A group of blue and white warriors walk in the withered world.
Autumn is coming across Northern Europe, the grass and trees are beginning to wither, and only the wheat is beginning to ear.
Compared to Lake Mälaren, the climate on Gotland is warmer. However, the soil here is relatively poor, and coupled with the rough planting methods, the wheat here is too sparse.
Heavy rains that began at the end of June caused large-scale lodging of wheat in the offshore farmland of Gotland. Only inland oats were slightly affected.
Aric and his brothers were dressed in colorful clothes. He was so brave that he looked forward to meeting the enemy and having another enjoyable battle.
They walked through the wilderness, climbed up a nearly 100-meter-high mound on the island, and then found a trickling stream on the way down.
They looked out from the top of the mound. The clear air was so transparent. Arik even saw the west coast of the island in the distance, as well as some obvious settlements. Even though those are low buildings, they are obvious in the withered and yellow world.
Is that Visby? Or something else?
Arik didn't think much. He considered his own strength and rushed over hastily. Of course, it would not work, but it was obvious that he could break into the village along the stream he discovered.
They did see a small village sheltered by hills.
"Brothers, let's go and have a go!"
The Russian soldiers opened their bloody mouths and laughed wildly.
They rushed down the mountain like tigers and quickly broke into the village. They did not hesitate and had no intention of negotiating with the local residents.
After the sudden attack, many villagers did not know what had happened. They were busy stocking up fodder for the sheep and repairing farm tools, such as long-handled scythes and oat-husking flails, in preparation for the upcoming attack. The coming autumn harvest harvests the wheat.
The working farmers looked at the blue and white people running towards them. At first they thought they were very beautiful, but by the time they realized the danger, it was too late.
The sharp and fierce crossbow arrows hit accurately, and some farmers fell to the ground crying.
The villagers began to shout in shock: "It's pirates!" and then fled home to get weapons for self-defense.
The villagers' defense was in vain. They took out short swords for killing sheep and chickens, short spears for guarding against wild beasts, and short bows.
How can these weapons withstand the well-prepared Arik.
The warrior's wildness was aroused, and Arik ordered loudly: "Don't reload after shooting! Throw down the crossbow and draw your sword to kill them!"
Only He and other warriors were shooting. Later, the "Kilin Arm" was used to forcibly string the steel-armed crossbow. More warriors held up swords or axes, held round shields in front of themselves, and rushed over with roars.
The battle ended quickly.
The farmers who resisted were killed one after another, women were pulled out of their homes by their hair, and those who resisted were directly assassinated.
If Rurik was principled, Arik had no intention of being principled with these people.
“Kill me! No mercy!”
The soldiers understood this. Some of the soldiers who were happy straightened their gowns and then killed the female prisoner with tears on her face.
The Russians lost nothing, just their gowns. Stained with the blood of the enemy.
There were corpses everywhere, except for two men who were almost dead. They pretended to be dead and were caught when the Russians were cleaning up the battlefield. /p>
Logically, such a coward who doesn’t even dare to resist should be cut into pieces, and Arik intends to execute him.
“Boss, you have to stay alive to ask about the situation here. "
Arik patted his head and thought that this was indeed the case. After some interrogation, the Russians knew the name of this village, a very casual name - Heldenhos (house under the hill).
There are only a hundred residents in the village. They are not aware of the landing of the Russians, and they have not recently gone to Slietomo offshore and Visby far away to do business.
They just lived quietly inland and were destroyed today.
“It’s interesting, you can reach Visby along this stream? "Aric's eyes were aimed at the west, showing a greedy smile.
"Sir, please spare me! I... will be a slave to you Russians. "The farmer lying on the ground begged.
"You? Forget it, you two get out of here! "After that, Arik raised his feet to drive them away.
The two of them got up and ran away. As they fled frantically, Arik took over the crossbow.
