Rise of Rurik

Except for those who escaped first to survive, those who subconsciously escaped into the city have now either become ghosts under the sword of the Viking army, or have been ravaged continuously.

The farmers and herdsmen who escaped went straight to the surrounding villages with their only belongings.

In this era, Edinburgh's geographical location was slightly different from a thousand years later, but the area has remained unchanged since it was named "Edinburgh".

There are some villages hidden in the large pine and oak forests, and the clearings in the forest are widely planted with crops.

The wheat harvest has just ended, and the peasants or tenant farmers have just paid the rent and the kingdom's grain tax. The farmers have little grain left, but after the wheat harvest, they can finally enjoy the joy of a bumper harvest, and they can eat a rare feast.

The villages were some distance from Edinburgh, a military-dominated stronghold, and when the terrifying news of the invasion and siege of the "sea barbarians" was passed on by the fleeing people, the tranquility of the idyllic countryside was completely detonated, causing extreme panic. Where is the "barbarian from the sea" who came here, it is clearly the devil who came out of the sea! It's Satan's apostle!

The priests stationed in the village gathered the panicked villagers. Some of them were brave enough to decide to pick up wooden tools to fight the demons, but most of them had very simple thoughts. The so-called everyone fled to the woods to hide, and when the "devil from the sea" left, everything would be peaceful again.

When night began to fall, the people of the villages around Edinburgh had already begun to flee. Some people were a little skeptical until the villagers saw the location of Edinburgh, where the smoke of an unprecedented scale rose, and they used their imaginations, the most terrifying hell fantasy they could imagine in their minds, and began to speed up their escape.

Edinburgh is indeed a hell for the locals.

The Northumbrian warriors who defended the city, whether they resisted or surrendered to the barbarians, ended in death.

The siege Balmerk Viking Army, the most basic warriors are personally selected by their family leaders, and those who can be selected must be warriors. They fought in the sun, sacrificed Odin with the blood of their enemies, and gave back to their families with the blood of their enemies.

When most Viking warriors realized that they should keep a few alive, either as "tongues" or as future slaves, they suddenly realized that they had gone too far.

Live? Where else is there to live?

Is it the small group of women who are crying and having a nervous breakdown?

The battle was over, and Rurik felt he had waited too long.

The sword-wielding Yevlo felt an itch in his heart, and he went round and round Rurik,

Fly like a fly in front of Rurik.

"Enough! Yevro, give me peace."

"My lord. Are we going to spend the night outside?" Yevro asked suddenly.

"Do not."

"It's time for us to go in too. Brothers, we all want to..."

Halfway through Yevlo's words, Rurik glanced at his subordinates. Even the sailors who disembarked to join the battle had strong anticipation in their eyes.

"Let's go then. Go and see what good they've done..."

Rurik picked himself up and started walking up the drawbridge leading to the city.

Everything was within his expectations. The so-called Edinburgh, which was surrounded by wooden walls, was clearly a large number of wooden huts. There were no hardened roads in the city. Just a hard blackened dirt road.

Civilians and even soldiers lived in thatched huts, and the roads were muddy once it rained!

Rurik's last fantasies about the city didn't even think there would be any treasure here.

Especially Yevluo, he could not help but sigh with his mouth open: "Here... shouldn't there be a mountain of gold and silver?"

"Hey! What are you thinking?!" Rurik asked casually.

"My lord, it's bad here. They should be rich, but why do I feel more dilapidated than the Melaron Market."

"It can only be worse." Rurik casually pointed to the large number of dead bodies everywhere: "Look at these dead people, most of them are soldiers, and more are civilians."

"My lord. Are you... do you feel sorry for them?"

"Poor?" Rurik shook his head with a sullen face: "I seem to hear the wandering spirits lamenting. We have already entered the city, do you think it will be a good thing to stay in the city?"

"This... I don't want to sleep with corpses. In my experience, the weather is the hottest right now, and within two or three days, these corpses will emit a stench. The stench is the curse of the devil, and anyone who inhales the stench will Died."

