Vikings: Lords of the Ice Sea

Chapter 98 Severn River

In late July, the team completed its training.

Based on the information gathered, Vig chose a marching route.

"Gentlemen, my plan is to travel to Worcester, then go upstream along the Severn River, using ships to transport supplies, and finally reach Maratfar, the capital of the Kingdom of Bovis."

Given his prestige accumulated through numerous campaigns, the commanders did not object. The troops marched northwest for two days and arrived at the banks of the Severn River, where a town called Worcester was located on the east bank.

This area remains under Theowough's jurisdiction, and since receiving orders last month, fifty longships have been built and requisitioned locally.

"That's too few! My requirement is one hundred!"

Vig severely reprimanded the Lord of Worcester, while Theowough stood by watching the spectacle. Although Theowough was his vassal, he was always outwardly compliant but inwardly defiant, so being scolded was actually a good thing for him.

He ordered the other side to replenish their ships and supplies within half a month. Vig led his troops along the river and discovered the location of Aufadi.

Looking out, there is a continuous earthen dike stretching from north to south, 2.5 meters high, and a moat about 2 meters deep on the west side. If Welsh bandits were to attack the dike, they would need to climb a height of nearly 4.5 meters.

As a Mercian nobleman, Theowuff proudly described the fortification to Vig:
“Stretching 150 miles from the mouth of the River Dee in the north to the mouth of the River Severn in the south, it separated Wales from Mercia. Faced with such a massive undertaking, King Aufa mobilized prisoners of war, peasants from vassal states, and Welsh tribes, and it took twenty years to complete.”

“Indeed, it is a landmark and magnificent project.” During lunch, Vig took out a pen and paper and carefully described the scenery in front of him.

"Unfortunately, all the fortifications required soldiers to garrison them. Along the way, the outposts were reduced to ruins, and the King of Austria's efforts were ultimately in vain."

His unintentional remark stung Theowough, who became taciturn for the rest of the journey until the afternoon of August 1, when the army encountered its first attack.

The attack came from the west bank of the Severn River. A hundred longbowmen emerged from the forest and formed a loose line in the clearing, harassing the Vikings who were traveling on the east bank.

"The heavy crossbowmen boarded the ship to return fire, while the rest raised their shields and continued to advance."

With a distance of more than 150 meters, ordinary crossbows became ineffective, so Vig ordered a hundred heavy crossbowmen to board the deck and engage in a firefight with an equal number of longbowmen.

Soon, the Welshmen targeted the group of heavy crossbowmen, unleashing a barrage of arrows that sent sparks flying from their helmets and shoulder armor. The rapid, continuous sound reminded Vig of a downpour hitting a tin roof.

After being hit by multiple volleys of arrows, the crossbowmen finished reloading, pulled the triggers towards a row of figures on the opposite bank of the river, and then bent down to reload for the second time.

Ten minutes later, on the west bank of the Severn River.

In each battle, Welsh longbowmen carried two quiver quivers, each containing 30 arrows. They fired at a rate of six arrows per minute for ten minutes straight until they were exhausted.

Amidst the panting of the crowd, the commander tallied the casualties, finding a total of twenty longbowmen lost. The enemy's counterattack showed no signs of slowing down, still firing a volley of crossbow bolts every half minute, slow yet deadly.

"These damned Viking barbarians are so unruly, they're wearing armor and shooting at us like that. Let's retreat, we're not playing with them anymore."

Carrying the bodies of their fallen comrades, the surviving Welshmen quickly disappeared into the woods. After repelling the archers, Vig ordered a night camp to be set up. To prevent an enemy night raid, he and Theowuff took turns on watch, enduring the most dangerous night yet.

On the morning of August 2nd, the Vikings ate breakfast and walked along the river for two hours, successfully reaching their destination.

Looking across the Severn River to the west bank, there are large tracts of farmland along the banks. Further west, the terrain gradually rises, and a wooden fortress stands on the hillside.

Vig rubbed his tired eyes and told Theowuff beside him, "We've arrived at Maratfar Castle, the royal court of the Kingdom of Bovis."

At that moment, eight hundred armed militiamen, including three hundred longbowmen, gathered on the opposite bank of the river, attempting to prevent the Vikings from crossing.

After exchanging fire for several minutes, the two sides, with their overwhelming firepower, had completely crushed the Welsh on the west bank, forcing them to retreat from the riverbank.

"As planned, all departments boarded the ship in an orderly manner."

Under the cover of their own archers, two hundred Viking warriors were the first to reach the west bank. They formed a shield wall with their round shields and silently endured the arrows hurled at them by the enemy.

At 2 p.m., most of the troops had completed crossing the river. Vig led 3,000 men to attack, while Theowough led the remaining 1,000 soldiers to guard the boats.

It was August, and the winter wheat had not yet been sown. The fields were covered with low-lying weeds. Braving the scorching heat of the sun, the Vikings trudged through the soft grass toward the wooden castle on the gentle slope.

Upon seeing the overwhelming number of armored soldiers, the Welsh militia lost all morale and retreated into the fortress, intending to rely on the five-meter-high walls to resist this pagan army.

Three hundred meters from the wooden fort, Vig signaled the left and right flanks to advance and disperse the nearby small groups of archers. He then ordered a thousand crossbowmen to advance to a point one hundred meters from the fort to suppress the longbowmen behind the battlements.

Once the enemy's counterattack was nearly nonexistent, one hundred Vikings pushed wheelbarrows toward the city wall, in groups of four, for a total of twenty-five wheelbarrows.

Amidst the guards' puzzled gazes, the handcart swayed and wobbled to the vicinity of the stockade wall. The Vikings then took out pottery jars and smashed them against the stockade wall, which was ten meters away.

With the crisp sound of clay pots shattering, the defenders smelled the stench of pitch and pine resin, realizing the Vikings intended to burn down the fortified walls. At the king's command, longbowmen risked their lives to peek out from the crenellations and fire, but to little avail; dozens of longbowmen were killed by concentrated fire, and the Vikings discarded all their oil canisters.

Finally, the Viking archers fired a volley of rockets at the stockade wall, igniting the oil that was spreading all over the outside.

Originally intended for the siege of Paris, the Viking fleet brought the oil back to Britain after the peace treaty was reached, where it was used in Maratfar.

Under the scorching heat of the flames, the outermost layer of clay on the stockade wall crumbled away, gradually revealing bare logs stripped of their bark. Seeing this, the defenders, disregarding the threat of arrows, poured water from buckets onto the ramparts, causing a sudden increase in casualties.

Outside the city, Vig, drowsy from staying up all night, waved his left hand.
"Use the remaining oil cans. If they fail to burn down the stockade walls, have the troops cut down timber to build catapults and towers."

Seeing that the garrison couldn't come up with many tricks, Vig simply sat cross-legged on the grass, propped his head up with his left hand, and dozed off. Just as he was about to fall asleep, Yoren woke him up.

"My lord, the garrison has surrendered, and a man wearing a crown is waving at us desperately."

(End of this chapter)