In fact, the river that the Rus crossed is the so-called Tornio River, which originates from Lake Torna in the Norwegian ridge. This so-called Lake Torna is the source of many rivers such as the Gulf of Bothnia, and a westward river originating from it flows into the Narvik Fjord in Norway.
A Norwegian tribe named Balmok is now the owner of the Narvik Fjord.
However, so far, even if the distance between the two tribes is not very far in space, and even if the two tribes can complete land contact along the existing rivers, the two sides still do not know the existence of the other.
The Russians do not know the existence of the Balmok tribe, but the Balmok people are not fools who are happy to hide in the fjord. They are actively looking for external business opportunities. The locals have begun to set their sights on Britain in the distance, and also on the east of the mountains.
The powerful Balmoks have begun to engage in "business" with some people in the east of the mountains. "Partners on the Internet", conducting increasingly lively business dealings. The scale of this so-called commercial activity is still too small, and it will hardly interfere with the lives of deer farmers in the area.
So, the Balmoks may know that there is a Rus tribe in the Siya tribe alliance, but they do not know the exact location of the Rus.
Otto led his tribe to finally enter a new area that even the fishermen had not explored, and everyone settled down in a forest.
It looks like it will be another day to spend the night in the cold snow.
However, those hunters who took advantage of the darkness to build tripwire traps in the hope of catching precious ferrets in unknown places noticed mysterious lights appearing in the distance.
What is that? It's a bonfire!
The experienced hunter is extremely sensitive to flames. Based on his experience, he concluded that it was an artificially lit bonfire and had nothing to do with the light of stars and moonlight.
And there is more than one bonfire.
What exactly is it? A deer herder's camp? Or an unknown enemy? !
The hunters gave up the idea of setting traps. They all ran back to their campsites and rushed to Otto’s warm sleeping nest to convey this amazing discovery.
"Is there anything wrong with your eyes? If you lie about the news, I will punish you." Otto seriously questioned.
"Oh! Great leader, I dare to swear to the Valkyrie that my eyes are normal." The hunter also responded seriously.
Otto continued to ask: "Are there many bonfires?"
"It's absolutely true. Maybe the deer herders at that time were the mysterious enemies in the prophecy..."
p>
"Shut up! Brothers." Otto's eyes widened under the night moon, and he suddenly pulled out his sword, "The prediction of the high priest has come true. Listen, I know the deer herders. They will not light bonfires openly, because that will scare the deer! It must be an unknown enemy, it must be a powerful enemy. Brothers, the aurora is in the sky! The opportunity to prove to the Valkyrie that you are a powerful warrior has come, brothers, follow meaction! ”
Otto forgot his fatigue for a moment. Nothing excites the old guy more than fighting.
His men are like evil spirits who smell the smell of blood. Wolf.
Many people were awakened from their sleep. Those who suddenly woke up were a little angry, but when they learned that the fateful battle was finally coming, they stood up quickly
The originally quiet camp suddenly became noisy.
Otto drank a swig of strong wine, and then threw the bottle to one of his subordinates. He was using the snow that was available everywhere. He wiped his face vigorously and twisted his lion-like head desperately: "It's time to find out that brat. ”
Otto stood in front of Rurik’s snow tent, violently opened the linen roof and jumped in.
Rurik was pulled out in his sleep. He was also slapped twice by Otto himself.
He was a little confused. Why was he slapped by his father?
“Are you still awake? my child! The battle begins, this is your first battle! "
"The first battle? The battle has begun? "
"Wake up now! Otto roared, threw his son directly on the snow, and continued to scold: "Get ready, we are going to fight." "
With this scolding and the pain on his face, Rurik realized the seriousness of the matter. He felt that unknown enemies were attacking in large numbers, but when he stood up after Rumia pulled him , what he saw were tribal warriors adjusting their equipment under the snowy night.
Where are the enemies?
Rurik looked around, and there were obviously no enemies in the small woods where he was hiding.
At that glance, Rurik felt that Otto had suddenly become very strange, like a raging lion that had lost the depth of an old man and turned into an outright militant. .
Look at what Otto is doing now! The whole camp is busy with the old leader.
