Viking: Master of the Icy Sea

Chapter 90: Île De La Cité

Ch 90: Île De La Cité

The interrogation ended, and Ragnar went to the shore to relax. River barriers, secured with huge stones, were there, and many soldiers gathered, discussing how to destroy them.

Quickly, someone brought a pile of firewood, poured five consecutive buckets of oil on it, and then set it alight.

Under the sustained high heat, the surface of the iron chains began to glow red. A tall, strong Viking repeatedly chopped at them with a great axe. When he was exhausted, another strong man took over the work.

By the time the moon was high in the sky, the Vikings had finally broken a section of the iron rings. Under the force of gravity, the hundred-meter-long river barriers quickly sank to the riverbed, as if they had never existed.

Having dealt with the river barriers, the fleet sailed upstream and arrived in Paris on the evening of April 25th.

Currently, the city is located on Île de la Cité in the center of the Seine River. The island is connected to both the north and south banks by two bridges.

Temporary marketplaces and simple houses are distributed along the northern coast. Near the bridgehead on the south bank stands a stone-built monastery, surrounded by a wooden wall.

Before departure, Vig gathered some Latin documents describing Paris.

According to legend, two stone bridges were built during the Roman Period. Afterward, the Franks occupied the area. Due to backward technology and lack of maintenance, the bridge surfaces of both stone bridges collapsed one after another, leaving only the bridge piers standing in the river. Frankish artisans constructed wooden bridge surfaces on the existing piers, eventually forming the two current bridges. In addition, according to missionary records, Paris has a permanent resident population of eight thousand. If all adult men are mobilized, fifteen hundred could be gathered to assist in defending the city.

Climbing to the top of the mast, he observed the defensive situation on Île de la Cité.

Due to an insider leak, the Franks had ample time to prepare fortifications. A new wooden wall was built around the Roman stone walls, and many soldiers, numbering over two thousand, stood behind the battlements.

“This is difficult now, all thanks to those damn leakers!”

Vig returned to the deck, considering methods to breach the city. Suddenly, he heard thousands of people in front shouting “Wahalla” in unison. He looked up and saw Ragnar’s flagship charging directly towards the outer wall of Île de la Cité, intending to conquer the city in one go.

What’s happening? Why launch an attack without any warning?

Vig was both surprised and angry. He watched helplessly as the ten leading longships approached the wall. The next moment, more than thirty burning fireballs were thrown from inside the wall.

Siege engines? The insider even told the Franks about those!

Without time to complain, Vig waved two red flags, signaling the fleet to stop advancing and row downstream instead.

Soon after, a second wave of oil jars followed, all aimed at Ragnar’s flagship. One accurately hit the mast, and the entire sailcloth was instantly engulfed in flames.

Even worse, many fire ships loaded with firewood appeared upstream and charged towards the Viking fleet, following the current.

To prevent the ships from becoming congested in their escape, Vig frantically waved flag signals, instructing all ships to approach the south bank.

“Quickly, form a formation, to prevent the enemy cavalry from charging in the chaos!”

On the south bank shallows, Vig had his spearmen set up two rows of spear formations on the outer perimeter. Hundreds of meters away, a group of cavalry silently remained on the hillside, considering whether to attack.

From the perspective of the Frankish cavalry, the Viking formation was loose, and their ability to resist a cavalry charge was weak.

However, it was nearing sunset, the visibility was poor, and the riverbank soil was soft, unsuitable for warhorses to run at full force. After waiting for a long time, they finally retreated to the bridgehead.

At night, fire ships still drifted down the Seine River, seemingly endlessly. The nobles gathered together to discuss their next strategy.

Vig looked around, did not see Ragnar, and his voice trembled slightly: “Where did he go?”

Bjorn was in low spirits and looked listless. “The flagship was subjected to concentrated attacks from the siege engines. In the confusion, it drifted toward the north bank. Before the ship was completely burned, I saw several figures escape.”

Vig asked, “Then what?”

“Seeing the flagship aground, five Frankish ships approached the north bank, and a large group of enemies chased several survivors into the depths of the swamp.”

After Bjorn finished speaking, the nobles were despondent. After half a minute of silence, Ivar proposed a decisive battle with the Franks.

“Regardless of whether Father survives, we should uphold the glory of the Vikings. Instead of being chased by the enemy, it is better to have a good fight with them.”

“That’s right,” Vig agreed with him. “Even if we manage to escape back to Britain, once the Anglo-Saxons realize our weakness, they are likely to launch a rebellion. We must impress them with a decisive victory, otherwise we will never have peace.”

Gunnar: “Deserting the battle, how will our Viking warriors view us? To maintain our wealth and status, only a fight to the death will suffice.”

Led by the three, the morale of the nobles was rekindled. They went back to count their numbers, totaling eight thousand three hundred, still with the strength to fight.

The next morning, after eating a hearty breakfast, the Vikings set off, each with a piece of rations tucked into their clothes—melee combat on the battlefield is the most stamina-consuming; if it lasts for several hours, rations will be useful in an emergency.

Following the order drawn up the previous night, they formed their formation on the south bank. Learning from the lesson of the Battle of Ratatosk, each noble brought more or less spearmen, placed in the front two rows and flanks to resist cavalry charges.

On the other side, a similar number of Franks left Île de la Cité and proceeded along the bridges to the south bank.

From a military perspective, the ideal situation for the Franks would be to hold back, wear down the enemy army, delay for a while and then attack.

However, Charles the Bald faced many troubles. In addition to the Vikings, there was his nephew in Aquitaine to the south, and rebellion in Brittany to the west.

In his opinion, the most critical need was time. He should deal with these Vikings as soon as possible, then lead the main force south to deal with his nephew, lest he incite more nobles to join the rebellion.

“Resisting foreign enemies, suppressing rebellions, collecting taxes, handling the relationship with the Church—ah, being a king is not easy.”

Touching his bald head, Charles frowned, letting out a heavy sigh.

Half an hour later, nearly a thousand cavalry left the bridgehead.

To conserve their warhorses’ stamina, they did not ride but led their horses on reins to an open space two kilometers from the Vikings, then sat down and waited for those unreliable militiamen to form their formation—according to past experience, these people would dawdle for at least an hour or two.

While both sides waited listlessly, time passed slowly. A reckless Frankish knight charged to the front of the Viking lines and issued a challenge.

Following his lead, several duels erupted consecutively. Both sides had wins and losses, until the Frankish militiamen were finally arrayed.