Vikings: Lords of the Ice Sea

Chapter 224 A Blend of Reality and Illusion
After crossing a stream, the Viking army camped on the grass on the north bank of the stream.

Following regulations, the soldiers of the directly subordinate units dug trenches in an orderly manner, piled the excavated soil into earthen walls, and rammed wooden stakes into them to form a temporary stockade (the supply wagons were responsible for carrying the wooden stakes during the march).

Once the trench was dug, soldiers threw barbed wire outwards and placed hanging bells on the inside of the trench as an early warning measure.

After completing the outer defensive fortifications, as dusk fell, the soldiers hurried to set up tents.

Each squad shares a single leather tent, with an aisle in the middle and soldiers' sleeping bags arranged on both sides. Thanks to standardized components, setting up the tent takes no more than fifteen minutes.

After setting up the tents, the squad leaders found the company quartermaster and collected their supplies for the entire day.
Each soldier received three pounds of wheat flour (the pound here refers to the Anglo pound, and three pounds is approximately one kilogram). The wheat flour was used to make hard bread, a recipe for the staple food of the Roman legions that the Duchess found in a parchment. It tasted terrible, only slightly better than the previous hard bread, and was frequently complained about by the soldiers.

In addition to staple food, the squad leader would also receive a certain amount of cured meat, hard goat cheese and onions. After a day of fighting, smoked sausages and some light beer were specially distributed to boost morale in the army.

Initially, Vigé intended to emulate the tradition of the Roman legions by choosing a vinegar drink called "Posca" as the army's beverage, but this was met with strong opposition from the soldiers. They were accustomed to drinking inexpensive and high-quality beer before enlisting and had no reason to choose this sour and astringent inferior product.
Urged on by the quartermaster, the squad leader filled in his name and rank on the supplies list and carried the supplies back to the tent. A campfire had already been set up in the open space in front of the tent, and the soldiers were skillfully baking hard flatbreads, complaining about the dry and hard food.

After distributing the light beer, the squad leader sat cross-legged by the campfire, holding his own beer and sighing as he drank: "Be content. This afternoon, a company from the neighboring regiment messed up their formation change, and the whole company had to eat barley."

Soldiers with poor performance have always been assigned barley as punishment. Hearing that a colleague had gotten into trouble, the soldiers immediately became interested and pestered their squad leader for more details.
The Chinese military tent.

After the operational meeting ended, the commanders stayed behind for a meal, as was customary. Their food was relatively plentiful, including fresh meat, honey bread, sausages and other smoked foods, as well as a limited amount of wine.

Halfway through the meal, Utgard, on a whim, took out his bagpipes and played a tune from his hometown. When he finished, Pascal the Younger plucked the strings of his lyre and sang a passage from Beowulf.

The harp was played, and songs were sung.

The story was told in detail by the poet of Herosga.

He sang of the origin of the world, the creation of mankind, the shimmering fields surrounded by water, the fragrance of grass and trees brushing against his cheeks, and the bright, white full moon.

At that time, there had been no blood feuds or wars; the world was filled with harmony.

Vig sat upright on the stool, listening to the commanders' discussions and jokes, silently finishing the food on his plate, and declining Leif's offer of wine.

After the dinner, he personally arranged the night watch and solemnly instructed the officers in the tent, "With insufficient supplies, Gunnar has no choice but to withdraw his troops. Tonight is his last chance, and also our last test. We must withstand this attack."

In the middle of the night, Vig woke up groggily from the heat. He poured some water to wash his face, then lifted the curtain, walked out of the tent, and climbed onto the makeshift watchtower.

Looking around, the entire camp was silent, with a sentry standing every few dozen meters on the stockade wall. Suddenly, several dark figures flashed across the north side of the stockade wall, followed by shouts of battle, and countless torches were lit outside the stockade wall as the enemy surged into the camp like a tide.

"Finally here."

After a short wait, messengers arrived from various commanders, instructing them to assemble their troops to guard their respective camps and strictly forbid any unauthorized attacks.

Soon, the enemy forces in the north breached a short section of the stockade wall, but were then subjected to a barrage of crossbow fire, forcing them to advance with shields up, significantly slowing their advance. After some time, the troops in the northern camp gradually turned the tide, slowly but surely pushing the enemy out of their camp.

At this moment, a deafening battle cry erupted from the western wall of the stockade, its momentum immense. Countless rockets shot out from the darkness, like a rain of fire falling from the sky, instantly igniting dozens of tents.

Leif asked urgently, "Uncle, this is the enemy's main force. Should we send reinforcements?"

Vig glared at him. "What's the big deal? What's the real thing? What's the big deal?"

The camp was surrounded by five infantry regiments under Vig's direct command, and he believed these well-trained troops could hold out for at least an hour.

He continued to observe and noticed that the fighting in the western camp was not intense; the enemy was merely hurling arrows and sending small assault teams to capture the stockade walls and fight the Viking soldiers from there.

Soon, the enemy ran out of rockets, and the fighting on the western flank gradually subsided. However, the offensive on the northern flank suddenly intensified, and the French heavy infantry advanced a long distance despite casualties, capturing a large area of ​​the 3rd Infantry Regiment's camp.

"it's time."

Vig sent a mountain infantry battalion to reinforce the front of the 3rd Infantry Regiment and help them stabilize the line.

Then, Vig looked at the mercenaries waiting on the high ground not far away. More than 30% of the mercenaries were equipped with hastily repaired iron armor, and everyone was eager to try and join the battle.

They had already proven their bravery, but their weakness lay in their lack of discipline. Vig worried that these men would disrupt their own lines of defense. He stroked his chin and pondered for a long time before deciding to have them maneuver around to the enemy's rear to engage in battle, fighting alone.

"Your Majesty, please wait for my good news."

Leader Douglas let out an excited shout and led a large group of mercenaries away in a grand procession.

With two reinforcements arriving in quick succession, the Third Infantry Regiment finally stabilized the situation. At this moment, shouts of battle and the neighing of many horses could be heard from the east side of the stockade wall.

"Haha, what is Gunnar doing? Trying to scare me with a horse?"

In low light, warhorses are prone to breaking their hooves while running, making them virtually unusable for night battles. Gunnar's commotion was simply an attempt to draw away Vig's forces.

More than ten minutes later, the northern front still could not break through, and the enemy troops retreated into the darkness one after another, leaving only a messy camp.

The next morning.

Vig called a meeting to arrange for each unit to clean up the battlefield. At this moment, Pascal asked about the next move. Vig picked up a bowl of oatmeal with savory meat and casually replied:
"As expected, the French army is retreating. What are your thoughts?"

After speaking, he looked at the faces in the tent. The Shrike and Torga seemed to be thinking, while Leif was eager to say something but held back. The reactions of the others were similar, all requesting to pursue.

(End of this chapter)