Chapter 449 The main force of Ross is in action

While Arik was looting along the way, the main force of the Russian army was also making active pre-war preparations.

The great businessman Gould and his eldest son "Silver Fox" Snoleva both stood on the island of Gotland. This was certainly not the first time for Gould.

The last time he landed on the island was at least twenty years ago, when he sneaked into Visby as a Danish businessman.

He gave Rurik a general direction, "Visby is to the west, and you can reach it by walking through this small island."

In addition to the businessman's job Assisting in transporting supplies, another key task is to bring back the loot as soon as possible.

On a pleasant morning, the captives in custody met their end.

A large number of women and children had their hands tied and were driven by the Ross warriors onto the longship, and then approached the largest Aurora and five other cargo ships.

The children were hoisted onto the tall Aurora like cargo in a strange lifting method.

As for the women, they were temporarily untied from the ropes and forced to climb the rope ladder to board the ship.

They boarded the ship, and from this moment their fate completely changed.

On the occupied dock, Gould, who was still gorgeously dressed, was eager to board the ship. Rurik and Otto stood in front of him.

"There will be a great battle in the future, we will win a great victory, and then we will be able to capture more slaves." Gould's words have a sense of vicissitudes, and the words are exciting.

Rurik glanced at the person still climbing not far away from the corner of his eye.

"Those women, they are not slaves. At least not in the future."

Gould smiled, "Oh, I understand. They will be warriors' wives, but Are they loyal? I hope they are loyal."

Otto shook his head indifferently, "Those children can be made into obedient women. As for the existing female prisoners, if they betray their new ones. Man, I will order his execution after the war."

Gould subconsciously took a step back, knowing that Otto would really do this.

"Okay." He sighed deeply and asked softly, "Rurik, this time I will take away all the loot captured. This Slitomo is completely gone." Valuable things. Isn’t this a little too hasty?”

“Are you teaching me how to do things?” Rurik narrowed his eyes and asked with momentum.

"Me? I don't dare. You have your own plans. Of course I fully support you."

"Then let me tell you." Rurik raised his chest, " Let me tell you a story. A long time ago, there was a warrior named Hannibal. He led an army to defeat powerful enemies. He always won because after the battle, he distributed the spoils to his brothers. , sold the captured women to merchants, and used the money to buy wine and meat. When his soldiers enjoyed themselves until they were penniless, they organized an army again and continued to fight. You know, they were afraid of losing after they had enjoyed themselves. , they have already lostCrazy to take it back. "

"Huh? Gould's forehead suddenly dawned on him, and he asked with a smile, "This Hannibal you are talking about, could it be that... you got the nickname for yourself?" "

"No! Rurik deliberately lied with a serious face, "I saw it in the parchment kept by the high priest. Odin rewarded me with the ability to understand it." Hannibal was a hero from a distant era, and now I want to emulate him and become a new hero. ”

Gould couldn’t believe it. Otto didn’t speak for the time being, but his body was also shaking with surprise.

It can be said that this army commanded by Rurik , in many aspects it is similar to Hannibal's Carthage Army. It is not just the tried and tested pincer tactics.

Both sides are mixed forces composed of multiple ethnic groups. Although the personnel composition is somewhat complicated, at present. It seems that combat effectiveness is guaranteed. Rurik used marriage contracts, mysticism, personal charm, and promises of power and wealth to control this army.

Hanni used similar methods. The smart way to preserve combat effectiveness is to keep the army "poor". If every soldier has a family and a lot of wealth, will they still fight hard?

The Rus are an ancient army, and they are also a Viking army.

They like fighting, and of course they also like women and money. They have temporarily lost these.

Rurik did it. To set an example, he entrusted Gould to take away all the captured coins. Like the soldiers, most of the captured cattle, sheep and reindeer were left behind and were very rich.

Most of the captured cattle, sheep and reindeer were forcibly transported away. , all the cargo ships of the Ross fleet were full of people and livestock.

Now Rurik could no longer care about the cattle and sheep that made the cabin smelly. He had no chance to regret it now.

According to the plan, these human and animal supplies were unloaded on Tombstone Island first, leaving behind the island. The civilians were responsible for taking care of it. After completing the mission, Gould returned immediately, but the direction of their movement changed.

The Aurora now has only two torque slingshots, and the remaining cargo ships have only one. Ten were converted into land warfare weapons and mounted on small carts to participate in the decisive battle.

