Rise of Rurik

Otto was seventy years old, no matter how energetic he was, this weather-beaten body would inevitably reach its limit.

In another era, such an old man would have passed away long ago.

So far, an old soldier with gray hair and many age spots on his face is slowly withering in the joy of his family.

To this day, does Otto still think about dying in battle to end his legendary life?

No! Enough is enough.

He has self-knowledge, and many things that he was proud of in the first half of his life were nothing but trivial troubles. The unexpected death of his two sons once made him fall into a trough in life. It wasn't until the birth of the third and last son, Rurik, that everything changed.

An old man's knees are full of grandchildren, and this group of cubs who have just learned to walk and talk immediately show super energy.

Isn't it God Freya's arrangement? How did those women give birth to all sons? !

The hair color of the cubs is no longer pure gold, which is not a problem. A large group of boys as young as two years old started to fight violently, which is of course a headache for the mothers of the children. own grandson.

It was the end of winter again, and soon the earth would thaw, and the Russian army would embark on a new expedition.

More than that? Ross's winter expedition came to an end without accident, the army won a big victory, and the head of the chief culprit of the war has been transported back to Novgorod, the blessed place where Otto spent his life.

The returned army was only part of the expeditionary force, and when they appeared, they immediately aroused public criticism.

"Why? The king didn't come back?! Why is the returning army not far enough

half of the levy? "

In the public's opinion, the Russian army should not and cannot suffer heavy losses, but indeed only half of the expeditionary force has returned, and if they don't give a word, the city of Novgorod will be in trouble.

Governor Medved, who participated in the expedition and triumphantly returned, raised his arms. He publicly displayed a batch of spoils looted from Smolensk in the city's Shaguzi Square.

He then ordered the army to disband and go home. In a very short period of time, the soldiers who went back to each family immediately told their relatives and friends what happened to them in the south, so all doubts and suspicions turned into joy of victory.

Because Vadim, the remnant of the rebellion and who had fled, is dead!

As for the veterans of the First Banner, they did not come back, simply because they became the garrison of Smolensk. If you want to conquer a new land militarily, you still need a group of veteran soldiers.

But this is really a mixed blessing for Mstisk City.

The good news is that the men in charge of each household have firmly controlled a piece of fertile land for the family in the south, so that the offspring will have more property to inherit.

Sadly, what will happen to the spring plowing after more than two months? Do you really want the women and children in the family to plow the fields? In the end, it is still necessary to spend money to hire the Slavs to do long-term and short-term work.

Deep in winter, Hanukkah was long past, and old Otto was like a hibernating bear. The only thing that interests him now is watching a large group of his grandchildren playing and playing, and even seeing his grandson Karl and granddaughter-in-law Suolkina dangling in front of him.

The old man had a wish that might be too much—to see the birth of his great-grandson.

Solkina's child was young indeed, but she would be a mother in seven or eight years at the most.

"Can I...can I live another eight years?

"

A sense of powerlessness affects the whole body. He feels that he is just watching the end of his own era. Today's Ross is very different from what he remembers. Ross has transformed into what he looks like. If not for many people still speaking a strong northern dialect The textured Norse language will be even more unfamiliar to him.

However, he knew that Niya, the most beautiful girl in the entire family he married back then, is now an old woman, but she is much younger than him and in a better state of mind. Maybe she can live as long as the deceased high priest Velia The magical eighty years old, after all, how can a body that gave birth to Rurik be short-lived.

On this day, the din of the city reached Otto's ears.

He slowly climbed out of the bed, and with Niya's help, he put on the thick leather jacket.

Now this body does not need to wear armor anymore, but wearing it is adding pressure to the aging body.

But he still wants to show the majesty of his overlord king, so he put a golden laurel crown no less than his own son on his bald and thin hair as always.

As usual, he sat down safely in the palace, waiting for the person who arranged to go out to inquire about the news to return.

The subordinates did not keep him waiting.

