My son was so frightened that he backed down with just one look from the other party? Although Olegin was disappointed with his son's behavior, he also had to admire the so-called "Rurik's aura". But if his son was humiliated, wouldn't he also be slapped in the face?
Olegin coughed twice and ordered again: "Russians, kneel down! Salute me! If you refuse, then leave! Your refusal is a betrayal of the alliance! The business you desire is over here, and we, Melalen, You and all who have anything to do with you will be forbidden to enter the lake."
In order to support their own power, use trade sanctions as a means?
Rurik felt that this was just a kind of rhetoric and a bluff. The leader of the alliance would not be so stupid that he would not really do business with the Russians. Rurik looked at his surroundings and couldn't help but feel that Olegin was really interesting. Yeah, there were only five unarmed people in the room and that was it.
If Olegin was really prepared and was stimulated by Arik's out-of-control silent challenge, he would use a cup-breaking signal as a signal and summon dozens of swordsmen to suddenly appear to determine who would win. has the greatest authority. Obviously Olegin was very sincere for today's meeting. In this matter, it was clearly the Russians who did not do well.
"Oops, offended him twice..."
Thinking that the disaster could no longer spread, Rurik stepped forward and stood in front of Arik.
"You? Chief Otto's daughter? I hope you can say some beautiful words as you are beautiful. It is best not to have such a bad mouth as your brother."
Rurik nodded and immediately took off his velvet hat. He looked at Olegin with a calm gaze, deliberately letting him see his face clearly and make some memories.
Sure enough, Olegin felt that the voice of "the so-called Rurik" seemed familiar just now. Now that he saw the child's face, he suddenly thought of something.
Olegin's body was trembling as he sat upright, and his eyes were also trembling.
Rurik bowed slightly and said respectfully: "Dear leader, I am a boy, and I am the real Rurik. It is a pity that my reckless brother has made you unhappy."
"That's wrong!" Olegin had completely reacted. He stood up suddenly: "You? Aren't you Norwegian travelers? How did you become Russians?!"
Rurik immediately knelt down and replied with a sincere look: "Yes. I'm sorry to cause the distinguished leader to misunderstand, and what happened before. We were guilty and should not contradict the distinguished leader. Now we have more information." A deep sin. Oh, maybe because we have been in the north for too long, people have become vulgar. I hope that the noble leader will forgive us for the sake of future trade."
Rurik said "leader" several times, and with this rhetoric, he kept telling Olegin that his status as leader of the alliance has always been recognized by the Russians.
This boy spoke very nicely, and the childlike innocence in his eyes really made Olegin feel relieved, and at the same time he realized that he really had weight in the hearts of the Russian people.
For a moment, Olegin fell in love with this half-kneeling boy. He wished that all the Russians, or all the nobles from other tribes, had this boy's eloquence and awareness of his own identity.
In other words, he was very happy to immerse himself in the atmosphere of being worshiped, and this joy made him feel relieved.
Rurik was the first to kneel down on one knee, with his little head hooked under his head, facing the leader with his beautiful and reflective blond hair. Yes, it's completely because Rurik always takes care of himself with his hair. He is extremely hygienic and makes himself too clean. He doesn't have the sloppy image that everyone thinks a boy should have.
There is a slight natural difference in the voices of boys and girls, even if they don't change their voices, and Olegin can tell them apart.
Of course, he still had some doubts. Could this little boy be Rurik? A credible envoy clearly claimed that the visitors were Rurik and his two sisters.
Under Olegin's gaze, Rurik knelt down on one knee and gave the warrior salute, and Carlotta also saluted immediately. Seeing this, Arik, who was originally very reluctant, had a fierce ideological struggle in his heart, and finally knelt down on one knee under the premise of putting the overall situation first.
"You still kneel down, you should have saluted long ago!" Olegin nodded with satisfaction.
Although the specific situation has not yet been clarified, there must be a real Rurik among them. Rurik, who was said to be succeeding the old Otto of Rus, knelt down here, which meant that the next leader of the Rus people also recognized his authority.
The last time I saw Otto, the leader of Rus, was a long time ago. Olegin vaguely remembered that he was a very capable man and a ruthless man who was always interested in attacking the traitors in Gotland. It was this guy who became a little nervous after losing his son. depressed.
Recalling these past events, Olegin became more and more convinced that the kneeling boy with a ponytail and a respectful voice was Rurik.
It had probably been ten years since I had been separated from Otto. Olegin immediately asked: "Beautiful boy, tell me your age."
