In the evening, Otto arrived at the riverside village with his army carrying a large amount of booty.
The sky gradually darkened, and a large number of bonfires gradually lit up in the villages under the control of the Russians.
Since the attack was not the real target, Otto, who felt that he had been deceived, wanted to take out the stupid dog and beat him up.
The so-called stupid dog is none other than Voyma Kashad, the Kovin man who led the way.
When Otto came to the village, he saw the deer herders who had prepared a large amount of firewood, and he also saw the people left behind who had found the ale hidden by the Coven people and were drinking by themselves.
Even Rumia, the girl was already stewing meat in the clay pot she found.
Otto was very satisfied. Rumia was cooking the bear meat that she had hunted before. This was his dinner.
Rumia built a small stove with stones outdoors. At this moment, the bonfire has already boiled the soup pot, and you can smell the aroma of meat when you get close.
Seeing the army's triumphant return, Rumia immediately stood up and asked all the deer herders to pay tribute to the Russian army.
Otto was in a good mood. He approached the boiling soup pot, pulled out his sword, inserted it directly into the bear's meat, and fished out a piece of meat. He took a bite with deep satisfaction.
"Lumia, you did a great job."
"Thank you... Chief." Rumia said timidly.
"Next, your master will give you a gift."
As soon as Otto finished speaking, Rumia suddenly saw her Rurik appear, and in his hand, he was pulling a little girl with brown hair.
"Rumia, I'm back." Rurik put on a warm smile, but the current scene made Rumia a little strange.
"Masta, I'll prepare dinner for you soon."
"Don't worry. Get to know this girl first." After saying that, Rurik pushed the little girl with fear on her face to him. Then with a strong force, she was pushed directly towards Rumia.
A child slipped and rushed toward her. Rumia subconsciously opened her hand and grabbed her.
"Who...is she?"
Rurik raised his chin: "Everything is fate. Her name is Lumi, which is the same as yours. She is from Covin. I am sure that your language is exactly the same as hers."
Rumia was shocked. She listened to Rurik's words and immediately asked in ancient Sami language.
It was because of this inquiry that the little girl Lumi, who had been immersed in fear, suddenly felt that she was falling into the arms of a big sister of the same race.
"Are you a member of my tribe?" the little girl asked cautiously.
Rumia was stunned for a moment, then hugged the child tightly. Because at this moment, Rumia thought of her long-dead sister. If her sister was still alive, she would probably be at this age.
"I am your tribe." Rumia responded enthusiastically: "From now on, you will be my sister."
Hearing this, the little girl Lumi burst into tears.
In fact, in a sense, Lumia and Lumi, two girls belonging to different ethnic groups, are essentially a family. They all understand the word "Suomi" because the Sami and Kovin people who raise deer , even the Tavastians and Karelians are essentially Suomis and Finns.
So the two girls have natural similarities in appearance.
Rurik was very happy to see such a warm scene, which was a psychological comfort for the war that had just ended.
He said loudly: "Rumia, she will be your maid from now on. I need you to train her."
Rumia didn't understand the master's arrangement: "Masta, I am your servant. Can a servant also have servants?"
The problem was that there were some matryoshka dolls. Rurik thought about it and said directly: "She is the granddaughter of the leader of this tribe. Her name is the same as yours. Everything is fate and God's will. You are destined to be sisters. , so I need you to train her to be the second priest."
When it was over, Rumia completely understood, "Masta, I have fulfilled my mission."
Rurik nodded. In fact, his real idea was to further expand the team. Of course, a priest is not alone. Priests need a group, a group that is only loyal to themselves, so every lower-level priest who makes up this group, Rurik feels that he needs to personally select them at this stage.
Rumia was not the only one to get a servant, Kawi also got his own servant.
Ten boys to be specific.
The language barrier is not a problem for the time being, because Kawei can speak a little Finnish vocabulary. In the future, he only needs to teach these boys to speak Norse.
After all, Kawei was happy that Rurik and Otto gave him the opportunity to expand the blacksmith team. He originally thought that his blacksmith shop had more helpers and apprentices, and he needed the big leader Otto to go to Novgorod in May to bring back a group of boys for him.
The Corvin boys were in no worse condition than the Kamne.
Besides, Kamne is from Rurik, and these Covin boys are the little blacksmiths that the family can always control and train.
Kawei wanted to train the ten selected boys to become blacksmiths, which surprised Kaihas, the leader of the Salmon Lord tribe.
blacksmith! The entire tribe's blacksmiths could be counted on one hand. To make matters worse, the blacksmiths had been killed in the battle. If a tribe wants to develop, it must have a blacksmith, and secondly, it also needs to obtain ore.
Kejas couldn't help but think that the young Ross man claimed to be the best blacksmith of the Ross tribe. It might be a good thing for the boys that a group of boys from his tribe were selected. They should have lived their lives peacefully, but if they became blacksmiths, everything would be different.
