The army did not successfully intercept the large ship. Hafgen, the leader of the Danish alliance, felt that his bearded face was slapped multiple times by an unknown opponent.
Absurdly enough, the opponents had run away and he still couldn't identify them.
Will those allies question their own strength? Has the Channel become dangerous?
Considering the previous rumors, Hafgen increasingly felt that this ship had a close relationship with Svealan's enemies.
However, judging the direction of the ship, his anger had already turned towards his brother-in-law, Harlick.
No, Harik himself came to the tribe's home port, with fatigue, pain and grief, to report his work to his brother-in-law.
My brother-in-law and sister came to report on their work in person.
In the huge meeting hall of the Robard tribe, Hafgen sat on a wooden chair covered with black bear skin. On his head was a golden crown inlaid with many precious stones, and he was holding back his energy as he waited for the visit of his brother-in-law and his family.
Some important people from the tribe have gathered in the forum, and public opinion is already fermenting. They very much hope that Harik can explain more detailed information.
However, when these people saw the man, who was as strong as an elephant seal, slowly walking into the meeting room with the help of many people, Hafgen's anger was completely filled with doubts.
"You! What's wrong with you?" Hafgen stood up immediately, "Why are you in such a mess?"
Harik was speechless for a moment, but his wife, Hafgen's biological sister, burst into tears, "My husband intercepted the intruding ship. My husband almost died in the battle! Many people died, and our ship faced That ship is incapable of doing anything! Brother!"
"Actually...that's it?"
Harrick knew that facts spoke louder than words, so he lifted up his leather jacket and showed off his severely bruised back. This scene alone shocked the entire forum.
Harrick didn't want to speak, he felt unusual pain in his body. He insisted on telling himself, but unexpectedly he coughed uncontrollably and coughed up blood on his hand.
"I... was almost run over by that big ship. It was a war bear running wildly on the sea. Our fleet could not intercept it, and my line was easily destroyed by it..."
Hallik really didn't want to say much, so his wife described what happened after the failed interception battle in the Oresund Strait.
Maybe the brother-in-law would be ashamed to find a way out for him because of defeat, but the sister would never lie, let alone lie.
However, how convincing is the defeat process described by my sister?
"What? Just constant collisions, and our ships... all sank?"
"It's absolutely true," Hallick muttered reluctantly, "I don't know where that ship is going. Maybe it's Flanders, maybe it's Oslo, maybe it's Bergen."
"There are no such ships in Oslo. So, they are guys from Bergen? No. No! They are Svealans!"
Now no one doubts the claims of the former Gotlandic refugees. With such a big ship running wild under their noses, the elites of the Robard tribe felt that the great victory they had supported Silver Castle last year had lost its elegance.
The big ship ran away without a trace. Hafgen wanted to intercept the ship, kill the people on board and take control of the ship.
Everyone in the forum was actively discussing it, but how to intercept it became a big problem.
They couldn't come up with a solution after discussing it all day long, and Hafgen could only discuss it again.
Soon the people from Bernholm also came.
The leader with only one ear left cried out about a large ship coming from the north, and the surrounding islands were being destroyed wildly. The islanders' counterattack was quickly destroyed by a ship, and the battle situation was exactly the same as that of the Oresund.
In anger, Hafgen had not eaten for two days. During this time, people in the tribe were in panic, and everyone was worried about fishing in the sea.
Hafgen, who had learned the lesson deeply, did not want this matter to become a big deal, and he could not let other tribes and other lords know that the Robard people had been humiliated.
The matter was eventually treated coldly externally.
But Hafgen didn't have nothing to do. He expected that the ship would come back sooner or later. How to intercept and kill?
"It seems that my Red Dragon must be dispatched."
The Red Dragon, that slender large longship is the symbol of Hafgen's hegemony. There is no record of this ship going on an expedition, but she is very large. In a sense, she is a large barge. According to traditional Nordic naval battles, the two warring parties usually achieve the final victory by jumping gangs and killing each other. Based on such tactical characteristics, the Red Dragon can carry hundreds of soldiers, and it is really a great opportunity to join the gang and join the battle!
Hafgen had no choice. He himself did not see with his own eyes how the big ship overwhelmed the enemy ship. Considering that the collision of rowing long ships was also an effective tactic, he suggested to himself that by dispatching the Red Dragon, he would have secured victory. .
Did the Svealan ship never return? If you come back, when will you come back?
