Thinking of sending someone to report the news, Otto decided to act immediately.
On a piece of snow, all the deer were tied by their necks, and they couldn't wait to eat the dead grass under the snow.
After Otto and his party set up the camping tent, they quickly gathered together to talk about the next step.
The atmosphere in the crowd was very urgent to go home. Everyone was eager to lie down in a comfortable home as soon as possible, and they also complained that they had too many things to carry around.
Many people are wondering how the deer herders manage hundreds of reindeer with only 19 people.
Haro Zuosen also raised questions: "Chief, our current situation is very bad. Deer still die on the road every day! Maybe you can ask the girl what we can do to stop the deer from dying."
"She couldn't understand us, and we couldn't get any answers." Otto looked regretful about this.
"In this case, your plan may fail, leader."
"If that's the case, it's fate. Although the deer died, the most precious deer skins were kept, so we didn't lose much. Anyway, it's best if the deer herd can be raised and reproduced after they return. If not, it will be the same in the end. The result of skinning and eating meat. But now our problem is that there are too many goods, and we have been out for too long. We must send a group of people back early to report the news."
Otto said, he looked at the people gathered on the left and right, and he was not the only one muttering something to Haro Zuosen.
He asked loudly, "I need some people to go back in advance, as quickly as possible, to tell everyone that we are back. Is anyone willing? Come and fight in front of me!"
There was a lively discussion, and ten people stood up.
They were willing to go back and report the news, but they put forward two conditions.
First, ensure their belongings so that they can travel lightly. Second, action needs to be rewarded.
Otto didn't think much about it, because he was indeed wealthy to a certain extent now.
"Okay! Let the ten of you go. Blow by the north wind, you can slide quickly on the frozen sea, and you may be able to slide home in one day. I will reward you a lot, and each person's reward will be a deerskin."
Otto had nearly seventy deer to death from exhaustion and starvation because he had indeed obtained so many fresh deer hides. His personal sled could no longer hold so much cargo, so many of his cronies were helping him with the escort.
The standard price of each piece of deer skin is a silver coin of good quality. It can be cut and sewn into a close-fitting leather jacket and trousers. The scraps can also be made into furs and gloves. The skin of the deer's hind legs can be made into very good leather by cutting it. boots.
A piece of deerskin is such an excellent value. Wearing clothes cut from it, the Russians can resist the arctic cold wind very well.
Those who go back to report the news are happy. They all know that the leader never eats salt. A short report can get a heavy reward. Why not?
That night, after a short sleep, the ten people finished eating fresh roast venison, stuffed a piece of dark meat jerky into their cross-body leather bags, and took their own skis and ski poles (just two (a relatively strong straight wooden stick), stepped onto the ice again, and moved forward at high speed on the frozen sea under the illumination of stars, moonlight, and even the Northern Lights.
Here, Harold Johnson volunteered to be the leader of the messenger.
It was definitely not the reward of a deerskin that Harold Johnson longed for. What was a mere deerskin?
This smart man intends to show himself more in front of the leader and prove his lifelong brotherhood with Otto.
His motive for doing this was also for his son Kanuf.
The young Kanuf really gained a lot of knowledge after a long period of hunting on his back, and the child also appeared frequently in front of the leader.
Because of Kanuf, this kid is already Rurik's best friend, or rather a subordinate.
The north wind howled across the smooth ice as ten sledders moved at high speed.
The leader Harozov felt that he really only needed one day to fight back to Rosberg, because he felt that when the weather got warmer, the fastest speed of a long ship would be almost the same as his own skating.
They were indeed very fast, so soon after the short daylight ended, Harozov suddenly noticed a strange sight on the ice in the distance.
The keen hunter's nerves became tense, and Harozov temporarily stopped all actions.
"What's going on? Hallo Johnson? Did a star fall onto the ice?"
Harold Johnson speculated: "No! It's definitely a bonfire, Harlangen. There are people! No! It's many people, they are camping on the ice."
"Enemy or friend?"
"They shouldn't be enemies. Maybe...maybe they are our people!"
"Yes! That must be the case. We are looking for them and they are looking for us."
Others made similar speculations, and Haro Zuosen also believed this to be true, but he himself was also very worried about the potential danger. After all, for a good hunter, staying vigilant is the key to preventing himself from falling from being a hunter to becoming a prey.
"Brothers, do you have the guts to come with me?"
"Yes!" Everyone said in unison.
"Let's act now and grab our axes. Although we all believe that it is our family, we cannot take it lightly. As you know, when the bay freezes, the Finns from the east may come for a sneak attack."
"Finns?! Those idiots are just a little better than deer herders. They are also a bunch of idiots who use stones as weapons!" An old guy with a beard laughed wildly after saying this.
Following this laughter, Haro Zuosen also laughed: "That's true. Since ancient times, they can only surrender in front of us, obediently send gifts and beg for our forgiveness. When will those weak people dare to cross the sea to attack us. Let's go , Brothers, let me take a look at the people at the bonfire over there. Well, let’s put on our chainmail just in case.”
It never hurts to be more cautious. This is why after the Ross tribe fought with the Danes and Gotlanders, their casualties were always less than those of Houzu.
Harold Zuosen and others did not mind the trouble. From the small sled behind them, they not only took out the chain mail and put it on their leather clothes, but also tied the round shield to their left arm.
Some even took off their warm fox fur hats and put on their own bronze helmets!
After some actions, they almost seemed to be going to rob those ice campers.
Ten bold Viking warriors took action. Given the strong defense brought by these armors, they were indeed very confident in any fight.
On the ice sheet, ten fully armed men marched toward the bonfire.
Such an arrogant move was naturally noticed by people who had not yet rested.
In an instant, the team heading north to look for their family became tense, and some people frantically banged on the thickened copper-covered buckler.
The two groups of people from each other are all warriors of the Ross tribe, and they behave in exactly the same way. For example, they always carry their chainmail armor and shields and battle axes with them, so that they can always deal with sudden battles.
Rurik woke up suddenly. He got out of the tent and saw the chaos in the entire camp.
He was even more shocked to see his mother's solemn face under the moonlight, as well as the ax she held in her hand.
"Kid, you have to hide! It may be the Finns who are attacking us, we must fight them back!"
"Finns? Aren't they weak?!"
"I don't know about this!" Niya stopped talking nonsense. She pushed hard and stuffed young Rurik back into the tent.
Rurik didn't understand the situation at all. It seemed that the camp was under siege by the enemy. Thinking of this, he also felt a little worried about his situation.
"Liu Li, Liu Li, you were named Rurik because you are someone who wants to do great things. You can't be hacked to death by the Finns within two days of leaving the fjord..."
Rurik couldn't help but think wildly. Through the thin animal skin of the tent, he heard the voice of his cousin Arik outside.
"Mother, you don't have to go to war. There are only a few people here. I really don't know whether those Finns are brave or stupid."
"Did you see clearly that he was a Finn? How is your wife? As a man, you must protect your woman first."
"Pelavina is safe. Mother, where is Rurik?"
"He's in the tent."
When he heard his name being called, Rurik immediately got out of his head and looked at his brother Arik with a dull face: "Isn't it something dangerous? In addition to the Danes, there are also those idiots who dare to attack us."
"There are some stupid Finns, my brother." Arik smiled, "You are too young and should not participate in the battle. The rest is time for real men to watch us wipe out all those attackers. "
