Chapter 385： Courier Benardic

In the core area of ​​the Gulf of Bothnia, the dissolution of huge ice packs formed by the accumulation of ever-expanding sea ice is quietly happening on the seabed.

The ice covering the entire sea surface is slowly disintegrating, and the thickness of sea ice is getting thinner every day.

It's just that this series of changes is still not obvious.

The sea is frozen, and the ice on the great lake is still hard. Thanks to this ice, Olekin, the leader of Mellaren, finally decided to hold the important news of the tribal alliance in early March, and continue to notify the scattered allied tribes through messenger.

Olekin has already begun to act.

After nearly half a meter of ice on the Great Lake, anyone should never even think about sailing on the ice, and don’t expect to be able to move fast with just one pair of feet.

The Mellaren tribe also raised some reindeer, but they did not develop it as an industry. Their reindeer are domesticated by a small number of small families, and their purpose is almost all to travel and pull vehicles.

The Mälaren Lake must be too big, and the waterways in it are extremely complicated, and boats are naturally the first choice for long-distance trips.

Reindeer can pull carts and are naturally good at pulling sledges.

If there is nothing important, who will stay outdoors for a long time?

This time, in the name of the leader, Origen summoned all the people who owned the reindeer in the tribe. He directly rented the deer with money, and also gave the owner of the deer some tasks-leading the leader’s messenger to the tribes. .

The reindeer sleighs were dispatched one after another, and Olekin’s messengers rushed to the Yilmalun tribe, the Glan tribe, the Ankras tribe, and the Uppsala tribe with a copy of the Luen text engraved on a wooden board and a spoken word. Even some small tribes located in the north.

Most of the tribes in the alliance live in Olegin. It is clear that this is the increasingly powerful Rus tribe. They seem to be floating on the edge of the alliance system. It is not only that they and the core Mellaren lack direct communication with each other. It was even more in the territory of the Russ, which turned out to be a place further north of Norland (Northland).

It was only last year that Olekin had an unprecedented clear understanding of the location of Roseburg.

Just by boat, it takes three days to go downwind from Mälarenburg to Roseburg, so sending a messenger with a reindeer will definitely be a arduous and remarkable journey.

The messengers who relayed the news came back one after another. They brought back the promise of the local tribal leader that when the ice melted, they brought the delegation to Mellarenburg to meet the leader Olegin in person, basically in April.

The simple things were completed as a matter of course, sending envoys straight to Rose, and this adventure could not be delayed any longer.

A messenger named Bernardick was ordered in danger.

At first, this guy refused. He was not stupid enough to ride on a reindeer sleigh and run wild on the frozen sea for three to four days.

Olekin asked him to think carefully about whether this order was implemented, and even the consequences of a refusal.

Can a tribe leader freely order a tribe to die?

Olekin did not bluntly expressed the threat, but only revealed what he meant, which on the contrary made people very worrying. After nearly ten days of thinking, Bernardick thought of his wife and children and had to take out this life and fight it once. He had already completed the complete realization of freezing to death on the ice field, and only wanted his family to be well.

The agreed last time is up.

Benardic put on his thick clothes and accidentally cut off half of his beard. With a very energetic look, he walked into the towering wooden wall and half-kneeled in front of the leader.

In the huge room, standing on either side were a group of armed private soldiers, thinking that the man in the thick bearskin coat was Olegin.

"You are here! Have you thought about it?"

Oleg's words were not aggressive. When Bernardick raised his head cautiously, a golden "garland" appeared on the leader's forehead.

Correct! That is the wreath, which is inlaid with some red gems and translucent amber. It is really beautiful.

But is that just beautiful?

Olekin melted some precious gold coins and silver coins, supplemented with gems, to create a crown for himself.

Ordinary people do not know the concept of the "golden crown", or even the symbol of power that it can extend.

However, the businessmen provided a lot of information about the South, and even some legends about the Frankish kingdom.

The supreme ruler of the far south, he has a beautiful crown made of gold. It is a unique and beautiful treasure, symbolizing his power.

Olekin, who intends to do something big in his lifetime, intends to fight his last breath to get a Viking glory.

Whether glory can be obtained depends on the achievements of the Alliance.

Before that, his ambitions had prompted him to create a symbol of power in advance for himself-a golden crown, and the so-called noble title called "Koenig (King.

How can an ordinary person be able to perceive these things about honor?

He complimented: "Leader, I have already thought about it, and I am willing to go."

"Chief? Are you still calling me the leader?" Olekin pretended to be upset, but the corners of his mouth were slightly raised, "Now I call me Koenig. This is my new title, it is the noble title. From then on I am your Koenig. "

This word is actually a term that merchants heard from the Franks to describe a great ruler. In fact, it is an ancient Germanic language that describes "unique person", and it describes the status of the monarch very well.

