Rise of Rurik

Rurik's coronation ceremony was grand, but the dense forest seemed to cover up this momentum.

The altar hidden in the forest seems to be an isolated place, where the priests of Uppsala conduct their summer sacrificial activities in this secret place.

Regarding the occupation of the Great Temple of Uppsala by the Rus, the high priest with a pattern on his face had nothing to say.

He would not curse the Russians or Rurik in the process of offering sacrifices at this secret altar. It was as if the Russians left on their own after being satisfied, and the great temple and the sacred tree still belonged to the priests.

However, they were completely unable to estimate what methods a duke would use to some people in the old era after he was promoted to king!

The joy of being crowned queen would not go to Rurik's head.

In other words, becoming king now is not his life goal at all. He didn't even intend to be the king of Sweden, but the wheel of the times has rolled over until now. Manifest Destiny has given Ross the opportunity to integrate the Nordic world and even a historical responsibility. Being the king of Sweden is destiny, and Rurik must wear it. crown.

He will declare his philosophy of governing the country to all Swedish nobles. The nobles also need to understand how they and the people will live after the "Russ Dynasty" begins.

He could conclude that the majority of the nobles would feel pressured by matters such as rights, obligations, tributes, etc. For the time being, this group of people did not say anything, but it was possible to predict what they thought about Rurik. As the saying goes, no one wants their own interests to be damaged. As long as the new king can bring benefits to the nobles, and everyone will not have any objections for the sake of interests, the rule of Ross can last forever.

As long as the tribes in Sweden or the Ring of Mellaren do not unite into one, the Rus Principality part of the kingdom can be easily subdued by its sheer size.

Even so, these nobles still need to see the majesty of the king!

Is it majestic to kill one hundred and eleven deer to sacrifice to Odin?

No! not enough.

Ross disdained human sacrifice, but some people had to die. Some people will be executed. Rurik definitely did not intend to kill innocent people indiscriminately. It is entirely because those who must die, whether intentionally or not, their existence itself is a threat to the royal power.

It was already July, and all the Swedish nobles were still staying in Uppsala.

Most of the people who were joining in the fun have evacuated, and the not-so-large Neihu has become calm. The Russian army is still here, and they have been ordered to be on high alert. What surprises the local people is that the Russians who are not engaged in production simply live in the cities they built themselves, and even the logging work that they love to see has been suspended.

Within the walls, soldiers were polishing their weapons to prevent them from rusting due to the humid climate.

King Rurik has already spoken, and a meeting of all Swedish nobles will be convened in a few days. The king himself will elaborate on the relationship between the monarch and his vassals. Before the meeting, the nobles were not allowed to leave or visit to ask for explanations. They had to be ordered to wait quietly.

This is like training an eagle. You can leave the eagle aside and make it quiet, thus training its patience and obedience.

Boredom and anxiety accompanied the nobles. Fortunately, the king gave them some spirits in glass bottles and honey cakes. With a delicious meal to soothe their mood, everything was not a big problem.

They didn't know what Rurik was doing these days, but the Governor of Uppsala thought a little and realized that the priests who had fled the forest were coming back.

Rurik did not simply live in a temporary palace with his wives and concubines.

The so-called temporary palace is the Great Temple of Uppsala. The complex of buildings connected into a huge arc shape houses all members of the royal family and the Russian nobles. Even the elite guards led by Grund were camped near the palace.

It was a sunny morning, and the energetic King Rurik received a surprise report from his subordinates.

"Does Swined want to see you for something? Haha, what's the important thing now?"

"Your Majesty, do you want to let the brothers go?" the messenger asked cautiously.

"Make a way and let him in."

"As commanded."

Soon, Swynedd hurried over with all his weapons removed. When he saw the king's smiling face, he was just flattering. When the king glared at him, he immediately returned to his serious demeanor.

He wisely half-knelt on the wooden floor to perform the warrior salute, and stood up only after receiving the order to stand up.

"Svined, what's the big deal for you? Do you want to ask for something for your son?" Rurik asked casually.

"It's none of Helgon's business. I just want to report one thing to you. Those priests who took away many idols to the forest altar are coming back. You now occupy all the buildings in the great temple, and you are bound to... …”

"Conflict with your priests?"

