Gotland is a large island 130 kilometers from east to west, and its widest point is less than 50 kilometers.
Its geographical location is unique, and it is simply surrounded by a huge fishing ground. The prosperous fishing industry made the island once host a huge population of 20,000 people.
Fishermen and businessmen from all walks of life gather here, and the fish they produce are sold far away.
Gotland Island has a large population, and people from all over the world gather here. There is no strong tribe with common roots here. There are only more than a dozen large settled families and more than a dozen small fishing villages.
Without war, life among Gotlanders would have been relatively peaceful.
Over the years, only Gotland's fishermen have attacked outsiders who broke into the fishing grounds, and their attacks have been successful frequently. However, in the conflict with the Russians ten years ago, they tasted failure.
That time, Otto was commanding the Ross fleet. Because the fleet was lost in the fog, it accidentally broke into the Gotlanders' fishing ground.
The rebellious fishermen took it for granted that they were fishing competitors from the north, or simply attackers.
At least ten years ago, Gotland announced its separation from the Svealand Alliance, and the elders of the major families voted that they should cooperate with the Danes. To be fair, Gotland is naturally a quick way to do business with Jutland. They broke their alliance for the sake of greater interests, and Liang Zi was forged.
Since the Gotlanders betrayed the alliance, the Russians, who were part of the alliance, were equivalent to having a privateering license. The remote Rus' people were well fed and went to attack the Gotlanders on a large scale, but the lost fleet was attacked and the leader's brother died.
After that, Otto opened up old scores, and the Russians suddenly became the most active in attacking Gotland.
The incessant attacks by the Rus in recent years have caused the Gotlanders to vomit three liters of blood.
Islanders gather from all directions. If there is an insurmountable crisis, they will evacuate the island at worst.
However, not many big families are really willing to give up the business they have been running for more than ten or decades. Visby has become a city and it should not be abandoned.
Many islanders have already chosen to evacuate. They cannot go fishing in the rich waters in the north of the island. Going south to the Øresund fishery will compete with Danish fishermen for fish, which is really a conflict.
Perhaps the carrying capacity of the island has reached its limit, and the tragic situation of the settlements in the south of the island being looted by the Russians has made everyone in other settlements really in danger.
There are currently two major settlements on the island, Visby on the west coast of the island, and Witset in a fjord in the north of the island.
Visby, originally meaning "sacrificial hill", has the most densely populated area due to its special status.
Witset, originally means "white sand", because this fjord is full of white sand.
The port of White Sands had been in decline for nearly three years, with large numbers of people migrating to Visby. At this point, Visby's population once expanded to nearly 10,000 people!
Serious population pressure forced a large number of locals to leave Gotland. No, some of them went to Kalmar, to the Danish territory, and even to Oslo and many other places in Scandinavia facing the Atlantic Ocean. a bay.
Just as the Russians were launching an all-out war, Gotland had already appeared to be strong on the outside and incompetent on the inside. The major families inside had quietly become suspicious of each other, and their attachment to the island was also declining.
Yes, on an island where huge wealth cannot be made, why should real businessmen continue to settle there for a long time?
The population of the island has dropped sharply to less than 15,000 people. Many strong men have been lost, and the remaining people are even more scattered.
The setback forced people to stay away from the military threat of the Russians. People living offshore were worried that a fleet would suddenly arrive and launch an attack.
Their worries finally turned into reality!
Arik's longship army, like a wolf pack, directly caught up with the four fishing boats that were desperately escaping.
He didn't waste any time. First, his soldiers used their crossbows to kill accurately (he was already a veteran who had been focusing on shooting at sea for more than two years), and then the ship connected with the ship to complete the final blow.
The First Flag Team of the Warriors had no intention of fighting and kept charging forward. Their overwhelming temperament had scared the fishermen on the shore into running away.
The men grabbed the hands of women and children and started running away without taking almost anything.
Some people also decided to pick up some tools for self-protection and household expenses.
However, Arik was too fast. His warriors were all dressed in uniform. A kind of white-shirted warrior jumped off the ship, flashing their classic blue stripes of the Russian letter X, holding bright white oiled steel swords and Shield, thinking about scaring people silly and rushing towards them.
The fishermen roared in horror: "It's the Russians! The damn Russians are coming!"
Then came the screams of men, women, and the howls of children.
"Damn it, you dare to call me worthy of death?" Arik heard the vigilant yells, and he ordered unceremoniously: "Brothers, kill me! Kill all those who dare to resist!"
This battle is unreasonable. The well-equipped Warrior Flag Team has more soldiers than the population of this fishing village!
Those who tried to resist were killed directly, including a group of soldiers who knelt down and begged for mercy, and were also killed and had their heads chopped off.
