Vikings: Lords of the Ice Sea

Chapter 163 Temporary Ceasefire
Upon noticing the sudden arrival of this enemy force, the people of Stockholm were terrified and spontaneously rushed to the stockade walls to prepare for battle.

With Norwegian funding, the allied forces not only received a large amount of weaponry and food, but also a group of skilled craftsmen. These craftsmen guided the towns in improving their defensive structures, adding walls, arrow towers, and deep trenches, thus significantly enhancing their defensive capabilities.

“Look closely, the shape of the stockade walls and the width of the moats in Stockholm and Kalmar are exactly the same. Someone must have been up to something.”

After a moment of reflection, Niels arranged for everyone to build a siege camp, creating the appearance of a major attack on the city.

Soon, the news spread throughout Sweden, and nobles rushed to send reinforcements, vowing to annihilate the expeditionary force.

In early September, countless militiamen arrived from all directions to assemble. As the war progressed, the Swedish nobles planned to eliminate this expeditionary force in one fell swoop, capture the third prince Hafdan, divide the armor of the Janissaries to enhance their fighting strength, and then use Hafdan as a bargaining chip to negotiate with Ragnar, forcing the latter to compromise.

Outnumbered, Niels's strategy was to encircle the enemy and attack their reinforcements.

Niels sent his lieutenant Oleg with 1,500 men to fill the siege camp, while he personally led 1,000 men to roam the surrounding area. Within five days, they defeated seven enemy forces in succession, even killing five nobles.

“Your Highness, it seems you have offended the locals badly over the years, to the point that they would rather delay the harvest than not fight you to the death.”

Despite the teasing, Hafdan didn't react much, silently wiping the blade of his sword. After being mocked repeatedly, his personality gradually became more reserved, and he began to focus on observing Nils's tactics, resulting in a slight improvement in his command skills.

After these few days of fighting, he finally understood how to deploy scouts during marches, how to choose locations for ambushes, and how to consider terrain factors when setting up battle formations.
The more Hafdan learned, the more insecure he felt. After one battle, taking advantage of Nils's good mood, he handed him two bags of captured mead, praising the latter's command abilities, hoping to extract more information.

"Hiccup, it's nothing really. After fighting for more than ten years, I should have figured out some ideas by now. Vig, Ivar, and Gunnar are the same, except that they are more talented and have more insights. I am a little less talented, but I am enough to deal with these country bumpkins."

Fueled by the alcohol, Niels then began to comment on Hafdan's flaws:
"You have experienced too few wars. First, you were absent from the Battle of Northumbria, and then when the Battle of Mercia-Wessex broke out, you followed Ragnar around, spending your days drinking and bragging with a bunch of guards, wasting this opportunity for nothing."

Then the Battle of West Francia broke out, and you were absent again, running off to the Welsh mountains to pick off stragglers, only to be soundly defeated. Alas, you didn't witness the decisive battle on the banks of the Seine; recalling it still fills me with lingering fear.”

As the sun sets, the grass and trees turn a golden yellow, a flock of ravens circles and dances overhead, and a gentle breeze carries the scent of wheat fields past his ears. Nils opens his arms as if to embrace the entire world before him.

"The entire area was teeming with people. To the east were the Frankish lines, and to the west were our lines, totaling seventeen thousand soldiers. I was in the middle of the formation, and all I could see were figures everywhere, endless and without end."

Over the years, Hafdan had heard countless accounts of the Battle of the Seine, but only this version, based on Nils's personal experience and without any embellishment, made him turn pale and a long-forgotten sense of fear rise in his heart.

What would happen if I were placed in the positions of Vig, Ivar, or Gunnar?
Hafdan's voice was hoarse as he asked, "What are your chances of winning if you fight Vig?"

"It's a 40/60 chance. I'm not as good as him, but it's not like I have no chance at all."

Hafdan pressed on, "If I were there as support, would the win rate be even higher?" Niels, completely drunk, burst into laughter at this. "To be honest," he said, "Berserkers are too undisciplined. They're good at harassing villagers and bullying men and women, but they're not suited for large-scale battles. Including you and that bunch of animal-skin idiots, I reckon my win rate against Vig would drop to 30/70."

Do you really look down on me that much?
In an instant, the goodwill that had just risen in Hafdan's heart quickly died down. He forced himself to remain calm and agreed with a few words, vowing to devote himself to studying the art of war in the years to come, to defeat Vig, Gunnar, Nils and others one by one, and to become the overlord of the entire Viking world.

As time passed, the various reinforcements were unable to coordinate with each other, and Nils seized the opportunity to strike hard at the enemy's weakness, capturing a total of five nobles and a thousand prisoners.

Having witnessed the terrifying fighting power of the Imperial Guard, the Allied high command was terrified. They discussed the matter in Uppsala in the north and decided to temporarily cease hostilities.

Five days later, the messenger entered the siege camp south of Stockholm.

“General, winter is coming. It would be better to temporarily cease hostilities, return home to harvest grain and repair roofs, so as not to freeze or starve to death in the winter. In exchange for the captured nobles and militia, we are willing to withdraw from Gothenburg and hand over ten Kirk ships anchored in the port of Gothenburg, as well as the captured sailors.”

Niels: "Where are the remaining Viking longships?"

"They were sold, and the proceeds were used to purchase food and arms. The ten Kirk ships were very valuable, and each ship was registered in London. Merchants were worried that buying the Kirk ships would anger Ragnar, so they abandoned the purchase."

Niels was slightly tempted by the ceasefire agreement. He dismissed the messengers and said to the people in the tent, "We have wasted too much time before. The so-called conquest can only wait until next year."

To persuade Hafdan to agree, he went to great lengths to explain, “The biggest reason I was able to conquer Denmark was that the local nobles were completely unprepared and did not have time to conscript the local militia, so they were beaten to death by me with a flurry of punches.”

Sweden is different. The Sword of North has caused widespread resentment and dragged on for too long. They have long been prepared for war and have received aid from Norway, significantly enhancing their defenses. There's no other way but to write to Lendenium and await His Majesty's decision.

The following day, Vice General Oleg, as the representative, personally went to Uppsala to sign the armistice agreement.

Uppsala has long been a holy site for Nordic polytheism. At its core stands a towering wooden temple with a sloping roof and a high tower. The temple is black in color and about the height of seven adults.

"Compared to the stone temples of Britain, it is ultimately lacking."

In recent years, stone temples have been built in the towns of Rendenium and Tyne, referencing the original monastery style. They are less ferocious and more solemn and dignified, completely overshadowing the traditional holy sites of Northern Europe in terms of grandeur.

With disdain for the local nobles, Oleg walked into the temple with his head held high, and under the witness of the gods, the two sides reached a temporary ceasefire agreement.

Carrying prisoners and plundered food, the Imperial Guard returned to Gothenburg, which they had long abandoned. After releasing the prisoners, Hafdan took over the desolate and silent settlement from the Allied forces.

(End of this chapter)