Chapter 253: Suspected enemy of Tavastia

In fact, the river that the Ross people cross is the so-called Tornio River, which originates from Lake Torna in the Norwegian ridge. This so-called Lake Torna is the source of many rivers such as the Gulf of Bothnia, and a westward river originating from it flows into the Narvik Fjord in Norway.

A Norwegian tribe named Balmerk is now the master of Narvik Fjord.

But so far, even if the distance between the two tribes in space is not very far, and even the two sides can complete the land connection along the existing river, the two sides still do not know the other's existence.

The Ross people don't know the existence of the Balmerks, but the Balmerks are not fools willing to hide in the fjord. They are actively looking for external business opportunities. The locals began to set their sights on Britain in the distance, and also set their sights on the east of the mountains.

The formidable Balmerks have begun to have a gradual and lively business relationship with some "commercial partners" in Shan Dongfang. The scale of this so-called commercial activity is still too small, and it will hardly interfere with the lives of the deer breeders in this area.

Therefore, the Balmerks may know that there is a Ruth tribe of the Mind Sub-Tribal Alliance, and they do not know the clear position of the Rus.

Otto led his tribe to finally enter a new field that the fishermen did not explore, and everyone settled in a forest.

It seems that this will be another day to spend the night in the cold snow.

However, those hunters who set up tripnet traps in the dark, expect to try to catch precious ferrets in unknown places, but they perceive the mysterious light that appears in the distance.

what is that? It's a bonfire!

An experienced hunter is extremely sensitive to flames. He has concluded from experience that it is an artificially lit bonfire and has nothing to do with starlight and moonlight.

And there is more than one bonfire.

What exactly is it? Is it a camp for deer breeders? Or an unknown enemy? !

The hunters had no idea of ​​setting up traps. They ran back to their camp and rushed to Otto's warm sleeping nest to convey this amazing discovery.

"Your eyes are okay? If you lie about the news, I will punish you." Otto seriously questioned.

"Oh! Great leader, I dare to swear to the Valkyrie, my eyes are normal." The hunter also responded solemnly.

Otto continued to ask: "Are there many campfires?"

"It's true. Maybe the deer-raiser at that time, maybe the mysterious enemy in the prophecy..."

"Shut up! Brothers." Otto's eyes widened under the night moon, and he suddenly drew out his saber. "The high priest's prophecy has come true. Listen, I understand the deer breeders. They won't openly ignite them. The bonfire, because that will scare the deer! It must be an unknown enemy, a powerful enemy. Brothers, the aurora is in the sky! The opportunity to prove that you are a powerful warrior to the Valkyrie is here, brothers, follow me!"

Otto forgot his exhaustion for a moment, and there is nothing that excites the old guy more than fighting.

His men are like evil wolves smelling blood.

Many people in their sleep were awakened, and those who suddenly awakened with a hint of breath, but learned that the fateful battle finally came, one by one stood up quickly.

The originally quiet camp suddenly became noisy.

Otto poured himself a sip of spirits, and then threw the bottle to one of his subordinates at will. He was wiping his face vigorously with the snow that was available everywhere, and desperately twisted his lion-like head: "It's time that that stinky kid got out."

Otto stood in front of Rurik's snow nest tent, violently opened the linen roof and jumped in.

Rurik was caught in his sleep, and was slapped twice by Otto himself.

He was a little confused, why was he slapped in the face by his father?

"Are you still awake? My child! The battle has begun. This is your first battle!"

"The first battle? The battle has begun?"

"Wake up immediately!" Otto roared, threw his son directly on the snow, and continued to yell: "Be prepared, we are going to fight."

With this beating, plus the pain in his face, Rurik realized the seriousness of the matter. He felt that the unknown enemy had attacked in large numbers, but when he stood up after Lumia's pull, what he saw were tribal warriors rectified and equipped under Xueye.

What about the enemy?

Rurik looked around, and there was obviously no trace of the enemy in the grove of the hiding place.

At that glance, Rurik felt that Otto suddenly became very strange, like a violent lion, lost the depth of an old man in the past, and became a complete militant.

Look at what Otto is doing now! The entire camp is busy for the old leader.

