Vadim, the self-proclaimed prince of Novgorod, his so-called notice of this lake area was only ten days old, and it collapsed under the absolute military power of the Russian army.
He became a bereaved dog in a literal sense. He clutched his injured left arm and ran away in the nearby woods with more than a dozen of his last henchmen.
It wasn't until nightfall that the group's escape was forced to come to a halt.
The woods gave them cover, and the night was perfect cover.
However, the vast forest area is not peaceful.
Vadim finally sat down with his back against a big cedar tree. He gasped for breath and subconsciously lifted up his linen shirt to check the wound.
The blood has stopped flowing, which is a blessing among misfortunes.
But he lost a lot of blood, and running for a long time consumed a lot of energy, but now he had no food or water. He was so, and the brothers present were no better off.
Those ordinary and young cronies all dreamed of following the young prince Vadim to conquer the world, thereby gaining fame and tangible benefits.
Who would have thought that everyone's just act of resisting the Ross invaders would usher in the ultimate destruction.
Under the cover of night, this group of people finally began to study their own futures.
They moved closer to Vadim, who was covering his wounds, hoping that the leader could show them a clear path.
"Boss, what will we do next?"
"We have lost everything now. Should we go to other manor houses? If we continue deeper into the woods, we can find those who are hiding."
Someone suggested looking for the "hidden person", which was like a stone that stirred up a thousand waves, and it really gave hope to the confused people.
They murmured one after another and fled to the free manor farther away, relying on the fact that they were young men and an excellent labor force, so they would definitely be accepted by them.
Some people even fantasize that they can marry a local woman in their new manor. As long as they get through the current predicament, there is hope.
Following this "good idea", someone boldly provoked Vadim.
"Boss, let's go find those people. They have nothing to do with Dahu. You are the most noble person of Dahu, and you can also become the ruler of the new farm."
Vadim couldn't listen at all, and he didn't scold the guys for the unrealistic plan.
He stood up reluctantly while holding on to the captured steel sword, forcing himself to remain tall. The moonlight shone through the branches into the people under the tree, and Vadim's face turned pale.
"It's useless to rely on those cowards who are hiding! They are not the daughters of the God of Lake Ilmen, and the Russians have never bullied them. It is crazy to expect them to unite to fight for me."
"But boss." Someone said again, "What else can we do besides them? If we are defeated, the Russians will probably launch terrible revenge."
"Then we can't go looking for the person who is hiding." Vadim firmly concluded that the Russians would indeed retaliate. "We are seeking death by staying here. They will look for my body and will not give up until they achieve their goal. We must continue. escape."
"Escape? Where?"
"Go to the South! Go to the South with all your strength!"
Vadim's attitude was so determined that a term was ready to come out.
Many people said in unison: "Go to Smolensk?"
"That's it, to the territory of the Kreviches."
This term is really familiar and unfamiliar to everyone. Vadim has no clear understanding of Smolensk. It is just that in the past days, his manor had some economic exchanges with Smolensk through merchant trade, at least Each other knows each other.
There are even some conflicts between the two sides, but that is all in the past.
The so-called "hiding people" that Vadim couldn't believe were essentially people living near Lake Ilmen. Those guys, just like the White Tree Manor, are the weak who have been squeezed out by the people near the lake. Vadim looked down upon those people at all and had no idea of relying on the strength of those people to fight back against the Russians and regain his power.
The only force in this world that can defeat the Russians is probably the Smolensk people.
Vadim boasted that he had made a very rational choice: "I... I am the prince of Novgorod, the ruler of Lake Ilmen. I am a noble person. As long as I arrive in Smolensk, I will definitely You can make a comeback. Then you people can still get glory by following me."
A glimmer of hope amid despair? Everyone looked at each other. They were already undecided. Since the boss said so, the brothers agreed.
Still relying on the big tree, Vadim mustered up the courage to swear a vicious oath: "I must take revenge. I will raise an army from the south to take back everything I lost!"
He is really a hatred of his country and his family. His mind is occupied by revenge. Will the injury to his arm kill him?
Suddenly, the standing Avenger suddenly slumped down and sat down. He was really hungry.
Upon seeing this, the brothers also arranged a shack one after another. It was a pity that everyone fled in a hurry. They didn't even bring the bow drill to drill wood to make fire. How could they make a fire quickly?
No! Even if they had the ability to make a fire, they would not dare to do so for fear of being discovered and killed by the searching Rus.
They were too tired. Once their tired and frightened bodies settled down, sleepiness would inevitably hit them like a flood.
Everyone fell asleep one after another, with fatal flaws all over their bodies.
No one stood guard for the group. They were like food in the open air. They did not attract the Russians who were searching for escaping enemies. They naturally attracted roaming bears.
The brown bear smelled blood and a strange salty smell.
Bears generally do not attack people unless there is something in the person that inspires the bestiality in these ferocious beasts.
