Vikings: Lords of the Ice Sea

Chapter 67 Snowy Night
After repelling the reinforcements, Vig continued to direct his soldiers to cut down trees and build siege equipment. As December approached, the weather grew increasingly cold, with snow accumulation exceeding ten centimeters, greatly slowing the mobilization of militias in various regions.

Late at night, Vig sat at his desk, deep in thought, holding a Latin scroll. The scroll was written by a missionary, and its contents were simple, mainly introducing the geography and customs of the Frankish Kingdom.

"The Perch region is dotted with excellent pastures. After 732 AD, local horses were crossbred with Arabian and Andalusian horses, resulting in a new breed that was docile, energetic, and well-suited for warhorses."

732 AD?
Vigé was reminded of the Battle of Poitiers that broke out that year.

After conquering the Iberian Peninsula (later Spain and Portugal), the Arab army marched north, crossed the Pyrenees Mountains, and advanced rapidly. Charles the Mayor of the Palace of the Franks led his troops to meet them, and the two sides clashed in a decisive battle at Poitiers, where the Franks won a great victory.

After the war, Charles earned the nickname "The Hammer," and his prestige and power soared. After Charles the Hammer's death, his son Pepin III became King of the Franks, establishing the Carolingian dynasty. Following Pepin III, the Frankish kingdom reached its zenith under his successor, Charlemagne.
"I see. After the Battle of Poitiers, the Franks captured a large number of Arabian and Andalusian horses, which improved the bloodlines of their local horses."

He closed the parchment scroll, rubbed his sore eyes, pulled out another scroll from the box, glanced at it, and found it was an alchemical manuscript from hundreds of years ago, so he put it back.

This box of scrolls was a gift from the Ivarto people, considered payment for the previous batch of equipment. Nearly 30% of them were alchemical manuscripts discussing a mysterious substance called "Lapis Philosophorum." Vig recalled his junior and senior high school chemistry textbooks, but he never quite understood what it was.

(Lapis Philosophorum, the Philosopher's Stone, an alchemical concept, said to be able to transform base metals into precious metals and to create elixirs of immortality.)
In addition, 20% of the manuscripts were related to Hippocrates' doctrines, focusing on the circulation of bodily fluids. Vigé was not very interested in these and yawned as he categorized them into one group.

Besides alchemy and medicine, these manuscripts also included divination and a large number of obscure and difficult-to-understand fire rituals, which made Vig dizzy and confused, and he thought he had traveled to some magical world.

“A whole box of manuscripts, less than 30% of which are usable. Ivar is simply fooling me. No, this batch of scrolls is not worth forty pounds of silver at all.”

Friendship is friendship, business is business.

Vig pulled out a papyrus sheet to write a letter, but just as he was about to put pen to paper, a piercing scream suddenly rang in his ears.

Enemy attack?

He put down his pen and paper, and with the help of the shield guards, donned his armor. The moment he ran out of the farmhouse, a biting wind carrying snowflakes rushed towards him, dispelling the sleepiness in his mind.

"Everyone assemble!"

He roared at the top of his lungs, and the thirty-odd shield guards who were fast asleep rushed out of the barracks one after another, spending five minutes putting on their armor and forming ranks.

In contrast, Ulf's twenty shield guards moved slowly. By the time Vig's troops had assembled, his men were still dawdling, and several drunkards remained in bed.

"We can't wait any longer. The fighting is fierce in the east. I'll lead some men to hold the line first. You'll be responsible for the north, west, and south to prevent surprise attacks."

After saying this, Vig led his confidants to the east side of the village. A small section of the stockade wall had been pushed down, and countless Mercian soldiers, holding torches high, poured in through the breach. Everywhere was filled with throngs of people.

After thinking for half a minute, he called out the names of five shield guards, instructing them to gather the scattered archers, then climb onto the rooftops and fire at the Mercians near the breach. "Yorlen, you take ten men to gather the fleeing routs and have them assemble in the open space in the center of the village. There's extra equipment in the warehouse. Remember, every twenty men gathered, have one shield guard in charge, and then come back to reinforce me."

After issuing the orders, Vig had a carriage brought in to block the street. He then led the remaining twenty-odd shield guards to form a defensive line behind the carriage. With their superior equipment, they easily repelled the enemy's first wave of attacks, followed by the second and third.
Three minutes later, a small number of archers climbed onto the roof and fired from above. Because the Mercian soldiers were packed together, almost every arrow hit its target, greatly relieving Vig's pressure.

Two minutes later, the first wave of regrouped defeated soldiers arrived to reinforce, replacing Vig and others. As time went on, the situation gradually tilted in the Vikings' favor.

Woo~
Horns sounded from the walls of Tamworth, signaling that the Vikings in the eastern camp had sent reinforcements. The Mercian army was forced to retreat, fleeing into the city with torches in hand.

Afterwards, Vig cleaned up the battlefield and found that many Mercian soldiers were equipped with iron armor. Upon questioning, he learned that they belonged to the palace guard.

"One hundred and fifty armored soldiers and six hundred militiamen."

Vig felt a chill run down his spine. "Since the decision was made to launch a night attack, why didn't the Crown Prince commit all the remaining troops? If the attack had been launched simultaneously from the south, there would have been a 90% chance of capturing the camp."

However, he then thought that even if the Mercians defeated him, the main force of the eastern camp would still be intact, and they would still be unable to reverse the current predicament.

"Unable to win in open battle, they can only resort to these sporadic harassment tactics. Perhaps the Crown Prince didn't think too much about it, only hoping to boost morale with a small victory."

Given the two attacks on the northwest camp, Ragnar sent Niels with three hundred men to assist in the defense. However, after a series of defeats, Mercia completely lost the courage to launch an offensive and watched helplessly as the number of siege weapons outside the city increased day by day.

12 month 20 day.

After more than a week of heavy snow, the snow finally stopped. At noon, Vig and Ulf were ordered to go to the eastern camp to attend a meeting.

Ragnar: "What's the situation at the Northwest Camp?"

Vig presented his work results for this period: three catapults, three siege towers, and one hundred siege ladders. Clearly, the two attacks by the Mercian army severely hampered his progress.

Then there's Leonard, whose camp is located on the south bank of the Tam River, unsuitable as a main attack location, so he focuses on building catapults, numbering ten.

"That's enough. Two days ago, a large batch of oil canisters and arrows were sent from the country. The temperature has risen these past few days, which is perfect for our army to attack the city!"

Enduring the bitter cold and toiling day and night, the soldiers were quite resentful, and Ragnar was unwilling to delay any longer. He ordered three camps to bombard the city walls to weaken the morale of the defenders, and then launch a general offensive when the time was right.

After the meeting, Vig and Ulf returned to the northwest camp to urge the soldiers to prepare. The next morning, almost simultaneously, catapults from three directions began bombarding the walls of Tamworth.

(End of this chapter)