Olekin wants to be the king of the alliance, and he intends to determine his new name this year and use it for generations to come! However, to be king in the alliance, is that still an alliance?

If Benardic had ten smart people, he should be able to guess some of Olegin's intentions.

"Dear King, I think it over. As long as you can guarantee the safety of my family, as long as you can guarantee that if I die in the snow and ice, I can continue to support my family."

Olekin was afraid that this guy would not go, and he really didn't just assign a difficult task to him. There are many sayings about Bernardic in the tribe. For example, this person can walk in the snow for a long time without freezing to death, the so-called "Ice Warrior". Actually? It was clear that this guy took a hunting adventure in winter, and he lost his way in the snowstorm. He not only survived with the strong will to go home to see his wife and children, but he also found his way home. He was in disaster. Such a name.

Now, he wants to take risks for the name of the "Ice Warrior" and for the Mellaren tribe.

Olekin was afraid that this person would still refuse, so he smiled and said: "Okay, you go to deliver the letter, you just have to deliver the letter to complete the task. If you are really dead, don’t worry, I will raise your wife and children. ."

Why is it so awkward to hear this?

Benardic hesitated for a while, and quickly "thank you Lord Ron".

Olekin didn't want to wait any longer, he urged Bernardick and Yufu to act immediately. So on the second day after the meeting, a sleigh pulled by two deer, carrying two people wrapped up like polar bears, with a batch of wheat cakes, guarding the most important wooden board with carved characters. Rush to the far north of Roseburg.

Olekin was not stupid enough to really let the "Ice Warrior" freeze to death. Together with his husband, he lent them the best warmth, that is, the two polar bear skins that Rurik gave him.

Since the polar bear is fearless of the severe cold, can it still be frozen to death with its skin?

The vast land was shining with sunshine, and the ice sheet illuminated by the sun was almost blinding Benardic's eyes. They went north along the frozen sea and ran wildly for two days. Benardic never dreamed that he would encounter a crazy ice hunter.

He deliberately negotiated with the hunter, and he also clenched the iron sword hidden on the leather side.

After all, in this sea area, you can't trust strangers too much.

Bernardic was not attacked, and because the two white bearskin coats were respected by seal hunters, the seal hunters had to weigh the strength of a "polar bear hunter." The two sides were so ridiculous that they were afraid of each other, and did not put down their guard until they completed the initial negotiations.

These are actually the hunters of the Ross tribe? They actually insist on hunting in winter!

The messenger who was shocked by the miraculous thing, after learning of his identity, realized that the seal hunter, who was expected to make a big reward, was fortunate to continue wasting time on the ice? Anyway, the ice has become significantly thinner, and the method of catching seals will also change.

Originally, neither Bernardic nor his husband knew a clear route to Roseburg. He received the news that as long as he walked along the coastline, he would be able to enter the fjord of Roseburg. Now with the Ross Hunter as the navigator, they finally arrived at their destination at the end of the fourth day.

At this moment, the Aphrora standing on the frozen coast has just erected its masts, and Rurik disbanded the brawny men, and let the shipbuilder step by step to put the prefabricated wooden deck in the form of tenon and tenon, just like Lego bricks. Ride on the boat.

On the other hand, a group of women also accepted the task of Lurik. They are skilled tailors. They are using old cloth, new hemp rope, woolen thread, and even old sails to make a very huge triangular sail. , Its surface area is more than twice that of a general long boat sail.

The construction of the core of the ship has been completed, and she is now being made more and more perfect.

In recent days, the most lively thing of the entire Ross tribe is building big ships. Ordinary people have seen the unprecedented great achievements of their tribe. While they are proud, they also admire Rurik's ability.

The leader Otto finally realized the reliability of the ship, and he is supporting Rurik's cause in his own way. Otto made an amazing move, that is, the leader's flagship sealed in winter, the ship's dragon head sculpture was removed, and it will be installed on the Aphrola. There is also the flagship's only big sail, which is the core of the new sail, because it is printed and dyed with huge blue stripes that represent the interlaced oars, which is a symbol of the Ross people.

With the power of the leader, Otto appointed the Aphrodite as the leader and flagship of the Ross tribe.

To contribute to the flagship of the Rus tribe and leader, all those who participated in it, a trace of self-movement rose in their hearts. Their stomachs are also warm, after all, as long as anyone involved in building a big ship, even a woman, Rurik will provide a little oatmeal.

The entire tribe invested a huge amount of manpower and material resources, and it was like a general mobilization of the tribe to speed up shipbuilding, and Otto and Liurik naturally ignored some important things.

It wasn't until the messenger of Mellaren arrived in the dust that Rurik suddenly remembered that the edict on the alliance now seemed to have arrived.

"Don't look! Keep chasing the reindeer, I will take you to the leader's mansion." The seal catcher urged.

