Vikings: Lords of the Ice Sea

Chapter 204 Evenly matched
Loaded with many pig iron ingots, the Kirk's draft increased suddenly, and it slowly sailed toward Aberdeen in the south wind.

Aberdeen is a newly developed area. There is less and less unclaimed land in Tyne County. The Duke has settled the Nordic immigrants here. It is said that there were 5,000 new residents last year.

Sir Hack strolled around the docks. The area was mainly agricultural, supplying grain and wool to Tyne Town, but there were no high-value goods worth paying attention to.

Further north lies County Orkney, encompassing Wake, the northernmost town in Britain, and the Orkney Islands. The sparsely populated area gave the employees a bad feeling.

"The Shetland Islands are located in the north; wouldn't they be even more barren?"

Soon, their fears were proven true. Shetland’s geography is similar to that of Northern Europe. The first thing that catches the eye is the rugged and complex coastline, with towering cliffs plunging into the sea. The tops of the cliffs are covered with a thin layer of grass that is blown close to the ground by the strong winds. The waves crash against the bottom of the cliffs again and again, stirring up many snow-white waves.

Looking out over the island, rolling hills stretch across the inland areas, while the low-lying areas are covered with peat bogs that provide cheap fuel. However, in recent years, honeycomb briquettes have become popular in London, and Sir Huck has forgotten what it's like to use peat.

At the captain's command, the Kirk lowered its sails, and the crew rowed carefully into a port called Lewick.

"Sir, you have arrived."

"That's it?" Hack's eyes widened. "We agreed before we left that you would be responsible for taking us to the largest settlement in Shetland. A man should keep his word!"

The captain sighed. "Go to the dock and find anyone. If there are any larger settlements in the archipelago, I'll eat this hat right here and now."

Climbing up the square stern tower, Hack observed the interior of the village, where some simple Viking longhouses were scattered. The houses were low and narrow, with wisps of smoke rising from their chimneys. There were about 150 houses in total, with fewer than 1,000 residents.

Urged on by the captain, Sir Huck disembarked with his baggage and found the local village chief, informing him of his identity.

The village chief glanced at the delegation suspiciously, then reached out for the royal and ducal edicts. Upon opening them, he found that the two edicts bore the seals of the Rossblock and Tyneburg families, respectively. However, the ducal edict contained little information, merely introducing their identities.

"So it's Lord Rendinium,"

Unable to fathom the Duke's intentions, the village chief settled the group in a cleared stone warehouse, filled with the lingering smell of salted fish.

Although it was summer, Shetland's climate was still cool, with strong sea breezes causing clouds to move very quickly, potentially bringing sudden rain or dense fog at any time. That evening, two employees caught a cold, and Hack had to throw the peat drying outside into the fireplace to keep warm.

Enduring the acrid smoke from burning peat, Hack was overcome with sorrow. He had worked hard for most of his life, but now he couldn't even afford honeycomb briquettes.

The next day, Huck and his companions found the village chief, who had already received a secret letter from the Orkney County Sheriff, and preemptively asked for money for food and lodging.

You want me to charge you for a few pieces of your lousy bread?
Sir Harker suppressed his anger, saying, "We are civil servants under the Royal Court."

The village chief smiled smirked, his eyes filled with sarcasm. "So what? For the past ten years, the Duke has never bothered with us. We have to hand over salted fish and wool every three months, and the rest is left to the locals to handle themselves. We don't know any idiot empress dowager. If you don't pay, get out!"

Left with no other choice, Sir Huck paid for his own food and lodging and ordered his men to collect taxes at the port.

Realizing the harsh reality, the group did not dare to intercept the Kirk ship. There were too many sailors on board, and they could not defeat them. They could only collect taxes from the smaller Viking longships and barely make ends meet each day.

After enduring a period of hardship, some secretly fled. Sir Harker, leading a few others with nowhere to go, continued to suffer, praying that the Royal Guard would quell the rebellion soon and return to Britain to intimidate the various vassals.
At the same time, in Northern Europe, the Praetorian Guard was indulging in revelry.

After Niels and Uber fled, Oleg took over several large and medium-sized settlements, acquiring supplies, livestock, and slaves worth a total of three thousand pounds.

This wealth was divided into four parts: one for the lower-ranking soldiers, one for the commanders, one for the army's collective property, and one sent back to Londinium. This arrangement took into account the interests of all parties, allowing Oleg to successfully win over the army. In early August, he led his soldiers across the sea, planning to eliminate the rebels before winter and set off to return home.

Gothenburg.

Ignoring the gazes of the berserkers and local residents, Niels led his soldiers to kowtow to the gilded throne in the center of the open space—a new habit he had recently cultivated, worshipping it once every morning and evening, even more fervently than when Ragnar was alive, as if they were offering sacrifices to a deity.

After the ceremony, Nils excitedly announced to everyone:

"Ragnar has given us guidance, instructing us to defend Gothenburg to the death and defeat the lackeys of the Queen Mother Aslaci!"

His eight hundred soldiers echoed his sentiments, unknowingly moving some simple-minded berserkers and civilians, and a restless and excited atmosphere enveloped Gothenburg.

If it were Vig, Ivar, or Gunnar, they would never allow Nils to incite people. However, Hafdan was impulsive and easily angered, so he readily agreed to the demands of everyone present and vowed to fight the Royal Guard to the death.

On August 3, Oleg's troops landed on the southern coast of Gothenburg. After failing to persuade them to surrender, the Imperial Guard began cutting down trees and building a siege camp. The whole process was quite professional. If Vig were here, he would probably give them a score of 60 out of 100.

That night, taking advantage of the enemy's unstable foothold, Hafdan and Nils led their troops out of the city for a night raid.

The camp was located on a grassland 400 meters east of Gothenburg. The western side of the town was heavily fortified with a fence, while the northeastern area, far from the town, was poorly defended. The fence was not yet completed, and many barricades were placed at the gaps.

Led by Nils, the six hundred men quietly crossed the damp meadow and slowly approached the northern fence of the camp.

The darkness was so thick it seemed almost solidified; they could only confirm each other's positions by the occasional clang of armor and weapons clashing, and the suppressed sounds of their breathing. Ahead, the vague outline of the camp appeared and disappeared in the fog, looking fragile and unprepared.

"First team, move out!"

A small group of elite soldiers rushed toward the gap in the fence, attempting to move the barricades blocking their way.

"Whoosh—thud!" An arrow pierced someone's neck with a sharp whistle. A gurgling sound came from his throat, like a leaky sack. His body stiffened and straightened, then he fell heavily to the ground.

Immediately afterwards, more arrows shot out from the darkness, striking the assault team's round shields like hailstones, producing a dull, continuous chiseling sound.

"Ambush! Charge!"

Hafdan's roar exploded in the silent night as he charged forward, shield in hand, charging into the hail of arrows. Nils and his personal guards drew their bows and engaged the defenders in a volley, quickly suppressing the enemy archers.

After firing two quiver of arrows, Nils still hadn't made any progress at the front. He grabbed a deerskin warrior and said, "Get your boss to retreat quickly. The archers are almost exhausted."

Soon after, the night raiding party retreated to Gothenburg, cursing and swearing. For the next two weeks, Nils launched several attacks, all of which were repelled by the enemy. Oleg seemed to always anticipate his moves, leaving Nils greatly frustrated.

After the fifth failure, Nils found Hafdan and said, "My guards and I have followed Ragnar for many years and are familiar with each other's tactics. The enemy has too many armored soldiers, so open battle is hopeless. We can only defend the stockade walls to the death."

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(End of this chapter)