Also, Kejas believes that the boys of his tribe will never forget that he is the Lord of Salmon even when they arrive at the home of the Rus people.
He even began to imagine that if the Russians did not come in force and attacked with force without any negotiation. The two parties will first engage in negotiations, and they will choose to surrender because it is profitable.
Kejas understood the situation and it might be beneficial to cooperate with the Rus.
All the surviving Kovin tribesmen were packed into more than a dozen half-cave houses. Their morale had long since collapsed and they had lost the courage to resist the Russians. They saw the reality clearly, that is, they had used all the fighting power of the entire tribe and the defensive advantages of the stone walls of the mountain fort, but they were still beaten violently by the Russians like chopping melons and vegetables.
At least until now, the Russian conquerors have no plans to kill again.
The leader Kaihas said that as long as everyone surrenders and gives some leather to the Rus every year, they will not be attacked again.
The Russians even made a very tempting promise - you are all slaves of the Russians, and whoever attacks you is an enemy of the Russians, and the Russians will definitely attack them.
The men of the Salmon Lord tribe who were gathered together could not help but whisper, and everyone gradually reached a unified attitude. Although a large number of tribesmen died, so what? Life must go on.
Because women and children are now controlled by the Russians.
But the leader Kaihas is also controlled by the Ross people, and it seems that he still wants to discuss some other matters.
Hopefully, the leader can gain some benefits for everyone in the tribe.
Otto, who returned victorious, intended to find out and punish the guy who led the way, but what he saw was that his subordinates had neglected their duties and the fact that the leader was missing.
After he slapped the guarding tribesman several times, he could only lament his naivety for actually listening to the dog.
Kejas has been following the leader of Ross, and he only obeys his orders.
Having been deceived, Otto was furious. He slapped his chin, then suddenly turned around and strangled Kejas's neck, saying viciously: "One of my dogs ran away, what about you? Will your dog betray you?"
After hearing the translation, Kejas was so scared that he wet his pants.
Otto turned his eyes and saw something dripping under the opponent's soft legs.
"I'm sorry you don't dare. Let's go! Take me to your council chamber."
Is there any special council house in the Salmon Lord Village? If there is one, it is Kehas's own home.
Even as the leader of the village, his semi-underground house seemed unbearable to Otto.
Because of Otto, he has adapted to and liked the "Novgorod-style woodcut roof" that his son built for himself. To put it bluntly, it is a wooden house with a modern aesthetic. If electrical equipment is installed, the wooden house will be perfect. Twentieth Century Architecture.
Otto despised the series of thatched houses in this village, but he could not deny that since the tribesmen had collected a large amount of furs, he felt that this year's "Northern Hunt" should do everything possible to collect them.
Otto and several Kongwu warriors became the new owners of the village chief's house.
Kejas did not dare to offend these madmen, and the tribe was completely defeated. All he could think of now was to "reward" these madmen with the women of the tribe. But things are very bizarre, these madmen don't seem to be interested in women.
Kejas didn't believe it, so he asked his wife and daughter-in-law to "take care of" Otto.
To be fair, Otto was still a powerful man in his fifties. Of course he was attracted by these women, but as he had lived a long time, his reason had already prevailed.
Otto was indeed rational. When he thought that if he failed to control it and his son had a younger brother, wouldn't it cause chaos to his son's future power? The current situation is that even if it is to consolidate Rurik's future power, the child does not need a younger brother at all. Rurik already has a group of loyal peers around him, the elders Arik and Kawi, who are now his power.
Kejas was moved by Otto's dismissal of Kejas's obviously forced attempt at intimacy.
What surprised Kejas even more was that there were actually a group of non-combatants in the Varyag army. There are not only women but also children in their group.
Things became very strange. He didn't know what the Ross leader had other intentions. The more he thought about it, the more uneasy he became. Sitting in a home where everything had changed, Kejas was sitting on pins and needles.
After a while, Rurik accepted the call and came to this half-crypt wooden house.
Different from the quiet indoors, the outdoor world is already full of hilarity. The Ross warriors eat big meals and have the opportunity to drink a small amount of wine brewed by the locals.
"Dad, is something serious?" Rurik asked as soon as he entered the door.
"Come here and sit next to me."
Rurik nodded. With the help of an oil lamp, he glanced at the village leader with a dull expression and saw the man's trembling eyes.
Rurik quickly sat down in front of his father. He suddenly felt that the whole scene had the meaning of a "tribal meeting", as if to discuss the next step.
yes! The Salmon Lord Tribe has conquered. Should we continue to expand our victory, or return home?
Rurik firmly believed that not only his father, but also all the tribesmen wanted to expand the victory.
But the village chief of a conquered tribe is sitting here. What can this man do?
