Chapter 512： Balmerk Viking Army

The sun never seemed to set, it was like a pushpin pinned to the western horizon, and the blood-red glow shone across the fjord.

The Balmerks built a wooden altar as they approached the coast. People from the entire tribe flocked to each other from small settlements, and for a time the largest port was crowded with ships.

This is the local people's sacrifice to the summer solstice. Seeing this grand scale, Rurik has to admit that the worship activities of the Balmerks are obviously more lively.

But this sacrifice had nothing to do with the joyful and peaceful atmosphere. He noticed that the faces of the people gathered were as solemn as iron.

Perhaps it was the disaster that just happened. People in a settlement were completely destroyed by landslides and mudslides caused by storms, and people felt extremely sad.

Or because of other reasons, maybe their sacrifices are always suffocating.

As the noble guest of the tribe and the husband of the leader's daughter, Rurik naturally followed the leader Magnut, and was able to stand on the noble side and point out and witness the whole sacrifice process.

Although it is the summer solstice, the cold from the Arctic still shows no signs of cessation.

Rurik saw more than twenty men with antlers and deerskins approaching the altar solemnly.

"That's your priest." Lurik mumbled casually.

"Yes. How does it compare to your priests?"

"There are more priests than ours in Ross. You...the priests are all men?"

"Of course. Isn't it possible that your priests of Rose are all women?"

As soon as Rurik heard this, he wanted to answer in the affirmative, and then simply shut up after thinking about it.

Before long, some bare-chested men also walked into the altar under the gaze of thousands of Balmerks.

"They are also priests?" Rurik realized something was wrong, and asked cautiously.

Magnuth's eyes were iron, and murderous aura was revealed under his calm face: "That is a sacrifice. They will sacrifice their lives to the gods. I think you know this very well."

Rurik did know it, but being able to meet today was really conscious of a chill in his back.

Listen! The priests began to chant long sacrificial ballads, and it seemed that by doing so, they could get some kind of contact with Odin.

This period of time was not boring. Sweat was dripping from the soles of Rurik's feet. He noticed the tens of thousands of onlookers in the entire sacrificial place, and they all remained silent.

Such a well-deserved silence is daunting, and Rurik's eyes are mainly staring at the men with naked backs in the altar.

Until that should happen suddenly.

The role of almost a high priest issued the order!

Rurik was slapped on the back by Magnuth himself: "Boy, the most critical moment has arrived!"

The scene is suffocating!

Rurik's eyes widened. He knew that with his noble status, he had to stare at the end of the altar. And for Nolen, who was next to her, she hid behind her father due to the terrifying scene.

The worshippers sullen themselves, and any painful wailing is a great disrespect to Odin.

But the priests did not believe that the predator really had an extremely powerful willpower, so when the predator stabs his own throat with a dagger, just like a priest who is "the wrong person," he stabs the predator in the back with a short spear. , Pierce its heart precisely.

"Perhaps the same crazy ones are the barbaric sacrifices of Maya and Aztec! In order to survive in a difficult environment, you do not hesitate to do this self-mutilation to obtain the favor of God..."

Of course, Rurik thought in his heart that such sacrifices would weaken his own labor force and were simply undesirable. But the Balmerks believe that this is necessary before major events, and its existence is reasonable to the people of the tribe.

Walking on the battlefield with corpses all over the field, today's Rurik will not be afraid. But now, his heart is beating wildly.

More than a dozen suicides died for all the people of the Balmerk tribe. Their bodies were covered with dry firewood and eventually turned into ashes and smoke in the flames...

People want to believe that these brave people represent the will of the entire Balmerks, and their souls have gone to Valhalla in the sky to report to Odin.

Such a grand sacrifice is rare for the Balmerk tribe. In the past, sacrifices were only sacrifices to some old and weak sheep, but now they are sacrificed.

Everyone knows the reason for this. In these days, the public opinion field of the entire tribe has also been agitated by the major events related to the exploration and looting of the British islands.

Young people are eager to try, one by one poor small families, they hope that a raid will make their family wealthy quickly.

They didn't have such thoughts before, or a few people thought about it, after all, they lacked the courage to act on a large scale.

Now, Rurik of Rose is like a **** descending into the world, giving the brothers courage!

The sacrificial activity reached its peak accompanied by a fierce pillar of fire.

I don't know how long the fire will continue to burn, and the people's eyes are on another important event.

The day after the summer solstice rituals, people under the day can hardly judge the exact time. After all, everyone has done some repairs, and it is time to implement the wedding of those two people.

Rurik, he knew he would experience ten or even twenty weddings in his life.

It's a wedding after all, how can it be made more grand, isn't it?

Unfortunately, the wedding ceremony of the Balmerks always seems to be simple and concise.

No games, no complicated rituals.

