The proud polar bears who dominate the northern ice and snow world only truly realize who is the real master of the ice and snow world when they see the sudden mass deaths of their companions.
They all gave up the food in their mouths, although the food that started to stink was just a meal they had to nibble to restore their strength after ending hibernation.
They began to turn around and flee into the woods, but could not really escape the hunter's pursuit.
It's like war!
When the polar bear towers its head majestically, Coven hunters must be on high alert. Now that they have escaped, the hunters no longer care about the trapped beasts and are still fighting. They, who are relatively short in stature, rely on the iron spears and bows and arrows in their hands to chase and beat the fleeing bears.
However, the Russian mercenaries interpreted what was called the great change in the hunting era!
The cheapest, single-use glass arrow cluster crossbows were loaded. The mercenaries fired freely, and the fleeing bears were also hit by arrows.
Even without arrow feathers, those arrows that can be shaved into slightly flat tails can barely remain stable in high-speed flight.
A large number of crossbow arrows hit the bears before the Kovin pursuers, and the bears fell painfully while running clumsily and frightened.
Just as Rurik and blacksmith Klavason discussed at the beginning, the production cost of crossbow arrows with glass arrow clusters is very low, but they have very special lethality against light armored units.
The relatively sharp glass arrow pierced the bear's hide and broke inside the bear's body. The more the bear struggles, the more foreign objects in its body will cut into its fragile organs, causing continuous damage.
The hunters of Kewen rushed forward one after another and stabbed the struggling bear. After completing the kill, their targets immediately changed.
Let’s talk about these polar bears.
They have ended their hibernation and are dragging their hungry and emaciated bodies around in search of food. They are omnivores and will eat scavengers under extreme circumstances.
They smelled the faint stench in the air, and then spontaneously ran to the quiet mines and found food on the hillside to satisfy their hunger.
They are originally scattered hunters. Usually only in September during the "salmon tide", they will gather in large numbers at some river mouths to catch the fish they need peacefully. The biggest reason why they maintain harmony is that there was enough food for a period of time, but now, in order to fill their stomachs, they no longer care about the existence of a large number of competitors.
Bears are bears, they only have animal nature, and when faced with the strange things that are constantly approaching, they do not retreat first.
It is this hesitation that has made mankind a fortune.
There were more than thirty bears gathered near the mine at one time, but as many as twenty were hunted by a joint effort!
The unprecedented success shocked Mechasta, and what shocked him even more was that in all the hunting, it was almost the crossbows in the hands of the Ross mercenaries that completed the first and most important kills.
The crossbow has enhanced the hunter's combat effectiveness like never before, but it also greatly increased the brutality of the war.
Just like these pitiful dead who began to decay and became delicious meals for polar bears, they were all members of their own tribe, and almost all of them died from crossbow shots.
Mechasta found several rusted crossbow arrows with feathers, and combined with the smashed faces of some dead people, he determined that the murder weapon was a crossbow.
All members of the missing expedition except for the executed Voyma Kashad have been found, and here they are, exposed in the wild for five full months!
Subsequent large forces arrived one after another. When Rurik stood under the mine again, he saw that the vanguard troops were holding daggers full of bear blood and cutting off the entire bear skin.
The bear's head was cut off first. It was heavy and ferocious and required a hunter to hold it up with all his strength.
Being able to hold and hold a bear's head aloft is a self-evident proof of a hunter's strength.
Now, Mechasta collected twenty bear heads and arranged them in a more orderly manner for his master to review.
Rurik finally arrived, his ankles a little sore from the long trek.
This is probably the case for most people. In fact, everyone's clothing, especially the leather boots on their feet, is more suitable for walking on snow and ice. Trekking on pine needle mats is really strenuous.
Seeing the arrival of his little master, Mechasta didn't bother to wipe the bear blood from his face and hurried to report the situation.
Rurik just wanted to take a break, but when he saw Mechasta running over looking a little embarrassed, he had to ask cautiously: "What's going on? What monster did you fight with? The blood stains on your face..."
"It's a bear! It's bear blood." Mechasta bowed slightly with joy, "Please come with me quickly and take a look at our trophies."
"Then let's go." Rurik shook his neck and motioned to his resting subordinates to continue on their way. Finally, everyone stood on the top of a low hill to complete today's action.
He led his men, especially the boys who were leaving Roseburg to see the world for the first time.
