The slaves lived in low, damp shacks, and at night they could only wrap themselves in some hay to withstand the cold winds of the Nordic nights. The penetrating cold air came in from all directions through the gaps in the shacks, eroding the health of the slaves. , but this is not the most terrifying thing, hunger is their biggest enemy.
The Vikings would not overfeed their slaves. This was to prevent the slaves from escaping when they had the strength. Of course, the Vikings' own life was difficult enough. The slaves only had scraps of food, which was just enough. Just to fill your stomach.
"I wonder how that kid is doing?" The gray-haired old man was also huddled in the corner. He looked outside the shack with some worry.
At this moment, footsteps were heard from outside the door. Several Vikings who were accompanying them opened the loose wooden door of the shack. The slaves instinctively pushed back. It was not a good thing to appear with Vikings at such a late hour. , maybe the lord wanted to catch a slave and sacrifice his blood to the gods on a whim, so as to comfort his wife's nightmare.
"Come in." But to the surprise of all the slaves, the Viking accompanying him pointed inside politely, and one man bent down and kicked several slaves away, leaving a slightly dry place, and then returned Bring new hay and spread it on top.
"You can go to the warehouse to sleep alone." One of the Vikings who accompanied him said to Su Chen with concern. It was obvious that he had completely become a fan of Su Chen.
"No, it's nice here." Su Chen walked in with food in his arms. The slaves in the shack were shocked. They didn't expect that Su Chen not only wasn't punished by the lord, but was also treated politely by the Vikings who were accompanying him. Sent back.
"What on earth is going on?" The old man with a gray beard was also stunned and said in surprise.
Su Chen followed the Viking warrior and closed the door of the shack. Su Chen walked to the haystacks. Although these haystacks looked very crude, they were better than nothing. They were better than lying directly on the wet ground. After a long time, they would definitely get rheumatism. .
Su Chen sat on the haystack, with the bright moonlight shining in from above the shack, picking up the food in his arms and eating it. The slaves smelled the fragrance of the food, which made them even hungrier, but no one dared to move. It can be seen from the attitude of the Wei warriors that the lord has an unusual attitude towards Su Chen. This slave who used to be bullied is no longer the same.
"Eat." Su Chen gnawed on the dried pickled peach meat in his hand, picked up a few pieces of food and threw them to the slaves. At this time, he was not like one of them, but like a generous master.
"Oh." The desire for food made the slaves forget this difference, and they stepped forward to snatch food from the ground.
"Here you go." Su Chen picked up a piece of bread in his arms and handed it to the old man with a gray beard. Among the group of people, Su Chen thought he was the only one worthy of respect.
"Odin, I don't know what happened. Maybe you have received the protection of the gods." The old man took the food in disbelief. He did not stuff it into his mouth, but looked at Su Chen suspiciously and said .
"Who knows." Su Chen finished eating the food in his arms, put his hands behind his head, and lay comfortably on the haystack. His eyes were able to penetrate the dead branches of the shack above his head and see the bright trees above his head. moonlight.
The old man didn't care to continue asking at this time. He wolfed down the food given by Su Chen with full of suspicion and respect. After all, no slave could be forgiven by the stingy and cruel Hrov, let alone given food. Although he was full of doubts, Su Chen had already fallen asleep.
In the dream, Su Chen seemed to be back in his shared apartment. He also had a nightmare. The agency donated money to escape, and the landlord came to evict him. He had to drag his suitcase and sleep on the street in the middle of winter, with the cold wind biting his bones.
"Haqiu." Su Chen sneezed. He opened his eyes and found that he was still in the shack. At this time, he could no longer sleep, so he sat up. The smell in the shack was overwhelming, and the slaves were crowded together. To keep warm, no one dares to mess with him.
"Are you awake? Did you sleep soundly?" The gray-haired old man on the side used the dead branches in his hands to draw something on the ground. He saw Su Chen waking up and said.
"Yes, I had some bad dreams." Su Chen stretched and said to the old man.
"It's a good thing to be able to dream, it means you are still young." The old man smiled and said to him.
"It's a pity that he is still a slave." Su Chen smiled bitterly and said helplessly. From the few words of the Vikings, he seemed to know that the Ulf he possessed had been a slave since he was a child. If it were not for the protection of the cook Pahena, he would not be able to survive at all. There's no way it could grow this big.
"Many great warriors have been slaves. This is nothing. My name is Visette and I used to be a temple guard. However, the temple I guarded was looted. My master was so angry that he demoted me as a slave and sold me to Here." The old man said calmly, his deep eyes full of sadness and stories.
"What a misfortune." Suchen could only lament that most of the slaves here were purchased by Hrov from slave traders. Among them were Nordics, Saxons, and even slaves from more distant places.
"Don't worry, it's all old things, but you should be careful. Although the lord released you, Granet is a despicable villain and he will not let you go." The old man Visette said to Suchen.
