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The first snow came to Smolensk earlier than in previous years.

The dense Katyn forest is covered with a thin layer of snow, and the temperature drops sharply. This is not a problem for people who have been prepared.

The first snow came and dissipated quickly, and the continuous gray and cold weather was finally blown away by the whistling north wind. As soon as the sun returned, the whole world began to melt the snow.

It is already early winter, and the climate is not yet cold enough to freeze the earth.

Because of the melting snow, all the snow-covered land becomes wet. Coupled with fallen leaves and withered yellow reeds, people will inevitably feel chilling and melancholy when looking at it. But when you step on such a land, your leather shoes will become wet after a while. Coupled with the cold weather, people's feet seem to be soaked in ice water all the time, making them uncomfortable.

No intelligent person would want to hang around in weather like this unless the ground dries out again.

But it takes the world, and no one knows when the next snow will fall and how long it will last.

For Vadim, the ruler of Smolensk, he felt that his time was running out.

It was in this somewhat wet state that he gave the order for a full assembly.

It was a different night than usual. People brought out home-brewed rye kvass, cloudy like soy sauce, and vowed to have a good meal before going out.

Unlike other kvass, the one shared tonight has been purposely brewed longer, resulting in the alcohol content of a low-alcohol ale.

The small eye of the tightly bound wooden barrel was chiseled open, a large amount of turbid foam was ejected from it, and the scented gas dissipated. Vadim, who personally held the chisel, finally opened it.

Pairs of eyes staring at the wooden barrel, young people are not

No drooling.

"It's been brewing for some time. I've taken over my father's place in Smolensk and I'm about to take you on a hunt against the most odious brigands. Look at this barrel of kvass, for which I've waited all summer, with Share this moment with you brave ones!"

Vadim deliberately talked about the truth with Kvass as a token. He stared fiercely at the eyes of every young man, and then said: "Are you all warriors? I think it is true. Only real warriors have the right to fight with me. Share the brew, drink it, and we fight together."

There is a saying that every village will use some of its grain to brew kvass, a local alcoholic drink. It is equivalent to the honey wine in Northern Europe, the ale in Saxony, and the wine in the Frankish world. It is brewed according to local conditions. Cups to drink wine together.

There was no joy tonight, the atmosphere in the house was serious.

The people Vadim invited to this room were all promising young people from the city of Smolensk. Most of them were the nephews of the village chiefs, and a few young people who were considered by the villagers to be very strong and dared to hunt bears. talent.

Everything is just like what happened at the Pine Needle Manor by Lake Ilmen more than ten years ago. The big boss has his own basic board and controls each village as much as possible. Do things at the request of the leader. A group of villages jointly built the Pine Needle Manor, which once became the giant of Lake Ilmen, controlling the large and small manors in the distance with its powerful body, and crowding out and expelling those who disobeyed.

So there are a large number of "hidden people", and White Tree Manor

The presence.

Vadim tried his best to reproduce this ruling model in Smolensk. He has been in power for two years. Relying on the basic disk left by his father-in-law, he led the largest family in Smolensk to basically complete the control of all villages in the city. The centripetal force of those villages of the same clan is stronger by relying on military deterrence.

He is wooing these young nobles from Smolensk, making this room look like a large wharf worship scene.

The big leader toasted, who would dare not drink? But if you drink it, you have to go desperately with the big leader.

However, how many people really want to take the initiative to attack on a large scale? Even if many people make up their minds, is it really good to launch an attack in autumn and winter?

They were more afraid of the sudden snowstorm than they were afraid of those horse bandits.

The so-called scars are healed and the pain is forgotten. This year, those horse bandits seem to have disappeared mysteriously. Since no village was attacked, the Smolensk people worshiped the gods at the altar in the Katyn Forest and planned to attack. The enemy who should have caused trouble first seems to be Learned well.

"Perhaps, this year was not an accident. Maybe the horse bandits gave up the sneak attack on the village forever because they felt that they had too little to grab?" Some people thought so, considering that this kind of spineless idea made the leader furious, Simply dare not mention a word.

The oil lamps in the house were dim.

"You guys, take out the glasses. Now I will pour the wine for you myself."

The young people sitting cross-legged all had their sterling silver cups in front of them, and this cup alone proved the status of the owner as a nobleman.

Naturally, ordinary oak cups are also used. This kind of person is really a "bear hunter" promoted by Vadim himself.

The military commander, now the big leader poured wine for himself, was moved to tears, and dared to show his loyalty to the leader Vadim with a crying face.

"An ordinary person deserves to sit with us?"

"Has he really killed a bear? If he has, I admire him as a warrior."

"Who knows? Those rumors are not reliable."

The nephews of the local aristocrats are very jealous of ordinary villagers being with them. After all, many people have serious Roman blood in their ancestors. Even in their generation, their understanding of Rome has shrunk to the word "roma".

