"I don't know where we're going to go."

"Keep paddling. The gods will see us home."

Gradually, Arik's ears filled with complaints about the unknown future.

This time, like the previous few times, he cheered for his brothers: "Keep paddling! We haven't found the end of this river yet, and it's still early in autumn and winter. We have plenty of time to continue exploring."

As soon as the words fell, some brothers continued to question: "But we have to go back in time for the autumn harvest, and my labor is indispensable for threshing the wheat."

"The autumn harvest is a problem, but it's not a big problem. Your family can hire some mikes to cut the wheat for you. As for us... we've all drifted here, so we can't give up halfway."

Indeed, the sunk costs for all are already too high.

Although the ship as a whole is still moving westward, it maintains a relatively high speed in the almost infinitely meandering river like a sheep intestine, and the navigation is still extremely boring, but discerning people have noticed some changes in the surrounding environment.

What catches the eye is still the endless pine forest, and the riverside is still overgrown with reeds, and the terrain is extremely soothing.

They saw a bear wandering by the river. Just as the bored people were so excited to complete a beautiful shooting, the heavy steel-armed crossbow had just been wound up, probably aware of the danger. The fat brown bear looked up for a while and deftly into the forest.

The people who had just raised their interest felt regretful and booed bursts of discouragement.

But this chance encounter at least proves that there are bears in this area, and bored people have some more thoughts.

Just like a few days ago, this evening, a boat of people camped on the nearby beach to rest.

The keel was riding in the blue mud covered with reeds, and people supported the strange beast wooden bridge at the bow one after another, dexterously leaping and stepping on the dry grass.

Cautious people bent down to check the strangeness of this piece of grass. There is no trace of human activities here, and there seems to be no trace of hunting.

They were still thinking about the brown bear they found, so someone went into the nearby woodland with a wound crossbow to search.

When they came back from the woods they had some extras.

It was a walking bird that was shot with precisionEastern European grouse.

This larger bird is less adept at flying, but extremely adept at galloping through pine-needle meadows. It ran too fast to avoid the hunter's crossbow shot. Arik's folks certainly knew this bird, and it was distributed in the forest near Yinlmen Lake, but it has disappeared due to the depletion of the lake over the years.

The people who came back from the forest were filled with the joy of harvest, and some people returned with as many as six black and red grouse, and even got a few eggs.

At this time, the sun was setting and the riverside camp was cleared to clear an open space. People cut down some small pine trees on the spot and smashed them into pieces. When the withered reeds were ignited, a large number of pine branches were thrown into it, and soon a mass of hot Flames shot out huge flames as tall as two people, and they burned more and more vigorously under the breeze blowing through the river.

Arik, who had just washed his sweaty shirt by the river, was busy putting the clothes on a wooden pole and drying them by the fire, when the hunters came back one after another.

"Did you see any bear tracks?" he asked casually.

"No, but I caught a bunch of birds. Haha, they are all excellent materials for making arrow feathers."

As a result, all the fat grouse that had been shot were still around the fire, and they immediately attracted everyone's attention. Arik was surprised that a few hunters finally shot and killed nearly twenty grouse. Could it be that there are birds everywhere in the forest?

"Our voyage these days can be regarded as a new harvest." A hunter wiped the sweat from his face: "One for each person, and everyone in our boat can share one."

"Don't be like this." Another hunter objected to this kind of compassion for others: "They are all powerful men, and they are all brothers of the first banner team. They hunt with their own skills. Let my six chickens be eaten by my family. .

"Now is not the time to be greedy. In my opinion, we have to let Arik make a decision. It is a rare opportunity to eat fresh meat, and of course everyone will share it." Some people still urged.

Everyone salivated at the sight of the meat, and those who continued to protect their prey had no choice but to agree to share.

"Alright. I'll take all the feathers that can be used, and share the meat with everyone."

Even if it is not good at flying, even if it eats bursting pine nuts, acorns and bugs, the forest grouse in Northeast Europe can always grow very fat. In addition, it is born with extremely fluffy feathers and gorgeous tail feathers for courtship. Naturally became a staple food for forest beasts.

It actually runs very fast, and when necessary, it can use its wings to flap its wings and fly to the branches to rest to avoid attacks, but that's all they can do.

Without the intervention of expedition hunters, forest grouse would continue to live as they have for thousands of years.

Now, the masses of the expanded kingdom of Rus stretched out their plundering hands to all birds and beasts.

Two species of birds are being deliberately caught by hunters for their oily and valuable leather feathers.

One is a great auk, and the other is a forest grouse.

However, the forest grouse has a pair of flexible legs, and the endless forests in the east let it run wild. Compared with the unlucky great auk, they have more habitat options.

The poultry and beasts in the area around Yin Ermen Lake have been captured to the point of depletion, and large-scale chicken breeding by the people is a hedge against the predicament of expensive and scarce prey.

