Ch 79: Pursuit

In the evening, various unit commanders dined at the manor house, learning the bad news of the cavalry’s attack.

Someone asked, “Is the other supply route still safe?”

“I have already dispatched scout troops, and there is no reply yet.”

Faced with the King’s answer, the commanders exchanged glances, nonchalantly eating stewed mutton. Not until they were full 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 retook it two hours later. Most of the fishing boats were burned, and the remainder were seized by Ivar.”

At this point, Æthelwolf realized his “defensive counterattack” strategy had failed, and he only had one choice left—a decisive battle.

Defeating Ragnar in a field battle meant regaining the initiative. Then he could dispatch a small force to retake the fishing village and personally lead the main force north to pursue Ragnar. Conversely, if the field battle was lost…

No, there are no ifs!

With the supply lines cut, Æthelwolf dispelled his last hesitation and marched out the next morning for a decisive battle.

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 war became exceptionally tedious. The two shield walls became entangled, soldiers yelling and thrusting their weapons. When casualties reached a critical point, Wessex’s shield wall began to slowly retreat.

“Hold the line!”

Seeing the left flank being driven back by the enemy, Æthelwolf sent two hundred Royal Guards to help. Having barely stabilized the situation, seven hundred Viking reinforcements, including two hundred cavalry, emerged from the forest（North） on the right flank!

At this moment, Æthelwolf only had one hundred guards and three hundred archers left. He threw his last chips, and four hundred soldiers formed a shield wall to meet them, only to be crushed by the Viking infantry. From beginning to end, the cavalry stood quietly in place, exuding an indescribable deterrence, greatly weakening Wessex’s morale.

Half an hour later, Wessex’s lines completely collapsed, yet the Viking cavalry still had not attacked. Æthelwolf finally realized that this cavalry did not have combat power; it merely served as a deterrent.

Carried away by countless scattered soldiers, he unwillingly shouted, “Damn it, we were tricked by that guy with the strange serpent banner!”

After the bloody battle, Ragnar arranged for some lightly-armed infantry in good condition to pursue the remaining enemy, then rode towards those tall mounts.

Dismounting, he stroked the Frankish warhorse’s soft mane and strong muscles, and could not help but exclaim, “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 inferior horses to make up the numbers.”

Stroking the warhorse’s body, Ragnar happily fulfilled his promise, awarding the assault team seven hundred pounds of silver. The bright silver coins flowed like water onto the grassland, dazzling everyone.

After distributing the reward money, Ragnar had the grooms rounded up. He planned to establish a Royal Riding School to specifically breed Frankish warhorses suitable for charging.

To save their lives, the grooms agreed to pledge allegiance and gave a huge piece of good news:

The Oxford tournament had ended, and Æthelwolf had paid West Francia two thousand three hundred pounds of wealth to purchase a total of seven hundred warhorses. Besides these, there were five hundred more in the riding school outside Winchester.

“What did you say?” Ragnar was ecstatic and decided to adopt a more aggressive strategy.

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

Along the way, Ragnar joined forces with Ivar, and under the latter’s guidance, the Vikings reached Oxford town in just two days.

Without any hesitation, more than two thousand Vikings launched a siege from four directions. Wielding rope hooks, they endured stones and arrows thrown from behind the battlements, suffering over a hundred casualties before seizing a small section of the wall on the east side.

Soon, a steady stream of Viking warriors climbed up the ropes, killing the Earl who had come to reinforce them. Seeing this, the demoralized militia scattered, and the important northern town of Wessex fell.

In the Earl’s Residence, Ragnar leaned tiredly against his chair, listening to his subordinate’s report.

“Any news of Æthelwolf?”

“No, but we captured a large number of priests, clerks, and young attendants, totaling one hundred and thirty people.”

Failing to capture the king, Ragnar sighed regretfully, “Guard them strictly; they may play an unexpected role.”

After a short rest, he and Ivar discussed their next plan. Ivar decided to continue south, taking advantage of the enemy’s lack of mustered troops to capture Winchester in one fell swoop.

“From Oxford to Winchester, it’s more than forty miles. Two days is enough.”

“Improper,” after days of marching, the soldiers’ stamina was at its limit. Ragnar did not believe they had the energy to take Winchester.

“This city was built by the Romans. Even if your troops reach the city, ropes alone cannot breach the tall stone walls. Sigh, I estimate we can only adopt Vig’s method and spend two or three months building siege weapons.”

After pondering for a few minutes, Ivar insisted on his opinion, “If the city defenses are empty, I will seize the city and end this war. If I fail to capture the city, I will proceed with the original plan to occupy the riding school.”

Having persuaded his father, Ivar selected eight hundred volunteers and marched along the roads from the Roman period deep into Wessex.

After hundreds of years of wind and rain, most of the stone slabs were buried in the mud, leaving only the compacted roadbed winding between the hills and woodlands. Spring rains made the roads muddy, with occasional deep wheel tracks left by merchant wagons.

“Walls, roads, elevated irrigation ditches, Odin above, why did the Romans have such powerful construction capabilities? Did they use some kind of magic?”

Two days later, they arrived at the River Itchen. Fishermen were casting nets from small boats, reeds grew on the shore, and wild ducks gathered in flocks. Following the river channel south, the outline of Winchester gradually became clear.

“Speed up, ignore the commoners.”

Ivar endured his fatigue and charged towards Winchester. From time to time, Viking warriors fell behind, but he ignored them; his eyes were fixed on the tall walls on the horizon.

From afar, the yellow dragon banner of Wessex fluttered atop the arrow towers. Outside the city gate, a long line of people were waiting for inspection.

The Vikings charged to within three hundred paces. Ignoring the pleas of the commoners, the garrison closed the city gate, destroying Ivar’s idea of a surprise attack.

“Sir, what should we do?”

“Retreat!”

Looking at the large number of archers behind the battlements, Ivar chose to retreat. After learning the location of the riding school from nearby villagers, he led his troops far away in a southwest direction.

Thank you to the book friend who wants to be the Sun Knight for the reward.