The Russians finally, under the leadership of Rurik, officially took the first step in developing the chromium mine. The huge team carried a large number of mining tools and stormed the original boreal pine forest.
Only a small number of Rus' warriors and Kovins remained to further build the Iron-Olav fortress.
Rurik even ordered all his subordinates, even the "trainee blacksmiths" who obeyed Kawei and Kamne. Not counting the children of the Iron Pine Tribe, there were more than 70 armed children in total. They took up metal spears and axes, and were equipped with many short wooden bows and iron-tufted arrows. Rurik also regarded this trip as a very important field training, training for his young soldiers.
Children have no right to withdraw from the team due to fatigue. They must face all obstacles on the road to training. Even if a group of wild beasts appears in front of them, they must take up arms to fight.
Hunting, hunting huge beasts, is training for warriors.
It seemed a bit Spartan, and Rurik felt that he was being too merciful to his men; they were, after all, twenty-five crossbow-wielding mercenaries. Protected by more than 80 elite Ross warriors, what danger could there be?
Look at the children's faces talking and laughing, Rurik no longer worries about anything.
He was even looking forward to meeting a large number of bears or deer on the way to the mines. Hunting them would be a training exercise, and the meat would also improve everyone's food.
It is the Russians who maintain a huge team. Once ordinary wild beasts are aware of it, they will immediately run away.
Rurik had few illusions about the unexpected surprises along the way.
At first, everyone was chatting and laughing, but gradually some people became tired.
Most of the snow in the forest has melted, and a pair of feet stepped on the soft pine needle mats, but encountered some resistance when moving forward.
Fortunately, the low mine is just ahead. What makes it different from the scene in winter is that under the warm sunshine, a large number of gray-white rocks stand out on the mine. The color is completely different from the color of snow, but it is also beautiful. It stands out among the dark green forest.
This kind of small hills are not uncommon in this area. If you are not a craftsman who is highly sensitive to smelting, you will not be interested in them at all. If you are interested, you can just quarry stone to build a house, nothing more.
In fact, the entire hill is a rock uplift extruded by geological movements. Wrapped in gray-white granite, is a chromite vein, which is directly exposed to the air. Mining the ores itself is not laborious, the most important thing is how to transport them.
For Kawei and his group of men who are only about ten years old, they can only persevere in the dense forest. These children all carried a burlap bag and an axe-shaped iron chisel in their waists. Their task was to dig out the ore and find ways to transport it away.
There are no roads here, and there are no waterways leading directly to the hills.
In view of this situation, when developing mines in most countries, the ore is either carried out by humans, or using ponies, donkeys and the like.
"Maybe we should cut down some trees and dig out the roots to create a road. Bring the reindeer over and make some vehicles and sleds for winter. We will use the reindeer to pull away the ore in the future..."
Kawei had this idea. Coincidentally, Rurik also wanted to cut a road in the forest.
The team walked about three kilometers, and the hills were getting closer and closer. Everyone sat on the already quite dry "pine needle mat" under the dense forest to take a rest.
Everyone held their stomach bags filled with river water and drank clear water. 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 a relatively strenuous "expedition."
Kawei approached with purpose and then sat down beside Rurik casually.
"Are you alright?"
"Well, walking in the forest is really tiring. There is a thick layer of pine needles under our feet, which makes me feel wobbly when I walk."
"Then clear away the pine needles and cut down a group of trees. We must set foot on hard land from now on." Rurik gasped.
"You look very tired?"
"I have a point."
"Then find someone to give you a lift. Rurik, you are a leader, but before you truly become a man, you are still a child."
Child, a child's body does lack strength. Rurik glanced at the real children around him. Compared with them, it seemed that he was really weak.
In fact, this is normal. The Carlotta sisters are always in passive "sports". They spend most of their day running, especially in their hometown of Ostara, where they are the granddaughters of the leader. The same goes for labor. As for the Terravis brother and sister, they are basically little hunters in the forest. They are most familiar with walking in the current environment.
All the Russians took advantage of their rest time to talk about the discomfort of stepping on pine needles, and to sway as if they were drunk.
Those Kewen people didn't take it seriously at all. They have been adapted to the land of pine needles since ancient times, and they know how to shoot alert squirrels with their bows and arrows in such an environment.
Rurik rejected Kawei's suggestion and said casually: "After 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! Let's do it now. !”
After all, the current construction of the Russians requires a lot of wood, and Rurik quickly summoned a group of tribal warriors who were tired and full of strength. He ordered everyone to start logging immediately. Under the roar of everyone, more than ten strong men operating forest axes took action, and the forest was soon shaken.
The big tree collapsed with a rumble, 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 sent people to cut down the wood. Originally, my people had targeted the squirrels, but now they have all escaped."