When everyone saw a large number of ferocious bear heads piled on the soft pine needle ground, even Rurik couldn't help but take a breath.
"These...were all those you just killed?" Rurik asked cautiously.
By this time, Mechasta lost his previous slight joy, and he said with a stern face: "Master, we killed many bears, but let some escape."
"It doesn't matter. I don't think you have ever killed so many bears in one go in your life."
"What you said is absolutely true. But to attract a large number of bears to one place for encirclement and suppression, you really need some bait."
Bait? Rurik was very excited. He saw that the pioneers he sent out suffered no casualties, but the bears were hunted on a large scale. Can bear hunting still be like fishing and casting a net to catch fish? Just release some bait and get a lot of kills done?
But he noticed Mechasta's solemn expression and realized that this matter might not be simple.
"Tell me, what bait are you talking about?" Rurik asked.
"It's right there, please...come with me."
Hearing his words, Rurik suddenly realized, and his nose also smelled a faint stench in the air that was different from the smell of blood, like seal meat that had been left out for several days.
Rurik signaled all the warriors of the tribe to follow him, including the boys and girls under his command.
He already knew what he would see next. When he thought about seeing the terrible scene, he could have ordered all the children under his command to avoid it, but when he thought about today's era, he had to live strong in such a wild world, even if it was... Children, perseverance also needs to be like steel. Mental stimulation? ! Come on then! Young warriors cannot be afraid of corpses.
Rurik knew that the team had evacuated here at the beginning of the year. The large troops had collected some of the dead corpses of the enemies, but many were still scattered in the wilderness without being collected.
He finally followed Mechasta's footsteps and approached the so-called "mass grave", which was a snow nest where dead bodies were piled up selected by the Russians a few months ago.
Most of the ice and snow has melted, and a large number of dead bodies are lying on the pine needles. They begin to decay rapidly, and as their broken bodies change, a large amount of green grass is also struggling to grow.
Many children covered their mouths and noses, and Rurik's maids huddled together in fear, subconsciously covering their eyes.
Like Saipolava, she threw herself directly into her brother's arms, not daring to look at the corpses of her clan members.
As for the Carlotta sisters, they just hunched over and stared quietly. It cannot be said that their hearts are cold-blooded, but they have already experienced more terrifying mental stimulation than this, and seeing a large number of deaths again, their hearts have long been numb.
The mood of the Ross warriors did not fluctuate. Some of those who had witnessed the battle recalled the environment here and began to recall the battle.
Mechasta looked dejected. It is true that any leader would feel sorry to see the large number of corpses of his own people. This man's sad look was a bit familiar to Rurik. He thought that his father Otto also had the same sad look when he talked about the tombs on Tombstone Island.
"Yes, these people are your men. I participated in that battle, and I shot your soldiers. I must do this, otherwise I will be the one lying here..." Rurik's words were extremely serious, He was explaining the rationale for killing his enemy.
Mechasta had no intention of blaming him for this. He just felt hatred when he saw the corpses of his tribe. When he thought of the strong military power of the Russians, any thoughts of resistance immediately disappeared. We can say that this guy is a coward who betrayed his former courage. He is indeed rational and has figured out another way to survive: if you can't defeat them, become one of them.
Mechasta still had a dull face: "Master, I have only one request. I hope to bury them and build a tomb for them here."
"Okay! I've already had this idea. We have already arrived under the mine. Let me tell you, the top of the mountain is the mine developed by your expedition team, and there are also the bodies of your people on it."
"Ah!?" Another piece of bad news like a bolt from the blue. Mechasta's body shuddered, and then he begged with a trembling voice: "I hope you may allow us to bury them all."
"Of course. Not only do I need to be buried, I also need to set up a tomb area. Your shaman is still in the team. I will help your people complete a tomb before the sun sets today and give you permission to perform sacrifices. .”
Suddenly, Mechasta's nose felt sour, and he knelt down suddenly, thanking the Russians for their kindness.
Ah, although it was indeed the Rus who killed the men of the expedition. Mechasta no longer cares whether the current determination of the Russians is hypocritical, because things are developing just as Rurik said, and the Russians really started to fill the rotting corpses with soil directly to make a big tomb!
Shovels began to dig into the slightly wet soil, and a group of people from the Iron Squirrel tribe began to use various tools at hand, or just their hands, to bury their dead members.
Some women recognized the deceased as their relatives. They buried the dead in grief, but could not bring up their hatred of the Russians.
