Ch 4: The Invitation

For a while, Vig followed Ivar to learn combat skills. As a shield-bearer, he could enjoy bread and fish, and his originally thin figure grew increasingly strong.

Sometimes, Ragnar, when bored, would also give him a few pointers.

“Don’t over-rely on your shield; remember not to let it obscure your vision.”

“Against common soldiers, the most practical approach is to let them attack. After blocking with your shield, the attacker will have a brief moment of instability; it’s best to exploit this gap for a fatal blow. If facing experienced warriors, they will use feints to lure you into attacking. At this time, you should pay close attention to their pace.”

“If you and your enemy are both wielding swords, you can use the ‘sword entanglement’ technique. Use your blade to press against your opponent’s weapon, twist and deflect their sword blade, then thrust directly at a vital point.”

Through years of melee combat, Ragnar summarized five commonly used swordsmanship techniques: simple and efficient. Besides entanglement, there are overhead chop, counterattack, thrust, and disarm.

Compared to a hand axe, an iron sword has much better maneuverability, capable of both chopping and thrusting. The only drawback is the high price. An ordinary one-handed sword costs half a pound of silver, equivalent to four cows. Chainmail is even more expensive, usually costing 3-5 pounds of silver, only affordable for nobles or veteran warriors.

Vig, being relatively inexperienced, didn’t qualify for top-tier armor like chainmail. He only wore a set of scale armor stripped from a fallen shield-bearer, weighing about twenty-six jin (approximately 13 kg). He wore a common Germanic iron helmet; the protection was still quite good.

The training lasted until the cold winter. He completely adapted to his new identity as a shield-bearer. For some reason, he seemed quite suited to using a one-handed sword. As time went on, he could even exchange a few blows with top fighters like Ivar.

“Good, you’ve made great progress. With this iron armor, ordinary warriors can’t do anything to you.”

Using a weakness, Ivar knocked Vig to the ground, then sighed to himself, feeling he had completed his task.

Suddenly, a commotion came from the east side street. He looked closely and saw twenty young women equipped with round shields and hand axes, surrounding Ragnheid as they approached. At the end of the group followed a ten-year-old boy in white clothes.

“You’ve finally arrived.”

Ivar excitedly greeted his mother and younger brother. With these shield-maidens helping to maintain order, he would sleep much more soundly at night.

From the rear, Vig painfully climbed from the ground, looking at the tall, beautiful woman with long, light-white hair in the crowd, instantly guessing her name.

Ragnheid, being the most well-known shield-maiden in Northern Europe, recruiting followers wasn’t surprising. As for the boy in white at the end, he should be the Halfdan of “white clothes” from posterity.

With the arrival of this reinforcement, the Lord’s Longhouse became increasingly lively. Soon, Gunnar also led a group of Viking warriors to pledge allegiance. Ragnar’s troop numbers reached sixty, and food consumption increased significantly.

Seeing the storehouse reserves dwindling day by day, Ragnar was forced to conduct a full inventory of his wealth. The result was alarming—even if he used gold and silver to buy food, the food supplies wouldn’t last until autumn.

“After spring, we must go to sea to pillage, otherwise we won’t be able to survive.”

Upon receiving Ragnar’s order, the carpenters began building Viking warships, and the idle members of the royal guard were sent to the workshops to do odd jobs.

To this day, the design of Viking longships has matured, divided into merchant ships and warships.

Merchant ships have wider and deeper hulls, fixed cargo holds, and decks. Their length is 15-20 meters, capable of carrying ten tons of goods.

Warships emphasize speed and maneuverability, have no fixed cargo holds, are 20-30 meters long, and usually carry fifty warriors.

Over the next month, Vig witnessed firsthand how the artisans of this era built longships. First, a strong, intact tree trunk was selected to serve as the keel, ensuring structural strength and preventing it from falling apart in the waves.

The hull material was corrosion-resistant oak. The planks were riveted in an overlapping manner and then secured with iron nails. The crevices between the planks were filled with tar-soaked moss. Vig doubted the waterproofing capabilities of this material, but he could only grit his teeth and follow along.

After processing the hull, ribs and beams needed to be added. The materials chosen were more flexible hazel or ash wood. The sailcloth was made of wool and coated with a layer of waterproof beeswax.

By late February, the carpenters had completed three warships. Counting the previous two, a total of two hundred people could go to sea. The target for pillage remained Britain.

The reason for choosing Britain instead of the wealthier West Francia was simple.

Since the end of Roman rule in Britain, the island has fallen into a long period of division, with countless large and small countries scattered across the land, and civilization has drastically regressed. Currently, only three countries have a certain level of strength: Northumbria, Mercia, and Wessex, from north to south. The remaining regions are powerless to prevent small-scale pirate attacks.

“Well, our target is still Essex. Hopefully, we can grab more iron farming tools.”

While Ragnar was preparing supplies, he suddenly saw an envoy arriving from Oslo. The envoy stated his purpose, saying that King Eric invited Ragnar to visit.

“Is it to discuss pillage?”

The envoy nodded, “Yes, he is looking forward to your arrival.”

“Good, I’ll leave tomorrow.” Three years ago, Ragnar had met Eric once, and their impression of each other was quite good. He shouldn’t be in danger.

The next morning, Ragnar and his party sailed north along the coastline. Five days later, they arrived in Oslo—Norway’s largest settlement, with a permanent resident population of two thousand.

“What a lively place.”

Since traveling to this time, Vig had never seen so many ships. Looking around, the cold wind tore at the morning mist on both sides of the fjord’s cliffs. Hundreds of longships crowded the sea, their tall masts piercing the sky like a floating forest.

He walked ashore on the creaking dock, finding the place bustling with activity. The air was filled with the smell of ale, pickled herring, and burning whale fat, mixed with the clanging of the blacksmith’s shop, revealing a rare air of prosperity.

On the way to the Lord’s Longhouse, Vig roughly counted at least a hundred warriors equipped with iron armor. He guessed that King Eric must have invited other nobles, otherwise, he alone wouldn’t be able to gather so much armor.

“Is this a pirate convention?”

Soon, Vig’s guess was confirmed. In the open space in front of the Lord’s Longhouse, nine seats were arranged in a circle, symbolizing the equal status of the nine nobles.

“Nine nobles. If each territory contributes more than two hundred people, that’s a huge fleet of two thousand. Enough to conquer a small to medium-sized country. This will be a rare spectacle.”

Filled with curiosity, Vig stood behind Ragnar’s seat, quietly listening to this pirate convention.