The follow-up troops of the Russian Army finally arrived, dragging a long queue.
With a calm face, Rurik brought the main subordinate commanders and a group of soldiers to meet his father with thirty captured raven-pattern shields.
He especially showed off the captured shield: "Dad, we defeated the enemy. You see, this is our key capture."
"Huh? Odin's warrior? Did you kill him?" Otto saw the raven pattern and couldn't help but take a step back in surprise.
"They are Danish mercenaries raised by the Gotlanders, and they are also their most elite warriors."
"Oh? Good job!" Otto laughed, "Come on, let me see if you are injured?"
"Of course not." Rurik still had a serious face. He snapped his fingers, and more than a dozen blond men with bare hands came over and half-knelt in front of Otto.
"What...what's going on? These people..."
"They are Danes," Rurik said calmly.
"Danes? It's amazing. Are the Danes fighting us? And you didn't kill them."
"No need, these people are very useful to us."
"Okay. Tell me, what's their use?"
"They know the situation in Visby." After saying that, Rurik kicked Grund in the back, who was kneeling on one knee.
At this time, Grund finally raised his head and faced a bearded "old warrior" who reported his identity, and then explained his appeal: "Our old sponsor ordered us to fight the Russians. This is the last step."
Ridiculous decision. So on the battlefield, we resisted the determination of our sponsors. Now, we are willing to become your mercenaries and fight for you."
"Your name is Grund? A surrender?" Otto narrowed his eyes and shook his head, "No! You are a prisoner. You fight with a raven shield, and you should fight and die."
A mercenary actually stabbed the financial owner in the back, which really violated professional ethics.
But Grund was very smart, so he deliberately complimented him: "We heard that Rurik of Rus was blessed by Odin, so it is wrong to be enemies of the Rus. We worship Odin's power, so we treat him as Odin."
Fight for your son..."
"Shut up! It's all flattery..." Otto just scolded and did not do anything more drastic. He immediately asked: "I am the Duke of Ross, and you people want to stay and be my warriors. What should I do?
Believe you? Are you worthy of belief?"
"Yes! I know the inside story of Visby, and I know many more important things. A lot of news about this island, and even news about Denmark."
"Oh? This way your people are indeed useful."
I don’t know where it started, but the Danes and Svealans, who have a common origin, split up. The Baltic Sea is so vast that it cannot tolerate peace between the two sides. Where did the fight between each other start?
Otto has been taught since he was a child that the Danish guys are the ones to be wary of. The Malaren people believe that Danish strength is a threat to the alliance. With the Gotlanders withdrawing from the alliance, Danish forces have become the targets that must be attacked.
During the attack on Kalmar two months ago, Otto himself saw the strength of the Danish warriors. They were a group of unruly guys who would fight to the end for their sponsors.
The dozen or so people in front of him changed his perception.
No matter what, I heard that his son had no intention of arming these people a second time. He already knew his son's deeper intentions.
Firewood was piled into hills, and what was burned inside were human corpses!
The air was filled with a strange burnt smell. To be honest, it was a little fragrant. However, when they thought about what was burning, many people started to retching inexplicably.
Otto did not want to stay here. He learned that among the thousands of men sent out in this battle, not a single one was killed. Such a crazy victory was achieved by his son.
Look at Rurik again, this child is standing on the battlefield, not excited about victory, nor frightened by the large number of corpses.
A calm God of War has come to the world! Thinking about the decisive battle in the future, the losses of the Ross army will be minimal?
Before the expedition, Otto had already made very bad mental preparations. He lost thousands of people in the first battle and achieved a difficult victory. Such a loss is the biggest price the Russians can accept at present. If the losses are more serious, the Russians will need a longer period of time.
As time went dormant, he frantically asked for young women from the Novgorod people in an attempt to restore the lost population after more than ten years.
Now it seems that I have worried too much!
The flag troops of Ross returned one after another, and the army formed a rectangular array in the wilderness.
The four banners guarded the core baggage troops, non-combatants, and even the Duke.
As usual, a small group of people acted as a reconnaissance force and rushed to Qiao Village, the destroyed settlement ahead, before nightfall.
A red sun shines in the west, and the world is immersed in a cold dusk.
The cool breeze blew, and everyone felt a sense of coldness.
The flames in Qiao Village have long been extinguished, and the burned-out black pillars silently tell what happened.
Some strange mounds appeared on the burned village. After being identified by Grund and others who led the way, the Ross army learned that one of the mounds was filled with dead Russian soldiers.
Otto's beard was trembled by the cold wind, and the setting sun dyed the world into blood. His ears were filled with the rumble of the wind, like the lament of his soul.
