Chapter 446： Loot from the east coast to the west coast

A group of blue and white warriors walked in the withered world.

Autumn fell across northern Europe, the vegetation began to wither, and only the wheat began to head.

Compared to Lake Mälaren, Gotland has a warmer climate. However, the soil here is rather barren, coupled with the rough planting method, the wheat here is too sparse.

The heavy rain that began at the end of June caused large-scale lodging of wheat in the offshore farmland of Gotland. Only the inland oats were slightly affected.

Arik and his brothers were dressed in gorgeous clothes, and he was brave, wishing he could meet the enemy and have another fun battle.

They walked through the wilderness, climbed up the nearly 100-meter-high mound on the island, and then found a trickle stream on their way down the mountain.

They looked at the top of the mound. The clear air was so transparent that Arik even looked to the west coast of the distant island and some obvious settlements. Even if those are low buildings, it is obvious in the withered world.

That is Visby? Or something else?

Arik didn't think much, he weighed his own strength, of course he couldn't rush over, but he could obviously break into the village along the stream he found.

They did see a small village protected by a hill.

"Brothers, let's go, let's get a vote!"

The Ross soldiers opened their mouths and laughed presumptuously.

They descended like a tiger and rushed into the village quickly. They didn't linger, let alone negotiating with local residents.

Suddenly attacked, many villagers still don't know what happened. They are busy storing fodder for the sheep and repairing farm tools, such as scythe and oat husked shackles, to prepare for the wheat harvest in the upcoming autumn harvest.

The working farmers looked at the blue-and-white people coming. They thought the visitors were very gorgeous at first, and it was too late when they realized the danger.

The sharp and fierce crossbow arrows hit with precision, and a farmer fell to the ground in tears.

The villagers began to yell in shock: "It's a pirate!" Then they fled home to take self-defense weapons.

The defense of the villagers was futile. They took out short swords for slaughtering sheep and chickens, short spears for guarding against wild animals, and short bows.

How can these weapons withstand the prepared Arik.

The warrior’s wildness was aroused, and Arik commanded loudly: “Don’t reload after shooting! Drop the crossbow and draw the sword to kill them!”

Only the Hebei warriors used "unicorn arms" to force the steel-armed crossbow after shooting. More warriors held swords or axes, buckled in front of them with bucklers, and rushed over with a roar.

The battle soon ended.

The farmers who resisted were killed one after another, the woman was pulled out of the house by her hair, and those who resisted were directly assassinated.

If Rurik is principled, Arik has no intention to be principled with these people.

"Kill me! No mercy!"

The warriors understood, some of the warriors who had been refreshed finished their gowns and killed the female prisoners with tears on their faces.

The Ross people had no loss, except that the robe was stained with the blood of the enemy.

There were corpses everywhere, but only two men were almost killed. The two were pretending to be dead and were caught when the Rosses were cleaning the battlefield.

According to logic, this kind of coward who dare not even resists should be broken into pieces, and Arik deliberately put it to death.

"Boss, you have to leave alive and ask about the situation here."

Arik patted his head for a moment and thought that it was indeed the case. After some interrogation, the Ross people knew the name of the village, a very casual name-Heldenhaus (house under the hill).

There are only a hundred residents in the village. They don't know the landing of the Ross people, and they haven't recently gone to the offshore Slitomo and Visby to do business.

They just lived silently in the inland, and today they are devastated.

"It's really interesting. You can get to Visby along this stream?" Arik's eyes were fixed to the west, showing a greedy smile.

"My lord, please forgive me! I...I'll be a slave for you Ross people." The farmer lying on the ground begged bitterly.

"You? Forget it, you two go away!" After all, Arik raised his foot to drive away.

When the two saw this, they got up and ran away. As they fled frantically, Arik took over the crossbow.

"Boss, didn't you say that these two idiots should report the letter? Must shoot them?"

Arik raised his crossbow skillfully, aiming and shooting in one go. One fugitive was beaten through his neck and fell to death on the spot, while the other screamed and ran faster.

"It's enough to leave a message." Arik put down the heavy crossbow. "The weapon invented by my brother is really easy to use. Although it is not particularly glorious, it really makes our battle easier. Go! Man, take the arrow away. Pull out the dead body."

Arik was a savage predator, and when he realized that he could not take away the captured cattle and sheep immediately, he ordered them to be killed.

The Ross people peeled off the sheep's skin, grilled the mutton wildly, and then ate it.

They made more hand-held meat to fill the rations when they were traveling.

What rare things can be found in the villagers' homes, the soldiers unexpectedly discovered a lot of silver and copper coins.

Each soldier got more than a dozen silver coins, and even an amber necklace that came down from the woman's neck. Unexpectedly, the farmer’s family is so rich, and when he thinks of his past, the Rusman warrior is full of hatred.

They simply don’t understand that the anti-water Gotland and Danes have been trading in furs and fish, always transporting sheep skins produced on the island to Hazeby Port in southern Jutland, and Danish merchants. , Frank businessmen do business. It is for this reason that Gotland has been able to accumulate a large number of Franconian silver coins over the years.