"Boss, didn't you agree to let these two idiots report the news? Must they be shot? ”
Arik skillfully raised the crossbow, aimed and fired in one go. One of the escapees was shot through the neck and fell to the ground dead on the spot, while the other wailed and ran faster.
"It's enough to leave a message. "Arik put down the heavy crossbow, "The weapons invented by my brother are really useful. Although it is not particularly glorious, it really makes the combat we perform much simpler. go! Dude, pull the arrow out of that dead body. "
Aric was a savage plunderer. When he realized that he could not take away the captured cattle and sheep immediately, he ordered them to be killed.
The Russians skinned the sheep, They roasted the mutton and ate it to their heart's content.
They made some extra meat to supplement their rations during the march.
What rare thing could the villagers have in their homes? They unexpectedly found a lot of silver and copper coins.
Each soldier got more than ten silver coins, and even an amber necklace from the woman's neck. Unexpectedly, the farmer's family was so rich. Thinking of those days in the past, the Russian warriors felt a surge of hatred throughout their lives.
They simply did not understand that the rebellious Gotlanders and Danes had been trading furs and fish. The sheepskins produced on the island are always transported to the port of Hezeby in the southern part of the Jutland Peninsula to do business with Danish and Frankish merchants. It is for this reason that Gotland has been able to accumulate a large amount of Frankish silver over the years.currency.
The dead did not need money or jewelry, and Arik had no intention of burying these people. The corpses were all thrown into one room.
The Russians stayed in the village for one night, and then burned the village to the ground the next day, and the bodies along with them would eventually be reduced to ashes.
Some people questioned Arik's determination as a waste of resources. After all, many sheep did not need to be killed. Wouldn't it be better to take them back to other brothers to eat? Now the dead sheep will eventually emit a stench and rot on the ground.
"What do you know? This is my revenge! Brothers, show no mercy. Except for the people we landed on, everyone else on this island is an enemy and deserves to die!"
Accompanying It’s hard to say anything else about the Ross soldiers. The boss is so fierce. Everyone has a heartfelt awe and admiration for this ruthless and ruthless man. Oh, the best thing about Arik is that he is not greedy for money. For example, during this robbery, he didn't even want a single copper coin. All the coins he grabbed belonged to his brothers.
After a successful raid, they were eager for a second and third.
Learning from the experience of attacking Heldenhaus, Aric decided to keep a low profile.
The very flamboyant blue and white robes sewn with the Russian logo were gathered up, and the fifty warriors turned into gray and black. Many disguised themselves in coarse burkas captured from peasants and hid their crossbows before brazenly searching for new targets.
They seemed to be fishermen from the eastern coast, people who brought goods into the inner islands or went to Vis to sell their catch.
Almost all the inland villages did not know about the Russian invasion. Now, they suffered a big loss due to the temporary lack of information.
The villagers welcome people from other villages to trade. After all, they are people living on the same island. Although everyone has some unavoidable grudges on weekdays, no one is on guard when it comes to trade.
Arik led his troops to leave Heldenhos and continue to advance along the direction of the stream flowing into the sea. Like a mudslide, he captured another village named Lukuluye that day. It's still the same move. When Arik comes, he brings death, burning and destruction.
Speaking of the fact that the people in this village should know the news of the Russian attack, Arik interrogated the people whose lives were bypassed, and then he learned that the guy running from the north was indeed preaching "murderers from the sea." Destroyed villages”. As a result, this person frantically spread terrible news, threatening that the next person to suffer would be the village of Lukuluye. The angry villagers didn't believe this at all, so they gave the fugitive a bit of cheese and kicked him in the butt with their boots to drive him away.
The sea breeze dispersed the thick smoke from the burning village. The residents of Lukuluye failed to see the danger signal and missed the opportunity to escape.
After Arik once again let go of the villagers who spared their lives, he led his brothers to live in a quiet village. On the next day, Lukuluye lit up a huge fire, killing all the cattle and sheep, and even the oats that were about to ripen, and he ordered people to deliberately set fire to them.