Yes, it is just the vows of two people and the "handover of wine". After these two ceremonies, all the onlookers who are witnesses to the wedding can identify the two as husband and wife. It is only this time that the tribe can be happy, and for the newlyweds, they should go to a private place, and wait until the next day for the bride’s mother to personally check it to announce to relatives and friends that their daughter has become a woman.

love? romantic? Do not! The Balmerks are very simple. They regard the son-in-law as the son and the daughter-in-law as the daughter. It is precisely this kind of marvelous marriage system. The Balmerks have operated from a group of families for hundreds of years to become their current strength. scale. They only want a couple of newcomers to be able to give birth to children desperately, which has allowed the tribe to have a steady stream of new population to offset the harsh natural erosion.

Rurik put on the white and noble clothes he had when he came. Noren is also in plain clothes, with a corolla woven of wildflowers on his head, and crystal clear gems on his neck and ears (itself is also Liuli Gram sent).

It was in such a strange atmosphere that Rurik and Noren, under the witness of all the priests and face-to-face family leaders, held up the vodka in the glass (or Rurik brought it) and insisted on the sun. , And then the two drank the glass of wine together.

The extremely spicy taste shocked Noren's face. She knew that this was a major event in her life, and she should not expose her decadence. She didn't understand why her father would fall in love with this spirit as long as she licked it. She really couldn't like it.

They cheered for the new couple, and the leaders of each family came to pay their respects.

Nolan is really a beautiful girl, the jewel of the entire fjord. These family chiefs, they longed for this girl to become their son's wife, but how...

Obviously this is Nolan's fate, she is Rurik's wife, the wife of Duke Ross.

"Girl! You have to give your husband at least five sons."

"Noren, you should know your mission. This is our alliance with Rose. Your stomach must be up for your strength."

"Serve your husband well. Rurik is the most perfect man I have ever seen, and you must always be loyal to him!"

...

One by one, the clan chiefs took turns to "make troubles", and their words were obviously aimed at Nolan deliberately, and their words were often warning.

Regarding this, Rurik remained silent for the time being, while Magnut and Imbjergers also stared coldly.

This is the fate of the Balmerk woman. After marriage, a woman must be loyal to her husband and can remarry unless her husband dies. This is a tribe in the extreme north dominated by men and violence. They cannot tolerate the infidelity of women, and they also require women to manage the logistics of the family. Suffering Nuo Lun, a naive, romantic and pampered girl, was criticized by those uncles as if she had done something wrong for a moment.

Of course, this "uncle's harshness" is also mixed with some venting.

After all, these men are very sensible. Behind their warning to Noren, they are also making a clear statement to Rurik that all the powerful forces in Balmerk strongly support the alliance with Rose.

This was the first night after Rurik and Noren were married, and the sun was still fixed on the horizon.

Recalling those things that happened at the wedding, Nolan felt a stone in his heart.

She tried to get close to Rurik by drinking Jin, but... Rurik subconsciously refused.

"You... why? According to tradition, tomorrow my mother must..."

"No." Rurik's mind was in a mess. After all, the girl Nolen was about the same age as himself, and it was okay for Lumia, but this Noren...

"Why? You clearly said that you like me very much. I...I'm already your woman." At this point, Nolan had a heart, and she was so courageous that she couldn't take care of so much. Maybe she became a woman of the Rus, and she had the power of the bear at that moment.

Noren is not Lumia after all, it is too early to really become a mother. But this smart girl knows her thin shoulders, but bears the future destiny of the entire Balmerks.

The most important point is that in her heart, she does not want to be looked down upon by the people, and she does not want her husband Lurik to bear some unfavorable rumors.

The next day, the sun on the western horizon almost shifted to a position relatively east, and then began to rise slowly.

A new day is here.

According to the tradition, Imbjerg checked Norren very nervously, knowing that her daughter had experienced some pain yesterday, but she just survived the seemingly weak.

Imbjorg immediately announced this good thing, and soon, the news spread to most of the tribes, and eventually "Rurik of Ross and Norren combined" will become known to everyone.

Rurik, he always feels a little guilty, but what he gets is the praise of all the heads of the family!

What has always made Rurik a little strange is that these guys in power in Balmerk are not keen on signing the written agreement, or they lack knowledge.

They are particularly determined that a truly stable alliance should be linked by blood relatives.

Nolen, her status is more important than a written document, she is the link of the alliance contract.

It was the poor girl who really had to toss herself to rest for a few days before she could continue to walk happily.

However, the big events facing the Balmerks in the following days have nothing to do with the so-called happiness.

People are keeping serious. They are making a batch of jerky fish, and they are making wooden poles to fix the spearhead.

They repaired the oars and mended the sails. New bucklers were pieced together from oak and pine, and words spelled in Luen letters were made to smear the shields with ink to improve morale.

