Chapter 446 Plunder from the East Coast to the West Coast
A group of blue and white warriors walk in the withered yellow world.
Autumn has arrived across Northern Europe, the grass and trees have begun to wither, and only the wheat has begun to ear.
Compared to Lake Malaren, the climate on Gotland is warmer. However, the soil here is relatively poor, and coupled with the rough planting methods, the wheat here is too sparse.
Heavy rains that began at the end of June caused large-scale lodging of wheat in Gotland's offshore farmland. Only inland oats were slightly affected.
Arik and his brothers were dressed in colorful clothes. He was so brave that he was looking forward to meeting the enemy and having another enjoyable battle.
They walked through the wilderness, climbed up a nearly 100-meter-high mound on the island, and then found a trickling stream on the way down.
They looked around from the top of the mound. The clear air was so transparent. Arik even saw the west coast of the island in the distance, as well as some obvious settlements. Even those were low buildings, which were obvious in the withered world.
.
Is that Visby? Or something else?
Arik didn't think much about it. He considered his own strength and rushed over rashly. Of course it wouldn't work, but it was obvious that he could break into the village along the stream he discovered.
They did see a small village sheltered by hills.
"Brothers, let's go and have a go!"
The Russian soldiers opened their mouths and laughed wildly.
They descended the mountain like tigers and rushed into the village quickly. They did not hesitate and had no intention of negotiating with the local residents.
After the sudden attack, many villagers did not know what had happened. They were busy stocking up fodder for their sheep and repairing agricultural tools, such as long-handled scythes and flails for oat shelling, in preparation for harvesting wheat in the upcoming autumn harvest.
The working farmers looked at the blue and white people coming. At first they thought they were very beautiful, but by the time they realized the danger, it was too late.
The sharp and ferocious crossbow arrows struck accurately, and some farmers fell to the ground crying.
The villagers started shouting in shock: "It's pirates!" and then fled home to get weapons for self-defense.
The villagers' defense was in vain. They took out short swords for killing sheep and chickens, short spears for guarding against wild beasts, and short bows.
How can these weapons withstand the well-prepared Arik?
The warrior's wildness was aroused, and Aric shouted an order: "Don't reload after shooting! Throw down the crossbow and draw your sword to kill them!"
Only Hebie warriors used their "Qilin Arms" to forcibly string their steel-armed crossbows after shooting. More warriors held up swords or axes, held round shields in front of themselves, and rushed over with roars.
The battle ended quickly.
Farmers who resisted were killed one after another, women were pulled out of their homes by their hair, and anyone who resisted was directly assassinated.
If Rurik was very principled, Arik had no intention of being principled with these people.
"Kill me! No mercy!"
The soldiers understood. Some of the soldiers who had finished straightening their gowns immediately killed the female prisoner whose face was full of tears.
The Russians suffered no losses, but their gowns were stained with the blood of their enemies.
There were corpses everywhere, and only two men who were almost sealed were spared their lives. These two men pretended to be dead and were found out when the Russians were cleaning the battlefield.
Logically speaking, such a coward who didn't even dare to resist should be cut into pieces, and Arik intended to execute him.
"Boss, I have to stay alive to ask about the situation here."
Aric patted his head and thought that this was indeed the case. After some interrogation, the Russians knew the name of this village, a very casual name - Heldenhos (house under the hill).
There are only a hundred residents in the village. They are not aware of the landing of the Russians, and they have not recently gone to Slietomo on the coast or Visby far away to do business.
They just lived quietly in the interior, and today they were completely destroyed.
"It's really interesting. You can reach Visby along this stream?" Arik looked to the west, showing a greedy smile.
"Sir, please spare me! I... will be a slave to you Russians." The farmer lying on the ground begged.
"You? Forget it, you two, get out of here!" After saying that, Arik raised his foot to drive him away.
Upon seeing this, the two of them got up and ran away. As they fled frantically, Arik took over the crossbow from his men.
