Two hundred miles north of London, in Yorkshire, beside a crystal clear stream, Torfey and the others splashed the cold water on their cheeks, enjoying this rare moment of relaxation. The sound of horse hooves was getting closer and closer. They tilted their heads and saw a chestnut-colored English pony galloping towards the bridge with a soldier on its back. They couldn't help but stop what they were doing and pay attention to the movements of the man and his horse.
At this moment, a soldier hurriedly rushed to the bridge and found Odegar, one of Harold's bodyguards and conscription officers. "Sir …" He hurriedly walked over and approached Odegar with a worried heart. After whispering a few words, he immediately turned around and climbed onto his warhorse and continued to gallop towards another camp.
"Hey, everyone stand up!" Odegar shouted. "Let's move out. Stand up!"
The militia resting by the stream had a trace of weariness and impatience, but there was nothing they could do. They obediently stood up and looked at their leader in confusion.
"Leofric, because of your merit in killing the viking berserker leader, I will promote you to captain. Make an oath as you march." Half of Odega's body poked out from the bridge as he ordered the tall and skinny Leofric.
"What's so urgent?" Leofrick did not care too much about his promotion. After all, he would return to being a farmer after the punishment. At most, he would receive more rewards. What he cared about now was what had happened. He asked the question that everyone wanted to know the answer to.
"The Normans are attacking!" Odegar said worriedly. "They're invading after the fighting season. They've already landed in Sussex!"
"Sussex?" Young Torfey's heart suddenly jumped and he blurted out. That was their hometown. All of their relatives were in Crowhurst Village near Sussex.
"Stand up, let's move out." Odegar raised his arms and shouted loudly.
"Do you know where they are now?" Torfey asked. "Where are they in Sussex?" Torfey was burning with anxiety. They were fighting outside and were too far away from the Normans who had invaded their home.
"According to the spies who kept changing horses along the way, they appeared in Pevensey in Sussex … and then quickly took over the neighboring town of Hastings." Odega sighed. The Earl of Wessex was the heartland of the new King. Now, it had been taken over by the Normans without expending a single soldier. This was undoubtedly a huge blow to the English. Furthermore, the enemy had not immediately attacked London, but had instead established a stable rear here. This meant that the surrounding villages, which lacked the protection of youths, were exposed to the Normans, who were also descendants of the Vikings …
Without sufficient time to rest and recuperate, the Britons were in desperate need of warriors, so much so that those who were purely looking for food or money were allowed to join the army, regardless of who they were previously loyal to. This made some defeated Vikings who were forced to stay and hide nearby respond to the call. They returned to their old profession of mercenary and joined the army of their former enemy, King Harold of England.
As they marched day and night, the strength of Harold's army gradually weakened.
Tolfe and Leocliff were moving through the dense forest in the north. Many who stopped to rest fell down and died of exhaustion. The rapid march had exhausted the army. "We'll rest here." Odega was different from his previous urging. This time, he was the one who shouted at the militia to rest instead of rushing back without any regard for their lives.
Tolfe, who was gasping for air, placed his hands on his knees. He was worried about his new wife, Judith. He raised his head and looked at Odega anxiously. "We won't be able to rush back to the south in time."
"I order you to rest." Odega replied while gasping for air. He sat down on the ground.
The rapid march had caused many soldiers to lose control of themselves and vomit. Some of the soldiers even vomited yellow-green bile.
In contrast, the situation of the few Vikings who were assigned to Odega's army was much better. He said to Odega, "In fact, if you're willing to send ships to Norway, I believe that more Vikings would be willing to join us."
"There's no time. Besides, we need a winter where we can rest and recuperate." Odega, whose hair was disheveled, replied in a friendly manner to his former enemy. The Vikings who usually did not have a bottom line when raiding had a good reputation after being hired.
"Your King?" The Viking asked.
"I haven't heard any news about him for two days." Odega said in a muffled voice.
Leocliff, who had dark circles under his eyes, looked at him. "I hope he's running for more troops." Odega added.
"Hope?" The Vikings caught onto the word, but Odega was unwilling to answer.
