Like the wrath of the gods, the climate is changing!
A cold wind from the Arctic pours in from the flat areas in the north of Scandinavia. It will sweep across the entire Baltic world, then pour into the hinterland of Europe, and finally end in the Alps.
Tiny humans in a huge world, especially the Swedish army with thousands of soldiers.
Now Origen, facing the hazy world and the sudden cold north wind, had to re-examine the next battle plan.
Early in the morning, Rurik got out of the leather tent and felt the biting cold, as if the earth had returned to early winter in an instant.
He stood outside and was surprised to find that his breath was filled with white mist.
"Damn it, the temperature will never be lower than 10 degrees Celsius?"
It just so happened that today was the day when the coalition forces set off for the expedition. He could clearly notice that his men were unprepared for the sudden drop in temperature, and the situation of the friendly forces must have been even worse.
The sudden drop in temperature was obviously an omen. As the Duke, Otto heard the complaints of the soldiers. When he saw that his son had woken up, he rushed over, took his hand, and took him to a bonfire.
"Dad? Something big happened?!"
"Isn't it a big deal?" Otto's eyebrows became more solemn under his nervous mood. He pointed at the sky: "Look at the dark clouds! I suspect this is the wrath of God. My child, did God give you a revelation last night?"
"this……"
"Don't worry about anything, just tell the truth. Even if it's a bad omen."
Hearing this, Rurik realized something in his rapidly spinning mind. Presumably Dad's culture represents the anxiety of the entire Ross Army, and everyone needs a wise man to resolve it.
Rurik forced a smile, thought of something to say, and said deliberately: "Do you think the strong wind and dark clouds are an obstacle to us? On the contrary, they are an obstacle to the enemy. God protects us, so our army can Fearless of strong winds and huge waves!”
"Oh? Is that really true?!"
"Yes!" Rurik's head became hot for a moment, and he suddenly drew his sword and pointed at the dark clouds: "Let the storm come more violently, we Russians are not afraid." Then he whispered again: "I hope our friendly forces Just as brave.”
Rurik did speak big words, and he was also very scared at the time.
Cooling temperatures and strong winds have made the calm sea show its violent side. The once blue water is now black as far as the eye can see.
Hearing that the boats at the pier were being pushed up and down by bigger waves, it was a crazy adventure to still go out to sea in such sea conditions.
"Yes, you are all Vikings. I think you won't give up adventure."
Rurik estimated that it would be impossible to get King Olegin to give up sailing and wait until the strong winds and the inevitable rains in the future ended before starting the battle. There was an extremely realistic situation that stuck in Olegin's neck, and that was Voskas, which was in a small area, and the coalition forces did not plunder much food.
If this storm lasts for ten days, will the coalition forces have to fight with bodies that have been starved for two or three days? Who would die? !
At least they should have the courage to overcome strong winds and waves.
Rurik had no illusions about "postponing the expedition". Olegin himself could not afford to delay it. He and Otto calculated it and put Ross's ship on the beach with his back to the swaying Aurora on the sea. The soldiers gathered.
"You have conquered the eastern land, conquered the frozen sea, killed countless beasts, and annihilated enemies several times your size. Now the winds and waves are strong, and you will conquer them! Don't have any worries, we The ship is completely different from theirs (referring to the allies), and no huge waves can destroy it..."
Soldiers need spiritual encouragement as well as substantial protection.
But among the various allies, how many of them really dare to sail in big waves?
Lakes such as Lake Malaren and Lake Hjärmalen are just "a calm pool" compared to the sea.
The worries of the coalition soldiers were written on their faces, and they were unprepared for the sudden cold. They reached out to the surrendered Voskars and stripped them clean of all the things they had to keep out the cold. The Voscas who were ordered to go out to fight in order to surrender had to wear only a very thin fig leaf. Hold on to the cold and brave the sea of rage.
All the princes gathered in front of Olegin's tent and expressed their concerns directly to the king. It was really inappropriate for the Russians not to participate in this matter, so Otto followed the other dukes out of friendship.
Some people are complaining, and some people are retreating, but Otto is a complete alien among them. His son Rurik did not come. He took the words Rurik gave him and urged Olegin to fight hard. The Russian army also began to make final preparations before going out. The army was about to board the ships, hoping to take advantage of the welcome news from the north to quickly reach Boriholm.
Everything was just as Rurik guessed. Those who retreated were jumping up and down. The huge waves, heavy rain, and the inevitable lightning and thunder were all the fury of God. The so-called coalition forces should postpone their actions or give up.
There are also cautious people who say: maybe we should treat Voskas as a safe haven.
However, various suggestions were directly rejected by Olegin who drew his sword.