And this kind of Otto is also what Rurik wants to be.

After a while, Yevlo, who was also given the order of battle, ran up to his real master, Lurik, with a ticket of mercenaries under his command.

"What the **** happened? Where is our enemy?" Rurik asked anxiously.

Yevlo pointed his hand to the east: "It's over there. The hunter claimed that there were a lot of bonfires on the east side of the frozen river."

"Is it an enemy? Is it a deer breeder?"

"This... I'm sorry, the leader didn't disclose more information." Yevlo said regretfully.

Lumia, who realized that something was wrong at the moment, stared at her owner with a serious look: "It is definitely not a deer breeder. Deer breeders will not rashly expose their situation with a bonfire. Moreover, deer are somewhat afraid of fire."

"Not a deer breeder? That's a Finn." Rurik said the word "finn" without even thinking about it.

Jeflo immediately denied: "My master, my hometown is in the south. With all due respect, you can't meet Finns in this area."

"Not a Finn? How could it not be a Finn?" Rurik was very surprised.

Although Rurik knew the basic geography of the Nordic world, he knew very little about the Nordic ethnic pattern in the ninth century. In fact, the so-called Finns in a narrow sense are the indigenous people living along the coastline in the geographical location of Helsinki.

Because of this, sometimes fishermen who have turned into pirates attacked the indigenous settlements along the coast, and sometimes it was the indigenous people who came to open their hometowns and seek development on the western part of the sea.

The Finns are what they call themselves. Most of the time, the Viking tribes inhabited by Sve Aran simply call them "people from the east" in general.

Jeflo insisted that it was not a Finn, and he also proposed a possibility: "Maybe the unknown enemy is a Tavastia."

Tavastians? Rurik heard the name for the first time. He hurriedly asked Lumia, but he did not think that Lumia claimed to have heard of the name.

"Do you remember what happened in the past?" Rurik asked Evlo seriously.

"I still vaguely remember that even if I forget the faces of my parents, I will never forget that the Tavastias are also our enemies."

Rurik couldn't think of it, is there a tribe in Northern Europe that can fight better than the Vikings? This Tavastian, according to Jevlo's description, is definitely not a Viking.

So, who are they?

Regardless of their strange names, Rurik believes that this group of people is one of the ancestors of modern Finns after a millennium.

After trying to understand these things, Rurik hurriedly ordered: "Jeflo. Order my brothers to prepare for battle, and you all follow me. Especially you, you must tell my father all your speculations."

Most of the fighters of the Ross tribe only had a short nap, and had to get up again. After finishing all their equipment and eating some hard wheat cakes and dried meat, they dragged the sled and moved on in the cold snowy night. .

This time, Rurik also had to walk close to his father's side.

What about Jeflo?

Although Rurik was a little bit reluctant, the mercenaries he raised were ordered by Otto to be the vanguard of the team. For getting such an arrangement, Jeflo felt it was an opportunity to become famous.

Jeflo had already informed Otto of his guess that the person who lit a large number of bonfires was more likely to be the Tavastians who went north to hunt.

Otto had never heard of the so-called Tavastias, and he even knew very little about the Finns. He felt that Jeflo, who was not so strong in front of him, was a typical Finn. Actually, Jeflo was already Viking and could no longer be called a real Finn.

Through these unproven suspicions, coupled with the report of the hunter, and even Lu Mia further explained the living habits of the deer breeders.

Otto summed up all the information, and he got some conclusions. Who is the so-called igniting the campfire? They are definitely hunters! Since they are hunters, they must have plenty of leather on hand.

It was fate that caused the two races to meet, and the prediction was very clear, and this battle was inevitable.

The Rosses dragged the sled army through the forest. They couldn't talk about the formation, just a large group of people gathered together in a loud voice.

Otto's idea is also very simple. Now that the enemy's position is clear, explaining that the army rushes forward, with the powerful combat power of the Ross people, won't it be a big victory in one impact?

In fact, humans are, above all, a nocturnal creature. The large number of rod cells possessed by humans enables humans to act with weak light at night. Especially hunters with rich hunting experience, they are always good at using their night skills to hunt at night.