At least they are not self-confident, their nobility does not come from the illusory Rome, this is a gimmick, their noble capital comes from family wealth. Their parents were big landowners and patriarchs with a huge family. For the young people who participated in the grand event here, if they made military exploits in the crusade war, they would be able to stand out among the family brothers.

They muttered silently, and when Vadim turned around to stop the boring discussion, all of them shut up.

"I seem to have heard some doubts." Vadim, who was still holding the barrel, said deliberately: "I don't want to pursue it. A true warrior must rely on his own ability. The best way to prove his nobility is to lead everyone to defeat the robbers. I I am the most noble, so I lead an army composed of Smolensk people. We will set off tomorrow, and you are not allowed to slack off with the young and strong from your village."

The young people looked at each other and had no choice but to say yes.

They drank the tongwas, for

It is deeply fermented, and everyone will soon feel dizzy and comfortable after drinking a cup.

They sang ballads together again, and vowed in front of Vadim that they would never back down, even if they encountered wind and snow during the battle...

The next day, the large altar Gnezdovo in the forest, where the army assembled.

The ten cows were led out by the male and female priests, and then led to the high platform of the rammed altar.

A small area of the dense forest has been cleared, an artificial clearing that had long ago served as the great altar of the Smolensk community. Today, more than 30,000 people of all kinds gathered here!

Vadim, who was riding a horse, looked around and saw a large number of local residents coming on foot. He couldn't estimate how many people came, but he saw people in different clothes in the black forest.

Women usually wear patterned cloth clothes and often hold children.

There are also elderly people, holding rattan baskets and stuffing something into the hands of young soldiers.

The people are using the last time to give some dry food to the young people who are about to go out, and every tribal warrior has carried a large cloth bag, stuffed with dry and hard bread smashed into small pieces by an axe, even this year new wheat.

Stalls of leather or cloth are rolled up and tied with pockets in various ways.

Almost every soldier has a spear, which is nearly twice as long as a man. It is not only a spear, but also a marching stick, and even a wooden stick for carrying luggage.

Ordinary tribal warriors wear all kinds of clothes, and most of them are forced to follow the request of the village leader to go out. They get the best possible weapons and armor. In fact, these weapons and armor can only support low-intensity tribal melee.

Thick leather is versatile

Sewn with mixed leather materials, it is a winter overcoat and also serves as armor for ordinary soldiers. The most critical piece of armor is a round shield, and different patterns are painted on the shield according to the soldiers' personalities.

They wrap the linen cloth from the toes to the knees, and then put on special leather boots. After the hemp rope laces are fastened, they often remove the meat-cutting dagger and wooden spoon. The purpose is convenience and safety, after all. Ordinary people use cloth strips as belts, which are not reliable.

There are as many as 3,000 tribal warriors, with different clothes and weapons and equipment. Only the use of spears has been unified by force.

This time Vadim tried his best to pay attention to the use of bows and arrows. He knew that this was his shortcoming all along, and he might not be able to match his opponent in this aspect.

Then strengthen the javelin, the so-called making some large arrows, and shooting them out with a wooden spear thrower, although the accuracy is limited, it is better than no long-range weapons.

One is a spear thrower firing a javelin, and the other is a sling throwing broken pottery fragments.

The hunters who can shoot arrows are also assembled. Due to the poor bow-making skills of the locals, the hunters can shoot squirrels with a short wooden bow. Is it really useful to participate in combat against the armored Ross bandits?

Something is better than nothing.

The villages had to prove their loyalty to the great leader Vadim. They sent troops as much as possible, but no one "pawned their pants" for this expedition, and no village leader personally participated. Basically, they just picked one of the many sons and sent them to The people in the village who owed debts were limited to pull out, and if there were not enough people, they would draw lots and let the gods choose who would do this narrow escape.

After all, the Ross bandit butcher knife has only cut

Most of the villagers living in the eastern part of the village, the disaster did not happen to them, and naturally lacked some fighting spirit for the counterattack, not to mention that the first counterattack unexpectedly happened in autumn and winter.

Young people may not be afraid of anything because they are strong, but the old guys feel that Vadim's brain has been rammed with a stick, so he made such a risky move.

It is this Vadim who dares to take responsibility for his actions, and he will do what he says!

Even... here's an opportunity.

Some big things should not be put on the table.

After all, Vadim simply "stealed" the position of the great leader with disgraceful means. In the past, nobles even criticized him verbally. Now that this guy has a thousand elite fighters in his hands, the nobles in each village who know current affairs are outstanding , Today, one after another arrived at the scene of the sacrificial offering, expressing their support for the "winter offensive" led by Vadim himself.

In fact, some well-dressed local nobles think this way: "If you die in battle, your army is also wiped out by the Ross people, or this army is lost in a sudden snowstorm. You are all dead, even if you come back by chance , you still have the face to be the leader again? We... naturally choose a new one, and then plan for the future."

The Smolensk people did not actually come in and out of the elite.

So, when the ten bulls on the altar were stabbed one by one, the blood of the bulls soaked the whole altar.

