No! The warriors who completed the crusade are eager to return home. The long northern hunt wears away the hearts of the warriors. If there is a battle, they can still fight fiercely with their battle axes and swords. Now that all the opponents have surrendered, everyone just wants to return.
Roseburg.
Just outside, the Russian soldiers gathered around the campfire and talked about the way back home.
People were discussing the rationality of crossing the ice sea directly, because this plan was proposed by Rurik. The strange trick the child performed at the mouth of the river baffled everyone. After the trick, the child claimed that his home was all the way to the west.
If it were summer, the rowers would not object to trying this route. But crossing the ice sea, the Russians have never had such an experience!
In fact, the Russians have never set foot in the center of the ocean where the waves are endless in summer in winter. It is completely unfamiliar and terrifying to everyone.
In fact, what everyone is most worried about is that the sea ice suddenly becomes thinner, and people fall into ice caves on the vast frozen ocean and freeze to death.
Some people think this is an unreliable risk, while others simply want to return home and think that since Rurik said it is possible, then it is possible.
At Kejas' home, when Otto explained that as the leader he fully agreed with his son's plan to return home, first of all, the Ross people present did not have any objections. Although they were nervous in their hearts, they did not think that "Odin"
Rurik the Blesser would make fun of his own life and the lives of his people.
But this feeling immediately aroused Mechasta's panic and Rumia's surprise.
Perhaps compared to the Russians, deer farmers and Kovin people, they somewhat lack the courage to "seek death".
Mechasta boldly said: "Great Russians, we are willing to serve you, but we don't want to take risks. The sea is too dangerous! The frozen sea is even more dangerous."
Jevro was still translating the man's words, but Rurik couldn't listen anymore. He suddenly stood up from the animal skin cushion he was sitting on and said loudly: "I understand what you said. This is my decision, I am
Your master, you obey my orders unconditionally."
"You!" Mechasta noticed the sharp eyes of the leader of Ross from the corner of his eyes. He doubted Rurik's determination, but did not dare to question it again.
Unexpectedly, Rumia put on an embarrassed face and persuaded: "Rurik, crossing the ice sea is really dangerous. Many people are afraid. Maybe we can..."
"What do you want?" Rurik suddenly turned his face.
Rumia was startled: "We can... go back the way we came."
"That's a waste of time! We could have gone home in three or four days. Do you think we have time to spend ten days?"
Rurik's words were completely beyond the expectations of everyone present. The key point was the time required for the return trip.
Otto asked anxiously: "Four days? So short?"
"Maybe it will only take three days, as long as those reindeer are still strong. Dad, we just need to go all the way west. You have reached our Roseburg, near our home, but there are only hills near Roseburg!"
Rurik's words deeply stimulated Otto, and now Otto's support attitude was even more determined. Because the hills near the fjord where Fort Ross is located, the merchant ships that come and go every year rely on the iron ore-containing hill.
hills to determine the location of Fort Ross. Every time, no businessman ever got lost.
Mechasta was shocked by the determination of the Rus people, Rumia was worried about the dangers on the journey, but Kehas didn't care. After all, he was not one of his own people who was forced to cross the ice sea.
Rurik continued: "The ice sea will thaw. After all, we still have to row a boat to reach this river to communicate with the Kovin people. Now that rowing can come, we can ride on a sled on the ice sea. How different is this from rowing a boat?
the difference?"
This statement undoubtedly strengthened Alto's belief.
There was no need to discuss the next step. Otto made his decision completely in the semi-crypt wooden house with a bonfire: "Let's cross the ice sea! Set off tomorrow morning!"
The mobility of the Rus is another factor that shocks other ethnic groups.
The next morning, the return journey officially began.
The Rus people who received the order to cross the ice sea must accept it if they have any complaints. Yesterday's discussion at the bonfire was let go, and everyone must follow the leader's arrangements.
The small sled carried by each Rus warrior was tied with hemp ropes to the back of the large Kovin sled. It was piled with a large number of furs and even some food belonging to personal trophies.
The Salmon Lord tribe provided another batch of smoked salmon, and the team received such a critical food supplement.
The huge sled team became heavier, with each sled weighing more than a ton. Covin and the deer herders could estimate the terrifying weight of the sled. Not only did they doubt whether the team could cross the unknown ice sea westward, they were also worried about the sled.
It will crush sea ice.
Regarding the load and ice, Rurik did not consider it at all, because during the winter ice-free period in the Gulf of Bothnia, the sea ice could no longer be described as "very thick".