This also forced the Ross immigrants to rush to Valdai Lake to continue to plunder the local resources, and Arik's fantasy drifting this time was a very successful expedition.

The huge black tail feathers of the grouse's tail are unfolded during courtship. They are not flight feathers but are large and hard. A grouse can provide as many as forty large tail feathers, which are comparable in quality to the flight feathers of domestic chickens. better.

A single grouse can provide even a hundred feathers for fletching.

The Ross people's warfare methods and hunting methods determine that they have a huge demand for arrow feathers, so they have a rigid demand for suitable arrow feather materials. A fine feather from a grouse can cost more than the chicken itself.

But now it was more necessary to eat the chicken, and eat the yellow fat of the grouse roasted and sprinkled with salt.

Arik had an unexpected meal, and even young Jill had a mouthful.

Fat gives great strength to people who paddle hard. Of course, everyone is still thinking about hunting bears, and they must also consider being attacked by bears at night.

The "multi-bonfire tactic" that was supposed to intimidate the enemy is now used to deter bears. After lighting the nowhere bonfire, they sleep around the largest fire.

The next day, the long boat drifted into an unnamed small lake. It was extremely slender and obviously could not be the end of the journey, and soon there was another river mouth ahead.

They passed another night by the river, and this time they caught no grouse, but enough perch in the lake for a meal.

They were still going up the Shrina River, and after passing through the Slender Lake, everything was completely a replica of the previous days.

The surrounding environment has not changed at all. Even if the accompanying scribe Kanutet has been recording, up to now he can only record "the environment remains the same".

No one knows how long this kind of sailing in the soothing water of the meandering river will last. They rowed mechanically as always, and abnormalities also quietly occurred in this negligence.

Because they finally broke through the last mouth of the Shrina River.

The boat leaned against the soothing lakeside of the brand-new Great Lake, and people disembarked one after another, stepping on the sandbar by the lake and looking at the sparkling water.

People are both excited and disappointed, with complex emotions intertwined. At this moment, the cool wind is blowing in the ear and the sound is constantly whistling, which can not help but arouse a sense of sadness.

"It's deserted again. Arik, this is probably the end." Someone sighed.

"We still haven't found the end. It seems that the source of the river full of green mud is here."

"Who knows?" Someone teased with a wry smile, "Maybe our brave Arik has to find another river channel that continues to the west. He won't stop until he finds the place where the sun sets."

Arik didn't like it, and the guys were not joking, but joking about their harsh criticism of their own adventures.

Is it really necessary to turn back the same way?

Not!

Aric noticed the islands in the due west, and even the faintly visible lake shoreline on the other side of the river. He settled down and didn't think about it again: "I just want to continue exploring. I make an agreement with you. If we can't find a river leading to the west, we will Just turn back the same way. You can rest assured, following the river map drawn by the scribe, we can go home in ten days at most."

Whether ten days is long or not, everyone can bear it.

After all, these soldiers of the First Banner Squad have experienced hundreds of battles, and they may have to sail in the vast sea for a month. They were not afraid at that time, and they are not afraid now. The only thing they are afraid of is the uncertainty of the unknown. It is precisely now that Kanutet can immediately produce a solid record of the voyage, and everyone will return to the original route and become "known", so there is no need to be afraid.

Some people even joked: "It's okay to go back the same way. Let's explore again in the previous camp. If we can fill the sackcloth pockets with grouse feathers and pay tribute to the king immediately, the brothers will make a fortune. "

After resting overnight, the lonely longboat continued to sail westward. At least the wide lake allows everyone to make full use of sails, and the warm southerly wind can sail quickly towards the northwest.

After drifting peacefully for about six kilometers, a brand new estuary appeared in front of everyone.

Obviously it was Arik who insisted on exploring, but he himself backed down during the discussion by the river.

"It's good if you didn't find the river mouth. God! Don't give us the **** river mouth, go back the same way and suspend everything this year." He couldn't tell everyone what was in his heart, but he really saw the river mouth quietly in front of his eyes. Immediately there was a mixture of sorrow and joy.

It seems that the gods did not answer their prayers.

After thinking about it, I'm afraid this is also the decree of the gods.

"What should we do?" He turned around and looked at the dumbfounded faces of the brothers who were paddling: "As agreed, we will continue to charge."

"What else can we do?" Then someone shrugged with a wry smile and signaled: "Navigation in inland rivers, we have to lower the sails."

Until now, they still don't realize how amazing things they will encounter.

Maybe it's the same as the river before, only God knows where its source is.

Since the previous river was given the name of Shreinna (Shlina, the meaning of green mud), it is still used to refer to the new waterway.

However, it is not!

The river narrowed significantly, and the depth was barely enough for a long boat with a shallow draft to move forward. The water flow slowed down, and there was no longer green mud on the riverside, but sandy soil instead.

Still like the previous voyage, everyone who had no extravagant hopes for the future successfully passed the tortuous river in just one day, and then a brand-new large lake appeared in front of them again and again.

