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Offa and Ecbert's body was displayed to the public, although most of the slaves were to be sold, it was a signal to those who stayed to understand that they must abandon all hope. All three kingdoms have fallen, there are still some nobles left, but their strength is too small to pose a serious threat.

A few days later, preparations for the expedition began ... The soldiers who were captured after the battle, farmers and boys older than five years were all placed on the ships. One-Eye and Roll went west to fetch the previously captured prisoners, whom they left under guard several dozen kilometers from Jorvik.

- Everything is ready. We still have to wait for One-Eye and Rollo, they bring another 2,000 prisoners. (Trygve)

- I know, and we'll have to visit the capital of Wessex again. There we will load the rest of the Anglo-Saxons and sail to Spain. (Ulf)

- How many ships? (Leif)

- We're still going to take supplies ... so no more than 60 prisoners per ship, unless we are accompanied by merchant ships. They will take the supplies and we will take prisoners, then 80 prisoners per ship ... 75 ships. (Ulf)

- So we only sell 6,000? We have many more. (Trygve)

- I do not know if the Arabs will buy even 6,000, that's a lot of people and, in addition, only men ... but if they buy, we will send them another transport in a few months. We do not sell craftsmen and women ... someone has to work and someone has to bear our children. (Ulf)

- And what next? (Leif)

- I'll bring more settlers here. At this time, catch those Anglo-Saxons who escaped from us or are hiding ... we will also sell them Welsh and Scots. Once the situation is more stable you can start attacking Ireland, but we have several years for that. (Ulf)

- What if the Arabs don't buy them? (Trygve)

- Then I will give them away as a gift ... I will limit prison meals for a week or two ... and then leave them on the Spanish coast. Whether they die or live is none of my business... (Ulf)

Such an amount of starving people can cause a few problems for Arabs ... it would be a shame to lose gold and silver, but if there is no other option.

-... Anything else you want to discuss? (Ulf)

- I remember you wanted to make Roll Jarl? (Leif)

- Yes, I thought about it before, but after the battle ... I'm even more convinced. He will get provinces close to Sweden so that he will not be bored. (Ulf)

We covered a few other less important topics, and then the meeting ended with a feast ... and a big hangover the next day.

Two weeks later, Rollo and One-Eye returned to Jorvik, leading the other captives. Before we left for Spain, I called Rollo over to inform him of his promotion. He took it without emotion and without surprise, I thought he would enjoy it more, especially since he was in the same position as Ragnar. I ordered him to return to Kattegat by the nearest ship... and two days later he left for Norway and we sailed south.

It took us eighteen days to reach the former capital of Wessex, and we spent another week there replenishing supplies and loading prisoners. I was standing on the shore and watching my fleet ... and I wasn't sure how the Arabs would react to it. We didn't look like a merchant fleet, 75 warships and 12 merchant ships, it was more like D day and the Normandy landing.

I chose Lisbon as our destination port, the Arabs have occupied the city for 70 or 80 years and it has become an important commercial port with North Africa. Which only increased the chances of getting rid of the Anglo-Saxons ... we sailed along the shoreline of the Kingdom of the Franks, we saw the familiar coast which was the subject of our raids, after a few days we reached the Spanish waters.

- Do you think they'll accept us with open arms? (One-eyed)

- No, that's why I will only bring one ship to the shore during the day, so they don't think it's an invasion and the rest of the ships will be waiting at sea. I'll set up camp and wait for a delegation from the city to arrive. The Arabs must feel in control of the whole situation. (Ulf)

- And are we supposed to wait? What if they attack? With 40 men and 60 slaves, you won't do much. (One-eyed)

- Yes, you have to wait. I want to establish permanent cooperation with them ... temporarily, of course and if they attack ... it's unlikely. Seeing nearly a hundred ships at sea, they won't try to provoke us.(Ulf)

- Hope you know what you're doing, I don't want to be the one to tell Lagertha you're dead... How much will you charge for one slave? (One-eyed)

- A pound of gold or two pounds of silver, but it could also be fabric, jewelry and other useful things. (Ulf)

- After we finish our affairs in Spain, are we going back to Kattegat? (One-eyed)

- Yes, but not immediately. With almost 100 ships, we will attack the Spanish coast as Christians on the way back, and then the Frankish coast as Arabs ... They must fight each other ... where there is war there is profit. (Ulf)

It took us twenty days to reach Lisbon, although the route was not difficult, we did not know these waters and decided to be careful ... it was the first time we were so far to the west. We set up camp, less than a kilometer from the city, a white flag was fluttering over my tent, I was not sure if the Arabs knew the meaning of this symbol, but it wouldn't hurt to try.