It has been two years since Ragnar was defeated.
Sealand, the court of "Hero King" Hestein.
The low wooden house where Hestein had lived for more than ten years was no longer habitable because half of it was burned down by Ella. Hestein had no choice but to choose another vacant land and build a new wooden house on it.
This new house is two stories high and has a hall that can be used to discuss matters with the lords of the Pirate Kingdom, meet with the residents of the territory to deal with territory matters, and can also be used as a banquet hall. The room where the livestock is kept is separated, and the bedroom is set up on the second floor, so there is no need to worry about being stepped on by the sheep while sleeping.
In addition to these, Hestein also specially separated a small study room in the room. Unfortunately, he is still learning to write, and the bookshelf is empty without a single book.
There is a map spread out on the table in the study room, with red crosses marking libraries around the world, and the deployment of troops in Scandinavia. In order to prevent the map from being blown away by the wind, Hestein also nailed the map to the table with a knife.
I wonder if the library owners will be so frightened that they tremble when they see this scene?
As for the original log cabin that was only half burned, Hestein was originally going to demolish it. But at the insistence of the Sealanders, Hestein left it there as it was. Zealanders commemorate the legendary warrior woman who once lived here.
Closer to home, at this moment, Hestein is sitting in the new hall. Below him were the lords of the pirate kingdom, large and small.
In the past two years, the situation within the Pirate Kingdom has stabilized. In the blink of an eye, it’s time for farming again. As usual, these lords came from all corners of Scandinavia and gathered under the throne of the Hero King to discuss this year's plunder.
However, this time, the Hero King seemed to have other ideas. These lords, large and small, argued endlessly about this.
The loudest quarrel was Torgal, the lord of the Principality of Hrogalan. He was originally a vassal of Ragnar, and he succumbed to Hestein's rule out of necessity.
"Going to look for Vinland again? Oh my god!" He shouted, hammering the long table with his fist, "Isn't what King Aleister did enough to explain everything? Our warriors are looking for people who can plunder Aachen, Plundering Paris, plundering Cordoba, plundering Constantiniya, why are we still looking for Vinland huddled in some corner!"
However, there are many people who support Hestein. The most prestigious and powerful among them was Harald. He was originally a vassal of Sigurd "Snake Eyes" and the lord of West For. When Ragnar was in power, he swore not to cut his hair until he became famous, so he was called Harald the Wild Hair.
After Ragnar's death, Harald was one of the first lords to swear fealty to Hestein. He took this as an opportunity to gradually expand his power within the pirate kingdom, and now controls most of Norway.
Now Harald's hair is so beautiful that even many women are jealous. People therefore called him the "King of Hairdressing".
"Torgal, you are so short-sighted." Harald mocked the lord of the Principality of Hologalan. The Principality of Hrogaland is the biggest obstacle to Harald's unification of Norway, and Laharl and Torgar are therefore incompatible. "Compared with directly controlling the rich Wenlan, the act of robbing other people's land every year is almost like begging."
"Then tell me, where is Vinland?" Togar shouted angrily at Harald, "I will not daydream like a child who has not grown up!"
Hestein interrupted the argument. He glared at Torgal and said, "Torgal, you seem to have misunderstood me. I said, go west and explore Vinland! This is an order!"
Hestein's gaze frightened Torgal. But he still insisted: "No, no, no, sorry, let's clarify it first. No one can guarantee that Vinland will exist. We must know what we are doing! We cannot be attracted by fairy tales and waste time and money in vain. Our poor money!"
"So, you're refusing to obey my orders?"
Togar's body trembled, and his words began to be slurred: "No, and... yes, you can say that."
Hestein slammed the table, stood up, and shouted loudly: "Bring me my sword!"
Before Hestein could get the sword, a group of people immediately stood up and stopped him. Among them was an old man who was Aleister's old subordinate and one of the most trusted lords in Hestein. He pressed Hestein and said: "King of Heroes, what Torgal said makes sense. Judging from the results of King Aleister's exploration, even if Vinland exists, it is still very far away from us. We have no choice. Sailing on the ocean for so long!”
"Hairdressing King" Harald was still sitting on the chair and said leisurely: "Isn't there Iceland? Isn't there Greenland? Just use it as a base and continue to explore westward."
"Harald, you have never experienced that expedition, so you can't understand the difficulty of sailing on the sea!" The old man yelled at Harald, then tried to calm down, and said to Hestein as calmly as possible: " Son of Aleister, the hardships along the way should still be firmly engraved deep in your heart!"
Hearing the old man mention this, Hestein suddenly fell back to his position.
Not only was it difficult, the days and nights on the sea were even a nightmare for Hestein, who was still young at the time: they were far away from land and sailing in waters that no one had ever set foot on. There is nothing there but the sea. When you close your eyes, you are surrounded by the sea; when you open your eyes, you are still surrounded by the sea; no matter how many days pass, there is always only the sea around you. Sometimes, he even had such a proud doubt-were they sailing forward?
The unknown sea swallowed their confidence. No one can guarantee what lies ahead. Maybe they can see land tomorrow, maybe there is really only the sea ahead. Navigating into the vast unknown, people inevitably become more and more frightened and uneasy. Every day, the desire to return is stronger than the day before.
When the weather is good, they can also use sundials and stars to determine direction. But the further west you go, the more violent the sea becomes. As if to prevent them from moving forward, half the time, the sea was full of wind and clouds, making it difficult to discern the direction.
When they finally discovered Greenland, they could no longer confirm what sea route they had taken. Instead, they could only draw a hasty circle on the map, without clearing the distance or determining the direction. This means that as long as they deviate slightly, they will pass Greenland.
In fact, let alone discovering Vinland, even setting foot on Greenland again would be a huge challenge for them.
Hestein couldn't help but look to the right side of the long table - the seat closest to his seat was still empty, and no one dared to occupy it. That was the position belonging to King Ella Cornelius Scipio of Sweden. For some reason, she hasn't arrived yet.
