Rennes had gathered militia from the surrounding regions, bringing the defending force to over two thousand men.
After five hours of brutal street fighting, most of the defenders were either dead or had surrendered.
By evening, only a small group of soldiers still held out in a tower at the city's southwestern corner.
The Vikings piled firewood beneath the tower and filled it with thick smoke, forcing the remaining defenders to surrender.
At last, the battle was completely over.
When Vig read the casualty report compiled by his staff officers, his heart ached.
These had been his most loyal—and most elite—troops.
And yet they had suffered six hundred casualties.
"I never expected the Franks to possess this level of morale."
After capturing Rennes, Vig did not continue advancing eastward.
Instead, he dispatched large numbers of troops to sweep through the knightly estates across Brittany, gathering grain and warhorses in preparation for a war that might last more than two years.
The combat personnel within a knight's manor generally consisted only of the knight himself, his retainers, and a handful of trusted militia.
Baronial estates fielded slightly more troops, usually around twenty to fifty fighting men.
Vig picked up a heavy file packet.
Inside were intelligence reports detailing the locations and information of ninety-three noble estates.
"Besides the seven estates already captured, there are still eighty-six left.
"We'll be busy for a while."
He summoned officers from every unit and assigned missions.
Battalion-sized detachments were sent out to eliminate remaining enemies throughout the peninsula.
These Frankish nobles resisted fiercely, and attempts at persuasion had almost no success.
It was easier to wipe them out entirely and later grant their lands to his own officers.
For the next month or so, Vig had ample time to stabilize Brittany while waiting for the forty-thousand-man army from Britain to arrive before confronting Charles the Bald in decisive battle.
Upon learning that the Vikings had temporarily halted their offensive, the nobles of Le Mans, Nantes, and other regions finally breathed a sigh of relief.
They hurriedly dispatched messengers to the royal court requesting reinforcements.
Early July — Paris
At this moment, Charles the Bald was far from prepared for a decisive war.
His original plan had been to encourage his nephews—Carloman, Louis the Younger, and Charles the Fat—to attack Denmark and lure Vig northward.
If Vig committed large reinforcements, the Frankish forces would simply retreat behind their borders and avoid battle.
Then, once Vig withdrew, the three brothers would invade the weakened Denmark again, forcing Vig to return once more.
By repeating this cycle endlessly, the Vikings would be exhausted by constant campaigning and long voyages.
When the timing was right, the Frankish kings would form a grand coalition, defeat—or even kill—Vig once and for all, eliminating the greatest threat of recent decades.
At first glance, the plan seemed quite feasible.
But Vig had completely defied Frankish expectations.
Instead of rushing to Denmark, he had led his army directly into West Francia itself, adopting a posture of mutual destruction.
Not long ago, rumors obtained through smuggling channels claimed that Britain had issued a nationwide mobilization order and intended to raise over forty thousand troops.
Charles panicked and immediately summoned the royal council.
"How many soldiers can we mobilize?"
Prime Minister Lamberto replied:
"Excluding garrisons stationed in fortresses across the realm, Your Majesty should be able to raise between thirty and fifty thousand men—provided the nobles respond to the call and enough time is given."
Having ruled for more than twenty years, Charles understood all too well how troublesome the great nobles were.
They constantly resisted royal authority and excelled at finding excuses to delay or evade obligations.
"Continue sending letters. Pressure them to speed things up.
"And warn them—this war is different from the previous ones.
"If Vig wins, Frankish nobles will lose their lands, which will instead be handed over to those savage bloodthirsty Vikings."
In desperation, Charles also wrote to his nephews in Middle Francia and East Francia, asking them to help their uncle for the sake of shared blood.
For the foreseeable future, he intended to remain in Paris until the nobles completed their mustering.
As for Le Mans, Nantes, Saint-Malo, and other towns, Charles ordered them to hold out and delay the Viking advance for as long as possible.
Thus, throughout the entire month of July, both Vig and Charles the Bald spent their time waiting for their armies to gather.
The frontline suddenly entered a lull.
Britain
Upon receiving the mobilization order from the cabinet, Duke Eamon assembled his troops as instructed.
He sailed from Ireland to Liverpool before marching on foot toward Londinium.
This time, he mobilized eighteen hundred soldiers, including one hundred knights and an equal number of mounted retainers.
The entire force stretched into a long column moving along the right side of the road.
As one of the kingdom's only two major highways, the Mancuni–Londinium road measured roughly 4.2 meters wide, enough for two heavily loaded wagons to pass side by side.
Every twenty miles—around thirty kilometers—official relay stations stood beside the road, providing food and fresh water for travelers and military units alike.
In addition, numerous privately operated inns lined the route, most run by local gentry.
Thanks to the broad and level road, even feudal levy troops could maintain a marching speed of twenty miles per day.
Upon reaching a relay station, officials distributed horse fodder and grain as needed before asking Eamon to sign the supply ledger to confirm receipt.
On July 10th, Eamon arrived at the northern outskirts of Londinium.
Thirty-eight military camps had been established there.
Their layouts were largely identical:
the outer perimeter consisted of trenches and palisades, while inside stood barracks, stables, and warehouses.
Each camp could house either an infantry regiment or a cavalry battalion.
Suddenly, a small cavalry detachment intercepted Eamon.
After confirming his identity, the riders escorted him and his attendants to the central encampment.
This served as the temporary headquarters of the Ministry of War.
A senior civil official requested Eamon's troop roster and verified the listed information before issuing the following arrangements:
According to current planning, Torlgar would command the heavy cavalry for this campaign.
Eamon's two hundred cavalrymen and their grooms would therefore be incorporated into Torlgar's cavalry division.
The remaining fourteen hundred infantrymen would be organized into a garrison regiment.
Eamon could either personally command the regiment or surrender command to an officer appointed by the Ministry of War.
"I'll command them myself," Eamon replied calmly.
The official wasted no time.
He summoned five quartermasters, five signalmen, and fifteen accompanying shamans—who also served as battlefield medics—and assigned them to Eamon's Third Garrison Regiment.
"Anything else you require, Your Grace?"
Eamon shook his head before casually asking:
"Where are the troops from the camps?"
The official replied:
"They're conducting joint exercises on the eastern training grounds.
"I took a look earlier. The entire scene was utter chaos—a complete farce."
This exercise had been jointly ordered by the Crown Prince, the Queen, and the cabinet.
Concerned about the frontline situation, they had temporarily instructed the three field divisions to conduct a large-scale maneuver.
If the results proved satisfactory, they planned to shorten the training period and dispatch reinforcements across the sea ahead of schedule to prevent the king from being surrounded by Frankish forces.
Unfortunately, the three field divisions had performed far below expectations.
The cabinet's idea of sending early reinforcements had effectively collapsed.
After talking for a while, Eamon returned to his troops and led them to the plot of land assigned by the Ministry of War, where they began constructing camp facilities according to regulations.
By two in the afternoon, all work was progressing smoothly.
Eamon delegated the remaining tasks to his subordinates before leading a small group of guards into the city to pay respects to the Crown Prince.
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