Gould's men were a group of sailors and obviously old and weak warriors selected by Rurik from the flag team.

The returning fleet must go around the western coast of Gotland. Under the leadership of Gould, who knew the location of Visby, there were as many as twenty empty and brisk armed cargo ships and huge The Aurora, displaying the flags of Ross, controls the port of Visby. All ships entering and leaving the port are considered enemies by default. At that time, the Ross fleet will either directly ram and sink the enemy ship with its bulbous bow, or use a torsion slingshot. Scuttled with projectiles at close range

Gould's mission in the war was to be carried out about five days later, and the task was to blockade the huge cargo ship. The departure of the jib was a huge shock to the soldiers.

The day of the expedition is this morning! The twelfth day of August in the Julian calendar.

The long period of repairs allowed the warriors to regain their energy again. Thousands of people gathered on the coast carrying tall weapons and equipment and carrying bags full of food and water bags.

Novgorod people have always used a drawstring backpack, which is nothing more than a combination of a folded and sewn linen cloth and a hemp rope. This ancient and classic backpack design became popular during this war.

The Ross army became a little strange, and in Rurik’s eyes, it had a strong Ross flavor.

They have eaten as many as 500 seized sheep in recent days! Even the Slavic warriors, who don’t usually eat much meat, had a rare feast in their lives this time.

Mutton makes the warriors furious, and their roars become more ferocious.

Rumia wears an antlered helmet and is gorgeously dressed. She is also complimented by the gorgeously dressed priestess.

The girls of the Valkyrie Legion brought by Rurik, they wrap the altar in concentric circles.

Rumia looked at the sun in the east, raised her head, spread her hands, and shouted in the Norse language, "God King Odin! Thor! Frey! Freya! Freyja! Ai. Oh! And the gods! Give us victory! These twenty cows are our gifts to the gods!" After that, Rurik, Otto, and Haro Zuosen held the sword. Take action.

This is a Varyag sacrifice, in which all Kovans and Slavs participated. These foreign warriors now have common interests with the Russians. During this extremely luxurious sacrifice, they were silently thinking about the gods they believed in.

The Koven people Mechasta and Kejas looked to the east, meditating on the river god of the Oulu River and the sun they believed in.

The Slavic man Medvet and his Novgorod warriors prayed to the Slavic war god Peron to give strength to the brothers, and the sun god Dazhbog to give everyone warmth and all the chaos. Ernorberg, pray he doesn't take his life.

Twenty cows were sacrificed, and the blood of the cows dyed the altar red and flowed into the sea. Finally, even the cow carcasses were thrown into the sea. This time they would not eat the sacrifice, and the cow carcass was eventually sacrificed to the ocean god.

Many Rus’ warriors had two streaks of cow’s blood smeared on their faces to receive blessings from the gods.

The Kovans and Slavs all settled down, and they boasted of some great blessing.

The army withdrew their tents, leaving only a pile of wooden sheds.

"Brothers! Let's go!" Rurik stood on a reindeer cart and started the decisive battle to attack Visby.

The port of Slitomo is deserted, like an abandoned settlement falling into silence.

Rurik and Otto were too lazy to wait for Arik to return. They both estimated that the fifty elites who killed Red Eye must have been killing everywhere. He was a little worried about his cousin Arik, but Otto was completely unfazed.

Ross’s army formed a rectangular array, Ross’s two warrior flag corpsIn the front, the baggage team (the captured White Sands men were temporarily unarmed and forced to do this work), the priests and the Archer Standard were at the core, and at the rear were the Slavic Standard and the Malaren Standard carrying spears.

Russ’s gold-rimmed ducal flag was placed on the deer cart, and Rurik sat cross-legged.

The army set off in the morning and moved at a faster speed along the route taken by the Slitomo people to Visby.

A narrow mound one hundred meters above sea level gave birth to a stream. In the evening, the Russians successfully found it.

The army was camped by the river, and those with keen eyes, such as Carlotta, discovered that the meadows of this generation had obvious signs of being gnawed by sheep.

Because sheep often gnaw away the grass roots very carefully, this must be the reason for the sparse meadows in some places. The sheep excrement eggs discovered have become a new example.

The army camped in the woods beside the stream. They cut down the pine trees and immediately made a fire. A large number of people ran to the stream to replenish fresh water, and some tried to catch a few fish.

