With both swords in their scabbards, Arik ran all the way holding his injured left arm. He was thinking about revenge, but the pain on his arm was getting worse.
More than half of the brothers died in this dangerous reconnaissance. The surviving ones staggered towards the upper reaches of the river with their crossbows. They didn’t know how long they had to walk before some tired warriors sat down.
Seeing this, Arik also sat down on the withered grass.
He took off his linen clothes and examined his wounds that were no longer bleeding under the soft light of the setting sun.
The arrow cluster did not pierce the flesh, but opened a large wound. Fortunately, the wound was not serious.
“Damn! You’re useless!”
Some tired warriors gasped and said regretfully, “We have killed many of them, and now the Gotlanders are fighting with us. "If we had known this, we should have brought more people."
"This is the Duke's order." Arik bared his teeth and covered the wound, "I want to take five hundred brothers." Fight, the Duke doesn't agree. My brother just wants a decisive battle. If there are enough people at that time, I won't be here now. Let's move on."
He stood up and ordered his men to continue on their way, even though the dusk was getting darker now.
The sun sets, and the whole world quickly becomes colder.
The stars in the sky are bright, which does not arouse the interest of the retreating people at all.
They fantasized about being able to find the main force quickly, and this fantasy seemed to come true.
A large number of flames appeared not far away, and there must be stars on the ground.
The soldiers who realized the reason laughed and walked away quickly.
"Hey! Stop being so excited and come back here." Arik yelled.
The soldiers turned back one after another, puzzled.
"Stand in line and I will take you back. Listen, if you run around, the brothers on guard will treat you as sneak attack enemies."
Arik said this , the soldiers calmed down one after another. Everyone is aware of the methods of the sentry brothers. They are sentry with crossbows. If unusual shadows appear in the darkness, of course they must shoot first.
However, an army of three thousand people gathered to camp, and the large number of bonfires lit were really terrifying. Even if the Gotlanders discovered them, would they dare to attack with all their strength?
Rurik remained cautious and arranged for sentries to ambush around the camp as usual to check for abnormalities around him. Moreover, the ropes of the vehicle-mounted torsion slingshots in the camp have not been charged yet, but the large crossbow arrows have been placed in the chute in case of unexpected events.
Aric did not hide in any way. He led the team to line up and compare. The neat team, shouting "We are Russians", deliberately attracted the attention of the sentry.
Some dark shadows emerged from the grass. Their appearance was so sudden that Aric was so startled that he threw out his sword from his right arm.
Arik shouted directly, "It's really scary, I almost regarded you as enemies."
"It's the heroic Ali.gram? You are finally back!" The sentry was overjoyed, but when he saw not many people came back, he couldn't help but become suspicious. "Everyone can't find any trace of you. Have you encountered a powerful enemy in the west? "
"Don't mention it, I want to see my brother and the Duke immediately. I have something important to say. "
"Follow me quickly. ”
The bonfire gave everyone warmth, and the corpses were gradually burned into black charcoal.
No one cared about the dirty and worried corpses of cattle and sheep, and the Russian army was still busy eating the corpses they carried Dried meat.
It’s boring to only eat this kind of dry food. What’s worse is that although there are wheat fields around, the oats are not mature, so everyone who wants to eat wheat cakes and buy porridge has to worry.
p>Otto sat with his legs crossed, happily drank half of the bottle of spirits from the glass bottle, and then threw it to his old friend Harold Johnson, urging him to take a sip.
The spirits are currently extremely high. It is limited, and it is impossible to make large-scale brewing or even further distillation after the new wheat is imported.
This battle is a decisive battle among the tribes. Otto simply ordered all the spirits in stock to be brought with him. The next five bottles were nothing more.
Aric returned with his people, and there was a great commotion in the camp.
Russian soldiers, young and old. They noticed the horrific black blood stains on the returning brothers, as well as their tired faces. They must have experienced a bloody battle.
Soon, Arik returned with an angry and disdainful face. Sitting suddenly in front of the campfire, he faced Otto and Rurik
"A war? "Otto asked calmly.
