On July 20th in the Julian calendar, the bright sunshine shines across the fjord.
The Ross people in the fjord have assembled an unprecedentedly large fleet. They have docked offshore, with a total of up to 200 ships of various types!
On the coast, a small stone altar rises from the ground.
Lumia wore a deer-antlered helmet and held up a piece of deer liver that had just been cut open. The deer's blood dripped on her face, and the liver faced the sun.
Thousands of people knelt on the beach and worshiped the sun.
There are quite a few warriors who are eager to go out. In order to show their might to Odin, they also wear armor when worshiping the sun.
The elite Russian warriors at the scene, whether wearing chainmail or armor, all wore white cloth gowns, with blue cross stripes on the chest and back, which further showed their strength.
A sheet of white magically appeared on the beach, mixed with blue tones. It was an unprecedented scene, just like a sheet of snow appearing on a hot summer day.
"God, grant us victory! Grant us an end to this long war! Let us conquer the Gotlanders!"
It seems that the sun has become brighter and the sea breeze has become more harmonious.
Rumia slowly put down the deer liver and squeezed it, and the blood filled a golden cup.
Rurik didn't want to drink blood. If possible, he would prefer blood tofu with deer blood mixed with salt.
This is a very necessary sacrifice before setting off for the expedition, and the purpose is to put on a show for five thousand eyes.
Rurik personally carried the "oar flag" with a carved dragon head and sewn with gold edges. He stood on the altar and dug the flagpole into the crack of the stone.
He took the golden cup, endured the strange feeling of vomiting, and drank the hot deer blood in one gulp.
His mouth was full of blood, and the scene was so shocking that people shouted long live Ross.
Rumia opened her hands to calm people's excitement. She screamed with a shrill voice: "Rurik, son of the Duke! Our commander! God has appointed him to bring us victory!"
To arouse people's enthusiasm, slogans must be concise and concise, and she knew this.
"Russ must win! Rurik must win!"
"Russ must win! Rurik must win!"
…
People repeated Rumia's slogan, thousands of people spoke in unison, and the enthusiastic emotions moved everyone, and even the sea waves boiled with it.
The sacrifice ended enthusiastically, and the expedition began.
The huge army began to be mobilized that day, and the soldiers boarded the ship one after another with their own equipment.
For this battle, the Russians had essentially mobilized their entire army. Almost all the men who dared to fight, including most of the boys, were ordered to go out, and only a large number of women and children were left behind.
There are more than a hundred old men who are actually elderly. In their later years, they have gloriously become the garrison of Fort Ross.
The interior of Roseburg is empty. Will potential enemies take advantage of it?
Of course, some people raised such concerns, but Rurik, as the military commander, rejected all concerns.
The Russians have figured out the geographical structure around the entire Gulf of Bothnia. If there are potential enemies, the closest ones are the Balmok tribe in the western bay of the distant mountains.
All the surrounding small tribes were conquered by the Ross people, and these tribal warriors have become members of the Ross army.
Rurik seemed to be gambling, but in fact he was very successful.
Fort Ross is located in a remote place. Not only is it not the site of the Fourth World War, it is also an excellent haven, a safe zone at the edge of the complicated world.
The entire war did involve a lot of adventure. No one in Russia had such experience in commanding a team of three thousand people.
However, the costumes, flags and flag formations promoted by Rurik Raid made the command of the army become scientific and organized.
About thirty warriors were responsible to their captains, three captains to their centurions, and five or six centurions to their standard captains.
All flag captains are responsible to Rurik himself.
A system of grassroots officers was established. Rurik did not expect them to have an amazing degree of organization. He specifically asked the soldiers to keep an eye on their commanders layer by layer.
Ordinary Rus warriors wear leather helmets covered with iron and copper.
The so-called captains are all strong men in the crowd, and the helmets of these people are decorated with new patterns. The helmet is supported by a wooden stick, and two white cloths and two blue cloths are tied to it to prove the existence of the captain.
at the location.
The so-called centurions, their helmets must be more ornately decorated. The mere binding of cloth strips is not enough. The ridged wooden stick is also tied with a circle of wild goose flight feathers and beautiful European mallard feathers, and is glued with pine glue.
Glue for further fixation. No one is interested in these decorations solely because they may interfere with individual battles.
As for the flag captain level, their uniforms no longer need any decorations. They are the owners of the flag. There are flag officers standing up and down, the flag is with the flag captain, and the entire flag team soldiers advance and retreat with their flags.
The "Second Flag Team of Warriors" has completed boarding, and each team has a long ship. This team was the first to leave the home port of Fort Ross. Commander Harold Zuosen once again had the opportunity to rush to the glorious battlefield after three years. II
The ten manned longships furled their sails, and the captains and soldiers struggled to paddle forward against the wind. Behind each ship was also pulling a small boat, which was loaded with a large amount of ordnance and supplies.
