Alfred was curious that Isaac would give him the so-called final advice in such a critical situation. Just when Alfred was about to let him speak out, others came up with the opposite opinion.
"Your Majesty, Brother Isaac has been in the enemy's camp for a long time. If he loses his will and surrenders to the Vikings, then this suggestion may be a trap."
"Are you saying that Isaac has rebelled?" Alfred frowned. Based on his understanding of Isaac, he was definitely not a traitor, but he glanced at the surrounding swamps and the few remaining subordinates. , Alfred knew that he had no capital to fail.
"Actually, I don't think it's a big deal. Isaac said something strange. He said that if you want to defeat the devil, you have to become more like the devil than the devil." Alfred's cousin said softly.
"What is this nonsense?"
"Profanity."
"This monk has indeed been possessed by the devil."
"He must be in league with the Vikings."
Everyone began to insult Isaac, because his words were so deviant and a complete insult to Catholic teachings.
Even Alfred frowned slightly, pursed his lips, and ignored his cousin, because he had too many things to worry about. For example, when the envoy came back, he had already told him that the swamp stronghold might be exposed. news.
"The Vikings will definitely attack us." The Sheriff wiped the sweat from his forehead worriedly and said to Alfred.
"Don't worry, the swamp terrain is a natural fortress." But another Wessex noble said to Alfred.
"We can't be careless. Who has a better idea?" Alfred and the nobles were discussing together in a simple thatched hut. The stench emanating from the surrounding swamps would initially make the nobles feel... It was suffocating, but they soon got used to it.
"Your Majesty, why not build a fortress here, so that even if the Vikings attack, we can deal with it." At this time, the county chief thought for a while and suggested to Alfred.
"Good idea. Using this as a base, we can slowly mobilize the local troops from Somerset, Wiltshire, and Hampshire."
"Let's do this, but what if we don't have enough manpower?" Alfred nodded slightly and agreed to everyone's suggestion. It can be said that this is the safest way at present.
"Don't worry, I will mobilize the craftsmen and civilians in the entire county." The county chief said nonchalantly. In fact, because of the Vikings' destructive actions, many civilians fled near the swamp, and they can be easily mobilized. And this situation was probably something Ulf had not expected.
Time was not on the Wessex people's side and they acted quickly.
Near the moors of Somerset, Alfred quickly selected a small island called Athelney, which was slightly higher than the surrounding terrain, and began to build a fortress.
First, Alfred ordered the island to be cleared of vegetation, the land leveled, and a location suitable for building a fort selected.
To build the fortress, Alfred first assembled a team of craftsmen and peasants from across the territory, each of whom was given a task. Some were sent to cut wood, others to gather stone and earth. In addition, there were people who built houses and walls, and soldiers who guarded the construction sites and provided food and water.
The farmers who had fled to the swamps were worried about food, so they actively participated. At the same time, the Vikings' plundering and burning of their homes made these farmers extremely angry. So when they heard that they were building a defense When it came to the Viking fortress, they were even more active.
a few days later
With the unremitting efforts of everyone, a simple but not low-defense fortress soon began to take shape. According to the plan, first was the city wall, which would be made of large blocks of stone and earth. Although not very high, it was strong enough to withstand Viking attacks. Then there are the houses of the fortress, including residences, workshops, granaries and other buildings. The buildings were built from felled wood, but they were very strong and had to be able to withstand storms.
The construction process of the entire fort was very difficult, because the swampy area was difficult to walk on, and people needed to work for a long time to complete the task. However, Alfred did it himself, without the airs of a king at all. His determination and perseverance made the entire construction process smoother and more efficient.
Alfred's engineers first dug a deep and wide trench at the selected location, and used the excavated soil and stones to build a wall to secure the core area of the fort. They then built a solid wooden structure inside the wall that served as the main body of the fortress.
To increase the fort's stability, craftsmen filled the space between the walls and wooden structure with stones and earth. At the four corners of the fortress, they also built four high towers to observe the surrounding situation and defend against attacks.
In addition, Alfred also ordered craftsmen to build a wooden fence around the fort as a peripheral defense line. They nailed sharp wooden stakes to the fence and dug a deep trench outside the fence to further strengthen the defenses.
The whole process lasted for several months, and under Ulf's advice, Guzlen finally sent an army to attack the swamp continuously during these months, hoping to defeat and find Alfred.
And Alfred did not show any weakness. He took advantage of the unique terrain of the swamp, using the reeds as cover, and divided into many small groups to constantly harass and attack the Vikings who entered the swamp, making it impossible for them to actually find them. Alfred's location.
In a reed marsh, Sigurd was secretly cursing Ulf in his heart. If it weren't for Ulf's unlucky suggestions, he would not have been sent here to carry out such a smelly and muddy operation.
"They may be in front." A tired and dirty Viking warrior, carrying a buckler on his back, pointed to a reed swamp in front of him.
Sigurd and his Viking warriors march through the swamps with a thick sense of tension. They have been fighting here for a long time. The fighting is not terrible, but maintaining low-intensity small-scale battles consumes the most will to fight, and this dark and damp place makes them feel uneasy.
Suddenly, they heard roars and crashes in the distance. Sigurd quickly signaled the soldiers to stop, hold their breath, and listen to what was happening ahead.
A few minutes later, they saw an army of Alfred's knights approaching them.
"Enemies, prepare to fight." Sigurd roared with a buckler in hand and a tomahawk in hand.
The other North warriors also quickly drew out their weapons, preparing to meet the enemy's attack.
Alfred's army soon reached Sigurd and his men, Wessex soldiers clad in gleaming scale armor and armed with spears and swords. Sigurd suddenly realized that these men looked stronger than any Wessex army they had encountered before.
Soon, the two sides began a fierce battle, and the sound of weapons clashing echoed above the swamp.
At this time, Sigurd felt that his body was shaking violently. This was not because of fear, but because he could finally have a good fight instead of playing hide and seek with a group of farmers holding simple pitchforks and bows and arrows every day. Like fighting.
Still, he tried to stay calm. And his warriors were already at odds with Alfred's army, which only added to the chaos and danger in the swamp.
At this time, several Wessex sergeants in fine armor rushed towards Sigurd.
Sigurd suddenly dodged an attack and turned towards another enemy. His battle ax flew through the air, making a whooshing sound, and he fought fiercely with the group of soldiers, but for some reason he felt a drum beating in his heart. This was an intuition that danger was approaching.
Suddenly, Sigurd heard a rustling sound around him, which was the movement of someone coming through the reeds. Sigurd quickly turned around and saw a group of light infantry approaching cautiously between the reeds.
Sigurd immediately realized that if they did not escape from this dangerous swamp as soon as possible, they would probably die here. Sigurd then began to call to his warriors, ordering them to retreat to a safe place.
Eventually, Sigurd and his Vikings managed to break away from the battle and escape the dangerous swamp. But this elite Wessex army did not continue the pursuit, but turned back to the swamp.
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