The Russians threw down their unburned bonfires and jumped onto their sleighs happily. The rescued deer herders became sleigh drivers one after another.
The deer herders and the Kewen people of the gray squirrel tribe were worried and had no choice.
The ice sea is like a nightmare. The territory of the Russian people is full of infinite unknowns.
They really don’t know the whole world, and they don’t even know the geographical structure of the Nordic world. All Covin people think that the Western Sea is an endless sea, and only the Varyags who can control the waves can travel on the sea and set foot on the ice.
Sealing the Sea is obviously something the Varyags can do.
They simply don't know that the straight-line distance from the mouth of the Oulu River to the fjord of Roseburg is only 140 kilometers.
Rurik actually didn't know the exact distance parameters. He just believed in science and knew that the earth was a ball. He determined the very precise dimensional parameters of the two places by measuring the sun's shadow, and concluded that he could reach home by walking west.
What's more, he naturally knew the whole world. Even in the ninth century, the Gulf of Bothnia was still a very narrow bay.
It was Otto again, the brave leader of Rus, who stood on the sled facing the golden sun and shouted before departure: "Great God! Your servant is about to cross the ice sea! It is your beloved
Rurik made such a great decision! Bless us! Let us go home safely!”
The sun is one of the incarnations of Odin, and the Russians believe it.
The female shaman of the gray squirrel tribe, bathed in the sacred golden light of the rising sun, danced and prayed to the sun god believed by the Kewen people.
Even the deer herders are silently reciting the names of their gods.
Rumia did even better!
After all, she is the priest of the Ross tribe and the future high priest.
This girl stood at the front of the team that was about to run to the west, facing the east. She loudly recited the prayers that were only recited to the soldiers on the expedition toward the rising sun.
Some knowledgeable Ross warriors instantly realized that the girl was performing a sacrificial ceremony.
Otto was overjoyed when he saw this. He hurriedly pulled up the somewhat dull Liuli and bathed his son's face in golden light.
Praying and offering sacrifices are, to put it bluntly, to make everyone feel at ease.
After all, crossing the ice sea is an unprecedented and crazy feat for everyone. Without the determination of Rurik and the support of the big leader, who would do it?
If it is not profitable, how can the Russians go on an expedition? Everyone comforts themselves that this is to use special means to explore a route.
And now, the mysterious East mentioned by the Ross ancestors is no longer mysterious. The Ross people have occupied this place, the legendary "Land of the East", and the people in this area have become slaves of the Ross people.
"Go forward!" Otto gave the order, and the real journey home began.
The reindeer were fed hay and drove the sled to start "drag racing".
The Russians once forced a large number of captured reindeer to run, and many of them died from exhaustion in the process. In fact, there was a reason. The biggest factor was that the reindeer were only meat that could be slaughtered by deer herders, rather than being trained for professional use.
These reindeer are trained to pull sleds, and they demonstrate great endurance and maneuverability.
The huge Ross sleigh army arrived at the mouth of the Oulu River only in the evening.
They set up camp here, and when it was dawn, everyone faced the vast sea of white ice and couldn't help but express indescribable emotions.
A pair of big hands covered Rurik's worried shoulders.
"Rurik, now it's time to test your theory. Are you confident?" Otto asked.
"I have!"
"Are you hesitant?"
"No!" Rurik firmly believed. In fact, he could still retreat. After all, as long as the team walked north along the coastline and took a big turn, they could go home, because this is the Gulf of Bothnia, and this route is also known as the Gulf of Bothnia.
The Russians measured it with their feet.
"Then let's go!"
Otto stopped talking and began to organize the team to enter the ice sea.
Just before setting off, Rumia built a small altar out of snow on the coast based on what she had learned. To show her sincerity and for peace of mind, a stag was slaughtered as a sacrifice, and the person responsible for cutting its throat
, that is Rurik himself.
Rumia was somewhat reluctant to execute a reindeer. She was only happy that the reindeer herd was back and she could help Rurik build a huge herd. Seeing a large number of deer, this was Lumia's favorite
The moment of peace of mind is as if it were the deer herd in my own home in the past.
Of course, everything has changed, and I have a new identity and become a priest.
Rumia held Rurik's steel sword, slashed the deer's belly, took out the liver and cut it open again, announcing a good omen in public!
Would anyone question the priest's divination? No one!
Because God has given a revelation!
After the ceremony, the deer meat was quickly decomposed. Rumia did not forget to cut the deer liver and stuffed the fresh deer liver directly into her mouth. Her fellow deer farmers also behaved exactly the same way.
