In retaliation, King Eric XIV of Sweden gave the order that all lands between Lyckeby and Ronneby were free to pillage, killing and burning by the army.
The city lacked proper defense fortifications or a garrison, but likely expected to be given assistance from the Danish troops, which were positioned some miles away.
Eric XIV wrote of the storming of the city: "The water in the Ronneby [river] was red by the blood from dead bodies.
When the pillage was over, Eric XIV gave the order that the surviving inhabitants were to be gathered and resettled in Sweden proper.
In practice, the bloodbath in Ronneby was not unusual in accordance with contemporary war custom, where a city taken by storm was left to be pillaged by the conquerors.