"Boss, didn't you agree to let these two idiots report the news? You must shoot them?"
Arik skillfully picked up the crossbow, aimed and fired in one go. One of the escapees was shot through the neck and fell to the ground dead on the spot, while the other wailed and ran faster.
"It's enough to leave a message." Arik put down the heavy crossbow, "The weapon invented by my brother is really easy to use. Although it is not particularly glorious, it really makes the battle we use so much easier. Go! Brother, take the arrow from
Pull it out from the dead body."
Arik was a savage plunderer. When he realized that he could not take away the captured cattle and sheep immediately, he ordered them to be killed.
The Russians peeled off the skin of the sheep, roasted the lamb and ate it.
They made some extra meat to supplement their food rations during the march.
What rare things could be found in the villagers' homes? The soldiers unexpectedly found a lot of silver and copper coins.
Each soldier got more than ten silver coins, and even an amber necklace plucked from the woman's neck. Unexpectedly, the farmer's family was so rich, and when he thought about his past days, the Russian soldier felt a sense of hatred in his life.
They just simply don't understand that the rebellious Gotlanders and Danes have been trading in furs and fish, always transporting sheepskins produced on the island to the port of Heideby in the southern part of Jutland, and trading with Danish merchants.
, Frankish merchants did business. It is for this reason that Gotland has been able to accumulate a large amount of Frankish silver coins in these years.
The dead did not need money or jewelry, and Arik had no intention of burying these people, so the corpses were all thrown into one room.
The Russians stayed in the village for one night, then burned the village to the ground the next day, and the bodies along with them would eventually be reduced to ashes.
Some people questioned that Arik's decision was a waste of resources. After all, many sheep did not need to be killed. Wouldn't it be better to take them back to other brothers to eat? Now the dead sheep will eventually emit a foul smell and rot on the ground.
"What do you know? This is my revenge! Brothers, show no mercy. Except for the people we landed on, everyone on this island is an enemy and deserves death!"
The accompanying Ross soldiers couldn’t say anything more. The boss was so fierce. Everyone was in awe from the bottom of their hearts and admired this ruthless man. Oh, the best thing about Arik is that he is not greedy for money. For example, this robbery
He didn't even ask for a single copper coin, and all the coins he grabbed belonged to his brothers.
After a successful plunder, they were eager for a second and third time.
Having learned from the experience of attacking Heldenhaus, Arik decided to keep a low profile.
The very flamboyant blue and white robes sewn with the Russian logo were gathered up, and the fifty warriors turned into gray and black. Many people used coarse cloth robes captured from farmers to disguise themselves, and also hid their crossbows.
, and then boldly searched for new targets.
They seemed to be fishermen from the east coast, bringing goods into the inner islands, or going to Vis to sell their catch.
Almost all the inland villages were unaware of the Russian invasion, and now they suffered greatly from the temporary lack of information.
The villagers welcome people from other villages to trade. After all, they are people living on the same island. Although everyone has some unavoidable grudges on weekdays, no one is on guard when it comes to trade issues.
Arik led his troops to leave Heldenhos and continue to advance along the direction where the stream flows into the sea. Like a mudslide, he captured another village named Lukuluye that same day. Still using the same move, Arik came and led
What comes is death, burning and destruction.
Speaking of which, the people in this village should know the news of the Russian attack. Arik interrogated the people whose lives were bypassed, and then learned that the guy running from the north was indeed preaching that "murderers from the sea destroyed the village." As a result, this
People spread the terrible news wildly, threatening that the next village of Lukuluye would suffer. The angry villagers did not believe this at all, so they gave the fugitive a piece of cheese and kicked him in the butt with a boot to drive him away.
The sea breeze dispersed the thick smoke that burned the village. The residents of Lukuluye failed to see the danger signal and missed the opportunity to escape.
After Arik once again let go of the villagers who spared their lives, he led his brothers to live in a quiet village. By the next day, a fire was ignited in Lukuluye, killing all the cattle and sheep, and even the animals were about to mature.