Otto felt that the time had come, and he asked Jevro to translate his words truthfully.
"Kehas, we Ross people plan to attack the Gray Squirrel tribe. Now my leader has escaped and I need a new leader. You! You must know a lot of information."
After hearing these words, Rurik was sure that after a short rest, the tribal army would definitely attack the gray squirrel tribe. The battle will continue and is inevitable! Rurik clenched his fists, knowing that he had only one choice now - to participate in new operations as the leader of the tribal army. Although it is a military adventure, it is well worth it.
Kejas's mind was racing, and in a short speech, he understood the true intention of the Ross people.
Moreover, Kejas felt angry when he mentioned the gray squirrel tribe.
"Russians, I know that tribe. We have a lot of hatred against them."
Hatred?
Rurik and Otto both understood. This was a positive signal that the other party intended to cooperate.
Rurik then lied: "We Rus' people are the masters of all northern deer farmers. They are our slaves. They raise deer for us and give us a batch of deer every year. We give them a guarantee of safety. However, that The expedition of the Gray Squirrel Tribe attacked our deer herders, and many people died. They were my slaves. We sent troops to rescue a group of people, but our anger could not be subsided. This is the reason why we sent troops, we want to attack the Gray Squirrel Tribe. .”
Rurik's words were deliberately spoken in Norse. He needed to use the translator Jevlo to tell Kehas exactly what he said.
Most importantly, Rurik wanted to tell his father.
A big hand suddenly covered Rurik's golden head. Otto admired his son's words from the bottom of his heart and felt that he had found an excellent reason for war.
Otto said loudly: "We organized an elite force to attack the gray squirrel tribe, but the prisoner of the gray squirrel told us that you are the gray squirrels. Our battle today was very sudden, and perhaps avoidable. All of this is caused by gray squirrels. It’s the tribe’s fault!”
Kejas is not the leader of the tribe because of his age, he can understand what the Rus people mean. There are two meanings here. The first meaning is that the war was a misunderstanding that could have been avoided. The Ross people have no absolute malice towards the Salmon Lord tribe. The second meaning is that the gray squirrel tribe is probably behind this war.
The more he thought about it, Kejas raised his eyebrows solemnly, and the more he believed in his own judgment.
Gradually, he showed a sad and angry expression, looking at the big and round Russian conqueror in front of him: "Great Russian people. The gray squirrel tribe is the source of all evil! They attack our hunters on weekdays and destroy our hunting traps. Too many years. Many of our hunters have died, and we long for revenge, but we have no power. We cannot defeat them, and now that we have many of our men dead, we are already at a great disadvantage."
"Do you desire revenge?" Otto asked deliberately.
"I want it! I can't even dream of it."
"So, do you want revenge on us? After all, we killed many of you."
Upon hearing this, Kejas's face suddenly turned pale.
Otto smiled disdainfully: "Forget it! You are weak, but we Russians are very strong, and we will only become stronger in the future."
"Yes! I don't have the guts, we are just your loyal hounds."
Rurik listened to everything, and obviously he had enough say in this meeting.
Rurik cheered up and decisively revealed his identity to Kejas: "Kovin! I, Rurik! I am the future leader of the Rus people, a person blessed by the gods. You said, you will How can you be seen as our loyal hunting dog?”
"I...we are indeed loyal." Kehas said hurriedly.
"No." Rurik shook his head: "We are going to attack the gray squirrel tribe. We are going to take revenge. The war between you and me was a misunderstanding, but you failed completely and became my servant. Because of my advice, I hope you consider properly."
"Please...please speak."
“If you can’t beat your opponents, join them.”
"This..." Kejas had already moved: "My little master, do you mean to ask me to send people to participate in new battles? Let our men fight for you?"
Rurik smiled and nodded: "Not so. The men of your tribe will take up arms again, and we will form an army. Your men will participate in a new battle under my command. Listen, your People are my people. You will be rewarded by your master for your loyalty."
Otto felt that his son's words were very domineering. Look at Kehas's expression. His old face was originally rigid, but now he clearly had the urge to smile.
Otto asked in a rich baritone: "I am the leader of the Rus people, and my tribe has ten thousand people! This time I organized three hundred elites to participate in the battle. Now you give me a clear answer. Do you want to join? Are our troops going to attack the Gray Squirrel people?”
Kejas knew that he had no choice, and based on the current situation, the request made by the Ross people was not only acceptable, but if the Ross people participated in the war, they would definitely be able to defeat the hateful gray squirrel tribe.
"Great Rus, all men in our tribe who can bear arms will fight for you. Even some women, if you wish, they can bear arms and fight for you."
Otto laughed with joy: "Women? Forget it! I only want men, such as those nasty archers of yours. You are very smart. Now, tell us about the status of the gray squirrel tribe."
