Chapter 278: Prince Behind the Curtain
Ragnar nodded his head toward Leofric. Leofric grabbed the plain cloth covering the box and pulled it away to reveal the next invention.
Leofric held a very large tool made of iron and wood, and he placed it carefully on the flat wooden table.
"This is the Grappling Crossbow." Leofric stated loudly.
While the kings leaned forward to inspect the object, Leofric began to directly explain.
The Grappling Crossbow is a massive, shoulder-fired crossbow that is built to launch a heavy projectile over long distances. However, unlike a standard crossbow used by archers, this specific weapon does not shoot arrows made of wood.
Instead, it launches a three-pronged steel hook. This steel hook is attached to a very strong cord made of tightly woven threads, which is highly resistant to breaking under heavy weight.
Once the steel hook is fired and becomes engaged with a target, a pulley at the weapon’s grip is activated.
This pulley is connected to an internal gear mechanism that spins very rapidly, retracting the strong cord and pulling whatever is attached to the crossbow forward with immense force.
Despite the clear explanation, the kings and their military commanders did not immediately understand how this tool would help them win wars.
And so, Ragnar ordered one of his trusted soldiers to step forward into the center of the room. Ragnar also ordered his workers to construct a target for the demonstration.
The workers went to the open courtyard located directly outside the large glass windows of the auction hall, where a high stone wall already stood as part of the building’s outer defenses.
This specific stone wall was exactly ten meters high.
The soldier held the massive, shoulder-fired crossbow. He lifted the heavy iron and wood weapon and placed it securely on his right shoulder. He pointed the front end of the crossbow toward the very top of the high stone wall, aiming directly at the flat stone edge.
The soldier pulled the iron trigger on the weapon. The three-pronged steel hook flew through the air at a high speed.
It traveled the entire ten-meter distance and struck the top of the wall.
The three steel points dragged across the stone for a fraction of a second before one of the prongs caught securely onto the hard edge of the wall, locking the hook firmly in place.
After securing the hook to the top of the wall, the soldier did not reach out to grab a wooden ladder. Instead, he held tightly to the wooden grip of the massive crossbow and activated the internal mechanism.
The pulley at the weapon’s grip began to spin rapidly. The strong cord tightened instantly.
The weapon pulled the warrior upwards with incredible speed. The soldier’s feet lifted off the ground, and he traveled straight up the side of the vertical stone wall.
"This is impossible!" King Donald II said, his eyes open wide in disbelief.
The kings witnessed the soldier scaling the ten-meter-high wall in seconds. The soldier reached the top edge of the wall, stepped over the stone barrier, and stood firmly on the upper walkway.
The entire process of crossing the ten-meter vertical distance took less time than it would take a man to run across a flat room!
If an attacking army possessed these grappling crossbows, their bravest soldiers could fly over the walls of any fortress in seconds, bypassing the defenders entirely and opening the wooden gates from the inside!
"I will pay 20,000 gold coins for that weapon!" King Erik of Norway shouted loudly, hitting the table with his hand.
"That is not enough! I offer 35,000 gold coins!" King Aedh MacNeill responded, looking aggressively at the Norwegian king.
The kings began bidding and debating with intense energy... They started shouting larger numbers of gold and silver coins, trying to outbid each other to secure the massive crossbow.
The debate also shifted to the honor of using such a tool in warfare. King Donald II argued that using a mechanical pulley to scale a wall bypassed the traditional courage required to fight face-to-face on a ladder, but he still placed a bid of forty thousand gold coins because he knew that preserving his power was more important than maintaining old traditions.
While this bidding and loud debating was happening inside the grand hall, the doors located at the far end of the room suddenly opened wide.
The guards stationed at the doors stepped aside, lowering their iron spears.
The kings stopped shouting their bids and turned their heads to look at the entrance.
A man walked slowly through the open doors and entered the building.
’He has arrived exactly when the kings are most amazed by the weapons... Heh’ Ragnar thought to himself.
The relationship between Ragnar and this man had developed naturally over the past months, growing from a simple meeting of exiles into a deep bond based on mutual respect and shared projects.
Ragnar stood up from his chair. He walked down from the raised platform and moved toward the center aisle to greet the newcomer.
The man who walked down the center aisle was Louis the Stammerer. After his father’s death, Louis the Stammerer did not inherit the kingdom. Instead, he was smuggled out of the territory by his mother.
This escape was necessary because his uncle, Louis the Germanic, had seized all of France by force.
Previously, Louis the Germanic had only ruled the eastern part of the territory. However, due to his immense strength and his large army of armored knights, Louis the Germanic was able to take power from a few weak princes like Louis the Stammerer and his family.
After all, Louis the Stammerer had lost his lands and his title, but he had found safety in Ragnar’s city.
Because they shared a mutual interest in building things, Louis became a very close friend of Ragnar.
He even helped Ragnar carry out many of his complex manufacturing projects. Ragnar would draw the designs on parchment and explain his inventions. Then, Louis the Stammerer would organize the workers and execute the construction of those designs.
Even the Grappling Crossbow that sat on the table before them now was made by him!