People felt relieved that their sled was finally entering the white sea of ice.
Everyone relies on the position of the sun and starlight for navigation, especially at night. The key stars orbiting the North Celestial Pole are the best navigation.
Either doubtful, excited, blindly obedient, or not thinking about anything at all.
The driver beat the reindeer with a hemp rope whip, the first sleigh turned its back to the rising sun, and the Russians and their servants headed towards the pale ice field.
If someone could take a bird's-eye view, they would be able to see a large mass of black material standing out and moving rapidly on the ice sheet. They looked like a group of seals, but they were not seals at all.
They seem to be bloated, but their speed is not slow at all, and they leave obvious traces on the sea ice.
The north wind blew against Rurik's little face and his nervous expression. As the son of the leader, he was naturally in the lead sled, and all the sleds followed his pace.
The surrounding environment is absolutely flat, and this is something that all native Russians have never experienced.
Even though many owners dig holes in the sea ice to trap seals on weekdays, no one dares to go deep into the sea ice.
Everyone opened their eyes wide, admiring the boundless and absolutely flat ice field in extreme anxiety. Pairs of eyes were aimed at the pale ice surface, staring at the scene of the wide sleds sliding across the floating snow.
It would be impossible to say that Rurik was not nervous.
He was silent all the way, and Otto, who was riding in the same sleigh, also remained silent.
After all, the long journey makes people boring. The group has been traveling for a long time. The dangers that the people on the sled were worried about did not exist at all. Didn't the sled still move smoothly? It must be the same in the future.
Many people were drowsy due to the slight vibration of the sled, so many people wrapped themselves in animal skins and cuddled up to each other to take a nap.
Only the reindeer continued to run wild after eating enough hay.
As night fell, the tired reindeer were able to take a breather. The Russians rewarded the deer with a large amount of forage, but a problem arose. Otto saw the deer eating like crazy and couldn't help but worry that they would return to Fort Ross when the army returned.
Before, they all starved to death on the ice.
Otto once wanted to drive all the captured reindeer back to his hometown, but most of the reindeer died.
The Russians used the prepared firewood to light ten bonfires on the ice.
The ice sheet reflects the moonlight and starlight, and there is a very dim aurora in the sky. Even when night falls, the visibility in the entire world is actually not low due to ice and snow. If the army sets off by force, they can still march at night.
However, due to the fatigue of traveling, all they could do was talk about the future while eating dry food. Rose lay in the prepared wide deerskin and kept twisting his body until his whole body was wrapped in meat dumplings.
, deerskin made an excellent sleeping bag.
As for all the Kovin tribesmen, they could only wrap themselves in their own burlap clothes and rely on the warmth of the bonfire.
The grease-rich pine branches crackled as they burned, and Rurik was a little surprised that the bonfire seemed to have no effect on the ice.
Many people had already fallen asleep. Otto gathered around the campfire and drank a bottle of strong wine. Now was the time to get drunk.
Otto dragged his dizzy body to Rurik, who was staring at the fire in a daze, and suddenly said: "Soon, we can go back?"
"Dad, you've been drinking." Rurik turned around and asked.
Otto forced a smile: "The last bottle, go back to Roseburg, and you have to make more for me. Tell me, what revelation has God given you? How long will we have to stay on the ice?"
"This...maybe there are still two days. If it's quick, there's still one day."
"So fast? Are you sure." Otto was overjoyed when he heard this. He had no doubts and patted Rurik on the shoulder again: "Go to bed early, we have to leave quickly tomorrow morning."
In fact, Rurik's estimate was a bit conservative. In fact, the Russian army ran for 70 kilometers in the first day alone! If they had set off earlier, they could have attacked further.
This is really an amazing journey. Even for reindeer who have been trained for service, eighty kilometers a day is basically the limit of female deer, but male deer can run a little further.
The Russians are actually in the center of the bay!
Even in the center, the ice layer is close to two meters thick. In many places, the ice layer is ten meters thick, and even more exaggerated. This is also because it freezes slowly. Such low-salinity sea ice is as hard as
Stones. If the ice layer is too thick and breaks, it will be a dangerous iceberg in the future.
However, the natural ductility of sea ice causes the frozen sea surface and the ice in local areas to become abnormal. This kind of abnormality has never been seen by the Russians, deer farmers and Kovin people.
The next day, before dawn, the Russians started a new journey.
