Vikings: Lords of the Ice Sea

Chapter 88 Army
As March arrived, the storm in the North Sea gradually subsided, and longships from Northern Europe began to arrive and assemble to participate in this unprecedented plundering operation.

With sufficient manpower, Vig wrote to Ragnar, requesting that 1,200 men be allocated to his command.

With permission, he selected 1,200 raiders to join his command, expanding the force to 2,000, divided into two squares, each with 600 spearmen, 200 shield-axemen, and 200 crossbowmen.

With ample weaponry and food supplies, Vig seized the time to train the two phalanxes until April 10th, when Ragnar personally led the main force to Londenium.

Looking out, a continuous stretch of camps stretched out outside the city of Rendinium, with the banners of various noble families fluttering in the wind. Ragnar asked Vig, who had come to greet him, "How many people are there in total?"

"Including the troops you brought, there are a total of 10,000 men. If we wait any longer, even more raiders will come to gather."

Ten thousand—this number far exceeded Ragnar's expectations, and an unprecedented sense of confidence filled his chest.

"West Frankish must have received the news by now. The longer they delay, the more prepared they will be. Are their supplies and ships ready?"

Vig gestured to the shield guards behind him to hand over a stack of ledgers. "We're well prepared and ready to go at any time."

After hearing this, Ragnar laughed with satisfaction and decided to cross the sea to conquer the South China Sea three days later.

Just before he was about to set off, he received a message from Mercia that the Welsh in the west were raiding the countryside and looting food.

"These bandits actually took the initiative to attack?"

Ragnar's gaze swept over the vassals, lingering longest on Ivar, Vig, and Gunnar. Before he could speak, Hafdan stepped forward.

“Father, they’re just a bunch of forest thieves. You should leave them to me. West Frankish is a powerful nation, and it’s more suitable for you gentlemen to play your roles.”

Hafdan knew that his martial arts, strategy, and reputation were inferior to those of nobles like Ivar and Vig. If he participated in the attack on West Francia, he would at most be assigned some insignificant tasks.

Conversely, if he were to conquer Wales on his own, he would have the confidence to ask his father for a fiefdom, thus escaping the increasingly stifling royal palace and fully displaying his talents.

"You're going to lead troops into battle?"

Looking at Hafdan's tall and strong body, Ragnar was stunned for a moment. Unconsciously, his third son had grown up, but he subconsciously regarded him as a child.

Lagosha, your most worrying son has come of age.

A pang of sadness rose in his heart. Ragnar took a deep breath and suddenly called out the name of Esserwolf, appointing him as the commander of the campaign against Wales, with Hafdan as his second-in-command.

To ensure that this man would not resort to underhanded tactics, Ragnar deliberately recruited his three sons to serve as court guards and accompany him on his campaign against West Francia.

“Yes, Your Majesty.” Ethelwaugh bowed, his face expressionless.

Unable to fully meet his demands, Hafdan could not suppress his disappointment and reluctantly bowed.

Given his son's limited prestige and command abilities, Ragnar only allocated him a thousand men. Wessex, however, was a powerful state and could easily muster over a thousand militiamen, bringing the total to over two thousand, more than enough to deal with Welsh bandits.

On the morning of April 13th.

After a sacrificial ceremony at the dock, Ragnar boarded the largest longship and led the fleet eastward. A total of 530 longships were mobilized for this expedition, 200 of which were used to transport supplies and horses. Looking back, the densely packed longships floating on the water resembled a floating town.

At the top of the towering mast, the weathervane fluttered in the wind. Ragnar looked up and saw a northeast wind; the gods were indeed looking out for him.

Following the wind, the fleet sailed smoothly out of the Thames estuary and along the coastline to Dover, the southeastern corner of Britain.

Dover is about 30 kilometers from Calais across the Channel. It is the narrowest part of the English Channel. With a tailwind, it takes 6-8 hours. If there is a headwind, it may take 2-3 days, or even have to return to the port to wait.

After resting overnight, the fleet crossed the sea on the morning of April 14th.

As the morning mist dissipated, the sun slowly rose from the sea, casting golden rays upon the pristine white cliffs, as if they were coated with gold leaf.

The White Cliffs of Dover.

As Vig gazed out from the deck at the five-kilometer-long, hundred-meter-high white cliff, he felt a sense of liberation, and all his worries vanished with the cries of the seagulls.

"I never imagined that the most beautiful place in Britain would be here. Ulf is lucky to have been transferred to such a wonderful place."

The northeasterly winds from the inland region propelled the fleet toward the other side of the strait, and by sunset, the Vikings had successfully reached Calais Beach.

On a distant hillside, a lone wooden castle stood, its warning bells faintly audible. Ragnar paid no heed to this small group of enemies and ordered the fleet to proceed southwest along the coastline.

To be fair, nine thousand men were far from enough to conquer West Francia. Ragnar's plan was to plunder Paris, weaken Charles the Bald as much as possible, and force him to sign a peace treaty to ensure that there would be no war for five years.

Following the winding coastline, the fleet made frequent stops and took four days to reach the mouth of the Seine.

At that moment, several militiamen on the north bank lit a bonfire, thick black smoke rising straight into the sky. Soon after, a second column of smoke rose in the east, followed by a third.
Vig's concerns have come true.

Long before the army set off, an Anglo-François nobleman sent someone to inform West Francia.

Upon closer examination, Esselwyn is the most suspicious. If Ragnar's entire army had been wiped out, he would have surely gathered his troops, quickly occupied the surrounding vacant territories, and then launched a northern expedition under the pretext of expelling the Vikings, becoming the king of all the Angles.

"Your Majesty was too reckless. You shouldn't have let Ethelwaugh stay in Britain. Although you have control over his three sons, you are not entirely confident in your ability to control them."

Against the current, the crew mustered all their strength to row with the wooden oars, and with the help of a weak northeasterly wind, they slowly moved across the river.

After two days of sailing along the winding Seine, a massive iron chain suddenly appeared in front of us. On the north bank was a town with a five-meter-high wall called Rouen, while on the south bank was a small wooden fortress.

"A steel chain to block the river? Is that even possible?"

The iron chains that blocked the river were extremely difficult to forge, taking a lot of time and effort. Vig guessed that "Bald" Charlie had received news of the Viking invasion as early as last year and spent more than half a year building this defense.

"This is troublesome." Vig rowed his small boat toward Ragnar's flagship.

On deck, the nobles discussed the matter briefly for a few minutes and decided to attack the south bank. The wooden fortress was small, and the top of the watchtower was not yet completed, making it far less difficult to attack than the towns on the north bank.

(End of this chapter)