Chapter Fifty-Nine: Asserting Authority, Centralizing Power, and Rebellion

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At Margaret’s question, the priests exchanged uneasy glances and remained silent, while Hina’s expression grew darker by the moment.

“Since you have no need of the gods’ protection, we shall take our leave,” Hina said. She rose, handed the crown to one of Margaret’s maids, and shot the priests behind her a furious glare.

Under Margaret’s puzzled gaze, she led the priests toward the exit.

“Stop!” Margaret’s voice was cold as ice. “Are you dissatisfied with me? Do you intend to defy me? To declare war on House Godland?”

Hina paid her no heed. She merely glanced back with disdain before walking away.

Seeing this, Harold slowly rose as well. Under Margaret’s gaze, he gave her one long, profound look. Without saying a word, he followed Hina out.

As the two departed, a great many lords rose in a clatter and hurried after them.

The lively hall fell silent in an instant. Those who remained exchanged bewildered looks, uncertain what to do.

In the face of Hina and Harold’s repeated provocations, Margaret calmly placed the crown upon her head, closed her eyes, and made a decision.

When she opened them again, her gaze swept across the neutral lords and Polly’s faction.

“Is anyone else planning to leave?” she asked coldly.

Polly stepped forward and gently tugged at Margaret’s sleeve, advising her in a low voice, “Margaret, you acted rather impulsively just now.”

Margaret showed not the slightest regret.

“Lady Polly, the head wolf may generously share its food, but when one of its underlings challenges it, a true ruler can only bite the challenger to death.”

Margaret announced in a ringing voice, “Hina, Harold, and the others are suspected of opposing House Godland. In my capacity as chieftain, I strip them of their titles as lords and confiscate their fiefs!”

The declaration caused an uproar among those present.

Margaret immediately summoned a maid and ordered, “Go to the barracks and deliver my command at once. Seal the town gates. And tell the Huscarls to come here immediately!”

When Polly still did not move, Margaret looked at her and urged her on, her hands clasped behind her back.

“High Lord Polly, what are you waiting for?”

Polly sighed, then finally nodded.

“As you command, my lord.”

Margaret sat upon the jarl’s throne, resting her cheek against one hand as she pondered. In the lamplight, her expression shifted between light and shadow, and the atmosphere in the hall grew tense and oppressive.

“Kill them?”

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“Or let them live?”

“Do not force my hand!”

…

Harold hurried after the furious Hina, his voice urgent.

“You were too impulsive!”

“Who does she think she is? A bastard!” Hina spun around, her eyes blazing. “She is nothing more than the heir chosen by the Lady. If the Lady had borne children, that position would never have fallen to her!”

“But the reality is that she is already the chieftain,” Harold said, analyzing the situation. “I am worried Polly will use this opportunity to move against us. We must leave this dangerous place before they can react. You have to come with me!”

“Yes. First we gather the army, then we replace her with a chieftain we can control—someone like Alexander, perhaps.”

Hina nodded firmly.

Yet when their group reached the gates of Skalvik, they found the entrance already under tight guard.

Warriors had formed a shield wall before the town gate, while numerous archers stood ready atop the walls.

“Harold, it seems she intends to move against us!” Hina said. Draped in a black cloak, she was nearly invisible beneath the cover of night.

Harold pointed at the officer commanding the guards and ordered, “Open the gate! Are you blind?”

“Forgive me, Lord Polly has ordered the town gates sealed. If you wish to leave, you must first obtain her permission. Please do not make this difficult for us!” the officer replied earnestly.

Harold turned to the lords behind him who came from the Huscarls’ Right Wing.

“Can you still fight?”

“Lord Harold, we must break through!” the lords declared resolutely. “We will escort you and the High Priest out. If we die, take command of our armies and avenge us! Let us repeat the victory of eight years ago!”

Seeing this, the officer hurried behind the shield wall and pleaded, “Lord Harold, please do not act rashly. If anything serious happens, you will bear full responsibility!”

Harold’s expression darkened. Beneath the night sky, he drew his longsword, its blade reflecting the firelight. The lords behind him, the sons of noble families, and the servants they had brought with them all drew their swords as well.

“Fall back slowly. Send the wagons crashing into their formation, then break through!”

Harold’s order passed rapidly from mouth to ear in hushed voices.

The guards realized that the situation was turning dire. The lords began to withdraw, and the wagons they had brought came hurtling toward the shield wall.

“Huscarls, kill!”

With a battle cry, the lords charged the guards.

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“Rebellion! Rebellion! Prepare to repel the attack!” the officer shouted.

Several torches were hurled into the mass of lords, while the archers atop the walls nocked their arrows and took aim.

In an instant, men and horses were thrown into chaos within the shield wall. Wagons crushed several people before the draft horses were slain by spears, and the archers on the walls loosed their arrows.

However, the lords sheltered behind the wagons, leaving the archers unable to hit them. They attacked the shield wall from both sides, squeezing it between them.

The shield wall, the pride of the Vikings, was shattered. The soldiers were instinctively intimidated by the lords and, for a time, did not dare strike back. They could only hold up their shields to protect themselves and their comrades in the same warband.

With the two-sided assault, the opposing forces became embroiled in a melee. The archers on the walls feared hitting their own men and were rendered useless.

Only when one bold soldier thrust his spear through a lord did the situation descend into complete chaos, beyond all control.

Then the sound of hooves rang out. A large force of warriors came rushing in, and someone shouted, “Stop at once! Anyone who resists will immediately be treated as a rebel!”

At the same time, the surviving Huscarl knights arrived in force. Clad in fine scale armor and wielding spiked maces, they rapidly formed a crescent around the outskirts, half-encircling the chaotic combatants.

“Stop at once! Stop at once!” they shouted in unison.

The guard officer went deathly pale, while Harold threw back his head and laughed.

“Reinforcements! Huscarls, I am Harold, your commander! Kill these enemies who intend to rebel, seize the queen, and murder the lords! Then join me in rescuing your chieftain!”

The Huscarl knights, however, did not obey Harold’s command. Instead, they advanced and swung their spiked maces at the lords.

They avoided striking the heads of the lords and their families, aiming only for their bodies. Even so, the spikes on the maces left them drenched in blood.

“Huscarls of the Right Wing, what are you doing?” Harold roared furiously. “Have you forgotten that we all come from the Huscarls? You are actually helping that scheming wretch Polly, the woman who plotted Ralph’s murder, attack us?”

With soldiers advancing shoulder to shoulder and shields pressing in from every side, Harold was unable to find room to maneuver, no matter how great his strength or how refined his combat skills. In the end, he was seized, two or three men driving their knees into his back and pinning him to the ground.

“The gods will never forgive you!” Hina was also stripped of her hood and cloak and forced down beside Harold, unable to move as she cursed them.

“Is that so?”

The sound of a cane striking the ground came one measured tap at a time. The wooden leg striking the stone seemed to pound directly upon their hearts.

The Huscarl knights opened a passage through their shield formation. Under Harold and Hina’s disbelieving gazes, Ralph limped forward.

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