What awaits Harold Johnson is a three-day voyage. When they arrive at Tombstone Island, they will immediately make repairs on the spot, because there is a more arduous voyage ahead.
The sacrifice before the expedition calmed people's hearts, and there was really no way for the huge army to leave Hong Kong at the same time.
When the war was placed in front of Rurik, he truly understood that the preparation time he gave his men was really short, and the preparations of all parties were uneven when it came to the battle.
He had to urge each flag team to prepare supplies and leave the port quickly.
Therefore, in the three days after the sacrifice, most of Rurik's cargo ship was completely wasted on transporting materials.
After all, the troops went ahead with food and grass before they moved. The original plan was to prepare rations for the army for the first ten days of August. The more the merrier, the better. The tribesmen burst out with strong productivity for this battle of honor, and they caught a lot of fish.
, the dried fish meat that was intensively made also had a longer shelf life. They just stocked up on fish meat to sustain the operation of a team of 3,000 people for twenty days. Rurik did not mind that there was too much food, they had to be shipped.
In fact, Rurik also knew that in order to raise food, people in the tribe were gambling with their lives!
They spent a lot of time raising food for the tribe's warriors, which delayed the food reserves for this year's winter. The Rus must win! They must plunder a large amount of supplies, especially all kinds of food, otherwise the entire tribe will starve, including starving to death.
Severe winter.
This is the most horrific result, but the morale of the entire tribe is high. They only think about how rich the war dividends will be for each family after victory, and they have selectively ignored the risks.
Rurik was determined to win this battle. He completed the final preparations on July 24th. Food and reserve ordnance were all on board, and the large army set sail now!
The Aurora raised its huge sail, and the huge blue cross stripes on the sail were so eye-catching.
Not just her, there were more than thirty cargo ships behind them, all of which were flying triangular Latin sails, and the sails also had exactly the same stripes.
The large ships moved southward in a zigzag pattern against the southwesterly wind, and hundreds of longships formed a circular array to protect them.
The masts of each ship were flying the Ross oar flag, but only the flagship Aurora flew the largest flag, and there was a blue horizontal stripe below it.
The Russians advanced on a very familiar route, but this time almost all the tribe's effective forces were mobilized.
A dark-haired girl, plainly dressed from a distance but stunningly gorgeous up close, stood on the bow deck of the ship, stroking the railing and looking at the sea with apprehension.
"Are you feeling better now?" Rurik gently asked his Rumia.
The girl nodded: "It's okay, but my stomach still feels uncomfortable."
"It's better to go into the cabin and rest. You can lie down and take a nap."
"Forget it." Rumia shook her head: "This is my first time on a big ship. I want to enjoy the sea breeze."
"Then come and watch the sea with me."
Hearing this, Rumia's little face, which was ruddy and slightly haggard, blown by the sea breeze, slowly squeezed out a smile.
Rurik is already ten years old. His Nordic body has indeed inherited the strength of his biological father. Coupled with his good diet, at the age of ten, his current height has actually exceeded 150cm.
And what about Rumia? At the age of thirteen, it seemed that it was becoming difficult for her to continue to grow taller. Seeing her "brother" and her man Rurik catching up in height, she felt a strong sense of expectation.
.
She is actually ready to become a woman. As long as this noble boy feels ready, Rumia is willing to take the initiative to welcome that sacred moment.
Because the position of high priest must be inherited by a suitable person, only his and Rurik's children are worthy of inheriting this noble and sacred position forever.
This is something she can only do! When the child is born, not only will the high priest of the Principality of Rus have a successor for generations, but all the deer herders will also receive complete protection.
Maybe that would be three or four years later, because any woman who is a deer farmer often becomes a mother at the age of fifteen or sixteen. At least Rumia remembers that her biological mother was like this, and presumably she herself must be like this too.
She rarely had the experience of riding a ship. Even though the Avora was a big ship, the bumps on the sea still made her seasick. However, after sailing for a whole day, she had already vomited twice, watching the fish she had just eaten fall into the water again.
Dahai, the guilt of wasting food made her feel uncomfortable. This indecent behavior was also a blasphemy against the identity of the priest, wasn't it?
Fortunately, the reasonable Rurik gave me meticulous care.
The sun was shining brightly, and Tombstone Island was not far away.
Rumia looked at the strange bulbous nose on the bow of the ship pushing away the water, and the ship was running wildly on the sea.
"Don't look at the bottom of the boat. Your eyes will be dizzy and you will vomit. Just raise your head and look at the sea level." Rurik complained.
"Hehe, I..." Rumia turned her head: "I always feel like I'm flying."
"Fly? Really? You..."
A romantic thought popped up on the page, "Then stand on the full mast and open your arms."
"Would this be dangerous?"
"Silly girl, I will hold your feet."
"Oh, let me give it a try."
With the encouragement of her beloved boy, Rumia ignored all fears.
The Avrora has a foremast, but this wooden pole placed tilted forward is used to tie the cables that fix the mainmast. Theoretically, it can install the transverse girder immediately and raise a small sail to take advantage of the wind below.
