Vikings: Lords of the Ice Sea

Chapter 335 The Troubles Resurface
In mid-May, Pascal Jr. set off to return home. During a temporary rest in Bornholm, he learned of shocking news—the East Franks had invaded again.

"Why did they start fighting again?"

He postponed his return home, sending the captain to the southeast coast of Denmark, where he would then transfer to a longboat and head towards Schleswig.

After the last war ended, the nobles from all sides in Northern Europe gathered four thousand men to garrison the Daniwilk defense line. Vig did not provide any troops, but regularly sent grain ships from Britain to support this medium-sized army.

"British reinforcements will take at least a month to arrive. Can they hold out?"

The longship sailed through the winding Schleich Bay, and Pascal looked anxiously to the west, suddenly recalling the cabinet's assessment of the various Nordic powers:
With rudimentary equipment, low armor coverage, and limited arrow reserves, coupled with a lack of cavalry among the various factions, they were at a significant disadvantage in open field battles.

However, with them stationed at the Danivilk Line, the French cavalry was of little use, and the Nordic warriors, relying on their fortifications, could hold out for a while without any problem.

Six hours later, the docks of Schleswig appeared ahead. Pascal urged the sailors to speed up. After the ship docked, he found the local nobles and received news that the war in the south was raging.

When will the reinforcements from Norway and Sweden arrive?

The nobleman shook his head. "It's hard to say. It will take at least half a month, or even a month."

After lunch, Pascal arrived at the southern wall of the stockade and saw several small black dots shimmering on the distant horizon. Soon after, more and more black dots appeared, converging into a massive crowd. Amidst the swirling dust, a tattered military flag appeared intermittently, depicting the World Tree—the flag Uppsala had chosen for the Nordic Allied Forces.

"Failed?"

A deathly silence fell over the city walls. Little Pascal stared wide-eyed, estimating the number of routed soldiers to be over two thousand. Soon, several horsemen rushed outside the city, shouting for the gates to be opened immediately, claiming that tens of thousands of French troops were about to arrive.

Pascal the Younger was not good at commanding troops, so he could only let the local nobles do as they pleased. The latter opened the city gates to let the fleeing soldiers in, and then held their ground.

At dusk, a large contingent of French cavalry arrived outside the city but did not attempt an attack. The following day, the main infantry force arrived, with 5,000 men besieging the city, while the remaining 5,000 bypassed Schleswig and continued northward.

Sensing the atmosphere of fear within the city, Pascal the Younger judged that the morale of this force of over two thousand men had collapsed, rendering them incapable of fighting in the field. They would be trapped within the city or forced to flee elsewhere by boat.

"There's no point in staying here. It's better to return home as soon as possible and report everything to His Majesty."

He tried to find an excuse to leave, but suddenly heard bad news: the French army was building catapults in a narrow section of the Gulf of Schleswig in an attempt to block the shipping lanes between Schleswig and the sea to the east.

Therefore, it was only a matter of time before this place fell.

Little Pascal sensed something was wrong and found the drunken captain at the dockside tavern, asking him to gather the crew and set sail.

"Sir, the brothers are having a good time everywhere, it will probably be a while before we see them."

“We can’t wait any longer,” Pascal warned the captain. “The French are building catapults on both sides of the Gulf of Schleicher. If the news spreads, it will inevitably cause panic in the city, and some defeated soldiers may seize the ships.”

With their lives at stake, the captain summoned fifteen sailors, while the remaining three disappeared without a trace. The captain cursed under his breath, deciding to leave them to fend for themselves in the city. At that moment, more and more defeated soldiers gathered at the dock, creating a noisy commotion. Little Pascal and the others quickly boarded the ship, and the instant the mooring ropes were untied, they immediately began rowing, moving away from the group of fleeing soldiers who were about to lose their minds.

"Twenty-eight ships, carrying over three thousand soldiers and civilians, can be evacuated to the sea in four round trips if handled properly. However, these routed soldiers are disorganized, and bloodshed is inevitable as they vie for the first spots on the ships. Let's assume the French army takes advantage of the chaos to attack the city."

Pascal the Younger abandoned this hopeless idea, forsaking the dignity of a count, and rowed with the sailors. As they passed through a narrow part of the bay, they indeed saw hundreds of French soldiers cutting down trees.

In the afternoon, Pascal returned to the two-masted sailboat at the fjord's exit, finally able to breathe a sigh of relief.

Two weeks later, at the Royal Palace in Lentinium.

"They're bothering me again. Can't these Franks just behave themselves?"

Looking at the map on the wall, Vig roughly guessed East Frankish intentions: the Vikings were good at harassment warfare, and the best way to deal with them was to take the initiative and attack the Vikings' stronghold directly, thus solving the piracy problem at its root.

Moreover, the Hearts Mountains in Saxony had been developed into several silver mines, providing ample financial resources to support the war.

Vig dismissed Pascal and muttered to himself behind his desk:

"It's all Uber's fault. If he hadn't betrayed Nils back then, the allied forces would have been very confident of capturing Magdeburg, then plundering the middle and upper reaches of the Elbe, and destroying East Frankish war potential. Alas, things have come to this. Am I supposed to save Denmark every few years?"

The following day, the Windseeker arrived at Landneum and asked Vig to fulfill his sacred duty as a guardian of the faith, promising that after defeating the Franks, all the temples of Northern Europe would jointly honor him as the High King.

“Things are difficult. Even if I lead an army to help, Charles the Bald will send troops as well. Warhorses are not suitable for long-distance sea transport, and I lack cavalry. I will repeat the predicament of a few years ago, only able to repel the West Frankish army, but not to harm their core.”

From the commander's perspective, Viggo should not have been sent on an expedition to Denmark.

However, as king, from a political perspective, it was necessary for him to participate in this war. If the French army gained a foothold in Denmark and then gradually annexed Sweden and Norway, Britain would be completely isolated.

"The Franks attack Denmark every now and then, forcing our army to cross the sea to rescue them. We can't live like this anymore!"

Vig was in a bad mood and paced back and forth in the hall, a dangerous idea gradually forming in his mind.

Rather than being led by the nose by the French army, it would be better to choose West Francia as the battlefield. The two places are only separated by a strait, which allows for the transport of more troops. Horses spend very little time in the cabins, so there is almost no loss.

He returned to his throne and looked down at the aged Windseeker. “I am willing to send troops, but the target is not Denmark, but West Frankish, to end this with an unprecedented war and settle things once and for all with the enemy.”

Nineteen years ago, Ragnar attacked West Francia, and the Vikings annihilated the main French army on the banks of the Seine. Eight years later, Ragnar, mired in financial crisis, attempted to plunder West Francia, but suffered heavy losses, and his entire family rapidly declined. Taking advantage of Britain's internal strife, Gunnar led the French army ashore and utterly devastated southern Britain.

After numerous wars, the Kingdom of Britain and West Frankish had completely lost hope of reconciliation. Unless one side was utterly defeated, this stalemate would continue for a long time, lasting for hundreds of years or even longer.

(End of this chapter)