"What? And squirrels?"
Rurik was stunned on the spot, then joy appeared on his face, and he asked: "Did you really see the squirrel?"
“It’s absolutely true, that’s what we do for a living.”
The Elon-Olava Fort under construction was already in the Arctic Circle. The area was too cold. Rurik subconsciously felt that only ferrets could survive here. Squirrels could not stand such low temperatures. It seems that I was wrong.
"I never thought we could catch squirrels in the future."
"And there are bears!" Mechasta's wide eyes revealed indescribable longing. "If there are squirrels, there must be bears and wolves. That's how my hometown is, and it must be the same here."
"Oh, let me lend you some good words."
Rurik wanted to be perfunctory, but Mechasta was serious. Looking at this man's sharp eyes, Rurik felt that this guy was in the pine forest and had basically entered the "working state" of a hunter. The Kovin people have a high degree of pursuit of shooting prey with bows, which is like a cry from deep in their genes.
"Master, I heard that you want to cut down trees to create a road. But I am more worried about encountering bears. You should make the men vigilant. In the past, when we encountered bears, individual hunters would stay away. Now there are many of us, and there are... Your magical weapon. We should proactively find the bear and kill it."
Even if Mechasta didn't say anything about this, Rurik still intended to take the initiative to hunt bears.
But he realized from this person's words how much Mechasta wanted to find a reason to vent his grievances that he had been feeling for many months. Mechasta even felt that he needed to lead the few men in the tribe to complete the bear hunt in order to flatter his new master and claim 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 during this trip. I suggest taking action immediately."
Does he really have a hunter's sixth sense? I'm afraid this feeling based on experience is real.
The more he said this, the more Rurik felt that there was a high probability of encountering a bear during this trip. ah! If you hunt ten or twenty heads, you will really make a lot of money!
Rurik trusts Mechasta in general. Since he controls all the female relatives of the Kovin people, the remaining men are really only responsible for their performance.
Mechasta was willing to be the vanguard of the expedition. After Rurik agreed, he mobilized ten mercenaries under his command to follow him with loaded crossbows.
When the team finished resting, a vanguard of as many as thirty people 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 traces of the pioneers through the gaps in the forest trunks.
Mechasta and others did not run far. They were about 400 meters in front of Rurik's army. The forest has obscured their light and shadow, but a good hunter can easily tell that they have been here from the trodden pine needle mats.
Even though they became slaves of the Rus, Mechasta and his men took a breath of cold air when they saw the armed Rus warriors.
Now, the men of the Iron Squirrel Tribe can finally transform their marching staffs with iron blades. Together with twenty of Mechasta's own men, they carry short wooden bows on their backs and hold short spears in both hands.
Ordinary people listen to their leaders. If the leader says there are bears ahead, there must be bears.
Because in the past bear hunting operations in his hometown, Mechasta's predictions were always correct, but even if a bear was discovered, completing a hunt would still involve risking one's life. What once weakened the efficiency of the Kovin people in hunting bears was their inferior weapons.
This time, things have changed.
During the three months of living in Rossburg, plus the time spent in contact with the Russians in his hometown, Mechasta was forced to learn the common language of the Varangians so that he could represent his tribe and negotiate with the Russians in the future. condition.
He understood some common vocabulary in daily life. Since this operation could be said to be fought side by side, he boldly asked the accompanying mercenaries in Nos.
ah! As long as he saw the crossbows they held in their hands, Mechasta thought of the fear of being dominated by it, and the shame of the whole family being trapped within the walls of the mountain fortress and could only be beaten passively.
Mechasta wanted to own the weapon that once killed his tribe members so that his tribe could become stronger.
But he estimated that he would not be able to use the Russian weapons.
He still wanted to try, but what he never expected was that a Russian with a crossbow was willing to lend his weapon.
"Ah! Brave warrior, you really allow me..."
The mercenary did not hesitate. He suddenly taught Mechasta how to use a winch to wind the crossbow, how to install arrows, and how to shoot. Because the mercenaries' understanding of Rurik's order was that Mechasta would be the commander of the team in this operation. They were mercenaries, so they naturally had no prejudice against the Kovin people, so they simply regarded Mechasta as the hunting commander. Then the mercenaries need to support the commander's request.
Until this moment, an unprecedented feeling invaded Mechasta's mind. What frightened this strong man in his thirties was that he could not imagine that the weapons of the Russians were so sophisticated.
He didn't test fire at a tree immediately, that was unnecessary. And based on his hunter's professional habits, when entering the hunting state, no hunter can waste his arrows wantonly, because "you will always feel that you are short of arrows."
