While Yegor wept in sorrow, Anton took a small parcel from his saddle.
As he took it down, his movements were so meticulous and careful, as if it contained something incredibly precious.
And so it was.
"Before returning to my homeland, I once visited Jerusalem. I endured many hardships on that journey, and our group was attacked by Turks, but we still successfully reached the Holy Land. After paying homage, I brought back many portions of this soil. Originally, all of us brothers should have received a share, but Boris is already gone."
As he spoke, Anton's voice grew more and more choked, and countless emotions surged in his heart, just like Yegor.
Anton had also endured for a very long time. When he first returned to the territory, he encountered his elder brother's death. At that time, it was he who stabilized the situation, and to stabilize the situation, he absolutely could not show his emotions or let people see his weakness.
So he endured, he kept enduring. This was truly too difficult for a young man.
But he did it, and this greatly helped his father, preventing the situation from further chaos.
However, enduring became a habit; he constantly suppressed his emotions, not even daring to cry when alone, for fear of being discovered.
So now, he also reached his breaking point. Expressing his feelings in front of his brothers, it was in this outburst that he unfolded the small package, being very careful throughout.
"I think, while all of us brothers are here, I will give this gift to our elder brother."
As if in response to his words, a cold wind blew from somewhere, scattering the soil from the Holy Land.
The Sherikhov three brothers stood in the cold wind, quietly watching the soil disperse in the air.
Vasily's expression remained unchanged, but this did not mean he was not sad.
Vasily was never good at expressing his feelings, but his brothers knew his emotions were the strongest; he must have been incredibly sad at this moment.
"Since that is the case, then so be it. Let us swear, this hatred must not end like this. The person behind all of this must pay a blood price! We, the three brothers of The Sherikhov Family, must avenge our elder brother!"
Yegor was infected by this scene, and his emotions reached their peak because of this act.
Then he stretched out his hand, and the dagger in his other hand directly cut it open in front of his brother's tombstone. Blood flowed onto Boris's tombstone, flowing over the words carved on it.
His words were so firm and resolute, so fearless.
Seeing this, Vasily and Anton did not hesitate. They walked to the tombstone, cut their palms there, and let their blood flow onto the tombstone.
There was no pain on the faces of the three, only determination, a determination to avenge their brother.
The blood of the three brothers mixed together, like small streams merging into a river, like their determination for revenge mixing together.
In front of their murdered elder brother's grave, the Sherikhov three brothers swore to avenge him.
---
In the tower of Andreyev Fortress, the Sherikhov three brothers, having finished their visit to their elder brother, were gathered here.
The reason they gathered here was simple: although their emotions were fervent when they swore revenge, the specific way to carry out the revenge still needed to be discussed.
The tribe that ambushed their elder brother had already been wiped out. After Moscow's reinforcements arrived, Old Ivan immediately led them to flatten that tribe, killing everyone.
Although the tribe had been wiped out, this did not mean the revenge was complete.
Because during the search of the tribal ruins and the interrogation of important figures, the Sherikhov brothers had already found out that the tribe was merely an instrument, and this instrument could not incite so many tribes.
Behind this was the dark hand from Bulgar.
More precisely, it came from the usurping Bulgar Khan.
Akad viewed The Sherikhov Family's development as Rostislav extending his claws into his territory, so he planned an attack to thwart The Sherikhov Family's momentum and give Rostislav a small warning.
Moreover, through such actions, he could gain considerable support from the border regions.
Akad's actions indeed achieved the effect he desired; The Sherikhov Family's expansion almost collapsed, but he never expected that Rostislav had nothing to do with this matter, let alone thwarting Rostislav.
As for the Sherikhov three brothers, their target for revenge was the current ruler of Bulgar.
Yegor showed no fear in this regard. The Winter Army had come precisely to depose this scoundrel, so how could he be afraid?
During the discussion, the three brothers decided that Yegor and Anton would both lead troops to Bulgar, and all combat matters would be handled by them, while Vasily would be responsible for the army's logistics.
As for their father, Old Ivan, he did not need to be involved. Ivan had already handed over affairs to his sons; he had only a few years left to live and only wanted to spend his final time in peace. If it weren't for Boris's death, he would not even have come out to manage the situation.
However, their old father also presented them with a problem: what to do about their elder brother's son.
Boris, as the only married man in The Sherikhov Family, had married the daughter of the Lotnikov family and had a son named Vladimir, who was now eight years old.
Old Ivan knew that if the child's uncles wished, the child would receive nothing.
Therefore, he hoped his sons would give the child some care, preferably that everything belonging to his father would still belong to him.
Their father's subtext was clear: he still hoped that what Boris should have inherited would be inherited by this child.
Normally, Old Ivan's wish would certainly be shattered; such were the rules of this era.
Children would inevitably have their property seized by older elders, but to some extent, this was also for their own good, as a child holding certain things could invite disaster.
But the Sherikhov three brothers were different.
"I don't care, I can have nothing at all."
Anton's words were very firm; his goal was never in these northern lands.
After broadening his horizons in the southern imperial capital, he completely disregarded everything in the north. In his view, these were all small places, ignored corners.
He wanted to go to truly wealthy places, he wanted to participate in real struggles, not to be cooped up in this icy wasteland, wasting his entire life here.
"In the future, I will go south to the imperial capital. I will achieve great things there. As for these northern things, if father wants to leave them to his grandson, then let him have them all. I don't care about these things; it's all irrelevant."
"As for me, I have already joined Lord Rostislav's army. With my qualifications, as long as I am willing, I will certainly be granted a large amount of territory, so I can also do without these things."
Yegor pondered for a moment, then said very straightforwardly that he could also do without these things. In his view, how could uncles contend with their nephews for property? These elders should all go out and start their own ventures, just like their father.
Then the two looked at Vasily, waiting for his opinion.
Vasily's expression remained unchanged; their brother was just like that, his inability to express emotions made it difficult for anyone to discern his thoughts.
"I plan to seek allegiance with Lord Rostislav and win my own territory."
Vasily's words were concise, and his meaning was clear.
At this moment, the three of them all breathed a sigh of relief. The two generations of The Sherikhov Family had built this foundation together, and their bond was very strong; none of them wanted to see conflict among family members.
But they were unsure if the others thought the same, hence their great concern.
And now, that concern had been completely dispelled.
Suddenly, the three brothers looked at each other, then suddenly burst into laughter, even Vasily did.
Because at this moment, they suddenly realized that their previous worries were too ridiculous, too superfluous. How could this not make them laugh?