"Huh? Tonight?!"
King Rudolf I completely lost his royal composure, his voice cracking.
"Yes, your Grace~" Hakon chuckled, leaning against the crate of steel plows.
He didn't look worried in the slightest. "Emperor Louis is a highly ambitious man, but he is not a patient one. He sent an ultimatum, and he expects an answer right now."
After hearing such words, Rudolf felt a boiling surge of anger entirely wash over him. He wanted to strangle the Norseman!
"You knew this?!" Rudolf roared, throwing his hands in the air. "You stood here for half an hour arguing with me over farming tools and textile mills while a Frankish army is marching on my capital?!"
"I had to make sure you were committed to the Iron Kingdom first!" Hakon argued. "Besides, it is not the entire million-man army. It is just a highly elite vanguard force. My scouts spotted them crossing the southern valley just before we sailed into your port. I would estimate there are nearly 4,000 knights."