"Odega, we've rested enough." Tolfe, whose face was pale, hurriedly reminded him while panting.
"We can't advance like when we came to the north. The road is starting to become rugged. We have to conserve our strength. Don't bother me anymore." Odega, who was sitting on the ground, turned his face away impatiently.
"What about Crowhurst?" Tolfe persisted.
"That's just a small village with less than ten families. England is a country." Although Odega's heart was in pain, for the sake of the big picture, his answer was somewhat heartless.
"I beg you, at least let me go back." Tolfe begged.
"If we allow those few people to search for their families, we won't be able to win this battle. Forgive me for not allowing it." Odega lowered his head. Tolfe could not see his expression clearly. He could only turn around and ask Leocliff for help. However, he found that his best friend was staring blankly into the distance — there seemed to be some thick smoke floating in the air.
The militia stopped talking and spread out in all directions. They lowered their bodies and slowly surrounded the thick smoke. The sunlight shone through the forest. The mottled light and shadow shone on the open ground. They finally found a white horse tied to a tree and leisurely stopped there. There was also a group of brown horses tied behind the white horse. Meanwhile, the thick smoke was rising from the ashes of a burnt wooden cart.
However, at this moment, the Anglo Saxon militia's attention was focused on the backs of the two horses. The mosquitoes and flies were buzzing around the two horses, causing the two horses' tails to sweep from time to time.
"What is this?" Leocliff asked with uncertainty.
"A good thing done by the Normans." Odega's face was gloomy as he answered the new militia captain's question.
On the white horse, a female corpse was lying prone on the white horse. Surrounded by mosquitoes and flies, her burnt feet dangled from the horse. Her unburnt hair was draped over the horse's back, leaving behind a skeleton-like face and a blackened body.
The other brown horse's corpse was even more pitiful. The burnt corpse was lying on the horse's back. Her mouth was wide open as if she was complaining about the inhuman abuse she had suffered before. She was telling everyone about her pain.
Odega walked forward and looked at the burnt corpse on the horse. He lifted up the clothes on the ground. Underneath were all burnt corpses.
"This is a message for your king." A few of the Vikings looked at each other and said.
Odega looked at all the militia present and said with a pained tone, "I want all the warriors here to see the corpse of this village woman." His tone gradually became agitated. "This is why we must fight!"
"You should return to Crowhurst Village, kid." Odega looked at the somewhat dazed Tuo Fei. "You should return to the south and take a look at our village."
"No, there must be something fishy going on. They sent the corpses of these women here to infuriate you so that you would rush back to battle." A Viking mercenary who was familiar with the methods of the Normans, who also originated from the Vikings, suggested calmly.
After removing the female corpse from the white horse, the rest of the militia began to arrange the remains of the dead women so that their bodies would no longer be exposed to the light of day.
Odega did not pay any attention to the speaking vikings. Instead, he looked at the bewildered Tuo Fei and ordered, "If you are not afraid of encountering the Normans' scouting party, then return to the south. Ride this horse. "
"Leovric." Odega continued to order, "Don't forget that you are the captain. Go with him and be careful. If you encounter the Normans, don't fight, just run!"
What did Leovric want to say to Odega? But Odega interrupted him and shouted, "Let's go!"
Odega turned around and walked two steps before turning back to look at Leovric and instructed, "If you reach Crowhurst and discover any surviving women, bring them to the monastery. The Normans will definitely not dare to rashly disturb the hermit's courtyard. Try to find as many men as possible and tell them that we will send a large army over. However, we need more men. Go."
"I don't know which path leads to Crowhurst." Leovric extended his hand and asked Odega for help.
"We will find the path. We have to take the path that has fish carriers. Take the path that rises and falls before you smell the sea salt." Odega replied.
"The smell of ashes can help you find your village," a Viking added. However, he was met with a glare from the Anglo Saxons. The Viking shrugged and returned to his own group.
Leovric's expression was solemn. He turned around and mounted the white horse. He sat behind Tuo Fei who had been waiting impatiently for a long time.
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