"Huh, I won't let him go either." Su Chen's eyes flashed with a gloomy look. I won't offend others unless they offend me. If Granet refuses to let him go, he will also fight back.
When the sky just turned pale, Granet drove the slaves out of the shack with a whip and asked them to till the land in the farmland. This was a very heavy job. When Su Chen was about to go together, he was stopped by Granet, which surprised him slightly and made him wary.
"You don't have to go, this kind of job is not suitable for a slave like you who knows the skills of a bard." Graneppi said with a smile.
"Oh, then what is my job?" Su Chen asked with a sullen face, looking at him calmly.
"The respected lord asked you to go to the house, where you will work." Granet pointed to the hill in the direction of the lord's house and said to him.
"Working in the lord's house?" Su Chen frowned slightly, wondering if this was Granet's trap. However, the thought of being able to work beside the lord had actually elevated his status. Anyway, the troops would come to cover up the water.
Suchen was led by Granet to the lord's house. After entering the hall, he smelled a mixture of foot odor and wine smell. The strong smell almost made him faint. Several maids and slave girls The windows were opened and the messy floor was cleaned. Several drunken Vikings were dragged to the corner by the female slaves, who were still lying on the ground.
"Ulf?" Suchen saw a familiar figure among the cleaners. The cook Pahena straightened up and saw him, so she couldn't help blurting out.
"You wait here, I will report to the lord." Granet pointed to the ground and said to Suchen, and then walked towards the corridor, which led to the residence of the lord and his wife, and of course there were several rooms. It is prepared for the Vikings and guests who are accompanying them.
"Ulf, I heard what happened yesterday. Why didn't you listen to me and take the risk of provoking the lord and overseer?" When she saw Grane leaving, Pahena hurriedly took a few steps forward and said cautiously.
"Uh-huh." Su Chen didn't know what to say to Pahena, so he had to say haha.
"Be careful, the lord was not in a good mood yesterday. Don't offend him again. You are a child blessed by the gods. You must save your life." Pahena said quickly, and heavy footsteps came from the corridor. She had no choice but to leave with the bucket. When leaving the hall, she gave Su Chen a concerned look.
"What on earth is going on?" Su Chen had to wonder again whether Pahaina was his biological mother, otherwise why would she care so much about him.
"Ahem." Hrov was wearing a fur and coughed softly. Granet was beside him like a pug, and at Hrov's feet was a tall and powerful hound.
"Lord," Su Chen put his hands in front of him and lowered his head and said to Hrov.
"Yes." Hrov nodded, walked to the high-backed heavy oak chair, and sat down. A slave girl hurriedly stepped forward and handed him a glass of malt wine, while Hrov picked up the glass and rinsed his mouth. After swallowing it, Su Chen felt a chill in his eyes.
"Did you tell him everything?" After rinsing his mouth, Hrov pointed at Granet and said to him.
"Of course, I have already told him, respected lord." Granet nodded quickly and said, like another dog squatting at the lord's feet.
"Lord, what exactly do I do?" Su Chen knew that he could not leave the decision to Granet, so he immediately raised his head and said to Hrov.
"Bold slave." Granet said angrily, his eyes almost bursting with fire.
"It doesn't matter, you performed very well at yesterday's banquet, which reminded me that I still lack a bard. From now on, you will be a bard by my side and provide our banquet with your wonderful knowledge about magic rings. Story." Hrov was not angry, he waved his hand and said to Su Chen.
"Bard?" Su Chen pondered for a moment. He remembered that not only the Vikings, but also the entire tribe in Europe loved bards. The wandering bards could bring them happy or sad stories. Providing entertainment for the dark and boring life, especially the Norse people believe that bards are the incarnations of the gods, and all bards are generally of high status.
"Why don't you agree?" Hrov's brows furrowed, dissatisfaction showed in his eyes, and he could even feel a chill.
"Of course not, thank you Lord." Su Chen said quickly.
"I will ask someone to provide you with a separate room. You must serve me wholeheartedly, otherwise you will know the consequences." After saying this, Hrov stood up and returned to his bedroom, where his beautiful wife was And a warm big bed awaits.
"Lucky guy." A look of jealousy appeared in Granet's eyes. He didn't expect that a slave who was just doing hard work would suddenly become the lord's bard, who was the most popular character in the banquet.
The lord arranged for Su Chen the smallest and most remote room in the house. It was almost at the end of the corridor. But compared to a slave shack, it was pretty good. At least it had a narrow and old wooden window. Su The wooden bed creaked when he lay down on it, and he had no luggage to carry. When he lay on it and looked at the wood and the thick thatched roof, he couldn't help but let out a long sigh.
"I didn't expect that it was Mr. Tolkien's novels that saved me." Su Chen couldn't help but smile bitterly. Although he doesn't have to do hard work like other slaves now, he still has a sense of crisis. After all, Granet has been following the lord for the longest time. Here can Since it is his territory, wouldn't it be more convenient if Granet wanted to kill him.
