Vikings: Lords of the Ice Sea

Chapter 206 Marriage
After the ceremony ended, Rurik found Bjorn at the edge of the crowd and asked, "Why didn't you go up on stage to give a speech?"

Bjorn's face was solemn. "There's no need for that. I've figured it out now. What I truly pursue isn't power, but exploring the unknown. Do whatever you want. My destiny lies in this vast and magnificent sea."

Björn had no intention of vying for the inheritance. Once the Tyneburg shipyard had perfected the design of the new sailing ship, he would continue to explore westward to the ends of the earth.

"Explorer?"

Rurik, puzzled, exchanged a few pleasantries and left. All five of the guards officers he had previously recruited had died in battle, and now that the opportunity was rare, he quickly recruited another batch of officers to serve him.

Not only Rurik, but also Hafdan, Uber, and Eric Jr. were trying their best to recruit these top fighters, but Nils was the only one who did not participate.

As a former commander of the Royal Guard, Nils was well-versed in the Royal Guard's various tactics, and some of these tactics he had even taught to mid-level officers. Now, however, these same people were using them against him, a situation that was truly regrettable.

Therefore, Niels was too lazy to recruit these expensive officers and instead focused his energy on the thousands of civilians who came to observe.

Civilians are relatively easier to fool; given enough time, a decent army can be trained. The only constraint on him is military spending. "Sigh, this can't go on; I need to find a way to get some money."

After some haggling, the largest number of the Royal Guards were willing to follow Uber, because he had a large amount of vacant land under his name. Others also recruited a number of Royal Guards, totaling more than four hundred.

As royal power declined, Oleg was powerless to stop this phenomenon and could only make them hand over their armor and weapons, and register these people as missing in the register.

In October, the North Sea became increasingly rough, and Oleg led his troops back to Londinium.

After landing, he ordered his soldiers to return to their barracks and went alone to the palace to report back. Along the way, the city was desolate, and the people's resentment towards the royal family was endless.

"How dare they insult the Empress Dowager in public? This is no ordinary troublemaker."

Oleg, filled with resentment, entered the main hall and found Aslaci listless, leaning against the back of the throne in a daze.

After hearing about the war in Northern Europe, Asuragi neither got angry nor paid attention to the details of her husband's funeral. Surrounded by her maids, she left.

Oleg stood in the main hall, stunned. He asked the palace guards and learned that the young king had fallen ill again, and the shaman in charge of treating him had taken the opportunity to run away, probably fearing punishment from the queen mother.

As Sigurd's health deteriorated, the entire kingdom inevitably slid into an abyss. Instead of paying tribute, the nobles built fortresses on their own territories and mass-produced weapons to prepare for a possible civil war.

At this critical juncture, the palace steward approached Asura and advised her to make plans as soon as possible.

In the royal palace's back garden, Asura was strolling alone on the lawn, occasionally scattering grains of wheat to feed the birds. She seemed somewhat indifferent to the suggestions made by the palace steward.

"Steward, do you have any other ideas?"

“A marriage alliance!” Parfais reminded the Queen Mother to marry Princess Enya to the son of a powerful nobleman and invite that nobleman to reside in Londinium. Even if Sigurd died, the Queen Mother (and the steward) could still retain this power.

"Ha, what nonsense are you spouting? Arranging for Enya to marry a powerful nobleman is tantamount to handing over power to that nobleman and having his family inherit the British throne. The problem is, how will Ragnar's remaining four sons react? Will the other nobles be willing to accept this?" After ruling for more than half a year, Asla's political acumen had improved, and she concluded that this plan was not feasible.

She recalled the faces of the great nobles in the country. Only the Tynburg family could deal with Ivar, Hafdan, and Uber, but Vig was cautious by nature and would not fall into the predicament of being besieged by various forces.

"Your Majesty, won't you reconsider?"

Aslaci's expression was cold as she looked down at Parfis's short, stout body, her gaze seemingly piercing his heart. "Over the years, I've exhausted myself competing with Sora, my only wish being to install Sigurd as the ruler, making him a ruler no less than Ragnar. If Sigurd survives this illness, I will still try my best to maintain the status quo; if he doesn't, why should I care about this mess? I'm exhausted; what happens after this is none of my concern."

After saying that, Asura turned and left.

As Sigurd's condition worsened, panic gripped Rendynewum, and many secretly sought alternatives. Rumors of a marriage alliance spread throughout Britain.

At this time, Vig was inspecting Glasgow County, where local reports indicated that a small number of gentry were suspected of plotting a rebellion.

With civil war imminent, Viggo, in order to secure a stable rear, dealt with the matter with the highest level of preparedness. He swiftly eliminated numerous unstable elements and confiscated their land.

Afterwards, he sent civil officials to count the cultivated land area, which amounted to forty knightly districts, suitable for bestowing titles upon the next batch of meritorious officials.

"Finally done."

Eight years after conquering the North, Vig had not expected to encounter a rebellion of this scale. After the situation stabilized, he found Inspector "The Latecomer" Connor, who was in charge of the undercover work, and decided to form a dedicated intelligence organization.

Surprisingly, Connor declined the opportunity and asked the Duke to arrange a respectable job for him in consideration of his many years of service.

"you sure?"

Connor nodded firmly. For the past few years, he had been working under the county sheriff, doing dirty and arduous espionage work, and had faced countless life-threatening situations. The most recent one was two weeks ago when Connor and his informant were meeting in the wild and he was almost bitten by a venomous snake. He was so frightened that he couldn't sleep for several days. If this continued, he predicted that he would die prematurely before he was forty.

After listening to his subordinate's tearful plea, Vig was moved and immediately knighted the man, sending him to Edinburgh County as deputy sheriff.

"Thank you, my lord. May the gods bless your rule."

Overjoyed at being freed from his ordeal, Connor handed over the agents' files to Viggo and recommended a Viking-Pickart hybrid named Gwen to take over the position.

After careful consideration, Vig promoted Gwen to head of intelligence, saying, "From now on, you will directly obey my orders and be responsible for building an intelligence network to prevent domestic rebellions and to place informants in Rendeneum, Calais, and Bergen to gather local information."

Having been promoted, Gwen was eager to prove herself and asked the Duke if he was interested in a royal marriage.

"A marriage alliance?" Vig reacted. "You mean Princess Enya? I have no such idea. Your job is to gather intelligence. Don't rush things. First, plant agents in the taverns near the port. The palace is too complicated for you to handle right now."

(End of this chapter)