.
Rumia stood boldly on this wooden pole, with the sea below facing the waves.
She subconsciously grabbed the cable that fixed the mainmast. It was only then that she finally felt fear, because as long as she couldn't stand steady, she would fall into the sea and into the endless abyss.
Rurik said with a dull face: "Let go and keep your balance! Open your arms and look forward!"
"I'm afraid! I..."
"Don't worry, I will catch you! Don't you...don't want to fly?"
Rumia looked at Rurik's resolute face again, and saw many people lingering on the deck, all giving inexplicable expressions. "Yes, I am the next high priest. If I am afraid now
Yes, isn't it..." She gritted her teeth, stood up straight, stepped on the wooden pole with her bare feet, and opened her hands with a sullen face.
Suddenly, Rurik also grabbed her feet: "Stand up straight, my woman."
"I... am still a little scared."
"Don't be afraid, my high priest! We are the conquerors of the sea. Look, you have conquered the sea and you are flying on the sea."
Rumia was dressed in a white robe and plain clothes, and under the warm sea breeze, she gave the witnesses an extremely elegant posture.
She was the only one with extremely rare black hair, and she was indeed short in stature, but she was such a woman, and the huge silver jewelry on her chest was reflecting the sunlight fiercely.
"Rumia, in front of you is the wooden sculpture of this ship. She is the soul of the Aurora. Relax yourself, be brave, and feel with your heart."
"Yes! I..." Rumia opened her eyes slightly. The vast sea was blue before, and she was indeed flying on the sea.
"I feel like I'm a wild goose! Haha."
"Yes! Are you happy?"
"Extremely happy."
"Still feeling unwell?"
"I...only have happiness!"
Many people saw Rurik, who had a golden ponytail, happily interacting with his woman.
Rumia was a high priest this time, and she embarked on this expedition with a sacred antlered helmet and half of the priestesses.
This girl actually stood boldly on the bow rail, looking down on the entire fleet. Is this a kind of sacrificial activity? Oh, maybe yes. How to interpret it? Good people have pointed out that maybe the Afrola
The soul has already communicated with Rumia, so she can stand stably. Some people say that she communicates with the sea god. The sun is shining brightly and the waves are calm at the moment, which is really a good sign.
Rumia was like a happy bird. She had an experience of flying. It was clear that the Ross army was launching an expedition. War was obviously a very scary thing. She was no longer afraid when she stood on the deck again.
.
The enemy's honor and disgrace have nothing to do with her, as long as her Rurik wins. When her feet are merely grasped by Rurik, a strong sense of security makes her ignore all dangers, even her bad stomach
The discomfort also disappeared!
Rurik just had nothing to do during the long voyage. He couldn't sleep around like his father, so he had no choice but to stay at the bow of the ship with Rumia and play some games with her.
It has to be said that this girl is becoming more and more graceful as a woman, her light posture in plain clothes is more elegant, and her black hair and slightly flat face are really in line with Rurik's inner aesthetic. After all, Rumia is this
The girl's ancestors were deer hunters from North Asia.
She is Rose, my own Jack. There is not much of a romantic feeling when we stand on the bow of the boat, but there is a little bit of embarrassment.
This incident indeed deepened the friendship between the two of them, and Rumia also magically discovered that maybe it was from "flying on the sea", and her seasickness seemed to be cured instantly.
The short night is coming, and the exhausted Rumia is unscrupulous this time. The captain's lounge is now the command room of the Ross army. Rumia has a relaxed look on her face as she eats fish, and Otto is amazed.
"Huh? Aren't you afraid of vomiting again? If you want to vomit, just hold it in until night. I don't want any more warriors to see our high priest's indecency."
Rumia was no longer ashamed. She straightened her body proudly: "Duke, I can't do it anymore. Just on the deck, Rurik cured my disease."
"You..." Otto suddenly looked at his son who was eating dried herring: "Did you use any miracle?"
"Me? Oh, maybe forget it. I make her fearless."
"Really fearless?" Otto frowned and said coldly: "Rumia, you were decisive when killing the deer, which is good. But this is a war, and many enemies will be killed.
I hope you can still remain calm after seeing such a scene."
"I..." Rumia's heart skipped a beat and she gritted her teeth: "I will, I'm not afraid of blood. I will sacrifice and pray for the soldiers in front of the battle. If someone dies in battle, I will pray for their souls."
Her words made her like the chaplain who accompanied the army. This was also Rurik's arrangement. The priests of the tribe needed to do this to enhance everyone's morale and also to allow the tools of death to become souls and enter Valhalla.
expect.
"Okay, after this dark night, we will arrive at Tombstone Island. Have a good rest." Otto said casually without taking it seriously. As an old leader who has experienced hundreds of battles, he was excited in his heart during this battle, but he showed it on the outside.
There was no fluctuation in his mood, as if defeating the enemy was easy.