Bernardick came to Roseburg for the first time in his life, and he couldn't believe that there was such a large-scale settlement in the Far North. Even though the world was still clinging to ice and snow, he saw the dock, the mast of the ship, and even the new ship that was called a huge monster.

Why didn't his eyes look at the ship?

"Hey! Hunter, the thing over there is a boat?!"

"Yes! It's our Aphrodite, the honor of our Ross people. She's going to be launched soon. How about it, can you guys from Mellaren do it?"

"This... can't be done, really can't be done." Bernardick had no intention of any quarrel, he really admired the ability of the Ross people.

Actually? Isn't the ability of building a big ship still the people of Mellaren? It was the shipbuilder of Mellaren who was able to build the Aphrodite, but her chief designer was Rurik herself. In a sense, the Aphrora can be described as a joint construction by the Ross and Mellaren.

"That's it." The seal catcher's sleigh stopped: "The area in front of the leader's mansion, I can't get closer. You will be interrogated by the leader's mercenary. The messenger from far away, show your clerical board, They will not embarrass you."

In this way, like Bernardick, like a polar bear, he had swaggered in Roseburg for a while and attracted the attention of a large number of people. He wanted to see the leader, and was quickly unloaded by the cautious mercenaries.

At this moment, the sky began to dim, the radiance of the setting sun shone on the frozen fjord, and the whole world was cold with a trace of tragic beauty.

The wandering people went home one after another, soaking in the blacksmith’s shop and chatting and laughing with Clarvasson and Kawei Rurik, now they had to temporarily put down the half-cut "design drawings" in their hands, and hurriedly returned to their homes to meet Yuandao. The messenger coming.

When Rurik came back, Otto had been serious and had a conversation with Stack.

Rurik came in a hurry, he trot all the way up the steps, pushed open the closed wooden door, and for an instant, the warm air flowed all over his body.

"You're back! Leurik!" Otto raised his head and said casually.

Hearing it, Bernardick, who got goosebumps, turned his head hurriedly.

"Ah, I'm back. Mellaren's messenger...is...you?!"

Rurik suddenly met Bernardick's eyes, and then calmly took off his woolen cap, flicked his neck, and the golden pony tail also flicked.

Benardic was taken aback by this situation. Is the child in front of him a girl? Do not! He is a boy, a very delicate and beautiful boy, and an innocent boy.

This is Rurik? Benardic had never seen Rurik when he was in Mälaren, even if Rurik took his hand and swaggered the local market for a while. He has heard too many legends, and some recent legends describe the appearance of Rurik, a handsome boy.

"Hey, let me ask you something. Are you a messenger?!"

Benardic accidentally saw Rurik's teeth, and thought in his heart that this beautiful boy had reached the age of changing teeth, so he had grown into a man within a few years.

He saw from Rurik's seemingly weak figure what is true nobility and what is promising.

He felt that if Olekin needed to use the crown of gold and the title invented by the Franks to show his dignity, then Rurik was a real nobleman.

"Yes! I am the messenger... I... I am the Mellaren messenger. I brought the command of the lord."

"Are you stuttering?" Rurik asked with a stern face.

"I...I'm just nervous." Benardic's eyes widened. "Are you really Rurik?"

"of course."

"Ah! Those legends are true. You are indeed a god, and your purity shocks me. Please... please accept my worship."

Which one is this singing? Rurik looked at the guy kneeling in front of him and couldn't help being surprised. Otto was also surprised.

"Get up, since it's a messenger, we'll do business as soon as possible."

"Yes." Benardic quickly sat down, his body was shaking unconsciously.

Rurik sat cross-legged beside his father. At this moment, there were only three people in the huge living room of the mansion with oil lamps and firewood. There is no miscellaneous people, it is Otto, he needs a quiet meeting scene and nothing more.

But from Bernardick's point of view he feels that he has the respect of the Ross people. The father and son of the leader actually met his inferior person. He also felt that he would be like another messenger. He was only worthy to submit the wooden papers. He had no right to see the leader himself (to a certain extent, it was also out of the command of the leader Mellaren. Distrust, because that person did not rescue the Ostara tribe who was attacked).

Sitting down, Rurik continued to ask: "Your name?"

"I... Benardic from Mellaren."

"Okay, Bernardick, let's talk about business now!"

Benardic settled down. He was about to speak when he suddenly realized that Rose Chief Otto Rick had entered the house without saying a word. The handsome Rürich had said all the words, as if Rürich. Is the leader.

He estimated that the future transfer of power to the Rusians must also be the succession of this Rurik. It's like Olekin, the leader of Mellaren, will hand over power to his only son, Karl.

Carl is a lecherous and arrogant guy, not a reliable person.

Rurik, his temperament is extraordinary.