Building a Viking Empire with Modern Industry-Chapter 139: Allies?

Nearly a week had passed from the fateful battle in which the Mercian Army under the command of Ealdorman Ethelred was horrendously liquidated by the West Saxons.

Thane Odda had maintained his supply line’s retreat back to Oxford, where he intended to defend the grain reserves until death.

As for the result of the battle, Odda had dispatched semaphore signals and riders to all corners of the Midlands, informing the realm of their CEO’s death and the results of the catastrophic audit.

When Ragnar finally received the news, he was sitting on his swivel chair in the executive suite of City Titan, with Gyda sitting on the edge of his desk, reviewing the quarterly projections.

Ragnar indeed had no shame as he continued to trace the line of her hip with his silver-geared cane, which caused her to smirk with professional amusement.

Truthfully this entire display of "synergy" was her idea, and Ragnar was her Director and would not decline an opportunity to show off his appreciation for her management skills; as such, the young industrialist entertained himself with the efficiency of his partner.

That is until a junior clerk came rushing into the office and witnessed the ergonomic scene.

Upon witnessing the intrusion, Gyda quickly became overwhelmed with... annoyance, and adjusted her spectacles.

Nevertheless, Ragnar continued to tap his cane rhythmically against the desk leg despite the new arrival. While behaving so casually in a place of business, Ragnar shouted at the clerk who had just arrived.

"Do you have a scheduled appointment? If not, get out! As you can see, we are currently in a ’Strategy Session’."

Not knowing how to react to the bold lack of decorum, the clerk stammered as he tried to discuss the telegraph strip which had arrived, containing the code of the Mercian Forward Operating Base.

"D... Director, Thane Odda sends an urgent wire! I am here to deliver the transcript!"

Ragnar’s cane, which was resting near Gyda’s knee, immediately stopped its tapping. Shortly thereafter, a sigh escaped from his lips as he demanded the clerk pass the strip to him.

"Submit the data!"

The clerk quickly bowed before walking up to Ragnar and Gyda, where he handed it to the Director.

After the man handed Ragnar the paper, he quickly absconded from the spot; after all, watching Ragnar and Gyda calculate profit margins with such intensity was not something to which one would normally stick around to see.

It was only after the man had left that Gyda hopped off the desk, smoothing her skirt.

She truly only had herself to blame, as she was the one who suggested reviewing the budget in such a... relaxed manner. Nevertheless, she still felt Ragnar had gone too far by not immediately pivoting to "Crisis Mode."

Ignoring Gyda’s raised eyebrow, Ragnar unrolled the strip and read its contents, which caused his monocle to nearly fall out before settling into a grave expression.

Seeing his reaction, Gyda could not help but pry into the data; after all, she was his CFO, and as such, she quickly voiced her concerns.

"I know that look... The stock has crashed, hasn’t it?"

Ragnar nodded his head before announcing the results of the Battle outside Reading.

"Ethelred is dead. His army was downsized permanently. Only Thane Odda and the rear guard have returned to Oxford. The Board of Mercia is either dead or captured. I’m sorry, love, but I have more important assets to secure at the moment; we will have to finish the budget review later..."

Gyda once more began to frown as Ragnar stood up, leaning heavily on his cane, and began to head to the War Room. They had only just begun their analysis, and yet already he was leaving.

She began to believe that such volatility always presented itself at the worst timing. She sighed to herself as she watched Ragnar limp out of the scene.

However, it could not be helped; he had to make preparations for the likelihood of a West Saxon hostile takeover of the Midlands; as such, she decided she would spend her free time auditing the nursery expenses.

Ragnar, on the other hand, quickly got to work; though his "Station Towns" had begun construction across the North, he had always made a priority on the defense of the border railheads.

As such, the tracks were adequately defended, at least in terms of "Iron Gear" garrisons.

However, he now needed to transfer more "Contractors" to the southern line; after all, the West Saxons were likely to invade through Mercia with at least one army to seize the coal deposits.