He spoke harshly in public: "My order is absolute. Whoever dares to oppose, I will kill him now! His tribe will also be annexed by my Melalen army."
With such a threat, no one would object or question it face to face, but weren't the doubts in everyone's hearts written on their trembling eyes?
Olegin was emotional, and his son Karl was even more perverse. Anyone with a discerning eye can see that this time the Mellaren people are trying to pull their allies through the storm.
Otto realized the subtlety of the atmosphere here, and he struggled to squeeze through the crowd until he squeezed in front of Olegin.
"You?" Olegin's hand holding the sword became loose for a moment. He looked at the old guy with deep eyes and watched his braided beard swaying: "You? You won't reject it too?"
"On the contrary! I support you!"
Hearing this, Olegin's face, as cracked by drought, finally relaxed.
Otto continued his performance: "Brothers! I see that many people have lived in the lake for too long and don't know that the sea is here. We Russians have always sailed on the sea and have seen more terrible storms. However, we are blessed by God. How could people be buried in the sea?"
This was simply a mockery of the big guy from the Ross people. Some people on the spot couldn't hold back and wanted to shout loudly, "I'm not a fish in the puddle." However, everyone shut up because no one can deny Ross, who is alone in the north. People are just good at sailing.
"Strong winds and huge waves are not a threat, they are the paralysis God gives to the enemy! The enemies will huddle in their homes, like a group of fat sheep in the sheepfold, waiting for us to catch them. God commands us to use the wind and waves, so We were also given a northerly wind, so that we could hoist our sails and move quickly without having to row. Our warriors, who maintained their sheer physical strength, rushed onto the beach and easily defeated the Boriholm."
Olegin was extremely pleased, and now someone finally stood up for him. He was also very sorry that he did not think of these words dialectically. He was jealous and resentful of Otto. Such a big reason should be informed in advance and then explained by himself as the king.
In short, when Olegin faced the unexpected situation, he unified the attitudes of all parties in a short period of time.
The expedition must be launched, and now, the troops must leave the port!
Whether they were excited or worried, all kinds of people blindly followed their leaders and warriors with huge ambitions and gathered on the beach.
When Otto and his entourage arrived at the Russian camp, he saw Rurik taking off his hat on the Avora near the shore, shouting loudly, shaking his arms desperately, and the golden The ponytail was blown southward by the north wind, like a flag.
Otto smiled knowingly: "Good boy..."
He boarded the small boat that took him to the big ship, quickly climbed the rope ladder, and quickly hid in the warm bow lounge. As for the other Ross warriors, at this moment they completely understood the importance of installing decks on ships. Even if it is a cargo ship, its spacious cabin is full of people at the moment, and the heat emitted by the people gathered together also warms each other. On the deck, there are only a few sailors in thick clothes who are ordered to operate the sails, and they are constantly moving around. Ground work.
The Russian army is indeed not afraid of strong winds, rain, or cold, just because their ships have decks, while their allies still operate open-air longships and sail in big waves.
Willingly or not, the coalition fleet left the port of Voskas in the early morning.
Olegin only sent a mere fifty people to station here, firstly to keep an eye on the loot that was not taken away, and secondly to keep an eye on the Voskas women who were unable to fight. This is the most basic strategy of a king. To make "questionable" warriors sacrifice their lives, send troops to "protect" their wives and children.
The huge fleet sailed forcefully under strong winds. Only when they were really on the sea did Olegin not worry about his forced actions.
When he was young, Olegin also sailed in big waves. He felt that he could conquer the sea when he was young, and he could do the same now.
But he forgot the horror of adventure and overestimated that his allies were all warriors. No! He even overestimated the ships of his allies!
In warm and peaceful times, the average wave height in the Baltic Sea in June is only half a meter, making the Kalmar Strait even calmer.
At the moment, Category 5 winds are blowing in the main sea area, and the wave height in the Kalmar Strait alone has soared to two meters.
It can be said that Öland, a long and narrow island like a noodle, objectively plays a certain role as a breakwater. At this moment, in the sea outside the strait, the wave height has already reached six meters, and in some areas it has reached ten meters!
If there was the possibility of instant communication in this era, Otto would be able to learn the news from Tombstone Island and his hometown. The so-called sea has become huge and all fishing operations have been suspended. Not only that, it has been raining for many days in Ironburg in the north, and the rivers adjacent to it have also become filthy.
As the voyage continued, the waves became more dangerous, but this danger did not exist for the Russians.
The Aurora did not have full sail, because the wind was so strong that the sails might be damaged, and it would be bad if the mast was blown off again. She was like a fast-moving roller coaster in the waves, aiming towards the southwest, so-called going straight to the destination.
