Chapter 15 Objectives

After the division of accounts, the news spread quickly throughout Gothenburg. Almost everyone knew that Ivar and his men had made a fortune, and they were inevitably jealous and called for the plunder of Britain in the spring of the following year. 

Faced with an enthusiastic registration of his subjects, Ragnar promised that he would contact King Eric and begin a large-scale plunder.

After sending everyone away, he called Vig aside: "Each pound of silver can be exchanged for eight cows. You have a huge fortune of 160 cows. How do you plan to spend it later?" 

"I will buy you a suit of chain mail." After the battle with the Pechenegs, Vig deeply understood the importance of a good suit of armor. If he had not put on iron armor that day, he could have cut down three nomads at most. 

"Last year we successfully plundered Londinium. I divided three suits of chain mail. I will give you one suit later, as a reward for killing Lord Borg with your own hands."

So generous?

Vig followed Ragnar into the lord's bedroom, took out a large chainmail and put it on, and inexplicably felt a sense of security.

Looking down, this suit of armor weighed about 24 pounds and was woven from countless iron rings with a diameter of one centimeter. Each iron ring connected four rings at the top, bottom, left and right, forming a tight mesh structure.

As the highest level of armor in the early Middle Ages, chainmail has excellent defensive effects and can withstand slashing sword blows and piercing arrows, but it cannot reduce blunt damage from axes and hammers. In addition, there is a small chance that a spear pierce will injure the wearer.

"Thank you for your generosity, I have no other requests." 

Wig was pleased, and suddenly remembered the description of the Crusaders in the history books, claiming that the fighting efficiency of this group was far superior to that of the peasant soldiers. Now it seems that the mail may have played a significant role in this. 

After the reward, Ragnar asked Wig for advice on the next raid, and Wig replied:

"The more men, the better. If we gather 3,000 men this time, we can try to attack the three "big countries" - Northumbria, Mercia and Wessex. The profit will be much greater than plundering these small fish forces."

"Well said," nodded Ragnar. "Viking raids have become more frequent in recent years, and these small countries cannot squeeze out much oil and water. It is time to begin another large-scale raid."

Five days later, Ragnar called the shield bearers together and asked them to invite nobles from all over Gothenburg to a feast. Vig was assigned to Örebro in the northeast. Because of the long journey, he was allowed to go there on horseback.

During the six months he spent with the Ross tribe, he found time to master the most basic skills of horsemanship.

As for the more complex slashing, spear attacks and shooting from horseback, Vig does not intend to learn them yet, because the quality of horses in the Scandinavian region is poor in all respects and is not suitable for war horses. For a long time, the Vikings mainly fought on foot, and cavalry was rare. Looking at all of Ragnar's shield bearers, only Gunnar's riding skills were excellent, but unfortunately he did not have the opportunity to demonstrate his skills.

...

Huff, huff. The cold wind was cutting through, and the white breath the horse exhaled condensed into tiny ice crystals on his eyelashes, and his breathing became more and more rapid.

When he had left Gothenburg five days before, this horse had looked sleek and smooth. After all the jolts along the way, Vig had obviously felt his body gradually weakening, and he could only slow down a little. On the morning of the sixth day, he arrived at a fork in the road. 

Looking up, he saw many wisps of smoke rising from the northeast, and concluded that the destination ahead was Örebro. So he said goodbye to Nils, who had been sent to Norrköping to deliver a letter, and had to ride his horse for two days to the southeast. 

"Take care of yourself, brother." 

"You too." 

After parting, Vig arrived at the lord's longhouse before dark. 

When he opened the door, a mixture of wine and hot steam from the roasting meat hit him in the face. The long tables on both sides were filled with people. Judging by the variety of meat dishes on the table, there was a banquet taking place. 

"I am Ragnar Lothbrok's guard. I invite Lord Leonard to a banquet in Gothenburg to discuss the plunder of Britain next spring." 

After he explained his purpose, almost two-thirds of the people responded enthusiastically, while the remaining people looked strangely and turned to look at Lord Leonard in the main seat. 

"Ragnar invites me to plunder?" 

Leonard invited the envoy to sit down, showing an embarrassed expression on his face: "Unfortunately, a neighboring territory took my people's spoils last month, and I plan to gather troops for an attack. If we lose too many people in this battle, we will not be able to go out to plunder for the next few years."

Knowing that the loot taken was only a deer, Vig was surprised that the man was making a fuss: "Sir, my lord intends to call for an unprecedented robbery operation. If the operation is successful, you will gain unimaginable wealth and glory. It is best to postpone the conflict for the time being." 

"No, I asked Odin for a prophecy three days ago, and a flash of lightning pierced the sky. I think He ordered me to attack Kongser." 

Leonard had just finished speaking when a dull thunder sounded outside the house, which instantly gave him enough confidence: "Look, Odin calls me to act quickly. I can't delay any longer." 

...

After the banquet, Vig was seated in the guest room. He tossed and turned and came up with a brilliant idea.

Since Leonard believed that thunderstorms were the will of God, he could replicate Franklin's kite experiment and show these Nordic barbarians what science was all about. 

The next day, under the puzzled gaze of the locals, he collected materials from everywhere, wove a kite out of silk threads, rags, and wooden sticks, and then used ceramics and metal foil to make a Leyden jar, a capacitor invented in the 18th century that can store static electricity. 

After lunch, noticing that the sky was overcast, Wig found a wooden stick and stuck it into the ground, tied a silk thread to the end of the kite, and then watched as his homemade, simple kite rose into the sky. 

"What are you doing?" 

Leonard was horrified to find several blue lightning bolts flashing in succession in the clouds. The cold, gravelly wind blew into his face and hurt, so he had to turn and run back to the ledge. 

After a few minutes, Vig took out his homemade Leyden jar and touched the iron rod at the top of the jar to the iron sheet attached to the kite string. Suddenly, a thin blue arc flashed between them, shocking everyone at the scene. 

After waiting for a while, Vig took back the Leyden jar, touched the iron rod at the top of the jar with his fingers

and laughed out loud at the tingling sensation. "The thunder in the sky is in my hand. Who dares try it?" Vig walked around with the clay jar, but the crowd avoided him like the plague, until one intrepid youth plucked up the courage to try it, then excitedly cried out, "I have touched thunder!"

Under the guidance of this man, some brave men began to follow his example. When Leonard reached out to touch him, the charge stored in the Leyden jar almost disappeared, and he felt only a slight tingling. 

His eyes stared at Vig, involuntarily betraying great fear: "The Chosen One, you are a warrior chosen by Odin."