A hungry brown bear took the initiative to attack, and everyone woke up from their sleep. They were shocked to find a terrifying black shadow tearing apart an unlucky companion. When everyone tried to save him, they realized it was a bear!
Another person's neck was suddenly snapped by his brother, although some people stabbed the bear's skin with an iron sword, which only inspired the beast to become even more crazy and cruel.
Without advanced weapons, such as a steel-armed crossbow that can easily shoot through wooden boards, how can a group of young people who are exhausted from a defeated battle hunt bears? Even if the Russians hunt bears, there are very few madmen who are mad enough to fight bears at close range.
Vadim was trembling with shock. He was suddenly no longer hungry, and thoughts of escape occupied his entire mind.
Once again he ran away, this time for his own good.
How can a vengeful person become a delicious meal for a wild bear? !
He didn't care about his brothers, and succumbed to his survival instinct and ran all the way in a certain direction, ignoring his brothers.
He ran so wildly that the hemp rope at the seam of his leather boots broke. He still ran wildly, even if he fell down in the middle, he still ran.
Until he was exhausted, his vision went dark and he fell on the soft humus under the forest.
…
"I...what's wrong? In the end..." Vadim slowly woke up from an extreme headache, and everything in front of him felt like a dream.
Is this actually a camp for some people by the lake?
He gradually found himself lying flat on the grass, with the aroma of barbecue filling the air.
The hungry body sat up almost without thinking. Vadim saw what seemed to be a roast rabbit on the Y-shaped shelf? But those wandering people are actually...
Intense fear invaded his mind. He huddled up quickly and tried to stand up to escape. However, he suddenly fell down just as he stood up.
This move finally attracted the attention of everyone in the camp.
A strong man with blond hair came over aggressively, carrying a small pottery jar filled with lake water, and poured the water completely on Vadim's face. Vadim woke up again after being shocked by the cold water.
"You...Varyags. Don't! Don't kill me."
He subconsciously covered his face with his arms, which made the strong man laugh.
After a while, another strong man came over. This man sat down and stared into Vadim's eyes with a dull face: "Boy, do you still recognize me?"
"You? Are you Harold?! Damn it, you are here and you are actually escaping..."
"It's smart to run away. We don't want to fight with the Russians. You see, your entire army was wiped out when you fought with them, and the manor was destroyed by them."
This was a great shame. Vadim turned away frustrated and didn't know what to say.
"Look at me!" Harold reached out and grabbed Vadim's chin, and continued to describe what happened after the battle without ceremony.
"We saw what the Rus did, they killed everyone, their bodies burned into a tower of fire. Even young children died, even the blind and the crippled from birth. This is you Hope, risk everything on your estate to fight against the Russians, and the result is that even the poultry raised by the Russians will be killed by the Russians. They don't even want to roast chicken and beef, they just want to kill and burn all living things in Pine Needle Manor to ashes. "
Vadim trembled when he heard it, he didn't even doubt it.
Harold looked at this kid's cowardice and laughed wildly with a group of brothers.
"I lied to you. Fool, how do I know what the Russians did after that? If I had dared to take my brothers to see it, my head would have been chopped off by them."
"You! You amuse me! You coward!" Vadim yelled.
"You dare to call me a coward again?!" Harold pouted, stood up and deliberately stepped on Vadim's injured left arm, and deliberately twisted his boot to make it more painful, making him scream in pain.
"Your wounds are fatal. Anyway, let me tell you, I really don't know what the Russians did, but they are a group of villains. On a remote island called Gotland, the locals are all Varangians, They organized an army of thousands of people and were defeated by the Russians. In the end, ten thousand people died! Even in our hometown of Denmark, our... our prince was killed by the Russians. Vadim, you are very brave. , How dare you fight with the most ferocious person in the world."
"Are you... are you complimenting me?"
"No. You are still a reckless fool. Your father knew this to be a docile sheep. Now you choose to fight, and this is the result. As for us, my brother and I are just armed traders who can live here, We don’t fight against the Rus. Now all your people are dead, and your injuries are fatal. Boy, we went into the woods to hunt and found a dying person, and that’s you!”
"You guys actually saved me.
"No. You are about to die." Harold said patiently, "Your arm injury is actually very fatal. Considering that you have provided many slaves, I can give you a painless death."
"No, you can't kill me."
"Are you afraid of death?"
"I want revenge!"
Indeed, there was no fear of death on Vadim's face, and his face was full of unwillingness to fail.
"Revenge? It's ridiculous. How can you take revenge as a lost dog? This is your fate. Don't worry, our brothers will remember you and tell others that there was a man named Vadim who led his tribe to resist the Russians and failed, resulting in the death of 10,000 people. !”
This statement was still an insult. Vadim burst into tears in grief and anger. He gritted his teeth and squeezed out the words: "I want revenge! I want to go to Smolensk. I am the prince of Novgorod. I want to fight with Smolensk." Molensk alliance.”
