Chapter 304: Narvik's Visitor

When the ships of the Balmerk expedition were still floating on the river, a fishing boat ran wildly towards Elrond Castle, and the fishermen were eager to get Rurik's reward promise through early reporting.

The fishermen were indeed rewarded for reporting this incredible news.

Rurik didn't have time to suspect that he trusted his subordinates, and after arranging some reception tasks for the mercenaries, he urgently summoned the men of the Ross tribe who were still building houses within the city walls, and even some men from Kewen, He ordered all these people to take up arms, put on their helmets and velvet caps, and those who had the conditions put on their own chainmail and dressed as if they were going to go out.

Not to mention, after the order was issued, some people really felt that there was a large group of unknown enemies attacking. Thanks to the solid wooden walls, no one is intimidated. Instead, they were looking forward to a battle. Soberly, they no longer needed to hunt bears and wolves to show their martial prowess, but to kill enemies to show their martial virtues.

However, the people who came here were just a small group of people, who seemed to be exploring the meaning of adventure. After learning the truth, everyone's excitement had to be dimmed, and one by one, they became a little angry that they missed a hearty battle.

Rurik didn't want to be detrimental to the visitors. He ordered these people to get together and stand in a good line, not asking them to stand neatly.

What? Do you have to scare your visitors with a martial gesture? OK! Simply asking for it.

Ruth men, their daily work is always logging and building houses from morning to night, although the honorable Rurik is extremely generous in rewarding everyone with a good meal, and at the end of May, the child really paid everyone the agreed silver coins. As a reward (because of the management of food and housing, this money is pure profit), everyone has a high loyalty to Rurik even if they look at the money.

It's just that such a life is a bit boring, and because of Rurik's regulations, you can't find those Kewen women to entertain yourself, making their boring life even less fun.

There is no chance to fight, and now there is a game of "scare visitors" in front of everyone, of course, it must meet the requirements of Lord Rurik, show a hideous face, and let them see what the bloody Ross warrior is.

Rurik lined up inside the wooden wall, and he deliberately asked some Kovin archers to stand on the scaffolding behind the wooden wall, holding bows and arrows as sentries, in fact, to let visitors see that the town was fortified for the first time.

His powerful idea became a reality, and the ten Balmers who visited were also sea warriors with sharp eyes and alert heart. They saw a huge city (even if the radius was less than 500 meters, and the wooden wall was about 1,500 meters in circumference, it was a huge city), a huge wooden gate, and people holding bows on the walls and towers.

The mercenary marched arrogantly with arrogance,

The steps of these soldiers are also highly consistent, which is to show the visitors what it means to be well-trained.

That's all, the expedition leader Modgen, whose name comes from the Norse word for "brave", stood outside the thick wooden door, savoring everything he had just seen, and couldn't help taking a deep breath.

He was a little afraid of the opening of the wooden door and the opportunity to meet the leader of Ross. He even believed that this city was the mother city of the Ross people, although he was a little unsure.

The mercenary shouted a few times, and the mercenary companions waiting at the door pulled the latch and opened the door with a rope.

When the wooden door is opened, a large number of thick, well-proportioned and angular wood carvings within the wooden wall come into the eyes of the explorers.

Lots of metal objects are reflecting sunlight!

Mordegen couldn't help but stretched out his right hand to protect his eyes. He squinted and finally realized that it was the soldier's helmet and even the metal-leather shield that was emitting the sunlight!

Suddenly, someone roared, followed by the sound of a very regular weapon hitting the shield.

"This... what is this for?! My lord, we just want to do business with you. We agreed that you won't hurt us."

Mordegen's legs were trembling, and he really felt that these first-time Russ people were going to break the rules of the merchant.

The mercenaries were laughing in their hearts. At this moment, the mercenaries' evaluation of the so-called Balmers had tended to be negative, as if that mysterious tribe was not as strong as the Melarens, let alone the Rus. After all, almost all of the mercenaries were from the Melalen clan, and now they were commanded by Rurik, who belonged to the Rus people. They always lived in a strong clan, and they most despised the cowardly.

Are the Balmers just a bunch of trade-loving but underarmed guys?

Oh, if this is the case, why don't the Russ go out to conquer, so that everyone who is a mercenary can still get a lot of loot.

"Don't linger! Let's go! Outsiders, what you see is the ceremony for us Ross people to welcome guests." The mercenary said deliberately.

"Ah? Your ceremony? Really..."