"I'm...nine years old." Rurik told the truth.
"There is no problem. You are the real Rurik. Then you..." Olegin put on his angry eyes again and looked at the tall half-kneeler: "Who are you? Oh, by the way. , you must be Arik! Unfortunately, I didn’t know you existed when I was dealing with your leader.”
"I am Arik, and I am the nephew of leader Otto. I am the bravest warrior of the Ross tribe and a hero in battle. I am afraid that there is no other person in the entire alliance who has my strength." Arik raised his head and said Answer questions with determined eyes.
"Bah!" At the same time as Karl launched his attack, there was also the sound of the shattering of a cup carefully carved with walrus tusks. The fragments of the cup were beside Arik. He was so angry that he immediately turned his head and glared at the arrogant young man.
Karl continued to attack: "Are you Russians going to hide in the bay at the end of the world? You claim to have killed countless enemies, which I think is just bragging. You are just a warrior of the Russian people, and I! Invincible Karl! I am the whole The bravest warrior in the alliance, soon, I will be the leader of the alliance, and when the time comes, I want you to kneel down and kiss my leather boots."
His son's rude behavior really annoyed Olegin. He needed to establish his authority in the alliance for a long time, but he didn't want to always face the tribes he joined in a condescending manner. Sometimes he needed to be brothers with those leaders. And what his son said was really irritating. His words clearly meant he was looking forward to his early death.
Olegin snapped: "Karl, shut up, it's not your turn to chatter here."
"But, he is humiliating..."
"Shut up!"
Karl tried to calm down with anger. He just didn't speak, and his eyes were like two spearheads, glaring at Arik who was equally angry. It seems that resolving the hostility between the two sides requires a life-threatening duel, which Olegin never wants to happen.
Rurik was a little annoyed that his cousin's active performance was inappropriate for the time, but he was also disgusted with the "Prince" of Melalen who claimed to be named Karl. If this person really becomes the leader of the alliance as he wishes, recognize him? Pooh! It’s okay not to have such an alliance.
The situation has fallen into a speechless embarrassment again, and someone needs to break the deadlock.
Rurik calmed down and noticed the unconscious trembling of the muscles on the face of the alliance leader Olegin. Even after the quarrel and threat just now, the man's eyes became ambiguous when he opened his eyes.
In this case, a matter that needs to be solved urgently should be put on the table.
Rurik spoke of Carlotta who tried his best to remain calm, "Dear leader, can you guess the identity of this girl?"
"She?" Olegin didn't want any woman to participate in any kind of meeting between tribes. He could see that the girl was cute and charming, so he smiled to compensate for the tense atmosphere just now. : "She should be your sister."
"That's probably true. However, she is not from Russia."
"Who is she?" From the first moment he saw Carlotta's appearance, Olegin concluded that this girl was either rich or noble. The first impression is very important, especially in this era. The more noble a person is, the more he needs to show his dignity clearly. Being low-key on important occasions is a kind of stupidity.
"She is from Ostara." Rurik said calmly.
"What? Ostara?"
"Yes. She is the last descendant of that tribe."
Hearing Rurik's explanation, Olegin couldn't help but open his mouth: "Ah? Is this true? But Ostara was destroyed by the Danes last year."
After being roughly opened by Olegin, Carlotta's tears were like a fountain, like two water swords spurting out. Soon her hot tears were shining brightly under the light of the oil lamp. For this alliance leader whom she met for the first time, Carlotta very much hoped to get help from this person, but the alliance leader did nothing.
Karl, who had been silent for a while, crossed his arms and questioned with disdain: "Is this possible? There are actually people from Ostara alive?"
These words were like a knife stabbing Carlotta's heart. She stared at Karl with tears in her eyes, her face full of grief and anger.
Carl just shrugged. He didn't care about any look from a child.
Rurik suppressed the atmosphere in his heart and deliberately took a deep breath: "Ostara never perished! Some Ostara people did not die. They fled to Melalen, and they were eager to get the protection of the alliance leader. But you didn't do it. Some merchants were collecting these fugitives, and in the end we bought them from the merchants and redeemed them." At this point, Rurik deliberately bowed and put on a humble expression. Posture: "Great leader, there are many Ostara people or maybe you should recognize their identity. Also, recognize this girl as the leader of Ostara."
The development of the matter was completely unexpected. Olegin hesitated while pinching his beard.
At this moment, Karl said flatly: "Father, this girl is too suspicious. You can't agree to this rashly."
Olegin immediately turned his head: "Perhaps, she is indeed the descendant of the chief family of Ostara."
