Ayla was unable to get any more information from the prisoners of war. The general was sent by his lord to intercept reinforcements that might come from Sweden. Before going to sea, he only learned about Ragnar's fourth son Bi.
Jon returned and called together all the old troops of his brothers. As for the present state of the British Isles, and Alfred's current situation, he knew nothing.
But this is good news. His fleet set out to sea after Alfred's envoy. Since he didn't know Alfred's situation, Alfred probably hasn't fallen into Bjorn's control yet.
among.
In the early morning a few days later, Ella's fleet docked at Southampton, the port city closest to Winchester. Winchester is the capital of England. After Alfred unified Britain, it became the capital of Britain.
The capital city of Winchester. 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 sea route to Winchester, Southampton should have been prosperous. But when Ella's fleet docked, the port of Southampton was empty, and not a single person was seen.
"It's strange. We came too early. Are everyone in the city still sleeping?"
Ella looked towards 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 there is no lighthouse.
It’s 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 to 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 Sealander, and the city can be seen from the northwest of the ship.
The situation was such that the hot air balloon was swayed left and right by strong winds, and seemed to overturn the hot air balloon at any time. The people under the hot air balloon were shocked to see it.
"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 opened roughly. The streets were in a mess, with all kinds of utensils scattered around as if they had been hit by a tornado.
.Many birds stood on the ground and ate 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 went deeper, more and more birds flapped their wings.
It flew up and formed a dense black cloud over the city.
"How long has no one been here?" Dast exaggeratedly covered his nose. There was a smell of alcohol on his body. He thought he drank a lot on the boat. But it's no wonder he did this.
This reaction: There are many corpses lying on the road, and they have 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 be going on?" Glahid was a little angry, "You can't just let people in a city die by themselves, right?"
Amy thought about 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: "Strange thing. It's not for money, nor is it the Black Death, so what's going on here? If it's a military operation to seize important territory, then there should at least be enemy troops here.
Occupying it?"
"King of Sweden, you don't need to think so much." Glahid said, "It is impossible for the King of Knights 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? Not a single person has disappeared 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?" Dast rolled his eyes and chuckled, "Don't talk about everyone, just me.
If I hide in this city alone, how many people will I need to take with me, and how many days will it take to find me and take me away?"
"My name is Dust, right?" Glahid glared at him, "Are you dissatisfied with me in any way?"
Dast's whole body trembled and he sobered up. Seeing Grahid's unkind gaze, he immediately raised his hands in surrender, "Don't stare at me, I can't beat you, I'll give up."
Glahid couldn't help but snorted: "Drunkard."
Ella raised her hand to signal everyone to be silent. It was just dawn, and a thin layer of fog covered the streets, making the streets even more gloomy. She closed her eyes and only heard the wails of birds from above.
"Grahid is right, these corpses must be caused by the enemy's attack. But the master is also right, no matter how the enemy attacks, this place will not become an empty city. It is very strange here, and you cannot stay here for too long.
Grahid, are there any 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 meeting 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 is 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 used a hot-air balloon to conduct reconnaissance before entering the city. Although the evacuation was urgent, there was no panic. Under the leadership of Glahid, they quickly arrived at the village in front of the forest.
But they still couldn't see a single figure. They only saw a few rotten corpses lying in the fields outside the village, being pecked by crows. Glahid stood motionless on the path in the field. The crows were frightened.
It flew up, probably thinking that he was a scarecrow in the field.
"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!"
