On June 19, Vig's army arrived at Nottingham.
The city had originally been Ceowulf's domain. Later, Ceowulf was reassigned to Oxford, and the vacant earldom of Nottingham was granted to Niels. Afterward, Niels abused his authority during the Swedish campaign and was stripped of his title, turning Nottingham into a royal demesne.
At this moment, the wooden palisades flew both the royal thunder banner and Ivar's gray wolf-head standard. Once the army finished deploying, Little Pascal, the governor of Nottingham, and the remaining four earls rode out to welcome Vig.
"What are your plans going forward?" Vig asked.
Little Pascal answered first. "We will join your army and march south to punish Gunnar and Æthelbad."
After enduring the long campaign in West Francia, Little Pascal had been completely convinced by Vig's exceptional command ability. Compared with the other two claimants to the throne, he believed Vig had the highest chance of victory.
Moreover, Little Pascal harbored resentment toward Ragnar's royal house. In his view, the royal family's reckless extravagance had worked his father—Old Pascal—to death. Vig, by contrast, excelled at generating wealth through industry and commerce and had introduced many new agricultural techniques. With Vig as king, the burdens on both nobles and peasants would be far lighter.
With Little Pascal taking the lead, the remaining five men bowed deeply and formally acknowledged Vig's authority.
At present, Ivar's forces had already escorted the coffin back to Ireland. Nottingham was left with only 1,700 infantry and 200 cavalry, their morale low and discipline lax.
Worse still, most of Nottingham's supplies had earlier been sent south to Tamworth and Oxford, leaving the city's stores nearly empty.
"No need to worry about provisions," Vig said calmly. "The North and York have ample reserves. I've already arranged ships and wagons. There's enough to sustain the entire army."
After one day of rest, Vig led nearly ten thousand soldiers southwest toward Repton.
After Ivar's death, Repton's garrison collapsed in spirit and surrendered easily to the Franks. But upon learning that large Viking forces were approaching, the small Frankish detachment withdrew on orders, allowing the town to fall back into Viking hands.
Once Repton was secured, Vig sent scouts to gather intelligence. Reports said that six thousand Frankish troops were stationed at Tamworth. Their commander was not Gunnar himself, but a Frankish noble calling himself Baron de Portigny, named Charles.
From the information collected, such a man did indeed serve under Gunnar—but he had no notable record of achievement.
To avoid frightening the enemy with overwhelming numbers, Vig left behind the irregular infantry under Little Pascal and Magnus, requesting only two hundred cavalry to accompany his core troops as he advanced toward Tamworth.
Tamworth
"How many Vikings are coming? Seven thousand?"
Listening to the scouts' report, Charles de Portigny relaxed once he learned that the enemy had only a little over two thousand suits of iron armor, with fewer than eight hundred cavalry.
This battle could be fought.
After the fall of Londinium, Gunnar's prestige soared. West Frankish nobles began sending reinforcements on their own initiative—dispatching disfavored younger sons or bastards with militia units northward, hoping to earn baronies or knighthoods and secure an extra path for their families.
As time passed, the number of Frankish troops in Britain exceeded eight thousand, and the influx showed no sign of stopping. Gunnar himself was tied down in Londinium, so he continuously funneled troops north, attempting to force local nobles into submission. Vig's rapid advance, however, shattered this plan, turning coercion into a decisive field battle.
Charles commanded 4,500 infantry and 2,000 cavalry. Half of the infantry were armored; all cavalry wore iron armor. With superiority in both cavalry numbers and equipment, he judged his chances in open battle to be over seventy percent.
"Cavalry is ill-suited for street fighting," Charles declared. "Rather than being bottled up in Tamworth, we should meet them in the field and crush them with a decisive victory."
He summoned his officers and laid out the plan. It received unanimous support. Frankish knights were accustomed to direct, aggressive charges—if a commander acted too cautiously, he would lose their respect.
On June 21, Charles left five hundred militia to hold the city and marched his army to a preselected battlefield—open terrain with clear visibility, no forests or hills, ideal for large-scale cavalry charges.
By noon, once contact with the Viking main force was confirmed, Charles ordered deployment. Owing to poor organizational discipline, it took nearly an hour for the Frankish army to finish forming ranks.
Four kilometers away, Vig's army completed its own redeployment more swiftly—over ten minutes faster.
At one o'clock in the afternoon, Viking soldiers hastily ate dry rations and drank water, then advanced southward at their officers' command. With fewer cavalry, they adopted a relatively conservative formation.
At the front were three infantry regiments, forming a broad assault line. Behind them stood two thousand-man pike phalanxes, guarding the flanks and rear.
Between these elements flew Vig's central banner, flanked by the mountain infantry battalion, Highland mercenaries, and seven hundred cavalry.
Escorted by large numbers of horsemen, Charles rode close to observe the enemy formation. He noticed that the westernmost infantry square was equipped with lamellar and mail armor, while the other four infantry formations wore only black garments.
Before landing in Britain, Gunnar had gathered his commanders and described in detail every battle he had fought alongside the Serpent of the North. In those recollections, the Battle of Manchuni marked the first time Vig revealed his extraordinary military talent.
Charles had listened with intense focus back then, even compiling meticulous notes that he reviewed often. Now, seeing the Viking formation with his own eyes, he believed he had instantly seen through Vig's intentions.
"He's placed his elite heavy infantry on the western flank," Charles murmured. "He plans to recreate the oblique attack he used at Manchuni over a decade ago."
After careful consideration, he galloped back and made targeted adjustments.
Charles's deployment was aggressive. He placed three thousand infantry in the front line, with five hundred cavalry on the western flank, holding the rest in reserve.
When the distance between the two armies shrank to under five hundred meters, he suddenly led the remaining 1,500 cavalry and 1,000 heavy infantry in a wide maneuver toward the eastern side of the battlefield, preparing to envelop the enemy's flank.
"Let's see whose flank collapses first."
As the Frankish army adjusted its deployment, the Vikings in the front ranks marched forward to the beat of drums and horns. Most spearmen could not see the movement of Frankish cavalry at all. They simply followed the line ahead, advancing slowly—like a forest gliding forward.
After countless drills and punishments, this discipline had been carved into their very instincts.
Four hundred meters.
Three hundred meters.
The distance closed steadily. The Franks sent forward five hundred archers. They ignored the heavily armored western formation—shooting at such troops would only waste arrows. On their officers' orders, they aimed instead at the easternmost black-clad spearmen.
According to Charles's plan, the archers would weaken the enemy first. Once the lines clashed, they would smash the Viking left wing as quickly as possible—then unleash the cavalry charge once the enemy formation began to break.
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