xymnovel Chapter 389: Four Demands
Chapter 389: Four Demands
"...What do you want then?"
"What do I want?" Rudolf asked. He crossed his arms over his chest, a spark lighting up his dark eyes. "If you want Burgundy to shut its borders to Emperor Louis... I want four things from you, Hakon."
"Huh?!" Hakon blinked, his arrogant smirk vanishing.
He tilted his head, genuinely taken aback. "Four things? I just offered you enough tools to save your kingdom from starvation, and you are making demands?"
"I am the King of this land, Viking," Rudolf stated firmly, "And you are asking me to put my people in the path of a million Frankish soldiers armed with explosive muskets. So yes. I am making demands."
Rudolf held up a single finger.
"First," Rudolf commanded, pointing at the iron-plated fast-clippers docked along the pier. "I want a large portion of your weapons unloaded immediately. Every single repeating rifle your guards are carrying will be handed over to my elite knights. And those cannons on your decks? You will remove them from all forty ships and mount them on the walls of my capital."
"Strip my ships?!" Hakon yelled, waving his hands in the air. "...are you insane?! Do you have any idea how fucking heavy those shore cannons are?! It took three dozen men and a crane just to mount one of them to the deck! I cannot just unbolt them and carry them up to your castle!"
"You have massive muscles, Lord Hakon," Rudolf smirked, "I am sure you and your men will figure it out. If I am going to fight, my city walls need artillery today. Not next month."
Hakon grumbled, rubbing his forehead.
It was a nightmare, but strategically, the King was right. If the Franks marched early, Burgundy needed heavy guns to hold the line.
"Fine," Hakon hissed, annoyed. "What is your second ridiculous demand?"
Rudolf held up a second finger, gesturing to the rushing river behind them. "Second,"
"This fleet of forty iron ships will remain right here on my river. They will act as our first line of defense. They do not sail back to Calais. They do not leave my waters. If the Frankish cavalry tries to cross the southern bridges, your ships will use whatever smaller guns they have left to blow them into the mud."
"You want to trap my fleet?" Hakon frowned.
"I want to make sure you are invested in this war," Rudolf corrected sharply. "If Ragnar wants me to bleed for him, his sailors are going to bleed right alongside my knights."
Even so, Hakon couldn’t help but feel a deep surge of respect bubbling up in his chest.
Vikings admired nothing more than pure boldness. And this southern King, standing in the mud, was currently robbing a Viking warlord blind with nothing but words.
"You drive a brutally hard bargain, your Grace..." Hakon chuckled, a slow grin returning to his face. "Alright. The ships stay. We will hold the river. What is the third?"
Rudolf held up a third finger, "I know you brought engineers and skilled craftsmen on those ships to maintain them."
Hakon narrowed his eyes. "And?"
"And they are going to remain in my kingdom," Rudolf commanded. "They are going to teach my local blacksmiths how to properly smelt and work this hard steel. They are going to show my weavers how to build your textile mills. When this war is finally over, I want Burgundy to be able to build its own future... i will not be dependent on the Iron Kingdom for my survival."
Prince Conrad, who had been sitting quietly on his warhorse the entire time, looked down at his father in awe.
"Ragnar is going to lose his mind when I tell him I gave away his forging secrets." Hakon whispered, shaking his head.
"Ragnar needs a strong ally in the south," Rudolf replied smoothly. "A weak Burgundy is useless to him. If we learn your industry, we can build our own guns eventually. We become an impenetrable fortress against the Franks."
Hakon let out a heavy sigh. His brain was starting to hurt from all the complex trading.
"Fine!" Hakon agreed, throwing his hands up. "The engineers stay! The cannons go on the walls! The fleet holds the river! Is that everything, or do you want me to cook you a hot dinner, too?!"
However, Rudolf didn’t smile. The King’s face grew incredibly serious.
"The fourth demand," Rudolf stated, "is that you, Lord Hakon, will remain inside my castle."
"What?" Hakon blinked, his brow furrowing in confusion. "Me?"
"You are going to be my mandatory guest of honor," Rudolf explained, "You will eat at my table, you will sleep in my finest guest chambers, and you will be surrounded by my royal guard at all times. You will not leave the fortress."
"A guest of honor?" Hakon let out a bitter laugh. "You mean a fucking hostage..."
"I mean an insurance policy," Rudolf corrected. "You are one of Bjorn Ulfsson’s most trusted commanders. You are a high-ranking Lord of the Iron Kingdom. If King Ragnar truly intends to send his fully loaded ships back with the repeating rifles to arm my military... you will be treated like royalty."
Rudolf slowly lowered his hand, "But," Rudolf whispered. "If the Franks march on my city... and Ragnar’s promised weapons do not arrive in time... your head will be the very first thing I launch over the castle walls using your own cannons."
The docks went completely silent... the freezing wind whipped through Hakon’s thick blonde hair.
The Viking stared down at the Burgundian King.
Rudolf was risking his kingdom to side with the Iron King, and he was demanding Hakon’s life as collateral to ensure Ragnar didn’t betray them.
For a long tense moment, nobody moved.
Bernard, the captain of the guard, held his breath, expecting the Viking to pull his bloody axe and start slaughtering people.
Instead, Hakon slowly reached out his hand.
"You have massive balls, King Rudolf." Hakon laughed loudly, his voice echoing with genuine joy. "I accept your crazy terms."
Rudolf let out a slow hidden breath of relief. He reached out and gripped the Viking’s forearm, sealing the blood-alliance.
"Good," Rudolf nodded, stepping back and waving to his knights. "Bernard! Send men to the docks! Start unbolting those cannons immediately!"
As the courtyard erupted into activity, Hakon unslung thebattle-axe from his back and tossed it onto the pier.
But as Hakon fell into step beside the King to walk toward the castle, the Viking tilted his head, a thrilling smirk pulling at his lips.
"I must warn you about one little thing, King Rudolf," Hakon asked.
"What is it?" Rudolf frowned, looking up at his hostage.
"Well..." Hakon chuckled, looking toward the sprawling horizon where the Frankish Empire lay waiting. "The vanguard of the Frankish cavalry is crossing your southern border tonight."