96.
96.
"Ubba! Jarl Ecgberht! How long has it been!"
"Konungr Helgi."
"Ohh- Konungr! I, Ecgberht, have waited only for this day...!"
"Ah- seeing you in good health, I am glad as well, Ecgberht."
This man seemed to have grown wider sideways...
The sight of Ecgberht bowing to me, rubbing both his hands, felt burdensome.
He had eaten and lived so well that his face practically gleamed.
'Still, is plump better than skinny...?'
Somehow rationalizing it in a positive light, I turned my head toward Ubba.
"Huntadun has agreed to cooperate with us, and Stanford refused. Lincoln doesn't look in good shape either, I see?"
"It is as you see."
A wry smile bloomed on his face.
As Ubba and Ecgberht entered the tent they had prepared in advance, my followers and I took our seats one by one.
It had not been a long march, but a march was a march. Even if the troops rested a little, commanders always had work to do.
Jarl Leofric, wedged among them, was flustered and struggling greatly, and the sight made me chuckle.
In any case, he had served as the leader of a region, so he would adapt soon enough.
"Konungr. What became of Huntadun and Stanford?"
No sooner had we sat down than Ubba's eyes glinted as he asked about the progress of the operation. At times, I thought Ubba was even more earnest about conquest than I was.
Of course, I did not dislike it, and as his brother I wished Ubba would take a little more interest in his own life... but this brother of mine possessed a strong workaholic streak.
"Huntadun has agreed to cooperate with us, and Stanford has yet to make its decision."
"Hmm. I see. Then we can bring down Lincoln together. Once the largest city in the marshlands crumbles, Stanford will have no other choice."
"A fortress like that can be scaled in an instant!"
"They will be so stricken with terror they won't even be able to loose their arrows properly!"
"Oh- Konungr's great and majestic presence has blanketed the far side of the walls, so it will not be long before they open the gate themselves and crawl out on all fours to surrender...!"
The warriors all chimed in to echo my words along with Ubba's nod.
Among them, Ecgberht's agreement stood out the most, but my mind was fixed entirely on the walls of Lincoln and what lay beyond them.
"I saw the siege weapons prepared on the way here, so Lincoln likewise refused to surrender obediently, I take it?"
"There are always those who must first be struck by a blade before they come to their senses, Konungr. They will soon regret their foolish choice."
"Jarl Ubba's words are correct! Konungr! I went forth myself and informed them that Konungr would soon be arriving, yet they dared to stall for time under the pretense of Konungr's mercy...! They must be punished without fail!"
"Hear, hear!"
Ecgberht's impassioned denunciation followed Ubba's cool-headed words. Sæþorolfr cheered him on.
In my opinion, Sæþorolfr had a tendency to hate anyone who opposed me, regardless of race, age, gender, or rank. In that sense, he and Ecgberht unexpectedly got along remarkably well.
"Yes, I understand that a siege must be undertaken. But besides that, were there no other matters of note?"
I rose from my seat, pushed open one side of the tent made of tough leather, and gazed at the lonely fortress standing far in the distance.
Ubba, who among those who had followed behind me stood closest, looked out at the fortress beside me and answered in a low voice.
"Inside that fortress, there are refugees from the south of our Northumbria who came down from the Dair."
"Refugees?"
Ubba, who shrugged at my questioning gaze, continued his explanation.
"Not everyone in Northumbria accepted Konungr's rule, you see. Did not several nobles and a great many monks and peasants flee in droves to Mercia and beyond? It seems their treatment has not been good. They said that once we attack the fortress, they will cooperate with us at once."
"Aha-. So it was not intended, but things are turning out this way again. And what do you think? Ubba. Could they open the gate?"
This was a very interesting story. It piqued my interest.
[Suu-]
As I stroked my now considerably grown beard with a suggestive tone and raised an eyebrow, a weary smile spread across Ubba's serious face.
"So bears know how to make faces."
