Ella was unable to get any more information from the prisoners. That general was sent by his lord to intercept reinforcements that might come from the direction of Sweden. Before setting sail, he learned only that Ragnar's fourth son, Bjorn, had returned and summoned all his brothers' old minions. As for the current state of the British Isles and Alfred's current situation, he knew nothing.俰
But this is also good news. The time when his fleet went to sea was after Alfred's envoy. Since he didn't know Alfred's situation, Alfred probably hadn't fallen under Bjorn's control yet.
In the early morning a few days later, Ella's fleet docked at Southampton, the nearest port city to Winchester. Winchester is the capital of England. After Alfred unified Britain, it became the capital of Britain. If there is any place where we can grasp the current situation in Britain the fastest and most comprehensively, it is probably the area around Winchester.
But the reality is always unsatisfactory. As the maritime gateway to Winchester, Southampton should have prospered. But when Ella's fleet docked, Southampton's harbor was deserted, with not a soul in sight.
"Strange thing. Did we come too early? Are everyone in the city still sleeping?"
Ella looked toward the city from the Flying Sealander. The buildings were covered with black birds.
Glahid's ship approached the flying Sealander. He shouted from a distance: "King of Sweden, something is not right here. The port of Southampton is full of people from morning to night, but now even the lighthouse is not lit!"
Ella felt something was wrong. She sent a team into the city to check. Soon, the team hurried back and shouted: "King of Sweden! There is no one in the city! But there are many corpses on the road!"
Ella's face darkened. Glahid was particularly shocked and immediately wanted to lead his troops and rush in. But Ella cautiously held him back.
"Let the hot air balloon go first," Ella said. "I'm afraid there will be an ambush around."
Southampton is located to the north of Ella's fleet, but the wind is blowing from the southeast. The hot air balloon cannot float over the city, so it can only be pulled by the rope on the flying Zealander and overlook the city from the northwest of the ship. The hot air balloon hit by the fierce wind swayed from side to side, and it seemed that the hot air balloon would be overturned at any time. The people under the hot air balloon were frightened to watch.
"I didn't see a large group of people around!" The soldiers on the hot air balloon shouted downwards in the strong wind. "I only saw a lot of birds, just like a forest with no people!"
Ella then led the team into Southampton. There was no one in the city, but the doors of the houses were roughly open. The streets were in a mess, scattered with all kinds of utensils as if they had been hit by a tornado. Many birds stood on the ground eating fruits scattered on the street, but as soon as Ella's men and horses approached, they flapped their wings and fled. As Ella's troops deepened, more and more birds flapped their wings and flew up, forming a dark cloud over the city.
"How long has it been since no one came here?" Dast exaggeratedly covered his nose. He smelled of alcohol, and he thought he had drank a lot on the boat. But it's no wonder he reacted this way: there were many corpses lying on the road, and they had begun to rot, exuding a stench. "This is a port city next to the capital. How could Alfred make it like this? Is this also called a knight? Is this worthy of being called the King of Knights?"
"You don't see this?" Glahid said dissatisfied, "This is an enemy attack. Southampton was looted!"
"Looting?" Dast drunkenly picked up a bag from the ground and poured out a pile of silver coins and copper coins in front of Glahid. "You call this looting?"
"What else could that be going on?" Glahid was a little angry, "You can't just let people in a city die by themselves, right?"
Amy thought of something: "Look at these corpses, do they have black spots on them? Remember to wear leather gloves!"
Several soldiers stepped forward to check several corpses, then raised their heads and shook their heads: "There are no black spots."
At this time, even Ella couldn't figure it out: "Weird thing. It's not for money or the Black Death, so what's going on here? If it's for preemption
For a military operation in an important area, there should at least be enemy troops occupying it, right? "
"King of Sweden, you don't need to think so much." Glahid said, "It is impossible for the Knight King to govern a city like this, so this can only be an enemy attack. As for the reason for the enemy's attack, we don't need to guess. "
"An enemy attack? There is not a single person here. Do you really think that the civilians are like carrots and cabbages in the pit, and they will rise up as soon as they are pulled out?" Dust rolled his eyes and chuckled, "Don't talk about everyone, it's just me. If a person hides in this city, how many people will it take and how many days will it take to find and take me away?"
"My name is Dust, right?" Glahid glared at him, "Are you dissatisfied with me in any way?"
Dust trembled all over and woke up from the wine. Seeing Glahid's unkind gaze, he immediately raised his hands in surrender, "Don't glare at me, I can't beat you, I'll admit defeat."
Glahid couldn't help but snorted: "Drunkard."
Ella raised her hand to silence everyone. It was just dawn, and a thin layer of fog covered the streets, making them even more eerie. She closed her eyes and heard only the whine of the birds above.
"Grahid is right, these corpses must be due to the enemy's attack. But the master is also right, no matter how the enemy attacks, this place will not become an empty city. This place is very strange, so we cannot stay longer. Grahid, are there other villages near here?"
"Yes," Glahid replied, "There is a forest from here to Winchester. There is a village located near the forest."
"Take me there! Let the whole army set off immediately!"
"Your Majesty, there is one more order." Amy whispered behind Ella, "Before seeing people, let the soldiers only drink the water and eat the food they brought, and do not touch anything nearby. .”
"Why?" Ella was puzzled, "Although there is no one around, just leave the coins, right?"
"That's not the problem." Amy's voice became softer, "Has Your Majesty forgotten how he killed Sigurd?"
Ella woke up from a dream. This situation of the whole city being empty was more like a man-made trap than an enemy attack. The water and food may have been poisoned. "
She immediately turned over and came to the horse: "Stop standing stupidly, everyone run! Run!"
Fortunately, Ella had already used a hot-air balloon to conduct reconnaissance before entering the city. Although the evacuation was urgent, it was not panicky. Under the leadership of Glahid, they soon arrived at the village in front of the forest.
But they still couldn't see a single figure. They only saw a few rotting corpses lying in the fields outside the village, being pecked by crows. Glahid stood motionless on the field path. The crows flew away in fright, probably mistaking him for a scarecrow in the field.俰
"Your Majesty, what should we do?" Amy asked, "Just go to Winchester directly to inquire about the situation?"
"No." Ella waved her hand with a livid face, "Retreat to the port immediately and return to our ship! Don't get off the ship easily before we find out the situation in Britain!"
