It’s a new day and the children’s training is as usual.
Because of yesterday's training, the girls practicing bows were extra careful, but the woods were filled with the sound of arrows flying by, and the tree trunks used as targets were quickly filled with arrows.
They still use ordinary oak bows, and these bows have not been specially processed, and even the drying process of baking may not be done properly.
Rurik was not a bow maker, so he didn't understand the details.
He only understands the core of the bow, which is that the deformation of the bow arm stores energy, and the energy is instantly transformed into the kinetic energy of the arrow. Ultimately this is a question of math and physics. The Ross tribe obviously has the right material to replace oak as the bow arm.
The girls holding bows squinted their left eyes and shot at the target twenty steps away, almost relying on their feelings.
This is a very close distance, but for beginners, it is not easy to shoot such a close tree trunk.
This is the case with traditional single-piece bows, which do not have a real aiming mechanism. Completely different from the various equipment and modern aiming mechanisms on modern compound bows, the use of ancient single bows completely relies on the shooter's feeling.
It is said that after shooting tens of thousands of times, the archer has become one with the bow. There is almost no need to aim when shooting arrows. The archer can penetrate a poplar from 100 meters.
An existence like Li Guang can be described as a god. Rurik never expected that some of his subordinates could have such strength.
The girls were shooting arrows there, and the boys were continuing their one-on-one fights.
These days, Rurik is also learning swordsmanship from Jevro.
He studied hard just to become a master in battle. He knew that what Jevro taught was entirely the art of killing. To describe it in one word, it was swiftness. There is no procrastination, no fancy tricks, the emphasis is on blocking with the shield and killing the enemy with the sword at the same time.
Jevro has taught more than ten kinds of sword and shield tactics, as well as demonstrated some strange movements.
It is said that these can be used in battle. As for flexibly responding to different enemies, this requires a lot of practice.
But Rurik currently has a big problem!
Jevro noticed it with keen eyes.
The linen lining was already soaked with sweat. Rurik was panting and paused his separate training with Fisk.
"Rurik? Is this enough? You have continued to insist." Yevro pretended to be displeased.
"Let's stop here, I'm still a child." Rurik said breathlessly, and then asked Fisk to find another opponent for training.
He approached the fallen dead tree trunk, sat directly on it, and filled up the glass bottle with water in his hand.
"Haha, people over there never imagined that the Russians have more and more glassware in their lives, and they are so luxurious that they even use glass pots."
"Jevro? You..." Rurik raised his head and looked at the young man approaching.
Yevluo sat down casually and said casually: "My master, you need to train harder to become a real warrior."
"I know."
"No! You don't understand. Forgive me, I have something to tell you."
"Say it." Rurik said casually.
"Yes." Yevro didn't like Rurik's perfunctory attitude. Considering his own responsibilities, he became bold: "Rurik, you are still too kind. I can't see your ferocity and your training." It's more like a game. Are you afraid of hurting your training partner, or..."
Rurik immediately raised his head and asked displeasedly: "Is there anything else you want to say?"
"My master. I only hope that you will be more fierce, because your enemies will always be fierce. Please also do your best to wield your sword in the future training."
"That's it? I feel like I've exerted myself very hard."
"No! Forgive me for being bold, my master. Maybe if you kill a person with your own hands, you will become fierce. Listen, a warrior must grow in this way."
Hearing this, Rurik almost spit out the water he just drank.
"Killing? Why?! Kill the enemy? I...you expect me to go to the battlefield now?"
"Are you scared?!"
"I...I'm not afraid."
"No! I see you are scared. It was always like this in the beginning, and you will get used to it later." Suddenly, Yevlo turned his head and stared into Rurik's eyes: "Compared to teaching you swordsmanship, I I am more willing to teach you to be brave. Since you want to be the leader, sooner or later you will lead your tribe to participate in the war. You actually hesitated!"
Rurik did hesitate. He didn't want to be the one to kill, but given the modern situation, it seemed that there was no possibility for the Ross tribe to survive alone.
