Viking: Master of the Icy Sea

Chapter 358: Pursuing the Remnant Enemies

After the grueling long-distance march and the decisive battle, the Viking army was utterly exhausted. For today, at least, any pursuit was out of the question.

At four in the afternoon, the Third Field Division arrived on the battlefield. They brought along a massive amount of supply wagons abandoned by allied forces, but unfortunately, they had missed the battle.

That night, Wigg convened a war council.

"Gunnar's cavalry suffered catastrophic losses, yet he still commands over twenty thousand infantrymen. I have decided to strike Gunnar first and wipe out his slow-moving militia.

Charles the Bald only has six to eight thousand men left. His forces are weak and pose no significant threat. Once I dismantle the Southern Army, I will take my time dealing with his troops."

On July 15th, two Infantry Regiments escorted the wounded, captives, and spoils of war west back to Orléans, where they would wait for the Cabinet's next wave of reinforcements. Meanwhile, Wigg personally led thirty thousand men south.

Upon hearing the news of the frontline defeat, the conscripted militia of the Southern Army fell into a panic. They gathered together, begging their noble lords to retreat as soon as possible.

The nobles handled the situation in various ways. Some offered words of comfort, others used deceitful promises, and a few simply could not be bothered to waste their breath, opting instead to use a leather whip to teach the insubordinate farmers a lesson.

Driven by a volatile mix of panic, oppression, and fury, hundreds of southern Italian militiamen incited a mutiny. Wielding torches, they surrounded the tents and slaughtered a noble, his trusted aides, his servants, and his two mistresses.

As the news spread to the other units, Gunnar refused to compromise. With his prestige severely damaged, he had no choice but to use the most ruthless methods to quell the rebellion.By the next morning, the mutinous infantry battalion had been crushed. Some were executed on the spot, while a small number fled into the mountains and forests, turning into bandits who would plague the local populace.

At this point, Francia had lost any chance of victory. Gunnar retreated south along his original route, but before long, scattered Rangers began trailing his forces from behind.

Following the Battle of Rurik's Field, the Southern Army's cavalry had suffered such devastating losses that they were powerless to drive off the enemy. They could only allow the scouts to roam freely around their perimeter. As the number of Rangers steadily increased, the panic within the Southern Army intensified. That very night, two thousand men deserted without a word.

Realizing that the Viking army was hot on his heels, Gunnar abandoned all excess baggage and forced a faster marching pace, gradually leaving many exhausted militiamen behind.

On July 18th, they arrived at the major southeastern Frankish stronghold of Lyon. Here, the Saône and Rhône rivers converged before flowing south and eventually emptying into the Mediterranean Sea.

Following the collapse of the Roman Empire and a series of subsequent upheavals, the city's population had plummeted, leaving only eight thousand residents. The stone city walls left behind by the Romans were largely abandoned in ruins. The newly constructed castle, churches, and other facilities were situated on Fourvière Hill, on the west side of the Saône River.

The area from the foot of the hill to the West Bank of the Saône River was relatively flat and dotted with the homes of citizens. Wharves and warehouses had been built along the West Bank to facilitate trade with downstream cities like Marseille and Montpellier.

Currently, Gunnar still had sixteen thousand men under his command. However, morale was abysmal; no one was willing to stay behind and defend the city to delay the Viking army's advance.

On the very night they entered the city, a noble secretly led his men to the docks, commandeering over twenty ships to escape downriver. This action quickly inspired others to follow suit. Gunnar had intended to maintain order, but unfortunately, hardly anyone was willing to listen to him anymore.

In just a single night, the remnants of the Southern Army completely collapsed. The nobles spontaneously fled south, and Gunnar, utterly disheartened, retreated along with them.

Two days later, Butcherbird's First Field Division arrived at Lyon. The city's northern gates stood wide open, and the roadsides were littered with discarded banners and supply wagons.

"They ran?"

He dispatched two Mountain Infantry Battalions to take control of the city. From the local residents, he learned that the Southern Army had disintegrated. Every high-ranking officer, including Gunnar, had fled, taking the local earls and minor nobles with them. Butcherbird raised his head, gazing up at the castle and churches atop Fourvière Hill to the west, as well as the five large trebuchets stationed nearby. Disbelief filled his eyes.

"The terrain here is treacherous and easily defensible. If they had stationed just two thousand men here, they could have stalled us for months. And they just abandoned it?"

He took off his helmet, wiped the sweat from his brow, and ordered a messenger to relay the news to the King.

During this time, Wigg's main force had been busy taking captives. They had rounded up over seven thousand people, the vast majority of whom were farmers. As per his usual practice, he sent these prisoners to Jersey.

Upon hearing the news of Butcherbird capturing Lyon, he unrolled his map.

"Nantes, Tours, Orléans, all the way to the upper reaches of the Loire River, and now Lyon in the southeast. The Viking army has completely severed West Francia from west to east. Excellent. My strategy has been realized."

Now that the connection between Paris and the southern regions was cut off, Wigg could finally focus his efforts on dealing with heavily fortified towns like Paris, Harfleur, and Calais.

After pondering for a few minutes, he sought out Ingvar, the deputy commander of the Third Field Division, and ordered him to lead one Infantry Regiment and one Garrison Regiment to garrison Lyon.

In late July, the main Viking force returned to Orléans to receive a massive influx of reinforcements dispatched by the Cabinet, which included two thousand conscripts and six thousand mercenaries.

Wigg integrated the native conscripts into the field units and organized the six thousand mercenaries into Garrison Regiments. After resting and reorganizing until early August, he led forty thousand soldiers to launch the next wave of offensives.

His initial targets were the towns along the upper reaches of the Seine River. Wigg captured Troyes, then sailed downstream, heading straight for Paris in the middle reaches of the Seine.

On August 12th, the army arrived at the outskirts of Paris. Wigg spent over half a month capturing the bridgeheads on both the northern and southern banks. He then constructed river chain barriers both upstream and downstream, completely blockading the Île de la Cité in the center of the river.

Unfortunately, Charles the Bald and a host of prominent nobles had fled ahead of time. It was said that they had already reached East Francia, where they might seek asylum locally or possibly flee toward the Italy region.

Wigg paid this no mind. He left the First Field Division behind, ordering them to construct trebuchets along the riverbanks. Afterward, the main Viking force continued their march downstream, capturing multiple towns along the way before finally arriving at the estuary of the Seine River.

In 848 AD, the First Viking-West Francia War broke out. Ragnar led his army against West Francia, his fleet sailing upstream from the mouth of the Seine to strike directly at Paris.

After the war ended, Charles the Bald spent a vast fortune constructing the Harfleur Fortress at the mouth of the Seine, which proved remarkably effective. During Ragnar's second invasion of West Francia in 856 AD, his fleet was blocked by the Harfleur Fortress, forcing the Viking army to advance by land.

By 867 AD, when Wigg led his army to attack Francia, he similarly bypassed this fortress, choosing instead to land in Breizh. All things considered, the thousands of pounds of silver Charles the Bald had spent were well worth the cost.

The fortress was located on the northern bank of the Seine River. Its outer walls stood seven meters high and three meters thick at the base, stretching for a total length of two kilometers and enclosing an area of 0.25 square kilometers.

The inner keep was situated in the northwest corner, separated from the rest of the area by a moat, boasting even thicker walls.

Surrounding the exterior of the fortress was an artificially excavated moat, measuring six meters wide and three meters deep. Sluice gates and river chain barriers were installed along its banks.