By the time he said goodbye to the hermit, it was already dark, and the wind on the sea was not warm, but for the barbarian leader and his men, it was nothing at all. They grew up in the far north, and their bones have been sharpened by the ice and snow, and in the winter, they even go further north to hunt walruses and other sea beasts, which have thick skin and tusks, and are dangerous to face even with guns, but they can hunt with simple bows and axes, and bring back fur and ivory. In the summer, they set aboard their famous longships and sail to the warm south, where there are many rich churches and monasteries, full of gold and silver treasures and other valuables.

Of course, expeditions to the north and south, even by the standards of this barbaric and chaotic era, are very dangerous. These brave northern warriors knew that the tusks of the walrus pierced and tore people apart just as the spears of the southerners pierced and tore them.

But what is that?

Now, the amber-eyed Viper Adair has six brothers, but in reality, not counting the babies who died at an early age (the infant mortality rate in the North is no lower than in Newsteria), there are a dozen of his brothers who have survived to adulthood. Among the causes of death were dangerous hunting and expeditions, but more often than not, it was the never-ending vendetta of their own kind, which led to their early deaths.

The conquest of the northern ice ocean and the southern countries is not a tour, but sitting in your own home is no safer than the rough gray sea. What's more, only poverty awaits them in their hometown. Farming was not a good profession in this era, but there was not much land to cultivate.

Neustria was not considered rich among the nations. But compared to the Far North, it is simply a paradise with a pleasant climate and abundant products.

So. They are all willing to take risks.

Especially the adventure of attacking the wealthy monasteries and churches of the South.

To do this, they not only have to pass the guò body lì and agile examination before they get on the ship. It must also be sworn not to take revenge on old feuds at sea and in the midst of conquests, the latter of which can be quite deadly. It is not easy to put aside old grudges for a while, and many modern people cannot do it, but the hard life, the great wealth and fame that are expected to be obtained, and others make it possible, so that long marches and plundering are possible.

These barbarians, though far from civilized by Neustrian standards and retaining the barbaric custom of human sacrifice, were sophisticated warriors and fine sailors. Possessing strict discipline in battle, it is no wonder that they were able to plunder the numerous kingdoms on the southern coast in smaller numbers, casting a shadow of terror over a vast land ten times their size.

Their tactic was to sail along the coast with their famous longships, and when they saw a lonely monastery or an unsuspecting village, they would pull their ships ashore and rush up to slash and plunder what they saw.

At the time of the expedition. Women were never allowed on board, and when they returned, there were many more foreign slave girls in their huts.

Naturally, there are other riches of the alien race.

But they are not pure opportunists. After gathering enough warriors, they will also boldly attack the cities inland. A few years earlier, Adair had led his warriors into the gates of the city of Turnest, the pearl of the Neustrian kingdom. Although they did not succeed in capturing the rich city, they did not succeed in nothing. On the way back, they took advantage of the discord and cowardice of the nobles in various places, and plundered a large amount of property and slaves. The Neustrian court then paid more money in order to obtain their retreat.

It was enough to make Adair's brothers brag about it for a long time, and they did. Hearing of the wealth they had obtained from the south, many other chieftains and samurai defected to them in order to "go to the south and have a big vote".

This time, twice as many ships gathered on the seashore to wait to depart to plunder Neustria.

The small sampan of Adair, carrying the amber eyes of the hermit's isle, was insignificant among these famous longships, built for the purpose of plundering across the seas, and could carry fifty warriors each, and another twenty captives on their return, one can imagine its size. However, this is not the limit of the ship's capacity, and when it sets out, it will carry enough food and drink for everyone to eat and drink for a month, as well as all kinds of daily necessities, from pots to Adair's favorite chessboard. Many of the sailors were fishermen, so they could also get supplies on the spot by fishing and shooting at sea, and thus drift at sea for longer periods of time.

The draft of the vessel is shallow: it is three times as long as it is wide, and seven or eight times as wide as it is in draft. This is designed so that it can quickly skim over the water. The boats were built of sturdy oak wood, and the planks were either fixed with iron nails or ropes, depending on how well they worked. The gaps in the planks were stuffed with wool or other animal hair, which was a clever way to prevent water, because the animal hair in the cold north was rich in oil and was inherently waterproof. Each ship had sixteen pairs of oars and a sail, and a simple rudder at the stern, and the ships of the northern warriors were not only fast but also nimble at sea because of their ingenious and practical design, and it is no wonder that the poor navies of the Neustrian kingdoms were helpless against these pirates.

The sampan docked at the pier, and then the people on board put away their oars and landed in the brightly lit hall where feasting and singing were taking place.

Only chieftains and the most prestigious samurai were allowed to drink here, but now the spacious hall was as crowded as a school of herring leading to the Guò Strait, but there was one of the best chairs that was empty, and that was the seat they reserved for Adair.

He confidently walked over and sat in that position, and no one challenged him.

Although it was not yet time to set out on the expedition, they all expected Adair to lead them to the riches of the southern kingdom as before. In their anticipation, he sat down in the honored seat and raised a glass to them, and everyone went on to drink, and the singer took the opportunity to sing an impromptu hymn about the generous Adair and his brothers.

"I heard you're going to that island again?" One of his brothers asked, "We bet you must have hidden a peerless beauty on that island, so we weren't allowed to go near it." ”

"A beautiful woman named Where's the Fortune of Neustria." Adair laughed and said, "To know if there is land ahead, to see the seabirds flying, to know where the richest monastery in Neustria is, just ask the monks." ”

"Hit him with a stick, and he will say."

"Hey, we all know the result of you hitting that abbot with a stick, which would have been a captive who was expected to extort a lot of ransom." Adair shook his head and said, "Most monks can say anything when they beat them with sticks, but they don't know much, and they will talk nonsense to avoid torture. A monk who has traveled many places and seen the world often has a kind of conceit, thinking that he can endure the torture, and by the time he wants to confess, it is too late. You don't have to be head-on to catch a bear, digging a pit has the same effect. Moreover, I also thought of a way to help us open the enemy's fortress without bloodshed. His amber eyes shone with wisdom and cunning, and he took notice of the monk when he noticed that the monk had a property with a different style than the others. Later, after inquiring from the side, he learned that he was different from the ordinary miscellaneous monks in the monastery, but a monk of noble origin who had traveled many places, so he approached him deliberately, and even did not hesitate to pretend to convert for this reason.

After that, he reasoned that his brothers were dissatisfied with his conversion, and put the monk on an isolated island in the sea, and did not allow others to go to the island. In this way, it is convenient for him to disguise himself as a devout believer in front of the target of his deception.

In order to milk the cow, it doesn't matter if he kneels in front of the ewe once in a while, his knees can't stand it when he does it all day......

"What's that?" The brother who had been counted out for fault was originally a little unhappy, but Adair's next sentence immediately captured his heart, "Sue me." ”

The bitter wind that blew across the sea between the Far North and Neustria heralded a terrible storm of people and ships rather than water vapor. (To be continued......)