"Kill the enemy? I am still too young. To kill a deer, I have to go through a mental struggle before taking the knife. Am I destined to be violent?" Rurik suppressed the words in his heart tightly.
It seems that when I participate in fighting training again tomorrow, I will be more ruthless.
Will Fisker be shocked by this?
Rurik didn't want to talk about killing enemies for the time being. Although he knew that the best way to establish his authority was through military exploits, it would still take many years before he could grow up enough to participate in the war.
Javro mentioned another thing in passing: "Fraser has instructed people to make new bows. Because of what happened yesterday, the new bows may be of higher quality."
"That's good news." Rurik breathed a sigh of relief, and the topic finally became lighter.
"One more thing." Yevluo's tone became gentle: "Your attitude towards servants... is really amazing. I heard that the girls yesterday were all your first servants. It's all because of this The reason?"
"Am I too kind to them?!"
"Isn't it? I feel like you want to take them all as wives? Oh, you are their master, you have this power. This is also a good thing for them."
Rurik was not shy, and his calm face seemed to tell Yevlo that all his speculations were true.
Rurik said lightly: "Maybe. After all, they are gifts from my father. As for the other girls, they are not."
"Or continue to train them to use bows?"
"Otherwise? Do you still expect them to learn your sword skills?" Rurik asked.
Yevluo shrugged: "Hey, it's good to learn a little extra. That girl, is her injury okay?"
"Of course. Her wound is not serious. I have given her the medicine and everything will be fine."
"I'm sorry about this. Rurik, you should know that every piece of oak will break sooner or later if you keep bending it. That's how the bow is. If the new bow ends up damaged, please don't be too surprised."
"Huh?" Rurik immediately became sensitive: "Are you complaining to Gould?"
"No! I didn't mean that. I just..."
"Forget it." Rurik shrugged: "I have something I plan to show you."
After that, with a sharp sound of metal friction, Rurik pulled out his bright white steel sword and thrust it into the dead branch next to him.
"Jevro, if you hold this sword, you can try to see if you can break it or deform it."
"Master, you..."
"Do you think I am making things difficult?" Rurik ordered: "Do as I say. If the sword is damaged, I will not blame you. If you don't do it, I will be angry."
Jevro really didn't know what the child wanted to do, so in desperation, he had to pick up Rurik's precious sword.
Speaking of which, Yevlo only knew that the Russians began to equip a "hard sword" that could cut off iron swords, and Rurik had the most gorgeous hard sword.
Should I bend it?
Jevro had never touched a steel sword in his life. He boldly grasped the silver-inlaid hilt and tried to break the blade.
The blade of the sword punched into the tree trunk, and Jevlo, who was holding the hilt of the sword, intended to use his own strength to permanently bend the blade, so as to fulfill his master.
The sword blade did become curved, but what happened to the strong rebound force?
Jevro's eyes widened, and out of the corner of his eyes he saw Rurik smiling with his hands folded in his fists. He had used all his strength, and the blade was already severely bent, but there was obviously a big problem here.
Jevro relaxed his strength, and the bent sword instantly returned to its original shape.
In shock, he gripped the dagger and swung it around. Then, he carefully held the back of the sword between his fingers and pointed the tip of the sword towards his eyeballs.
Because of his excitement, Jevro's hands kept shaking, "It's... it's incredible. The blade is still in a straight line."
At this moment, Rurik looked confident. "Of course. Do you understand, Jevlo?"
"Understood? What do I understand?" Jevro put away his sword, looking suspicious.
"Didn't you feel the power just now? You can bend this sword with your strength. When you give up your strength, it becomes straight again. Don't you think it is somewhat similar to the oak wood used to make a bow?"
"Ah? Are you planning to..."
Through Jevlo's experienced eyes, Rurik knew that this man had understood his intentions.
"At least I don't have to worry about a hard sword falling apart. I'll be making a brand new weapon out of it soon, and my girls will be the first to use it. Don't be too shocked when I succeed."