Rurik raised his hand to stop him: "Enough, I'll stay out for the night at last. Look, brothers. If there's treasure here, it's been found by our allies. Well, let's go on to the enemy's granary, We will evacuate as soon as we can remove as much food as possible."

This fort named Edinburgh is mainly made of wood. It is actually the northern military base of the kingdom, but it cannot stop the onslaught of the real powerful army. The wooden fence could keep the Picts out, but it couldn't stop the Viking army with siege experience. Although it is an important military town, its body is actually a small-scale fortress.

The blood of the dead is now running on the black soil in the city wall, the soil is muddy, and the air is filled with the stench of rust.

Rurik and his party were simply walking on the "Blood Road", their leather boots were stained with a lot of Yin Hong's soil, and all the elite mercenaries who were eager to grab some property, they all changed after the Great God Rurik. face.

The further he went, the more tormented Rurik saw those mad Balmerks running around. They did grab something useful, and others have started arson.

Rurik glanced at the group of malicious arsonists and couldn't help being shocked: "Not good! We have to hurry. Once the fire develops, it can't be controlled!"

"Sir, we still don't know their granary..." Yevlo was only halfway through his words when he saw a carriage appear not far away. "Lord, look! It's a horse!"

"That's it. How can there be horses if it's not a warehouse? Come with me."

Rurik didn't have time to entangle with the corpses and the frenzied Viking warriors. He took his closest men and directly bumped into the Shetlanders who were busy carrying food.

"Yes! Lord Rurik of Ross, you are not busy scavenging for gold, yet..." The speaker was Huo De, the voyage guide.

The old boy was frantically carrying sacks full of husked grains with his island friends.

Rurik just glanced at it and understood how well the Edinburgh Army thought about warehousing. They piled heavy sacks into walls, and as for the horses and two-wheeled carriages, they were clearly used to carry food. The local army, which seems to have been wiped out, is ready to transport some food?

Rurik motioned to Yevlo, and Yevlo immediately grabbed Hod by the neck.

This surprised all Shetlanders, who were surprised to see Rurik draw his dagger.

"What's going on? Lord Rurik?!" Huo De grumbled with difficulty.

"Let him go, Yevro."

Having said that, Rurik approached the carriage where some of the grain had been piled up with his sword, and with the sword he put copper into a sack, and some grains of wheat immediately flowed out. He borrowed some wheat and sniffed it, judging its good quality.

"Lord Rurik, this is our capture." Huo De cautiously said.

"Yes! You Bergens of Shetland are indeed a little different from those people. You know better that grain is more valuable than gold."

Is this a compliment? Huo De smelled something else, Rurik was the commander of the army, and he could only lead people here in one situation.

Huo De judged the situation and knew that no matter how good a wolf's appetite was, he couldn't swallow a whole sheep by himself.

"Lord Rurik, your warriors are all looking for gold and silver, and we can only come to find something good. Luckily, I found their granary."

"No! You definitely came prepared, not just looking around."

"Anyway, it's the rule you set. The first to discover the property belongs to it. But this granary is too big, and my people must resist at least one sack of wheat."

"Did I say you can't ask for it?" Rurik said so, but in his heart he admired that Huo De was not greedy for gold and silver. He also noticed that the group of Shetlanders had also captured a group of women, all of whom looked young.

After seeing enough of the dead bodies in the city, it was these Shetlanders who were robbing food that they actually left some alive. It was these women who were disheveled and in a trance. After their hands and feet were tied up, they were tied to the pillars. There was no light in their eyes, and their bodies just kept shaking.

Rurik didn't want to say more, he could announce: "Now this granary is all my possessions. Huo De, with your people and the women you captured, evacuated outside the city with a bag of wheat."

"Ah! This... we're going to..."

"You still want to live in the city? Don't you smell burnt! Those guys are already setting fire. Do you want to stay in the city for cremation? Get out."

