Vikings: Lords of the Ice Sea

Chapter 285 Escort Strategy
Based on observations during the day, two thousand pirates remained outside the camp, and news from the port indicated that four hundred men were guarding the ships on the beach.

Hergi assessed his strength: thirty cavalrymen, 1,600 demoralized militiamen, and 900 demoralized and poorly equipped natives.

His side had a slight numerical advantage, but their equipment and morale were inferior to the enemy's. Helgi was filled with anxiety, feeling that the chances of winning this battle were only 50%. If they were to lose, he would have no choice but to retreat to the port and hold out, watching helplessly as the pirates destroyed his hard-earned crops.

However, he still couldn't figure out why these pirates had come to the Canary Islands to cause trouble.

Early next morning.

As dawn broke and the air carried a refreshing coolness, Helgi left the room. The cooks and servants set up dozens of large pots in the open space. Upon closer inspection, they found oat porridge mixed with salted fish inside, and wooden baskets next to them held many hard flatbreads, enough for each person to receive half a piece.

Soon, the entire camp was filled with the aroma of food, and the hired laborers lined up, yawning. To boost morale, the supervisors and overseers loudly announced the reward and punishment system:
"Listen carefully, after this battle, the outstanding workers will be freed from the plantation and will be allocated a thirty-acre plot of land, which they can use as they please—whether for grazing livestock or planting wheat and sugarcane."

After breakfast, the hired laborers and self-cultivating farmers formed sixteen teams of one hundred men each, and lined up in a single file outside the south gate of the camp.

At this moment, the pirates, also arranged in a loose horizontal formation, held scimitars and round shields, with a small number of archers on both flanks, and slowly approached the group of ignorant militiamen.

As the distance narrowed to a hundred paces, the archers on both sides began to fire, while the pirates and militia slowed their pace, huddled together with their companions, and advanced slowly with their shields raised.

"Why haven't they arrived yet?" Hergi looked around anxiously.

As agreed, once Chaivatu saw the blue flag raised at the camp, he would lead his men out of their hiding place in the valley and circle around to the southern jungle of the pirate force to launch a surprise attack. Once everything was ready, the Guache people would also imitate bird calls to give a signal.

"Who heard the birdsong?" he asked the twenty cavalrymen beside him, but received no response.

A few minutes later, the distance between the two armies narrowed to twenty paces. They stared at each other's faces, their pace slowing down until they finally stopped at a distance of ten paces.

At this point, the tension between the pirates and the militia reached its peak, and a few people instinctively shouted and yelled, their faces turning red, trying to scare the other side away.

Under their leadership, the roar spread throughout the battlefield, and even when the Guaqie people imitated bird calls to send messages, Hergi could no longer hear them.

After shouting for a while, everyone's throats gradually became hoarse, the shouts subsided, and the two armies slowly moved towards each other. Accompanied by a shrill and high-pitched wail, the battle officially entered the melee phase.

As soon as the battle began, the militia fell into a slump, and their lines were pushed back by the pirates. Helgi could not wait any longer and led twenty cavalrymen to outflank the western side of the battlefield.

Just as he was about to launch the attack, he suddenly saw a small group of Guaqie people running out of the jungle.

Immediately afterwards, groups of three to five Guaqie people rushed out of the jungle on the west and east sides of the battlefield. As they ran, the indigenous people became agitated and made strange and incomprehensible shouts.

"what's the situation?"

Hergiel reined in his horse and looked at the scattered figures with a puzzled expression.

The plan we agreed on yesterday was for Cavatu to lead his men to the south side of the battlefield, behind the pirates, to launch an attack when the opportunity arises. Why are they scattered everywhere now?
Regardless, reinforcements eventually arrived. Although only a few native archers fired at the pirates, it caused great panic. The pirates hesitated, glancing at the nearby mountains and forests, but when they saw the natives continuously appearing, they panicked instantly.

"The time has come, charge with me!" Helgi spurred his horse and led his men toward the pirates' unguarded left flank, easily routing dozens of archers.

Under the influence of multiple factors, the pirates inevitably suffered a chain of defeats. Although the number of casualties was less than 10%, the entire army had lost its fighting capacity and become a group of prey to be hunted down.

With the outcome decided, the Guaqie people were in high spirits and spontaneously followed behind to capture prisoners. The militia, who were on the verge of collapse, recovered and also joined the prisoner-capturing ranks.

"Take him alive, but go easy on him!"

Helgi shouted a few random words, then suddenly noticed Chavatu and Adrian's figures. "Why are your troops scattered from the start?"

"Uh, it was purely accidental." Cavatu looked embarrassed and had Adrian beside him reply:
"When the flag was raised at the camp, the young men were drinking water at a nearby stream. They were disorganized, and the chief didn't have time to reorganize the ranks. He urged them to hurry to the battlefield, and as a result, they scattered."

After hearing his ally's explanation, Helgi felt a chill of fear. Had they arrived a few minutes later, the battle would likely have had a different outcome.

The chaos continued into the afternoon. The Guacher people and militia captured a total of 800 pirates, while the remaining 1,000 or so fled Sunshine Island by boat. Before leaving, they burned the ships that could not be evacuated in time to prevent the Vikings from pursuing them.

As the vast expanse of sails disappeared on the horizon, Helgi felt heavy-hearted. Repelling the land attack was only the beginning. What if the pirates stayed in the coastal waters and harassed passing merchant ships every now and then?

Mid-April, Londonew.

Three sailboats loaded with sugar and sugarcane wine sailed into the harbor. News of the attack on the ships was reported up the chain of command and eventually reached Vig.

"Pirate attack?"

The ninth century AD marked the peak of North African piracy. Their main targets were the Italian region and the Eastern Roman Empire, where they plundered monasteries and coastal towns, selling captured inhabitants into slavery.

The situation was particularly dire in southern Italy, where many towns were destroyed and surviving residents were forced to relocate inland to build settlements on more defensible mountaintops.

"North African pirates robbing Vikings, interesting."

Vig, clutching the report, paced back and forth in his office. At this point, he was unaware of the large-scale invasion of Sunshine Island, believing it to be just sporadic pirate activity, and decided to adopt a concentrated escort system.

From now on, single merchant ships are prohibited from traveling to the Canary Islands. Multiple ships must travel together, assemble at Rendeneum before departure, and be escorted to the Canary Islands by naval warships.

This approach can improve security, but at the cost of reduced efficiency. It should be piloted for a period of time first, and then adjusted based on the results of the escort missions.

In May, ships began to assemble for the Canary Islands. A total of five merchant ships were transporting immigrants, ironware, and livestock. As a precaution, the navy dispatched three warships to escort them along the way, which was more than enough to deal with small groups of pirates.

Midway through the journey, the fleet, as usual, rested at the port of Gijón in northern Iberia. Having stopped so many times, the locals had become accustomed to the presence of these Vikings and used this rare opportunity to trade goods.

In mid-June, with the help of a weak northeasterly wind, the fleet slowly sailed toward Sunshine Island.

(End of this chapter)