"Really? Then I'll wait and see."
To be honest, what Yevro wanted was for Rurik to use the elasticity of the sword to make a special bow. I am afraid that this itself is another special version of the "hard sword".
The morning training was finally over. Due to the increased training intensity of both boys and girls, by lunch time, they were all hungry wolves.
As coaches, Javlo and Frazier were rewarded with better meals.
Looking at the barbecue and bread in front of him, Yevlo couldn't help but think of what Rurik said before leaving: "Sooner or later, I will make you a good sword, a flexible, unbreakable, and able to easily cut ordinary swords. A good sword."
It’s really exciting to think about.
When it comes to making utensils, Rurik's mobility is always unparalleled.
After he finished eating, he changed into a set of clothes, and naturally someone cleaned the sweaty clothes he took off.
The washer is Rumia. It is her responsibility to wash the master's clothes, and she especially enjoys this "benefits". For now, among all the maids, she has the closest relationship with Rurik.
Especially now. Rurik had to sleep with his mother every day to relieve her mother's emptiness. Besides, it is so normal for a mother to hug her eight or nine-year-old son to sleep. Rurik's own bed was temporarily occupied by Rumia.
Rumia felt that she was already doing some things that only wives do. She really wanted to upgrade her status and guard Rurik as her backer. To consolidate their position in the Ross tribe.
After changing his clothes, Rurik went straight to the blacksmith shop.
Now, all the previous assumptions about crossbows are finally coming into practice.
In fact, Rurik had thought of the possibility since blacksmith Klavasen made the first steel sword.
Even making the crossbow itself was included in the plan, but he didn't expect that the plan would be implemented so quickly.
Rurik went there without even a single follower. And as usual, he was walking in the streets of the tribe, and everyone who saw him paid him respect.
He trotted away and arrived at the tinkling blacksmith shop.
"Oh! Rurik, you're here again. It's not the day to collect money today." Klavasen said cheerfully, and by the way, he ordered Kamne who was monitoring the still to come out and kneel down to the master.
Ryuri ordered Kamne, who was half-kneeling, to stand up and stand obediently. Then, his eyes saw the smoldering carburized sword embryo in the furnace, and he couldn't help but be overjoyed.
Because the sword embryo is completely a piece of low carbon steel that has been processed to be very flat and straight!
"Klavason, I won't talk nonsense. I'm here just to announce one thing. I have a new plan. I want to make a new type of weapon, and you must help me complete it."
"Ah?! Okay." The thing happened too suddenly, and Klavason agreed quickly, but he was conflicted in his heart. There was no other reason for the resistance. The best labor force, Kawei, took his wife to visit relatives. The blacksmith shop still had a large number of orders to make, and the young Kamnier could not be expected to work hard at the moment. Klavason felt sorry for his old bones and had no choice but to continue fighting.
The old blacksmith wiped the sweat from his face with water, and then used soap skillfully to wash his dirty hands.
He asked his wife in the inner hall to bring a pot of cool autumn chrysanthemum water and pour it into the prepared glass.
"Rurik, let's have a drink and talk."
"Okay." Rurik drank a cup of chrysanthemum tea with great interest, and the taste in his mouth made him feel a strange familiarity.
Rurik has always positioned himself as an engineer. When it comes to making mechanical equipment, he feels that if he were not restricted by this small body, he would have started it himself.
The three of them sat on the ground, with a clean wooden board placed between them.
Rurik didn't care about being dirty. He held a piece of charcoal slightly cut with a dagger and used it as a carbon pencil to draw pictures, and he explained in detail.
"I want a processed sword embryo. I want you to make it into an arc shape and beat the two end points into two rings."
"I need you to make special wooden elements like this."
"I need you to cast these parts in bronze."
"I also need you to make a special kind of arrow."
…
Following Rurik's explanation, Klavasen, a senior blacksmith, finally came out of complete confusion and gradually understood a little bit about what Rurik probably wanted to make.