"Yes, fight. "
"Dead? "
"Nearly forty people died. "
Hearing this, Otto's mind buzzed. He stood up suddenly, slapped his old face hard, and angrily said: "What on earth did you do? Do you really think you can do it? Leading fifty brothers to fight the enemy? You are so crazy. Look at what you did. You killed all the people in this village, even the cattle and sheep. I could only look at those stinky cattle and sheep, and gnaw on this damn salty fish. ”
After scolding, Otto’s accumulated anger due to what he saw and heard along the way was instantly released. He sat down again and suddenly asked calmly: “What’s going on?” "
Aric slowly took off his bloody clothes, exposing his upper body. The wound on his left arm was really glaring.
"Your injury... doesn't seem to be a problem. "Otto's attitude seemed to be very calm, but Rurik was shocked when he saw the wound.
"Brother! You..."
Rurik leaned over, took a few glances and was heartbroken. The blood stopped flowing, and it seemed that the wound was indeed on the surface.
Arik admitted that the village He also led the troops to cut down the cattle and sheep, and even touched Visby.
“My injury is indeed not a problem. We saw Visby, a settlement larger than our own, larger than that of the Mälarens. During the day we saw the open bay they had,There were houses everywhere and there seemed to be a lot of boats on the coast. Visby was definitely very wealthy. There were many of them, and we exposed ourselves. We encountered a sneak attack by the Gotland army, and our brothers suffered heavy losses. If it weren't for the cover of my brothers, I would have died. ”
“Is that so? "Rurik no longer wants to comfort or complain, those are meaningless.
Otto's eyes are as firm as an eagle, "It seems that our opponents are already doing the decisive battle we hope for. Prepare. Arik. "
"Here. ”
“A real man always has many wounds on his body. How about it, does it affect your swing of the sword? "
"It doesn't matter, I can continue fighting after a night's rest. "
"Then, the person who attacked you..."
"I was about to say this!" Arik suddenly became angry. He slapped his legs with both hands and cracked the wound. Blood came out.
“No, your wound still needs to be treated. Rurik casually summoned a maid, "Cithia, call Rumia." Remember to bring needle and thread. "
Aric looked at the wound. He didn't care at all. "They have a leader with about five hundred people or more. We were attacked by a sneak attack in the village ahead. I killed a hundred of them and lost many brothers. That leader called me a coward, what a shame! "
"So, do you think you are a coward? Otto asked calmly.
"I..." Arik raised his head and didn't know what to say for a moment.
Otto nodded and said nothing more.
Perhaps my cousin has already acquiesced? Ridiculous!
Rurik pressed directly against his cousin's hairy body, "Only a bull will keep charging to death. You are my hero, you are as smart as fishing, fishing out an enemy's army. Are they still chasing you? "
Aric felt much better after hearing this: "Maybe. They may continue to chase me, or rest where they are. It was too late and they couldn't go very far. ”
“So. Rurik thought for a while, "They will never let their bodies be exposed in the wilderness, and burning them will take a lot of time." They won't go far. ”
The quiet Otto suddenly spoke, “This is just a setback for you, it is God’s punishment for your random destruction. Since there is an enemy with hundreds of people here, you lead an army to destroy them. You can rest, tomorrow..."
"I'll go with him. Rurik looked at his father and brother, "To deal with an enemy with a small number of people, it is enough for us to dispatch a thousand men." ”
“You need to be careful about this matter. "
"Dad, please don't worry. I will..." Rurik had an idea. He still didn't know what kind of equipment the enemy Arik encountered was equipped.
Soon, Rurik had understood. The enemy had some archers, but most of them were Some of them are ordinary sword and shield players.
It can be seen that the entire Gotland army is also configured in this way, and their long-range power is really weak.
Rurik's eyes were on fire, and he laughed confidently, "Aric, take the brothers of the First Flag Team to take revenge. I will organize another group of archers and a group of Novgos." Soldiers of Rhodes. These spearmen from the east were trained by you, now try their strength.”
Arik became excited with dissatisfaction with himself, his heart was beating fast, and his open wounds were bleeding. More.
"I will go straight away to reorganize the soldiers, and we will leave when it gets dark. And you." Rurik patted his cousin on the shoulder, "Rumia will heal you soon."< /p>
"Healing? Is it necessary?"
"Of course, and your wound needs to be sutured."
Aric was shocked, "It's like doing Leather clothes are usually stitched?"
"Yes, but you won't scream because of it. Listen, the enemy can't kill you because there is dirt in your wound, Rumia. I will make sure you are fine.”
Soon, Rumia came with her priests.