In recent years, those Svealan guys have been desperately encroaching on Denmark's northern territory, causing the Hafgen demon to defend itself against sneak attacks by the Franks and West Slavs, but also faced a blatant military invasion by the northern guys.
The situation was obviously more complicated, as more Danish tribes and lords became more and more enthusiastic about organized raids on Frankish coastal settlements.
Wouldn’t the Franks fight back? And Harald Clark, the man who betrayed Odin and fled to Frank, will that man counterattack Denmark?
The situation is very difficult! Harv simply thought that his enemy was the Frankish military, so he strengthened his defenses, and the lords inside seemed to be in harmony with each other. After appeasing these guys, the Svealans became the biggest and most urgent threat again.
The heavy pressure gave Hafgen a splitting headache. What’s even crazier is, why didn’t his wife and concubine give birth to a son?
As time went by, the impact of that hateful ship slowly dissipated, and time entered June.
In order to consolidate his power, Hafgen in June selected five women from the tribe at once and had frequent sexual intercourse in order to have a son.
As a result, something weird happened. These young women, who were hoping to get close to the leader of the alliance, all died unexpectedly in June.
Hafgen is not a fool, he can see that this is murder! Who is behind this? Who is it?
He was doubting those powerful leaders. Those guys didn't want to have heirs to continue to dominate the interpretation.
But Hafgen never thought that the mastermind behind the scenes was right next to him.
Hallick, who had suffered internal injuries, coughed up blood and his condition became more and more serious. After leaving the court, he and his wife returned to the place where they guarded the Oresund Strait. As a result, he fell ill in the wooden castle.
He suffered from a lung infection, and even though the priest got some herbs and some blessing spells, there was still no improvement. He died of a painful fever, leaving behind an orphan and a widowed mother.
Hafgen's sister lost her husband. The sad and angry woman was angry at the Svealan attack, but her desire for power was also awakening. She wanted to train her son to be the male leader of the Robard tribe, so she tried her best to kill her brother's new women.
Hafgen never imagined that his most terrifying enemies would be his sister and nephew.
Hafgen always felt that the Black Hands were potential traitors in the alliance. In order to consolidate his power, he decided to hold a grand summer solstice sacrifice at the market in Hedeby in the south!
The summer solstice is June 28th in the old Julian calendar. This is the biggest summer festival for the Danes, and it is also the day when the Saxons who settled in Hedeby worship the god Sirius.
Hafgen spent a huge sum of money to buy as many as ninety-nine male slaves captured from the Franks from the slave market in Hedeby. Some local businessmen even sold their domestic slaves to Hafgen for money. root.
The leader of the alliance spent a lot of money to buy slaves, and the price he paid for this was higher than the market price. What businessman wouldn't want to trade?
In this matter, the "Silver Fox" Snoleva, who had just started to take root in Hedeby, built his own shop in a low-key manner, and let the old Eric family stand at the front desk, selling polar bear skins from the Far North and other products in a high-profile manner. Fantastic merchandise.
No one is aware of the infiltration of Ross merchants. Even if some people suspect it, can sleep be difficult for them with silver coins and in-demand commodities?
Snoleva himself has always kept a low profile. He wandered around the market in Hedeby. The business environment here was far better than that in the market in Mälaren, which made him excited.
Snoleva even discovered a kind of "cloth" that was as light as Zen, and the price was equal to the weight of gold, or ten times the amount of silver. This was the first time he had seen one from Eastern Rome, so he immediately bought some and kept them, dedicating them to Lord Rurik.
While he was searching for slave workers in the slave market, he happened to see the arrogant Danish leader himself making "explosive purchases" at the largest slave market.
What on earth does the King of the Danes want to do?
Until the great sacrifice on the summer solstice...
It was a crazy night. The Saxons throughout Hedebe lit bonfires everywhere. Those guys who usually dressed well gathered together with their Saxon compatriots and danced around the flames.
Masked priests presided over the event. They beheaded slaves, slaughtered cattle and sheep, and burned herrings to ashes as a sacrifice to the shining star Sirius in the sky.
It seems that this is their summer solstice sacrifice? At first, Snoreva didn't think much of it. The Rus', Mälaren, or Onkras people were all very lively in this big event during the summer solstice.
Snoleva especially remembered his blood hometown of Onkras. People held summer sacrifices mainly to the god of harvest, Frey, in order to pray for the god to reward the healthy growth of oats.