Everyone stopped even thinking about wry smiles.

Some people even knelt down at the mouth of the river, opened their arms towards the sun and howled continuously.

Pairs of eyes looked at Arik again, and someone came over and slapped the old soldier who was not in a good state of mind: "Brother, what should I do?"

"I know what you're going to ask." Arik smiled wryly, "What else can we do? Continue to enter the new great lake, and may the gods bless us."

The brand-new Great Lake has an obvious structurally trivial landscape, and it is only when they stand at the mouth of the river that they can see a large number of small islands lying across. The small island obscures the view, making it appear that this large lake is not particularly large.

But when the lonely long boat raised its sails and the wind continued to drift leisurely towards the northwest, a larger lake area appeared before a large number of small islands.

It's just that the scene in front of them made goose bumps all over the body of those who were extremely bored or even drowsy.

They cheered up and widened their eyes, not because of anything else, but because boats appeared on the extremely open lake.

And those ships have obvious two-pointed structures, and have a tall mast in the center.

"Who are they? They are also Ross people? Where did we drift to?" Arik and everyone were so puzzled.

With an idea, he called to his youngest son Jill: "Son! Quickly climb up to the top of the mast with the flag on the girder, and show off our Ross flag!"

The boy was like a little monkey, climbing quickly with bare feet, so the unfinished Ross flag fluttered in the wind.

Arik calmed down his excitement and his eyes were burning: "Brothers! Paddle faster! Go over and talk to the fishermen!"

From the perspective of fishermen, more than a dozen people were leisurely fishing for bass with simple dried fish, when they suddenly saw a long boat rushing towards them. They didn't feel intimidated, and the characteristic jib and fluttering Ross flag easily proved their identity. May I ask if there are others working in this lake area?

The fishermen are all Ross people who push boats from the north.

They didn't want their friends who came suddenly to disturb their fishing, but the other party rushed over madly, so angry that they simply unloaded the round shields on the side of the boat, and beat them with swords and axes for protection. Round Shield made noise just to express his dissatisfaction. Similarly, in order to avoid the farce of self-fighting, they showed the Ross flag.

Both sides are from Ross, and Arik and his guys are even more excited.

Seeing that the two longships were about to collide, with a quick U-turn, Arik's longship leaned and drifted away, and finally bumped into each other, recovering calm after a tremor.

Arik looked happy, but the other party was cursing in the old Ross dialect. "Idiot! The lake is so big that we fish separately, what are you doing?! Are you robbing us of fish?"

"Snatch the fish?" Arik immediately pulled his face down, stroked his beard in a hurry, patted his cheeks, and straightened his fluffy hair.

He was not smug, it was a long voyage and everyone started to look slovenly, even the accompanying women became sloppy.

The fisherman saw the face of the person in front of him clearly, and his anger disappeared immediately, followed by shock: "Aric?! Is it you? Aric."

"it's me."

"It's unbelievable. You also took your brothers down from Lake Valdai? I heard that you went to explore the East."

"Ah? What's the situation? Uncle? What kind of place is this?"

"Lake Villiers. What's the matter?"

The old man looked puzzled, while the first boy on the fishing boat got up with a smile and shouted: "Aric, why are you old?"

"Helga! It's you."

"It's me. My father and I went fishing in the big lake in the south, what's the situation with you. You..." The young man narrowed his eyes, "It doesn't look like you're here to fish."

"Hey! It's a long story, everything is a miracle..."

Although very bizarre, everyone finally drifted to Lake Villiers. It turns out that Arik did not find a new waterway to Lake Valdai, but it was not a failure.

Of course there are no waterways that can be easily navigated. There are a large number of trivial small lakes between Lake Valdai and Lake Villiers, and the streams and mud between each other are just conducive to pushing boats. Ross fishing boats on this lake arrived in such a way that temporary settlements were born.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, it was the fishermen's turn to be shocked.

The young Helga asked suspiciously: "Brothers~www.mtlnovel.com~ In order to find the source of the Musta River, you turned here in one go? Could it be that Lake Villiers is the source?"

"Maybe... that's it." Arik looked relieved.

Kanutet, who remained silent, felt that this was not the case, but he didn't speak, but just sat quietly on the side, busy recording this incredible experience on paper.

Since there is a camp built jointly by fishermen and hunters, it might as well be used as a resting place to rest for a while.

So, after experiencing fantasy drifting, Arik and his team docked at the temporary pier of the Bear Hunting House. Their arrival immediately caused a strong sensation among the local Russian temporary residents.

For nothing else, the expedition of Arik and his party is too legendary, and this successful expedition has provided everyone with a new possibility-we can obviously swarm to the east along the Musta River.

(The rafting path of Alik and his party: Lake Valdai Main channel of the Msta River Lake Msta Today's Upper Volochok Lake (Grilled Fish Lake) Shrina River Shrina Lake Rebuya Waterway Lake Villiers)