The job of the military priests is firstly to make sacrifices to calm people's hearts, and secondly, they also play the role of doctors.
The priests of Rus know that some grass blades can help treat trauma, but whether a person can survive depends on God's will.
Priests have long believed that illness is a punishment from God, and that a warrior's fever after being injured is a test. Rumia herself had no way of knowing how effective the herbs were.
Basically, if you get a fever after being injured, you can only resign yourself to fate.
She was ordered to check Arik's wound and learned that it was caused by the enemy's broad-bladed arrow cluster. The wound wasn't deep, and it didn't damage any bones, but the length was a bit scary.
She was shocked when she heard Rurik's order. She actually had to use the blade to hang off part of the dirty meat and see the bright red muscles inside.
Aric bit a wooden stick. He thought of his brothers who died to protect him, and he couldn't scream in pain now.
Rumia bravely debrided him, and for the first time, Otto and Harold Zuosen, who were present, stretched their heads and stared at the whole process.
The bloody knife was thrown away, and Lumia used a steel needle strung with linen thread to sew Arik's wound into a centipede. She brought precious steel arrays and threads with her, which she used to sew up the accidentally damaged clothes of Rurik and other nobles, but she unexpectedly sewed up Arik's skin. This was the first time in her life that she had done such a thing, and she had never heard of such a thing when she was a deer herder and ice nomad.
Otto took the knife and put it on the fire.
Brothers have their own experience in dealing with trauma, which is to weld the wound with hot iron.
Carlotta originally came with Rumia, and she also wanted to help, but when she saw Otto's actions, the girl covered her knees and was scared away.
"The knife is ready." Otto motioned to Rumia, "It will be easier to brand it after it is sewn."
"No." Rurik flatly refused, but insteadSo he got a bottle of liquor from his father, bit off the cork with his teeth, and used the wine to clean the skin around Arik's wound.
"What are you doing with my baby?!" Otto subconsciously wanted to pull the bottle back from his son's arms, but Rurik easily dodged it.
Half a bottle of spirits was used up just like that.
"In this way, any invisible dirt, or Loki's curse, will be removed by Jiupa."
Aric closed his eyes and endured it for a while, feeling Feel a lot better. The blood is still seeping out slowly, but it is no longer serious. With Rumia covering the herbs and wrapping it in a piece of white linen, Arik's arm was finally treated. It's a pity that after all this trouble, he doesn't want to think about going into battle in person for the time being.
Arik moves his arm, but the second pain is the biggest trouble is that the arm is too inflexible!
“Rurik, you made me like this, I can’t lift the second one. A sword."
"You still want to fight in person?" Rurik shook his head by the campfire. "If you die in the battle, it will be a huge loss for us. You must. Listen to my orders, I am the wisdom of this decisive battle. You see, if I go into battle to kill the enemy, I will be easily killed by my opponent. This is seeking death. If I do this now, I will also lose Odin's blessing. I'm not afraid of ten thousand people. Arik, you have to be responsible for the entire flag team." Arik pursed his lips and didn't want to say anything else. He suddenly lay down and complained of fatigue.
Rurik sent out mobilization for combat, but as expected, the plan was halved when the cannon was fired. He hoped to have a decisive battle with the enemy and decide the outcome in one battle, but the enemy did not suddenly mobilize in full force.
Isn’t it true that the enemy is not specifically pursuing a decisive battle, but is sending hundreds of people off one by one in waves?
If this is the case, the Gotland Army's tactics of fueling the enemy deserved to fail, while the Ross Army has been objectively concentrating its superior forces on local areas to fight with more and less, so it is difficult not to win.
The scouts selected by Arik were all from the First Flag Team, and the brothers who came back alive told everyone what they had experienced. For a time, the crowd was excited, and the soldiers were eager for revenge. It happened that Rurik responded to their fury and issued a war mobilization order.
The Ross army will all march as usual tomorrow, but some troops will have to fight at outposts.
There are 500 warriors in the First Banner of the Warriors, 150 elite mercenaries of the Duke, 100 Kovin archers in the Archer Banner, and even 300 warriors in the Slavic Banner.
Rurik personally led this team of one thousand men, and under him were the generals Arik, Jevlo, Mechasta and Medvit.
This is really the most elite of Ross's three thousand troops, especially the soldiers of the First Flag Team who can fight ten each, and Kewen's archer skills are amazing.
