Vikings: Lords of the Ice Sea

Chapter 283 The Suddenly Escalated Conflict
The urgent tolling of the bell ripped through the deathly silence of the afternoon. Hergi hurriedly organized a defense. In the noisy and panicked atmosphere, the pirate ship's triangular sails billowed in the wind, and it sped faster and faster, menacingly rushing towards the chaotic dock.

Bang!
Suddenly, the foremost ship was hit by a stone, and a few cracks appeared on its starboard side.

As a seasoned retired pirate, Helgi was always wary of his peers. He invested the profits from the West Sea Fur Company and the Sugar Company into the construction of his castle, and also built ten torsion ballistae and six counterweight catapults.

The torsion crossbow has a flat trajectory and a high hit rate, but its disadvantage is that the stones are relatively light and therefore have insufficient lethality.

The counterweight catapult could launch larger stones, but its high-altitude trajectory resulted in a low hit rate; it wasn't until the fifth volley that it struck the first target. The fifty-kilogram stone, carrying immense kinetic energy, crashed down and pierced the midships of a pirate ship.

Bang!
The immense impact caused the ship to tilt violently, the mast groaning under the strain before snapping and collapsing heavily onto the deck. Immediately afterward, seawater surged into the breach in the side of the ship, causing it to list violently and begin to sink at a visible speed.

The situation was beyond saving. The captain immediately jumped overboard and swam as fast as he could to avoid being sucked into the sea by the whirlpool created by the sinking ship. The surviving crew members all did the same. Looking at the debris and corpses floating on the sea, the once high-spirited fleet began to waver.

Looking at the castle standing on the northern hillside, the pirate leader felt fear. Even if he captured the port, his ships would be sunk sooner or later, so he had no choice but to land somewhere else.

Soon, the remaining pirate ships jerked their rudders and adjusted the angle of their massive triangular sails. They no longer attempted to storm the harbor, but instead, like a school of startled fish, they surged southward, fleeing the dangerous catapults at top speed.

Driven by the wind, the ship recklessly rushed towards a desolate, rocky beach hundreds of meters away, its keel scraping against the sand and stones with a piercing screeching sound. The pirates brandished their scimitars and round shields, howling as they plunged into the knee-deep water, wading and stumbling towards the land.

Using this precious time, Hergi and his guards stabilized the port, arranged for residents to receive spears and crossbows, and organized defenses on the stockade walls.

"The Moors are keen on the slave trade. For your future, remember not to back down!"

Helgi paced along the stockade walls, sword in hand, loudly rallying the residents' morale, but to little avail. Most of the inhabitants were exiles, forced far from their homes to toil on this hot, desolate island, and their loyalty was generally questionable.

Hearing the count's words, many secretly complained, feeling their lives were no better than those of slaves. Others silently prayed that the count and the pirates would perish together, so that everyone could regain their freedom—that would be the best outcome!

Half an hour later, 2,800 pirates launched an attack. They surged forward like a tide, carrying round shields, and reached the moat outside the stockade wall.

"Don't back down, first come, first served!"

Urged on by their respective leaders, the pirates carefully avoided the spikes at the bottom of the trench and began to climb the stockade walls. Lacking ladders, siege towers, and other equipment, their attack was extremely inefficient, and after losing more than a hundred men, they spontaneously dispersed.

Having weathered the first wave of attacks, the most dangerous moment has passed, and Helgi is now contemplating his next move.

There are three locations that need to be defended: the castle, the port, and the inland area.

The castle is tall and sturdy, and its location is strategically important. It is impossible for pirates to breach it, so there is no need to put much effort into it.

The port has fortified walls and moats. If the enemy attacks from the east sea or the north, they will be attacked from a distance by the castle. Therefore, the port only needs to defend the south and west fortified walls, and the defense difficulty is average.

What truly deserves his attention are the inland plantations. Sun Island has 3,000 immigrants, with over 2,000 distributed inland. Neither the labor force nor the crops can afford the slightest mishap.

“Diego Garros.” Helgi found one of his barons and put him in charge of the port's defenses. He then rode away from the port, galloping westward at top speed. Seeing the black plume of smoke rising in the east, the plantation workers returned to camp with their tools, urging their supervisors and overseers to collect their weapons.

Soon, the watchtower spotted a small group of riders rapidly approaching. Recognizing the count's face, they opened the gate and let him in.

Hergier found the supervisor and asked, "Are all the workers here?"

The supervisor pointed to the group of people resting in the shade, "A total of 1,300 people are here, ready to defend at any time."

"Send someone to inform those farmers to pack their things and take shelter inside!"

In the interior, besides the 1,300 plantation workers, there were more than 700 independent farmers, who were commoners who had voluntarily migrated there, as well as laborers who had endured their work terms and received a free plot of farmland. Hergi sent his knights to urge them to gather at the camp after much difficulty.

As the sun sets, the dinner bell rings rhythmically, and the people line up in four long rows, holding their lunchboxes to receive their food. Dinner on the plantation usually consists of salted fish, sweet bread (with molasses), and a small cup of sugarcane wine.

In Britain or Northern Europe, sweet bread is undoubtedly a symbol of the upper and middle classes. As a sugarcane-producing region, the Sunny Isles also have the privilege of enjoying this local luxury, savoring the sweetness that lingers on the palate and making one unconsciously forget the hardships of life.

After dinner, a group of farmers approached the Earl and asked how long they were supposed to stay.

The count replied truthfully, "Until the pirates leave."

"What if they refuse to leave? Are we just going to stay in the camp forever?" someone shouted, drawing agreement from the villagers.

“You’re right, I need to take care of my family’s wheat field.”

“If you don’t go back for a long time, your belongings are likely to be stolen by the natives. These people love petty theft and will even steal women’s combs and bronze mirrors.”

The next day, a small number of farmers left without saying goodbye and returned to their villages to tend to their crops.

On the third day, the enemy was still besieging the port town and had no intention of going inland, so more farmers left.

On the morning of the fourth day, the enemy launched a new offensive with ladders. Baron Garros led his guards in a desperate resistance, killing more than three hundred pirates.

With their attack thwarted and supplies dwindling, the pirates tentatively sent search parties inland. Finding the villages virtually defenseless, they abandoned their attack on the port and instead swarmed inland to plunder food and capture laborers.

"Well, good luck to you guys."

At the camp, Helgi climbed the watchtower, gazing at the thick smoke rising to the southeast, and muttered complaints about the farmers' slowness and wishful thinking.

(End of this chapter)