Rus people stand by and walk away, waiting for this group of people to die. Or being marinated into bacon in the brackish Baltic waters, or frozen to death.

Even in May, the Baltic Sea is still cold. In other words, at any time, the temperature of the sea water in this huge sea area can make those who fall into the water the first to die.

as long as the ship sinks,

The chances of drowning in survival are extremely slim.

The sea is fair and fair to anyone who falls overboard.

Rurik was not afraid of war, and he was most worried about hitting the rocks. At the rear of Avrora, four tiny sampans are tied with hemp rope. This is the so-called lifeboat, and it also has a strong function of leaving the big ship to explore the island.

If the Avrora hits the rocks, if the hull is damaged, that is the biggest crisis for him.

Rurik, there is no real vision of God, he has no insight into whether there are hidden dangers under the sea.

Having said that, if you are afraid of the reef, you will not dare to go out to sea. Rurik knew at least one very safe course, and that was the route taken by the Swedish coalition's expedition last summer, which stretched at least as far as the Kalmar Strait.

The Avlora was well-armed, fully armed to the teeth by the standards of this era.

She also had some more important equipment, the freshly growing pine branches that Rurik had deliberately carried on board, which weighed a lot.

Oatmeal becomes very hard due to natural drying and dehydration. It is very easy to scratch the oral mucosa. Rurik had no choice. In the face of extreme voyages, ships needed to store extremely storable food.

So another shelf-stable food is smoked bacon, which is a large number of seal meat strips, each of which is dark brown. At first glance, it looks more like winter dead branches. Why does it taste good? , that is, the disadvantage is still too hard.

The navigator of the ribbon has no concept of healthy eating at all, nibbling on oatmeal and bacon, what else do you need to stock up on?

After boarding the ship, Rurik issued an order to everyone on board, saying that although the ship lacked the ability to make a fire and boil water, the pine branches were still eaten.

"Why? If it weren't for the lack of flavor in the food, who would we boil water with pine branches? Since we can't boil water, and since there is still bacon, why do we have to graze like sheep?" people are convinced.

Rurik has no intention of making a scientific explanation, but he really has to say it, who understands? !

Pine branches are indeed rich in vitamin C. Viking tribes from all walks of life have the habit of boiling pine branch water, and Orientals also have the habit of drinking tea. The birth of these living habits has nothing to do with vitamin nutrition.

Whether it is the Balmers or the Rus, the habit of drinking pine needle water on land objectively prevents people from suffering from vitamin C deficiency.

But in the face of a long voyage, it will be a big loss if you don't prepare well in this regard.

Of course, even if there is a lack of various vitamins, sailors live on devalued hard bread, and even the Magellan ship, which is almost completely dependent on the most persevering sailors, endures 5,500 kilometers of the South Pacific without any islands and drifts along the ocean currents for a month. Team, they created a miracle, but the price they paid was half of the crew who died of starvation and thirst.

If the cause of the tragedy had been known earlier, the tragedy could have been avoided in the first place. Rurik is the owner of the Avlora. He claims to be on the vast sea, and everyone on the ship needs to obey his arrangements. There is no doubt about his power, even Biyonny and Floki of Balmerk agree.

The long voyage was full of boredom. At first, Biyonni was very resistant to chewing the bitter pine branches. As the voyage continued, the bitter feeling in his mouth became a means of dispelling boredom.

There is no enthusiasm and boldness in the voyages of this era. Most of the time, everyone just records the messy things in the cabin, or is in a daze with interest. Whenever a woman appears on the boat, aren't these rough men patronizing like tigers every day? In the end they could only throw the woman's body into the sea.

Rurik couldn't expect them to have noble human nature. He asked himself that he once wanted to be a morally good person, but as a result, he was forced to become Viking by the times. How can the so-called moral sages survive in this world where strong enemies are surrounded by strong enemies?

With a huge power in control, Rurik of course intends to be a sage of King Ross, but the pleasure of controlling the power is really great!

There was not a single woman on board, and the forty men became more and more restless during the long and boring voyage. It seemed that only by sinking a few enemy ships could greatly relieve everyone's pressure.

But where are the enemy ships?

Take a look at the current situation!

Heading against the wind at an average speed of three knots and staring at night, the Avrora had to keep zig-zag, so the actual length of the voyage increased by a full third.

Even so, she sails between 120 and 130 kilometers a day.

On the sixth day of the voyage, the Avrora successfully arrived at Tombstone Island. She was also the first Ross ship to arrive on Tombstone Island after overwintering. The people stationed on the island warmly welcomed their Lord Rurik. In exchange, Rurik also unloaded some goods specially prepared for them, such as some good salt. .

The Avrora rested on the island for a whole day, and people got a very critical freshwater supply and some fresh fish. On top of that, people boiled the oats they carried, ate hot surimi and stewed wheat, and the old onions, which were sweet and then spicy, became an excellent seasoning.

The arrival of the Avlora is just the beginning. The "commercial army" from Roseburg, the Sorgon fleet, will now give priority to docking at Tombstone Island for repair. The ice floes on the sea have not yet melted completely. It is conceivable that when the warm period arrives, ships from various tribes in Lake Mälaren also begin to enter the sea to do business on Tombstone Island, the nearest Rus stronghold.

In the Gulf of Bothnia and Lake Mälaren, business is developing rapidly, and under this historical tide, a group of heroes are also rising.