He hurriedly called the injured Arik to his side: "It seems that the leader of the Gotlanders did not destroy the corpses of our soldiers, so that guy has a conscience. Stop venting your anger and torture, give that guy something to eat, and find out
This time will be cut off immediately.”
"Alright alright……"
Arik looked at the identified mound and had some good ideas about the foul-mouthed Sigfast.
Otto then ordered: "Go, take your brothers and dig up the tomb. Burn it according to our custom, and let their souls go to Valhalla."
Arik ordered, and the brothers, who were in a sad mood, dug up the gray corpses of their clansmen and dragged them out one after another.
Black blood flowed from the gray human figures. They died in the battle, and the leather armor on their bodies was still there, but the weapons in their hands were taken away by the enemy. Now these lost steel swords have been taken back by the Russians.
A raging fire ignited in the dim world, and Ross's war dead finally gradually turned into ashes.
In Qiao Village, the Ross army held a sacrifice for these brothers. The soldiers knelt around the fire in circles. They were not only to see off the heroes of the brothers who died in the battle, but also to worship the head of Odin.
Rumia, wearing an antlered helmet, successfully completed this battlefield sacrifice as the high priest.
But the sacrificial activities are not limited to this!
Since there is a decisive battle, where is the best place?
Maybe the open space in Qiao Village is the best.
The army camped here, many people placed their tents near the stream, and a large number of bonfires lit up the darkness of the night.
The soldiers of the Russian army grilled themselves over the fire, ate their own food, and discussed the future battle in multiple languages.
It can be said that the Slavic warriors composed of Novgorod farmers achieved an unprecedented victory that they knew! Medvet became a great hero in the eyes of the villagers. Of course, the son-in-law of the manor owner Rigus left
Rick is indeed a commander worth following for the brothers, even if he is still a child for the time being.
The Slavic warriors began to call for their own battlefield captures, and the extra axes and daggers they grabbed were distributed, and the extra leather boots were thrown to those who had worn out their leather shoes.
After all, they had defeated the enemy together. The two factions of Covins, and the two tribal leaders Mechasta and Kejas, were now comrades eating meat over a campfire.
The soldiers of the Ross tribe, which has the largest number of troops, all talk about hoping that the decisive battle will come soon. After all, the dried fish and dried mutton in their hands are not delicious. When the army defeats the enemy's main force and then robs Visby, then the brothers can
Eat fresh meat with an open stomach.
A bonfire burned fiercely, and Rurik ate the mutton jerky. He prepared an extra portion for Rumia, who was supervising the construction of the stone altar, to come back and give it to her.
Sitting here are Otto, Rurik and all the local nobles of the Rus tribe. They are the core of the army.
However, there is an uninvited guest sitting here, the Danish Grund.
Soon, Rumia came back after washing her hands. She returned with the antlered helmet in her arms and sat next to Rurik naturally.
Unexpectedly, the Russian priest actually had a strange flat face. This...
Grund was taken aback. He paused speaking and looked directly at Rumia.
"What are you looking at? Danes, keep talking about Visby!" Otto scolded.
"She...is actually your priest? She is the most noble one."
"Does this have anything to do with you?" Otto continued to scold.
Rumia was really shocked. She hurriedly took Rurik's arm, took the dried meat Rurik handed her, and ate it with her head down.
Not only does she have a flat face, but she also has black hair. Who is she?
Suddenly it dawned on Grund that this woman was actually a deer herder.
What is the reason why a deer herder can prosper among the Russians? If they can do this, why can't they do the same?
Grund immediately turned his head and continued to report the details of Visby.
What he reported was mainly the normal population size of the large settlement on the bay, and the fact that due to the pressure of the Northern Alliance's military operations and the invasion of the Ross army, people from settlements large and small on the west coast of the island were gathering towards Visby.
This is a big deal.
He reported a shocking thing: "The number of people gathered in Visby has exceeded 10,000! You defeated Sigfast's 500 people, but Visby can still pull out a team of 5,000 people."
"So many people? It's really..." The enemy's strength exceeded Otto's expectation.
Seeing his father's eyes trembling timidly, Rurik hurriedly interjected and questioned: "Five thousand people? Five thousand people out of ten thousand people? They are only five thousand men in total! Are they letting babies join the battle?"
"Boys who are at least ten years old will definitely go to the battlefield. Just like what you did." Grund's words were not concealed. He just saw that Ross's army did have a size of 3,000 people, but there were actually a group of boys and girls among them.
He was making up the numbers. He really didn't know what the operation was. He thought that for this battle, the Russians wanted to gamble the last strength of the tribe.
