Viking: Master of the Icy Sea

Chapter 152: Bandit Suppression in the Mountains

For this operation, Viggo planned to deploy two thousand five hundred men, dividing his forces into three routes to strike the three valleys where the rebels were stationed.

He personally led the central route, which included fifty armored guards, two mountain infantry companies, and over four hundred conscripted militiamen, totaling eight hundred men. The remaining two forces were led by Joren and Shrike, each also numbering eight hundred.

For supplies, he temporarily gathered one hundred short-legged packhorses perfectly suited for mountainous terrain to carry their food and armor.

With everything prepared, Viggo led his forces out of Stirling County, following a winding trail deep into the mountains.

The summer Scottish Highlands resembled a crumpled green velvet blanket. Over two thousand men formed a long column, marching deeper along the peat path. Their boots sank into the rain-soaked humus, and the damp wind carried the earthy scent of mud straight into their noses.

It was the season when heather blooms. Deep purple flowers could be seen everywhere along the roadside. Viggo glanced down at them before turning his gaze toward a distant col, where a few lopsided thatched cottages stood, wisps of blue smoke from burning sheep dung drifting from their chimneys.

Having marched for the better part of the day, they finally encountered the homes of local residents. He ordered Detective Chief Connor to take a Mandarin Duck squad ahead to gather intelligence.

"Remember to be polite. Do not frighten them," he instructed.

"Understood!"

Connor quickly scrambled toward the distant col. Half an hour later, he returned with a wooden-faced Gaelic youth, claiming this was a guide he had hired for five silver pennies.The young man wore the iconic attire of the Scottish Highlands—a kilt. Made of woolen cloth, it reached down to his knees. It was said that different tartan patterns represented different statuses, but despite observing it for a long while, Viggo could not decipher any such meaning.

"Five silver pennies? What a cheap price," Viggo remarked.

For this operation, eight available detectives, including Connor, were responsible for guiding the way. With professional intelligence personnel on hand, the importance of a local guide diminished significantly, making him an entirely optional asset.

Over the next two days of marching, the army hired a total of six local guides. Along the way, they passed a Highland clan settlement and used silver coins to purchase a large quantity of oats and sheep.

According to the scrolls left behind by missionaries, the inhabitants of the Scottish Highlands formed clans based on bloodlines, with a structure roughly as follows:

The first tier consisted of the clan chieftain and his trusted warriors.

The second tier was made up of freemen, who had the right to a piece of land for farming or grazing. The Highland climate was relatively cold and unsuitable for growing wheat. Barley and oats were the primary crops, while idle grasslands were used to raise cattle and sheep.

The third tier comprised prisoners of war and slaves, who lacked personal freedom.

During their stay at the settlement, Viggo astutely picked up on a crucial piece of information. As the clan leader, a clan chieftain's power relied heavily on personal prestige rather than strict hereditary bloodlines. If an old chieftain died of illness while his son was still young, the position was highly likely to be taken by another clansman.

'After eradicating the rebels, perhaps I should convene a meeting with the clan chieftains to acknowledge and guarantee their hereditary rights. That way, for the sake of their descendants' interests, their loyalty would greatly increase.'

This idea stemmed from the Land Acts promulgated by the English Royal Family in the seventeenth century, which registered all clan lands under the chieftain's name, reducing clan members to mere tenant farmers.

Additionally, the chieftain's children would be required to be sent to the central Lowlands or the England region to receive an education.

Over time, the new generation of chieftains would grow accustomed to living in England, gradually weakening their ties with their members back home. To satisfy their ever-growing material desires, they might even sell their land to the rising nouveau riche of capitalism.

On the fourth day of the march, the troops arrived at a fork in the road. Following the predetermined plan, they split into three branches and hurried toward their respective targets.

Along the way, Connor's gaze remained locked on piles of stones stacked by the roadside. Occasionally, he lay flat on the ground to carefully examine the scratches on the stones, deducing the messages passed on by the undercover agents. On the morning of the fifth day, he brought the Duke some bad news:

"My Lord, one of the undercover agents is dead!"

Viggo was both shocked and enraged. "Was his identity exposed?"

Connor stared at the messy scratches on the stone's surface. "I am not certain. It appears to have been some sort of accident."

With their target close at hand, Viggo was unwilling to delay any further and led his soldiers onward.

Before long, the sharp, piercing whistle of the Mandarin Duck squad echoed from the northwest. Immediately after, more than ten infantrymen frantically scrambled over the ridge line, closely pursued by a massive swarm of Pictish Rebels in chaotic attire.

"They are finally here." Viggo nodded slightly, signaling the troops to deploy into formation.

Upon sensing the movements of the suppression force, the rebels had two choices: flee or fight.

It was currently June, the growing season for crops. If the rebels abandoned their camp, it meant leaving their farmlands and livestock at the mercy of the Vikings.

Having lost their food supplies, they would be forced to pillage the neighboring Highland clans' camps, which would inevitably lead to battle anyway. They were better off taking the initiative and fighting the Vikings outright.

As more and more rebels poured over the ridge, Viggo aligned his formation facing the northwest. Fifty armored guards and three hundred conscripted militiamen formed the front line, the two mountain infantry companies secured the left and right flanks respectively, and the remaining one hundred and fifty militiamen guarded the rear, enclosing an irregular, hollow trapezoid.

Inside the formation were the flocks of sheep and the short-legged packhorses carrying supplies, along with the intelligence personnel and guides.

"Five hundred Pictish Rebels, plus over a hundred kilt-wearing Highlanders. Are these the local mercenaries they recruited?"

Scratching his head, Viggo ordered the longbowmen under the mountain infantry companies to fire at will from the front of the formation.

After five volleys of feathered arrows, the rebels charged to within fifty meters. The longbowmen frantically loosed one last volley before retreating into the formation to avoid being skewered by the enemy's thrown javelins.

At a distance of thirty meters, both sides hurled their javelins simultaneously. Having experienced the Battle of the River Tweed three years ago, the Viking shield-and-axe infantry had begun equipping themselves with standard-issue javelins for mid-to-close-range lethality.

After exchanging two rounds of javelins, the Viking casualties were minimal. The reason lay in the rebels' severe lack of iron; the vast majority of their weapons were wooden spears with weak killing power. Even if they managed to pierce a shield, they could hardly penetrate the iron armor worn by the warriors.

Battered by the barrage of arrows and javelins, the enemy forces lost over a hundred men, causing their morale to dip slightly. The cowards among them slowed their pace, leaving only a few fierce and courageous warriors to crash into the Vikings' shield wall.

Viggo was no longer short of iron armor; for this operation, over half of the conscripted militiamen wore armor. Relying on their overwhelming equipment advantage, the frontal Viking warriors withstood the enemy's furious charge. Once the Indigo Raiders exhausted their stamina, the Viking warriors began to steadily push them back.

Seeing this, the mountain infantry companies stationed on the flanks mobilized. They did not rush to join the melee, but instead flanked outward as far as possible, attempting to cut off the enemy's escape route.

Realizing their chances of victory were slim, the Highland warriors guarding the rear were the first to retreat. Having suffered zero casualties throughout the engagement, they looked more like a squad of battlefield cheerleaders.

With their allies fleeing, the remaining Picts were completely encircled. Left with no other choice, they huddled together and launched a desperate, reckless charge. Aside from a hundred or so who successfully broke through the lines, the remaining three hundred were all taken as prisoners.