The raindrops beat agitated between the trees, making a sound like wind and sand whirlwind, and the dead ancient trees were like ivory that had lost its texture detail, pointing straight at the heavy clouds. The Anglo-Saxon warriors had galloped eastward to new battlefields in the distance since leaving the Teide-Davids, the cold rain splashing on their leather and steel armor.

"Where are we now?" The king asked one of the Mercian guards.

"Your Majesty, there's Wardness Field ahead."

It is an ancient Anglo place name meaning "Worden Land", and now even the Danes have abandoned the one-eyed father of the gods, and the name of Worden or Odin can only appear in such names, like the names of Wednesdays, reminding the English of their pagan past.

King Edgar continued to urge his horses on the way under the thick clouds, and the villages in the distance were only straw-covered huts under the thick clouds, but to the east of the land was the royal city of ancient Mercia, Omton. Today's Tomton is not the old fortress of the time of the Arfa kings, but a Saxon fortress rebuilt by Alfred's daughter, Ethelfred the Lady of Mercia, whose royal city had long since been destroyed by the Vikings. From here, Edgar intended to march north to rescue York, a town under siege by the Danes.

Wales had just been pacified, and the situation in the north was becoming increasingly confusing, but Edgar did not lead all the militia, but left part of Mercia's army north and south of Wales. William Mallett continued to defend northern Wales as the head of Gwynness's royal castle, and together with his nephew, the Earl of Moka, maintained the traditional Gwynnes-Mercia alliance. As for the area from Dafede to Gwent, in addition to relying on the princes of Wales, the king also left Rodrigo, a Spanish knight who built forts in the valley of the Gwen River on the orders of the king, and the king of England intended to establish a border county in the vicinity in the future, and Rodrigo could become the first Earl of Pembroke , but many lands still needed to be conquered by this Spanish knight from the unruly Dafedes and Glamorgans.

The Danes' steel had already rained down on York, but King Sven had felt the sharp defenses of the great fortress more than once, and from the moment he first saw this strange fortification, protected by deep ravines and stone walls, all the Yar thought it was an impossible task. This impression was further reinforced by the towers and the trebuchets on the stone walls, and almost all the Danes began to oppose the siege of the castle, and some Danish warriors who had served the Roman emperor in the south suggested that if the Danes had the strength to break through the monstrous fortress, they might as well try their luck at Mykrigad (Constantinople), which had far more treasures than York.

The Earl of Northumbria, Walsioff, and the Lord of Yorkshire, Hugh Barn, even received letters from the Danish Princes, and these northern warriors seemed to be less and less optimistic about the adventure of the King of Sven, and the Earl of Walsiov excitedly said to the Governor of Heyard, "I didn't expect that the Danes would not be able to eat before we had exerted our strength." ”

In the days that followed, the Danes only took advantage of the fact that after dusk they launched an offensive from the buried moat embankment, and withdrew countless times under the blows of arrows and stone projectiles, and the Northumbrians who defended the city soon discovered that the attack was only perfunctory, and in order to preserve their strength, Count Volciov simply ordered some of his soldiers to stand by under the city.

"Your Majesty, in the past two days, the enemy has reduced the defense of the city wall, but their forces are still enough to cover all areas, and it is difficult for us to put enough pressure on them." Osbjorn finally couldn't resist putting forward his opinion to the king.

"Don't worry, this is nothing more than because our army can only invest part of its strength at a time, and once our samurai launch a full-line attack, their defense line will immediately be breached." King Sven, despite his age, had a clear mind, much to his brother's surprise, and Ošbjorn, like the rest of the Yar, had assumed that the king was just getting older and more stubborn, and would not admit defeat.

"But although we have a large number of people, there are only a few trenches that have been filled in at present, and it is impossible to put all the troops into it at the same time." Anyway, Ošbjorn boldly pointed out the king's loopholes.

"I have my own plans, but I need you to prepare something for me......" The white beard of the Danish king trembled, and his face showed a sickly color, as if at the moment it was only supported by a strange enthusiasm to support the unusually exuberant energy.

When the migratory birds began to move south, King Sven gathered all the princes and nobles, and under his iron armor and silkworm eyebrows, his slender eyes seemed to be constantly flickering: "We have been attacking at dusk these days, and the enemy must have thought that tomorrow's offensive will still take place after dusk, and I have decided to attack immediately before dawn tomorrow!" ”

The Danish princes all uttered a great deal of disbelief that such an attack would be enough to take York. Seeing this, King Sven remained immobile and continued: "We have made many light bridges with sails reinforced with timber, enough to cross the moat of York, and tomorrow all the Danes with weapons will take part in the battle, and our attack will be launched from all directions, and as soon as we find the weak point of the English, we will immediately break into it, widen the gap in the wings, and smash their nut shells!" ”

The King's words, like the best honey in Valhalla, immediately instilled courage in the Danes, and the Northerners were accustomed to fighting bloody battles, and since they did not have to endure a long slaughter under the rain of javelin arrows exposed to the strong walls, these Viking-blooded Norse warriors were not afraid to confront any powerful enemy, and in the eyes of the Danish warriors, the English may have been disciplined and their shields strong, but they were still no match for the furious seafarers in close proximity to melee and hand-to-hand combat.

King Sven made a loud promise to the warriors of his banquet hall: "For Sven conquer York, you will win eternal glory and a cellar full of treasures!" ”

This military meeting then turned into a feast for the king, and the guests in the tent were not decorated with fine clothes and wrapped in velvet curtains, but everywhere they could see patches of dazzling armor, and the thousand tent bonfires outside the camp were awe-inspiring. After the meal was over, the Danish princes once again launched a feint attack on York at night, and the attack of the Danish warriors was more fierce than the day before, and the Earl of Northumbria in the city even put down his dinner and personally inspected the city in armor, until he saw the Danish army retreating like a black tide.