"Yes."

Swined's words were very true, and the hidden meaning of his words was even clearer. It was said that the king should leave when the priests come back. Even though he knew that based on the current situation, the Great Temple was already the property of the royal family.

"Ah! I thought those people didn't want to come back. It would be better if they didn't come." Rurik pretended to lament.

"What...what should you do?" Swined's words were more cautious.

Rurik immediately stared at him sharply: "What do you think we should do?"

"I...I don't know. It seems that you think they are already...very redundant?"

"Isn't it redundant? So, I plan to annihilate them."

"ah!"

Swined's surprised expression was quite exaggerated. Rurik stepped forward and slapped him on the shoulder: "The Great Temple of Uppsala will always be an important temple. It is my property, as well as the tree. The big tree is my property. I am enthroned here, how can I let those priests take it away again. They are too redundant. As long as they dare to come back, the result will be death. "

It was obvious that the king's attitude was extremely serious, and Swined suddenly felt that it was unnecessary for him to come today. The king had already issued a death sentence for those old priests, and now he was just waiting here.

There is nothing left to talk about, and Swined was also given an order: "Go back to your home and live in peace, and restrain the Uppsala people not to run around in the near future. I will kill those priests, and you must not let this matter leak. A little rumor. If you obey my orders, your family will surely prosper in the future."

The mercenary team was completely upgraded to the Imperial Guard, and Grund became the first generation leader of the Imperial Guard.

The main members of the Imperial Guard are a large number of teenagers. They have been on the throne for many years. They can be trusted for their loyalty. They are young and strong, and their temperament has been trained to be brave and fierce. They should be trustworthy. But for these young warriors, the steel swords they were recently issued were also recently forged and polished. The blades were not stained with blood, and they had never killed anyone.

It's not how ruthless people can protect the king's safety.

Rurik gave Grund a clear order and led his young brothers to attack the returning priests.

"As long as they dare to come back, do it. Don't think it is taboo to kill the priests. Your monarch is protected by Odin, and there is only honor in fulfilling the monarch's orders."

Grund has his own beliefs. He dreams that his soul can enter the Hall of Valor after his life ends. Now, he was convinced that Rurik himself was indeed Odin's favorite. Although killing priests was taboo, it didn't matter now.

More than a hundred young guardsmen were specially organized. In principle, they were complex palace guards, but in essence they were also a group of killers.

They are only loyal to the king. The king has orders to kill the enemy. As for who to kill, they have no right and are too lazy to think about it. They just need to perform their duties properly.

The Great Temple of Uppsala hides a murderous plot!

The old priests who pulled flat carts with wooden wheels carrying sacrificial supplies and precious statues of gods knew nothing about it.

Although the high priest of Uppsala, whose face was covered with patterns, had no favorable impression of Rurik, and his previous smile was flattering, his move to lead his troops away was to vote with his feet, expressing his dissatisfaction with Rurik's claim to the throne.

The priests did not express their position in words, but their actions were against the king! So you must die!

But the priests really do not live in the world. In the past, the great temple was always isolated from the world by walls. After more than 20 priests of different ages begged for property from the people, their lives were pure worship of the gods. According to their logic, such a pious statement will move the gods, and the soul after death will surely enter Asgard.

They walked in a rather orderly pace, pulling the flatbed truck, showing their cunning figures in the thick morning fog, just like a pair of elves walking out of the forest.

The high priest with a patterned face holds his antler crown on his head, clearly swearing that the real high priest of the Uppsala Temple is back.

When the fog gradually dissipated, the priests who walked into the open area were discovered early by the Ross warriors who were waiting for work.

These soldiers were not actors, and they did not even know that Rurik had given the order to kill. They just watched from a distance.

The high priest saw the architecture of the great temple and the mass of sacred trees. Some time passed and it seemed that the Rus' had done nothing to the temple. It's because they can't get the sacred tools from the temple, so they really rely on their own tools to complete the ceremony?

The corners of the high priest's mouth slightly raised, his mood was contemptuous, and he was completely dumbfounded when he realized that the wall was gone and replaced by a large number of tents and temporary wooden sheds.

