In central Italy, while Vig was conducting his long cavalry sweep across the Po Plain, the Viking army on the southern front had hardly been idle.
They captured Siena and Castel del Piano, eventually reaching the shores of Lake Bolsena, less than fifty miles from Rome.
After a series of probing actions, Basil realized the enemy possessed very little cavalry.
He therefore dispatched more scouts to harass their supply lines.
The Eastern Roman cavalry ventured closer and gathered more detailed intelligence.
The Viking army numbered roughly fifty thousand men and possessed thirty bronze cannons.
"Only that many?"
Much of Basil's concern evaporated.
Rome now held over ninety thousand defenders. Backed by the formidable Aurelian Walls, the odds were strongly in his favor.
The only truly troublesome factor remained those bronze cannons.
As time passed, both the Franks and the Greeks learned more about the new weapon.
Its maximum range was around seven hundred meters.
Reloading required more than a minute.
Its barrel life appeared limited—probably no more than four hundred shots.
Reports from the front also indicated that its long-range lethality wasn't particularly impressive.
Its greatest strength lay in psychological shock.
Poorly trained militia frequently broke after enduring artillery bombardment.
Basil's plan was therefore straightforward.
Remain behind the city walls.
Wear down the enemy's artillery and morale.
Then launch a massive counteroffensive, overwhelming the barbarian army through sheer numbers.
Two days later, another urgent report arrived.
The Viking army had halted beside Lake Bolsena.
It appeared...
they were preparing to retreat north.
What's happening?
Have our cavalry frightened them away?
On October 13, the Vikings began a full withdrawal, retracing their route back into Tuscany.
News of the retreat sent Rome into celebration.
Basil, however, still couldn't understand his opponent's intentions.
He could only send troops to reoccupy places like Siena, hoping these strongpoints would slow the Vikings during their next advance.
After a night of festivities, another message reached Rome.
The thirty-thousand-man Balkan coalition had been ambushed on the Po Plain.
Only four thousand survivors reached Venice.
The rest had been annihilated.
"...Now I understand."
Basil finally grasped Vig's strategy.
He was clearly borrowing Hannibal's methods.
Rather than assaulting the heavily fortified city of Rome, he was maneuvering through weakly defended regions, destroying Italy's armies in open battle.
"So he's imitating Hannibal...
Does that mean I'm supposed to imitate Fabius?
What absurdity is this?
The Second Punic War... replayed a thousand years later?
Who is Scipio?
Who is Varro?
Who is Hasdrubal?"
The course of the war had exceeded Basil's expectations.
He admitted he had underestimated the Serpent of the North.
The man behaved nothing like an impulsive, hot-blooded Norse barbarian.
Instead...
he resembled a venomous snake lying in wait beneath the undergrowth.
"The Serpent of the North...
Now I understand.
Nicknames are never given without reason.
It seems I must change my strategy."
During the Second Punic War, Hannibal devastated the Italian countryside.
Now, with more than ninety thousand troops concentrated in Rome, the rest of Italy lay dangerously exposed.
Fearing Vig would march south along the eastern coast, pillaging everything in his path, Basil detached part of his forces to reinforce that shoreline.
But Vig had no intention of copying Hannibal's campaign exactly.
Hannibal had invaded southern Italy hoping to persuade the Greek city-states there to revolt against Rome.
Times had changed.
If the Vikings marched into southern Italy now, they would find no potential allies whatsoever.
Instead, they would merely expose their own supply lines.
On October 15, Vig convened another war council.
This time, the next phase of the campaign would focus on the northern front.
"The coalition suffered a crushing defeat at Padua.
"Their homeland is now practically undefended.
"I intend to send the three field divisions north.
"They'll enter Slavonia from the northeastern edge of the Po Plain.
"After that, continue north and link up with the Fourth Division and the Bohemian forces.
"Our objective is to conquer Moravia, depriving Croatia, Slavonia, and the other kingdoms of their ability to continue the war."
Shrike asked,
"What about the southern front?"
Vig replied,
"I'll remain in Italy with the Imperial Guard Division, the Cavalry Division, and several garrison regiments—a total of forty thousand men.
"The Eastern Romans don't possess artillery.
"Even reducing a fortress requires at least a month.
"I estimate I can keep them occupied until next summer."
The meeting lasted all night.
Using intelligence gathered by the Imperial Intelligence Service, the commanders drafted a detailed operational plan.
On October 16, the three field divisions marched north, following the familiar route across the Po Plain.
Passing Padua, they deliberately avoided the recent battlefield.
From a distance they could see flocks of ravens circling overhead.
Wild dogs prowled in packs nearby, their eyes glowing red, foul-smelling saliva dripping from their jaws.
By late October, the Viking army reached Italy's northeastern frontier and entered Slavonia.
The local inhabitants were mostly Slavs who had migrated there during the seventh century, establishing the Duchy of Carantania.
Seeking protection, they had submitted to the Franks and adopted the Frankish feudal system.
Overall, the region remained underdeveloped.
Stone fortifications were scarce.
Most of its soldiers had died at Padua.
There was little left capable of resisting the Viking advance.
In early November, the Vikings captured the regional capital.
The high command immediately discussed the next phase of operations.
Shrike spoke first.
"The enemy poses little threat.
"Our real enemies are logistics and the weather.
"We must reach this town before snowfall begins in December."
He pointed north on the map.
Vindobona—the future Vienna.
It lay roughly two hundred miles (three hundred kilometers) away.
Founded over five centuries earlier, Vindobona had first belonged to the Celts before passing through Roman, Germanic, and Avar hands.
Its current ruler was a Frankish count.
The settlement itself wasn't large.
Its importance lay in its position on the southern bank of the Danube.
Once the Vikings occupied it, fleets from the Duchy of Bavaria could simply sail downstream, transporting grain and every type of military supply.
The next step would be securing enough ships and provisions before continuing east along the Danube to seize Devín Castle.
From there, the army would turn north into a tributary, rowing upstream for over one hundred kilometers before arriving in the heart of Moravia—
Brno.
This route had been carefully devised by the Emperor himself.
No commander raised any objections.
For the next twenty days, the Viking army advanced through forests and rolling hills.
They encountered almost no resistance.
Their greatest obstacle remained the twenty bronze cannons, whose tremendous weight slowed every march.
Finally, just before the first snowfall of 872, the army reached Vindobona.
After half an hour of bombardment and one hour of street fighting, the Vikings captured the town.
On December 8, more than a hundred rowing longships arrived from Regensburg upstream.
They were personally escorted by Douglas's second son, who also brought detailed reports from Moravia.
Throughout the entire second half of the year, the Moravian front had remained deadlocked.
The eastern coalition had grown so idle that it spent its time constructing additional castles throughout the region.
They appeared to have abandoned any intention of launching another offensive.
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