Vikings: Lords of the Ice Sea

Chapter 191 Intuition
That night, after finishing his military duties, Vig wrapped himself in a thin blanket and went to sleep. He couldn't fall asleep for a long time, tossing and turning for more than two hours. He finally got up and went to the central army tent to ask Baron Viper, who was on night duty.

"Any news about the main players?"

The viper replied weakly, "No, it's been six days since we last contacted each other."

Deep in enemy territory, communication between the two armies became extremely difficult. Ragnar's messengers could not traverse half of Frankish territory; they could only return to Calais along the supply route, travel by ship to the port of Saint-Malo, and then transfer to horses to rush to the front lines, making a long detour before informing Vigé.

This method often leads to unexpected problems, and Yoren, the Shrike, Torga, and the Viper are already used to it.

During the siege of Nantes, there was a period of time when there was no news of the main force for a whole week. The command was extremely anxious and prepared to flee at any time. Later, they learned the truth: the port of Calais had been experiencing torrential rain for several days, and the sea was rough with high winds and waves. The messenger stayed there for five days until the weather cleared up before he set sail.

Therefore, the viper was too lazy to pay attention to such trivial matters. Perhaps it was raining again in Calais, or perhaps the messenger had gotten lost on the way and wandered into Frankish-controlled territory without knowing why. Worrying would be pointless and would only cause unnecessary trouble.

Upon hearing the viper's reply, Vig's expression turned serious, and his heart suddenly began to race.

He went out to inspect the camp and saw that the moonlight was dim, the clouds were thin, and the mournful and melodious birdsong came from all around. The trees and bushes were shrouded in darkness, resembling hideous ghostly shadows.

"Something's not right, something must have gone wrong!"

The next morning, Vig, who hadn't slept all night, dispatched all his scout riders, ordering them to expand the search area and not overlook any suspicious signs.

"Uncle?" Leif brought over breakfast. Vig drank most of a bowl of fish soup, then turned his attention back to the map. Comparing it with the letters Ragnar had sent recently, he carefully drew the marching routes and troop deployments of both sides with a quill pen. Leif wanted to urge him to eat more, but Utgard stopped him.

"The Duke's habit is that when he is concentrating on thinking, he will only eat until he is half full, which seems to keep his mind at its best."

Soon, the morning mist dissipated, and the blazing sun enveloped the earth. Thousands of soldiers remained idle in the camp. Ulf, Pascal Jr., Lexal, and others rushed over upon hearing the news. Seeing Vig's serious expression, they wisely refrained from disturbing him.

At nine o'clock in the morning, Leif, who was dozing off outside the tent, was awakened. He blew the horn as instructed, summoning Ulf and the other commanders.

“I’m fifty percent certain that His Majesty’s main force has made contact with ‘Bald’ Charlie.” Vig’s eyes were bloodshot, and his first words startled everyone.

"Furthermore, I have a bad feeling that a powerful French army has appeared in the surrounding area, waiting for an opportunity to annihilate our troops."

Upon hearing the second sentence, the nobles were completely panicked and hoped that Vig would provide a feasible strategy.

Vig took a deep breath and pointed to the messy map. “Look closely, there’s a river to our west that flows from south to north into the Loire. According to yesterday’s scouts, there’s a fishing village ten miles to the southwest. From there, we can cross the river by boat, then travel back to Brittany along the river, and finally sail north from the port of Saint-Malo. Now that there’s a rebellion going on in Brittany, the Franks dare not venture too far.”

Having said that, Vig ordered a forced march, abandoning the captured wool, wine, and excess grain, to reach the fishing village as quickly as possible.

"The scouts haven't returned yet, isn't that a bit..." Lexa whispered, trying to dissuade him, but Vig gave him a blank look and he swallowed the rest of his sentence.

The orders were issued to the various units, and some of the Swedish raiders began to clamor. However, Vig ignored them completely, sending cavalry and two mountain infantry companies ahead, while he personally led two infantry regiments to follow closely behind, quickly disappearing at the end of the road. "Just like that? Without even saying a word?"

Hundreds of raiders guarded the supply wagons, watching their companions disappear into the distance. Some felt genuine fear and followed the Serpent of the North, running far away. Only a hundred or so greedy men remained at the camp, worrying about the hundreds of supply wagons left behind.

After a long march, Torga's cavalry arrived at the fishing village and rushed to the dock at top speed, requisitioning thirty fishing boats moored there from the villagers.

At noon, the panting mountain infantry arrived and set up barricades around the village. Some time later, Vig's infantry regiment arrived, accompanied by two hundred supply wagons, though they were a little slower.

Next, they began building a pontoon bridge. After working for more than half an hour, the troops of Ulf, Pascal Jr., and others arrived one after another and were assigned to dig horse traps and build wooden fences around the village.

At 3 p.m., the scouts who had gone out to scout returned to the empty camp and, following the various supplies abandoned along the way, gradually caught up with the fishing village.

Vig counted the men and found that two scouts were missing from the northeast direction, where the hills and forests were scattered, making it the perfect place to hide the army.

His guess came true; the Franks had silently cut off his retreat. Fortunately, he reacted in advance, saving more than 4,000 men from total annihilation.

As the sun set, the pontoon bridge was nearing completion, and nearly two thousand cavalrymen roared in. They were blocked by the spiked barricades surrounding the fishing village, and then ambushed by crossbowmen hidden inside the houses, with dozens falling from their horses.

"Let those bastards leave first, I'll stay on the east bank with you guys."

Vig didn't trust those ragtag troops, so he sent them away with their supply wagons while he led two infantry regiments to hold the fishing village.

Having witnessed the terrifying lethality of dense bayonets, the Frankish cavalry dared not advance, and could only shout curses from beyond the range of their bows and crossbows.

After the friendly forces and supply wagons had crossed the river, Vig led his troops in an orderly withdrawal. At this moment, a large group of riders on rickety horses appeared again on the east side. Judging from their riding skills and equipment, they were likely mounted infantry, numbering over two thousand.

"Such a grand display? Ha, you really think highly of me."

Retreating to the west bank of the river, Vig set fire to the pontoon bridge and, amidst the shouts and curses of the enemy troops on the east bank, withdrew from the riverbank in the afterglow of the setting sun.

Late at night, Vig convened a war council. The nobles sat upright in their seats, having witnessed everything that had happened during the day. They no longer had the courage to question and all remained silent.

“It would take three days to return north to the mouth of the Loire. Assuming the enemy crosses the river to the south, their superior cavalry would be able to catch up with us halfway, for example, here.”

Vig pointed south of the fishing village, “During the day, I paid several villagers to gather information. There is another village twenty miles to the south, where Gunnar is very likely to cross the river. I plan to head south tonight and, when they cross the river, suddenly lead my troops out to give them a surprise.”

(End of this chapter)