Vikings: Lords of the Ice Sea

Chapter 185 Deep in the Mud
After discussion, Vig and Ivar decided to focus their attack on the east side of Calais, where the stone wall was not yet completed and there was only a simple wooden stockade on the east side.

"attack!"

Vig waved his flag, and two thousand infantrymen slowly advanced, pushing various siege weapons forward, while a thousand archers were responsible for suppressing the defenders behind the battlements.

Following familiar procedures, Vig led his soldiers to breach the city walls. At the same time, Ivar led his fleet to attack the port, capturing the emerging town in just half a day.

When the news reached Dover, Ragnar, who had been itching to get started, crossed the sea the next morning, and three hundred ships of all sizes left the port and headed for Calais on the other side of the Channel.

Around noon, Ragnar's flagship arrived at the port of Calais, which had already become a boiling furnace.

Slender longboats and heavy, massive hulled ships were moored side by side, their masts standing tall like a dense forest, their sails fluttering in the sea breeze. The narrow sea was nearly blocked by the sheer number of boats, and oarsmen shouted themselves hoarse as they adjusted their positions, the sounds of oars striking the gunwales echoing throughout the water.

Sensing the restless atmosphere outside, the warhorses in the hold of the Kirk became increasingly agitated, pounding on the planks and desperately pulling at the ropes binding them, making the landing even more chaotic.

Half an hour later, the flagship docked at the pier. Ragnar stepped off the pier, where armor, weapons, bundles of arrows, and sacks of grain were piled up everywhere. Sweating soldiers carried loads on their shoulders and in their hands, weaving through the bustling boardwalk. A packhorse, startled, neighed and kicked over a stack of sacks of grain, scattering golden grain across the ground, attracting local starving people who scrambled for it. Soldiers brandished whips to drive the crowd away, but could hardly quell the chaos.

"The King is here; all other personnel shall stand aside!"

The palace guards forced their way through the crowd, and Ragnar left the dock. Unexpectedly, the town itself was also in chaos. The knights' chainmail gleamed silver in the blazing sun, and the raiders sat around barrels, laughing and talking loudly. As far as the eye could see, there were crowds of people everywhere.

Witnessing all this, he felt a sense of helplessness. The 20,000-strong army sounded impressive, but his own abilities were far from sufficient to command and coordinate this massive force.

"I never imagined I would be troubled by having too many soldiers under my command."

Ragnar arrived at the lord's mansion, where a group of officials were handling accounts, Ivar was fast asleep on the table, and Vig was washing his face with cool well water in the corner.

"His Majesty?"

Faced with the bows of the crowd, Ragnar waved impatiently, telling them to continue with their own affairs and to find Ivar and Vig to count the number of people.

Upon being awakened, Ivar replied, "The number of casualties is less than two hundred. The most troublesome part is the landing operation. My fleet was scattered by the strong winds, and more than six hundred people are still missing. I guess they have gone to other places to plunder villages."

After accounting for the casualties, Ragnar's army still had 20,000 men left, all of whom were crowded in the port of Calais, temporarily losing their ability to attack until the supplies were unloaded.

Meanwhile, Charles the Bald was in no better shape. His vassals were notoriously unruly. Delaying taxes and disobeying orders were commonplace, and they would sometimes even rebel; otherwise, he wouldn't have relied on Gunnar, this Norse barbarian.

In this respect, Charles particularly envied Ragnar across the Channel, where the most outrageous behavior of the Viking nobles was merely publicly demanding debts. If the nobles of West Frankish had such loyalty, he would have long since unified the Frankish kingdom, and might even have launched a northern expedition against Britain and a southern campaign against Iberia.

"These damned insects! I got them to gather in early March, and they still haven't set off. Do they really think I'm easy to bully?"

At this time, Charles was in Amiens on the south bank of the Somme, cursing at the crowd. He had prepared for two months, and his army numbered only slightly over 20,000, about the same as the Vikings who had crossed the sea to conquer. After the king's anger subsided, Lambert explained in a low voice, "May is the wheat harvest season, and farmers everywhere are busy harvesting winter wheat. If we wait another month, at least 5,000 more people can join your army."

Lambeto's suggestion drew a rebuttal from the Lord of Amiens, who insisted that his side had a cavalry advantage and there was no need to delay and watch the Vikings ravage the inhabitants of the northern coast.

Charlie understood the vassal's underlying meaning: this guy was unwilling to provide food and lodging for 20,000 soldiers and just wanted to get rid of them as soon as possible.

After the Lord of Amiens finished speaking, the other vassals also suggested attacking. They had more than 3,500 cavalrymen, and after mastering the tactic of charging with lances between their guns, their combat power would be greatly enhanced, enough to crush any enemy in their path.

After repeated persuasion from his vassals, Charles agreed to go to war, and 20,000 French troops crossed the stone bridge over the Somme and marched north to Bertheine.

Upon arriving in the town, Charlie received news from the front that the Viking barbarians had left Calais the previous morning, their destination being Bettina, where he was located.

“Very good. The Havrele fortress I built at the mouth of the Seine has worked. The Viking army can no longer march directly to Paris along the river as it did last time, and can only advance by land.”

Charles breathed a sigh of relief, feeling that his decision was wise enough. He ordered the Duke of Normandy to be recalled to the front lines and asked him about the composition of the opposing army.

Upon learning that the Viking barbarians had two thousand cavalry, Charles's eyes flickered slightly. In recent years, nobles such as Gunnar had been making a fortune by selling warhorses, causing the enemy country's horse population to increase dramatically. After this battle, these people would definitely be held accountable.

A murderous intent began to rise within him, but Charlie maintained a smile on the surface, ordering the entire army to rest and recuperate in Bertheine to prepare for the decisive battle the next day.

That evening, the king held a banquet when suddenly thunder roared, a torrential downpour began, and a strong wind, carrying the smell of rain, rushed into the house, instantly extinguishing most of the candles.

The candles were relit, and the banquet continued. Everyone enjoyed the roast meat and wine, paying no heed to the low-ranking soldiers who were getting soaked in the rain.

The sudden downpour also affected the Viking army, who were camping for the night in an unnamed village about fifteen kilometers northwest of Bettina.

The village was cramped, only big enough for the upper floors and some warhorses to take shelter from the rain. The rest of the soldiers huddled in tents, struggling to stay afloat, cursing loudly in the darkness and dampness.

The rain continued intermittently for two days, and the soldiers and horses that were camping outside fell ill one after another. A total of 2,500 soldiers, 800 warhorses, and 1,500 draft horses responsible for pulling carts fell ill.

At the stone church on the east side of the village, Ragnar convened an impromptu war meeting. After he finished explaining the current situation, someone whispered, "Our troops are in poor condition. Why don't we temporarily withdraw to Calais Port, rest for a while, and then go into battle again?"

This suggestion came from Ulf and was echoed by most of the nobles. Some even proposed abandoning Paris and instead attacking Flanders in the northeast.

"Broage Bruges, Ghent, Antwerp. If we raid each one, we can make at least ten thousand pounds, and we won't lose money."

(End of this chapter)