Rise of Rurik

The Russ finally, under the leadership of Rurik, officially started the first step in the development of the chrome mine. The huge team carried a large number of mining tools and stormed the primitive boreal pine forest.

Only a small number of Rus warriors and Corvins remained to further build Fort Elronorava.

Rurik even ordered all his subordinates, and even the "apprentice blacksmiths" who obeyed Kawei and Kamne, not counting the children of the Iron Pine tribe, there were as many as seventy armed children in total. They took up metal spears and axes, and armed with many short wooden bows and iron clusters. Rurik also regarded this trip as a very important field training, training for his little warriors.

Children have no right to quit the team because of exhaustion, they have to deal with all the obstacles in the zipper road, even if a group of beasts appear in front of them, they must take up arms and fight.

Hunting, to hunt huge beasts, is the training of warriors.

It seemed a bit Spartan, and Rurik felt that his opponents were still too kind; they were after all twenty-five crossbow-wielding mercenaries. With more than 80 elite Ross soldiers under the protection, what danger could there be?

Looking at the smiling faces of the children, Rurik was no longer worried.

He even looked forward to the road to the mines, where he could encounter a large number of bears or deer along the way. Hunting them was training soldiers, and the meat they hunted could also improve everyone's food.

It is the Rus people who maintain a huge team, and once the general beasts are aware of it, they will run away immediately.

Rurik had few illusions about the surprises along the way.

At the beginning, everyone was talking and laughing, and gradually some people became tired.

Most of the snow in the forest has melted, and the pair of feet on the soft pine-needle cushions have encountered some resistance.

Fortunately, the low-rise mine is just ahead, and what is different from seeing it in winter is that in the hot sun, there are a lot of gray-white rocks on the mine, which are completely different from the color of the snow, but also It stands out in the dark green forest.

Small hills of this type are not uncommon in the region, and they would not have been of any interest to artisans who were not highly sensitive to smelting. If you are interested, it is also mining stone to build a house, that's all.

In fact, the entire hill is an uplift of rock extruded by geological movements. The gray-white granite is wrapped in a chromite vein, and the vein is directly exposed to the air. Mining ores itself is not laborious, the most important thing is how to handle them.

For Kawi and his group of ten-year-old men, they could only persist in the jungle. These children carry a burlap sack,

There was also an axe-shaped iron chisel scraped at the waist, and the task they were given was to excavate the quarry and find a way to transport it away.

There are no roads here, let alone waterways leading directly under the hills.

In response to this situation, in the development of mines in most countries, those ores are either carried out by humans, or they are employed by ponies, donkeys, and the like.

"Maybe we should chop down some trees, dig out the roots, and create a road. Bring the reindeer too, make some vehicles, and a sleigh for winter, and then use the reindeer to pull the ore..."

Kawi had this idea, and it just so happened that Rurik also deliberately cut a path in the forest.

The team walked for about three kilometers, the hills were getting closer and closer, and everyone sat on the "pine needle mats" that were already quite dry under the dense forest to take a break.

Everyone drank water while holding their stomach water bags filled with river water, and some people ate some dried fish to replenish their strength.

Rurik sat quietly with his back against a big tree. His pounding heart proved that this trip was clearly an “expedition” that required a lot of energy.

Kawi approached with purpose, and then sat beside Rurik casually.

"Are you alright?"

"Well, walking in the forest is tiring. We have a thick layer of pine needles under our feet, and I feel wobbly walking."

"Then clear the pine needles, and cut down a bunch of trees. We'll have to set foot on hard land," Rurik said, panting.

"You look very tired?"

"I have a little."

"Then find someone to carry you for a ride, Rurik, you are a leader, but before you really become a man, you are still a child."

Child, a child's body really lacks strength. Rurik glanced at the real children beside him, and compared to them, it seemed that he was really weak.

In fact, this is also normal. The Carlotta sisters are always in passive "sports", they are running most of the time of each day, especially in their hometown of Ostara, they are the granddaughters of the leader. Also labor. And the Terravis brothers and sisters, they are basically little hunters in the forest, and they are most familiar with the current environment.

All the Rus talked about the discomfort of walking on pine needles during their rest time, and that walking wobbly was like being drunk.

Those Kewen people didn't care at all. They have been adapted to the land of pine needles since ancient times, and they knew how to shoot smart squirrels with bows and arrows in such an environment.

Rurik rejected Kawi's suggestion and said casually: "When we settle down, I will find a way to build a road. I will cut down trees, remove pine needles, and cover the road with gravel. Yes! We will do it now. !"

After all, the current construction of the Rus people requires a lot of wood, and Rurik quickly gathered a group of tribal warriors who were not tired and full of strength. He ordered everyone to start logging immediately. Under the roar of everyone, more than a dozen strong men who manipulated the forest axe took action, and the forest was quickly shocked.

The big tree rumbled down, and the shaking of the earth completely disturbed Mechasta's thoughts.