Following this line of thought, Grund hurriedly said: "Not only will they send all men who can afford weapons, but also many women to the battlefield. Those wealthy people in Visby, their lifelong industry is here. They will not
They will run away, but spend money to recruit people who dare to fight to protect their interests. Those ordinary people, they will fight tooth and nail to defend their homes."
Otto shook his head contemptuously: "That's a group of businessmen? I don't believe that businessmen will really fight hard. They will run away with their money. Let's talk about some practical issues. What kind of equipment do Visby's warriors have?
Many Danes like you?”
"Yes, but not many. We Danes only make money as mercenaries here."
"Okay, tell me what the weapons of the Visby people are like?" Otto urged.
I saw the powerful crossbows of the Russians, the strict tactical configuration of the team, and the tactical anticipation of ambushes from the rear. These Russian troops not only have excellent weapons, but are also particularly good at using tactics. On the other hand, the Gotlanders, Visby said bluntly
A blunt explanation: "What equipment can they have? Oak shields, iron swords, various axes, large harpoons for hunting whales, iron flails for beating wheat bran, and wooden staffs for driving sheep. They have some archers,
They are completely incomparable to yours, and the number is very small. Some people can use slings, but it must be of no use. They just have more people, and when fighting, they form a shield wall to attack you."
"That's it?" Otto burst into laughter upon hearing this, and others laughed as well.
Originally, Rurik wanted to advise everyone to be more cautious, but after thinking about it carefully, what Grund said should be the truth.
On the way through the wilderness, the first thousand men he led did indeed kill more than 400 enemies without any loss. It is said that they were already a very elite force of the Gotlanders, and they did fight as a group.
He held up his wooden shield and moved forward like an idiot.
This is just a group fighting tactic. To be honest, this tactic is still better organized than the so-called armies in Britain. They at least spontaneously maintain a fighting unit.
For example, the armies of Wessex, Mercia and Northumbria, their armored warriors charged with roars, followed by a group of barefoot farmers holding dung forks to fight against the wind. The only thing they were proud of was not that they were Welsh.
Those long archers are just a small group of cavalry. Of course, they are still a purely land-based country.
However, in this Nordic world, the Ross army and this group of people are not playing a game of chess! The Ross army really explains what organization is.
Thinking of this, Rurik also laughed, thinking that victory in the decisive battle was certain! Even if there were five thousand enemies, they were just a mob. Rurik didn't believe they could really gather five thousand people! Especially for the ancient army, the strength and combat effectiveness
, in many cases it is a diminishing margin. The more troops there are, the more people will be fishing.
If the Gotlanders were gathering in an emergency, would they have any strict organizational structure? Bah!
On the other hand, the Russians! Rurik, as a commander, could judge the battle status of each flag unit under his command with just the naked eye, and then send messengers to deliver the latest instructions in real time.
Can Visby's soldiers do these operations?
Including Grund, who reported information about Visby, after witnessing the strength of the Ross army at close range, he could say without flattery that the Ross army would win.
There were some violent revelations that Grund had been holding back. He did this just to tell them at a critical moment, so as to save himself and his brothers' lives.
Until now, he has not explained the king-proclaiming incident in Visby!
The time should be ripe now.
Grund tried to calm down and made a special plea: "There are some extremely important things that I would like to explain to you. For the sake of Odin, I hope that after I tell you these important things, you can swear to save the lives of our brothers."
The Ross elites present couldn't stand the feeling of being titillated. Aric was so angry that he almost drew his sword, and cursed and urged Grund to speak faster.
"Quiet." Otto stopped his son and immediately ordered: "Grund, as long as you and your people don't rebel, your lives will be protected by me. Say it!"
"Yes! It's about the king of Visby. A big businessman named Haken. He was elected as king by all the merchant families and village leaders. He is the king of the Gotlanders, and he is determined to fight you."
This is indeed a shocking news, but no one is surprised.
"What is this?" Rurik felt a little ridiculous, "Of course the Gotlanders have to elect a leader to lead all the warriors to fight us. Are they just electing a king now? Is this important news? I can only say
Their simplicity is good, so what we are fighting is not a group of armed fishermen charging in chaos."
Grund felt frustrated. He said coldly with a dull face: "So, our old financial lord Siegfast is the eldest son of Haken and the heir to the throne. Now, that guy is captured by you.
.”
"What? That guy is actually a prince?!" Arik was shocked.
Also shocked was Otto, who urgently ordered Arik: "We almost killed a noble man. Arik, quickly order your people to stop and don't kill him."
"Damn it! I'm afraid I won't have enough time!" Arik stood up in a hurry and ran to stop the execution of the guys.