This is the kind of person Rurik wants to be. < /p>
After a while, Yevro, who also received the combat order, ran towards his real master Rurik with a group of mercenaries under his command.
"What happened? ? Where are our enemies? Rurik asked anxiously.
Jevro pointed towards the east with his big hand: "It's over there." Hunters claimed that there were a large number of bonfires on the east side of the frozen river. "
"Is it an enemy? A deer farmer? "
"This...I'm sorry, the leader did not reveal more information. "Jevro said regretfully.
Rumia, who realized that something was wrong with the situation at this moment, stared at her master seriously: "Definitely not a deer herder. Deer farmers would not expose their situation rashly with a bonfire. And deer are somewhat afraid of fire. ”
“Not a deer farmer? That's Finn. "Rurik said the word "finn" without even thinking about it.
YevLuo immediately denied: "My master, my hometown is in the south. With all due respect, you cannot meet Finns in this area."
"Not a Finn? How could you not be a Finn?" Rurik was very surprised.
Although Rurik understood the basic geographical structure of the Nordic world, he knew little about the Nordic ethnic pattern in the ninth century. In fact, the so-called Finns in a narrow sense are specifically the indigenous people living along the coastline in Helsinki's geographical location.
Because of this, sometimes fishermen who turned into pirates attacked the indigenous settlements along the coast. Sometimes, the indigenous residents simply came to open their hometowns and seek development on the land to the west of the sea.
The Finns are what they call themselves. Most of the time, the Viking tribes living in Svealan simply call them "people from the east" in general.
Jevro insisted that they were not Finns, and he also raised a possibility: "Maybe the unknown enemy is a Tavastian."
Tavasti Asian? This was the first time Rurik heard this name. He hurriedly asked Rumia, but unexpectedly Rumia claimed to have heard of this name.
"Do you still remember what happened in the past?" Rurik asked Yevro seriously.
"I still vaguely remember that even if I forget the faces of my parents, I will never forget that the Tavastians are also our enemies."
Rurik could not have imagined that, could it be that Is there a tribe in Northern Europe that is better at fighting than the Vikings? This Tavastian, according to Javlo's description, is definitely not a Viking.
So, who are they?
No matter what strange names they have, Rurik believes that this group of people is one of the ancestors of modern Finns thousands of years later.
After thinking about this, Rurik issued an urgent order: "Jevro. Order the brothers to prepare for battle. You all follow me. You, especially, must inform my father of all your speculations. . ”
Most of the Ross tribe’s warriors only took a short nap before having to get up again. After packing up all their equipment, they ate some hard wheat cakes and dried meat, and then dragged their feet. The sleigh continued on through the cold snowy night.
This time, Rurik also had to follow his father on foot.
What about Jevlo?
Although Rurik was a little reluctant, the mercenaries he raised were ordered by Otto to serve as the vanguard of the team. Regarding receiving such an arrangement, Yevluo felt that this was an opportunity to become famous.
Jevro has informed Otto of his guess that the people who lit a large number of bonfires are most likely the Tavastians who went north to hunt.
Otto had never heard of the so-called Tavastians, and he even knew very little about the Finns. He felt that Javlo, who was not tall and strong in front of him, was a typical Finn. In fact, Javlo had already become a Viking and could no longer be called a real Finn.
Through these unconfirmed suspicions and the hunter’s report, and even Rumia further explained the living habits of deer farmers.
Otto put all the information together and he came to some conclusions. No matter who lit the bonfire, they were definitely hunters! Since they are hunters, they must have a lot of leather on hand.
It was fate that caused the two ethnic groups to meet. The prophecy has been very clear, and this battle is inevitable.
The Russian army dragging sleds shuttled through the forest. They couldn't talk about any formation, they were just a large group of people gathering together noisily.
Otto's idea is also very simple. Now that the enemy's position has been clearly defined, and the army of explanations rushes forward, with the strong combat power of the Russians, wouldn't it be possible to win a complete victory in one attack?
In fact, humans are first of all nocturnal creatures. The large number of rod cells that humans possess enable humans to move with weak light at night. Especially hunters with rich hunting experience are always good at using their nocturnal abilities to hunt at night.