The sunset becomes gentler and the whole world becomes golden. However, some soldiers sensitively noticed something strange about the scenery in the distance.

Some soldiers were troubled by the discovery of sheep excrement eggs. The world looked too empty in dialect, which was simply unbelievable.

The mound is to the east. If you look carefully, there seems to be a house there?

The main force of the Russian army carried a large amount of baggage, and it was not easy to cross the mountain. They spent some time going around the mounds and walking along the river. A village was bypassed in this way.

A group of soldiers approached the leader's camp which was being set up in high spirits.

"Sir, there seems to be a village to the east." The warrior held up his ax to guide, his eyes full of greed.

Rurik sat on the ground warming himself by the fire. He could tell what his men wanted to do by looking into their eyes.

At this moment, Otto, who had finished tying the rope, walked out of the tent, "What did you say? The village to the east?"

"Yes, Your Majesty the Duke. The brothers' intuition is not wrong. , that’s a village. Wouldn’t it be great if we took people there and caught their cattle and sheep?”

Otto’s mouth watered when he thought of roast mutton. He was unscrupulous during these days. Eating mutton is really a pleasure that you don't get in ordinary times.

"Then go do it!" Rurik stood up and thought for a while, "Let Haro Zuosen lead you there. I will give you some advice, try to catch as many alive as possible."

Some soldiers immediately asked, "What if they resist?"

"Then chop off their heads!"

Soon, Harold Zuosen gathered a group of people. Hundreds of people, this group of warriors ran wildly under the dusk, eager to make another profit before the decisive battle.

The temptation of wealth and delicious food made the soldiers tireless, even if they walked for most of the day.

However, when they actually arrived at the village, they were shocked to find a large number of corpses lying dead here. The large number of charred pillars and blackened stones in the village all told of the horrific events that had happened here.

As dusk falls, the Ross warriors staying at this death scene have any plans to plunder? They felt inexplicable terror, as if the village had been cursed by God or attacked by monsters.

However, Harold Zuosen had experienced many battles. He inspected some of the gray corpses of the deceased and saw only some thumb-sized holes and a large number of ax marks.

It’s Arik! Either this madman is a ghost.

The brothers didn't want to stay in this disgusting place any longer, so they encouraged Harold Johnson to leave quickly.

"Okay! This is a cursed place, let's go back quickly!"

They continued walking along the stream, and there were a large number of bonfires in the distance, which was the camp of the army.

Rurik was about to go to the tent to sleep, but at least the two girls in the tent, High Priest Rumia and Duchess Carlotta of Ostara, were sleeping soundly next to each other.

After eating, a large number of soldiers huddled around the campfire and fell asleep.

Otto took off his boots. As a Duke, he still walked a lot this day. Rurik also took care of his father. He asked his maid Otto to pinch his feet, which made the old guy applaud one after another.

Rurik blew in the wind and held the fish shreds between his teeth, thinking about the decisive battle. He was confident about this battle.

Hallo Zuosen hurried back with his marauding brothers. He went straight to the Duke's battalion commander and saw an old guy with a beard being pinched by a group of girls. Those stinky feet?

Hallo Zuosen smiled naively and hurriedly approached: "My brother, you are so good at enjoying it."

"You? Are you back suddenly?" Otto said He waved his hand to let them leave.

The girls gathered around Rurik again.

Rurik casually ordered: "Okay, my servants, you all go to the stream to wash your hands, and then rest."

They muttered Slavic and left chattering. Obviously they were really dissatisfied with Otto's jio.

Rurik raised his head, "What happened? Did you kill all the villagers? Or were you defeated?"

"Defeat me? Ridiculous! We But the Russians. But..." Haro Zuosen sat down immediately.

Otto asked him to slap the mutton chops, "Eat something first and then talk about it."

Halo Zuosen regained his strength for a while, which revealed the terrifying scene in the village. After hearing this, Rurik and his father made judgments almost instinctively. They said in unison: "It was Arik who did it."

"It must be him. All the villagers were killed, including the cattle." Sheep. Those cattle and sheep are starting to smell bad! Now..." Haro Zuosen looked at the half-eaten mutton chop in his hand, and it suddenly no longer smelled good.

He threw the lamb chops directly into the fire.

"Why don't you eat?" Otto asked.

"I'm tired, and I'm too lazy to think about Arik. It's just..." Haro Zuosen smiled heartily, "It seems that I have toSelect some beautiful women from the captives and arrange them for my Kanuf, and then let them pinch my feet. I'm leaving! "

Hello Zuosen waved his hand, but Otto laughed.