"Are you going to Smolensk?" Harold immediately became interested. He looked at the brothers present and said, "We brothers are all planning to go to Smolensk."
"take me!"
"Why? Oh no, why!"
Vadim's eyes looked at the blue sky, and he said seriously: "I want revenge, and only by relying on the power of the Smolensk people can I complete my revenge. I am a noble, and the local leader will reuse me, and!"
"Say it."
"The Smolensk people hope to get the fertile farmland of Lake Ilmen. As long as they use this as a bargaining chip, the Smolensk people will definitely gather their troops and go to the north. I can promise them to get the farmland if they send troops, and I will transfer some benefits. He can still be the prince of Novgorod."
Harold only thought it was ridiculous. Wouldn't this kid's plan lead to another invasion?
He was well-informed and immediately questioned: "I have known for a long time that you people living in Lake Ilmen have some conflicts with the people in the south. Is it all because of this? You let them come, and if they win, you will be satisfied. ?You will obviously lose a lot."
"At least Smolensk and us speak the same language and believe in fire. If you say that the Rus are killing people everywhere, then they will definitely attack Smolensk, and then other Krivich territories. I... I want you to take me to Smolensk.”
"Are you ordering me?" Harold laughed.
"No. This is a request."
"Then you are begging me? It doesn't matter, what kind of reward will you pay for having nothing?" Harold shrugged. The young man in front of him indeed had nothing, but he also had personal value.
He continued: "I am fair. You give us many women, and the brothers will be happy all the way, and they will also turn into a lot of silver coins. If you were an ordinary person, I would not hesitate to sell you. But you are Nobleman. Well, if you succeed in regaining your power, give me... just give me a pound of gold. At least that's it."
Suddenly, Vadim saw hope. "Don't say one pound of gold coins, ten pounds of gold coins will do!"
"That's ten pounds! Even if you can't come up with ten pounds of gold coins, you can just deliver it in equivalent form such as leather."
"That's it, it's a deal."
Harold then personally helped Vadim up and asked his brothers to cut off some roasted rabbit meat and give it to the unlucky man.
The next step for this group of Viking armed traders from Pskov on Lake Chud in the west is to take their existing slaves to Smolensk in the south. Harold and his gang are very aware of some of the customs of southerners. As long as they don't take the initiative to offend the locals, they will be persecuted. Even as long as they do business honestly, they are actually very popular in the Krichivitch strongholds.
In such an era of limited information, outside businessmen will of course be taken seriously.
Since Harold and his gang were businessmen, their business thinking allowed everyone to see business opportunities. Vadim himself is a commodity. If he dies, the brothers will make less money.
Escort a noble from the north and the information about the crazy killings of the Russians to Smolensk. It’s not like the brothers have never done business there. If they hand over the terrible news and this unlucky guy to the local prince, the brothers will definitely get it. A bounty. As for the ten pounds of gold that Vadim threatened, who would believe it? He better succeed.
Twenty young women in the camp became slaves. In order not to starve to death, they were forced to have obedient relations with the Varangians. This was what Harold called "a happy journey." But they saw Vadim, the young prince, and fully learned of the destruction of Pine Needle Manor.
One of their thoughts was to find an opportunity to escape back to their hometown, but now that their hometown and the people there are dead, soon the whole lake area will be massacred by the Varangros.
They didn't know their future, and Vadim had some doubts about whether they could make it to Smolensk.
He ate some meat and recovered somewhat, but before his eyes he saw Harold, a crazy Varangian, coming with a red-hot axe.
A group of people held Vadim down and pressed him on the grass. His injured left arm was deliberately exposed.
"What are you going to do?!"
Suddenly, a ball of hemp rope was stuffed into Vadim's mouth, and it was so painful that he almost bit off the hemp ball, and a strange burning smell filled the air.
Harold was "welding" Vadim's wound, and the superficial flesh and blood that had begun to rot were turned into powder by the red-hot axe.
There was no anesthetic, so Vadim simply got over the pain. However, the penetrating injury on his arm has now been treated. That's not all. Harold's men took some plant ashes from the embers of the campfire, sprinkled it on Vadim's wound, and wrapped it with a circle of torn linen cloth.
When Vadim woke up again, he was already sitting on the Varangians' long boat. He touched his waist and was surprised to realize that the sword was gone. When he looked again, he saw that the Ross steel sword he had captured actually belonged to that guy Harold. He has some atmosphere, but he can only admit that he is unlucky to be in such a miserable state.
He sat in the middle and front part of the boat, followed by a group of women with dull expressions and their hands and feet bound. Both sides of the ship were filled with Varangians, their bucklers hung on the sides of the ship, and everyone was rowing hard. It was obvious that the ship was sailing on a river, and looking at the position of the sun, the ship was heading south.
This is the road to Smolensk.
