Vikings: Lords of the Ice Sea

Chapter 79 Pursuit
In the evening, the commanders of various units were having dinner at the manor house when they received the bad news that the cavalry had been attacked.

Someone asked, "Is the other supply route still safe?"

"I have already sent out scouts, but there has been no reply yet."

The commanders exchanged bewildered glances at the king's reply, continuing to eat their stewed mutton with a perfunctory air. Only after they had finished eating and drinking did a guard rush in to report:
"Your Majesty, at noon today, the fishing village on the south bank of the river was attacked. We recaptured it two hours later. Most of the fishing boats were burned, and the rest were taken by Ivar."

At this point, Essellsław realized that their "defense and counter-attack" strategy had failed, and now they only had one option left—a decisive battle.

Defeating Ragnar in open battle would mean regaining the initiative, allowing him to send a small force to recapture the fishing village while he personally leads the main force north to pursue Ragnar. Conversely, a defeat in open battle would...
No, there are no "ifs"!

With his supply route cut off, Esserwolf cast aside his last shred of hesitation and set out for the decisive battle the following morning.

On the flat, open wheat field, thousands of soldiers formed a shield wall, slowly approaching each other. Due to the lack of cavalry on both sides, the battle became exceptionally dull. The two shield walls became entangled, and the soldiers shouted as they thrust their weapons. When casualties reached a certain critical point, the Wessex shield wall began to slowly retreat.

"Get on top!"

Seeing that the left flank was being pushed back by the enemy, Esserwolf sent two hundred palace guards to help. After finally stabilizing the situation, seven hundred Viking reinforcements poured out from the woods (north) on the right flank, including two hundred cavalry!

At this moment, Ethelwaugh was left with only a hundred guards and three hundred archers. He recklessly threw out his last gamble, sending four hundred soldiers in a shield wall to meet them, only to be routed by the Viking infantry. Throughout the entire ordeal, the cavalry stood silently in place, radiating an indescribable aura of intimidation that significantly weakened the morale of the Wessex forces.

Half an hour later, Wessex's lines had completely collapsed, and the Viking cavalry still hadn't launched an attack. Esserwolf finally realized that this cavalry unit was not capable of fighting and was merely serving a deterrent purpose.

Swept away by countless fleeing soldiers, he cried out in despair, "Damn it, we were fooled by that guy waving the monstrous snake flag!"

After the bloody battle, Ragnar ordered some of the light infantry who were still in good condition to pursue and wipe out the remaining enemy, and then spurred his horse to charge at those tall mounts.

He dismounted and stroked the Frankish warhorse's smooth mane and strong, muscular physique, exclaiming, "Excellent! This is what a warhorse should look like. Are all the captured horses here?"

Removing his helmet, Vig reported the results of the battle: "Yes, one hundred and forty Frankish warhorses, and sixty dwarf horses to make up the numbers."

After stroking the warhorse's entire body, Ragnar gladly kept his promise and awarded the commando members seven hundred pounds of silver. The gleaming silver coins poured onto the grass like water, dazzling the onlookers.

After distributing the rewards, Ragnar ordered his men to be kept under close watch on the grooms. He planned to establish a royal horse farm specifically to breed Frankish warhorses suitable for charging into battle.

To save their lives, the grooms agreed to pledge their loyalty and offered some incredibly good news:
After the Oxford tournament, Ethelworth paid West Franks a fortune of 2,300 pounds of silver to purchase a total of 700 warhorses. In addition, there were 500 more horses at the stables outside Winchester.

"What did you say?" Ragnar was overjoyed and decided to take a more aggressive approach.

After a night's rest, Ragnar selected two thousand men in relatively good condition and led them lightly armed to head south towards Oxford.

Along the way, Ragnar met up with Ivar, and under the latter's guidance, the Vikings reached Oxford in just two days.

Without the slightest hesitation, more than two thousand Vikings launched an attack from four directions. Armed with grappling hooks, they endured stones and arrows hurled from behind the battlements, suffering over a hundred casualties before capturing a small section of the eastern wall.

Soon, a steady stream of Viking warriors climbed up the ropes and killed the sheriff who had come to reinforce them. Seeing this, the demoralized militia scattered, and the northern stronghold of Wessex fell. In the sheriff's mansion, Ragnar leaned wearily against his chair, listening to his subordinates' reports.

"Any news from Ethiopia?"

"No, but we captured a large number of priests, clerks, and young servants, totaling one hundred and thirty people."

Unable to capture the king, Ragnar sighed regretfully, "If they are kept under strict guard, they might play an unexpected role."

After a short rest, he discussed the next steps with Ivar. The latter decided to continue south and, before the enemy could muster their forces, seize Winchester in one fell swoop.

"From Oxford to Winchester, it's a little over forty miles, two days should be enough."

“That’s not right.” After days of travel, the soldiers’ physical strength was nearing its limit, and Ragnar did not believe they had the strength to capture Winchester.

"This city was built by the Romans. Even if your troops reach the city walls, you won't be able to breach the high stone walls with just ropes. Alas, I guess we'll have to resort to Vig's method and spend two or three months building siege equipment."

After a few minutes of contemplation, Ivar insisted on his opinion: "If the city's defenses are weak, I will seize the opportunity to take the city and end this war in one fell swoop. If I fail to take the city, I will proceed with the original plan to capture the military horse farm."

Having persuaded his father, Ivar selected eight hundred men who volunteered to fight and led them deep into Wessex along a Roman-era road.

After hundreds of years of wind and rain, most of the stone slabs are buried in the soil, leaving only the rammed roadbed winding between the hills and woodlands. Spring rains make the roads muddy, and occasionally you can see the deep ruts left by caravans.

"City walls, roads, aqueducts—with Odin above, how did the Romans possess such formidable construction capabilities? Did they use some kind of magic?"

Two days later, they arrived at the banks of the Itchin River, where fishermen cast their nets from small boats, and reeds grew abundantly along the banks, with flocks of wild ducks. Heading south along the river, the outline of Winchester gradually came into view.

"Speed ​​up, ignore the civilians."

Ivar, suppressing his exhaustion, charged toward Winchester. Viking warriors were falling behind from time to time, but he paid no heed to them, his eyes fixed only on the towering city wall on the horizon.

Looking out, the yellow dragon flag of Wessex flutters atop the arrow towers, and outside the city gates, a long queue waits to enter for inspection.

The Vikings charged within three hundred paces, but the defenders, ignoring the pleas of the civilians, closed the city gates, thwarting Ivar's plan to launch a surprise attack.

"Sir, what should I do?"

"withdraw!"

Seeing the large number of archers behind the battlements, Ivar chose to retreat. After learning the location of the military horse farm from the surrounding villagers, he led his troops away in the southwest.

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(End of this chapter)