They had to compromise, but the development of things made them more and more happy.
The tribe's shaman, Porla, was still alive and well. When she lived in Rossburg, everyone believed that this woman was recognized by the Ross people.
Why is this so? Perhaps the most direct reason is that she is a psychic.
The tribesmen were burying the corpses. From time to time, male tribesmen and Russian mercenaries would wrap the limp corpses in coarse cloths and walk down from the top of the mountain, throwing the corpses into the graves. The Russians were cleaning the battlefield they should have cleaned four months ago.
They even threw the spears and small wooden shields they found into the graves as burial objects for the deceased.
Throughout the burial process, the wizard Porla, dressed as an owl, twisted her body violently in the sun and muttered words that no one could understand.
She was actually relaxing. Even the mumblings on her lips were meaningless words made in compliance with her heart.
She is such a person, who firmly believes that everything has animism and that she can talk to the dead in the sea of souls.
She fell into madness and subconsciously believed that the soul of the deceased could return to the sea of souls because it was rested, and the deceased had no hatred for the Rus who killed her. Whether it was for inner meditation or purely political purposes, the shaman in his madness had already thought about what he should say during the evening sacrifice.
Mechasta led his people to bury the dead, and Rurik fully supported it. They did this slowly, but Rurik led his own Rus tribesmen to climb up the low hills and once again occupied the mines developed by the Kovin people.
Although four months have passed, traces of the destroyed tents are still visible. All signs indicate that there are human activities here, and now humans occupy this place.
Without Rurik's orders, Kawei was already armed with an ax and a hammer for cutting rocks and began to dig out the open-pit ores that could be found everywhere.
I have to say, the ore is really easy to find! Although the entire mine contains a large amount of gray granite, excellent metallurgical experts stood on the top of the mountain and identified the veins at once.
The formation of chromite is special. Magma rich in iron and chromium is accidentally pushed to the surface by the mantle, forming thin filamentous veins. They are essentially different in color from the surrounding granite, and this difference is really evident to the eye.
Kawe and his blacksmith students from the Salmon Lord began digging, stuffing the crumbled rocks into prepared sacks. Taking away these ores is really a physical job, and Kawei can no longer care about it. After all, in his opinion, the biggest obstacle that troubles his family's iron smelting has never been the lack of labor in ironmaking, but the ore. difficult to obtain. Not to mention high-quality ore, even low-quality ore is difficult to obtain!
Different from the reddish iron oxide and black magnets in the mountainous area of Roseburg, the iron ore here appears to be specially made of metal. In short, it is very shiny. Kawei didn't know yet that this was chromite. He actually knew that there was an element labeled Cr on the "elements table" that Rurik took out, but he had no way of knowing its actual existence.
In fact, this is not surprising, because there is only one chromium mine in Europe, and it was discovered by humans in 830 AD. What is very interesting is that the first people to discover chromium ore in this plane were actually a group of ancient Finns who gradually left the Stone Age and entered the Iron Age. They should have been the Kovin people who only had legends in history.
History has finally returned to normal in some respects. The Kovin people finally settled at the mouth of the northernmost river in the Gulf of Bothnia, as the legend goes. They settled because of the iron mines. As altars and tombs were set up, Kovin people The literati have migrated not far away.
The unnamed river finally has a name. Its name should have been called "Kemi River". Due to a slight change in history, it was naturally pronounced "Aironorava" in the language of the Kovin people, which is also the "Iron Squirrel River". The name is indeed a bit weird. It is named after the Kovin tribe who settled here.
The sky was getting dark, and all the people who went to the mines had to sleep in the forest this night.
Everyone was not afraid of sleeping in the open. They lit a bonfire and began to cut the polar bear's meat and grill it on the fire to satisfy their hunger.
A huge tomb was filled with earth, and the tribal shaman also ordered a huge pyre to be built out of pine branches.
Kawei took the children and went down the mountain carrying heavy ore. To smelt the ore, a furnace would need to be built, which would take some time. Due to exhaustion, Kawei didn't want to do anything, and his eyes gradually aimed at the lively Covin people.
"Haha, are you preparing for a major sacrifice? Are you praying for the dead?"
Although he is not a warrior, he does not believe in Odin, the patron saint of warriors. As a worshiper of the God of Blacksmiths, he had doubts about the Hall of Valor. After learning about the Kewen people's beliefs about the sea of souls and animism, his own beliefs became even more confusing.
