The Karelian people who luckily escaped from the bear altar wandered in the forest, relying on catching small animals to survive.
The total number of these people is close to a hundred. They are actually scattered, and their goal is to find the residence of the chief, an existence named Iso Talwa.
Is Isotalva a city?
It is a large tent made of wood. It is the residence of the chief and the core of the largest tribe in Karelia.
It is not a fixed existence. Tens of thousands of people will build tent areas with the chief's tent as the core. In summer, people raise young deer in Isotalwa and graze them in nearby areas. In winter, a large number of people drive their deer herds to distant places for winter grazing.
If an area becomes barren, the chief's tent will be moved and a new Isotalwa will be established in a new area.
Isoltalwa will not move for at least a few years.
The tribes of the Karelian people are all descended from the herder families who cooperated in herding a long time ago. The larger herding families absorb the small families who came here for their fame, gradually increasing their power. The wealthiest family is precisely the founding family of the tribe. Family members naturally become nobles, and the most powerful one becomes the chief of the tribe.
Several tribes unite, and the most powerful one becomes the chief.
The Karelia people are becoming strict towards chiefdoms, and foreign expansion wars are promoting the rapid development of this force. The war most tests the organization of personnel, and a kingdom composed of Karelia seems not far away.
People live in peace, but this peace is only on the surface.
The largest tribe has a great chief of the entire force. Its tribe's name is simple and crude, which is Iso Talwa, which is the "big tent" itself.
The nominal and actual population of the Great Tribe is as many as 30,000. With this huge size, they can almost represent all of Karelia.
There are also two small tribes named "Xiaozhang" and "Dongzhang". Their names are also simple and crude. One reflects its small size, and the other reflects its location on the east side of the big lake.
Isotalva is adjacent to a small lake, which is north of Lake Ladoga. There is surface runoff connecting the two lakes, so the escapees do not need to take a detour, as long as they follow the river upstream and join together. Reaching the destination, of course, still requires many days of travel.
The tired escapees had no idea what happened to the bear altar after it was occupied by powerful attackers. Was it completely in ruins? Have the attackers left? Nothing is finalized.
They were frightened. When the miserable escapees finally saw the overwhelming tents, they knelt on the ground and cried with joy. Then they were discovered by a passing herder and taken back to the core area of the tents.
What strange thing happened to make these people who suddenly appeared in a panic, and soon, the terrible news about the attack on the bear altar quickly spread in Isotalwa.
More and more escapees are entering here. Some people may have thought the news was a ridiculous joke at first, but now everyone believes it.
“A group of weirdos on a huge boat came out of the fog, and the weirdos covered in iron were slashing everywhere! All men, women, children, and even domesticated deer were killed! They destroyed wantonly, even if they were powerful Even the bear guards cannot defend the altar!"
Similar statements spread to all the Karelian people staying in Isotalva within a day, and soon, the people grazing in nearby areas also All understood.
This news is undoubtedly a bolt from the blue for everyone!
Now is clearly the time to collect tribute. The envoys go to the surrendered tribes to collect live deer, deer skins and slaves for the nobles to enjoy. Ordinary shepherds are also looking forward to the warm summer. Hundreds of people want to take their goods to the Bear Altar in the near future and do some trading with the people there.
The current bear altar is full of terror. The people who cannot trade are roaring angrily to dispel the fear in their hearts. The thinking of the nobles who are left behind is completely confused.
Because the great chief is not in Isotalwa.
A man named Aisaelas (which means not sick, and wants a cheap name to make a living) is trying his best to calm the dissatisfaction of the people, appease their fears, and discuss countermeasures with other nobles.
The largest wooden tent is not only the residence of the chief, but also the place for discussion.
The great chief himself was trying to accomplish a great undertaking with more than a thousand brothers, so he left his hometown to be supervised by his younger brother. Aeseiras was the chief's brother.
The chief’s wives, concubines, and slave girls all stayed away, and more than a dozen distinguished people gathered together.
An urgent consultation is underway.
The incident happened suddenly, and everyone could not believe that it was true. The nobles’ biggest call was to organize people to go to the Bear Altar to investigate.
Aeseiras was sweating, he was not strong, and his name did not actually protect him from disease. When this old boy was young, he was accidentally blinded in one eye by a tree branch. Fortunately, he had the support and care of his elder brother, so his life was not difficult.
“I support your wish to send a team to investigate.” He said, “But the most urgent task is to send messengers to inform the other two tribes of the news, and also to send messengers to the west as quickly as possible. , find the army of the great chief."
A noble said: "Tavastia seems to be really doomed for some reason. Maybe it is a punishment from God, so that these people who claim to be loved by God are punished. The guy lost his life. However, the guys in Zedi are not worried. They have to find the chief. "
"Even if it is trouble, we must find him."