For this reason, the specially selected pilots of the high-altitude night reconnaissance aircraft can accurately spot the extremely faint cigarette butts on the dark ground, and then judge the position of the enemy's defensive positions.

The faint light of a cigarette **** can be seen, not to mention a large number of bonfires.

After walking for a while, Rurik had to sit on a sledge with Lumia.

Such a son worries Otto a little, how can a good fighter be afraid to attack. Considering that his son is only eight years old, maybe he should not be demanded too much at this age.

The army doesn't know how long it has been through the forest. Even if there are hunters who pass by as guides, many people still worry that they have taken a detour. Until, people can see the bonfire in the distance with their naked eyes.

"Wow! Over there!"

Through the crevices of the snow-covered pine branches, Rurik saw the hills in the distant shadows and a large number of bonfires on the hills.

At this time, any suspicion from the crowd disappeared. Everyone was simmering in their hearts, and they could not wait to rush over immediately, destroy the enemy's camp, and rob all the furs they hunted.

what! The Rusman warrior heard Otto's clamor, and the chatter of hunters along the way, made everyone believe that the so-called mysterious Tavastia who lit the bonfire had hoarded a large amount of leather. Those guys who dared to expose themselves are simply reckless people who get killed.

That's right, it's the law of the dark forest! The Ross people didn't intend to make sense this time.

As the army set foot in a place where the hunters who explored the path never left their footprints, everyone became cautious in their actions until a large icy river blocked their way.

It was another icy river, and the fishermen in the crowd said that they had never explored this place during the warm period.

Facing this big river, Otto stopped unconsciously, and his men also stopped and waited for the leader's order.

Sitting on the sleigh, Rurik, feeling exhausted, reluctantly asked: "Dad, shall we attack right away?"

"You can't wait?" Otto turned his head and glanced at his son, and suddenly asked with interest: "You said, shall we attack right away?"

"I think... I should let everyone rest first."

"Rest? I don't think our warrior is tired."

Otto said so, he actually knew the situation of his subordinates very well. Everyone didn't get a good rest, and they walked a very long way under the snowy night. The warriors must be tired. With such a posture to participate in the battle, Otto had no chance of winning. What's more, look at the location of those bonfires, the army still needs to go a long way.

"I think everyone is very tired." Rurik jumped off the sled and bluntly said that his father himself was drowsy. "Dad, if our people are exhausted fighting, many people will be injured accidentally or even killed in battle. Since we are going to fight, we must be prepared."

"Oh? Unexpectedly you know how to fight?"

"This..." Rurik wanted to be humble. He sensed his father's strange attitude, so he cheered up, "I know how to fight. The prophecy is very clear. This is my first battle."

"Your first battle." Otto smiled and nodded deeply, and then said loudly to the subordinates who were waiting for instructions: "You all heard it! This time, it is our Rurik leading us to fight, and we will surely win A great victory. Now I am determined to follow Rurik's arrangements as we fight."

On the banks of the frozen river, Rurik, who was a little weak in spirit, was suddenly appointed by Otto as the "war leader", the so-called military commander. The chief leader Otto has the right to appoint a member of his tribe to hold this temporary but very important position.

It seems ridiculous that the position fell on the head of a little boy, but it is not. Quite a lot of tribal warriors are looking forward to this day!

Because Otto's aging is obvious Although everyone is reluctant, it is certain that Otto's life is not long. If Rurik, who has been blessed by the gods, can be trusted by everyone as soon as possible, it can bring For the leader of military victory, the last worry of the tribesmen will be gone.

Things became like this, to Otto's surprise, his son didn't have any fear.

Rurik took the initiative to take a sip of the spirits that he ordered to distill, the strong pungent effect on his mind, his whole spirit was shocked.

All the tribesmen present were gathered around by Liuliq under the name of "war leader". He drew out his saber and pulled his throat to suppress the whistling of the north wind.

"Warrior of Ross! Now I am your leader. This is the first battle of my destiny, and I will lead you to victory!"

Immediately, the roaring young people in the team began to roar Rurik's name, and it quickly evolved into everyone's inspiring roar.

When the crowd was naturally quiet, Rurik finally made a strange decision.