Rise of Rurik

All the reindeer sleighs are covered with cloth tents, and all the passengers are dressed in furry clothes to keep warm. The cold wind sweeping across the ice can't interfere with people's progress. If there is, it can only be a snowstorm.

Rurik and his party were heading straight to Fort Eilon, which was essentially a detour. Considering the problem of supplies, he deliberately did so.

The sled team lined up in double file, and all the stewardesses stared at the flagpole of Rurik's car, and the flag fluttered so that no one would fall behind.

Reindeer pull people and goods. Even though they have great strength, they are unable to continue running wildly.

These animals with amazing endurance were trained very docilely, and they kept walking at a speed that kept the entire team at a slow speed of about 6km/h.

The speed is indeed slow, and the reindeer sled is better than being able to walk at a constant speed throughout the day.

In the first day, the sled team ran about fifty kilometers.

The team spent the night in a pine forest by the frozen seaside and sleighed for the whole day. People walked out of the airtight cloth tent. Even though the outdoor air was very cold, it was refreshing and beautiful.

The Tavastia women were all moving their muscles and bones, twisting their stiff waists.

Very suddenly, some big trees collapsed under the action of the double saw.

They were taken aback.

After a while, Geflo hurried over with an ax and shouted in Old Finnish: "Women, build your own huts, we will spend the night here. Don't think about running away, bears and wolves will kill you."

escape? If you could escape, everyone would have escaped.

By now, these Tavastian women have fully accepted their sad fate. Although it is sad, life still has hope.

Can immigrants settle down in a distant place? These young women had no right to choose their own marriages in their hometown. What kind of man to marry can only be left to fate, but if one's own man can provide wheat every day, then he is a good man. If there is such a good day, they will take up arms to defend it.

Many women had axes in their hands, and Rurik was worried that they would attack his own people. The ax is a tool for processing shacks, and it is also a thing for self-protection when encountering wild animals. This is their personal property, and it is considered to be purchased from Roseburg with their own labor remuneration.

The snow digs a hole,

Lay out a burlap cloth. Thick branches are used to build a frame on the snow pit, and dense European red pine branches with long pine needles are further built, and finally the roof is covered with snow.

Such is the case with a warm snowy den, where one can sleep peacefully and not be too cold inside.

The Ross people took out the edoderm fungus powder they had collected, and then used their bow drill to drill wood against the dry wood they had prepared to make fire.

A little flame ignited and gradually turned into a bonfire.

The oil-rich pine trees obtained locally were smashed to pieces by Rurik's capable mercenaries. The intense smoke covered the flames, and after a while the moisture was dried, and the first bonfire became a huge fire!

Soon, by the pine forest, fifty bonfires lit up the earth under the night, and the world was no longer cold. People seized the time to eat dry food, and then went into the huts to sleep.

Only Rurik and Noren. The sleigh owned by the two is a warm house in itself...

The camp tends to be more sophisticated, and outside the sleds of the houses, the sound of the pipa of the bonfire, the snoring of the strong men, and the faint noise of hundreds of reindeer can be heard from time to time.

When people are eating dry food, the reindeer are also eating oats. They can't eat too much wheat and their own hay, so the accompanying deer breeders drive the deer that has completely removed the bridle to graze for a while.

Now, the time of day and night is still almost equal. After all, there is a large team of hundreds of people. Rurik does not dare to march in the night, he is afraid that the sledge will get lost.

In the sleigh in the house, Rurik was lying on his back with his hands pillowed on his head, and Noren couldn't help leaning forward.

"This is the two of us... the first night alone in the snow field." She hesitated.

"how?"

"I... saw the sunset over the frozen sea. The ice surface became the color of the setting sun. And the moonlight tonight is so beautiful."

"The moonlight is so beautiful?" Rurik pursed his lips slightly and smiled for a moment, "You are very reserved, not like you. I know you are very happy. We will be alone with you for the next two months."

"Yes, other sisters will envy me. I still wonder when I will be a mother."

"You and I have made an agreement on this matter. At least three years later. You should not think about this matter this year. You should think about returning to your hometown and how to call on those who are determined to stay behind to support your rule."

"My rule." Noren simply laughed out loud, "Isn't it your rule?"

"At least nominally your rule."

"But you are my man. Rurik..." Noren sat up, "I can't wait any longer. I can't lose to other sisters, and I can't let them look down on me."

However, this night, Rurik and Noren did not have any substantive matters. Is this simply because Rurik has shown extreme self-discipline for the sake of long-term planning? Do not! It was simply that Noren used brute force. After all, she was a standard Viking woman, which forced Rurik to stop pretending.

