Vikings: Lords of the Ice Sea

Chapter 153 The Vanished Enemy

Following closely behind the rebels, Vig crossed the ridgeline to the northwest. Below lay a flat, open valley with nearly a hundred low farmhouses and many oat fields around it, where the crops were growing well.

"This place is good; it's suitable for building a wooden fort after the war."

He arranged for two hundred conscripted militiamen to remain in the area to guard the prisoners and care for the wounded, while the remaining troops continued to pursue and eliminate the remaining enemy forces, striving to eradicate the root of the rebellion in one fell swoop.

As for the hundred or so highlanders to the northeast, Vig was too lazy to deal with them for the time being; there would be plenty of time to deal with them later.

More than 500 soldiers pursued westward along the muddy path. Occasionally, some rebels fell behind. Instead of executing these valuable laborers, Vig arranged for the militia to escort them back to the valley camp, where they would be incorporated into reclamation teams in various places in the future.

That night, the soldiers chose a dry, open space and slept on the ground. Around midnight, a fire broke out in the southern sky, and judging from its location, it was likely the left flank army led by Yoren.

Early the next morning, Vig ate a small piece of dry food haphazardly and followed the remaining footprints of the rebels westward until he reached a desolate and secluded beach.

"What about people?"

At this moment, the tide is rising, and the endless waves are washing over the beach. There is no one in sight, only a flock of birds pecking at seashells.

Left with no other option, Vig once again divided his forces, one heading south and the other north, searching along the beach for the remaining rebels. Strangely, these Picts seemed to have vanished.

After searching the surrounding area for two days, Vig encountered a small team of cavalry sent by Yoren.

"How is the situation on the left flank?"

Captain: "In total, there were over a hundred rebels. We killed or captured eighty-three, and more than ten escaped. The Baron's camp is not far away. Would you like to go and rest there?"

After days of arduous travel in the mountains, Vig's legs were sore and numb, and his body was nearing its limit, forcing him to end this half-hearted pursuit.

Shortly after joining up with Yoren, he received news from the Shrike that the battle on the right flank was also going well; of the two hundred Pict rebels, only five had escaped, a truly resounding victory.

"Overall, the left and right flanks successfully achieved their tactical objectives. The central flank, which I led, encountered the enemy's main force and let more than a hundred rebels escape. This is troublesome. The rebels still exist, and they may rise again one day and continue to harass various regions."

After several days of fruitless searching, morale among the troops was low, and Vig was forced to return to the nearest county, Glasgow. On the way, Inspector Connor privately approached him...

"My lord, my men and I have been counting the prisoners and corpses, and we have discovered that an undercover agent has gone missing. He may be mixed up with the remnants of the rebels."

Out of curiosity, Vig asked the undercover agent for information and learned that the man's name was Gwen, that he was a freed slave, and that he had three-quarters Viking ancestry.

At Connor's strong suggestion, he did not disband the army, but instead stayed in Glasgow to rest and await news from Agent Gwen.

Meanwhile, on North Uist Island.

"Kid, find a whetstone and sharpen these short swords again!"

“Yes, sir.” Gwen responded repeatedly, picked up five rusty short swords from the ground, and carefully polished the rust off their surfaces.

A week earlier, he fled in panic with the remnants of the rebel army, thinking his undercover career was over. Unexpectedly, the rebel leader Morgan had been in contact with the Vikings of the Archipelago Alliance. Morgan hid three longships on a desolate beach and led the rebels to sail successfully to the island of North Uist in the west.

After landing, the Viking leader on the island settled the rebels in a secluded bay, secretly supplying them and strictly forbidding them from moving around on their own. Using her knowledge of Norse, Gwen overheard the Vikings' conversation and learned that their leader was named Stein, who was also the ruler of the Archipelago League.

"For the past ten years or so, the Vikings of the Archipelago Alliance have frequently raided the land, and the Picts have suffered greatly as a result. I never expected that the two would actually form an alliance!"

Gwen was thrilled to have discovered this extremely valuable intelligence.

"We must find a way to get out of here. Once this task is completed, a promotion and a raise will be a certainty."

Because of her short stature, Gwen served as a menial laborer within the rebel army for a long time, responsible for chores such as washing clothes and cooking.

The advantage of this type of character is that they can easily gather intelligence, but the disadvantage is that they have little say and cannot interfere with the rebels' decisions; they can only passively wait for an opportunity.

Over the next period of time, the rebels gradually got used to island life, sleeping until they naturally woke up every day, and then going to the beach to rummage for seafood, such as large, sweet-fleshed oysters, mussels with black shells, and a type of swimming crab with delicate flesh, also known as velvet crab because its body is covered with soft hairs.

As a handyman, Gwen had a new task: when the tide went out, he would carry a bucket to the reef area and collect various shellfish from the crevices of the rocks or the shallows.

Afterward, he would need to inspect the gillnets set up in the shallow waters, collect the caught mackerel, haddock, and trout, and satisfy Chief Morgan's appetite by offering a variety of catches each day.

"These oysters are good; they're best eaten raw. Cooking them would just ruin the meat."

Morgan ate two raw oysters, then used the handle of a knife to crack open the shell of a velvet crab and used the tip of the knife to pick out the tender crab meat and savor it.

Halfway through dinner, Stein arrived with two jars of salt and a jug of mead. Seeing the rebels' comfortable lives, a sense of crisis suddenly welled up in his heart.

"We can't let them continue to drift along like this. Once they get used to this comfortable life, they are very likely to have the idea of ​​settling down here!"

Sitting on the ground, Stein took the oyster Morgan offered and asked casually, "What are the plans for the future?"

Morgan turned the mackerel on the grill, his tone turning somber: "I don't know. Let's lay low for now, then go back to shore and continue the fight."

Stein suddenly leaned closer and lowered his voice: "I have an idea."

After much discussion, Morgan and Stein gathered the remaining ninety-five rebels, intending to select members to disguise themselves as fishmongers, and after landing, contact various forces to devise a plan for a major operation.

Given the special nature of this mission, the burly, fierce-looking men were eliminated. The two men scanned the group and selected four members, including Gwen.

what's the situation?
Under Gwen's incredulous gaze, he and three others were assigned to a small fishing boat loaded with a dozen barrels of seafood.

To ensure the four Picts could disembark safely, Stein assigned a trusted confidant to steer the boat. With the help of the northwest wind, the fishing boat arrived safely at the port of Glasgow.

As planned, Gwen disguised herself as a fishmonger and was responsible for gathering information at the market, while the remaining three went to the countryside to deliver messages and contact the surviving gentry.

After parting ways with the others, Gwen rushed to the Sheriff's mansion, only to find the Duke and Inspector Connor there.

(End of this chapter)