By now, General Bjorn had already returned to Ragnar’s office, as his VP of Security. Ragnar liked to have him nearby to advise on kinetic solutions.

As such, Ragnar quickly called for Bjorn to meet him in the War Room, where the massive man arrived in a timely manner.

Initially, Bjorn thought Ragnar wanted to test a new blend of coffee; after all, their bond as brothers had only strengthened through the countless audits they worked on together; however, after noticing the grave expression on Ragnar’s face, Bjorn’s professionalism immediately took over.

"Director, what is the status?"

Ragnar immediately relayed the news he had become privy to.

"Ethelred has been liquidated, and the Mercian portfolio is shattered. Only a few thousand troops made it out of the restructuring, and they returned to Oxford with Thane Odda. Tamworth is left poorly defended, and it will not stand for long if the West Saxons decide to foreclose!"

Hearing such disastrous news, Bjorn frowned; by now, he knew where Ragnar was headed with this train of thought; as such, he asked Ragnar the question on his mind.

"Yet you do not plan to provide a bailout to the new Ealdorman?"

Ragnar grinned as he heard Bjorn’s response; the man knew the business model too well.

"Of course not. Though the West Saxons may send an army into Tamworth, they will undoubtedly also send one toward our Coal Fields in Nottingham; after all, our mines exist along the northern border of Mercia, and I doubt they plan to leave us out of their monopoly. We must properly defend our assets!"

Bjorn nodded; the situation of the Midlands did not bode too well. However, as the Director of the North, Ragnar’s first and foremost responsibility was to protect his own shareholders, which was the wisest course of action in such uncertain times.

However, an idea popped into Bjorn’s head as he thought about what would happen to Oxford.

"What if the armies march on the University Town? Will you leave Princess Elfwynn to her fate?"

Ragnar scoffed at Bjorn’s suggestion and immediately retorted, slamming his cane on the map table.

"If those West Saxon luddites dare to think about laying a hand on my COO, I will bring the might of steam and steel upon their feudal heads! I will never allow harm to come to a single hair on my executive team!"

Bjorn stared at the conviction in Ragnar’s eyes and knew the young Director was serious.

Despite Oxford being a rather distant hub relative to City Titan, the grizzled veteran did not doubt for a second that Ragnar would break any siege that took place and forcefully take his COO back to headquarters, where she would be safe.

With that in mind, the man had decided on the best course of action in which Ragnar’s "Security Forces" would take and pointed to the map of England.

"We will split the security force into two units; as you know, we have mostly replenished our losses from the audit of Sandwich, and as such, our numbers are back to peak efficiency.

"Unit Alpha - 5,000 men - will take the Western Line to Manchester with Al-Hakam as their consultant, where they will be stationed as a rapid-response force to any invasion through the Pennines.

"As for Unit Beta they will board the Humanitarian Aid Train to Nottingham, where I will lead them. If the West Saxons even dare to attack our coal supply, I will crush them!

As for any attacks on our assets in Oxford, we will be able to more swiftly get to their aid by having our troops stationed at the railhead."

It was a good plan, and Ragnar immediately agreed with it. As such, he complimented Bjorn before ordering him to put it into action as soon as possible.

"Excellent work, General! With this strategy, we should be able to defend our profit margins from any incursion adequately! Relay this information to the shift supervisors and have it enacted as quickly as you can!"

Bjorn nodded with a smile on his face before saluting Ragnar.

"Of course, Director! I will dispatch the train at once!"

Afterward, the man exited from the War Room and began to enact the plans promptly. Ragnar’s defenses were rather solid, and though most of the railway stations were still under construction and would be for years to come, the "Bunker Pattern" defenses were at least partially completed.

As such, he did not fear the West Saxons seizing his land.

Ragnar stood alone in the War Room, looking at the map. He traced the line from Nottingham to Oxford with his finger.

"Hang in there, Elfwynn," he whispered.