Vikings: Lords of the Ice Sea

Chapter 199 Aftermath
Ignoring Sora's dying pleas, Asura ordered her guards to break down the door.

Surprisingly, Uber had already escaped through the window. Perhaps Sora deliberately blocked the door to give his son more time to escape.

"Notify the city garrison to seal off the city, find Uber, and kill him!"

With things having progressed to this point, regardless of whether Sora and Uber murdered Sigurd, Asura had no choice but to take this opportunity to eliminate Uber and prevent him from seeking revenge in the future.

After finishing her business, the Empress Dowager returned to her son's bedroom, covered in blood; he remained unconscious. Two groups of clergy stood on either side of the bed, their expressions filled with unease, fearing that this madwoman might kill them in revenge.

After many years, Asura felt no fear as she took her own life. A long-lost vitality surged within her, as if she had returned to her exciting and thrilling youth. She casually ripped off her hairband, letting her long, crimson hair cascade down her back, making her look like a demon from hell. She coldly stared at the unfortunate group of people. "Got a plan?"

The priest suggested taking herbs and holy water.

The shaman's suggestion was to hold a ceremony to beg for blessings from the gods.

Aslaci paced back and forth in the room, carrying a blood-stained iron axe, urging them to do their best.

With trembling hands, the priest took two herbs from the nun's medical kit, crushed them with a tool, took out a small silver pot from his pocket, poured out a little holy water, and then slowly simmered it over a low flame.

On the other side, the shaman brought out a brazier. One of them was responsible for burning specially made dry grass, while the other sat on the ground with his eyes closed, as if communicating with the gods. Two other people were chanting prayers around the brazier. In their haste, they made several mistakes in their chanting. Fortunately, the Empress Dowager did not understand this, otherwise they might have lost their lives.

After the treatment ended, Asura touched her son's forehead. His temperature had dropped slightly. She breathed a sigh of relief and instructed her maid to arrange for two groups of clergy to rest in the palace.

"Go down."

After dismissing everyone, Asura sat weakly on the edge of the bed, staring at Sigurd's pale and weak face. If she had a choice, she would rather be the one who was poisoned.

She didn't know how much time had passed, until the candles on both sides of the room burned out and her vision suddenly darkened. She couldn't help but cover her face with her hands and let out a suppressed sob.
Outside the palace, the streets were filled with shouts of "The King has been assassinated! The entire city is under lockdown!" Horst, a former sheriff with excellent connections, sensed the danger and immediately fled. Uber, cloaked, ran aimlessly through the streets, only to find his uncle's house sealed off by palace guards. He could only escape into the alleyways, seeking help from his hoodlum friends.

"Ron, help me!"

Uber found a brown-haired boy nicknamed "Rotten Teeth" in a courtyard. The boy had heard about the king's assassination and was scrutinizing the prince.

"Well done, you really make me proud. I thought you were just a simple-minded fool, but I never expected you to have such skills. I was wrong about you."

Ron readily accepted the prince's request. He had indeed considered betraying the prince for the bounty, but this did not align with his long-held belief that reputation was paramount in the underworld. If he betrayed his friend, how could he continue to be a gangster?
After a moment's thought, the boy led his friend to a secluded spot.

"During former Prime Minister Viggen Tynburg's tenure, he ordered the sewers, which had been clogged for years, to be cleared. After he resigned, the project was stopped by your idiot uncle. Haha, it ended up becoming a secret hideout for the brothers, storing all sorts of smuggled goods. Who would have thought it would save your life today?"

Ron quickly settled Uber in his private storage cave and then waited for an opportunity to gather information about the outside world.

For the first two days, the atmosphere on the streets was tense, with most residents huddled at home, watching the soldiers marching by from behind their doors. On the third day, the frequency of the Imperial Guard's searches dropped sharply. Ron ordered a light beer at the tavern and sat there for the entire afternoon, gleaning two key pieces of information from the soldiers' complaints.

With the new king ascending the throne, a generous reward should have been given, but there has been no news of it, causing widespread discontent among the royal guards.

Secondly, thanks to the clergy's haphazard actions, Sigurd's high fever subsided, and although he was somewhat weak, he at least regained consciousness. It seems that he may not have been poisoned at all, but simply fell seriously ill, which exacerbated the long-suppressed conflict between the two empress dowagers.

A mix of emotions overwhelmed the Royal Guard soldiers, whose initial enthusiasm waned. They swore allegiance to King Ragnar, not Asraci, to the gods. Now that the new king was alive, the charges against Uber were unfounded, and the Royal Guard had no reason to kill the late king's fourth son.

That evening, Ron returned to the sewers with a jug of light beer and a piece of dried salted mutton, and told his friend the news, "I'll ask you again, is the King's illness related to you and your son?"

"Of course not. Asura started reshuffling the palace staff on the second day after the new king's ascension to the throne. Now, most of the people in the palace are her people. How could we possibly have a chance to make a move!"

Ron scratched his short brown hair on his forehead. "Let's not talk about that for now. What are your plans for the future?"

Uber chewed on some dried mutton and mumbled, "Denmark, the will bestowed upon me the title of Duke of Denmark. Send me there and let me choose any fiefdom I may have."

Ron declined. He was just a low-level hoodlum from Rendeneum, a part-time smuggler and thief, with poor fighting skills, unable to speak Viking, and unable to gain the approval of the Danish people.

"Forget it. Everyone has their own destiny. I'm only suited to stay in Rendinium. I'm used to the life of a scoundrel, and I don't even want to be king anymore."

A week later, the streets returned to normal, and Ron, following Uber's instructions, found a Kirk ship in the port that was about to sail to Northern Europe.

On the night before their departure, the two sneaked into the cabin. Ron pried open an oak barrel, threw most of the grain into the water, and then let Uber crawl in. He also threw in a large bag of water, two pieces of black bread, and an iron axe.

"This amount of supplies will only last until the merchant ship sets sail. Have you thought about what you'd say to the captain and crew?"

Uber nodded emphatically: “I am Ragnar’s son, Duke of Denmark, heir to the kingdom, and I have enough leverage to buy them off. Goodbye, brother. Remember to come to Denmark to find me, or one day I will lead my army back to Londinium and make you prime minister.”

Ron showed no interest, picked up the barrel lid, resealed the oak barrel, and whispered, "I'm leaving."

Back on deck, the night watchman was still dozing in the square sterncastle. Ron left the dock area quietly without disturbing anyone, ending his thrilling journey.

Unfortunately, he couldn't boast about it to others in the tavern until at least when Aslaci fell.

"To accomplish something great but be unable to boast about it, and only be able to savor it alone, ugh, how frustrating."

(End of this chapter)