Chapter 458 - Ansgar's Road To The Kingdom Of Athlone 1/2

Ansgar who was on the border of the Breifne kingdom crossed the frozen river and entered the barony of Longford.

This is because he was the first place he had to go, as he had to conquer the castle before he could advance towards the kingdom of Athlone.

The marshes of the Barony of Longford were quite similar to any of the other marshes of Ireland, however something of which Ansgar realized.

It was that the swamps had numerous bridges and roads which seemed to be abandoned, however they showed that there were many people in those places.

However, the first villages that arrived found the same depressing scene of abandoned houses and some corpses of people who had not been able to escape and ended up dying of hunger.

After advancing for 2 days through the marsh roads, they reached Longford Castle.

Which was in a completely deplorable state because the stone walls were in poor condition, not to mention that there did not seem to be any kind of defenders in the place.

That is why Ansgar gave the order that the exterior of the castle be completely searched, however they could not find any kind of defender or person in that place.

Also, because the door was completely closed, Ansgar ordered special forces soldiers to open it.

The soldiers of the special forces following Ansgar's orders climbed the walls and once they arrived they realized the cruel reality that was in front of them.

In the main courtyard of the castle they could see many corpses which had been frozen, showing that they had died at the beginning of winter.

They could also see that there were some signs of battle as well as dried blood on some parts of the walls.

The soldiers of the special forces continue checking until they could reach the main door where they removed the wooden plank that blocked the passage.

When they could open the door, the soldiers of the Nordic army began to enter. Ansgar who had been one of those who entered could see the corpses frozen in the snow, so he just shook his head.

This is because he noticed that some of them had injuries on their bodies, however there were others who appeared not to have any kind of injuries.

'This could have been an attack or simply some of the groups in this place rebelled against the orders they had received, but then that does not explain why the doors of this place were closed.

Unless they escaped through the ramparts or through the battlement tower. '

Ordinal Ansgar Special Forces entering the keep will search for anything that might give clues as to what had happened at Longford Castle.

The soldiers made a military salute and taking their repeating crossbows advanced towards the keep, which was completely closed.

So they found it necessary to use dynamite to blow up the doors. After placing a stick of dynamite, they used a match to light it.

After getting far enough away, the stick of dynamite exploded completely, blowing the doors of the battlement tower, so the soldiers of the special forces entered the place.

The first thing they were able to discover was that there were a large number of corpses. Some were in a state of decomposition. However, because of the cold, their putrefaction had stopped.

They could also smell a horrible aroma in the place, so they put on their gas masks, this because it was a protocol established by Einar.

If they did not do it that way, they would be risking their lives because they could inhale some poisonous gas.

When they entered the battlement tower, they realized the state of the corpses on the ground, as many of them seemed to have wounds.

While others simply showed no trace that someone had attacked them, this caught the attention of the special forces soldiers.

Because they did not understand why some were dead and others were apparently intact, leaving their doubts aside, all the soldiers began to advance in the battlement tower.

Those who went to the top noticed that there were signs of fighting on the walls and a large amount of furniture of the place.

When they went up to the top floor, they could see the corpse of a man that was hanging over the main room. The corpse was in a state of putrefaction, however it did not give off any aroma as it was frozen.

It was at that moment that the special forces soldiers began to check things in that place, however they could not find anything of value.

For their part, those who checked the kitchen warehouse, they realized that there was a large amount of vegetables in bad condition as well as some mushrooms that seemed to have been the food of the defenders of that place.

Although that was all they could find, then there was also nothing that would explain what had happened.

It was not until one of the members of the special forces who had come down checked the food in that place that he realized with some horror the things that the defenders of that place had been eating.

"Those idiots killed themselves trying to get food. At least half of all these mushrooms here are hallucinogenic or poisonous.

Although I am not very knowledgeable about mushrooms, I am sure of the properties they have due to the fact that during my childhood I spent time with an herbalist in my village.

Only that orange mushroom has a poison that is capable of creating hallucinations before ending the life of the user.

That would explain why the defenders have injuries while others are simply intact. Most likely they have been eating these things and have started hallucinating.

Which is quite ironic because they ended up dying or killing themselves. I'm sure their deaths were not easy but at least we found out what happened in this place, we need to destroy this because its very dangerous to keep these poisonous mushrooms"