Mordegen was very speechless. He and his people did not dare to step into the wooden wall rashly, for fear that the warriors inside would be like hungry wolves, and they would be swallowed alive by them waiting to enter.

The mercenary couldn't stand it any longer, and he pushed and shoved rudely, even swearing, which forced the explorers in Balmerk to enter the wooden wall under extreme tension.

They walked on a boardwalk leading to the most noble and largest wooden house, and received the "attention ceremony" of all the armed fighters around them, if it was a kind of etiquette to put on a hideous face and an offensive posture.

The largest wooden building is somewhat unique, and all the buildings within the wooden walls have their own characteristics.

Mordgen could see that the builders must be building according to a unified master, and the most honest building stood out from the crowd.

Still in the same pattern, as an honorable person, Rurik naturally needs a honorable official residence.

Novgorodian architecture is not only about solid wood floors, sturdy tenon-and-mortise wooden walls, and huge gabled roofs that keep out the rain. Rurik insisted that all wooden buildings have a fireplace and a high chimney, as he liked.

The fireplace system is just a stack of limited-use granite from the mine, and clay is the most binding material to make it more stable.

So in the eyes of the explorers, all the wooden buildings have a chimney. They have never seen such buildings before. While they are amazed, they are also worried about the next meeting.

At this moment, Rurik was sitting in the lobby of the official residence.

Remember those polar bears that were hunted? For more than a month, polar bears and brown bears have been hunted by hunters equipped with crossbows in an incredibly simple way.

The formerly very expensive bear skins became relatively cheap, and they were all owned by Rurik and became the decoration of his official residence.

Those bear heads were not thrown away. After all, in everyone's opinion, the bear head is a symbol of courage as a warrior.

The brains of the bears were extracted, most of the muscle tissue was removed, and the remaining parts were dried and treated with salt and mirabilite for a simple preservative treatment. The bear's head is relatively smaller and lighter, but its open mouth and terrifying fangs are still terrifying.

As many as twenty bear heads were hung on the wooden wall of the main hall. Sitting under the bear heads was Rurik himself and the most sturdy man he had chosen from among the mercenaries and Ross warriors.

They sat on the left and right sides of Rurik, all of them sitting cross-legged in chain mail, and all the steel swords they possessed were unscabbard and placed on their shoulders to show that they could fight at the command of their master.

Rurik felt that he was going too far. Would this scare the visitors?

At least Niya felt that her son's actions were too particular about the cards, but she didn't object. She felt that her son was someone who liked to talk about cards. This card was much more brave than her husband.

The heavy wooden door of the big wooden house was pulled open, and a chilling air gushed out.

The interior was deliberately darkened, and when the door was opened, all the oil lamps in the room jumped uncontrollably, adding to the tension.

The first thing Mordegen saw was the reflection of the indoor warrior's chain mail, and the large number of bear heads hanging on the wooden wall. He was too busy to find the real Venerable.

The mercenary continued to push: "Let's go, my master is waiting for you."

After all, this trip is for trade, and it is also a kind of luck in essence. Mordegen didn't understand that he met the legendary Russ very unexpectedly, whether it was a blessing or a curse for him.

Maybe it's a good thing after all.

He comforted himself so much that he stepped his nearly worn boots into the solid wooden floor.

The moment he stepped on the floor, he saw a man wearing a ferret cap and a pure white mink coat. Looks like a little girl?

Do not! It's not a girl, it's a boy! This boy is not ordinary. He is surrounded by a group of warriors, and with all the luxury, he is the master of the so-called Ross warriors? !

Seeing the outsider, Rurik only glanced up slightly. He was a little nervous himself, seeing that the person who came was actually in rags, a kind of contempt and contempt naturally emerged.

Rurik tried a color, and the warriors on the left and right all ordered neatly in Norse; "Kneel down!"

The powerful aura was like the coercion of a boulder lately, and Mordegen immediately knelt on one knee, as did his entourage.

Kneeling Mo Degen hurriedly raised his head, but the noble child didn't look directly at him at all, the atmosphere was stalemate like this, and the whole room fell into a strange calm, the sense of quietness was like countless steel needles pierced into nothing. Degen felt uncomfortable all over, and the intense anxiety caused sweat to ooze from his and his followers' foreheads.

Rurik did this on purpose, because he knew that as a noble person, posing a force of coercion, as long as he raised his arrogant head and did not speak, he could make others feel enormous pressure.

He deliberately hung up the visitors, and then slowly said, "Who are you? Why do you want to enter my territory."

