Vikings: Lords of the Ice Sea

Chapter 209 Hastings
On March 4, Gunnar's army arrived in the Hastings region, a sparsely populated coastal area. The largest fishing village had only about fifty households and a simple wooden pier.

Confirming the location was suitable for landing, Gunnar ordered his soldiers to cut down timber and build more piers, while simultaneously sending ships back to Calais to deliver a message.

The next day, he left 500 men to build camps and ports, and led the remaining troops north along the road.

At midday, the Franks stopped. Across them lay a river, which the captured fishermen called the Rösser River. It was fifteen meters wide and had a stone bridge connecting the north and south.

“Look, this is the castle of the Lord of Sussex.”

At the north end of the stone bridge stands a castle of moderate size. The outermost wall is a wooden fortified wall about five meters high, and inside there is a stone wall six meters high. The innermost part is the main building, and the white flag with black deer of Earl Om flies on the top of the main building.

To block the enemy from attacking from the sea, Ragnar and the old prime minister Pascal ordered Om to build a wooden fort here, which was later gradually transformed into a stone castle.

The Wolf family castle was built in Dover, also at the behest of Ragnar and the old prime minister, to buy enough time to react should enemy forces from Europe land in the southern part of England.

"The world has changed. Nobles are busy building castles, greatly improving their defenses, making life increasingly difficult for Viking pirates."

Viking raiders primarily used light infantry, which in most cases was no match for regular armies. They could only exploit time differences, quickly plundering before local armies could assemble. As the number of castles increased, suitable targets for raiding became fewer and fewer. Moreover, British nobles learned to use stirrups and lances in charge, and imported tall, docile warhorses from continental Europe, making them far superior in combat to the poorly equipped Viking raiders.

After a moment's thought, Gunnar came to a regrettable conclusion: the small-scale raids that once involved a hundred people were becoming outdated, and the decades-long pirate plundering frenzy was coming to an end.

Surrounded by shield-bearing guards, he arrived at the south bank of the Rother River and called out Orm's name, "Old friend, for the sake of our past friendship, let me cross the river. I will repay you handsomely afterward."

On the stockade wall, Om stared coldly at the traitor who had converted to heresy and harmed his colleagues. If it weren't for him, Ragnar's main force wouldn't have failed, and his two sons wouldn't have ended up with one dead and the other crippled.

"Fire arrows!"

The defenders raised their crossbows, which were already strung, startling the guards on the south bank who immediately raised their shields to block the unsportsmanlike rain of arrows. One of the crossbow bolts happened to fly through a gap and hit Gunnar's shoulder, first piercing his red brocade cloak embroidered with gold thread, then being stopped by the lamellar armor underneath, causing no harm.

Gunnar was enraged when his well-intentioned attempt to persuade Gunnar to surrender was met with an arrow. He immediately ordered his soldiers to build catapults and erect a wooden bridge on the east side.

During this period, Om sent men to harass the French army with arrows and even personally engaged in a verbal battle with Gunnar. The two had known each other for over twenty years and were familiar with each other's secrets and vulnerabilities.

“Om, you’ve always been a brainless piece of trash. For example, twenty years ago, when we raided East Anglia together, everyone ran away as soon as they heard the alarm, but you were the only one who stayed in the village and didn’t escape. You ended up hiding in the pigsty for a whole day. When you finally met up with the others, no one dared to touch you.”

“Gunnar, you’re a complete bastard! Remember your lover from back then? The one called Tall Thunberg? She’d rather elope with a slave than live with you. You searched everywhere for her, even seeking guidance from shamans. The stupidity of your actions amused us all.” After a long exchange of insults, Gunnar finally broke down. “Go ahead and insult me ​​now. When I storm the Stone Castle, I’ll chop your crippled son into mincemeat. He’ll die a more gruesome death than his older brother. Let’s see what you have to say then.”

Three days later, Rendinium sent more than two thousand soldiers, half of whom were conscripted militiamen and the other half were fully armored guards.

Looking back, Gunnar was the first commander of the Janissaries. He personally built this army, and unsurprisingly, he would destroy it himself. Was this a cruel twist of fate?
After reinforcements arrived, more archers fired at the Franks, doing everything they could to stop them from building the wooden bridge. However, there was more than one place to build a bridge, and Gunnar eventually built one ten miles to the west, leading his infantry to the north bank of the Rother River.

"Notify Hastings to have the cavalry come and join us, as many as you can."

"Yes, sir," the messenger ordered the riders back to the beach. The original fishing village had vanished, replaced by a huge, noisy temporary port. The outermost part was a hastily constructed fence, inside which were tents of all sizes and supplies scattered around.

On the south side, four piers extended into the sea, providing a place for the huge and cumbersome warships to dock. The sky was a leaden gray. Warhorses were roughly pulled and whipped off the deck by soldiers and walked tremblingly onto the slippery piers. They neighed and groaned, their bodies trembling with fear of the long sea voyage.

Not far away, a shallow-draft longship rushed straight toward the shoal. Urged by their officers, the soldiers jumped into the knee-deep, icy water and struggled to walk onto land through the slippery mud. The armor clashed with heavy thuds.

The commander in charge of the cavalry was named Charles, who had grown up in the Franks and this was his first time setting foot on British soil. Upon receiving the Duke's order, he was immediately at a loss, pointing to the group of cavalrymen who were walking their horses on the beach, holding their reins.

"The warhorse is not used to the swaying environment and is in a weakened state. It cannot be used in battle for a while and will have to wait until at least tomorrow."

At the same time, Oleg, the commander of the Imperial Guard, was saying goodbye to Om. "The brothers have captured a prisoner across the river. According to his confession, Gunnar has brought two thousand cavalry. The wooden bridge is now complete, and the cavalry could cross at any time. We can't stay here any longer."

Oleg's two thousand soldiers were the only mobile force the royal family had and could not be lost at Hastings. He planned to retreat to Rendinium and use the wide Thames River and the stone walls to buy time.

Om frowned but did not refute the other party's opinion. "You can leave. I will continue to guard this place. Whether I live or die is entirely up to the gods."

With the Royal Guard about to flee and morale low in the castle, Orm did not forcibly stop them, allowing servants and civilians to evacuate, and soldiers could also retreat after handing over their equipment.

In the end, only Om, his wife, his second son who was lame in the left leg, and 130 soldiers and civilians who volunteered to stay in Rotherburg remained.

On March 10, the French cavalry crossed the wooden bridge but failed to catch the fleeing Imperial Guard. Gunnar did not waste time and manpower at Roselle; he left 500 men to besiege the city and led the rest of his troops straight to Rendinium.

(End of this chapter)