It was impossible for Klavason to think of something he had never seen before. The only thing he could think of was that this thing might be very similar to a bow. At least, it has the same purpose as a bow, which is to shoot arrows to hit prey.
It’s just that Rurik’s idea is too incredible.
"Rurik, are you serious? Using an unedged steel sword as a bow arm? Is that possible?"
"Don't look at me with suspicious eyes!" Rurik asked with a wooden face: "Klavasen, don't you have a ready-made steel sword here? Get one and bend it hard. I have to say , so far I can't find anything that has stronger elasticity than it. Besides, do you believe that the steel sword you made will break?"
This rhetorical question amused Klavasen, because the old guy had to perform a "factory test" on every completed steel sword, which was called trying to permanently bend it. Because of the ordinary iron sword, after bending it, you can only use a hammer to smash it back into its original shape. The bent steel sword does not seem to have "permanent bending".
"Then let's get started. Rurik! I'm not a bow maker. It's an honor for you to think highly of me. Then, you know how to give it a name." Klavasen asked sincerely.
Rurik, who was sitting on the ground, blurted out without thinking: "Just call it korsboge."
The so-called korsboge is a compound word of two words in Norse, which is actually crossbow, that is, crossbow.
After all, it was not until the twelfth century that Europeans first came into contact with and used crossbows. The large-scale use of steel crossbows began in the fourteenth century.
For Europeans, this thing is a bow placed horizontally on a wooden support, which is a "staggered bow".
It is a bow but not a bow. The emergence of Rurik made this type of weapon appear prematurely in Europe. And when it appeared, it bypassed the purely wooden version and appeared directly as a "steel-arm crossbow".
Rurik believed that it was extremely powerful and could even bring complete innovation to the Ross tribe's combat mode.
But no one in the world has imagined that such a weapon can exist. Until it can be produced and its powerful destructive power can be proven, everything is unknown.
Klavason was very happy to meet the new needs of his sponsor and future leader. He also continued to say sincerely: "A staggered bow? A very appropriate name, but I have never seen it. Rurik, maybe only you can personally Help me. I hope you can personally guide me when I make it."
"Of course! I will help you personally. I have to tell you that the weapons you will make are supposed to belong to Asgard. I also received a revelation from Valhalla. God allows us, the Ross tribe, to live in the mortal world. Make Asgardian weapons. Listen, Thor supports that too."
"Oh! It's actually God's will? I have to fulfill it seriously."
Rurik's blabbering words couldn't help but make Klavasen a little suspicious. Then he thought about it, who dares to say that Rurik is not a child who has truly received Odin's favor? He must also have received favors from Thor and Frey. In fact, it was Freya who asked him to treat the children properly.
All in all, the child used a tried-and-tested tone to prove that his request was reasonable, urgent, and bound to succeed.
At least Rurik never experienced failure, so Klavason took off his linen shirt, put on a leather apron to prevent burns, suspended the work of making steel swords, and began to take the lead in making crossbows in accordance with Rurik's requirements. arm.
The so-called bow arm is a sword embryo that is about seventy centimeters long and has been processed to a thickness of less than nine millimeters.
With the flat and hot heat, enough carbon elements have penetrated, the sword embryo turned into a low carbon steel bar is gradually hammered into a slight crescent shape, and the work of making an experimental steel-arm crossbow has officially begun!
As for Rurik, he should have indulged in military training and cultivated his body in the afternoon, but now he really found another extremely exciting job.
Rurik, he had already imagined the future Ross army, with a large number of long-range weapons. Before the enemy army could rush to his side, he was shot through the shield by a heavy arrow fired by a powerful steel-armed crossbow. Shot through the body.
Faced with inexplicable huge casualties, the enemy dropped their fallen comrades in shock and fled.
The so-called battle ended with the complete victory of the Russians before the two armies fought at close range.
Because of this intense excitement, Rurik even forgot about his current fear of killing. But there is such a person who claims to be not so keen on violence, but he is happily developing the most violent long-range weapon in Europe in this time and space. The contradiction here is really hard to explain.