All powerful families in the Balmerk tribe are engaged in exploratory expeditions to Britain.

Some families sent more than ten soldiers, and some sent fifty or one hundred troops, like the most noble and powerful leader Magnuth, who assembled two hundred young men with great strength.

The time has just entered July, which is supposed to be the warmest season, and the climate during this period is still somewhat elusive. For example, a drizzle suddenly fell yesterday, and then the cool north wind blew the earth relatively dry. The warm wind from the south came here from time to time, but suddenly the wind direction changed again.

Rurik was no accident elected by all the families as the commander-in-chief of the army!

After all, Rurik's military career was extraordinary!

Biyuni and Froky, and even all the Balmerks who have been to the Rus controlled area, have seen so many things with their own eyes, and they highly admire Rurik's military command ability. It couldn't be more wise to have him as the commander-in-chief.

In fact, the Balmerks’ army is already on standby, and they can paddle out at any time. They are the most typical Viking army, which can suddenly assemble, act suddenly and disappear suddenly. On the other hand, the Russ army is not even an "atypical Viking army" today. The Russ army is already another big banner for the entire Baltic world.

Rurik ordered the assembly of the Balmerk army, and on a relatively warm noon, as many as 998 Balmerk fighters gathered together with their various weapons.

Standing on a high wooden platform, Rurik looked at the so-called army underneath with mixed feelings.

"That's it? It's an army? It's basically a group of shirtless armed bandits! Not to mention, the real Vikings should be like this, poor but barbaric."

The low pressure in my heart is in my heart. On the eve of the expedition, Rurik consciously still wants to yell, let this group of looters make a fortune, or control the guys who control the British farm to grow their own wheat, and make them ignite more violently. The fire of fighting spirit.

Do you need any lengthy speech?

It's not necessary.

For this group of simple, basically ignorant, animalistic guys with a high probability of exceeding human nature, the best speech is to repeat a few simple slogans like crazy.

Rurik drew out his shiny short steel sword in public, and the peak pointed straight to the southwest.

"I! Rurik! I am your trusted war chief!"

"All the family chiefs support me! You must also support me!"

"We act! You follow my big ship!"

"We rushed to the British Isles! Find the local village! Find the local city! We attack! We looted! You use your own ability to grab what you need! You will all become rich!"

What do they understand for these ordinary and wild Balmerk fighters?

Who is the leader? Rurik of Rose.

How do brothers sail? Followed by the Ross ship.

What do the brothers do after landing on the island? Loot, good things belong to oneself.

When will you leave? The Ross ship left, and the brothers evacuated.

Their eyes are only gold, silver, wheat, leather cloth and women. They hope to make a fortune in the first battle.

Of course, there are also many people who think that their tribe is essentially a giant combination of many large and small families. Although they are not as powerful as the Bergen, they must be very powerful.

It is said that Rurik of Ross has a godly help, and he has won many victories at a young age. Now because of his marriage with Nolan, everyone wants to believe that Lord Rurik has stood on the position of the Balmerks and will definitely bring Brothers won. Since victory is inevitable, maybe after this year’s victorious exploration and looting, next year the brothers will no longer have to organize a huge fleet, but to greet like-minded friends, organize small boats to cross the sea, and spontaneously build new ones on that road. Balmerk.

As for the colonial ideas of this group of Balmerks, Rurik didn't want to listen to it for the time being. But he was happy to see such things from the beginning, because the Viking Age has inevitably arrived!

It is better for the Balmerks to expand in person. The results of their expansion in the future will be the more powerful Ruth power under their control. Naturally, they can use reasonable so-called alliance methods to make Balmerk’s native nobles respect. Honor the Duke of Ross as the greatest nobleman.

Of course, Nolan is destined to give birth to some children, no matter boys or girls. Rurik's heart has already planned, and her concubine Noren is destined to be unable to become a queen, but her heirs will naturally represent Rose and become the ruler of Balmerk's forces. The method of the Habsburg family, Rurik, admires it very much, and he must practice it himself.

There is no time to train the 998 Balmerk Viking fighters, and maybe not.

This is a bad age, and Rurik doesn't believe in the ancestors of the Scots, as well as Northumbria and other countries, what kind of combat effectiveness the local army will have. In terms of historical inertia, those kingdoms will inevitably be defeated by a group of Norwegian and Danish armed fishermen and will be permanently conquered.

But in the current era, the heavy equipment installed on Aphrodite can be used in land warfare, torsion slingshot and bull trebuchet, proper high-tech lethal weapons! Coupled with the dreaded steel-armed crossbow, even if the number of these weapons is small, it is enough to increase the combined combat effectiveness of a thousand Balmerk Vikings by several floors.

The date of the expedition was also set, the fifth day of July in the Julian calendar.