Another noble asked doubtfully: "Do we really need to do this before the matter is found out? The bear altar was destroyed, this joke cannot be made! If someone lies about the news, his head will be smashed with a mace!"
These words were actually aimed at the one-eyed Aisailas.
"Are you worried about my head?" Aisailas smiled contemptuously, "I don't believe that dozens of escapees are lying. Even if I smash their skulls, I will smash them first. The Bear Altar must Something big has happened, don’t worry, I will take responsibility for my decision!”
Isotalva itself is the most powerful trading point in the entire Karelia, but the Bear Altar has its own advantages. It is adjacent to a huge lake and is on the transportation line of all tribes, large and small, living along the lake. Tribes such as the "East Tent" and "Ludi" always arrive at the Bear Altar first to do business.
But the Karelia chief Valkhba (a strong man) has noticed the mysterious disappearance of the Tavastians, their neighbors to the west. How could Karelia expand there if it wasn't coveting the land of Tavastia? This is where the strife comes from.
No matter what happened, a fertile space was vacated, and Valheba decided to build a new Isotalva on the old territory of Tavastia and move the entire tribe there. , wouldn’t it be wonderful to be able to gather all the strength to destroy the Suomi people and become the master of the world?
The Karelia people feel that their region is everything in the world. Even the most noble nobles did not understand that the Russian power appeared in the south of the huge Ladoga Lake.
It is not that they are stupid and ignorant, it is almost because they mainly rely on their feet to measure the world, and information cannot be passed on in writing.
Unlike the Russians, they have at least historical records of their tribe eighty years ago. Those smooth oak boards record too much.
Although there was no more fierce fighting with the Tavastians, the Suomi people suddenly appeared.
For some reason, this group of Suomi people who had always been despised by Chief Valheba actually became particularly capable of fighting. The two sides had already had two canoe battles on the lake. He really didn't expect that his opponent was actually launching a weapon. Iron cluster arrows, have they become so luxurious?
Valheba still gained some advantages, and part of Tavastia's old territory was annexed.
When a group of Karelia warriors entered those territories, they saw abandoned villages with collapsed wooden houses covered with moss. An inspection revealed that these houses had been uninhabited for at least a year. . Where have the original owners of the house gone? ! have no idea.
Until a few Suomi people who had fallen into the water were fished out, Valkhba learned an incredible result after an interrogation: "The Rus came and killed all the Tavastians. . ”
The captured Suomi people were very tough-talking. They knew that it would be better to be killed if they fell into the hands of the Karelians. Life would be worse than death if they became slaves.
They wanted to die. When they found out that the interrogator was actually the chief of Karelia, they threatened with evil words: "Suomi is already at war with you! Suomi is a close ally of Ross! This year, the coalition forces We will completely destroy Karelia and kill all the Karelia people just like Tavastia!”
Who is Ross? But the tug-of-war between Karelia and Tavastia has indeed come to an end with the mysterious disappearance of their opponents.
The prisoners' remarks were extremely irritating, and all the prisoners were skinned alive. Valheba claimed that this was the punishment that the cursed person deserved.
However, all the remarks of the executed prisoner cannot be ignored. He had learned the news before, and he took more than a thousand people with him to find out whether Tavastia was gone.
The rumored news was confirmed, but things became more confusing.
The prisoners had loud voices before they were killed, and they all "cursed" that Rus would annihilate Karelia.
For a while, the Karelian soldiers were panicked. Relying on his personal charm, Valkhba stabilized the mood of the army, but he himself fell into a strong conflict.
It was his lifelong dream to become the overlord in his lifetime. Now that Tavastia has disappeared, it seems that he can achieve his dream by forcing the Suomi people to surrender.
This is the most glorious moment in life and an opportunity to gain endless honor! He weighed it up and decided to place the army here. After all, it took a lot of trouble to lead the troops from Aisailas to the border area.
To be on the safe side, he still sent a messenger to paddle a canoe to Isotalwa to inquire about the news.
He also released a prisoner and asked him to tell the Suomi leader to surrender and pay tribute and offer a hundred women in exchange for peace.
Uko, the leader of Suomi, flatly refused, even because he was surprised to learn that the chief of Karelia was actually on his border. Wouldn't it be a great achievement to assassinate this man. Uco's answer was an attack. This was the third canoe battle on the lake. The battle took place in early August, almost the same day that Ross's squadron stormed the Bear Altar.
This is a battle between novices. Both sides are shooting arrows at each other. Their canoes are not suitable for gang fighting, but without excellent long-range weapons, the battle is very boring. .
