novelraw Chapter 105: The Castle
Chapter 105: The Castle
Ch 105: The Castle
Until the commotion gradually subsided, Gunnar slowly spoke: “Gentlemen, this is not a personal grudge, but a matter of duty.”
He quickly explained the current situation: he had been granted the title of Duke of Normandy, ruling the nearby coastline, including the Channel Islands. Given the current situation, these prisoners faced two choices.
One: Leave the Channel Islands, and come to pillage again in the future, and Gunnar would kill them without mercy.
Two: Settle on the shore, and each person would receive a plot of land suitable for cultivation.
Noticing that Gunnar had no intention of killing, nor of selling slaves, the prisoners breathed a sigh of relief. Someone noticed the silver cross around his neck and tentatively asked:
“Must we convert to the Roman Catholic Church to settle?”
“No, Normandy belongs to my jurisdiction; in this land, all Normans who submit to me will be protected.”
Hearing this answer, more than two hundred pirates from Jersey Island surrendered completely and led their supplies to settle on land.
With Jersey Island settled, there was a smaller island to the northwest, Guernsey. At this time, the morning mist on the sea had dissipated, and the sun was high in the sky. After Gunnar led his troops ashore, the Vikings here were already prepared. Looking up, more than thirty women and boys holding bows and arrows stood on the high cliffs. On the road leading to the cliff, one hundred adult men formed a shield wall, ready for battle.
Surrounded by soldiers, Gunnar came fifty paces from the shield wall, stated his identity, and requested to negotiate with the pirate chieftain.
A man over forty left the shield wall. He wore a worn iron scale armor, with strands of gray hair at his temples. “What do you want?”
Gunnar used the same argument he had used on Jersey Island, but the other man spat heavily. “Ragnar occupied Britain, and now you claim the nearby coastline as yours. You take all the benefits, how do others survive?”
For decades, the Vikings’ primary targets were the Seven Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms, followed by West Francia.
If they gave up these two targets, it meant that the pirates could only go to Iberia in the southwest, or pillage the east and south of the Baltic Sea, resulting in decreased yield and a significantly higher danger level.
As a former pirate, Gunnar understood their predicament. However, times had changed. He had now been granted amnesty and had become the Duke of Normandy under the French King, and naturally had to protect the interests of West Francia.
He offered a suggestion, “You can give up pillaging. West Francia’s land is fertile, most suitable for growing crops. After working hard for most of your life, it’s time to enjoy a stable life.”
“Farming?” The pirate chieftain laughed sarcastically,
“You, Ragnar, Ivar, Vig, and Orm, you are all from peasant backgrounds. Why didn’t you stay in the countryside farming? Now you have all become kings, dukes, and earls. Not only have you abandoned the traditions passed down through generations, but you also turn your swords against your former clansmen. You are unworthy of being called Vikings.”
After a long argument, the two could only resolve their differences through a duel.
Under everyone’s gaze, the two drew their longswords and faced each other. The salty sea breeze blew through their hair. After a while, the pirate chieftain roared, raising his iron sword and striking with force.
Facing the descending shadow, Gunnar took a step to the right, simultaneously using the back half of Dawnbreaker’s blade to intercept the opponent’s blow, and then twisting.
The next moment, Gunnar used the cross-guard to block the chieftain’s blade. With a slight exertion of his wrist, the point of Dawnbreaker had reached the chieftain’s left neck. A few drops of blood seeped out, forming a faint red line along the edge of the blade.
“You lose.”
Only then did Gunnar suddenly recall recognizing his opponent. More than ten years ago, the two of them had gone to East Anglia to pillage with Ragnar. At that time, they were poor and destitute, without iron armor or iron swords, only equipped with round shields and hand axes. They almost died during a siege by the local militia. With great difficulty, they escaped back to Northern Europe, only to be severely scolded by the nobles for not paying enough spoils of war.
After so many years, he never expected to meet again under such circumstances.
Noticing the flicker in Gunnar’s eyes, the chieftain chuckled self-deprecatingly. “Your Grace, you finally remember? A small character like me really doesn’t have much worth remembering. Don’t hesitate, the Hall of the Slain is calling me.”
“Are you sure?”
“In a few years, I’ll be fifty. I’m in such a state, I’m too ashamed to go back to the countryside to farm. Do it, let’s end this with the Viking tradition.”
“May you rest in peace, my brother.” Noticing the chieftain’s resolute attitude, Gunnar reluctantly killed him.
Seeing the duel’s outcome, nearly half of the pirates were willing to surrender. Gunnar didn’t make things difficult for the rest, letting them sail back to Northern Europe or Britain to spread the news of him becoming the Duke of Normandy.
“Remember, I welcome Vikings to settle and trade, and I will kill without mercy every pirate who comes to pillage.”
At the same time, in Tyne Town.
After more than half a year of hard work, Vig returned to his territory with supplies and horses. Led by Herigifu, he went to the southwest corner of the town to visit his new home.
Tyne Castle was built over two years, located on a southwest low hill over twenty meters high.
The outermost part of the castle was a moat about four meters deep, and behind the moat was a six-meter-high stone wall, meaning the attacking party needed to climb nearly ten meters.
The wall was 2.5 meters thick, with battlements and arrow slits on top. A circular arrow tower stood at each corner, with a small catapult placed on top.
The main entrance to the castle was the East Gate, with double iron gates. A wooden drawbridge crossed the moat; at night, the drawbridge was raised to prevent intrusion.
Surrounded by guards, Vig crossed the drawbridge and the city gate. He found that the castle’s area hadn’t changed, still a square with sides of two hundred meters.
Inside the castle, the most striking feature was the main building, roughly a 24 x 18-meter rectangle, with 2.5-meter-thick walls and a height of about fifteen meters, divided into four floors.
The first floor was the hall, used for banquets and councils.
The second and third floors were used to receive visitors.
The fourth floor served as the lord’s living quarters and stored valuables such as gold and silver, and scrolls.
In last year’s Mercia-Wessex war, Vig and Pascal divided the looted scrolls. Including the collection of books gathered over the past few years, they filled ten bookshelves in total.
In addition, a cellar was dug below the main building to store grain, weapons, and daily supplies. In extreme cases, if the outer walls were breached, the main building could still hold out for a while.
Climbing to the top of the main building, Vig overlooked the various facilities. The overall layout was almost the same as the blueprints.
The courtyard, the deep well in the center of the courtyard, the warehouse, the kitchen, the stable, the soldiers’ barracks, and the latrines.
Among them, the two underground floors of the soldiers’ barracks served as a prison for guarding prisoners.
“How much did it cost in total?”
Herigifu snuggled into her husband’s arms and hummed twice, lazily saying: “There was a slight overrun. The total cost was two hundred pounds of silver. Fortunately, Hadrian’s Wall nearby provided stone materials; otherwise, the construction cost would have exceeded four hundred pounds at least.”