The tense atmosphere can be considered to have eased.

Mordgen hurriedly held his trembling mouth and stammered: "We... I'm from Balmerk. We came to the East to find those people to do some business and buy some of their leather."

"Balmerk?! Why didn't I know? Why do you speak our language?"

"This..." Mordegen didn't know how to answer for a while.

Rurik continued: "Okay. Balmers, tell me where you are from. After all, we speak the same language, and maybe we can communicate."

The atmosphere has been greatly eased. Although Modgen felt that it was too absurd to negotiate with a child, the chilling aura always surrounded him, and he did not dare to act rashly.

He didn't dare to ask about the Rus people rashly. Under pressure, he had to introduce his hometown.

He pointed to the due west: "Honorable man, we come from the west. There is a mountain covered with snow all year round and stretching to the end of the world. Our home is on the other side of the mountain, which is a fjord, We... our mighty tribe is in the fjord."

Rurik's eyes lit up, and he couldn't help sitting upright, his chest still leaning forward.

"You...are actually Norwegians?"

"Norway?" Hearing this word, Mordegen's eyes trembled fiercely: "Sir, we are not Norwegians."

"But you claim that your tribe is in the fjords west of the mountains."

"But we're not Norwegians. We're Balmers."

"This……"

Rurik's mind was a little confused, and he was puzzled. According to his knowledge of Northern Europe, the western foothills of the central mountain range in Scandinavia were all the territories of the Norwegians.

"We are indeed not Norwegians," Mordegen hurriedly explained. "They are in our south. It is an alliance. We are not in alliance with them. We are free people. We have received the gift of the gods and have A bay that never freezes."

There is an extremely important element in this sentence!

"What did you say? A bay that never freezes?!"

Rurik's calm state of mind suddenly collapsed, and the change in his mood really shocked Mordegen.

"My lord! It is true that we Balmers are powerful, and we are special people chosen by the gods, so our bay will not be frozen."

At this moment, the guarded mercenaries showed their swords; "Bah! Are you the chosen ones? It's absurd, only our Russ and only our masters are the ones chosen by Odin."

Due to this situation, Mordegen really couldn't say anything, so he chose to shut up.

Rurik raised his right hand to signal his subordinates to shut up, and continued: "A bay that doesn't freeze? I'm very interested. Well, I think I already know who you are."

"You...know us?"

Rurik nodded, his confident expression suggesting that he fully understood.

For example, the word "Valkyrie" is actually a description of "the process by which God selects the heroes of the world to become heroic spirits" in the myths passed down by people. The focus of this word is on the concept of "selection". The name of the Balmerc tribe, there is this concept.

"Perhaps you should have another name," Rurik said.

"what name."

"Narvik."

"Huh? What does this name mean? Oh yes, our tribe is in the north, and we are a bay in the north." Obviously, Mordgen was not satisfied with the name given to his tribe by the Rus, and the reason was Still too easy.

"What? You're not satisfied?"

"No, how can I be dissatisfied? Mordegen glanced at the warriors left and right, and muttered several times in a row.

"Okay then. You are Balmer and Narvik. You claim to be chosen by God, but I'm telling me I am chosen by God."

For such boasting, Mordegen tends to be the hubris of a child. However, due to the status quo, he could only continue to kneel and agree with Rurik's claim.

On the other hand, Rurik, now he has completely understood who the comer is.

The people who came were the natives of the port of Narvik, or the standard Norse faction of Vikings. The port of Narvik is a very famous ice-free port in northern Europe for later modern Norway, and has a very important strategic value for the trade of the entire North Sea region, which Rurik did understand.

But the value of Narvik Port is not only that, it is a deep, non-frozen port, affected by the warm Atlantic current, and the year-round waves in this port make herring resources extremely rich. The bay even has huge iron ore resources. It is precisely because of the iron ore that the residents of Narvik Port today can smelt iron recklessly, giving them a tactical advantage on the road of expansion.

Only Rurik now understands that the concept of Norway exists today. Some Norwegian businessmen always traffic locals caught from Britain and sell them at the market in Melalen. Those who trade slaves are all claiming to be Norwegians.

This Norway is not the other Norway, and the residents of Narvik Port are still quite free today. They have not joined any tribal alliances, because they are remote enough, they are self-contained. Although the general trend of history is that their freedom may soon end.

Because the current historical trend in Scandinavia is towards unification. As for its subsequent split into three countries, that is another story.