Huo De waited for everyone to raise their heads. They finally realized that the situation was becoming more and more uncontrollable. He bared his teeth and shouted: "Friends, let's withdraw."

The Shetlanders immediately began to evacuate, and Huo De also asked at the last moment, "Sir, are you not evacuating?"

"I'm going to come in and ship the wheat before leaving. You don't have to worry about me."

In the granary area, the chaos seemed to disappear, but there was a rumbling sound from the surroundings. If you listened carefully, it was clearly the carnival laughter of the looters.

"Let's do it now! Yevro, take the brethren to carry the wheat. Search for everything you can and find the horses and carriages."

"Yes." After saying that, Yevlo waved his hand, and the fifteen people began to act.

Rurik really only brought this few people into the city, and a few others were still watching the heavy equipment outside the city.

They took off their chainmail and began to struggle to carry the sacks, as if they were porters.

It was at this busy time that a man who was hiding was pulled out.

Who can not be surprised when a prisoner is escorted to Rurik and suddenly a prisoner appears?

At this moment Rurik was already sitting on the side of the carriage, and the pack horse, which was tamed very docile, just stood motionless, as if the killing of humans had nothing to do with it.

This is a middle-aged man with brown hair. He is dressed in coarse gray cloth, but he has a small sterling silver cross hanging around his neck.

This person has been kneeling and begging for mercy, muttering some words.

"What is he talking about?" Rurik asked.

Yevro kicked abruptly, the man muttered even louder, and Rurik finally understood some words.

Rurik knew that the man was muttering in Old English, and it was this wonderful accent that reminded him of Stein, the Saxon chief of Borgholm.

Oh yes! The composition of the kingdom of Northumbria is also Saxon in essence! Even if they are three or four hundred years away from the era of great immigration, the drift of language should not be very severe. The so-called Old English here is essentially Old Saxon.

Old Norse and Old Sax have a high degree of similarity in grammar and vocabulary.

As the man's speech slowed down, Rurik used a few key words to figure out the man's profile.

I am afraid that in any era, talents are the most important to the monarch. The man, who called himself Paul, described himself as an old servant of the Earl of Edinburgh, who was in charge of the granary.

Is this person a technocrat rare in this time and space? !

Rurik retracted his sword, flicked his ponytail, and deliberately stood in front of this Paul. How can I calm this man down and try to make him work for me?

A wonderful operation suddenly brewed in Rurik's mind.

From Paul's perspective, the old servant hid the first time he found out that the barbarians were coming in. Several of his young men were killed, and he could only pray in the corner of poverty.

A savage boy stood before him. Do not! Is this boy really with those savages?

It was because Rurik "skillfully" drew a cross on his chest with two fingers of his right hand in front of Paul.

This act of bewilderment by a barbarian made Paul suddenly feel that the people in front of him just looked barbaric, but they were actually servants of the Lord. Just like those Picts, who are clearly servants of the Lord, and who have repeatedly violated the frontier over the years. However, the Picts had red hair, and the fair-skinned boy in front of him had hair that was even brighter than gold.

Rurik was arrogant, and the warriors around him were also immediately asked to put on a blue-striped cloak, posing a more solemn aura.

Then Rurik spoke some key words of the Norse language in extremely slow speech: "Paul! You are... Edinburgh... servant! Your master, death. Now! I! Your master! New master! Surrender! Live! Betray, die!"

What is there to hesitate? In the eyes of this "food officer" Paul, the boy in front of him is indeed noble, and he should be the servant of the Lord just like himself.

What exactly happened now? Maybe Edinburgh was attacked by another kingdom. It must have been through the years of civil war and turmoil in the kingdom, but it has attracted other kingdoms to plunder the territory of Northumbria. It was a war between princes and nobles, but could it have something to do with the grassroots? In troubled times, Paul made a choice that could save his life.

Paul knelt upright, then got down to kiss Rurik's blood-stained boots, and when he felt weird, there was no turning back.

With his understanding of Christ, Rurik made a cameo as a servant of the Lord, and perfectly obtained the servant of Paul, the food officer. Whether this servant is sincere or not, it will make the next food transfer work smooth.