The next morning, the Ross army left behind a large number of traces of black meadows and bones of cattle, sheep and fish. .

Before the sun even reached the sky, more than a dozen soldiers who were exploring the front ran back to the huge matrix that the Russians were moving.

Because they were getting closer to Visby, The really clever scout Arik didn't know where he was now.

Ryurik had to send some more people who were good at running to act as scouts.

Now, these people carry heavy weight. The news came back.

They gathered in front of the deer cart of the Duke and his son, and the leader said: "We found death again in front, with dead cattle and sheep everywhere, and some burned human corpses. "

After what happened yesterday, Rurik was no longer surprised. He quickly jumped out of the car and asked, "All humans, cattle and sheep are dead again? "

"Yes, sir, even the house was burned down. We checked and found that the dead body showed signs of being hit by our crossbow arrows, and the remains of the house were still warm. ”

“It’s still Arik. "Rurik pinched his waist and looked angry.

"Don't be angry. Otto's big hand covered his son's head, "Let's go check out the situation. Our army will spend the night there tonight." "

"Humph! In the end, it was me who cleaned up his mess. "Rurik stared forward.

When they see a dead body for the first time, many people will yell in fear or even faint. Perhaps women are more timid in this matter.

There are a group of women in the army, most of them are Rurik's female warriors. They have seen a lot of corpses in the battle on the beach. After being stimulated by screaming, they now have strong resistance. Sex.

As for the elite Ross warriors, they no longer care, because death is also a part of life.

Now Rurik saw the horrific tragedy, and the grass was just a mess. What's even more ridiculous is that he actually saw the corpse of a chicken.

The Russian warriors instinctively drew their swords and axes, and the crossbowmen also unloaded their arrows. They instinctively felt that the murderous atmosphere here was too strong. >

Rurik pinched his waist and stamped his feet, Otto walked up behind him, "You...shouldn't you be scared?" "

"This must have been done by Arik, it can only be him. Is it necessary to be so cruel to avenge your uncle? Is he going to give the entire island the death penalty? Also, look at these chickens, they've been chopped up too. What a waste! What is Arik planning? ”

“Of course it’s revenge! "

"Is this considered revenge? I don't understand it, and I can't do it. ”

“This is bravery! "Otto stroked his son's head, and his big hand was directly removed by Rurik.

"I don't want to be so brave, this is the behavior of a butcher. I need to get rid of these bodies. ”

Otto and HarrowBased on his experience, Zuo Sen judged that these corpses had been dead for three days.

The men in Baisha Port who were forced to fight are now also forced to collect the corpses.

If the Rus feel fearless, the Slavs and Kovins have a new understanding of the ferocity of the Varyags. This group of Rus is just as ferocious to another group of Varyags!

However, the Slavs felt a certain sense of similarity from the destroyed village. It turns out that Varyag also grazes and grows oats.

Rurik did not observe that there were a lot of wheat fields here, and the Slavs realized it. Parts of the wheat fields were also burned, as they were clearly almost ripe. The vandals were the Varyags, and they were also the ones farming and grazing. It's a pity that the brothers in Novgorod are not as warlike as them.

The stinking corpses with black blood were piled up, then covered with a large number of wooden blocks and ignited, forming a huge mound of fire, illuminating the entire ruins of the village.

As the high priest, Rumia also prayed for the corpses of these hostile forces under Rurik's instruction.

People's hearts calmed down, and the army set up camp on the spot. Rurik, who had just calmed down, was sitting on the ground munching on a piece of dried salted fish. His brother-in-law Medvit ran over with a handful of grass and enthusiastically introduced the yellowing pieces of grass in his hand in Slavic.

“This is oats?!” Rurik was shocked.

"Yes! This village is surrounded by wheat fields, but unfortunately many of them were burned down."

"It's really unlucky." Rurik rubbed the oats hard to remove the bran. Rub it off to see the soft and waxy particles inside. "The wheat is not ripe yet."

"Yes, but I think it will be harvested in ten days."

After seeing enough dead bodies, these unburned wheat can be said to be a good harvest information.

"Then take control of this place. After finishing dealing with the Gotlanders, we will also take away their wheat!" After that, Rurik threw the soft wheat grains into the fire and ignited a ball. The flame of wheat flavor...