"What? I am not a bear-"
"Personally, I consider trusting peasants to be a foolish move. Their sincerity is not the issue; their ability is. Lincoln is, in any case, the mightiest fortress in the marshlands. If a few peasants could have taken it, it would have fallen into our grasp long ago."
"Hmm."
That was a cutting remark. A cold judgment that sliced through my faint hope with a single stroke. Yet there was nothing wrong with what he said.
One could be mistaken because the warriors of Árós and I were abnormally strong, but fundamentally, a tremendous gap existed between those who had received military training and those who had not.
The way to slash with a sword, the way to block an attack with a shield, the way to thrust a spear, the way to draw a bowstring, the way to listen to a deputy's voice within the ranks—and so on.
If a man could do all of this overnight, he would be a born soldier.
Normally, it took a great deal of time to produce proper soldiers. Whether through training or battle.
Therefore, expecting much from the refugees inside the walls was an idea little different from staking this entire battle on luck.
"In the end, we must settle it with our own hands... but if they could cause even a little confusion, it might provide a breakthrough."
"The timing would have to be precise. Would it be possible?"
I understood Ubba's concern.
A diversionary operation plan seemed very effective, but in truth, once you tried to execute it, so many things had to be prepared in advance.
In a world without clocks or radios, an operation that relied on a strict timetable was practically impossible.
So I simplified it.
"Let us match ourselves to them. We will carry out our attack as planned, and we will tell them to pick a convenient moment and stir up a disturbance. They said the refugees were herded to one side? That place will become their weak point."
"If it's to that extent..."
After calculating in his head for a moment, Ubba nodded.
"Lincoln's Jarl might also reposition the refugees, so we should have them send us a signal."
And then Ubba turned his head and began searching for someone among the people who stood lined up behind me.
Soon, the disheveled man whom Ubba named scrambled over and stood before me.
"This man is...?"
"M-My name is Bede...! Konungr Helgi! It is a great honor to meet you thus...!"
"He is the representative of the Dair refugees inside Lincoln's fortress. He came to us risking his life. A courageous man."
Aha.
"Well met, Bede. I am called Helgi Ragnarsson."
"An honor! Konungr!"
I placed a hand on Bede's shoulder, who looked ready to prostrate himself, and asked in a gentle tone.
"So, Bede. I imagine you heard everything I discussed with my brother. What say you? Can you cause chaos inside that fortress? Of course, if you'd rather not all die, it must be done late in the evening."
I had addressed him gently, in a very gentle voice... yet Bede, trembling all over and looking as if he was about to piss himself, answered my question in a barely squeezed-out, mosquito-like voice.
"Of, of course! I shall risk my life without fail to create great chaos...! Please, spare me!"
"..."
I had no intention of killing him...
"Why would I kill you? If this mission succeeds, I shall bestow great gifts upon you and those who follow you. There must be no negligence."
"Long live Konungr Helgi! I shall succeed without fail!"
"Good, good. Seutorolpeu, provide this brave man with everything he needs."
"Yes, Konungr!"
[Chk! Chk! Chk!]
"Let us go!"
"Yes, yes! Thank you! Konungr! Thank you...!"
Even as he disappeared under Seutorolpeu's guidance like a criminal being led away, Bede kept voicing his thanks to me.
Having sent off our insider, who was sure to be a great help, I finally laid out the detailed plans for the attack on Lincoln with the Jarls.
We rested for three straight days to finish siege preparations, and then, after confirming that Bede and Jarl Leofric were heading toward the eastern gate where the fortress's sewage flowed out, we launched our attack.
After all, we needed to draw the enemy's attention and also check how strong their defenses were.
*****
"Push!"
"Shields—! Ready!"
[Chk! Chk! Chk!]
"Forward—!"
"Slow advance!"
[Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!]
"Push harder—!"
"Catapults, prepare to fire!"
[Kiiiik—]
'This is a magnificent sight.'
Ubba had truly come down prepared.
Six catapults alone, each slightly larger than the one Sigurdeu had built before.
