The next day, Whig went to the south bank with a small number of followers to reconnoitre the situation, and found that the lake on the east side of Dufillin was wide. To prevent the attackers from attacking, the defenders were urgently collecting reeds on the shore.
On the south side of the city there are endless marshes, which are similar to the Great Marsh in the north of York and produce a kind of dark brown peat that can be burned.
After the circle, only the west side has level ground and a wide view, suitable for large-scale siege operations.
On the third day, Whig led his troops to land on the west side of Dufillin. The defenders did not dare to leave the city for a field battle. They only brought a large number of slaves to dig trenches outside the wall, and planned to bring in river water as a moat.
According to the progress, when Vig had made enough trebuchets and siege towers, the moat on the western side of Dufillin should be almost complete. With a moat as a barrier, the difficulty of the siege would be even greater.
"This man is so shameless that he does not deserve to be a Viking warrior."
To incite the defenders to come out of the city to fight, Ivar chose more than a dozen rowdy fellows and asked them to humiliate Sven's cowardice from morning until night, berating him as a stupid and incompetent old pig. This went on for a whole week without any effect.
In desperation, Ivar went alone to the outer side of the wall, a hundred paces away, at the edge of the defenders' crossbow line, raised his sword and asked for a one-on-one duel.
"Sven, get out!"
However, the enemy was too lazy to pay attention to him and drove out a pig covered in mud with a sloppy and ridiculous man with a sword on his back, which clearly humiliated Ivar.
After the enemy failed to challenge and was humiliated, Ivar's patience was at its limit and he asked Vig if there was a way to quickly take the city.
"It is difficult. The western wall has received special attention and a ditch has been dug. The northern wall has the Liffey River as a barrier, and Svein is forcing slaves to build the inner wall. So even if we use a trebuchet to destroy the outer wall, we still won't be able to enter later."
Vig quickly sketched a simple map on the ground with a wooden stick, his face was serious, and suddenly an idea flashed through his mind. He then walked back and forth on the grass for half an hour and finally came up with a bold plan.
...
Time passed, and unknowingly it was mid-May. The wheat fields on the western side of Dufilin were ripe. Ivar sent soldiers to collect the wheat as military rations, which greatly eased the logistical pressure.
The harvest was collected, but the defenders still did not go to war and continued to dig trenches day after day. At the same time, the equipment in the siege camp also increased, including large trebuchets more than ten people high, giant towers that could be slowly pushed, and countless siege ladders.
According to Svein's prediction, the real decisive battle would take place next month. As long as he could withstand the first few rounds of attacks and kill as many of Ivar's elite soldiers as possible, he might have a 50% chance of winning.
At night, he fell asleep with the help of two maids. While he was confused, he still managed to utter a few words in his sleep:
"Well, ten heavy crossbows are not enough. These weapons can penetrate the protection of chain mail. I should have bought more..."
After an unknown amount of time, Svein was awakened by shouts and footsteps from the outside world, and he went to the balcony in his clothes.
At that moment, the sky was dawning, and the catapults on the northern bank of the River Liffey and in the west of the city were simultaneously hurling stones. Shouts came from far and near, constantly bombarding the two walls and the nearby houses.
"Strange, a lot of the siege equipment is still unfinished, why are you in such a hurry?"
Svein quickly donned his armor and led most of the soldiers to the western wall. Five siege towers slowly crawled across the open space, and thousands of bloodthirsty Vikings gathered near them.
At this point, a guard came to deliver word that five turtle ships had appeared on the Liffey River, and that they seemed to be preparing to attack the northern wall.
"What can five ships do? They are probably trying to lure me in, to disperse my forces."
With over a thousand Vikings now gathered outside the city, Svein concluded that the main line of attack was here. To be on the safe side, he asked his subordinates to send defenders to the east and south sides to reinforce the northern wall as needed.
"Just take half, don't send too many."
More than ten minutes later, the siege tower was less than a hundred paces from the western wall, and Svein ordered the missiles to be fired. As the number of hits increased, the quantitative change led to a qualitative change. The fire in the siege tower spread quickly, and the Vikings hiding inside fled in panic, suffering numerous losses.
Approaching the western wall, only two of the five siege towers remained. Svein sent soldiers to the nearby battlements, while he himself climbed down the wall with a hundred soldiers and approached the breach to wait quietly.
The breach was large enough for five men to walk side by side, the greatest feat of the catapult. Barring anything unexpected, Ivar would lead his most elite warriors to attack here. Svein was prepared for this. He positioned ten heavy crossbowmen side by side and attempted to shoot the man with concentrated fire the moment they met.
The ideal situation was for the two leaders, the Boneless and the North Serpent, to die at the same time, and when the enemy army fell into chaos, he led his troops out of the city to pursue and kill them, and resolve this disaster completely.
Suddenly, a panicked cry sounded behind him. Svein turned his head and found that there was a problem with the eastern wall!
Suspicious troops or the real main line of attack?
With his heart pounding, Svein hesitated for a few seconds and chose thirty warriors to rush east as quickly as possible.
Four minutes later, he climbed the steps to the eastern wall. Near the lake, three turtle ships appeared with a tall and thick wooden plank installed on the bow. He did not understand what the intention was.
As they approached the river bank, not only did the three turtle boats not slow down, but the rowing rate increased. The keels of the boats scraped the gravel on the shore, producing a sharp and noisy high-frequency noise that inexplicably upset the people.
Then the wooden planks erected on the bows of the boats fell with a crash and hit the battlements hard. Just a few seconds later, before the astonished eyes of the defenders, a small group of armored warriors stepped onto the wooden planks and rushed towards the top of the city.
"Stop them."
At Sven's signal, the soldiers shouted and rushed towards the nearest warrior. This man was tall, with a neat face, wearing expensive chain mail, and the designs on the blade of his long sword were intricate and magnificent, instantly attracting everyone's attention.
This sword must be mine!
Sven unconsciously took two steps forward. When he came to his senses, six soldiers in front of him were killed. Bright red blood continued to drip down the tip of the sword, which was surprisingly beautiful.
"Are you Sven? My name is Vig Haakenson. Surrender or fight?" After introducing himself, Vig saw that this guy was not going to surrender, so he prepared to attack.
For an enemy wearing chainmail, you must focus on attacking weak points. Vig took a deep breath, and as he was about to swing his sword, the man in front of him suddenly jumped off the four-meter wall, broke into a civilian house with unimaginable agility and disappeared.
What's going on?
Vig looked around stupidly with his sword in hand, his brain suddenly entered a shutdown state, and it took him a full three minutes to realize reality.
Is this bastard worthy of calling himself the King of Dufilin?