If Rurik had been present and witnessed such a tragedy, he would have ordered his subordinates to restrain their actions and stop the senseless killing of those who gave up resistance.
However, instead of going on a killing spree in the name of avenging his father, Arik is now witnessing blood, and the bestiality erupting deep in his soul has gone out of control.
The Russians have lost control and the battle has become one-sided.
Oh, this can no longer be regarded as a battle, it is completely a classic Viking-style robbery.
Those who could escape immediately were already running like crazy with their families towards the north. They throw away all kinds of unnecessary objects, just to escape faster. They had only one belief. They ran to the nearest White Sands Port, met with the locals and reported the news of the Russian landing. Then everyone armed themselves to fight the invaders and drive them out.
As for those who were slow to escape, they were all caught up by the Russians and then massacred.
The blood dripping from the sword and ax can only make the beast's eyes scarleter!
As expected, the white gowns of the soldiers were stained with the enemy's blood, with a rich bright red added to the blue and white tones.
They dragged the captured women by their hair and acted in broad daylight. No one is criticizing this at all. On the contrary, they are the victors and conquerors, and they boast that they can do whatever they want to the losers!
Those women have lost their husbands and children, their eyes are empty and they bear the insult, their souls are dead.
There were also women who fought back, but unfortunately their axes were so weak that they were killed immediately by the violent warriors.
A fishing village of less than 400 people was conquered in an instant, more than 100 people successfully escaped, and most of the remaining people were killed.
When the Ross army began to use this as a landing point to land one after another, Rurik covered his mouth and saw that what his army did was no different from what the Melalen people did more than a month ago.
There are no laws to restrict these warriors. Apart from not using force against their own people, others are their enemies, and they will kill them with the most brutal means and then humiliate them.
Seeing that everyone including the Duke and his brother had landed, Aric, dressed in blood, came over with a pair of blood-stained swords and a crazy smile.
"Duke, you see, I have won a great victory."
"I've seen it all." Otto's deep eyes stared at the mess on the ground. His emotions seemed to have no fluctuations, but he was a little dissatisfied in his heart.
"What do you think I did?"
"Well done to you for winning the first battle!"
Otto still had a dull face, and his behavior really surprised Arik. He turned around and beat his chest and asked about his brother: "Rurik, look at me! I am a real warrior! This battle was won easily." .What do you think? How does it compare to those Mellaren people?"
"Why did you kill those women? Look at the good things you did."
For a moment, Arik was stunned, and then said: "Oh, this kind of thing will inevitably happen in battle."
"Then what about those?" Rurik's ears were filled with the evil laughter of men and the wails of women. He pointed at a miserable woman.
"That's it." Arik turned around indifferently: "The brothers are depressed on the island. They will not be attacked by their own people, but they can't reunite with their wives. Anyway, these guys are enemies, let the brothers feel comfortable Wouldn’t it be nice for a while?”
"Stop! Let them stop." Rurik said righteously.
Arik suddenly changed his face: "Why? We are conquerors, we can do whatever we want."
"Listen to my orders!"
Rurik put his hands behind his back, and Otto stood behind him with a determined look on his face, obviously supporting him.
It was not easy for Arik to contradict the Duke, so he grabbed the hilt of his sword and hurriedly stopped his men.
Only about 40 women and 20 children were still alive. This was supposed to be a normal morning, but the fishing village suffered a terrible blow.
These people, dressed in rags, gathered together and cried in fear. Facing the crowd of white-robed Russian soldiers who came around, many of them fainted.
Arik wiped his face and leaned close to his brother: "I don't understand. Do you want to be merciful to these enemies? I advise you not to do this. Being merciful to them is harming your brothers."
"No! I understand this, but you have gone too far! I also want to capture a group of prisoners and take them back. It would be better for you to accept that everyone is an enemy."
"Isn't it?" Arik asked deliberately.
"I want to conquer them, but I cannot allow you to kill them all. I am the commander, and you must support my decision. Otherwise, I will let you and your people rest now."
"You! You can't..." Arik suddenly got angry. Looking at his cute brother now, he was already a little unlovable. Is this what is called growth?
"I can. This is the power given to me by the Duke. If you don't obey my command again and let the soldiers do whatever they want, I will let you stay at the landing site to rest."
"Alright alright……"
Rurik rewarded the woman whose clothes were torn with some rags to cover her shame. He also sent people to seize a few women who seemed to be emotionally stable and ask them about the reality of this settlement.
Those who were still alive were promised that as long as they cooperated, their lives would be guaranteed and they would be protected by the Rus after the battle. In fact, it was announced that they would soon have a Russian husband, and the surviving children could continue to be raised.
It was just the hypocrisy of the conquerors, but they had no choice but to cooperate while kneeling under the bloody ax of the Russians.