Although Vadim witnessed all this while riding a horse, what he didn't know was that when tens of thousands of people gathered here, Vadim became a living sacrifice like a slaughtered cow.

Vadim has already put his life on the line and made a deal with the **** of fire they believe in.

fate can't tolerate him

If he fails, he has no chance to fight again.

He vaguely thought that if he lost the battle, he would have a bad ending.

But I have no right to think about failure at all, and it is precisely for the sake of winning that I have gathered four thousand troops here.

In the end, he simply rode up to the altar!

The horseshoe trampled on the altar soaked in cow blood, which frightened the priests, and even caused an uproar from the onlookers, who were surprised, exclaimed, and booed, and all kinds of sounds turned into low-pitched roars.

"Boss, this is the altar! There has never... never been anyone else standing here. You...don't be disrespectful to God." The wrinkled high priest begged with his hands on his chest.

Vadim actually didn't think much about it, he just wanted to find a commanding height to deliberately show his stalwart image.

"Could it be that I can't stand here? Do you think I'm an ordinary person?" He turned his eyebrows coldly at the high priest, with killing intent in his eyes.

"But. You are like this..." Suddenly, the high priest knelt down, his clothes were soaked in blood and scarlet, and the lower priests followed suit.

The priests of Smolensk are the defenders of traditional Slavic beliefs. They have their own set of etiquette standards. It turns out that these priests are "people who reach the sky", and the less they have contact with ordinary people, the more they need to be revered.

The rammed altar is the holy place where the high priest stands and is believed to be able to communicate directly with the **** of fire, Peron. Indeed, a circular open space suddenly appeared in the dense forest, and an altar with a pyramid-shaped rammed earth platform suddenly stood in the center, and the sun could fully illuminate it.

Shoot here to reach the sky.

Seeing that the priests all knelt down, people who believed in their faith also knelt down one after another. More people couldn't figure out the situation. They saw the people in front kneeling one after another, and they themselves knelt down in blind obedience, thinking that maybe this was part of the sacrificial activities.

Those thousands of warriors who were loyal to Vadim himself also walked half-kneeling in the posture taught by the Varyag mercenaries, holding their spears.

Everything had a chain reaction, and in Vadim's astonishment and bewilderment, he saw that tens of thousands of people were like falling wheat, as if a mysterious force forced them to kneel.

"They... what are they doing? Why are they so obedient and bowing to me today?"

The high priest was in no mood to reply to his hearing.

"Could it be God's decree?" Vadim asked again

The high priest who was also at a loss had an idea, raised his head, his wrinkled face was like dry earth, and said firmly: "Boss! Are you standing here to sacrifice yourself to God? It seems that God has Believe that you are not ordinary. Look at these people, they have indeed received the will of God. They are kneeling before you, and you have been given extraordinary by God."

"Sure enough! It seems that God answered my prayers in this way. So..."

Vadim was overjoyed, and after thinking about it, he suddenly raised his neck and looked at the sun.

This is the only area in the Katyn Forest that is free from annoying thick branches and is able to bask in the holy light of the sun.

"God Peron! Do you want me to sacrifice myself?! Can't ten cows satisfy you?!"

Suddenly, Vadim pulled out the iron sword. He hesitated for a moment, gritted his teeth, and cut a just right opening in the palm of his left hand, and then clenched his fist to let his blood flow

into the altar.

"God! This is my blood sacrifice!"

This move was intentionally made to be seen by the high priest, so he deliberately raised his left arm.

"You have seen it all," he said, "my blood flowed on the altar."

Suddenly again, a gust of north wind rustled the woods, countless branches fell amid the violent tremors of the pine trees, and the countless sounds finally turned into roars.

"It's an oracle." The high priest was startled, and responded while withdrawing: "God has responded to you."

"What did God say?" Vadim asked.

"God... God said. You will win. However, your act of riding up to the altar is sacrilege. God wants you to make further sacrifices."

"What will I do? I can't cut off my left hand."

"Catch a few captives of the enemy, and execute them by yourself at this altar," the high priest continued.

"So that's how it is~www.mtlnovel.com~ I understand."

Well, Vadim rode away from the altar.

What he didn't know was that the last words of the high priest were mixed with the priest's small emotions, and he did something in the name of God, especially Vadim, to torment him on purpose. Because it is simply impossible to capture the rebellious Varyag Rus people as slaves.

But the strange environment just now really scared all the priests, and the high priest really believed that God Peron had an oracle.

Standing in Vadim's position again, the words of the high priest made the expedition suddenly have a new legitimacyto capture prisoners of war and sacrifice to Vulcan at the altar.

The forest was blown violently by the wind, which was God's order.

Why can't it be done? Attacking the Rus stronghold on the West Dvina River suddenly had the most tenable rationale for the operation.

So, realizing that it was an opportunity, Vadim immediately ordered everyone to

The priest announced publicly: the gods need this expedition.