Of course, the First Flag Team alone carried fifty steel-armed crossbows, as well as brisk wooden crossbows. The elite mercenaries all have a variety of crossbows, not to mention the Kewen people.
The army and the Gotland army were in close combat? Why? Very necessary?
Rurik was not thinkingStubbornly adhering to the warrior culture, as long as it can win the battle, he will use all kinds of strange tricks that are easy to use. What is the honor of a warrior? Victory is the greatest honor.
The thousand-man troops were equipped with nearly 400 bows and crossbows of various types. Even so, their melee combat skills were still superb.
The soldiers of the First Banner Corps put on their chainmail armor one after another, not to mention the elite mercenaries, and even the Kovins and Novgorodians. After being supplemented by the capture of White Sands Port, they all started Wearing armor, he almost had a small hand ax strapped to his waist.
In the early morning, Rumia and a group of priests stood in front of a bonfire, chanting prayers and watching the soldiers rush to the west.
Russians, Covins and Slavs all naturally worship fire, because it symbolizes power in the cultures of various ethnic groups. In this regard, the Slavic warriors are even more excited. They believe in Peron, the Slavic god who is equivalent to Odin, and whose incarnations are thunder, lightning and fire.
Medvit was deeply moved. He felt that Rumia had also become a priestess of the Novgorod people, and she was more noble than the priests in her hometown.
Rumia is indeed noble. The antlered helmet she inherited is inlaid with more gems. She herself is already dressed gorgeously, and there is a very huge silver ornament hanging on her chest.
The army marched in the opposite direction along the route that Arik fled last night, and their fighting spirit was high. The Russians want to avenge their fallen brothers, and the Slavic warriors and the Kovin warriors hope to prove their strength through this battle and get trophies on the battlefield.
The Duke of Ross is kind and fair. Those who fight for Ross will plunder what they plunder on the battlefield. Only some things that the Duke himself stipulated must be turned in after being snatched. If they are no longer within the regulations, they are his own.
People from Kovin and Novgorod all have this power!
The men of these two groups, who were once very strong, went out in large numbers to fulfill their obligation to submit to Ross. After fighting until now, they are essentially covered in iron. These iron tools would bring prosperity to life after the war.
The flagbearers of the Warriors' flags carried the flags, Rurik's mercenaries carried the flags of Duke Rus, and the Slavic flags not only carried the flags, but also had blue and white on their spears. Cloth tassel.
The mighty army walked on the grass beside the stream, and their ranks were uniform.
They set out at dawn, and when the sun was very high, a few single scouts returned one after another. They reported that they found a lot of smoke and dust in the small forest ahead, and saw many gray-black figures with gold heads.
Rurik called all the subordinate commanders over: "It's the enemy, let the battle begin now."
"It seems it's them, they actually dare to chase me." Arik His left arm was hung by a hemp rope around his neck. He knew that he could only fight with a sword in his right hand, but he was at a huge disadvantage, so he still volunteered, "Let me lead the flag team. Brothers can easily defeat them."
Ruri Ke shook his head, "Do you think they will run away when they see our army?"
"Them?"Arik smiled, "Bah, they dared to advance without thinking of retreating. In my opinion, those guys are still chasing me, they are looking for death."
"Okay, let's blow the horn, The brothers roared, let's wake them up and fight them!" "Huh? An honorable battle? Okay!" Arik patted his brother's head with his right hand, "I thought you were We want a sneak attack."
"A sneak attack is also possible. However, I want them to organize their troops and then let our army's arrows kill them all. Brother, we won't have any. Injured."
"You." Arik chuckled, "You are so cruel."
" Rurik ordered again. Arik, "You pick three hundred elite men and go to the back of that forest. I'm afraid the enemy will escape, so you go out and chop the cowards to death. Remember, try to catch the enemy's leader."
"Humiliate him after you catch him? That's what I want. I want to slowly cut off that man's tongue so that his foul mouth can no longer speak."
Looking at his cousin's face, Rurik felt that this If the guy catches the leader, he has to slowly torture him to death. Cutting off his tongue is nothing, maybe he might as well become a blood eagle to vent his anger.
"Then capture him and interrogate him, and we will find out what's going on in Visby. You can do whatever you want. Kill our soldiers, and that leader must die!"