The Karelian people who luckily escaped from the bear altar wandered in the forest, relying on catching small animals to eat to survive.
The total number of these people is close to a hundred. They are actually scattered, and their goal is to find the residence of the chief, an existence named Iso Talwa.
Is Isotalba a city?
It is a large tent made of wood. It is the residence of the chief and the core of the largest tribe in Karelia.
It is not a fixed existence. Tens of thousands of people will build tent areas with the chief's tent as the core. In summer, people raise young deer in Isotalwa and graze them in nearby areas. In winter, a large number of people drive their deer herds to distant places for winter grazing.
If an area becomes barren, the chief's tent will be moved and a new isotalwa will be established in a new area.
Isotalwa won't be moving for at least a few years.
The tribes of the Karelian tribes were continuously multiplied by herder families who cooperated in herding a long time ago. The larger herding families absorbed the small families who came here because of their fame, gradually increasing their power. The wealthiest family is precisely the founding family of the tribe. Family members naturally become nobles, and the most powerful one becomes the chief of the tribe.
Several tribes unite, and the most powerful one becomes the chief.
The Karelia people are moving towards a chiefdom, and foreign expansion wars are promoting the rapid development of this force. The war most tests the organization of personnel, and a kingdom composed of Karelia seems not far away.
People live in peace, but this peace is only on the surface.
The largest tribe has the great chief of the entire force. Its tribe's name is simple and crude, it is Iso Talwa, which is the "big tent" itself.
The nominal and actual population of the Great Horde tribe is as many as 30,000. With this huge size, they can almost represent all of Karelia.
There are also two small tribes, named "Xiaozhang" and "Dongzhang". Their names are also simple and crude. One reflects its small size, and the other reflects its location on the east side of the big lake.
Isotalva is adjacent to a small lake, which is north of Lake Ladoga. There are surface runoffs connecting the two lakes, so escapees do not need to take detours. They can reach their destination as long as they follow the river upstream. Of course, this is still It takes many days of traveling.
The tired escapees had no idea what happened to the bear altar after it was occupied by powerful attackers. Was it completely in ruins? Have the attackers left? Nothing is settled.
They were frightened. When the miserable escapees finally saw the overwhelming tent group, they knelt on the ground and cried with joy. Then they were discovered by a passing herder and taken back to the core area of the tent.
What strange thing happened that made these people who suddenly appeared in a panic, and soon, the terrible news about the attack on the bear altar quickly spread in Isotalwa.
More and more escapees are entering here. At first, some people may think that the news is a ridiculous joke, but now everyone believes it.
"A group of weirdos on a huge ship came out of the mist, and the iron-clad weirdos were slashing everywhere! All men, women, children, and even domesticated deer were killed! They destroyed wantonly, and even the powerful bear guards could not defend the altar. !”
Similar statements spread to all the Karelian people staying in Isotalva within a day, and soon, the people grazing in nearby areas also understood.
This news is undoubtedly a bolt from the blue for everyone!
It was clearly the time to collect tribute. The envoys went to the surrendered tribes to collect live deer, deer skins and slaves for the nobles to enjoy. Ordinary shepherds are also looking forward to the warm summer. Hundreds of people want to take their goods to the Bear Altar in the near future and do some trading with the people there.
The current Bear Altar is full of terror. The people who cannot trade are roaring angrily to dispel the fear in their hearts. The thinking of the nobles who are left behind is completely confused.
Because the great chief is not in Isotalwa.
A man named Aisailas (which means not sick, and wants a cheap name to make a living) is trying his best to calm the dissatisfaction of the people, appease their fears, and discuss countermeasures with other nobles.
The largest wooden tent is the chief's residence and a place for meetings.
The great chief himself was trying to accomplish a great undertaking with more than a thousand brothers, so he left his hometown to be supervised by his younger brother. Aeseilas was the chief's brother.
The chief's wives, concubines, and slave girls all avoided, and more than a dozen distinguished people gathered together.
An urgent consultation is underway.
The incident happened suddenly, and everyone couldn't believe it was true. The nobles' biggest call was to organize people to go to the Bear Altar to investigate.
Aeseiras was sweating, he wasn't strong, and his name didn't really protect him from disease. When this old boy was young, he was accidentally blinded in one eye by a tree branch. Fortunately, he had the support and care of his elder brother, so his life was not difficult.
“You want to send a team to investigate, I support it.” He said, “But the top priority is to send messengers to inform the other two tribes of the news, and also send messengers to run to the west as quickly as possible to find the great chief’s army. "
Some nobles said: "Tavastia seems to be really doomed for some reason. Maybe it is God's punishment that caused these guys who claimed to be loved by God to die. However, those guys in the Zeland are also not aware of it." Xin, I need to find the chief, but things are a bit troublesome."