This is true for the longships of all parties, and the people on board have really suffered a lot!
By noon, the haze finally brought a new weapon - rain.
Rainfall occurred, the Tianshan Mountains thundered in the sky, and the sudden heavy rain caught the attacking warriors by surprise.
Raindrops pattered on the Aurora. Otto had not experienced this yet, and he urgently needed an explanation from Rurik.
"Dad? Are you scared?"
"I...a little bit." Otto smiled awkwardly.
Rurik still looked indifferent, but there was only a little light from the high window in the lounge, and he couldn't see his father's worry.
"It's nothing, it's raining outside, at least our ship won't get flooded."
"Oh? What other magic powers did you use?"
"It's not magic, it's technology. Dad, haven't you ever noticed that our deck is not flat at all? There are still a lot of holes in the masts on the side of the ship?"
"Ah! So you've been thinking about this?"
Otto suddenly realized that the so-called Aurora had considered the drainage problem from the beginning when laying the deck. The wood of all decks has been roasted and processed, and they have a certain curvature. A slight curvature is actually enough.
This is true even for those converted cargo ships, and the technology will naturally be applied to all future Ross ships.
However, the other ships were in trouble.
People grabbed the shields on the side of the ship, or grabbed the folded oars, they grabbed anything they could grab, and even tied themselves to the ship with ropes, for fear of being thrown out in the violent up and down motion like a roller coaster. , fell into the sea and drowned.
If the weather is calm, a person who falls into the water can be rescued. However, facing the furious sea, falling into the water is simply a physical sacrifice to the sea god.
They also had to use various tools and even their hands to scoop out the accumulated water in the cabin. The cold rain soaked their clothes, and as a result, many soldiers began to steam due to their hard work.
They had to keep scooping water or the ship would sink.
Except for the Rus who took refuge because of the advantage of the big ship, people on the other ships began to complain about the king's recklessness in wanting to sacrifice everyone.
The wave height has actually begun to approach three meters. This is also the most violent moment of the storm, and the Avora also begins to bump violently. However, her keel alone is thirty meters long, so she is not afraid of such waves.
In fact, some crazy fishing boats thousands of years later dared to brave waves of ten meters. Many times it's not that they are brave, but that they can't help themselves. They are hanging alone in the sea, and they can only persevere in the huge waves in order to survive.
The entire Swedish fleet persisted, and Rurik was surprised to realize that he suddenly had the urge to vomit.
In fact, a lot of people in the cargo ship had already vomited, mainly the Voskas children who were controlled, and Rurik's ten maids from Novgorod.
In such a situation, only the best sailors can ignore seasickness. Rurik boasted that he still needed practice. Fortunately, he didn't really vomit, but he was just mentally disturbed.
The fleet actually entered the central part of the Kalmar Strait, where the wind and waves are naturally the most violent.
Finally, something tragic happened.
A Hjalmalen longship, its sail was suddenly blown off by the strong wind! The mast collapsed sideways, capsizing the entire ship with it! More than thirty soldiers on board who were preparing to land on the beach all fell into the sea.
A boat tried to rescue someone who fell into the water, but ended up causing an even bigger disaster. A long boat suddenly rushed out of the wave crest and fell into the wave trough. It was also the people on the boat that were unlucky. This long boat was in disrepair. Its old keel was broken and the whole ship was broken into two. cut.
The sudden turn of events made the leader of Hjelmalen, Wendelson, almost faint. He lost more than seventy brothers in just one shipwreck! You must know that in addition to the previous war, his 500-strong army has already suffered irrecoverable losses of 130 people! However, he had no chance to retreat, including himself, who was frantically testing on the edge of life and death. Not only did he look at his ship in horror, fearing that it would suddenly break.
The fleet was not silenced by the storm, but the huge waves destroyed as many as nine ships!
Among them, there are four ships belonging to the coalition forces, namely two ships from Hjälmalen, one ship from Uppsala, and one ship from Onkras.
The Malaren people did not suffer huge losses, but ten unlucky ones were thrown out of the ship and were quickly swallowed up by the waves.
The traitors also suffered losses. Of course the Voskas people knew how to commit suicide by forcing their way into the storm. However, if they did not join the battle, everyone alive would be killed by Svealand's Swedish coalition.
They took their own fishing boat, and the inferior boat suffered a huge blow. Fortunately, their fishing boat only carried ten people, and the losses were not as serious as those of the coalition forces.
The storm did not last long, but it gave the coalition soldiers unforgettable memories.