All the priests were dumbfounded! He simply froze on the spot.

Shock was followed by anger that their sacred abode had been desecrated.

"Rurik? Russians?! Are you doing all this?!"

The old man's right hand clenched the wooden staff tightly, and the high priest used the wooden staff to make a deep hole in the soft soil, and ordered all the priests to walk quickly.

At the same time, Rurik's wives, concubines, and family members had all avoided, and even old Otto also withdrew in an orderly manner with the team.

Inside the temple hall is a large gilded bust of the Russian god Odin, which is currently the only statue of a god.

Rurik put on his chain mail, and his beloved golden laurel wreath was firmly on his head on his flowing golden ponytail.

More than a hundred young guardsmen sharpened their steel swords and all hid in the temple building.

Centered around the sacred tree, a small area has been cleared. What was originally a noisy place is now extremely quiet!

The angry Uppsala priests wanted to confront Rurik face to face. When they returned to the temple without walls, they were confused when they saw the strange tranquility here.

"Rurik! Could it be that you desecrated my great temple?"

"Russians, show up! Explain what you did, why you demolished the wall?"

"Look at the good deeds you have done and why you built this strange wooden platform in front of the sacred tree."

The high priest's voice is quite hoarse due to his age. He has taken off his hood, revealing the patterns on his face and head. At first glance, he looks really scary.

Not only him, but all the Uppsala priests present had this tattoo pattern. They don't even have much intact skin on their bodies, so everyone gets tattoos as much as possible, with densely packed tattoos of words of worship, believing that this can reach the sky.

More than twenty men with patterns all over their bodies showed their true faces. They felt that the high priest's inquiry was just to vent their anger. The Russians should have left, just like everyone left with the sacred artifact and left the Russians with a mess. Now the Russians are leaving a mess in the same way.

Suddenly, the priests saw a tall man walking out of the darkness of the hall.

It's Rurik! That flowing golden ponytail proves everything.

What the high priest was waiting for was Rurik's appearance. This time, she suddenly appeared, and the high priest was suddenly stunned.

"You?!" Rurik was holding a steel sword, and it reflected violently in the sun. "High Priest of Uppsala, we meet again."

"Rurik? You..." The high priest saw the crown on this man's head and was convinced that he had become the king. This strong threat was really infuriating when he was pointed with a dazzling sword.

The high priest showed no fear and began to criticize.

Unexpectedly, Rurik didn't want to hear that this person was needed, and casually shouted an order: "My soldiers! Show up!"

In a moment, the Ross Imperial Army hiding in the temple came out. They moved very quickly and surrounded more than twenty priests with patterned faces. The shield painted with blue patterns on a white background matches the soldiers' uniforms with the same patterns, creating a unified and mighty circular shield wall.

"Ah? Rurik of Rus, what do you want?!"

As soon as the high priest asked the question, he saw this group of crazy warriors coming to attack him.

The buckler was held in front of him, the steel sword was stabbing wildly, and the priests who were unaware of the situation were bayoneted one after another.

The first time he was ordered to kill someone, the young Forbidden Army soldier witnessed blood for the first time in his life. What was splashed on him was no longer the deer blood used for courage training, but the enemy's blood!

Their hearts were beating wildly, knowing that the other person was already lying dead in a pool of blood, but they still stabbed wildly.

Only when the shield is stained with blood can you truly prove your bravery to the king and be worthy of your salary.

The high priest of Uppsala had countless swords in his body, and until his death he did not know why Rurik, who became the king, did such a violent thing under the shade of the sacred tree.

The high priest died, and his blood-stained antlered helmet was collected by Rurik after his death.

The sacrificial vessels they brought back were all captured by Rurik.

The hearts of the Forbidden Army soldiers who had completed their tasks were beating wildly, and their faces seemed to be smiling, with rather distorted expressions.

This crazy act was witnessed by Governor Swinned who was hiding in the temple and was reluctant to show up.

He was asked to stay here to witness the killing ordered by the king, and at this moment he realized that this was an act of killing a chicken to scare the monkeys.

Swynedd walked out of the temple tremblingly and was still trembling as he stood before the king.

"The priests...the priests are all dead."