"Even if it's trouble, we have to find him."
Another noble asked doubtfully: "Do we really need to do this before the matter is found out? The bear altar was destroyed. This joke cannot be made! If someone lies about the news, his head will be smashed with a mace!"
These words were actually aimed at the one-eyed Aisailas.
"Are you worried about my head?" Aisailas smiled contemptuously, "I don't believe that dozens of escapees are lying. Even if they smash their skulls, I will smash them first. The Bear Altar must Something big has happened, don’t worry, I will take responsibility for my decision!”
Isotalva itself is the largest trading point in the entire Karelia, but the Bear Altar has its own advantages. It is adjacent to a huge lake and is on the transportation line of all the tribes living along the lake. "Eastern Tent" "Ludi" these tribes always arrive at the bear altar first to do business.
But the Karelia chief Valkhba (the strong man) has noticed the mysterious disappearance of the Tavastians, their neighbors to the west. If it weren't for the land in Tavastia, how could Karelia expand there? This is where the strife comes from.
No matter what happened, a fertile birth space was vacated, and Valheba decided to build a new Isotalva on the old territory of Tavastia and move the entire tribe there, so that he could easily gather all the tribes. Wouldn’t it be beautiful to have the power to destroy the Suomi people and become the master of the world?
The Karelia people feel that their region is everything in the world. Even the most noble nobles did not understand that the Russian power appeared in the south of the huge Ladoga Lake.
It's not that they are stupid and ignorant, it's almost that they mainly rely on their feet to measure the world, and information cannot be passed down in writing.
Unlike the Russians, they had at least historical records of their own tribe eighty years ago, and those smooth oak boards recorded too much.
Although there was no longer a fierce battle with the Tavastians, the Suomi people suddenly appeared.
For some reason, this group of Suomi people who had always been looked down upon by Chief Valheba actually became particularly good at fighting. The two sides had already had two canoe battles on the lake. He really didn't expect that their opponents were actually firing iron cluster arrows. Could it be that they had already Has it become so luxurious?
Valkhba still gained some advantages, and part of Tavastia's old territory was annexed.
When a group of Karelian warriors entered those territories, they saw abandoned villages. The collapsed wooden houses were covered with moss. An inspection revealed that these houses had been uninhabited for at least a year. Where have the original owners of the house gone? ! have no idea.
Until a few Suomi people who had fallen into the water were fished out, and after an interrogation Valkhba learned an incredible result: "The Rus came and killed all the Tavastians."
The captured Suomi people were very tough-talking. They knew that if they fell into the hands of the Karelia people, it would be better to be killed. If they were to become slaves, life would be worse than death.
They wanted to die, and when they found out that the interrogator was actually the chief of Karelia, they threatened harshly: "Suomi is already at war with you! Suomi is a close ally of Ross! This year, the coalition will completely destroy Karelia." Oh, kill all the Karelians just like Tavastia!"
Who is Ross? But the tug-of-war between Karelia and Tavastia has indeed come to an end with the mysterious disappearance of their opponents.
The prisoners' remarks were so infuriating that all the prisoners were skinned alive, which Valheba claimed was a deserved punishment for the cursed ones.
However, all the remarks made by the prisoners who were executed cannot be ignored. He had learned the news before, and he was doubtful and brought more than a thousand people to explore whether Tavastia was gone.
The rumored news was confirmed, but things became more confusing.
The prisoners spoke loudly before they were killed, and they all "cursed" that Rus would annihilate Karelia.
For a while, the Karelian soldiers were panicked. Relying on his personal charm, Valkhba stabilized the mood of the army, but he himself fell into a strong conflict.
It was his lifelong dream to become the overlord in his lifetime. Now that Tavastia has disappeared, it seems that he can achieve his dream by forcing the Suomi people to surrender.
This is the most glorious moment in life and an opportunity to receive endless honors! He weighed it up and decided to place the army here. After all, it took a lot of trouble to lead the troops from Aisailas to the border area.
To be on the safe side, he still sent a messenger to float to Isotalwa in a canoe to inquire about the news.
He also released a prisoner and asked him to tell the Suomi leader to surrender and pay tribute and offer a hundred women in exchange for peace.
Uko, the leader of Suomi, flatly refused, even because he was surprised to learn that the chief of Karelia was actually on his border. Wouldn't it be a great achievement to assassinate this man. Uco's answer was an attack. This was the third canoe battle on the lake. The battle took place in early August, almost the same day that Ross's squadron stormed the Bear Altar.
This was a battle between novices. Both sides were shooting arrows at each other. Their canoes were not suitable for gang fighting, but without excellent long-range weapons, the battle was very boring.