The dead did not need money and jewelry, and Arik had no intention of burying these people, and all the corpses were thrown into a house.

The Ross people lived in the village for one night, and the village was torched the next day, and the corpse would eventually be turned into ashes.

Some people questioned that Arik's determination was a waste of resources. After all, many sheep cannot be killed. Wouldn't it be better to bring them back to other brothers to eat. Now the dead sheep will eventually stinks on the ground.

"What do you know? This is my revenge! Brothers, don't be merciful, except for the people who landed on this island, everyone else is an enemy, **** it!"

The Ross warrior accompanying him can't say anything else. The boss is so fierce. Everyone has awe from the heart and admires this ruthless and ruthless man. Oh, the best thing about Arik is that he is not greedy for money. For example, in this looting, he actually didn't need a copper coin, and all the coins he grabbed belonged to his brothers.

With a successful plunder, they longed for the second and the third time.

Having learned the experience of attacking Heldenhouse, Arik decided to act a little low-key.

The very flamboyant blue-and-white robes with the logo of the Rose were gathered up, and the fifty soldiers became gray-black again. Many people disguised themselves with coarse cloth robes seized from the farmer, and even concealed their crossbows, so they furiously searched for new targets.

They are like fishermen from the east coast, who brought their goods into the inner island or went to Vis to sell their fish.

Almost all the inland villages did not know about the Russ invading. Now, they have suffered a great loss due to the temporary closure of the news.

The villagers welcome people from other villages to trade. It is the people who live on the same island. Although everyone has some inevitable grievances on weekdays, no one keeps guard on the issue of trade.

Arik led his troops away from Heldenhaus and continued along the direction of the stream flowing into the sea. Like a mudslide, it struck down another village named Lukulye on the same day. Still the same move, Arik came, and what it brought was death, burning and destruction.

Speaking of the people in this village should know the news of the Rus attack. Arik interrogated the person who had been bypassed. Only then did he learn that the guy from the north was indeed preaching that "the murderer from the sea destroyed the village." As a result, this man frantically promoted terrible news and threatened that the next one to suffer was Lukulye Village. The angry villagers didn't believe this at all, so they gave the fugitive some cheese and kicked him in the **** with his boots to drive him away.

The sea breeze dissipated the thick smoke that burned the village, and the residents of Lukluye could not see the danger signal, so they missed the opportunity to escape.

After Arik released the villagers who had spared his life again, he led his brothers to live in a quiet village. By the next day, Lukulye was ignited in a soaring fire, killing all cattle and sheep, and even with oats that were about to mature, he was instructed to deliberately set fire.

The ground was full of dead humans and animals, and the continuous tragic scenes made many executioners feel uncomfortable.

Some people have experienced some mental problems due to excessive killing. They roared at the sky and barked their teeth and claws.

Others want to leave this uncomfortable area as soon as possible, because this is not the battle they hoped for, and it is not glorious to kill the unprepared.

Arik was determined to continue the pillage, and some soldiers admonished: "Boss, we are really coming to Visby. The Duke looks forward to a decisive battle with them, we..."

Arik, who is leading the march with great momentum, is really impatient: "What? Do you want to be a coward? Or do you plan to follow me to meet those idiots in Visby?"

Listening to this, Arik is going to take a mere fifty light-armed warriors to be a meat detective.

Meat detective, that's not a good job.

Isn't it done? The task of testing the reality of the enemy's army is to be handed over to the hundreds of toolmen of the Merlaren mercenaries.

How come the most elite Ross fighters have to do this unworthy job?

"Boss, the Duke said that the army will start in five days. This is our fourth day. Brothers have run too far. We should go back soon."

Hearing, Arik stopped abruptly. He turned around and stared at the crowd with a pair of sharp eagle eyes: "Why? Are you scared? I took you to beat the Gotland at sea, and now board them damn. Island, are you so scared now?"

At this moment, no one speaks, only Arik's criticism and wind are in everyone's ears.

"Shut up now! As I said, we must not be merciful. We must fear the enemy, and now attack the next village with me. Remember, mercilessly."

The so-called ruthlessness means not letting go of the laying hens raised by the villagers.

Arik's deeds have surpassed ordinary pirates. He came to kill and destroy. There was only a piece of scorched earth in the place he passed.

On this day, he led his troops to capture a village named Qiaocun. It was also in this village that the Ross raiders marching along the stream saw a small wooden boardwalk, which gave the village its name.

But this battle was completely unexpected.

The team seemed to have entered an uninhabited village, but the village was by no means abandoned.

The alert Arik walked into a civilian house. He stuck his sword on the ground and knelt down to explore the burning carbon residue. He was shocked to find that the deep layer of carbon residue was still burning slowly.

The warrior holding a crossbow on alert said casually: "Boss, it seems that the enemy has just escaped. Your intimidation plan seems to be successful."

After thinking about it, Arik stood up and commanded with a sword: "Burn down this village as usual."

"Huh?" The soldier was taken aback, "The brothers are very tired after a day of fighting, now..."