Mechasta ordered his men to form a wide wall, and the hunters either held short spears or iron arrows on their bows. The distance between each person is actually nearly thirty meters, and the situation has really turned into a "Kewen-style forest hunting". After the so-called increased search area, as long as one person finds a large prey, he will roar loudly or eat it directly. Whistle, everyone gathered and swarmed to finish the hunt. After all, bear hunting is a matter of death for a single person, and it requires more than ten people to be foolproof.
Mechasta was holding a Russian crossbow. After further questioning, he realized only now that, together with the personal warriors around Rurik and those who desperately shot arrows at his mountain fortress, they were not Russians at all!
They are mercenaries, people who regularly receive silver coins and food to work for Rurik.
After learning the truth, Mechasta didn't want to say anything. After all, he had heard of many things. For example, among the Finns in the south, some people actively or passively worked for the Varyags. Those who defected to the Varyags would even stand on the Varyag's side and invade their hometown.
For example, Jevro the Finn, the mercenary captain of Rurik, and the most ferocious short man on the battlefield, that guy is a Finn!
"Now, Jevro and I are the same. My people also stand on the side of the Russians." Thinking like this, Mechasta actually felt a little relieved. The most powerful enemies he knew were the Russians, and now he had nothing to fear, including the large number of bears in front of him.
The vanguard team were all strong men, and they moved much faster than most of the men who had a large number of women and children.
As they got closer to the mine, the woods here became increasingly sparse.
After the field of view finally became wider, the hunters scanned the hills with almost eagle eyes.
What is there a saying? When luck comes, whatever you really want will come to you!
Bear! Bears are out! The bear is there!
They were some white and yellowish squirming individuals, which seemed to be gnawing something with their heads down.
There were at least ten bears on that low hillside! Mechasta had lived for more than thirty years to see such a scene, and it had completely subverted his outlook on life.
"What's going on? Why do bears who always fight each other become peaceful? Why?"
The mercenary who lent the crossbow couldn't understand Mechasta's mumbling, so he urged in Norse: "Fight! Now. We want to give a gift to the master."
Mechasta woke up immediately. He only saw the grand spectacle of bear hunting in his eyes, and even ignored that almost all the members of the expedition he sent had died here, all killed by the Rus.
It's true that things have turned around. It's only been more than four months, and the two ethnic groups are actually fighting side by side.
Mechasta gave the order: "Brothers, let's go! Shoot with bows and arrows, and kill the bears with spears, just like we did in our hometown."
The men of the Iron Squirrel tribe began to take action. They protruded out of the forest and began to gather into a relatively tight hunting team. Everyone kept their mouths shut and said nothing.
The mercenaries followed closely, holding crossbows and waiting to get into a suitable distance to shoot.
The polar bears' fur reflected the sunlight, turning them into a beautiful yellow-white color. But when they raised their heads, they revealed red and black mouths. This was very abnormal, but Mechasta didn't care.
The bears either relied on their strong bodies or simply did not know the danger coming from them. They raised their heads and did not take any measures.
Suddenly, there was a sharp whooshing sound in the air.
In just a moment, a bear fell down amidst the screams. It struggled to get up and continued to roar, but it was completely paralyzed after taking a few steps.
It's a crossbow! The mercenaries used the usual volley routine to complete a kill instantly and with extreme ease.
How can a mere bearskin block the penetration of a pointed cone-shaped crossbow fired by a steel-armed crossbow?
Mechasta watched helplessly as the bear suddenly died. When he was shocked, he immediately used the trick given to him by the mercenary to aim at the dazed polar bear and pulled the delicate trigger.
It was this arrow. He, Mechasta, was still a European after all. By chance, the arrow hit the bear's eye at an extremely fast speed, and then destroyed the bear's mind. He just pulled the trigger lightly, A ferocious bear died? !
In the ecstasy, Mechasta had forgotten to wind the string again, and he ran over happily to check his results.
However, when he stood in front of the body whose chest was still weakly spasming, he saw a horrifying scene. Not only did he feel nauseated, but he was suppressed by reason and did not vomit.
The bear was gnawing on a piece of slightly stinky carrion. After further identification, the so-called carrion is clearly human!
It was like a bolt from the blue hitting his head!
The crossbow in his hand fell to the ground involuntarily. Mechasta no longer cared about hunting other bears. He suddenly knelt on the ground and howled in fear.
Just because this dead body is one of his tribesmen, a member of the expedition team he personally sent!
It’s unbelievable that after the death of an excellent hunter, he became food for bears. Now, Mechasta no longer felt excited about his perfect shooting, he felt that he was taking revenge! He has a little more hatred for bears!
He suddenly looked up to the sky and shouted: "Brothers! All bears! Hunt them all!"