Because of Noren, she is really beautiful, and she sings beautifully...

But she felt very painful, so she backed out unilaterally. Rurik simply let out a sigh of relief.

How could she not be in a hurry, the first few wives and concubines of Rurik she saw were either mothers or were pregnant, and she was also a dignified nobleman, if she couldn't become a mother early, it was impossible not to be despised by them.

Of course, speaking more practically, how could Noren not know the virtues of the old Balmerk family? Wanting them to recognize a female leader is wishful thinking.

The Balmerk in the mercenary is the attitude Noren said. The brothers don’t think she can be the leader of the left behind. The brothers are eager to hope that Noren can give birth to a boy, so that the brothers in the hometown will support it. This pretty boy.

A valiant attempt failed, but against the glacier, the valiant attempt must succeed.

The team spent three days, and on the third evening after setting off, they encountered cod-fishing hole-holes on the ice, and knew that Allonburg was about to arrive.

The team had already crossed the estuary of the frozen Torna River. Everyone contacted each other and learned that this was the correct path, but the sled team was still moving forward.

The arrival of the Rurik sled team was expected by Mechasta, the "governor" of Eronburg, but they came quite suddenly.

The forest, sea and snow field at dusk was extremely magnificent. A young man dressed like a bear led several men up to the ice to greet him.

The boy had already waved to celebrate.

"It's Telavis." Rurik poked his head out and waved in response.

After a while, the whole team stopped, and such a spectacular manned sled team could no longer surprise him.

"Taravis, are you safe?" Rurik greeted.

"I'm fine. Brother, you are finally here, and my father sent me to meet you."

At that time, Noren also poked his head out: "Are you in Fort Eron?"

A beautiful blond girl poked her head out with loose long hair. Travis was surprised and then a little disappointed when she saw her.

Because, this woman is not his sister Sai Bo Lava.

Rurik continued to stare at Telavis's face: "In this case, you lead the way. Tonight and tomorrow I will take the most critical rest in Fort Elrond."

Rurik turns the corner to the city on the banks of the Ailon (Kemi) River, and it will definitely waste three days of tossing around.

This decision was necessary, and Rurik had to be well-supplied here in order to be safe. What he asked for was not human food, but reindeer food!

Because the area around Elronburg has been the target of deer breeders since ancient times, when a functional city of mining, logging, and fishing appeared in this area, animal husbandry became extremely urgent.

Rurik was sure that he would have easy access to large bales of hay to supplement the food of the reindeer on the expedition.

The sled team stopped on the frozen river bank, and the building scene here is so huge!

Noren opened his eyes wide, grabbed Rurik's arm, and asked what the huge equipment placed on the shore was.

"It lifts felled giant trees and mounts them on large sleds."

"Is it really so powerful?"

"Of course. This is my invention. Noren, this is your first visit to Elrondberg, and there are still a lot of surprises here."

The beautiful scenery of the forest, sea and snowfield becomes boring after seeing too much, but when I hear something new, her nature is completely lifted.

As for the Tavastian women, they stood dumbfounded beneath the towering snow-covered wooden walls. Because Fort Elrond was at the forefront of erosion by the arctic cold current, the wooden walls of the city had been repaired and raised continuously, and finally became a majestic place.

In another area, there were constant ding-ding-dong-dong sounds, and the entire area was clearly burning. The nearby snow had faded to leave the dry and hard ground, and the thick smoke continued.

Noren is very curious, she can see that Fort Elrond is much smaller than Fort Rose, but the exquisiteness inside...

A group of people entered the city quilt in unison, and the people stationed came to watch.

Especially the local Kowen people know that there will be a large group of Tavastians coming. No, the Kewen women threw snowballs on the spot, throwing snowballs at the black-haired Ta woman.

"Hey! Women, what are you doing? Yeflo, disperse this group of snowball fightrs!" Rurik was startled, and suddenly ordered angrily.

Yefro hummed, and led the men to pick up the round shield, and after striking the shield violently, dispersed the group of Kewen women.

"What's going on here?" Noren yelled in confusion, "Rurik is the interesting thing you said, is this?"

"Bah! Is there any hatred between them? Damn it, maybe it really is hatred?" Rurik gritted his teeth, and he seemed to think of the reason.

Looking at those Tavastian women, they were very puzzled by the sudden attack, but they were not cowards. They picked up their handaxes and threatened those who threw snowballs.

Although the Kewen woman retreated, the abuse from both sides continued one after another.

It's a pity that the languages ​​of the two sides are very similar, and the swear words are also scarce.