The ladders waiting in the rear were beyond counting, and most importantly, there were simple wooden walls to shield against enemy fire, and a battering ram with a sturdy roof of rawhide finished to resist fire.
I was disappointed not to see any siege towers like those from games or movies, but this was more than enough to take a stone fortress like Lincoln.
What impressed me more, however, was our Northmen's siege tactics.
I had suggested various ideas from a future man's perspective, but seeing them embodied like this showed me once again just how exceptional Ubba's ability truly was.
Fundamentally, since siege and defense are protracted struggles, my thinking was that it must proceed with minimal troop losses.
The shield-wall troops advanced slowly from the outer edge of the enemy's firing range, as if claiming ground inch by inch, while engineers carrying wooden barriers followed behind them to set up a kind of fire-safe zone.
Then, our archers would be moved forward to return fire, and we advanced again.
Meanwhile, the catapults targeted the enemy's walls, and the battering ram crept steadily forward.
'And when a gap appears, the ladders will surely rush in. One could not conduct a siege better than this.'
In a truly prolonged campaign, we could dig sapping tunnels right up to the base of the walls, but... that level of effort did not seem necessary.
'Jarl Leofric must be doing well by now.'
There was a reason I had sent the insider Bede and the newly sworn vassal Jarl Leofric with guides from the marshlands.
It turned out the marshlanders, and among them especially Jarl Leofric, were exceptionally outstanding rangers. Small of stature, sharp of eye, keen of sense.
Surviving the vicious natural environment of the marshlands was fundamentally difficult unless one was a fine hunter.
Therefore, I decided to give Jarl Leofric, who had volunteered eagerly, a chance to earn great merit.
The objective was internal disruption.
[Shwaeaeak— shwaeaeak— puck! Puhpuhpuck!]
Enemy arrows flew and struck the shields of my advancing troops, who moved forward in small, split groups of a hundred or two hundred at a time.
It was an unfamiliar sight. Usually, we were the ones shooting arrows while the enemy scrambled to block. Truly, siege warfare was an utterly unpleasant way to fight.
"Advancing!"
"Halting!"
[Shwaeaeak shwaeak! Puhpuck!]
The troops halted briefly where the arrows concentrated, while those in less targeted areas advanced.
Thanks to the exceptional skill of my subordinate commanders, who had fought all over the world following my lead, our advance was unimpeded.
Soon, upon reaching the enemy's shallow moat, each man poured the earth he had brought into it and withdrew. Then, after regrouping, they entered again.
This whole sequence of actions unfolded at the fortress's western gate, while Jarl Leofric and Bede would be approaching the eastern gate where the sewage drained out.
It was around the time the sun hung at the sky's center that, amidst the sharp ripping sounds and the countless arrows flying through the air, large chunks of stone were hurled upward.
"Everyone come up front! Firing! Firing!!!"
"Fire! Fire!"
"One—! Two—!"
[Tak! Teong! Hwoooong—!]
They pulled hard on the ends of the ingeniously tied long knots, and the stones hung in the slings flew through the air.
[Wooooong— Kwang! Kwakwang! Koowoong!]
They were noticeably slower than the arrows passing by their sides, but the projectiles, numbering six, possessed an incomparable weight.
Three struck the wall, and two flew over it, but one, through an incredible coincidence, swept cleanly across a space where enemy archers were densely packed.
[Kwang! Puhbuhbuck! Uwaaaaah—!]
Human bodies, caught by the indifferent kinetic energy and mass, fell following the stone's path or had struck parts torn from them fly skyward.
Soon, agonized screams filled the top of the wall, and the enemy's arrow fire quieted down.
'How on earth did they achieve that kind of accuracy...'
There was no sighting instrument of any kind; a shot relying purely on luck succeeding in a single shot... I had never seen such a thing.
"Eeya—!"
"Good! One more with the same length! Tell the fellows beside us!"
"No good, the stones all weigh different! Don't get greedy, aim just for the wall!"
"Tie the knot first and then see!"
Amidst the voices and shouts of the warriors burning with zeal, the battle only grew fiercer.