Due to the simple taxation, the grain silos in the Edinburgh Walled City are not piled up like mountains.

However, after the first wave of raiding by the Shetlanders, there was still a lot of food in several warehouses.

The five carriages were piled up with grain. It was truly a mountain of gold and silver, but a hill of grain.

In order to avoid misunderstanding, the ordinary Paul changed into the blue and white cloth headgear of the Rus, and he followed closely beside a carriage, walking the bloody road in trepidation.

Until, he saw the corpses of the kingdom warriors on the ground near the broken city gate, and he really couldn't move.

"What's the situation? Why stop?" Liu immediately yelled at the Paul who was standing in a daze, and then walked over.

After a while, Rurik followed Paul's finger and saw a corpse that was said to be a big man in the corpse pile.

The deceased was actually the Earl of Edinburgh himself? !

Yevluo and other elite mercenaries were ordered to drag the corpses out, and as some gold and silver utensils carried by the corpses were found, it perfectly proved their noble status.

What's more important is that the bent iron sword, with its silver-plated hilt, can't be enjoyed by ordinary people.

And another elite mercenary simply turned out a blood-stained flag, even if it became broken, it was still a flag with clear patterns!

"It's the flag of Northumbria!" Paul pointed and said in shock.

"Yours! Flags?" Rurik asked with his head held high.

"It's a noble! I'm just the most common servant."

Rurik nodded, motioning Yevlo to take some measures.

Immediately afterwards, Paul was in shock and had to reassess his judgment. This beautiful boy who can draw a cross on his chest is really the servant of the Lord?

If the young man is really a servant, he is a fallen servant of the Lord.

Even if the earl is dead, he is a noble after all, how can he be so humiliated? !

It turned out that Yevluo and others tied the earl's upper feet with ropes and tied them to the wooden boards of the carriage. They took off the earl's mail and iron helmet, and seized his sword and dagger.

The earl, like a piece of rotten flesh, used his back to wash the blood-stained dirt road, and the smoke from the burning houses around him became more and more violent.

Perhaps Rurik didn't deserve such a dragging corpse. actually not! Because of those Balmerks and Shetlanders, all of them are Vikings in essence, and they have an infinite worship of the strong. A commander, in addition to bringing his brothers to make a fortune, let everyone know that he is the most violent fighter.

To be able to find the body of the enemy commander in the chaotic army, if this is openly displayed, it means that Rurik will be cheered by the people. Because the warriors were very eager to see their commander kill the enemy commander with his own hands, such as using the head of the enemy chief to make a bone cup, the Viking warriors were only happy that they were following a great warrior king.

Dusk, outside the city.

A grove near the sea was Rurik's chosen campsite, where he could easily see his Avlora.

Hemp rope hangs around the ear of Edinburgh's neck, and the body is hung on display, its curved iron sword stuck in the dirt at his feet.

When they finally got here, Paul, the food officer, completely understood that they were not servants of the Lord at all.

However, they are not mere savages.

After Rurik settled down here, Paul climbed deeply to Rurik, who was on fire, and asked humbly, "Sir.

"Me?" Rurik glanced at him, and signaled to his mercenaries that they no longer had to be on guard.

He looked at the throbbing flames, and said with a serious and serious face in Norse language: "Vith er Norrse. Vith er Vikingr."

"Vikingr..." Paul sighed, he knew that he was doomed, and they were closely guarding him, and he would be killed immediately if he escaped.

What will be your own destiny? Paul dared to ask again.

"Be my grain officer, manage my grain, do it well, and you will be rewarded. Otherwise! Death."

Paul completely understood what he said. He didn't really surrender, he just knew that he couldn't escape this new fate. This person has been relieved from the predicament, no matter which master he follows, he is always a slave. He can only live firmly by holding on to his beliefs. The only fortunate thing is that these invaders can take away everything in Edinburgh, but they have no intention of taking away his beliefs...