The attendant kneeling on one knee couldn't hide his joy: "The great king! The expeditionary army is back!"

The subordinates spoke concisely, and Otto was deeply touched in his heart, but on the surface he behaved as calmly as ever.

With his mouth drooping slightly, he said slowly: "Understood. In this way, my son will come back. They won a big victory... very good... this is very good."

Otto's words were a bit incoherent, which actually embarrassed his subordinates.

"The great king. We

The king did not come back in person. "

"What?"

"Your Excellency, and the Duke of Ostara, they came back with part of the army first. And the army of the king went to the legendary Riga. I met the Governor, and he has briefly informed the ministers of these things, and soon They will come with a big gift..."

"Is that so?" Otto gently pinched his beard.

"Really. Please, the great king, wait for a while."

"So, what is the gift they gave me?"

"Yes..." The attendant smiled and raised his head: "Vadim's head."

"Okay! I see, you go down."

Otto ordered the attendants to retreat with a wave of his hand, and this wave was very powerful.

All fatigue suddenly disappeared, an old soldier closed his eyes for a while, and suddenly burst into a hoarse voice: "Come on! Bring my golden armor! Bring Karl, Oleg, Osborn, Solkina Come!"

In the evening of that day, after briefly dealing with matters concerning their return in the city, Medved and Carlotta changed into different outfits, specially brought a big gift in a wooden box and walked happily to the Novgorod Palace.

At the same time, Otto, who was wearing golden armor, was sitting upright. He was not worried that the heavy armor of ceremonial nature would crush his osteoporotic muscles and bones. The internal brackets ensured the stability of the armor, but objectively, Otto seemed to be aging. He still has the muscular muscles of his youth.

He was so majestic and majestic, Niya sat beside him, wearing a gorgeous and colorful costume, and a felt coat covered with gems. Niya became a lady full of jewels, but it was a pity that she didn't have so many jewels to set off her beauty when she was young, but

No matter how old people are today, there are more gems...

Of course she is a beauty-loving woman, and now she is willing to dress gorgeously to show her nobility on any occasion, otherwise her life will be in vain.

The four children sat on one side, and the boys were too lively, and Otto's winking and frightening were indispensable for them to sit down safely. On the contrary, Solkina has been very aware of her situation in the past few months, so she has been obediently sitting next to Karl.

After all, Solkina Vyacheslavina was already the Duke of Polotsk conferred by Ross, even though she only had one title, she was indeed a great nobleman.

She still can't understand what this title means, and she doesn't have any strength to be worthy of the title of duke.

In other words, Solkina herself is a tool person. Now, as Karl's fiancée, she will give birth to a male heir for her in the future. This is the legal basis for the Principality of Ostara-Polotsk. She didn't show any ambition, and she was so obedient that she spent her time studying and ordinary life, even though she was the granddaughter of the old Polotsk chieftain and a defeated granddaughter.

Otto likes this quiet girl very much. If there is any dissatisfaction, his grandson Karl is too young, and Solkina is also young. When will these two children give birth to a great-grandson for him?

At this moment, the palace guards lined up outdoors shouted one after another. Under their gaze, the two triumphant generals entered the longhouse-style hall to meet the overlord king of Ross.

Regardless of the presence of their children, the two immediately knelt down on one knee to salute the Otonia couple.

"Great king! I'm back!" The two said in unison.

"You all... get up and sit down."

Otto ordered casually, and couldn't wait to say: "I heard that you have chopped off the heads of the rebels, is it true?!"

"Yes." Because her son Carl and even the Crown Prince Osborne were here, Carlotta was slightly taken aback, and after thinking about it, she still placed the wooden box containing the head in front of her. "Great king! Here is the head of the rebel Vadim. Please... allow me to show it to you."

"Then open it! Let me see what Vadim, who hasn't seen him for ten years, has become."

Otto didn't care if his grandchildren were present, they had to be warriors, they had to get used to **** battlefields, they had to face dead bodies without fear, at least they had to be touched without fear.

