The deeper they went into the Viking countries, the worse the weather became. At first, they could still see some sunshine, but now the whole sky was covered with gray cumulus clouds. The sunlight tried to penetrate it, but was ultimately blocked out, only able to slightly illuminate the clouds, making the gray color appear much brighter.
Lorenzo rubbed his hands and shook his body. The Viking countries were much colder than old Dunling. Judging from the season, it was now gradually entering late autumn. It was hard to imagine how cold it would be here during the winter solstice.
"Every winter, most of the seaports in the Viking countries will be frozen, and ships cannot pass through. Another reason why the Ice Bay is important is that it is one of the few large ice-free ports in winter."
Notar was wearing gloves, his hands resting lightly on the steering wheel, his eyes looking through the frosted glass at the sea blocked by the cold wind.
"I'm beginning to understand the Vikings' raids. It takes a lot of effort just to survive in such a place."
Lorenzo murmured, even a witcher would feel terrible about this temperature, not to mention the Vikings who have lived here all their lives.
"In winter, part of the waterway will be frozen, and most of the passable waterways also pass through the Ice Bay. Under these conditions, it can be said that this is the heart of the Viking countries." Heibode explained to the few people.
"But this heart does not belong to the King of the Ice Sea," said Lorenzo.
"The lords will not allow the King of the Ice Sea to master it. Even if Lord Wilgdason himself wants to offer Prismatic Ice Bay, the other lords will not agree, or even say 'help' him make the right choice."
Hebode was also very distressed about these things. Although the civil war was over, every lord felt that he was more suitable to be king.
"Everyone is waiting for Floki to go sailing and never come back. He is completely obsessed with sailing. He has no wife and no offspring. As for his relatives, most of them have no power. Once he dies, this place will become a battlefield for contention."
"But as long as he's alive, everyone will follow the rules of the game."
Shrike seemed to know a lot about these power struggles. He sat aside, breathing out white air, and spoke.
"This is just like the fight for territory in the downtown area. No matter how powerful I am, I cannot dominate the dock business alone. This is equivalent to monopolizing everything in the downtown area. Those gangs will fight to the death with me."
"But you are here with us now. What about the downtown area? Won't it be leaderless?" Lorenzo asked.
"How could that be? I'm just the one who makes the rules. Rules are good things. They prevent people from fighting and instead talk about reason at the negotiation table. Unless those guys are crazy, they won't go after me." Shrike said these sinister things. "Of course, if someone really does this, it means he really wants to be the boss of the entire downtown area."
"So what should you do?"
"What else can we do? Report to our superiors! In less than ten minutes, the scavengers will sink them into the Thames and throw their bodies into the pillars of the furnace to burn them to ashes."
It seems that the Shrike is already accustomed to these things and has done them countless times.
"The Lower City is essentially a small courtyard. If cats and dogs fight in it, no one will care as long as they don't overturn the courtyard. But if someone wants to overturn the courtyard, it means that a higher-level existence has fought with them. It's time to attack them."