In order to prove her identity, Carlotta wiped away her tears suddenly and took out her treasure with a cry - her own amber that was constantly polished into balls.
A girl possesses such a rare treasure? Olegin pinched his chin and tried to recall some of the past.
Carlotta continued to cry and helped the leader recall; "A long time ago, my grandfather bought three large pieces of amber at the Mälaren market for a lot of money. They were polished and they were gifts given to me by my grandfather. I own them. A piece of it.”
"Ah! So that's it!" Olegin finally remembered something, looked at the unusually large piece of amber in the girl's hand, and believed the girl's words.
"So, Alliance Leader, can you... recognize me?" Carlotta said weakly.
Seeing her pitiful appearance, Olegin couldn't help but feel sympathy.
In some matters, Olegin naturally has a violent side, and he will pay enough attention to noble people.
However, his arrogant son Karl spoke for him again: "Let a girl serve as the leader of a tribe? Do we have to recognize her? It is still too ridiculous. Does the authenticity of her identity be confirmed by holding a piece of amber? Maybe only God can You can tell at a glance that this is a Russian performance.”
Olegin calmed down again. Although his son's frequent interruptions made him annoyed about how to get him involved, his son's words needed to be considered.
After all, it is unprecedented for a girl to be recognized as the leader.
For Carlotta, she took the leader's hesitation as an implicit way of refusing to admit that she was the leader.
She could no longer control her emotions, and screamed with the sharp voice of a girl: "We Ostara were attacked, we failed, our people fled, you refused to save them! You should ask the Danes, the Gotlanders Revenge. Are you sure that you are not the next target of their attack? Those Danes, whether they are children or women, will be killed by them. They are a group of beasts more terrifying than wolves. You must beware of them, not only do not give We helped and now...refuse to acknowledge my identity."
For a moment, Olegin actually felt a chill down his spine. The person who roared at him was no longer just a girl, it was as if she represented the hundreds of undead souls in Ostara, sending soul complaints to him.
Olegin forced out a smile, trying to calm down Carlotta like he was coaxing a child.
"I can admit that Ostara has not perished, and I admit that your people are still living. But with your identity...can't Ostara elect a man to be the leader?"
"This..." Carlotta turned her face and looked at the ground, not wanting to say anything else.
Rurik took her words and retorted: "Any ordinary boy herding cattle can take over the position of the leader, just because he is a boy? Isn't that chaos? The descendant of the Ostara chief family She is the only one with a noble status. At least... at least Otto, the leader of our Rus people, recognizes her as the leader of Ostara."
Now that the words have come to this person, Rurik thought what else could Olegin say?
"Your father? Otto? I haven't seen him for many years, but you haven't been born yet..." Olegin raised his head and thought for a while. He almost admitted in public that Carlotta was the leader. , but his unlucky son got in the way again.
"I object!" Karl stood up, "It's still too ridiculous! Who would agree with a woman as a leader at any time, let alone a child."
It's Carl again! They're talking about the so-called tradition again. This damn tradition...
In itself, the so-called talking about tradition should be a kind of rhetoric in Olegin's opinion, so-called making opponents submit from a high moral level. But this is supposed to be a way of doing things. Does the tribe need to maintain the so-called tradition completely rigidly? Are there any benefits to this kind of complacency?
As the leader of the alliance, Olegin had just weighed the pros and cons of recognizing Carlotta's identity.
Obviously, he needs to declare to all his allies that the Ostara tribe has not perished and even has a leader, albeit a female leader. After all, they have not all disappeared, and the stigma attached to the Melalen people for not saving their lives should soon disappear.
Carl's untimely disruption really made him both nervous and worried.
The only son seems to have been pampered for a long time. He really thinks highly of himself. He obviously has his own overconfident way of dealing with others. But what he lacks most is the experience of dealing with powerful allies, and even in the future. As the leader of the alliance, it is a political means to maintain the stability of the entire alliance even in name.
How can a person who is easily impulsive make a deal with a wily one?
In short, his son is thirty-one years old. He should be very mature, but his performance today really broke the old father's heart.
On the other hand, Rurik was a nine-year-old child. His profundity, decisive words, and etiquette made Olegin have to pay attention to him. He could only envy Otto in his heart. After losing two sons accidentally, the third son really had a noble soul.
Of course, if Olegin believed in the legendary identity of the "Odin's Blessing" added to Rurik, he would not believe it no matter what. He could not accept someone in the alliance claiming to be more noble than himself.
