Vikings: Lords of the Ice Sea

Chapter 5 Pirate Tournament
After a brief exchange of pleasantries, "Fat Man" Eric and the eight nobles took their seats. Although he called himself king, he was not the lord of these nobles and there was no subordinate relationship between them, so his attitude was quite amiable.

"Gentlemen," Eric cleared his throat,
"Since we opened a new sea route to the West, countless warriors have sailed to Britain and West Frankish territory, reaping unimaginable wealth. However, all of this has been nothing more than small-scale raids, with each raid involving no more than two hundred men, insufficient to conquer the enemy's large settlements. Therefore, I intend to assemble a large army to attack the capital of a certain kingdom, where we can all plunder to our hearts' content!"

Incited by him, the crowd roared in unison, the rolling sound waves like raging seas, continuously assaulting the defenses of the nobles. Some showed fanaticism, unable to suppress their fighting desires, while others frowned, worried that their shield bearers would be lured away by Eric.

Once the roaring subsided, Eric ordered his men to unfold a rudimentary map of Britain. A certain area in the southeast was blacked out, and Vig looked closely and realized that the target was Essex.

“Londinium (later London), I intend to plunder this city.”

For the next while, Eric tirelessly boasted about the wealth of Londinium, exaggerating it into a prosperous city rarely seen in the world, which made Vig yawn and couldn't help but secretly complain.

"In the early fifth century, the city fell into decline after the last Roman troops withdrew from Britain. It wasn't until the eleventh century, when the Duke of Normandy of France completely conquered England, and his successors made Londinium the capital, that the city prospered again. Haha, it would be interesting if we could seize an empty city this time."

After a long while, seeing that no one objected to his plundering plan, Eric, whose mouth was dry, picked up the huge golden goblet, gulped down half a bellyful of mead, and walked over to Ragnar with a burp.

"Ragnar Rothbroek, whether you have met him or not, everyone here has at least heard of him. For the past eighteen years, he has made annual raids to the west, familiar with the coastal areas of Britain and West Frankish. What are your thoughts on having him lead the fleet this time?"

At this moment, a nobleman directly opposite them looked disdainful and said, "Ragnar is an excellent mercenary who can serve as a hunting dog, but he is not qualified to be treated as an equal with us."

When their leader was insulted, the shield guards, including Vig, retaliated with a barrage of profanities. Ivar reacted most fiercely, tearing off his fur coat, drawing his iron sword, and pointing it at the man, saying each word clearly:

"Ivar the Boneless, son of Ragnar and Ragza, challenges you to a duel!"

Viking society revered bravery, and when someone proposed a duel, a chorus of cheers erupted around him. Eric, unwilling to go against the will of the people, returned to his seat without a word and silently drank his mead.

“You are not of high enough status to fight me.” The nobleman’s face was ashen as he sent a shield guard to participate in the duel. This man was about the same height as Ivar and looked quite formidable.

"Is this the kind of trash?" Ivar spat and beckoned to the other side with his finger. "Come on, let's end this sooner rather than later."

From Vig's perspective, he could only see Ivar's back and couldn't make out his specific actions. He could only hear a few clashes of weapons, and the enemy was already lying on the ground with a gash in his throat, from which bright red blood gushed out.

However, Ivar did not stop there. He picked up his round shield and smashed it against the enemy's body, as if he wanted to crush the man's entire skeleton.

Now Vig finally understood the origin of the nickname "The Boneless One".

As his opponent breathed his last, Ivar stood up, coldly staring at the nobleman named Borg, his words colder than the winter wind: "Next."

In the following minutes, Borg sent out three more, only to meet the same fate. It seemed that Ivar was trying to kill off his shield guards one by one in this way!
Sensing the situation was about to spiral out of control, Eric stood up and shouted, "Enough! Your blood should be spilled on the battlefields of Britain, not on my land. This is the end!" Under Eric's imposing presence, the meeting continued, but everyone was clearly distracted, still savoring the duel that was destined to make them famous throughout Northern Europe.

Winning four victories in front of nine nobles and two thousand Viking commoners in a manner that was almost humiliating, Ivar's prestige would undoubtedly explode, making him a protagonist in the bard's tale.

After the pirate convention concluded, Eric invited eight nobles and his guards to a banquet, hoping to mend their differences with mead and fine food.

The diet during this period was very monotonous. The most eye-catching main dish was roasted whole pig, which was evenly coated with a layer of honey and sprinkled with a pinch of extremely expensive pepper. The next dishes were cod, cured beef and mutton, and blood sausage made from beef and mutton offal.

Next to the blood sausage, the maid traditionally placed a dish of fermented shark meat, which smelled extremely fishy and foul.

There was only one vegetable dish—a stew of radishes, turnips, onions, and broth, with a few beans added. The main course was hard bread, and the dessert was aged cheese; both of these, along with mead, were unlimited.

After Eric finished his toast, the banquet officially began. As a novice, Vig had neither outstanding martial arts skills nor any achievements to boast about, so he did not participate in the boasting among the drinkers and ate the unappetizing dishes alone.

With the expedition imminent and tough times ahead, he only wanted to take the opportunity to stock up on nutrition to improve his survival rate in the subsequent battles.

Ironically, before he transmigrated, he hated fatty meat, finding it too greasy. Now, after six months of hardship, he realizes that fatty pork is far more valuable than chicken breast or fish.

During the meal, Vig overheard someone talking about the Lord of Borg. It turned out that this person was a close comrade-in-arms of the former Lord of Gothenburg, and two months ago he even announced that he would provide shelter for the family he left behind.

"With this connection, it's no wonder he's causing trouble for Ragnar."

On the other side, Ivar declared in front of everyone: "I swear to personally cut off the head of the King of Essex, seize his crown, and raze his magnificent palace to the ground."

Raze it to the ground? Vig thought to himself, thinking Ivar was ignorant.

Londinium is a city dating back to the Roman era, and its buildings, primarily constructed of brick and stone, are far more sturdy than the Viking longhouses of Northern Europe. If the initial raid fails to breach the walls, it could very well escalate into a brutal siege.

"Afterwards, I will find an opportunity to speak with Ragnar privately, hoping that he will accept the strategy I proposed."

Vig wasn't foolish enough to publicly refute Ivar's words. Drunk Vikings were the most dangerous, and he didn't want to be killed by an axe without even realizing it.

(End of this chapter)