The oats were also deliberately set on fire under his instructions.
The ground was littered with dead bodies of humans and animals, and the continuous tragic scenes even made many executioners feel uncomfortable.
Some people suffered from mental problems due to excessive killing, and they roared at the sky and bared their teeth and claws.
Others want to leave this uncomfortable area quickly, because this is not the battle they want, and it is not honorable to kill someone who is unprepared.
Arik decided to continue plundering, and a soldier admonished him: "Boss, we are really close to Visby. The Duke is looking forward to a decisive battle with them, we..."
Arik, who was leading the march with high spirits, was really impatient: "What? Do you want to be a coward? Or do you plan to follow me to meet those idiots in Visby?"
Listening to this, Arik wanted to take a mere fifty lightly-armed soldiers to do meat reconnaissance.
Meat detective, that's not a good job.
Isn't it agreed upon? The job of testing the enemy's army is to be left to the hundreds of tool men of the Mellaren mercenaries.
Why do the most elite Rus warriors have to take this unworthy job?
"Boss, the Duke said that the army will set off in five days. We are already on the fourth day. Our brothers have gone too far. We really should go back early."
Hearing this, Arik stopped suddenly. He turned around and stared at everyone with a pair of sharp eagle eyes: "What? Are you afraid? I led you to beat the Gotlanders at sea, and now I have boarded their damn...
Island, you are actually timid now?"
At this moment, no one spoke, and everyone could hear only Arik's criticism and rumors.
"Shut up now! I said, there must be no mercy. We want to give the enemy fear. Now follow me and attack the next village. Remember, no mercy."
The so-called no mercy means not even sparing the egg-laying hens raised by the villagers.
Arik's actions have gone beyond ordinary pirates. He came here to kill and destroy. Wherever he passed, there was only a piece of scorched earth.
On this day, he led his troops to capture a village called Bridge Village. It was in this village that Ross's raiding team, which was attacking along the stream, saw a small plank bridge, and the village got its name.
But this battle was completely unexpected.
The team seemed to have entered a deserted village, but the village was by no means abandoned.
The alert Arik walked into a house. He stuck his sword on the ground and knelt down to explore the charcoal residue from the fire. He was shocked to find that the deep charcoal residue was still burning slowly.
The soldier on guard with a crossbow said casually: "Boss, it seems that the enemy has just escaped. Your intimidation plan seems to have been successful."
After careful consideration, Arik stood up, held his sword and ordered: "Burn this village as usual."
"Ah?" The soldier was shocked, "Brothers are very tired after a day of fighting, and now..."
"No! Listen to my order and burn quickly. The enemy hasn't run far, we will catch up and kill them."
No one could resist Arik's temper. The houses in Qiao Village were on fire, and the fire was even more terrifying under the setting sun.
Just to the west of Qiao Village is another mound with an altitude of 60 meters. From the geographical perspective of Qiao Village, it is only 30 meters tall.
Arik led the tired soldiers to climb up in the dim light. Finally, when the stars were shining brightly, the soldiers spent the night on the hill.
The tired warrior soon saw a horrifying sight. It shocked Arik, who was also tired, as if he had drank several barrels of coffee. Looking at the dense firelight not far away, he really couldn't sleep.
Standing here, there is a faint salty smell in the air. There are stars in the sky, and the firelight underground is also like stars.
The sleepy soldiers leaned against the pine trees one after another, their bodies trembling uncontrollably.
A soldier approached Arik and said, "Is this Visby? We couldn't see clearly from the previous mound. We didn't expect Visby to be like this."
"Boss, look at the number of their bonfires as dense as stars. They really have a lot of troops. The decisive battle in the future will be really tricky."
The unruly Aric was frightened for a moment. He gritted his teeth and blamed himself for having such a stupid idea.
Thinking again of the battle deeds in the south told by his brother Rurik, in order to confuse and intimidate the enemies of Borgholm, the Swedish army deliberately lit a large number of bonfires.