The result was satisfactory to him. Except for the girl Sulkina who showed obvious fear, the three boys could calmly watch it.

Carlotta made up her mind, and after opening the wooden box, she hugged the frozen head in her arms, and then went up to kneel in front of Otto, and held it up for Otto to look at.

Who is not a ruthless person who crawled out of the sea of ​​blood and corpses? Even Niya, she knew that when she was young, she also had the obligation to take up arms to defend the tribe.

The real Rus people are not afraid of dead bodies, and looking at Vadim's head now is like looking at another trophy. Its definition is like the bear's head with a string of ferocious fangs hanging on the wooden wall in the palace. A head means a lot more than those bear heads.

"This... is the enemy you let go in a flash?" Niya asked quietly.

"Aren't you being harsh? Indeed, this kid was extremely reckless back then. I think he

Can't bear to kill him. What a moment of kindness has caused trouble now. "As he said that, Otto's thoughts could not help but return to twelve years ago.

Niya shook her head: "So, are you sure this person is Vadim?"

"Reminds me of this man's father, Brudne. It's all over! It's over..."

"So, what are you going to do with this head?"

There was absolutely no need to discuss this matter. When the Ross army rushed south half a year ago, Otto and Rurik had already discussed in secret what would happen after the event. There is no doubt that the expedition will win! It would be best to capture Vadim alive and make him a sacrifice for Hanukkah at the end.

No one thought it was cruel. On the contrary, the existing manors around Lake Ilmen were exploited by Pine Needle Manor back then. If Ross never suppressed the rebellion, Pine Needle Manor would still maintain its regional hegemony in the end. Jim's monopolization of power inevitably requires further exploitation of the manors.

People still have a grudge against the past, which is why the "return of Vadim's head" drew cheers from the crowd.

The possibility of being captured alive is very small, and this reckless person is very likely to die in battle like a warrior.

It is enough to finally complete the decapitation and bring the head back.

"In the head of Vadim, the warrior of the whole city, and proceed to parade around the lake! I will supervise this parade myself! I will tell everyone that I am old and alive! It is I who strongly support my son King's expedition, since my son is still here Riga, let me show the spoils on his behalf!" Otto explained the risky move with cold words.

Carlotta's hand holding his head almost loosened. "Father! You...are you going to face the extreme cold of winter?!"

"What? My daughter,

You are still afraid that I will die from the cold. absurd! Could it be that I have weakened into a waste in just ten years? "

"I was wrong."

"No. You're right. Carlotta, I know many people think I'm hiding in the palace like a hibernating bear, and maybe many people think I'm actually dead. It's time to take action to silence the slanderers. So..." Otto smiled and glanced at Carlotta: "How did this rebel die? Probably, he died in battle!"

"No, this is a person who is greedy for life and afraid of death..."

Carlota lowered her head, pulled Vadim's hair like pulling a carrot, and briefly explained the outcome of the battle to Otto.

Originally, Otto thought that Vadim, who had usurped the power of Smolensk, invaded Rus with a large army, and a deserter had grown into a brave fighter. Never thought that this is a cruel person! If he is brutal, he can be called a "berrant warrior", but in the last battle, he escaped regardless of the decline of the army.

He was captured alive, bound like livestock, and finally made a blood eagle on the great altar of the Smolensk people...

As a participant in the war, Carlota spoke vividly, which aggravated Otto's contempt for this person. His son seemed to have done it hastily in the final "Blood Eagle Ceremony", but it was a good thing to burn to ashes in the end.

As the overlord, I did not stay in Novorosburg, the capital city, to live up to my old age, but retired in Novgorod. On the one hand, this place is warmer and rich in products, and this is the place where I became famous.

On the other hand, Lake Ilmen faced the Smolensk forces in the south. They are not a city and surrounding villages, but a widely distributed situation

force, it is theoretically possible to come across their settlements without having to go to the headwaters of the Lovati River.

