[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-building-a-viking-empire-with-modern-industry":3,"chapter-building-a-viking-empire-with-modern-industry-building-a-viking-empire-with-modern-industry-chapter-327":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","Building a Viking Empire with Modern Industry",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1365006,1804,"Chapter 327: Meat Trying Not to Burn","building-a-viking-empire-with-modern-industry-chapter-327",327,"\u003Cp>Eadric gripped the dagger in his right hand so tightly his knuckles turned entirely white.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The guard’s hand reached out to grab Ulf’s collar.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The guard pulled backward, shifting the giant Viking’s weight and turning the corpse over.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that exact moment, the masked guard’s pale eyes dropped down... and met Eadric’s wide gray eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Time seemed to freeze in the dimly lit barn.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The guard found a crippled Saxon noble lying flat on his back, clutching a weapon and a glowing green bottle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The guard blinked, he opened his mouth, his voice muffled by the black mask.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Sir, I—\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Still lying flat on his back in the foul-smelling horse dung, Eadric didn’t hesitate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Driven by a primal instinct to survive, Eadric lunged upward and thrust Ulf’s dagger with all his might straight into the guard’s kneecap.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"AARRRGH!\" the guard cried out in agony, instantly dropping his grip on Ulf’s collar.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He collapsed backward, clutching his ruined leg, which was now bleeding profusely onto the dirt floor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Oden the Ormr, who had just been adjusting the cuffs of his sleek leather coat, snapped his head around.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The other masked guards, still shaken from their comrade’s exploding weapon, turned in unison to see the source of the commotion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There, emerging from beneath the dead giant like a vengeful ghost, was the one-legged Saxon nobleman they had all assumed was a broken hostage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What in the world...?\" Oden hissed, \"Shoot him!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Two of the guards closest to Eadric frantically raised their polished Mark-III rifles.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They reached for their powder horns, their gloved hands fumbling.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With his right hand still gripping the bloody dagger, Eadric brought the green glass vial to his face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His left hand was trembling so violently he knew he couldn’t pop the cork with his fingers. So, he did the only thing he could.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He bit down on the thick cork stopper with his teeth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Eadric tasted the chemical residue of the alchemical mixture, a sharp tang that burned his tongue.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With a jerk of his head, he pried the cork off.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With a sweep of his left arm, Eadric spurred the glowing liquid out of the bottle in a wide, random arc towards the screaming, fallen guard in front of him, and onto the surrounding piles of dry haystacks.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And then, relying on the strength of his arms and his one good leg, Eadric rolled away at full speed, diving back into the shadows of the horse stalls.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As soon as the glowing green liquid hit the open air and the dry hay, the reaction was instantaneous.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A deafening roar consumed the barn as the liquid rapidly oxidized.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Brilliant, blinding green flames erupted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Drops of the liquid splattered directly across the fallen guard’s face and chest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The man let out a scream that drowned out every other sound in the room. He thrashed wildly on the ground, trying to extinguish the emerald flames with his hands.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The green flames devoured the man’s thick leather gloves in an instant. The fire clung to his uniform, burning with a heat so intense it continued to eat away at his flesh right down to the bone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The alchemical fire spread with unnatural speed. The green flames shot up toward the rafters, lighting up the entire barn so brightly that the shadows vanished entirely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Back away!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Get out!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Get out of here right now! The barn will collapse!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Spies abandoned the gold, abandoned their burning comrade, and scrambled out into the cool night air, coughing and swatting at the sparks landing on their clothes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Eadric used his calloused hands and his one good leg to drag himself through the dirt, crawling on his belly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...wait!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A pathetic cry pierced through the roaring flames.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Eadric paused his crawl for a fraction of a second, turning his head slightly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Through the shifting curtain of green fire, Eadric saw Ivar the Boneless.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ivar was crawling toward the exit, his hand reaching out toward the fleeing spies.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Take me with you!\" Ivar pleaded, coughing as the green smoke enveloped him. \"Don’t leave me to the fire! Please!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Eadric turned away and resumed his crawl. He dragged his body over the threshold of a side door, pulling himself over the splintered wood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He rolled down a grassy embankment, his body aching. He finally stopped, rolling into a small mud hole beneath the sprawling roots of an old oak tree.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Eadric lay there on his back, gasping for breath.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A loud, cracking sound echoed across the field as one of the barn’s main support beams finally gave way.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Eadric slowly propped himself up on his elbows, peering over the edge of the mud hole.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The entire barn had been transformed into a towering inferno, a beacon of unnatural green light that pushed back the night.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Suddenly, Eadric noticed a silhouette moving near the edge of the tree line.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ivar had somehow managed to drag his battered body out of the burning structure.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He looked over from behind a smaller tree, his clothes singed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Eadric watched him from afar, hidden safely in the shadows of the old oak.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just an hour ago, Eadric had looked at Ivar as a savior, a legendary figure who held the key to vengeance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now, looking at the trembling, broken man clinging to the tree, Eadric realized the truth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Eadric slowly looked down at his own hands. His right hand was still tightly gripping Ulf’s iron dagger.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"A lord of the Saxons...\" Eadric whispered, \"Is that what I was trying to save?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"We dress ourselves in myths and noble causes,\" Eadric muttered, \"But what are we, really? Only meat trying not to burn.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"How much pride is left in a man with half a body?\" Eadric asked the shadows. \"Did Osberht see this moment coming? Was his insulting pity the only honest thing in this city?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Eadric closed his eyes against the blinding emerald glare.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Am I finally waking up?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The green glare faded from his retinas, leaving only the honest dark. Eadric dragged his bones forward, a ghost disappearing into the mud.\u003C\u002Fp>",1010,"2026-06-05T21:25:06.413Z",1,"novelbin.me","f335ce2a31e3ba250b718ab61e432ec87fa3aa2ac73b6f06f98728c9876db144","building-a-viking-empire-with-modern-industry-chapter-328","building-a-viking-empire-with-modern-industry-chapter-326",357,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fbuilding-a-viking-empire-with-modern-industry-cover.jpg"]