Chapter 75: King and Sword

At King Harald's residence in Jelling during October 1018, Canute trades blows with Wulf while onlookers marvel that he moves so quickly under a full suit of armor. His sister Estrid watches uneasily, worried the practice blades could leave a real wound, and recalls that Canute once refused to even touch a weapon. Gunnar explains that royal instinct surfaced in him during the England campaign, since a ruler must display strength to those he governs.

Winded, Canute baits Wulf by noting that Estrid's gaze has sharpened his strikes, then uses the moment of distraction to slam his shield home and set a blade against his sparring partner's throat. Afterward, in private, Gunnar delivers a finished survey of the district's affluent households. Stripping their yearly earnings would yield only around three thousand pounds, so he flags Ketil, son of Sverkel, a landowner with vast farms in the south. Canute demands the troop counts each family keeps and orders further scouting.

Rather than burden every Dane with new taxes so soon after his coronation, Canute means to swell his personal holdings by taking land from chosen wealthy subjects. Ruining a few families, he argues, beats breeding resentment across the kingdom, and he refuses to shrink an army he needs to hold England as its foreign conqueror. Down at the harbor, Thorgil informs the newly arrived Ketil that Harald has already been buried. Ketil, who hauled three knarrs of gifts to wish the king a recovery, quickly resolves to court Canute instead as the likely next ruler of Denmark.

Olmar, meanwhile, has wandered into town and collides with a merchant, escalating the spat until he draws his sword and taunts the unarmed man for cowardice. Ketil appears, scolds his son, and pays the merchant for the ruined cloth. The merchant's own father, who had been quietly watching to test how the young man handled the dispute, orders the money returned, apologizes for his son's conduct, and introduces himself as Leif Ericson.

Canute wins a sparring match against Wulf by exploiting a distraction. Gunnar completes his report on the region's rich families and singles out Ketil. Canute settles on confiscating estates instead of raising taxes to keep his army funded. Ketil learns that King Harald has died and decides to align himself with Canute. Olmar draws his blade during a trivial street quarrel, and the merchant's father reveals himself to be Leif Ericson.

Published July 25, 2011, this seventy-fifth chapter opens Volume 11 and maps to Episode 35 of the anime adaptation. It plants the seed of Canute's scheme against Ketil's holdings and reintroduces Leif Ericson, who is quietly closing in on Thorfinn's whereabouts.