Both sides suffered casualties on each other, and after spending a lot of arrows, they retreated.
The opponent refused to surrender and refused to fight on land! Valherba was so angry that he basically fell into an impotent rage.
His military strength is not enough to force his opponent to surrender by force, and his opponent obviously does not have the ability to defeat him.
Time is not favorable for this Karelian expeditionary force. When the weather turns cold, Valkhba must lead his troops to retreat. After all, winter grazing is related to the smooth breeding of the deer herd next spring.
In an unexpected stalemate with the Suomi people, Warchief Valheba completely ignored the so-called curse.
Until a messenger from his hometown of Isotalwa arrived at the front line with horrific news.
Several messengers rowed all the way and almost died of exhaustion when they reached the camp.
Valheba summoned these people, and he immediately asked about the situation in his hometown. After asking, the messengers trembled, lay down on the dirt and cried loudly.
"What happened?" His heart beat suddenly.
Someone crawled to the feet of the great chief in pain and wailed: "Chief! Our bear altar! The bear altar..."
"What happened?!" Valheba suddenly grabbed the man's neck and asked.
Several other people immediately crawled over and shouted in unison: "The bear altar was destroyed by terrible attackers! Many people were killed! Now they have occupied the bear altar!"
"What?! Ridiculous! This is impossible!"
All the messengers claimed that the news was not absurd, but a completely horrifying fact. It was news that the scout had paid for by dying!
It turned out that after the meeting, the great aristocrat Aisailas, who was stationed in Isotalwa, organized a hundred warriors to form a canoe team to investigate the Bear Altar.
This warrior reconnaissance team carried bows and arrows on their backs and held short iron spears in their hands.
They swaggered to find a suitable river channel to place the boat, and then walked overland to the Bear Altar. However, they were completely confused when they saw the scene there!
Some Gundam buildings appeared, and the strange scene drove them closer, which also exposed themselves very suddenly.
The Russian army building Bjornvistad noticed these uninvited guests who broke in. They were obviously armed. They must be the vanguard of the Karelian retaliation force!
This is the outpost of the Principality of Ross and the future landing site for the army. The brothers dare not be too proud. They regard the enemy as the most dangerous enemy, and more than 300 people mobilized to launch a surprise attack.
The Karelian scouts were ill-prepared for the sudden outbreak of fighting, and they were quickly beaten to confusion by the unexpected arrows.
The steel-armed crossbow accurately harvested lives. After a violent attack of arrows, the Karelian scouts had to retreat in full. Fearing that their opponents had hidden their army in the forest, the Russian soldiers who left the camp withdrew one after another. Even when night fell, the Russian army remained on high alert.
This is the news that the scouts found out at the cost of blood. Although they could not inspect the situation of the bear altar on the spot, it was obviously occupied by a large group of powerful enemies and built tall wooden buildings on the bear altar that were incomprehensible. Something I have never seen in my life.
In fact, they are just some tall wooden watchtowers.
The messenger informed the warchief of the news, and then someone opened the leather bag and tremblingly held the strange weapon in the pocket to the warchief.
"What is this? How does it look like an arrow? But it doesn't look like an arrow."
"It's... it's an arrow. It's terrible to have a brother killed by it."
Valherba examined this short, strange arrow and couldn't figure out what kind of bow could shoot it. The messenger continued to introduce that the retreating warriors pulled out the arrow from the corpse. There were black stains on the arrow feathers, which were coagulated blood. At that time, the entire arrow penetrated the leather jacket, and the arrow feathers had completely sunk into the chest of the deceased, and even broke. The ribs of the deceased.
This is a cone-headed carbon steel armor-piercing arrow commonly used by the Russians. It has amazing penetrating ability. It was originally tailor-made for the Danish army wearing chain mail, but now it has become a trump card against the Karelia people.
Valherba found this incredible. According to this statement, this short and thick strange arrow could easily kill a bear!
He didn't even believe that the arrow could still fly, so he just tossed it casually and the whole arrow whirled and stuck in the mud.
Now Valherba was convinced. He was stunned, confused, and then angry. Even the "Bear Guards" he personally trained can't protect the sacred altar, so who are the damn attackers?
Suddenly, a term came to mind.
"Russian?!" Thinking of this, the great chief who had stood up suddenly sat down on the ground, looking blankly at the light outside the camp: "They are Russians, right? Damn it, that's not a curse, it's real!"
The soldiers saw that the chief was in a trance and dared not hear the news. Finally she came to her senses. As soon as she came to, she issued a surprising order: "Let's retreat! The whole army retreats! Gather the army and fight to the end with those damned... damned Russians." !Take back our bear altar!"