"No! Follow my orders and burn. The enemy didn't run far, so we chased them and killed them."

No one can twist Arik's temper. The bridge village house lit up a big fire, and the fire was even more terrifying in the setting sun.

Just to the west of Qiao Village is another mound with an altitude of 60 meters. From the geographical position of Qiao Village, it is only 30 meters.

Arik took the tired warriors and forcibly climbed under the dim light. Finally, when the stars were shining, the warriors spent the night on the hill.

The exhausted soldier quickly saw the horrifying sight. It was so startled that Arik, who was also exhausted, seemed to have drunk several barrels of coffee. Looking at the dense fire not far away, he really couldn't sleep.

Standing here, there is a faint salty taste in the air. The sky is full of stars, and the fire below is like the stars.

The sleepy soldiers leaned on the pine tree, their bodies trembling involuntarily.

A soldier approached Arik: "This is Visby? We couldn't see clearly on the upper mound, but we didn't expect Visby to be like this."

"Boss, look at their bonfires as dense as the stars. Their strength is really a lot. The decisive battle in the future is really a bit tricky."

The rebellious Arik was scared for an instant. He gritted his teeth hard and blamed himself for having such a stupid idea.

Recalling the story of fighting in the south described by the old brother Rürik, the Swedish army deliberately lit a large number of bonfires in order to confuse and deter Borgholm’s enemies.

"This is the enemy's conspiracy." Arik said solemnly: "How can they have so many people? They are deceiving us, making our army scared to leave the island thinking that Visby has more troops. Haha, we can't be fooled. "

This is a reasonable explanation, and my brothers believe it.

In short, the night shouldn't and could not be looted anymore. After a few days of marching and fighting, each soldier killed ten enemies. Oh, if the screaming woman is considered a "dangerous warrior." Killing so many people is simply to accompany Arik to revenge. So far, only five of the Ross people have suffered minor injuries. The result is that the so-called enemy is not a warrior at all.

Standing on this low mound, the Russ under the curtain of night could already vaguely see the gloomy sea in the distance. They used four days and nights to travel and finally penetrated the entire island.

The Ross people didn't set the lights on. After eating some cooked lamb, they curled up in their cloaks and fell asleep on the withered grass.

Arik held his two swords in his arms and rested on the pine tree with his eyes closed.

The world on the west side of the mound is a bit red and shiny, that is the burning bridge village!

This special spectacle is like a warning horn, slapped everyone who stayed in and around Visby Port-it is from the Ross! The **** Ross is here!

From the resting place of Arik to the sea, the straight line distance is only a mere seven kilometers. He used a large number of bonfires as evidence of enemy soldiers camping, how is it possible?

He and most soldiers subconsciously believed that the decisive battle between the two armies was inevitable. Now that the Rus are well prepared, the main force on Gotland should also be assembled.

He subconsciously thinks that the Gotland army will be assembled quickly, and a circle of fighters must be seated around the dense fire.

However, sitting by the campfire are all villagers who are confused about the future, or refugees.

All of them are from the north of the island.

Just a few days ago, Baisha Port was destroyed by a powerful Rus army, and all those who were too late to flee must have died.

Those who were scolded as cowards early escaped, they informed the nearby villages by land, which caused a chain reaction. In all five villages in the northern part of the island, the villagers dragged their families, drove cattle and sheep, and even packed chickens with their eggs into wooden cages. People subconsciously gathered to Visby, the largest settlement, asking for more than one person to be more powerful. .

However, in villages like Bridge Village, the villagers not only encountered refugees who had escaped from Lukuluye, but also saw strong smoke from the village.

The villagers took their cattle and sheep over the mound and rushed to Visby to avoid disaster. As for the outcome of the oats they planted, they really can't care about it.

There are a large number of refugees around Visby, the total number is close to two thousand. Because not only from the north of the island, but also from some villages in the south of the island, people who went to Visby to sell sheepskins learned of the terrible news of the invasion of the Rus army.

A fishing port named Clintholm with as many as two thousand people lives. All the residents either take a boat or land to go northward Brothers Rurik and Arik, both completed For the purpose of creating fear on the island.

Residents of most of the settlements on the island are gathering in Visby, and a few people are leaving the island by boat in order to avoid disaster.

The population of Visby soared to 11,000, which has exceeded the carrying limit of the settlement. As a last resort, a large number of refugees can only be stationed in the outlying areas in the original villages. The leader of the village hurriedly went to Visby. The Chamber (Thing) listens to the discussions of a large family of twelve uncompromised merchants.

Just as a group of noble people was arguing about the issue of Ross' entry into the invasion, the east covered by the mounds to the east of Visby was actually lit up with a faint red light.

The quarrel in the Chamber came to an end. Whether it was the main battle faction (willing to continue to join the Danish forces) or the main peace faction (suddenly jumped back and returned to the embrace of the Sveja tribal alliance), they were spontaneously recruiting mercenaries and agitating men. When picking up the weapon, I also decided to send someone to take a look early in the morning.

Of course, they didn't know that Rose's scout was on the mound.

As they stared at the abyss, the abyss stared at them...