After all, this fishing village is also a gathering of people from different origins. They usually help each other. Now that a disaster is approaching, why not run away separately?
The woman gave the name of this fishing village, which is Slithomn. Although the pronunciation is a bit strange, its original meaning is "the lowlands in the gap."
Yes, this fishing village is indeed sandwiched between two mounds.
In addition, Rurik obtained two extremely critical pieces of information!
Heading north along the gaps between the mounds, you will soon reach Baisha Port. If you walk south along the slope, go to the end of the slope and keep heading west, you will reach Visby.
In order to survive, the women decisively stated everything they knew. They were not of the same race as the people in White Sands Port and Visby. Originally, the large-scale offensive of the Ross people was also related to the actions of the big local businessmen.
They were unable to effectively resist the extremely powerful Russians. They saw that the small bay was full of Russian ships (they knew the signs of the Russians), especially some of the huge ships, which were really shocking, and the beast-like behavior of these Russians just now. violent. They realized that even if they gathered all the men on the island, Yue might not be able to defeat the Ross army.
They turned their anger on the merchants who had "started the war", especially the fat guys in Visby.
They put forward small conditions for cooperation.
Life is protected and no longer insulted, and the dead are buried at sea.
These were just small requests, and Rurik didn't even think about complying with them.
The Russians suffered no losses in the battle of Slitomo. Hundreds of fishermen were killed, and their bodies were piled on some fishing boats. A large amount of firewood was placed on them, topped with some captured fish oil, and then pushed into the sea and set on fire and allowed to burn.
The large-scale landing of the Russian army began, but fortunately Arik's men were too busy to vent their anger and did not have enough time to burn down the fishermen's residences.
Now many of the soldiers who landed did not need to build their own shacks.
The Slavic bannermen carried spears and landed in long boats.
The Malaren flag force landed peacefully with a variety of weapons. For them, landing on the island of the Gotlanders was of great significance.
The flag-shooting team had the largest number of personnel, with a group of boys and girls carrying crossbows and quivers full of arrows landing on their backs. The battlefield between them was so terrifying that many people naturally retreated. Those who are afraid are pushed forward by their companions, because now they have no right to be cowardly.
A large amount of food began to be transported, including the twenty reindeer, as well as all the deer herders, who rarely landed in long boats.
Ten torque slingshots mounted on two-wheeled trolleys completed the landing, accompanied by a large number of special arrows and projectiles.
The arrows required for various bows and crossbows were carried in bundles, and now they fell on the beach like a wall.
It wasn't until the sun set that the Russians actually finished transporting the supplies. Ships of all kinds occupied the entire beach of the small bay. Those cargo ships, especially the Aurora, dropped their anchors and were nailed to the sea.
Slitomo is really lively now, but unfortunately this human brain has nothing to do with the locals.
More than 3,000 people gather here densely. The fishermen's houses can only be used by elite soldiers and war commanders. Most people still have to build their own tents, shacks, or sleep directly on the boats.
Rurik performed a play for the captives. Before the deceased was loaded onto the burning ship, Rumia first put on the antlered helmet and prayed to the soul of the deceased. What qualifications do losers have to enjoy sacrifices? Rumia only accepted Rurik's order, so-called showing to the captives that the Russians also had humanistic concerns, although Rurik also felt that it was a bit hypocritical and redundant.
It’s already a total war anyway, so hypocrisy is meaningless.
It is true that the captured women were not harmed again, but Rurik must consider the feelings of his soldiers, especially the elite troops. He gave women a free choice: "Now find a husband on the spot, so that you will still be protected by men in a place where my eyes cannot see. We Russians will not harm our brothers' women."
Rurik looks like a young man, can his words be trusted? Of course it’s believable! All his decisions are endorsed by the old guy Otto.
The women made compromises without hesitation, and their new men claimed sovereignty over them that night, causing a crowd of Russian warriors watching the show to make sarcastic remarks.
After a long voyage, everyone finally landed on the island. Although they knew the way to Visby, the captured woman was willing to lead the way. The troops are currently on an unstable footing and a hasty attack may have bad consequences. The troops needed two or three days to rest and reorganize, and the Russians also needed to give the enemy enough time to assemble the army for a decisive battle.
Rurik seemed to be delaying the fighter plane, but in fact it was not the case. An impromptu attack target was located in the north of the island.
The Port of White Sands, this settlement must be captured!
However, maybe they will declare surrender after seeing the military might of the Russians? It would be a good thing to be able to kill less able-bodied men and bring them to New Roseburg to open up new farmland for themselves, and then pay taxes for generations. At least Arik's incident of allowing his men to kill should not happen again. This is not a matter of mercy, but because it is detrimental to the future interests of the Russians.