This Corvin man in his thirties hurried to Rurik and complained, "Master, I saw you send someone to cut wood. Originally, my men had already aimed at the squirrels, but now they have all escaped."

"What? And squirrels?"

Rurik was stunned on the spot, and then his face showed joy, and then he asked: "Did you really see a squirrel?"

"It's true, that's what we do for a living."

The Elon Orava Fort under construction is already in the Arctic Circle. The area is too cold. Rurik subconsciously thinks that only ferrets can survive here, and squirrels can't stand such low temperatures. It seems that he was wrong.

"It's unbelievable that we can catch squirrels in the future."

"And bears!" Mechasta's wide eyes revealed inexhaustible longing. "If there are squirrels, there must be bears and wolves. This is how my hometown is, and it must be the same here."

"Oh, then I'll borrow your auspicious words."

Rurik wanted to perfunctory, but Mechasta was serious. Looking at the sharp look in his eyes, Rurik felt that this guy was in a pine forest and had already entered the "working state" of a hunter. The Kewen people have a high pursuit of shooting their prey with a bow, which seems to be a cry from the depths of their genes.

"Master, I heard that you are going to cut wood to create a road. But I am more worried about encountering bears. You should make men vigilant. In the past, when we encountered bears, single hunters were kept away. Now we have many people and... Your amazing weapon. We should take the initiative to find the bear and kill it."

Even if Mechasta did not say anything about this matter, Rurik was intentionally taking the initiative to hunt bears.

But he realized from this person's words how much Mechasta wanted to find an excuse to vent his suffocation for months. Mechasta even felt that he needed to lead the few men in the tribe to complete the bear hunt in order to flatter the new master and ask for credit.

"What do you want to do?" Rurik asked.

"Master, I am a hunter. For some reason, I always feel that we will encounter bears on this trip, and I recommend immediate action."

Does he really have the sixth sense of a hunter? I'm afraid this experience-based feeling is real.

The more he said that, the more Rurik felt that it was a high probability that he would encounter a bear on this trip. what! If you hunt ten or twenty, it will be a huge profit!

Rurik generally trusted Mechasta, and since he controlled all the female relatives of the Kowen people, the remaining men really only had to show their strength.

Mechasta was willing to be the vanguard officer of the expedition, and after Rurik agreed, he dispatched ten mercenaries under his command to follow him with a wound crossbow.

When the team finished resting, the 30-person vanguard led by Mechasta quickly advanced to the front of the team. They seemed to have disappeared, at least Rurik's naked eyes could not find the trail of the pioneers from the cracks in the forest trunks.

Mechasta and others did not run far, they were about 400 meters in front of Rurik's main force. The forest has obscured their light and shadow, but good hunters can easily know from the pine needles they have stepped on that they have come.

Even if they became slaves of the Rus people, Mechasta and his men took a deep breath when they met the armed Rus soldiers.

Now, the men of the Iron Squirrel Tribe can finally transform their marching staff with iron blades, plus Mechasta's own twenty people who carry short wooden bows and hold short spears in both hands.

Ordinary people listened to their leader. The leader said that there must be bears in front of them.

Because in the past bear hunting operations in his hometown, Mechasta's prediction was always correct, but even if a bear was found, it would be a huge risk to his life to complete a hunt. It was their inferior weapons that once weakened the bear-hunting efficiency of the Kowens.

This time, things changed.

During the three months of living in Roseburg, plus the time he spent in contact with the Rus in his hometown, Mechasta was forced to learn the common language of the Varyags, so that he could speak with the Rus on behalf of his tribe in the future. condition.

He knew a part of common vocabulary in daily life. Since this operation can be described as fighting side by side, he boldly asked the accompanying mercenaries in Norse.

what! As long as they saw the crossbow in their hands, Mechasta thought of the fear of being dominated by it, as well as the shame of being trapped within the walls of the mountain fort and could only be beaten passively.

Mechasta wanted to have the weapon that had shot and killed his tribe so that his tribe could become stronger.

But he estimated that he was unable to use the weapons of the Rus.

He still wanted to try it, but what he didn't think was that a crossbow-wielding Rus would be willing to lend his weapon.

"Ah! Brave warrior, you really allow me to..."

The mercenary didn't have a tangled attitude. He charged and taught Mechasta how to wind a crossbow with a winch, how to mount an arrow, and how to shoot. Because the mercenaries' understanding of Rurik's order is that in this operation, Mechasta will be the commander of the team. They were mercenaries and naturally had no prejudice against the Kowens, so they simply regarded Mechasta as the hunting commander. Then the request made by the commander, the mercenary needs to be supported.

Until this moment, an unprecedented feeling had invaded Mechasta's mind. What terrified the strong man in his thirties was that he could not imagine how sophisticated the weapons of the Rus could be.

