Vikings: Lords of the Ice Sea

Chapter 127 Bergen

"Gentlemen, I am Vig, Duke of Tyneburg, appointed by the King of Britain, and I rule over the entire North. Some time ago, my envoy was murdered by someone on the island. Who is the murderer?"

In order to save their lives, the residents revealed the name of the local chief, claiming that he had fled to Bergen by boat two days earlier, taking twenty people with him, including his family and slaves.

Vig did not readily believe them and had his subordinates conduct a private interrogation. By combining everyone's accounts, they reconstructed the events leading to the envoy's murder.

In fact, the leader was not angry at first; instead, he prepared plenty of wine and meat to entertain the envoy.

After a hearty meal, the envoy brought up the matter of allegiance, but the chieftain insisted that he had already paid taxes to the lord of Bergen and had no reason to submit to two lords at the same time.

At this point, the situation was not out of control, but unfortunately, someone deliberately provoked the situation with words, causing the emotions of both sides to gradually intensify, and ultimately escalating into a murder.
Where is that big mouth that deliberately stirs up trouble?

Vig ordered his men to search everywhere and learned that the man had intended to run away with the leader two days ago, but the latter had his skull split open with an iron axe, clearly hating him intensely.

After staying in Shetland for four days, when the weather was clear and the wind was favorable, Vig ordered the fleet to sail due east.

In the morning mist, the bow of the Kirk cut through the waves, following a shallow-draft scout vessel, slowly heading into the depths of the fjord.

Vig gripped the slippery gunwale and gazed into the distance. The entire fjord seemed to have been cleaved open by a giant axe, with steep cliffs on both sides covered in dense pine and cypress trees. Smoke rose from the wooden houses at the foot of the mountains, and two fishermen were drying their nets.

"This is the first time I've returned to Northern Europe in seven years."

Since going to sea with Ragnar, Vig has spent most of his time in Britain. His memories of Northern Europe have gradually faded, and he felt a mix of emotions as he once again felt the atmosphere of his homeland.

At this moment, Lord Dunbar, who was also the Sheriff of Edinburgh, walked to the bow of the ship.

"Sir, have you considered going back to Gothenburg this time? After so many years at sea, I suddenly miss the scenery there."

In an instant, Vig recalled the house where he had lived for more than ten years and the barren wheat field.

After thinking for a long time, he shook his head to dispel the memory.

"That's not appropriate. Our unauthorized deployment of troops to Bergen has seriously challenged King Eric's authority. It's not wise for us to stay in Northern Europe for too long. We must return immediately after dealing with Oher!"

As the fleet approached Bergen, the sound of clarion calls echoed across the fjord.

The fishermen at the dock were the first to sense the danger and staggered towards their houses. Chaos ensued, with a few residents forming a shield wall on the beach armed with weapons. However, the shield wall crumbled within seconds once they recognized the flag of the Serpent of the North.

Looking at the densely packed houses on the shore, Vig sighed:

"What a thriving settlement! The population here has at least doubled compared to seven years ago."

Since Ragnar's conquest of Britain, over 100,000 Scandinavian immigrants flocked westward, leading to increasingly frequent trade activities in the North Sea. Bergen, as an important trading hub on the northern sea route, saw its population swell to two thousand, becoming the second largest settlement in Norway—second only to Oslo, which was directly under the jurisdiction of Eric.

Feeling the prosperity of this place, Vig's anger suddenly flared up.

"If you're not short of money, why are you defaulting on your debt? It's only fifteen pounds of silver, yet you've dragged it out for four whole years!"

At his command, a shield guard sounded the charge.

Soon, an infantry company was the first to rush onto the beach and clear out the scattered enemy forces near the dock.

A few minutes later, the mountain infantry on the shore had swelled to over four hundred men. Urged on by their officers, small formations advanced along the street toward the lord's longhouse. "This is a private feud between the Duke of Tyneburg and the Lord of Bergen. All bystanders, please step aside!"

As they advanced, the squad leader waved a flagpole with a triangular flag hanging from it, reminding residents to dodge to the sides of the street.

After walking several dozen meters, a small group of enemy soldiers appeared at the intersection ahead. They formed a shield wall and blocked the street, numbering about twenty.

Beep, beep beep~
The captain blew his whistle to warn those behind him that they had encountered the enemy and were about to engage in battle.

"Spread out in horizontal formation and advance!"

Upon receiving the order, the Mandarin Duck Formation quickly changed from two columns to three rows.

The first row consists of the captain and two shield-axe soldiers; all three are equipped with iron armor.

The second row consists of four spearmen and two pitchfork soldiers.

The third row consists of four longbowmen and auxiliary soldiers who do not participate in the battle.

The distance was reduced to thirty meters. The captain and the shield-axe soldier took the short spears off their backs and threw them at the shield wall. Without stopping, they immediately threw a second round of short spears.

A total of six short spears flew towards the shield wall. One missed, and the remaining five struck the shield surface. The sound of wood chips exploding was mixed with muffled groans, and three gaps appeared in the shield wall.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, the longbowmen behind them fired a barrage of twelve shots per minute at the gap, felling several enemies in succession.

"Attention, all troops! Charge!"

Sensing that the enemy's morale was wavering, the captain leveled his flag and spear and led eight soldiers from the first and second platoons in an assault. Before they could get close, the dilapidated shield wall instantly shattered, and the survivors crowded into the nearby alleys, completely forgetting about the lord of Bergen.

As time passed, groups of men arrived one after another at the open space in front of the lord's longhouse, where eighty Bergen warriors were gathered, half of whom were equipped with iron armor.

However, to their horrified gazes, soldiers poured out of every intersection in an endless stream. As the enemy grew in number, the morale of the Bergen warriors plummeted. Considering the Serpent of the North's custom of not killing prisoners, they reluctantly agreed to the enemy's offer of surrender after a brief struggle.

With this, Norway's second-largest settlement has changed hands.

Surrounded by a large number of soldiers, Vig entered the lord's longhouse in Bergen and learned that Oher had already fled with his family.

"Forget it, I guess we can't catch up."

Looking out at the rolling mountains to the east and the snow-capped peaks, Viger sighed and ordered his men to search the warehouses and inventory the supplies.

It turned out that the Lord of Bergen was quite wealthy; his bedroom contained two locked bronze chests, one filled with high-quality amber and the other with silver coins of various kinds. The storehouse at the back of the longhouse was piled high with animal pelts and many goods imported from Britain.

The goods included wheat, ironware, woolen fabrics, and beer. Vig went inside and found that at least a third of them were produced in Tyneburg.

"Sigh, he doesn't seem to be short of money, so why is he trying to renege on my debt?"

After spending half a day taking inventory, the five clerks accompanying him drafted a list. Vig glanced at it and said, "One hundred pounds of silver and the forty sets of armor worn by the prisoners of war are mine. The rest of the items shall be distributed according to the rules, but be careful not to overload the ship."

(End of this chapter)