"Perhaps the gods of the Eastern Land will protect these people forever."
The Iron Squirrel tribe needed a key priest to reassure its people. Rurik knew this very well, and this time she decided to participate in it personally.
In his opinion, spiritual conquest is obviously more effective than conquest and suppression by force.
Rurik needs to be affirmed by these tribesmen, but they know that the Ross leader values them and respects them.
But almost all Russians have no interest in the bonfire rituals of foreigners. They didn't care about the noise of those people, so they lit their own bonfire by the woods, set up their shack, ate a few bites of the smelly bear meat sprinkled with salt, and boiled some wheat kernels they brought, and then they had a complete meal. , then fell into a drowsy state and rested.
It is really difficult to get your own people to participate in the rituals of other people. But Rurik would not participate alone. Even if it was for money, his mercenaries would all participate in the bonfire sacrifice as representatives of the Rus warriors.
Some Russians fell asleep, and some, out of boredom, could only watch the Covins, men, women, old and young, dancing crazily in front of the bonfire.
Rurik, this time he actually joined in this crazy bonfire dance.
In fact, the so-called dance means that everyone gathers in a ring, circles around the bonfire, and mutters some simple prayers of the Kewen people.
"God of Owls! Appear! Communicate with the Sea of Souls! Let the dead return!"
Most of them muttered these words, although it felt a bit absurd. Rurik and his mercenaries were mingling with the Covin people and praying for the dead.
You know, although the Rus will also pray for the dead, this work is usually done by a professional group of priests who receive support.
Rurik actually put aside his noble glory and participated in the sacrifice of the defeated. In a daze, the men and women of the Kovin people felt that this Russian child who understood his own language was the person who had received the divine messenger.
The people circling were divided into three levels. Right in front of the crackling fire, the shaman Porra was trembling violently, as if he was caught in the horn wind.
As her madness suddenly ended, the crowd in circles fell to their knees.
Of course, Rurik and his mercenaries withdrew. After all, they were not from Covin.
The shaman recited ancient and obscure incantations while playing her harmonica in her mouth, emitting sounds that were impossible in nature, as if she was the medium to communicate with the sea of souls.
She was praying, and finally, after a surly roar, she announced the result that everyone wanted most.
"Their souls have returned to the Sea of Souls! They finally rest in peace! They no longer have hatred for the Rus people! They hope that our lives will return to peace."
Hearing this, all the people who were kneeling stood up. For a moment, many people burst into tears of joy.
Now Rurik completely understood. After asking himself, he had to admire the wit of this female shaman.
Since the senior members of the Iron Squirrel tribe have sworn to cooperate, they are also guiding the cooperation of other tribesmen. In the current situation, Rurik feels that he is still short of a major promise of his own.
He approached the fiercely burning bonfire and said loudly: "People of the Iron Pine Tribe! This is your new home. Your cemeteries and altars have been established. You will perform your own sacrifices without any interference. You will do Follow the work I have assigned you. In the future, you only need to pay me a part of the tribute and organize people to fight for me during the war. My descendants and I will recognize that you are the most loyal slaves of us Russians.
Be loyal to me and I will protect you. From now on, you will make a living by forging iron tools, hunting wild animals, and cutting down trees. You will provide me with a large amount of iron, hides, and wood in exchange for my oats and other supplies.
I joined your priesthood, it was I who fought and killed these dead, and the spirits of the dead have forgiven me.
Now please all of you agree to my rule, and you will reap the eternal benefits of your loyalty. "
Ultimately, Rurik is emphasizing one thing: surrender will be treated favorably.
But he did not expect that the simple tribesmen believed in the "revelation of the Owl God" even more. God's meaning was very clear. Although Rurik was a Rusian, he could indeed exist as one of his own.
Justice is in the heart of the people, and Rurik's kindness and support are appreciated and benefited by these civilized people. Especially after this sacrifice, no one regarded Rurik as an outsider anymore. They have evolved to be more willing to kneel to Rurik than to their true leader, Mechasta.
No, Mechasta was the first to kneel down, causing other tribesmen to kneel down one after another, and even the shaman also knelt down.
The show developed like this. Rurik himself watched all this with a blank expression, while the Russians who had not slept to watch the whole show stood up one after another. They all silently exclaimed that King Rurik had completely tamed the tribesmen, just like taming a group of calves.
