I don’t know whether it was within Ella’s expectations or unexpectedly, but despite the harsh conditions, Bjorn came to the bottom of the city wall early the next morning. Bjorn was accompanied by hundreds of guards, as well as bound knights and retinues.
According to Ella's estimation, Bjorn's army rations will be exhausted by tomorrow at the latest. But there was no trace of despair on Bjorn's face, instead he looked majestic. This made Ella a little uneasy. If Bjorn fought his last and started to attack the city, then this day would probably be very difficult.
So she shouted to Bjorn on the city wall: "Bjorn! I didn't say you could bring so many people! If you want to negotiate, just go into the city alone!"
"Okay. They will wait outside first." Bjorn said, "I will come in alone. Open the city gate quickly."
Seeing that Bjorn agreed so readily, Ella felt even more uneasy. She asked the soldiers beside her in a low voice:
"Are the Archers of Glahid ready?"
"Back to the King of Sweden, he is ready to shoot at any time. Hundreds of archers should be enough to suppress Bjorn and prevent him from casting large-scale magic."
"Where's the planned trap? Has it been completed?"
"It's done. If they want to use ladders to climb the city wall, they will fall directly into the pit designed for Tesosomok. If they want to pour in directly from the city gate, without our guidance, they will also fall into the pit designed for Izko In the trap designed by Atel.”
"Where's the giant crossbow? Has it been made?"
"It's finished and has been put up on the city wall. It can definitely penetrate Chimalpopoka's defense!"
Ella felt relieved. This was a trap she designed to stop Tesosomok, Chimalpopoka, Izcoatl, and Bjorn. Now that Chimalpopoka is dead and Tesosomok is captured, there is no reason He couldn't stop the remaining two people.
The city gate opened. Bjorn walked in through the city gate calmly, and he didn't see any movement from the soldiers behind him until the city gate closed again.
"I pay attention to Bjorn's actions, and your Majesty, please keep your spirits up at all times." On the way to the scheduled negotiation location, Amy kept whispering in Ella's ear, "As soon as I notice anything strange about Bjorn, Squeeze my hand immediately, and I will throw a fireball outside as a signal. Your Majesty has a dragon contract, so you don't have to be afraid of ordinary wounds. I will also use the God of Love to interfere with Bjorn's actions. Your Majesty just needs to pay attention. Just don’t let Bjorn take him hostage. Glahid is ambushing you outside with thousands of soldiers. As long as His Majesty is not caught, Bjorn can’t escape.”
"Gu——! This makes me feel like the weaker party in the negotiation!"
"It can't be helped. Bjorn knows the details about His Majesty and I. Your Majesty himself doesn't know magic, so he is in such trouble...Bjorn, please give us the weapon in your hand first!"
After struggling for a while, the two sides finally sat down at the negotiating table. There was only one person on Bjorn's side, and he had been disarmed. On Ella's side, a large number of pirates gathered, staring fiercely at Bjorn. This was specially arranged by Ella to overwhelm Bjorn in terms of momentum.
Milk and bread were placed on the negotiating table.
"Bjorn, I didn't expect you to come to negotiate after I offered such conditions."
As soon as she opened her mouth, Ella tried to suppress Bjorn's arrogance. She pushed the milk and bread in front of Bjorn and continued: "You must be hungry. There is bread and milk here. You can eat as much as you like. We have as much as you want."
Bjorn glanced at the bread and did not move, but replied:
"Who makes some people so fragile and timid? Negotiating outside the city is really difficult for her. Negotiating here is much fairer."
"Thank you for taking care of me. Let's not talk about this. Let's eat some bread first." Ella pushed the bread closer to Bjorn. "Although it is not a delicacy, the one you sent yesterday The messenger was devouring food under the city wall."
"I tied them up and whipped them." Bjorn replied calmly, "We are not beggars and do not accept charity from our enemies. We are pirates. If we want something, we will grab it ourselves. You give it to us. These bread and milk make them look covetously at Winchester City."
A confrontation ended. Ella tried to get Bjorn to admit that he was in danger of running out of food, and Bjorn's answer was to tell Ella that they would storm Winchester if necessary.
Ella frowned.
"Now that you are so aware, what do you want to negotiate this time?"
"I captured a few English knights. You also saw them, just below the city." Bjorn said, "As far as I know, they are very important people to England. I give you a chance, you can start Redeem them with certain conditions."
"It's just a few soldiers on horseback, right?" Ella shrugged, "You can change it if you want. We happen to have hundreds of Aztlan prisoners here, wasting our food in vain. Change one by one, How many do you have here?"
"King of Sweden, this is a kind reminder to you. Your subordinates are all from the Pirate Kingdom. I don't want to fight to the death with my own people. In order to prevent the situation from developing to an irreversible level, you'd better be more serious with me. Negotiate." Bjorn stared at Ella, "I don't need the Aztlan people. What I want is a ransom, but it is not gold coins, but food and grass. You use fifteen days of food and grass to redeem these knights from us. Then we both sign an armistice. We retreat to Scotland and both sides call it quits. Those are my terms."
"You want food and grass? Do you want to withdraw?" Ella deliberately made herself laugh, "Bjorn, if you want to do business, the most important thing is a fair price. You don't really think I need these knights to come back, do you?"
"It may be a good thing for you that these knights do not come back, so that you have a chance to control England. But if you don't want these knights, these men of mine will kill them under the city wall in front of all the Winchesters." Kill." Bjorn stared at Ella, "All the Winchesters know that I came to the city to negotiate, alone and full of sincerity. If those knights die like this, many people from England will kill them. The finger is pointed at you. If you have a plan to control England, it will soon go bankrupt. If you have no plan to control England, your alliance with England will also be shaken."
Ella was stunned. Let Bjorn come to the city to negotiate, firstly to ensure his own safety, and secondly, if Bjorn agrees, he will show his cowardice. She never thought that this would be used by Bjorn and become a bargaining chip for him to threaten her.
"After that, when my men are desperate, they will attack the city by force. Although they may not be able to capture it, we will make you pay the price with blood. Most of the soldiers guarding Winchester now are from Sweden, for a city that is no longer reliable. Allowing one's subordinates to die as an ally is a choice only a fool would make."
Bjorn suddenly slammed the table, startling Ella.
"Give me the food and grass and exchange the knights. Then sign an armistice agreement with me. This will not only preserve your allies, but also reduce the casualties of your soldiers. This is your best choice at the moment. As for what will happen to England in the future, then It’s something you should consider after you become the next King of England, or you become the next Queen of England, isn’t it?”
(End of chapter)