This is why the inhabitants of Lake Ilmen always fear that they will be swallowed up by their southern cousins, who are not far away geographically.

Although Otto was an old man, Rose was the conqueror of Lake Ilmen, and he was the king of the conquerors. In legal terms, Rurik took over the power from his father. That's why Otto had the title of "Great King" to describe the Supreme King.

The old man's elevation to the status of "Great Emperor" is of course flattering. After so many years, the residents around the lake have reached a consensus.

Here, Otto can not only represent the expeditionary king Rurik and the young prince Osborne to supervise the country, but also that as the king himself, he still has the power to dispatch the weak manpower of the entire lake area.

The immigrant cities of the Rus and the various Slavic farms all recognized Otto's authority as the overlord king, and his full names could always be mobilized to resist the sneak attack of the Smolensk people when they were twisted into one rope.

Now that I think about it, Ross was really nervous, and he mobilized tens of thousands of militiamen to stay on guard throughout 840 years.

Thinking about it again, Ross took Smolensk lightly because he was already extremely powerful.

Seeing Vadim's head, the aging Otto suddenly became energetic.

Therefore, the envoy took the lead in driving a reindeer sleigh to parade around Lake Ilmen, announcing to the people in the villages the visit of the Supreme King and the head of Vadim, the fighter and rebel.

Remnant Vadim dead? ! Smolensk has been incorporated into the territory of Rus? ! Is everything true? !

Three days after the return of the expeditionary force, the rested army regrouped

Knot.

A magnificently dressed team surrounded a noble sleigh and started the victory parade.

Overlord King Otto was sitting on a sleigh in a golden armor, Queen Mother Niya, Queen Svetarana, Crown Prince Osborn... all members of the royal family in Novgorod were dispatched.

The entire city of Novgorod was boiling, and the brightest star was Otto, and even Vadim's head was placed on a spear.

Otto personally held the spear in his arms and ordered the sled army to start the victory parade.

At this moment, Vadim's half-opened eyes had long since turned into empty voids, and his soul was shattered. These empty eyes had indeed swept over Mstisk.

At that time, Otto did not forget to sigh a few words: "Vadim! Take a good look. This used to be your pine needle manor, and the mound over there, all your people are buried in it. You should have been buried there! However, when this event is over, your head will become my drinking bowl. You did not die like a soldier, you died like a deer, even worse than the humblest slave..."

Indeed, when Otto learned of Vadim's last days, he couldn't help feeling that a person could be so low.

This kind of person is not worthy of any respect. Since they have been executed with the legendary blood eagle, it is not wrong to use skulls as wine bowls.

Thinking of this, Otto's heart was really excited.

Using an enemy's skull as a wine vessel is a legend, and it is generally used as a very vicious swear word. As far as he knows, no chief in the Mälaren Lake District has ever done it.

Otto wanted to turn the legend into reality.

Therefore, after a victory parade, the glorious image of the Supreme King Huang Jinjia was strengthened, although no one saw the great

The king stood up and waved his sword and danced~www.readwn.com~ But he saw the king holding his rebellious head high and baring his teeth and claws on the sled.

What else is there to criticize a seventy-year-old man? May I ask which old man in the village has such a long life?

In the eyes of all people, Otto consciously reached the pinnacle of his life, and hundreds of thousands of people cheered and praised him, and he has no regrets in this life.

Soon, a bone wine glass was finished, and it was installed with a gold base. The glass itself still retained that special style, and even the bone sutures were clearly visible.

However, Otto was a little nervous to actually drink from this wine glass. The old man made up his mind, poured a little vodka, and then deliberately set it on fire, using a special wine vessel to swallow the "flame" in one gulp.

He felt that his body was full of strength, his sense of conquest was vented, and Otto's spirit was even more excited.

"Ah! Great! Rurik, I really hope you can see the glory of being a father. Where are you? Are you in Riga? Will I wait for you to return from Frank to see you again? My body can hold on Is it a year or two..."

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