The ground was littered with dead bodies of humans and animals, and the continuous tragedyThe violent scene even made many executioners feel uncomfortable.
Some people suffered from mental problems due to excessive killing, and they roared at the sky and bared their teeth.
Some people want to leave this uncomfortable area quickly, because this is not the battle they want, and it is not honorable to kill people who are unprepared.
Aric decided to continue the plunder, so some soldiers advised him: "Boss, we are really close to Visby. The Duke is looking forward to a decisive battle with them, we..."
Take the Arik, who was marching in high spirits, was really impatient: "What? Do you want to be a coward? Or are you going to follow me to meet those idiots in Visby?"
Listening to this, Arik just wants to Take a mere fifty lightly-armed soldiers to do meat reconnaissance.
Meat detective, that’s not a good job.
Isn’t it agreed upon? The job of testing the enemy's army is to be left to the hundreds of tool men of the Mellaren mercenaries.
Why do the most elite Rus warriors have to take this unworthy job?
"Boss, the Duke said that the army will set off in five days, and we are already on the fourth day. The brothers have run too far, and we should go back early."
Listen. Yes, Arik stopped suddenly. He turned around and stared at everyone with a pair of sharp eagle eyes: "What? Are you afraid? I led you to beat the Gotlanders at sea, and now I have landed on their damn island. , you are actually timid now?”
At this moment, no one spoke, and everyone only heard Arik’s criticism and rumors.
"Shut up now! I said, no mercy. We want to give the enemy fear, now follow me to attack the next village. Remember, no mercy."
The so-called ruthlessness means not even sparing the egg-laying hens raised by the villagers.
Aric’s actions have surpassed those of ordinary pirates. He came to kill and destroy, and there was only scorched earth wherever he passed.
On this day, he led his troops to capture a village called Qiao Village. It was also in this village that the Ross raiding party attacking along the stream saw a small wooden plank bridge, and the village got its name.
But this battle was completely unexpected.
The team seemed to have entered a deserted village, but the village was by no means abandoned.
The alert Arik walked into a house. He stuck his sword on the ground and knelt down to explore the carbon residue from the fire. He was shocked to find that the deep carbon residue was still burning slowly.
The soldier on guard with a crossbow said casually: "Boss, it seems that the enemy has just escaped. Your intimidation plan seems to have been successful."
Arik stood at the station after thinking deeply. He stood up and commanded with his sword: "Burn this village as usual."
"Huh?" The soldier was shocked, "Brothers are very tired after a day of fighting, and now..."
"No! Listen to my order, burn quickly. The enemy has not run far, we will catch up and kill them."
No one can twistOut of Arik's temper, a fire broke out in the bridge village house, and the fire was even more terrifying under the setting sun.
Just to the west of Qiao Village is another mound with an altitude of 60 meters. From the geographical perspective of Qiao Village, it is only 30 meters tall.
Arik led the tired warriors to climb up in the dim light. Finally, when the stars were shining brightly, the warriors spent the night on the hill.
The tired warrior soon saw a horrifying sight. It shocked Arik, who was also tired, as if he had drank several buckets of coffee. Looking at the dense firelight not far away, he really fell asleep. No more.
Standing here, there is a faint salty smell in the air. There are stars in the sky, and the fire below is like stars.
The sleepy soldiers leaned against the pine trees one after another, their bodies trembling uncontrollably.
A soldier approached Arik: "Is this Visby? We couldn't see clearly from the previous mound. We didn't expect that Visby would be like this."
"Boss, Look at the number of their bonfires, which are as dense as stars. They have really many troops. The decisive battle in the future will be really tricky."
The unruly Arik was actually afraid for a moment, and he gritted his teeth. , I blamed myself for having such a stupid idea.