Because of Lake Mälaren, a major event suddenly occurred in the winter snow, and the political pattern of the region underwent seismic changes. All of this, due to the factors of the frozen ocean, the news did not reach Tombstone Island, even more so. It cannot reach the ears of the Rus.

Rurik missed an opportunity to know a big news, but the fact has happened, whether he knows it now or not, the result is the same. Because, I am afraid that is still a major good news for the Rus people.

After leaving Tombstone Island, it took another day to pass the mouth of Lake Mälaren, and now, the Avrora has finally started her real voyage.

So far there has been no turning back.

It was an excellent morning, and the warm south wind was blowing.

All the people on the ship gathered on the lower middle deck, while Rurik stood on the forecastle deck and talked loudly in front of everyone.

At this moment, he has regarded the Balmers as his subordinates, and everyone present is his subordinates.

His exquisite dagger pointed to the south: "Now, in principle, we will not land in search of any supply point. In front is Gotland, and then Kalmar! In principle, it is already Danish territory and we will encounter it at any time. enemy!

We'll get close to any ship and sink it! Remember, the southern seas have no friends, only enemies!

We just want to be pirates. If we don't land supplies, we just want to plunder their supplies for my use.

We're going to keep going until we pass the Danes' dense movement. If we encounter the most difficult combat threat, we need not fear. fight them! Do as much damage as you can, try to create an atmosphere of terror.

We will keep sailing until we reach Balmerk, the only destination of the voyage.

Here, there is no difference between the Rus, the Balmers and the hired sailors, our destiny is exactly the same, we must fight as a whole! "

Rurik's generous remarks first attracted applause from his elite mercenaries, and the Balmerk travelers also began to cheer after seeing Biyonni's attitude.

"So, are we really going to be pirates? Are we really going to attack the Danes?" Biyonion raised his head, his seemingly serious expression clearly showing a smile.

"Not rigorous! But we are indeed pirates."

"how to say?"

Rurik didn't say any more: "What if the ships that appeared ahead belonged to Bergen? What are our options? Let it go?"

"No!" Floki pulled his voice-changing voice: "Fight them! I can clearly recognize which are my tribe's fishing boats, either ours or the enemy. This is our way of life."

Rurik stared into Floki's eyes with satisfaction, and smiled with approval: "That's right, this is our way of life. So, I don't want to lose any fighting opportunities by moving all the bull trebuchets out. "

If Rurik wanted to kill people at sea, he really wouldn't be punished.

In other words, there are sanctions, and that is a war between two powers!

"Being a Pirate King this year? It's not bad, at least my ship is stronger than Aric's group of warriors."

To annihilate the living forces of the enemy, rather than to be complacent about all forms of rout, is what Rurik called the principle of war. The Baltic Sea says big is big, and small is really small. If Ross wants to rise, he must snatch resources from the Danes. In this small world with a high degree of involution, a war for hegemony is inevitable.

That being the case, Rurik would be happy to bleed the Danish forces in advance.

Gotland was just ahead, and during the boring voyage, Biyonny and Floki did not hesitate to ask Rurik about the island battle between the Rus and the Visbys. In order to once again demonstrate the great martial arts of the Rus, we drove the boat directly to the coast of Visby, and looked at the huge settlement that had been turned into ruins from a distance, because facts speak louder than any eloquence!

Of course, there are still settlers in Visby, the more than a hundred Merlarens who remain here. The existence of this group means that the Swedish power, the Mälaren tribe, owns the island. Just how big a storm can these 100 people make? Did they survive the winter well? Or the massive freezing and starvation in the past winter?

These guys are like the people who were abandoned by that Carl. After all, they are facing the Danish forces and are on the front line of danger.

How are they doing?

The more he thought about it, the more Rurik had to take a look. He also didn't change his order, so-called try not to land before arriving at Balmerk (Narvik Fjord), the big ship is to come over to see what Visby has become under the control of the new immigrants.

Until, as many as five fishing boats appeared in front of the Avrora.

The atmosphere suddenly became tense!

Standing at the bow, Rurik saw the structure of the ships with his naked eyes. He hunched over and stared, with seriousness and caution written on his face.

Beyonny stood beside him, watching his stepbrother's attitude until the ships were very suspicious.

"Are you friends? Or enemies? Judging by your attitude, those fishing boats look like enemies?"

"Strange, I've never seen such a boat in Lake Mälaren," Rurik murmured.

"What ship? I don't see anything strange. It's basically the same as the ship in my hometown."

"No! Melalen's stern ends are generally flat. No! They..." Rurik suddenly thought of one thing: "They are not Melalen's friends. They are outsiders! They are enemies!"

"What... what do you mean?" Biyonny melee combat in awe.

Rurik turned his head sharply, stared into Biyonni's eyes, and said calmly: "Brother, prepare for battle! I'm sure the Danes have come for revenge, they killed our allies who settled in Visby, and then An occupation!"

"Then fight! My hands are itchy. Haha, to be honest, my hands are still white."

Rurik couldn't help but stunned. As far as the face is concerned, Rurik believed from the beginning that this Biyonni must have killed many enemies. The co-author implied that he had no record of killing enemies?

Rurik didn't laugh, let alone laugh. The battle is a very serious matter, and this battle can be completely avoided. Since it is not a friendly ship that appears on the sea, it must be an enemy. The friendly forces on the shore must be wiped out by this group, and Rurik found an excellent reason to fight for the revenge of the friendly forces.

He didn't need any evidence at all, just because the ships in front were not Melalen's, that was a reason to fight.