King Askild sat in silence as he wondered what step he had to take for the wall to fall but his thought process was cut short because of the arrival of Erik. Erik was given the go-ahead after a brief conversation with Askild to provide them that backup in case they ran into enemies from Vestfold, they were lucky Erik was there because there was no one as crazy as him to stand in front of a horde of charging horses.
"We are back," Erik said and Sven noticed that Oskar was not with them and sought to find out why. Erik, however, looked him straight in the eye with a sickening grin plastered across his face.
"Oskar is dead, he died like the pig he is," Erik blurted out, trying to get under Sven's skin but all Sven did was smile upon this revelation as he looked to the skies.
"Hahaha! You got to Valhalla before me," Sven's voice was not one of sorrow but celebration.
Ulf was seen with Bjorn, he was speaking to him but Bjorn was distracted because he knew his brother was with Oskar and if Oskar was dead and Tyr was not here. Did that mean that Tyr was dead too? He broke his concentration and went to Erik.
"Where is my brother!?" Bjorn barked at Erik and Erik did not even acknowledge his existence and walked right past him but Bjorn held onto his clothes.
"Did you not hear me? Where is my fucking brother!?" Bjorn showed a side of him that even Ragnar had not seen before. Skarde was watching this as he was surprised that Bjorn could confront him even when he was knocked out earlier that day.
Erik looked back at Bjorn, the eyes he had were different from the kid in Kattegat.
"Those eyes…" Erik muttered in amazement as he could see the killing intent in them.
Erik tossed the axes of Tyr right in front of Bjorn, prompting Bjorn to look down at it before returning his gaze to Bjorn.
"Tyr Ragnarsson, son of Ragnar Lothbrok, has fallen in battle," Erik blurted out, these axes were his memento and he had given them to Bjorn.
"There is no way my rival would be dead, stop lying to me, ogre!" Bjorn barked but Erik was not having any of it and was ready to cause harm to Bjorn if he did not let go of his clothes.
"That is enough Bjorn," Ragnar finally stepped in because if what Erik was saying was the truth then that meant Tyr died alongside Oskar.
Ulf never liked Tyr and did not even recognize him as the son of Ragnar, this brought relief to him. Birger noticed the camp fall apart but Askild looked far too calm as he observed the drama unfold.
"But there is no way father!" Bjorn protested but Ragnar simply shook his head.
"I did not return empty-handed," Erik said, as Signy was guided into the camp. Bound and gagged as Erik was not a fan of the way he spoke.
"That is…!" Ragnar exclaimed and Erik nodded triumphantly. Birger could not believe his eyes.
"I have brought the son of Asmund, Signy," Erik said and Askild was just as surprised as Birger that Asmund would make such a careless move so far into the battle and he could not believe that Signy was before him. He could use him as a bargaining chip, there was no way that Asmund would sacrifice his only child and if he did, his warriors would understand that he was not so loving after all, breaking the image they had built of him in their heads.
He gestured for Erik to bring him over and Erik did just that, tossing him over to Askild.
Askild gently removed the gag from his mouth and Signy had cold beads of sweat rolling down his forehead but he maintained his cool.
"Welcome Signy, I hope you were not hurt," Askild asked, checking his body for wounds but all he saw were little bruises here and there.
"King Askild, if you surrender. I can talk to my father to let you live." Signy blurted out carelessly with Askild staring blankly at him.
"I am alive because your father could not kill me…" Askild responded, and this statement reminded him that Askild did injure his father in the duel, it was not as one-sided as everyone thought but why did he not use this to rally his men?
"What is your goal, King Askild?" Signy was excellent in diplomacy as he has traveled around a lot and now was the best time to put it to use.
"My goal? I have accomplished my goal, I am a king." Askild responded.
"Being king is not enough for you, is it?" Signy responded and Askild grinned the moment he heard this.
"You are a sharp kid, I don't just want Kattegat or Vestfold. I want the whole of Norway…" Askild responded. He was civil with Signy despite him being an enemy.
"My father could have helped you with your goal if you allied with him like your predecessor," Signy said, This somewhat surprised Askild because it meant that Asmund had told him about Xenophanes
"You know about Xenophanes?" Askild asked and Signy, who had gotten more comfortable, shook his head.
"I only know as much as my father told me, which is not much…" Signy said but Askild was not paying attention to this, he looked past Signy. Holding the gaze of Erik before giving him a knowing nod.
"WARRIORS!" Erik screamed at the top of his lungs, this startled Signy because he did not know a human's voice could be so loud.
"THEY HAVE KILLED US FOR FAR TOO LONG BUT ARE WE GOING TO LET THEM KEEP SPILLING OUR BLOOD WITHOUT BITING BACK!?" Erik shouted, this message resonated with Bjorn as his brother was presumed dead.
He wanted revenge, he wanted blood. Everyone did, Ragnar was angry too as he wanted so badly to let out his frustration.
"LET OUT YOUR ROARS! LET THE GOD OF WAR, TYR, GIVE US THE STRENGTH TO KILL OUR ENEMIES!" Erik screamed as the roars and morale of the troops shook the foundation of the earth.
"Sometimes, tragedy is the only motivation an army needs. Vestfold will fall tonight," Askild said in an indifferent tone and Signy looked on in horror as at that moment, he realized they had made a mistake.
King Askild was nowhere close to conceding defeat.
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