Thinking again of the southern battle deeds told by his brother Rurik, in order to confuse and intimidate the enemies of Borgholm, the Swedish army deliberately lit a large number of bonfires.
"This is the enemy's conspiracy." Arik said sternly: "How can there be so many of them? They are deceiving us, making our army think that Visby has more troops and will be scared to leave the island. Haha, we can’t be fooled.”
This is a reasonable explanation, and the brothers believe it.
It should not and is impossible to loot again during the night. After several days of marching and fighting, each soldier killed ten enemies. Oh, if the screaming woman can be considered "dangerous" warrior". Killing so many people was like accompanying Arik to seek revenge. So far, only five of the Russians had suffered minor injuries. The result was that the so-called enemies were not warriors at all.
Standing on this low mound, the Russians under the night could already vaguely see the dark sea in the distance. After four days and nights of marching, they finally penetrated the entire island.
The Russians did not light a fire. After eating some cooked mutton, they curled up in their cloaks and fell asleep on the withered grass.
Arik hugged his two swords and rested against the pine tree with his eyes closed.
The world to the west of the mound is a little red and shiny, that is the Burning Bridge Village!
This special spectacle was like a warning horn, giving a slap in the face to everyone staying in and around the port of Visby - it was the Russians! The damn Russians are coming!
The straight-line distance from where Arik rested to the sea is only seven kilometers. He took the large number of campfires as evidence that enemy soldiers were camping. How could that be true?
He and most of the soldiers subconsciously believed that a decisive battle between the two armies was inevitable.Of course. Now that the Rus are well prepared, Gotland's main force should also be assembled.
He subconsciously believed that the Gotland Army would assemble quickly, and a circle of soldiers must sit around those dense fires.
However, those sitting around the campfire were all villagers, or refugees, who were confused about the future.
They all come from the north of the island.
Just a few days ago, White Sands Port was destroyed by a powerful Russian army. All those who had no time to escape must have died.
The early escapers who were scolded as cowards took the overland route and informed nearby villages, which caused a chain reaction. In all five villages in the northern part of the island, the villagers dragged their families, cattle and sheep, and even the egg-laying chickens into wooden cages. People subconsciously gathered towards the largest settlement, Visby, hoping that one person would be more powerful. .
However, in villages like Qiao Village, villagers not only encountered refugees fleeing Lukuluje, but also saw strong smoke igniting in the village.
The villagers led their cattle and sheep over the mounds and rushed to Visby as quickly as possible to avoid the disaster. As for the fate of the oats they grew, they really couldn't care less.
A large number of refugees appeared around Visby, with the total number approaching two thousand. Because not only people from the north of the island, but also people from some villages in the south of the island learned the terrifying news of the invasion of the Russian army from the tribesmen who went to Visby to sell sheepskins.
A fishing port called Clintholm is home to as many as two thousand people. All residents are actively heading north either by boat or by land.
The two brothers Rurik and Arik both accomplished their purpose of creating fear on the island.
Residents from most of the settlements on the island are gathering towards Visby, while a few people are leaving the island by boat to avoid disaster.
The population of Visby has rapidly increased to 11,000 people, which has exceeded the carrying capacity of this settlement. As a last resort, a large number of refugees have to be stationed in the outer areas of the original villages. The leader hurried to the Thing in Visby to listen to the gathering of twelve large merchant families who had not suffered losses.
Just as a group of noble people were quarreling over the issue of peace or war over the Russian invasion, a faint red light shone brightly in the east covered by the mounds east of Visby.
The quarrel in the council chamber has come to an end. Whether it is the war faction (willing to continue to surrender to the Danish forces) or the peace faction (who suddenly defected and returned to the embrace of the Swaya Tribe Alliance), they are spontaneously When recruiting mercenaries and encouraging men to take up arms, they also decided to send someone to take a look early in the morning.
Of course, they didn't know that Ross's scouts were on the mound.
When they stare into the abyss, the abyss also stares into them...