Thinking of this, Su Chen decided to wake up. He couldn't relax his vigilance just because he lived in a spacious lord's house, otherwise he would die without knowing it.
Of course, apart from being vigilant about Guerla, life in the house can be said to be quite good. When he is hungry, he can go to the lord's kitchen to get food on his own. The Vikings are a tribal gathering system, and members work and fight together. , live together, in addition to weapons and tools, food is also shared.
"Hee hee." When Su Chen picked up a piece of barley bread and dipped it in the broth to eat in the lord's kitchen, several young female slaves passed by him, whispering to each other and laughing infatuatedly. .
"What's wrong?" Su Chen's heart moved and he deliberately looked at them and asked.
"Ah?" Several young female slaves did not expect that Su Chen would suddenly ask them questions, and they were so frightened that they lowered their heads and continued working. There was only one with golden hair, a slightly plump figure, and some small freckles between the bridge of her nose, but there were a pair of them like lakes. The green-eyed girl responded with a smile.
"Are you the one who sings Ulf?" The girl asked Su Chen while wiping the wooden plate in her hand.
"My name is Ulf." Suchen chewed the bread, looked at her interestingly and said.
"My name is Hyde." The girl Hyde said openly. If it weren't for the collar around her neck, which revealed her status as a slave, no one would have thought that this well-dressed girl was actually a slave.
"Your story is very touching. Is there really a place like the Shire in the world?" Hyde asked with expectation in his green eyes.
"Maybe!" Su Chen put down the half-eaten bread in his hand and nodded slightly.
"It would be great if there was such a place with warm fields, strong crops, and fertile land." Hyde didn't know what she thought of, and she lowered her head to wipe the plate in her hand.
"Why are you looking for a place like that?" Su Chen asked curiously.
""Our land is too barren and cold, and the dense forests prevent us from planting. In addition, more people have been born in recent years. If more land cannot be found, something unfortunate may happen to us. "Haide hesitated and said to Suchen.
"That's enough, Hyde. Stop talking. If the lord hears this, he will definitely cut out your tongue." Several other female slaves hurriedly stopped Hyde. They seemed to be afraid of Hrolf.
"Is there a shortage of food?" Su Chen secretly thought about this when he heard this. Whether in ancient times or modern times, food security always comes first. No matter how powerful and wealthy a country is, if it cannot solve the food problem, it will be unbearable. one strike.
"Don't worry, the Lord has summoned brave men from all over the country to solve this problem."
"Maybe a raid."
"Did you know they were going to raid there?"
"I don't know, maybe the Slavs from the south?"
"I heard from a guard that it might be a Finnish tribe crossing the sea."
"Oh, how did you hook up with the guard?"
The female slaves began to discuss passionately. They were different from the slaves who worked hard in the shack. The young and beautiful female slaves became slaves serving the lord and his wife. If they were lucky enough to be favored by the lord and become a concubine, their status would immediately be different.
"A raid?" Su Chen silently finished the food on the plate. He obtained a lot of valuable information from these female slaves, that is, the lord Hrolf was planning a raid to relieve the food supply in his territory. and demographic crisis, I just don’t know if I can benefit from it.
When night was about to fall, people filed into the Lord's Hall. Vargas and his friends also walked in. As soon as they came in, they saw Su Chen. Although Suchen's story was good, Vargas was still jealous. He disrupted his plan to steal the bride and stepped forward.
"Slave." Vargas shouted to Su Chen carelessly.
But Su Chen ignored him, which made Vargas even more angry. He punched the wooden table where Su Chen was sitting. The heavy wooden table almost jumped after he hit it. The huge sound caused Everyone's curious.
"My name is Ulf." Su Chen raised his eyebrows and took a sip of the malt wine, which was specially rewarded by the lord before he told the story.
"You don't need to remember the slave's name." Vargas said with a sarcastic smile, and his companions also laughed.
"But this slave who doesn't need to remember his name defeated you." Su Chen also laughed. He drank the wine in the cup and said lightly.
"That doesn't count. I don't recognize this cunning trick of creating riddles." Vargas's face turned red, he shook his head, his braided beard swaying on his chest.
"Oh? Then what do you want to do?" Su Chen frowned and asked curiously.
"I swore to God Thor that I would defeat anyone who stopped me from marrying my bride, unless he could defeat me in battle." A cruel smile appeared on Vargas's lips. From the moment he was born, He was trained as a warrior and was confident that he could not lose to anyone in terms of physical strength and fighting skills.
"Fight?" Su Chen couldn't help but frown deeper. Although he liked Nordic epics before traveling through time, and occasionally played a few Assassin's Creed games, he didn't know anything about real fighting. If it was a duel, he would probably be killed easily. !
