Vikings: Lords of the Ice Sea

Chapter 144 The Sword of North
The Shield Guards were ordered to search the nearby beaches to confirm that no berserkers had survived. Vig announced a retreat, declaring they would rest for the night in a nearby village and return to Tyneburg as quickly as possible the next day.

After changing into a coarse linen robe commonly seen in civilian life, Vig headed to a tavern near the docks, a gathering place for sailors from all over the world, perfect for gathering information.

"A glass of light beer and a plate of pan-fried lamb chops."

He laid out five silver pence on the greasy counter, noticed the clerk's surprised look, and instantly realized he had given too much money.

Upon discovering that the master had inadvertently given himself away, a shield guard dressed in civilian clothes approached the counter, tossed out half a silver penny to pay the bill, and then handed over a silver coin as hush money.

"Sigh, having adapted to the life of the nobility, I've completely overlooked the prices in the tavern," Vig sighed, finding a quiet corner to listen to the patrons' boasting.

"Have you heard? Gunnar in Normandy is holding a jousting tournament to celebrate the birth of his firstborn son. It's scheduled for May 10th."

"Of course I know. I'm planning to ship beer and a small amount of mead to Normandy, hoping to get a good price."

"Gunnar converted to Roman Catholicism and allowed the Viking knights to participate?"

"It's highly likely that he's allowed it; he's always been doing business with British nobles and has no such taboos."

After sitting there for a long time without hearing what he wanted, Vig started to doze off, resting his chin on his hand, until he was gently woken up by the Shield Guard.

Looking around, a group of disheveled Viking sailors had just entered the tavern. Having been cooped up for too long during their voyage, they ordered a lot of food and drink and chatted loudly about all sorts of trivial matters.

This time, Vig finally heard the information he wanted.

The warrior organization founded by Hafdan is called "Sword of North". The organization values ​​bravery and martial prowess. Trainee warriors wear deerskins, and after passing the test, they become full members and wear wolf skins.

The highest-ranking warriors wear bear skins and are called Bear Warriors. The conditions for becoming a Bear Warrior are simple and brutal—hunt a bear alone, skin it, and use its pelt as a symbol of your own bravery.

To get more detailed information, Vig paid to treat the crew to a round of beer.

The old crew member exhaled a strong smell of alcohol. "Hiccup, you're interested in joining the Sword of North?"

Vig lied: "No, I'm a businessman. I'm planning to pool my money with my companions to buy a merchant ship to handle trade between Tyneburg and Gothenburg. I need to understand this warrior organization."

“One cup of wine is not enough; the brothers need more wine and meat. The more they eat, the more news they will receive.”

Under the influence of alcohol, the crew members' guard dropped rapidly, and they provided a lot of information that was difficult to distinguish between true and false:
According to them, the Sword of North has between 100 and 500 members and is still expanding rapidly.

To feed these bloodthirsty and warlike professional warriors, Hafdan split the organization into small teams of thirty or forty people, who would travel to various settlements to eat and recruit new members along the way.

With lords like Leonard and Wolfe moving to Britain, their original territories were left vacant. The residents dared not disobey these fierce guests and were forced to offer them food.

"What a vicious plan."

Vig realized he had underestimated Hafdan.

As a newly established organization, the Sword of North did not have the strength to wage direct war. So it used this "playing on the edge" method to gradually infiltrate nearby villages, forcing the villagers to "sponsor" food regularly. Otherwise, they would stay in the area and eat the villagers out of their means.

"Besides the seven earls of Leonard, many other Nordic nobles have joined Ivar in recent years, becoming secondary vassals under Duke Dufilin, totaling fifteen territories. Adding the occasional income from raids, this is roughly enough to support eight hundred full-time warriors." Undoubtedly, this is only the first step in Hafdan's plan.

After recruiting enough members, Vig guessed that this guy would target weak, unaffiliated minor lords, gradually expanding his power. Even if King Eric realized the threat, he dared not openly declare war, after all, Hafdan's father was the High King of Britain, whose power was equivalent to the entire Norse kingdom combined.

"Was it Hafdan's own idea to go from being an exiled prince to this situation, or was he being instructed by someone behind the scenes?"

Under Vig's repeated questioning, the crew's intelligence value was completely drained, and they could only exchange some vague rumors for alcohol.

Goodbye, everyone.

Vig got up and left, but the drunken crew members, unwilling to let this sucker go, kept pestering him to continue treating them to meals.

In an instant, ten shield guards dressed as commoners rushed to the Duke's side, removed their cloaks, and revealed the chainmail beneath.

Upon seeing the gleaming armor, the crew members froze in place, terrified. Vig had no interest in bothering these drunkards and went straight back to Tyneburg.

Two days later, the Opium Speaker came to see him and mentioned the situation in Edinburgh.
"My lord, the local shaman has sent a report that several berserkers wearing animal skins are recruiting members. They are called the 'Sword of North,' and it seems to be an organization created by Hafdan."

"What's going on? They're actually encroaching on my territory!"

Vig suppressed his anger and decided to take a compromise approach: "Write a letter to the county sheriff and ask him to find an excuse to detain these berserkers and wait for a while to observe whether berserkers are also roaming in other noble territories."

Four days later, a messenger on horseback arrived at Tyneburg. Vig opened the letter and learned that three berserkers had been captured. According to their confession, the operation was spontaneous and had not been approved by Hafdan beforehand.

At the end of the letter, the sheriff claimed that these berserkers had corrupted thirteen Viking youths and requested his opinion on how to deal with the situation.

Vig was helpless against these idle and reckless youths and could only order their release. Soon after, the Crow Whisperers, having heard the news, ran into the first-floor hall.

“Sir, we can’t go on like this. Young people are impulsive and easily attracted by this so-called ‘warrior’s glory.’ Instead of passively defending ourselves, we should create a new warrior organization ourselves.”

This suggestion seemed reasonable at first glance, but Vig rejected it on the spot.

"That's not appropriate. Temples primarily serve three functions: pacifying the people, conveying public sentiment, and providing medical care. They are not suitable for managing soldiers' organizations."

To avoid future disputes, he remained resolute, leaving no room for compromise.

To get rid of the ravens, Vig came up with another solution—"bread and the circus," a key measure for maintaining stability in the Roman Empire.

Simply put, it was about ensuring that the lower classes of Rome had enough to eat and that they could watch live gladiatorial combat every now and then to distract them.

Compared to the bloody and brutal gladiator performances, Vig prefers sports and drama, while subtly promoting his own ideas.

"Football, this sport will become popular all over the world in the future, especially in Western Europe. We might as well just copy the rules and let these idle young people kill time on the football field, which can also improve their physical fitness."

(End of this chapter)