He didn't test fire against a tree for the first time, it was unnecessary. And based on the professional habits of his hunters, when the so-called hunting state is entered, no hunter can waste his arrows arbitrarily, because, "you will always feel that you lack arrows".

Mechasta ordered his men to line up in a large wall, with hunters either carrying short spears or iron clusters of arrows on their bows. In fact, the distance between each person is nearly 30 meters, and the situation has really turned into a "Kewen-style forest hunting". After the so-called increase of the search area, as long as one person finds a large prey, he will scream or eat directly. Whistle, everyone gathered and swarmed to complete the hunt. After all, when it comes to hunting a bear, a single person will die, and it takes more than ten people to be foolproof.

Mechasta held the crossbow of the Russ, and after further inquiries, he realized that it was only now that the personal soldiers around Rurik, and the archers who were desperately shooting arrows at his mountain fortress, were not Russ at all!

They were mercenaries, people who regularly worked for Rurik by receiving silver coins and food.

After learning the truth, Mechasta didn't want to say anything. After all, he had heard many things. For example, in the southern Finns, some people actively or passively worked for the Varyags. Those who defected to the Varyags will even stand on the Varyag's position and come to disturb their hometown.

For example, the Finn Yevlo, the mercenary captain of Rurik, is also the most vicious short man on the battlefield, that guy is a Finn!

"Now, Yevlo and I are the same. My clansmen also stand on the side of the Rus." Thinking of this, Mechasta was actually a little relieved. The most powerful enemy he has ever known is none other than the Rus people, and now he has nothing to fear, including the presence of a large number of bears in front of him, he is also fearless.

The vanguards were all strong men, and they were much faster than most of the women and children.

They are getting closer and closer to the mine, and the woods here are getting more and more sparse.

After the field of vision finally widened, the hunters scanned the hills with almost eagle eyes.

Is there a saying called what? Luck comes, what you really want can come!

Bear! Bears are haunted! The bear is there!

Those were some white-yellow wriggling individuals that seemed to be chomping down on something.

There are at least ten bears on that low hillside! Such a scene, Mechasta has lived for more than 30 years, and he really has seen it for a long time, and it has completely subverted his three views.

"What's going on? Bears who always meet and fight, why have they become peaceful? Why?"

The mercenary who lent the crossbow couldn't understand Mechasta's muttering, so he urged in Norse language: "Fight! Now. We are going to present a gift to the master."

Mechasta immediately woke up, he only saw the pomp of bear hunting in his eyes, and even ignored that almost all the members of the expedition he sent were killed here, all by the Rus.

It's just that Feng Shui turns around, and in just over four months, the two ethnic groups actually fought side by side.

Mechasta gave an order: "Brothers, let's go! Shoot with bows and arrows, and stab dead bears with spears, just like we did in our hometown."

The men of the Iron Squirrel Tribe began to move. They stood out from the forest and began to form a relatively tight hunting party. Everyone kept their mouths shut and said nothing.

The mercenaries followed closely behind, holding crossbows waiting to shoot from a suitable distance.

The fur of polar bears reflects sunlight, and they turn into a beautiful yellow-white color, but when they raise their heads, they reveal red and black mouths, which is very abnormal, but Mechasta doesn't care.

The bears, either relying on their stature or simply the danger of unknown people, raised their heads and took no action.

Suddenly, there was a sharp swish in the air.

In just a moment, a bear fell down with the screams. It struggled to get up and continued to roar, but it was completely paralyzed after walking a few steps.

It's a crossbow! The salvo routine used by mercenaries is an instant and extremely easy way to complete a kill.

A mere bearskin, how can it block the penetration of the pointed crossbow arrows fired by the steel-arm crossbow?

Mechasta watched the bear's sudden death eagerly. When he was shocked, he immediately used the trick given to him by the mercenary. He aimed at the dazed polar bear and pulled the delicate trigger.

It was this arrow. He Mechasta was still a European after all. The arrow happened to hit the bear's eye at a very fast speed, and then destroyed the bear's mind. Just pulling the trigger lightly, A ferocious bear dies? !

In the ecstasy, Mechasta had forgotten to rewind the string, and he rushed over to check his victory.

However, when he stood in front of the faintly cramping corpse, he saw a terrifying scene. Not only did he get nauseated, but he was simply suppressed by reason and did not vomit.

The bear was eating a piece of slightly smelly carrion. Further identification, the so-called carrion is clearly a human being!

Like a thunderbolt hitting his head!

The crossbow in his hand fell on the ground involuntarily. Mechasta was no longer willing to hunt other bears. He suddenly knelt on the ground and screamed in horror.

Just because this corpse is his clan, a member of the expedition he personally dispatched!

Unexpectedly, after a good hunter died, it became food for bears. Now, Mechasta is no longer excited about his perfect shot. He feels that he is taking revenge! For bears, he has more hatred!

He suddenly raised his head and shouted: "Brothers! All the bears! Kill them all!"