Both sides suffered casualties on each other, and after consuming a lot of arrows, they retreated.
The opponent refused to surrender and refused to fight on land! Valherba was so angry that he basically fell into an impotent rage.
His military strength is not enough to force his opponent to surrender by force, and his opponent obviously does not have the ability to defeat him.
Time is not favorable for this Karelian expeditionary force. When the weather turns cold, Valkhba must lead his troops to retreat. After all, winter grazing is related to the smooth breeding of the deer herd next spring.
In an unexpected stalemate with the Suomi people, Warchief Valheba completely ignored the so-called curse.
Until a messenger from his hometown Isotalwa arrived at the front line with horrific news.
Several messengers rowed all the way and almost died of exhaustion when they arrived at the camp.
Walheba summoned these people, and he immediately asked about the situation in his hometown. After asking, the messengers trembled, lay down on the mud and cried loudly.
"What happened?" His heart beat suddenly.
Someone crawled to the feet of the great chief in pain and wailed: "Chief! Our bear altar! The bear altar..."
"What happened?!" Valch Ba suddenly grabbed the man's neck and questioned him.
Several other people immediately crawled over and said in unison: "The bear altar was destroyed by terrible attackers! Many people were killed! Now they have occupied the bear altar!"
"What?! Ridiculous! This is impossible!"
All the messengers claimed that this news was not absurd, it was a completely terrifying fact, and it was the news that the scout had paid for by death!
It turned out that after the meeting, the great noble Aesailas who stayed in Isotalwa organized a hundred warriors to form a canoe team to investigate the Bear Altar.
This warrior reconnaissance team carries bows and arrows on their backs and holds short iron spears in their hands.
They swaggered to find a suitable river channel to place the boat, and then walked overland to the Bear Altar, but they were completely confused by the scene there!
Some Gundam buildings appeared, and the strange scene drove them closer, which also exposed themselves very suddenly.
The Russian army building Bjorn Westad noticed these uninvited guests who broke in. They were obviously armed. They must be the vanguard of the Karelian retaliation force!
This is the outpost of the Principality of Ross and the future landing site for the army. The brothers dare not be too proud. They regard the enemy as the most dangerous enemy, and more than 300 people mobilized to launch a surprise attack.
The Karelian scouts were ill-prepared for the sudden outbreak of battle, and they were quickly beaten to confusion by the sudden arrows.
The steel-armed crossbow accurately harvested lives. After a violent attack with arrows, the Karelian scouts had to retreat in full. Fearing that their opponents had hidden their army in the forest, the Russian soldiers who left the camp withdrew one after another. Even when night fell, the Russian army remained on high alert.
This is the news that the scouts found out at the cost of blood. Although they could not inspect the situation of the Bear Altar on the spot, it was obviously occupied by a large group of powerful enemies and built incomprehensible high structures on the Bear Altar. The large wooden building was something they had never seen in their lives.
Actually, they are just some tall wooden watchtowers.
The messenger informed the warchief of the news, and then someone opened the leather bag and tremblingly held the strange weapon in the pocket to the warchief.
"What is this? How does it look like an arrow? It doesn't look like an arrow."
"It is...an arrow. If you have brothers, you will be killed by it. It's terrible." "
Walheba examined this short, strange arrow and couldn't figure out what kind of bow could shoot it. The messenger continued to introduce that the retreating warriors pulled out the arrow from the corpse. There were black stains on the arrow feathers, which were coagulated blood. At that time, the entire arrow penetrated the leather jacket, and the arrow feathers had completely submerged into the chest of the deceased, and even brokethe ribs of the deceased.
This is a cone-headed carbon steel armor-piercing arrow commonly used by the Russians. Its penetrating ability is amazing. It was originally tailor-made for the Danish army wearing chain mail, but now it is targeted at Karelia. Man's trump card.
Walheba found this incredible. According to this statement, this short and thick strange arrow can easily kill a bear!
He didn’t even believe that the arrow could still fly, so he just threw it away and the whole arrow whirled and stuck in the mud.
At this moment Valheba was convinced. He was stunned and confused, and then turned into anger. Even the "Bear Guards" he personally trained can't protect the sacred altar, so who are the damn attackers?
Suddenly, a term came to mind.
"Russian people?!" Thinking of this, the great chief who had stood up suddenly sat on the ground, looking blankly at the light outside the camp: "They are Russian people, right? Damn it, that's not it. The curse is real!"
The soldiers saw that the chief was in a daze and did not dare to hear the news. Finally, she came to her senses and issued a surprising order as soon as she regained consciousness: "We retreat! The whole army retreats! Army, fight those damned Rus to the end! Take back our bear altar!"