"Now, I understand." Rurik patted his head, thinking that it was right for these Tavastia captives to be thrown to Balmerk's friends.

It's all because, even if the two ethnic groups lost a lot of men, even if they still have a group of women left, the disputes continue.

Rurik had nothing to do, it seemed that Eronburg did not welcome these Tavastians. Simply, this group of women was placed in the outdoor camp.

Finally, Rurik arrived at his palace in Elronburg.

The house is not big, it is quite warm and has been cleaned properly. For example, the polar bear heads hanging on the wall are not dusty.

For what happened before, the Kewen man Mechasta seemed to be very apologetic.

A large salmon that knew how to be hard was thawed out, grilled until it was oily on a special iron cage, and the delicious grilled fish was sent to the palace.

"My lord, it is my responsibility that the attack happened." Mechasta, who personally served the fish, respectfully.

Rurik pursed his lips to hide his anger, and said: "Put away your self-blame, don't think I don't know. The hatred between you Kevins and Tavastians has existed since ancient times, but what you did today What a coward."

"No. I didn't order them. My people are just too angry thinking about the past." He defended.

"Ridiculous. You and Kaihas have reconciled. Didn't your Gray Squirrel Tribe and the Salmon Lord Tribe also fight you?"

"That...that was just a fight between brothers. The Tavastians want our lives and have been driving us away. To be honest..." Mechasta lowered his head: "I am so happy to see them in trouble .”

"Ridiculous! But...you have your own reasons." Rurik didn't want to reprimand anything. It's like the serious Russians can't reconcile with the Danish forces. In fact, no one knows when the conflict between the two parties will happen. of.

Rurik shook his head again: "I remember arranging some female prisoners for you."

"The Tavastia woman in my hand is now my slave."

"Really? I thought they would be your men's wives." Rurik saw that Mechasta really didn't want to talk, and said, "I gave you the right to dispose of it. I don't care what you want. But today I'm very angry."

Looking at Mechasta again, he made up his mind: "I am willing to be punished."

"Sigh. You're out of shape... How about this, provide me with a batch of hay and a batch of dried fish. Don't worry, the Tavastia women you hate are originally from Balmerks. I'll just stay here for a day, You restrain your own people tomorrow, and another attack occurs..."

"Yes. I am responsible for the accident."

"Go away, then. Do as I tell you, and I'll enjoy myself later."

Tavastia has collapsed, and the remnants are divided among the victors, isn't that enough? Rurik really didn't know how many things the Kewen people had experienced before, maybe it was a very tragic thing.

Rurik really knew that Tavastia's forces were already quite strong, and they were able to assemble an army of four to five thousand people in a short time!

It's a pity that they are just simple savages with courage, but they have no brains in fighting. This group of people is desperately expanding, and it can be regarded as a typical example of a war that will inevitably decline.

Rurik and Noren soaked in the big wooden barrel, being submerged in hot water was extremely comfortable.

Nuo Lun rarely has this kind of enjoyment, but she has to experience the Finnish sauna in the steam room.

"Do you like Elronburg?" Rurik asked suddenly, which cheered Noren, who was already a little wilted by steam.

"It's really... wonderful. The houses here are well arranged, and the roads are all vertical. There is also the machine that can carry big trees, and..."

She listed a lot, and Rurik listened with pleasure.

But she still brought up the attack in the evening.

"What...why? It's pure hatred?" she asked.

"It's just hate."

"The Tavastians are defeated, and the hatred is over."

"No. It was Rose who defeated the enemy, and the honor of victory does not belong to the Cowen people. You should know that women are also fighters when necessary. Your biological father taught you."

"I understand. But I should never go to the battlefield." Mentioning the war, Noren naturally felt lingering fear.

"War is inevitable in this era." Rurik sighed softly, "The belligerent Tavastia was defeated by us who were even more belligerent. But Karelia is still a hegemon in the East. It's like a big rock is hanging over your head."

"We will win easily." Noren encouraged.

"Yes, the only thing I dare not neglect is war. It would be best if I could recruit five hundred warriors from your hometown. As for our enemies, haha..."

"why are you laughing?"

"I hope the Karelians are as brave as the Tavastians. You know, sometimes bravery is reckless, so our army can kill well!"

Rurik's words were already very serious, and his tone was full of murderous intent. Noren stood up tremblingly, intending to leave, but suddenly felt dizzy again, and fell into Rurik's arms.

"I feel dizzy."

"This is a sauna, you are indeed dizzy. Rest, sleep late tomorrow. We still have nearly fifteen days of travel in the future, so we won't be able to enjoy this kind of enjoyment."