"Dead. As I said, these people are not needed."

"Ah! What can we do? Oh no, I mean, you still have to keep some priests. Even if you kill these old priests, the temple will not be abandoned."

Swined was standing next to the corpses of the priests, and in his nervousness he actually mentioned the future, which shows that this guy is very wise.

Rurik did not kill any of the priests, and his sword remained good. After returning the sword to its scabbard, he glanced at the high priest of Uppsala, who was still staring at death, and said to the governor: "These people are very important to me. I said that if they dare to come back, they will die. What are you Swinnede?" Don’t worry, I will leave behind a team of priests, and I will leave behind a wife and concubine to serve as the new High Priest of Uppsala.”

"A woman? Priestess?"

"Are you surprised?"

Indeed, in Uppsala tradition, women were not allowed to be priests. But the Russians became kings, and the Russian tradition was clearly the other way around.

Swined hurriedly explained: "Any decision you make is wise."

Rurik shrugged: "You must have understood your necessary position. I tell you clearly that you must assist the new priestess. I will give birth to a child with the new high priest of Uppsala, the future high priest. It will be hereditary and will definitely continue the bloodline of this king. I warn you, you have no right to make irresponsible remarks on the high priest I appointed, you must do your best to assist."

"As you command!"

Regarding Rurik leading the crowd to annihilate the old priests of Uppsala, it really gave the people a huge psychological shock.

The Russians hailed the king's courage, the Uppsala people were in awe of the king's ruthlessness, and the nobles who stayed felt that this was the king's intimidation.

"You really dare to kill a priest! You are so cruel. If Odin hadn't given you his blessing, no one else would have dared to do this." Bjorn, who abdicated, could only sigh silently.

Not long ago, King Rurik summoned all the nobles and publicly introduced the high priest of Uppsala whom he had consecrated.

She is a little girl, obviously much younger than Rumia, the high priest of Ross. But she is not very young. As a woman, she already has the qualifications to be a mother.

She was Rumi, one of Rurik's wives and concubines. As a follower of the high priest Rumia, she participated in the entire enthronement ceremony as a lower priest.

Rumi is usually Rumia's follower. In principle, their names mean the same thing, and their bloodline is exactly the same as the deer herders (Lapps) and the Kovins.

Rumi, the daughter of the chief of the Salmon Lord Tribe of Kewen, was in her hometown and had a high chance of becoming a female shaman of the Kewen people.

In the past years, he has been working as the assistant to the high priest of Rus, and was established as the third level by Rurik at the "Wives and Concubines Conference". From Queen Svetlana to High Priest Rumia, there is this Lumi who also has black hair.

To be honest, her appearance is not outstanding and she is not tall. Even so, the giant King Rurik favored her many times in the past few days, which surprised her, and she accepted it happily after knowing the reason.

She realized that she, the daughter of a tribal chief, now had an important position in the emerging kingdom of Rus.

She has completely believed in the Nordic gods, especially in the greatness of Odin and the nobility of Rurik.

The captured Uppsala priest's antlered helmet was put on her head, and the temple's old artifact was completely returned to its place. From now on, Lumi must be fully responsible for the Uppsala Great Temple.

She believed that she was pregnant with the king's child, and that her child would inherit this priesthood and protect this, said to be the largest temple in Sweden, for the Kingdom of Rus.

She herself is actually one of the symbols of Rurik's royal power. She will have the right to select some women from the Uppsala tribe as lower-level priests, just like Sister Lumia, who established a team of priests.

The appearance of Lumi wearing the antlered helmet really looked like Lumia from a few years ago, and even Otto recalled the past. At that time, the high priest Vilia completed his sacred mission and his soul returned to Tianyu and was upgraded to the Valkyrie. Rumia who took over her position was the same as Lumi in front of her.

As an old father, Otto could not bear to have his only son Rurik have more wives and concubines. Although this Lumi is a daughter of a subordinate tribe, she has served as an auxiliary priest in the past years and has always been calm and unhurried, and there have been no mistakes in any rituals.

Now, she is the high priest of the Uppsala Temple under the rule of the Kingdom of Rus! A high priest who is responsible only to the royal family!

Please remember the first domain name of this book: . :