For this reason, specially selected pilots of high-altitude night reconnaissance aircraft can accurately detect the extremely weak slow-burning light of cigarette butts on the dark ground, and then determine the location of the enemy's defensive positions. .
The glimmer of a cigarette butt can be seen, let alone a large number of bonfires.
After Rurik walked for a while, he had to sit on the sled with Rumia.
Such a son made Otto a little worried. How could an excellent warrior be afraid of running attacks. Considering that my son is only eight years old, maybe we shouldn’t ask too much of him at this age.
The army walked through the forest for an unknown period of time. Even with hunters who had explored the road as guides, many people were still worried that they had taken a detour. Until, people can see the bonfire in the distance with their naked eyes.
"Wow! Over there!"
Through the gaps in the snow-covered pine branches, Rurik saw the shadowy hills in the distance, as well as a large number of trees on the hills. bonfire.
At this moment, any doubts in the crowd disappeared. Everyone was so excited that they wanted to rush over immediately, destroy the enemy's camp, and plunder all the furs they had hunted.
Ah! The Russian warriors heard Otto's clamor, and the chats of the hunters along the way, convinced everyone that the so-called mysterious Tavastians who lit the bonfire had accumulated a large amount of leather. Those who boldly expose themselves are simply reckless people who invite death.
Yes, it is the law of the dark forest! The Russians were not going to be reasonable this time.
As the army entered a place where the explorer hunters had never left footprints, everyone became cautious until a frozen river blocked people's way.
It was another frozen river, and the fishermen in the crowd said that they had never ventured here during the warm period.
Facing this big river, Otto stopped unconsciously, and his men also stopped and waited for the leader's order.
Sitting on the sled, Rurik felt exhausted.Reluctantly asked: "Dad, are we not going to attack immediately?"
"Are you impatient?" Otto turned to glance at his son, and suddenly asked with interest: "Tell me, are we going to attack immediately?" ?"
"I think... we should let everyone rest first."
"Rest? I think our warrior is not tired."
Otto. Although he said this, he actually understood the situation of his subordinates very well. Everyone did not get a good rest, so they walked an extremely long distance under the snowy night. The warriors must be exhausted. Taking part in the battle with such an attitude, Otto had no chance of winning. What's more, look at the location of those bonfires, the army still needs to walk a long way.
"I see everyone is very tired." Rurik jumped off the sled and said frankly that his father was already drowsy. "Dad, if our people are exhausted and fight, many people will be accidentally injured or even killed. Since we have to fight, we must be prepared."
"Oh? I didn't expect that you actually know how to fight? "
"This..." Rurik wanted to be humble. He noticed his father's strange attitude and cheered up. "I know how to fight. The prophecy makes it very clear. This belongs to me. "Your first battle." Otto smiled deeply and said loudly to his subordinates who were waiting for instructions: "This time, it's yours." Our Rurik leads us in the battle, and we will surely win a great victory. Now I decide how we will fight, and we will follow Rurik's arrangements."
Liu was feeling a little depressed by the frozen river. Rick was suddenly appointed by Otto as the "war chief", which is the so-called military commander. The big leader Otto has the right to appoint a tribesman to this temporary but very important position.
It may seem ridiculous that the position falls on a little boy, but in fact it is not. Quite a few tribal warriors are looking forward to this day!
Because Otto's aging is obvious, although everyone is reluctant, it is certain that Otto's life will not last long. If Rurik, who has been blessed by the gods, can become everyone's trust as soon as possible, he can lead With the leader coming to military victory, the last worries in the hearts of the tribesmen will disappear.
Things turned out like this. What surprised Otto was that his son didn't have any fear.
Rurik took the initiative to take a sip of the spirit he ordered distilled. The strong pungency affected his mind, and his whole body was shaken.
All the tribesmen present were gathered around by Rurik in the name of "War Chief". He drew his sword and raised his voice in order to suppress the howling of the north wind.
"Warriors of Ross! Now I am your leader. This is the first battle of my destiny, and I will lead you to victory!"
The young people in the team immediately booed People started shouting Rurik's name, which soon turned into an inspiring roar from everyone.
After the crowd fell silent, Rurik finally made a surprising decision.Break.