Vikings: Lords of the Ice Sea

Chapter 111 River Bank
Led by a small group of Picts, the archers launched their arrows in succession, most of which embedded themselves in the mud by the creek, scaring away the Viking infantry who were laying the bridge.

Seeing that the ambush had been exposed, Lord Duncan of Stirling no longer concealed himself and led all his troops in a loud shout. The dense forest was filled with countless terrifying howls, and large flocks of birds took to the air, like a rapidly rising black smoke.

On the south bank of the creek, Vig put down the book in his hand, his expression calm.

"They actually made it to the third day. They have quite a bit of patience. No wonder they used ambush tactics to harass the Romans so much that they had to build Hadrian's Wall."

In response, he dispatched heavily armored crossbowmen to approach the creek and snipe enemy troops at the edge of the woodland.

The Pickett archers struggled against these "iron turtles," managing only a few minutes of firing exchange before retreating into the depths of the forest, ignoring the Vikings' provocation.

The howling stopped, and Vig continued to sit in the shade of the tree reading, occasionally gazing into the distance to relax his tired and sore eyes.

A humid sea breeze blew in from the southeast of Forth Bay, and the gray clouds hung low. Not far away, a black goat with a full coat of fur roamed, ignoring the danger on both sides of the stream, leisurely munching on the tender and juicy grass.

After a while, scout cavalry arrived with news that the fleet had successfully entered the mouth of the River Forth and was expected to arrive north of Stirling by noon.

"Finally here."

Vig stretched lazily and ordered the entire army to start a fire and cook. It wasn't until the Vikings had finished lunch that the ambush troops in the woods finally reacted.

In the woods north of the creek, Lord Stirling grabbed the scout by the collar and demanded, "How many men are in the fleet?"

"A total of fifty longships, enough to carry two thousand Vikings."

Upon hearing the scout's assessment, the large group of Indigo Raiders around them panicked instantly. Some urged Lord Duncan to return to the aid, saying, "The Serpent of the North is too ruthless. It actually sent people to circle around to the rear of Stirling. While there's still time, hurry back to Stirling. Don't hold out here!"

withdraw?
Duncan was really reluctant to give up this excellent battlefield. The north bank of the stream was covered with forests and swamps, and the soil was soft, which was not conducive to cavalry charges.

In short, this is the Northern Alliance's only chance to turn the tide. If they retreat to Stirling and hold out, they will be annihilated by the enemy sooner or later.

Just as he was caught in a dilemma, the Vikings on the south bank of the stream emerged from their camp and formed ranks. Under the cover of archers, two small battle groups of about a hundred men quickly crossed the river and engaged the Pict ambushers at the edge of the woods.

As time passed, more and more Viking light infantrymen crossed the stream. After much persuasion from the crowd, Duncan finally made up his mind to retreat north.

However, with the two armies locked in a fierce battle, the frontline troops had no time to break free. Forced to retreat, he had no choice but to lead eight hundred men to Stirling, a town in the northwest.

Climbing onto the north wall, Duncan gazed at the massive fleet on the river north of Stirling and asked a young boy with a youthful face, "How long ago did the enemy arrive?"

The boy, leaning on a spear twice his height, replied in a low voice, "About the time it takes to eat a meal."

Why haven't they reached the shore yet?

Suddenly, Duncan had an idea. He ran to the bank of the Forth River by himself. Across the river, dozens of meters away, he saw the oarsmen of the fleet eating, looking relaxed. Some of them even cast their fishing rods to fish, showing no signs of taking the initiative to attack.

"Oh no! I've been tricked by the Serpent of the North! The fleet is just an empty shell, used to deceive us." Duncan was both shocked and furious, and couldn't help but shout insults at the river. His shouts attracted the attention of the fleet, and the crew members raised their heavy crossbows and nocked them, scaring away the Pict man who was painted with indigo.

The woods north of the stream.

Since Duncan led the main force back to Stirling in haste, only four hundred Pickett infantrymen remained in the woods, caught in the fighting. Facing overwhelming enemy numbers, they held out for about ten minutes, hoping for reinforcements, only to receive bad news—Duncan had already led his troops back to Stirling.

"Damn it, why didn't they say goodbye when they retreated?"

Upon learning that he had been deliberately abandoned by his own troops, Morgan cursed wildly. In order to save the more than sixty people around him, he reluctantly made a difficult decision—to secretly run away, leaving the others to fight to the death in the woods.

Within half an hour, the woods north of the stream were cleared, and Vig began interrogating the prisoners.

"You're not lying to me, there are 1,200 ambushes in the woods? Pickett's mobile forces are down to this few?"

Including the previous three thousand men, Pickett's various units can only muster four thousand two hundred mobile troops. Isn't that too few?
After questioning several prisoners and receiving the same answer, Vig stopped worrying and continued along the road, leading his army to surround the town of Stirling.

After riding around the perimeter of the town, Vig discovered that the surrounding area was covered in forest, and the Forth River flowed from west to east to the north of Stirling. Further north, the terrain became increasingly rugged, falling into the northern highlands.

"The forests are dense and there is an abundant supply of timber, which is suitable for smelting pig iron."

Currently, the fuel required to smelt iron ore into iron ingots is charcoal, not coal. Coal needs to be coked into coking coal before it can be used to smelt metals. Vig has no memory of coal coking and for a long time could only use charcoal to smelt iron.

"We are currently in the early Middle Ages, with an extremely sparse population and ample forest resources, which could likely sustain us until the advent of the steam engine."

After an unknown amount of time, Vig abandoned his distractions and focused his energy on besieging the settlement.

Under his orders, the soldiers methodically felled timber and built fortified walls, quickly creating a siege camp suitable for long-term garrisoning.

The camp was located north of Stirling, on the banks of the River Forth, and supplies were transported by water to prevent the supply convoy from being attacked.

Even after the siege camp was completed, the soldiers didn't stop. Carrying hoes and shovels, they dug trenches around Stirling, cutting off all contact between the settlement and the outside world. Watching their hard work from the wall, Duncan was filled with mixed emotions.

This army was quite peculiar; compared to most Vikings, they placed a greater emphasis on discipline, much like the legendary Roman legions. It is said that the Romans also built fortified siege camps, constructed various siege weapons, and attacked settlements according to strict procedures.

Duncan slammed his hand on the battlement and sighed.

"It seems we made a serious tactical mistake. We shouldn't have engaged these Vikings in a direct confrontation, nor should we have retreated into the city. The best approach would have been to harass them with small groups in rotation, wearing them down."

Frustration, regret, and resentment filled Duncan's heart. If he could go back to six months ago with this memory, he would definitely be able to persuade the Allied forces to change their tactics, so that a large number of soldiers would not have lost their lives on the north bank of the Tweed River.

"Hopefully the Gaels in the west are smart enough that if they make the same mistake, the whole North will fall sooner or later."

(End of this chapter)