The ordeal lasted for more than two hours, and they finally left the most dangerous central sea area. Two hundred people were buried in the sea. The survivors were greatly frightened, but they persisted.
In the past two hours, the coalition fleet had achieved a crazy speed that they had never experienced in their lives - the entire fleet maintained a terrifying speed of fifteen knots.
In just this short time, the coalition forces completed most of the journey. The crazy speed made the traitorous Dane Francis feel ashamed. Of course, he also lamented that Poseidon did not harvest his own life.
So this speed is considered high speed? Because they could only reach a speed of ten knots at most under a safe sea breeze. Of course, the stronger the wind, the faster they ran, but the result was like this. The strong wind made the longship speed and made the sea furious. A boat without a suitable mechanical structure should not brave strong winds.
Taking out 200 men to "sacrifice the Poseidon", Olegin realized that his troops had been lost. While he was furious, he suddenly saw a vague existence in the distance.
Because Oland Island is a flat sandbar, it is at a very low altitude and only some pine and oak trees grow. Fortunately, there are springs on it, making the island habitable.
The dark thing was not very big, but stood out on the horizon.
Olegin, whose face was covered with rainwater, wiped his face hard and said to his shocked brothers: "Brothers, thank God for his wrath! Our front is Boriholm! Go and take what you want. everything!"
The flagship of the Malaren Army roared, and the roar quickly infected neighboring ships.
The sea is no longer so violent, the heavy rain has turned into a drizzle, the thunder has become dull, the situation is no longer unbearable, and the current waves can no longer destroy the ship.
Due to the poor sea conditions, the water near the coast was extremely dirty. Even though the people of Borgholm had completed their preparations for war, they had to stay inside the wooden wall to take shelter from the wind. Their ships were also pushed to the shore, and after unloading the canvas, they were fixed with cables. This work actually started when the wind started last night. They were very good at sheltering from wind and rain.
However, they have never learned the tricks to avoid the enemy's landing on the beach!
The Malaren Army began their landing. The soldiers had already seen the enemy's huge wooden fort, as well as the densely packed houses in front of the fort, and even more than a dozen frightened locals.
Olegin didn't care so much. He held the hilt of the sword with his frozen right hand and followed his "forced brave" warriors off the ship. He stammered: "Brothers, let me fight!"
Fortunately, the young and powerful Karl became the military commander everyone needed most, and he was truly worthy of being appointed "War Chief." He led the "soldiers in black", unloaded the battering ram and immediately went into the war.
Allied ships also began to wash up on the beach one after another, and soldiers from various tribes went crazy to land. It was not that they were brave, but they were frightened crazy at sea and continued to go ashore to find real safety. But in Olegin's view, why did his allies suddenly become crazy bears and wolves? Well, their bravery will allow them to win quickly.
Olegin also saw that the five Russian ships were just staying offshore. Even though they were very big, they still threw "things" from the ships and settled on the sea. They still wanted to be spectators.
The Russians just anchored and watched the show. Rurik, Otto, and a large number of warriors stood on the deck.
"Ah, is this Boriholm?" Rurik said in surprise.
"It seems so." Otto couldn't help itching his hands as he watched his allies begin to demolish the house, "Are we really just spectators?"
"if not?"
"In my opinion, it's better to send people to land. This is a greater battle. Maybe I shouldn't be absent."
"Forget it." Rurik shook his head, "Father, you just can't calm down. In my opinion, let's continue watching the show. Olegin will never be able to quickly conquer this larger fortress until they need our support. When the time comes, we will land again.”
"Okay." Olegin patted the torsion slingshot next to him, which was still covered with oilcloth. "We still need them to smash the enemy's wall."
"This... I hope so." Rurik looked at the enemy's obviously larger and thicker wall, but he was not as optimistic as his father.
Can the imitation Roman Scorpion Crossbow break through those thick walls? Pooh! Either a stronger wild ass trebuchet to launch large rocks, or simply a counterweighted trebuchet. However, these two weapons are too heavy, and their ship-borne torsion slingshot cannot be quickly disassembled and put into combat.
Soon, the Swedish army demolished offshore houses and killed offshore fishermen indiscriminately, which was soon discovered by the sentries at the fortress. At first, Shaobing thought that the sudden appearance of the black things was a dazzle for them, until they realized that what Voskas who reported the news was actually telling the truth.
The horrific news was reported to the leader Stein by the crying sentinel. An enemy force that was not afraid of huge waves appeared and immediately detonated the entire situation.
Even though it was raining lightly all over the world, the more than 2,000 people huddled in the fortress in Borgholm urgently mobilized, and 1,200 of them began to take up positions, vowing to kill those enemies who were bound to attack the city. They are already prepared...