"This is the enemy's conspiracy." Arik said sternly: "How can there be so many of them? They are deceiving us, making our army think that Visby has more troops and be scared to leave the island. Haha, we can't be fooled.
"
This was a reasonable explanation, and the brothers believed it to be true.
In short, it should not and is impossible to loot at night. After several days of marching and fighting, each warrior killed ten enemies. Oh, if the screaming woman can be considered a "dangerous warrior". Killed so many
People simply accompanied Arik to take revenge. So far, only five of the Russians have suffered minor injuries. This result is also due to the fact that the so-called enemies are not warriors at all.
Standing on this low mound, the Russians could vaguely see the dark sea in the distance under the night. After four days and nights of marching, they finally penetrated the entire island.
The Russians did not light a fire. After eating some cooked mutton, they curled up in their cloaks on the withered grass and fell asleep.
Arik hugged his two swords and rested against the pine tree with his eyes closed.
The world to the west of the mound is a little red and shiny, that is the Burning Bridge Village!
This special spectacle was like a warning horn, giving a slap in the face to everyone staying in Visby Port and its surroundings - it's the Russians! The damned Russians are coming!
From where Arik rested to the sea, the straight-line distance was only seven kilometers. He regarded the large number of bonfires as evidence that enemy soldiers were camping. How could this be true?
He and most of the soldiers subconsciously believed that a decisive battle between the two armies was inevitable. Now that the Russians were well prepared, Gotland's main force should also be assembled.
He subconsciously thought that the Gotland army would be assembled quickly, and a circle of soldiers would have to sit around those dense fires.
However, those sitting around the campfire were all villagers, or refugees, who were confused about the future.
These people are from the north of the island.
Just a few days ago, White Sands Port was destroyed by a powerful Russian army. All those who had no time to escape must have died.
The early escapers who were scolded as cowards took the land route and informed nearby villages, which caused a chain reaction. In all five villages in the northern part of the island, the villagers brought their families, cattle and sheep, and even the chickens that laid eggs.
Stuffed into wooden cages, people subconsciously gathered towards Visby, the largest settlement, hoping that one person would be more powerful.
However, in villages like Qiao Village, villagers not only encountered refugees fleeing from Lukuluje, but also saw strong smoke rising from the village.
The villagers climbed over the hills with their cattle and sheep and rushed to Visby as quickly as possible to avoid the disaster. As for the fate of the oats they planted, they really couldn't care less.
A large number of refugees appeared around Visby, with the total number close to 2,000. This is because not only people from the north of the island, but also people from some villages in the south of the island learned about the invasion of the Russian army from tribesmen who went to Visby to sell sheepskins.
Horrible news.
A fishing port named Clintholm is home to as many as 2,000 people. All the residents actively go north either by boat or by land.
The two brothers Rurik and Arik both accomplished their purpose of creating fear on the island.
Residents of most of the settlements on the island are gathering towards Visby, while a few people are leaving the island by boat to avoid disaster.
Visby's population rapidly increased to 11,000 people, which has exceeded the settlement's carrying capacity. As a last resort, a large number of refugees had to be stationed in the outer areas in original villages. The village leaders hurriedly went to Visby.
The meeting room (thing) listened to the gathering of twelve large business families who had not suffered any losses.
Just as a group of noble people were quarreling over the issue of peace or war over the Russian invasion, a faint red light suddenly lit up in the east covered by the mounds east of Visby.
The quarrel in the council chamber has come to an end. Whether it is the war faction (willing to continue to surrender to the Danish forces) or the peace faction (who suddenly defected and returned to the arms of the Svea Tribe Alliance), they are spontaneously recruiting mercenaries and encouraging men.
When I picked up the weapons, I also decided to send someone to take a look early in the morning.
Of course, they didn't know that Ross's scouts were on the mound.
As they stare into the abyss, the abyss stares into them...