The fight waged on, and it was drawing to a conclusion. One thing was sure, and that was by dawn. Vestfold would either still be standing or have fallen to the onslaught of Kattegat.
Ragnar had saved King Askild, just like he once did in the past, and that came at the price of an arm.
Aksel wondered what they were doing. The plan they had discussed was for Signy to retreat while they held off the enemies so they could not give chase, but his being here threw everything in the air because they had no idea what he was thinking.
Ulf exploited the lapse in concentration. Ulf had been holding back throughout the war as he did not want to exert more energy than needed, but he was fighting at full strength against Aksel and somehow could not break through.
"What is he doing here?!" Aksel questioned, looking uneasy, shooting his head up to look at Vigar, but there, he also saw Tyr before returning his eyes to Ulf, and he saw nothing. What followed next was a sharp pain in his abdomen, but he had somehow managed to dodge the brute of the attack at the very last second.
He used the brief distortion of the gentle wind around him caused by Ulf's rapid movement to approximate where he was, but even with that, the damage he took was no joke. If he were a second later, his guts would be on the floor.
"Damn it! I let my guard down…." Aksel cussed, but he could still hold his own against Ulf despite Ulf giving himself more of a fighting chance with this injury.
-
Signy watched the chaos and instructed his men to charge. Kattegat was going to lose at this rate because nothing was stopping them.
Signy was not aware of the plan that Vigar had discussed with his father, and even if he was, Asmund was not told the entire procedure, but that did not matter because they looked to be on their way to victory.
He was on horseback and did not join the battle. This way, he could better control them.
Asmund stayed on another horse beside his son and knew it was time to pass the torch.
Signy also noticed the barrels around them and the disturbed ground beneath them.
He thought nothing of it because it did not matter.
"King Signy, why don't you join them?" Asmund asked his son, giving him the honorifics that came with being King despite being his father as Asmund had every right to take that title away now that he was out of his enemies' grasp, but he did not.
"Something is amiss. I do not know what it is, but all this feels strange," Signy said, and just then, a flaming arrow hit his horse, sending it into a frenzy as it threw the young King off its back and crashed on the ground.
"SIGNY!" Asmund called out, unmounting his horse despite every fiber of his body aching and the overwhelming pain making his mind go blank, accompanied by a feeling of nausea.
"I-I am fine. I would be a target seeing as I am King now. We cannot lose our heads." Signy said. Asmund was so proud of the boy before him, he once had problems controlling his emotions and was quick to lash out, but he felt so different now. He felt like a king.
-
"Those fools!" Vigar lamented, and Tyr saw he had become visibly tense ever since Signy's appearance, which was strange considering Signy's appearance put the war in their favor. He also noticed the momentary panic was because of the arrow and not the target.
He was not worried for Signy because the arrow's trajectory would never get him. Anyone could tell by its traveling path.
Tyr knew he was close to figuring it out, but he could not wrap his head around it, and just then, Vigar unsheathed his weapon to face Tyr.
"Son of Ragnar, I need you to move out of my way this instant or something disastrous will happen!" Vigar warned, gnawing his teeth at Tyr, but Tyr was not about to comply.
"What is in those barrels…." Tyr asked, and he could see the desperation in Vigar's eyes, but he had no intention of moving aside because he knew whatever Vigar kept from him was vital.
Vigar charged toward him. Tyr had grown used to wielding dual weapons that a sword felt alien in his hands because it limited the versatility he was used to in battle.
The battle between the two began, but Tyr was putting one and two together with each collision.
Fire and barrels, whatever was there, had to be flammable.
Vigar was desperate but why? Was this not a plan he had discussed with his King before carrying out, or did he omit it?
Tyr watched him like a hawk prior, and there was no way he could miss the surprised look of everyone when Signy arrived, telling him that Signy was not meant to be there.
"BJORN! IT IS THE BARRELS!" Tyr shouted in his brother's direction, hoping his voice would reach him, but Bjorn was too caught up as he was engaged in a battle of his own.
Bjorn was barely holding his own because he was fighting multiple enemies simultaneously, Hagen was helping him, but Hagen was not known for his skills on the battlefield.
"Tyr Ragnarsson. You are as smart as you are strong…." Vigar said. He did something that surprised Tyr because, unfortunately for Tyr, his voice did not reach Bjorn, but it told Vigar that he had caught on.
"That was a lucky guess, but your reaction gave me my answer," Tyr said; he had tricked Vigar into confirming that the barrels were vital.
Vigar silently cut himself, inflicting self-harm on himself like a sociopath, and the look on Tyr's face conveyed the situation perfectly. He was shocked, but he did not have time for frivolous emotions.
Vigar was not here to play either as he charged at Tyr with his sword firmly in his hand.
Tyr braced himself to repel him, but Vigar used the blood dripping from his fingers as a screen to blind Tyr, sprinkling it into his eyes to blind him momentarily.
"Goodbye, son of Ragnar," Vigar said his farewell right before lunging his sword aimed right at the chest of Tyr.
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