What is very bad is that because some people did not do a good job in keeping out the cold, as many as ten women and children from the Salmon Lord tribe were found to have merged with the ice sheet when they were tried to wake them up.
No one is overly sad, but more of a pity.
Because everyone knows that they are challenging a brand new unknown. As long as they step into this ice sea, no wonders or tragedies will be unimaginable.
However, the distorted earth finally made everyone wary.
"What is that?!" Rurik pointed his little finger at the bulge in front and asked loudly.
Otto squinted his eyes, which were almost blinded by the sunlight reflected on the ice, and speculated: "Maybe it's just pure ice."
"Ah? Can ice still form a wall?!"
In fact, everyone gradually felt that the movement of the sleigh became slower and the reindeer's breathing became heavier.
Thanks to the experience of the blacksmith Kawei, he urgently made a tune to determine the verticality. He was shocked to realize that the entire team was actually climbing, and everyone was on an uphill slope.
The uphill slope of the ice sea?
That's the truth.
The expanding sea ice caused it to bulge into a huge strip-shaped bulge on the sea surface. It stretched for more than fifty kilometers, and its height reached an unprecedented twenty meters!
Because they had been going uphill slowly, the Russians did not notice it for a while, and they had never experienced this situation.
At the front of the team, due to the ice breaking due to the excessive internal stress of the ice, an extremely bulging iceberg with a total height of thirty meters suddenly appeared in front of everyone.
"Dad, it seems we have to move on." Rurik encouraged.
Otto's heart was beating wildly. He could not understand what he was seeing. It was obvious that it must be Odin who could create such a miracle - freezing the seaside and creating a big iceberg.
"Let's go! Let's conquer it!"
The sled at the head of the team went all out, and the reindeer panted horribly, dragging the sled up one pit at a time.
When Rurik finally stood on the top of the iceberg, what he saw completely made him tremble.
Otto was also so excited that he could not speak, because in the distance was the earth!
Even if it is covered with snow, it is still the earth! Through the perfect clear air, the land of Scandinavia appears to Otto, Rurik and his sons, and even Lumia, Lumi, and Terra who are accompanying them.
Children like Weiss and Saipolava.
No one observed the earth from such a perspective. Otto keenly noticed that there was a small special bulge on the ground in the northwest direction, and he couldn't help but tremble further.
"Rurik! There!" Otto stretched out his trembling fingers to point to the bulge over there: "Could it be that there..."
Rurik looked at the seemingly abrupt hills from afar, and said calmly with a smile: "You guessed it right, it's Fort Ross! It's our home! On this coastline, there is only one mountain next to our Fort Ross.
mound."
Otto sighed up to the sky as if a burden had been lifted, and then knelt down on the ground excitedly. He faced the sun and raised his hands in the air, praising: "Great Odin, thank you for your gift, we are home!"
He quickly stood up again, faced all the tribesmen and servants under the "ice hill" and drew his sword, pointing the sword's edge directly at the world covered by the ice hill.
Otto roared: "Brothers! Rossburg is ahead! Let's go home! Go home!"
More and more people realized what had happened, and saw that the sled where the leader was was suddenly disappeared (it had already run to the other side of the ice hill), and the other sleds were closing in behind.
Finally, everyone can see the earth clearly. The stars and the sun are no longer needed to navigate the next journey. The raised hills of the frozen coastline are like lighthouses, attracting these children who have been on their period for nearly two months to return.
Roseburg.
As for the final journey home, there are only the last twenty kilometers left.
Before the sun set, the huge team entered the fjord of Fort Ross.
People noticed a large number of moving shadows appearing from incredible directions. The Russians were instinctively on guard. All the men who could handle weapons gathered on the frozen beach, including Rurik's children, who also held weapons to attack the possible
sneak attack.
Because the visitors clearly came from the East, everyone assumed that they were "Easterners" or that the Finns had crossed the ice sea and attacked.
However, when people with good eyesight saw the warriors on the sled holding their swords high and their beards fluttering in the wind, who had just been ready to fight against the invading people, they cried for joy this time.
Niya held the two girls. She stood in the crowd, looking at her husband and son, and couldn't help but burst into tears. Looking at the huge reindeer sleigh team, she cried even harder.
"Mom, what's wrong with you?" Carlotta asked, "Is it because they came back?"
"Yes! It's Rurik, and the big leader..."
"Why are you crying? You should be happy."
Wiping away her tears, Niya gently pinched Carlotta's smiling face: "You don't understand yet. When you marry Rurik and have children, you will understand how I feel."