The extremely short night was over, but the ritual activities were still lively.
"What's going on? I watched their nighttime sacrifices. Are they going to continue throughout the day?" Snoleva, who lived in the mansion and wanted to sleep, was unable to sleep due to the noise.
Old Eric explained, "My friend, the sacrifices of the Saxons at night are the sacrifices of the Danes during the day."
"There is such a thing. It doesn't matter. It's just killing slaves and sacrificing their blood to gods."
Old Eric deeply agrees, but this year's situation is obviously too special. He suggested, "Friend, I think we should go to the altar. The cruel Hafgen likes blood sacrifices best. This man has set up a huge altar this year. All the famous lords and wealthy businessmen in Denmark will come there." Come and watch.”
"If you say so, I won't feel sleepy anymore." Snoleva hurriedly got up. "Maybe we can meet other wealthy businessmen. You know, we Russians are eager to trade. I am very unfamiliar with this place. I have to rely on you."
"That's natural, I am willing to serve you." Old Eric's words came from the bottom of his heart. He has made a fortune now, and it is obvious that his wealth will be even more in the future. More importantly, his favorite son is still a hostage with the Russians. The marriage is also a chain, and he must maintain cooperation.
The whole Hedeby was boiling. After hearing that the leader of the alliance performed the great sacrifice, all the knowledgeable people from Denmark came to watch, and this objectively directly led to Hedeby reaching the peak of business.
Both sides of the winding road are full of merchants selling a variety of goods, and pedestrians and customers are crowded one after another.
Snoleva had unprecedented crowding, and he was even very frightened. He didn't expect that Denmark's population was so huge. This was proof of their strength.
He followed the crowd and finally arrived at the altar near the sea. It was a flat land near the shore, surrounded by a ring of highlands, and it was already crowded with people.
Snoleva squeezed into a good place to watch the unknown, and he suddenly heard people nearby discussing the astonishing sacrificial situation.
He then asked a man who seemed to be a businessman: "Friend. Leader...are you doing a blood sacrifice again?"
"You? Can't you see?"
"I……"
"A foreigner? You... are you from Bergen? Or Oslo?"
Snoleva hurriedly shouted, "It's Bergen. It's my first time doing business."
"Really? Just take a good look at the tributes after you have handed them over. You are a foreign businessman, so don't say too much when you are observing the sacrifice."
Snoleva nodded hurriedly in agreement.
The businessman pointed quickly, "Those kneeling on the ground are all sacrifices."
"Ah? They are not spectators? There are so many of them."
"You are an outsider and naturally you don't understand. This time the alliance leader bought up all the slaves in the market. I didn't expect it! The alliance leader...actually did this. What a waste."
Obviously this businessman was dissatisfied with the actions of Hafgen of Denmark. He killed a hundred slaves at a time to sacrifice to Odin?
Snoleva waited and saw, and sure enough, those priests were indeed shouting that this extremely grand sacrifice was a sacrifice to Odin.
Hafgen himself shouted out the reason for such a crazy move. He raised his sword high and shouted to the sun: Great Odin! This is a gift for you! Accept my offering! Grant me invincible strength!
He roared several times in succession, and then stared sharply at the executioner, "Blood sacrifice to Odin! Now."
In this way, the executioner began to hold a dagger and attack the trembling slave...
It was such a crazy and terrifying scene that Snoleva turned his head away and couldn't bear to look directly at it. Thousands of people who were watching were shocked and shocked. The entire area near the altar made a loud rumble, as if the earth was about to collapse.
The blood of the sacrifice was sacrificed to Odin, and the scale of the sacrifice really drove people to believe that Hafgen had an agenda, and war-related matters once again became people's talk.
It seems that everything is gradually returning to calm. While doing business, Snoleva is also actively recording the thinking trends of local Danes from all walks of life. Are they planning to send troops to the north? When the time is right, all this news will be brought back to Roseburg.
As for what happened after the Aurora departed, Rurik had no time to care. How angry the Danish leader was and how large the sacrifice was had nothing to do with him.
Because the Aurora took advantage of the warm and strong southwesterly winds in the Atlantic Ocean to continue and safely move northward along the coastline.
The final voyage was not only fast and trouble-free, especially the final one. The Biyoni brothers had become excellent guides. Finally, with about ten days left before the so-called summer solstice, an unprecedented large ship suddenly appeared in Narvi. Kefjord immediately caused a sensation...
