Tyr was face to face with Bjorn, they have not fought ever since being reunited and this was the perfect time to do so.
Tyr still looked after his older brother despite his supposed betrayal, showing his loyalty was not so easily shaken.
Bjorn chuckled at this sight, everything felt different in this dark world yet right here and now, it felt like home.
Tyr charged at Bjorn with his weapons equipped.
Bjorn took a battle stance, and this stance had no openings, it was a far cry from Tyr's body language which was full of openings.
Tyr expected his brother to strike when he was within proximity but Bjorn maintained his form, which was impressive as Tyr swung the axe in his right hand vertically towards his older brother's chest; Bjorn parried it with minimum effort but that was exactly what Tyr intended because he was wide open now.
This was the disadvantage of wielding a single weapon.
"You are wide open, fool…" Tyr thought to himself, not allowing Bjorn to retract his arm but Tyr found himself unbalanced.
"What…?" He thought; Bjorn had used the momentum of his swing against him, parrying it in such a way that Tyr's body momentum would be affected as well.
Tyr found himself falling forward and unable to defend against whatever counterattack his older brother might have or do he thought.
Bjorn swung his sword right at the jugular of Tyr's neck but instead of Tyr to try and break his fall, he allowed gravity to do its job and let his body go.
A dodging method he has experienced before today, Bjorn managed to cut a piece of Tyr's dreads but that was it.
Tyr proceeded to immediately attempt a sweeping kick but Bjorn jumped with his knee colliding with Tyr's chin in the process, sending him skidding a couple of inches back.
"Not bad…" Tyr said as he rubbed his jaw, that blow was powerful and Tyr realized he had underestimated his brother's physical strength because that had the potential to knock anytime else out.
The warriors were amazed by how fluid this fighting was, they did not just incorporate swords but hand-to-hand combat.
Bjorn was skilled in finding people's weak spots and this was not any different, Tyr felt the effects of the kick but he was simply more durable than Bjorn anticipated.
Tyr slowly got back to his feet but Bjorn was not going to let him have breathing space.
The moment Tyr got to his feet, he found himself dodging an attack from Bjorn.
Bjorn dragged his sword along the ground, upwards like he was trying to cut Tyr in half.
Tyr knew all he needed to do was leap back and he did just that but Bjorn had anticipated this.
Bjorn's sword changed from a slash to a thrust mid-journey, and everyone gasped because this was an attack that King Ragnar himself became known for.
Tur could not move because his feet had left the ground so the one way out of this was to block but he had gauged Bjorn's physical strength and knew he was no match for his brother when it came to that.
Tyr did not have the luxury of time, he crossed both his axes together, placing one behind the other and Bjorn's attack was blocked.
Bjorn was using just one hand compared to Tyr who was using both, yet Bjorn could still push his younger brother back.
"You have really improved," Bjorn complimented his brother as they seemed to be evenly matched.
Bjorn retracted his blade and Tyr saw that he had dented both the cheeks of his axes despite them overlapping.
The scary part about this high-level fight that already far exceeded the average warrior's was that neither of the brothers was using their full strength.
Gudleif took back everything he said, Bjorn was skilled.
And unlike his father, Bjorn's attacks were powerful as he dented metal with the strength of an arm, one could only imagine what he could do with two.
Gudleif noticed that Tyr might have tanked the knee to his chin but it affected his overall reflexes.
ƥandasnovel·ƈom This was why he could not dodge the last attack from Bjorn, he could have waited for his feet to touch the ground and dodge it at the last second.
This should be nothing considering the speed he attacked initially so while it may look like they were even.
Gudleif noted that Bjorn's fighting style was a lot deadlier than that of Tyr but unknown to him.
Tyr had numerous fighting styles and there was no way he was going to show it to people that might become enemies tomorrow but did this hold for Bjorn too?
Both brothers were satisfied to call it a draw but they knew that they were both holding back.
Tyr found himself wondering just how strong his brother had gotten with Bjorn also wondering the same.
Thorgard was impressed and could not believe he was now related to two great warriors.
But this awakened something in Thorgard, he found himself wanting to be stronger.
He found himself craving strength and power, the drive to compete with these two before him.
Vegard, however, was uninterested as he found the fight boring, violence did not excite Vegard.
The expedition came to an end and everyone said their farewells, this chapter had closed but it opened the doors to so many other opportunities.
-
Days passed, and the young Vikings were on their way back but there was no way that their transgression would go unnoticed.
It was like they feared, someone informed the Kingdom of Northumbria and King Ælla did not appreciate this one bit. The Vikings made a mistake and that was thinking the monks that they slaughtered were all they were, some had escaped out of the castle and this included a prominent Bishop, the one that was forced to step down the moment Uttredus came.
It was disguised as a handover but in actuality, Uttredus threatened to kill them all if he didn't but this threat was made in private.
This was how Uttredus became a Christian because this was the only way for him to assume command but this attack presented an escape route for them.
They had slipped through a secret passage that even Uttredus was not aware of, the Bishop and monks faithful to him were able to escape the ensuing slaughter and island.
King Ælla was revealed to be an average-sized man, he was on the bigger side in terms of weight and this was not muscles either.
His slicked-back black hair complimented his beards that were part of the middle.
"Pagans encroached on our holy land?" Ælla could not believe the audacity of these people.
He knew that men might exist beyond the sea but never did he think they would cross paths.
"Yes King Ælla, I am afraid the devils have gathered enough strength to challenge a Kingdom protected by God.." The Bishop that escaped the slaughter responded, he was named Bishop Higbald.
Bishop Higbald was a wise and learned man, with a gentle demeanour and a kind smile. He is tall and thin, with a bald head and a neatly trimmed beard. His eyes were deep brown. He wore a long, flowing robe made of fine material, with a simple cross around his neck. Bishop Higbald was known for his deep faith and his dedication to God. He spends most of his time studying the scriptures and teaching others about the ways of the Lord. He was respected by all who know him.
"This man named Uttredus, you say he was the one that brought them?" Ælla asked and Higbald nodded to confirm this, this was false but Higbald spun the narrative to make himself into a selfless hero.
According to his version of the story, Uttredus came to try and forcefully subdue them but he did not succeed.
Higbald took credit for the exploit and success that came to Lindisfarne during Uttredus' rule there.
In his story, Uttredus came a few days before the Vikings and he came under the guise of trying to convert to Christianity.
King Ælla got the information a lot sooner than they would have liked but he kept this information to himself, there was no way he was going to let the others know that they were raided and the people that did so left unpunished.
This would weaken his Kingdom's stance, despite the unity, a show of strength was necessary.
King Ælla was known as the cruellest King and he was heavily involved in slavery as he often groomed those slaves into soldiers that would die for him.
They were best equipped for suicide missions and the fact that they were Pagans made him do so with a clean conscience.
He did not ask them to convert for this very reason and a crueler fate awaited the girls as they were confined to a fate crueler than death.
However, Northumbria prospered because of these very things that were frowned upon by their faith.
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